It's a little rainy out. I'm sitting in Eamonn's office, kinda bored. I've finished most of my work and am just waiting on calls. After work tonight, I'll go home, take bags of things to the goodwill shop for donation, and then get my last Chicago supper. I'm going to America's Dog to get 2 jumbo Chicago-style hot dogs, and then on the way home I'll stop by PotBelly's and get a chocolate shake. YUM. Sadly Angela is at a benefit concert for her boss tonight so we won't be able to celebrate, but Haley should be home. Then again, Kat will be too. Poo. Oh well. Not gonna bring me down!
I love this city so much! BUT...I need some peace and quiet again. This week at Claudine's house is going to be like a health spa. Not that I'm going to be getting scrubs and facials, I just mean that a real bed + quiet time + Wii + no crazy drug addicts will be soooooo relaxing. I can't wait...to vegetate. *feels clever*
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Friday, July 30, 2010
Don't Make Me Go To Bootcamp
Well my days in Chicago are coming to an end. 5 more days left. Sigh.
Beyond getting trapped in an elevator, seeing Transformers 3 filming everywhere, finally trying Giordanos (better, in my opinion than either Gino's OR Pizzeria Uno), and working on that marketing plan...I don't know what else to report.
Sorry guys. What can I say, I'm having a blast but blogging has lost its flava for now. When I get to Europe I'll start a new Swiss blog, which should be interesting for longer than this was. Maybe a video blog? We'll see if I can fanagle that.
At any rate, I'm off for another day out in the Windy City.
Beyond getting trapped in an elevator, seeing Transformers 3 filming everywhere, finally trying Giordanos (better, in my opinion than either Gino's OR Pizzeria Uno), and working on that marketing plan...I don't know what else to report.
Sorry guys. What can I say, I'm having a blast but blogging has lost its flava for now. When I get to Europe I'll start a new Swiss blog, which should be interesting for longer than this was. Maybe a video blog? We'll see if I can fanagle that.
At any rate, I'm off for another day out in the Windy City.
Friday, July 23, 2010
It's YOUR Turn To Buy The Toilet Paper.
I just had a ridiculously healthy dinner. A bowl of ramen, some strawberries, blueberries, grapes and mixed nuts with a glass of milk. TAKE THAT, FACIAL ACNE. NO EXCESS SUGAR FOR YOU!!!
It's storming out tonight. We had some big lightning strikes a while ago but nothin' too dramatic.
I went to Logan Square for office hours today and saw Alex for the first time in like ... 4 weeks? Dang! Time flies! We all brainstormed for a bit. That's kinda it.
...
Guess I'll work a little on that marketing plan. Maybe read. Go to bed. Work tomorrow with Eamonn. Then tomorrow night there's a music gig near Wrigley Field. Whoo.
It's storming out tonight. We had some big lightning strikes a while ago but nothin' too dramatic.
I went to Logan Square for office hours today and saw Alex for the first time in like ... 4 weeks? Dang! Time flies! We all brainstormed for a bit. That's kinda it.
...
Guess I'll work a little on that marketing plan. Maybe read. Go to bed. Work tomorrow with Eamonn. Then tomorrow night there's a music gig near Wrigley Field. Whoo.
Thursday, July 22, 2010
VICTOIRE!
So yes, I officially got approved to make the transfer into Pepperdine's International MBA program. This means I spend one more trimester at Pepperdine (from January to April 2011) and do a 2 week intensive study abroad trip during my Spring Break. But more important than anything else: I end up with an IMBA instead of the MS in Global Business. INFINITELY more sexy on a resume. >:)
Today I took a little hobbit journey to the Whole Foods store by Canal Street. It's probably about a 45 minute walk on foot, but I take the Red Line subway and manage to cut it down to about 25 minutes. Got a whole bunch of fruit, veggies and some chicken. Part of my latest "attack on acne" by eating HEALTHY food.
I hereby ban myself from drinking any soda or eating any candy or uber sugary/chocolatey things until the end of summer.
Hiromi, if you're reading this, I have to give you credit for recommending cage free eggs to us several months ago. I've been eating them in Chicago and I do believe they taste better!!
Angela just got back from a weekend in Michigan to visit her family. Her boyfriend told her mom that Angela was "the one" (AWWWWWWWWWWWW) and so she's super psyched. She will be getting proposed to soon!!!
Um, what else? I am officially starting work on a Marketing Plan for WeFarm. Hellsyeah, makin' some good use of my graduate skills afterall!! I'm overseeing the mini-project since I'm the only one on the business team who's ever made one before. I need one of those shirts that says "I'm kind of a big deal". Haha.
Making tacos for the roomies tonight. It's cloudy out but my mood is FABULOUSSS! hehe.
13 more days until Oklahoma!
Today I took a little hobbit journey to the Whole Foods store by Canal Street. It's probably about a 45 minute walk on foot, but I take the Red Line subway and manage to cut it down to about 25 minutes. Got a whole bunch of fruit, veggies and some chicken. Part of my latest "attack on acne" by eating HEALTHY food.
I hereby ban myself from drinking any soda or eating any candy or uber sugary/chocolatey things until the end of summer.
Hiromi, if you're reading this, I have to give you credit for recommending cage free eggs to us several months ago. I've been eating them in Chicago and I do believe they taste better!!
Angela just got back from a weekend in Michigan to visit her family. Her boyfriend told her mom that Angela was "the one" (AWWWWWWWWWWWW) and so she's super psyched. She will be getting proposed to soon!!!
Um, what else? I am officially starting work on a Marketing Plan for WeFarm. Hellsyeah, makin' some good use of my graduate skills afterall!! I'm overseeing the mini-project since I'm the only one on the business team who's ever made one before. I need one of those shirts that says "I'm kind of a big deal". Haha.
Making tacos for the roomies tonight. It's cloudy out but my mood is FABULOUSSS! hehe.
13 more days until Oklahoma!
Monday, July 19, 2010
I'm Alive!
Wow I got lazy about this really fast. I'll skip the details of last week (although plenty of fun was had in different places around town) and skip to my Minnesota trip!
FUN!
The train ride up was uneventful. Mom met me at the train station in Minneapolis and we drove to St. Cloud, arriving at about 1AM. We both turned our phones off until about noon the next day. Plenty of time to catch up, sleep, and have a wonderful Mommy-Baby breakfast at Perkin's. If you don't know, Perkin's is like the northern version of Denny's. The menus and restaurants are almost identical to Denny's; it's just a different brand. But it's a nice tradition to eat at Perkin's whenever we're up north.
Then we went to Grandma's house in Sauk Rapids. Literally within 5 seconds of coming in the door, Grandma was saying what a lovely young woman I had become and was offering me a plate of homemade almond buttercrunch candy. Man, she has got her role down PERFECTLY. I hope I am that cool to my grandkids someday.
We went to the old farmhouse where my mom grew up- now owned by my uncle Bill and his wife Roxanne. The interior was decked out for Christmas. This was a "Christmas in July" party. The idea was to make up for the fact that everyone was snowed/iced in last Christmas and they couldn't do their usual Christmas party.
Sadly my camera died halfway through the day but I got some adorable shots of most of the kids and the farm grounds.
The only depressing thing was seeing how happy my cousins are with their husbands/wives and babies EVERYWHERE. Like a continual reminder that I'm still single and if this was 100 years ago, I'd be considered an "old maid". Hahahaha. So I guess it's dangerous for me to be around that many small children. Just like when I worked at Disneyland...my maternal instincts start surfacing and I get baby fever like Liz Lemon in that episode where she accidentally kidnapped her staff's baby.
The trip home the next day was AWFUL. My train was supposed to leave at 5AM. So we got to the station at 4:15. Then at 5, we learned that the train was delayed 2 hours. So we went back to the hotel room. Ultimately the train did not arrive until 10AM. Once on the train, there were an infinite number of delays, stops, and repairs.
The train started getting crowded after we passed through Minneapolis. Then the conductor came up to me and told me to move to a different seat because this really old guy wanted my window seat. Wth!!! I don't blame the old guy because he actually looked a little embarrassed by the whole thing. But still.
We all got free stew for dinner, but I had to sit next to an old perverted guy who tried to ask where I was working in Chicago and then kept watching me eat with this bizarre smile on his face. At one point I dripped stew on my fingers but was too afraid to lick it off, lest he should interpret it as a 'come hither' gesture. *shudder*
11.5 hours later I arrived in Chicago. I was tired, cranky, hungry, desperate to have babies of my own (still thinking about all those rosy-cheeked baby cousins), and just generally miserable. As I lugged my suitcase up the stairs to the El, a couple of guys passed me. One complimented my shirt and I almost maced him. Not because he was a creeper. I just really wanted to inflict bodily harm on somebody at that moment.
Today clearly I have nothing better to do at work than to blog.
OH I got confirmation of my apartment in Switzerland! It's on the 2nd floor of a house near the Markplatz and I will be sharing with 3 other exchange students!! :-D
FUN!
The train ride up was uneventful. Mom met me at the train station in Minneapolis and we drove to St. Cloud, arriving at about 1AM. We both turned our phones off until about noon the next day. Plenty of time to catch up, sleep, and have a wonderful Mommy-Baby breakfast at Perkin's. If you don't know, Perkin's is like the northern version of Denny's. The menus and restaurants are almost identical to Denny's; it's just a different brand. But it's a nice tradition to eat at Perkin's whenever we're up north.
Then we went to Grandma's house in Sauk Rapids. Literally within 5 seconds of coming in the door, Grandma was saying what a lovely young woman I had become and was offering me a plate of homemade almond buttercrunch candy. Man, she has got her role down PERFECTLY. I hope I am that cool to my grandkids someday.
We went to the old farmhouse where my mom grew up- now owned by my uncle Bill and his wife Roxanne. The interior was decked out for Christmas. This was a "Christmas in July" party. The idea was to make up for the fact that everyone was snowed/iced in last Christmas and they couldn't do their usual Christmas party.
Sadly my camera died halfway through the day but I got some adorable shots of most of the kids and the farm grounds.
The only depressing thing was seeing how happy my cousins are with their husbands/wives and babies EVERYWHERE. Like a continual reminder that I'm still single and if this was 100 years ago, I'd be considered an "old maid". Hahahaha. So I guess it's dangerous for me to be around that many small children. Just like when I worked at Disneyland...my maternal instincts start surfacing and I get baby fever like Liz Lemon in that episode where she accidentally kidnapped her staff's baby.
The trip home the next day was AWFUL. My train was supposed to leave at 5AM. So we got to the station at 4:15. Then at 5, we learned that the train was delayed 2 hours. So we went back to the hotel room. Ultimately the train did not arrive until 10AM. Once on the train, there were an infinite number of delays, stops, and repairs.
The train started getting crowded after we passed through Minneapolis. Then the conductor came up to me and told me to move to a different seat because this really old guy wanted my window seat. Wth!!! I don't blame the old guy because he actually looked a little embarrassed by the whole thing. But still.
