Love is What You Make It

The title of this blog has nothing to do with the blog. I'm pretty sure Tommy Tom sings a song called "Take Me Out" and the title of this blog is a song lyric. I'm listening to the song right now.

That being said, I owe the world an update, I suppose. Two weekends ago I went home for the Holiday. I had a nice and lengthy stay (A WHOLE WEEK)on the Eastern Shore of Virginia. I was finally able to go hunting with my dad! I don't think I'm cut out for waking up at 4am every morning and sitting in a shooting house for several hours while freezing my butt off, but I am cut out for the afternoon trips. I was the only person who saw a deer all weekend! It was out of range and behind some trees though. I got to go out about two times and I really enjoyed it!

I also got to visit my favorite places such as the Thrift Stores, the new Wal-Mart and others as well. I ate plenty of turkey, had plenty to be thankful for, and overall had a wonderful trip.

I returned to my oh-so-glamorous life in Philadelphia on December 1st. It is hard to believe that I have been living in my apartment for almost a whole month now! As I write this, it HAS been over a month! I still have a few boxes I need to unpack and the Christmas lights need to be put up. Other than that, the place looks great. I have my little Christmas tree up and the fishtank area is all decorated.

Work was crazy because once you're gone a week it is as if you're gone a whole year. I spent the greater part of the tail end of the week, catching up on paperwork, assessments and other various odds and ends.

This past weekend was pretty epic, though. I finally know how to work those bike racks on the SEPTA busses since I had to use them about 3 or 4 times over the weekend. I traveled to Huntingdon Valley for a birthday party at the Sisters of the Holy Redeemer motherhouse. It was great to see my old friends that I used to live with and interact with each day. I even stayed overnight in my old room where I lived when I volunteered! I went to Mass on Sunday with the Sisters as well. It was a great weekend of merriment and partying and well...a lot of traveling in this cold cold weather.

On Sunday I had a meeting in Fishtown about a potential writing gig. I can't say much about it except for the fact that I'm really excited about it. It is more of a project than a long standing freelancing job. This project is unlike anything I've ever done before! I'm still trying to convince myself 100% that I am capable of taking on such a unique project. That is all I'm going to say about that! Sorry to keep you wondering. :)

By the time I arrived back at my apartment on Sunday night, I almost kissed the floor. Bike riding in the city is quite the experience. Cars are about 6 inches away from you on all sides. You have to ride dangerously close to parked cars too! I'm also pretty sure that I ticked off every SEPTA bus driver who had to wait while I put my bike on the bike rack. To get to the suburbs I had to ride my bike about 6 blocks, take the subway, take TWO buses, and then ride my bike another 8-10 blocks up and down hills in 30 degree weather!!! To get back, I had to skip after mass lunch and catch a bus to catch a subway. I had to store my bike at work because I don't have a U-lock yet. Then I went to my meeting, walked back to work, biked to the subway, got off in the city and biked 6 blocks back to my apartment.

I met a lot of interesting people along the way. There was the old man who kept repeating his stories of waiting for the bus while we waited for a very late bus. Then I met a really nice guy who talked to me about bike riding as I waited for the elevator to get onto the EL platform. He was really nice and wished me Merry Christmas about twice. :) I also can't forget all of the people who offered to help me carry my bike up mass amounts of stairs. There were more encounters and interactions but I can't remember them right now.

So today I am on the tail end of a cough/cold. I'm excited about my new project, relativly caught up at work and desperatly wishing for warmer weather. The holiday programs at my work are about to be in full swing so I forsee being very busy until after Christmas. Other than that, life is just...well..good.

Until next time....