81° and partly cloudy is not but a July dream anymore my friends…it has finally become reality. Although it is only April, and I am sure there are cooler temps to follow, it is amazing how rejuvenated my soul feels. There are ice cubes in my coffee, flip flops on my feet, and I am not sure where I left my shirt. On that note, I am also keeping my sunglasses on, but that is due to the blinding glare given off by my white Wisconsin winter shimmer. Our new apartment in Kenosha has a patio out back, and you better believe we are putting it to good use today. The only way I see today being any better would be if I had a hammock to string across the patio.
Since the temperatures have gotten above freezing over the past couple weeks, I have made a point to get outside and do some running. The other evening while on one of my runs, I was able to catch the sunset. There is something magical that happens at that time…all your worries and stresses from the day seem to disappear. Lately, I have noticed the cabin fever starting to set in. Gina and I had so much going on this past winter that we never really had a chance to get outside. I spend a good portion of my days thinking about how I would much rather be out hiking around a lake with my wife, musky fishing from my dad’s boat, or have my butt firmly planted on a sandy beach with an ice cold brew in my hand. I’ve spent most of my life thinking that the city life was for me, but the more time goes on, the more time I spend trying to figure out how to get away. Don’t get me wrong, I love all the things that keep us busy in Milwaukee, I just think there is something to be said about good ol’ fashion peace and quiet. Not to mention, seeing all the stars in the sky at night never gets old.
This past Friday we had the opportunity to join a group of our friends at Miller Park to watch our Milwaukee Brewers play the Chicago Cubs. Whenever the Cubs are in town, there is never a dull moment at the ballpark. I must say I was extremely excited to see a much larger percentage of Brewers fans compared to Cubs fans. The Cubs still had enough fans to make plenty of noise for their team, but it was very obvious which team was the home team. Unfortunately, the home fans did not have too much to cheer about since Milwaukee pitcher Randy Wolf thought it would be a good idea to give up 5 runs in one inning. It turns out that in the sport of baseball, whenever you give up 5 runs in an inning, your chances of winning the game decrease greatly. Regardless of the outcome, we always have fun when we get out to root for the Brewers and it is always nice when we can share the experience with great friends.
This week will be my last full week at my current job. As of 4:30pm on April 20th, I will officially be unemployed as I take a little time off to rest up before jumping into my Doctor of Chiropractic program. I am very happy to be ending my run as a laboratory technologist and finally begin my pursuit of a career that is the right fit for me. Although I am looking forward to beginning school, the nerves are also starting to creep in a little bit. The course load I will be taking will be much heavier than anything I have taken part in the past. I am confident that my undergraduate degree has prepared me for the task ahead and I have also set very high goals for myself as added motivation. It has been a big help for me to have had the chance to watch and see how Gina has managed dental school over the past few years. My hope is that I will not be as overwhelmed by the large volume of work. I am sure that my next post will come some time around my start date at school, so I promise to let you all know how true that is. Keep your fingers crossed.
Well, we have a little bit of time left to enjoy this beautiful spring evening. Thanks for tuning in.
Song Recommendation: Devil’s in the Jukebox by Ray LaMontagne
Great Documentary: 180° South (can stream on Netflix)
Potential Upcoming Topics:
-derek starting school/long commute
-first Kenosha farmer’s market trip
-derek’s upcoming backpacking adventure
