What's IN/OUT this week

As you’re reading this, there’s a decent chance I’m taking myself on a date to Lula Cafe, one of my favorite restaurants in Chicago. Maybe I am eating the trout scramble! Or the french omelette! With the halved Oro Blanco grapefruit! Maybe finish off with the fennel pollen custard bun! I have spent a couple of minutes with the menu. For research.

IN: Steaming happy. Sauna culture is back, they say. Well, you can make it as fancy and expensive as you’d like, but nothing will beat a $45 entry fee to a Korean spa in the suburbs, nestled between a Home Depot and an H Mart. OUT: Steaming mad. For the first time in six years, I applied for a full-time job. The first interview went quite well, and I was informed that I would have to take an aptitude test. Sure! But the hourlong test was brutal. It required I turn on my laptop camera and share my screen so the program could ensure I wasn’t cheating, and the questions made me feel insane. There was an entire section with MATH. As in, word problems that relate zero percent to the managing editor position I was applying for. I received the rejection letter this week, of course, but I can’t get over that test. I spend 15 years successfully working as a writer and editor, and instead of asking for my portfolio or references, you have me take an abbreviated SAT? Please, if you have three hours to kill, ask me for my opinion of human resources sometime!

IN: This purse. I stopped at Bad Luck Club for a birthday gift and spotted her. If I happen upon $275 (upgrade to a paid membership!), I can finally start putting together the Ms. Frizzle outfit of my dreams. OUT: One-click shopping. I bought a new tub of moisturizer online, and the check-out process was handled by Shop, which of course has my information prefilled (ugh). Well, my moisturizer is sitting at Lauren’s, because the florist I used on her birthday also processes payments with Shop.

IN: Taking a half day on a gorgeous afternoon. A walk with the dog to the library turned into a stop by our friend’s new workshop, which turned into a couple of hours on the patio at Dovetail Brewery, which was then followed by potato chips and chatting into the evening on our balcony. I paid for it by working twice as hard the next day, but without regret. OUT: All the rain that’s followed. This couldn’t possibly be the same city where I got a light sunburn a mere four days ago.

IN: Dogs meetin’ dogs. Dottie is not great at meeting other dogs on leash. But when she does get to hang out with a dog sans restraints, it can be pretty funny. She recently met Mike and Lauren’s dog, Ella, and they were just stupid idiots together. Like, they just sort of threw their bodies at one another and ran in circles. Excellent stuff. OUT: The grass in their backyard after that romp. Find your public apology here!

Tell me what you hated this week!