Goals 2019 -- June Update

Here's K!

I’ll admit, when M proposed that we should try five new things in the month of June, I was nervous. First, I wasn’t sure that I would have time because I was finishing up the academic year. Second, anyone who knows me knows that I’m not really a “new thing” kind of person. I’m more of a “tried and true” kind of gal. But, I quickly realized that our monthly goals are designed to get us out of our comfort zones, so I accepted the challenge, albeit hesitantly.

Like M, I only made it to four-and-a-half, but I was pretty proud of myself for that! My new things were:

1.     Tried an Aperol Spritz. I know, I know. This one hardly counts. I mean how hard is it to step outside of your comfort zone with a new cocktail? But I’m counting this one because there’s a story or two behind it. It’s apparently the “new” summer cocktail, though the Italians have been drinking them for quite some time. My friend K, who is Italian, loves them, and I’ve heard her talk about them for two years now, but never tried one. Then, I read an article in my Sunday New York Times that claimed that an Aperol Spritz “is not a good drink.” Well, apparently, there are a lot of people who feel very strongly about this. The internet was “deeply offend[ed],” according to the New York Post. Even the Washington Post took notice and they issued a follow-up article in which they claimed that the Times article sent “shock waves through social media.” So, at this point, I had to know what this was all about. I had to leave my whiskey comfort zone and venture into the fray. And, I have to say, I’m not particularly impressed. Like that time I read Twilight or the time I started Fifty Shades, I can happily say that I am glad that I know what the hubbub is about, but I’m equally as glad to return to my whiskey.

2.     Joined a bunco group. This one found me. My friend J decided to get a bunch of her friends from different circles together to create a bunco group so that we could see each other regularly. Most of the women in the group have children, so this was a way for them to set aside some regularly scheduled time when they could roll some dice, maybe win some money, and have a glass of wine with grown-ups. I support of all of these things, so I said yes even though I had no idea what bunco actually was. And then I proceeded to worry about what I had just gotten myself into. Typical. Once I finally went, though, I had a great time. Until I realized that I think being part of a bunco group makes me officially old.

3.     Adulted. Hard. (Ish). On a recent work trip, I had the pleasure of staying in the dorms at a college in Philadelphia that I will not name here, but if you want to know, I’ll probably tell you. On our first night, the room was cold and damp. On the second night, it was a little warmer, but still damp. Also on the second night, my roommate and I (incidentally, K of Aperol Spritz fame) were feeling pretty good after a dinner of whiskey and beer, so we decided to turn the air off and open the windows to get some fresh air to mix in with our stale, moist air. But, when I put my foot out of the bed the next morning, I stepped onto a soaking. wet. floor. Whatever work that air conditioner was doing to keep the moisture under control when it was on, it did not do when it was off and all that air moisture became a floor lake. When we got back to our dorm that night, the water was still there, as were the footprints from our morning trek through our lake. I laid down on the bed for a five minute breather, and when I stood up, the front of me was dry and the back of me was wet. Within 15 minutes we were in an Uber on the way to a hotel where we took ourselves out to a nice dinner like the grown-ass women we are, slept in dry beds, and returned back to campus in the morning. I broke the rules that existed in my mind, put my comfort ahead of anything else, and for me, that’s a sign that I’m all grown up.

4.     Changed the oil in a silver truck named Red. This one is all thanks to M and S. And, I basically stole this one off M’s list, but in all fairness, it is something I have wanted to learn to do for a long time. So, poor S had to walk me through the steps, every one of which I bungled, but he was clear and patient and gracious despite my errors. S, have you ever thought of being a teacher? I think you have all the qualifications for it. I feel quite accomplished as a consequence of completing this task, but somewhere in the middle of it all, I had the thought, “yeah. I’m just as happy to pay an expert to do this for me next time.”

5.     Thought about my trip to Europe. This one is my half. But really it should probably be my one-quarter because we planned this trip long ago and we’re not going on this trip until July. But, because I fell short in my five things, I’m going with it. As far as travel to Europe is concerned, I’ve been to London and Ireland. And that’s it. But that will all change in the next fifteen days as I travel with J, my mom, his mom, and our neighbors to seven different cities in the Western Mediterranean, from Spain all the way down into Italy. It will be my first time on one of the really big cruise ships. It will be my first time in all of these cities. It will be my first time trying to navigate through places without the benefit of a guide who knows what they’re doing. I will need to use all of the bravery and adulting skills that I have learned in June to survive in July. And, I’m sure that somewhere along the way, I’ll have another Aperol Spritz. And a whiskey.