Life In the Times of the Corona

So...2020. It's been a bit of a roller coaster ride hasn't it? I never regret the century and millennium I was born in, but boy oh boy, are we experiencing it all. I'd made the wise decision to go off Twitter in December, but the corona dragged me back there -- mostly because local press conferences were being live streamed there and until Friday, I truly believe that if I didn't watch it live, I'd miss some lifesaving detail. That's no true. Sure, the shelf life of the guidance isn't too long, but it's been pretty consistently accurate in the thirty minutes after.

So things have been...interesting. There are so many other adjectives out there, and fear, worry, panic are probably the boldest in the word cloud. It gives me hope to read about the acknowledgement of our collective anxiety contagion. Common sense, rooted in both plain common sense and proportionate worry, is of course necessary. Less necessary is the constant link-bombing filled with terrible news. Lots of people are surviving the corona. It still doesn't mean we don't need social distancing and to curb the spread and not actively harm the most vulnerable of the populations. Nothing I've said in this paragraph is or should be new information for anyone. 

Since you've made it this far, I think you deserve some happy distractions. This video of the penguins taking a walk around the Shedd aquarium is adorable. Kudos to Morning Brew for a handy guide on thriving in the quarantine. I recommend subscribing to it for a concise and non-dramatic summary of the state of the world each morning -- if it's coming to an end, I'd still want my daily dose of snark. Check out the badass Dr. Allison Arwady who is the Commissioner of the Chicago Department of Public Health. We are lucky to have her leading the response, grounded in facts, experience, and competence. Attributes which clearly are not widely-valued in others parts of government. 

Oh October!

I don't know where October went. I do know that it snowed in October, the scariest thing about this Halloween. My mom left in the middle of October, the teacher's strike started the next day, and the subsequent eleven work days were..something else. We returned to regular work on a Friday, and it was disorienting to say the least. I think the weekend helped in resetting. It's been busy, good busy, but still busy. I still haven't figured out the complete trick to getting my mind to quiet down completely so I have a million thoughts flitting at any given moment. That's a stressful mind space, it does make me feel that in addition to whatever I am worrying about, there are things I am forgetting to worry about.  

Everyday Bag(gage?): What I Carry With Me

Current Handbag: Seville Tote and Shell by Lo and Sons

Ever since I can remember, I've been called some version of a Bag Lady and it's a pretty appropriate moniker. To be fair, I used to travel from Noida to college in North Campus, and then to work in Gurgaon. College had no clean water and toilets that didn't work. Work had long days (I'm talking 9 pm). So... it made sense I had so many bags. Of course, the weight took a toll on my back and shoulders and every once in a while, my back would seize up. Also, I start out organized but I am not the best at staying organized and so my handbag would become a black hole of sorts. If I needed one thing, six would have to come out first. As I turned thirty, I started to care more -- about the weight of things on me, about the look of things on me, and the ease of finding things. And lo and behold, there was Lo and Sons (see what I did there ha). A colleague introduced me to the brand and did a demo with her bag, where she was able to pull out both an orange and a pair of pumps and I was hooked. It's definitely a cult phenomenon, and if you are used to buying bags from TJ Maxx or Target, on the pricier side. I think it's worth the investment -- I was lucky that I got my first bag (The O.G.) at a Crossroads consignment shelf. Earlier this year I was ready to upgrade to a sleeker exterior, and I bought The Seville on a sale. I could go on and on about how structured and intuitive the inside pockets of Lo and Sons' bags are -- they are made for people who travel for work (so.. most of us). 

I'm also very curious about what other women carry in their handbags and purses, and confounded by those who are able to travel only with a crossbody (it's a mixture of admiration and envy, and not judgement). I'm a sucker for all the articles about what's in your bag types of articles and videos. I've been wanting to unpack mine for a minute -- both actually and in words as well. Today happened to be a holiday, and I had both the wish and energy to do this aka the Venn diagram space where life outside work happens. If you are still here for the ride, here we go :)

Phase I: Dumping It All Out

Alright so what you are seeing here is what happens when I randomly clutch things from the bag and dump them on the floor. The inside of the bag was not this chaotic (I think). Still it's a lot and I try to keep my stuff in categories but that clearly was not what happened here.