We all got free stew for dinner, but I had to sit next to an old perverted guy who tried to ask where I was working in Chicago and then kept watching me eat with this bizarre smile on his face. At one point I dripped stew on my fingers but was too afraid to lick it off, lest he should interpret it as a 'come hither' gesture. *shudder*
11.5 hours later I arrived in Chicago. I was tired, cranky, hungry, desperate to have babies of my own (still thinking about all those rosy-cheeked baby cousins), and just generally miserable. As I lugged my suitcase up the stairs to the El, a couple of guys passed me. One complimented my shirt and I almost maced him. Not because he was a creeper. I just really wanted to inflict bodily harm on somebody at that moment.
Today clearly I have nothing better to do at work than to blog.
OH I got confirmation of my apartment in Switzerland! It's on the 2nd floor of a house near the Markplatz and I will be sharing with 3 other exchange students!! :-D
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Let There Be Light!
Starting to come out of my funk. I think. Last night I had a major relapse and wound up on the sofa talking to a pint of Ben & Jerry's while watching a gay movie. Like actually talking to the ice cream. What the Hell. I think after 22 years of tomboyish lack of emotions, suddenly my hormones decided to kick it into overdrive. If this is what pregnancy is going to be like, NO THANK YOU! (I kid. I want babies. Badly. Oh jeez, that's more of the hormones talking.)
But today Keith kept me very busy. I'm making Excel graphs showing the revenue versus expenses for each of Eamonn's properties over the last 3 years. That sounds more technical than it is. But I'm enjoying it.
Then I came home and ran 5k.
... My life is so uninteresting! Sorry guys! Chicago's shiny new lustre is wearing off finally. I feel more like a resident and less like a tourist now, so things are less noteworthy. A couple of people asked me a question about using the Metra this morning. I told them what to do, but they completely panicked and did the total opposite. I had to laugh when I heard myself muttering "friggin' tourists..."
I'm officially going to Minnesota next weekend! I'm a wee bit excited to see my mom after all of this time. :)
But today Keith kept me very busy. I'm making Excel graphs showing the revenue versus expenses for each of Eamonn's properties over the last 3 years. That sounds more technical than it is. But I'm enjoying it.
Then I came home and ran 5k.
... My life is so uninteresting! Sorry guys! Chicago's shiny new lustre is wearing off finally. I feel more like a resident and less like a tourist now, so things are less noteworthy. A couple of people asked me a question about using the Metra this morning. I told them what to do, but they completely panicked and did the total opposite. I had to laugh when I heard myself muttering "friggin' tourists..."
I'm officially going to Minnesota next weekend! I'm a wee bit excited to see my mom after all of this time. :)
Thursday, July 8, 2010
No More Awkwardness Plz
You know what really sucks? When your life perfectly resembles a Madonna song. Like...is there any greater indignity than having Madonna stuck in your head and not being able to stop that little voice that says "Gosh it's like she knows JUST what I'm going through!"?
Work at Eamonn's was interesting. Quickbooks stuff again. I have no idea how these entries are not all synched by now, because it seems like every time I go through ALL the leases to update the files...we always seem to be missing more of them. Shouldn't it be the opposite??
I saw a shirt at the Nike store today that read: "Every damn day, JUST DO IT." Amen, Nike. Amen.
Work at Eamonn's was interesting. Quickbooks stuff again. I have no idea how these entries are not all synched by now, because it seems like every time I go through ALL the leases to update the files...we always seem to be missing more of them. Shouldn't it be the opposite??
I saw a shirt at the Nike store today that read: "Every damn day, JUST DO IT." Amen, Nike. Amen.
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Cloudy With a Chance of Malaise
Today was better than yesterday. It's a good thing I have several VERY supportive friends, roommates and a sister.
Mom wants me to take a train to Minneapolis next Friday to see the family. They are having a Wilson reunion. I wouldn't have any interest in it if it weren't for Grandma. She's getting older and crazier and it would be wretched of me to turn down any chance to see her. We'll see what Eamonn says, since I'd have to take a day off for the trip.
Hm. Still too lazy to write a decent blog. I think one more day will see me out of this funky mood. Maybe.
Mom wants me to take a train to Minneapolis next Friday to see the family. They are having a Wilson reunion. I wouldn't have any interest in it if it weren't for Grandma. She's getting older and crazier and it would be wretched of me to turn down any chance to see her. We'll see what Eamonn says, since I'd have to take a day off for the trip.
Hm. Still too lazy to write a decent blog. I think one more day will see me out of this funky mood. Maybe.
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Just Another Awkward Tuesday
Great weekend...very sad that it's over. This morning was harsh. I hate it when visitors leave. Especially when I've had a lot of fun with them. There's always this depressing feeling of "Allllll byyyyy myyyyseeelllllfffff". I was like a skinny Bridget Jones lying in my bed pondering whether there was any way I could just fly home and drop out of Pepperdine and just work at a grocery store or something.
And it didn't get any better when I got to work. Eamonn had me go over to the 45th street property and check master keys with one of his Ukrainian construction workers. A guy who was probably 26-29 and spoke NO English.
The two of us went from door to door at the property, knocking and then testing random keys until we found the one key that fit the lock. And then labeling the keys.
...
Kinda awkward, especially when the tenants happened to be home and asked us wtf we were doing.
...
You know what, EVERYTHING about today was just awkward and unpleasant. I'm done with today. Done with being confused all the time and dealing with these pesky things called "feelings" (ew, I really hope this is just my hormones talking because I'm bumming myself out here!). Time to shower and watch Netflix until I pass out in a puddle of tears and ice cream.
And it didn't get any better when I got to work. Eamonn had me go over to the 45th street property and check master keys with one of his Ukrainian construction workers. A guy who was probably 26-29 and spoke NO English.
The two of us went from door to door at the property, knocking and then testing random keys until we found the one key that fit the lock. And then labeling the keys.
...
Kinda awkward, especially when the tenants happened to be home and asked us wtf we were doing.
...
You know what, EVERYTHING about today was just awkward and unpleasant. I'm done with today. Done with being confused all the time and dealing with these pesky things called "feelings" (ew, I really hope this is just my hormones talking because I'm bumming myself out here!). Time to shower and watch Netflix until I pass out in a puddle of tears and ice cream.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Ho Boy
Got a new phone today. I don't want to go into the details of how Verizon raped my checking account, because it was too gruesome. By the way, I need everyone's phone numbers. Because my contact list is gone with the wind. I did manage to find a decent place to get a haircut afterward, though, so my morning wasn't shot.
I also went to St Peter's church FINALLY!!! It was very relaxing to sit and get mah prayer on in a quiet Catholic church. I even tried to buy a votive candle for Grandpa. Unfortunately, this wasn't the type of church where you could buy the candle and light it yourself. No no. You have to buy the candle and trust that the friars will light the candle for you and pray for your loved one.
So of course I screwed that up completely. I filled out the form incorrectly and now there will be 8 days' worth of prayers for ME and not grandpa. Embarassing!
Other than that, I've been cleaning all afternoon. Cleaned our bathroom, swept the floor, vacuumed my floor, doing multiple loads of laundry (plus blankets for the couch), and I even baked chocolate chip cookies. Because if you're going to start channeling Martha Stewart, you may as well go off the deep end.
Still to do: clean my room and the kitchen, do the business meeting at the library and then AIRPORT TIME! I just can't wait to take the Orange line all the way to Midway for a midnight flight arrival. I may actually get a chance to use my mace. Hah...hah...
I also went to St Peter's church FINALLY!!! It was very relaxing to sit and get mah prayer on in a quiet Catholic church. I even tried to buy a votive candle for Grandpa. Unfortunately, this wasn't the type of church where you could buy the candle and light it yourself. No no. You have to buy the candle and trust that the friars will light the candle for you and pray for your loved one.
So of course I screwed that up completely. I filled out the form incorrectly and now there will be 8 days' worth of prayers for ME and not grandpa. Embarassing!
Other than that, I've been cleaning all afternoon. Cleaned our bathroom, swept the floor, vacuumed my floor, doing multiple loads of laundry (plus blankets for the couch), and I even baked chocolate chip cookies. Because if you're going to start channeling Martha Stewart, you may as well go off the deep end.
Still to do: clean my room and the kitchen, do the business meeting at the library and then AIRPORT TIME! I just can't wait to take the Orange line all the way to Midway for a midnight flight arrival. I may actually get a chance to use my mace. Hah...hah...
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
On Your Mark, Get Set...
My phone died this morning! Correction: it started shutting itself off and turning itself on repeatedly in a neverending cycle until I unplugged it and let its battery run out.
I like how it chooses the day before Chris's flight comes in to completely die on me. I have no idea what airport or flight he's coming in on. Hah...hah...NEVER AGAIN WILL I BUY A BLACKBERRY STORM! NEVER!!!!!
I did do a lot of accounting-type work today at Eamonn's office. And Keith let me print out checks for some of the utilities. I have a feeling that years from now, after I'm well established in a real job, I'll look back on today and laugh at how easily I was entertained. Keith is probably laughing about it right now.
Now I'm waiting on some white rice and a few episodes of 30 Rock! Gotta unwind properly before my day of frenzied cleaning, business meetings, and phone repair tomorrow. Whoot! Let the weekend of madness begin yo!
I like how it chooses the day before Chris's flight comes in to completely die on me. I have no idea what airport or flight he's coming in on. Hah...hah...NEVER AGAIN WILL I BUY A BLACKBERRY STORM! NEVER!!!!!
I did do a lot of accounting-type work today at Eamonn's office. And Keith let me print out checks for some of the utilities. I have a feeling that years from now, after I'm well established in a real job, I'll look back on today and laugh at how easily I was entertained. Keith is probably laughing about it right now.
Now I'm waiting on some white rice and a few episodes of 30 Rock! Gotta unwind properly before my day of frenzied cleaning, business meetings, and phone repair tomorrow. Whoot! Let the weekend of madness begin yo!
Monday, June 28, 2010
Yawn
Majorly uneventful day. Went to work for 8 hours and did practically nothing (they're running out of tasks and Eamonn is in Montana so I was all alone).
Came home, did the elliptical and ran a couple of miles and now I'm veggin'. Meh, hopefully there'll be a lot of running around and siteseeing and whatnot this weekend, so I can totally put up with 2 boring days in the meantime!!
Came home, did the elliptical and ran a couple of miles and now I'm veggin'. Meh, hopefully there'll be a lot of running around and siteseeing and whatnot this weekend, so I can totally put up with 2 boring days in the meantime!!
Sunday, June 27, 2010
The Quiet After A Storm
Other than getting molested by a 5 year old girl on the El, today was pretty decent.
Ok, well, Kat came home at 2 AM and turned on the TV to watch the bloody E! channel while she shouted at her boyfriend. I finally went into the living room at 2:45 and asked her to turn it off, and she seemed pretty apologetic ... in a drunken sort of way. But I'm done venting about that girl!
We got some grocery shopping down this afternoon and I got a couple of summery dresses from Urban Outfitters so YAY! I'm fuelling the economy, that's all!
Angela made Haley and I some sweet nachos for dinner, and we watched Charlie & the Chocolate Factory.
