Lazy Day Rambling & Grappling

Right now, I’m supposed to be working on a feature piece for Clef Notes and some Web content (all due Friday), but it’s just not flowing. It was so beautiful outside today, not to mention it was my second vacation Monday in a row, that I could barely confine myself to the indoors, let alone concentrate on writing. And I find that my procrastination continues on now, into the evening, where I sit writing purely for pleasure.

Today the sunshine and mild-ish temps called for a run by the Lake Michigan. While the lake was beautiful with that springtime pale green tint as it crashed against the concrete, the wind retained a nasty winter bite. By the time I reached North Ave. beach, I had to turn around, because the sand was blowing harshly about, threatening to assail my mouth and eyes. I ran myself home, then went for a walk and enjoyed my soon-to-be-old neighborhood.

I just can’t deny that it seemed appropriate for me to be here, in a neighborhood so celebratory of literary figures. There’s the Dickens House, the Eliot House, Schiller and Goethe streets… Still so funny to me that my window should look down on Goethe, and a portrait of Shakespeare hangs in the lobby. Plus, I’ll probably always miss this apartment—my very first little place in downtown Chicago.

But I’m not so nostalgic that I regret moving. I’ll still have the lake, and she’ll be even closer to me in my new place. And, well, you don’t need streets named after literary icons to feel inspired to write. It’s exciting that I’ve lived in a different Chicago neighborhood each year that I’ve been here. I’m hoping to do a better job of getting to know my neighborhood this time, and not become so comfortable in habit that I forget to explore (for instance, I didn’t even know there was a supplement store on Maple until last week).

Today, I just enjoyed the convenience of my present location. Took the train two stops to get my groceries at Trader Joe’s. Walked about ten minutes from home to do my banking, then stopped at Anthropologie on the way back to buy those vintage green glasses. Now, I’m watching the sun paint the sky all shades of pink above the western rooftops and I have to admit: this view almost makes the move regrettable.