March in Review

Well, let's first address the elephant in the room: My whole "blog every day in March" turned out to be a flop. Not sure why, exactly...I think it was a combination of "jesus christ, what the fuck am I supposed to blog about today," "oh god it's 10pm and I haven't started and I'm so exhausted," and, finally, "fuck this."

On the bright side, it did get me in the mode of trying to brainstorm content and be proactive and strategic about planning content. I think, part of it too, is always trying to remember why I blog. God knows, blogs seem to be "so 2010", and one need look no further than someone like the Pioneer Woman to see how far they have evolved (and not in a good way, as far as I can tell.) Also, I was never in this for getting views or whatever. My main purpose in blogging has always been to quietly remind myself that while I don't matter on a grand universal scale, my life matters to me, and I enjoy documenting my struggles and joys and reflections and explorations and little accomplishments, and sometimes even my acquisitions. So that's what I need to remember when writing and planning and brainstorming. 

So! other than my blogging failure, what else did March bring?

• MY FIRST VACCINE! On Friday the 26th, I took a rather circuitous route out to Spencer, where I got my first Moderna jab. The vaccine site was at the First Nazarene Church, and while I confess myself a little surprised that the Nazarenes would have anything to do with letting something so sciencey take place in their church, I was a little reassured: if the Nazarenes are letting us use their church as a vaccination site, the vaccine can't be the Mark of the Beast, right?  From beginning to end, the experience was smooth, and the road trip out to Spencer was, in and of itself, a pleasant reminder of Indiana explorations to come. Which brings me to...

• The concept of "The After Times." Very early on, I began referring to the time before the pandemic as "The Before Times." And then, of course, the pandemic itself, I've been calling The End of the World, or the Apocalypse. I was so engrossed with simply surviving that it has only been in this last month that I began to register what my friend Jain is calling "The After Times." Yes, the pandemic is not over. Yes, we still need to be not utter dickholes and mask up and be considerate. But many of us are well on our way to being vaccinated, and that means it's time to think about hope, and making plans, and rebuilding. I'm already plotting my first big vacation!

• Beautiful weather: Normally, I have a love-hate relationship with spring. I hate the fact that it's a harbinger of summer, my least favorite season, but this winter was so bleak and dark, both literally and metaphorically, that I couldn't help but to rejoice in the fact that March seemed to be unusually warm. This warm spring, coupled with the rapidly-expanding availability of the vaccine, seems like a true rebirth in every sense of the word. 

• This also led to my annual "cleaning of my deck space"

Before (resembling a post-apocalyptic wasteland)

After (And ready for After Times Entertaining!)

• March 22--my 5 year Indianaversary! How the hell have I been home 5 years already?

• Word of the month: "Vaccined" (tipsy shorthand for "vaccinated")

• Quote of the month: "I consider myself 'man-agnostic.' I'm have neither faith nor disbelief that decent men exist. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that I'm open to the possibility, but I'm not motivated enough to go out and find evidence." -Me, of course

What did March bring into your life?

It's All About the Little Things

Sometimes, it's good to celebrate the little things that make us happy...

Vaccine rollout is happening something fierce, it seems, at least here in Indiana! Right now it's available to people 50 and above. My Duncle and Aunt are fully vaccinated. Some of my colleagues are now either fully vaccinated, or halfway vaccinated, or have their appointments booked for their first shot. AND my Middle Sister and her husband, down in Florida, have gotten their first shot! (She's in education; he has risks.) We're starting to talk about actually seeing each other, somewhat soonish. 

Gorgeous (almost) spring weather: It's not spring yet. But the lonely grey and the cold of February have given way to what seems to be shaping up for a glorious March. It's in the low 60s, and the sun has been shining for days, and there's a gentle breeze during the day. On the one hand, it's kind of giving me flashbacks to last spring, when the world ended, but I'm still really digging it. Of course, it won't last...

Cooking! Meal planning and grocery acquisition are still about as pleasurable to me as snorting snake venom, but the meal kit delivery service I'm using is helping me to get more confident in the kitchen, and I'm actually starting to take some pleasure in preparing my meals. Chopping vegetables, especially, I find very enjoyable. I don't know that I'll ever just know recipes, the way my grandmother did, or carelessly, confidently experiment and multitask the way Eldest sister does, but I don't need to! I just need to, you know, not undercook my chicken, and enjoy the meals I make.

