Getting by with a little help from friends since the government can be basically worthless

I am damn lucky when it comes to certain things, specifically such things as having a job and not having to interact with the majority of Chicago, Cook County, or Illinois government agencies. I bitch and moan about a lot of other things in my life but let me just say for the record here that I am really, really glad I don't have to deal with that in my life.

I was reminded of this when catching up with my blog posts from friends and enemies this morning (every once in awhile I like to take the temperature of those not like me in the world and see what they're all bitching about. It doesn't happen often). On the friend side I saw this post from impending unemployment. What a cluster fuck. While reading it, it reminded me of a post from a ways back from Rock Rock Silly. I went and dug through the archives and found the one I think I was thinking of. Not the same institution but equally as frustrating.

In these times navigating the bureaucracy is frustrating, difficult, time consuming and often leads one to drink (I would imagine). As one that does not have to traverse these murky waters yet (and hopefully not anytime soon) I would like to send out my shoulders for leaning on to all my friends that do.

A few great ways to give back

I am swamped at work and in life lately and I apologize for my disappearing act. I did however want to jump on real quick and share a bunch of great opportunities to take part in some pretty kick ass fundraising/events all over the country.

First up my dear friend Tim is having his annual fundraiser dinner for GSA for Safe Schools. Located in Madison, WI (yay home!), GSA works tirelessly to help create a safe education environment for all students regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity/expression all throughout the state. I can testify to the many, many road trips Tim has taken to connect with students and staff all over to help make sure no district is left without help. If you're in the area consider buying a ticket (they had a great silent auction the year I went), if you're not going to be around Wisconsin then just consider making a contribution. They do good work.

Next is for my friend Matt who is participating in the Race for Hope in Washington DC. It's a 5K run to benefit both the National Brain Tumor Society and Accelerate Brain Cancer Cure. Matt's goal looks to be $200 - there is no way we can't knock that out of the park!

Steve here in Chicago is participating in the MS Walk. His goal is $500 and being already half way there I know he can do it. The walk is May 3rd (same as Matt's run, what a busy day!), so hurry up and go check out his page!

And last but not least, I have to put my own shout out in. I'm selling raffle tickets for one of the most kick ass raffle's I've seen - probably 10 prize packages each valued at over $1,000 each usually! Tickets can be bought here. Just make to sure to say I told you about the raffle in the comments section so I can claim credit in our staff competition :)

So whatever you're interested in, and whatever you can afford I hope you will be able to support at least one of these extremely worthy causes. Okay, back to work (so that the raffle here actually happens!)

Facebook: From Ghost Ask to De-Friending

I’ve been having this conversation for a while amongst my real life friends and after reading Schmidlap’s post today I figured there wasn’t a better time to finally get it out of my head and into the world.

I joined Facebook sometime in the Spring semester of my senior year of college as a way to keep in touch with the small handful of folks that I had met and had an actual, genuine interest in keeping in touch with. My friend list for the first 6 months probably never got higher than 15 and that was fine by me.

Fast forward to today. It hasn’t grown that much but I am up to 90 “close and personal” Facebook friends. That first group that I joined for? Yeah, barely even talk to them anymore, just a random comment here and there, but as each season passes even that gets less and less. And with this growing group and growing usage amongst a population not originally intended (a year or so back FB changed their rules that you could use any old email to start up an account, previously you had to have a high school or college email) has come the ghost ask.

The ghost ask is when you receive (or send) that friend request out to an old classmate, coworker, guy who rode the same bus as you 20 years ago. It comes with no personalized message, no reminder of who the hell they are. To make a ghost ask complete however is once accepted all conversation ceases. Not a word is said, not a comment made, not a hey how ya doin? Nothing.

Where does this come from? Is it our need to expand our superficial ranking in an imaginary world? Do we think that maybe we might actually want to talk with this person but when confronted with the option realize we have nothing to say? Do we want to show where we are, what we’ve done, accomplishments, hot new tattoos all without having to actually interact or attend some dreadful reunion where these things used to take place? I’ll admit, I’ve done it. I’ve sent out requests because I saw that we had 3…4…7 friends in common and that’s it. I hadn’t thought of this person in 15 years until my handy “People You May Know” sidebar suggested them. Some days I wonder how many of the 90 people listed are actually my friends.

