I have now been in Milwaukee for eight weeks, meaning that I have only four more weeks in this city. I can’t believe I have wasted so much time not appreciating being here. I haven’t gone to RiverWest at all, haven’t been to the Art Museum, haven’t gone to a Brewers’ game (BUT I LOVE BASEBALL SO MUCH!!), haven’t really checked out the thrift shops downtown or gone to any of the Third Ward bars. All I’ve done is hang out at Bradford Beach and go to Summerfest a gazillion times. And play some kickball and drink a lot of beer (which, I guess, is a pretty Milwaukee thing to do). I’m always so frustrated with my own inertia. It takes so much to get me to go out and see a place, since I always feel like I have way more time than I really do (case in point: Edinburgh… how much of that city did I miss? How much time did I spend hanging out in peoples’ flats or the same pub over and over? Though, those things are in themselves experiences). I haven’t gone on a single brewery tour yet!! I need somebody to come be my partner in crime!
And even if I have four weeks here, my weekend time is severely impeded. This weekend I’m working 8 hours at a community festival (it’s a jazz, blues, and gospel festival, so it should actually be awesome!), then driving straight up to Nick’s fiancee’s parents’ cottage on Lake Michigan to spend the rest of the weekend. I’m really excited about this, since in all my time in the Great Lakes/Land o’ Lakes, I have been invited to a cabin/cottage/lakehouse only once, and that time it was impossible for me to attend. Also, Nick, his fiancée, Ashley, and their friends are really quality people. I need to decide what to make tonight to bring to share! I was thinking cookies, but that is a ton of effort without a stand mixer. Maybe brownies, though I brought that to the last gathering. Also, I really don’t want to turn the oven on so much, since it’s going to be a hot hot hot (!!!) weekend. Yuck. Oh well, fun times shall be had, whatever happens!
Next weekend, I have to work four hours on Saturday morning, and then I think I might go home, but I have to decide whether to do that or go home the next weekend so I can see my little brother’s band, Flounder Gus, play in the regional Battle of the Bands. They are on FIRE! If they win there, they move on to play at the Illinois State Fair, and I’d have just enough time to go see them before I have to go back to Minnesota. August 5-7 will be my last weekend here! I plan to go see Here Come the Mummies again at the WI state fair (I HIGHLY recommend seeing them if you ever have the chance. Their show was quite possibly the most fun I have EVER had) with ye olde kickball team, then do a brewery tour cruise on Saturday. Seriously, if anybody wants to come up and join me, I am VERY open to this idea! On August 12, I’ll finish work here, drive home, head into Chicago, hang out with the delightful Tara for the night, get on a Megabus at 7 am and be on my way to Indianapolis to visit my friend Emily, whom I have not seen for, oh, more than 7 months (has it really been so long since we left Edinburgh!?)! I snagged the elusive $1.00 fare for my trip home Monday night. I’ll spend the week piloting my thesis interviews, then pack and be off to the Great White North to start my pre-term field class (SO EXCITED!).
Last week, some of my friends from high school came up to go out for dinner at the Safe House, which is a pretty cool (if ludicrously overpriced!) restaurant with a spy theme. It doesn’t say the name on the outside or anything. It’s just a little door in the alley that says something like “International Imports and Exports” or something, and you have to know it’s there, and then know the password or do some stupid task to get in. The best part: if you have to earn your right to go in, you’re on a camera that everybody in the bar and the restaurant can see, so when you go through the hidden passage and walk in, everybody claps for you. Of course, I ruined the fun and found the password on teh Interwebz and ditched the girls. They had to do Charlie’s Angels poses, which was pretty funny to watch, if a little pedestrian. We had to wait forever to get seated, but we had fun exploring the nooks and crannies and hidden passageways of the building, though we couldn’t get the secret phone booth exit to work, and I was very disappointed. All in all, it was a really fun evening and it was great to see some old friends!
