t.t.m.m.h. 10.5.10

- working at a 4-star italian restaurant and coming home at midnight to a dinner of frozen vegetables and oatmeal. (not sarcasm. i love it.)

- reiteration: riding my bike at night. chicago is so beautiful.

- spending time with intelligent people who challenge the way i think and see the world. and in the process, make me happier to be a small part of it.

- this poem:

'spanish dancer' by r.m.rilke

as in the hand a struck match blazes white
and sends out flicking tongues on every side
before bursting into flame--: in the circle
of packed onlookers, hot, bright, and eager
her round dance begins to flicker and spread out

and all at once it is entirely flame.

with a glance she sets ablaze her hair
and whirls suddenly with daring art
her whole dress into this fiery rapture,
and out of that, like startled snakes,
two naked arms emerge, aroused and rattling.

and then: as if the fire grew tight on her,
she gathers it all up and casts it off
disdainfully, and with imperious demeanor
looks on: it lies there writing on the ground
and keeps on flaming and does not give in--.
but triumphant, serene, and with a sweet
greeting smile she lifts her face
and stamps it out with rock hard little feet.

t.t.m.m.h. - 10.1.10

- live music. especially the kind you can dance to! and/or when you know the people in the band!

- people you've known for a surprisingly long time, but keep learning more about all the time.

- my neighborhood, pilsen. i continue to love it more everyday.

t.t.m.m.h. - 9.30.10

- unexpected and amazing conversations that make you remember what life is all about. connecting with people and loving them.

- a fast-paced job with great people.

- riding my bike through the city at night. quite possibly the best way to see chicago.

- quick catch-ups with great friends.

- concord grape gellato. mmmmmmm.

- tina fey and tracy morgan. love me some liz lemon and tracy jordan.

- resiliency, especially in children. especially in one of my nephews, who's currently recovering from a crazy intense surgery. i hope that someday he'll be as proud of me as i am of him right now.

things that make me happy - 9.29.10

- thrift stores.

- sitting in my big red robe, sipping coffee (such as now).

- live music. i'm going to a show tomorrow night (jesca hoop and the eels), which i'm pretty excited about. and actually, i get to see a friend play with his band louis and the hunt, which will also be great.

- i reiterate: people who love what they do and want to do it really well. (can you tell i'm reading ayn rand right now?)

- accents and languages. i worked last night with a girl who had just moved from italy, a bartender from russia, and a waiter from serbia. and of course, much of the staff is also from latin america, which is awesome because it means i can pretty much speak spanish whenever i want.

things that balance my pleasant existence

i am still happy. i still love my life. but it doesn't make this article any less difficult or painful to read. this is where i lived and worked this summer. i know many of these girls. they are my sisters. i know their families. they are my family.

read article here.

things that make me happy - 9.28.10

--riding my bike through chicago. specifically, the moment when i go over the river and try to look down through the bridge to see the water. it's tricky and probably not very safe, but it makes me smile every time.
--people who do what they love and/or love what they do. i don't think they're necessarily the same thing. i think people who know what they love should do it. and for those that don't have the privilege to do so, it makes me really happy to see people loving what they might have to do.
--technology. specifically international phone cards and skype.
--apples. i did something kind of silly on sunday, when i bought a HUGE box of apples at my favorite farmers market. there were probably 60ish apples. but it was only $5! and i actually happened to have my car that day. (it's probably good that when i get impulsive, i generally buy a shit-ton of fruit.) i hope you can't OD on apples, because if so, i'm in for it. any body have any good, cheap, healthy ideas for a bunch of apples about to go bad?
--tights and boots. and the weather that lets me wear them!
--getting a glimpse into (undoubtedly) the next big hipster trend: seeing a guy (yes, pretty hipster) riding a unicycle down the road! completely impressive.
--knowing and using the word "sommalier" and not feeling too pretentious about it!
--getting off work, going to see contemporary art for free, sitting in the sun for a couple minutes to read, and then riding home on my bike. a premium day that made me quite happy.

another transition

hello, alo, hola, and vanakam.

i am officially back in the states. the journey was long and the transition has been a challenge, but there are a lot of really great things about being back. i've been running a lot, riding my bike, and eating a lot of graham crackers.

i have posted pictures on facebook, which i think most of you can access. if not, please let me know. just for good measure, here is one of my favorite shots of my last minutes in batticaloa, with some of my favorite people in the 3-wheeler that i rode in everyday for over 2 months:



and here are some shots of just some of the lovely people i was able to return to:

everyone in their matching sarongs from batticaloa


some of my new nephews!





and some of my other beautiful sisters: