Shuttin' this one down...

I know I mentioned a few months ago that I was contemplating making this blog private. I decided at that point not to do so, but I have been thinking about it ever since. In the end, I’ve decided to shut this blog down and start up a new one. Some of the things I didn’t want to mention on a blog I still don’t want to mention – I know they’ll work themselves out one way or another. Other things I didn’t want to blog are now common knowledge for at least the people who really needed to hear about them from me personally. So, with that, I’m shutting down this blog.

When I say I’m shutting down, I mean that I’m not going to post here anymore. I don’t want to officially take it down – with the exception of the past several months, which have seen an extreme lack of posting, it’s been a good chronicle of the past 6 or 7 years of my life. I’ve blogged about some really important life experiences, as in the birth of my Godson, poured my heart out, as I did when I lost Sepp last summer, and have been able to share fun and funny moments and musings about life in general. Plus, it never ceases to amaze me when someone emails me about a post from several years ago, as many have regarding my IUD experience. All of that is why I think it’s important to leave this blog up.

The main reason I can’t, or don’t feel like I want to, post here anymore, is the URL. For those who have not heard, within another few months I will not be mrsj2004, but will legally be going back to the maiden form of my name. I feel that ultimately it’s the best decision for me, and it’s one that has not been taken lightly.

Before I made it I had the ears of a few very close friends and members of my family, and had been seeing a therapist for a couple of months. The circle of family and friends has expanded as I’ve told people, and the visits to the therapist will go on for the time being. Right now I’m still struggling to make sense of the situation and what’s happened. I don’t know that I’ll ever have a complete sense of resolution, but I’m looking forward to closure at some point (hopefully) soon.

Once everything is official, I’ll probably post something here. If not, I’ll at least post something on Facebook. On that note, if you’re someone I’ve met or become friends with through Trey but I haven’t unfriended you, it’s because I’ve enjoyed getting to know you and your families over the years and value your friendships. If you’re ever in Chicago and need a place to crash, a tour guide, or someone to have drink with, I’d love to hear from you. On the flip side, if you want to unfriend me I won’t be offended.

I have barely begun to set up a new blog, which can be found at: http://viktorialuise.blogspot.com

I’m calling it “Life in progress” and while I can’t promise I’ll post much for the next few months, I am looking forward to writing again and hope next spring will be better for that.

Overdue on my haikus

I really did intend to post haikus weekly, but this week got the better of me with trying to be off next week. No promises for the upcoming weeks either, since both Labor Day and German Day are coming up. Here are three goodies for now (which I'd like to have in italics - can't quite figure out how to do that on my phone):

In honor of the bad weather on the east coast this weekend, here's one I came up with after almost getting stuck on my commuter train one evening - fortunately, Godi was nice enough to come rescue me!

Large piece of metal
Stuck on the tracks waiting
Will not blow away

This next one was inspired by what was the only Millennium Park concert I attended this summer (gotta do that more often next year).

A Brahms symphony
Millennium Park tonight
Lots of wine consumed

The final one for this post is about the very beginning of my vacation - getting in to DC on Friday night.

Capitol dome lights
Metro over Potomac
Welcome me tonight

Hopefully I'll have a few more from this trip, and from the festivities and events upcoming!

Haiku for the week

Just a short one right now, coming from my phone:

Chicago at night
The most beautiful city
Nothing can compare

:-)

Haikus for the week #2

Two weeks in a row now! Maybe this will be the trick to get blogging going again...

First is from Friday afternoon and is referring to the Cubs. They've been horrible this year - their longest winning streak this season has been 3 games, and that only happened once:

Six in a row now
Armageddon may happen
This very weekend

They went on to win their game on Saturday, too, making it 7 in a row. Sunday they lost, but it was a good game. Last night was rained out, but they start up again tonight!

Next is from the weekend, from spending time with my cats:

Chipmunks are outside
Playing in my flowerpots
Great kitty TV

And here's from this morning, after feeling a little blue last night because of the rain and gloominess:

Beautiful and bright
The sun shines for me today
Keeps me glowing now

Have a great week!

