Thursday, November 19, 2009
BIue notes over the skyline.
I have nothing nice to say today, but I figure I ought to say something on here every once in a while. I have been in a funk for a while now and you know the saying "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all." I try to apply that sentiment in my life. But sometimes I think I need to say good things, or try to say good things, to remind myself that there are good things. And really it is approaching Thanksgiving so I should give thanks for things, not be super bitter and unhappy like I have been. Today I was thinking, "Things are not going well in a single area of my life." This thought was immediately followed by, "That cannot be the case, things have to be going fine in at least one area of your life." So I thought a little and it is true, I have my health, and good health, as far as I know. I have a job, a place to live, more clothes than a person ought to own and a closet that fits all of them. I have friends and family, though spread out all over the place, who love me and care about me (thanks for the reminder Greg!). I am thankful for all of these things. But when does my life move beyond that? I have got to be doing something wrong. I need some inspiration. Maybe I will go see that Sandra Bullock movie The Blind Side. It looks like it might be inspirational. I don't know, whatever, I'll figure it out. Or the answer will become clear or something.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Today and Money
This morning I took my car to the mechanic for service. It was a trip that was very much overdue and I knew it was going to involve a bill that was painful to pay. The check engine light has been on, it has been off, it has been on and blinking, the car has made unpleasant noises and it has shaken. Poor car has not been treated so well over the past eight months and it needs to brace for its first winter outdoors. So the car has a shorted ignition coil and needs the 80,000 mile twice over. And it is going to cost some money. So that sucks. This after I had figured out last night how to make it through the next month or so based on my income given the small amount of debt I have incurred recently. Living in Chicago has turned out to be even more expensive than I anticipated. I am glad that I have a roommate because it means reduced rent, but it also means I have to pay for storage for the stuff that won't fit in the apartment. And, sheesh, public transportation is not cheap. I guess considering what it would cost to drive to the city and park, it is probably not bad. But in compared to previous costs and given I am paying for a car that I am not using but on the weekends yet am required to have available for work.... it hurts the budget. So I was thinking about how I am going to balance the budget, give up clothes needed to be appropriately dressed for work, sleep through work instead of getting schwanky coffee, I think the most likely is less eating out. Probably better than that is a combination.
So all this was on my mind as I was walking home. So this kid was on the phone walking behind me. It sounded like he was on the phone with his mom and he was telling her that his wallet got stolen on the train. He had gotten up to let a woman get past him, he said and "a guy bumped into him once and everything was gone." He had called everyone he could think of, including his father who was out of town and it was going to cost at least $10 to get home and he didn't know what to do. Neither did his mom, apparently. So I was thinking, hum, I have $24 in my wallet but he needs $10. I was going to use that money for laundry. I wonder how he was planning to get home. By the time I considered that I should give him some money, he was gone. What a terrible person I am! Hopefully he got home okay.
So all this was on my mind as I was walking home. So this kid was on the phone walking behind me. It sounded like he was on the phone with his mom and he was telling her that his wallet got stolen on the train. He had gotten up to let a woman get past him, he said and "a guy bumped into him once and everything was gone." He had called everyone he could think of, including his father who was out of town and it was going to cost at least $10 to get home and he didn't know what to do. Neither did his mom, apparently. So I was thinking, hum, I have $24 in my wallet but he needs $10. I was going to use that money for laundry. I wonder how he was planning to get home. By the time I considered that I should give him some money, he was gone. What a terrible person I am! Hopefully he got home okay.
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Friends =P
Recently I got into a ... well I don't know what to call it.. conflict, tiff, time of discontent with a friend with whom I have been very close over the years. It has been a relationship that has been more tumultuous than any other relationship than I have ever been in, but also one that has spanned a time of great change in my life. This person has hurt me more than any other but has also exposed me to some of the great joys in life. While our relationship began in close proximity to one another, there have also been distances between us in the course of our relationship which have not really been a problem. Until recently I referred to this person as my best friend without too much thought.
The most recent episode occurred at the beginning of September as I had been having trouble getting off work to go to New York for finals with Kilties which was a big problem because I had committed to do an I & E performance which was to occur on Friday evening and without time off there was no way I could get there in time. I finally got approval for the day off and thought I should share this news with my best friend. To paraphrase the response I got back: I know this might seem cranky, but as a person who has been trying hard to find a job with no luck for some time I hope you are happy that you were able to pressure your new employer into letting you have the day off even thought they didn't want to. I was really offended by this response. It was as though he was saying I had flawed character to ask for a day off to live up to a previous obligation. I was not happy. The whole ordeal of getting the day off had been very stressful for me and I had been losing sleep. I just couldn't deal with the condemnation at that time. In addition to having no good response. I mean this came from a person who encouraged me to take days off of work not infrequently previously and helped contribute to me not being at work for three consecutive Fridays in May one year!! So I also did not know where this was coming from. So I kinda pushed it aside and didn't deal with it. I got a voice mail that day, I believe, that was silly, and I was angry and hurt and felt it completely inappropriate and it made me more mad so of course I didn't respond. Then there was another voicemail, I believe. Then I got a call that I answered but the connection wasn't made and I didn't call back. So this friend of mine obviously knew I was upset and therefore was angry at me for being a fair weather friend in the situation- says I only wanted agreement and didn't want to hear dissent. It's not like the period of no contact was any longer than other periods of just not being in contact. It is not like it has not been the case that we have both been busy and have just not made contact for several weeks. But obviously there was purpose behind this silence. So finally contact was made and as it turns out the circumstances surrounding me needing the time off was not fully clear so condemnation might have been misplaced, and at the same time my friend had needed me becasue unpleasant, or big or something had happened. Once contact was made we got together for lunch where unpleasant descriptors were used in reference to me. Like that fair-weather friend comment. I was also told I am selfish and that I need to realize that I am not the only person on earth. I think I am pretty aware of that. I still don't know all of what is happening in the life of this person. All I was told was that a bad decision might have been made, I am not sure if this is an objectively bad decision or a decision I would deem bad. I would like to say they would be one and the same but you know in this case getting engaged might be an objectively good decision by other people's judgement but bad by mine. Then there are some other possible things that might have happened that were alluded to, but I just can't imagine that those are the case. Anyway there were statements made about me considering this person a low tier friend while they consider me an upper tier friend. There is no way to explain this relationship to someone else... but suffice it to say that I really treasure this person. We have so much history, so many good times, so many bad times in each of our lives that we have helped each other through, so many changes, moves, wins and losses. And a lot of Mexican food. This person knows more about me than anyone. I feel very bad that I hurt this person and wish that both of us could get better at communicating so that we are able to talk about these difficult decisions, choices, and parts of life without being hurtful to one another.
Now the problem is that we are in limbo. My best friend who knows so much about me and has a great deal of wisdom about life isn't talking to me about life and particularly not their life. Not good. I want to be there for them just like I want to talk about my life with them. There is stuff that I need to talk out but there is no one to talk to. Which has brought me to the realization (again) that it is very hard to find good friends. Especially as we get older there is a great deal of life that one has to meld with another to make a good friendship. And not all friends can act as a good sounding board and problem solver. Right now I absolutely have some yes friends- those who will agree with me pretty much no matter what I say, I have several friends who really would have nothing to say about some of my issues that I am trying to work through, and other friends I can't talk to about stuff because it would not be held in confidence or I couldn't handle the judgement or them knowing what is going on. I guess that last relegates those people to not really being my friends. That is what happens when you move around as much as I have... it is hard to find a few friends to share life with. However I fear that this is a difficulty for many regardless of mobility.
Okay, now I am in a proper mood to eat myself into fat and sugar enduced coma!! Awesome!! Here I come Heart Attacular Spectakular!!
The most recent episode occurred at the beginning of September as I had been having trouble getting off work to go to New York for finals with Kilties which was a big problem because I had committed to do an I & E performance which was to occur on Friday evening and without time off there was no way I could get there in time. I finally got approval for the day off and thought I should share this news with my best friend. To paraphrase the response I got back: I know this might seem cranky, but as a person who has been trying hard to find a job with no luck for some time I hope you are happy that you were able to pressure your new employer into letting you have the day off even thought they didn't want to. I was really offended by this response. It was as though he was saying I had flawed character to ask for a day off to live up to a previous obligation. I was not happy. The whole ordeal of getting the day off had been very stressful for me and I had been losing sleep. I just couldn't deal with the condemnation at that time. In addition to having no good response. I mean this came from a person who encouraged me to take days off of work not infrequently previously and helped contribute to me not being at work for three consecutive Fridays in May one year!! So I also did not know where this was coming from. So I kinda pushed it aside and didn't deal with it. I got a voice mail that day, I believe, that was silly, and I was angry and hurt and felt it completely inappropriate and it made me more mad so of course I didn't respond. Then there was another voicemail, I believe. Then I got a call that I answered but the connection wasn't made and I didn't call back. So this friend of mine obviously knew I was upset and therefore was angry at me for being a fair weather friend in the situation- says I only wanted agreement and didn't want to hear dissent. It's not like the period of no contact was any longer than other periods of just not being in contact. It is not like it has not been the case that we have both been busy and have just not made contact for several weeks. But obviously there was purpose behind this silence. So finally contact was made and as it turns out the circumstances surrounding me needing the time off was not fully clear so condemnation might have been misplaced, and at the same time my friend had needed me becasue unpleasant, or big or something had happened. Once contact was made we got together for lunch where unpleasant descriptors were used in reference to me. Like that fair-weather friend comment. I was also told I am selfish and that I need to realize that I am not the only person on earth. I think I am pretty aware of that. I still don't know all of what is happening in the life of this person. All I was told was that a bad decision might have been made, I am not sure if this is an objectively bad decision or a decision I would deem bad. I would like to say they would be one and the same but you know in this case getting engaged might be an objectively good decision by other people's judgement but bad by mine. Then there are some other possible things that might have happened that were alluded to, but I just can't imagine that those are the case. Anyway there were statements made about me considering this person a low tier friend while they consider me an upper tier friend. There is no way to explain this relationship to someone else... but suffice it to say that I really treasure this person. We have so much history, so many good times, so many bad times in each of our lives that we have helped each other through, so many changes, moves, wins and losses. And a lot of Mexican food. This person knows more about me than anyone. I feel very bad that I hurt this person and wish that both of us could get better at communicating so that we are able to talk about these difficult decisions, choices, and parts of life without being hurtful to one another.
Now the problem is that we are in limbo. My best friend who knows so much about me and has a great deal of wisdom about life isn't talking to me about life and particularly not their life. Not good. I want to be there for them just like I want to talk about my life with them. There is stuff that I need to talk out but there is no one to talk to. Which has brought me to the realization (again) that it is very hard to find good friends. Especially as we get older there is a great deal of life that one has to meld with another to make a good friendship. And not all friends can act as a good sounding board and problem solver. Right now I absolutely have some yes friends- those who will agree with me pretty much no matter what I say, I have several friends who really would have nothing to say about some of my issues that I am trying to work through, and other friends I can't talk to about stuff because it would not be held in confidence or I couldn't handle the judgement or them knowing what is going on. I guess that last relegates those people to not really being my friends. That is what happens when you move around as much as I have... it is hard to find a few friends to share life with. However I fear that this is a difficulty for many regardless of mobility.
Okay, now I am in a proper mood to eat myself into fat and sugar enduced coma!! Awesome!! Here I come Heart Attacular Spectakular!!
Checking up, trying not to check out
So, it is the ninth month of the year, a year that has actually seen a great deal of action, if I am being objective. I figure this is a good time to look back at my New Year's goals and see how I am doing. This is what they were:
1) Exercise more (3 times a week or more) and lose about 20 pounds so that I comply with the darn BMI for being normal.
2) Be more diligent with my work.
3) Finish my thesis and graduate with my Masters in May.
4) Last year I had a "hospitality" resolution that went okay, but I want to continue with that pursuit.
5) Buy "The Joy of Cooking" and do something with it.
6) For some reason I wanted to start blogging. I do not know why but was able to come up with some reasons for not:
a) I will probably get myself in trouble
b) I will probably offend people
c) I should be working on my thesis instead
d) will I really be able to come up with anything to write about?
but, I guess I will give it a shot and aim to post at least once a week.
1) Really who knows?!! Over the course of the year I have done well and not so well with this goal. Mostly not so good. I think at this point I am exercising three times a week or more. I think in the last few weeks I have lost some weight. For a while, say July and August, I was pretty much eating out more than I was eating in as there was no refrigerator or stove at Eric's. Then I wasn't settled in yet here in Chicago so I wasn't cooking too much. But now I am back on the cooking band wagon so my food is more controlled in terms of portion sizes and nutritional content. My walk to and from the train for work is also helpful as well as the fact that I am walking a great deal at work over the last couple of weeks as a result of the work I am doing which requires me to get work out of a cabinet, work on it at my desk, make a copy, file in it in a file drawer, and the copy machine and file cabinets are not very close to my desk so I estimate I am walking at least two miles a day in the office. I do not, however, think I am close to having lost 20 pounds. As winter approaches, I am going to have to join a gym. I am thinking of the YMCA because there is one a couple stops before I get home that I could stop at on my way home. Other ideas include taking some dance classes as having paid for something, being expected to attend, and being told what to do when there does wonders for getting me there over having paid for a membership and having to be self directed.
2) Ha, I think this is a life goal. I am still working on it. However I am proud to say I have made some good progress over the last two weeks in getting my room in order. The pile of stuff on my desk has been reduced by at least 2/3 and just about anyone can navigate through my room. Now I just need some time and some help to get stuff on the walls. I think what I meant by diligence with my work was more my school work and teaching. I think I did pretty well in making that all happen.
3) DONE! Achieved that one!
4) I think I am doing pretty well with this one. I have had people over several times for dinner since I moved in and will probably continue to do so.
5) DONE! I bought the book and I have been making stuff out of it. Forgot this one was on the list. I should probably do more with it. I made some chicken curry this week that was based on two recipes in the book. I don't really like the format of the recipes and that there are no pictures, but there is a lot of good information in there that I should take better advantage of in the near future.
6) Blogging has not gone so well, on the whole. I have tried my best to stay out of trouble but to speak the truth as I know it. I haven't gotten in much trouble, but I also have done a great deal of censorship, which has several times led to a whole post not getting posted. Sucks. I'll try to do better.
