chicago

Planning ahead

by Katie Welker

Given the number of curveballs i’ve endured over the past 26 years, I should really have a much better understanding that despite all good intentions, 99% of the time life simply does not go the way you planned.

Yet here I am, planning.

And more so than that, i’m trying to understand the difference between planning for things that you can generally control, and planning for things that are still very much a work in progress.

On the one hand, i’m planning for an upcoming trip to Austin, Texas to attend the SXSW Interactive Festival on behalf of my company – Creative Circle. I’ve been wanting to attend SXSW for years and I’m ecstatic to finally have the opportunity to go. So for this, i’m planning: the sessions I want to attend, dinners I want to go to with colleagues, a visit to one of my client’s office because in addition to Chicago they also have a presence in Austin. I’m researching, i’m learning, and i’m planning.

On the other hand, I’m in an absolutely wonderful and fulfilling relationship with the best guy I could ever ask to have by my side. But I live in Chicago, and he lives in New York. We’re planning on him moving here sometime this summer. However, there’s a lot to think about and take in when it comes to such a major change. It will be a new chapter of our relationship in a city that i’ve only been in for seven months, and one that will be new to him, as well.

Planning for that major change has been overwhelming. And not in a bad way, but in a “big picture, big questions” kind of way – summer is our ballpark timeframe, but does that mean June, July, August? What if his job situation doesn’t pan out the way we hope it does? What if he hates it here? What’s our next step once he’s finally here? How long does this chapter last for us?

There are so many questions that, at least right now, are nothing more than hypotheticals. So in essence, we really can’t do much planning at the moment. More details have to fall into place, more time needs to pass, more patience needs to be practiced.

Yet the same question has continued to circle my mind time and time again – how soon is too soon to start planning?

Of course when it comes to financial planning, health and fitness goals, etc. it makes sense to get as much of a head start as possible. But in terms of everyday living, it feels to me that it’s more important to make a firm decision about what it is you want, and then put faith and trust into that decision until it’s close enough to plan and then take action on.

Sure, you can map things out, research, learn, and schedule until you have every minute of your life lined up. But at the end of the day, life generally has more plans in store for you than you have in store for yourself.

So go ahead and make a goal, and then take steps to get yourself there in the timeframe you allotted. Just do it knowing that the road to get there will more than likely come with a different set of detours than you could have ever imagined possible.

Plans change every single day. But that’s the fun of it, don’t you think?

Reroute

by Katie Welker

If you have ever lived in a major city with a solid public transit system, or have visited and had to navigate your own way around, you know that it can be a tricky situation. How often do they run, which stop do you get off at, do you need to change lines, etc.

However, the system in Chicago is actually pretty simple. There are a limited number of color-coded train lines you can take, all of which are clearly identified on easy-to-read maps. And if you can’t make sense of it yourself, the people here are nice enough to help you if you have a question.

Sounds simple, right?

Wrong. Well, sort of.

Today I was heading home from work and switching from the red line to the brown line. Once I get onto the brown line train, I only have one stop until I get off and walk a few blocks home.

Just. One. Stop.

My commute on the brown line is a whopping three minutes, if that.

Welp, count on me to mix things up.

I had my nose in a book (what else is new) and walked onto the purple line train instead of the brown line. Normally that wouldn’t be an issue. Get on the wrong line and you just get off at the next stop a minute or two later and head back.

However, the purple line train I got onto was a non-stop express straight into the suburbs. Once those doors closed, I was stuck for a solid 25 minutes with nowhere to go but in the wrong direction.

Want to hear an embarrassing confession?

I’ve done this before… the only difference was the book I was reading.

To be honest, I was instantly annoyed. I would have gotten home around 7 o’clock if I had gotten onto the right train, but now I knew I was adding almost an hour onto my commute. I was tired, hungry, and wanted to watch the Yankees vs. Red Sox game!

But since I knew I was stuck with no other place to go, I griped for a minute and then decided to cut my losses and make the most of it.

So I laughed at myself on Twitter and then used the extra time I had to knock out a few more pages in my book.

And instead of taking the (correct) train home, I called an Uber and had them drop me off at a sandwich shop around the corner from my apartment where I ordered a meatball sub and a delicious side of mac n’ cheese (comfort food, obviously.) While that is certainly not in line with the healthy eating habits I try to follow, tonight certainly felt like a justified “screw it” occasion.

And through it all, I couldn’t help but realize the importance of rerouting. Whether you’re (literally) heading the wrong way and need to redirect yourself entirely, or just need to make a slight adjustment, there is a constant demand to adapt time and time again. Yes, it can be frustrating. But I would argue that trying to resist the inevitable curveballs will only make it more difficult to get back on course later on.

And do you want to know what the greatest part of the entire situation was? I still made it home, am sitting on my bed blogging, and truly believe I am exactly where I belong.

It’s funny how taking a different path can still get us exactly where we’re meant to be, isn’t it?