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On Wednesday I gave myself a deadline of 4 o'clock for my school packet. I had to get ready to leave the house to head over to the post office to make sure I was there well before 5, so I could express mail it to my mentor. At 3 pm I was already done. I bummed around a little bit, then took off to mail it. Afterwards I ran lots of little errands, mostly just an excuse to ride my bike all around the neighborhood. Sometimes I went fast, weaving through cars and sneaking through intersections, sometimes I rode more leisurely, nearly sitting upright. I'm getting a better handle for using those clips so my legs don't tire as quickly.
By the time I got home I realized I was exhausted. I had been out and about for nearly three hours but I think the heat is really what sucked all my energy out of me. I spent the rest of the evening working on a translation project for school. Later I realized, damn, why am I still doing schoolwork? Shouldn't I be burnt out and cranky and exhausted? But no, my motor was still running forward and why not go with it? Next thing I knew it was 11 o'clock.
Yesterday I again had the urge to lie on the couch all day eating frozen chocolate bananas, but instead at 9 am I drove the car to the mechanic in Rogers Park, took the train to a thrift store in lakeview, took the train to the old office to meet a former co-worker and we walked to Buckingham Fountain for hot dogs. Then a walk back to the blue line, train to Division, walk to BreadLoad and Stranger's house, then a spontaneous trip with them to another thrift store. I got home yesterday at 6 pm with two huge bags of fabulous finds and another plate of exhaustion. And yet, I couldn't really keep still. It actually required energy to force me to sit and watch a movie. My eyes were droopy but I also wanted to get up and be more active. Go for an evening bike ride. Write a new query. Play a game of Scrabble. Or go completely asleep. I'm still feeling it today. I feel the temptation to go back to bed, but I also have big plans involving my bike and the DMV and more errands. It is such a strange contrast for me -- wanting my power at either zero or 110%. I decided to temper it a little this morning by making myself sit in the chair and drink my mug of coffee and read some meditations. Now I'm here writing a little before I explode off.
I'm tempted to list all my fabulous finds at the thrift store, but don't want to ruin the surprises of what I'm wearing tonight and tomorrow for the Burlesque shows. I will say that thrifting has me so spoiled, but especially going to my favorite thrift stores which are the cheapest. I can't even handle middle of the road thrifting, like ragstock or brown elephant. Why pay 8 dollars for jeans when I can get them for 3 dollars? And don't even talk to me about full price. I'm not sure I will ever be able to buy anything from a regular store again. Old Navy clearance rack seems too frivolous. I mean, I got a new shoulderbag for my laptop, three pairs of pants, five ties, a Kangol hat, and maybe eight shirts for a grand total of $24.
On the plane ride home from Los Angeles, I made a single-serving friend when we bonded over the inflight movie, Dirty Dancing 2. She was on her way to NYC, where she lived and was working as a surgery resident, and somehow thrift stores came up. She said it was hard in New York because all the hip people get all the good stuff early. I said she should do more shopping in Chicago. The hipsters only seem to come out on weekends. I'll have to battle the moms and grandmoms and workingclass guys looking for suits on Monday morning at Unique on half-price day, but I can handle it.
By the time I got home I realized I was exhausted. I had been out and about for nearly three hours but I think the heat is really what sucked all my energy out of me. I spent the rest of the evening working on a translation project for school. Later I realized, damn, why am I still doing schoolwork? Shouldn't I be burnt out and cranky and exhausted? But no, my motor was still running forward and why not go with it? Next thing I knew it was 11 o'clock.
Yesterday I again had the urge to lie on the couch all day eating frozen chocolate bananas, but instead at 9 am I drove the car to the mechanic in Rogers Park, took the train to a thrift store in lakeview, took the train to the old office to meet a former co-worker and we walked to Buckingham Fountain for hot dogs. Then a walk back to the blue line, train to Division, walk to BreadLoad and Stranger's house, then a spontaneous trip with them to another thrift store. I got home yesterday at 6 pm with two huge bags of fabulous finds and another plate of exhaustion. And yet, I couldn't really keep still. It actually required energy to force me to sit and watch a movie. My eyes were droopy but I also wanted to get up and be more active. Go for an evening bike ride. Write a new query. Play a game of Scrabble. Or go completely asleep. I'm still feeling it today. I feel the temptation to go back to bed, but I also have big plans involving my bike and the DMV and more errands. It is such a strange contrast for me -- wanting my power at either zero or 110%. I decided to temper it a little this morning by making myself sit in the chair and drink my mug of coffee and read some meditations. Now I'm here writing a little before I explode off.
I'm tempted to list all my fabulous finds at the thrift store, but don't want to ruin the surprises of what I'm wearing tonight and tomorrow for the Burlesque shows. I will say that thrifting has me so spoiled, but especially going to my favorite thrift stores which are the cheapest. I can't even handle middle of the road thrifting, like ragstock or brown elephant. Why pay 8 dollars for jeans when I can get them for 3 dollars? And don't even talk to me about full price. I'm not sure I will ever be able to buy anything from a regular store again. Old Navy clearance rack seems too frivolous. I mean, I got a new shoulderbag for my laptop, three pairs of pants, five ties, a Kangol hat, and maybe eight shirts for a grand total of $24.
On the plane ride home from Los Angeles, I made a single-serving friend when we bonded over the inflight movie, Dirty Dancing 2. She was on her way to NYC, where she lived and was working as a surgery resident, and somehow thrift stores came up. She said it was hard in New York because all the hip people get all the good stuff early. I said she should do more shopping in Chicago. The hipsters only seem to come out on weekends. I'll have to battle the moms and grandmoms and workingclass guys looking for suits on Monday morning at Unique on half-price day, but I can handle it.
