firsts and lasts

today was my last full day at my internship. over half the creative team was gone, and more will be absent at tomorrow's half-day. some are on vacation, others on business, and others on unfortunate family matters. the office was not the same. i can't quite place what i was missing, but it was something. some chemistry or excitement...something.

i rode my bike to work for the first time today. i think it took less time than taking the bus--why it didn't occur to me sooner that this might be true i do not know. i know now and will be taking it again tomorrow.
after work, i found myself putzing around the way one does with many options and as much time as the setting sun will allow. i stopped by the taste of chicago (a giant food festival downtown), found myself making one last trip to the library to check a quote i read while finishing my paper three weeks ago. before i knew it i was back on n clark just a block or two from the apartment, and i passed the sandwich shop where i ate my first chicagoan meal back in may. it was wet that day. i was travelling on foot, and making a poor job of wandering north. it was strange to travel the same block again, for the millionth time, knowing that i will soon be hundreds and then thousands of miles away.

i was briefly in wheaton this weekend, and caught a glimpse of the billy graham center. a similar feeling came over me. i went to that building nearly every other day for so many months, and now i'm going to go another six before seeing it again.

to miss: to regret the absence or loss of.

i'm going to miss chicago, that's for sure. i had a fleeting thought once, before i thought it could really happen, how cool it would be to spend a summer here, learning the place and taking it in when it's actually nice and not covered in snow. an then this opportunity just fell in my lap--i won't quickly forget it. chicago in the summer is amazing. i regret not doing more, but i'm so glad for all that i did. i saw lots of improv. i played in the lake at night. i discovered parts of the city i thought i had lost forever months ago, and i can now give you advice on how to get to general areas of the city, and am not afraid of the el, the buses, taxis, or biking on the street.

tomorrow is my last full day in the city. i'm in denial.