Cutter

For the past week I've been teaching at a school. Its actually kind of awesome, there are some kids whose parents have to work during Spring Break, so they bring us in to give the kids something fun to do during the break. I really like it, and the kids (on a whole) are fairly awesome. Some of them remembered me from last year which is impressive because I meet people and six hours later have no idea who they are. And they're all about hugs. And who doesn't love hugs?

Anyway - they are a rowdy group, which is to be expected. They're 1st-4th graders, they come from rough home lives (some of them) and they're on Spring Break which is when they're supposed to be getting the nutty out. So normally I chalk up their insanity to you know, being kids. But there is one thing that drives me completely bonkers.

They have some SERIOUS issues with lines. Primarily the whole standing in them and the proper etiquette that surrounds that. We work with 60 kids most days, divided into 6 groups of 10. So at least six times a day (if not more)- I hear, "He Cutted!!" or some variation therein. For some reason, this bugs me far more than anything else they do including stuff that might get them super hurt or super hurts me.

I have developed my own way of dealing with it, which is to say that the "line" they are in doesn't matter - I am going to call on the person who looks like most interested in participating and is being the most respectful. This works for the most part, but they still find ways to get REAL.EMOTIONAL about the order in which they get to do skills (this is also so bizarre to me, because they all are going to get to go the exact same number of times no matter what and if it were me, I'd want to go last so I could make sure that I did better than everyone else...but I am pretty neurotic for a seven year-old.

Anyway, today I was thinking about this and how totally ridiculous it is but then I got to thinking about me, right now, and how I would lose my ever Pat Benatar loving mind if someone cut in line. Not so much for fun things, but like the bank. Oh man, if someone cut at the bank, I'd lose it. Not out loud, probably, but under my breath and for sure in a text message to someone. Its weird how focused we are on lines, and how I am probably jacking these kids up for life by rocking their world with this whole, "there is no line" thing. Because lines are an essential part of our culture - and not just dbag Americans, but people stand in line all over the word.

In retrospect, I should have just taught them all a valuable lesson about how cutting in line is wrong and its going to get you a lot of dirty looks when you get older...but instead I just make my own life a lot easier on a day to day basis. Which is probably a much more valuable lesson about the future.

Pie in the sky and other things...

As promised - here are some tart pictures. Like I said before, it was surprisingly easy although the raspberry topping I thought was going to coagulate, but instead it stayed really runny and got everywhere and made everything sticky. When I make it again, I will just put raspberries on top and have the sauce on the side. Anyway here it is before raspberry sauce:
And after I poured the sauce but before it got all over everything.
Everyone said it tasted really good, which is all that matters.

And in non-Suzy Homemaker news - my March Madness pool is OVER. All of my final 4 picks are out of the tournament all ready - this is shocking and depressing especially after years past. When my baby sister is doing better than me in picking college basketball teams I hang my head in shame (although, she is about to go to college and I am long out of it - so I guess she should be better at it than I).

This was my social weekend, which was lovely. I have become quite the homebody in my old age, but I still know how to get down. I think the homebody-ness comes from wanting to save money and having something pretty phenomenal to come home to and watching my weight and all sorts of other things. Also, I just was looking over Boyfriend's shoulder when I saw an atrocious picture of me recently posted on facebook. And I want to cry. Its awful. Not cute or funny awful, just really unattractive and I can't untag it. I have to wait 2 more weeks before it will disappear. I know this isn't an actual sad thing like world hunger but for me, its pretty miserable. Does that make me totally self centered? Yes. But what can you do?

And with that, I am done blogging for the night. I just got really depressed really fast.

Peter Pan

So I recently made a tag cloud for this blog (you can see it down below, on the left). And I realized that while probably only about half of my blogs are tagged at this point - growing up is way out in first place. I never realized how much I talk about growing up on this sucker - although I'm not surprised. I am growing up, y'all. Every day and in every way.

Yesterday I was performing in an improv show for kids at an elementary school's literacy night. There I was dancing around like a fool and I had a flash back to my days in elementary school watching people do the same kind of cockamammy-bull honkey and thinking about how much I wanted to do "that." I wanted to be up on a stage performing for people. And what's really funny is that it was only later in life (when I got to be moody and 12) that I decided I wanted to be a movie star. When I was a kid, I wanted to be a d-bag on stage. And now, I am. Which is kind of awesome in a bizarre twisty way. And I think that it is the reason that I keep doing this show even though it eats up a lot of my time and energy, because little kid me wants to do it.

And today - right now actually, I am making a tart. Not a pie. A tart. A raspberry and lime tart. Right now it looks like this:
Boyfriend went out and bought me this 8" tart pan with a removable fluted rim. About 2 months ago if you had given me a quiz and asked me what I thought a fluted rim was, I would have given you an honest answer but I really wouldn't have seen myself owning one.

But then it was time to decide what I was going to make for this week's upcoming pot luck and I had a memory of Cougar making this tart and how I thought it was incredibly fancy and grown-up back then and I still do. So now I'm making it. Its much easier than I was anticipating thus far. And it was an opportunity to buy a new kitchen toy.

Kitchen toys, btw, have replaced barbies (of my very young years), American Girl accessories (of my somewhat young years) and dance clothes (of the rest of the years in my Mom's house) as the thing I collect. I know that if I wait to get married people will give me this stuff for free but this seems to make more sense at this juncture in my life.

And don't worry - I'm not too grown up. For dinner yesterday, I had this:
Yes, that's right, a Shamrock Shake. For dinner. Like a grown-up. And also, you might notice if you check the time stamp - I am writing this at 11:30 PM. I am making a tart at midnight. Because I didn't have time earlier today and tomorrow morning I'm going to watch rugby and I'll be too drunk to be able to make it in the afternoon.

So I'm growing up and I'm getting more okay with it. I was talking with a friend about how we know people who are a few years older than us who are still acting like 23-year-old disasters and how if we grow up now we might miss out on some stuff. But I look at all the older friends I have and the people who seem to be heading in the best direction(s) are the ones who know how to cook and who do grown up things like own property. Those are the people I want to be like when I grow up.

Luck o' the Italian

I'm an idiot - obviously yesterday's blog and today's blogs count. Making my total 25 out of 30. Pretty impressive...

Anyway - today is St. Patrick's Day which happens (despite my co-worker Eli's arguments) every March 17th. And, as someone who has NO Irish blood in them at all - I think I've developed an affinity for the culture.

In elementary school - today was dominated by the Irish Jig Contest which.was.FIXED. I swear. I never won, which is ridiculous because I am/was/will ever be a Phenomenal Irish Jigger (which is not something you should say quickly as you will raise eyebrows of consternation).

Anyway, some years I would make it to the finals and then lose. Because, see, the preliminary round was judged by the teachers and high-school teacher helpers, who tended to be fairer judges as they were so burnt out they didn't really care that much. The finals were judged by the Specials Teachers (who we should have just called The Russians to get it over with) and they picked the same two kids every year. It was such bull crap. And the winners got these ceramic shamrocks that the art teacher made, and I coveted one of them with my whole heart and never won. And believe it or not, that probably had a more profound influence on why I am the jaded bitter d-bag I am today, that you think.

St. Patty's Day didn't really matter again until college (duh). My first two years of college I didn't drink much due to my lack of friends and lack of proper identification. My junior year I cleared all that up and became a raging st. patty's day lunatic.

It wasn't until my senior year that there was any photographic evidence though. I'm not going to lie - I miss the age where digital cameras were a rarity and posting photographs on the internet even more so...at least back then when I did dumb stuff you had to be there to witness it.

Now let me be straight - in case you're reading this because you want to offer me a job or marry me or something in the future - I never did anything illegal. I mean, I probably jaywalked, but that's it. Everything else was totally above the bar/wire/thing that keeps you from getting arrested.

What happens is that the rules of proper social conduct go out the window. I tend to find it acceptable to take (normally with some sort of verbal permission) people's clothing or accessories. I have a habit of throwing things- mostly in celebration. I have no qualms about demanding that people give me things, or do things I think would be entertaining.

