Showing posts with label michigan. Show all posts
This morning began on an unexpected note. I have a habit, probably a bad one, of looking at my phone, immediately after waking, while I'm lying in bed . It seems to help me jump start my brain and convince it that pushing snooze a fifth time is a bad idea. This morning one of the emails in my inbox was a shocking awakening, one that has stuck with me all day.
When I first moved to Chicago, I became acquainted with a group of girls and we generally hung out every couple of weeks. We didn't all have much in common with one another, so many of us drifted apart within a year or so. But I have always been appreciative of this crew, because they were my first feeling of foundation in the urban jungle.
This morning I learned that one of those girls has been battling cancer for nearly two years and she passed away yesterday. Despite the fact that we haven't spoken in years, the news hit me with a surreal thud. My mind reeled through so many disparate thoughts, having difficulty in finding understanding in how someone that young and energetic is simply gone. My heart aches for her family, her husband, and her close friends. I can't imagine, and I hope to never experience, that pain.
So as we head into a day whose meaning can be overshadowed by food and football, this certainly puts my mind on the gratitude track (no doubt, I'm also grateful for food and football). Despite my travails of the past couple of weeks, I am grateful for this life I lead - even if it's only because I am present and able to live it.
in the mitten state \11.21\
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Labels:
art,
home,
michigan
When I first moved to Chicago, I became acquainted with a group of girls and we generally hung out every couple of weeks. We didn't all have much in common with one another, so many of us drifted apart within a year or so. But I have always been appreciative of this crew, because they were my first feeling of foundation in the urban jungle.
This morning I learned that one of those girls has been battling cancer for nearly two years and she passed away yesterday. Despite the fact that we haven't spoken in years, the news hit me with a surreal thud. My mind reeled through so many disparate thoughts, having difficulty in finding understanding in how someone that young and energetic is simply gone. My heart aches for her family, her husband, and her close friends. I can't imagine, and I hope to never experience, that pain.
So as we head into a day whose meaning can be overshadowed by food and football, this certainly puts my mind on the gratitude track (no doubt, I'm also grateful for food and football). Despite my travails of the past couple of weeks, I am grateful for this life I lead - even if it's only because I am present and able to live it.
What did I ever do when there wasn't technology to aid me on the fly?
On today's journey back to Chicago alone, I managed to confirm that the Bears were playing Monday Night Football (meaning Lake Shore Drive was a safe route to take) and circumvented a likely half hour traffic jam. While other drivers were joining the virtual parking lot on the Dan Ryan, thanks to the general public's ineptitude for merging, I exited to I-94 local and swept right past.
Google Maps saves sanity. I would think that owners of a shiny new iPhone are envious of my outdated Android OS and it's functional mapping capabilities. Did you see that Google Maps now gives you underwater mapping for various reefs? I digress.
On an average day, I walk down the street tracking buses, determining if the 156 is coming soon or if it's worth walking two more blocks to get on a 22.
When I'm waiting in line at Starbucks, I can check my Gold Card balance (awarded to people who give Starbucks too much money) and even re-up my funds before I reach the register.
Instead of lugging around a 500-page book every day for my commute, it's simply stored in my 4.77 ounce handset. Honestly, this blog wouldn't be executed as planned without the constant companion of my phone's camera. Sometimes I wonder if I should nix the idea of a dSLR, just because I'm now so accustomed to the convenience factor of wandering anywhere with merely a phone in my pocket.
It's amazing how wrapped up my life (and many others') is in this technology that I couldn't even conceived of ten years ago. Amazing, yet a little frightening. At least I always have those once or twice a year breaks, thanks to international travel without an international phone plan.
highway technicolor \09.30\
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Labels:
autumn,
color,
leaves,
michigan,
trees
On today's journey back to Chicago alone, I managed to confirm that the Bears were playing Monday Night Football (meaning Lake Shore Drive was a safe route to take) and circumvented a likely half hour traffic jam. While other drivers were joining the virtual parking lot on the Dan Ryan, thanks to the general public's ineptitude for merging, I exited to I-94 local and swept right past.
Google Maps saves sanity. I would think that owners of a shiny new iPhone are envious of my outdated Android OS and it's functional mapping capabilities. Did you see that Google Maps now gives you underwater mapping for various reefs? I digress.
On an average day, I walk down the street tracking buses, determining if the 156 is coming soon or if it's worth walking two more blocks to get on a 22.
When I'm waiting in line at Starbucks, I can check my Gold Card balance (awarded to people who give Starbucks too much money) and even re-up my funds before I reach the register.
Instead of lugging around a 500-page book every day for my commute, it's simply stored in my 4.77 ounce handset. Honestly, this blog wouldn't be executed as planned without the constant companion of my phone's camera. Sometimes I wonder if I should nix the idea of a dSLR, just because I'm now so accustomed to the convenience factor of wandering anywhere with merely a phone in my pocket.
It's amazing how wrapped up my life (and many others') is in this technology that I couldn't even conceived of ten years ago. Amazing, yet a little frightening. At least I always have those once or twice a year breaks, thanks to international travel without an international phone plan.
What kind of daughter would I be if I was in Michigan, fifteen minutes from my parents' home, and failed to visit? It helped that we got into town from the cottage at 10:00pm and it would've taken me three more hours to drive back to Chicago. Odds were low that I could've stayed awake at the wheel long enough to make it to Chicago.
And what kind of parents would send their daughter off with an empty stomach and hands? Not mine. Dad always has the coffee pot prepped for when I wake up: coffee canister on the counter, spoon beside it, filter in the machine. A slice of pizza and a frozen yogurt at Costco before I hit the road may not be gourmet, but suits me fine. And Mom threw in some last second gifts of produce, including some of these glorious Michigan blueberries plucked at the peak of sweetness.
They had a few to spare, seeing as they invested in 60 lbs. You just can't find these beauties in Chicago grocery stores.
Oh, and do you know what else Costco sells? A Nikon D5100 dSLR camera kit for $899. It took immense willpower to walk out with only pizza and frozen yogurt.
shades of blue(berry) \07.23\
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Labels:
blueberries,
fruit,
michigan
And what kind of parents would send their daughter off with an empty stomach and hands? Not mine. Dad always has the coffee pot prepped for when I wake up: coffee canister on the counter, spoon beside it, filter in the machine. A slice of pizza and a frozen yogurt at Costco before I hit the road may not be gourmet, but suits me fine. And Mom threw in some last second gifts of produce, including some of these glorious Michigan blueberries plucked at the peak of sweetness.
They had a few to spare, seeing as they invested in 60 lbs. You just can't find these beauties in Chicago grocery stores.
Oh, and do you know what else Costco sells? A Nikon D5100 dSLR camera kit for $899. It took immense willpower to walk out with only pizza and frozen yogurt.