On another Facebook related rant, and the actual reason I began writing this, another phenomenon has recently caught my attention. People are “de-friending” each other over status updates. Yup, that’s right, status updates. It’s the one line statement we update constantly to tell our imaginary online world what we are doing or thinking or throwing things at. Some are more witty than others, but it is a nice easy way to keep your fingers on the pulse of your network. I personally like to post music lyrics every once in awhile and see which of my friends make a comment or finish the line.

It’s also a quick and easy way to find out that many of your ghost ask friends have very, very different views from you. And in these heated and trying times, when lines are being drawn and fences built around political beliefs, we as a nation are standing up and silently de-friending those we don’t agree with. It’s almost comical. I’ve almost done it. It is only the grossly unattractive addiction of seeing what ridiculous thing they could possibly come up with that has kept me from hitting the “x” on our cyber friendship.

The only saving grace is that for the majority of these folks I will never actually interact with them (save for one unfortunate family member).

Get by with a little help from my friends

Many of my inner circle these days are finding themselves fighting the good (though not always profitable) fight to make the world a better/safer/cleaner and generally less fucked up place to be in. As part of this world I am often sending and receiving fundraising emails and I do my best to support when I can (because I know how much it can suck). So when a friend who specializes in community organizing (and I will avoid the Palin references for today) sent this out I was pretty impressed and went right through the link to make my donation. It's, in my opinion, a damn fine ask. It probably helps if you actually know Tim, or have lived in probably any number of college towns that get over run by mini-skirts and furry boots sometime in September, but either way I wanted to share it here in case any of you are so inclined to help out.

With no further ado I bring you......



Hi everyone,

It's fall, which means a few things:

1. The leaves change color, as do the colors of Tim's sweater vests.

2. The temperature starts to drop, and we start to see more furry boots out and about (especially on campus).

3. I'm busy busy busy getting ready for the GSA for Safe Schools Walk/Run/Eat.

This year, I've set a personal goal of trying to raise $500 for the event. Fundraising is the thing I like LEAST about being a community organizer, but I recognize that we wouldn't be able to do the work that we do without bringing in the Benjamins. That's just one of our MANY responsibilities.

In my head, $500 feels like a lot, but if I send this email to 50 people (which I have) and they all donate $10, I will have reached my goal. And $10 can go a really long way at my organization.

With $10, GSA for Safe Schools can:

1. Buy tasty and nutritious snacks to feed our Student Planning Council (the group of super peers who come to our office once a week and help us plan our conferences and programming)

2. Buy enough gas for my car to visit the GSAs at ALL FOUR Madison high schools (and possibly a couple of middle schools, too!)

3. Send a 'Welcome Back to School' packet with posters, stickers, and handy resources to 5 GSAs outside of Dane County (we'll send out a total of 100 this fall - one to each GSA in Wisconsin)

So, while the GSAFE Board of Directors is bragging about their big $100-dollar donations, I'd like to offer them some competition by bringing in the most $10 donations.


Can you help me out?

You can visit my personal fundraising page at http://www.firstgiving.com/thexteam and donate online, or send a check or cash to GSA for Safe Schools, 301 S. Bedford St. Ste. 1, Madison, WI 53703. Make sure you send it with an ATTN: TIM MICHAEL on the envelope so Brian and Cindy don't try and claim it. :)

Thanks, as always, for all your support. If anyone feels like coming to the event, you can also sign up online by going to http://www.firstgiving.com/gsaforsafeschools. I won't be able to walk/run with you, but I'll make sure to stop running around for at least eleven and a half seconds to say 'HELLO' and 'THANKS FOR COMING' and give you a hug.

Lots of love,

Tim

Belated Happy Birthday to Me

I love my friends. Not such a huge fan of UPS that took a 4 day delivery hiatus with my birthday flowers (they were set to arrive at my house on the actual day, last Friday, and I finally got them to work on Tuesday). Major props to 1-800-flowers for packaging them well enough that I wasn't greeted with a box of dead roses when they finally arrived. But mostly, love my friends. Thanks D.

