Things I Love Thursday

getting spoiled by my bff - A few of us ladies had a particularly shitty Thanksgiving so my wonderful moopit took us out Friday night. Drinks and cheese at Eno, amazing dinner at Purple Pig, and a movie. I felt much loved and in a way better mood by the end of the evening.

birdman - I know this movie isn't going to be for everyone and it's going to get a lot of varying reviews but I loved it and thought it was brilliant. There are some truly beautiful shots and the acting is incredible. Not everyone was in agreement on what the movie was about but I also think that's one of the things that make it so good.

serious conversations - You know, about the future and...stuff. I admittedly spent a large amount of the weekend absorbed in these kind of conversations and they're not that scary and I really like where they seem to be headed. There's a lot of work to do but I'm okay with it.

cranberry bread - Oh man, our new dean in training is kind of awesome and brought us all a loaf of cranberry bread last week. I proceeded to eat a half of a loaf in one sitting this weekend and I seriously needs the recipe.

origami - I just kind of recently (as in last weekend) got back into this. I forgot how calming it is for me to just sit and fold paper for awhile. But, um, now I need more paper...

end of the quarter - My finals are about to be all turned in and I am done with classes until January 5th, this is incredibly wonderful. Now I can focus on studying for the College Mathematics and learning some useful German.

no staff meetings until January - These are such a weird time suck during my day. Sometimes they are useful, most weeks they're...not. It will be lovely to just have that hour back on Thursdays for a few weeks.

being able to give a student good news - Seriously, guys, this NEVER happens. I'm the one that emails students and tells them they're on probation or that they screwed up and can't graduate. But today a student came in hyperventilating and crying because she couldn't locate her final. Turns out she was six hours early not fifteen minutes late and telling her that and giving her a hug kind of made my day.

Things I Love Thursday

As per usual, when things are going well for me, I find it more and more difficult to settle down to write and, more often than not, sit listening to songs with beautiful lyrics and smiling silently to myself. But the holiday weekend was not the greatest for me so I think a reminder of the good things is in order:

Pie - Oh man, I really do bake a killer pie and the Bailey's Irish Cream Pumpkin Pie I made last week had me going back for thirds.

Cider - The alcoholic kind. It helped me through my trip home and discovering my favorite cider (Vandermill Totally Roasted) on tap at a local bar last night reminded me just how much I love this city.

My IT staff - So on Tuesday I thought I had completely destroyed my auditing system and lost a large amount of the work I'd put in over the past year. Yesterday, my wonderful crew worked with me to find the exact problem and fixed it. No greater relief than getting that beautiful email.

My mum - Because even when she says something that hurts my feelings, she immediately realizes it and apologizes the next day. And because we cook some damn good meals together.

The family I chose - Don't get me wrong, there are some truly lovely people that share my genetic code but there are even more that make me feel incredibly uncomfortable in their presence. Being a bisexual agnostic liberal is not something about me they can accept or love and they spew bigotry, judgement, and hatred. However, the friends I have made here are like the family I always wished I had and they make me feel truly warm and fuzzy inside.

This guy - You know that one I vaguebook about and refer to as soldier in adorably sickening tweets. I'm trying not to explode happiness about it everywhere but it leaks out every now and then and can't wait to get Germany and see him again.

Things I Love Thursday

It's been a while since I've done one of these so here are a few things that I'm loving right now. Right now the things I love most are people.

Moopit - Whether we're contemplating what new show we should waste our time on or discussing which nerf weapon I should mod for my crossbow in DR or finding a new place to eat or discussing that awesome pair of shoes I want to buy, this guy is seriously the best friend a lady could have.

Helpful friends - I was seriously violently sick with the stomach flu last week and, even though I didn't actually need any help, there were so many people that would have been willing to bring me food or do anything if I needed them, it makes me feel extremely blessed. Special shout outs to Resa who made sure I didn't have to walk home from Changeling Saturday night.

My mum - For always covering my ass and being there for me in every way she knows how. I cannot wait to take her out to feel the awesomeness of the Chicago running community on Sunday. 

My soldier - This guy has been a good friend of mine for over eight years now and one of the reasons I didn't curl up in a ball of loneliness and terror when I moved to Chicago. He may be in Germany for the next three years but I have pretty high hopes that we have a pretty shiny future ahead of us.

high ideals

I believe...

