Wow! What happens when you don't post anything for a really long time? Things change and then it is hard to figure out even how to get to the place where you can post a blog. Gee wiz.
So happy Mother's Day to the mothers! Anika and I went to church, as we usually do on a Sunday morning. The sermon this morning was not particularly mothery, to tell the truth, but it was, maybe, better than that. The scripture was the story about Jesus walking on water. It is interesting that we characterize the story in that way since the point of the story is not that Jesus walked on the water, but rather Peter's role in the event. And Pastor Matt highlighted some interesting points about this story that resonated with me. And, you know, made me feel guilty, as I often feel about stuff. So, risk taking. Peter took a risk by stepping out of that boat and onto the water. Jesus told him to come and he came- he stepped out in faith and was willing to do so. Sometimes taking a risk is a hard thing to do, sometimes not. I bet a lot of people, based on my proclivity to move from place to place, might think that I am not risk averse. That might be a double negative, whatevs. Like Peter, I am not afraid to take the first step out of the boat, this is true. But the story does not end there. Peter is out on the water, he is walking- he is walking on water, people! Then he hears, feels, thinks about the wind blowing and doubt creeps into his mind. Then he starts to sink. He calls to Jesus and Jesus pulls him out of the water and says, "Ye of little faith. Why did you doubt?" This happens to many people, and is the story of my life. I am willing to go there, but once I get there it seems all wrong, I get scared, I want the security of the boat or solid ground under my feet. And, you know, one risk seems to beget another risk. I step out and I continue to have to take more steps, and it is hard. So this resonated with me because of something that happened last night. I had an opportunity to act in a way that characterizes the kind of person I would like to think that I am - a kind, giving person. A difficulty I have found over the last several years is that sometimes people are not willing to accept kindness and the gifts that are offered to them. For me this is difficult to handle because I experience it as rejection, and it hurts. I try to remember that people probably do not mean it that way but that usually does not help. There is one particular person in my life with whom I have struggled with this issue. Last night I could have done for this person like this person has done for me by offering a particular kindness, but I was afraid of rejection. I was afraid that if I offered, my "gift" would be swatted away, so doubt kept me from making the offer. I felt bad once the opportunity passed last night, and I feel bad about it today. Hopefully in the future I will remember: 1) that one step isn't enough, five steps might not be enough, I just have to keep moving forward; 2) that someone saying "No" is not a failure on my part; 3) words are easy to say, it is harder to act; 4) I just read this again in Blue Like Jazz- some people have a hard time accepting love, this doesn't mean I should stop loving them.
As always, I hope to continue to improve as I move forward in life. I wish everyone else positive progress as well!
Sunday, May 13, 2012
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
The Porch
A blonde teenage girl, wanting to earn some extra money for the summer, decided to hire herself out as a 'handy-woman' and started canvassing a nearby well-to-do neighborhood.
She went to the front door of the first house, and asked the owner if he had any odd jobs for her to do. 'Well, I guess I could use somebody to paint my porch,' he said. 'How much will you charge me?' Delighted, the girl quickly responded, 'How about $50?' The man agreed and told her that the paint brushes and everything she would need was in the garage.
The man's wife, hearing the Conversation said to her husband, 'Does she realize that our porch goes ALL the way around the house?' He responded, 'That's a bit cynical, isn't it?' The wife replied, 'You're right... I guess I'm starting to believe all those dumb blonde jokes.
' Later that day, the blonde came to the door to collect her money. 'You're finished already?' the startled husband asked. 'Yes,' the blonde replied, 'and I even had paint left over, so I gave it two coats.' Impressed, the man reached into his pocket for the $50.00 and handed it to her along with a ten dollar tip.
'And by the way,' the blonde added, 'it's not a Porch, it's a Lexus.'
Thursday, September 9, 2010
More Blonde
Blondes Are The Best!!!
A blonde & her husband are lying in bed
Listening to the next door neighbor's dog..
