Oh, Talking to Strangers, it’s been a good long while. Just over eleven months since I’ve posted anything on this blog. There are so many directions in which I could point a finger, but the truth is, this is not the time or place for finger-pointing. Since March, time and again I’ve sat in front of a blinking cursor – typing and erasing – struggling to wrestle my thoughts into sentences, my anxieties into paragraphs, my fears into phrases, to…
Over the past few weeks, Several people – many of whom I’ve not seen in months – have asked me if I’m still writing. I haven’t quite known how to answer that question. Yes, I’ve written a little in the past sixth months, although none of it has made it to this blog. In June and July, in the hopes of jumpstarting my writing and finding some inspiration, I took a course through The University of Chicago’s Writer’s Studio entitled…
Three or four years ago, I went on a Tinder date with a man I fell for – hard and fast as they say. It was an ambitious first date, as Tinder dates went and perhaps still go. I met him near his apartment, a bag packed with cubed cheese, sliced fruit, mediocre rosé, and bug spray slung over my shoulder #semperparatus. It was late July, and the night was seasonably warm. I’d worn white shorts and a powder blue…
When I moved into my first apartment, I had exactly zero furniture. The first night I actually lived there, I sat on the ground and ate falafel sandwiches from Sultan Market in a giddy display of what I believed to be adult grit and fortitude. Eventually, I furnished my home with an eclectic mix of hand-me-downs, Goodwill gems, incomprehensible Ikea finds, and my pìece de résistance: my couch. I spent weeks looking for the perfect sofa. I scoured the Internet,…
In case you haven’t heard, a polar vortex of record severity has taken over much of the Midwest. As I type, the temperature outside hovers somewhere around twenty degrees below zero – without the wind chill. I ventured out twice today, in two pair of pants, two scarves, a burrito coat, wool socks and…you get the idea. Each time, I tottered down the icy sidewalk for about thirty feet – just enough for my dog to relieve herself and then…
Two weeks ago yesterday, I made a trip to PetSmart for dog food. I ended up spending $150 on a dog bed, some new dog toys, miscellaneous dog paraphernalia, and a plaid collar with a sparkly bow for Flannery to wear to the Christmas party I was planning for the following weekend. Upon arriving home, I hauled half the stuff upstairs, leaving the sixteen-pound bag of dog food and the fluffy dog bed at the base of the stairs. I…
Last Monday, I reported for jury duty at the Cook County Criminal Court, located at 26th and California. As far as jury duty goes, it’s probably the location Cook County residents least want to be summoned to, but it’s ten minutes from my home so I tried to look on the bright side. Anyone who knows me will not be surprised to hear that before pulling into the parking garage and walking into the imposing brick behemoth of a building,…
Yesterday, I started a piece about my day spent volunteering at the PAWS medical center on 26th and Drake. It was going well, but as I was writing it, I realized that I was avoiding writing about the stuff that has really been bothering me. I was taking the easy way out by writing about shelter dogs because who doesn’t love a real Sarah McLachlan tear-jerker post mid-week? I also realized that I was writing about shelter dogs because helping…
I went to mass on Sunday. This should not be a surprising fact, but it was the first time I had been to mass in over a month. Granted, two of those weeks I was traveling, and one I was caring for an injured friend, but still. I had fallen down hard on my Catholic obligation and it felt good to sit in a pew. In Sunday’s gospel, Jesus commanded his apostles to go out in pairs to cast out…
Three days ago, my family made the decision to put our almost fifteen-year-old dog down. It was absolutely the right decision – his body was riddled with arthritis, he was often incontinent, and he couldn’t get comfortable sitting, standing, or lying down. His eyes were still bright, but they were tired, and over the last three weeks or so, he started to tell us it was time. We talked about it for weeks, and last weekend, we decided what day…