2) Be more diligent with my work.
3) Finish my thesis and graduate with my Masters in May.
4) Last year I had a "hospitality" resolution that went okay, but I want to continue with that pursuit.
5) Buy "The Joy of Cooking" and do something with it.
6) For some reason I wanted to start blogging. I do not know why but was able to come up with some reasons for not:
a) I will probably get myself in trouble
b) I will probably offend people
c) I should be working on my thesis instead
d) will I really be able to come up with anything to write about?
but, I guess I will give it a shot and aim to post at least once a week.
1) Really who knows?!! Over the course of the year I have done well and not so well with this goal. Mostly not so good. I think at this point I am exercising three times a week or more. I think in the last few weeks I have lost some weight. For a while, say July and August, I was pretty much eating out more than I was eating in as there was no refrigerator or stove at Eric's. Then I wasn't settled in yet here in Chicago so I wasn't cooking too much. But now I am back on the cooking band wagon so my food is more controlled in terms of portion sizes and nutritional content. My walk to and from the train for work is also helpful as well as the fact that I am walking a great deal at work over the last couple of weeks as a result of the work I am doing which requires me to get work out of a cabinet, work on it at my desk, make a copy, file in it in a file drawer, and the copy machine and file cabinets are not very close to my desk so I estimate I am walking at least two miles a day in the office. I do not, however, think I am close to having lost 20 pounds. As winter approaches, I am going to have to join a gym. I am thinking of the YMCA because there is one a couple stops before I get home that I could stop at on my way home. Other ideas include taking some dance classes as having paid for something, being expected to attend, and being told what to do when there does wonders for getting me there over having paid for a membership and having to be self directed.
2) Ha, I think this is a life goal. I am still working on it. However I am proud to say I have made some good progress over the last two weeks in getting my room in order. The pile of stuff on my desk has been reduced by at least 2/3 and just about anyone can navigate through my room. Now I just need some time and some help to get stuff on the walls. I think what I meant by diligence with my work was more my school work and teaching. I think I did pretty well in making that all happen.
3) DONE! Achieved that one!
4) I think I am doing pretty well with this one. I have had people over several times for dinner since I moved in and will probably continue to do so.
5) DONE! I bought the book and I have been making stuff out of it. Forgot this one was on the list. I should probably do more with it. I made some chicken curry this week that was based on two recipes in the book. I don't really like the format of the recipes and that there are no pictures, but there is a lot of good information in there that I should take better advantage of in the near future.
6) Blogging has not gone so well, on the whole. I have tried my best to stay out of trouble but to speak the truth as I know it. I haven't gotten in much trouble, but I also have done a great deal of censorship, which has several times led to a whole post not getting posted. Sucks. I'll try to do better.
Monday, August 17, 2009
A minimal view of lots happening
Whew!! It has been a long time and a great deal has happened. Soon after my last post I moved out of my apartment in Shorewood while working a temp job at the Milwaukee Center for Independence in the payroll department. Eric, thankfully, was able to watch over the moving process at the end of June, though there were several hitches in the process. Namely a car running into the moving truck and some problems with the storage space I had reserved which led to finally obtaining a larger one further away. The larger size was probably a blessing as most people know I have a lot of stuff. At the end of June I had an interview in Chicago with the Census Bureau for a job with the Census Coverage Measurement department. It was pretty cool going to downtown Chicago and seeing all the hustle and bustle of business people in the midst of rush hour. The interview seemed to go so so as it focused quite a bit on supervisory skills which I only really have in the classroom. I did the best I could, and I guess that was good enough because I got the call on July 13 to start work for them on July 27... a mere 14 days later. So, I gave notice at the temp job and trained my replacement (a whole other story), found a place to live, and made hotel reservations for the first week of work which turned out to be training in Oak Brook, Illinois, site of the permanent Regional Office for the Census.
So now I am living in the area of Chicago known as North Center, living on the third floor with all kinds of locks between the outside and the inside of my apartment, parking on the street, riding the "El" to work and back, and settling into life here. There is a lot to get used to. While grocery prices are good here in comparison to other densely populated metropolitan areas like New York, San Francisco, and Los Angeles (I saw an article about it recently), they really do suck. I need to take a serious trip to Woodman's, but then I also do not have much storage space for the items I would purchase. My cupboard is full as it is from the stuff I had in my apartment cupboards! It would help if it would get cooler so I can really get to some cooking and get back into the swing of things in that arena after quite a bit of time without frequent cooking- well without any real cooking to speak of. It is going to take some time to get more settled because there are still three weeks of Kilties to go so I am not able to move stuff back and forth between Milwaukee and here like I might want. Hopefully I can get more organized and clear some stuff out of here once Kilties is over.
So now I am living in the area of Chicago known as North Center, living on the third floor with all kinds of locks between the outside and the inside of my apartment, parking on the street, riding the "El" to work and back, and settling into life here. There is a lot to get used to. While grocery prices are good here in comparison to other densely populated metropolitan areas like New York, San Francisco, and Los Angeles (I saw an article about it recently), they really do suck. I need to take a serious trip to Woodman's, but then I also do not have much storage space for the items I would purchase. My cupboard is full as it is from the stuff I had in my apartment cupboards! It would help if it would get cooler so I can really get to some cooking and get back into the swing of things in that arena after quite a bit of time without frequent cooking- well without any real cooking to speak of. It is going to take some time to get more settled because there are still three weeks of Kilties to go so I am not able to move stuff back and forth between Milwaukee and here like I might want. Hopefully I can get more organized and clear some stuff out of here once Kilties is over.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Blond Joke #2
Have to include my favorite one!!!
Puzzle Puzzles Blonde
A blonde calls her boyfriend and says, 'Please come over here and help me. I have a killer jigsaw puzzle, and I can't figure out how to get started.'
Her boyfriend asks, 'What is it supposed to be when it's finished?'
The blonde says, 'According to the picture on the box, it's a rooster.'
Her boyfriend decides to go over and help with the puzzle.
She lets him in and shows him where she has the puzzle spread all over the table.
He studies the pieces for a moment, then looks at the box, then turns to her and says,
'First of all, no matter what we do, we're not going to be able to assemble these pieces into anything resembling a rooster.'
He takes her hand and says, 'Second, I want you to relax. Let's have a nice cup of tea, and then ..' he said with a deep sigh, . .. . .. . .. .
'Let's put all the Corn Flakes back in the box.'
My birthday
Tomorrow is my birthday, the Big 3-0 as my mom called to point out. Thanks Mom! I guess if I am that old she is, well, older also so she might feel the pain too.
When Mom called I mentioned that I feel like turning 30 marks my crossing over point from being young to being old. She said that maybe a generation ago 30 was considered old, but now it is young. I guess this is true considering the life expectancy predicts I am likely to live another 40 years or so, thus I am not even half way through my life. But my peers and I looking back at our parents lives, see that by the time they were our age they were settled into adulthood- they had a career (or at least long term jobs), a spouse, children, and you know, a cohesive life. I wasn't there but that is how it seems. When my parents were my age, they had been married for eight years, had purchased a house and been living there for about five years, had each been at their jobs for eight or more years, and were two years away from having me... at which time they were 'old' parents. I wonder if they had any student loan debt left? =) Me? I have no job past Friday at this point, much less a career, I have a boyfriend (thank God for that or things might be bleak, right?), and I have a home for about 12 more days. Things are not good. My friend got laid off recently in LA, not completely unexpectedly and posted on her Facebook a quote from her pastor that things can only get better from here. I think things can definitely get worse. But I have hope that things will get better in the near future. Things are obviously going to go one way or the other because I am kinda balancing on a fence post and I can only stay up here so long before I either fall on solid land or fall into the lake and potentially drown. But I have had two interviews in the past week and hopefully another in the next week. Maybe one will net a local job offer. If so, I have been invited to seek housing with some friends here who are relocating.
Now birthdays tend to create problems for significant others who feel compelled to give gifts. My lovely boyfriend is no different. I guess he has given it thought, barked up some trees, and come up empty handed. Poor guy. He wanted to buy me some Cole Haan Shoes that I really liked, but he couldn't find them on the Internet and he is too lazy to go to Gurnee to get them for me. I say tough luck, dude! And he then asked me what he should get me... I gave some suggestions but he did not like any of them. Really, maybe he should think outside the box, hey? He has time on his hands, what could he do with the time he has on his hands that would be nice? I don't know. Buying gifts under pressure is hard! I feel it. I have a month before his birthday, maybe I should get started figuring out his birthday present. I have some ideas, but they will probably go over as well as the Christmas present which is likely in a box somewhere in his house and has never been used. The other half of the gift went well, though, so I can take solice in that.
Well. It is my birthday now. I am just going to try to enjoy it. Focus on the good things, the happy times in my life. Mom says the 30's are the best years, and Mom's always right, right?
When Mom called I mentioned that I feel like turning 30 marks my crossing over point from being young to being old. She said that maybe a generation ago 30 was considered old, but now it is young. I guess this is true considering the life expectancy predicts I am likely to live another 40 years or so, thus I am not even half way through my life. But my peers and I looking back at our parents lives, see that by the time they were our age they were settled into adulthood- they had a career (or at least long term jobs), a spouse, children, and you know, a cohesive life. I wasn't there but that is how it seems. When my parents were my age, they had been married for eight years, had purchased a house and been living there for about five years, had each been at their jobs for eight or more years, and were two years away from having me... at which time they were 'old' parents. I wonder if they had any student loan debt left? =) Me? I have no job past Friday at this point, much less a career, I have a boyfriend (thank God for that or things might be bleak, right?), and I have a home for about 12 more days. Things are not good. My friend got laid off recently in LA, not completely unexpectedly and posted on her Facebook a quote from her pastor that things can only get better from here. I think things can definitely get worse. But I have hope that things will get better in the near future. Things are obviously going to go one way or the other because I am kinda balancing on a fence post and I can only stay up here so long before I either fall on solid land or fall into the lake and potentially drown. But I have had two interviews in the past week and hopefully another in the next week. Maybe one will net a local job offer. If so, I have been invited to seek housing with some friends here who are relocating.
Now birthdays tend to create problems for significant others who feel compelled to give gifts. My lovely boyfriend is no different. I guess he has given it thought, barked up some trees, and come up empty handed. Poor guy. He wanted to buy me some Cole Haan Shoes that I really liked, but he couldn't find them on the Internet and he is too lazy to go to Gurnee to get them for me. I say tough luck, dude! And he then asked me what he should get me... I gave some suggestions but he did not like any of them. Really, maybe he should think outside the box, hey? He has time on his hands, what could he do with the time he has on his hands that would be nice? I don't know. Buying gifts under pressure is hard! I feel it. I have a month before his birthday, maybe I should get started figuring out his birthday present. I have some ideas, but they will probably go over as well as the Christmas present which is likely in a box somewhere in his house and has never been used. The other half of the gift went well, though, so I can take solice in that.
Well. It is my birthday now. I am just going to try to enjoy it. Focus on the good things, the happy times in my life. Mom says the 30's are the best years, and Mom's always right, right?
Friday, June 12, 2009
Blond Joke #1
My mom suggested that I should start a collection of blond jokes. You know because I am blond, I guess. Hey why not? If they are funny, I will post them. Here is one she sent me today.
Who Wants to be a Millionaire?
A contestant Sally, on 'Who Wants to be a Millionaire?'
Had reached the final plateau.
If she answered the next question correctly, she would win
$1,000,000.
If she answered incorrectly, she would pocket only the $25,000
Milestone money.
And as she suspected the Million Dollar Question was no
Pushover.
It was, 'Which of the following species of birds does not build
Its own
Nest but instead lays its eggs in the nests of other birds? Is
It:
A) the condor
B) the buzzard
C) the cuckoo
D) the vulture
The woman was on the spot..... She did not know the answer.
She had used up her 50/50 Lifeline and her Ask the Audience
Lifeline.....
All that remained was her Phone-a-Friend Lifeline.
She hoped she would not have to use it because........ Her
Friend was,
Well, a blonde.
But she had no alternative. She called her friend and gave her
The
Question and the four choices. The blonde responded
Unhesitatingly:
'That's easy.... The answer is C: the cuckoo.'
The contestant had to make a decision and make it fast.
She considered employing a reverse strategy and giving any
Answer her.
Except the one that her friend had given
And considering her friend was a blonde that would seem to be
The
Logical t hing to do. But her friend had responded with such
Confidence,
Such certitude, that the contestant could not help but be
Convinced.
Crossing her fingers, the contestant said, 'C: The cuckoo.'
'Is that your final answer?'
'Yes, that is my final answer.'
'That answer is Absolutely correct!
You are now a millionaire!'
Three days later, the contestant hosted a party for her family
And
Friends, including the blonde who had helped her win the
Million
Dollars.
'Jeni, I just do not know how to thank you, ' said the
Contestant.
'How did you happen to know the right answer?'
'Oh, come on,' said the blonde 'Everybody knows that cuckoos
Don't
Build nests. They live in clocks.'
Sally fainted
Who Wants to be a Millionaire?
A contestant Sally, on 'Who Wants to be a Millionaire?'
Had reached the final plateau.
If she answered the next question correctly, she would win
$1,000,000.
If she answered incorrectly, she would pocket only the $25,000
Milestone money.
And as she suspected the Million Dollar Question was no
Pushover.
It was, 'Which of the following species of birds does not build
Its own
Nest but instead lays its eggs in the nests of other birds? Is
It:
A) the condor
B) the buzzard
C) the cuckoo
D) the vulture
The woman was on the spot..... She did not know the answer.
She had used up her 50/50 Lifeline and her Ask the Audience
Lifeline.....
All that remained was her Phone-a-Friend Lifeline.
She hoped she would not have to use it because........ Her
Friend was,
Well, a blonde.
But she had no alternative. She called her friend and gave her
The
Question and the four choices. The blonde responded
Unhesitatingly:
'That's easy.... The answer is C: the cuckoo.'
The contestant had to make a decision and make it fast.
She considered employing a reverse strategy and giving any
Answer her.
Except the one that her friend had given
And considering her friend was a blonde that would seem to be
The
Logical t hing to do. But her friend had responded with such
Confidence,
Such certitude, that the contestant could not help but be
Convinced.
