Two months in

First Tuesday of November! I have made it to two full, completed months, of being here. Which both serves as a reminder of how long I’ve been here, and how little time has passed for me mentally. Quite honestly, I’m at the point of both the semester and the fall season, where the weeks kind of just meld together into a grey sludge that takes over my brain until I wake up on Tuesday and go through my camera roll to recall what happened in the previous 168-odd hours since I last posted. Ever the public servant of providing not-needed commentary on transportation and an otherwise completely disinteresting weekend.

Last Tuesday was Halloween, which was a fun little time. The hall I live in hosted a movie, which in the spirit of transparency, I did leave early as it was 10:30, (otherwise known as Gretchen’s prime sleeping hour). Bridget and I dressed up as The Narrator and Tyler from Fight Club, (truth be told one of my fav movies, but in a social critique way?) We were accompanied by the lovely Arya and Megan who were dressed as Paul Walker and Vin Deisel from “The Fast and The Furious” movie, and Sarah, who dressed as herself. Overall, a grand old time, although to the younger crowd reading this the movie being screened was “Pearl”, which is better to watch with a crowd than most horror movies, not necessarily the one I would choose.

Over the weekend I embarked on a journey to complete a school assignment called a “co-curricular”. A co-curricular is essentially something honors students must go to and then write a reflection on. I chose the activity of going to the AIDS Memorial Garden, an easy 45-minute commute, 4 miles south, right on the lake. It’s quite the space, lots of benches and trees, all surrounding a Keith Harring statute. There is plenty of beautiful natural places in Chicago, but the parks on the shore can’t be beaten. Despite Michigan being a state hugged by bodies of water, looking at the lake on the Chicago side feels different. As if standing on Illinois shores, the water is just being borrowed from MI.

After my lovely sit-and-think at the garden, I did get the opportunity to go to the yarn store. I’m officially out of honors essay season for the remainder of 2023, this, however, is slightly darkened by the existence of a final project, one in which the theme is “visions”. Yep, that’s it. I’m looking ahead for myself and my train rides, between now and the end of the semester and am going to try my very best to finagle my way into knitting a shawl and calling it a vision of “the ancient history of women’s handy-crafts, and a look into the vision of aging.” To be honest, I bought some yarn off eBay and want to use it.

Upcoming, as in, the next two hours, I get to go the Whole Foods to buy a cake. Because it's a double birthday! Some of my favorite Scorpios Megan and Sydney have their birthday today and tomorrow, and although I don’t like my own birthday being celebrated, I am a sucker for celebrating others! So, a public happy 19th b-day to Megan and Sydney, you’re so close to beating teen pregnancy, soldier on!

Well, that’s all for this week. My Excel homework has been kicking my behind so rest assured I can find something academic to complain about.

Hugs and kisses to all!

-Gretchen