This falafel spinach salad was fucking magical.

What are the little things giving you pleasure right now?

Delicious food, and the joy I'm taking in cooking

Mid-March Meanderings

There it is.

Every year, sometime in March or April, I have a moment when I feel it--the return of spring. I felt it the day before yesterday, walking back to the library during lunch. It was almost sunny, almost not chilly, and a slight breeze was blowing through the not-yet-budding trees.

We just sprung forward, this last Sunday, so the sun (when we see it) lingers into the evening later. Daffodil shoots are thrusting from the cold, brown ground. Birds are starting to pep up and sing more. And of course, with the slightly-warmer weather, come the tornie warnies; we spent a fair bit of yesterday afternoon at the library taking shelter as a strong storm and possible tornado moved through the county. So, winter has almost relinquished its hold. And as much as I dread the upcoming summer--hey, at least it's not summer in California. I actually had a dream the other night that I lived in California; that the summer was coming; that months and months of brutal sunshine and unrelenting heat were approaching. I was so sad. Suffocated. Trapped.

That time in my life, thank god, is done. I'm coming up on my third year Back Home Again; the exciting novelty of the first year has of course worn away--much like it happens in a relationship after the honeymoon period. But what remains is ideally what happens when the honeymoon is over; the love I have for my home has deepened, hopefully matured. I think I know my home's beauties and flaws, but just like in a relationship, I hope that I will continue discovering more. And like what should happen in a relationship, I shouldn't take my home for granted. Shouldn't ignore it.

(Funny that I seem to know how a good, long-term relationship should work, yet I've managed to sustain...well, none of them. 😂😂😂)

Whatever. The spring is almost upon us, and now it's time to shake off the winter doldrums, put away the heavy sweaters, and plan a few adventures and road trips and maybe just some jaunts around time. Here are a few of the places I'd like to venture forth to in the next couple of months:

Jordan Greenhouse, on campus (although, to be fair, it probably would have been a great place to visit during the worst of the winter months).

Southeast Park: For three years, I've been driving past this little park. From the road, it's a pretty space, with a little stream burbling through. Why haven't I made the time to go there? This spring, I'm going to make sure this happens.

Le Petit Cafe: In my defense, this place is not the easiest place to visit. The hours are funky. But there's a lunch buffet sometimes (a buffet of French food? Um, yes.) And the restaurant scene in Bloomington is a bit of a tricky scene--places come and go--so I need to move fast on this.)

Spring and summer are great times to venture forth and see new places and do new things. Anything you're planning on for the coming warm months?

Fuck Off, February!

The subject says it all, yes? Fuck off, February!

Maybe it was the winter doldrums, finally getting to me and depleting my energy, motivation, and productivity. Maybe it was the health scare (my doctor found a lump, I had to get my first mammogram, I imagined I was going to die, and thankfully it turned out to be nothing). Maybe it was the work stress, occurring simultaneously. Who knows? What is a certainty is that February was a nasty little month. The best part about this last month (other than the fact that I am not likely to die in the immediate future) was that, hey, at least it was a short month.

Now, on to March. It goes in like a lion and out like a lamb, or something; this just means that the meteorologists have an excuse to fall back on whether there is a blizzard, tornado, or heat wave. We will spring forward, which I absolutely hate, and spring starts, which I kind of want to happen, at least for a minute or two. We're already a day into March, and at least for me, it hasn't been as shitty as February. It's still cloudy and cold, and there's snow in the forecast for tomorrow, but the daffodil bulbs are starting to thrust out of the never-dead earth. I'm hoping for a renewal of my normal energetic, bustling, cheerful self, and I am ready for a new month. What about you? Was yours a good February, or was it rather thorough in its shittiness? And what do you have planned for the month ahead?

Season Snapshot: March 2018

I've survived another winter here in the Heartland! Yesterday was the first day of spring--although, Indiana being Indiana, you wouldn't have known it. By the time I headed home from work yesterday, the snow was falling in earnest, and the traffic was creeping along. Half an hour later, when I got home, I paused to drool over this gorgeous moment:

Spring, schming.

It'll happen soon enough. In the meantime, the only thing for it was to do my chores, hunker down, light a candle, drink some wine, and relish the hygge moment. (Yup, I'm one of those people. I loves me some hygge.)

Finally, a cozy home of my own. God help the poor fool who ever tries to talk me out of this lovely life I've been given.