tuesday.

I’m supposed to be editing a video that I’m filing tomorrow.

Instead, I’m sitting here, the silence broken by an occasional car passing outside my open window and the sound of Ben Rector’s “When she comes around.”
Not a bad Tuesday night.

The apartment is clean, the carpet an empty canvas waiting for the shoes, papers and books that will slowly begin to accumulate on it’s surface through the week.
A flame bounces in the corner, passing the smell of vanilla.
It’s cold outside, but in my little apartment it’s the perfect temperature for a blanket to snuggle with.

Now that I’ve gone all Steinbeck on you and described in detail my location, I can tell you – I have no idea what to write.

All I know is, it’s Tuesday. There are certain songs I cannot stop playing, the current soundtrack to my life. The Metra train is like a relaxing Six Flags ride to downtown that makes me feel as if I’m Eva Marie Saint waiting for my Cary Grant. Chicago is my own personal Lego city in the spring, stacks and stacks of buildings.

Others are being adorned with a ring on a finger, beginning a new career, exploring a new home, making life decisions or even buying a puppy.

My life consists of immigration issues, what to make for dinner and the unsuccessful battle with the ever piling dishes in my kitchen sink.

I don’t have much to say tonight.
Except that for tonight, of all nights, it is beautiful.
Perhaps it’s just this song.
Maybe it’s the weather getting warmer.

Although my life may seem like an endless cycle of story after story after story, it’s also a time for learning. For learning about what’s actually important in life (it’s not getting good grades or work), that you can get along with anyone if you just try and that previous heartbreak shouldn’t hold you back from the present.

Medill attempts to teach me inside a newsroom how to be a better journalist. But the truth is that a good journalist needs an open mind, listening ear and a bit of empathy for the fellow man. And that’s about all you need to be a good human as well.

And when all else fails, listen to these songs: “When she comes around,” Ben Rector; “Tell her this,” Del Amitri; “Can’t take my eyes off of you,” Lauryn Hill; “Hank,” Ben Rector; “Voices,” Matt Wertz