Number 48: Borrow a motorcycle and take the driver's seat. (Or don't. Here's why.)

When I was a little girl, I vividly remember there being a blue matted, silver framed photo of a man's silhouette on a motorcycle hanging on the wall in our den. I remember my mind being blown when I discovered that it was my father! How could my dad have ever ridden a motorcycle? My silly, sweet father on a motorcycle?! No way! Well, as I grew older, the idea of my dad's motorcycle riding days shocked me less and less. He is a fun loving, free spirited man who was once in his twenties too.

Whatever the reason he decided to sell his bike, I'm sure glad he did. I did some research this week, and I discovered that from 1994-2008, motorcycle fatalities increased every year by a staggering amount. Fortunately, due to a number of new laws that made motorcyclists pass a safety class and wear helmets, motorcycle deaths have decreased significantly between 2008 and 2011. But here's the kicker -- all of the laws, facts and figures I could track down regarding motorcycle fatalities, put the cyclists at fault. But, for all of the safety precautions you can take (the lessons, the helmets, the speed limits), there are so many factors that you can't control.

And here my friends, is why I won't be completing Number 48 on my list. Last Saturday night, I received a heartbreaking phone call. A good friend of mine was driving home on his motorcycle and was hit by an oncoming car. The car was headed in the wrong direction, in the wrong lane and hit Dan and another car. Dan did not survive the crash. Getting the call that a loved one has passed on is about the most surreal thing you can experience. You hear the news and it doesn't feel real. I guess this is the shock - the tears and the grief come later. I was in South Bend, IN, when I got the news, less than two hours away from my new home in Chicago, and too many miles away to head home for the funeral. The idea of being so far away from home hit me then. All I wanted to do was give my best friend (and Dan's first cousin) a hug and I was unable to do so. I've been grappling with how to deal with the news for the past week, and it wasn't until my third or fourth phone call to a high school friend about the news that it hit me -- in a beautifully sad way, Dan was already bringing us all back together from above. In receiving, relaying, and trying to make sense of the news, I spoke with many people I had lost touch with in the past years. And Dan's passing made me realize something very important, life is so short, and you can never predict what is around the next bend, all you can do is live in the moment and appreciate the small things.

To those bikers out there, I'm not trying to scare you. And I'm not starting a crusade against motorcycle riding. Dan traveled across the United States on his bike and enjoyed only open road and beautiful memories. This was an unfortunate, isolated incident that happened within a few minutes of his apartment. But what I say to you all is this, (and thanks, Uncle Mike, for letting me paraphrase you -- my mom relayed your eulogy to me), life is a story and you never know what part of the story you're living. So live it proudly and fully. Dan Haley was one of the kindest people I've ever met. He was always there with an encouraging smile, a joke, and a lending hand. To honor him, I ask you that you do one nice thing for another person this week. Just one small thing. Whether it's calling an old friend, giving a stranger a compliment, or telling the man sitting next to you at Starbucks that he's dropped his glasses on the floor and is in danger of stepping on them (This just happened to me five minutes ago - he was so gracious and thankful!) -- do one thing today, tomorrow, or this week. It will make you feel good and it will make someone else's day better too. And above all, please be careful when you get behind the wheel, mount your bike, or cross the street. You never know who is traveling along with you and you can't control the actions of other people.

Sending love to you all, near and far today. xoxo.
E

Saying goodbye to Emma's basement, Aug. 2011. RIP DH. We'll always remember the good times. xoxo.

Number 62: Head to the airport and fly - anywhere

Hey All -

Welcome back to my blog. When I started this blog (quite some time ago), I thought I would accomplish 62 tasks in 365 days. Well. That didn't come anywhere close to happening. When I decided to make the move from Boston to Chicago, I considered creating a new blog to chart my adventures and keep my friends and family (on the East coast and otherwise) up to date on my life. Taking a page out of the books of fellow bloggers, (like JF and Rachel Bertsche) I've decided that instead of creating a brand new blog, I would simply give my current blog a facelift. Because, let's face it, you guys still want me to complete some of these adventures, no? :)

So. Let's start with Number 62. "Head to the airport and fly - anywhere." 

