I Can’t Stress This Enough

I have a bad habit of allowing little things to pile up, causing major stress. Any of you have this problem? Of course you do. Otherwise, it would just be me, and that would make me weird. That’s what they call a self-serving theory.

Tomorrow is the photo shoot for my Time Out article, which means I have to figure out some outfits, hope that I’m having a good hair day, and try not to look like a complete fool. In order to do the first part of that, I have to do all of the laundry I’ve been avoiding for the past few weeks. The emperor has no clothes, and the emperor is certainly no Gisele.

Part of the benefit of doing laundry is also that I’ll have some fun clothes to choose from for this little road trip I have coming up. ON TUESDAY. It feels like mere weeks ago that Penguin and I were joking about becoming unlikely travel buddies. Time is funny like that. Speaking of packing, how easy is it to pack for a trip that will take me through approximately ALL weather conditions — from snow to beach and everywhere in between. As a notorious (but recovering) over-packer,  I’m kind of at a loss as to how to go about selecting clothes.

I will also say that this trip has been a lesson in spontaneity. I’m NOT a spontaneous person. I’m a Virgo. I like plans. I like knowing that there’s an itinerary. I get uncomfortable with the unknown. I get anxious. While it’s been hard to just accept the fact that I will be climbing into a car with no real understanding of what lies ahead, I’m pretty proud of myself for being as zen about it as I have been. It helps that Penguin has been living in a tent for the past two months, unavailable for me to bombard with irritating questions. That being said, my mental state right now is a combination of nervousness and excitement and a lot of “No. Shit. Seriously, guys. What do I pack?”

Tags: packing, road trip, stress, Time Out Chicago

Eat Your Heart Out

Storypeople - "Real Reason"

Tags: Brian Andreas, cooking, love, Storypeople

Sex & Running

Ok, the title was to draw you in. Cheap ploy. You fell for it. While you’re here, read about running motivations, expenditures, and habits of men versus women (courtesy of Abby at Run Stronger Every Day). At times, I feel guilty for encouraging young girls to start running when I know that some of them will soon have to start dropping $60-$80 on ONE sports bra. At least that’s the going rate for those of us who have to lock  and load.  Then again, if they realize this early enough, they’ll be able to build it into their budget… right?

 

Tags: gender, running

Bang Bang

There is no terror in the bang, only in the anticipation of it.

– Alfred Hitchcock

Tags: Alfred Hitchcock, fear

Riding in Cars With Boys

As I’ve mentioned, 2012 is the year of adventure — of all shapes and sizes. Instead of making traditional resolutions, let’s make adventures, shall we?

1. Go West, young man. In the more traditional sense, travel will be keeping me busy this year. In fact, I shall dub 2012 the year of “Riding in Cars with Boys” for several reasons. In a few weeks, I will be embarking on a road trip from Chicago to San Diego with Penguin, his dog, and hopefully a fair amount of maps. We’ll be making notable stops in Utah,  Lake Tahoe, and Sonoma. I’m excited, not only because this is my first REAL road trip, but because it gives me the opportunity to spend time with friends new and old. A college friend works as a chef at Ram’s Gate wineryin Sonoma, where we will be stopping to eat, drink, and be merry; and a high school friend lives in San Diego. Actually, I get the feeling that  the whole “eat, drink, and be merry” thing will happen there, too. Hilarity will ensue.In addition to my West-facing road trip, I will be skiing in Breckenridge, spending my birthday in Portland, and attending my cousin’s wedding in Alta, UT. Maybe I can even convince Brother to make good on his after-hours bar promise to wander around Eastern Europe post-bar exam… just to make sure my life doesn’t turn into a Lonesome Dove remake.
   
   
   

   A visual representation of 2012. Yes, that's a dog. And a cow.

