meh.

yikes! my blogging absence probably has gone unnoticed, but i've been meaning to sit down and swap tales. sorry about that.

of course, sitting back and combing my brain for stories isn't very fruitful at the moment. st. patrick's day celebrations were great, as was partying for my sister's birthday last weekend. i turn the big 22 tomorrow, and that's been throwing me off for a bit. i've never really had a birthday away from all of "my" people, and the anticlimactic nature of celebrating just feels like a big let-down. i was so pleased that my parents came down yesterday to take me to lunch and have birthday cake. but in the end, birthdays just aren't what they used to be.

i'm very excited for cassie and stacey to be coming for a visit this weekend. i should probably do laundry before they arrive, or think of something grand to do that doesn't involve sitting on our asses all weekend.

and to the meteorologists in chicago: no, i did not ask for accumulating snows for my birthday. please clear this up. thanks.

museums and celebs

let much just say that i am very much looking forward to this weekend. my dearest krystle is coming down for a whirlwind trip, my parents will be in town, and a good friend of mine is turning 21...and yes, this weekend marks the unofficial beginning of st. patrick's day celebrations, and i am very, very excited about it all.

so i went to two different museums yesterday for my two classes. we first went to see the edvard munch exhibit at the art institute, and then we went to the mexican fine arts museum for my other class. lots of art, lots of milling about, lots of fun. steph and i also hung out last night, which is always a pleasure.

our art event tonight is our town at the lookingglass theatre. and yes, this means that i will get to watch david schwimmer (that's ross gellar of friends fame, in case we've forgotten) perform tonight.

i don't have to work tomorrow, which is also great...i'll get to sleep in a whole 45 minutes! we have our neighborhood visits tomorrow, so i'll be spending the first part of the day in logan square. my boss was nice enough to let me have the afternoon off too, so i'm looking forward to krystle's visit and the potential for many great things.

oh, and let the job hunt begin...

everybody's working for the weekend

it's been a great week.

first of all, let me just say that not having work on monday was the greatest thing ever. ever. a group of us went out to pilsen and had an amazing time stuffing ourselves at a mexican restaurant and then stuffing ourselves into vintage threads. yes, i am the proud owner of some new men's plaid.

we also watched both red dragon and silence of the lambs this week. i know that nobody else really understands the joy these movies bring me, but what can i say--i desensitized myself to the right flicks.

great times were had hanging out with my sister last night. i've been on a bodyguard kick as of late, and we splurged on the soundtrack. i'm sure her neighbors hate us (or probably just me).

the CS group is going to see a bulls game tonight. i actually don't give two cents about the game, but i figure the atmosphere will make up for my lack of interest...right?

domestic day

people who know me will get a real kick out of this--i actually bought groceries, washed dishes AND did laundry today...and did i mention that i woke up at six o'clock to see the sun rise (the one that never actually materialized)?

yes. i did laundry for the first time today. i hate paying for laundry; it's bad enough having to tote all your crap down to the laundry room to fight for washers and dryers, but then you have to pay money on top of it? i'll wear everything a hundred times to put this off for as long as possible.

so yeah, i skipped out on the mary kay breakfast. as it happens, one of my friends had almost the same experience i had, only hers was at a barnes & noble. i feel slightly bad, but not really at the same time. i have no desire to drive a pink cadillac.

tomorrow is pulaski day, and it marks one of our few days off from work. we're making a trip out to pilsen to eat cheap mexican food and go shopping at a vintage store. i'll keep you posted on any good finds.

homework sings my name, and there are more dishes waiting. i need a wife, i think.

fat thursday?

i rolled into the office this morning to find mardi gras beads and a bag of microwave popcorn on my desk. who says you can't celebrate fat tuesday a few days late? the celebration is appropriate considering i was in bed and asleep by 11 on the real fat tuesday. better late than never.

funny story: i went to a starbucks yesterday, and as i was waiting in line, a woman (i'm guessing late 20s) told me that she liked my purse. we struck up a conversation about the glory of target, and then started talking about what i did, and what work she did. turns out she works for mary kay, a company i've been trying to contact about some work for my internship. she gave me her card and took my number before asking me if i was free this evening. since i wasn't, she wondered if i wanted to meet for breakfast on saturday--apparently there's some corporate mary kay something or other going on at the hyatt regency downtown, and she wondered if i wanted to go and network or something. ten bucks says that they'll try and turn me into some mary kay seller, but it's a free breakfast. is this how networking really works, or i am signing on for a scam? i'll keep you posted.

i'm so excited that we have our first day off on monday. we're heading over to pilsen for some cheap mexican food and some thrifting. oh, and at some point i have to read a book (that i don't have) and write a 5 page paper by wednesday.

oh, the life of a student in chicago...

almost a month

how is it february 22 already?

apparently i've been here for almost a month and didn't even realize it. things are going well with work, and i like my classes too. we saw gokh-bi system at the old town school of folk last week. they are a hip-hip group from senegal, and the show was really fun. of course, getting home at 12:10 and having to wake up at 7 for work was less fun, but face it, i'm an old woman now.

the chicago semester sponsored a progressive dinner last night at a bunch of different buildings. it's a good idea in theory, having dozens of people migrating between apartment buildings for appetizers, dinners, and desserts, but let me tell you, there is a limit to how many people can fit in a studio apartment. let's just say it wasn't my idea of a relaxing meal.

a group of us went to a hookah bar last night. it was fun, but our crowd of nine barely fit around two tables. it made me miss the hookah we'd share in josh's apartment at calvin. that seems like ages ago.

i'm semi-motivated to do laundry but currently have no money to do so. i'm not above washing some clothes in the bathtub. welcome to little apartment on the prairie...

an average day in your neighborhood (or "this would never happen on sesame street")

today brought me another first for my time in chicago...witnessing public urination on a busy downtown street during rush hour.

i had just gotten up to the street from the subway, and as i was walking down the lake street i noticed a bright yellow duffel bag sitting abandoned on the sidewalk. my first reaction was to assume it was a bomb, or something equally horrific; had i been in an airport, it may have been something i would have reported to the appropriate authorities. naturally, my worst-case-scenario mind jumped to grisly headlines of terrorist plots. i was already picturing how distressed my mother would be at the thought of her daughter working in a city where duffel bags exploded when i walked past a doorway tucked in amongst the storefronts.

and it was there that i saw a man's back and heard the unmistakable sound of urine hitting the pavement.

never a dull tuesday, my friends.