I was sitting on Karla’s balcony last night enjoying the last night at her place.  I had had a relaxing day and was thinking back over the last week and why it is that I seem to be drawn to a big city.  Certainly there is a noise factor that can’t be called appealing – and yet it has its own rhythm.  Neil Diamond wrote a song about this back in the 70′s and there is a certain consolation in the noises: trains, cars, boats, and occasionally people (Karla’s condo is pretty high up…so not a lot of vocal noises get up there).  I was actually more struck by the noise this time around than I was last year when I stayed here.  There is also no shortage of light in a city: every single building has its own “light branding” that is unique and in its own way this contributes to the beauty of a large city.

What draws me in completely to a big city is the possibility: the possibility of being anonymous; the possibility of becoming something else or other; the possibility of witnessing greatness; the endlessness of possibility itself.  Cities attract diversity and culture.  The allow one to experience something beyond one’s self and culture and to share in a human experience that would otherwise remain unknown.  We are all far more alike than we are different and yet the differences are what become pronounced in places like big cities.  I think this is the draw for me.  The opportunity to travel without going anywhere.  And Chicago is a city that is for more cultural and cosmopolitan than any other place that I have lived.  Chicago is a city that is old and set in its ways and in many cases this is to its advantage.  I know where Greek town is, and China town and Polish-town….and therefore know where to go to experience those cultures and in particular – food. 

This is also the disadvantage because going on one of these excursions alone is intimidating.  There is often times a language barrier and a perception barrier that prevents us from making those treks into unknown territory.  Sometimes it is actually physically unsafe for us to venture into a new part of town.  But all in all, experiencing a small taste of another person’s culture is a true gift – one that should not be ignored or pushed aside out of fear of being uncomfortable.

With all this being said, however, I will be glad to return to my suburban life and to a routine that is somewhat more “normal” for me.  My class begins this week and so I will be once again steeped in academia and the pressure to “make the grade”.  Karla, if you are reading this, thank you for allowing me a week away from my “normal” and for the chance to experience some of what is your “normal”.  The opportunity was much appreciated.  (I’m also very sorry about your plants….some of them may not have survived a week with me and for that I am truly sorry.  I will be more than happy to reimburse David for any such failings on my part.)

Part of my “Hobo Experiment” is to live in as many different friend’s houses as possible.  (Not really, but it sure feels like this is what I’m doing.)  This week I’m staying at Karla’s house and she lives in Chicago.  Literally downtown Chicago.  On the Chicago river.  Amazing views.  (Posted this picture the last time I stayed here.)  Karla has become a very dear friend to me – almost like an older sister – one with much more refined taste and one that has far better organizational skills than I have.

So I’m staying here and taking the train.  Not too bad, really.  There is a romantic image that I seem to have about commuters.  They seem to have all this time available to read, catch up on email, knit and who knows what else.  The truth is, I don’t really find this to be true.  Let’s examine the facts.

1. Taking public transportation is good and I think everyone should do it.  This is good.
2. Taking public transportation is extremely time consuming.  Trains tend to be somewhat predictable, buses less so.  It takes time to walk to the train/bus stop and it takes time to wait for the train/bus.  Then it takes time to commute because you have a million and one stops to make before you get to your ultimate destination.  All of this adds up to time.  Which translates into getting up earlier in the morning and getting home later in the afternoon because you are taking too much time to walk and wait for trains and buses.  This is bad.
3. Taking public transportation is also expensive – and I’m not just talking about all the tickets and fares.  I’m wearing out my tennis shoes because of all the walking.  I can only imagine how many pairs I would go through if I did this all the time.  This is bad.
4. Taking public transportation is healthy.  I generally find this to be true – at least healthy in the sense that I’m getting a good cardiovascular workout 2 times a day.  This is good.
5. Taking public transportation is detrimental to my health.  Because of all the walking that I’m doing my knee has developed a minor inflammation – which basically means that it hurts all the time.  This is bad.
6. Taking public transportation is also detrimental to breathing.  Chicago – being a great and lovely city – is also filled with a great amount of car/train/bus/truck/boat/plane/people emissions.  This means that I’m breathing in about 13.7 times the amount of pollution that I usually breathe in.  This is bad.
7. Taking public transportation is invigorating.  I’m actually forced to get out and walk twice a day (albeit a short 4-block walk) and I get to breathe in the nice, fresh air.  This is good.
8. All in all, by the time I actually get on the train, either in the morning or the afternoon, I am so exhausted from getting up early, walking 4 blocks, sitting around waiting, and rubbing down my knee because it hurts that I can’t do anything on the train but sit and stare out the window as if I am in a trance.  I can’t sleep for fear of missing my stop, I’m too tired to read and too exhausted to study.  This is bad.
9. But, there has to be something said for all the walking that I’m doing.  This is good.