...I'm actually too tired to make this any more interesting. Sorry. Maybe all my energy got sucked out last night while I was plotting Kat's destruction.
Ok, well, Kat came home at 2 AM and turned on the TV to watch the bloody E! channel while she shouted at her boyfriend. I finally went into the living room at 2:45 and asked her to turn it off, and she seemed pretty apologetic ... in a drunken sort of way. But I'm done venting about that girl!
We got some grocery shopping down this afternoon and I got a couple of summery dresses from Urban Outfitters so YAY! I'm fuelling the economy, that's all!
Angela made Haley and I some sweet nachos for dinner, and we watched Charlie & the Chocolate Factory.
...I'm actually too tired to make this any more interesting. Sorry. Maybe all my energy got sucked out last night while I was plotting Kat's destruction.
Saturday, June 26, 2010
A Good Old Fashioned Vent
Ok, I need to blow off some steam right now. I'm taking a 5 minute break from my "No swearing" New Year's Resolution. Blame the 3 hours of sleep I got last night for this:
The more time I spend in Kat's presence, the more I want to rip her head off and feed it to a pond of koi fish. Um...carnivorous koi.
She has a ridiculously good-looking, nice-enough boyfriend in New York (see: Captain Underpants). We hated having him in the apartment, but the guy was a nice enough person and obviously really cares about her.
But what does she do every damn night? Puts on the sluttiest "RAPE ME NOW" dresses she can find, and parties with random guys that she picks up around the city.
Meanwhile she says her boyfriend is being too protective and too suspicious of her. Well Fuck, maybe it has something to do with you being drunk off your ass all the time and having already cheated on him before! Stupid slut!
So he calls her and she screams at him. He calls her again, she screams at him. Then she cries at him. You're 21. Start fighting like a fucking adult, not a dramatic little teenager.
And last night, completely trashed, she cried at him for 3 hours on the phone in our living room. My room shares a wall with the living room, so I had to be privvy to every single fucking word of that conversation. From 2 AM (when she came in drunk and dropping things everywhere) to 5 AM (when she passed out in a puddle of her own drama queen tears).
I HAD WORK THIS MORNING DAMMIT. How many fucking times do I have to say "YEAH I HAVE TO WORK ON SATURDAY" for her to get the idea that I NEED TO SLEEP ON FRIDAY NIGHTS??? TAKE YOUR BAGGAGE SOMEWHERE ELSE OTHER THAN THE FUCKING LIVING ROOM!
And this evening she keeps going on about this cute "sweet" boy she met last night. YOU HAVE A BOYFRIEND WHO LOVES YOU, WHORE. And not 12 hours ago you were sobbing to him on the phone about how he needed to trust you! BITCH!!!!!!
Okay I'm done.
No, I'm not done: "THE HILLS" IS A RETARDED, UNREALISTIC SHOW AND I CANNOT BELIEVE WE HAVE TO WATCH IT AND EVERY FUCKING VERSION OF "REAL HOUSEWIVES" WHEN YOU ARE IN THE APARTMENT. DON'T FUCKING TELL ME THAT 30 ROCK IS A STUPID SHOW WHEN YOU SPEND ALL YOUR DAYS MEMORIZING WHO'S DATING WHO IN HOLLYWOOD.
Other than this, today was splendid.
The more time I spend in Kat's presence, the more I want to rip her head off and feed it to a pond of koi fish. Um...carnivorous koi.
She has a ridiculously good-looking, nice-enough boyfriend in New York (see: Captain Underpants). We hated having him in the apartment, but the guy was a nice enough person and obviously really cares about her.
But what does she do every damn night? Puts on the sluttiest "RAPE ME NOW" dresses she can find, and parties with random guys that she picks up around the city.
Meanwhile she says her boyfriend is being too protective and too suspicious of her. Well Fuck, maybe it has something to do with you being drunk off your ass all the time and having already cheated on him before! Stupid slut!
So he calls her and she screams at him. He calls her again, she screams at him. Then she cries at him. You're 21. Start fighting like a fucking adult, not a dramatic little teenager.
And last night, completely trashed, she cried at him for 3 hours on the phone in our living room. My room shares a wall with the living room, so I had to be privvy to every single fucking word of that conversation. From 2 AM (when she came in drunk and dropping things everywhere) to 5 AM (when she passed out in a puddle of her own drama queen tears).
I HAD WORK THIS MORNING DAMMIT. How many fucking times do I have to say "YEAH I HAVE TO WORK ON SATURDAY" for her to get the idea that I NEED TO SLEEP ON FRIDAY NIGHTS??? TAKE YOUR BAGGAGE SOMEWHERE ELSE OTHER THAN THE FUCKING LIVING ROOM!
And this evening she keeps going on about this cute "sweet" boy she met last night. YOU HAVE A BOYFRIEND WHO LOVES YOU, WHORE. And not 12 hours ago you were sobbing to him on the phone about how he needed to trust you! BITCH!!!!!!
Okay I'm done.
No, I'm not done: "THE HILLS" IS A RETARDED, UNREALISTIC SHOW AND I CANNOT BELIEVE WE HAVE TO WATCH IT AND EVERY FUCKING VERSION OF "REAL HOUSEWIVES" WHEN YOU ARE IN THE APARTMENT. DON'T FUCKING TELL ME THAT 30 ROCK IS A STUPID SHOW WHEN YOU SPEND ALL YOUR DAYS MEMORIZING WHO'S DATING WHO IN HOLLYWOOD.
Other than this, today was splendid.
Friday, June 25, 2010
Now I Need To Buy A Blind-fold?
Angela and I went to the Adler Planetarium today. Another landmark crossed off the list! This is where the oldest planetarium in the western hemisphere is located. I've grown up with an astronomy professor for a dad, so of course I hate astronomy with a passion. But I still wanted to see this place. And we had a bit of fun.
Then tonight I walked to Grant Park to meet Molly (from WeFarm) at the Chicago SummerDance festival. This event occurs every weekend night throughout the summer. Free dance lessons are offered in Grant Park and live bands perform into the night. Tonight it was swing dancing (so of course I was desperate to go!)
Unfortunately Molly got there late so it took us a long time to catch up with everyone else. And I always feel awkward dancing with another chick but everyone had paired up by that point! :( BUT we had some fun and afterward we walked a block over to the Taste of Chicago festival.
Remember Taste of OC? Well this is Chicago's version. Two solid weeks of 9AM-11PM FOOOOOOD from all corners of the city. Every tent represents a different restaurant. It's super crowded!
I went to the Cubby Bear tent. The Cubby Bear is a cool club right by Wrigley Field (get it? The Cubs...the Cubby Bear...haha). THEY HAD AMAZING BBQ BEEF SANDWICHES. Haley and I are going back for dinner tomorrow. Yummers.
Then tonight I walked to Grant Park to meet Molly (from WeFarm) at the Chicago SummerDance festival. This event occurs every weekend night throughout the summer. Free dance lessons are offered in Grant Park and live bands perform into the night. Tonight it was swing dancing (so of course I was desperate to go!)
Unfortunately Molly got there late so it took us a long time to catch up with everyone else. And I always feel awkward dancing with another chick but everyone had paired up by that point! :( BUT we had some fun and afterward we walked a block over to the Taste of Chicago festival.
Remember Taste of OC? Well this is Chicago's version. Two solid weeks of 9AM-11PM FOOOOOOD from all corners of the city. Every tent represents a different restaurant. It's super crowded!
I went to the Cubby Bear tent. The Cubby Bear is a cool club right by Wrigley Field (get it? The Cubs...the Cubby Bear...haha). THEY HAD AMAZING BBQ BEEF SANDWICHES. Haley and I are going back for dinner tomorrow. Yummers.
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Does This Train Seem To Be Going Too Fast?
Just to catch up on my blogging, since I'm a day behind:
Today Aleks (not Alex) and I met up by the City Hall to do some Outreach. It was supposed to be a full on business team meeting but the other 2 couldn't make it. So we sat down at Corner Bakery and brainstormed without them. Got some decent marketing ideas!
Angela, Haley and I got some authentic Chicago hot dogs from America's Dog (voted best in the city apparently?). YUMMY STUFF and super cheap! Then we went to Target to get some essentials. We're all kind of gearing up for our string of visitors. Angela's boyfriend and his little brother are visiting on the 2nd, so...uh...that's gonna be interesting. 7 people in one apartment. Hokay!
Okay, back to obsessively watching 30 Rock. DANGIT ARDEN!!!! Hahahaha I can't believe I never watched this show until now...
Today Aleks (not Alex) and I met up by the City Hall to do some Outreach. It was supposed to be a full on business team meeting but the other 2 couldn't make it. So we sat down at Corner Bakery and brainstormed without them. Got some decent marketing ideas!
Angela, Haley and I got some authentic Chicago hot dogs from America's Dog (voted best in the city apparently?). YUMMY STUFF and super cheap! Then we went to Target to get some essentials. We're all kind of gearing up for our string of visitors. Angela's boyfriend and his little brother are visiting on the 2nd, so...uh...that's gonna be interesting. 7 people in one apartment. Hokay!
Okay, back to obsessively watching 30 Rock. DANGIT ARDEN!!!! Hahahaha I can't believe I never watched this show until now...
Demolition Done
Yesterday was entirely unproductive. Well, I guess I cleaned the kitchen, did laundry and cooked simmered chicken with rice for dinner so it wasn't *that* bad. But still.
In the evening we had a tornado watch. I think that's the first time I've ever heard civil defense sirens (is that even what they're called?) before. CREEEEEPY.
Then we found out that tornadoes apparently never make it to downtown because the tall buildings just break up the cyclone somehow. So that's a relief. The weather channel was saying the hail was going to be 2" accross and that winds would be 77mph. But in the end, we just got some gnarly thunder and lightning. The sky did turn greenish though. Not nice.
Also I found out yesterday that I am for sure getting a visitor next week, so YAY I have an excuse to get out of work! Haha. Chris is coming from the 1st to the 6th. I made a huge point of asking everyone if it was OK, considering what happened with Captain Underpants a few weeks ago.
I think Chris will be amused by the dramarama that's going on between Kat and Haley and their boyfriends. Kat was screaming at her boyfriend over the phone last night during dinner. And Haley...well Haley is always upset about her non-boyfriend Adam. I don't think they've figured out yet that screaming at men isn't exactly a good way to keep relationships going. But it's pretty good dinner entertainment.
*update* Wow, apparently the point didn't get accross because a chick just waltzed out of Kat's room and announced herself as "Kat's friend from New York". Wtf Kat.
In the evening we had a tornado watch. I think that's the first time I've ever heard civil defense sirens (is that even what they're called?) before. CREEEEEPY.
Then we found out that tornadoes apparently never make it to downtown because the tall buildings just break up the cyclone somehow. So that's a relief. The weather channel was saying the hail was going to be 2" accross and that winds would be 77mph. But in the end, we just got some gnarly thunder and lightning. The sky did turn greenish though. Not nice.
