not with a whimper, but with a BANG

Hello again, internet friends! I know, it's been forever. I missed you too. HEARTS.

Last weekend, I (almost without realizing it) celebrated my one-year anniversary of living in Chicago. I didn't even recognize the milestone until Sunday night, out drinking with friends, I was asked how long I'd been here, and I answered, "Well, about a year now...*pause* Actually, uh, exactly one year now. Like. As of yesterday."

WELP.

It seems only appropriate to mark this occasion with a Useful List (because I am that kind of person, yes, but we knew this already). Thus, without further ado: Ten Things To Know About Your First Year In Chicago.*

a medium-length ramble

begin with the assumption

that you are Enough.

I currently have these words hanging on my wall, above my desk, right next to my computer screen. I hung them there because a) I am one of those people that hangs “inspirational quotes” on my walls; I have hung them on post-its and post-cards and the backs of playbills and the corners of napkins and, when I am feeling particularly strongly, I have occasionally scrawled them on my own skin, in permanent ink so that they stay there long enough that my eyes have memorized their shape by the time they’re gone

And b)

Shameville

The road to Shameville runs thusly.

a lame apology + a video that is the opposite of lame

Hey, guys.

Well, first thing's first - as you've all no doubt noticed, my follow-through could use some work. Like, a lot. Last Wednesday I sat down to write the promised blog post, and my brain froze up like a deer in headlights (and the fact that I hadn't actually done any work that day probably didn't help). You ever get that thing, you know, that really really lame thing, where you're so scared of screwing up that you don't try in the first place?

Yep. That's pretty much my M.O. Am working on it. But it still crops up from time to time. I'm sorry about that, and I'll try to do better moving forward.

ANYway, on to much cooler things, yes?

tech week: day three

Source: Uploaded by user via Lauren on Pinterest

Lately I've been getting a lot of comments along the lines of, "Wow, I love how laid-back you are," and "Thanks for not freaking out about this!" and "Sorry, I'm late/forgot/don't know my shit ... please don't hurt me ... wait, seriously? You're not gonna hurt me?"

Here's the secret, kids: I keep it cool so that when I do give up and break out the Serious Bizness face, you will know that it is Serious Bizness Time For Freaking Real.
Seriously.
Because if I should ever actually lose it, it must be important - right?

a quick look backwards

Hello, friends!

Well, here we are, just a couple of days from 2012. I thought for awhile about trying to pull together some kind of Best-Of post, but honestly, my year wasn't nearly that simple.

hope?

Source: bitsotruth.blogspot.com via Lauren on Pinterest

But the real question is, how much do my professors really care about "trying" vs. "succeeding"?

It's been a rotten week for grades, friends. But hey - at least it's Friday!