driving miss crazy

the other day i was feeling frustrated and stressed out (that seems to be a theme with me lately for various reasons, but that's a whole other post) and was trying to figure out what to do to alleviate some of my anxiety.  i started thinking about how i used to jump in the car and go for a drive when i needed to take my mind off things.  i would get in the car, put on music that i could sing along to at the top of my lungs, and take a scenic drive.  after 20, 30, sometimes 60 minutes i'd always feel much calmer and reasonable about things.  i would almost always return home feeling relieved, less stressed and in a much better mood. 

as you may have guessed, however, living in chicago is not conducive to scenic drives for stress-relief purposes.  quite the opposite, actually.  even the thought of driving around this city when i'm not on my way to a specific place makes my blood pressure rise.  the idea of putting myself in the car and wasting ridiculously expensive gas in an attempt to de-stress only makes me more stressed.  and intentionally sitting in traffic, yelling obscenities at idiot drivers, and wanting to bang my head on the steering wheel certainly isn't relaxing; it's more of a nightmare.

lucky for me, the nice thing about living in a city like chicago is that there is a lot to do and see within walking distance.  now i find myself taking strolls around the neighborhood, popping into local shops, stumbling upon farmers markets or live music and enjoying these distractions when i need to stop thinking about stressful things.  i guess my stress has gone green!