On the Cusp...

Taking a deep breath over here... Spring is always a crazy time of year - seriously, more people suffer nervous breakdowns and serious bouts of depression during the spring time than any other time because all of the blooming, the growing, the change reminds people just how stuck they are. Stuck works in the winter, it's cozy in the winter and a slap in the face on the first 70 degree day..This spring has been even crazier than usual what with the lack of serious permanent jobage and the chaos of the 2nd Story Fest (yay! we are awesome!).

I find myself drifting through the day, distracted by a million tugs on the sleeve of my subconcious. Little things have become hard to do and big things like job interviews and organizing schedules now seem so much easier than figuring out what to wear or how to keep in touch with the bajillion of friends that I no longer can keep a handle on...lameness... But, the lameness is breaking up just like the winter weather has and I find myself on the cusp of something potentially good- a job, a new one that is in a totally foreign much more corporate environment - which I'm thinking of as "Yay new environment! I will approach this like I'm Uncle Traveling Matt on the Fraggles and just observe how strange corporate shit works". To be honest I've worked in a quite a few creative offices in the past couple of years and the chance to work in an atmosphere that has honest to god rules and boundaries seems like a nice change of pace... I say this now...This is quite a big change though and it means that the "Holy shitballs! How am I going to pay my rent AND buy groceries!" worries may be over! Hoorah!

The Boy I heart and I went to the Dog Park this weekend (P.S. Big Ups to Puptown, the best dog park in Chicago !) and my head almost exploded with all of the cute dog-ness running around. Puggles and terriers and labs and golden retrievers all running in never ending circles with intermittent breaks to suck down some water. I heart going to the dog park (although not so much the dog beach because it's, well, it's kind of too much and also kind of like standing in a big pile of gross because you know that every dog that has visited has used the beach for business other than ball catching) but, I heart the dogs and not so much the people.. I mean there was a guy there this Sunday who must have just gotten his first digital camera before coming to the park because he was up in everyone's junk taking pictures, getting in the dogs ways - I mean let them have their room, it's their time! - and totally neglecting his seven year old son who was literally throwing himself around in the gravel, which is recockulously disgusting, I mean I barfed a little in my mouth... Long story short the amount of cute dogs outweighed the effects of rude folks and it made me hopeful that this summer will bring tons of surprises and more days of lazing around watching cute things run in circles...

I feel caught between places, moments, jobs, seasons right now. Life is a jig saw puzzle who's pieces almost match up and it is driving me a bit crazy. I am no good at living in the gray areas, at handling the in betweens and that is what the past few months have schooled me in. Learning to not only accept each bump in the road but also to learn from it, to trust that whatever comes along it's really not the end of the world (unless it is the end of the world - I just watched Cloverfield and that shit is scary).

Things that are Yay!:
1) The Worst Hard Time by Tim Egan - A book about the Great Depression, more specifically the Dust Bowl. I can hear you thinking "Awesome Heather! Like actual real life isn't depressing enough!" And yes, this story is depressing which is probably why I never really got all the facts about it but, it is so much more than that. It is inspiring that folks lived through four years straight of drought and dust storms, that they had the tenacity to hold on. It is also just a really great book that gives the reader all of the facts without skimping on the actual people's story... Really good! P.S. Because I'm reading this I turned to Dave during a thunderstorm last night and said "People living in the Dust Bowl fired explosives into clouds to make this sort of shit happen!" to which he replied "Nerd - O!"

2) The Bryant Park Project - NPR Podcasts how I heart you! Especially this twice a day bad boy that makes working on expense sheets twenty times easier...

3) My friend Heather - Who said "Why haven't you blogged lately?" which made my heart grow two sizes bigger because I honestly think that nobody reads this..She is amazing and I am lucky to have a friend to not only drink margaritas with but who also tells me the truth, straight up on a daily basis...She is gold!

4) 30 Rock - Lately has been too good to be true! Is it getting funnier?!? Is that even possible?!?!?

5) Curling Irons! - Used to be on my boo list because of an unfortunate curling iron accident that occurred backstage during a Betty Jane Turner Dance Recital when I was six (dancing the Can Can, might I add!) but now has rocketed to the top of the Yay! because, honestly, I have not been able to afford to get hair done and this bad boy makes it looks so bouncy like Shirley Temple! Whoot!

Things that are Boo:

1) Saying Goodbye - to all of the truly awesome, funny, creative in the best sense of the word, folks that I've worked with for the past three months... They make this job the best!

2) Starting Yet Another New Job - Makes me so nervy! Yipers!