Also I found out yesterday that I am for sure getting a visitor next week, so YAY I have an excuse to get out of work! Haha. Chris is coming from the 1st to the 6th. I made a huge point of asking everyone if it was OK, considering what happened with Captain Underpants a few weeks ago.
I think Chris will be amused by the dramarama that's going on between Kat and Haley and their boyfriends. Kat was screaming at her boyfriend over the phone last night during dinner. And Haley...well Haley is always upset about her non-boyfriend Adam. I don't think they've figured out yet that screaming at men isn't exactly a good way to keep relationships going. But it's pretty good dinner entertainment.
*update* Wow, apparently the point didn't get accross because a chick just waltzed out of Kat's room and announced herself as "Kat's friend from New York". Wtf Kat.
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
What Would We Wear Were We Werewolves?
Whooooo last night was fun!
One of Angela's internship duties is to be a judge at the Elbo Room's Battle of the Bands. So I hopped over on the Brown Line to Diversey to see the 2nd show last night.
The Elbo Room is awesome. It's a small underground bar with live music 7 days a week. It reminds me of a pub I LOVE in Edinburgh called Whistle Binkies. So right away I got very nostalgic when I came into the Elbo Room.
The bands were, for the most part, great. Angela's boss let me sit in the judging area with them when the bar started getting crowded. It was like VIP treatment!
At around 12:30 the votes were tallied. I waited outside by the street since Angela was one of the counters. One of the lead singers, a complete dopehead, made several vague attempts to talk to me. I was nice to him but I didn't pursue the conversation either. No groupie am I.
After wandering back inside, I did at least get approached by one hot guy who wasn't on drugs. "So are you one of the band member's girlfriends?" "HAHAHAH NO." "Ahh I saw you sitting over by the judges table the whole night, so I figured..." and then, in a dazzling display of piss-poor timing, Angela showed up and we had to leave. Dangit Angela!!
One of Angela's internship duties is to be a judge at the Elbo Room's Battle of the Bands. So I hopped over on the Brown Line to Diversey to see the 2nd show last night.
The Elbo Room is awesome. It's a small underground bar with live music 7 days a week. It reminds me of a pub I LOVE in Edinburgh called Whistle Binkies. So right away I got very nostalgic when I came into the Elbo Room.
The bands were, for the most part, great. Angela's boss let me sit in the judging area with them when the bar started getting crowded. It was like VIP treatment!
At around 12:30 the votes were tallied. I waited outside by the street since Angela was one of the counters. One of the lead singers, a complete dopehead, made several vague attempts to talk to me. I was nice to him but I didn't pursue the conversation either. No groupie am I.
After wandering back inside, I did at least get approached by one hot guy who wasn't on drugs. "So are you one of the band member's girlfriends?" "HAHAHAH NO." "Ahh I saw you sitting over by the judges table the whole night, so I figured..." and then, in a dazzling display of piss-poor timing, Angela showed up and we had to leave. Dangit Angela!!
Monday, June 21, 2010
Rain, Rain, Go Away
Wow. I thought I lost my mace can a few minutes ago and I had a complete Gollum-style meltdown looking for it. THE PRECIOUSSSSSSS! It's now safe in my pocket once again.
The office was pretty sweet today. I was alone for 95% of the time and actually had enough work to keep me busy. I was on Quickbooks for the most part, updating lists. I also had to draw up a lease and pay some bills for Eamonn. I am loving the way this is gradually exposing me to real business activities. :-D
After work, I zipped home from Hyde Park and grabbed a Sub before walking over to Millennium Park. It was my first time in the park, and can I just say WOW. I mean...WOW. Amazing. I'm talking about the outdoor concert arena. Tonight (and most nights throughout the summer, so I see by the pamphlet I jacked) there was live music! New bands performing! And hundreds of people lounging about on blankets in groups, playing frisbee or just chilling. Love it!
It was humid of course but warm and cozy. And when dusk fell it was just like those nice midwestern evenings I remember from all our previous vacations in Illinois. Peaceful, sleepy (minus the crowds and the music), and just plain pleasant.
Of course I was there for work, but that didn't make it any less enjoyable. We had a business team meeting for the 4 business interns at WeFarm. Just so we could get on the same page and schedule future meetings. It was actually pretty great. I guess our focus will be on marketing from now on, which doesn't bother me at all (hey, as long as I am using my business skills to keep Pepperdine happy).
Oh, man. I really want to come back to the park some night with the roomies and have a picnic and listen to more bands.
Which reminds me- tomorrow night: battle of the bands at the Elbow Room (where Angela does promotions)! Hopefully I have the energy to make it there after work.
The office was pretty sweet today. I was alone for 95% of the time and actually had enough work to keep me busy. I was on Quickbooks for the most part, updating lists. I also had to draw up a lease and pay some bills for Eamonn. I am loving the way this is gradually exposing me to real business activities. :-D
After work, I zipped home from Hyde Park and grabbed a Sub before walking over to Millennium Park. It was my first time in the park, and can I just say WOW. I mean...WOW. Amazing. I'm talking about the outdoor concert arena. Tonight (and most nights throughout the summer, so I see by the pamphlet I jacked) there was live music! New bands performing! And hundreds of people lounging about on blankets in groups, playing frisbee or just chilling. Love it!
It was humid of course but warm and cozy. And when dusk fell it was just like those nice midwestern evenings I remember from all our previous vacations in Illinois. Peaceful, sleepy (minus the crowds and the music), and just plain pleasant.
Of course I was there for work, but that didn't make it any less enjoyable. We had a business team meeting for the 4 business interns at WeFarm. Just so we could get on the same page and schedule future meetings. It was actually pretty great. I guess our focus will be on marketing from now on, which doesn't bother me at all (hey, as long as I am using my business skills to keep Pepperdine happy).
Oh, man. I really want to come back to the park some night with the roomies and have a picnic and listen to more bands.
Which reminds me- tomorrow night: battle of the bands at the Elbow Room (where Angela does promotions)! Hopefully I have the energy to make it there after work.
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Whole Foods, You Complete Me
Is it possible to have an orgasm from seeing fresh produce for the first time in weeks? I'm not exactly a health nut, but when I walked into Whole Foods this morning, I almost wanted to grope the scallions. Feel free to judge me, I don't care. You try living in a city with no decent grocery stores. Then we'll see how well you survive off of ramen and peanut butter. Plus I love cooking. And our pots/pans SUCK, so...I'm having serious withdrawals. Like a sex addict would, I imagine.
So I stocked up on apples, bananas, peaches, scallions, garlic, onion, potatoes, salmon, orange juice, hummus, rosemary crackers, red pepper, chicken thighs, cooking sherry - oh snap I'm drooling right now.
This evening I thought to myself "You know what? I'm gonna go to Mass! Gotta hear something inspiring for once!" So I looked up St Peter's church on Google, found a 5 PM mass, and skipped off on my merry way.
Not only was there NO mass at 5 PM, but the church was CLOSED. What the HELL kind of church is locked up on a Sunday? The trip home was also depressing. A drug addict started to yell at me on the train platform. I don't know what he was yelling (Ipod) but when I casually pulled the mace can out of my purse he backed off pretty quickly.
On the way home, all trains were being diverted due to "an emergency on the Red Line". I heard ambulances blaring through the streets. Dunno what all that was about. I'll look it up as soon as I post this...
*update* - Yeah. Pretty gnarly fire in the Red Line.
http://www.suntimes.com/news/2413148,fire-red-line-north-side-062010.article
So I stocked up on apples, bananas, peaches, scallions, garlic, onion, potatoes, salmon, orange juice, hummus, rosemary crackers, red pepper, chicken thighs, cooking sherry - oh snap I'm drooling right now.
This evening I thought to myself "You know what? I'm gonna go to Mass! Gotta hear something inspiring for once!" So I looked up St Peter's church on Google, found a 5 PM mass, and skipped off on my merry way.
Not only was there NO mass at 5 PM, but the church was CLOSED. What the HELL kind of church is locked up on a Sunday? The trip home was also depressing. A drug addict started to yell at me on the train platform. I don't know what he was yelling (Ipod) but when I casually pulled the mace can out of my purse he backed off pretty quickly.
On the way home, all trains were being diverted due to "an emergency on the Red Line". I heard ambulances blaring through the streets. Dunno what all that was about. I'll look it up as soon as I post this...
*update* - Yeah. Pretty gnarly fire in the Red Line.
http://www.suntimes.com/news/2413148,fire-red-line-north-side-062010.article
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Boys Are Always Trying To Kill Themselves. Get Over It.
Angela and Haley were on Wabash this evening and saw one of the many homeless panhandlers doin' his thing on the street. Then they saw a girl walk past the panhandler, stop, and start rummaging through her purse. The girl then turned around and asked the panhandler (in all seriousness): "Do you take pennies?"
In my own less hilarious encounter with a vagrant, a guy on the platform at the Metra started screaming like Titi from Reno 911. Yeah, not as exciting. But that's all I have for today.
Oh, PS I'm still alive. The "wind storms" were not as bad by our apartment as everyone seems to think. Apparently Chicago was on national news because the Sears Tower got some windows blown out. Honestly, besides the 10 minutes where the sky looked apocalyptic and the rain was blowing perfectly sideways past our windows and the thunder was shaking the walls...it was fine.
In my own less hilarious encounter with a vagrant, a guy on the platform at the Metra started screaming like Titi from Reno 911. Yeah, not as exciting. But that's all I have for today.
Oh, PS I'm still alive. The "wind storms" were not as bad by our apartment as everyone seems to think. Apparently Chicago was on national news because the Sears Tower got some windows blown out. Honestly, besides the 10 minutes where the sky looked apocalyptic and the rain was blowing perfectly sideways past our windows and the thunder was shaking the walls...it was fine.
Friday, June 18, 2010
You're Such a Cripple
Today...I accomplished almost nothing. Well, I read some of Thomas More's Utopia and made a good outline of my IMBA proposal for Pepperdine. Other than that...yeah.
I ran 2.5 miles at the gym before a freak thunderstorm hit the city. Within 10 minutes, the sky had gone from bright and sunny to apocalyptic. When the lightning first started striking, the thunder shook the walls. Then with each loud boom, the vents made LOUD banging sounds and vibrated. The four of us who were in the gym were like "uh....yeah it's time to go."
Tonight I'll just read more of Utopia and rest up for another day at the office tomorrow. This is the first day I feel I've wasted since I got to Chicago. Not pleasant! Mustn't let it happen again.
I ran 2.5 miles at the gym before a freak thunderstorm hit the city. Within 10 minutes, the sky had gone from bright and sunny to apocalyptic. When the lightning first started striking, the thunder shook the walls. Then with each loud boom, the vents made LOUD banging sounds and vibrated. The four of us who were in the gym were like "uh....yeah it's time to go."
Tonight I'll just read more of Utopia and rest up for another day at the office tomorrow. This is the first day I feel I've wasted since I got to Chicago. Not pleasant! Mustn't let it happen again.
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Procrastination Is A Skank
So yesterday, Angela was on her way out to a club to work (she does promotion work for a music company). As she was walking through the metal revolving bars to step off the Brown Line, tragedy struck.