This is a very broad overview of my behaviors- and if you want more details - feel free to email me (as most of my SPD stories are hilarious but totally inappropriate for a blog my parents read).

I shall give you one example - last year, St. Patrick's Day itself was fairly tame - we went to the South Side Parade the weekend before which really demands its own personal blog due to its enigma-ness. And then the night of, Boyfriend and I were just trolling the streets of Wrigleyville looking for some cornbeef and cabbage (for him) and a salad/cheeseburger (for me).

We finally found a place and many of the people around were wearing the Chi-rish beads I had been lusting after most of the week.

Those Miller Lite marketing people are flipping geniuses. This is a fantastic ad campaign. Hats off.

Anyway, there were mardi gras-esque beads with the Chi-rish emblem on them and at no point did I see them passed out. People just had them. And I wanted them.

So after we had eaten dinner and are still relatively sober, we're heading to our next destination, I find a cop on the street outside the bar wearing one of the Chi-rish bead necklaces.

Rachel: Excuse Me. Where did you get those beads?

Cop: I don't know, someone just gave them to me.

Rachel: Can I have them?

Boyfriend: about to die from embarrassment

Cop: Sure. Happy St. Patrick's Day.

And with that, they were mine. On a normal day - I don't ever walk up to cops unless, you know, I'm a victim of a crime OR they're Chris Meloni. But because of the date, this felt perfectly acceptable.

So now I have Chi-rish beads which aren't quite a ceramic shamrock necklace, but then again - I'm Italian, so I'll take what I can get.

No-book Update (Hyperlink-tastic!)

So, tomorrow is the end of the blogging challenge. I don't know how Anniebelle feels, but I feel like while I did not achieve my goal - I came far closer than I thought I would. This was a weird time slot to try this little game. Between moving and vacation these 30 days have been pretty insanely full and not particularly blog-worthy. I posted 23 times in 30 days (some of those were duplicates, so we're just going to count them as extra credit). That's a standard Rachel score.

Anyway - I am getting more in tune with my blogging muses and am enjoying getting into a blogging habit (which tends to be think about what to blog about all day and then write it at night, although there have been some midday blogs when I'm afraid I'll get distracted and forget what I want to write about). So I am extending the challenge to Anniebelle once again - another 30 days. Winner takes all. Pow! You in?

Also in these past 30 days I have not once logged into my facebook. And, while I know this is probably disappointing to some out there - I totally miss it. No less than 5 times have I missed out or almost missed out on things because people facebook invited me and didn't remember (or remembered at the last second) that I wasn't checking it. I miss pictures. I know there are new pictures up of me (I have sneaked a peak when other people have been on the book - I am only human, people) and new wall posts and while I haven't read any of them yet (my willpower is growing) I want to.

I also don't know if things are happening. Like weddings and engagements and babies, mostly. But also birthdays and new jobs and new adventures. My friend, LS, went to Paris a week ago and I texted her a few days after the trip to find out how it was, and then realized it was possible that she was engaged now and I had no idea (luckily, she wasn't). Facebook is the communication tool of the present/future. And I miss it.

And what have I done with my time these past few weeks? Well, I would say I got marginally more work done than I had in the past, which has been good. But mostly I've just found other things to read. Anniebelle turned me onto Dear Baby which is an adorable blog that will speed your biological clock up to warp speed (although you realize after awhile that you only want a baby right now if you get Her baby and Her life to go with it - do not worry Dear Baby Blogger - I am not planning to steal your life/baby).

I also spend an absurd amount of time on Texts From Last Night (always funny, always. But worrisome, as these are the voices of our future), Awkward Family Photos, Go Fug Yourself, This is Why Your Fat and any of the other blogs along T-bone's side bar.

I've wikipediaed a fair amount, which doesn't really count because I did that even when I was on facebook. I love wikipedia so hard. Recent wikipedia reads have included: Supernumerary body parts, Foie Gras, and List of Aircraft Hijackings

And mostly I have stalked the crap out of people. I have read archives of peoples' blogs (some are people I like, some are people I know, and some are people who just write well/have interesting lives), I've googled people (could you imagine that if, 13 years after the fact, when you were googled, your wedding announcement to your now-ex husband was the first thing to come up? I'd be pissed).

And as for those hours away from the computer? Well, those aren't materializing quite how they should, but its been cold and rainy outside which hasn't helped. Again, I am a victim of timing.

So the blogging will continue and once its gets pretty (if it gets pretty before Easter) I will go play outside. But also, I am stalking you, so get cool with it.

tighty Tyrannosaurus

So, I try not to get too graphic on this blog but there has been one thing on my mind all day.

My underwear is too small.

I am only kind of snobby when it comes to underwear. I'll wear whatever is bought for me, and if I'm buying normally there has to be some sort of deal involved. I tend to buy at Victoria's Secret or American Eagle because I'm consumerist and blah blab but that is not the point of this blog.

I will occasionally purchase underwear else where and, about a year ago, I bought some cute lil boy shorts at Urban Outfitters because they were like $3 and adorable.

I bought the size I always buy because, well, its the size I always buy and have always bought. And I get them home and after wearing them once I realize that while there is coverage everywhere there needs to be, the elastic around the leg holes is not elastic-y enough. This is tedious, so I buy a pair of the size bigger as an experiment (this was back when I had an absurd amount of expendable income). The size bigger fit great and they are in the constant rotation of underwears.

And the smaller pair? They still live in the dresser. I hardly ever wear them because I tend to remember, before I put them on, how uncomfortable they are. But this morning I was sleepy and it was early and its been awhile since I've done laundry. And so at around 11:30 AM I remembered and it for sure affected my mood (negatively) for the rest of the day.

So why not throw them away? Well, that's probably about to happen now because I am grouchy, but before? Because they are adorable. White with a pink waistband and a floral pattern. And intersperced within the flowers are teeny pairs of tyrannosaurus rexes. So little and they (would) make me so happy were they not restricting the blood flow to my lower extremities.

Anyway, thats my underwear story.

I picked my bracket this morning - I couldn't even tell you who I picked, its hard to pick basketball teams when you haven't watched a single game all season.

All Done.

So Wheel Weekend is over, and I learned a lot. But mostly I hurt myself today and so became well aware of the fact that despite my best efforts I am not eight or twelve years-old anymore.

The injury was simple enough, I was told to keep my arms straight no matter what, and then of course, when I fell down, I kept my arms straight and didn't bend them to brace for the impact. Dumb, but I was following directions.

Thankfully, I did not break anything, just jammed up some ligaments. And I'll be fine in a few days, but for now I can't really lift things, or push or pull anything heavy with my left hand. It could be way worse as the left-hand is the writing, page turning, and fork holding hand in this body. So right now there is just dull pain that gets sharper when I forget that its there and try to do anything.

I feel kind of like an idiot because as much time as I spend convincing myself that things look easy and accessibly, I spend as much (if not more) telling myself that I can still do all of these things and push my body like I could as a kid. And its frustrating when I am (painfully) reminded that I am old and brittle.

Wheel weekend was fun and I'm excited (once healed) to keep learning more. There is a wheel weekend with a show in October. I would really like to perform in the show, probably not by myself and for no more than a minute or so, but I haven't done anything choreographed on stage in awhile and it would be lovely to return to that.

And until then, taking pictures is just as good.
And in exciting news - it is going to be in the 50's this week! Hooray! Flip flop weather!

Big Wheels Keep on Turning

Today I did this:


And this:

And a lot of other stuff that is going to leave me sore and bruised.

Its "Wheel Weekend" in Chicago (what, you didn't get the memo?) and this is my first year of participating. I'm doing a coaching session since I'd only ever spent about 30 miserable minutes strapped into one of those suckers before 8 AM this morning (ergo - was not quite ready for a workshop).

Have you ever seen a Gym Wheel? Chances are - probably not. But they are incredibly cool and the rarity of them in the US makes them (to my elitist self) even cooler.

Anyway - youtube some gym wheel. Here. I'll Help.

