3 Slut Latte

On our walk to the T this morning Conor turned to me and said, "I bet you colored in the circles on your ballot like a champ, huh? All nice, even, perfect little circles?" If I hadn't already noted to myself how wonderful the fine point, felt tip marker they provided in the voting booth was, I may have been annoyed at Conor's comment. My reply, "Yes, I enjoyed filling in those bubbles very much. That marker was awesome." He snickered. I chuckled. I decided it was a good thing that I didn't pocket the marker. And we continued our morning walk.

Yes, I like to write birthday cards without making an error that requires me to strike a line through a word and start fresh. I also really like the lines I draw to be straight - there's nothing wrong with breaking out a ruler. My circles were perfect this morning. I colored within the lines and avoided creating lopsided shapes. Because I concentrate to such a degree on my own penmanship and spelling, I often find myself examining the general format and grammar of others' hand-written notes, emails, and even Facebook messages. 

Yes, I often scrutinize and cast judgement. I am shocked that there are business owners out there that overlook the proper use of your versus you're. I find people insist on using an apostrophe when simply making a word plural. I often ask myself, "Did this person even attempt to reread this email before clicking send?" I truly think we should hold ourselves to a higher standard when it comes to communication - even everyday, casual correspondence.

Although this example does not exactly fall in line with my previous point, I definitely thought to myself, "Did the barista read this and laugh?" when I noticed the chicken scratch on my cup.

The funny thing (at least to me), is that I walked about a mile carrying this cup and didn't even notice the squished, potentially offensive (not so much to me) phrase. If I had been the person behind the espresso machine this canvas would have had a beautiful cursive "Jennie" written on it. But that's just me.

If you haven't voted today, you should. Within a few hours political advertisements will no longer monopolize your television. Your Facebook friends will no longer feel the need to write, "I don't care who your voting for!" (yes, I have seen this status word for word). And slightly less than half of us will be out drowning our political sorrows in beer. Don't miss your chance to fill in those circles on your ballot. 

To those lucky poll workers who will be cleaning up the booths at eight o'clock this evening, I hope you  get to take home some really nice markers.

A Return

It's a pretty fabulous feeling when not only your family, but friends encourage you to continue publicly writing about your daily adventures. Over the past two weeks about half a dozen of my friends have mentioned the blog I kept while in Australia. Tomorrow: Mostly Sunny was a collection of my thoughts on work, travel, and social engagements in Brisbane and beyond. I started the blog when I first arrived in Brisbane in 2009. I was unemployed for the first few months of our time down under and found sightseeing followed by blogging to be a fabulous distraction from my job search. Writing about every day happenings and routines in a foreign country helped me find humor in the most normal daily occurrences. Once I started working 60+ hours a week, blogging became an even more important source of comic relief (and release).

We've been back in the States for over two years now, and while life continues to be filled with noteworthy adventures and milestones, it's the every day happenings that I still find worth reporting. I remark almost daily about how lucky I am to live the life I do. From daily jogs with my dog and trips to the market, to impromptu dinners with friends and late-night conversations with my husband, it truly is the "little things" that create the big picture. I find these are the incidents worth reporting, whether they be irritating, inspirational, or just plain old ridiculous.

Yesterday is Now is my follow-up to Tomorrow: Mostly Sunny. The setting is now Cambridge, Massachusetts - we're a long way from sunny Brisbane. While my current occupation fills at least 60 hours of my week, I still find time for home-cooked meals, drinks with friends, jogs along the Charles, and many more every day events.

For those of you in Australia, your yesterday is my now, and I dedicate this blog to you.