A guy behind her started pushing on the revolving bars faster than Angela could walk. He pushed so hard that her ankle was jammed between the bars and she got stuck. The guy kept pushing the bars, and she started screaming (as people typically do when their ankle gets severely sprained). At this point, the guy realized he had done something bad. So what did he do? He RAN AWAY. Leaving Angela curled up on the ground, stuck, screaming and crying.
Luckily for her, 3 men ran over and helped her out. They called the ambulance, told her not to sign anything from CTA (the train company) and stayed with her until the paramedics came.
So she's stuck on crutches for at least a week, which sucks, and the moral of the story is: DO NOT WALK THROUGH THOSE METAL REVOLVING DOORS ON THE EL.
A guy behind her started pushing on the revolving bars faster than Angela could walk. He pushed so hard that her ankle was jammed between the bars and she got stuck. The guy kept pushing the bars, and she started screaming (as people typically do when their ankle gets severely sprained). At this point, the guy realized he had done something bad. So what did he do? He RAN AWAY. Leaving Angela curled up on the ground, stuck, screaming and crying.
Luckily for her, 3 men ran over and helped her out. They called the ambulance, told her not to sign anything from CTA (the train company) and stayed with her until the paramedics came.
So she's stuck on crutches for at least a week, which sucks, and the moral of the story is: DO NOT WALK THROUGH THOSE METAL REVOLVING DOORS ON THE EL.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Will All The Happy Couples Please Drop Dead?
The Field Museum is slightly overrated. I guess it was worth the $18 to see the famous frozen baby mammoth and the world's most intact T-rex skeleton. And the totem pole exhibit was pretty sweet. But everything else...*yawn*
The Shedd Aquarium, on the other hand...they had a line outside for that museum that rivaled the line at Space Mountain, I kid you not. What do they have in that place??? Must find out...
Tomorrow morning we go back to the Cambodian association to finish filling in their last garden bed. Joy! Which reminds me, I have actual work to do tonight for WeFarm. Extra joy! (no really, I'm happy about this.)
The Shedd Aquarium, on the other hand...they had a line outside for that museum that rivaled the line at Space Mountain, I kid you not. What do they have in that place??? Must find out...
Tomorrow morning we go back to the Cambodian association to finish filling in their last garden bed. Joy! Which reminds me, I have actual work to do tonight for WeFarm. Extra joy! (no really, I'm happy about this.)
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Late Night Munchies
As I waited by the doors of my train this evening, the conductor stared at me and said "Reminds me of a joke my cat told me this morning!"
I didn't say anything but immediately tried to gauge how many seconds we had left before the train would stop and the doors would open.
Other lady: What did your cat say?
Him: *still staring at me* MEEOWWWWWWW!
I chuckled to avoid an awkward silence, but that really only encouraged him. "Not the best joke, I know! But it's better than a stab in the eye!" What? What the Hell? Another confused chuckle. Why is the train taking so long to stop??? "And it's better than Vietnam! Way better than Vietnam!" The doors snapped open. I said "Too soon, man. Too soon," and jumped off. I don't know if he responded, I was too busy running for the exit.
I didn't say anything but immediately tried to gauge how many seconds we had left before the train would stop and the doors would open.
Other lady: What did your cat say?
Him: *still staring at me* MEEOWWWWWWW!
I chuckled to avoid an awkward silence, but that really only encouraged him. "Not the best joke, I know! But it's better than a stab in the eye!" What? What the Hell? Another confused chuckle. Why is the train taking so long to stop??? "And it's better than Vietnam! Way better than Vietnam!" The doors snapped open. I said "Too soon, man. Too soon," and jumped off. I don't know if he responded, I was too busy running for the exit.
Monday, June 14, 2010
How To Interface With Your Tenants
I saw Keith talk jive with one of our tenants today. It was astounding. I had no idea he could talk like that, even though he's African American. I'm impressed, especially with the difference in how this tenant treated Keith as opposed to Eamonn (who she basically ignored in spite of the fact that HE's the landlord). I wonder if Keith did it intentionally to manipulate her, or if he just naturally starts talking like that to some people? I would never ask him because that's just way too awkward. But it's still kinda fascinating.
And another thought...is that part of why Eamonn has Keith working for him? To interface with the African American tenants who frankly do not trust Eamonn? So...how does that factor in with all the race-in-the-workplace papers I had to read as an undergrad? Because here it seems like Keith has quite a bit of de facto power in the company because of his race. So would this be a step forward or a step backward in the whole equality in the workplace goal?
Wait. NO. I swore I would not let Sociology haunt me ever again after graduation. BEGONE, DEEP THOUGHTS! BEGONE! I will go bake chocolate chip cookies and watch The Tudors. Jonathan Rhys Meyers will drive all intelligent thought out of this brain.
And another thought...is that part of why Eamonn has Keith working for him? To interface with the African American tenants who frankly do not trust Eamonn? So...how does that factor in with all the race-in-the-workplace papers I had to read as an undergrad? Because here it seems like Keith has quite a bit of de facto power in the company because of his race. So would this be a step forward or a step backward in the whole equality in the workplace goal?
Wait. NO. I swore I would not let Sociology haunt me ever again after graduation. BEGONE, DEEP THOUGHTS! BEGONE! I will go bake chocolate chip cookies and watch The Tudors. Jonathan Rhys Meyers will drive all intelligent thought out of this brain.
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Cubs Fans Are Hot
Starting with last night...
All the roomies and I hopped on the Red Line to Wrigley Field, which turns out to be in a COOL downtown club/bar area. I definitely want to spend more nights there. The place was packed with Cubs and Sox fans last night (it was game day). Also heard a couple of new pick-up lines. "I REMEMBER YOU! DO YOU REMEMBER ME???" "Nope." Another guy was yelling at his friend saying "Don't be a douchebag, Jason! Look at all these hot women walking around us *stares pointedly at our group* and you're just standing there???" That was totally acted out like a play, but I gotta say that one almost worked on me.
We got to the Metro, saw one good band and 3 crappy bands. Much fun was had by all except for Haley, who isn't 21 and probably felt very uncool without a wristband. Not that the rest of us were getting wasted- she just didn't even have the option.
This morning Haley, Angela and I visited the Hershey's store near the river. Epic chocolates. I didn't actually buy any chocolate but I did get a pretty sweet reusable bag for groceries. Wow that sounded nerdy.
We also looked around a mall and found the Chicago Blues Festival up the street from our apartment.
I made myself some curry and rice for dinner and now I will rest for a while before hitting the gym. Hopefully I won't get into a run-off again...
All the roomies and I hopped on the Red Line to Wrigley Field, which turns out to be in a COOL downtown club/bar area. I definitely want to spend more nights there. The place was packed with Cubs and Sox fans last night (it was game day). Also heard a couple of new pick-up lines. "I REMEMBER YOU! DO YOU REMEMBER ME???" "Nope." Another guy was yelling at his friend saying "Don't be a douchebag, Jason! Look at all these hot women walking around us *stares pointedly at our group* and you're just standing there???" That was totally acted out like a play, but I gotta say that one almost worked on me.
We got to the Metro, saw one good band and 3 crappy bands. Much fun was had by all except for Haley, who isn't 21 and probably felt very uncool without a wristband. Not that the rest of us were getting wasted- she just didn't even have the option.
This morning Haley, Angela and I visited the Hershey's store near the river. Epic chocolates. I didn't actually buy any chocolate but I did get a pretty sweet reusable bag for groceries. Wow that sounded nerdy.
We also looked around a mall and found the Chicago Blues Festival up the street from our apartment.
I made myself some curry and rice for dinner and now I will rest for a while before hitting the gym. Hopefully I won't get into a run-off again...
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Note To Self: Do Not Eat the Lip Scrub
Today I worked at Eamonn's office in Hyde Park.
Eamonn called me from a worksite and said "GET THE FILE FOR 92523-B AND FIND THE LEASE FOR AMENAFLYTER JONES AND COPY HER E-MAIL ADDRESS AND THEN WRITE AN E-MAIL THAT SAYS I WILL HAVE HER LEASE PROCESSED BY MONDAY AND THEN ATTACH THE FILE FROM MY DOCUMENTS THAT SAYS LEASE.APP OKAY THANKS BYE"
I think he was having a "Miranda Priestly" moment there.
And then I hung up, sat there staring at the screen, and then looked at Keith and said "Wait, he has an e-mail account?"
Typed up a TON of leases today. Becoming a typewriter MASTER. Yay for useless skills!
And then I got my first paycheck from Keith. And what does a 22 year old girl who hasn't bought her own clothes for the last 2 years do when she gets a $242 paycheck? She goes completely nuts at Macy's, that's what she does. But from now on, I save the rest of my paychecks for Switzerland...
In a short while all of the roomies and I are going out by Wrigley Stadium to some venue. Haley's coworker has a band and they are performing tonight...so we all got free tickets. Awesome! It may be raining and cold out but I am totally rocking this new dress and jeans jacket. Gotta take my girly moments when I can get them. Because tomorrow it's back to garden work!
Eamonn called me from a worksite and said "GET THE FILE FOR 92523-B AND FIND THE LEASE FOR AMENAFLYTER JONES AND COPY HER E-MAIL ADDRESS AND THEN WRITE AN E-MAIL THAT SAYS I WILL HAVE HER LEASE PROCESSED BY MONDAY AND THEN ATTACH THE FILE FROM MY DOCUMENTS THAT SAYS LEASE.APP OKAY THANKS BYE"
I think he was having a "Miranda Priestly" moment there.
And then I hung up, sat there staring at the screen, and then looked at Keith and said "Wait, he has an e-mail account?"
Typed up a TON of leases today. Becoming a typewriter MASTER. Yay for useless skills!
And then I got my first paycheck from Keith. And what does a 22 year old girl who hasn't bought her own clothes for the last 2 years do when she gets a $242 paycheck? She goes completely nuts at Macy's, that's what she does. But from now on, I save the rest of my paychecks for Switzerland...
In a short while all of the roomies and I are going out by Wrigley Stadium to some venue. Haley's coworker has a band and they are performing tonight...so we all got free tickets. Awesome! It may be raining and cold out but I am totally rocking this new dress and jeans jacket. Gotta take my girly moments when I can get them. Because tomorrow it's back to garden work!
Friday, June 11, 2010
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Gardening Clothes = Man Repellant?
Another exhausting day of shoveling at Orozco! After about 5 workdays the cuteness of the children is starting to wear off. Except for one cute little boy in his PE class who stood at the top of the little hill while I was raking and said "Hello Miss!" and smiled the most adorable smile ever at me. That was definitely an "AWWWWWwwww cute kid alert!" moment.
On the other end of the spectrum, there was a little boy who almost got my shovel up his a$$ for being a little twerp and jumping on the recycling bins. There was a brief moment where I channeled my mother and bellowed "GET OFF OF THE RECYCLING BIN RIGHT NOW!!!" Did I mention he had a pitchfork in his hand? That might help to explain my panic. It was disturbing to hear Mom's voice like that when I was so sure she was a couple thousand miles away...so I turned on my IPod and prayed that The Monkees would help calm me down. Glad to say that "Pleasant Valley Sunday" *eventually* did the trick.
