The Bright Side

We’ve gotten to that time of year when winter really just needs to be over, but every time you check the weather report there’s another snowstorm on the horizon.  This year is particularly annoying because there was hardly any snow during the period of time between December and February when snow is appropriate and occasionally welcomed (PEOPLE WROTE SONGS ABOUT WHITE CHRISTMASES FOR A REASON), and instead it delayed its arrival until the middle of February, and appears to be doing some kind of grand finale (well, it’d better be the finale) tomorrow, with 7 to 10 inches expected here in Chicago.  And it’s not even the light, pretty snow.  It’s wet, heavy, already-kind-of-gray-when-it-falls snow.  To put the cherry on that sundae, it was a particularly gray, cloudy February, even by Chicago standards.

What this all translates to is that I’ve worn all of my sweaters 10,000 times this season and all my outfits feel tired, I have a heightened annoyance at things that usually don’t annoy me, I can’t imagine what 80 degrees even feels like and am certain that it will be cold and gray forever, and I am over it.

However, in the interest of my mental health, I have realized that not everything about this sucks.  In fact, I have found the bright side.

DIY Desk Spruce-Up

Despite the fact that I have been at my job more than 3 months, my desk basically looked the same as it did on my first day.  Aside from some documents on my bulletin board and a box of tissues on my shelf, I had no personal touches on my desk.  And without any natural light, I spent my days looking at gray walls under florescent lights.  Not exactly the most inviting or comfortable setup.  So when I met up with some friends for craft club last weekend (yes, I am in a craft club, and yes, it is awesome), I decided it was high time that I made a few things to spruce up my desk!  A short time later, I had a new mousepad, pencil cup, and some flowers that won’t die in my windowless space.

Lately

• Three years after first hearing about them, I finally made the “ultimate” Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe from the New York Times.  They were definitely worth the 36 hour wait (taste-testing the dough periodically during the waiting period encouraged).  Next up: Boston Cream Cupcakes.
• 
• I’ve eaten an orange basically every day in January.  They’re cheap and they’re the perfect antidote to January in Chicago.
• The second video in this article is the cutest.
• Plans are my thing.  This year my plan is to read 52 books, and so far I’ve tackled Freedom and The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen, Drop Dead Healthy by A.J. Jacobs, Empty Family by Colm Toibin.  Book recommendations always welcome.

Proximity to time zone borders affects the composition of daylight hours.

INTRODUCTION: As a relatively recent transplant to Chicago, IL from Pittsburgh, PA (and before that Rochester, NY), it seemed as though adjusting to Central Standard Time (CST) would be relatively simple.  Aside from being mindful of late night telephone calls to friends and family on Eastern Standard Time (EST), and watching primetime television shows an hour earlier than normal, it seemed as though there was no significant difference between CST and EST.  However, as I became more attuned to my surroundings, I noticed that the long summer evenings and short winter days seemed… shorter.  At first, I dismissed this idea as simply a nostalgic recollection of my childhood, when summer days lasted forever and I was finished with school at 2:30PM instead of walking out of work at 5:00PM.  However, while driving from Rochester, NY to Chicago, IL and watching the clock on my phone change from one time to an hour earlier in the span of a mile, I began to formulate another theory.  In fact, it seemed that because Chicago was so close to the EST border, what was evening darkness in Indiana became late afternoon darkness in Chicago.  What follows is my scientific exploration into this theory.

HYPOTHESIS: Due to its proximity to the eastern border of the CST, Chicago has longer morning daylight hours and shorter evening daylight hours than cities in close proximity to the western border of the EST.

METHOD: Using the google search engine, I recorded the sunrise and sunset times for Chicago, IL and South Bend, IN on December 6th, 2012 and June 6th, 2012.  South Bend was chosen for its close proximity to the western border of the EST.

RESULTS:

Table 1		Sunrise	Sunset
	06-06-2012
Chicago, IL		5:16AM CST	8:22PM CST
South Bend, IN		6:11AM EST	9:16PM CST
	12-06-2012
Chicago, IL		7:05AM CST	4:19PM CST
South Bend, IN		7:58AM EST	5:14PM EST

Table 1 clearly demonstrates that the sun consistently rises and sets earlier in Chicago, IL compared to South Bend, IN (based on the local time in each location).

CONCLUSION: There are many factors that people consider when determining where to live, including cost of living, job market, proximity to family, transportation system, arts and culture, and weather.  It is my recommendation that proximity to a time zone border be a part of this equation.  Early risers may favor locations close to the eastern border of a time zone, while night owls may prefer locations close to the western border of a time zone to maximize exposure to daylight hours.

My less objective conclusion is that I really wish they could move the CST border so that Chicago was in EST because longer summer nights are obviously better than full daylight at 6:00AM and the sun really set at 4:19PM today?  That is absurd.