It has been in the backyard barking for hours & hours.
The blonde jumps up out of bed and says,
"I've had enough of this".
She goes downstairs.
The blonde finally comes back up to bed
And her husband says, "The dog is still barking,
What have you been doing?"
The blonde says,
"I put the dog in our backyard,
let's see how THEY like it!
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Two Blondes With Hammers...
Lynn & Judy were doing some carpenter work
on a Habitat for Humanity House.
Lynn was nailing down house siding,
would reach into her nail ,
Pouch, pull out a nail & either toss it
over her shoulder or nail it in.
Judy, figuring this was worth looking into, asked, '
Why are you Throwing those nails away?'
Lynn explained, 'When I pull a nail out of my pouch,
about half of Them have the head on the wrong end
& I throw them away.'
Judy got completely upset & yelled,
'You moron! Those nails aren't Defective!
They're for the other side of the house!'
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Did you hear about the two blondes
who froze to death in a drive-in movie?
They had gone to see 'Closed for the Winter.'
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
You might have to think twice about this one.
A blonde hurried into the emergency room late one night with the tip
Of her index finger shot off. 'How did this happen?' the emergency
Room doctor asked her.
'Well, I was trying to commit suicide,' the blonde replied.
'What?' sputtered the doctor. 'You tried to commit suicide by shooting
Off your finger?'
'No, Silly' the blonde said. 'First I put the gun to my chest, &
Then I thought, 'I just paid $6, 000.00 for these implants...
I'm not shooting myself in the chest.'
'So then?' asked the doctor.
'Then I put the gun in my mouth, & I thought, 'I just paid $3,000.00
To get my teeth straightened I'm not shooting myself in the mouth.'
'So then?'
'Then I put the gun to my ear, & I thought: 'This is going to make a
Loud noise. So I put my finger in my other ear before I pulled the
Trigger.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
A blonde was driving home after a game & got caught in a really bad
Hailstorm.. Her car was covered with dents, so the next day she took it
To a repair shop. The shop owner saw that she was a blonde, so he
Decided to have some fun... He told her to go home and blow into the
Tail pipe really hard, & all the dents would pop out.
So, the blonde went home, got down on her hands & knees & started
Blowing into her tailpipe.. Nothing happened.. So she blew a little
Harder, & still nothing happened.
Her blonde roommate saw her & asked, 'What are you doing?' The first
Blonde told her how the repairman had instructed her to blow into the
Tail pipe in order to get all the dents to pop out.
The roommate rolled her eyes & said, 'Uh, like hello!
You need to roll up the windows first.'
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
These are just too cute not to pass on!!!!
A blonde was shopping at Target &
came across a shiny silver Thermos.
She was quite fascinated by it, so she picked it up & took
It to the clerk to ask what it was.
The clerk said, 'Why, that's a thermos.....
It keeps hot things hot, And cold things cold.'
'Wow, said the blonde, 'that's amazing....I'm going to buy it!'
So she Bought the thermos & took it to work the next day.
Her boss saw it on her desk.
'What's that,' he asked?
'Why, that's a thermos..... It keeps hot things hot & cold things
Cold,' she replied..
Her boss inquired, 'What do you have in it?'
The blond replied......
'Two popsicles &some coffee.'
+++++++++++++
AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST
A blonde goes into work one morning crying her eyes out.
Her boss asked sympathetically, 'What's the matter?'
The blonde replies,
'Early this morning I got a phone call saying that
My mother had passed away.'
The boss, feeling sorry for her, says,
'Why don't you go home for the
Day? Take the day off to relax & rest.'
'Thanks, but I'd be better off here.
I need to keep my mind off it &
I have the best chance of doing that here.'
The boss agrees & allows the blonde to work as usual.
A couple of hours pass & the boss decides to check on the blonde.
He looks out from his office & sees the blonde crying hysterically...
'What's so bad now? Are you gonna be okay?' he asks.
