Won’t You Be My Neighbor

Last weekend, I made another adventure down to Tennessee. This time, we opted for Beale Street, BBQ and music instead of guns, crawfish and beer, well I guess beer was still part of the equation…

This was the first time I’ve done a full festival circuit. In the past, I’ve opted for one day instead of the full three days. And I must say, Beale Street Music Fest did not disappoint. The weather held up and Mr. Sunshine came out guns a-blazin’ on Sunday (thanks for the sunburn). Day 1 and 2 were more crazy in terms of the line-up. I don’t think I’ve danced that hard ever (thanks Girl Talk and Pitbull). Day 3 was way more relaxed and chill with acts like The Civil Wars, The Head and the Heart and Alison Krauss & Union Station.

But we got a pleasant surprise on Day 2 from this little band out of Nashville called Drew Holcomb and The Neighbors.  We couldn’t stop talking about them after their set and just wished for more. Here’s the song that really made me get up and cheer, Hung the Moon. Needless to say, this festival is becoming a tradition. And we’re so ready for Drew and the Neighbs to make a trip to the Windy.

My Mind’s Made Up, I’m Doin This

Taking a key from a lyric The Head and the Heart‘s song Coeur D’Alene, I’m finally taking the plunge and doing this. After hearing some kids talk about it after the Film Festival last year, I, Hanna E Soltys will make the grand attempt to turn out 50,000 words this November as part of the annual National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo as the kids call it.

I thought, sure 50,000 words? No problem! That breaks down to less than 2k words every day. And after actually telling people I was doing this, did it only dawn on me that holy crap, that’s a lot of words. That’s a ton of words. And this is a short month. And Jayhawk basketball season starts. And there’s Thanksgiving.

But I’m confident, I’ll be able to do this. After doing some serious reading the past month, I have just one more book to read to get to my goal. Which means there’s one thing out of the way. And the weather in Chicago promises to turn at any. So what better way to spend the days indoors than with some tea, great tunes (courtesy of THATH and Explosions in the Sky) and thousands upon thousands of words? I can handle that.

 

This challenge is about quantity over quality, which is something I have a hard time dealing with. I’m someone who likes to write and edit. Or edit while writing. I see this solely as an exercise feat. A massive one.

Aside from this challenge, I’ll also be running my first sanctioned running event since the age of 12 and the Point Eagles Cross Country days. Maggie and I decided this past week that after living with arthritis for five years, it’s time to celebrate my journey with the disease and participate in the 5K Jingle Run for the Arthritis Foundation. 5K isn’t much. But it’s a lot when it takes a while to get out of bed in the morning. I’ve got co-werkers and friends and dear loved ones running alongside me and encouraging me every step of the way as I go from brisk walker to runner again.

I blame the book My Year With Eleanor where author Noelle took on a challenge every day for a year.

Whatever have I got myself into? It doesn’t matter. Because my mind’s made up, I’m doin’ this, I’m doin’ this with you.