I just finished Sloane Crosley’s second book, How Did You Get This Number? Those of you who know me well may know that it is my ultimate goal in life to write a wildly successful memoir or essay collection, and Sloane Crosley’s are at the level I aspire to reach. She’s hilarious, but also insightful, though I did not like this one as much as I liked I was Told There Would be Cake. I highly, highly recommend reading them if you haven’t already. They’re both fairly quick reads and definitely well worth your time. I think this is now quite long for an entry, though it hasn’t really managed to sum up all of my thoughts for the week, so expect more late. I’m VERY upset about HR 2018 passing the House, though I am comforted by the knowledge that Obama has said he will veto it if it passes the Senate, which I hope it will not, so that I can still have some faith in this country’s government.
Showing posts with label work. Show all posts
Showing posts with label work. Show all posts
Friday, July 15, 2011
Sunday, July 10, 2011
constructive summer
It's been a few weeks, my friends (should I say friend, since there is apparently only one person reading this blog? Wooo, Emily!), and has it ever been an eventful few weeks. And when I say few weeks, I mean nearly a month. Whoops. I have now finished 7 weeks of my internship, which means that I have only 5 to go. I'm working weekends to cut off the 6th week that I was supposed to have, but need off to work on my thesis and pack.
Oy, my thesis. That's a topic for later. Back to the issues at hand- I am working every weekend, but usually only on Saturday mornings. I have to work all day next Saturday, and I'll probably go home the weekend after that. This means that I have, effectively, 3 more weekends in Milwaukee. Just as I was starting to love it and feel pretty comfortable, I'm going to be wrenched away. At least, for once, I will be returning to familiar territory. I'm so glad to be staying in my house from last year when I go back to Minneapolis. It sure makes moving easier. So, in three weekends, there are at least 6 brewery/distillery tours I need to cover, I want to take a river cruise, I have to go to the Calatrava, the Public Museum, hit up a Brewers Game, ride on the Hank Aaron State Trail, go to the Domes, and eat as much frozen custard and drink as much beer as possible.
I think I'm setting myself up for disappointment, here. I won't be able to do all of those in the time left. If there's one thing I've learned about myself over the last year, it's that I am nothing if not adaptable. Drop me anywhere, and I will ache for the first few weeks and whine and moan, but eventually, without my even noticing, I will be fine. I can handle things. It just takes a while. And with all the constant movement I've had in the last year, I haven't had a chance to get settled in before it's time to move on. I've been living on an air mattress for 7 weeks, and at this point, I am managing to ignore the back pain, and sleep through the night. I've finally started making friends at the office, and I don't eat lunch by myself every day anymore. All of this has severely cut down on my reading, though, and made my expenditures skyrocket. Then again, what am I spending my money on aside from room and board right now? Very little. I deserve to have a fun summer. It would have been more fun if I'd had time to make the trips I've been wanting to make, but I am now almost completely certain that I will at least be able to make it to Indianapolis the weekend I finish up work. Then, I have a few days in Chicago to run my thesis pilot, see my friends for a bit, and pack up.
My thesis- it's not going great. I agreed to work on it when I didn't have a job lined up for the summer, but when I got one pretty last minute, I couldn't back out of the thesis. I downloaded a load of articles that claimed to have anything to do with compost, and as I have started skimming through them, very few will actually be useful, and I don't understand much of the social science statistics used in the salient literature. So, in summary, I am screwed.
But let us speak of other things. Kickball has been fun. The team is great. Unfortunately, my best friend from the team, Morgan, is moving back to Green Bay this week, so who knows when or if I will ever even see her again! We've only been friends for 3 weeks or so, but everybody asks us if we've been friends since elementary school or something. Sometimes, two people just click as instant friends. I've been lucky with that a few times recently, but normally it takes me ages to warm up to people, and vice versa. The roomie and I have been going to trivia, and we got 3rd place last week, which I think was pretty damn good (as we only lost 1st by maybe 4 points). Matt wants me to come down this Saturday for the IL bar trivia champs, but I have to work. BOOOOO!
