The Girl's Guide to Homelessness

I read an article today on Yahoo that totally inspired me. It was an article that was titled "10 Things Americans Cannot Live Without." As I continued to read the article,one of the things it mentioned was that the "laptop" and "high speed internet" was a necessity to most Americans. It gave a great example of a girl named Brianna,who lost her job in 2008 and ended up on the edge of homelessness. She sold all of her personal belongings and ended up living in a trailer. The one thing she did not give up was her laptop and the internet,which she used to surf the web to look for jobs. Her friend inspired her to write a blog about her experiences. Publishers were so inspired by her blog that she was offered a deal to write a book. Things picked up from there and she is now an advocate for homelessness around the world.

They say things happen for a reason. With the great recession continuing to affect millions of people,Americans are learning ways to cut out spending and hold on to what is most important to them. Whether this will last once the economy improves who knows. This is also a time where people have a chance to pursue what they love,or a career change. They say opportunity knocks,especially with some hard work,a positive attitude,and dedication.

Read her blog here: the Girl's Guide to Homelessness

My first photo of the view outside my 7th floor window.

I managed to capture this rainbow after a gloomy rainy day in Chicago from the window. I couldn't open the window because so many birds were circling around trying to get in. Still breathtaking though.

Falling into a funk,"Don't try this at home."

As I settled into my newlywed bliss,I noticed something that I am er, not exactly proud of.  

I can only speak for myself,but I have gotten too "dependent" on my husband. Now that I have a constant man in my life,I have sort of slipped on things that I was so used to doing on my own. There are certain things of course that I will always seek help for,like parallel parking the car for instance,a challenge here in Chicago although I do know how to definitely do it,my husband can just do it better.  

There was a stereotype that men from the Balkans don't really allow their women to have a separate identity and let them really to have friends and spend time with girlfriends. However,the post-communist generation has definitely become more open-minded, when it comes to these things,it really comes down to trusting your partner and we have that. In fact I encourage my husband to do the same and he also has a separate set of friends that he hangs out with. It's healthy for couples to have a healthy relationship with the outside world.

I fell into this funk where I really lost touch with the outside world,it just seemed easier to just plop on the couch after a 40-hour work week and have a glass of wine.  The thought of using public transportation sounded like such a hassle and it was just so much easier to just talk my husband into dropping me off wherever I wanted to go. I felt that calling up old friends seemed like a hassle too and in fact wondered why they were not calling me to go out instead.

So I had made some adjustments. I started attending yoga classes downtown on the weekends at Lululemon Athletics,which is great because they offer complimentary classes on the weekends. It is refreshing to wake up early with the rest of Chicago and do good for your body at the same time. Since I live on the North Side and parking is a pain downtown,I take the bus which is literally two feet away from my place and a straight shot 20 minutes to downtown. I find it so much easier and less of a hassle to use then the El. Not as bad as I thought. I have also reconnected with friends at the same time.

I will be attending a few events this month both during work hours and outside of work which I am excited for. And I am psyched to learn that my favorite house dj Collette will be here for a concert at Metro this month so I will be aiming to go to that as well.  In June,look for my blog that talks about my recent joining of the  Kidney Walk.

Chicago,I am back in full force.