it's good to be back home.

Thank you, Kendra, for checking my blog 73 times in the past month and a half and making me realize how much I miss blogging. (And thanks to everyone who left me wonderful comments about coming back... and to Phil who was a total jerk about it every day.) I let this page take a backseat to the new things in my life, and for a while, it somehow felt less important now that I'm no longer living alone and starving for human interaction. But since I've been away, I have a bunch of things to write about... so maybe a break was good. Absence makes the heart grow fonder.

Previously, on Becky's Blog: You may remember that I recently quit my job at my alma mater located in the middle of a cornfield town in north-central Indiana and upgraded to a fancier position at Big Time University in Chicago. Recall also that I moved out of my lovely one-bedroom apartment in said sleepy cornfield town and opted to stay with my parents for an undisclosed period of time. All my beautiful things were put into storage, and I crammed myself back into the room I grew up in, a bigger bed, nicer wardrobe, and more tangible dreams keeping me company this time.

Now I wear sneakers to work and slip them off under my desk. I bring a lunch filled with healthy and fulfilling foods. And although I've traded in my semi-private office for a very-public cubicle, having my work (not to mention browser windows) on display to the entire office has helped keep me on track and accomplish more throughout the day. Thanks to books-on-tape(CD), I look forward to my two-hour commute. With the exception of yesterday, I haven't eaten fast food in almost a month. And even though I broke my ban on the stuff, I did so with a turkey sandwich on wheat from Jimmy Johns.

Five Good Things About My New Life

• Actually enjoying getting up at 5 a.m. (sometimes 5:30 if I hit snooze overload) and getting things accomplished in the morning
  
• Being in a more professional work environment (although I sure do miss wearing flip-flops to work!)
  
• Having "roommates" again
  
• No longer having to bring work home with me (neither physically nor mentally)
  
• Having my weekends completely footloose and fancy-free
  

Five Things I Miss About My Old Life

• Not having to put seventy miles on my poor car every day, five days a week
  
• Having people around whom I consider friends rather than simply coworkers (with the exception of Steve, of course... but I only very loosely consider him a friend.)
  
• The summer smell of the popcorn factory when the breeze hits just right in Rensselaer
  
• Having friendships and personal connections to alumni
  
• Busy Bee Ice Cream being right across the street (although that could arguably fit on the other list, as well).
  

Here are some other things you might like to know.

I work on the 17^th floor of an awesome building with a beautiful view of the skyline and the sun rising on the lake. Of course, this puts me right in the heart of White Sox country, but I represent my team every chance I get. I’m proud to be one of four Cubs fans in an office of fifty employees.

I’m almost slightly worried about just how much I’m enjoying living with my parents. My mom and dad are probably the best around – they’re funny, laid back, and just downright cool – so I wasn’t expecting much of an issue there… but I’m surprised at how little we’ve gotten on each other’s nerves so far. (And I’m probably jinxing it just by mentioning the fact.) I moved in on May 12, and in that time, I can count on one hand – with a few fingers to spare – how many spats we’ve had, and even then, it’s always been over something tiny. My brother is home from school for the summer, and having the four of us back in the house is like old times. Better than old times because now we can all legally drink beer.

I’ve decided to allow myself to go out with Young Gun should the opportunity arise. (Thanks to Brandy, my colloquial nickname guru extraordinaire for dubbing my wee little friend.) I really appreciate everyone’s thoughtful comments, and I took them all to heart when considering this matter. And even though dating sucks even under the best circumstances – with someone your own age, comparable height, similar viewpoints, great musical tastes – the fact is, even though I’m hesitant to complicate an already painful situation… it’s summertime, and I want to have a fling, dammit! That being said, I don’t have high hopes for anything coming of all this talk, but it’s good to know that I have permission to move forward just in case.

For the first time in a long time, I’m excited about summer. I’ve done some awesome things so far (Local H concert, art and photography exhibits, Jersey Boys), and I have some even more awesome plans coming up, including visiting the most beautiful baby girl in the world (Hi, Isabelle!), an all-inclusive weekend extravaganza of fun and travel with Brandy (hereby referred to as “Becky in the John Weekend” for reasons I won’t explain except to say that it has NOTHING to do with a bathroom, get your minds out of the gutter), my first and probably only Cubs game of the season (when the team gets good, the tickets get expensive), Counting Crows/Maroon 5/Sara Bareilles concert, JIM GAFFIGAN show, and many more.

I didn’t post a single blog in the entire month of June (my bad…), but I did manage to change my masthead. The one I made for June just happened to be my favorite, and because I didn’t visit my blog at all, I never got to look at it. So I’m going to post it here again, to live on in the archives forever:


(And just because National Dairy Month is over doesn’t mean you should slack on your milk, kids. Or your cheese, for that matter.)