Summerfest has been going on for the last week, and I'm so glad I got the chance to go multiple times. I definitely missed a lot of bands I'd love to see, but I got to catch Girl Talk, Cage the Elephant, Florence and the Machine, The Black Keys, the Sam Roberts Band, Here Come the Mummies, and Michael Franti and Spearhead. I've been waiting since I originally became a fan of the Keys in like, 2005 to see them, and it was amazing. I wish I'd had the chance to see them before they got huge, though, because I imagine a grimy club show would have been way more awesome than a packed amphitheater. I was so far away, but I still loved every second of it. I'm going to see Ted Leo in 3 weeks, and I'm really jazzed for that. Matt, Hannah, and Hannah's friend Jeannie, whom I'd met on Hannah's 21st, came up for Girl Talk, and it was fun to have people visit. I ended up going home for the 4th because I like air conditioning. Nobody was home, so I also got to relax. I chilled with Amy most of the weekend, which was really nice since I hadn't been able to see her for like, a year.
Speaking of long-time childhood friends, I went to Buffalo 2 weeks ago on rather sad terms (we were burying my grandpa's ashes. He died about 7.5 months ago), but saw all of my mom's side of the family, which is always great, and got to spend nearly an entire day with Kathryn, who was nice enough to drive in from the Roch. It sucks when you only get to see your bff a few days per year. We had a really good time though, wandering through a farmers' market (we got to pet alpaca!) then eating at a really yummy Vietnamese place, getting lost, and playing with my tiny cousins. We went bowling with my mom and aunts at night, and had a splendid time. I think I was able to hold up as well as I did over the weekend because Kathryn was there. Some people just bolster you. I know I've said this so many times, but I hope it doesn't lose meaning to any of you as I repeat it: I am so lucky for my friends. Without those of you who were with me in Scotland, when you barely knew me, you saved me. I would have totally, completely, and absolutely lost it if it hadn't been for all of you. I miss you dearly. Also, all of my friends at home who were willing to take my transatlantic phone calls or Skype at weird hours, and even people who just wrote on my fb wall or commented on my blog occasionally, you helped me get through such a difficult time.
All of that came back while I was in Buffalo. For the rest of my family, this wasn't really a big deal. They'd been together while they were going through all of this, and they'd been back to Buffalo since it happened. This was the first time I was back in the house. It was all so different from the last time I had been there. I know they changed things before he died, but to me, it was like being in a dream where you are in someplace that is so familiar, but the tiny changes make it extremely disorienting. I went downstairs, half expecting my grandpa to be there with a cup of coffee for me like he had been so many times before, but of course, then I quickly remembered what I was doing in Buffalo in the first place. My cousin, who is 10, kept asking me if Maddy (the dog) seemed sadder than usual, and then talking very seriously to her about the big changes around the house. I don't know how to respond to small children most of the time, and I was especially overwhelmed by trying to deal with a small child who was trying to deal with death. That just made me feel eight thousand times worse. It was kind of precious, in a weird way, though.
It's so weird to think that I don't know if I will ever go back to Buffalo. I spent so much time there, and in the 36 hours I was back over that weekend, I wanted to squeeze in all of my favorite Buffalo things. The only one I managed was Andersen's custard, and that happened while I was sitting in the car crying my head off after we buried him. Putt-putt golf, wings at Duff's, Shakespeare in Delaware Park, the painting elephant, Condrell's, Parkside, the North Tonawanda farmers' market, Niagara Falls, Old Man River, the harbor... the list goes on and on. I never realized how much I loved Buffalo (despite how much Buffalo freaks me out) until it occurred to me that I don't really have a reason to go there anymore.
So many of my formative moments took place in that city. My first rollerblading memory was in Delaware Park. The first Christmas I remember was in the house where my mother grew up. Grandpa read us Edward Lear, and I have a vague memory of Grandma playing horsy with us when I was very, very small. I realized also that I have very many fewer memories of her than I suspected were stored in my head. We were digging through a box of Grandpa's stuff, and I found some articles and more pictures. Everybody looked so elegant back in the day. There is a picture of me from Scotland on top of Arthur's Seat in which I, according to my aunt, look very much like my grandma. I wish I could have had a chance to have known her well enough to reflect upon that with meaning.
