Re: Fingers Crossed and Other Pet-Peeves

A gal I went to elementary school and junior high with wrote a blog recently about how it irks her when couples don’t  get married thinking that it’s forever.  At first, I agreed with her.  Mainly because most young couples don’t realize how difficult marriage is and how much work it really takes and they should think they love each other enough to beat the odds.  Be prepared to put a million times more into your marriage than you ever put into your dating relationship.
But then, I started wondering if it’s the smart ones that go into their marriage with the realization that half of all marriages don’t succeed.  I suppose there are two types of those people.  People who are just keeping it real and people who are using the thought as an excuse for divorce.

I suppose I can’t say what’s right for everyone or which mindset works better at keeping your marriage and your sanity afloat.  I just know that being married is the most difficult and the most wonderful thing I have ever undertaken.  While I may not put as much into my marriage as I should sometimes, I know it definitely deserves the most attention in my life as it is the one thing I have that will outlast school, jobs, and friendships.

I can’t tell you if I got married thinking I was getting married forever.  I sure hope so, but the reality is there was no way I could make a completely informed decision on the topic as I had no idea what marriage really was.  In fact, I’m still figuring it out.  I can tell you now, however, that I’m married forever.  From the good days to the bad months to the good years through the fights and any marriage counseling it takes.  My husband is my soul mate not because he’s fated to be so, but because I’ve decided he is. 🙂

❤

Karl and a Documentary

It’s a chilly morning in Chicago and Starbucks has their Christmas decoration up. 🙂  They’re very pretty and festive.  My favorite!  I opted to wear my old winter coat today because it matched my outfit better and to my pleasant surprise, it was much needed on my way to class this morning.

I’m taking a quick break from my newest short story.  Maybe I’ll see this one through to the end?  I don’t even care if I send it out for publication, I just feel like I never get around to finishing my stories.  This one is different though.  I usually write from the point of view of a younger woman (who knew?) and this story centers around Karl Swanson who is an older man in his 50’s or so.  It’s kind of fun being someone completely different.
Lukasik has us writing short fiction scenes right now and last week’s completely blew.  It’s also up for critique today.  The last thing I had critiqued was my creative nonfiction and it was very well received.  But this one… I’m dreading class…
This week, however, I’m using her strict guidelines to expand Karl Swanson’s story.  It should be interesting.

We’ve been watching a documentary in sociology about the United States, wars, defense spending, capitalism, and the like called Why We Fight.  Google Video features the entire thing if you have 99 minutes.  It really is interesting.  The whole thing was a little heart-breaking as it really showed me that I can, quite obviously, no longer live in my positive and trusting world.  How does someone handle this?  It’s not a change necessarily as I have always opposed war and the privatization of war and government spending, but the fact that soon I’m slowly becoming more against the government I’ve grown up watching.  Even more difficult is the fact that my sister and dad both served in the military and I in no way want to do them any disservice by my desire to protest all that is militant and government.
We debated in political science last week the U.S.’s refusal to join to International Criminal Court and whether that was a wise idea.  I very much believe the U.S. puts enough into global affairs and global domination that they need to be held accountable for the acts they carry out.
As often as I feel like my school goes against the government to a fault, sometimes I appreciate their presentation of information that I probably wouldn’t get elsewhere.
But who am I, right?  Just another liberal college student. 😉

Meanwhile, Alice and Bella are celebrating their 2nd birthday today. =)  My babies are growing up.

Karl Swanson beckons.  ❤

Loving My Masala Chai Tea

I am a tea enthusiast.  That’s right, I said it.

I was on my way home tonight when 6 very loud teenage girls stepped into my train car.  The whole car collectively let out a not so discrete groan. 😉 Of course.  I pointedly broke my number one train rule and put in my second earbud hoping to drown out the screaming and laughing.  It didn’t work.  Recognizing that I was once an irritating teenager as well (and still am on occasion), I consoled myself with the fact that the chalkboard labels that I ordered from Etsy were sitting in my mailbox waiting for an evening of organizational labeling.

