Too Practical??

Those who know me at all, know that I am very practical. I don't like to do things that don't make sense to me. I'm frugal with my money, rarely indulge in more than a couple drinks, never smoke, and feel guilty if I lie around too long without being productive.

This is not to say I don't enjoy the silly things in life, for instance I act like a child on a daily basis: tree climbing, dancing about, singing whatever little tune pops into my head, etc. So when I am accused of taking life too seriously, I don't think much of it. However, when I was out to dinner with my friend Miron yesterday having delicious spicy orange chicken, I was alarmed at my end of the meal fortune cookie's level of boring-ness (yes, I know that is not a word).
Prepare yourself for the most practical, mind numbingly boring fortune cookie message ever given. Drum roll please. . .ah hem

"You have the ability to plan a practical course for yourself and follow through."

I'm sorry, I just fell asleep. Seriously!? That's my fortune. Typically I pay little attention to these things, with the understanding that Confucius is not relaying these messages from beyond the grave; they are instead probably being typed up by former journalism majors who can't figure out what else to do (no offense to any journalism majors - I know some of you and you're good people.) I'm not going to lie, I was a bit offended by this fortune. I was taken aback at how much it fit me and seeing it in writing illuminated how un-exciting my outlook on life sounds.

I will take this moment to defend practicality. First of all, my 'cheapness' is what now affords me to live in unemployment without fear of losing my apartment and even plan a trip to Europe. Secondly, think of all the brain cells I am saving by not falling into a drunken stupor every weekend. Umm, ok, I'm running out of ways to make practicality sound impressive.

Basically, I am aware that the reason this fortune offends me is because maybe I get upset at myself for being too practical at times. I hope during my time off from work that I take the time to be a little irrational and just simply do what I want. I mean, it's not like I have a job I may lose or children to grow ashamed of me. Come on Megan, your life should not be so boring that practical cookies make you hang your head in shame.

(Ok, it is too ironic that the cookie image at the top of my post pops up on the first page of google images when you type in 'fortune cookie'. Even google can predict my actions.)

A tourist in my own city

So, I'm biding my time waiting for the day I get to hop on the plane for London, and then Dublin, and then Warsaw. It's coming up in less than a month, but in the meantime, I'm itching to travel! One of those pesky little things that goes along with being unemployed, is not having a lot of money to throw around, so basically I have to fool myself into the idea of being on vacation here in my own city. I did go on a fun little road trip last weekend to Toledo with my partners in crime, Kay and Miron, but even this did not fill my urge to explore.

Luckily for me, Chicago is packed with places I still have not been. My ex-roommate Laura, who currently resides in Boston, came to town a couple weekends ago and we roamed around Chinatown, Oldtown, Wicker Park, and so on. We hit some old goodies, but happily for me we discovered some new treasures. I learned that the Harold Washington Library in downtown Chicago was named for the first African American Mayor of Chicago. Also that Wacker Drive was named after Charles Wacker who pushed Daniel Burnham's and Edward Bennett's City Plan for Chicago. It takes a tourist coming to town for me to learn some basic facts about the city - thank you Laura.

Before my fellow unemployed friend, Jyotika, got the hell out of dodge to go live in India last week, she showed me her favorite place in Chicago - Graceland Cemetery. It was beautiful and the final resting place of many Chicago architectural geniuses (Daniel Burnham, Mies van der Rohe, Louis Sullivan, to name a few).

Finally to take advantage of the weather that is finally getting warm, I read outside today at Millennium Park and it was wonderful. But alas, I may not be able to call myself a tourist anymore. I finally had to give in and get an Illinois Driver's License as my Nebraska one is expiring. A single tear fell, but I'm embracing my Illinois status as I am calling it home for now. Still trying to figure out what comes next. Stay tuned.