It’s Like I’m Made Of Magic

I’m lucky to have a ton of friends that are amazing story tellers, one of which has set up an outlet for just this purpose.

One of my most favourite friends, Brooke, has taken it upon herself to make winter in Burlington just a little more tolerable by hosting a monthly storytelling series (alȧ The Moth) at The 1/2 Lounge beginning this February.  If you’d like to share some craziness, please feel free to email her to set it up.  She’s really very sweet.

I’m for sure going to try and make it to this event.

So many people I know have started blogs, it’s inspiring.  I’m trying to keep busy this winter with all kinds of day hikes and outdoor activity to counteract the complete lack of energy that’s fogging up the inside of our apartment.  Everyone that lives here is in the same industry, so we all get the same down time.  There’s four of us, but when we’re all at home, all the time, it feels like 34.  So, naturally, I want out.

We started going to Blue Hills Reservation in Quincy.  It’s super beautiful there, and the hiking trails are really well done.  Also, they mark the hell out of them, which is important because I sometimes get lost in my own bathroom.  So, we’ve started hitting that place up.  It’s probably my favourite place in Boston.  I want to go everyday, but Chad is a lazy ass and sometimes it’s more work trying to convince him to come along with me.  Anyway, here is a picture of how amazing it is.

Pretty great, right?

So, other than trying to get outside a lot, I’m not really up to much.  Spent the majority of the Holiday season driving back and forth between here and Vermont.  Got to spend a lot of time with family and friends.  Our friends Alex, Adam, Tyson, and Chris are in a new band called Folk Heroes, so we checked them out on New Year’s.  I took some video.  We also got to see our friend Alan.  I mentioned Alan in the first year of Made of Magic.  Probably something about needing to devote an entire post to describing him, and I still will need to save the space, but the long and short is I’ve always wanted a younger brother and he’s the closest thing I’ve got.  It’s been a little over a year since we saw him last (He moved to Seattle.), so it was very cool to spend some time with him.

So that’s my life right now.  Get on board.

So, nothing terribly interesting.  I’m considering not posting here anymore, just because I feel like I’ve created this theme for the page that used to be snarky, and my version of humorous, but is now just whiney.  I complain a lot here because this is a recounting of my life, and things have changed in the last 3 years. I’ve moved from a town filled with my friends, full-time work, and some semblance of a social life, to a much larger city with no friends and no real work.  It’s depressing, but it’s where a series of decisions has landed me.

What’s strange to me is I’m here simply because Chad is.  100%.  He has never insisted that I stay.  We’ve learned that nothing changes in our relationship when we live in separate states, and we’re fortunate to have that.  However, the last time we tried, there wasn’t any work in Vermont, and as I said back then, it seemed senseless to live apart just to live apart. If I were working, things might have been different.  I might still be there now.

I guess I’m trying to find a place.  Somewhere with friends, steady work that I enjoy, and Chad.  I suppose I could concentrate on figuring out just what it is that I want to be when I grow up, but I’m 29, and nothing’s struck me yet.  My definition of “knowing what you want to be when you grow up” is the idea that a person has a kind of a passion for learning and studying something that will eventually offer even just a little financial stability.  It’s the word “passion” that makes me nervous.  I’ve had interest in certain fields.  I would certainly consider taking the time to study, or even just attempt something that might provide some sort of income, if it wasn’t for the fact that I have never felt passionate about, well, anything.

What’s strangest to me is I’m not alone.  Far from it.  Aside from just a small handful of friends, I don’t think I personally know anyone that is in a line of work that they had an initial passion for.  I have friends and family that have been in the same line of work for a long time, but I don’t reckon I’d be wrong to assume that they weren’t exactly passionate about it.  Is it a generational thing?  A personality type?  I’m driven, for sure.  When I do find work, I’m good at it, whatever it is.  I’m adaptable, and at some point between my 19th and 22nd year, the laziness wore off, and I began to actually enjoy hard work.  Unfortunately, there just isn’t a single type of something that I feel like I need to focus all that great work ethic on.  As a result, I live in a city where I might know maybe a dozen people.  I spend any day that I’m not working running errands, or knitting in front of the television.  On really ambitious days, maybe I’ll head into the city and see a friend, or explore an area I haven’t been to before.  Maybe.

And maybe that’s the problem. I have to find out what’s out there in order to know what’s out there, right?  The probability of discovering just what it is I’m supposed to be doing with my life while I’m crocheting the Yo-Yo afghan while replaying the latest episode of Mad Men on demand is likely pretty small.  Maybe my passion should be finding my passion.

Though, I feel like when it comes to knowing exactly what you want to do with your life, there’s probably not a lot of room for “maybe”.

Just kidding.  Nothing’s up.  Felt like I should post something since it’s been something like, 5 weeks maybe?  Nothing has changed.  Chad bought a car yesterday to replace the Volvo.  It’s a Focus.  He’s had one before, now he’s got one again.

Haven’t worked much, or done much of anything.  I turn 29 soon.  Really, Really soon.  Have I mentioned I want a baby?  Plan on hearing a lot more of that.  29, and nothing to show for it.  No career, no real place to live, no family of my own.  Not really what I’d imagined back when I’d picture myself grown up.  At all.

I’m really making it happen for myself over here, eh?

I’m going to go accomplish something interesting so you’ll be more entertained next time.

Welcome.

Oh, for the love  . . .

The other day I was at work and some rocket scientist drove into the side of Chad’s PARKED car.  Yeah, it was just sitting there, minding it’s own business while I was inside, and some lady in a giant car (really, why do SUVs need to be that big?) thought it might be, I don’t know, funny (?), to see how far she could drive her car through mine.  Turns out, the answer is ‘very’.  She drove her car very far through our car.