So here's the thing with me and gym wheel (and really anything I decide I want to do) - I convince myself that it is really easily. Like absurdly easy. And I sleep soundly at night, nestled in my insane delusions of the simplicity of life.

And then of course when I try gym wheel/mini golf/painting/sewing/figure skating I realize that I am a major idiot and of course these things are some what challenging (except mini golf - that I am just terrible at for no good reason).

The thing with Gym Wheel is I think I know a lot about it (because I see it every day) but in reality, I know very little about the logistics. The people I see doing it most of the time are fantastic and have been practicing almost every day for years. So I've been watching it for a year now and so I think that I could do all these things in a year if I started working at them now, conveniently forgetting that that is not the way this works.

So I tried it today. And I held my own for my very first day. I was successful in all of the beginner skills even the vaulting (which was my fear). And I tried spiral! I was being spotted the whole time, but I tried it. Which is a big step for me. But still I was honestly disappointed in the fact that I didn't get on that sucker and whip out some crazy shit like naturally.

I have two days of workshop left, plus an open-ended opportunity to mess around when I want to, so I'm hoping this is a beginning, not a...middle.

gigglechat

I spend a lot of time on gchat/AIM at work because interaction with the outside world helps keep me from going insane. While there are those out there who wouldn't consider these dialogues "writing," I am going to have to disagree. Its writing and its funnier than most of the rice pudding crap I put up here. Especially because I have some funny friends.

Currently I am trying to help my friend J-dog take over for me at one of my jobs when I leave at the end of the month.

me: from your resume I can see you are totally over qualified for the position how do I tell her that is not the case
J-dog: i know, that is my problem for everything it's like I should enter an objective & put: slacking

Sunflower Pose Off

One of the sweet things about one of my jobs (which at the end of the month will become my former job) is that they offer a free yoga class for employees on Wednesday nights. Its one of those things that I try to take advantage of, but because its free I don't put enough intrinsic value in it, so I skip it most weeks.

I managed to go yesterday and it was nice and yoga-like until we were doing "sunflower" where you stand in second position (so with your feet wider apart than your hips) and your feet turned out (so that your toes are facing the corners of the room instead of the front) and then you plie (bend your knees but keep your heels on the ground and chest up) and do a port-a-bras (make outwards semi-circles with your arms meeting at the top and the bottom).

While we were doing it, the yoga teacher, who has the voice of a Splenda packet, keeps telling us that it is okay to stick your butt out a little bit to get a deeper stretch and I rolled my eyes. IN YOGA. Which is like the opposite of everything that Mr. Yoga wanted this to be about.

Here's the thing. After 20 years of thinking about movement in regards to ballet, sticking your butt out while bending your knees is Unacceptable. For SO many reasons. First of all, it looks atrocious and its not good for your back and it goes from being a good stretch and a pose that can almost be flattering to something looking akin to a dog dropping a duece.

So I flat out ignored everything she said and continued to do grand plies in second, knowing that I was right and she was wrong. And that brought me inner peace.

Stopwatch

So according to Oprah (pretty much the most reliable source out there) - one of the most important parts of eating "smart" (please note that that is "smart" not "healthy") is not eating after 9 PM. It makes a ton of sense when you think about it - your metabolism shuts down at night which means you just let crap sit in there blah blah fatty mcfatpants.

I have been trying to be fairly vigilant about this whole Cinderella-esque thing. Please note, I still eat cookies for breakfast and icing on a spoon - so I am keeping a fairly level head about losing weight.

The problem is my life is completely non-conducive to this most nights unless I pack like a flippin' squirrel or spend an absurd amount of money on out-there-in-the-world food. Most nights when I leave my house around 7 or 8 AM I do so with the knowledge that I won't be home before 8 PM. If I eat breakfast at 8 - there are still 12 unaccounted hours in that day. If you're a Wookie like me, that is at least 2 meals. I do pride myself on small meals, but still that is a LOT of food storing and when you also factor in the gym clothes and the laptop and everything else.

So I only eat one meal in that time which leaves me grouchy beyond belief (no seriously ask anyone who hangs out with me) and then I come home and its like 8:52. Sigh.

So I don't eat, because Oprah SAYS. SO. and then I sit and do work and watch Lost and I'm starving.

Thanks Oprah.

mmmm. .

The best thing about Frozen Pizza Sunday, is cold pizza Monday.

Delicious.

today

Today was weird.

So long kid

Today we celebrated Boyfriend's birthday at his parent's house with suburban Mexican food and cake with icing roses (my favorite).

Before we were allowed to watch him open presents we had to watch him sort through his childhood, which was about the same level of entertaining just a little dustier.

His parents have made that quintessential parental move of subconsciously telling you how much they don't love you by turning your childhood bedroom into a guest room instead of keeping it a shrine to you. Not to say that Boyfriend's parents don't love him, but still...

So we got to the house and in the living room were stacks of boxes and piles of old stuff, most of it has been in Boyfriend's bedroom for the better part of 15 years and so he dutifully went through his childhood and threw away the memories that were less important and valuable.

While its true that no one should keep EVERYTHING they obtain over a lifetime (although without these people, the show Hoarders wouldn't exist, which would be sad) it is still hard to get rid of things. So many things from childhood are hard to remember anyway, mostly because of the booze and the TV plot lines that come up later in life to take their place that I feel like we need trinkets and photos to help us, and so having to decide which of those memories we toss in the goodwill pile is difficult.

And lets be real - 3 or 4 boxes of stuff were saved. Some of it is practical life stuff and some of it was stuff I demanded be saved (namely a boy scout uniform that is going to make a sweet Halloween costume) and then the rest are the most valuable memories.

In Boyfriend's case there were the obvious things like photos and college graduation stuff but then there was also:
About 20 trophies and plaques talking about how amazing he was in high school both academically and sport-ily
An official paper with his SAT scores
Letterman jacket (no seriously - with his name and captain stars and everything. Sick)
A tee-shirt signed by Billy Joe from Green Day
A Colts poster

This is an interesting cross section of someone, I think. The things they think are important from childhood.

My sister kicked me out of my childhood bedroom when I went to college and all my stuff got put up in the attic for the most part so its been out of sight/mind for a good eight years but eventually (read: May of this year) I am going to have to start the process and I'm curious what I will keep with the proverbial gun to my head. What was the most important part of my childhood?

No idea. Lets just hope it doesn't come to that.

And then...

I think one of the things I find hardest about daily blogging is coming up with crap to talk about.

I easily have one of the most mundane lives, ever which is de-pressing, but is probably not going to change anytime soon. Pair that with the fact that I am now hyper-sensitive to what I put on this thing (because apparently I am the worst person in the entire history of the whole universe ever hyperbole) - I am left with not much to talk about.

I have been reading blogs for a long time. Tomato Nation, Pamie were my two first favorites. These people are complete strangers and yet I feel like I know a lot about them, but would never ever know them if I met them on the street. And now I read my friends blogs and strangers blogs and people who I used to knows blogs just because I like learning about other people's ideas.

Most people I've met or rather have read things I've written have said I am a good writer, which is a compliment I've always taken with a grain of salt - surely it is much more difficult to be a bad writer - being a good writer is just about writing how you would talk and about things you care about (or can pretend to care about for money) and taking it from there.

But now I've realized how easy it is to be a bad writer. This is bad writing. This whole blog challenge thing has back-fired in a truly spectacular way to make me a WORSE writer. Take that 6th grade English - it is not just about how much you do it. Its about being willing to write about things that matter and on this blog I am just not willing to do that anymore.

The things I should be writing about are things I don't really think the world a-cares about and b-really needs to or should know. Back when I was young and the internet was trendier than leggings (good times...) I had no qualms about putting my business out there because I felt as though, while I didn't know who was reading this thing - I for sure knew who wasn't. And that was nice.

Now I am second guessing everything, wondering what is being misinterpreted or taken to mean something its not. So my new goal is to write better blog entries - even if they are one sentence long - I want it to be like the sickest sentence ever (PS - sentence has no "a's" in it?! No way! Thanks red spell checker line).

