Beautiful Things (Life, Scenery, and Anniversaries)

Don’t mind me. I just needed to take a break for a couple of weeks to get my head straight. Now, I am back and I am bitchin'.
I have decided a couple months off work is exactly what I need (so if anyone wants to make plans this summer, my schedule is pretty open - and you know I am always up for some madcap adventures). My severance package is not half bad and, combined with the cash I have tucked away in the bank, I think I am able to enjoy not working for a bit and just focus on travel, baseball, and the S.o.E. instead.
Anyway, you and I have many things to discuss, fair reader but for now I am going to just leave you with a couple spectacular snapshots that Karen and I took last week.

This was at Wrigley Field on Karen's birthday - it was the most amazing double rainbow. (And of course it was only more beautiful when the Cubbies swept the Sox that night.)





One late night/early morning we broke a couple laws and snuck onto the beach to watch the sunrise. True, we were a bit toasted (and had to do some mad dashing to avoid being seen by the authorities...) but still, fantastic views. The first is me trying to hold in a drunken giggle fit with the moon and the skyline behind me. The second is Karen watching the sunrise over Lake Michigan.





Also, a completely random side note: yesterday was the ten year anniversary of the first time I ever... well... er... my "first time." Yup. And let me tell you it has been a fantastically fun decade. Here's to many more years of "fun."

So, in summary - who needs a job when there is all sorts of beautiful life to live? Cheers!

101 Things to do (or don't) before you die - #45:
Do dine and dash from a fancy restaurant.
Don't say, "It could be worse."

- Life is both a major and a minor key; lada will open up the chord

Bread Loser

Not a whole lot to say right now but I will offer this observation: getting divorced, moving to a new state alone, and now getting laid off are too many major life changes for this girl to comfortably squeeze into a short five month period of time.

But hey, now that I don't have a job I am available to watch the Cubs everyday. And drink. And catch up on my reading. And drink. And sit by the pool. And drink.

101 Things to do (or don't) before you die - #44:
Do attend a film premiere.
Don't forget what’s in your freezer.

- lada is shorter of breath and one day closer to death

Raw Bars and Ranges (S.o.E.)

First Oysters
Ever since I moved to the coast I have wanted to try oysters but I had heard horror stories about getting sick from a bad batch, so I was leery. Well, the first meal of oysters was a success. There was hot sauce, garlic butter, crackers, and some oddly tiny silverware involved, but no puking! They were steamed though, and I still want to try the raw ones at some point, in all their snot-textured glory (and mussels are on the menu for next week).
Also, I now know whether oysters are an aphrodisiac or not.

First Gun Play
Somehow, despite the fact that my father was a Major in the United States Marines, I had never fired a weapon; so, my friend ML took me to a shooting range on Thursday to shoot things. And, hell yes, guns are freaking cool.
The first time you pull the trigger it is pretty scary but after that it’s an absolute blast. We shot a 9 mm and a 40 caliber (yes, we were wearing protection for our eyes and ears). Apparently all those hours of Duck Hunt paid off because, to be totally honest, I am a pretty decent shot. I did have to try and learn how to aim with both eyes open - when I was a kid playing with the old plastic Nintendo gun, I would close one eye to make aiming easier, so that was my same instinct/habit to do with the real metal guns. But, as my teacher for the day, ML, so eloquently put it: "If you are shooting shit that is trying to hurt you, you need to be able to see it coming at you from both sides. That is hard to do if you only have one eye open." Touché.

On the drive home from the range I saw a black SUV with “Davidson County Crime Scene Investigation” marked on the side. As I drove past them, I felt the bizarre urge to hold up my hand and yell at them to test me for gun shot residue. (It would have been positive! Gasp! How cool!) Luckily, I realize how dumb I am and can ignore most of these stupid impulses.

I brought home my target and it is hanging on my wall (I marked the shots for you in red because they were a little tough to see in the picture). I still want to shoot a shotgun someday; there is something about that massive bruise it leaves on the shoulder that is a badge of honor I still need to acquire. Hopefully I can do that with my dad in Tennessee in August. And speaking of Daddy, this is the conversation we had:

LADA: I am no longer a gun virgin!
DAD: Wow, did it hurt?
LADA: Ha! I can’t believe you just said that.
DAD: Congrats on your first time on the range, my steely eyed pistoleer. Cannot wait to see the pic of the target.

101 Things to do (or don't) before you die - #43:
Do throw a dart into a map and travel to where it lands.
Don't forget who the real Batman is.

- lada goes where the whiskey drowns and the beer chases her blues away