So you see, I just don’t understand how people do this all the time.  I really commend Teryn for being the public transportation super-guru that she is.  I totally admire her for this, cause let’s face it:  I’m not cut out for this type of lifestyle.  (But for a week, anything is possible!)

and I’m a FarmTown-aholic.  It began about a month ago.  A simple little Facebook game - one that I could share with some friends.  But then it became too much for me.  The pressure to expand, to earn points, to work on other people’s farms – has become too much.  I started playing in the morning before work, then started playing during my lunch hour (except for Tuesdays, my knitting days, because nothing – not even FarmTown can usurp knitting….yet) and this week expanded to after work as well.  Last night I hit rock bottom.  I planted a crop that peaked at 6 PM and then had a 4 hour harvesting time….and I forgot to harvest…..until after 10 when I went to bed.  I didn’t even think twice: I got up, out of bed, and harvested my grapes field (I did manage to harvest them on time, thankfully).  The same nearly happened tonight.  I’m out of control and I don’t know how to stop.

I have to also admit that I’ve even had dreams (for real) about how inadequate my farm is compared to some of my friends.  This may be a separate issue – feelings of farm inadequacy – but I fear that it is all related somehow.  Not sure how to overcome this one either.

Anyway, thank you for listening.  Here is a picture of my lovely farm.  I’ve hidden all the trees…but you get the idea.

1. Go to work on a Monday.
2. Spend one extra night in Plainfield and then have to be on the road by 4:30 AM so that I could beat the traffic and rain to work (which I did).
3. Answer my phone today.
4. Walk out to the lighthouse at the edge of the breakwater ledge thingie in Waukegan, ’cause then I had to walk back.
5. Post all my thoughts openly here on my blog, ’cause then my parents read them. 
6. Eat ice cream for dinner.  (I actually did eat a hot dog as well, but there was far more ice cream than hot dog so I consider the ice cream the main dish and the hot dog the dessert (yuck!))  (But, since I did walk all the way out to the end of the Waukegan breakwater (which seems like a mile but is probably only 1/3 of a mile), I feel that I walked some of the ice cream off.  At least this is what I’m telling consoling myself with.)

Life is chugging rather quickly right now.  August is the busiest time of year on a college campus – welcoming back returning students, getting new students settled and all offices up and running properly.  All this activity places a high demand on my services, which is to make sure that all staff on campus has the data that they need.  Ugh! Not an easy task by any means.  To top it all off, I have been doing some “moonlighting” at Trinity in their graduate admissions office.  Double ugh!  But that’s neither here nor there – its all just work.

There is no news to report on the house.  All of my loan stuff is in, everything is ready to go, just waiting for the bank to accept/reject my offer.

In the meantime, I’ve been thinking about decorating. (Dad, yes, I’ve moved into the house in my head and am settling down nicely.  Sorry.)  Actually, my decorating ideas could apply to any house…so this is really  more just excitement over the simple fact of owning a house.  I really like the look of wainscoting in the dining room, so I will do that at some point.  I’m also thinking about color schemes – colors that will work together as you move from room to room. 

I was also telling my small group last night that one of the things that I am most looking forward to is just the freedom of single occupancy.  I can sing and dance ’till I’m blue in the face and won’t have to worry about someone coming home or the neighbors hearing me.  The other really exciting thing that I’m looking forward to is trying out some new things like canning.  I plan on having a small garden (don’t laugh, it’s possible!) and canning some of the food that I grow (seriously – STOP laughing at me – let me dream for a moment here!).  There are a few blogs that I’ve been following lately by women who do such things and the thought really intrigues me.

That’s all that’s been going on here.  When I start to finalize some of my painting colors, I’ll post them up here.  Toodles!

I DID NOT BUY YARN.  I did NOT buy yarn.  I DID not buy yarn.  I did not BUY yarn.  I did not buy YARN.

Got it?  My Dad called me on Saturday when I just so happened to be in a yarn store, but for the purpose of looking only.  And he doesn’t believe me.  And so I say: I did not buy yarn.

Dad, this is a phenomena called “window shopping” except that I was actually in the store and not outside looking in.  It costs nothing and I get to touch all the lovely yarns.  I believe that this type of “shopping” is a good and healthy alternative to entirely depraving myself of any new yarn experiences and then helplessly splurging, and it helps me to hone in on what my next project will be.  This is called “planning ahead” – and it is done because I am on a budget.  I am on a budget because I want to buy a house and it has been stressed to me that responsible home ownership = “responsible” spending = budgeting.

Therefore, I say to all of you who have patiently read this whole post: I did not buy yarn.

(I did think about it, but that is another story).

On to more earth shattering news.  I am more than half way to finishing the wedding gift project for Julie.  I am also a mere 10 rows shy of finishing my first pair of socks (finally).  I should have pictures soon of the socks.