Exhibit A

The Headless Wonder to the right was Miss Knievel’s passenger.  I blurred her out because it’s bad enough she has to know the driver well enough to have been in a car with her.  Public humiliation, in blog form,  just seems mean.

Oh, I do want to mention my thought process before I found out it was our car that got hit.  Ready?

Whomp! Beep! Beep! Beep! “Wow, that’s gotta suck for that guy. Why is Courtney racing to the back door?  Is that her car alarm?  She’s coming back in, so it must be something el-”

“Um, Kendra?  I think someone just hit Chad’s car.”

So, the car is totaled and we’re without wheels until Chad finds a new ride.  It’s cool for now, though.  I’m used to not having a car, but Chad relies pretty heavily on one for work.  Luckily, the job he’s on now is pretty close to our apartment.  Hopefully, by the time the next job rolls around, he’ll have found something reliable.  You know, where all the windows work, and it’s not a five-step process to lock the doors.  Som’n classy.

Anyway, yeah I’m working a little bit.  A the yarn store I worked at before my last trip back to Vermont.  It’s under new ownership, and it’s wicked sweet.  Feels nice to get out of the house and earn some money.  Though, I feel like I should write to The WB, and apologize in the ratings dip they’re about to see in their “Comcast: On Demand: WB: The O.C.” category.

I’m a study in productivity.

I got back from a week in Vermont on Sunday.  I went up to spend some time with my sister, Jenna’s, family.  Catering to the demands of a 3-and-a-half and a 5-year-old can be exhausting.  But, when they’re the kind of kids that are super smart, and so adorable it’s really not of this world, it can also be a very fun time.

Ethan and Julia

I kicked the week off with night at my folk’s house.  Chad left for Boston and Saturday morning, but not before some sweet hang time with My sister, Melanie’s, daughter, Elena.  Elena is 6 months old, and is the cutest baby I’ve seen in the last half a year.

Elena.  I’m not sure if you noticed her nose, but it’s pretty much the cutest thing on the planet.  No big deal.

It was a really good week.  I’m glad I got to spend that kind of time with Jenna and her family.  And I did have a few opportunities to spend some time in Burlington.  My opinion of Burlington is changing a little.  I’ll get into it in another post, but the gist is that I’m all right not living there.  I miss it, of course, but I’m beginning to think that if The Chad and I were to house hunt in Vermont, I’m not sure that the Queen City would be in my top 3 locations.  I’d definitely want to be close, though.

In other news, Chad and I have come to a new agreement.  Here’s the thing, Chad works in the film industry, and is really very fond of movies.  I, on the other hand, have commitment issues when it comes to spending 90 sweet, sweet minutes on some trite, Maxim Top 100 demographic, filmed to accommodate the attention span of the Tsetse Fly hooey.  As a result, when he thinks he might have the energy to drag my eye-rolling butt to the theatre, it’s never an easy time.  ON THE OTHER HAND, the guy never wants to do anything I want to do.  He’s not much for spontaneous adventures, and that’s pretty much what I’m all about.  So, the agreement is simple.  Anytime he wants to bring me along to the theatre, I will not complain.  I won’t whine, I won’t audibly deflate, and I won’t even counter with, “No way.  I read the spoiler online, and trust me; you don’t want to see this movie.” (I say this, a lot.  Sometimes, he even lets me tell him how it ends, and then he thanks me.).

In exchange for my subjugation, he agrees to one awesome, super happy fun time adventure! Huzzah!  I’m pretty sure our first exchange is ‘District 9′/canoeing on the Charles River.  (I totally win in this one! Yes!)

So.  Other than an epic bro-down with my family, and a relationship compromise that might just yield a very cool autumn, not much else is “on my plate”, as the tweens say.

I do want to make a quick request before I go.  If you have any interest in seeing “500 Days of Summer”, and you’re not vehemently opposed to the concept of movie spoilers, please do yourself a favour and read it.

The ending makes me hate whomever it was that invented moving pictures.

All right, if I keep going with Blog.com, every post will be about how mind-numbingly impossible the new format is.  You guys can’t see it, but the behind-the-scenes is just ridiculous and impossible.  So, a quick update, then I’m spending the rest of the night finding a new home for ILIMOM.  Maybe something in Gramercy & Flatiron.

I’m spending next week in Vermont, rolling with my homies.  I probably won’t be posting, but I hope to be taking lots of pictures.   With any luck, my triumphant return will be heavily documented with photos.

Lates.

What up?

So, I haven’t really been looking around for other blog hosty sites because I just don’t have the energy.  I’m just going to stick with this for now.

An update:

I’m back in Dorchester with Chad.  Not working, except on my swagger.  I’m glad I’m here, though.  Burlington just wasn’t cutting it this round.  Of course, seeing my family and my eight-oh-two friends so much was the illinest, but I’m supposed to be here.

It’s been cool being back.  We found a super close beach, which we promptly patronized.  Got a little sunburned, but that happens.  Spending a lot more time in the city.  We hit up the ICA a few weeks ago, and we’ll for sure make better use of our weekends with day trips and camping weekends before winter.

For now, in addition to blogging, I’m just going to concentrate on life here.

I’ll get fun again, I pinky swear.

I’ve probably posted like, 3 other blogs since the last once, and blog.com hasn’t published them. It’s all faulty and lame lately.  I’m going to try and find a different website to host this empire.

I’ll keep you posted.

ps . . .  Happy 3rd birthday, It’s Like I’m Made of Magic!