Van Dam Chicago visit

That’s right people, the parents AND Becca made it out for a visit this past week. I find it more than slightly hilarious that my parents visited on the one week (ahem month) when all Chicagoans go green crazy, drink themselves senseless, dye an entire river fluorescent, and generally act like frat boys. Oh and did I mention that I live directly above one of the most popular Irish pubs in the entire city? Just picture huge lines of green clad bros and hoes lining the sidewalk with the general smell of stale beer and vomit in the air and that’s what I’ve lived with for awhile now thanks to St. Paddy’s. Becca, I am so sorry for exposing you to that hot mess! Gladly, I was able to make sure my parents missed out on most of it.

The parents were here from Saturday until Wednesday and we were able to get a lot of touristy sightseeing and shopping time in while also hanging out a bit with Uncle Gerry, Aunt Tami and some of the cousins. We also stopped by some of my favorite restaurants in the city including Epic Burger, The Original Pancake House, Giordano’s Pizza, and Portillo’s. It was a little exhausting since I still had to work on Monday, get my homework done, and go to class on Wednesday morning, but it was fun to show them the sights. At times it has been hard to convey the experiences that I have had here because it is so far removed from everything I grew up with back in Montana. I could tell that my parents were a little shocked by city life and all that comes with it (ie: noise, traffic, lots of crazy rushed people, and public transportation). I hope that they enjoyed the visit though since this might be the only time they have a child living in Chicago, but who knows? I have really enjoyed my time in the city, so maybe at some point I’ll come back.

Becca stayed for almost her entire spring break which was a lot of fun. Just so you all know, my sister is the coolest, quirkiest little shit you’ll ever meet and I love her. We were able to hang out quite a bit while she was here since I only worked on Friday. We went to an Irish music performance, shopping, running at the park, saw a movie, watched our favorite TV shows, and bought some awesome shoes! Becca, you complete me. You are my home. And we are definitely soul mates and bosom friends (please tell me you get these references!). Thanks to my family for visiting, and now I’m really looking forward to seeing Jake and Jackie this summer at home.

Here are a few favorites from the Van Dam Chicago trip:
A few from Epic Burger





Millennium Park – The Bean



Shedd Aquarium



Butt Munch, you ruined my picture



Who’s your daddy!? Classic Becca face, I could show you a picture of baby Becca with this same expression on her face



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I have this high need for reflection time when I am trying to process difficult decisions. I’m up against pretty much the toughest decision ever and my options are pretty much endless. Needless to say, I’m going a bit crazy thinking about my life options after graduation, so I’m taking some blog space to talk it out.

All of my future plans pretty much depend on when I will be leaving for Peace Corps. The most frustrating thing ever is that I might get an invitation to leave on August 1 but the departure date might get pushed back into 2011! I might not even hear from the placement office for several months and what do I do in the meantime? As a result, my post graduation plans are not clear and I don’t have any way of telling when I will be invited. Sigh

Ok so, let’s try be at least a little constructive. I used to go over my life options with Laurissa as sort of a joke, but now I am getting scarily close to the time when I actually have to chose one and go for it. Here are some ideas:

Option 1: Continue living and working in Chicago until I receive a PC invitation. Go home a month before departure in order to get everything in order and packed up etc.
+ keeps me from being the post grad who still lives in my parents basement
+ I honestly cannot take another boring summer at home, especially after living in the city
+gain some more social work experience and keep building up my resume
+Chicago in the summertime is apparently awesome
-I need a roommate! and affordable housing! and a job that I can possibly leave within a few months!
-Need to be in Iowa and Minnesota for weddings
-Jake and Jackie are coming home in June and I WANT/NEED to be there
-Is this a financially viable option? Good question…

Option 2: Live at home, work at the greenhouse and possible at Hearts and Homes. Save up some money for a few trips during Peace Corps. See my family and friends from home and wait for a PC invitation
+Able to save more $$ since I won’t be paying for food, housing, and probably not gas
+Easier to get a ride to the weddings and I will be around when Jake and Jackie visit
+Easier to take an extended trip to see Katie and roadtrip through California possibly. I need a post grad trip right?
+Get to see friends and do cool summery stuff in Montana. Can’t beat it.
-Living at home as a post grad. Ick, please no. We don’t need to repeat last summer, huh mom :)
-I’m thinking it will be pretty horrible to go from Chicago to Churchill. Yea ouch. Just the thought of it hurts me.
-Finances are kind of the least of my worries. I mean, I just got a degree and now I’m going to be an unpaid volunteer for two years.

Option 3 and 4: Either live in Bozeman in an apartment or beg a place to live with Katie in Seattle. Work and wait to get a call from Peace Corps.
+Solves the problem of being the post grad living at home
+I would love to be in Seattle or Montana for the summer
+3 words: Post Grad Roadtrip
+According to Katie, barista jobs are easy to come by so easy temporary employment is a possibility
-Still need a job for this summer. Not sure if I’m up for another manual labor type job
-Still need to be in IA, MN, and MT for wedding and to see Jake and Jackie
-Paying for food and housing, not able to save as much $$

Do you see my predicament? If you have advice or suggestions for me regarding this topic just let me know. I honestly don’t know what to do. Peace Corps is messing up my life. But I’ve accepted that fact and I am still looking forward to entering service sometime soon. You’ll probably hear me screaming hundreds of miles away when/if I get my invitation packet in the mail. I’m that excited about it!

Peace

Beth