Yes, I'm still here - haikus for the week

Yes, I'm still alive. Life has been a little rough for the past few months, the reasons for which I either a) cannot talk about in a public forum, or b) do not yet wish to disclose. I do have some bright spots in the summer, too, which I'll try to write about later this week or next.

In any case, since I still log in to read others' blogs, I figure I should do an update every once in a while because maybe some of you look forward to my blog updates the way I look forward to yours. I figured I'd start with a couple of haikus I came up with last week. I don't know how I got onto a haiku kick, but I hope I keep it up because I'm getting a kick out of it. :)

Disclaimer: the only thing I really know about haikus is the 5-7-5 thing. If there are any other rules and I'm breaking them, sorry.

Thoughtful haiku:
Steamy Chicago
Cloudy, dark sky looms above
A sticky, sweet day

Slightly humorous haiku:
Stuck on a held call
No end in sight for me yet
Crappy music plays

Enjoy!

Random stuff post

Before I get into the meat of this post, I just want to say "happy anniversary to us!" Yesterday was seven years, which we celebrated with a wonderful dinner - it's so nice to go on a fancy date every once in a while. Seven years is the Copper/Wool year, and my gift was a beautiful round candle sconce made of coppery material. I gave him a pair of sheepskin slippers and a certificate for him and a friend to do a bacon & beer tasting (they use big copper kettles to make beer). He liked it. :-)

Ok, first random thing - how many of you have private blogs? As much as I don't want to, I'm thinking of going that way. Truth is, that as much as I'm happy to share my opinions (i still get people asking me more about my IUD experience from time to time) there's a lot I haven't written about lately, and not getting it out isn't good for me. Thoughts?

Next random thing - I totally loved that everything was shut down last week because off the blizzard. I would be in full support of another two feet of snow provided we get two days off this time.

Next - whoever came up with the idea of giving fire stations snowmobiles so they could transport people in emergencies needs to get a huge raise and a promotion.

Next - I learned last week that the German words to the Schubert Ave Maria are really based on Sir Walter Scott's poem, Lady of the Lake. It translates into a prayer to the Virgin Mary, so, though I knew it wasn't a translation of the Hail Mary, I totally thought it was at least sacred. I wonder if that means I can't sing it in church anymore (Evi, do you know?).

Next - Trey and I are working together tomorrow morning, playing and singing for a memorial service for a friend's father. It's a sad occasion for sure, but it's always so nice to work together.

Next - Trey's recital is scheduled, which means his thesis proposal is in, which means he's so close to being done with school. I'm soooooooo thankful, as it will lighten my load considerably.

And....my stop is next, which means it's time to pack up and get off the train. More soon. :-)

Things I appreciate - one-liners

I know Sarah mentioned in a recent blog post that she's worried about slowing down so as not to miss the little things in life. This is something I've tried to be better about over the past year or so, and while I'm sure it will be an ongoing process for me (I feel like it takes A LOT of energy not to go through life with blinders on), I have gotten better about it.

Case in point - one of the things our receptionist does every day is send an e-mail to support staff asking them to send her a list of who's out of the office. Since we have over 200 people here and we're on 3 different floors, she can't see everyone, so having a list from each department makes her life a lot easier. I'm cced on these e-mails, and though there's really no reason for me to even open them, I've started doing so because she's found all of these funny little one-liners with which to open the e-mails. Some of my favorites of late have been:

Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.

In the winter my dog wears his coat, but in the summer he wears his coat and pants.

Two hats were hanging on a hat rack in the hallway. One hat says to the other, 'You stay here, I'll go on a head.'

When a new hive is done bees have a house swarming party.

A cat ate some cheese and waited for a mouse with baited breath.

The marine biology seminars weren’t for entertainment, but were created for educational porpoises.

They're short, sweet, and on the days you really need them, will make you laugh out loud. :-)

Have a great day everyone!