Shit, all of this is just coming out now. I'm bawling. I shouldn't be allowed to stay up past midnight and start waxing philosophical and rambling my head off. I apologize, dear reader(s?).
Reading Vonnegut reminds me of my Grandpa. He met Vonnegut at a party once.
I hate when people continually say that somebody "passed." Let's just call a spade a spade, please.
I think this is getting to rambly and weird, so though I have barely scratched the surface here, I'm going to end it. Maybe there will be more later. If not here, in my memoirs.
Oy, my thesis. That's a topic for later. Back to the issues at hand- I am working every weekend, but usually only on Saturday mornings. I have to work all day next Saturday, and I'll probably go home the weekend after that. This means that I have, effectively, 3 more weekends in Milwaukee. Just as I was starting to love it and feel pretty comfortable, I'm going to be wrenched away. At least, for once, I will be returning to familiar territory. I'm so glad to be staying in my house from last year when I go back to Minneapolis. It sure makes moving easier. So, in three weekends, there are at least 6 brewery/distillery tours I need to cover, I want to take a river cruise, I have to go to the Calatrava, the Public Museum, hit up a Brewers Game, ride on the Hank Aaron State Trail, go to the Domes, and eat as much frozen custard and drink as much beer as possible.
I think I'm setting myself up for disappointment, here. I won't be able to do all of those in the time left. If there's one thing I've learned about myself over the last year, it's that I am nothing if not adaptable. Drop me anywhere, and I will ache for the first few weeks and whine and moan, but eventually, without my even noticing, I will be fine. I can handle things. It just takes a while. And with all the constant movement I've had in the last year, I haven't had a chance to get settled in before it's time to move on. I've been living on an air mattress for 7 weeks, and at this point, I am managing to ignore the back pain, and sleep through the night. I've finally started making friends at the office, and I don't eat lunch by myself every day anymore. All of this has severely cut down on my reading, though, and made my expenditures skyrocket. Then again, what am I spending my money on aside from room and board right now? Very little. I deserve to have a fun summer. It would have been more fun if I'd had time to make the trips I've been wanting to make, but I am now almost completely certain that I will at least be able to make it to Indianapolis the weekend I finish up work. Then, I have a few days in Chicago to run my thesis pilot, see my friends for a bit, and pack up.
My thesis- it's not going great. I agreed to work on it when I didn't have a job lined up for the summer, but when I got one pretty last minute, I couldn't back out of the thesis. I downloaded a load of articles that claimed to have anything to do with compost, and as I have started skimming through them, very few will actually be useful, and I don't understand much of the social science statistics used in the salient literature. So, in summary, I am screwed.
But let us speak of other things. Kickball has been fun. The team is great. Unfortunately, my best friend from the team, Morgan, is moving back to Green Bay this week, so who knows when or if I will ever even see her again! We've only been friends for 3 weeks or so, but everybody asks us if we've been friends since elementary school or something. Sometimes, two people just click as instant friends. I've been lucky with that a few times recently, but normally it takes me ages to warm up to people, and vice versa. The roomie and I have been going to trivia, and we got 3rd place last week, which I think was pretty damn good (as we only lost 1st by maybe 4 points). Matt wants me to come down this Saturday for the IL bar trivia champs, but I have to work. BOOOOO!
Summerfest has been going on for the last week, and I'm so glad I got the chance to go multiple times. I definitely missed a lot of bands I'd love to see, but I got to catch Girl Talk, Cage the Elephant, Florence and the Machine, The Black Keys, the Sam Roberts Band, Here Come the Mummies, and Michael Franti and Spearhead. I've been waiting since I originally became a fan of the Keys in like, 2005 to see them, and it was amazing. I wish I'd had the chance to see them before they got huge, though, because I imagine a grimy club show would have been way more awesome than a packed amphitheater. I was so far away, but I still loved every second of it. I'm going to see Ted Leo in 3 weeks, and I'm really jazzed for that. Matt, Hannah, and Hannah's friend Jeannie, whom I'd met on Hannah's 21st, came up for Girl Talk, and it was fun to have people visit. I ended up going home for the 4th because I like air conditioning. Nobody was home, so I also got to relax. I chilled with Amy most of the weekend, which was really nice since I hadn't been able to see her for like, a year.
Speaking of long-time childhood friends, I went to Buffalo 2 weeks ago on rather sad terms (we were burying my grandpa's ashes. He died about 7.5 months ago), but saw all of my mom's side of the family, which is always great, and got to spend nearly an entire day with Kathryn, who was nice enough to drive in from the Roch. It sucks when you only get to see your bff a few days per year. We had a really good time though, wandering through a farmers' market (we got to pet alpaca!) then eating at a really yummy Vietnamese place, getting lost, and playing with my tiny cousins. We went bowling with my mom and aunts at night, and had a splendid time. I think I was able to hold up as well as I did over the weekend because Kathryn was there. Some people just bolster you. I know I've said this so many times, but I hope it doesn't lose meaning to any of you as I repeat it: I am so lucky for my friends. Without those of you who were with me in Scotland, when you barely knew me, you saved me. I would have totally, completely, and absolutely lost it if it hadn't been for all of you. I miss you dearly. Also, all of my friends at home who were willing to take my transatlantic phone calls or Skype at weird hours, and even people who just wrote on my fb wall or commented on my blog occasionally, you helped me get through such a difficult time.
All of that came back while I was in Buffalo. For the rest of my family, this wasn't really a big deal. They'd been together while they were going through all of this, and they'd been back to Buffalo since it happened. This was the first time I was back in the house. It was all so different from the last time I had been there. I know they changed things before he died, but to me, it was like being in a dream where you are in someplace that is so familiar, but the tiny changes make it extremely disorienting. I went downstairs, half expecting my grandpa to be there with a cup of coffee for me like he had been so many times before, but of course, then I quickly remembered what I was doing in Buffalo in the first place. My cousin, who is 10, kept asking me if Maddy (the dog) seemed sadder than usual, and then talking very seriously to her about the big changes around the house. I don't know how to respond to small children most of the time, and I was especially overwhelmed by trying to deal with a small child who was trying to deal with death. That just made me feel eight thousand times worse. It was kind of precious, in a weird way, though.
It's so weird to think that I don't know if I will ever go back to Buffalo. I spent so much time there, and in the 36 hours I was back over that weekend, I wanted to squeeze in all of my favorite Buffalo things. The only one I managed was Andersen's custard, and that happened while I was sitting in the car crying my head off after we buried him. Putt-putt golf, wings at Duff's, Shakespeare in Delaware Park, the painting elephant, Condrell's, Parkside, the North Tonawanda farmers' market, Niagara Falls, Old Man River, the harbor... the list goes on and on. I never realized how much I loved Buffalo (despite how much Buffalo freaks me out) until it occurred to me that I don't really have a reason to go there anymore.
So many of my formative moments took place in that city. My first rollerblading memory was in Delaware Park. The first Christmas I remember was in the house where my mother grew up. Grandpa read us Edward Lear, and I have a vague memory of Grandma playing horsy with us when I was very, very small. I realized also that I have very many fewer memories of her than I suspected were stored in my head. We were digging through a box of Grandpa's stuff, and I found some articles and more pictures. Everybody looked so elegant back in the day. There is a picture of me from Scotland on top of Arthur's Seat in which I, according to my aunt, look very much like my grandma. I wish I could have had a chance to have known her well enough to reflect upon that with meaning.
Shit, all of this is just coming out now. I'm bawling. I shouldn't be allowed to stay up past midnight and start waxing philosophical and rambling my head off. I apologize, dear reader(s?).
Reading Vonnegut reminds me of my Grandpa. He met Vonnegut at a party once.
I hate when people continually say that somebody "passed." Let's just call a spade a spade, please.
I think this is getting to rambly and weird, so though I have barely scratched the surface here, I'm going to end it. Maybe there will be more later. If not here, in my memoirs.