Wordle

I am such a thief. I get my best ideas from my other blogging friends. I even might try and steal this one and incorporate it into my work somehow. I got this one from here. You can make your own here. This one I made from the really, really long draft post I have going of all the books I've read in 2008 (which I may have to post at the sixth month mark so it doesn't become it's own novel.)

Enjoy as I head back to work.

Tiny version that links to one in gallery...

Part time jobs

Warning: This post contains slightly strong language.

Some fucked up shit happens in Chicago every day (so much for the self censoring). This time it has happened to someone I know. Of course the version I got was much more detailed, but since it's not my story to tell I won't divulge any more than the article lays out for you here. The short of it is the teachers in this school (my friend included) will be receiving their last paychecks on Friday. Bam. That's it. No warning, no preparation. Just a big fuck you from the charter school system. So if anyone knows of a good, relaxing, non stressful part time summer job that needs to be filled in the Chicago vicinity please feel free to let me know. Or if you have a connection with a school in the area that won't fuck it's teachers over - that would also be helpful.

I can't even imagine what it is like to not have a paycheck when I am legally employed. I've heard of these stories, even had friends that worked in slightly shady situations where paychecks were less than dependable, but never have I lived through it myself. Every job I've had it has been as regular as the sun rising that I would receive a paycheck every other week, or the first and the fifteenth, or whatever schedule the structure determined. I've never worked a job based on commission - the closest I've been is waitressing, but even then I got my $2.34 an hour (though after taxes it often wasn't worth it to pay the $5 fee to cash at the bank across the street if you didn't have an account somewhere else). It boggles my mind in a way that I can't begin to grasp, and I don't like that.

The logical, idea forming side of my brain has to believe that a plan will be worked out. Concessions will be made and lives may be altered for the next few months, but in the end she will make it. Thank god it's summer and the idea of walking places is not so formidable. The other side of me, the side that is ruled by my heart and my emotions though is wrecked. That side just doesn't understand how crazy, fucked up shit like this happens to good people. People who go out and try and make a difference in this crazy fucked up world.

So, I've had my rant - mini as it may be. Thanks for reading/listening and again, if you have a dog that needs walking or some other gig that you know of, feel free to let me know and I will pass along the information.

Every once in awhile I amaze myself

Let me set the scene for you. Imagine a long, hectic filled work day capped off with a meeting that ran late so that you couldn't finish any of your work or even check your voicemail before you had to race out the door for a doctor appointment. Then on the way to the train something flies into your eye, around your glasses none the less, and scratches the shit out of your cornea..retina...eyeball...whatever. Got the idea? Good. So I'm at the chiropractor and my good friend Lindsay comes in (who also has an appointment) and I tell her about what happened. I get the kind, compassionate response, especially when I reveal that now I am having trouble seeing out that eye and ward off attempts to go to a doctor (which at 7 pm when our appointments are done means emergency room) convincing her and myself that it's fine, and I'm sure it will heal itself up by morning.

Fast forward to appointments being done and we are at dinner (a regular Tuesday occurrence when we both have chiro) and she is still being super nice and caring about the eye injury. This is the point that I have to now admit "Well, it was kind of my fault" "How can something random flying in your eye be your fault?" she asks. "Well...." and I delve into the full story (which I couldn't tell in the doc's office earlier because I knew I'd get yelled at...

"Every once in awhile when you smoke a bit of ash that is still burning flies off the end of the cigarette. If you've ever seen me jerk my hand when smoking, that's what causes it. It's like a mini ember that flies free. So today while walking to the train I went to take a drag and one of these mini embers came flying off and went directly into my eye." At this point I'm pretty sure her jaw was about table level. "Basically, I think I somehow managed to burn my own eyeball and that's why it's kind of my own fault." And then I burst out laughing. Because how can you not laugh at that? I am so damn talented that I can burn my own eyes while smoking. Of course when it happened it wasn't so funny as I frantically pressed my hand to my eye to freaking extinguish it and tried to desperately not burn my face with the still smoking cigarette. And of course, it hasn't stopped me from continuing to smoke all night, but when I do quit (and I will one day) I will be the poster child for stories of why you shouldn't smoke.