On the other end of the spectrum, there was a little boy who almost got my shovel up his a$$ for being a little twerp and jumping on the recycling bins. There was a brief moment where I channeled my mother and bellowed "GET OFF OF THE RECYCLING BIN RIGHT NOW!!!" Did I mention he had a pitchfork in his hand? That might help to explain my panic. It was disturbing to hear Mom's voice like that when I was so sure she was a couple thousand miles away...so I turned on my IPod and prayed that The Monkees would help calm me down. Glad to say that "Pleasant Valley Sunday" *eventually* did the trick.
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Okay, Gonna Vom Now
Main victory of the day: outrunning a little skank on the treadmill. And mind you, before entering this run-off, I had just done .5 miles on the elliptical and walked about 2 miles through the city with Alex. Not to mention I had gorged myself on a 2 entree Panda Express an hour beforehand. The orange chicken definitely haunted me during that run.
But the important thing is that I beat the little slut. Took 42 minutes of solid running, but she lllooooossstt. It was kind of funny...we were both continually pressing the "increase cool down time" buttons on the treadmills in our determination to win.
PS I get ridiculously competitive when it comes to running. I do not think it is acceptable for a girl who is already cuter than me to be a better runner as well, so I will typically bring myself to the brink of self destruction rather than let her beat me.
Seneca gave me a boatload of organic arugula, spinach and carrots today when Alex and I went to his little experimental farm in Englewood. And can I just say, I usually don't eat whole strawberries because I dislike the taste. But those organic strawberries...out of this world. Really.
But the important thing is that I beat the little slut. Took 42 minutes of solid running, but she lllooooossstt. It was kind of funny...we were both continually pressing the "increase cool down time" buttons on the treadmills in our determination to win.
PS I get ridiculously competitive when it comes to running. I do not think it is acceptable for a girl who is already cuter than me to be a better runner as well, so I will typically bring myself to the brink of self destruction rather than let her beat me.
Seneca gave me a boatload of organic arugula, spinach and carrots today when Alex and I went to his little experimental farm in Englewood. And can I just say, I usually don't eat whole strawberries because I dislike the taste. But those organic strawberries...out of this world. Really.
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Gimme Gimme Gimme a Man With Some Clothes On!
Kat's douchebag boyfriend apparently lacks the ability to go out and *do things* on his own, so while his girlfriend is at work he stays in our apartment in his boxers. Today he cooked eggs while scratching his crotch as poor Angela wheezed on the sofa (she has the flu). And then he left pans and scraps of egg all over the counter.
Oh Haha, aren't you such a cute boy, you're just so delightfully messy and laid-back right? SCRUB THAT COUNTER AND GET THE HELL OUT OF OUR APARTMENT, DOUCHEBAG.
Work was challenging today. I spent about an hour updating the Quickbooks files to match the new leases. I wrote up a lease and signed it for a new tenant. Pretty sure that lease is not legally binding because I'm not legally an employee. But whatever. I just follow mein Fuhrer's orders. Then I had to check Eamonn's calculations for his personal financial statement. It took me forever to reformat that, because it was all in "text" form and not "numbers". So editing the numbers was impossible without going through EVERYTHING and converting it, and then the rows and columns were all different sizes and omg it was such a mess. I felt better afterward when Keith looked over my shoulder and went "Oh Lord is that his personal financial statement? Lord, do I hate that file."
I also had to check the Escrow analyses for some of his new properties. I found a lot of errors. I almost think he planted them for me in order to test my ability.
The Escrow analyses were really difficult because I, well, had no idea how Escrow worked until today. Thankfully I was alone in the office long enough to Google-BS my way to a basic understanding. In an attempt to cover up my incompetency, I made his presentation SUPER cool looking on Excel. I also put in a bunch of formulas to make it more professional.
My plan backfired. Eamonn came back and was so impressed with my knowledge of Escrow that he decided I would be the person to present this spreadsheet to the bankers. FUTURE FAIL.
And oh, the irony of running to CVS to pick up some chicken noodle soup for your sick flatmate, only to get the sick cashier who is barely able to stand up. And then have that cashier cough, blow her nose, and then rub her dirty paws all over the soup cans. I wiped them with bleach wipes as soon as I got home.
Oh Haha, aren't you such a cute boy, you're just so delightfully messy and laid-back right? SCRUB THAT COUNTER AND GET THE HELL OUT OF OUR APARTMENT, DOUCHEBAG.
Work was challenging today. I spent about an hour updating the Quickbooks files to match the new leases. I wrote up a lease and signed it for a new tenant. Pretty sure that lease is not legally binding because I'm not legally an employee. But whatever. I just follow mein Fuhrer's orders. Then I had to check Eamonn's calculations for his personal financial statement. It took me forever to reformat that, because it was all in "text" form and not "numbers". So editing the numbers was impossible without going through EVERYTHING and converting it, and then the rows and columns were all different sizes and omg it was such a mess. I felt better afterward when Keith looked over my shoulder and went "Oh Lord is that his personal financial statement? Lord, do I hate that file."
I also had to check the Escrow analyses for some of his new properties. I found a lot of errors. I almost think he planted them for me in order to test my ability.
The Escrow analyses were really difficult because I, well, had no idea how Escrow worked until today. Thankfully I was alone in the office long enough to Google-BS my way to a basic understanding. In an attempt to cover up my incompetency, I made his presentation SUPER cool looking on Excel. I also put in a bunch of formulas to make it more professional.
My plan backfired. Eamonn came back and was so impressed with my knowledge of Escrow that he decided I would be the person to present this spreadsheet to the bankers. FUTURE FAIL.
And oh, the irony of running to CVS to pick up some chicken noodle soup for your sick flatmate, only to get the sick cashier who is barely able to stand up. And then have that cashier cough, blow her nose, and then rub her dirty paws all over the soup cans. I wiped them with bleach wipes as soon as I got home.
Monday, June 7, 2010
Laoye Adedoye Gets His 5-Day Notice
I could cry from happiness that Angela saved me a plate of meatloaf, potatoes and corn for my dinner. I got off of work at 8 tonight. >_<
Today I learned that typewriters are evil, twisted, sick machines that ought to have no place in my life. Unfortunately they do, though, because that's how Eamonn types up the leases. Correction: How I will type them up, once we get new lease forms to replace the ones I destroyed with all the errors I made in typing them. Let's just say I was so embarassed by a couple of those leases that I crinkled them up and hid them in my purse.
The office was mine alone until Eamonn came to work (3ish) and gave me a present: a can of mace. The package says it will incapacitate an attacker for up to 45 minutes. MWHAHAHA I can't wait to use it.
I had to stay late tonight because Keith brought in the janitor from Eamonn's newly-acquired apartment building. The janitor was effectively managing the place up till now and knows all the tenants personally. It was strange to see Keith and Eamonn asking this guy for information on who the reliable tenants were, and how able they were to pay increased rent. We went down the whole list of tenants, making notes of how much to increase each person's rent on the new lease.
For my part, I definitely did not like having to go through Quickbooks and rattle off the names of the people who had fallen behind on payments, or circling the names of the people whose eviction notices I'll have to write up. This is the south side, after all. It's sad to see this happening. It totally doesn't help, either, that about 4 different tenants stopped by today while Eamonn was out and tried to ask for clemency.
Not that Eamonn is a bad guy. He's awesome and very humanistic. But you can only give so much leeway before your business comes tumbling down. My other internship is focused on helping these people improve their livelihoods...this internship is more concerned with getting more money out of them. It's a weird juxtaposition. Save the world 4 days a week, destroy it during the other 3 days. But...gain experience with Quickbooks! So overall, a success!
Today I learned that typewriters are evil, twisted, sick machines that ought to have no place in my life. Unfortunately they do, though, because that's how Eamonn types up the leases. Correction: How I will type them up, once we get new lease forms to replace the ones I destroyed with all the errors I made in typing them. Let's just say I was so embarassed by a couple of those leases that I crinkled them up and hid them in my purse.
The office was mine alone until Eamonn came to work (3ish) and gave me a present: a can of mace. The package says it will incapacitate an attacker for up to 45 minutes. MWHAHAHA I can't wait to use it.
I had to stay late tonight because Keith brought in the janitor from Eamonn's newly-acquired apartment building. The janitor was effectively managing the place up till now and knows all the tenants personally. It was strange to see Keith and Eamonn asking this guy for information on who the reliable tenants were, and how able they were to pay increased rent. We went down the whole list of tenants, making notes of how much to increase each person's rent on the new lease.
For my part, I definitely did not like having to go through Quickbooks and rattle off the names of the people who had fallen behind on payments, or circling the names of the people whose eviction notices I'll have to write up. This is the south side, after all. It's sad to see this happening. It totally doesn't help, either, that about 4 different tenants stopped by today while Eamonn was out and tried to ask for clemency.
Not that Eamonn is a bad guy. He's awesome and very humanistic. But you can only give so much leeway before your business comes tumbling down. My other internship is focused on helping these people improve their livelihoods...this internship is more concerned with getting more money out of them. It's a weird juxtaposition. Save the world 4 days a week, destroy it during the other 3 days. But...gain experience with Quickbooks! So overall, a success!
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Oops, I haven't had time to update. Bullet list!
Friday:
~Office hours with WeFarm down in the German district. Went over the new workplans, got a list of some suppliers from Aleks, and got to FINALLY see some of the business side of this operation.
~Claudine and I went to Medieval Times. Totally corny but sooo funny and we had front row seats. Royalty upgrade, yayah!!
Saturday:
~My first day of work with Mid Continental Building Corporation. LOVED IT. LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE. I work on the top floor of the Hyde Park Bank building on the south side. The building is circa 1926, and our office is converted from an old ballroom. Neato!
Keith, the accountant I work with, is a very flamboyant man who is tons of fun and laughs a lot. So I think we'll get along well. There's also a cute cafe across the street that attracts students from nearby Chicago University.
My first tasks involved synchronizing the Quickbooks records with the actual paper leases that my boss holds- checking that the dates are the same, that the leases aren't missing, etc. Then I updated new lease info in Quickbooks and made a list of the leases that are expiring within the month. Tomorrow (I will be working with them Mondays, Tuesdays, and Saturdays) I am going to start writing new leases for tenants. I also had to sort out the boss's vendors and organize invoices according to date. Boss says this is the easier part of my job, and the hard stuff will come as soon as we're done organizing all these documents.
~Last night Claudine came into the Loop again and we went to Russian Tea Time, supposedly a very famous restaurant right around the corner from my apartment. Very expensive!! We also saw the Buckingham Fountain.
~New roommate came home with her boyfriend at 2 AM and they had very loud dirty sex in her room. Angela, Haley and I were not pleased. Especially me- I had to get up early this morning. Her boyfriend seriously needs to get out of our apartment. We are sick of seeing him walk around in his underwear. Yes, douchebag, you are attractive. We know. Now go put some fucking clothes on.