Crossing her fingers, the contestant said, 'C: The cuckoo.'
'Is that your final answer?'
'Yes, that is my final answer.'
'That answer is Absolutely correct!
You are now a millionaire!'
Three days later, the contestant hosted a party for her family
And
Friends, including the blonde who had helped her win the
Million
Dollars.
'Jeni, I just do not know how to thank you, ' said the
Contestant.
'How did you happen to know the right answer?'
'Oh, come on,' said the blonde 'Everybody knows that cuckoos
Don't
Build nests. They live in clocks.'
Sally fainted
Thursday, May 28, 2009
The weekend, plus some before
So Eric chided me about writing about the weekend so I guess I should get to it! But really I could probably go back a little further. So let's go back to Saturday the 16th. That morning I headed off to Chicago to pick up my parents. It rained their first day there so we stuck around and went to the Field Museum where we saw the Early America exhibit, Pirates, and the dinosaurs. Then we drove back to Milwaukee, saw a little of the city and ate at Trocadero. Sunday morning was Graduation, which was lovely though the speaker went on a bit. Then lots of pictures and off to Mader's for brunch. My parents are buffet brunch fans and I am a fan of going to buffets at restaurants that have food that I don't really know well, then you can get an understanding of what is what and what you like. Like the Indian restaurant: they have a great buffet with stuff I would probably not order off the menu but now I know that I like it so I can order it in the future... or just go to the buffet! Ryan, however, is not adventurous in food so it was amusing. Anyway, it was a good time. After a little digestion and changing time, the parents and I went to the Harley Davidson Museum which was pretty cool. I didn't know any of the history and of course seeing all the old bikes is interesting. We did attend a very horrible little talk about the bricks on the outside of the building. The content was good and I learned from it, but the presentation was deplorable. After our visit to the gift shop we drove around the city a little more and then went to Alterra at the Lake, which is pretty cool and the parents liked it. What is there not to like about it? It is in a cool building, has greenness outside, and a lake across the road. We ran into Brian and his family there, which I had a feeling we would though he lives in Whitefish Bay so there was really no reason to expect it (an example Ryan). After getting caffinated we came to my apartment and hung out for a while. My dad offered to help pack but I decided against it as I wasn't ready for it. Then Dad wanted something to eat so we went to California Pizza Kitchen where no one wanted to wait on us, which got comical after a while. But we finally ate and it was good. I took Mom and Dad back to their hotel and went to bed myself. On Monday I picked them up and we went to the Pabst mansion which was really a cool place. I recommend it to anyone who hasn't seen it. It was perfect for my parents as it only took about an hour which was good for my dad and involved an old house which was good for my mom. It reminded my mom of one of the houses she grew up in. They are trying to refurbish the place which isn't easy and takes a lot of money. Especially since the Milwaukee Diocese bought the place and sold all the furnishings so they are trying to get them back or buy similar items. After our experience at Pabst we met Eric at Fugyama for half-price sushi lunch. There was a lot of sushi consumed and it was good. With full bellies all four of us got into my car and headed to the O'Hare. I think this was the heaviest my car has ever been with four big adults and a full trunk, but we made it just fine. On the way back Eric and I took a walk through Gurnee Mills and didn't find what we wanted so we stopped in Kenosha too. Then I was starving so we went to Olive Garden where I ate salad and breadsticks and three bites of my entree. Starving, I say. Wednesday Eric came grocery shopping with me and then I had my House Cooling Party which was fun and entertaining. People came, people left, people came, people told funny stories, we band geeked out, bonded over memories of Jars of Clay "Flood," and killed three bottles of wine, since that is all I had. I should have made margaritas.
I have been working on a grant funded project this semester so I got some work on that done and applied for a lot of jobs. Friday evening Eric and I made Pho for dinner which was fantastic, much better than I expected. Later we went to celebrate Guy's birthday at Buffalo Wild Wings and then back to Guy and Bridget's place for margaritas, Wii oddness, and drum corp videos. Saturday Eric and I actually made it to Kilties practice on time for once! I had a ton of clothes on by managed to take some of them off over the course of the day- yipee- and get started on my tan for the year. We had dinner at Infusino's with 17 other people! Crazy! On Sunday we did more practice which we made it to again on time... wow a streak! After practice we headed back to Milwaukee to rescue Eric's friend from a wedding at the Art Museum. Wish we could have gone to the wedding. We took her to Water Buffalo and talked for a while. Monday had us in Racine by 8:15 am... I am amazed. We marched in the parade- yay! I love a parade! We then went to the mall and walked around for a bit before we headed to Greg and Missie's party where we stayed for 10 hours! A lot of people graced that party and a lot of food was consumed. Games were played. It was a fun time with a bunch of fun people! Tuesday I pretty much stayed put to recover from the weekend- it was quite a lot of running around- outside for over ten hours three days in a row. Great time. And now I am back to the grind of finishing the grant work, and trying to find a job and a new place to live though I can stay here through the end of June.
I have been working on a grant funded project this semester so I got some work on that done and applied for a lot of jobs. Friday evening Eric and I made Pho for dinner which was fantastic, much better than I expected. Later we went to celebrate Guy's birthday at Buffalo Wild Wings and then back to Guy and Bridget's place for margaritas, Wii oddness, and drum corp videos. Saturday Eric and I actually made it to Kilties practice on time for once! I had a ton of clothes on by managed to take some of them off over the course of the day- yipee- and get started on my tan for the year. We had dinner at Infusino's with 17 other people! Crazy! On Sunday we did more practice which we made it to again on time... wow a streak! After practice we headed back to Milwaukee to rescue Eric's friend from a wedding at the Art Museum. Wish we could have gone to the wedding. We took her to Water Buffalo and talked for a while. Monday had us in Racine by 8:15 am... I am amazed. We marched in the parade- yay! I love a parade! We then went to the mall and walked around for a bit before we headed to Greg and Missie's party where we stayed for 10 hours! A lot of people graced that party and a lot of food was consumed. Games were played. It was a fun time with a bunch of fun people! Tuesday I pretty much stayed put to recover from the weekend- it was quite a lot of running around- outside for over ten hours three days in a row. Great time. And now I am back to the grind of finishing the grant work, and trying to find a job and a new place to live though I can stay here through the end of June.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Falling into the abyss/pool
I am suffering the post- whatever blahs. This past semester I managed to finish my thesis when the situation looked like such a thing was going to be near impossible. It happened fast, indeed. And now I am on the other side of it. I graduated. I finished the thesis, I defended it, I bound it, and submitted it to the department. I walked at graduation, got a nifty hood and a folder for my diploma, whenever it arrives. I am done. But for what? What comes next? What is my next challenge?
In these blahs, that I knew without question would surface, I am thankful to have friends who can pop in to drag me out. As I was walking to school today I got a text message which did the trick in dragging me out of my doldrums.
Tomorrow night is the House Cooling Party. I am working on the menu and considering all that needs to get done tomorrow... maybe I will get going on that tonight! I am excited that many people are coming, but the number of people with restricted diets has multiplied so that will require some creativity.
In these blahs, that I knew without question would surface, I am thankful to have friends who can pop in to drag me out. As I was walking to school today I got a text message which did the trick in dragging me out of my doldrums.
Tomorrow night is the House Cooling Party. I am working on the menu and considering all that needs to get done tomorrow... maybe I will get going on that tonight! I am excited that many people are coming, but the number of people with restricted diets has multiplied so that will require some creativity.
Friday, May 8, 2009
It's Friday and I am Fried
I bet that title means to some something other than what I intend but at this point I do not care. It is Friday, I am tired, it has been quite a week.
Tuesday, of course, was the big day: I defended my thesis and I passed. I thought I would be elated or happy or something of that sort, but not really. This could be because of the work that still needs to be done on my thesis. It would be okay if it was an add this, take out this sort of thing, instead I am charged with a rewrite of a large portion using a different sort of language- acktdhabrahbbbb! Different sort of language?!! Yuck. So I am not done and making very slow progress because I practiced that language I was using before pretty hard. And so I am also still stressed about the whole thing, thus not sleeping well, thus tired, thus not thinking clearly, thus not writing clearly, thus not getting it done. And there is plenty else to do like find a job and a place to live. To that end I have sent emails, filled out applications, sent CV's, and sent inquiries. I also took money out of my mutual funds so I don't bounce checks and/or run out of money and I am not happy about having to do so.
I went out on Tuesday night with several people to celebrate my successful defense and Cinco de Mayo at the same time. A margarita and a bunch of Mexican food left me super full. It was a good time.
So it is Danny Gokey Day here in Milwaukee. I am not sure if the mayor or anyone else decided this, but FOX certainly did. I think it would be interesting, considering last week the governor and the mayor were giving press conferences about Swine Flu, for this week the topic of a press conference to be Gokey Day. I digress. They are having a big pep rally at Summerfest Grounds. Apparently I decided not to go and am instead writing this in my office after attending a colloquium here in Sociologyland. But the Bucks Wild peeps are performing at the shindig and were supposed to go on about 45 minutes ago (3:00), though the FOX people said the gates opened at 4:15. Not real sure what the story is, but I am sure I will hear about it later.
This weekend brings yet another weekend of Kilties in my life. We are supposed to put the first and second movements on the field, but the weather is supposed to be bad tomorrow. Who knows what is going to happen? I don't. Hopefully we will make good progress, have a good time, and everyone will maintain a positive attitude. I so long for the days when I showed up, did my stuff and went home without all the excess drama and gossip. It would be particularly easy this year, being in the Guard, to be completely oblivious to everything going on in the rest of the corp. I just need some more energy to make it through the weekend without dying!
Now, pretty much everyone is gone from the department so I think I will go home soon. My apartment is a disaster area, the dishes seem to be mutiplying. But in all reality lots of dishes are what you get when you take on multiple cooking projects. I also have a mountain of laundry. All this needs to be get cleaned up as my place will be shown this weekend. Then it needs to stay clean because Mom and Dad are coming next weekend when I will be graduating. Can't believe that is coming up next weekend- time is flying.
Tuesday, of course, was the big day: I defended my thesis and I passed. I thought I would be elated or happy or something of that sort, but not really. This could be because of the work that still needs to be done on my thesis. It would be okay if it was an add this, take out this sort of thing, instead I am charged with a rewrite of a large portion using a different sort of language- acktdhabrahbbbb! Different sort of language?!! Yuck. So I am not done and making very slow progress because I practiced that language I was using before pretty hard. And so I am also still stressed about the whole thing, thus not sleeping well, thus tired, thus not thinking clearly, thus not writing clearly, thus not getting it done. And there is plenty else to do like find a job and a place to live. To that end I have sent emails, filled out applications, sent CV's, and sent inquiries. I also took money out of my mutual funds so I don't bounce checks and/or run out of money and I am not happy about having to do so.
I went out on Tuesday night with several people to celebrate my successful defense and Cinco de Mayo at the same time. A margarita and a bunch of Mexican food left me super full. It was a good time.
So it is Danny Gokey Day here in Milwaukee. I am not sure if the mayor or anyone else decided this, but FOX certainly did. I think it would be interesting, considering last week the governor and the mayor were giving press conferences about Swine Flu, for this week the topic of a press conference to be Gokey Day. I digress. They are having a big pep rally at Summerfest Grounds. Apparently I decided not to go and am instead writing this in my office after attending a colloquium here in Sociologyland. But the Bucks Wild peeps are performing at the shindig and were supposed to go on about 45 minutes ago (3:00), though the FOX people said the gates opened at 4:15. Not real sure what the story is, but I am sure I will hear about it later.
This weekend brings yet another weekend of Kilties in my life. We are supposed to put the first and second movements on the field, but the weather is supposed to be bad tomorrow. Who knows what is going to happen? I don't. Hopefully we will make good progress, have a good time, and everyone will maintain a positive attitude. I so long for the days when I showed up, did my stuff and went home without all the excess drama and gossip. It would be particularly easy this year, being in the Guard, to be completely oblivious to everything going on in the rest of the corp. I just need some more energy to make it through the weekend without dying!
Now, pretty much everyone is gone from the department so I think I will go home soon. My apartment is a disaster area, the dishes seem to be mutiplying. But in all reality lots of dishes are what you get when you take on multiple cooking projects. I also have a mountain of laundry. All this needs to be get cleaned up as my place will be shown this weekend. Then it needs to stay clean because Mom and Dad are coming next weekend when I will be graduating. Can't believe that is coming up next weekend- time is flying.
Monday, May 4, 2009
Orange Creamcicle Margaritas are good
Not too many people comment on my blogs which sometimes makes me sad. But then I am made aware of the fact that people are in fact reading my blogs. What is odd is that males tend to read and comment via other than posted comments like calling me or mentioning something in conversation while females actually write comments. I will think on that further and come up with some kind of far reaching sociological explanation... or not. Anyway, Eric and Ryan sometimes read and make comments. But yesterday I got a phone call from the friend in Seattle.... he says I am in the good (I think I meant to write good graces but oh well you all got the gist... these mistakes are what happen when I go without an editor!) and that I made a wise choice. I was actually kind of shocked to get the phone call as I had not anticipated a phone call being generated by the post.
In other news, my ex called yesterday to tell me that all is going super fantastically well with he and his new girlfriend and they are "talking about things that people our age talk about when they are in a serious relationship." Two months people, they have been dating two months. It is never easy to hear that from your ex, no matter what. Ryan tried hard to talk me off the ledge ... they are of different religions they have to gauge if this is going to work at all... what will the wedding look like.. church or temple or outside or what? Wait, I know the answers to all those questions.
Amber and I just practiced some weapons. Baby steps in the weapon world for me.... those things are dangerous!!
Now I must grade some of my students' Methodology-s, write a program evaluation, and prepare the outline for my defense. Other people practiced their defense.... based on the lectures I have been to in the last month given by world renowned scholars, such preparation is not professional. ;)
In other news, my ex called yesterday to tell me that all is going super fantastically well with he and his new girlfriend and they are "talking about things that people our age talk about when they are in a serious relationship." Two months people, they have been dating two months. It is never easy to hear that from your ex, no matter what. Ryan tried hard to talk me off the ledge ... they are of different religions they have to gauge if this is going to work at all... what will the wedding look like.. church or temple or outside or what? Wait, I know the answers to all those questions.