This will not be a rehashing of my day or a place to dump my emo-baggage (which there is way more of these days then I thought possible for the age of 25) it will be where I write. For-realz, y'all.

And now I'm stressed about my first sentence...too much pressure.

Dark Chocolate Macadamia Nuts - are pretty close to perfect even with the disturbing addition of protein to an otherwise blissfully empty caloried snack.

Abysmal...

Back, baby

Okay - sorry about the blog drought. I just realized that my Hawaii posts were extra double lame because I was trying to write them while watching Lost, and if you have ever watched Lost, you know that doing anything while watching that show is pretty damned near impossible.

But I am back! And I am jet lagged! And I am sun-burnt! And I am bruised!

It was by-far the most active vacation of my entire life. Where I come from the most aerobic activity you get while on vacation is turning over so you tan evenly. This time I hiked and climbed and got beaten up by surf and hiked and climbed some more.

It was amazing, even though I am pretty sore all over, both from the climbing and the falling down a volcanic rock face. I did not fall far, and the damage wasn't too severe, but man are these bruises serious.

And we Lost-nerded. it. up. Like Whoa. Let's be real folks, if you let yourself get into this show, it will get you. It will take you in and beat you up like a Pimp named Slickback. And you will crawl back begging for more.

I spent a lot of my time wondering why in the world Maimees would ever even consider moving back to the Chi, but then I remembered my life in Nantucket...and how having true, amazing friends is what it takes to make an island a home.

And now some more pictures - the rest will be posted on Picassa in a hot second -

Luau and Ohana

Lost locale searching, and Hawaii experiences continue. I went to THE swap meet, and A Luau today both were amazing. Blogging seems like a waste of my time as I have a lot of other things I want to spend my time doing - like sleeping and watching Lost.

Blue Crush

So. First of all, I am fine. You may have heard that there is a tsunami warning for Hawaii, which ironically, is exactly where I am.

At 5:15 AM (Hawaii time) my mom called to wish Boyfriend a happy birthday and to tell me that an earthquake in Chile and now there was a tsunami warning for Hawaii and that uh, she loved me and go back to sleep.

Luckily, we had been planning to get up at 5:30 or 6 anyway to start our Boyfriend Birthday Adventure...so going back to bed was not really option. Simply because that was enough to scare the ever loving crap out of me. So we're up and terrified.

R- "So you live up in the Mountains right?"
Maimees - "Uhhh, I live eight blocks from the beach."

Maimees's roommates are up and there is massive confusion for about an hour. What to do? Boyfriend and I had already pretty much decided that the only option was to get the eff out of the 8-block from the beach house and up into the mountains.

After what seemed like a lot of dilly-dallying we peaced out with our stuff (holla back for packing light) half of Maimee's pantry a few bottles of water, some doughnuts and two half-full bottles of wine (we like to be prepared).

And then we got the eff out of there. We are in the cushiest evacation situation ever. At a very nice private school with wireless internet, running water, clean toilets. And so we've just been waiting for nearly 4 hours now. Which is pretty weird. We know that something is about to happen but we don't know how big or how bad. And we don't know how long it is going to affect us but it is pretty exciting. And terrifying.

Happy Birthday Boyfriend. Its a once-in-a-lifetime one.

Mahalo

So it seems super dumb to blog from Hawaii, but I made a promise.

I love it here. Mostly because its Sunny. And hot. And there is an ocean!

I've done fun things like shop and eat and go in the ocean. For the next little bit we're watching Lost and losing some of the sand before dinner. Then it is early to bed for us because we have a day of crazy things to do.

Aloha

After 14 hours (without time change bull honkey) I am in Hawaii. It is wonderful. I have a teri(yaki) beef sandwich and onion rings and I am watching Lost.

Good Night.

Travel Bugs

As you probably know if you've talked to me in the past three months - I am going to Hawaii tomorrow. My excitement is really beyond comprehension right now. I'm so excited that I've looped back around to sedated and calm.

I have a lot of work to get done before I leave, but of course, I'm too excited to work! So instead I'm playing on the internet. Typical.

I'm excited to go to Hawaii, because I get to cross another Ocean off my list. So far I've hit the Atlantic and the Indian. After this I might have to go to Nova Scotia or wherever the Arctic Ocean hangs out.

Also I get to go west! We have a 5 hour layover in Seattle. I have not decided if this is long enough to get to leave the airport. Probably not, but I'll get to wave at it. While catching up on as much LOST as possible on my computer.

I realized today that we're really only going to be in Hawaii for 4 days. Which does not seem like enough time. I did London in 4 days though and I feel like I got a very British experience. And I have to keep reminding myself that there is no goal to this vacation except to get as tan as possible in 4 days. And no matter how long we were there, its not going to seem like long enough.

Mostly, I'm excited for February Flip Flops.

Fo' Real this time...

This blog post is NOT about Moving...or packing or painting or complaining. I promise. I don't know what its about yet. But for sure not any of those things.

This is about my jobS.

At the age of 25 I do not know what I "thought" I'd be doing...I mean, I guess as a kid, I was pretty sure I would be rich and famous by this point but The Powers That Be I guess decided that they like Rachel McAdams more. C'est La Vie.

Anyfart, now I'm 25 and I still don't have anyone paying for my health insurance, which is a major bummer and I think I've decided that it is the barometer for the rest of my life. My goal is to have someone else paying for at least some of my health insurance by the end of the year. I am completely terrified that this is going to mean I have to get married on Dec 31st so I see this through, but fingers crossed it won't come to that.

The funny thing is, I have two fairly good jobs. Their epic flaw is their lack of full-time-y-ness. I kind of fell into both of them in a swirly slide kind of way, and I think that lack of a "real" application-interview-hiring process is what tripped me up.

And they both are kind of awesome. Weird, for sure, but kind of awesome and very interesting. It's pretty great to walk into a room full of strangers and know that the whole awkward, "so, what do you do for a living?" opener will probably actually facilitate some sort of interesting conversation.

As you read this blog, keep in mind I am not going to post what either of my jobs are (as I want to keep some semblance of privacy on the interwebs, but if you are sluthy enough you can probably figure it out).

The most awesome thing about my jobs is the lack of attendance responsibility. For the three-day a week number I really do not have to ever show up at all if I don't want. I can almost permanently work from home. I would never do that, because I wouldn't actually get anything done but I can come and go as I please.

The two day a week jobber requires just that, two days a week (most weeks). Since job 1 is so flexible it makes the rigidity of job 2 a little bit easier. Most weeks my two days are Wednesday and Thursday but if something comes up, I can do a little switcheroo and most people don't even remember, much less care.

What does this REALLY mean? It means I have no qualms about going on a shitton of vacations. Since I started this duo-career business (in I would say April of last year) I have taken no less than 15 vacation days. This year I will have easily racked up 40 by August.

You have to admit, you are kind of jealous of this. Do you get 40 vacation days? Unless your business cards say "Hobo" I'm going to guess not. Okay now, run back into the arms of your 401(k) and Dental and snuggle in their warmth and security.

There are other nice things about them - mostly how different they are. At one, it is me and one other gal (as Granny would say) and we sit in our office and work straight through the day. This is the job where when I am at work, I work, and I get things done. This is the job with a good title and a lot on my plate and being able to consistently see that I am having an impact on the organization at large. Also, there is a trampoline. And on Fridays I get to jump on it. Do not discount how important this is to a healthy work enviroment.

The other job is in a HUGE building and it is full of people that are nice and fun and tend to stop by my desk to say hi and find out how its going. This is a job where we have mandated scavenger hunts and relay races some mornings. Where I learn new things every day. Not new abstract things like. "how to deal with difficult people" (although that comes up) but new facts. Like why you should reverse the direction of your ceiling fan in the winter (helps keep the hot air from rising and escaping. Fun Fact!) At this job I have tasks that need to get done, but they are managable. The list is always finite, and if I really buckle down I can get most of my work done in about 2 hours. Of course a lot of my work requires the imput of others and when you involve those variables that's what takes up all of my time. But I get to write blogs and read the internet and wander around and do cool things like eat ice cream made with liquid nitrogen.