'No!' exclaims the blonde.
'I just received a horrible call from my
sister. Her mother died, too!'
Blondes Are The Best!!!
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Challenge and update
I have nothing much interesting to report on the food eating front, I guess. I am trying to use up things slowly but surely. No crazy recipes yet! I used more sorbet and frozen fruit for smoothies, and last night I used some of her rice and edamame to go with my stir fry. As I was making the stir fry I noticed that she left a lot more stuff in the spice cabinets than I would have expected given that when I moved in she was clear that we were not sharing olive oil. That just leaves more balsamic vinegar for caprese salad!! There are a lot of pitas in the freezer so I am trying to use those up quickly. I am trying to clean stuff out of the freezer because I want to get the ice bin in there ASAP since it is very hot and it would be nice to have plenty of ice available. There is a lot of stuff in the freezer though, so I have a task ahead of me.
Mostly, recently I have been puzzling about life and particularly the future of my life from the point where I am right now. This has also brought a great deal of attempted analysis of what has happened so far this year in several arenas.
At work, my boss left and told me that I was likely going to get his position. This was a position that I wasn't technically qualified for and one that would come with a great deal more responsibility and stress. I didn't really want the job, per se, but, as most people who know me know, I believe in the mission of the organization and am concerned about us putting out a good product. Given the timing involved, my boss leaving in the middle of gearing up for our next operation, the effort I personally put into the preparation for the operation, and my experience thus far in the operation (previous new employees who have entered our division have taken a whole operation to really understand what is going on) including the fact that my portion of the operation is a check on the work that has been done by the other teams in our department so we have no margin for error, it seemed like I would be a good choice for the position. Of course I didn't get the position. At first it was going to be given to someone who was at the same level as me, but apparently his supervisor threw a fit and she got the position. The problem here is that she had previously made it known that she does not like me and she is kind of the anti-me. In addition she has a very checkered past of decision making since we have all been working there the past year. It is very concerning. Further, her management style is different and my work functions have gone from tasks that required genuine planning and decision making on my part to being kind of a puppet of her (bad) decisions. The rest of the department had the pleasure this last week of sitting in a meeting where we were lectured about doing things that my boss does that we are not supposed to do, of course my boss was not present for this meeting. I have been looking for another job for a while, since this job is temporary and could end at any time really. I am fairly certain that if I stay I will be on until June 2011, but do I want to stay? Not really, I would rather have a job where I am challenged and can use some of the unique skills I have gained from previous education and employment. Before this change in management things were going pretty well at work. I loved my boss, we had a team that worked like a team, I had responsibilities, I worked with other teams, I had good rapport with my field employees, and I got to go observe and assist with training. I felt good about things, now it is a mess.
Couple that with the fact that my best friend tried to break up with me last weekend. Really he was saying that we cause each other a lot of pain and that has to stop, so either we have to part ways or renegotiate the nature of our relationship. We went for the later. Amazingly we were on the same page, for the most part, in understanding the current stage of our relationship. We haven't been on the same page about anything for a while, hence the conversation about the situation.
And I have been giving more thought to some other relationship issues as well. Those thoughts pretty much take me in circles. I like to wear circles, not think in them.
Mostly, recently I have been puzzling about life and particularly the future of my life from the point where I am right now. This has also brought a great deal of attempted analysis of what has happened so far this year in several arenas.
