Relax, This is Fiction

If I actually wrote an accurate depiction of my life, you would be bored. And you wouldn’t read this blog.

But, just to hammer home how totally uneventful my life is 99.9% of the time, let me walk you through my super awesome Sunday.

The other day I spent more than five hours watching three Anna Faris movies back to back. Do you know who that is? Did you even know she was in 41 movies? I did not. Until I IMDB’ed her and discovered she was not just in the whole scary movie series but also "what’s your number", "house bunny", and "just friends", all of which I enjoyed tremendously, thank you very much.

What else did I do? I went grocery shopping. At the little market down the street. I bought butter and an onion and some sparkling water. Oh and avocados were on sale so I grabbed a few of those too. How freaking expensive are avocados these days? It's an outrage. Really. Are you totally loving this scintillating chit chat about my food choices of late?

This is my actual life. I read books on my kindle, and shamefully peruse US Weekly (Stars! They're just like us!), and illegally stream movies from projectfreetv (um yeah, it’s awesome – maybe I’m late to the game with this one but after megavideo vanished, I was really lost for a while). Anyways, I run and play guitar and it’s all very nice and typical but then I get antsy and need…something!

I can’t pick up and take spontaneous vacations. I can’t go on adventures in the middle of the day with friends. I can’t day drink on a rooftop with a pool.

Tonight I ran home from dinner in a torrential downpour, barefoot. My first thought was shit, did I get my tetanus booster? But once the initial panic of bloodborne pathogens gave way, I felt exhilarated and invincible and in love with my city. This is my life. Sometimes it's painfully boring. Sometimes hopelessly pathetic. Sometimes completely enviable.

Today was an excellent Tuesday.

A Little R & R...

I spent this past weekend in New York visiting friends and getting a much needed feel for the city. For some reason, after getting rejected by NYU over four years ago, I held a grudge against the city itself.

New York is dirty, I thought.
New York has too many weird hipsters, I thought.
New York is so imposing, I thought.

I returned to the city several times during my college career, but every visit was a "family visit" and usually included stressful cab rides, Broadway shows, and being shoved by Japanese tourists in Times Square.

So, what a refreshing change to escape Hyde Park and do New York up right!

I was a nomad for the weekend, wandering from 58th and Madison down to 31st and 7th every afternoon to visit my friend N at the Affinia hotel where she was bunking for two months. Every night consisted of bar hopping in the East Village or bumping into fellow Uchicago alums at the 24 hour nail salon near 27th and Lex (after inhaling an Indian feast so authentic my Indian friend's accent thickened from sheer bliss). But mostly. I walked. I walked and walked and ate and walked some more. We tried fabulous restaurants, sat in adorable cafes, and popped into cutesy vintage boutiques for some much needed wardrobe updating.

The best part of the weekend for me though, was the realization that even if I don't end up in Chicago, I'll be just fine. I've been clinging to what I know, rather than opening myself up to the idea that there are some pretty fabulous places where I could easily carve out a niche for myself. I know New York is the post-college dream, but I had always felt as if I wouldn't fit in. As my cousin L told me: It's really hard to not fit in, in NY.

Thank you N, C, L, S, and N for showing me your city and bringing a smile to my face. I'm lucky to have such amazing friends (and family!)

And...exciting news: while I was away, I received my very first job offer! I guess the saying's true. Things come along when you least expect it.