organizing things makes me happy. 🙂

While finally putting order to my loose leaf tea collection, I decided make myself a pot of the Masala Chai tea I bought at Woodman’s a couple months ago.  I hadn’t tried it yet as I don’t normally like Chai tea and have been putting it off.  This one is surprisingly delicious though.  There’s a faint hint of cinnamon and citrus.  It’s not too strong and not at all bitter.  Win.
Not surprisingly, it doesn’t surpass the deliciousness of the new peach oolong that I bought from Special Teas .  It’s full of peach chunks… Mmmm. 🙂

Anywho, I love that picture and thought I’d share. 🙂

Off to Raymond Carver’s “What We Talk About When We Talk About Love.”  Yay…. 😉

Burning Out

It’s official.  I’m completely burned out for the semester.  How do I know?  Monday’s Starbucks time feels like Thursday’s night class…
I got great sleep last night, but my brain is fried.  Too much political talk, too much reading, too much (*gasp*) writing.  I haven’t carried my journal with me in over a week…
Jeremy and I sat on the couch last night with a movie on (I have absolutely no idea what we watched) and instead of working on Christmas presents or Etsy stuff, Jeremy and I were working on Snuggles blankets for the Chicago Animal Shelter that we adopted Alice and Bella from…  Why?  Because they’re easy and I really need to destash.  In an effort to avoid my homework yesterday afternoon, I tore my office apart to try and find a place for all that extra yarn that’s been piling up in anticipation of Christmas gifts.  That didn’t happen.  Now I just have piles of yarn that Bella is probably gleefully rolling in now that she’s home alone with it…  ugh…

In other news, I finished my second sweater a couple weeks ago, but have yet to post pictures.  The pattern is called “$5 in Paris” and was written by a fellow blogger.   She’s pretty interesting.  I’ve been following her blog since I found the pattern on Ravelry as she’s got all kinds of neat patterns and just had twin boys that are still in the hospital. 😦
Anywho, here’s my $5 in Chicago….
I’ll make a size smaller next time and maybe add some waist decreases, but for only costing $5 in yarn, I’m happy with it. 😉

My next sweater is a version of an American Eagle sweater that I don’t want to buy…  It’s coming along.  I’ve decided to name it my “Mochalone” and it will be the first sweater pattern I’ve written for myself.  Exciting?  You betcha.
I read somewhere that most sweater knitters knit about 8 sweaters a year.  I’ve finished two adult sizes, 3 baby sizes and am currently working on 2 adults with 3 adults and 1 Calli size in the plans… Looks like I’m becoming an above average sweater knitter. 🙂

I’m thinking about setting up another blog purely for our Etsy store.  Just a little forewarning… 🙂  Extra promoting never hurts, especially now that collar sales have taken off and Becky has those super cute birds listed.

Meanwhile, I’m going to continue on my quest to not lose my mind before Thursday as I have a week without classes coming up.  I’ll be baking, sewing, knitting, cleaning, reading, and writing and I’m looking forward to it more than I’ve ever looked forward to a break before….  Just keep sane, just keep sane…

Life, Ugh…

I’ve been in a little bit of a bad mood today.  I decided it was imperative to use one of my Jasmine Tea Blossoms that I bought in China since I finally have a glass mug to show it off.

I rarely use them, and even now can’t bring myself to finish the last little bit as the flower will crumple and such.  I’ll spend the rest of the day looking at it and then have to throw it away and the end of the day and it will be sad.

Why is my mood so poor today?  I’m worried about graduation.  I’m worried about what I’m going to do with my life after graduation.  5 years of college still hasn’t given me the slightest idea of something I can feasibly do.  I know what I want to do.  I want to teach literature and English to kids in other countries.  I want to write a book.  I want to knit.  I want to travel.  Each of those lofty goals requires me to wait, patient or impatient as I may be.

I was sitting in Sociology today, surfing around online as usual, when Professor Robert had us get into groups to discuss the movie we’ve spent the past week watching.  Its all about Jamaica’s economy and use/enslavement by the International World Bank and the World Trade Organization.  I have mixed views on those organizations, but I’m afraid between Political Science and Sociology this semester, my views are swinging into the negative as more underdeveloped countries are being used for production as the developed countries get ahead.  What really gets me is that these countries are slowly losing the rich cultures that have made them unique since the dawn of time.