It is hard to have two jobs that should be full time and yet...are not. I spend a lot of time working on one job while at the other and having to play catch up. Also, sometimes I have no idea where I am supposed to be on any given day (okay, this is not entirely true, but I have woken up some mornings in a panic thinking that I have overslept, when really I'm just working somewhere else).

Eventually there will come a day where I will have one job. I am leaning towards one now more than the other due to the vacationbonanza I mentioned above. And even though it will be nice to be singularly employeed. I will kind of miss my dual life.

Believe it or not, this post is about moving.

There are some bright sides to this whole disaster. Mostly the fact that I find it perfect acceptable to eat whatever I want until we're completely done with this whole shebang. Completely - like every box unpacked, every new storage container purchased...

Seriously, since we really started moving which I will considered Thursday - the "healthiest" thing I've eaten is a southwest blackened chicken wrap...and a chipotle burrito bol. I say these things are healthy because the ratio of vegetable to cheese is higher than anything else I've consumed.

Currently we are eating a Whole Foods Toffee Chunk cookie and drinking a Blue Moon as we finish the last of the painting.

In non-Moving news, today I was in meetings pretty much back to back all day until 4 PM. For some reason saying that makes me feel like I have a job that matters. In some respects I do, but mostly I am totally in denial about the fact that I now have responsibility and a mid-level job. But I also lost a car key in the snow. So don't worry, I'm still a jerk.

moving shmupdate

-Clothing is now out of trash bags that were stored in the bathtub and into the closet. I consider this a success. I own a lot of clothes, but not enough to fill up this closet. I consider this a challenge. Also I need hangers for all my skirts.

-Kitchen is organized. Told boyfriend that Cuisinart takes counter-space-presidence over quesidilla maker. He is not happy.

-Missing particle board is found. I should have bookshelves by the end of the day.

-Living room is a disaster and we still have no idea how we are going to organize it.

-Kitten is adjusting well, or at least better than last time when she peed all over everything I've ever owned.

-Am attempting social life for a few hours. Have no moisterizer or make up. This should be awesome.

blog your mom

I do not have the time or the energy for this right now. Currently I am (ironically?) sitting in my home office chair, a place I rarely sit when I am on my computer. I am sitting here because its one of the only places in this apartment not totally covered in crap.

The painting is done, the moving is done and now comes the real ridiculous part. I am trying to unpack. It actually feels like trying to put a square peg in a round hole (or whatever) as nothing quite lines up with my old apartment. The kitchen cabinets are wider but not as deep, and there aren't as many. The closet in the mast bedroom is not evenly divided (like last apartment) so we're going to have to figure out some other way to divide it. Although, that is a challenge for another day...right now there is some particle board somewhere that we need. Otherwise I don't get bookshelves and really to me, the most important thing is getting books up in shelves. Everything else can wait.

I am also still shameless stealing internet from neighbors (and will be until we get back from HI) so I do not even know if this is going to be posted tonight. Fingers crossed. So long suckers.

Scrambling...

So for the first time in my whole life, I have a job where when I am at work, I do work pretty much all day. I will take the occasional cnn/facebook/gofugyourself break but for the most part I am busy all day.

While this does have its merits (like feeling productive) it also has its downfalls (like being tired and stressed out).

Also it means that blogging is going to be hard on the days that I am here (at this very moment, this job is only part time). So I am blogging right now mid-email, so I don't forget.

My apartment is not even close to being done. We needed 2 coats of primer in the nook and we didn't notice until like 10 PM last night that our bedroom ceiling is like 13 feet high. Sweet, except for painting. But we are optomistic, particulary because this is a great excuse to eat crappy delivery food and not feel bad about it. So tonight we are going to roll our faces off (not in the cool way, in the painting way).

In other Friday morning news, I suggested we use "Daydreaming" by Lupe Fiasco in our Spring childrens show and my co-worker laughed. Then he made me go look up the lyrics. Damn you, Lupe, you are a filthy fast-talking bastard. Its still a real good song, despite the line about making cocaine cool. Cocaine is not cool, kids. Unless you have a trust fund. Even then its really kind of a cliche.

More blogging later? Maybe... Except probably not, so I'm going to leave you with this:



nataliedee.com

Paint the town

No Seriously...

Sometime before February 25, I will have moved my entire life into a brand new apartment. But before I move, I have to paint. Yes. HAVE.

Back when I was young, I did not find value in chosing the colors of my walls. My bedroom in my Mom's house was this pinkish-purple color with an unfortunate accent wall of stripped wallpaper. It was fine while I was growing up until my penchance for posters and other crap on my walls totally destroyed it. Now there are these giant sploches of exposed plaster everywhere. Luckily, its my baby-sister's problem now.

Anyway, occasionally I would want to paint it, but my Mom always said that I didn't keep it clean enough. So I wasn't allowed. Touche, Mom.

So in every apartment and living situation I've always just accepteded the colors and moved on. I've lived in rooms that were coral, orange, green, and various shades of dirty-white.

This was fine until I moved in with the Boyfriend. In our first apartment (a year ago) - the master bedroom was this atrocious shade of mustard yellow. I still, to this day, cannot figure out why anyone who wasn't cracked out on European Interior Design magazines would think that was an acceptable color to paint ANYTHING.

At this point we were still in the woo-ing stage in our relationship and I told Boyfriend that I would never live in a bedroom this color. So we picked out paint and painted it (and the attached bathroom which was the SAME color. Horrifying.) - and it turned out really pretty.

So now we're moving and in our new apartment there is only one room (techinically its a nook) that is painted an unfortuntate color. The bathroom and the bedroom are both white, not great, but not terrible.

I figured since we are two very busy people with careers and theater engagements, we would just leave them the sad droopy white and go about our lives.

Inc ase you haven't figured out by now - I was gravely mistaken.

So we're painting. But of course, we don't have "days off" and we only gave ourselves 10 days to get everything done - so we're painting at night. I got home from seeing the Joffrey's Cinderella at 10:30 last night, only to spend the next three hours covering the bathroom with blue tape.

Tonight I will spend a cool 6 or 7 hours (after work) painting the nook (which was orange, and so really needed the paint job), bathroom and bedroom. One can only hope we'll get it all done, but I am not holding my breath.

This is, naturally, before any actual moving happens.

Last night around 12:30 the Boyfriend (who, bless his little go-getter heart had been working since 6 or 7 PM) turned to me and said, "are there people we can to do this for us, like Power Movers but with paint?"

"Yes. They're called painters."

"When are we going to figure out that its worth our time to pay people to do this for us."

"Um...soon?"

"Good."

Challenge Extended

So yesterday was Mardi Gras - and so in celebration I saw 101 Dalmations on "Broadway" (or what passes for Broadway out here in the Windy City - so Randolph St...not quite the same ring). It was...disappointing except for the puppies. And the idea was kind of cool, but didn't work... don't see it. Let me describe it to you in detail and you'll enjoy it more, especially if you give me a puppy to play with.

And I also decided that for Lent this year I will be giving up Facebook. Which is a very intense decision for me. I spend a really absurd amount of time stalking friends, and old classmates, and occasionally strangers. This is probably unhealthy (and yet, totally accepted). So I decided that I was going to give it up. Its only 40 days right? And I used to give up TV. I am hardcore during this Lentent (?) period.

Of course I am immediatly sad because I won't be able to post pictures of my upcoming trip, new apartment or even of dumb every day things like my just in time cakes yesterday night (I had forgotten to eat pancakes - thankfully I live in a house where we freeze leftover pancakes).

And then today AnnieBelle demands I become lifepartners with her blog and I oblige (its easier if you just say yes). And in doing that we made a wager...if you will...we are each going to post in our blogs EVERY DAY for the next month. This will keep me occupied until March 17...which is St. Patty's Day! So at the end we get to drink! Horray! Perfect! Stupendous!