At work, my boss left and told me that I was likely going to get his position. This was a position that I wasn't technically qualified for and one that would come with a great deal more responsibility and stress. I didn't really want the job, per se, but, as most people who know me know, I believe in the mission of the organization and am concerned about us putting out a good product. Given the timing involved, my boss leaving in the middle of gearing up for our next operation, the effort I personally put into the preparation for the operation, and my experience thus far in the operation (previous new employees who have entered our division have taken a whole operation to really understand what is going on) including the fact that my portion of the operation is a check on the work that has been done by the other teams in our department so we have no margin for error, it seemed like I would be a good choice for the position. Of course I didn't get the position. At first it was going to be given to someone who was at the same level as me, but apparently his supervisor threw a fit and she got the position. The problem here is that she had previously made it known that she does not like me and she is kind of the anti-me. In addition she has a very checkered past of decision making since we have all been working there the past year. It is very concerning. Further, her management style is different and my work functions have gone from tasks that required genuine planning and decision making on my part to being kind of a puppet of her (bad) decisions. The rest of the department had the pleasure this last week of sitting in a meeting where we were lectured about doing things that my boss does that we are not supposed to do, of course my boss was not present for this meeting. I have been looking for another job for a while, since this job is temporary and could end at any time really. I am fairly certain that if I stay I will be on until June 2011, but do I want to stay? Not really, I would rather have a job where I am challenged and can use some of the unique skills I have gained from previous education and employment. Before this change in management things were going pretty well at work. I loved my boss, we had a team that worked like a team, I had responsibilities, I worked with other teams, I had good rapport with my field employees, and I got to go observe and assist with training. I felt good about things, now it is a mess.
Couple that with the fact that my best friend tried to break up with me last weekend. Really he was saying that we cause each other a lot of pain and that has to stop, so either we have to part ways or renegotiate the nature of our relationship. We went for the later. Amazingly we were on the same page, for the most part, in understanding the current stage of our relationship. We haven't been on the same page about anything for a while, hence the conversation about the situation.
And I have been giving more thought to some other relationship issues as well. Those thoughts pretty much take me in circles. I like to wear circles, not think in them.
Monday, July 5, 2010
The Clear Out Challenge
It has been a long time, yeah, yeah, yadda yadda. Maybe I will write something serious soon. Have been avoiding it as a lot of things seem to have been going wrong. Trying to move on to more positive things.
My roommate moved to Boston last week. She is working on a PhD in Psychology and has to do an internship and she got one at Harvard, or a hospital affiliated with Harvard. Point is she moved to Boston, she doesn't live here anymore and she left a lot of food. Obviously she couldn't take all the refrigerated and frozen stuff with her so I inherited it. Now I have to figure out what to do with it, and I have decided to embrace it as a challenge and write about what I do with her food. Additionally, I will probably be vacating this dwelling at the end of August so I need to clean out the kitchen as much as possible so I don't have to move too much stuff. Heaven knows the kitchen hardware I own is massive enough! This challenge sounds kinda pointless but amusing too. Getting rid of the roommates food shouldn't be too hard as she and I do have some overlapping food habits, but where we diverge it could get interesting. For example, she is a snacker and I am currently overwhelmed with the amount of snack food in the apartment because I had bought some things recently like vege chips and Ritz pretzel cracker things. Also, there are a lot of frozen vegetables, yikes. And soda. I never saw her drink much soda but there was always a few liters around, probably from or for parties. Now there are at least four partial liters.
Today was pretty much day one of eating any of her food. For breakfast I made a smoothie using some of her mango sorbet. For lunch I defrosted some of the pita triangles she had in the freezer and took them along with me to Montrose Harbor for my tanning session, with some red pepper hummus she left. Pita and hummus is certainly an overlap in our diets. For dinner I used some of her pasta sauce and pasta to make some sausage and penne concoction with some vege protein sausage I bought at Woodman's yesterday and some pasta sauce I had in the fridge. I also cooked some of the mixed frozen vegetables from the freezer. Ick. I think I will make a chicken pot pie to use the rest of those vegetables, I can't eat them straight. I had a glass of wine that she left too. Well that was today. We will see what happens tomorrow! I already made dinner and didn't use anything but my own stuff, maybe a side dish?
Eventually this might get more interesting as I go buy ten ingredients to get rid of one ingredient in a cupboard!! Or if I start making really odd things. I do have some condensed milk, pumpkin, and some coconut milk to get rid of so there is hope.
