see as i saw

I've mentioned it before, but I hold tight as long as I can before turning on my air conditioning.  At the present moment, it's 93 degrees and I haven't caved.  Somehow I've managed to make it feel like a challenge, like I don't want to lose to my body's biological need to cool down.  Ultimately, I know I'll give in when the afternoon sunlight starts pouring in my west-facing windows, ratcheting the discomfort level up to unbearable.

As much as I prefer fresh air to conditioned air, it sometimes amazes me that I grew up in a house devoid of the option to synthetically decrease the temperature.  We subsisted on keeping the shades closed, fans of various types (ceiling, oscillating, attic), and the sprinkler in the backyard.  That was the glory of being a kid and living in suburbia.  During those summer days, there was no reason I couldn't live in my bathing suit and frolic in the icy hose water at any time I pleased.  I have this inclination that it would go over a little differently if I brought that trend back to life outside of my urban dwelling...at the age of 28.

Although it's not technically summer, I feel confident in qualifying any day hovering around 90 degrees as summertime.  As stifling as those days can feel, I still have a difficult time succumbing to air conditioning.  The warm and sunny weather seems so fleeting in the Midwest that I try to appreciate it, even when sweat is dripping down my back.  Plus, I've learned not to underestimate the power of a shady spot on a hot day.  And the best hot summer days end in cool summery nights.

Today was one of those days, spent in the glory of Pure Michigan.  It's no secret that I have a soft spot for my home state.  The older I get, and the longer I live away from here, the more I learn to appreciate the little things that I've always loved.  There's a simple pleasure in driving at night, windows down, the smell of summer air whipping in the windows.  Mom & pop ice cream places with only a walk-up window, willing to sell me a decent portion of soft serve for under $2.00.  And the even smaller details: the smell of hose water on a hot concrete driveway, complete strangers acknowledging each others' existence when they pass on the sidewalk, and there's even something about country music from the late 90s while driving down a dirt road.

Don't worry, Chicago, I still love you.  And when winter rolls around, even Pure Michigan commercials are virtually powerless.  My allegiances head south; not Florida-style snowbird south, but Latin America south.  So many love affairs.

 This morning I received one of the many types of weekly emails sent out by LinkedIn.  It was pointing me toward top news articles, one of which was titled "The Six Enemies of Greatness (and Happiness)".  I decided to bite and clicked my way over to Forbes.com to read it.  The article was short, sweet and to the point.  At the end, they proposed that you participate in their survey: Which do you think is the biggest obstacle of the six?

From my own battles to uncover happiness (and maybe some greatness, too), I could've named the culprit without the list.  Comfort...a.k.a. the rut.  Apparently the general survey-taking public was in agreement with me.

Clearly I took a big step out of my comfort zone when I left the conventional cubicle world for international traipsing.  I was proud of myself, because even though it was the best decision for me, it wasn't easy at any point in time.  Yet, I may be even more proud of myself now.  It would've been so easy to come back from that and give in to the allure of traditional comfort.  Instead, I'm keeping my focus on the reasons I left it in the first place and trying to find the right direction.

Being uncomfortable is not always easy, but it also isn't half bad.

An addendum to yesterday's post: I found a second use for my homemade chocolate syrup.  Coffee.  I haven't been to Starbucks in over a month, thanks to my new AeroPress coffee habit.  Now, there's no need to long for my $3.50 mocha.  I am suitably pleased with my Trader Joe's Costa Rican Tarrazu and homemade chocolate syrup.  I haven't done any test drives on iced coffee at home yet; we'll have to wait and see on that front.

I got a little stir crazy late this afternoon, but didn't feel like wandering too far from home.  That's when the zoo and it's lack of an admission fee come in handy.  The display of actual animals was rather meager, thanks to temperatures barely tipping 50 degrees, but I still found plenty of interesting focal points.  This photo is an attempt to marry the subjects of animals and inanimate objects.  The camel chewing on the fence was a really close contender for the coveted April 23rd slot though.

True story: I had no idea there was a squirrel in this photo until ten minutes ago when I opened it.  I didn't have the heart to crop him out.  And I hadn't even intended this to be today's photo, but he just deserved to be featured after he crept into the frame with such stealth mode.

In addition to my miles of daily legwork, wandering around the city, I took some other steps today that were a bit more metaphorical.  Three hours of sifting and bookmarking resulted in twelve "opportunities" to take into consideration.  The quotation marks seem necessary, because none of them are options that made me stand up, throw my arms in the air, and yell, "YES!".  That said, they are a collection of part-time office coordinator jobs, freelance writing assignments, and even a six-month copywriting gig in Peru (targeted more toward recent college grads, but hey).  They are all things that could bring in some dough, help me narrow my focus and direction, but not necessarily require a commitment.  Next step, actually tossing out résumés and seeing if anything sticks.

In honor of the Puppy Bowl that I will not be able to watch, I bring you this little dude.  I don't know his name, but he's a regular on the beach where I park myself. Today his tongue paid my face a visit while I was stretched out on my towel, engrossed in the last ten pages of my book.  Never saw it coming.  If he didn't belong to someone, I'd try to bring him home.  Although, I doubt that would go over with customs.

Sadly there was no opportunity in my day for surfing, seeing as my foot was swollen and painful - the the extent that a limp was a bit of a struggle even.  After some icing, motrin, and sitting on my rear end all day, the pain is abating.  I foresee another stab at surfing tomorrow or Tuesday.  I'm off to find the Super Bowl!  It may be en Español and without all of the commercials.  Thankfully, the internet will accrue all of those for me AND then I can skip the pointless ones :)