So I set out to attempt 30 new things in one year. The point of this whole exercise was to experience new things and chop up the rat race a little bit. To avoid being overwhelmed by my life and rather take a few moments to enjoy myself. Well, I'm running out of time and life has been catching up quite a bit the last few months. These last couple months I've been adulting pretty hard.
Near the end of 2015 my little brother had to break the news to me that he'd knocked up his girlfriend. He expressed to me that it was like an out of body experience when he told me. Wasn't sure where I'd land..excited, disappointed, angry. More than anything, I was the only thing I could be, which was supportive. For those of you who don't know my brother and live together. When he turned 18 I pulled him right out of his youth and dropped him directly into adulthood with half a mortgage, had him find a job and spend his "college" experience remodeling a house with me.
When he broke the news to me our priorities changed. We needed a bigger place and all of a sudden here I find myself searching for a new home, while tuning up the one I live in. I'd also found myself a new lady. All things and part of life that take up a lot of time and resources. Add in 50 hour work weeks and it's pretty easy to kiss a blog posting goodbye. When I get home at 10pm that's the last thing I want to do. Well, maybe not the last thing. I'd still rather do that than go grocery shopping, cook, change cat litter, laundry, wash dishes, pay bills or any other chore that adds to the headache of being an adult.
It becomes hard to find the time to have new experiences and it's all the compounded responsibilities that every one of us have to deal with. There are a ton of pressures in life. We, as American's spend too much of it wrapped up in work. Feeling stuck under the weight of our lives instead of being liberated to enjoy as much of it as you can. When I compare my life to some of my international friends you can easily see the difference. Posts with exotic sunsets, amazing dinners overlooking a gorgeous veranda, places most of us see once in a lifetime if we're lucky. Meanwhile stateside we post recipes of crap with two sticks of butter in it. Argue about bathrooms, healthcare, the homeless and who's candidate is worse. A bandaid, a blindfold, all keeping our heads in the sand.
I don't mean to come off preachy; but I just had a co-worker take his own life this week. It really has me thinking about life and how precious it is. I know we all have different levels of escapism. If I had it my way there would be a new comic book movie out every week. It's just so easy to turn that side of your brain off. To force yourself into something new and uncomfortable. To take a chance on something that might become your new favorite hobby. There's a feeling I get before every live event I've ever gone to. I have a feeling of doubt. That I don't really want to do this. I don't want to deal with that crowd. I'll catch them next time around. Maybe I'll just stay home tonight instead. I purchased those tickets so long ago it hardly feels like wasting money. To be completely honest, I still get that feeling and it's gotten worse as I've gotten older. I also think that people have gotten worse too, but that's a rant for another time. It only takes a little push to get past that feeling and out into a new adventure.
I suppose life is like trying a new pizza. Some of it has burnt crust. Some isn't always a circle. Some are worth traveling quite a ways to get and other times it's just shut up and eat pizza hut. About two years ago I lost my favorite pizza place, Piecora's. I'd been going there since I was three. So many amazing memories and in my opinion the best pizza in town. I suppose that's life though. We try to cling onto something great from our past even though it's never coming back.
The best we can do is move on and try to create new memories and experiences. Since they closed I've been on a hunt for my next great pizza place. Nothing, has matched quite as well. Hot Mama's on cap hill has a recipe that's very close. Zeek's has an atmosphere that's almost there. No place has parking the way Piecora's did. I tried to expand out and maybe it's not the most exciting 30 for 30 but I've never actually tried Chicago Style Pizza. Like most things in life we stack expectations too high. Set unreachable goals to be met in our heads. Delfino's in the U Village was never going to fill that void. My childhood is gone, my pizza place is gone. They're never coming back and all I can do is trudge on and help create new childhood memories for the next generation. Maybe this little chicken pot pie shaped pizza will be my nephew's Piecoras pizza. Maybe next week we'll wander into a new place that gets even closer to those memories. Maybe, we'll start a new tradition making our own pizza's. No matter what route we end up choosing it'll be done together.
Love each other, hold onto traditions, make new traditions, take vacations, try new things. Don't take the people in your life for granted. Call your mom, visit your grandparents. Find your pizza.