My roommate moved to Boston last week. She is working on a PhD in Psychology and has to do an internship and she got one at Harvard, or a hospital affiliated with Harvard. Point is she moved to Boston, she doesn't live here anymore and she left a lot of food. Obviously she couldn't take all the refrigerated and frozen stuff with her so I inherited it. Now I have to figure out what to do with it, and I have decided to embrace it as a challenge and write about what I do with her food. Additionally, I will probably be vacating this dwelling at the end of August so I need to clean out the kitchen as much as possible so I don't have to move too much stuff. Heaven knows the kitchen hardware I own is massive enough! This challenge sounds kinda pointless but amusing too. Getting rid of the roommates food shouldn't be too hard as she and I do have some overlapping food habits, but where we diverge it could get interesting. For example, she is a snacker and I am currently overwhelmed with the amount of snack food in the apartment because I had bought some things recently like vege chips and Ritz pretzel cracker things. Also, there are a lot of frozen vegetables, yikes. And soda. I never saw her drink much soda but there was always a few liters around, probably from or for parties. Now there are at least four partial liters.
Today was pretty much day one of eating any of her food. For breakfast I made a smoothie using some of her mango sorbet. For lunch I defrosted some of the pita triangles she had in the freezer and took them along with me to Montrose Harbor for my tanning session, with some red pepper hummus she left. Pita and hummus is certainly an overlap in our diets. For dinner I used some of her pasta sauce and pasta to make some sausage and penne concoction with some vege protein sausage I bought at Woodman's yesterday and some pasta sauce I had in the fridge. I also cooked some of the mixed frozen vegetables from the freezer. Ick. I think I will make a chicken pot pie to use the rest of those vegetables, I can't eat them straight. I had a glass of wine that she left too. Well that was today. We will see what happens tomorrow! I already made dinner and didn't use anything but my own stuff, maybe a side dish?
Eventually this might get more interesting as I go buy ten ingredients to get rid of one ingredient in a cupboard!! Or if I start making really odd things. I do have some condensed milk, pumpkin, and some coconut milk to get rid of so there is hope.
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Apppril
I guess I better get down to what appears to have become a monthly ritual! There is both a great deal and not very much going on. But that straddles that line between TMI and plain information. My last blog had me returning from my travels and it really seems like a blur of not very interesting stuff since then. We have had some good weather and some bad. Right now it is rainy and yucky. I am not opposed to rain in general, but for some reason I am not pleased with it today. I wanted to go running, grocery shopping, and transport some stuff to and from my storage unit today. None of these things are activities I feel like completing while contending with rain today. I should be cleaning up my desk, a task I have intended to complete for weeks now but have continued to put off. There are probably other things I could come up with to accomplish, but I feel kind of blah like the weather. Interesting things I have done lately... on Easter I went and helped at Tracee's church with an Easter meal they put on for those less fortunate. There were over 200 people in attendance and I was clearing tables of plates and trash as people finished. It was quite an undertaking. Then Tracee and I hosted some of her friends for Easter dinner which was lovely. I went to a concert at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Symphony Hall last weekend. The concert was good, the chamber was beautiful, but I left feeling a little disappointed by the whole thing. There were about 50 people in the audience when the concert began and the whole thing was a little odd. On Friday I took some time off of work to take the train to Milwaukee for the Brewers vs Cubs game. My good friend Tiffany had organized a gathering of people along with one of her co-workers so there was a crowd of ... well I don't know, I thought I heard 22 but it didn't seem like that many of us. So I got up there and they picked me up from the train and we jetted over to get a good spot in the parking lot and we succeeded! We ate some yummy food and had a great time tailgating in the parking lot, grooving to some tunes and some played beer pong. I accidentally encountered a guy peeing in the parking lot which I disbelieved at first but I have been assured that it was indeed what was happening. I don't know that I actually watched much of the game. The Brewers were not playing well and I had not seen Tiffany in many moons, and while I had seen Ryan recently, there is always a lot to talk about! In any case, we had a fantastic time. Best time I have had in a very long time. Unfortunately we all did not weather the evening as well as we might have so we all had to go directly to bed after the game rather than painting the town blue and gold in continued jubilation. It was good to be back in Milwaukee in familiar places. I do miss all my friends up there and wish I had friends like them down here.