But, that movie is neither here nor there right now.  I grouped up with Renée Farwell, who has spent an amazing amount of time in Ghana teaching, volunteering, and starting an organization that will care for and educate orphaned children.  Jealous.  This girl is seriously amazing.  She’s younger than me and has already begun this amazing adventure in her life.  She’ll graduate this spring and head back to Ghana to be with the kids whose lives she’s quickly changing.  She’s currently selling beaded bracelets the kids are making in order to fund the building of their new school.  How cute is that?

I’ve now realized that I am epically jealous and that knitting blankets for animal shelters, while still useful, in no way compares to the difference some people are able to make in the lives of others.
It makes me feel useless, like my life in no way is contributing to the good of mankind.   I have a desperate need to contribute.  Soon.

Do You Know Where Your Scissors Are?

Because this guys does! 😉

Scissor holster, alright.. 😉

And that is all I have for you right now.  Working on a short fiction scene for Lukasik.  Not happy with it. 😦

My Weekend, In a Nutshell

Do you ever have those weekends when you feel like you have a ton to get done and you have the motivation to do so, but nothing really ever gets done?  That’s my weekend so far.  Even with the extra hour (which, I confess, I used to get some extra sleep), my apartment is still a mess, I haven’t made my new duvet cover, I have a pile of laundry to do, I still have hours of homework waiting for me in my office…. blargh…

We took a trip to IKEA yesterday because we needed a new Duvet.  I’ve had mine since I was 14, and who knows how long we’d had it before then.  Our bedroom and, subsequently, the cats are covered in feathers every time we wash our sheets.  Not to mention, Jeremy and I have had quite enough of fighting over our queen size blanket every night.  So we bought a king.  Unfortunately, though, we have yet to find a sheet set we like so I’m going to make a duvet and some shams and we’ll go from there.  We’ve been scouring fabric stores all weekend and I think we may have found something at JoAnn’s this morning, but I’ll keep you updated.

The kittens are turning 2-years-old in 10 days and we finally decided on a present for them.  Well, it’s really more for Alice, but Boo might like it as well…
Introducing Mr. P: 3rd Edition!

Cute, eh? 😉
Alice may be ditsy, but it’s the simple things in life that amuse her. 🙂

And now we’re off to do dishes, clean some fish tanks, mop the floor, and a mess of other things… I really do love clean apartments, I swear… 🙂

The Bohemian

Every Monday around noon, a little old lady cuts through the Starbucks from the DePaul University lobby to the street.  She crosses Wabash confidently and shuffles southward.  Once or twice she has ordered a coffee and sat down and tried to engage those around her in a conversation.  She always manages to sit near business men and women who are reading their papers or in a meeting and therefore receives very little response from them.  That’s probably why she doesn’t do it very often.  She seems lonely.

She looks like the kind of person who was petite in her youth.  She couldn’t have been more than 5 feet, 5 inches tall.  She was probably considerably shorter than that.  Her shoulders are hunched in a way that suggests advanced osteoporosis. She walks with a determined shuffle, no limping, no cane.  She always wears a patterned skirt that reminds me of older immigrant ladies from an Eastern European nation.  Her headscarf is colorful in a bohemian kind of way.  Blues, reds, purples, and a little yellow wrap themselves around her very wispy, thin, grey hair.  Her eyes are dark and hard, her nose long and pointed.  Age- and sun-spots cover much of her pale, wrinkled face.  She always carries a small shopping bag and a tan, nondescript purse.

I bet she’s lived in Chicago her whole life.  Or maybe she immigrated here at a young age.  She raised her family who all went on to become lawyers and doctors and moved to other states.  She’s outlived her husband.  She’s seen the city rise and change.  She’s probably someone who isn’t phased by today’s culture.  She carries on and does as she has always done.  I bet she’s a strong lady.  She would have to be, right?  What does she do every Monday morning that brings her to this Starbucks?  Where does she go when she leaves here?  Maybe she goes to the park to read and feed the pigeons?  Maybe she’s having breakfast with her only son who decided stayed close to home.  Maybe she’s coming from her home in Ukrainian Village and going to China town.  Maybe the different culture intrigues her and she has more time to spend now that she’s grown older.

Where ever she’s coming from and where ever she’s going, I’m sure she has a lifetime of stories to tell.  Stories of heartbreak, of new life, of hope, of prosperity.  She could probably write a book about her life.  Will anyone ever care to hear it?