Turns out my day ain't that bad after all

I was going to post about how crazy ass busy I have been the past two weeks. I was going to moan and whine about how I keep finding myself trapped in my cubicle at 5:30, 6:30, 7:45 (I am normally scheduled to leave at 4:30). There was planned a commentary on how at the bottom of the ladder "salary" just means less pay and more hours. I had a good vent session ready to go. But then I scanned my regular reads and found this from Schmidlap and it all went out the window. Nothing I could even dream of coming up with could compare, suddenly the late nights, the empty train rides, and the aching muscles didn't matter anymore. No day I have lived this week, last week, or in recent memory could be worse. So next time you're feeling bad, give it a read and I guarantee your day will seem filled with sunshine and rainbows. I also guarantee you will wish blogs came with a PO box to send some kind of pick-me-up six pack to.



So instead, I will share with you some highlights of this week and the upcoming days ahead...upcoming, ahead, is that repetitive?

Earlier this week a coworker and I are pretty sure the couple in the elevator with us was about to have sex...while we were still there, and are almost positive that they did have sex in the stairwell after they left us. Yesterday I played rock, paper, scissors with a different co-worker to see who would be responsible for doing follow up calls to secure prizes for our upcoming benefit. I won. I now firmly believe all delegation of work responsibilities should be handled in this manner. Monday my awareness walking friend called me twice on the train to get my opinion on dresses she found for me at the Salvation Army for the upcoming James Bond fundraiser she's hosting. Most of the conversation revolved around the fact that I couldn't actually see the dresses and that no, I didn't know what a Limited size 7 meant. Didn't matter - the one she found (and bought) fits like a glove and is adorable, I may even be able to find a way to wear my favorite velvet Chuckies with it...and if I'm really luck I can incorporate my new fingerless pink gloves with the rhinestoned skull and crossbones pattern. Did you know that according to Google spellcheck (and probably the rest of the world) that "rhinestoned" is not a word?

This weekend (and Monday) is the wrap up of March Madness, and while it's disappointing to have four #1 seeds in the Final Four I am still way more excited than I should be for the last three games. Next weekend I get to deal black jack (as soon as I learn how) to help my friends raise money and one of my closest, dearest friends is coming down from Madison to visit - all around fun times. I have a new comic book series to delve into and it's supposed to be 60 degrees this weekend. All in all as 4:30 approaches and I slow down in my work it looks like it's going to be a good next few days.

Art and promoting good websites.

I added a link in my blog roll that is not exactly a blog so I feel there should be some explanation. In fact, it's not a blog at all. My friend (the guy half of the couple that just got married actually) has become a pretty damn good photographer lately. So good in fact that he's got his prints up in a few businesses in Bend, Or., has been invited to art shows to sell his work, and now has created a website to showcase and sell the pictures.

I have an original of his (well three in one frame) that they sent me for my birthday last year before this really took off the ground and I love it. I'm also helping him craft his bio section on the page, if I can stay awake long enough after work to put real thought into it. If you are into nature photography, or know someone who is check out his work. If nothing else it is a beautiful break to a smoggy Chicago day.

I'm in Oregon!

Whenever I am on vacation I try and do at least a quick "hello" post. So here is my live from the West Coast Hello!

Flight was long but went well - other than the asshole in the O'Hare airport that decided when section two was called that he would breeze past the obviously formed line and take the lead, if it wasn't 7:30 in the morning I might have cared more. Got into Redmond 6 hours later to a brilliant blue sky and snow...yep I brought the devil with me from the midwest.

Got to see Bobby's photography hanging in the local coffee shop which was really fucking cool and then spent 2 hours digging through wedding dresses Friday night.

Now it's Saturday morning, we just had an amazing breakfast of the thickest bacon I've seen in ages and homemade crepes (God how I love friends that cook and cook well!), basketball is on in the background (Go Badgers!) and we are slowly getting ready to head back out to explore.

Hope everyone is having a great pre-patrick's day weekend.