Things have been pretty rough over the last few months in multiple facets of life. Work has been pretty stressful for a number of reasons. There has been tension between my boss and others at his level, and while it has reduced quite a bit as it effects my boss, it is still extant. And there have certainly been some ups and downs in my personal life. But I think things are looking up as the weather heats up. I am looking forward to playing softball in a league beginning near the end of May. My parents are also coming to visit at the end of May so watch out Chicago! Also let's hope for good weather for their visit so I don't have to hear about it!
Love to all!
Things have been pretty rough over the last few months in multiple facets of life. Work has been pretty stressful for a number of reasons. There has been tension between my boss and others at his level, and while it has reduced quite a bit as it effects my boss, it is still extant. And there have certainly been some ups and downs in my personal life. But I think things are looking up as the weather heats up. I am looking forward to playing softball in a league beginning near the end of May. My parents are also coming to visit at the end of May so watch out Chicago! Also let's hope for good weather for their visit so I don't have to hear about it!
Love to all!
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Taxes and Travel
It is interesting when doing the taxes is a less stressful process than many of the other things going on in life. But such is the state of things for me right now. (Sigh) I am not yet ready to talk about all of that though I am more than a week removed from much of it... well I mean the actual action of it, I'll ruminate about it in my head forever probably and never be removed. No, no, I know I will get past it eventually and think about other things but I have been thinking about the same subject for at least nine months now so it will be a hard habit to break. That was all very vague.
So I worked on my taxes this evening. Each year for the past three or so I have had to remind myself that I can only get back as much as I paid, and I am unlikely to get that much back. Not that I mind paying taxes. I do not mind paying taxes as long as I feel that the money is providing appropriate services and funding to programs nationally. And I pretty much feel that that is the case. But I still get dollar signs in my eyes! This year I was pretty ticked that both Wisconsin and Illinois were taking taxes from my pay once I moved to Chicago. I hope I entered things correctly to have this problem rectified. It is a little dicey since IL and WI have tax reciprocity. At least I think it is dicey- in TurboTax I trust! But as I answered all the questions I got to peruse my spending for last year. I spent almost $7,000 on my car. Crazy! That was more than I spent on rent. I also found that I spent a little more on clothes than I did on groceries and you people know how I eat and the grocery shopping that supports that! But the amount I paid in federal taxes was greater than what I spent for clothes or groceries. Another interesting figure is that participating in Kilties cost me $963, that is nearly a month of graduate student income. Though I am almost surprised it wasn't more. In 2008 the figure was $865. Hmm... in 2008 I spent more money on rent than I did in 2009, that is funny since my rent went up when I moved to Chicago. But there was July when I didn't pay rent.
I returned on Friday from the last of my four weeks of trips. Week one I went to Mattoon, IL to observe crew leader training. Then I left on February 21 to attend dry run training at Census Headquarters near Washington, DC. That was a good time, on the whole. It was a little cooler than we (the attendees) anticipated but I did get to see some museums, my friend Chris and his wife Maggie, and some parts of the area that I had not seen before. I also got to meet people who do my job in other parts of the country. Then I was back in the office for a day and a half before I headed to Eau Claire, WI to observe training of employees who will be visiting homes. I was there for the beginning of training and then went to Waukesha, WI to see the end of training. On Friday, I left for Florida dragging Ryan along to attend Brad's wedding. It was great to get to wear shorts and lay on the beach in my bikini. It was windy, but Brad and Jennifer's wedding was beautiful looking out on the beach and the sun setting behind those in attendance. I am very happy for them! On Sunday, Ryan and I headed to Orlando where we took in a baseball game between the Braves and the Astros, and visited Downtown Disney. Ryan rented a convertible Mustang for the trip which was great, as you might imagine. Then I made it back to work for part of a day before I headed to Bloomington, IN to observer more training. I also got to eat dinner with one of my former classmates at UW Milwaukee who is working on his PhD at Indiana University. It was a great time. Then on Thursday the 11th, I headed to Muncie, IN to observe training there, but the folks were too bright there and had finished for the day by the time I arrived at 3 pm, so I sat and rested in my hotel room, which was a nice thing to do. After observing some of their training on Friday, I drove back to Chicago, having seen a great deal of the small roads of IN but none of Indianapolis! Oh well, I guess I will have to go there another time.