 

Five days ago, I picked up my entire life and moved it to Chicago, IL. (And okay, we didn't fly. We drove. But I said I'd be making some changes to the blog. Deal with it.) Some people thought I was crazy. Some people thought I was doing it for all of the wrong reasons. And some people (fortunately) were very supportive of my decision.

Here are the facts:

1. I will admit this to you – I’ve probably never thought about anything more and less at exactly the same time. I’ve been mulling over the Chicago move since I visited almost a year ago this June. (And that time I flew!) Or really since 2008 when I had a  pipe dream with two wonderful gentleman I left behind in Boston. But the details were always fuzzy. All I had was: I’ll find an apartment, I’ll find a job, I’ll make a life.
2. Everything is easier said than done.
3. I’m a little scared. This was a hard decision and I’m sad to have left behind a large number of people on the East Coast.
4. I strongly believe that everything happens for a reason. I’m here for a reason. I just don’t know what it is yet.
5. I’m excited.
6. There are many cupcake shops here.

No matter what age I am, no matter what I’m going through in my life, I’ve always coped with change through writing. I love to do it, always have and hopefully always will. So here I am, experiencing a huge change. And here you are, reading about it.

So far... I have good news to share.

1. I have a job! I was recently hired by The Chicago Park District to work at Theatre On The Lake, an outdoor summer theatre festival. They (we -eek!) will put on eight plays in eight weeks. I'll be working in the box office as well as helping with some publicity and community programming. I couldn't be more stoked.
2. Wait for it -- I have a second job?! That's right ladies and gentleman. Tuesday was a good day for hiring me here in the Windy City. I'll also be waitressing at Frances' Deli on Clark. Thanks, CCF. You were instrumental in getting hired. I'll say though... wearing jeans and sneakers is a step up from wearing my whites. No big deal or anything though.
3. My apartment is adorable. I'll choose my vocabulary wisely because well, the entire apartment is about the size of bedroom back in Allston BUT it's all mine! It has some quirks... I have to stand on a chair to reach my microwave... but hey, maybe this will make me cook more! Or you know... just invest in a really cute step stool. :) So all you folks looking to come visit, I'm ready to snuggle with you! Come on over!

And that's what I've got going on so far. You know, a little of this and a little of that. So stay tuned as I stir up trouble in The Windy City. Looking forward to adventuring with you!

XOXO,
E

Hanging out with Mom and Dad (and Patrick?) at Navy Pier. See? Trouble already. :)

Number 16: Adopt A Pet

On April 7, 2011, I received the following email from my roommate:

One of my co-workers found an adorable teeny little white bunny in the gutter eating a newspaper. She brought it home and is trying to find a loving home to give it to. Apparently it was a pet before someone threw it out (idk how she knows...). It comes with a cage.

CAN WE KEEP HIM PLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAASE!?!?!?

*pulls on heart strings*

*num num num!*

On April 10, 2011, Olivia Annie Benson moved into our living room.

She looks like this:

This was one of the items on the list that I thought we would never complete, but here we are almost two months later, the proud mommies of the cutest little bunny you've ever seen. And she (like most pets) rules the house. We haven't quite gotten her to do her chores yet but we did have a serious conversation tonight about keeping the litter inside the litter box instead of kicking it all over the floor. We'll see how that goes. Olivia has definitely been a great little addition to our team. She enjoys eating the slipcovers on our couch, carrots, and trying to sneak into the kitchen. Stay tuned, she's got a web series in the works. First episode? Olivia hands over the remote. Can't get that girl off Extreme Couponing. (If anyone thinks I'm kidding, definitely keep an eye out for the whole clan on youtube.)

Number 43: Make Snow Angels

As some of you may have noticed, we've been getting an excessive amount of snow in the Boston Area this winter. Everyone in my apartment was gifted a snow day for the first one - we did a pretty good job of taking advantage of having a snow day. We made pancakes, took naps, shoveled out the cars, drank hot cocoa, and watched movies. It was pretty productive - we also did some blog work. So here goes, Number 43: COMPLETED!!

