regresar

oh what to say after a busy and beautiful week?!

i will try and use photos to describe.

these are the leftovers of my favorite vietnamese sandwich from ba le (a delicious vietnamese sandwich shop).  what was on this wrapper was a delicious vegetarian avocado sandwich with fried tofu.  i was so overzealous to eat this little piece of heaven that i forgot to take a picture until it was cozying up with my stomach acids.

YUM:

school is wrapping up!  my wall of assignments is down to two pieces of paper - how exciting!  i have one paper and two tests left.

census job training starts tomorrow.  our training will be at the belmont yacht club (interesting, i know).  i'm starting to wonder if they pay so much because it will be miserable?  i realized that people might not immediately see me, a friendly census worker, and reciprocate that friendliness... and i don't often respond well to doors slammed in my face... perhaps this will be a good character lesson?  or, at least an extension of "toughening my skin" after my two semesters worth of dealing with the "pleasant" folks at social security on behalf of clients... or maybe i could try out some karate moves and force them to fill out their simple form??

. . .

i had my 25th birthday.  i was dreading/curious a bit about how this would be in a new place, debating whether or not to invite all the random people i've met (atheist school mates meet jesus-loving republicans meet iraqi refugees), or stick with a small number that i adore.  i chose the latter and felt loved and celebrated over excellent ethiopian food.

tiramisu for my birthday cake (maybe the best bday cake i've ever had?  no offense mom.  though i did love my barbie one from larita's in elementary school!) at my last lunch with interfaith employees:

ethiopian food on injera (delicious bread that is food and your utensil):

birthday flowers sponsored by a special friend :) :

two of my favorites from iowa came to visit me in the big city this past weekend too!  it was a joy to be able to show them chicago and help them maneuver the mass transit system (i forgot how exhausting it was to be new to this city!).  they also were 100 yards from a shooting (article here).  of course this is the only time that happens while i've lived in chicago!  well... welcome to the windy city??  they handled it like big-city residents.

in addition to showing them the sights of the city, we helped my second cousin out with his flat stanley project:

flat stanley rides the CTA!

flat stanley meets american girl lanie... oo la la! (we probably won't send this into my cousin... but i thought it was awfully kind of us to introduce him to intelligent, beautiful, tall, color-coordinated young women!):

during the last night of their visit, an incredible wind blew down our street for awhile.  i thought nothing of it (besides being reminded of how cool storms are... as long as you're safe... and eating popcorn) until i checked my window two days later.  the screen has been ripped off and my window cover shredded!  oh mother nature, you are so powerful:

so many wonderful, beautiful, interesting things...

also, i continue to vacillate between feeling like i will be a good counselor to being terrified that someone is going to trust me with their emotions and being.  i think this is healthy.

fullness.