What's IN/OUT this week

I passed up the opportunity to have a cheeseburger at 11:30 p.m. Wednesday night. While I know this was the right choice for my body, I believe it was the wrong choice for my soul.

IN: Stoop sitting. Last Saturday, Dave suggested we take a couple of Solo cups and a bottle of Big Juicy to our building’s front steps and enjoy the weather. People liked that! We met a bunch of neighbors and had some great little conversations. I’d recently thought that I should maybe attend our street’s block party this year and actually see what these folks are like, rather than just assume they’re all SABLITS (Should Actually Be Living In The Suburbs). Prove me wrong, neighbor with the bad-attitude goldendoodle. But it really is so satisfying to meet the people you share city space with. Uh oh. (*gingerly touches forehead*) I feel an essay coming on… OUT: Throne sitting. We went to our first Cubs game of the season on Monday, and I managed to step into the restroom at the exact moment Seiya Suzuki hit a three-run homer. Exquisite timing, as always.

IN: The urge to throw a party. I haven’t had a little get-together since January and I can feel in my bones that it is time to ask a bunch of people over who will refuse to leave the kitchen. OUT: Never knowing if I’ll find myself at a fancy-schmancy schmoozey party. I follow many New York media people (maybe too many) and sometimes I find myself frowning enviously at their recapping of a night at galas, talks, and so forth. I, too, want to put on a cool little outfit, drink free sparkling wine in the same vicinity as Julio Torres, and later declare it was rather crowded and a bit dull! Related: I’ll be in New York in June if there are any fabulous yet slightly boring soirees you want to invite me to.

IN: Having an approachable face. I tend to present a fairly pleasant expression when I walk the dog — largely because I’m thrilled to not be working. I can be hilariously unaware of what my face is doing, so I’m sometimes surprised when people give me a smile, nod, or approach me to chat. I like this! It happened just the other day with a nice stranger, with whom I spent a few minutes yapping — mostly about dogs and more specifically about those beagles who were rescued in Wisconsin. OUT: Breeding beagles for use in animal testing laboratories. Why would you do this?? And why am I going to wind up adopting 500 of these dogs??

IN: Watching a sweet animal relax without a care in the world. Dave took a video of Dottie on the balcony after watching me grin at her for a probably insane amount of time. PRECIOUS MOMENTS!!!! OUT: Having many a care in the world. We’re out of garlic. The floors need to be swept. Photoshop keeps telling me I’m low on “scratch disk space” and what does that even mean???

Tell me what you hated this week!