Taken by my brother at his farm, Above Normal Eggs. Isn’t it beautiful?!
Mitch here!
Here are 10 quick things that come to mind today.
- Post Party Depression is real and it ruined my week. Whether it’s resulting from a trip, a great weekend, or spending the night with friends—I suffer from “too much fun syndrome,” and it’s tough to get over. It’s a combination of feeling exhausted, sad that it’s over, and overwhelmed by getting back to real life. And sometimes a little bit of “Did I say or do anything stupid?” Any suggestions to alleviate the symptoms that don’t involve a bottle of wine, a couch and Netflix? I’m all ears.
- Snorkeling in the Pacific also nearly did me in. I’m old. Just a little over a week ago, I was snorkeling in the serene, crystal clear waters of the Pacific Ocean. It was incredible. I swam around the kelp forest with all these seals, sea lions, Garibaldi goldfish and California Spiny Lobsters for an hour, and I was in heaven. But when I got out of the ocean, I was overwhelmed by sea sickness, so much so that I had to take the rest of the day off. 😆 I guess this midwesterner is not meant for the sea.
- I FINALLY get to see TV Girl this week. I bought these concert tickets before the pandemic, and held on to them throughout as it got postponed time and time again. I held this show up as my quarantine “finish line,” and even after we got vaccinated, the show was postponed yet again. Anyway, as far as I can tell, the show is on for this week, and it should be a banger. Though it’s become quite the joke between Kelly and me. “TV Girl concert next month!” “I’ll believe it when I see it.” Truth. Check out TV Girl if you’re unfamiliar. Strange stuff but a great band.
- My Mexican food addiction is acting up. I ate Mexican at nearly every meal in California. I even drove as far south as we could and had the most incredible Mexican meal of my life at Tuetano Taqueria, a Michelin-recommended taco stand right near the border. This place serves Birria-style tacos which are essentially an Italian beef on a tortilla dipped into a consommé style beef soup. It was INCREDIBLE. So now I’m on the hunt for birria bliss in Chicagoland. I’ll report back with what I find.
- I sold my Apple Watch and I’m not looking back. I’m an Apple fan boy through and through. I love all that stuff. I had the first Apple Watch in 2015 and wore it proudly despite the fact that it was a total piece of junk. This past year I tried the Apple Watch out again and found that for me, it was essentially useless. I use my phone for checking the time, guiding my workouts and tracking my runs. Just couldn’t get back into it. So I’m out of the Apple Watch game for the next few years.
- I have restaurant FOMO. I’m the kind of guy never wants to eat in the same place twice. Kelly, on the other hand, would be happy eating in her favorite restaurant over and over again like some kind of lab rat in a cage. This puts me in a precarious position because in order to make plans at a new restaurant, I need to exceed the bar set by her favorite restaurant each and every time. Even worse, I’m not good at making plans or decisions. Not sure where I’m going with this; I just need to vent.
Edit: Excuse me, but you are FAR more disappointed than I am when a new-to-us restaurant doesn’t knock it out of the park. 😜 -Kelly
- I’m the recipient of a giant pile of fancy soap. Kelly is ruthless with KonMari, and wants nothing in our closets and cabinets that we don’t actually use or need. The result was a bag full of nice-smelling scrubs, soaps and conditioners that, like the good midwestern guy I am, I refuse to let go to waste. I donated half of it, but took some of it down to the basement where I shower after working out. I have no idea what any of this stuff is or how it works but I can tell you that I smell freakin’ fantastic! (Turns out you do not put lotion on your body before drying off. First-time lotion-user. Interesting, as you’d think the goal was to stay as moisturized as possible?)
- What I’m watching: “Reservation Dogs“: Written, directed and cast with indigenous people, FX’s “Reservation Dogs” is the coolest on television. The story centers on a group of teenage thieves who are hilarious.
- What I’m reading: The Handmaids Tale: I’ve been meaning to read it for years. The book thrusts you into a confusing, dystopian world that takes some time to sort out, but it’s well worth it as the resulting story eviscerates much of our modern political debate. It’s interesting that it takes a fantastical story set in the near future to bring a topic into such clear focus. A question that keeps popping up for me is that if Gilead existed in today’s world, would anyone do anything to stop it? I can’t wait to read Atwood’s sequel, “The Testaments,” and then to watch the show. Great stuff!
- What I’m listening to: Cautious Clay: After months of insistence from my neighbor friend Dave, I put on Cautious Clay’s first album and then smashed that Spotify heart button so many times I nearly broke the computer. This guy was a NYC real estate agent three years ago and now, three albums later, he’s my favorite new artist. Can’t wait to see him in Chicago in February!
