A constant wind

So, I'm being a little scandalous by blogging at work...but hey, it's Friday and I've been slacking on this but really really wanting to keep it up so sometimes you have to break some rules right?! I have literally wanted to blog every day this week and then got caught up in work, followed by things to do post-work or just not wanting to get back on a computer. But alas, I really need to be more diligent...I swore that I would utilize this as a way to share stories to my family back in VT and here I am, slacking.

I honestly can't believe it's already the end of October. I feel like the past few months have been a constant wind, as in, things have been forever moving forward, quickly whisking by, never slowing down. It feels like yesterday I was sitting on Soe's front porch drinking wine and eating cheese back in Burlington (that got me a little teary eyed to type!). But here I am, in Chicago, the windy city. Although I haven't really been here that much. It's crazy how much I'm traveling, more than I did in VT which is funny b/c I thought I'd travel less. But despite how exhausting it is, and how much of my "Me" time I've sacrificed over the past few months, I've gone to some amazing places and formed incredible memories, great friendships and learned a lot. I look through my photos of the past few months and there are pictures from sports games all over the country, Times Square at 3am, kissing one of the Budweiser Clydesdales, dancing w/a New Orleans Jazz legend, watching the lights of Vegas turn on, and more. I think about my life since I graduated college and how incredible it has been and what amazing stories I'll be able to tell my kids one day. I have spent my 20's traveling the US, experiencing so many incredible things, and on someone else's dime! I am a lucky girl.

So, along w/the excitement of travel and adventures comes the other side of me. As much of a "people person" as I am, I'm truly an introvert...I recharge in solitude. And solitude is not something I've had much of the past few months. I keep dreaming of a Sunday on my couch, sipping a latte, reading the paper, burning one of my favorite Yankee fall candles, listening to soft jazz. Spending an afternoon working on the art project I've been planning in my head for 3 years. Taking a walk and petting dogs, stopping for a glass of wine and reading a book. All these things I used to do so often that have been pushed aside. And sure, I do some of it myself because I told myself to not turn down any invitations as that will be the only way I meet people and make friends. I am just hoping for a reprieve of sorts, a few weekends to relax and catch up on me.

And to close out for today, I will list three things I love about this city to share w/my VT followers to let you in on my life here:
1) The sounds of the city. Trees rustling from the wind, dogs barking, the El whooshing by, children laughing, the occassional horn. I know it seems weird to like those, but it just reminds me how much life there is in the city.
2) The river. We were walking to lunch the other day and crossed the river into the Loop and I looked down the river at the glimmering water and towering skyscrapers reflected in it and had to pause...it is truly so beautiful.
3) The architecture. I love riding the El and seeing old brick buildings with the original name painted on the side, slowly fading, or the sleek glass cake-tier Trump building, or the rusty metal on the beams of the El tracks, or the old factories turned into lofts with balconies covered in plants and BBQ's and places people sit and enjoy their downtime.