Amber and I just practiced some weapons. Baby steps in the weapon world for me.... those things are dangerous!!
Now I must grade some of my students' Methodology-s, write a program evaluation, and prepare the outline for my defense. Other people practiced their defense.... based on the lectures I have been to in the last month given by world renowned scholars, such preparation is not professional. ;)
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Ah-la-la-la-la-le-lu-ah and the phone story
Two weekends now I went to Oregon/Washington for Kim's wedding. It was a good time. I got to stay in a hotel and got a good amount of work done on my thesis. I think this is a useful thing for me to know- I get a lot of writing done in a hotel room. Expensive way to get writing done, but I will store that knowledge for later. I also got to see Amanda and her boyfriend, Scott, while there and that was good as well. What I did not do, and will pay for a while for, is call another friend I have who lives in Seattle- only a two hour drive away. He is not very happy with me as a result of my failure to call. This is because he (like me, actually) is the kind of person who will drive two hours to and from a place to meet someone and hang out for 15 minutes. I did feel bad about not making the call as I had previously mentioned him possibly coming to the wedding with me. But as it turned out I flew in Friday night and out Sunday morning and I had a thesis that needed to be done by the next Tuesday. Knowing if I called he would certainly come down and that I would feel bad cutting the visit short I didn't call. Unfortunately this did not go undetected as Amanda then went up to Seattle and visited with him and there was no hiding that I had been in the region. I got a phone call the next Sunday while I was at Kilties that totally called me out. I apologized but I don't think I am back in the good. Meanwhile, when I got back I had to deal with Ryan who was not at all happy to drive down to get me from O'Hare. Pretty sure my friend from Seattle would have picked me up from O'Hare if he could.
I guess I can say this: my thesis defense is scheduled for Tuesday. I would like to say that my thesis is done, but I don't know if this is the case as it is likely to see revision before it is signed and submitted to the department. My committee has a copy of the monster but I have made some changes since that copy. I am looking at family structure and I defined it as single parent, two biological parent, or other. In my initial analysis I used other as the comparison category but that doesn't actually tell us much. It didn't occur to me until I was talking to Eric two Thursdays ago while folding clothes that I could use single or two parent families as the comparison category and be able to say something. But this change meant a bit of work to revise the table and the text of my paper so I did that yesterday and will have to present revisions to my committee at my defense. I don't know if such a thing is typical, but it is what my adviser suggested and at this point my adviser is God of the situation- what he says goes. So it seems that this is good. I have been taking on an attitude of "don't count the eggs before they are hatched" in all things related to my thesis. I am fully aware that my committee could decide I am not done and give me a list of things that must be done which will delay my official completion. This could mean I don't actually graduate.... they are collectively God of that (hmmm.... how polytheistic of me). But I got my graduation regalia yesterday in the mail and the parents are coming to town for graduation so it appears that I am walking if nothing else.
The job search is sucking. I am frustrated by the bad application formatting and the repetition in the process. It is so hard to put effort into the applications when my experience is that few of them will even be considered. Eric applied for a job in Madison and a few days later received an email from a staffing company in Philadelphia saying that while he was qualified for the job they decided not to forward his application. Not an encouraging message to get. But of course we have no choice but to press on.
Amanda came to visit Wisconsin this week. I picked her up from the airport on Monday night. We went to lunch at Ryan's shop on Tuesday then to the Milwaukee Art Museum- I really like that place. Then her friends came and picked her up and took her to town in the middle of nowhere Wisconsin that I will not name. I guess it was not quite to her liking so she escaped and came back to Milwaukee last evening and Eric joined us for a trip to Lakefront Brewery for the tour and fish fry complete with Polka music. It was great! My second time on the tour, this one was more entertaining, and my first time at the fish fry which was yummy and fun. Will have to see about going in the summer to see the crowds. Today we got up, I made breakfast, Eric finally showed up, Amanda packed up, we went to the Public Market for a quick lap, and took Amanda to Amtrak and off she went to Chicago to meet Scott at his aunt's house in Evanston.
Aha! The phone story. This is a funny one, I think. So I have been sick this week: coughing, sneezing, nose stuffy. Went to see the doctor on Monday- no Swine Flu for me, but I was on anti-biotics that did not improve my health as quickly as they usually do. Point is I had not been sleeping as well as I might due to waking up for various reasons chief among them coughing. Well Wednesday night I settled in for some better, cough-less sleep and kept sleeping through my alarm. I didn't wake until 8:30 and needed to be in class by 9:00. I quick got up and dressed, it wasn't until I was putting on my shoes that I realized that it was raining outside. Well, at this point my only hope of making it to class on time was to ride my bike so I did that and ended up with soaked jeans by the time I arrived at school. So, being sick, I was unhappy with this (unavoidable, given my mode of transportation) outcome and I was locking up my bike which of course did not want to cooperate and I ruched to class. Well after class I was meeting with my advisor to discuss the above issue with my thesis. I returned to my office to hear that one of the department secretaries had called for me. That is odd since she would normally just walk down the hall instead of calling. So I headed back down the hall to see what she wanted and here she came down the hall. "The police called, they have your cell phone," she said. Hmmm. That's interesting I had not noticed that it was gone. So I head back into the office and call the police department as instructed. So I get on the phone with the officer who has my phone and he tells me he called my mom!!! In California!!! Immediately I am calculating what time it must have been in CA and contemplating the fact that I got tattled on. "She didn't want to talk to me at first," the officer tells me. "But when I told her who I was, who I work for, she was more willing." I bet! As it turned out it wasn't until about 10:30 Milwaukee time, 8:30 CA time that this all took place so my mom was at a school and was not happy to be on the phone because that doesn't look good. So the police officer on the phone asks me a bunch of questions: my address, office phone, office number, so forth. Then I hang up, tell my office mates the deal and resume what I was doing on the computer. The office phone rings, I answer, and it is my father!! Letting me know that the police have my phone. "Thanks, Dad," I say and hang up. My office mates are laughing, "Was that really your Dad?!" Yes, yes it was. So I got my phone back and all is back to normal-ish.... I mean as normal as my life gets.
I guess I can say this: my thesis defense is scheduled for Tuesday. I would like to say that my thesis is done, but I don't know if this is the case as it is likely to see revision before it is signed and submitted to the department. My committee has a copy of the monster but I have made some changes since that copy. I am looking at family structure and I defined it as single parent, two biological parent, or other. In my initial analysis I used other as the comparison category but that doesn't actually tell us much. It didn't occur to me until I was talking to Eric two Thursdays ago while folding clothes that I could use single or two parent families as the comparison category and be able to say something. But this change meant a bit of work to revise the table and the text of my paper so I did that yesterday and will have to present revisions to my committee at my defense. I don't know if such a thing is typical, but it is what my adviser suggested and at this point my adviser is God of the situation- what he says goes. So it seems that this is good. I have been taking on an attitude of "don't count the eggs before they are hatched" in all things related to my thesis. I am fully aware that my committee could decide I am not done and give me a list of things that must be done which will delay my official completion. This could mean I don't actually graduate.... they are collectively God of that (hmmm.... how polytheistic of me). But I got my graduation regalia yesterday in the mail and the parents are coming to town for graduation so it appears that I am walking if nothing else.
The job search is sucking. I am frustrated by the bad application formatting and the repetition in the process. It is so hard to put effort into the applications when my experience is that few of them will even be considered. Eric applied for a job in Madison and a few days later received an email from a staffing company in Philadelphia saying that while he was qualified for the job they decided not to forward his application. Not an encouraging message to get. But of course we have no choice but to press on.
Amanda came to visit Wisconsin this week. I picked her up from the airport on Monday night. We went to lunch at Ryan's shop on Tuesday then to the Milwaukee Art Museum- I really like that place. Then her friends came and picked her up and took her to town in the middle of nowhere Wisconsin that I will not name. I guess it was not quite to her liking so she escaped and came back to Milwaukee last evening and Eric joined us for a trip to Lakefront Brewery for the tour and fish fry complete with Polka music. It was great! My second time on the tour, this one was more entertaining, and my first time at the fish fry which was yummy and fun. Will have to see about going in the summer to see the crowds. Today we got up, I made breakfast, Eric finally showed up, Amanda packed up, we went to the Public Market for a quick lap, and took Amanda to Amtrak and off she went to Chicago to meet Scott at his aunt's house in Evanston.
Aha! The phone story. This is a funny one, I think. So I have been sick this week: coughing, sneezing, nose stuffy. Went to see the doctor on Monday- no Swine Flu for me, but I was on anti-biotics that did not improve my health as quickly as they usually do. Point is I had not been sleeping as well as I might due to waking up for various reasons chief among them coughing. Well Wednesday night I settled in for some better, cough-less sleep and kept sleeping through my alarm. I didn't wake until 8:30 and needed to be in class by 9:00. I quick got up and dressed, it wasn't until I was putting on my shoes that I realized that it was raining outside. Well, at this point my only hope of making it to class on time was to ride my bike so I did that and ended up with soaked jeans by the time I arrived at school. So, being sick, I was unhappy with this (unavoidable, given my mode of transportation) outcome and I was locking up my bike which of course did not want to cooperate and I ruched to class. Well after class I was meeting with my advisor to discuss the above issue with my thesis. I returned to my office to hear that one of the department secretaries had called for me. That is odd since she would normally just walk down the hall instead of calling. So I headed back down the hall to see what she wanted and here she came down the hall. "The police called, they have your cell phone," she said. Hmmm. That's interesting I had not noticed that it was gone. So I head back into the office and call the police department as instructed. So I get on the phone with the officer who has my phone and he tells me he called my mom!!! In California!!! Immediately I am calculating what time it must have been in CA and contemplating the fact that I got tattled on. "She didn't want to talk to me at first," the officer tells me. "But when I told her who I was, who I work for, she was more willing." I bet! As it turned out it wasn't until about 10:30 Milwaukee time, 8:30 CA time that this all took place so my mom was at a school and was not happy to be on the phone because that doesn't look good. So the police officer on the phone asks me a bunch of questions: my address, office phone, office number, so forth. Then I hang up, tell my office mates the deal and resume what I was doing on the computer. The office phone rings, I answer, and it is my father!! Letting me know that the police have my phone. "Thanks, Dad," I say and hang up. My office mates are laughing, "Was that really your Dad?!" Yes, yes it was. So I got my phone back and all is back to normal-ish.... I mean as normal as my life gets.
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Politics and the Economy
At a time when we have a President who has called for bi-particianship it seems to me that there is even more particianship. My perception is likely clouded by a) the lack of attention I paid to politics when Bush was President due to my semi-perminent state of cringe, and b) the enormous amount of attention Obama gets in the media- as the grandpa I was sitting in the spa with last night pointed out, there has not been a day since he took office that he has not been mentioned on the news. I have no problem with particianship and the fact that our two parties have differing opinions, but the benefit of having differing opinions is that each can challenge the other which can lead to better ideas and decisions. Unfortunately differing opinions seem to be leading to stupidity. Republicans seem to be morally opposed to agreeing with Democrats, not on the principal of the idea but instead on the principal of agreeing. Further it seems to me that Republicans are getting dumber. Last night I was watching CNN and a Republican legislator from Bakersfield, CA (complete with a background with changing images of Bakersfield) was complaining about how stimulus funds are being spent. The governor of Ohio, I believe, he said is going to spend a load of money $23 million or so on a study rather than projects that apply the shovel to the ground and provide jobs for hardworking people... or something like that. Hello! Wake up! Get your head out of your butt!!! Obviously this guy doesn't know what a study is and for this I think the voters of Bakersfield should send him to school. Someone has to do a study. Actually a bunch of someones are often involved with a study. And these people get paid. If there are not studies to be done, these people may not have jobs. So doing a study provides jobs for people. Educated people, people like me, thank you very much. And this is what I am concerned about. In case you have not been paying attention the past 10 or 20 years we have this little problem with immigration and we Americans are snobs and don't want to do menial labor. So why are we so intent on providing menial labor jobs? In the US our educational institutions are factories of knowledge. We need to provide jobs for these people who we have already subsidized through funding to institutions of higher learning, and financial aid and subsidized loans to students. Where is this in the economic recovery plan? I am not hearing about it. I am hearing about cleaning up trash, and re-paving highways. How many Republican lawmakers want those jobs for their children. I am not knocking these jobs, they are vitally important to the infastructure of the US. Increasing the number of them, will, duh employ more people. I just see an imbalance of focus on these jobs to the exclusion of other jobs.
On Thursday I had an "ah-ha" moment when I was at a lecture given my Saskia Sassen, a world famous sociologist who is most known for her research on globalization. I had been having a funny feeling about the bailouts being given to the financial sector and the fact that it seemed that as the US economy tanked so did the world economy. Dr. Sassan was talking about the tension between the national and the global, which people seem to want to see as exclusive of one another but they really can co-exist. She pointed out that the bailouts given by the US government were not bailing out a national system but instead are bailing out a global system. Ah-ha. That is totally the case and why should the US carry the responsibilty in this area? Which goes to the G-12 (that's the right number, right?) and all that happened at that meeting...
Okay. All for now. Off to the wedding festivities! Another friend willingly surrenders her last name.
On Thursday I had an "ah-ha" moment when I was at a lecture given my Saskia Sassen, a world famous sociologist who is most known for her research on globalization. I had been having a funny feeling about the bailouts being given to the financial sector and the fact that it seemed that as the US economy tanked so did the world economy. Dr. Sassan was talking about the tension between the national and the global, which people seem to want to see as exclusive of one another but they really can co-exist. She pointed out that the bailouts given by the US government were not bailing out a national system but instead are bailing out a global system. Ah-ha. That is totally the case and why should the US carry the responsibilty in this area? Which goes to the G-12 (that's the right number, right?) and all that happened at that meeting...
Okay. All for now. Off to the wedding festivities! Another friend willingly surrenders her last name.
Saturday, April 11, 2009
One thing, and then another
I have written a few blogs in the last couple of weeks but I am trying to follow the adage "if you don't have something nice to say, don't say anything at all." Not an easy task. Especially when some others do say not nice things. Apparently I said something not nice, in a moment or five of anger about a month ago that will continue to cause me problems for a while. But maybe we will get to that in a future post, maybe not.
