I’ve decided to reintroduce my old monthly recaps as a way to look back on what I’ve done the past month and what’s coming up. Also because I’m, oh, six months behind on blogging this will help give a real time glance into my travels.
Destinations Visited
USA: Chicago, Illinois
Miles Traveled
A whopping 594 miles!
Highlights
Reuniting with my college roommates in Chicago
Last weekend I flew up to Chicago for a weekend of fun with 6 of my 7 University of Michigan besties. Like any weekend with these folks, a large portion of our time was spent drinking quite heavily. Friday night was fairly civil with a birthday dinner for my friend Jen and then drinks at a local dive bar. Saturday, though, was no holds barred “let’s drink like we’re 18 again even though we are pushing 30″. We took a beer bus tour around the city and while I’m not going to get into specifics, making it to brunch on Sunday morning was an extremely difficult feat. Leaving Sunday was a bit sad as it had been quite some time since we’d all been together and it’s unsure when we’ll be able to do it again.
Quitting my job and going freelance
Finally getting the courage to forgo office live and make a career out of blogging and freelancing has made me so happy. That’s not to say it also hasn’t been completely terrifying and a little stressful, but it’s comforting knowing that I’m heading toward the life of location independence that I’ve wanted for so long.
Booking my first international flights of the year
I’m going back to Europe! While I’d been cooking up a bunch of travel plans in my head for a while, actually having the flights booked makes it real. I am so stoked to be able to spend time in two of my former homes (Rome and London), discover new places in my favorite country (Italy), and explore a completely new country (Iceland).
Buying tickets to see Tiziano Ferro in concert
When I was living in Rome in 2009 I became obsessed with Italian pop star Tiziano Ferro. His single ‘Il regalo piu’ grande’ was played all the time everywhere during my semester studying and I soon had his entire discography downloaded and would spend hours translating lyrics. My teenybopper love for him has not abated these past 6 years and in June I’m finally seeing him live! While our schedules never overlapped during previous tours, I bought tickets yesterday for his show at Stadio Olimpico in Rome and I really couldn’t be more excited.
Best month ever for Farsickness
January has been the best month ever for Farsickness traffic wise! I also finally surpassed 500 likes on Facebook and my followers on Instagam and Twitter have also continued to grow. Thank you so much to everyone who has clicked a link on Google, left a comment, followed me on social, shared an article, or sent an email. It’s been so exciting to watch this space evolve over the past few years and I can’t wait to see what the rest of 2015 has in store for Farsickness.
Lowlights
Dealing with haters
Someone left a rude comment on my blog attacking my personality and my choice to leave my job. For about 24 hours this made me really, really upset because while I know that not everyone is going to agree with my decisions, I don’t see the need to cut me down because of that. Eventually I decided to just take the T-Swift approach to haters and shake it off. My life, my decisions, my happiness.
Favorite Farsickness Posts
How to Travel Europe on a Student Budget
Why I Quit My Job to Travel (Again)
My Writing Around the Internet
An American Abroad Expat Diaries with Amanda of Farsickness
Meal of the Month
A few days ago I went to Jack Fry’s, a Louisville institution, to celebrate my mom’s birthday. When you step into this tiny restaurant you feel like you’re stepping into the past. A past with phenomenal food. I started with the warm brie salad, a must have on any visit, and for my main I had braised hen with pumpkin and duck confit stuffed pasta, brussels sprouts, and black truffle sage butter. Because the place is so dimly lit, I don’t have any photos but trust me, it was both beautifully presented and delicious.
Upcoming Travel Plans
In February I’ll be leaving Louisville twice! I’m going up to Detroit for my cousin’s wedding over Valentine’s (and my birthday) weekend and then I’ll be spending 5 days exploring San Diego. Though I’ll have San Diego native Jessica to show me around, if you have any suggestions for must-sees let me know in the comments!
What were your highlights this month? Any good plans for February? I’d love to hear about them!
Lovely post! And I think your blog looks amazing
I hope you are going to enjoy your time back in Europe and aaah, Tiziano Ferro!!!
(btw, we don’t know each other haha, I am pretty new to the blog world :))
Linda recently posted..Spanish Markets
Thanks Linda! So glad to find someone else who loves Tiziano
What a great idea for a column! Oh, and Louisville is one of my FAVORITE places to visit in all of the states…we were SO impressed with the food, hospitality, and the utter charm of everything:-) Congrats on going freelance…I made that decision a few months ago too, and while a bit frightening, I’m so, so happy I did! Best of luck, and I look forward to following your travels!
Jess @UsedYorkCity recently posted..New Yorker Moments
Thanks Jess! I’m happy to hear freelancing is working out for you. It gives me the confidence that I haven’t made a totally insane decision
Also, love the you loved Louisville! For a small city it really has a lot and it’s a shame it gets overlooked so often.
I’ve had hate comments on the most random posts before that I refuse to publish. And then they’ll write another one criticising me for that. The way I look at it is, this is my blog. This isn’t a public debate forum. This is a personal blog. There’s no freedom of speech on my internet space. If you’re going to spout hate, go somewhere else.
Mean but meh. I pay for it; I decide what gets published on it.
On a separate note, I’m loving these posts of January so far, girl. I’ve missed your writing and it does really feel like you’re getting off to a great start this year.
Ceri recently posted..4 Koreanisms I Keep Confusing Americans With
I don’t think it’s mean, I think it’s smart. I can deal with criticism and differences of opinion, but I don’t need to or want to waste my time with straight up hate or personal attacks. This blog is my little space and I will run it the way I wish the world was…
And thank you so much, Ceri
Sounds like a fun month! I love drinking like I’m 18! haha. And boo on haters but you should actually be glad–I’ve always said I’m going to celebrate when I get my first hateful troll comment because people only write mean things when you’re doing so well they feel jealous or threatened! So you must be doing something right.
Kaleena’s Kaleidoscope recently posted..Deskwarming: The World’s Most Dangerous Job
haha I kind of agree. At first I was like…I’ve FINALLY made it!
But still, mean people suck.
Keep up the great work on the blog. Getting “thicker skin” when it comes to comments either from people I know or don’t has been something that I have been working on. Some days are better than others, but at least I always re-focus on the end goal — be happy with myself, and don’t mind the haters who are gonna hate no matter what.
Jenia from HTL recently posted..Vietnam, less visited.
It’s definitely been a learning experience dealing with haters, but you’re right, re-focusing is key. Thanks Jenia!
I don’t understand why people have to be so hateful. I shared a post on my FB page recently about World Nutella Day and someone left a comment calling me a marketing whore. WTF? So I blocked him from leaving any more comments
Heather recently posted..A Tipsy Tour of the Riga Black Balsam Factory
I really don’t understand people, especially as I feel like something Nutella related would be the LAST thing to get hate comments! I agree with your decision, though. Delete away. No one needs that kind of negativity in their life, internet or real world.