The Time I Hopped on the Back of a Strangers Motorcycle

 

He asked me if I wanted to take a ride. My friends kept walking (as you do when strangers talk to you on the streets of Chicago) but I stopped dead in my tracks. I was having a moment. I never thought this opportunity would present itself for real! But here it was. Could I? Should I? Probably not… but did I HAVE to? I looked the strange man in the eyes and said, “Absolutely.” Nothing is more important than my bucket list.

The Time I Lost A Juggling Contest

When you are a theatre major you end up taking some weird classes.You walk away with strange skills that lack practical application and are virtually worthless (monetarily speaking). Don’t get me wrong, I think choosing to major in theatre was absolutely the right choice for me. I am actually working in theatre. Beyond that I certainly use my problem solving and communication skills daily in my ‘real’ job. And maybe I could even find a use for my fantastic Irish dialect if I tried but it would be a stretch.

One skill that has never benefited me and never will, in part because I never mastered it (or even came close) is juggling.

World Naked Bike Ride: Chicago

Then the thunder boomed, the lightening flashed, and the rain began to pour down from the sky. Somehow, my life had led to this moment. This moment where I was naked in the rain with hundreds of strangers.

Facebook: Anything You Say Can And Will Be Published Without Your Knowledge Or Consent

Once upon a time I learned a valuable lesson about the things you post on Facebook. I learned that the things you say on Facebook are fair game for publication. Nobody has to ask your permission, or even notify you for that matter. It’s a thing in the user agreement you never read. So beware! And as always, think before you post! Or you too could end up published in the latest edition of Arthritis Today Magazine….

Weird Shit We All Did In Middle School

Just kidding. I bet you didn’t do any of the weird shit that I did!

Middle school is kind of a joke. Middle school is where you send those awful prepubescent gremlins who are in the most awkward and unpleasant phase of their lives. Give them their own special school to destroy so they don’t bother cute little children or stupid but slightly less awkward teenagers. Nothing you do in middle school matters.  Nobody cares what kind of grades you got or how often you were in detention. Nobody cares what you were like at all. You were stupid. Everyone was terrible. It was the worst.

The Origin of my Animal Problem

In case you hadn’t noticed, I have posted at least 2 stories about times I acquired strange pets without considering the consequences and have promised more.

I have a legitimate animal problem. If I see an creature, I want to care for it. I want it to come home and live with me forever and I start daydreaming about the wonderful life my bizarre animals and I will live together. It occurred to me when writing about my elementary school that there is a pretty obvious explanation for what I have deemed my “animal problem.”

Diversity and the Military

I am in a relationship with a member of the US Air Force.

About 5 months ago he left Chicago to begin pilot training in Oklahoma. I recently went to visit him for the first time. While I was there, we went out bowling with a group of officers from base. I want to start by saying I have a lot of respect for the members of our armed forces. I respect much of the work that they do BUT I don’t think it’s a flawless institution. For example, there are not nearly enough females in the Air Force.

Worlds Weirdest Elementary School

 I did not attend what probably anyone would consider a normal elementary school.

My mom was a Montessori teacher who started a new job at this particular school about a year or so after my family had moved to Minnesota for my dad’s job. She decided it would be a good idea for my brothers and I to attend the school she worked at so she could drive us to and from school and be close to us throughout the day. We were all young when we started here. I was entering 2nd grade with my younger brothers entering kindergarten and preschool respectively. I had gone to a Montessori preschool when we lived in Milwaukee and loved it. I didn’t have a problem with the public school I was attending except that they wouldn’t let me write in cursive “because we don’t do that until 4th grade,” but this move certainly made sense.

A Juvenile Arthritis Story

I was referred to a pediatric rheumatologist who would oversee my care for the next year or so. She explained this condition to me. It was an autoimmune disease that caused (among other symptoms) pain, swelling, and stiffness in my joints. I remember being confused. I remember asking my parents if I was allowed to tell my friends at school about my diagnosis. I know I didn’t understand the idea that there were illnesses from which you would not recover… because they had no cure.