Enlightenment.

I have been preoccupied with very important beach time, as the past 3 days in Chicago have been GLORIOUS weather-- quite different from the last 2 months. I'm back to my brown bear self after some much-needed alone time with me, the waves and loads of reading material. Fun fact #1: I'm currently on books #11, 12 and 13 of the summer. (!!!!!!) What have y'all been reading?

I've also been busy packing. Tomorrow starts the 1-week countdown of my move from 1062 (the lovely apartment Miss Katelyn mentioned). As for my next humble abode, I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a real closet, but I won't go too crazy with my dreaming! Fun Fact #2: If you keep your food in a refrigerator and your clothes in a closet, if you have a roof over your head and have a bed to sleep in, you are richer than 75% of the entire world population. ;)

This weekend was superb. Shabizz really needs to tell the good stories, but I had an excellent time with the BG crew here. I tend to believe that getting rained on is cathartic, so I have no need to complain about our hike. I loved singing (screaming?) "99 bottles of beer on the wall,"(Fun Fact #3: This song is derived from the British song, "Ten Green Bottles.") re-visiting the Terrace 2 days in a row (though they probably think I'm a lush), Mrs. Song treating us to $5 margaritas, and getting my hands on a delish jar of lingonberry preserves from IKEA (mmmm!). Fun Fact #4: Lingonberries are rich in many nutrients, including vitamin C, potassium, magnesium and those highly valued Omega-3s that are all the rage these days. I temporary lost my voice (again) because of the amount of jamming we did-- totally worth it. The el (there's your answer, Kate. Fun Fact #5: "El" actually stands for "ELevated train.") was NOT our friend on the 3rd; it stopped at every stop north of downtown with its doors open for 3-10 minutes (I resorted to timing it on my phone) while Johnson and I both suffered from extremely full bladders (Fun Fact #6: That's 10 stops before Loyola's on the Red Line.). I cite Matt Forrest as I say, "FML." All in all, it was a truly refreshing outdoor camping excursion, though it ended up being neither of those things. Becky's fam was awesome to us! :)

This weekend, my beautiful big sis is driving in so we can see Ben Folds for the 3rd time together. Fun Fact #7: Those 3 shows have all been in different cities that start with "c." Until I move, I'm enjoying a dinner date each night with different really cool people who are willing to oblige me with their company before I desert them for the Buckeye state. ;) Fun Fact #8: The buckeye is a poisonous nut, which also translates into being a really non-intimidating school mascot.

Speaking of which, OASC SENIOR HIGH II SUMMER WORKSHOP IS IN LESS THAN 2 WEEKS!!!!!! Tuesday is the day I lead, so exactly 2 weeks from now I'll be making magic with 20-something lovely darlings from all over Ohio. My Oxford trip is the night before, and I'm wreaking havoc in Dayton and Columbus for 2 consecutive nights after camp. My body/mind will be exhausted, but I figure I'll have plenty of time to sleep after my wisdom teeth removal, scheduled to go down on 28 July. (Fun Fact #9: I have an EXTRA wisdom tooth-- yes, like 5-- and the fifth one is called a "supernumerary tooth.")

To wrap up this incredibly informative post (you know you liked the colors AND the wisdom), I shall enlighten you a bit on my favorite animal, the butterfly, for Fun Fact #10: Butterflies can see ultraviolet light. Radical! 8-)