Blogging Break

If you can’t already tell, I have decided to stop blogging for now. As I’ve mentioned before, I am unsure of what I want this blog to be. However, I know what I don’t want it to be: a place where I’m simply re-blogging other posts. I wanted to create a blog to post original content and ideas. Until I can come up with how, exactly, I want this to work, I’m giving it a break. Hopefully, I’ll figure it out sooner rather than later, and will be back to blogging regularly in no time! Sorry for the disappointing start. 

This Week

Highlights of the past week:

-Free concert downtown in the park on Monday night. Slightly chilly, but fun, upbeat music and good company.

-The premiere of HBO’s newest series, The Newsroom. Despite what some of the critics have said, I really enjoyed the first episode!

-Lunch at Sweetwater Cafe with my new bosses on the first day of my new job last week!

-Outdoor lunch with some of my favorite girls. Because two of them just returned from China, we grabbed food from Wow Bao. They said it didn’t completely ”taste China”, but close enough. It’s pretty cheap too!

-Meeting up with friends on Friday night at Portillo’s after a long day at both of my jobs.

-The 21st birthday trolley ride this Friday! We had extra space, so I got to invite my old roommate from freshman year as well!

-Dinner and drinks at Cesar’s last Thursday night, followed by watching the NBA Finals (gr Heat) and everyone’s favorite awkward comedy, Girls.

-The celebratory 5 year anniversary party at The Gage tonight. The special unveiling of Chef Dirk’s collaboration with Goose Island, the Luciana beer, will be a highlight.

-The first family dinner at our apartment last Monday. My cousin, who is in town to work at The Gage this summer, joined us for pasta salad, deep dish pizza, and a few too many hours of The Bachelorette. 

-Breakfast at Roger’s Park’s newest restaurant, Ann Sather. Although the previous restaurant, Bananas Foster, still reins as my favorite breakfast place, Ann Sather’s famous cinnamon buns did not disappoint. Endless amounts of food and coffee put David and I into a food coma for a good few hours.

-The amount of time I’ve devoted to reading. I guess it’s not really that much time, per se, perhaps more like structured time. Every morning and afternoon, I’ve been reading on the bus to and from work, instead of listening to my iPod or playing on my iPhone. Last week, I finished The Paris Wife (highly recommended by my friend, Emmy) and almost shed a tear at the heart-wrenching ending. The book was extremely enjoyable and beautifully written. I, too, highly recommend it. This week, I’m finishing book one of The Hunger Games. I’m surprised that I actually like it, considering how much I disliked the movie. All in all, I’m loving the quality reading time. 

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ilovecharts:

101 Books To Read This Summer Instead of ‘50 Shades of Grey’

ilovecharts:

What it takes to make a quarter-pound hamburger. 

(via theweekmagazine)

theweekmagazine:

Nabisco’s proudly gay oreo

Nabisco’s polarizing advertisement of a rainbow cream oreo — which says, in part, “Proudly support love!” — received some 220,000 likes and over 36,000 comments on Facebook, both positive and negative.

Liberal customers are thrilled. Conservative consumers, not so much

(Source: theweek.com)

Ramblings

This blog is not really what I had hoped it would be, mainly because I have been so awful about writing anything for it. I guess right now I’m just stuck. I’m not having any sort of writer’s block, I just haven’t found/done anything interesting enough to write about. My life in Chicago is still great, but my jobs have (still) yet to start. I wind up missing Barcelona more and more each day, even though I’m happy to be back. It has become impossible for me to get into any sort of a routine since being back because I don’t really have any commitments. While it’s been extremely nice and relaxing, I’m looking forward to having some structure and purpose to my days. I’m hoping these jobs this summer provide some more insight into my future as well. I’m trying to not worry about my future and things of that nature too much, but it’s pretty easy to when you have so much free time. Anyway, enough with the whining, here are some highlights of the past few weeks:

-Getting a new roommate! Emmy’s friend from home, Lauren, has come to live with us this summer, and even though she’s only been here for a few weeks, I already enjoy having her in Rising Sun.

-Watching my youngest sister’s ballet recital.

-Having a long overdue phone call with one of my best friends from home. 

-Rearranging my room. Okay, so this one sounds kind of silly, but I like it much more now!

-Watching the season finale of Game of Thrones in Paul, Jim, and John’s new place with some good friends.

-More afternoon walks with David.

-Going to the first free concert in Millennium Park with my aunt, uncle, goddaughter, cousin (and her friend), and David.

-Finally finishing my first book of the summer, No Impact Man. For anyone interested, it’s informative and interesting, but not the most enjoyable summer read. 

Hopefully, I’ll be out of this weird mood soon. A double date with a great friend and her boyfriend tonight should help! 

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DREAM Act rebooted? Immigration is always a hot topic when nearing elections. I think it’s a good move on Obama’s part. Romney claims he would prefer a legislative solution, however, past times of going through Congress have failed. The policy is definitely not the complete overhaul of the immigration system people were looking for, but maybe it will make Hispanics question Romney a bit more? He is looking for stronger Hispanic support but openly opposed the DREAM Act in 2010 and illegal immigration. While this new policy is a step in the right direction for immigrants, maybe the two major parties can compromise and draft legislation to create a longer term solution. 

theatlantic:

A Familiar DREAM: Obama Grants Immunity to Young Illegal Immigrants

As many as 800,000 young immigrants could avoid deportation under a new policy President Barack Obama plans to announce Friday, granting work permits to those who entered the country illegally as children.

Read more at The Atlantic Wire. [Image: Reuters]

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Attack ads always bother me. Are they really necessary to win an election? Is it necessary to criticize others in order to make yourself look better? 

theweekmagazine:

“The dirt on Obama”
 David Horsey, © Copyright 2012 Tribune Media Services

More cartoons

Who knew making a bed was so exhausting?

theweekmagazine:

Making a bed, apparently, can be quite exhausting. That’s why Spanish furniture maker OHEA is touting a new “smart bed” to relieve you of this tiresome daily chore. The bed makes itself, in just 50 seconds. 

Sunny-side Up

When I first arrived in Barcelona, my apartment was empty. All of my roommates were asleep and my RA was out. I had no idea which room was mine or where anything was. Luckily, I found the right room and ended up accidently waking up my roommate too. At this point, I was pretty shaken up with all the traveling and the confusion after my arrival, but Lauren (my roommate) was so helpful in calming me down and letting me borrow some of her food (eggs, bread, and pineapple juice). Basically every day after that first morning, Lauren and I would wake up and enjoy a nice breakfast of sunny-side up eggs together. I only mention all of this because this morning, for the first time since being in Barcelona, I made eggs for breakfast. It may seem silly that something as little as making eggs is making me miss Barcelona, but it’s not just that.

Even though these past few weeks have been mostly relaxing, there still has been lots to worry about. In Barcelona, all of this worry would be handled by a glass of 2 Euro wine, a trip to a museum, or planning more traveling. The part of Barcelona I miss most is the carefree lifestyle. People aren’t bothered by little things and don’t spend their lives trying to figure out every single moment of their futures. The attitude in Barcelona is much more relaxed and “go with the flow” than in America. As someone who tends to worry quite a bit, being in such a carefree atmosphere was really nice. And for everyone who knows my friend Thomas, he is the best proof of the effect of life in Barcelona. The city just slows you down and makes you appreciate being there, unlike most cities, which usually make you feel rushed. Of course, I’m happy to be home and surrounded by people I haven’t seen in a while, but I just can’t help but miss Barcelona, especially when I start to get stressed. And, as silly as it is, I don’t think I’ll ever be able to not think of mornings in Barcelona any time I make eggs.