Friday, June 17, 2011
ass like that
Shocking title? No, just the name of the kickball team I joined. I didn't know what the name was when I joined the team, but apparently it came from a random wikipedia search (how? I do not know.) These are our illustrious shirts.
Gonna wear this puppy with pride and dignity. Anyway, I had been waffling about whether or not to join the team, but I am SO glad that I did. Everybody is really nice, and even though I got out both times last night (had a sweet kick though... outfielder came out of NOWHERE and caught it!), I had a ball. Of course, we went out for drinks afterward. I had to leave around 11 or so, because I do have to go to work on Fridays. This guy, Gary, is probably the funniest person I have met in ages, and one girl, Morgan, seems really nice and we have really similar interests. She is a communications major, and she wants to do ecotourism in South America. That sounds like the best idea ever! It's good to know that now I have some friends, even if it's only Thursday nights. I also made a pretty sweet backup play. OH, AND WE FREAKIN' CRUSHED THE OTHER TEAM!! YEAAAAAAAAH.
In work news, I think I'm actually almost done developing my plan. It's like 8 pages long right now. I just have to fill in some goals/objectives, and further flesh out religious programs, scout programs, college programs, internet stuff, and evaluations. I met with the communications manager (she's the whole department) from the contracting company that runs all of my agency's facilities, and she was saying that when they were saying they wanted to get an intern to do this, she was really dubious, and thought it was a bit of a tall order for an *intern*, but she is amazed at the work I am doing! We were supposed to just have a brief meeting this morning, but we ended up talking for almost 2 hours, and very little of it was business related. Oops. But, we were talking about how it seems like I'm almost writing a job for myself to return next year, since they'll need to hire somebody to administrate my programs.
... Which got me to thinking. Would I take a full time job here next year? I know my agency loves hiring former interns, and I really like my boss, and the people I work with are for the most part wonderful, and it would be doing the things I want to be doing... but I have hardly even considered going straight into the workforce. Unless, of course, that meant moving to Scotland and going straight into the work force. I just feel so hell bent on giving myself some time... "finding myself," whatever. I want to go abroad again. I don't think I want to spend the rest of my life in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. This state frightens me a little bit, sometimes. I want so badly to get the Fulbright English teaching assistant job (that I REALLY need to start applying for now). I keep thinking about Teach for America. I spent all of high school thinking I wanted to be a teacher, but I don't know if I could do it. And the Peace Corps... that would be amazing. There are just too many things out there that I could do. I just don't know which ones will make me happy.
I feel far more adjusted and settled now. I'm still working on figuring out some things in my life and all that, but I have to admit it's getting better. It's getting better all the time. I'm looking forward to Summerfest, and I'm going to get to see Kathryn (and Mariella?!?!?) next weekend, so I'm excited about that, even if I'm not excited to drive across the freaking country (I hope hope hope a last min. fare will be available). My family might be coming up Sunday. That would be fun... there are a bunch of restaurants I've been wanting to try! Also, this weekend is Polish Fest and Lakefront Arts Fest, so I may try to hit those up, though, tomorrow morning I have to spend four hours at a farmers' market talking to people about rain barrels. AT LEAST I GET TO BE OUTSIDE!!! Maybe even pick up some delicious, delicious veggies. Yum.
Gonna wear this puppy with pride and dignity. Anyway, I had been waffling about whether or not to join the team, but I am SO glad that I did. Everybody is really nice, and even though I got out both times last night (had a sweet kick though... outfielder came out of NOWHERE and caught it!), I had a ball. Of course, we went out for drinks afterward. I had to leave around 11 or so, because I do have to go to work on Fridays. This guy, Gary, is probably the funniest person I have met in ages, and one girl, Morgan, seems really nice and we have really similar interests. She is a communications major, and she wants to do ecotourism in South America. That sounds like the best idea ever! It's good to know that now I have some friends, even if it's only Thursday nights. I also made a pretty sweet backup play. OH, AND WE FREAKIN' CRUSHED THE OTHER TEAM!! YEAAAAAAAAH.
