Cincinnati
I'm waiting on laundry to finish, an arduous task that is slowly but surely leading me to suicide and a neverending, nightmarish fate that I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy. This is exacerbated by my extreme stress about getting shit done before having to leave for Salt Lake City in approximately 8 hours. I'm at the point where I have nothing productive to do and am left fretting and whinging about my stress, so I've decided to channel this energy into something positive. I'm a chronically unhappy and whiny person and as much as I have complained about living in Cincinnati, I absolutely love it in many ways. I'm going to write about my reasons.
My family.
I have the best family in the world. They have been so supportive of me and they are the most loving people in the whole world. They never cease to make me laugh and make me feel good about myself and I love them with all of my heart. Megan is my best friend in the world and understands my quirks and dumb jokes and references more than I think anyone ever will and I will miss her dearly. I am also going to miss being near my extended family. They crack me up with their food-obsessiveness and silly mannerisms and behaviors. They drive me nuts sometimes, but more often than not they just make me laugh.
My dogs.
Millie and Duncan are so fucking great. They're going to be so happy that Edie is out of their hair, but I'm going to miss them like crazy. They are the perfect dogs: loving, emotionally intelligent, hilarious. I love having dogs in my life, and even though I will have my hands full with Edith, not being able to see Millie and Duncan every day is going to be a big loss for me.
The food.
Much about how I feel about a city revolves around how I feel about the food I can get there. Cincinnati definitely is a fast-food culture city, but I'm going to miss a lot of the food here. Skyline is a taste that cannot be duplicated and it's going to be tough to be displaced from Cincinnati's obsession with German pastries and ice cream. Every gas station having an ice cream shoppe in it. Zip's burgers. The occasional craving for Steak N Shake. Shaan Indian Cuisine and Baba India. My crush on the Russian mafia guy at Smoothie King. The cowboy roll at Beluga. Panera sandwiches. The flirtini at China Gourmet. Not to mention my mother's cooking.
Cincinnati Wildlife.
Fireflies. I love them. At night, the trees behind my parents' house literally look as though they are sparkling. It's one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen. I'm going to miss the abundance of Northern Cardinals and the jaded, disillusioned city deer.
Radio
Cincinnati's radio stations are perfect. The Wiz (101.1) is the PERFECT hip hop station: good music choice, great DJs, not too many commercials (and unintentionally funny ones when they do play them). The Russ Parr Morning Show (especially the horoscopes) was my favorite part at having to work so early at Red Dog. The Top 40 station (107.1) is the perfect top 40 station and the classic rock station (92.5) is the perfect classic rock station. But...the piece de resistance...WMKV 89.3 FM...the best radio station ever. A nostalgia station for Cincinnati's vast elderly population, WMKV plays old-timey type jazz, old-timey type pre-1945 pop, old-timey type showtunes and old-timey type radio programmes such as Suspense. The radio station also features talk programs which discuss things such as "Things to buy your grandkids for Christmas" and "How to use e-mail and other basic computer functions". It is so adorable and amazing and I love it more than literally everything ever.
Cincinnati is a dog city.
As much frustration as my old job working at a dog boarding/daycare/grooming/aquatic center was, I loved it in a lot of ways. I miss all of the dogs and I genuinely admire most of Cincinnati's dedication to their dogs and cats. While yes, there is a dark side with dog fighting and rampant abandonment and abuse and Amish puppy mills further north, people have really rallied against these despicable practices. The majority of dogs at my work (a place marketed as a "luxury" resort that caters to Cincinnati's ritzier denizens) are rescues and the city is full of high-quality dog facilities and parks. And these aren't just city parks where dogs are allowed, but vast tracts of land which serve as membership parks where proof of vaccination is required to attend. People love their dogs here and I love that.
DANCE MF
Monthly dance party at the fantastic Northside Tavern. So fun. So much catharsis. LOVE LOVE LOVE.
Music Now Festival
Thank you, Bryce Dessner. The 2010 festival was one of the musical highlights of my life thus far. So unique and personal and life-affirming. I'll be back for 2011.