Number 36: Pamper Yourself At An All Day Spa

Let's face it, there's no way that this chica has the time (or the capital) to spend an entire day at a spa. What I do have though, is a great friend, we'll call her Em Elle, who knows the swankiest hot tub spa in town. And thus my Wednesday night date was born. Em Elle and I headed to Inman Square for our Girly Night Out. First we hit up CityGirl Cafe. I have to say, I had one of the better home cooked meals I've had in awhile. The interior is small, but cozy and the retro-rustic decor makes up for the lack of square footage. For the price of a mani-pedi combo at a spa, I enjoyed a starter salad, entree, and half a bottle of vino. (My taste buds were appreciative of my 99 cent nail polish, trust me.)

A few glasses of red and some portobello lasagna later, the girl talk continued just a few doors down at Inman Oasis, a hot tub spa. For $25/person we enjoyed a personal, bamboo hot tub for 45 minutes complete with cold drinking water, low lighting, private speakers connected to Em Elle's ipod, and of course lovely hot, bubbly jets to warm up our winter bodies (and souls). At the end of our session, the girl talk still flowed, but the the stress in my shoulders did not. I left the tub in an almost altered state, my limbs warm and relaxed, and my mind at ease. I've never had a massage, but I'll say that THIS was the best stress-reducing, self-pampering experience I've ever had. This perfect evening ended as we walked outside and into a light and lovely snow flurry. And all of a sudden I thought, "I'm 23, I live in Boston, I just had the nicest night with my girlfriend. I felt like I was in Costa Rica for 45 minutes, and now I have this gorgeous ride home. What could be better?" And that was that. (And isn't that the point of the blog anyways?!)

I highly recommend this spa, which Em Elle tells me was started by a former actress. I mean, we supported the local arts scene AND had a beautifully relaxing evening. This girl's thoughts? Three quarters of an hour in a tub with my one of my closest friends totally beats out a day at the spa by myself.

Number 38: Create your own holiday and celebrate it every year

The American people celebrate a number of obscure, non-nationally recognized holidays each year. Some I've heard of, for instance, December 1 is World AIDS Day. Some are far more bizarre. A simple google search produced the following finds for the month of December alone, December 4: Wear Brown Shoes Day, December 8: Take It In the Ear Day (it doesn't specify what "it" is), and my personal favorite, December 30: National Bicarbonate of Soda Day, which celebrates the many uses of baking soda.

So Sunday night marked the night of a new holiday in Allston. I know the blog says to celebrate the holiday every year, but we like it so much we'll probably celebrate it every month. And my holiday is... drumroll please...

CHAMPAGNE SUNDAY!!!

Champagne Sunday is pretty easy holiday to celebrate and I encourage you to try this one at home. Here's what you need for it to be successful:

- At least one (1) bottle of cheap champagne. For our inaugural event, we chose a bottle of Peach Passion Andre, valued at around $6.

- Some friends. This event consisted of myself and my two lovely roommates.

- Pre or post champagne food. (I'll be honest, we chose both.) But seriously, if you want to avoid what a friend cleverly called Hangover Monday, pick up some snacks to compliment the champagne. We chose Red Velvet Cupcakes. :)

The result? A lovely, buzzy, peach tasting evening of laughs, sing-a-longs and sugar highs. I declare the first, ever Champagne Sunday to be a success. I look forward to next month's!

Number 13: Dye Your Hair Blonde And See If They Really Do Have More Fun

As a small child, I had bright blonde ringlets. Today, I am more of what you would call a dirty blonde. My brother would say I'm a brunette. Either way, my hair has blonde tones to it but is NOT THAT LIGHT. So this is kind of a scary step for me. I like my hair. But I'm also not terrified to alter it. As I do when I dye my hair, I summoned Danielle with me to the "Hair Coloring" isle at CVS. (We almost took a detour at the candy corn section but we ended up making it to hair coloring.) We chose a Superior Preference color called "Golden Blonde." Here is me trying to look like the model on the box:

I think the lighting in our living room makes my hair look rather dark. Here's another photo of my coloring JUST so you can get an idea of what it really looks like:

And post-blondifying:

Here are the things I've done post-hair dying: spent a weekend in NYC, started rehearsals for a play, thrown a house party, gone on a date, had a fabulous halloween, made new friends, cuddled with old friends, visited my parents, trained for a 5K. Would I have done these things anyways? YES.

The verdict? Blondes don't have more fun. Being 20-something and living in Boston though? Super fun. Stay tuned for more adventures.