I'm not rocking out. I'm freaking out.
Yeah, so, things are a little quiet here at present because your faithful t2 blogger is experiencing career meltdown. My full-time gig is at the Chicago Sun-Times, which may or may not exist by year's end. I'm spending my time in union meetings and with much wailing and gnashing of teeth. I may have a lot of free time to sip and blog in the near future, as long as I can afford tea and wifi. Sigh. Back in the '90s, they told me this would be a stable career.
Thank God fellow local tea blogger Lainie Petersen recommended some baby chrysanthemum tea from Ten Ren. Tiny little flower buds, dusty white and green-grey, make a dull, slightly bitter infusion, but she was right: "Very calming. Evens you right out." She and I were the only attendees of a meetup last weekend in Chinatown, and when she pointed that out with that advice, I bought two canisters. I may finish them both by week's end. (Lainie's had a crap week, too, local readers. Send her some well-brewed love.)
I also have a nice bag of German chamomile our travel editor tossed to me the other day — it's a nondescript herbal packaged for Virgin Atlantic Airlines. God knows where it comes from, but it tastes fine. Need the nerve tonic, man.
What do you drink when you need to tame your nerves?
I keep hoping my schedule will lighten up a little bit, so I can get myself into the City to meet my fellow tea drinkers again.
ReplyDeleteWow, I deeply hope you land on your feet, and that your career remains solid. I enjoyed your tea article (and wish I had been to Hawaii to experience it with you), and I hope for the best for you.
For my money, a good, complex oolong that requires a long tea-drinking session is just the thing. It has the benefit of complex intensity that captures my attention, and the discipline of focusing over some period of time on the sensations I'm experiencing. It helps me break out of the whirl of my thoughts and see something other than my worries for a little while.
At work, I've started drinking a nice oolong that also has ginseng. It's soothing and peppy at the same time. It helps me transcend the b.s. A cup of tea really can do that!
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