In work news, I think I'm actually almost done developing my plan. It's like 8 pages long right now. I just have to fill in some goals/objectives, and further flesh out religious programs, scout programs, college programs, internet stuff, and evaluations. I met with the communications manager (she's the whole department) from the contracting company that runs all of my agency's facilities, and she was saying that when they were saying they wanted to get an intern to do this, she was really dubious, and thought it was a bit of a tall order for an *intern*, but she is amazed at the work I am doing! We were supposed to just have a brief meeting this morning, but we ended up talking for almost 2 hours, and very little of it was business related. Oops. But, we were talking about how it seems like I'm almost writing a job for myself to return next year, since they'll need to hire somebody to administrate my programs.
... Which got me to thinking. Would I take a full time job here next year? I know my agency loves hiring former interns, and I really like my boss, and the people I work with are for the most part wonderful, and it would be doing the things I want to be doing... but I have hardly even considered going straight into the workforce. Unless, of course, that meant moving to Scotland and going straight into the work force. I just feel so hell bent on giving myself some time... "finding myself," whatever. I want to go abroad again. I don't think I want to spend the rest of my life in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. This state frightens me a little bit, sometimes. I want so badly to get the Fulbright English teaching assistant job (that I REALLY need to start applying for now). I keep thinking about Teach for America. I spent all of high school thinking I wanted to be a teacher, but I don't know if I could do it. And the Peace Corps... that would be amazing. There are just too many things out there that I could do. I just don't know which ones will make me happy.
I feel far more adjusted and settled now. I'm still working on figuring out some things in my life and all that, but I have to admit it's getting better. It's getting better all the time. I'm looking forward to Summerfest, and I'm going to get to see Kathryn (and Mariella?!?!?) next weekend, so I'm excited about that, even if I'm not excited to drive across the freaking country (I hope hope hope a last min. fare will be available). My family might be coming up Sunday. That would be fun... there are a bunch of restaurants I've been wanting to try! Also, this weekend is Polish Fest and Lakefront Arts Fest, so I may try to hit those up, though, tomorrow morning I have to spend four hours at a farmers' market talking to people about rain barrels. AT LEAST I GET TO BE OUTSIDE!!! Maybe even pick up some delicious, delicious veggies. Yum.
Monday, June 13, 2011
it's a beautiful day in the neighborhood
lesson of the day: how to get unwanted stares at the beach
1) go to your normal job at your office, dressed for work. this includes high heeled oxfords.
2) check your calendar, notice that somebody who is not your supervisor has scheduled a field trip for you that afternoon.
3) accept field trip request because it's such a nice day
4) drive to field site with not-actually-supervisor
5) walk across beach with man who is old enough to be your father, and who is also wearing office clothes. remember, you are wearing heels in sand.
6) revel in the awkwardness.
So, that field trip reminded me of how much I wanted to go to the beach for real. So as soon as I got home from work, I put on my bathing suit, and of course spent half an hour debating whether or not I could actually go out in public wearing it. I settled on putting some shorts and a tank top over it. The shorts were a little short for biking, so, uh, I probably mooned half of Milwaukee. But I mean, I was wearing swim bottoms, so it was okay.
The weather was just amazing. Truly gorgeous. I sat on the beach for a few hours reading and watching some cute boys play volleyball (they were REALLY bad though!). I should have gotten a beer. That would have been refreshing. Anyway, then I rode back to my apartment (the hill from the beach up is craaazy man) and realized that I am terribly out of shape, since I was winded after that one hill. Hopefully, by the end of the summer I will be SUPER FIT. I think I'll go for a run tomorrow, if the weather continues to be so nice. I realized that my Chicagoland YMCA card does not, in fact, work in Milwaukee. So I'm thinking about joining Anytime Fitness, as it is right across the street. However, my roommate works at the JCC so I could go with her and work out for free, but our schedules don't line up too well. Convenience, convenience. I really want to be strong again. I miss my throwing days, not that I was actually that strong or anything, but I could lift up a lot more things back then.
