#14 - Summit a New Mountain

So all throughout camp, I was like, I should probably go on the Hobie Cat since "sail a catamaran" is on my list. But then I didn't. Because I was too busy doing exactly what I wanted to do at each moment, which was mostly hang with camp people.

Then, as I was looking through my list to update my blog, I realized, we had definitely summitted a new mountain, and that's on the list too!

The Monday of camp, we went up Kipp Mountain, and though the views were spectacular from the cliff at the top of the trail through the OFFICIAL tree farm, we didn't quite summit it.

Thursday, we did a trail called the Balm of Gilead Mountain, which is a badass name but also very hard to remember. It may or may not be the summit of Gilead Mountain, but it kinda looked like it was, so I'm counting it. Gilead Mountain: summitted.

And what a lovely crew. We didn't get lost in the woods, but if we had, the company would have been lovely as it included at least 4 friends I've know for 29+ years and my dad. While the views, again, were spectacular, it's just divine to hike with a group where even with 15 or so of us, it doesn't matter who you're hiking next to because all down the line, the conversation is likely to be lovely. Stop, take a break, ask for bug spray, you're taken care of. The travel-bathroom stories on the way down really passed the time as well.

As the trip was probably almost 3 hours, including the 45-minute each way drive each way, plus an extra stop*, there isn't much more story to tell.

*Thanks, Peggy, for the root beer floats. Sorry we made you buy us gifts on your anniversary. :)

#18 - Don't Drink for 4 Weeks

A few days in. Feeling sleepy on the train.

Welp, buying a nice couch and attending a wedding put me back in the world of living paycheck to paycheck, so I decided this would be the perfect month to take a break from drinking and save myself all of those dollars that usually go towards wine. Here's a quick tour of the month...

5 days in: I usually crave red wine with dinner, but somehow I'm making do just fine with iced herbal tea. I was also worried about trivia night, when wine is half priced, and splitting bottles with my friends is part of the fun, but I managed that just fine too. Now it's Saturday night, and I'm looking forward to a productive Sunday with no trace of a hangover.

12 days in: Well, I've replaced that red wine craving with a craving for dessert. I am not a sweets person. Or, at least, I didn't think I was. But maybe I got so much sugar from alcohol that I didn't need it in traditional desserts. But within the last week, I actually bought both ice cream and a piece of carrot cake at the store and ate them. Usually any sweets I bring home just sit untouched. It's very weird. But otherwise, I feel no different.

15 days in: I had a headache yesterday, and that was annoying because headaches are supposed to be reserved for hangovers. I also was certainly not dehydrated as I've subbed in iced herbal tea for alcohol and drink A LOT of it.

Two weeks in: Still not feeling like a superhero

16 days in: I had another headache today! Are these wine withdrawal symptoms? I am definitely eating plenty of ice cream to make up for the loss of unnecessary sugar.

17 days in: No ice cream yesterday! Lots of pizza but no ice cream!

22 days in: I'm dying for a glass of red wine. Please let this be over soon.

24 days in: Is it wine yet?

25 days in: Yesterday was the toughest day. My dearest Nicole was in town and I am very susceptible to peer pressure. I can't believe I resisted her charms and offers of beer.

27 days in: Just over 24 hours to go! So ready for some wine! Or bourbon! Also, very disappointed that the only physical difference I've noticed is the lack of hangovers... but then again, I'm old enough that I rarely get hangovers anymore (due to a increase in decision making abilities, not in increased physical abilities). So that's not really that great of a benefit. I went on a run today and felt... the same. Definitely haven't lost any weight. Possibly due to the increase in ice cream intake, but I really doubt I ate as many calories of ice cream as I usually drink in wine. Super weird that I don't seem to notice a difference. I guess I'll see next year if 5 weeks makes a difference. In other news: I feel completely validated in my drinking habits.

So I finished up this streak just a few days before camp. After my trivia gig that night, I went to The Lunatic, the Lover, and the Poet for a glass of delicious wine. It was super delicious. And I definitely got buzzed off one glass. I think stopped at Whole Foods for a bottle of wine because I was all like, I'm having TWO glasses of wine tonight! I then took the creepiest Lyft ride home of my life.