Sunday (today):
~Got up early and took the blue line out to Logan Square. Was supposed to meet Alex there for the Farmer's Market (Outreach task) by 10 but I got there a little early. A homeless guy on a bike rode past me and went "HEEEEEYYYYY SWEETIE". Not two minutes later, a really scary looking thug walked past and said "HI THERE. HOW YOU DOIN?"
We strolled through the market and found a way to sign up WeFarm for a demo booth. So that was productive. Then we went back to Alex's new apartment and got these wicked cool blueberry bars that he made for the corny Garden Party. 2 bus rides and 1 hour later, we arrived at the party.
Actually it was a lot of fun. Good turnout, good demonstrations, etc. Except there was one strange hippie girl who kept doing yoga and not caring that her skirt was up to her crotch while she writhed around on the grass. When Seneca was explaining how dried blood (from livestock- you can buy it at stores) is good for soil, she raised her hand and said "I use my own blood!" Ladies, you know what that means. *shudder* Groooossssss. It was so awkward. Later, as she was talking to me, she saw a pregnant woman walk by. She went "Pregnant women are soooo beautiful." My response: "Heh......hehhh..."
Friday:
~Office hours with WeFarm down in the German district. Went over the new workplans, got a list of some suppliers from Aleks, and got to FINALLY see some of the business side of this operation.
~Claudine and I went to Medieval Times. Totally corny but sooo funny and we had front row seats. Royalty upgrade, yayah!!
Saturday:
~My first day of work with Mid Continental Building Corporation. LOVED IT. LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE. I work on the top floor of the Hyde Park Bank building on the south side. The building is circa 1926, and our office is converted from an old ballroom. Neato!
Keith, the accountant I work with, is a very flamboyant man who is tons of fun and laughs a lot. So I think we'll get along well. There's also a cute cafe across the street that attracts students from nearby Chicago University.
My first tasks involved synchronizing the Quickbooks records with the actual paper leases that my boss holds- checking that the dates are the same, that the leases aren't missing, etc. Then I updated new lease info in Quickbooks and made a list of the leases that are expiring within the month. Tomorrow (I will be working with them Mondays, Tuesdays, and Saturdays) I am going to start writing new leases for tenants. I also had to sort out the boss's vendors and organize invoices according to date. Boss says this is the easier part of my job, and the hard stuff will come as soon as we're done organizing all these documents.
~Last night Claudine came into the Loop again and we went to Russian Tea Time, supposedly a very famous restaurant right around the corner from my apartment. Very expensive!! We also saw the Buckingham Fountain.
~New roommate came home with her boyfriend at 2 AM and they had very loud dirty sex in her room. Angela, Haley and I were not pleased. Especially me- I had to get up early this morning. Her boyfriend seriously needs to get out of our apartment. We are sick of seeing him walk around in his underwear. Yes, douchebag, you are attractive. We know. Now go put some fucking clothes on.
Sunday (today):
~Got up early and took the blue line out to Logan Square. Was supposed to meet Alex there for the Farmer's Market (Outreach task) by 10 but I got there a little early. A homeless guy on a bike rode past me and went "HEEEEEYYYYY SWEETIE". Not two minutes later, a really scary looking thug walked past and said "HI THERE. HOW YOU DOIN?"
We strolled through the market and found a way to sign up WeFarm for a demo booth. So that was productive. Then we went back to Alex's new apartment and got these wicked cool blueberry bars that he made for the corny Garden Party. 2 bus rides and 1 hour later, we arrived at the party.
Actually it was a lot of fun. Good turnout, good demonstrations, etc. Except there was one strange hippie girl who kept doing yoga and not caring that her skirt was up to her crotch while she writhed around on the grass. When Seneca was explaining how dried blood (from livestock- you can buy it at stores) is good for soil, she raised her hand and said "I use my own blood!" Ladies, you know what that means. *shudder* Groooossssss. It was so awkward. Later, as she was talking to me, she saw a pregnant woman walk by. She went "Pregnant women are soooo beautiful." My response: "Heh......hehhh..."
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Girl Talk
Today totally ruled in every way.
Showed up at Orozco for our LAST day of work (until the wood chips arrive). Got to do planting with the kids. The weather was almost chilly, which was beautiful after all this humidity. We finished planting early and then Alex, Seneca and I got a free Chinese lunch from the Orozco staff.
Kathleen just flew in from New York with her boyfriend ... um. ... Daniel? I think that's his name. She seems nice. She's our latest roommate. I'm afraid we may have scared her a little with our wild cackling and lewd jokes though. Oh well, she'll assimilate in time! *evil laugh*
Then Claudine drove in from Schaumburg to get dinner with me! Yay! My first visitor!! Somehow it took her 2 hours in traffic though...RIDICULOUS. So from now on we will be doing public transit to see each other. She did get to see a little bit of West Chicago though while we were trying to coordinate which roads she should take to get to my address. Word to the wise: GPS systems are useless in downtown Chicago.
Got home from dinner and we all watched Crybaby. Never heard of it until tonight. Hatchetface is hilarious. Now to watch Invader Zim on Netflix streaming until I fall asleep. :) :) :)
Showed up at Orozco for our LAST day of work (until the wood chips arrive). Got to do planting with the kids. The weather was almost chilly, which was beautiful after all this humidity. We finished planting early and then Alex, Seneca and I got a free Chinese lunch from the Orozco staff.
Kathleen just flew in from New York with her boyfriend ... um. ... Daniel? I think that's his name. She seems nice. She's our latest roommate. I'm afraid we may have scared her a little with our wild cackling and lewd jokes though. Oh well, she'll assimilate in time! *evil laugh*
Then Claudine drove in from Schaumburg to get dinner with me! Yay! My first visitor!! Somehow it took her 2 hours in traffic though...RIDICULOUS. So from now on we will be doing public transit to see each other. She did get to see a little bit of West Chicago though while we were trying to coordinate which roads she should take to get to my address. Word to the wise: GPS systems are useless in downtown Chicago.
Got home from dinner and we all watched Crybaby. Never heard of it until tonight. Hatchetface is hilarious. Now to watch Invader Zim on Netflix streaming until I fall asleep. :) :) :)
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
I Need New Sandals
Today I made a crackhead cry, heard a homeless woman singing "I Wish You A Merry Christmas" in the library, got free pizza from a pervy bartender, and had a meeting with my new boss.
Mr McCauley "officially" hired me this morning. I say "officially" because he doesn't want to go through the hassle of, you know, mentioning me on the books. He's just going to give me $11/hr tax free to work with them 20 hrs per week. Hah...hah...whatever. Just give me work. And money.
On the way home, I tried the Metra for the first time. The tickets confused me a little, so I asked a benign-looking African American woman how they worked. Bad move. 20 minutes later she was practically sobbing whilst telling me about her 2 crack-addicted daughters, her crackhead ex-husband, her cat (and how she smacked it upside the head for waking her up last night), her fat grandchildren, and her life as an unwed teenage mother. OH and how itchy her wig was.
Seeing as she had trapped me in the window seat of the train, I tried to steer the conversation toward happier topics- "Why, I have a cat as well. They do provide good company don't they?" but it always seemed to come back to drugs and unwanted pregnancies. So I gave up and just started saying the things she wanted to hear. "How could he sleep with your cousin? The bastard!" What a depressing train ride.
Once home, I walked around the North side for a while, venturing as far as the Chicago River area. I stopped in at Pizzeria Uno, one of the top 10 pizzerias here. The bartender was a nice guy. He made recommendations, offered me free pizza, aaaannnd then wrote "pretty lady" on my receipt. How random and inappropriate.
Mr McCauley "officially" hired me this morning. I say "officially" because he doesn't want to go through the hassle of, you know, mentioning me on the books. He's just going to give me $11/hr tax free to work with them 20 hrs per week. Hah...hah...whatever. Just give me work. And money.
On the way home, I tried the Metra for the first time. The tickets confused me a little, so I asked a benign-looking African American woman how they worked. Bad move. 20 minutes later she was practically sobbing whilst telling me about her 2 crack-addicted daughters, her crackhead ex-husband, her cat (and how she smacked it upside the head for waking her up last night), her fat grandchildren, and her life as an unwed teenage mother. OH and how itchy her wig was.
Seeing as she had trapped me in the window seat of the train, I tried to steer the conversation toward happier topics- "Why, I have a cat as well. They do provide good company don't they?" but it always seemed to come back to drugs and unwanted pregnancies. So I gave up and just started saying the things she wanted to hear. "How could he sleep with your cousin? The bastard!" What a depressing train ride.
Once home, I walked around the North side for a while, venturing as far as the Chicago River area. I stopped in at Pizzeria Uno, one of the top 10 pizzerias here. The bartender was a nice guy. He made recommendations, offered me free pizza, aaaannnd then wrote "pretty lady" on my receipt. How random and inappropriate.
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
No Daniel, Shoveling Turf Is NOT Like Cutting Lasagna
My legs and arms hurt.
Terracing a field in this humidity is NO FREAKING FUN.
This morning I was finally entrusted with making a business call to order more compost. Delivery was set for 1 hour and my boss seemed very pleased. One hour later, a truckload of mulch arrived.
Where the Hell are my Quickbooks projects?
Disheartened, I called the president of MidContinental Building Corporation at my lunch. This is the guy who offered me a finance internship last week. He seemed very happy that I was following up on his offer, and we set up a meeting for tomorrow at 10 AM. He mentioned that I would be building Excel spreadsheets to present to the banks arguing for 3 year amortization instead of 1 year on some of his stuff (at least that's how he worded it).
After a week of farm labor and no finance opportunities, the word amortization sends little thrills of joy down my spine. Here's hoping everything turns out.
Note that I will be doing 2 internships- I'm not giving up on WeFarm. I like WeFarm a lot. I just need some educational white collar work to justify my summer out here.
PS Haley made an amazing shepherd's pie for dinner. So happy, because I nearly collapsed from fatigue in the elevator coming home.
Terracing a field in this humidity is NO FREAKING FUN.
This morning I was finally entrusted with making a business call to order more compost. Delivery was set for 1 hour and my boss seemed very pleased. One hour later, a truckload of mulch arrived.
Where the Hell are my Quickbooks projects?
Disheartened, I called the president of MidContinental Building Corporation at my lunch. This is the guy who offered me a finance internship last week. He seemed very happy that I was following up on his offer, and we set up a meeting for tomorrow at 10 AM. He mentioned that I would be building Excel spreadsheets to present to the banks arguing for 3 year amortization instead of 1 year on some of his stuff (at least that's how he worded it).
After a week of farm labor and no finance opportunities, the word amortization sends little thrills of joy down my spine. Here's hoping everything turns out.
Note that I will be doing 2 internships- I'm not giving up on WeFarm. I like WeFarm a lot. I just need some educational white collar work to justify my summer out here.
PS Haley made an amazing shepherd's pie for dinner. So happy, because I nearly collapsed from fatigue in the elevator coming home.
Monday, May 31, 2010
To Hell With Your $20 Umbrella
Thunderstorms today. Not cute little thunderstorms like we get twice a year in California. Midwestern storms. The kind that shake the buildings and light up your whole room and leave you thinking "...Surely that was a bomb going off?"