An Ode to Unemployment

Dear Unemployment,

We have had what feels like ample time to get to know one another over the past few months.  However, on Monday I will leave you behind and venture into my post-graduate school life with a real job.  While I am looking forward to that, I wanted to let you know that we did have some good times together, and there are things about you I will miss.

1. Not setting an alarm (mostly).
2. Sweatpants as my dress code.
3. Getting to enjoy nice weather, no matter the day of the week.
4. Grocery shopping in non-peak hours (and cursing myself when I don’t).
5. Watching America’s Test Kitchen and Ellen regularly.
6. Spending ridiculously long stretches cooking.
7. Weird mealtimes.
8. Field trips.
9. Lots of time for organizing/cleaning/planning organizing and cleaning.
10. Doing what I want, when I want.

That being said, there are things that I will not miss about you.  It’s not your fault, no relationship is perfect.

1. No pay.
2. Not a lot of necessary tasks/responsibilities, which paired with my penchant for netflix, could result in a dramatic lack of productivity.
3. No deadlines for anything.
4. Daytime television mostly sucks.
5. No excuses for a messy apartment.
6. Did I mention there was no pay?
7. I had to listen to construction a lot.  Across the street, in the apartment downstairs, in the hallway.  SO MUCH CONSTRUCTION.
8. When people ask you what you do, “I’m unemployed” doesn’t usually get a lot of positive responses.  Mostly just those awkward faux-sympathy noises and faces.
9. The feeling of unknown when you think about what you will be doing in a week, or a month, or a year.
10. It really can’t be said enough.  No paycheck.

Farewell, unemployment.  Although it has sometimes been fun, I’m hoping I never unintentionally find myself with you ever again.  Here’s hoping it’s mutual.

Love, Jackie

Breakfast at Jackie's

This photo does not capture the true cuteness of Jackie’s apartment.

How to live with a boyfriend who has the metabolism and palate of a fifth-grader without gaining one million pounds (but maybe ten).

If I weren’t around, my boyfriend’s diet would probably consist of cocoa puffs, captain crunch, pizza, “beanie weenies” (hot dogs and baked beans), brownies, and lots of Taco Bell.  Luckily, I do almost all of the cooking (and he does almost all of the dishes, an excellent system that keeps us both happy), so I make sure he gets some fruits, vegetables, and generally healthier foods in his system.  However, I’m a firm believer in everyone’s right to choose what they eat, so cocoa puffs, pizza, beanie weenies, brownies, Taco Bell, and the like all find their way into our apartment from time to time.  And although I haven’t developed a taste for beanie weenies, I haven’t met a slice of pizza I didn’t like.

Further aggravating the problem (or maybe just aggravating me), he seems to be able to eat basically whatever he wants and remain as thin as ever, while I’m fairly certain the same does not hold true for me.  So here are four tips I’ve adapted to keep us both happy and relatively healthy.

1. Find a few healthy meals and desserts that you both enjoy.  We both love Asian flavors, so vegetable stir-fry, vegetable dumplings, and this salad (or this salad) are on regular rotation.  Other favorites include these turkey burgers, and various renditions of black-bean chili.  On the dessert side, I’ve recently been on a cookie dough kick, and we’ve both loved these vegan cookie dough balls and this vegan cookie dough fudge.  Other favorites are these cookies and any kind of fruit smoothie.
2. Supplement with vegetables.  If we’re having pizza for dinner, I try to make a salad, or cook up some broccoli or spinach so I can ensure that we eat at least something green.
3. Take advantage of his boundless energy.  Lately, with the weather getting nicer, we’ve been taking really long walks all over the city.  Another all-weather favorite is the post-dinner clean up dance party (so at least I’m burning off some of those pizza calories).  We’ve even started working out together, which keeps us both a little more accountable and motivated.
4. Eat the brownie, and like it.  If there are brownies in the apartment, I am going to be eating brownies.  So, instead of feeling guilty, I just enjoy them for all of their chocolate-y goodness.

Anyone else have a partner who can eat whatever they want with no apparent consequences?  Have any tips to share?

happy saturday + record store day.

Although it started with an extra early wake-up call for a school event, today turned into a lovely little day.  Walked down to Reckless Records, an awesome local record store here in Chicago, and shared in some Record Store Day fun with fellow Chicagoans of all ages (even a cute little hipster baby!).  We picked up a few albums, including the Real Estate album, Days, which is one of my favorites, and probably the band I’m most excited to see this summer at Pitchfork.  We also got the new A.A. Bondy album, Believers (hey Caelyn, remember that time we saw A.A. Bondy play in Pittsburgh, and there was all of that plaid everywhere?).

[record store day loot]

Then we spent the rest of the afternoon hanging out on the couch, listening to our new records and trading new and noteworthy albums.  A very appropriate record store day, indeed.

There was sunshine on my shoulders.

On vacation?

No, just March in Chicago.

Lately.

[light at the chicago cultural center]