Teatro ZinZanni

 As my mom's trip winds up, I was looking for a play or performance that I could take her to, as a fun, one last thing to do at the end of the trip. None of the current plays appealed very much to me, and so I decided to look for something more magic or musical-like. For the record, I strongly dislike musicals and prefer my dialogues spoken and not sung. But this wasn't for me. I found something called 'Teatro ZinZanni' or as it's described 'Kit Kat Club on Acid'. Coincidentally we had been watching the season five finale of Schitt's Creek and this felt intriguing. So I did a little research, looked for discounted tickets and took the plunge -- the tickets were a pretty penny, this whole venture cost me two hundred plus. I am trying to shift my discretionary spending away from shopping and towards experiences so...

It wasn't the best day to head downtown because the Chicago Marathon was taking place and we had to walk a couple of blocks in the truly windy city. Once we reached the venue, there was an actual red carpet towards the elevator. We headed upstairs, there was coat check and a photo booth and a boutique store to buy things and a bar. I've been trying to be more fiscally wise and I was pretty determined to not buy random things (and tbh as much as I love my booze, noon on a Sunday was a bit early for me). We got 'upgraded', which was the obvious result of the show not being sold out but hey, I am not complaining. 

(Non)Fiction

I've been to the Athenaeum theater only once before for a play titled 'The Dark at the Top of the Stairs' (a play by William Inge) -- the interesting plot was surpassed by stellar acting. On a whim we decided to see a play on Saturday - (Non)Fiction, booking the tickets on Saturday afternoon -- I've rarely seen the smaller theaters packed to the brim in the way you see at the Goodmans and Steppenwolfs of the city.

Spoiler alert if you are planning to watch the play! 

Taste of Chicago 2019

I went to the Taste of Chicago after..four years. I went there my first month in Chicago and it was an experience, but I hardly knew my food preferences the way I do now. Back then, I just ate to live, now in addition to that, I eat for flavor and texture and more than sustenance. We (bf and I) went on Saturday, day 3 of the four day festival. There were pop ups each day as well, that's not something I remember from my visit but imagine has been around for a minute. We pretty much loved everything we ate and so now have new restaurants to frequent soon (since we don't spend enough money on eating out already lol).  

In terms of buying tickets, they should have had stanchion I think. Although I also think it shouldn't be that hard to have self-service kiosks for ticket purchases or the option to have tickets on your phone that the vendors can scan it. Maybe by 2020.

Kimcheese Fries

Let's start with the chicken noodles from Ukai -- straight up delicious. We also tried jerk chicken from a place whose name I marked on our flier and then promptly lost in the post-trip exhaustion. It was almost 90 degrees so there was a lot of sweating, and there were a lot of people. Next up were amazing pierogis from Kasia's (a name that haunts me because of the Rabbit Girls story, rather real life experience). Then some tamales and it was time to take a break because it rained suddenly. I'm a classy lady and I promptly wore my poncho, which in retrospect looks like it could be a garbage bag. This picture of me eating kimcheese fries (yes, you read that right) wrapped in my fashionable poncho, sums up 2019 well so far.

Summer, where are you?

Random art spotted

Summer simply won't come to Chicago. There are a few days here and there, but no certainty that if you missed one of those days, there will be another one. It will be okay, it is not a serious problem, but after a long winter, summers help my mood. Summers this time around at least are also encouraging me to be more active and exercise more. I feel better for sure and it gives me a sense of control. Whenever I can now, I try and attend multiple classes. There is always something that comes up on certain days and so I'd rather do as much as I can when I have the time.