My other goal is to take at least one or two pictures a day. I don't take enough. So, I'll post pictures from the day before...maybe it will inspire me to write?

Yesterday's Just in time cakes:


Challenge Accepted.

Super bummer...

I've only been on the losing end of a Super Bowl once. It was 2007 and I had only been a Bears fan for about eight minutes when suddenly there they were in the Super Bowl. I really was so brand new to this that I was just kind of cruising along for the ride.

By the time Super Bowl Sunday came around I had been on a three day bender and while the D. Hester kick off return for a TD was flippin' sweet, once the Bears started to lose it was a nice excuse to stop drinking as I was sweating Miller Lite by this point.

And then of course, the Bears became terrible and I became accustomed to a life of wanting to make the playoffs and not so much making the playoffs and understanding that that was the life of a Bears fan. Sucky, but, when a few years down the road, and things got better, I would have earned the right to cheer for some Super Bowl Champion Chicago Bears.

Which is why I find it so absurd that people are all of a sudden Saints fan...and if you just don't give a shit, or are rooting for the underdog, Fine. I can get behind that... but if you decided that you are a "Saints Fan" this year because they crapped out a good season then I am calling Shenanigans.

Because while being on the losing end of the Super Bowl was sucky in '07, it wasn't nearly as bad as watching someone you love be disappointed in the outcome of the game. And it was just being a fan, it was a lifelong commitment to the Colts, a childhood of being hopeful and disappointed time after time.

I know the Colts ruined everything good and nice about Baltimore, but really, if the Colts are all you have and you're left with a cesspool of syphilis and underwhelming bars, than I don't think a football team is really to blame.

And so I had to watch as the Saints won and the Colts lost. And, it was pretty shitty. Not so much the game, but watching the disappointment on someone's face as he watched all his kid-dreams come tumbling down.

And let me be real, it was a fun Super Bowl. There was cake, and dip and juice boxes of wine. And I really enjoy watching Drew Brees play football. Just like I really watch Peyton Manning play football.

Anyway, this is what the losing side feels like, its not fun, but in a month, it'll just be a statistic.

Football is silly and it makes people crazy. However, I will say that the whole game was much better than pretty much every commercial.

Not funny?

Apparently, I said some things in a recent post that got people upset. Which is weird, because I don't know why anyone reads this utter crap...but to those people who are mad - I am sorry. Everything is this blog is to be taken in jest and with a proverbial grain of salt.

Apologies and margaritas all around.

Oh, Brother

My brother recently tweeted that he is going to donate plasma because, "[its] The only way [he] can think to make money."

Apparently the plasma industry is a booming one. You can make $25 a donation, and you can donate twice a week. That's fifty bucks...which is, good? I guess for bodily fluids.

This is the difference between my brother and I, while we share the same sense of humor and nose and you know, genetic make-up, if I was in a position where I needed to make money (which is what some people would call, "getting a Job.") one of the last things I would probably come up with is, take fluids out of my body for cash. It seems impractical for one (I don't really do needles)...and kind of like a not answer...

I mean, I guess if you only need to be making fifty dollars a week (and, not to belittle the point but, he owes me $75, which means I can either get cash or plasma donations apparently. I'm taking the green backs because everytime I hear the word "plasma" I think "placenta" and am immediatly grossed out beyond belief) than plasma donation is better than, uh, working at McDonalds for 10 hours, or working behind a desk for 5 hours or mowing 3 lawns...

except its not, because its not a job, and eventually, Baby Brother, you're going to need to get an actual one of those. You know, you fill out an application and make a resume and take a shower and shake some hands, lie a little about your qualifications and then show up, consistently at the same scheduled time on the same scheduled days...

Now, don't think this has to be boring - you can do ALL kinds of dumb shit and people will pay you for it.

Example - you can tutor kids. You might think you would actually need to know how to count and read - but no, if you do it through a tutoring place they give you all that crap...you just read out of the book and change a life. BAM!

There are a vast array of retail options where you can spend most of your day trying to look busy so your boss won't give you stuff to do, and the rest of the day playing with money. Sometimes you can eat stuff for free.

And then really, let me tell you, in my experience, sitting at a desk with varied amounts of responsibilities does have its benefits. You get to interact with people, sometimes, and do "fun projects" sometimes, but also, you get to write blogs and ponder the great mysteries of the world, like really, why anyone thought Snow Dogs was a good idea.

Naturally - this is a little bit more mentally challenging than donating parts of you body, but I think you will find it equally as rewarding.

And if not, you should look into what else you can donate, as I have heard kidneys go for a few dollars AND you already have two of them. Bonus.

The very first principle

While I am a great many things - I would never call myself principled. I have morals (no cheating, no killing, no white after labor day) but I don't really have principles. If that makes sense?! I figure there is a time and a place for everything, so I try not to limit myself...while I do love me some hyperbole I feel that saying that I am "never" going to do something is really just impractical, because with a drink or two and a "you won't" I can be game for pretty much anything.

Until today. I have found my one principle.

I refuse to buy tickets on Ticketmaster unless I absolutely have to. I understand that there are some festivals and what not that don't let you buy tickets at the door (or are so likely to sell out that trying to get them day of would be fool-hardy). But really, these exceptions are rare and for the most part I am now totally embargo-ing ticketmaster.

I am going to see the Joffrey's Cinderella in February with the lovely and talented Cindy Loo-hoo. This was my idea so it was my job to buy the tickets. No biggie - they're not that expensive for dress circle seats (although I did have a moment where I had to decide between dress circle - good view of everything, or far right balcony - amazing view of feet. I am such a ballet nerd). I even found a code online for 10% off the ticket price. Yippie! Hooray!

On Monday, while avoiding work, I logged in to ticketmaster and went about looking for tickets and after I did everything I noticed that there was a $4.50 convenience fee per ticket. Now, the tickets themselves were $37. And then 10% off, which means that the discount basically paid for (some of) the convenience fee. Well, that's kind of ridiculous when you get right down to it. And that doesn't include the tax that they added on for shits and giggles.

I decided to wait, thinking that I would just go buy them on my way to/from Hyde Park on Wednesday or Thursday, since I am going/coming from that direction anyway.

The rest of Monday happens and then some of Tuesday and then I am feeling stressed out and grouchy and lazy. Then I check the times for the Box Office and realize that they're only open until 6 PM. Which is fairly useless for me since I don't normally hit that neighborhood until about 6:15, unless I rush (which, in my lazy haze I decided I never do). So I decided I would suck it up and drop the extra money.

I decided that I would have the tickets mailed to me, because for some reason putting a 44 cent stamp on an envelope costs $2.50 LESS than me printing them out at home (really? really ticketmaster?) and that I would forgo any sort of insurance figuring that if the City of Chicago loses my tickets then I should probably take it as a sign and stop living here - because seriously, how do you live in a city that can't even deliver mail correctly).

Then when I'm all done and getting ready to give them my credit card I realize that there is another $3.30 fee that's tacked on at the very end. A 'handling' charge or something - I don't know what they're handling, but they need to knock it off.

At this point, my $66 worth of tickets has sky rocketed $79. Now I get that to all you rich white folks out there, $13 is not that much, but you have to understand that it is the PRINCIPLE of the thing (also, I am dirt poor).

How can they go about charging $13 of convenience fees??! And if I wanted the convenience of printing the tickets out on my own printer with my own ink and my own paper it would cost me an addition $2.50 (I don't know if that's per ticket...and really at this point it doesn't matter)...

Anyway - so this got me so enraged that I left work (this is all because my boss still isn't back from winter vay-cay and when you're your own boss...you get to do whatever you want including be an asshole on principle) took the train down to the theatre, had a conversation with an actual human being, picked out my tickets, handed them my credit card, and then was given a set of real tickets in a real envelope handed to me with a smile and a "Have a nice day."

You cannot BUY that people. And so now, I will continue doing stupid stuff because I live a mostly unprincipled life, except I will buy all my tickets in person...because that is what is really important.