My grandmother died on March 27 which is somewhat ironic since my grandfather (opposite side) died on September 27, 2008. In six months I lost two grandparents or 50% of my grandparents (oooh, yeah too much statistics and data analysis lately). That sucks. Now, this may be difficult to understand or some might find it harsh, but my grandma dying was a good thing in a bad way. Different people experience death and the resulting mourning in different ways and I think anger was the most prominent stage in my mourning process for my grandmother. She was old and she was in bad health. But she didn't do much of anything to fight her dissintigration into bad health and instead sat in her house and did not much of anything. A crossword, some reading, ordered stuff from catalogs, and waited for people to come visit her when she could have been hanging out at the senior center or with her great grandchildren or daughter and son-in-law. But after grandpa died and she moved to Bishop, she just seemed to have lost her desire to live and for this I am angry. But I think I am getting over it. I guess she got what she wanted... the chance to be with grandpa again. I just wish that her family had not had to experience her giving up on life as a result.
Tomorrow is Easter and this means that I can eat meat again. I was doing pretty good on this vegetarian thing until Wednesday and then I was over it and wanted some meat. A little chicken, fish, a good taco- come on!! Hopefully eating meat again will not make me sick. Eating vegetarian wasn't all bad, I just got a bit tired of all the beans I was eating in order to get some protein. I didn't eat as many eggs as I thought I might and really it was not as difficult as I thought it was going to be. Eric was pretty supportive in that he ate what I fixed, but when we went out he always got something with meat in it. Yesterday I really wanted some of his pasta with chicken in it!!! I am hoping as I merge back into omnivore status that I will not overdo the meat consumption just to make up for lost time. One thing I learned from my experience is that there are plenty of meatless meals that are good and so I plan to keep some of these foods in my diet. I was disappointed that I did not seem to have lost much weight. In that way I kinda wish I had observed Passover instead as I always seem to lose weight when carbs are removed from my diet. It is clear I love carbs.
I am working away on my thesis. Right now I am in problem solution mode as I am trying to maximize the number of cases on which my analysis is based by dealing with missing data issues. Somehow my analysis is down to 9000 some cases from 16000 cases so I need to see where all the cases went. Then I need to get on my horse and analyze this data. Then revise what I already have written, get it reviewed by the profs on my committee, revise, and put a bow on this hog! (Midwest humor?) Hopefully I will graduate on time. My dad told me yesterday that my parents have not bought their plane tickets yet.... oh, I just shake my head at that. Maybe they think I won't graduate and somehow we will know that in a reasonable amount of time before, or maybe they are just procrastinating like I did in making my reservations for the hotel in Vancouver where I will stay for Kim's wedding this coming weekend. Yikes! Kim will be married in seven days!!!
Both Eric and I have been applying for jobs. I think he really did apply for a job in Antarctica. If he goes without me I will be sad and maybe a little ticked off. But on the other hand I am cold here in Wisconsin and do you know how much the coats they suggest you have for being in Antarctica cost? Over $500. And I am tired of being inside here and hate the cold wind, how much worse will it be there? So maybe I should be happy the Norseman may go without me.
Tonight, another basketball game (go Bucks!) night. Keeping a positive attitude about it.
My grandmother died on March 27 which is somewhat ironic since my grandfather (opposite side) died on September 27, 2008. In six months I lost two grandparents or 50% of my grandparents (oooh, yeah too much statistics and data analysis lately). That sucks. Now, this may be difficult to understand or some might find it harsh, but my grandma dying was a good thing in a bad way. Different people experience death and the resulting mourning in different ways and I think anger was the most prominent stage in my mourning process for my grandmother. She was old and she was in bad health. But she didn't do much of anything to fight her dissintigration into bad health and instead sat in her house and did not much of anything. A crossword, some reading, ordered stuff from catalogs, and waited for people to come visit her when she could have been hanging out at the senior center or with her great grandchildren or daughter and son-in-law. But after grandpa died and she moved to Bishop, she just seemed to have lost her desire to live and for this I am angry. But I think I am getting over it. I guess she got what she wanted... the chance to be with grandpa again. I just wish that her family had not had to experience her giving up on life as a result.
Tomorrow is Easter and this means that I can eat meat again. I was doing pretty good on this vegetarian thing until Wednesday and then I was over it and wanted some meat. A little chicken, fish, a good taco- come on!! Hopefully eating meat again will not make me sick. Eating vegetarian wasn't all bad, I just got a bit tired of all the beans I was eating in order to get some protein. I didn't eat as many eggs as I thought I might and really it was not as difficult as I thought it was going to be. Eric was pretty supportive in that he ate what I fixed, but when we went out he always got something with meat in it. Yesterday I really wanted some of his pasta with chicken in it!!! I am hoping as I merge back into omnivore status that I will not overdo the meat consumption just to make up for lost time. One thing I learned from my experience is that there are plenty of meatless meals that are good and so I plan to keep some of these foods in my diet. I was disappointed that I did not seem to have lost much weight. In that way I kinda wish I had observed Passover instead as I always seem to lose weight when carbs are removed from my diet. It is clear I love carbs.
I am working away on my thesis. Right now I am in problem solution mode as I am trying to maximize the number of cases on which my analysis is based by dealing with missing data issues. Somehow my analysis is down to 9000 some cases from 16000 cases so I need to see where all the cases went. Then I need to get on my horse and analyze this data. Then revise what I already have written, get it reviewed by the profs on my committee, revise, and put a bow on this hog! (Midwest humor?) Hopefully I will graduate on time. My dad told me yesterday that my parents have not bought their plane tickets yet.... oh, I just shake my head at that. Maybe they think I won't graduate and somehow we will know that in a reasonable amount of time before, or maybe they are just procrastinating like I did in making my reservations for the hotel in Vancouver where I will stay for Kim's wedding this coming weekend. Yikes! Kim will be married in seven days!!!
Both Eric and I have been applying for jobs. I think he really did apply for a job in Antarctica. If he goes without me I will be sad and maybe a little ticked off. But on the other hand I am cold here in Wisconsin and do you know how much the coats they suggest you have for being in Antarctica cost? Over $500. And I am tired of being inside here and hate the cold wind, how much worse will it be there? So maybe I should be happy the Norseman may go without me.
Tonight, another basketball game (go Bucks!) night. Keeping a positive attitude about it.
Friday, April 3, 2009
April (snow?) showers
Okay it has been a long time, a long long time. I will try to make up a few here soon, we will see. What is going on? A lot. I finally got my thesis proposal to a good point and defended it and now I am on to the actual thesis work, thank heavens. Lots to do in a short amount of time. Lots of stress as things are really coming to the end here- of many things... but how many? Here is the current countdown
29 days until the goal I made for having my thesis done.
35 days until I have to be done
45 days until graduation
58 days until I am homeless
Yeah so I gave notice on my apartment when I paid my rent this month. That was scary enough, but then they put a For Rent sign in the yard so I get to have the reminder every day. Somehow I need to find a job and new place to live before those 58 days are up. It is going to be pretty difficult I fear.
Eric and I celebrated out semi-anniversary and that was nice. It has not been an easy six months in either of our lives, what with deaths, a layoff, and my thesis, but I think it has gone very well.
Eric was in a horrible mood today. I don't know what his deal was and I hope he gets over it. I was talking to Jamieson about guys and their tendency to get into a funk that is impermeable to intervention and can only blow over. But he did make me some tea while I was working on my thesis which was very kind.
29 days until the goal I made for having my thesis done.
35 days until I have to be done
45 days until graduation
58 days until I am homeless
Yeah so I gave notice on my apartment when I paid my rent this month. That was scary enough, but then they put a For Rent sign in the yard so I get to have the reminder every day. Somehow I need to find a job and new place to live before those 58 days are up. It is going to be pretty difficult I fear.
Eric and I celebrated out semi-anniversary and that was nice. It has not been an easy six months in either of our lives, what with deaths, a layoff, and my thesis, but I think it has gone very well.
Eric was in a horrible mood today. I don't know what his deal was and I hope he gets over it. I was talking to Jamieson about guys and their tendency to get into a funk that is impermeable to intervention and can only blow over. But he did make me some tea while I was working on my thesis which was very kind.
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Goodbye weekend, goodbye. A ramble.
What a weekend. Finished the second (near-final?) draft of my proposal. Made cookies. Went running in the rain. Graded student assignments that were decent to good, maybe three bad ones in the batch. Had an enjoyable dinner with some Soc people, though I will note that the only thing worse than a group of people who can't stop talking shop is having people from outside the shop come and make the group talk about shop, especially when the group intended to escape the shop. Hit the town with Eric and some of his boys and was joined by Tiffany and Melissa in full pursuit of intoxication- fun ensued. Headed out this afternoon for lunch at Fratello's got soaked so I came home and stayed here for the rest of the day staying dry and warm trying to prepare myself for my students' midterm on Thursday and bracing for the incoming literature reviews. I have been combing the Internet this weekend for things to do, jobs, and information about Summerfest. Didn't come up with much, but had a good time doing it. One more week of school before a week "off" and my trip to Los Angeles. Speaking of this trip, this is how it came about: Two Thursdays ago I was in my professor's office and we were talking about the Literature Review grading and I recalled that last semester I graded the Lit Reviews on the plane to and from Fresno where I had to go for my grandfather's memorial service and how well that dedicated time worked for getting the grading done. That led me to think about maybe going to CA for break, and then asking myself, why not? Then I asked Eric who I expected to blow the idea out of the water, but instead he said, sure. So now we are going. Yay! But I looked at the weather forecast and it is predicting rain- BOO! I hope that will change as it will but a snag in the plans to go to Knott's and the beach.
Friday, March 6, 2009
Limbo
I completed the second draft of my thesis proposal today so I feel somewhat elated but am fully aware that there will probably some additional revisions and it probably is not yet to defensible quality- which sucks. I need to get the proposal done and defended so I can get on with the analysis. But for now I am going to enjoy an opportunity to feel a little bit good about things and get some things done that I have let slip. I did a bunch of laundry but my apartment could use some TLC and I haven't done much baking lately so I might try a little of that.
I went vegetarian for Lent and it has been... okay. Eric and I went to Woodman's to grocery shop on Sunday. It was an interesting shopping trip. There is, of course, plenty of food available for vegetarians but making this change in my diet has made me (and as a result Eric) much more aware of what I (we) eat. Since Eric doesn't actually buy much when we go grocery shopping and has little food that is his in his house (most of it being left over from occupation by is cousin or aunt), my diet impacts his diet heavily. In the frozen dinner section there were precious few meals without meat, I had never noticed this before. Woodmans has a whole row including frozen foods for the health, vegan, and organic foods so that was a good place to go for yummy stuff I can eat. I got a few dinners and two Amy's burrito type things. Everything I have eaten so far has been good, except for the Jeweled Rice I made but that is because brown rice is sometimes difficult to deal with.
Eric and I are heading to Los Angeles for Spring Break in ten days. Yay! I am hoping for temperatures of 60+ each day we are there. The only things on the schedule so far are Knott's Berry Farm and Alvin Ailey Dance Theater. We also try to take in some ethnic foods of various kinds. Eric wants to go to a noodle house. I think he will find they are similar to those here in Milwaukee. I want to visit the ocean but I don't know if it is going to be warm enough for a good beach trip. Eric chuckled at me when I said that- he reminded me that he went in Lake Michigan on New Years Day- water temperature maybe 35, air temperature 20, wind chill making it about -10. I guess it will be warmer in California than that!!
I went vegetarian for Lent and it has been... okay. Eric and I went to Woodman's to grocery shop on Sunday. It was an interesting shopping trip. There is, of course, plenty of food available for vegetarians but making this change in my diet has made me (and as a result Eric) much more aware of what I (we) eat. Since Eric doesn't actually buy much when we go grocery shopping and has little food that is his in his house (most of it being left over from occupation by is cousin or aunt), my diet impacts his diet heavily. In the frozen dinner section there were precious few meals without meat, I had never noticed this before. Woodmans has a whole row including frozen foods for the health, vegan, and organic foods so that was a good place to go for yummy stuff I can eat. I got a few dinners and two Amy's burrito type things. Everything I have eaten so far has been good, except for the Jeweled Rice I made but that is because brown rice is sometimes difficult to deal with.
Eric and I are heading to Los Angeles for Spring Break in ten days. Yay! I am hoping for temperatures of 60+ each day we are there. The only things on the schedule so far are Knott's Berry Farm and Alvin Ailey Dance Theater. We also try to take in some ethnic foods of various kinds. Eric wants to go to a noodle house. I think he will find they are similar to those here in Milwaukee. I want to visit the ocean but I don't know if it is going to be warm enough for a good beach trip. Eric chuckled at me when I said that- he reminded me that he went in Lake Michigan on New Years Day- water temperature maybe 35, air temperature 20, wind chill making it about -10. I guess it will be warmer in California than that!!
Saturday, February 28, 2009
End of Februrary Life
Wow! I knew I fell off the side of the earth, but I didn't realize for how long! That illness I had left me 50% down for the count for over two weeks. It was bad news bears, as they say. But I managed to emerge from it, finally. I am trying to get my thesis proposal revised and done done by Friday, it has a long way to go.
I am not doing well on any of my goals for this year! I did get and cook something from the Joy of Cooking, and it was good. But you would think by this time I would have cooked more than one thing from there! Working has only been getting done by virtue of the fact that I have dance class twice a week, lost my ID so I have to walk to and from school, and we had Kilties. However, I have noticed that I was not as sore as I usually am after Kilties this month and I have better endurance on my walks to school (though this could be because I have to carry much less back and forth with my light course schedule) and in other activities as well. Need to work more formal exercise into my schedule. I have not been losing weight as a result of my lack of exercise and I blame some of it on Winter! I have, however, decided to go vegetarian for Lent. This occurred as a result of Eric chiding me when I proposed to give up other items that were less sacrificial like red meat or chocolate. At least this way I still get to eat chocolate. I have been doing okay with my hospitality resolution in small ways, like making food for small group meetings almost bi-week. Obviously I have not been as diligent with my work as I could have been. But progress is being made on the thesis process toward me graduating in May. We can all see my lack of achievement of the blog once a week goal. I will try harder, okay? =)
Other stuff I have been up to.... hmm. For Valentine's Day, Eric and I made fondue, which was fun as always. I applied for a job here in Milwaukee that hopefully could start after I graduate. I mention this because the application took many hours to complete! We had Kilties last weekend and it seemed that a number of people were cranky- boo to you people. I took Ryan out for his birthday and then we saw Pat McCurdy at Bar Louie this past Tuesday night , that was a night of a ton of fun. I enjoy Pat McCurdy a great deal because his shows involve audience participation.