The dude said he was new at driving Lyft. Friendly enough. Definitely backed up down a downtown street rather than going around the block. But friendly. We picked up another passenger. Driver told me a guy he had picked up the previous night had gotten sick, puking out the door from the exact seat I was currently sitting in. TMI, bro. Then he dropped off the second passenger. Drove me home. Got all pumped singing while cruising up Lake Shore Drive. Said he wished we could get a six pack and hang out at the beach. Said he probably couldn't kiss me after, but he'd drive me home. That my husband probably wouldn't like that. I laughed nervously. Then, at my exit, told me he'd like to kidnap me. That he used to kidnap people but he didn't do that anymore. That he just wanted to hang out and I could leave when I wanted to. Everything nearby was closed except a bar. I didn't want to tell him to drop me off there because I was afraid he'd see that as an invite. Plus, he already had my address. He made some mention of what my dad would think if I brought him home. Then asked one more time if he could keep me. I said, no, jumped out, and went home.

So... that killed my one-glass-of-fantastic-wine buzz.

Men are trash.

Don't worry. I called it in to Lyft and CPD.... after a car matching the description of his was parked across from my building in the morning. I'm 99% positive it had a different plate, but I didn't want to get too close to check it out.

Luckily I left for vacation soon after, and he didn't seem like a guy with a long attention span. But yeah, I don't see myself going out alone after dark anymore. Because some asshat thought that comments about kidnapping someone already in his car was flirting.

After the 4 weeks, my drinking has decreased and I don't crave it every night. I hope I can continue to cut down on the alcohol... without subbing in the dessert!

#84 - Try a New Water Sport

Another item I'd checked off, but I was so geeked about working somewhere I got to try fun new activities with my coworkers that I forgot it was on the list.

Just a few weeks into my new job, one of my coworkers, Stephanie Punda, invited us all to tryout paddleboard yoga to see if she wanted to add it to the group fitness schedule. As it was something I'd been wanting to try since trying stand-up paddle boarding in San Diego, that was a big yes from me.

Six of us showed up for the class. Steph told us we could stay dry, so that was a plus. Until we had to get into the water to get on our boards. Oh, and then the first thing we learned was how to fall off our boards.

While I liked the class, I'm not sure it's something I'd pay to go to or make part of my regular routine. While I'm sure the balancing was good for my little muscles, I didn't feel like I got a good enough workout. The most enjoyable part was goofing with my coworkers. I'd give it a go again sometime though.

#19 - Contact a Government Official

I thought I was WAY behind schedule, but then I browsed my list, and um, duh, I already did some of these things. January was so discombobulating that apparently I had completely forgotten about my list and certainly that this was something I planned to do even before I knew all the chaos that was to befall us starting January 20, 2017.

I honestly can't remember what I called about, but I certainly remember calling Illinois Senator Tammy Duckworth to express my support of whatever she was doing. See, the frustrating thing is that the elected officials from the area where I live are generally the ones already voting the way I'd prefer, and they are being vocal about their resistance in the harm being done at the national level. While I understand calls in support are also important, they feel useless. It's hard to feel like energy spent in that way is useful. It's especially frustrating since for the last 14 years, I've lived in Illinois, California, and Massachusetts, three states that, no matter which way I voted, were going to go blue in national elections and overwhelmingly vote in Democratic candidates, some of whom are fantastic and some of whom are mediocre or worse. Personally, I consider myself an independent even though I nearly always vote Democrat over Republican. I'd love to see more third party candidates, to slowly move out of this two-party system, and after the nonsense the Democrats have pulled politically lately, I don't want to support that party. But in those three states, votes for third party candidates matter about the same as Republican votes, which is to say, minimally.

Also frustrating, this past January and February, each time I called an office of an elected official outside of my geographic location, the lines were busy and they were not accepting messages. It's interesting that each elected official gets to decide how many calls they receive and whether or not to accept messages. It wasn't shocking though. Of course Paul Ryan doesn't want to hear from me. He's busy playing politics with people's lives. No time to listen to actual people. That's distracting from the goal: maintaining political power.

Now that I'm reflecting, I do think I should have been more active in contacting state elected officials regarding the budget crisis. I spend a little time with Witness Slips, which are an interesting concept. Maybe I'll keep that on my regular to-do list. But the state budget crisis directly affected people I know. Northeastern Illinois University lost full-time positions; people lost their jobs and students lost members of their support network. So many NEIU students are first generation, which makes those support networks especially important. MAP grant funding indirectly affected me as the funding didn't come through in the appropriate fiscal year and thus could not be used as intended at DePaul. Elected officials were playing politics with people's livelihoods and opportunities. After so much press about the violence in Chicago, I was furious to see local colleges affected so drastically. These are places that give Illinois residents from low-income areas and first generation students an opportunity to pursue higher education, which then empowers them to even more fully give back to the city. I could have, should have, been more actively vocal. I do intend to vote against every incumbent in the state legislature next time around, to do research on candidates and support those who support education (among other things), but I also promise, here, in writing, to contact those local/state elected officials instead of stewing in my own anger.