Thursday, June 30, 2011

Five Things 6/30

I thought this might be a simple way to not forget absolutely everything about my day-to-day situations.

1. The Fourth of July. I love this holiday and am getting really excited for it. I might even attempt to make my own apple pie, as I've been eating a lot of apple strudels. The picture is of Tiny Cherry and Blueberry Star Pies in Jars.

2. Strawberries and chocolate at midnight. So bad for you and I'm not sorry.

3. Outdoor concerts at Pritzker Pavillion. It's behind Millennium Park and one of the best things about Chicago. Especially when it's Glen Hansard. I've been to two so far, but my friends Hal and James and I have been trying to go every week. (We have these weekly events like Thursday night concerts and Sunday morning movies that they make fun of me for never being consistent enough to go to. Hal refers to the concert as "our sporadically attended mutual ambition." Come on, guys, work schedule!) There's one on Monday and one on Thursday. Which actually reminds me that I should check to see what's going on there the other days of the week. There might actually be concerts every single night of the week.

4. Chuck Klosterman. I finally read this article I've been meaning to for a few weeks. I need to get my hands on his books this summer.

A quote from Killing Yourself to Live: 85% of a True Story:

"We all have the potential to fall in love a thousand times in our lifetime. It's easy. The first girl I ever loved was someone I knew in sixth grade. Her name was Missy; we talked about horses. The last girl I love will be someone I haven't even met yet, probably. They all count. But there are certain people you love who do something else; they define how you classify what love is supposed to feel like. These are the most important people in your life, and you’ll meet maybe four or five of these people over the span of 80 years. But there’s still one more tier to all this; there is always one person you love who becomes that definition. It usually happens retrospectively, but it happens eventually. This is the person who unknowingly sets the template for what you will always love about other people, even if some of these loveable qualities are self-destructive and unreasonable. The person who defines your understanding of love is not inherently different than anyone else, and they’re often just the person you happen to meet the first time you really, really, want to love someone. But that person still wins. They win, and you lose. Because for the rest of your life, they will control how you feel about everyone else."

5. "If you don't want to bring an umbrella, it's okay. We'll just run for it if it rains."

Sunday, June 12, 2011

still don't know what love means


a man needs something he can hold on to, a nine-pound hammer or a woman like you. either of them things will do.

Perfect for a Sunday morning. It looks very sunny out and I'm excited to go see a movie with one of my best friends. Early Sunday morning movie? Yes, please.

today I...

montana machu picchu

1) Experienced one of the biggest gyms in Chicago. Since I quit my job at a "premier" gym, I had forgotten what a weird place gyms are. Not weird and unlikeable, necessarily. But definitely weird.

2) Tried to explain what "revolution" means to a 6-year-old. And also failed.

3) Was asked (by same 6-year-old), "Is there water in Arizona?" My answer: "Do you mean a lake or drinking water?" (Why did I ask that, are the answers not the same?) "Water for the people to drink..." Aww, perceptions of Arizona.

4) Ate lunch on someone else's bill as part of "working." Came to the conclusion with a friend who was getting a massage on someone else's bill that it was a good day for poor people.

5) Terrified-ly drove a Mercedes-Benz under extreme pressure. Yes, my life is certainly taking turns for the more bizarre.

6) Met up with one of "my" greatest people for coffee and a catch-up session.

7) Wrote in my journal, "I know that I just told you that there is no wrong way to enjoy things but I'll admit: I will be totally crushed if you don't like this book."

8) Concluded that I am pretty sure your sudden niceness is ruining my life, but good thing my life is non-ruinable.

9) Pondered a question I was asked yesterday by a 4-year-old, "Did you notice that you can cut your hair with a sword?"

10) Looked at my pictures from Peru again. Yes, I went to Peru 10 days ago.

11) Am basking in the disgusting filth that is my apartment because I can't remember what laundry I've done and what I haven't.

Saturday, June 11, 2011

this will be me.

[image from bigBANG studio]

One of my summer goals is to make a quilt-style duvet cover for my bed. Right now, my comforter (I think that's what it is?) doesn't match anything in my room or even come remotely close. The fact that it doesn't come remotely close is the part that bothers me. I have this image in my mind of a few quilts I want to do. I love this yellow and was thinking about doing some sort of gold-yellow with black triangle kind of a thing. I had a reason to try to get it done for early July, but now that that has kind of changed, I think I will just try to finish it by late July, probably.

Friday, June 10, 2011

words we don't say


This is a list of words Kurt Andersen asked his staff not to say when he became the editor of New York Magazine because he found them "annoying." :)

I say "Umm" on the phone a lot to fill in silences so the other person knows I'm still there and thinking of what I'm trying to say. Here's to hoping it doesn't carry over to real life situations.