Friday, June 22, 2012

Loving Living in Lincoln - 1

I've heard a lot of people complain about living in Lincoln. There is near constant snarking about how tiny and podunk it is. People seem to think that there's nothing to do, that what is available is sadly small and lacking, and that everything would be better if we were all transplanted to the big city. Of course I have no doubt these same people would gripe about plenty in that environment too.

And thus begins what I imagine will be a regularly recurring feature - Loving Living in Lincoln.

Truth be told, I've heard this exact same type of complaint in every single place that I've lived. (And to those who know me well, that's saying quite a lot.) It seems that no matter where people live they manage to think that it would be more fun-exciting-delicious-beautiful somewhere else. I have two things to say to that.
  1. Make a concious effort to love the place you live.
  2. If you still dislike where you're at, what you're doing, where you're living - Change It.
I think a lot of the complaints stem from people tending to settle into their scheduled lives and travelling in their well-worn paths rather than actively seeking out what your own town has to offer. Assumptions are made that interesting things just aren't out there because you don't see them, which is untrue. Not many people take the opportunity to be a tourist in their own town.

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In the last couple of week Jared and I have hit up several of Lincoln's hidden gems.

We drove through the Emerald Historic district during a summer rainstorm and lusted after houses.

Popped over to the Hyde Observatory to join hundreds of people in viewing the transit of Venus, the last one any of us will ever see. Funny side-note - I actually viewed the first transit of Venus from this very same observatory as a student here in Lincoln.

Strolled through Waterfest, a fun day aimed at educating children about erosion, water pollution, and safety. We also happened to be interviewed by Channel 8 News.

Tried out a new Mexican restaurant.

We've made it to every Jazz in June so far this month, only one more to go. The first week was jazz-fusion, which vibrated my belly like a drum and woke an angry Clifton.

We're elated that the Lincoln Farmers Markets are up and running again. Now to re-time our grocery shopping to the weekends. So far our favorite purchase has been locally raised and made chevre, a delicious goat cheese from ShadowBrook Farms. We've been eating it on everything this week.

Prep for last week's cupcakes.
Zested lemon, finely diced strawberries, and minced thyme.
Lemon from Trader Joe's, cheap cheap cheap strawberries from Hyvee, and thyme from our railgarden.
I consider these another benefit of Lincoln.

4 comments:

  1. I loved living in Lincoln as a college student. I think I'd love living there as a working adult as well. It's such a nice small city. Lots of character.

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  2. When we visited I really enjoyed exploring the city. Honestly, I was SHOCKED by how much there was there, and how "big-city" it felt. I guess this was due to my expectations being based on some preconceived notion founded on nothing I can really put a finger on as being legitimate. Lol! I think it helps to either live there for a while or visit someone who knows the area, because you then have an "in" - you know where to look and what to do to find things you'll love about the place. I am not a midwest girl, but I can definitely see how there would be positives to living in Lincoln.

    And I completely agree about changing aspects of your life if you don't like them and making a conscious effort to love living where you're at. I think that goes for life in general, really; if you keep telling yourself you don't like life and that this, that, and the other thing are awful, you're going to believe it and be a miserable person. We can't control everything life throws at us, nor can we control everything about the place we live. But we CAN control how we respond to it and what our attitude toward it is.

    Lincoln is a beautiful little city...and those naysayers who think there's nothing to do should move to Walla Walla for a year. Bahaha! :) (For the record I also very much love Walla Walla.)

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  3. Did your interview get broadcast? Is there a web link so I can enjoy my famous friends? Also, how did you like Tico's? I have driven by it a bunch and wondered many times if it would be worth a trip.

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    1. Tico's was okay, we're still on the hunt for a Mexican place that we can't live without. But I would say that it's worth a visit. If nothing else, just to see what it looks like inside!

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