That every person deserves honesty and kindness and, if someone is unwilling to give those things to you, they aren't worth your time.

In second chances. We're all human and we make mistakes. It's only when someone keeps repeating the same offence and expecting forgiveness that maybe we need to rethink the relationship.

That every person should have access to affordable necessary health and mental care. And for that matter, a warm place to sleep and a healthy meal. Starvation or freezing to death aren't appropriate punishments for poor life decisions or uncontrollable circumstances.

In love that lasts forever and is worth waiting for.

In traveling the world, eating well, having fun, learning everything you can, and experiencing as much as possible before you die.

Friends can be more family than the ones you were born with.

In standing up for the less fortunate and the less privileged and fighting the fights that other people aren't willing to fight.

The individual is more important than the group.

That when your loved ones need you, you drop everything and do everything in your power to help them.

Lies, rumors, and gossip: if you don't have anything nice to say...

It should be no surprise to anyone that I can't stand liars (especially if you had the great privilege of meeting my first husband). It's a concept that I just cannot wrap my mind around, I can't understand why people tell lies to people they love or, even worse, about other people. This has been a pretty distressing topic for me lately as my sister and my moopit have been the victims of this disgusting practice. I'm not going to go into the details or repeat the filth that has been said about two of the people that mean the most to me but let's just say that they're the kind of lies that could do permanent damage to a person's reputation and self-image. With moopit it's been worse because it has caused several rifts among the people I consider to be my friends. The gossip mill has been strong with this one and, while a few friends recognized something fishy, several people believed the lies without ever checking in for another perspective or side of the story. It's caused a lot of stress to the people I care about and makes me really want to bow out of the group involved entirely. So here's my friendly little reminder, dearest readers, if you don't have anything nice to say, just keep your mouth shut. There is never a good reason to spread lies about another human being and, if you hear something particularly terrible about someone else, maybe you should double check all of your facts before spreading it around and ostracizing that person. Let's try and spread a little love for a change, the world has enough problems.

things I never thought I'd be doing

It never ceases to amaze how much life can change in such small amounts of time and here are a few things that I never would have thought I'd be doing three years ago:

- Going back to school and being successful at it.
- Sharing my words and thoughts with everyone without being scared of rejection.
- Loving judo, archery, and running.
- Spending hours of TV binge-watching platonic bliss on the couch with my ex who is now my best friend.
- Fighting for a promotion I never thought I'd be considered for.
- Going camping in the woods of Indiana once a month for the sake of a LARP.
- Being so busy that I sometimes have to turn down plans.
- Planning a care package for a soldier in Germany that I'm pretty smitten with who used to be my best friend.
- Having tons of close lady friends (this is still sometimes weird to me).
- Taking cooking classes and being really good at it.
- Having confidence and independence and control over my social anxiety and depression.

Life's a funny thing. I can't wait to see what changes the next three years bring. 

random thoughts

• Five years ago Emily was a bit of an idiot
• I love when people are protective of their friends
• I love it even more when people use that protectiveness and stand up for their friends
• I really hate messy breakups and people who force other people to make uncomfortable decisions
• Also people that feel the need to stick their nose in where it simply doesn't belong (seriously, folks, mind your business)
• Sometimes the best cure for a week of emotional ick is a weekend spent in your sweatpants, curled up in bed with a good book and your dog
• Emotional angst is good for my writing so I'm pretty sure I'm in for a 4.0 this quarter
• Maybe I should stop turning down the nice guys that ask me out
• I love my little hobbit hole but my landlady drives me nuts
• Why do fire alarm batteries always start to die and start shouting at you in the middle of the night?
• I am ridiculously awesome at my job and it's going to be great experience for when I finish this degree and go for an academic advisor position
• Even though my godfather has been an emotionally abusive jerk my entire life, I appreciate him buying me dinner and it was worth it to finally see my gran up in Chicago
• I am seriously dying to see The Judge this weekend
• Three hours of sleep is totally worth it when you spent the entire night with friends and your favorite on-leave soldier boy
• I wish my mommy came to visit me in Chicago every weekend (okay, okay, I wish my mommy lived in Chicago and I could see her whenever I want)
• Some days I miss the quiet life I had in Arlington Heights with Maggie
• My dog is better at snuggling than everyone else on the planet
• I don't feel like dealing with anything serious right now so I'm just ignoring it until my own head space is better