I find myself exhausted at the end of a long day in which I accomplished a few important things and allowed myself a few unimportant indulgences, and so there is not much time for contemplation. Still, I wanted to note here, for the record, how fortunate I feel at this moment. A year ago today I didn’t know a soul in this city I could call a friend, and now there is more than one bright spark of comradeship in my life here, more than one hand holding a glass raised high to clink against my own. It’s a good, sweet pleasure to begin to find them, these folks; the ones who will make this place kindly.

Besides which, Tom just took the most wonderful photograph of a friendly praying mantis, and that is also a good sign if ever I saw one in my life.

…please go away and leave me be to sleep.

“Less is more.”
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, 28 Jun 1959.

Wednesday. Worked, barely. Left house only to go to gym and sweat like cold glass of beer on hot day, and to return new boots that did not fit. Felt itchy and achy and poor. Discovered neighbors are capable of laughing like screeching hyenas for more than hour on end without stopping. Wondered: Neighbors nitrous oxide addicts? Felt hard done by. Fie on world.

Thursday. Wore this:

…to make this:

Still dubious, but willing to give world a chance. Maybe.

Friday: Ate leftover bread. Took two small, positive work-related steps. Prepared picnic food to eat while watching people try to fly.

Ran out of articles.

…Ross won a scholarship (awesome); we celebrated our first Chicagoversary (surreal); I discovered quite definitively that Amazon customer service representatives are stunningly unable to help me solve buggy website issues with my orders (frustrating, though most of them do have very pleasant, very cultured Indian accents); I baked cookies and they taste fanfuckingtabulous (hooray); we made pizza and it’s so good we’re making it again tomorrow (salivating); it hasn’t rained here since August 5th and all our plants are drooping like old men (sad).

Fall. Is. On. Its. Way.

(Grin.)

We just came back from an evening at the Pritzker listening to these guys and dancing our heads off. Megan, you should have been there—they would have banished your blues in a heartbeat.

Erica, do you know how to tango?