2. Run away with me. Speaking of going West, I’ll be joining several twitter friends – including Penguin – in a most exciting journey: Hood to Coast relay race. We will be covering about 200 miles — from Mt. Hood to Seaside, Oregon — between 12 people. 12 fast, attractive, and fun people. One perennial team has a history of forming “power arches” along the course. I have suggested the implementation of spanking tunnels, which are way more fun.Hood to Coast squares nicely with my life skill of making friends in vans. Not only will it be my first time to Portland, but this trip marks my (and Penguin’s) birthday weekend. Believe it or not, our little team of 12 has two sets of birthday twins. This stat has been blowing my mind for weeks now. I’ve also entertained the thought of running the Rock N Roll 1/2 in Nashville. Somehow,  I’ve never run a 1/2 marathon. Seems like it’s about time, eh? I’ve also contemplated my third Chicago Marathon. Now that my speed is improving, it seems as good a time as any to blow my previous times out of the water.
3. Bar crawl. In July, I will be taking the Bar Exam… a two-day licensing exam that will mark both the end of my academic career and the beginning of my lawyering. This… Well, this is terrifying, so we’ll leave it for some other time.
4.  Working it. At the end of the month, I’ll start my research position with a local health policy institute. I’ll be working on two projects: one looks at physical activity programs in US schools, while the other looks at tobacco laws. I’m very much looking forward to this, as these subjects are near and dear to my heart. Just, you know, saving the world. No big deal…
5. Singular Sensation. In February, I’ll be making my journalistic debut in Time Out Chicago’s Singles Issue. Maybe this will lead to a running column on things I’ve thus proven good at failing at… like will-power, or making cookies.

To be sure, these milestones will be dotted with smaller adventures: street fests, trips home, accidentally getting off at the wrong train stop; and icy, winter runs along the lake. 2012 may involve love or loss or luck. It will definitely involve dance parties. And coffee. And, if it’s in the stars, the chance to do it all over again in twelve months time…

I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.

– Henry David Thoreau

Tags: 2012, adventure, Bar Exam, cars, Chicago Marathon, health policy, Henry David Thoreau, hood to coast, literati, online dating, road trip, running, travel

Voyeuristic

“No one ever regarded the First of January with indifference. It is that from which all date their time, and count upon what is left. It is the nativity of our common Adam.” – Charles Lamb

Ah, the retrospective. The time of year when we all take a wizened eye to the months of yore, when those enthusiastic Monday morning quarterbacks call their audibles. I’m a bit late on mine, as I chose to spend the last few days of 2012 with family and friends, high on champagne and tiny little cookies.

3-Story Vonnegut Mural on Massachusetts Ave

More specifically, I spent a few days in Indianapolis, indulging in my first Red State gay bar, wandering the Kurt Vonnegut Memorial Library, and ice skating with my 6 and 9yo nieces. I’m proud to say that I didn’t fall down during ANY of those activities.

Ginger and I had a marvelous catch-up session that involved homemade pizza, three bottles of wine, and approximately six hours of “blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah,” which just about caught us up on the previous three weeks of finals, holidays, etc.

NYE was spent at Best Friend’s, drinking champagne out of a bottle, surrounded by good friends and warm lights. 2011 passed in an unassuming manner, indicative of the past twelve months: a quiet cacophony of inconsequential events.

2011 had its fair share of excitement, to be sure. Let’s recap:

1. Running: My running accomplishments invariably involved others…
   - I managed to convince Brother to run Soldier Field 10 Mile with me. His first real race, the longest distance he’s ever done, and perhaps the world record for longest continuous air-guitar.
   - I ran my first relay – Ragnar Chicago – which began my love for making friends in vans. I am now a proud Ragnar Relay Ambassador, spreading the gospel along Chicago’s lake path.
   - I ran my first 5k pub crawl. Not a running high point – I lost to a baby – but a great time, nonetheless.
2. Career: I entered my final year of law school – the long, strange trip on which I never imagined myself embarking. Highlights included passing the MPRE (certifiably professional and ethical in all 50 states, thankyouverymuch), meeting with legislators on the importance of youth-based running programs, and landing a health policy research gig for the Spring.
3. Friendships. 2011 will be known as the year that I made wonderful friendships via Twitter. That’s not… weird, or anything. While my grandfather speaks of “Navy friends,” 40 years from now, I will tell my grandchildren of Twitter friends. Oh, and the picture they’ll be asking about will probably be an Instagram. Oh, well.
4. Love: While probably not a traditionally successful year, 2011 saw the rise and reemergence of single me. After a few starts and (more notably) stops, I rediscovered the qualities that I had buried or played down in the past. In order to BE yourself, you must first KNOW yourself.  Do what you have to do: scale mountains… Hell, scale fish for all I care. THIS IS IMPORTANT, PEOPLE.

