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January. What an asshole.

How's your January going! Mine has been tremendously hilly. Lovely valleys of blankets and Pretzel Crisps with hummus, and then steep steep climbs of frigid temperatures and a complete lack of motivation. I enjoy living in the Midwest, partially because the weather dictates our activities. The whole "for everything there is a season" is taken at its most literal here, and there is much less pressure to be Out Doing Things, because have you looked outside? It's gross. This contrasts with our defiant need to be hearty and not bothered by the cold, so essentially, in the winter we live by a double standard. Which we're all totally reconciled to, so no need to pick that apart further.



I've found myself listening to podcasts much more than reading. In particular, Stuff You Missed in History Class, WTF with Marc Maron, and The Mental Illness Happy Hour. The latter two have comedians as guests, which is why I listen to them, as I've listened to all of the albums of the people I already knew. They also introduce me to new comedians, which is fantastic. Hey there, Karen Kilgariff. You are a hilarious lady. Also Laurie Kilmartin. I realize their surnames have the same prefix, but rest assured that is not why I like them both.


Still trying to finish Barnaby Rudge, and oh, it is the worst. I would encourage no one ever to read this book, and frankly, I wish I could be hanging out with Dickens when the idea first germinated within his expansive mind and say "HEY you know what'd be the worst? A book about the Gordon Riots of 1780. Hahaha Gordon Riots. Only a tool would write about those."


And then maybe instead he could use his expansive mind to write a three-dimensional female character. BUT I WOULDN'T WANT TO PUSH YOU TOO FAR, DICKENS.





Ah-ha! And to link the beginning of this post with the end, Dickens wrote in a "streaky bacon" style, interposing comedic scenes between his more melodramatic ones, which is essentially how January has been. And how February will most likely be. And so on until probably April, at which point Chicago will burst into frenetic activity and if you stay home watching Netflix, you will feel incredibly guilty, because tra la, the spring, enjoy the outdoors, etc.

HAPPY END OF JANUARY

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