Recent Reads: The Virgin Suicides

I picked up The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugene on a whim a few weeks ago. (Coincidentally, the author is the same person who wrote Middlesex - a book I started to read last year as part of my long distance book club but just never made it through.) I had watched the movie about a year ago when I stumbled upon it one rainy afternoon on Netflix*. The movie was good but almost left me feeling unsettled so I thought following it up with the book might be a good bet.

The story is told by neighborhood boys in 1970's Detroit who are mildly obsessed with their neighbors, the Lisbon girls. The five girls, Mary, Bonnie, Therese, Lux and Cecelia, all commit suicide in their family's modest suburban home over the course of the year. Disturbing, yes.

Death is an overlying theme in this book, but so many other themes are explored. It picks apart adolescence and coming of age, as well as sex and love. It focuses on freedom and an escape from the rules of society. Uniquely positioned in Detroit right at the start of its fall from glory (I've since learned the author is actually from Detroit), the book almost eludes to the fact that the Lisbon girls are symbolic of the general feeling of the time. The girls end their young lives because of the ugliness around them, just as so many were fleeing the city as it took its turn from the worse. The book almost makes the case the that the Lisbon girl suicides were their break for freedom, versus the end of their lives.

The book is not a casual read. If you're looking for an easy read, this is not it. But if you're looking for something a little deeper and darker and thought provoking, this might be it. It was not my favorite book but I am considering giving Middlesex another try.

*Side note: The movie is still available on Netflix if you're interested in only a two commitment versus a 243 page commitment.

How long is your birthday?

Lydia said to me, "I feel like your birthday always seems to extend way more than a day." And she was right. And I am incredibly grateful for my incredible family, friends and co-workers who make it that way.

This year, my birthday kind of snuck up on me. With the craziness of moving and getting settled into a new city and routine over the past weeks, I couldn't believe my eyes when I looked at my calendar and saw that my birthday was right around the corner. I also couldn't believe that I was turning the big 25 this year. A full quarter century old!

Two weekends before my birthday, I headed home to Grand Rapids to celebrate Easter with my family. We also went out to dinner to celebrate my birthday at Bonefish Grill. I was surprised with this delicious and rich cookie pie (I don't like cake).

(Birthday dinner)

The next weekend I was back in Chicago and decided to celebrate my birthday with my friends (my real birthday fell on a Monday this year). Mary and I kicked off the weekend with a low-key dinner at Kuma's. Whenever I'm at a place with exceptionally good or unique food I always think of Laurissa and how I wish she could experience it too. I didn't inspect the menu too closely while I was there, but just from briefly skimming the burger choices I think she would've died. (They're all named after famous rock bands!)

Lydia was coming into town and she suggested we go for a birthday weekend run. I hate running but I agreed because she promised there would be treats at the end. It was perfect weather for a run, sunny with just a bit of breeze and the views from beach we ran to were spectacular. (I should clarify that this run turned into a walk.)

(Views of the Lake and the skyline deserve two thumbs up.)

Finally, we made it to Everybody's Coffee for delicious treats. This coffee house was so fun and probably my new favorite, and my iced latte was spectacular as well. While I ran to the bathroom, Lydia surprised me with this amazing cinnamon roll topped with a koala. I died.

(I LOVED this!)

Celebrations continued Saturday evening (I have such great friends!). Mary had arranged for us to head to DOC Wine Bar. It was really beautiful spot and they served flights of wine! All of the flights were named after Chicago neighborhoods, I had the Lakeview (appropriate since that's where I live). We also all shared the Grande Butcher Block which had some of the best meat and cheese you can imagine (I tried duck!) and a brie and pear bruschetta which was heaven.

(Flights of wine!)

Full of wine and cheese we headed to the J. Parker, the rooftop bar at the Lincoln Hotel. The weather was perfect for sitting outside with the fire pits and the views of the lake and the city were spectacular. The cocktails at this bar were also pretty good and I learned I actually really like dirty martinis (surprising, since I HATE olives)!

(#lemmetakeaselfie)

(Mary was in this photo, but she apparently can't handle photos.)

The night ended with Brad and Matt taking me for ice cream (perfect).

I love my friends. :)

Rowing Life Lessons: #3 It's Ok If Not Everyone Likes You

I have always worried if people like me. I don't know why, I just do. I'm always nervous that people secretly don't like me. And I feel like in the past I've adapted who I am to make sure I don't ruffle anyone's feathers.

This has been true for me for along time. I recall in middle school once pretending to not like Harry Potter because none of my friends liked Harry Potter. I know, how could I ever pretend to not like Harry Potter? Straight blasphemy.