Brick Wall

I started 2008 reading like a maniac. I took down 10 books in the first month and figured making a new years resolution to read 52 books would be a resolution that even I could keep. Then February hit and my reading slowed down exponentially. We are one day away from the end of the month (and that is only because we are graced with a leap year this year) and I have only finished 3 more books. I still think I can make the 52 goal, but I'm going to have to step it up (or get back into graphic novels).

A few weeks ago I asked my internet world for some book recommendations as I was struggling to find something that was capable of wisking me away from the horrendous Chicago winter we are in. Schmidlap came through with Neal Stephenson's Snow Crash - even promised to reimburse me my purchase price if I wasn't hooked in 50 pages. Sounded like a good bet to me - with little to no risk involved.

So I headed down to my local independent book store and was surprised to see half a shelf of Stephenson books (surprised because the Science Fiction and Fantasy are combined into one bookcase so there's not a lot to choose from - damn new release readers taking over my store!) However Snow Crash is not one of the titles available. But because my bookstore rocks I special order it and have it in my hands in 4 days.

In the meantime I was struggling through Murakami's Kafka on the Shore so I put Stephenson to the side for a few days. Sunday (as in 5 days ago) I headed out to a local coffee shop with an almost finished Kafka in my bag - at the last moment I threw in Snow Crash just in case. I was right in doing so since I finished the crazy Japanese story and began my descent into the not so distant future.

Schmidlap said 50 pages was the hook point. 14 pages in I thought I might actually get my $15 back (if I had the nerve to ask for it that is), 28 pages in I was ready to pay him $15. It's now Thursday, I was sick all day Tuesday, and went out drinking all night Wednesday and I am on page 206. It's fucking great. I now have the name for my second dog (the first one will be Atticus) -- Hiro Protagonist. Thanks Schmidlap!

A Good Cause

About a month ago, a good friend came to me and declared that she really wanted to do the two day breast cancer walk but was nervous about trying to raise the $2,000 necessary to participate. $2K I said, we can totally raise two thousand, easy. We can build you a webpage and a chip in donation tool with a transferable widget that can virally be passed to all the bloggers we know!!! I declared excitedly (though somewhere around widget I might have totally lost her). But we went through it again and she chimed in that she could make a movie (being as she is the writer/producer/director/creator of the amazing August Birthday video I shared with ya'll last year), and from there the momentum was born.

So now my dear and wonderful internet friends I bring you Lindsay Spectacular's breast cancer awareness walk webpage! Please go check it out, play the video (I haven't seen it yet, it doesn't work on my work computer but I'm sure it's amazing), and most importantly if you can help, please chip in to make this possible. And as an added bonus for all you bloggers out there you can copy the code and share the donation widget with all your readers!

Weekend update

As the weekend comes to a close I have to say that overall it was relatively productive. I managed not to go out of town or do any work related thinking, I had a 16 hour long date, and I got to watch The Good rock out Saturday night. I got to watch a friend who "doesn't dance" spend the majority of the night up next to the speaker jamming away, I've recovered most of my hearing, though it's still a little like living underwater which is unnerving, I finished Kafka on the Shore and began Snow Crash which looks promising, restocked my OJ supply and now am ready to settle in for Oscar night.

The headlines when I open up my Internet window tell me that Nader has thrown his hat in the rat race again for presidency. It's been too good a weekend to even glance at the story so I'm putting off any commentary or even the slightest thought about it until at least Monday.

I found out my brother might be swinging through the windy city in a few weeks, so I finally get to show off my digs to him which promises to be fun. I got a haircut, a new 600 thread count sheet and a curtain rod so I am once again able to bathe my bedroom in darkness.

As of 4:30 this Sunday evening life is good, quiet but good.

You want a post? Well here we go!

I'm mostly just posting to catch up on the random things floating around in my brain and because I have been chastised by a reader for not posting anything new to entertain him during his long, slow work days. So if the post ends up chaotic and non-sensical - blame Will.