A host of other things: my friends through work (especially Alex, one of the best people ever), Joseph Beth Booksellers, Shake-It Records, Northside and Newport in general, and I'm sure many other things.
As excited as I am to get back to SLC, I'm going to miss Cincinnati.
My family.
I have the best family in the world. They have been so supportive of me and they are the most loving people in the whole world. They never cease to make me laugh and make me feel good about myself and I love them with all of my heart. Megan is my best friend in the world and understands my quirks and dumb jokes and references more than I think anyone ever will and I will miss her dearly. I am also going to miss being near my extended family. They crack me up with their food-obsessiveness and silly mannerisms and behaviors. They drive me nuts sometimes, but more often than not they just make me laugh.
My dogs.
Millie and Duncan are so fucking great. They're going to be so happy that Edie is out of their hair, but I'm going to miss them like crazy. They are the perfect dogs: loving, emotionally intelligent, hilarious. I love having dogs in my life, and even though I will have my hands full with Edith, not being able to see Millie and Duncan every day is going to be a big loss for me.
The food.
Much about how I feel about a city revolves around how I feel about the food I can get there. Cincinnati definitely is a fast-food culture city, but I'm going to miss a lot of the food here. Skyline is a taste that cannot be duplicated and it's going to be tough to be displaced from Cincinnati's obsession with German pastries and ice cream. Every gas station having an ice cream shoppe in it. Zip's burgers. The occasional craving for Steak N Shake. Shaan Indian Cuisine and Baba India. My crush on the Russian mafia guy at Smoothie King. The cowboy roll at Beluga. Panera sandwiches. The flirtini at China Gourmet. Not to mention my mother's cooking.
Cincinnati Wildlife.
Fireflies. I love them. At night, the trees behind my parents' house literally look as though they are sparkling. It's one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen. I'm going to miss the abundance of Northern Cardinals and the jaded, disillusioned city deer.
Radio
Cincinnati's radio stations are perfect. The Wiz (101.1) is the PERFECT hip hop station: good music choice, great DJs, not too many commercials (and unintentionally funny ones when they do play them). The Russ Parr Morning Show (especially the horoscopes) was my favorite part at having to work so early at Red Dog. The Top 40 station (107.1) is the perfect top 40 station and the classic rock station (92.5) is the perfect classic rock station. But...the piece de resistance...WMKV 89.3 FM...the best radio station ever. A nostalgia station for Cincinnati's vast elderly population, WMKV plays old-timey type jazz, old-timey type pre-1945 pop, old-timey type showtunes and old-timey type radio programmes such as Suspense. The radio station also features talk programs which discuss things such as "Things to buy your grandkids for Christmas" and "How to use e-mail and other basic computer functions". It is so adorable and amazing and I love it more than literally everything ever.
Cincinnati is a dog city.
As much frustration as my old job working at a dog boarding/daycare/grooming/aquatic center was, I loved it in a lot of ways. I miss all of the dogs and I genuinely admire most of Cincinnati's dedication to their dogs and cats. While yes, there is a dark side with dog fighting and rampant abandonment and abuse and Amish puppy mills further north, people have really rallied against these despicable practices. The majority of dogs at my work (a place marketed as a "luxury" resort that caters to Cincinnati's ritzier denizens) are rescues and the city is full of high-quality dog facilities and parks. And these aren't just city parks where dogs are allowed, but vast tracts of land which serve as membership parks where proof of vaccination is required to attend. People love their dogs here and I love that.
DANCE MF
Monthly dance party at the fantastic Northside Tavern. So fun. So much catharsis. LOVE LOVE LOVE.
Music Now Festival
Thank you, Bryce Dessner. The 2010 festival was one of the musical highlights of my life thus far. So unique and personal and life-affirming. I'll be back for 2011.
A host of other things: my friends through work (especially Alex, one of the best people ever), Joseph Beth Booksellers, Shake-It Records, Northside and Newport in general, and I'm sure many other things.
As excited as I am to get back to SLC, I'm going to miss Cincinnati.