So naturally I got into my new summer dress and walked 3 blocks through the rain to the Art Institute of Chicago.
I'm not really an artsy person. All I know about art is what I learned during AP Art History in senior year. Thankfully Mr Basenberg was ridiculously goodlooking so I've managed to retain a lot of what he taught us.
I had no idea before walking into the museum that they had Hopper's Nighthawks...to say I was excited would be understatement of the year. I have a framed copy of Nighthawks in my room at home, and it is nowhere near as beautiful as the original.
Anyway, 5 hours later I had a pleasant stroll home through the rain and here I am. Angela is serenading us with her fabulous guitar skills ("I Will Follow You Into the Dark"...one of my favs) and Haley is looking up piano bars in downtown. Unfortunately Haley is only 20 so we can't go to the cool-looking dueling piano bar down the street (Claudine, we're going here when you come to Chicago). But there's a place called the Redhead Piano Bar across the river that looks promising.
Tonight I'm cooking tacos for the girls. Ahhhh I do love Chicago. Don't tell Dad, but if everything goes well this summer...I think I may have found the city I want to work in after graduation. My opinion might change depending on how many times I get mugged in the next 2 months, though.
So naturally I got into my new summer dress and walked 3 blocks through the rain to the Art Institute of Chicago.
I'm not really an artsy person. All I know about art is what I learned during AP Art History in senior year. Thankfully Mr Basenberg was ridiculously goodlooking so I've managed to retain a lot of what he taught us.
I had no idea before walking into the museum that they had Hopper's Nighthawks...to say I was excited would be understatement of the year. I have a framed copy of Nighthawks in my room at home, and it is nowhere near as beautiful as the original.
Anyway, 5 hours later I had a pleasant stroll home through the rain and here I am. Angela is serenading us with her fabulous guitar skills ("I Will Follow You Into the Dark"...one of my favs) and Haley is looking up piano bars in downtown. Unfortunately Haley is only 20 so we can't go to the cool-looking dueling piano bar down the street (Claudine, we're going here when you come to Chicago). But there's a place called the Redhead Piano Bar across the river that looks promising.
Tonight I'm cooking tacos for the girls. Ahhhh I do love Chicago. Don't tell Dad, but if everything goes well this summer...I think I may have found the city I want to work in after graduation. My opinion might change depending on how many times I get mugged in the next 2 months, though.
Sunday, May 30, 2010
That Tommy Hilfiger Knows What He's Doing
I bought dresses for summer!
...
And got lost for a half hour in Macy's.
...
But I bought dresses for summer! (And Jeff & Maurice, I used your giftcard to buy them! I had been saving it for a big city Macy's. It was well worth the wait hehe.)
My parents keep trying to call me despite the fact that I told them I don't get reception inside the building. This morning when I left home, I had 7 voicemails. 5 from Dad, 2 from Mom. Actually one message was from both of them. "LAURIE, SWEETIE, DAD TOLD ME YOUR AIR CONDITIONER IS TOO STRONG. SO GO BUY AN ELECTRIC BLANKET AND - LAURIE? LAURIE? IT'S DAD. DON'T GO OUT AFTER DARK AND STAY OUT OF PEOPLE'S HOUSES!"
...
And got lost for a half hour in Macy's.
...
But I bought dresses for summer! (And Jeff & Maurice, I used your giftcard to buy them! I had been saving it for a big city Macy's. It was well worth the wait hehe.)
My parents keep trying to call me despite the fact that I told them I don't get reception inside the building. This morning when I left home, I had 7 voicemails. 5 from Dad, 2 from Mom. Actually one message was from both of them. "LAURIE, SWEETIE, DAD TOLD ME YOUR AIR CONDITIONER IS TOO STRONG. SO GO BUY AN ELECTRIC BLANKET AND - LAURIE? LAURIE? IT'S DAD. DON'T GO OUT AFTER DARK AND STAY OUT OF PEOPLE'S HOUSES!"
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Burned Is the New Tanned
Today started out busy. I had to go to the Farmer's Market out in Sedgwick to do "Outreach" with Molly. I volunteered for this event without knowing what it was, because I just wanted to visit a farmer's market for the food. And then they told me what Outreach was. Handing out flyers to unsuspecting pedestrians who just want to have a nice day at the market. Awwwwwwww man. It doesn't help that both Molly and I are super soft-spoken. And I just hate irritating people. So that was a socially awkward 2 hours. We did meet one young guy who was REALLY freaking interested in indoor gardening. I think he may have been a pedophile. But he took a few flyers off our hands, so whatever.
There's a weird promotion going on at all the El stops. The Missing Chicagoan or something. There are big signs at every El stop with "clues" about where the "Missing Chicagoan" is. The signs are all really creepy though. One says "One day he's on the train...the next, POOF". Another sign says "He's being taken care of." Another says "He can't talk right now...but he can Tweet." There's also a sign that says something like "He's being held at the bottom of a 163 foot steel monument." Somehow I keep getting the mental image of a guy who was dragged off the El, bound & gagged, and tied to a monument to promote tourism in the city.
No sooner had I stepped off the Brown Line at my stop than I saw my roommates, Angela and Haley, coming up the stairs. "We're going to go find a f***ing grocery store, wanna come?!??" (we've been complaining all week about the lack of grocery stores in the Loop)
I should write something about my roommates: They're awesome. Both are from the same town in Wisconsin. We have exactly the same sense of humor except for the fact that they are less politically correct than I am. Then again, this is the Midwest and most white people don't seem to feel the same awkwardness about discussing race that we do in California. It can get kinda awkward sometimes.
But HEY. They don't leave soggy underwear in the shower, they don't scream and swear at their mothers over the phone, they don't cook raw shrimp in the microwave and they clean up after themselves. So I can totally tolerate a little bit o' racism!
After stocking up on food, we visited the 2nd largest Macy's in the world. 8 stories. They even had a vending machine with Ipods, IHomes, DSLR cameras, GPS systems, etc. And another vending machine had Proactiv products. Haha.
Now we're going to vegetate and watch some movies. The Time Traveler's Wife or something. I dunno. I usually can't stand chick flicks but knowing our sense of humor, we'll definitely make something of it. >:)
*update*
That movie was friggin' retarded.
There's a weird promotion going on at all the El stops. The Missing Chicagoan or something. There are big signs at every El stop with "clues" about where the "Missing Chicagoan" is. The signs are all really creepy though. One says "One day he's on the train...the next, POOF". Another sign says "He's being taken care of." Another says "He can't talk right now...but he can Tweet." There's also a sign that says something like "He's being held at the bottom of a 163 foot steel monument." Somehow I keep getting the mental image of a guy who was dragged off the El, bound & gagged, and tied to a monument to promote tourism in the city.
No sooner had I stepped off the Brown Line at my stop than I saw my roommates, Angela and Haley, coming up the stairs. "We're going to go find a f***ing grocery store, wanna come?!??" (we've been complaining all week about the lack of grocery stores in the Loop)
I should write something about my roommates: They're awesome. Both are from the same town in Wisconsin. We have exactly the same sense of humor except for the fact that they are less politically correct than I am. Then again, this is the Midwest and most white people don't seem to feel the same awkwardness about discussing race that we do in California. It can get kinda awkward sometimes.
But HEY. They don't leave soggy underwear in the shower, they don't scream and swear at their mothers over the phone, they don't cook raw shrimp in the microwave and they clean up after themselves. So I can totally tolerate a little bit o' racism!
After stocking up on food, we visited the 2nd largest Macy's in the world. 8 stories. They even had a vending machine with Ipods, IHomes, DSLR cameras, GPS systems, etc. And another vending machine had Proactiv products. Haha.
Now we're going to vegetate and watch some movies. The Time Traveler's Wife or something. I dunno. I usually can't stand chick flicks but knowing our sense of humor, we'll definitely make something of it. >:)
*update*
That movie was friggin' retarded.
Friday, May 28, 2010
Authentic Mexican Food, Courtesy of Chicago
Hey all! I just set this blog up so that I could tell you all about my random adventures without everyone on Facebook seeing it. Plus I will have a lot of crazy stories that just won't fit in a status update!
Nothing too interesting yet, except what I've already told you about and posted in pictures. But this weekend should be good. My first chance to explore the city!!!
In the meantime...
Since arriving in Chicago, I've been perfecting my evasive maneuver skills. There are a lot of sketchy looking people on the streets, especially the places where we are putting in installations. Even the Loop (the ritzy downtown area that I live in) has its share of spazzes. The sad part is, they aren't even fun spazzes. They are sad, broken down men with serious drug habits and mental problems. Not like our friendly LA crazies. I heard that two girls were beaten up with baseball bats a short while ago and robbed. And that happened in my neighborhood!
Today's installation at Orozco Middle School went well. We are terracing their back field and putting in 12 trapezoidal plots. And it's FRICKING HARD WORK. Especially since we are teaching the kids how to do it. That involves letting them use power tools, hammers, shovels, rakes, etc. Lots of supervision and patience required. I love working with the kids though. They're sweet for the most part. And it's rewarding work, because you know they will retain *some* of this knowledge and use it later in life (Yeah right, who am I kidding?)
The business side of things could be more organized. Aleks (my fellow finance intern) managed to get a donation of mulch from a local company but they failed to deliver today. >_< And Seneca is obviously overrun trying to cart things around, get the proper wood, and find reliable compost suppliers. He promised me that next week I could get started with Quickbooks and try to start helping the company financially. YAY.
Hopefully tomorrow will bring more fun adventures!! But right now I need a nice bologna sandwich and a good episode of Dr Who.
Nothing too interesting yet, except what I've already told you about and posted in pictures. But this weekend should be good. My first chance to explore the city!!!
In the meantime...
Since arriving in Chicago, I've been perfecting my evasive maneuver skills. There are a lot of sketchy looking people on the streets, especially the places where we are putting in installations. Even the Loop (the ritzy downtown area that I live in) has its share of spazzes. The sad part is, they aren't even fun spazzes. They are sad, broken down men with serious drug habits and mental problems. Not like our friendly LA crazies. I heard that two girls were beaten up with baseball bats a short while ago and robbed. And that happened in my neighborhood!
Today's installation at Orozco Middle School went well. We are terracing their back field and putting in 12 trapezoidal plots. And it's FRICKING HARD WORK. Especially since we are teaching the kids how to do it. That involves letting them use power tools, hammers, shovels, rakes, etc. Lots of supervision and patience required. I love working with the kids though. They're sweet for the most part. And it's rewarding work, because you know they will retain *some* of this knowledge and use it later in life (Yeah right, who am I kidding?)
The business side of things could be more organized. Aleks (my fellow finance intern) managed to get a donation of mulch from a local company but they failed to deliver today. >_< And Seneca is obviously overrun trying to cart things around, get the proper wood, and find reliable compost suppliers. He promised me that next week I could get started with Quickbooks and try to start helping the company financially. YAY.
Hopefully tomorrow will bring more fun adventures!! But right now I need a nice bologna sandwich and a good episode of Dr Who.
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