I would be lazing right here.

http://www.buzzfeed.com/mjs538/steps-to-help-you-evolve-your-views-on-gay-marriag

I would be killing all of the squirrels everywhere in the world.

(Not actually. But seriously squirrels are so scary.)

Meatless in the Midwest: A Tale of Survival

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/11/dining/a-vegetarians-struggle-for-sustenance-in-the-midwest.html?pagewanted=1&_r=4&src=rechp

This quote just about sums it up:

“As a result, many heartland vegetarians say that eating, that most essential activity, can be a constant struggle. Longtime members of the club recall the days when doctors and family members alike warned that forgoing meat would result in serious malnutrition. This was not hyperbole to those who, lacking other options, subsisted on pizza.”

IT FEELS AWESOME

lil bit like this…

The findings and key learnings in this video come from reading a plethora of Old Spice related articles during my internship at Weber Shandwick Chicago. Check some of them out below.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/17/business/media/17viral.html?src=busln

http://mashable.com/2011/03/16/old-spice-imitators/

http://www.forbes.com/2011/03/11/old-spice-snoopy-m-and-m-most-loved-spokescharacters.html

http://www.fastcompany.com/1737010/thank-you-economy-gary-vaynerchuk-old-spice-man

The pictures come from real life.

#TIGERBLOOD FO EVAH

I was always a reader. When my teacher in second grade made me cry or middle school got too full of mean girls I would come home and lose myself in a book and for a few hours, life was alright. Because no matter what’s going on in your life at the moment, a book can wipe it all away. There’s no room to agonize over that boy’s last cryptic text message when Mrs. Weasley has just lost her son, or Hermoine and Ron are falling in love. I’ve always cherished Harry Potter for this reason but I think, lately, I’ve come to realize that Harry’s story does more than help us escape, it helps us discover.

“Of house elves and children’s tales, of love, loyalty, and innocence, Voldemort knows and understands nothing. Nothing. That they all have a power beyond his own, a power beyond the reach of any magic, is a truth he has never grasped.” – Albus Dumbledore, HP7

Harry (spoiler alert) defeats Voldemort because he has the power to love. No great and terrible secret weapons or astounding wizarding powers save him, it’s the simple (is it simple?) act of loving that saves him. Through his love for his dead parents, for his best friends, for loyal house elves, for Hedwig, for Sirius, for muggles, for Buckbeak, and for Ginny he learns that love conquers death because it endures beyond this life. It lasts forever… and it can make all the difference.

For a damaged girl from a binuclear family who swore early on that people are unreliable and it’s safer to look inward for support, it’s an important message.

Thank you, Harry.

The trip traversed more than 3,200 miles of bumpy desert highway. We had just over 7 days to make the journey, which put us covering roughly 500 miles per day. Combine that with needing to stop at every single dinosaur related attraction for my brother Brian (you’d be surprised how many there are) and we were on a tight schedule. We were only able to rest in LA (our long awaited destination) for like 22 hours. Why am I telling you all this? Because those 22 hours changed my life in a very unexpected way. In those 22 hours, my male family members and I ate at In-N-Out Burger. Twice.

A short 2 years later in my fall semester at American University, I made the decision to become a full-fledged vegetarian. I have been almost unwaveringly devoted to this decision since December of 2006. It’s true that twice I have been hungover enough to eat some Sweet and Sour Chicken and I do pick around the ham pieces in my Mammaw’s butter beans but I have legitimately not eaten red meat since committing to what I believe is a much more ethical and responsible way of consuming. But I have always sworn that if I were near an In-N-Out I would throw my beliefs to the wind and eat a freakin’ hamburger.

I’m sure you can see where this is going. They have In-N-Out Burgers in Vegas.

and I ate one. (technically half – didn’t want to get sick)

Judge me if you must. Sometimes you have to put a promise to yourself above above a promise to cows.

It was everything I remember it being from that fateful RV trip… and so much more.

Mostly, I’m in awe of my new city. I’m still in that stage where I compare just about everything to DC. It helps me gain perspective and form opinions about this strange new place based on past norms and experiences. The gist of what I’ve come up with is actually quite simple. Compared to DC… Chicago HAS NO RULES.

Allow me to explain.

There is an overall air of formality and politically correctness that pervades life in the District. It’s visible in the layout of the streets, the endless traffic circles, the vast expanses of marble plazas designed for the tread of tired tourists, the stately grandeur of Embassies and government buildings, and the continual flashing of police cruiser lights in a city trapped in an indefinite ‘crime emergency.’ You can feel it in the starched suits of government workers, the exhausted faces of commuting Hill interns, the countdown clocks in spotlessly clean metro stations, the evening emptiness of a city whose employees live outside the Beltway.

But Chicago…

Montrose Harbor just down the street from my apartment.

Is literally bursting with life. People smile at you on the street. Dunkin’ Donuts employees learn your name and inquire about your day. You can DRINK YOUR COFFEE ON THE L TRAIN. There are skyscrapers. “Downtown” has people after 5pm AND it smells like chocolate (there’s a  factory nearby). The subway system is above ground! I get to stare out the window at my new city and NOT feel like a mole person. Chicagoans get representation in Congress. Bars stay open until 4 and 5 am and drinks cost less than $10. People actually pay attention to the city’s sports teams.

Wrigley Field from the cargo doors that were open one day as we walked by.

CABS TAKE CREDIT CARDS and I can get almost anywhere for $13. There is incredible shopping IN the city.  The L train goes to both airports. I can always tell which way is East because of the lake. Oh yea, there’s a lake. Starving artists don’t actually starve here (it’s cheap enough to survive). I can walk for hours and not get sweaty because I have yet to see a hill. There is THEATER. It’s a city of comedians (everyone does improv). Liquor is sold just about everywhere (grocery stores, gas stations, pharmacies).  I can take the train to Missouri.

I could probably go on all day like this but hopefully you get the point. I loved DC. It’s a fantastic city and a terrific place to go to school. I wouldn’t trade my time there for anything… but Chicago? It’s wondrous.

It’s home.