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Neurotic As Hell

Choosing Figs Blog

July 8, 2018
in competitive eating, New York

I used to watch the Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest on TV every Fourth of July. For some people, Independence Day meant fireworks, barbecues, parades. But, for me, it meant sitting in front of ESPN and watching a row of gurgitators consume as many hot dogs as was humanly possible in 12 minutes.   [caption id="attachment_75834" align="alignnone" width="1400"] George Shea announces the 2018 Nathan's Famous hot dog eating contest on the Fourth of July at Coney Island in Brooklyn, New York.[/caption]   In 2007, I watched the Super Bowl of competitive eating from my couch, at home, when Joey Chestnut ate 66 hot...

June 17, 2018
in hair

It had been over a year since I got a hair cut and my frock was getting "trapped in my armpits every time I move" long. That last time I got it cut, over a year ago, I had run to a train station Supercuts on my work lunch break to get a $15 discount trim. I don't even remember when, before that, I had last gotten a "real" cut at a "real" salon. You know, one of those salons where they actually shampoo and blow dry your hair. I don't remember the last time I dyed my hair either, but...

June 10, 2018
in cooking, food, Life List

Have you ever put off doing something because it seemed overwhelming, complicated, daunting, only to find when you finally did it, that it wasn't a big deal at all? I do that all the time. All. the. time. I build things up so much in my mind and get so anxious over them, panic over them, that I put them off, procrastinate, to protect myself. I do it at home. I do it at work. I do it while traveling. I do it with my life list. I do it with my life. In the same way that I leave work...

May 22, 2018
in Random Awesomeness

I make projects for myself. I would say, "I always have so much to do." I would say, "I'm always too busy." But, in truth, I know that, on some level, there are very few things on my ever expanding to-do list that I actually have to do. I just make things up and decide that I need to do them and add them to my to-do list. One after another after another. And then I panic, constantly, that I have too much to do, that I am always so busy. Because my to-do list is long. Long. ...

May 9, 2018
in College, Life List

"Who has a job lined up?" I don't remember, now, who it was who posed that question. A professor? A dean? A parent? A volunteer? It could have been anyone, really. I don't remember who specifically it was that asked, but I do remember that someone, whoever it was, posed that question to the lineup of graduating LAS students the morning of our graduation ceremony. "Who has a job lined up?" whoever it was asked. And no one at all could say that they did.   [caption id="attachment_75141" align="aligncenter" width="1400"] Undergrad college graduation in 2003. [/caption]   The job market in 2003 was particularly...

April 26, 2018
in Bolivia, Chile, Peru, South America

When I began my 'round the world trip in 2011, I shared everything. I blogged almost daily, documenting nearly every move I made. Every country. Every city. Every meal. Every day. Actually, that's how I blogged in general before I ever even started traveling. I'd post updates nearly daily. Sometimes I'd post a blog post, drunk, in the middle of the night, because I couldn't go to sleep without updating my non-existent audience about my day. Sometimes I'd post a blog post without photos, because I needed to wait for my film to be developed (because this was before digital...

April 15, 2018
in Chicago Life, food

My sister gave me a choice for what to gift me for my birthday: cash, a gift card, or a ticket to join her on a Chicago pizza tour with Chicago Pizza Tours. While my debt-ridden bank account always appreciates money and my Starbucks card can always use that reload, a pizza tour sounded like fun. Plus, with stops at four different restaurants across an afternoon, it was free lunch. And probably dinner too. My birthday was back in January, but we decided to hold off on going until the spring, when the weather would be nicer. Of course, spring in...

March 7, 2018
in Cats, Chicago Life

I avoided dating before I left home to travel the world. I was afraid that I'd meet someone and that he would interrupt my plans. Because I had a plan. And I knew what I wanted for the future. And I didn't want anything to get in the way. It's been seven years since I left. Three and a half since I returned. And I still avoid anything that could possibly be considered a "commitment." Anything that might get in the way of any of my future plans. Because I have plans. Or, at least, ideas. I still think, often, of traveling...

March 1, 2018
in Cats, travel

Last year, I went on date to see the movie Kedi at The Music Box here in Chicago. Kedi, in Turkish, simply means "cat," and the film documents the cats in Istanbul who rule the streets and seem, all at once, to belong to everyone and no one. (You can watch the movie here.) The documentary hit a sweet spot for me because, well, CATS, but also because I had spent a month of my travels in Istanbul and around Turkey and remembered fondly all of the cats I saw everywhere while there. There were cats in the streets, cats in...

January 29, 2018
in shopping, Valentine's Day

Last year I dated a cat guy. This guy loved cats as much as I did, probably even more so because he actually had a cat while I just admired them from afar. He volunteered at a cat shelter and we'd exchange texts about reality TV kittens. He didn't even think I was a weirdo for suggesting a date to see Kedi, a documentary about the cats in Istanbul. And it really was the best date. But he never actually introduced me to his cat (we'd always end up at my place), and, eventually, we parted ways. It's all good, though....

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© Choosing Figs / Val Bromann
2006 –
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