If I were this, I would be that.

If I were a month, I’d be May.
If I were a day of the week, I’d be Thursday
If I were a time of day, I’d be 10 PM.
If I were a planet, I’d be Pluto.
If I were a sea animal, I’d be a starfish.
If I were a direction, I’d be east.
If I were a piece of furniture, I’d be a big comfy chair.
If I were a liquid, I’d be champagne.
If I were a gemstone, I’d be an opal.
If I were a tree, I’d be a dogwood.
If I were a tool, I’d be a phillips head screwdriver.
If I were a flower, I’d be a hydranga.
If I were a kind of weather, I’d be a blizzard.
If I were a musical instrument, I’d be a recorder.
If I were a color, I’d be sparkly pink.
If I were an emotion, I’d be gleeful.
If I were a fruit, I’d be a raspberry.
If I were a sound, I’d be waves crashing.
If I were an element, I’d be copper.

If I were a car, I’d be automatic.
If I were a food, I’d be an avocado.
If I were a place, I’d be a volcano.
If I were a material, I’d be paper.
If I were a taste, I’d be sweet and spicy.
If I were a scent, I’d be lavender.
If I were an object, I’d be a key.
If I were a body part, I’d be an foot.
If I were a facial expression, I’d be grouchy.
If I were a song, I’d be in a minor key.
If I were a pair of shoes, I’d keep your feet warm.

Fiiiiiive golden rings

Sha-ZAM.


People, I have written this blog One Two Four and now FIVE times.

I have very little to be personally proud of in my life, everything I accomplish seems end up being a group effort with other people, but once a year I have the opportunity to tell myself, "Look, look what you can do! Its kind of useless, but you do it! Some people write dissertations or movie scripts, but you! you write unreadable novels. Wa-hoo! You go girl" And that is kind of awesome.

I say this every year and every year I totally mean it, this is getting harder and harder. I do not know quite what that says about my life but it is still totally true. If you look at this bar graph you will see how this almost did not happen.



So you can see that seriously it was not until today that I was anywhere near my goal. Mostly because this year I (finally?!) have a job where I have to do work the WHOLE time I am working. At none of the jobs I have had in the past five years have I been required to actually give my 110%, this is kind of sad but also kind of awesome, until this month when I had to spend five days a week writing for a job and then had to go home and find the inspiration to write. It was a challenge (as you can see...).

This is why I will never haterate on any of my friends who have real jobs and try to do this. It is hard as shit and I'm only doing it because I am super, super stubborn.

I also realize that these become less like novels and more me just getting my writing demons out as much as I can in 30 days. This year's novel took place in about 24 hours. Less even. It takes place from 7:15 AM to 1 AM. I'm like friggin Jack Bauer over here. And really nothing happens? Well, okay the protagonist gets to Vermont, and goes to a Friendly's. She also goes to a bar and hollers at a governor, but really there is just a lot of sitting around and talking and introspection. A whole lotta introspection. Turns out a good mental diversion can eat up 2,000 or 3,000 words.

Even though over all the writing is fairly terrible there are some sentences that have a glimmer of potential and for a month of work, that's enough for me.

And of COURSE - my thanks go out to:

The boyfriend (and his family) for letting me spend most of the Thanksgiving weekend writing instead of being social and/or putting up Christmas lights. Also for the food. And I got wine AND a cookie tonight for celebration!

MB - for letting me bail on so much stuff these past few weeks and being perfectly cheerful when I tell her that I am not coming into work so I can write my novel, or I'm going to leave at noon so I can write my novel and for also for trying to win me street cred with the kids by telling them that I was writing the novel.

Pandora - Oh man, can I tell you, I have the girlest, most embarrassing personal Pandora station. It is all Glee, broadway musicals, Adele and Taylor Swift. No joke. So humiliating and yet apparently good for writing.

Dollop - I only went there once, but it is an awesome, and funky and inspiring and I can't wait to go there for real work.

Hazel - There is not a better writing kitten in the whole world, for reals people. She is so snuggly and warm and just wants you to succeed. Also she fights with tinsel and it is hilarious.

Courtney - for being there, forever and always. See you in a few weeks, C-bomb. I'll be the one with the Bears Santa hat on holding a sign saying "SOLID GOULD."

My goal is to actually post a real blog between now and next November. Also, to finish writing all the things that were due before November.

NaNo-lazy

So, once again I am writing a novel this month, BAM! And once again I am procrastinating like whoa. I am incredibly over confident in my capacity to churn out 30,000 words in 4 or 5 days.

Its very strange to talk about this with new people, because inevitably the first question is, "Well, what is it about?" And when I pause for like 10 seconds before answering, they start to think I'm full of shit.

"I...don't...know?"

Then they know I'm full of shit.

Here's the thing, I have an idea for a plot and so far, the narrative is kind of going in that direction that I wanted it to, but the plot is kind of weird (because it was the first thing I came up with) and anytime I try to explain it to someone they give me a look of, "uh...listen Novel-girl..."

And the thing is, its not really about that - what this "novel" about is writing. I've spent pages discussing things like, Friendly's, being in a cab, and the waiting room of a hospital.

I am comforted by the fact that this piece of work will never see the light of day (or anyone else's eyes for that matter). Its a way for me to sculpt sentences, to play with metaphors and just explore thoughts.

I used to make my novels run a close parallel to my life as a way of trying to figure out what I should be doing, but now its fun to explore the paths I didn't take - the things that might have been and the things that would have never been but are fun to write about.

So I just write and write and occasionally think about how this is going to align itself with the plot I figured out. Its similar to improv in this way except longer lasting.

See you guys at the end of the tunnel.

Stranger Danger

So, quite suddenly and with very little warning, I find myself playing host to an 18 year old girl from Argentina for the rest of the week.

This girl worked with the Artistic Director of my company a while back and he suggested that she come work here- apparently she's got some mad skills and the boss man thought we could use a little Latin Flavor (its true- for such a diverse group of kids we work with, no one can actually speak legit Spanish on the entire staff).

So like three months ago I started working on this girl's visa application (after getting one in a mere 24 hours, the powers that be could tell I had a serious skill when it comes to visas) she was just this hard-to-remember-how-to-pronounce name, an e-mail address, and a little bit of job security.

Now, after a surprising amount of work and a gajillion e-mails, she is finally here. In America. For the very first time. Currently the number of people she knows in this country can be counted on one hand. And I'm the one who has known her the longest. I picked her up from the airport, took her to the grocery store, the bank, gave her a map, packed her a lunch, started explaining essential things like public transit, the bike path on Lake Shore, what a Jewel Osco Preferred Card is and how she has to keep the door to her room a little bit open so the cat doesn't pee everywhere.

She seems to understand what I'm saying for the most part which I find surprising, only because I know how fast I talk and while I have been making a concerted effort to slow it down, when I get going, I see a very glazed look come over her face.

I have started to think back to when I was 18, while I was a very mature 18, if I had gone to a new country where I knew no one, had a very tenuous grasp on the language and was relying on the kindness of people I had never even spoken on the phone with, I would have been terrified. Which she must be, and she's doing a really good job of rolling with the punches.

I feel kind of like I have an unannounced foreign exchange student and no one really told me what to do with her...Its only for a few days, but they're pretty critical first days...I keep worrying that I'm going to mess up some how, that I'm not going to give her some piece of very critical information and she's like, going to get lost, or stranded or mugged...

Luckily its only for a few days.

Great Urban Race - Chi town

Okay - so, its a week late, but here's the lowdown on our very first Great Urban Race.

Boyfriend and I were there on time - early even, but didn't really want to drink a beer at the meet-up bar because the worst possible thing was to have to make a bathroom pit stop in the middle of the race.

One of the main flaws of GUR is the lack of chip timing. Because what it meant was that everyone was given an envelope of clues and then there was a mad rush for the door- had there been more people there could have been some serious injuries and we also saw at least one team make it out before the lady in charge said Go. But anyway - we opened the envelope of clues and just started running. We realized that the best bet was to just get on the Red Line and go downtown.