I digress.

The thing with being around the same people for four years nearly everyday and spending almost every weekend traveling together is you can't really be on everyone's good side all the time. People become less like your friend and more like your brother or sister - and I know I at least fight very openly with my sister. Plus, as a coxswain you're essentially the voice of the boat and at times the team. And not everyone is going to like what you're saying.

Bye Beantown, Hello Windy City

So, the past few weeks have been crazy. Like really crazy. In less than a month, I accepted a job in Chicago, sold most of my furniture, moved out of my apartment in Boston, rented a mini-van, drove halfway across the country, moved into a studio apartment in Chicago and started work at PR agency in Chicago. My head is still spinning a little. Don't get me wrong, I loved Boston. Really loved it. (Seriously, check out all of these great memories I have there.) But I always knew I would find myself in Chicago in the next few years. Did I think 2015? No. But everything sort of just fell into place. And I'm a true believer that some things are just meant to be, and if all the signs are saying go for it - you better effing do it. So I did it.

(Home sweet home)

I've gotta give a major thanks to Babcia and Poppy because they helped so much in the moving/setting up a new apartment process. I've never lived completely by myself before. I've had a variety of unique living situations, but never completely by myself. I wasn't sure how much I would like it at first - I'm a people person, I like company and people to talk to and do stuff with. But so far, (maybe I'm jumping the gun by saying this because I've only been in the apartment for two weeks) but I LOVE it.

The space is small. Like really small. Do you know how small 350 sq ft is? Neither did I. But I sure do now. Honestly, at times it feels like a glorified dorm room. I can see my bathtub and kitchen sink all from my bed. I'm taller than my refrigerator. My bathroom may be larger than my kitchen. But it's great and it's all mine. That's what I love about it. All 350 sq ft of it are mine.

I haven't been able to do much exploring of the city yet (and haven't really wanted to since the weather has been cold, wet and windy) but I can't wait to. There's so much to do right in my neighborhood! And my commute to work is SO easy (pending traffic it can be as quick as 15 minutes door to door with about 4 minutes of walking).

I can't wait to document what my new adventures here will bring - I've already had a couple!

Recent Reads: Yes Please

I don't think I've ever read a memoir before but I think Amy Poehler's Yes Please was a great one to start with. The book is very conversational, it feels like Amy Poehler is just causally talking to you in your living room - sharing her life experiences and thoughts on different topics.

I grew up watching Amy perform on SNL and loved to hear her take on things. She discusses growing up just outside of Boston, the birth of her children, the beginnings of her career, her time on SNL and her work on Parks and Recreation. She touches on her divorce and throws in bits of wisdom and life lessons. The book is funny. It's relatable. It's very worth reading.

The book itself is fun to read. Amy adds color by sprinkling old candid photos, scraps of paper and notes, and fun quotes to live by. A few of my favorites below:

(I actually half disagree with this one.)

Amy also discusses her work on Amy Poehler's Smart Girls - a wonderful site that I just learned of and that you should definitely check out.

This book is so worth reading if you're looking for an enjoyable, uplifting and relatable book. Also, I'd just like to put it out there that I really think if Amy Poehler and I ever met we would be best friends.

Rowing Life Lessons: #2 Losing Doesn't Mean You Failed

I'm a fairly competitive and bossy person by nature. When I was little, most of the games I staged with my little sister were really contests - dance contests, cartwheel contests, hula hoop contests, diving contests, - you get the picture. And I was always very dead set on winning all of these contests. I even would alter the rules of the board game Pretty, Pretty Princess to ensure that I always won. (Thank god I have a fairly low key sister who just went along with my antics because otherwise I'm sure a lot of hair pulling would've been involved.)

I like winning.

Recent Reads: Unaccustomed Earth

So... I actually didn't really like this book. I received this book as part of book club holiday book swap. (I swapped The Art of Racing in the Rain which is an unexpectedly amazing read and a real tear jerker.)

I didn't dislike reading the Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri - it was well written and enjoyable to get through. But I guess I found it lacking a real plot line. The book tells eight different stories of Bengali families. I kept expecting the plot lines to intersect and for the reader to suddenly realize that all of the stories were connected but it didn't and left me feeling slightly disappointed. I also expected the author to revisit each of the stories later on in the book to give some closure to the tale but she didn't.

(Starting the book in Logan Airport on my flight home for Christmas... that gives you an idea of how long it took me to get through.)

Maybe I missed the point to this book? Maybe it just went over my head? As I got towards the end of the book and realized there wasn't going to be any grand revelation, I frankly just wanted it to end and found myself rushing through the last few pages just to be done with it.

At least I finished it?