First and foremost I would like to thank any reader that attended my housewarming party this past weekend and make a formal apology for my horrendous introduction skills. Turns out I need to keep the frat-party sized cup of gin away from me until all people are accounted for. I have been "yelled" at (or at least nicely reminded) that while the party was fun, I sucked as a host. Sorry about that everyone. I promise to do better next time.

Speaking of next times, I'm thinking about starting up a "First Friday's" party at the new apartment. Idea being that the first Friday of each month I have an open invitation to anyone that wants to stop by for drinks and snacks from 7-9. There could even be monthly themes...I was really proud of myself for coming up with this until I was informed that while I thought I was being extremely creative, it turns out I just yanked the idea out of my unconscious memory as art gallery's do this all the time. Ah well, I still think I might give it a try...

Kudos go out to my guest Alyssa who introduced me to the following fantastic websites. For all your t-shirt needs try BustedTees - the site that just reminds me I have to find a way to work from home. And a new addition to the blogroll comes in the form of Violent Acres. I don't always agree with everything she says, and even at times am offended, but she does have a fantastic way about her which you have to respect. Her guest blogger today is also pretty entertaining. Check it out if you have half an hour or so to kill.

On a completely different note I just want to make it clear that there are rules regarding who can lecture me about smoking. I get that it's a nasty fucking habit so the field of folks that can harass me about it is pretty wide open. I won't promise that I'll always listen but for the most part I won't get in the way of your concern. With that said, I need to make it absolutely clear there is one category of individuals who under no circumstances are allowed to harass me about my smoking. If you are a smoker yourself and snort fucking cocaine up your nose you have no right to tell me that the brand of cigarette that I smoke is going to kill me one day*. Sorry, but since I don't harrass you about your nose candy habit, leave me the hell alone about my Marb Reds**.

I could go on and on with random thoughts flying around my brain, but if I don't get this posted it will sit in draft form forever (it's already been in here a day and a half) that and my spell checker isn't working so please forgive my typing errors. I promise to be back up and running with more coherent posts by next week...just in time for Super Tuesday!



*The individual to which this pertains has no way of actually coming across this (he doesn't know I blog) so sorry to all my actual readers, sometimes you just have to say/write it out loud to get it out of your head.


**The really sad part about this rant is that since the incident that prompted me to rant in the first place I have sort of switched brands to Winstons...I acutally like them and they are less harsh than the Marbs. Plus there was a pic of Britney all strung out and crazy looking and in her hand was that infamous red pack with the marb triangle, after that I had to give em up.

East Coast Tales

Washington DC. The land of taxation with no representation. The top of the pyramid of our national politics. The city of movers and shakers. The arena in which laws are made and torn down (or simply ignored). Some of the most powerful people in this country wield their influence in our nations capital daily, changing the lives of all those underneath them. And what did I do when faced with this greatness of power, this stadium of opportunity and change? I got drunk for 4 straight days. And it was great.

I've been going to DC about twice a year for 6 years now to visit my older, wiser (though not always), and more social brother. It's quite ironic actually if you had known us when we were younger. We hated each other, like sane people nationwide hate the president. Like oil and water, we could not even be in the same house with each other most of our lives when we were younger. Than a miracle happened. We grew the fuck up. Now, with 2,000 miles separating us we actually get along quite well for brief moments of time. 7 days is probably our maximum shelf life before we start to want to kill each other again. Another shift happened between us as we aged. I became more of a recluse and he became a social magnet. Being a bartender probably helps him in that regard. And I have to admit, he's a damn good one. Friendly, with the right dose of flirty, and can be imposing as hell if he needs to calm people down or throw drunk asses out.

So as we became friends I have made a bi-yearly...semi-annual...I never remember which one of those means twice a year...trip out to visit him. It's great. I get to play the role of little sister, getting spoiled and taken out to all the fantastic clubs and bars of DC while barely spending a dime. He gets to show me off, play the protector role, and revel in his popularity. I think it works nicely for both of us.

My most recent trip was last weekend, and while I won't bore you or embarrass anyone with the nitty gritty details, I should provide some sort of brief summary of the weekend for a historical record keeping prospective.