Once we got on the train platform (along with every other team) we waited for about 10 minutes for the train. In that 10 minutes we solved pretty much every clue that needed to be solved. Thanks to both of our internet-phones and our text-a-friend Little Brother. Once we got on the train we mapped out a route. Everything I had read about the race said that the most important part was to figure out which clue to skip to save yourself as much time as possible.

Boyfriend really wanted to skip the clue that told you to find someone in a tie-dyed shirt or Chuck Taylors. I was sure that that was going to be way easier than he thought, and sure enough - once we got off the train we (and a whole bunch of other teams) accosted this perfectly normal guy and asked to take a picture with him and his sneakers. He was very nice about it.



With that taken care of, we decided that if we couldn't find a job application or "Help Wanted" sign (harder than it would seem with this whole internet fad) before we finished all the downtown clues we would skip that and go find the clue that required us to do a relay race. Once we get off the train, we start with the clues that are furthest south.

We had to take a picture in front of Berghoff's restaurant with 8 other people doing the "Superstar" pose (never gets old, right?) I thought this was going to be impossible, as this is a pretty fanciest restaurant and normal people wandering around on a rainy Chicago Saturday aren't going to want to stop and pose like an idiot. Boyfriend realized that obviously there were going to be a lot of other teams down there too - so we should go and just take pictures with them. He was right.



I can't believe they accepted this picture at the finish line because there aren't really 10 people in it. But its fine. Also, thus begins the pattern of looking terrible and out-of-focus in every picture. In our own defenses - it was rainy and humid and we were running everywhere.

After we did that we split up. Boyfriend counted the number of flags on a building and I went to Walgreens to buy a toy for a toy-drive for the charity GUR was partnering with. Right after we split up, I realized that I had no phone and only like $5 cash. If for any reason, we can't meet up, I am totally stranded.

I buy a matchbox car and magically, Boyfriend meets up right with me. We run towards the drop off place for the toys and get our picture taken with the mascot of the charity.



Then as we race towards the Art Institute to take our picture with one of the lions, I stop into the Patty Melt restaurant and lo-and-behold! They still do paper job applications. The guy who gives me the application tries to have a conversation with me about what they're looking for in employees and I'm like, "yeah, great..." and run out.

Then we have this nice girl (who apparently had been asked to do this many times by the time we got there) take our pictures in front of the Lion. We were holding up 7 fingers because that's how many flags there were in the window that Boyfriend had counted.



At this point we were done with downtown, so we went to get on the Brown Line to head back north. At this point we WAIT and WAIT for the train, which became quite the pattern. We end up talking to a few other teams. They all seem really serious about the race, so we think that we're probably doing okay. Finally the train comes and we take it up to Armitage. We get off with everyone else doing the race and head towards the Tin Man statue in Wizard of Oz park.

This also caused a problem, because I am a) disturbingly out of shape, b) not a runner, and c) had jacked up my achillies with my bike pedal the day before and so was having more trouble than normal running. This was the farthest we had to run and I did not do a good job. But eventually we got to the Tin Man and got our picture taken.



Then we got on a Lincoln Bus to make our way to Kingston Mines for a dance lesson. The bus driver was kind of an idiot and lets us off a few stops too early and so we run to Kingston Mines. Then (mine and boyfriend's favorite clue) we had to do a 5 minute salsa lesson. While I was really anxious to get going it was really fun to get to dance in an air-conditioned roon for a few minutes. It gave us a chance to relax and have fun before heading back down to Fullerton and Lincoln to get our picture taken eating a hot dog. This is possibly the creepiest picture ever, btw.



After taking that first bite, I then decide that this is the appropriate time to go ahead and put some mustard and ketsup on the dog and eat THE WHOLE THING. Horrible, horrible idea - because then what do we have to do (wait for it) RUN. While digesting Hot Dog. Gross.

We run to the Fullerton Brown Line and then finally realize what the hold up has been. Apparently in our whole evening of studying the night before, we forget to check to see how the CTA is going to be running the next day. The brown and red lines are running on a single track so we wait and wait and wait for a train. At one point I say that I'm going to stab someone in the heart loud and forcefully enough for a girl to look at me and walk the other direction.

FINALLY the train comes and we think that we're doing pretty well. We only have two clues left and then we have to head back to Cubby Bear. We pass Wellington and the train just.stops. Not at the station (oh, no, that would be WAY too convenient), just past the station so we can't get off of it, we just have to wait and wait and wait and get really really mad at the world, and then take it out on each other. FINALLY the train starts moving again and we get off at Belmont. I still maintain that it was faster to take the train than to try to walk/run 20 blocks in the disgusting humidity. Boyfriend is not sure, but we were waiting long enough that I think it's what knocked us out of finishing in the top 25.

We get off at Belmont and go to Comedy Sportz where we have to play a round of charades. I got the word "soup" and it took Boyfriend approximately 7 seconds to guess it (no joke, the group next to us was there when we got there, and there when we left).

We are happy to be making up time and run to the Tattoo shop on Belmont to put a temporary tattoo on Boyfriend's face. All the time we made up with the charades is lost in our inability to successfully apply the tattoo. Had we been patient enough to wait the 30 seconds the first time we would have been fine, but no dice. After 4 tries we manage to get it to work.



Then we're done except for one last clue. For this I would like to send a shout out to the Penn Laurel Girl Scout Council for teaching me the game Between Green Glass Doors. The one "riddle" question we had gotten, I had figured out in less than 30 seconds. So while we are waiting for the light to change we get a random girl to hang up the phone with her mom and take our picture with the Sheffield street sign in the back.



Then its a straight shot up to the Cubby Bear. By this point my foot is killing me and I am hot and sweaty and we've run about 4 miles. I had not at all prepared myself to run this much and am miserable. Unfortunately both teammates have to cross the finish line at the same time, so Boyfriend, very sweetly walks with me until we get to about Strange Cargo (that made our awesome Baracketship tee-shirts) and then we run. We run until we get across the finish line.

Then I pass out.

Not really, but I do feel like it would be a good choice. At least so I don't have to stand anymore. But we get up to one of the judge's stations and realize there aren't that many people around. One of the judge's checks off all our clues and tells us we're good to go.

At this point its 2:30 and we decide that we're going to sit around and wait for the awards ceremony. We have a plate of loaded tater tots (which were amazing) and a beer and we kind of hang out.

We stay for the awards and realize, sadly, that we hadn't made the top 25. Two days later we get the results and find out that we finished 43rd out of 480 teams (so in the top 50 AND top 10th percentile). We were also only 6 minutes behind the 25th team. We were on the brown line for at least 10 minutes, so we have decided that we can blame it on that.

All in all, it was AWESOME. Next year I am going to a- train. It was a lot more running that I could have ever imagined. And b- check the train schedule. It would have been so much faster to take buses most of the way. Also, had we taken a minute to read the clues before running we would have realized that there were 2 clues close to the bar and that it might have been faster to do those at the beginning instead of the end.

We're coming for you 2010.

www.greaturbanrace.com

Uh-oh

Mother: Lyme Disease.

Father: Jacked up intern.

Brother: Rabies.


---I'm not going outside. EVER.

File this under things I love:

1 - Pointed toes.

2 - Things that make me feel like I'm defying the laws of nature.

3 - Mutual respect and admiration by both children and adults.

For Tierra

My T-bone has had a rough weekend, so this post is dedicated to her. Meet the Chicago Hot Dog:



This picture does not to it justice, but for a really sick, exhausted girl this was the best lunch in the world from the super awesome Hot Dog joint down the street.

A Chicago Style Hot Dog comes with

Beef dog
Poppyseed bun
tons of Mustard
tons of bright green relish (it's alien relish, I've never seen pickles this neon before)
lettuce
chopped raw onions
cucumber
tomato
pickles (yes, Pickles AND Relish)
hot peppers
celery salt

It's so big you cannot get it all into your mouth (...that's what she said) and it is life changing. It's calling to you Tierra...it will never break your soul. Not even a little bit.