Okay I am going back to writing now!
I am not doing well on any of my goals for this year! I did get and cook something from the Joy of Cooking, and it was good. But you would think by this time I would have cooked more than one thing from there! Working has only been getting done by virtue of the fact that I have dance class twice a week, lost my ID so I have to walk to and from school, and we had Kilties. However, I have noticed that I was not as sore as I usually am after Kilties this month and I have better endurance on my walks to school (though this could be because I have to carry much less back and forth with my light course schedule) and in other activities as well. Need to work more formal exercise into my schedule. I have not been losing weight as a result of my lack of exercise and I blame some of it on Winter! I have, however, decided to go vegetarian for Lent. This occurred as a result of Eric chiding me when I proposed to give up other items that were less sacrificial like red meat or chocolate. At least this way I still get to eat chocolate. I have been doing okay with my hospitality resolution in small ways, like making food for small group meetings almost bi-week. Obviously I have not been as diligent with my work as I could have been. But progress is being made on the thesis process toward me graduating in May. We can all see my lack of achievement of the blog once a week goal. I will try harder, okay? =)
Other stuff I have been up to.... hmm. For Valentine's Day, Eric and I made fondue, which was fun as always. I applied for a job here in Milwaukee that hopefully could start after I graduate. I mention this because the application took many hours to complete! We had Kilties last weekend and it seemed that a number of people were cranky- boo to you people. I took Ryan out for his birthday and then we saw Pat McCurdy at Bar Louie this past Tuesday night , that was a night of a ton of fun. I enjoy Pat McCurdy a great deal because his shows involve audience participation.
Okay I am going back to writing now!
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Ugh!
So the last few days have not been the best. I got the horrible cold that has been going around. I think it is the same one as the rest of my office at school has had, not the one that ski trip people had. Although, who knows? It could be the same thing. I am medicating and staying home. This seems to be the best course of action. Plenty of tissue, liquids, medications, a bed, clothes, blankets, and the bathroom are nice and handy. The problem is that I have a thesis proposal to get done by Tuesday and my head is full of yuck and it feels like I am trying to think through yuck. In case you aren't aware, thinking through yuck is neither effective nor fun.
Objectively worse than this, Eric got laid off yesterday from his job. I say objectively because in my head it is a really bad thing. I told Ryan and he reacted like maybe he/we would be in mourning. But a) Eric is taking it pretty well and is upbeat about it, and b) it didn't totally come out of the blue. This was at least the third round of layoffs the company has done and Eric is a younger member of the staff. Though he, and many others, thought he was indispensable because he is so talented in many different ways. Earlier this week we were watching the news and a story was being reported about Cardinal Stritch wanting to buy property from the Archdiocese of Milwaukee to build a south campus and the hearing that was going to occur. In the background of the footage were posters that Eric had made for the proposal. As Eric noted last night it was ironic that in one week his work was on TV and then he lost his job. Thankfully Eric isn't currently paying rent since he is living in his aunt's house which is up for sale. But they seem to be trying to sell the house as they have several showings and an open house this weekend. Like I said, Eric seems upbeat about the whole thing and has some ideas about where to seek new and possibly different employment... after he plays some video games :). Just kidding, I am sure he will get right on the job search though it is a stressful process that will probably require some stress relief in the form of said video game playing. Selfishly, I must admit I am wondering what this is going to do for my schedule. I thought I had the perfect thing going with my days all scheduled so that I would get my work done while Eric was working. Us, you know, still being in that "You're the greatest ever, I want to spend every waking moment with you" phase may make sticking to my schedule more difficult. So, for my sake alone I hope he finds a new job soon. You all know that is tongue in cheek, right? On the other hand, this could be a blessing in disguise because, based on my research, he is worth a lot more than he has been getting paid. Of course his value is in large part a virtue of that job as it has given him three years of experience, brought him some great contacts here in Milwaukee, helped him really get to know many of the environmental issues in Milwaukee, and learn how to navigate the bureaucratic channels in the state. So hopefully he will be able to find a better job nearby and not have to go to Madison or Chicago.
In other news, I seem to be drawn to the crazy stuff people do on the Internet these days. My dad sent me a note about a book about Dating and Dumping in LA by Zagat, but he didn't send me a link to the article he was talking about so I had to search for it and along the way I found the following trainwreck: http://www.okcupid.com/forum?low=1&tid=7223997838631196585 I cannot believe this girl did not have the evaluative skills to conclude that she had made a series of errors, should be embarrassed, say "Shame on him, but shame on me too," and move on with her life. Instead she writes a very popular note about it. The reader can almost feel bad for her, then a previous blog is exposed where she admits that she posted fake pictures of herself. When a potential beau decides he doesn't want to meet her after she reveals this deception she concludes that it is because he is superficial. Thankfully plenty of people are there to point out that if he is a decent guy he probably doesn't want to be lied to and deception is not a good foundation for a relationship. What is sad about the situation is that in both of her posts it is apparent that she has a personality that is attractive to at least some men, in the more recent case her appearance does get in the way, and in the earlier case her perception of her appearance got in the way. In a trite way we could say "Honesty is the best policy," but according to jerk-boy he would have have dated her if he knew her true weight. Of course, no one wants to date superficial jerk-boy, or know that they are. Mention of this instance would be funny in passing if I didn't have the sense that maybe this is only one in many similar situations. As I read this I stopped and thought about the possibility that I knew the girl who wrote these messages. I went back and read them again to convince myself that the writing style was not the same. These are very real issues in online dating- the FBS, which I had never heard of before reading the comments for this posting, whether to reveal ones real weight, whether to post pictures that are accurate portrayals of ones appearance or the super foxy done up ones, and how to deal with the pond scum that sometimes surface in online dating sites.
Then a new Facebook scandal with local tie-ins. http://www.jsonline.com/news/39091967.html Apparently a student at a high school in New Berlin, WI pretended to be a girl and used Facebook at AIM to illicit nude photos of boys at his high school. He then blackmailed the boys threatening to release the photos if they did not perform sexual favors for him. Wow! First the texting nude photos- porn charges, now this.... yowsers.
Okay, I think that is enough warm up for my proposal writing. My head feels a little bit more clear than it did when I started writing.
Objectively worse than this, Eric got laid off yesterday from his job. I say objectively because in my head it is a really bad thing. I told Ryan and he reacted like maybe he/we would be in mourning. But a) Eric is taking it pretty well and is upbeat about it, and b) it didn't totally come out of the blue. This was at least the third round of layoffs the company has done and Eric is a younger member of the staff. Though he, and many others, thought he was indispensable because he is so talented in many different ways. Earlier this week we were watching the news and a story was being reported about Cardinal Stritch wanting to buy property from the Archdiocese of Milwaukee to build a south campus and the hearing that was going to occur. In the background of the footage were posters that Eric had made for the proposal. As Eric noted last night it was ironic that in one week his work was on TV and then he lost his job. Thankfully Eric isn't currently paying rent since he is living in his aunt's house which is up for sale. But they seem to be trying to sell the house as they have several showings and an open house this weekend. Like I said, Eric seems upbeat about the whole thing and has some ideas about where to seek new and possibly different employment... after he plays some video games :). Just kidding, I am sure he will get right on the job search though it is a stressful process that will probably require some stress relief in the form of said video game playing. Selfishly, I must admit I am wondering what this is going to do for my schedule. I thought I had the perfect thing going with my days all scheduled so that I would get my work done while Eric was working. Us, you know, still being in that "You're the greatest ever, I want to spend every waking moment with you" phase may make sticking to my schedule more difficult. So, for my sake alone I hope he finds a new job soon. You all know that is tongue in cheek, right? On the other hand, this could be a blessing in disguise because, based on my research, he is worth a lot more than he has been getting paid. Of course his value is in large part a virtue of that job as it has given him three years of experience, brought him some great contacts here in Milwaukee, helped him really get to know many of the environmental issues in Milwaukee, and learn how to navigate the bureaucratic channels in the state. So hopefully he will be able to find a better job nearby and not have to go to Madison or Chicago.
In other news, I seem to be drawn to the crazy stuff people do on the Internet these days. My dad sent me a note about a book about Dating and Dumping in LA by Zagat, but he didn't send me a link to the article he was talking about so I had to search for it and along the way I found the following trainwreck: http://www.okcupid.com/forum?low=1&tid=7223997838631196585 I cannot believe this girl did not have the evaluative skills to conclude that she had made a series of errors, should be embarrassed, say "Shame on him, but shame on me too," and move on with her life. Instead she writes a very popular note about it. The reader can almost feel bad for her, then a previous blog is exposed where she admits that she posted fake pictures of herself. When a potential beau decides he doesn't want to meet her after she reveals this deception she concludes that it is because he is superficial. Thankfully plenty of people are there to point out that if he is a decent guy he probably doesn't want to be lied to and deception is not a good foundation for a relationship. What is sad about the situation is that in both of her posts it is apparent that she has a personality that is attractive to at least some men, in the more recent case her appearance does get in the way, and in the earlier case her perception of her appearance got in the way. In a trite way we could say "Honesty is the best policy," but according to jerk-boy he would have have dated her if he knew her true weight. Of course, no one wants to date superficial jerk-boy, or know that they are. Mention of this instance would be funny in passing if I didn't have the sense that maybe this is only one in many similar situations. As I read this I stopped and thought about the possibility that I knew the girl who wrote these messages. I went back and read them again to convince myself that the writing style was not the same. These are very real issues in online dating- the FBS, which I had never heard of before reading the comments for this posting, whether to reveal ones real weight, whether to post pictures that are accurate portrayals of ones appearance or the super foxy done up ones, and how to deal with the pond scum that sometimes surface in online dating sites.
Then a new Facebook scandal with local tie-ins. http://www.jsonline.com/news/39091967.html Apparently a student at a high school in New Berlin, WI pretended to be a girl and used Facebook at AIM to illicit nude photos of boys at his high school. He then blackmailed the boys threatening to release the photos if they did not perform sexual favors for him. Wow! First the texting nude photos- porn charges, now this.... yowsers.
Okay, I think that is enough warm up for my proposal writing. My head feels a little bit more clear than it did when I started writing.
Monday, February 2, 2009
Ski Trip!
So I am sitting here listening to a bunch of music from Songza.com, a site that Eric introduced to me. I am enjoying it because I am having trouble putting money or effort into my Ipod, it is good enough for running right now, but it is fun to be able to check out some other music that I am not familiar with. For example, last semester when I was writing my dance critique I used Songza to listed to some of the music the pieces were set to and it helped to remind me of what had happened. Also, my friend Tiffany likes a band called Griffin House and so I am listening to some of their music right now. It is pretty good- nice guitar and lyrics. And I can listen to some music to get Beyonce out of my head!!
I am trying to get down to business on my thesis but I have to uphold my blog resolution! I have set a goal to get a first draft of my thesis proposal done by Feb. 10, that is one week from now so I better get writing and revising! But first a little on the ski trip this past weekend:
The trip is an annual trip for Eric and his friends, their significant others, and some other fantastic people. This year ten people made up the group and we stayed in a great chalet close to the ski hill. The chalet had four bedrooms and two baths. It could have slept 20, if my calculations are correct. It had two gathering areas with TV's, a kitchen, dining table, and best of all a spa outside. We also had access to the indoor pool, spa, and workout room at the lodge for the ski resort. There isn't much to say other than that it was a great trip. I think fun was had by all. I certainly had a great time. I learned to ski. Unbelieveable. It is sort of unbelieveable that I had never learned to ski before, but then that I learned at my ancient age.... =)... that is pretty cool. I guess I was doing pretty good, at least that is what people told me. It was fun going down hills, except that I would start going too fast and panic, forget what I was supposed to do to slow down and instead throw myself into the ground- it is a pretty effective way to stop. The first four or so times it did not hurt to fall, but two of my falls hurt. I have always thought that skiing was a leisure time activity, but it really is a sport. It uses a lot of muscles! I started the weekend pretty sore from Kilties and overdoing the sautes in jazz class, which was bad news for skiing. But I survived with the help of many showers, dips in both outdoor and indoor spas, Advil, and stretching. I am looking forward to going skiing another time when I do not start out in pain! Yipppee!
I am trying to get down to business on my thesis but I have to uphold my blog resolution! I have set a goal to get a first draft of my thesis proposal done by Feb. 10, that is one week from now so I better get writing and revising! But first a little on the ski trip this past weekend:
The trip is an annual trip for Eric and his friends, their significant others, and some other fantastic people. This year ten people made up the group and we stayed in a great chalet close to the ski hill. The chalet had four bedrooms and two baths. It could have slept 20, if my calculations are correct. It had two gathering areas with TV's, a kitchen, dining table, and best of all a spa outside. We also had access to the indoor pool, spa, and workout room at the lodge for the ski resort. There isn't much to say other than that it was a great trip. I think fun was had by all. I certainly had a great time. I learned to ski. Unbelieveable. It is sort of unbelieveable that I had never learned to ski before, but then that I learned at my ancient age.... =)... that is pretty cool. I guess I was doing pretty good, at least that is what people told me. It was fun going down hills, except that I would start going too fast and panic, forget what I was supposed to do to slow down and instead throw myself into the ground- it is a pretty effective way to stop. The first four or so times it did not hurt to fall, but two of my falls hurt. I have always thought that skiing was a leisure time activity, but it really is a sport. It uses a lot of muscles! I started the weekend pretty sore from Kilties and overdoing the sautes in jazz class, which was bad news for skiing. But I survived with the help of many showers, dips in both outdoor and indoor spas, Advil, and stretching. I am looking forward to going skiing another time when I do not start out in pain! Yipppee!
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Chop Chop and Cupcakes
This is where this blog pay homage to the many fantastic cooking blogs that are out there.
