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.
Monday, May 31, 2010
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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