unofficial

Man Oh Man

~ brixton ~ Leave a comment

In the last week, I have:

  • Flown from DC to Chicago
  • Read a 500+ page book
  • Took the train from Chicago to Champaign, and then back again
  • Ate my first cheeseburger in 13 years (which Ingbert toasted, appropriately, with another cheeseburger)
  • Successfully defended my thesis, the link to which will be shared soon (with thanks to all that attended the event)
  • Went to Kam’s, where Dan, Jeanne, and I consumed beers the size of our heads
  • Participated in my last LEEP on campus day as a CAS-ter.
  • Had a Symposium in my honor
  • Saw a lot of old friends and didn’t spend nearly as much time with any of them as I would have liked
  • Ate at old Champaign favorites: Jupiter’s, Kopi, Aroma, Esquire, Papa Del’s, Murphy’s, and the Courier.
  • Slept on Molly’s couch.
  • Watched the 1978 Star Wars Holiday Special

And THEN I:

  • Took the 6am train to Chicago
  • Had brunch with the ladies
  • Went to a fun game store and an amazing bakery

And THEN I:

  • Took the train to the bus to Rockford
  • Slept for a ridiculous and much-needed amount of time in the very cold basement
  • Spent quality time with Gypsy
  • Saw my sister, her fiance, and their cats for the first time in more than a year
  • Visited my plaque on the Wall of Foam

And THEN I:

  • Missed my flight out of O’Hare because I thought it was at 11:10 instead of 10:10
  • Arrived in Seattle 2 hours later, thanks to the wonder of standby
  • Was joyfully reunited with Shane after being apart for a week
  • Met up with Mel, who picked us up at the airport and gave us our first taste of Seattle
  • Tried local beer at Elysian Brewery and Pike Pub & Brewery
  • Panicked a bit when our pet sitter lost his keys, which were later found
  • Killed a number of happy hours at the Pike Place Market
  • Worked on my presentation for ACRL
  • Bumped into 3 friends and counting at the conference!

I’m here in Seattle through the weekend, flying home on Monday, at which point I will not leave my house until someone MAKES me do so.  I miss my cats and my own bed and not eating expensive meals.  It’s been a pretty fantastic run, though, and the time has gone much more quickly than I expected.

Advertisement

new goals

~ brixton ~ Leave a comment

New goal: no spending money on coffee and/or going out to eat for one week, beginning this morning and ending next Friday, 10 March. This will be challenging because (1) I have things going on every night between now and next Thursday, (2) I’m in the habit of buying coffee every day, and (3) I don’t have much food at my house. This will be addressed by (1) going grocery shopping on Sunday, (2) redeeming free coffee cards (I have at least three stockpiled), and (3) planning meals.

Today is Unofficial St Pat’s, and good god, the undergrads have a gorgeous day for it. I haven’t the first clue how this tradition got so entrenched into student life here, but there are hundreds of drunk kids out on Daniel and Green Streets, and I’m somewhat dreading the ride home – but glad I have my bike and so don’t have to wait for the bus at Sixth and Green, within projectile vomiting distance of Murphy’s, Brothers, and Legends.

It seems like there’s a lot of peripheral stress these days, and I’m not sure what to do about that. I’m mainly just stressed about my seeming state of inertia – I need to be moving forward on projects on which I’m just doing – nothing. Things will sort themselves out. They always do. In the meantime I have sunshine, fresh air, and Gjetost cheese to keep me happy.