#8 - Walk 52 Times

 1 - 1/2/21, 40 minutes in Pittsfield Township

2 - 3/19/21, 30 minutes in Pittsfield Township

3 - 3/18/21, 5 minutes around the pond with my dad

4 - 3/29/21, 29 minutes in Pittsfield Township

5 - 4/9/21, 39 minutes in Pittsfield Township

6 - 4/17/21, 35 minutes in Pittsfield Township

7 - 4/24/21, 35 minutes in Pittsfield Township

8 - 4/27/21, 40 minutes in Pittsfield Township

9 - 5/10/21, 15 minutes to the store in Chicago

10 - 5/17/21, 47 minutes along the lake shore in Chicago

11 - 5/27/21, 16 minutes in Uptown

12 - 5/31/21, 47 minutes in Uptown

13 - 6/3/21, 42 minutes in Uptown

14 - 6/12/21, 110 minutes in Marbury State Park with Chris Krone & Jackie Schafer

15 - 6/14/21, 55 minutes in Pittsfield Township

16 - 6/26/21, 55 minutes in Uptown

17 - 6/28/21, 60 minutes in Uptown

18 - 7/5/21, 65 minutes in Uptown

19 - 7/17/21, 70 minutes in Pittsfield Township (Pokemon Go Fest 2021)

20 - 7/18/21, 81 minutes in Pittsfield Township (Pokemon Go Fest 2021)

21 - 7/20/21, 79 minutes in Pittsfield Township

22 - 7/30/21, 80 minutes in Uptown

23 - 8/4/21, some time around downtown and the Riverwalk with Nicole Green

24 - 8/5/21, 32 minutes in Uptown

25 - 8/8/21, with Grace in Bay Park

26 - 8/10/21, with Grace in Bay Park

27 - 8/15/21, with Corey Grassl and Christian Imboden in the Poconos

28 - 8/17/21, with Peggy Salsbury

29 - 8/18/21, 45 minutes in the Poconos

30 - 9/2/21, 30 minutes in Uptown/Rogers Park

31 - 9/9/21, 18 minutes in Uptown with Shaun Cooley

32 - 9/19/21, 32 minutes in Uptown

33 - 9/23/21, 16 minutes in Uptown

34 - 9/26/21, 34 minutes in Uptown

35 - 9/29/21, 90 minutes in Uptown

36 - 10/7/21, 30 minutes in Uptown

37 - 10/8/21, 32 minutes in Uptown

38 - 10/16/21, 30 minutes in downtown Chicago

39 - 11/3/21, 90 minutes in Lincoln Park because I ran out of gas and forgot my wallet at home

40 - 11/4/21, 110 minutes in the Morton Arboretum with Stephanie Souvenir

41 - 12/3/21, a very long time (3 hours or so?) in La Paz Waterfall Gardens with Jerry Krone & Kathy Krone

#1 - Submit Another Piece of Writing for Publication

I submitted an article I've been working on for about six years to an academic journal. Last year, I submitted almost the exact same article to the exact same journal, so I thought I was done with it. Then, I received a quick rejection: because I'd neglected to notice the 7,000 word limit and submitted the article with 10,000+ words. Cutting those last 3,000 words to resubmit has been a chore. In doing so, I do think I've created a stronger piece, and I'm hopeful!

#6 - Bike 100 Miles

 

While I was back in Michigan during the pandemic, I did a lot of biking. There are bike paths for miles and miles near my parents house, so many and well placed that one could go 10 miles or so and only cross one major road. It got me back in the habit of biking as a form of transportation when I went back to the city. The exercise is certainly nice, but it also allowed me to skip trains, buses, and ride shares, saving money and keeping me away from enclosed spaces with strangers.

I don't often take pictures while biking, but on my first bike ride back in Chicago, in May 2021, I did some exploring, finding myself on the peninsula that surrounds Montrose Harbor. I paused my ride to marvel at how pretty Chicago is and to enjoy that even after 12 years and living in 5 different neighborhoods, I still get to explore new places. In addition to what's pictured here, there are sand dunes, wooded paths, and a bird sanctuary, on on this tiny strip of land I'd always thought was just a concrete bit that wrapped around the harbor and protected the boats. 

Cheers to mundane habits that lead to adventures and more miles in 2021.

#45 - Help Someone With Their List of Goals

I didn't even realize that I was helping someone with their goals when I sat down around a campfire for s'mores. The idea of singing camp songs was poo poo'ed by some in the group, but it turns out three of the kids needed to lead a group in some songs for merit badges. I mean, camp songs, s'mores, and merit badges? Yes please.

We quickly realized how morbid many, many camp songs are. Lots of harm and death. Even eating family members. (Herman, I'm looking at you.) So fun... but also weird... which made it more fun.

#24 - Make XO Sauce

I'd seen a video on Serious Eats about this sauce and made it a goal to make some to flavor-up plain meals. It has so many ingredients (15) and so many steps (7) and takes so much time (3 hours, 1 hour of which is actively working). Most of the ingredients I do not keep around regularly (e.g., dried scallops, dried shrimp, Jinhua ham, oyster sauce), so it was a pricy undertaking.

All of it was worth it. 

Damn is this an amazing condiment.

I tried it with poached fish, with rice and a fried egg, in fried rice (the best use I've tried so far), and a few other things. 

Next time I make it, I'll likely halve the amounts because I couldn't get through that much of it by myself (and my parents are allergic to scallops, so they couldn't help), but I will definitely make it again! What a fun way to add SO much flavor to some basic, economic meals!

#3 - Read 3 More Books From the Top 100 of the 20th Century List

1- Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad

4/7/21, for class, for the second time

I enjoyed the writing more the second time I read this but hated the racism even more.

2 - Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys

5/6/21, for class

Maybe I didn't like / didn't get this because I haven't read Jane Eyre? How is one of the 100 best books of the century dependent on reading another book though?

3 - Passage to India by E. M. Forster

7/23/21, for class, for the second time

I read this for the first time after reading that Salman Rushie wrote Midnight's Children in response to this book. The first time I read it, I was like, okay, fine, some English dude's trip through India. The second time I read it, I was in a postcolonial literature course and realized how much colonial nonsense was in the book--mostly on purpose. In addition, there were deeper themes about the effects of colonialism and relationships. I actually liked this one more on my second read and look forward to reading Midnight's Children again to catch more nuance there.

#9 - Watch 3 Films That Have Won the Best Film, Actor, or Actress Academy Awards

 1 - Judy 

1/13/21

I enjoyed this film a lot more than I thought I would. Renee Zellweger was brilliant, yet the film itself wasn't just a vehicle to win her an Oscar. It was a lovely, thoughtful, touching film. I recommend it.

2 - The Iron Lady

2/25/21

I was expecting this film to be a Meryl vehicle and to be impressed by her undeniable abilities. I was not expecting to be affected by it. Yet, in the final scenes, I sobbed. It was a very different story than I expected, and I thought they did a fantastic job of presenting Margaret Thatcher as a whole human. Gorgeously acted.

3 - Nomadland

6/2/21

I thought a few other films deserved the Best Film win over Nomadland, but Frances MacDormand was incredible. She was her character and carried the wandering narrative with her. She made me think of all of the anonymous people I have seen in small towns on road trips throughout my life. While I adored Carrie Mulligan's performance in A Promising Young Woman, MacDormand deserved this Oscar.