Marinate in refrigerator for about two hours. Pour contents of bag into a baking dish that is just larger than the chicken breasts so that they are in one layer on the bottom of the dish. Bake at 375 for 31 minutes or 
until lightly browned. Chop chicken into smaller than bite size pieces.
We used an 8 oz package of Vigo Yellow Rice and a can of black beans.
Toppings:
On Sunday I decided to celebrate Eric's half-birthday. Not for any particular reason per se, just as something to do. So I had a recipe for double chocolate cupcakes with banana filling that I wanted to make and Eric wanted some Chop-Chop, so, it being his celebration, I obliged.
Chop Chop is a food I discovered while at the University of Miami. It is fantastic stuff that is served at a medium speed food place called Chicken Kitchen. In it's most basic form it is just chicken and rice. I make a version of the Cuban Chop-chop with yellow rice (at CK it comes with white rice) which involves black beans, lettuce, tomato, and mustard-curry sauce.
The chicken- figure about one breast for each person, the following is for two breasts
Combine in a gallon ziploc bag:
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
juice of 1/2 lime
The chicken- figure about one breast for each person, the following is for two breasts
Combine in a gallon ziploc bag:
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
juice of 1/2 lime
1/4 cup orange juice
1 teaspoon curry
Marinate in refrigerator for about two hours. Pour contents of bag into a baking dish that is just larger than the chicken breasts so that they are in one layer on the bottom of the dish. Bake at 375 for 31 minutes or 
until lightly browned. Chop chicken into smaller than bite size pieces.The sauce
1 cup mayonaise
1 tablespoons yellow mustard
1 tablespoon curry powder
adjust to taste
adjust to taste
We used an 8 oz package of Vigo Yellow Rice and a can of black beans.
Toppings:Shredded lettuce
Diced tomatoes
Grated Cheddar Cheese
Grated Cheddar Cheese
You can put it together however you want. I tend to put mine in a large bowl or on a plate in the following order: yellow rice, black beans, chicken, cheese, lettuce, tomato, and sauce. Be liberal with the sauce, it is the best and key part!
The final product. Yum!!Before this we made the cupcakes which was a bit of a process. Eric served as my assistant as I was cooking at his place so I could say, "Okay, I need four, sugar, baking powder..." and he brought them. What more could a cook ask for? And he showed me how to correctly use the KitchenAid, which I LOVED!!! Makes stuff so much easier. If Aunt Sharon had one of these we would not have burned up the motor of her hand mixer making cinnamon rolls for Christmas.
I made cupcakes from http://the-cupcakery-blog.blogspot.com/ week 2. To be honest they didn't go so great but I think that is because it is so sticking dry here that as they cooled they lost a lot of moisture too. Also this was my first time filling cupcakes and I didn't really have good technique (and I was trying to do it while talking on the phone, don't tell my dad). There weren't directions explaining how to fill the cupcakes so I got a frosting bag, tips, and a coupler and filled the bag with the banana pudding. Eric thought the hole in my tip was too big, I believe it was a #21, but I think it worked okay. What I needed to do was be less gentle. The picture I had in my head was that I would break through the top of the cupcake and then the pudding would push into the cupcake. That didn't really happen and by the end I figured that what I needed to do was push all the way down to the bottom and then squeeze as I pulled the tube out. Oh well. Live and learn. Then, since I don't like frosting I topped the cupcakes with ganache. The recipe I used wasn't quite sweet enough for me. I will try again sometime. We took pictures so I will share them.
Eric licking the beater, a bad habit he didn't exhibit a few weeks ago, I blame myself. He is just getting started on the day in which he may have consumed more chocolate than any other day in memory. Also you can see the work area as we are getting ready to pour the cupcakes.
Cooling on wax paper.
Done! -->
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Make Up Blog
Today I went to the gym and had a great workout. I kicked butt and got my butt kicked in equal measure, it was wonderful! I warmed up on the actual track that goes around the second floor of the gym, and then I went on the elliptical for 20 minutes on one of the interval programs. Fantastic. I thought my legs were going to fall off, and I do not like to go backwards, but it was good. Then I did my stretching and on to the weight machines. It really is a meat market in there and not too much fun. I am thinking about joining a gym with Eric out in Pewaukee. It seems foolish considering I can go to the UWM gym for free but I though it would be cool for us to do it together and might get both of us to go. Tomorrow is yoga at UWM at noon, but it is supposed to be super cold and I don’t really want to go out in all that craziness, we will see, maybe I will drive to save myself a few blocks of walking – hey, they say ten minutes out there can get you frostbite, who wants that?
Okay, so Tri-coastalism. The title is pretty simple, as it turns out. So I am from the Los Angeles area and I went to college in Miami—two coasts. There are apparently many people who commute from the West Coast to the East Coast and they call that bi-coastalism. Now I live near the coast of Lake Michigan -- third coast, hence Tri-coastalism.
Now for Eric: When I first mentioned doing a blog he was not so happy about the idea. He said lots of people simply use blogs to complain about petty stuff or talk about specific issues of some sort. I don’t know what the problem with the later is; I could easily turn this into a cooking blog, though I think there are many of those out there. But after reading what I have written he seems to be okay with it. He says I write about a lot of different interesting stuff. I hope that is the reality of the situation. I just want to write about stuff I am thinking about or stuff that happens to me. Learn to use the word stuff less. I don’t really have all that much to complain about per se. My life is pretty good. I think Eric was concerned that I was going to create drama with my blog or something, write about his deep, dark secrets. Ha! I don’t know all his deep, dark secrets yet. In that area there are other people who should be more worried. I just want to think more, be more thoughtful, and writing might help me achieve that goal.
Okay, so Tri-coastalism. The title is pretty simple, as it turns out. So I am from the Los Angeles area and I went to college in Miami—two coasts. There are apparently many people who commute from the West Coast to the East Coast and they call that bi-coastalism. Now I live near the coast of Lake Michigan -- third coast, hence Tri-coastalism.
Now for Eric: When I first mentioned doing a blog he was not so happy about the idea. He said lots of people simply use blogs to complain about petty stuff or talk about specific issues of some sort. I don’t know what the problem with the later is; I could easily turn this into a cooking blog, though I think there are many of those out there. But after reading what I have written he seems to be okay with it. He says I write about a lot of different interesting stuff. I hope that is the reality of the situation. I just want to write about stuff I am thinking about or stuff that happens to me. Learn to use the word stuff less. I don’t really have all that much to complain about per se. My life is pretty good. I think Eric was concerned that I was going to create drama with my blog or something, write about his deep, dark secrets. Ha! I don’t know all his deep, dark secrets yet. In that area there are other people who should be more worried. I just want to think more, be more thoughtful, and writing might help me achieve that goal.
CES and Job Search
Stuff from the Consumer Electronics Show:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28547936/displaymode/1107/s/2/framenumber/7/
I am not sure if there are one or two monitors attached to this thing, but in either case, isn’t he REALLY close to the screen? My mommy always told me to sit further away from the screen so you don’t have to move your head to see the corners of the screen.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28547936/displaymode/1107/s/2/framenumber/10/
Since Brad’s digital watch broke, maybe this would be a good replacement!
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28547936/displaymode/1107/s/2/framenumber/12/
This doesn’t seem like a big deal at first. Big whoop: we can connect a bunch of monitors to the same USB port, what’s so special about that? It doesn’t seem like it would be that difficult but for some reason it is. When I taught high school, I did a ton of PowerPoint presentations to present notes to my students, this required a projector, and when I showed the presentations I had to unplug the output from the monitor and plug in the projector. I had one of those y cord attachments that was supposed to make this work, actually I got a few of them, but they never worked – I could not have the monitor and the projector showing the image at the same time. I think strength of signal is a problem, so just as when you plug in a bunch of headphones to the same CD/tape/MP3 player you need an amplifier, so maybe an amplifier is needed in this case. I think this a good innovation that I hope goes mainstream so others don’t have to crawl on the floor multiple times per day like I did.
Job Search
On Friday I decided to freak out about my financial situation and get going on trying to find a job. This brings to mind the paper one of my students wrote about informal and formal methods of finding jobs. Informal is getting a job through people you know; formal is using job placement services or responding to job ads. I had filled out an application for a job that one of my professors had suggested, but didn’t want to put all my eggs in one basket so I headed to milwaukeejobs.com. I have never had any luck with these general job search sites. I have applied to many jobs but received little to no response. But, hey, these people are looking for people to work for them, right? I am not so sure sometimes. One should get a response if they are qualified for the job, right? Maybe, as it turns out. Think of the number of responses people might get for an ad in economic times like now when there are many people in need of jobs. The number is pretty big. And the range of people is probably large also. From totally under qualified to way overqualified. If you have one job and you get even 150 responses you are giving a quick glance and move on to these applications. Well at least for the relatively low skill, part-time jobs I am looking for. I guess this scenario highlights the importance of a good resume. I used to work for an employment agency and fix other people’s resumes so, at least at some point, I had a killer resume. I have not, as I have mentioned, had any luck with online job sites. I don’t know what it is. But my lack of success has conditioned me to not put much effort into my application procedure. I use to fill out the cover letter sections for each job highlighting my specific related experience, but no more. “Why do it if I am not going to get any response anyway?” was my thinking. Experts would probably disagree with meJ. Anyway, typically I get jobs the informal way. Let’s catalog my jobs, don’t you think that will be fun? My first job was at Conroy’s Flowers and I got it through my Dad. Then I got a babysitting job through my neighbor who was also my Mom’s hairdresser. Then I went to college and I got a job at a children’s dental office which I found on the campus jobs list. I got another babysitting job the same way there. Then I got a job assisting a professor at CSULB who was a family friend. A Day Camp job at my church with my friend. A bunch of jobs through a temp agency. A job at a mental health provider’s group that was in the CSULB campus newspaper. My first teaching job I got because of Brad. My second teaching job was from an Internet site in CA for teaching jobs, so I guess I haven’t totally failed with the Internet. Here in Milwaukee I got a job through one of the regulars at Ryan’s coffee shop. Last summer’s job was through one of the students ahead of me in the Soc program. And then I got a job today on a project of the professor I TA’d for last year and was recommended for it by one of my other professors. By my count that is 8 jobs informally and 5 jobs formally. Not so bad, I guess. But none received from Monster or any of those other big sites. So I don’t know about those, I don’t know of anyone who has gotten a job that way. Have you?
This job search thing is becoming more acute of an issue as many people, as mentioned, are in need of jobs. A relatively close acquaintance lost his job in the last week and it freaked me out. I immediately sent Eric a frantic email looking for assurance that he is not going lose his job. It is scary! Not many of the people around my age are secure enough to be able to manage losing a job. As one of the teachers at Lancaster High School said to me, we are in the acquisition phase of our lives. Thus we also tend to be in a lot of debt- student loan, credit card, car payment, and some people have a mortgage. I could go on about consumerism and overextending ourselves but I will save that topic for another time. In any case losing income makes it almost impossible to make all those payments. For myself, I have always had a cushion of mutual funds, but those babies have sunk like a rock in fresh water over the past year. These economic times are not comfortable for anyone, I don’t think. I read in Newsweek about the super rich cutting back on their conspicuous consumption because it is not cool to have a super expensive something-or-other when other super rich people have lost half of their wealth. Anyway, I will again be in search of a job in May, or maybe August as I will probably be in Milwaukee another year. If I can find a job in May that will last a year, that would be great.
So I didn’t follow up on the teasers from last time, maybe next time!! And I should probably write a little about my cooking too, that could be fun!
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28547936/displaymode/1107/s/2/framenumber/7/
I am not sure if there are one or two monitors attached to this thing, but in either case, isn’t he REALLY close to the screen? My mommy always told me to sit further away from the screen so you don’t have to move your head to see the corners of the screen.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28547936/displaymode/1107/s/2/framenumber/10/
Since Brad’s digital watch broke, maybe this would be a good replacement!
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28547936/displaymode/1107/s/2/framenumber/12/
This doesn’t seem like a big deal at first. Big whoop: we can connect a bunch of monitors to the same USB port, what’s so special about that? It doesn’t seem like it would be that difficult but for some reason it is. When I taught high school, I did a ton of PowerPoint presentations to present notes to my students, this required a projector, and when I showed the presentations I had to unplug the output from the monitor and plug in the projector. I had one of those y cord attachments that was supposed to make this work, actually I got a few of them, but they never worked – I could not have the monitor and the projector showing the image at the same time. I think strength of signal is a problem, so just as when you plug in a bunch of headphones to the same CD/tape/MP3 player you need an amplifier, so maybe an amplifier is needed in this case. I think this a good innovation that I hope goes mainstream so others don’t have to crawl on the floor multiple times per day like I did.
Job Search
On Friday I decided to freak out about my financial situation and get going on trying to find a job. This brings to mind the paper one of my students wrote about informal and formal methods of finding jobs. Informal is getting a job through people you know; formal is using job placement services or responding to job ads. I had filled out an application for a job that one of my professors had suggested, but didn’t want to put all my eggs in one basket so I headed to milwaukeejobs.com. I have never had any luck with these general job search sites. I have applied to many jobs but received little to no response. But, hey, these people are looking for people to work for them, right? I am not so sure sometimes. One should get a response if they are qualified for the job, right? Maybe, as it turns out. Think of the number of responses people might get for an ad in economic times like now when there are many people in need of jobs. The number is pretty big. And the range of people is probably large also. From totally under qualified to way overqualified. If you have one job and you get even 150 responses you are giving a quick glance and move on to these applications. Well at least for the relatively low skill, part-time jobs I am looking for. I guess this scenario highlights the importance of a good resume. I used to work for an employment agency and fix other people’s resumes so, at least at some point, I had a killer resume. I have not, as I have mentioned, had any luck with online job sites. I don’t know what it is. But my lack of success has conditioned me to not put much effort into my application procedure. I use to fill out the cover letter sections for each job highlighting my specific related experience, but no more. “Why do it if I am not going to get any response anyway?” was my thinking. Experts would probably disagree with meJ. Anyway, typically I get jobs the informal way. Let’s catalog my jobs, don’t you think that will be fun? My first job was at Conroy’s Flowers and I got it through my Dad. Then I got a babysitting job through my neighbor who was also my Mom’s hairdresser. Then I went to college and I got a job at a children’s dental office which I found on the campus jobs list. I got another babysitting job the same way there. Then I got a job assisting a professor at CSULB who was a family friend. A Day Camp job at my church with my friend. A bunch of jobs through a temp agency. A job at a mental health provider’s group that was in the CSULB campus newspaper. My first teaching job I got because of Brad. My second teaching job was from an Internet site in CA for teaching jobs, so I guess I haven’t totally failed with the Internet. Here in Milwaukee I got a job through one of the regulars at Ryan’s coffee shop. Last summer’s job was through one of the students ahead of me in the Soc program. And then I got a job today on a project of the professor I TA’d for last year and was recommended for it by one of my other professors. By my count that is 8 jobs informally and 5 jobs formally. Not so bad, I guess. But none received from Monster or any of those other big sites. So I don’t know about those, I don’t know of anyone who has gotten a job that way. Have you?
