Still Here

Yeah, I've not been on top of this blog as late. Seems like when I have time, there isn't much of interest to report (I mean, my diabetic cat's fructosamine levels and urine glucose just isn't that exciting even to other vet folk; he's doing very well, BTW), or if something's going on I'm just too engaged to stop and take note of it all here. I manage to update my Facebook status daily (sort of my mini-blog, i.e. "(I) remember the time before email", "(I) bought a new pair of Crocs today
", etc. I am keeping reasonably on top of the photo blog; I do take a daily picture, but usually cannot post daily.

Some highlights of the summer:

-I'm down to one job. (See previous related post). It's been lovely. I've spent time with friends, watched movies & shows on DVD, crocheted, learned to knit (not very well), gone to restaurants and festivals and plays and just RELAXED, something that has been more and more difficult with the past several years' blitz of double-jobbing with school part-time. And because I eliminated my debt (see other previous related post), the finances have been well-cushioned against the loss of second-job income. I'll look into getting some part-time work in the fall (maybe at the new vet emergency practice opening soon).

-I took advantage of my downtime by enrolling in an intensive one-day only writing workshop at the Stage Left Theatre company, taught by my playwright friend Margaret. A group of writers got together in the early morning, did several writing exercises, each created a scene, and then turned them over to actors & 2 directors for rehearsal & performance that night. The experience was exactly what I needed. Often, I find myself discouraged when I write, because things are never as perfect as they are in my head. Here at this workshop I didn't have time for self-doubt. And it reminded me just how much I love and miss the collaborative nature of theatre. It's amazing to bear witness to a group of professionals coming together to create something bigger than the sum of its parts. Now, on to fitting this life in with the day job...

-I signed up for Zipcar. For a low annual fee, plus a variable hourly rate, I have access to cars around Chicago. I've lived without my own car for the entire time I've lived here, and I have no interest in carrying that burden. But there are times when a car is very useful, and if I am going to do time at a large-animal practice (required by my school), then I'll need access to a car to hike out to the western suburbs where these practices are located. For now, I'm just getting used to making short trips (say, to PetsMart for cat litter, or Trader Joe's for groceries), until I can get some friend of mine to help me navigate that most evil of evils, the tollways. Any takers? Oh, yeah, and where are the hazard lights in cars these days? Things are very different since I drove my '79 AMC Concord...

-School resumes in three weeks. Surgery Prep & Assistance, Level 3, which I'm taking for the second time. I'm nervous because this is the hardest course I'd taken (hence, the repeating of it). Wish me luck, as I'd hate like hell to get stuck here.

Life is good here, hope it is on your ends, loyal reader(s).

-C.