Work Spaces

Since semester's end, I've been working on projects from home. Mainly a book review, and editing friends' manuscripts and stories. I've probably said that a million times by now. If I repeat something enough, I'll end up adhering to it. That's how it works, right?

My sunroom has been poorly neglected since I moved in to my apartment on the northside. It's kinda grungy, if you can't tell from the photo. The table and chair are my mother's from when she lived in Moscow (Vermont, not in Russia. That would be a cooler story, but the one in the 802 is a small, minuscule town outside of Stowe). It's been a nice breezy place to work in the mornings since the sun doesn't hit this side until 1 pm. Everyone's flowers are blooming in the neighborhood, and lilac has been the top scent for the past few days. Currently listening to: Modern Vampires of the City and feeling pretty damn great.

Pre-Summer Favorites

This works best in my hair. Finally! It took me twenty years.

I'm not really one for buying tops, I never think of getting shirts or blouses until it's too late. I don't fit into a lot of what I own anymore, and most of what I had turned in to running clothes. But, I got some red-hot shorts for summer and this skirt for $10 at h&m on sale, as well as the shoes.  And of course, I can't go long without finding books that I have to buy. More books. I think that's all I show on here. Well, back to watching Copper and reading. Amongst other things.

 

Sweet Quinoa

Ever since I found out I had a gluten intolerance, quinoa has been a savoir for my diet. It's full of protein and tastes pretty great if you season it correctly. My mother used to get Eating Well since I was about eight, which is where the recipe for these almond butter- quinoa blondies are from; these are completely lactose-free as well. I used Earth Balance and dairy-free chocolate chips, although I did use eggs so they're not vegan. Their recipes can be hit or miss, but this hits the spot. I have a hard time finding desserts that taste decent. I didn't grind the quinoa up enough for the flour, which is part of the problem--mine are pretty grainy and you crunch on it sometimes. But other than that, they taste fine. I've been eating almond butter sandwiches with the leftover jar I bought at Trader Joe's. My heart's still with peanut butter, but I'll manage. Other than that, I've been catching up on Mad Men (what's going on in this season) and watched the new Arrested Development and Top of the Lake on Netflix. Time to start the real work, grow up. Have to make money so I can pay for those hundred dollar 30 day CTA passes this summer. For Memorial Day I'm headed down to LaGrange to hang out with a few friends, just hope it doesn't rain on us. I'm going to order a huge salad for dinner, all I ate yesterday were chips and popcorn. Oy. 

I've been drinking a lot of flax milk recently. It's less thick than almond.

I don't own a food processor (yet) so I used a coffee grinder instead.

Three Years Time

Sometimes we just need a change. Can you believe it's been three years since I cut my hair this short?

Blood, Kafka and some Rivers

Finally over the end of semester blues. In the end of August, I'll have been in Chicago for two years, and just one for how long I've lived in my apartment. Not to be hoagy, but time does go by a lot faster when you're not waiting for it. 

This week I'm left applying for jobs (I know--I should have been more proactive about it) and filling out cover letters for internships, as well. I have the entire week to do that, fit in some interviews and slip in some time to hang out with friends. I'm going to spend time this morning completely glued to my laptop. Since I've gotten my own office space, I find myself working more and more. Which, I feel pretty good about.

Here are some books I've got on ye-olde summer list. I'm currently breezing through Blood Meridian, which kind of makes me want to drop everything in Chicago and move out west with a few hundred in my back pocket, buy a beat up old mule and ride through the desert. But you know, that's not going to happen.  If anyone has any reading suggestions, please feel free to leave any. I'm open to anything.

Summer Resolutions

I was inspired by this video and although it's a few weeks after it's been up, I've been thinking about it ever since. Ways to better myself, to make sure I'm doing the best that I can, and to just better myself on a whole. So: here it is. Hopefully, my intentions putting it on here will help me stick to what it is that I hope to accomplish.

• Be nicer to people, and be optimistic about those I've just met.
• Healthier life choices: don't drink the entire bottle of wine, just because. Save it for later, for another dinner, for another time.
• Exercise every day. It makes me feel better, and I've let it slip because I had so much work, and that affected my daily life in a huge way.
• Don't laze around, get up, get going early and enjoy the sunshine. Or rain, or whatever.
• Write everyday. Take time to work on your own as well as giving feedback on others.
• Go out more, although that's hindered for a few reasons. Find ways to get around that.
• Make a tighter budget, follow that strictly. But also treating myself when I need it. Like buying a pair of cute heels.

I slept for 10 hours for the first time in a long time.

It's one of those mornings where the air is damp and chilly, and I'm in a sweater waiting for it to rain. Since a couple of weeks ago, I've started living alone, everything I own spread in the three habitable rooms in my apartment. It makes you feel thin and stretched out. But once I started taking all of my school and paper work out of my bedroom and moving it into what's now my office, everything's starting to feel in place. The emptiness is something I still have to get used to, without another person living here. That and I need to get shelves and filing cabinets. My books are piled up on the opposite wall of where I'm sitting, all of my old binders and notebooks shoved in the corner to the right of my desk.

Yesterday was my last day of work and school. I still have to drop off some student folders and a final assignment that my class had an extension on. Then I'm going to wander around Manifest (our college's end of the year celebration/showcase of student work) until five, and then I'm meeting up with a friend for some dinner. Then after that, a housewarming party. It's a busy day to say the least.

Summer's usually when I like to busy myself with a lot of work, personal and job-wise. Which, I'm still looking for at the moment. Every summer when I apply for a new one, I'm reminded about how aggressively you need to put yourself out there. Trying not to stress out too much about it, something will come. My music's too loud, I should probably go turn it down. I have a few of my friends' manuscripts that I'm going over and then a book review to work on.

I guess what I was mainly going to write about was something a classmate said of mine. I need to "be kind to my writing" over break. This past semester I kind of let my personal writing slip, I paid more attention to working with my tutees and spent more time on my internship. With that said, I pushed out a lot of material, but I guess the best realization I've had this semester has been wanting to teach. No real writing breakthroughs. Next fall I'm taking a Practice Teaching: Classroom course, along with a publishing one and my regular Advanced Fiction. Everything's crunching down. I have a year and a half left to study. That's kind of terrifying now that I think about it. But there we have it.