This job search thing is becoming more acute of an issue as many people, as mentioned, are in need of jobs. A relatively close acquaintance lost his job in the last week and it freaked me out. I immediately sent Eric a frantic email looking for assurance that he is not going lose his job. It is scary! Not many of the people around my age are secure enough to be able to manage losing a job. As one of the teachers at Lancaster High School said to me, we are in the acquisition phase of our lives. Thus we also tend to be in a lot of debt- student loan, credit card, car payment, and some people have a mortgage. I could go on about consumerism and overextending ourselves but I will save that topic for another time. In any case losing income makes it almost impossible to make all those payments. For myself, I have always had a cushion of mutual funds, but those babies have sunk like a rock in fresh water over the past year. These economic times are not comfortable for anyone, I don’t think. I read in Newsweek about the super rich cutting back on their conspicuous consumption because it is not cool to have a super expensive something-or-other when other super rich people have lost half of their wealth. Anyway, I will again be in search of a job in May, or maybe August as I will probably be in Milwaukee another year. If I can find a job in May that will last a year, that would be great.
So I didn’t follow up on the teasers from last time, maybe next time!! And I should probably write a little about my cooking too, that could be fun!
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Rant on Technology
We are all well aware that technology is expanding and in some ways taking over our lives in unpleasant ways, if we let it. Of course advances in technology can be good. GPS helps us get where we want to go and find lost hikers. Computers make finding and transferring information easier, faster, and more efficient. I am certainly happy that I do not have to calculate all the statistics that will appear in my thesis by hand, I think all statisticians are happy to have computers. This morning I was watching the Today Show and they have a correspondent at the Consumer Electronic Show in Las Vegas. Last year I followed the CES pretty obsessively because I was temping for a company in Cerritos, CA that makes entertainment chairs and all of their sales people were in Las Vegas. Anyway, the segment on the Today Show featured a new innovation- wireless electricity. There are panels that send out radio waves that are then translated back into electricity in electrical devices. This made me concerned about proper cell replication, seems ripe to be a new cancer causer…. I say with my laptop perched, yep, directly on my lap. But the correspondent pointed out that it is the same as listening to the radio…. Or the fact that you can listen to the radio because there are radio waves flying around. Okay, I guess. Also I am wondering if you have to get all new electric devices or if there will be adapters. Probably both. The examples they showed didn’t work very far away from the panel that was sending out the waves and it was mentioned that maybe you would get these panels installed under your floor or in your walls. Yikes, a lot of renovation! But it could lead to the resurrection of the floor lamp which I feel is being neglected in favor of sconces and other lighting. The more practical thing they showed was charging stations that are being used or will soon be used in vehicles like police cars and fire trucks that charge cell phones, radios, and other devices without cords.
That really wasn’t where I was going with this! What I am annoyed with is the proliferation of communication avenues, our reliance on them, and their varied effectiveness and reliability. So I have a few examples. When I was in CA for my ten day tour (1400+ miles in a car after an 1800+/17 flying adventure) I knew I was going to be in Fresno to see my grandmother for a period of time. My friend Darryl, who I met at the Long Beach Press-Telegram when I was a freshman in high school and he was a junior or senior at Los Alamitos/Orange County High School of the Arts, lives in Clovis these days and I have not seen him in a looooong time. He is my friend on Facebook so I asked him if he wanted to get together, he did, great. Except that my grandma doesn’t have Internet access nor does anyone near her have wireless and I didn’t have Darryl’s phone number. My mistake, of course, and the amount of time I was there was not such that I could meet up with him. But how easily I forgot about such a ubiquitous luxury as the Internet. Second example, Monday afternoon I was at school and knew that my friend Ryan was working at his coffee shop, The Last Drop. If you live around Milwaukee and you haven’t been there you should stop by try some of his delicious sandwiches, and wonderful beverages. You might even drop in when my baked goods are on sale. He recently introduced breakfast sandwiches and one is named after me- it’s the most boring one ;). Okay, okay enough of that – it is my blog and I can plug who I want to. So Ryan was at work, and I text messaged him to find out if he wanted to do something after he was done with work. I sent the message at 4:57, at 6:15 he messaged me back to say that he would have if he had gotten my message before he left. Hrm. What’s with that? Why did it take more than an hour for the message to get to him? Stupid cell phone companies ruined the potential for some great conversation. Oh wait; I had an interesting, though not great, conversation that evening anyway (see previous post). Okay, I have a third example. It is kind of a meta-example as I have several friends who this example could depict. I have a friend; the evidence would support claims that she is a good friend. But she is hard to get a hold of. I know her email, her cell phone number, her address, heck I could drive myself to her home, I have done it before. I know where she works, where her significant other works. She is my friend on Facebook, and maybe elsewhere via the Internet. We have mutual friends, more than a handful of them. I have, at times, used multiple avenues to contact her with no response. Like a communication blitz. And I wonder, do I have the right email address, street address? Has she changed her cell phone number but left the message there? (Brad did that when I convinced him to switch to Verizon so we could talk to each other for free- he had two phones for a while, but used only one.) Was she getting my messages or not? Was she busy? What was going on with her? My point here is that we have grown reliant on technology: we expect it to be easy, fast, and efficient, but sometimes it isn’t. Sometimes the message gets lost, it goes to the wrong place, or we can’t get to it even if it is there. In these times I get frustrated, how about you? Because sometimes you don’t know what’s going on. Did it get from point A to point B? Did I get ignored? I don’t know what it is that we can do about these communication issues. Be patient and persistent is all I can conclude.
In the future: why this blog is called Tri-coastalism and my conversations with Eric about my blog.
That really wasn’t where I was going with this! What I am annoyed with is the proliferation of communication avenues, our reliance on them, and their varied effectiveness and reliability. So I have a few examples. When I was in CA for my ten day tour (1400+ miles in a car after an 1800+/17 flying adventure) I knew I was going to be in Fresno to see my grandmother for a period of time. My friend Darryl, who I met at the Long Beach Press-Telegram when I was a freshman in high school and he was a junior or senior at Los Alamitos/Orange County High School of the Arts, lives in Clovis these days and I have not seen him in a looooong time. He is my friend on Facebook so I asked him if he wanted to get together, he did, great. Except that my grandma doesn’t have Internet access nor does anyone near her have wireless and I didn’t have Darryl’s phone number. My mistake, of course, and the amount of time I was there was not such that I could meet up with him. But how easily I forgot about such a ubiquitous luxury as the Internet. Second example, Monday afternoon I was at school and knew that my friend Ryan was working at his coffee shop, The Last Drop. If you live around Milwaukee and you haven’t been there you should stop by try some of his delicious sandwiches, and wonderful beverages. You might even drop in when my baked goods are on sale. He recently introduced breakfast sandwiches and one is named after me- it’s the most boring one ;). Okay, okay enough of that – it is my blog and I can plug who I want to. So Ryan was at work, and I text messaged him to find out if he wanted to do something after he was done with work. I sent the message at 4:57, at 6:15 he messaged me back to say that he would have if he had gotten my message before he left. Hrm. What’s with that? Why did it take more than an hour for the message to get to him? Stupid cell phone companies ruined the potential for some great conversation. Oh wait; I had an interesting, though not great, conversation that evening anyway (see previous post). Okay, I have a third example. It is kind of a meta-example as I have several friends who this example could depict. I have a friend; the evidence would support claims that she is a good friend. But she is hard to get a hold of. I know her email, her cell phone number, her address, heck I could drive myself to her home, I have done it before. I know where she works, where her significant other works. She is my friend on Facebook, and maybe elsewhere via the Internet. We have mutual friends, more than a handful of them. I have, at times, used multiple avenues to contact her with no response. Like a communication blitz. And I wonder, do I have the right email address, street address? Has she changed her cell phone number but left the message there? (Brad did that when I convinced him to switch to Verizon so we could talk to each other for free- he had two phones for a while, but used only one.) Was she getting my messages or not? Was she busy? What was going on with her? My point here is that we have grown reliant on technology: we expect it to be easy, fast, and efficient, but sometimes it isn’t. Sometimes the message gets lost, it goes to the wrong place, or we can’t get to it even if it is there. In these times I get frustrated, how about you? Because sometimes you don’t know what’s going on. Did it get from point A to point B? Did I get ignored? I don’t know what it is that we can do about these communication issues. Be patient and persistent is all I can conclude.
In the future: why this blog is called Tri-coastalism and my conversations with Eric about my blog.
Monday, January 5, 2009
What a Monday!
I really wanted tacos for dinner, I don't know why, but by the time I got home there was no way I was going to get any. Two things delayed me. First, it was dark and cold outside, I had my laptop in my backpack and my gym bag so it seemed logical to take the bus. So I looked at the clock and found that the bus was supposed to come at 5:50 pm. So I was waiting in the union and saw that there was a guy waiting outside at the bus stop. The expected time came and went and there was no bus, not surprising. So when I finally saw a Route 62 bus coming I headed outside. The guy at the bus stop moved closer to the stop. The bus slowed, but didn't stop! This is particularly odd because that stop is the end of the line and often the bus drivers take a break there so it is extremely rare for the bus not to stop at all. The conspiracy theorist in me is beginning to think that there is a notice out to bus drivers not to pick me up as this is the third time in the last five days something similar has happened.
As I was missing the bus, I was on the phone with my dad who I was asking how quickly my heart rate should drop when I run. He said his doctors have told him 20 in a minute is good, in case you are wondering. He told me I shouldn't call him to ask such questions, I should use the Internet like he does. Nice. Anyway, my dad advised me to walk home, so I headed back into the Union and through Bolton. In the hallway I encountered a guy. He wanted to borrow a writing implement so he could write down a phone number from a flyer, so I loaned him a pen and gave him paper. "I applied for a job today," he said.
"Really?" I said, "why is that ironic?"
"Well, work might be hard," he replied.
I think I guffawed. I think what he was getting at was that it is hard to work and go to school at the same time. I learned a lot about this guy. His name is Nick, he went to Lakeland College in Sheboygan, he wants to be an astronaut- live in space and work there. He is kinda in trouble because we have neither aeronautical engineering nor astronautical engineering at UWM. He was wandering the halls in search of Red Mountain Dew which is sold in only one machine in the Bolton/Union/Lubar complex. Oh yeah, he hasn't had a girlfriend in 2 years and doesn't feel like he is in a good spot to get into a relationship considering the time and effort required. Also he apparently doesn't get out much because he feels he must limit his social life in order to do well in school. At first I was waiting to get debriefed- like he was doing some kind of social experiment to see how long I would talk to him. Then as he asked, "Are you walking this way?" I thought, "Oh my God he is going to rape and kill me!" But, of course, I left him standing in the building with his red Mountain Dew. I called Brad he said he was hitting on me, but then he always thinks people are hitting on me. On the other hand Ryan says I never pick up on people trying to hit on me. I don't know the whole thing was kinda weird, but humorous. And it put me back at least ten minutes... and however long it has taken me to type about it.
While I was running on the treadmill this morning at the gym I watched most of the Roland Burris press conference. Why was a press conference held in an airport? Aren't they crowded enough and have to address enough security concerns without a bunch of reporters with cameras hanging around? It was a pretty repetitive press conference... "What will you do when you are turned away from the Senate?" "I feel I am the answer to the problems of the people of Illinois."
Okay enough for today... next time maybe a little about technology dependence.
As I was missing the bus, I was on the phone with my dad who I was asking how quickly my heart rate should drop when I run. He said his doctors have told him 20 in a minute is good, in case you are wondering. He told me I shouldn't call him to ask such questions, I should use the Internet like he does. Nice. Anyway, my dad advised me to walk home, so I headed back into the Union and through Bolton. In the hallway I encountered a guy. He wanted to borrow a writing implement so he could write down a phone number from a flyer, so I loaned him a pen and gave him paper. "I applied for a job today," he said.
"Really?" I said, "why is that ironic?"
"Well, work might be hard," he replied.
I think I guffawed. I think what he was getting at was that it is hard to work and go to school at the same time. I learned a lot about this guy. His name is Nick, he went to Lakeland College in Sheboygan, he wants to be an astronaut- live in space and work there. He is kinda in trouble because we have neither aeronautical engineering nor astronautical engineering at UWM. He was wandering the halls in search of Red Mountain Dew which is sold in only one machine in the Bolton/Union/Lubar complex. Oh yeah, he hasn't had a girlfriend in 2 years and doesn't feel like he is in a good spot to get into a relationship considering the time and effort required. Also he apparently doesn't get out much because he feels he must limit his social life in order to do well in school. At first I was waiting to get debriefed- like he was doing some kind of social experiment to see how long I would talk to him. Then as he asked, "Are you walking this way?" I thought, "Oh my God he is going to rape and kill me!" But, of course, I left him standing in the building with his red Mountain Dew. I called Brad he said he was hitting on me, but then he always thinks people are hitting on me. On the other hand Ryan says I never pick up on people trying to hit on me. I don't know the whole thing was kinda weird, but humorous. And it put me back at least ten minutes... and however long it has taken me to type about it.
While I was running on the treadmill this morning at the gym I watched most of the Roland Burris press conference. Why was a press conference held in an airport? Aren't they crowded enough and have to address enough security concerns without a bunch of reporters with cameras hanging around? It was a pretty repetitive press conference... "What will you do when you are turned away from the Senate?" "I feel I am the answer to the problems of the people of Illinois."
Okay enough for today... next time maybe a little about technology dependence.
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