Flew in after work Thursday night and cabbed it straight to the Rock-n-Roll Hotel (bar). Watched a band called the Rosebuds, figured out the lingering question of whether or not my sometime hook up in DC was still valid (turns out it is), and closed out the bar around 3 with the staff. Headed to a friends house to continue the festivities until around 5 where my brother and I parted company and I got into things better left untyped. All in all, a pretty successful evening.

Friday, lounged around the day, hit up the Portrait Gallery with the brother - which was awesome. Went to a late late dinner, started at 9:30, that lasted till midnight. 5 courses, so rich I didn't want to think about food for days. Eventually ended up with two of his friends at DC9's Liberation party (the Friday night Brit pop dance party that is always dead when I'm there over thanksgiving) and it was hoppin'. Had a great time, danced my ass off in 3 inch heels. Again, a successful evening.

Saturday - the day from hell. Well the day was alright, don't think we did anything spectacular but then the night came. In case you ever wanted to know, hanging out with two cranky depressed men when you are trying to be on vacation is not fun. At all. In fact, it pretty much sucks and often will lead you to drink way more than is necessary. That drinking will then probably lead to you passing out as soon as you are within sight of a bed. To be fair (since they were incapable of making decisions) I ended up leading them into Georgetown, which from all apparent appearances is much like our own Lincoln Park....which I usually avoid like the plague and strongly discourage any visitors I have from entering. This may have heightened the bitchy factor emanating from at least one of them, but you know what if he didn't want to go he should have fucking said something before we got in the cab.

Sunday - the lost day. Spent all day trying to track down my missing brother. Ended up missing out on brunch (which is all I really wanted to do) and watching football all day (2 games was more than I have watched all season). The Patriots game while satisfying to see them win their 18th game in a row seemed like kind of a lame game. The Packer game on the other hand was way more interesting. Negative 24 degrees! And while I have never been a Packer fan regardless of my Wisconsin roots, it would have been nice to see Favre make it to a Superbowl before he's done. In football years, that guy is like a hundred, and I'm not sure how much time he has left on the field.

Monday - finally got a chance to talk about some stuff with my brother which was good but I wish we could of done it earlier. Headed to National airport around 1:30 and got back to the windy city around 4 pm.

So I've written this in bits and pieces at work so am completely unaware if it is coherent at all. Trying to read more than one or two paragraphs in the Blogger typing box is next to impossible. Overall the weekend can probably be counted as a success, though there are a few elements I would change if I ever finish building my time machine. And now that my liver is starting to heal, I am off to prepare for my housewarming. Cheers!

Just a quick post holiday update

It's my first day back in the office after an extended holiday weekend and since it's a short week (two days only for me) and most of my coworkers are out lets just be honest with each other and understand I'm not doing much today in regards to actual work. Now I have checked my personal email that went ignored for 5 days, updated my Facebook status, and caught up on my book blog. I also read up on my favorite blogs, sent some information to a cousin that might be crashing at my house this weekend, and dealt with a random cryptic text message from a man that lives in anther time zone, literally, figuratively and any other "ally" you can throw in there to make sure it's understood that the situation is totally fucked up. I also earned 15 cents in a long forgotten mturk account and now find myself staring aimlessly at the blank wall in front of me.... and there is still 2 hours to go till I can legitimately walk out the door, so what better to do than blog!



My holidays were actually quite wonderful this year. I saw almost all the people I wanted to, avoided the one I didn't want to see (tactfully and guilt free!) and had a delightful time visiting with Zappa and Juneau. The big family gathering that took place on Christmas Day initially had me dreading Tuesday afternoon yet turned out to be quite fun. I scored cookware for my new apartment (though have not yet found the ability or knowledge of how to actually cook), a new larger Sigg water bottle, and a host of new books from my mom. The Nintendo DS gift from the brother and I went over well. At first I could tell she was apprehensive ("You got me a Gameboy???") but as soon as the New York Times Crossword puzzle went in it was all over. She even took it with to the family gathering and I caught her with it open every time she found herself alone for 2 minutes (which with a group of over 25 is tough to do, I'm impressed she managed to find time to play at all).