We're gonna build something this summer.
Yesterday was beyond delightful. Andrea, Lemons, Tara, and I went out to Emmett's for drinks. Emmett's brews some mighty fine beer, if'n I do say so myself. If any of you communicated with me yesterday, you probably experienced some of my drunken antics. I do apologize. But it was really the best time I've had since returning from Scotland in December. Andrea is moving to New Zealand in a week, which is just about the saddest thing ever. Okay, exaggeration. But anyway, all my friends are going soooo far away! Or are already so far away. I guess that I kind of also intend to be far away after I graduate, but I don't know if I would want to go right away. I mean, I really, really, really want to get back to Edinburgh, but will all my friends be there after they graduate? None of them is actually from Edinburgh... Have I just made it this idealized place? I was thinking about that this morning. In any case, if I miraculously found a job there after I graduated, I would almost certainly take it.
I like that I am leaving my apartment more and more. I'm starting a kickball league on Thursday. I suppose I'd better learn the rules. Figure it'll be a good way to meet some cool folks! My parents are probably coming up this weekend, which should be swell.
I'm exhausted. Today was quite the day. I hope tomorrow brings more of the same :)
1) go to your normal job at your office, dressed for work. this includes high heeled oxfords.
2) check your calendar, notice that somebody who is not your supervisor has scheduled a field trip for you that afternoon.
3) accept field trip request because it's such a nice day
4) drive to field site with not-actually-supervisor
5) walk across beach with man who is old enough to be your father, and who is also wearing office clothes. remember, you are wearing heels in sand.
6) revel in the awkwardness.
So, that field trip reminded me of how much I wanted to go to the beach for real. So as soon as I got home from work, I put on my bathing suit, and of course spent half an hour debating whether or not I could actually go out in public wearing it. I settled on putting some shorts and a tank top over it. The shorts were a little short for biking, so, uh, I probably mooned half of Milwaukee. But I mean, I was wearing swim bottoms, so it was okay.
The weather was just amazing. Truly gorgeous. I sat on the beach for a few hours reading and watching some cute boys play volleyball (they were REALLY bad though!). I should have gotten a beer. That would have been refreshing. Anyway, then I rode back to my apartment (the hill from the beach up is craaazy man) and realized that I am terribly out of shape, since I was winded after that one hill. Hopefully, by the end of the summer I will be SUPER FIT. I think I'll go for a run tomorrow, if the weather continues to be so nice. I realized that my Chicagoland YMCA card does not, in fact, work in Milwaukee. So I'm thinking about joining Anytime Fitness, as it is right across the street. However, my roommate works at the JCC so I could go with her and work out for free, but our schedules don't line up too well. Convenience, convenience. I really want to be strong again. I miss my throwing days, not that I was actually that strong or anything, but I could lift up a lot more things back then.
We're gonna build something this summer.
Yesterday was beyond delightful. Andrea, Lemons, Tara, and I went out to Emmett's for drinks. Emmett's brews some mighty fine beer, if'n I do say so myself. If any of you communicated with me yesterday, you probably experienced some of my drunken antics. I do apologize. But it was really the best time I've had since returning from Scotland in December. Andrea is moving to New Zealand in a week, which is just about the saddest thing ever. Okay, exaggeration. But anyway, all my friends are going soooo far away! Or are already so far away. I guess that I kind of also intend to be far away after I graduate, but I don't know if I would want to go right away. I mean, I really, really, really want to get back to Edinburgh, but will all my friends be there after they graduate? None of them is actually from Edinburgh... Have I just made it this idealized place? I was thinking about that this morning. In any case, if I miraculously found a job there after I graduated, I would almost certainly take it.
I like that I am leaving my apartment more and more. I'm starting a kickball league on Thursday. I suppose I'd better learn the rules. Figure it'll be a good way to meet some cool folks! My parents are probably coming up this weekend, which should be swell.
I'm exhausted. Today was quite the day. I hope tomorrow brings more of the same :)
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