Life lately

Holy shit.

I have so much to write! So many updates to make! Life has been straight chaos lately.

I’m a little behind on this whole blogging thing, because I’ve been SO INSANELY BUSY kicking off my stint as a Peace Corps Volunteer.

This is a little earlier than I’d usually post it, but I just went through such a massive transition, I feel like I have a lot of loose ends from Chicago to tie up over here on the blog.

I’m leaving Chicago soon, and I’m still in denial. I can’t believe Chicago is no longer home! I’ve been bawling my eyes out nonstop for weeks. Knowing I won’t sit down in front of my four screens at work and open up Arc? Knowing I won’t see the familiar faces of my ESL students at Heartland? Knowing I can’t just walk down the street and drop into a yoga class at CorePower? Knowing I can’t hop on the Red Line at 2 a.m. and end up at Cheesie’s in 10 minutes? I’m not sure when it happened, but at some point during my four year tenure in Chicago, the city became my actual real home. I posted something super cheesy on Twitter right before I left, but it’s true: I didn’t realize how many roots I had in Chicago until I had to sever them. I threw a going away party, and I was surrounded by so many amazing people. I have friends from the Trib, CorePower and North Loft Yoga, Heartland, Couchsurfing, college, high school, book club… honestly, I can’t keep up. I didn’t realize exactly how many connections I had until I had to leave them behind.

https://twitter.com/RandiMShaffer/status/1160197061834416129

WORK

So, uh, yeah. I quit my job.

Honestly, it’s still quite surreal. Soooo much of my identity was wrapped up in being “Randi Shaffer from the Chicago Tribune.” I’m not gonna lie, introducing myself as a Chicago Tribune journalist never got old. I’m pretty sad I can’t do that anymore, actually.

But, hey. At least I got to go out with a solid bang.

And an unnecessarily large photo of my dumb face splattered across everything.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B0ws25VB_OS/

A little while back, I wrote this fun little piece about allll the reasons I love solo travel.

Well, a very intrepid coworker of mine found it, and immediately very politely asked why the heck I wasn’t writing this stuff for print in the publication I work for.

She forwarded my blog post to our phenomenal travel editor Lori Rackl…

…and my piece was rewritten for print in the Chicago Tribune. Just like that.

I’m honestly still in disbelief. Solo travel is one of my absolute favorite things, and being able to share such a personal story about how I coaxed my heartbreak into an undiscovered passion is simply indescribable.

BUT WAIT!

THERE’S MORE!

After my piece was published, I received so many amazing emails and notes of support. I only got one mean email! I was actually really shocked at how nice and encouraging all of our readers were! One asked if I could write a travel blog for the Tribune (I wish!) and another complimented my prose. Guys, if I didn’t suffer from some serious imposter syndrome on an absolute daily basis, I would definitely be letting this all go to my head.

I even got the chance to drop into the WGN Radio studios to talk about my piece for a somewhat lengthy segment with Brian Noonan!

I really can’t believe it. I’m so lucky.

Anyway. Closing the Chicago Tribune chapter of my life was an incredibly hard decision to make, but I’m very sure it was the right one. Going out on such a high note was so bittersweet because I was constantly reminded of what I was giving up, but I suppose it’s still better than the alternative… which would be burning down bridges, or something.

FOOD

So, uh, I actually ate all of Chicago during my last six weeks in the city.

It was crunch time! I had no other options!

…I also gained about 15 pounds over the past few weeks, whoops.

It’s fine, I swear.

Here’s what I stuffed into my face:

Shared plates and beer at West Loop’s Bandit
Patio pretzels and beer at West Loop’s Kaiser Tiger
Shared plates at West Loop’s Cold Storage
A delicious Mediterranean brunch at West Town’s Beatnik
A pre-Lollapalooza brunch at Logan Square’s Jam
Rooftop drinks and shared plates at Ravenswood’s Fountainhead
Ice cream waffle cones at Margie’s Candies!
Banana pancakes and coffee at Lou Mitchell’s in West Loop
Some delivered deep dish from Lincoln Park’s Pequod’s
Pie and biscuits for breakfast at Bang Bang Pie and Biscuits in Ravenswood
An all-you-can-eat Ukrainian buffet at Old Lviv in Ukrainian Village (I’m way less scared about my impending diet now, hah!)

SHOPPING

So. Uh. I actually can’t shop, given that I’m currently serving as an unpaid volunteer. I have no access to my bank accounts back home, no access to my bank account here, a few dollars in emergency cash and… that’s it. My host family takes care of me. It’s so weird.

But with that said, I went on a major shopping spree before I left for the Peace Corps. We have to dress super nice here… so needless to say, I had to upgrade my Birks-and-Lululemon wardrobe.

Here are a few things I bought within the last few months.

I bought this fun skirt in multiple colors to wear throughout my Peace Corps service. It pairs well with this blouse, this blouse and these blouses — all of which I brought with me to Ukraine.

I bought and packed exactly one nice dress, which is what gets me through every single “formal” event I attend here, and because I can’t bring myself to do heels (idk how Ukrainian women do it), these simple black flats are my go-to. I snagged them at the 11th hour (literally — 30 minutes before DSW closed the night before my 8 a.m. flight) and I’m so glad I thought to pack them.

I also bought and packed this tank top last-minute, and I’ve gotten tons of compliments on it, and I grabbed these chinos last-minute, and am glad I did because they can be dressed up or down.

Honestly, I wear the same three things every day now, so this is kinda pointless. 😂

・・・

So, that’s about it for now. I have soooo many posts planned, and I swear I’ll get around to sharing more about my Peace Corps service and my experience here in Ukraine, but right now, I’m just so overwhelmed and busy with language training, technical training, cultural integration and trying to remember to breathe.

Until next time!