I was able to ring in a belated Solstice celebration Saturday night with a dear friend and overall think that the weekend was quite nice (though the snowstorm back home could of waited a few days). Everyone around me is/was sick but so far I've held out, cross your fingers for me that I haven't just totally jinxed it.



Now back in the windy city, I am settled into a dog sitting gig that will run through new years eve and then it's off to 2008! No plans as of yet, but I think I'm okay with that....I'll let you know if any neurotic activities start to appear closer to the calendar turnover, but I don't think they will. I hope all my readers (what is there...3 or 4 of you? :) had a wonderful holiday whatever they may have been celebrating - I hope the consumerism of the season skipped by your homes and instead they were filled with love, companionship, good food and great memories.

Small surprises

As many of you know I have been unhappy with my job for awhile now. The job, plus my unease of staying in Chicago for another year, and my slow hibernation process as winter sets in combined to make me a relatively depressed person as of late. Deep down I knew this, but I was unaware it was showing on the outside as well. This past Friday I was delightfully shown this fact.

I went out to what I thought was a quick Friday after work happy hour with one coworker and ended up at a "Yay Jessica" party. It was fantastic, overwhelming, and amazingly heartwarming. Two other coworkers joined us to make a party of four and they presented me with a card and a surprisingly large gift to my favorite book store. The card, signed by one more coworker that couldn't make it to bring the total to 4 that cared about me, was filled with encouraging and supportive statements (which I had to read at home because as I knew it would it brought me to tears). It was a humbling experience to say the least. I had no idea that this group of women, who for the most part I usually just thought of as coworkers, noticed this much about me, cared this much about me, and went out of their way to make sure I knew it. I learned that night that I am not the only one who feels the slings and arrows of upper management, I am not the only one overwhelmed at times by the odds against me, and I am not the only one struggling these days. The most important thing I learned is that I am not alone. There is no way to properly thank them, to express truly and fully how amazing and perfectly timed that night out was, though I will do my best to try. It's amazing what 2 hours out with a group of friends can do to revitalize ones spirit. I am truly thankful for them.

Two reasons Australia is cooler than America

I'm sure there are many reasons why Australia beats out America in everything except alphabetizing races but here are my two for today.

1) John and Rob live there....boo, I miss them.
2) They understand that global warming is not a made up word.

Ah, to be 19 again

I managed to completely regress and act like a 19 year old this weekend. It was not a planned trip back to 1999, and I didn't dress appropriately for travel, but I ended up there none the less. Friday night I drank more than I should have and finally confronted a nagging question I had regarding a possible romantic interest. While I did learn that the door was shut, and it was shut in a nice and non accusatory way, I still feel silly for not realizing the door wasn't open earlier, and I have made further shopping excursions for my favorite addiction potentially embarrassing.

Then on Saturday I decided that one night of drunken revelry was not enough and got even more intoxicated at a bowling alley during a double birthday celebration....and really what else is there to do at a bowling alley? After having a ridiculously too fun time bowling in my sneakers with a group of people I barely know (being surrounded by folks you don't have a high potential for running into again breaks down and often obliterates the ability to think rationally about ones actions....that and 4 glasses of gin helps) I found myself in the delightfully risque position of pressed up against the outside wall under the lips of the little brother of one of the actual honorees of the party (lucky for me it was not the little brother of the honoree who I know and consider a friend, that would of been entirely inappropriate). A whirlwind of encounters happened in which everyone left, I lost the boy (whose name, much to my friends delight, completely escapes me) and then wandered home in a gin soaked haze. I did manage to only walk down one wrong alley before I found my apartment (hey I just moved, give me a break!) and slipped into a dreamless slumber.

So here it is Monday morning. I have seen some of the birthday pictures, and feel pretty justified in saying that they should never, ever be posted anywhere and I need to invest in t-shirts that fit. I checked in with the friend, who assures me that she is not mad at me, and thinks the whole situation is actually quite funny and is enjoying laughing at me as I wander by hoping she will tell me the name of my Saturday night suitor (which so far she has not!). Apparently I had some lingering youth issues that I needed to exorcise this weekend, hopefully that has taken care of it and I can go back to floating through life somewhere in my late 20's where I belong.