I’m going to be utterly unique* in stating that 2012 will be a great year…

* Not unique. In fact, utterly ubiquitous 

Tags: January, kurt vonnegut, life, literati, New Year's

Unexpected Surprises

I received the most beautiful flowers today. Completely unexpected, they brought a huge smile to my face and reminded me what romance is. They were meant to wish me a happy preemptive New Year’s Eve… and happy it will be.

Tags: flowers, romance, surprises

Stocking Stuffers

Sassafras made me laugh really hard at work today. The kind of thing where you pretend that you’re choking and hope that people don’t see through your poorly-smuggled chortles. I’d like to say that I’ve mastered this as a third-year law student, but I have not. No one even offered to give me the Heimlich. Is the Heimlich passé? What was so funny? Dirty things. Christmas innuendos. ‘Tis the season.

She also gave me great suggestions for local Lebanese options, as my favorite just closed. Any suggestions are welcome. Brother and I need a new sibling dinner spot.

And then she made the mistake of asking how things were going. As a result, she received a tome of feelings. I’m not really a heartless ice queen, I just play one on Twitter. She told me that love meant taking risks. My horoscope told me to take a risk the other day. Ergo, it shall be done. I should really solve all great dilemmas in this way.

This song seemed appropriate… not only is it from Love Actually – one of the few romantic comedies that I can stomach – but it’s about feelings.

Moons and junes and ferris wheels, the dizzy dancing way you feel
As every fairy tale comes real; i’ve looked at love that way.
But now it’s just another show. you leave ‘em laughing when you go
And if you care, don’t let them know, don’t give yourself away.

Tags: Christmas, Joni Mitchell, Lebanese food, love

Singled Out

So I promised you all exciting news once finals were behind me. While those of you who follow me on Twitter (and in real life – wait, what?!) got a sneak peek, I wanted to share with my loyal reader(s) — love ya, mom!

The rumors are true — I have been asked to contribute a story highlighting my experience with online dating to Time Out Chicago’s Singles Issue, which hits stands in February.  I’m incredibly excited for the creative outlet, for the chance to share my experiences, and to talk about myself! I do not claim to be an expert on the subject, nor do I have advice that will land you a mate before Beach Season.  Rather, I have funny stories that seek to humanize the process. Ideally, my experiences will make you feel a little better about giving online dating a try, or telling your friends that you didn’t really meet your boyfriend on a yacht in Portugal, or laughing off yet another uncomfortable coffee date.

To be completely honest, I never expected to be here. I never expected to be a single, mid(ish)-twenty-something. At this point in my life, I expected to be like  so many of my friends: planning weddings, starting families, creeping out friends with TMI pregnancy updates on Facebook. And yet, here I am. At times, it seems daunting – the idea of finding one person out there who appreciates (and tolerates) the quirks; who will stand by you for the next 40, 50, 60 years; whose dreams and passions align with your own; who will hold you, not only in crisis, but also in the highest regard. More daunting that convention holds that I find this person within 30-45 minutes of my neighborhood bar.

While I harbor no illusions that online dating is the medium that will quash this uncertainty, I hold hope that it will continue to expose me to people and possibilities that I never contemplated. If anything, it’s allowed me to poke fun at the process. And, if I know anything, it’s that laughter leaves no room for doubt. Bottoms up.

Tags: Chicago, love, online dating, Singles Issue, Time Out Chicago, writing

Final Call

“I’m in the midst of finals this week,” said the law student who spends her time writing blog posts instead of outlining.

Expect radio silence through the rest of the week. That being said, I have some very exciting news to share once I’m free from the shackles of this semester…