I got back yesterday afternoon and Tracee and I had nap time. Then we ate and got dressed and went to Clay and Cocktails at the Hyde Park Art Center. We met Aileen and her roommate there. We saw the exhibits, played with some clay, and met some people so it was a good time all around.
That is about all I have for now. I am not sure how I am going to reintegrate into 'normal' life after four weeks of living out of a suitcase, sitting in conference rooms, and eating out. I am having a hard time getting motivated to go to the grocery store but it will have to be done tomorrow!
So I worked on my taxes this evening. Each year for the past three or so I have had to remind myself that I can only get back as much as I paid, and I am unlikely to get that much back. Not that I mind paying taxes. I do not mind paying taxes as long as I feel that the money is providing appropriate services and funding to programs nationally. And I pretty much feel that that is the case. But I still get dollar signs in my eyes! This year I was pretty ticked that both Wisconsin and Illinois were taking taxes from my pay once I moved to Chicago. I hope I entered things correctly to have this problem rectified. It is a little dicey since IL and WI have tax reciprocity. At least I think it is dicey- in TurboTax I trust! But as I answered all the questions I got to peruse my spending for last year. I spent almost $7,000 on my car. Crazy! That was more than I spent on rent. I also found that I spent a little more on clothes than I did on groceries and you people know how I eat and the grocery shopping that supports that! But the amount I paid in federal taxes was greater than what I spent for clothes or groceries. Another interesting figure is that participating in Kilties cost me $963, that is nearly a month of graduate student income. Though I am almost surprised it wasn't more. In 2008 the figure was $865. Hmm... in 2008 I spent more money on rent than I did in 2009, that is funny since my rent went up when I moved to Chicago. But there was July when I didn't pay rent.
I returned on Friday from the last of my four weeks of trips. Week one I went to Mattoon, IL to observe crew leader training. Then I left on February 21 to attend dry run training at Census Headquarters near Washington, DC. That was a good time, on the whole. It was a little cooler than we (the attendees) anticipated but I did get to see some museums, my friend Chris and his wife Maggie, and some parts of the area that I had not seen before. I also got to meet people who do my job in other parts of the country. Then I was back in the office for a day and a half before I headed to Eau Claire, WI to observe training of employees who will be visiting homes. I was there for the beginning of training and then went to Waukesha, WI to see the end of training. On Friday, I left for Florida dragging Ryan along to attend Brad's wedding. It was great to get to wear shorts and lay on the beach in my bikini. It was windy, but Brad and Jennifer's wedding was beautiful looking out on the beach and the sun setting behind those in attendance. I am very happy for them! On Sunday, Ryan and I headed to Orlando where we took in a baseball game between the Braves and the Astros, and visited Downtown Disney. Ryan rented a convertible Mustang for the trip which was great, as you might imagine. Then I made it back to work for part of a day before I headed to Bloomington, IN to observer more training. I also got to eat dinner with one of my former classmates at UW Milwaukee who is working on his PhD at Indiana University. It was a great time. Then on Thursday the 11th, I headed to Muncie, IN to observe training there, but the folks were too bright there and had finished for the day by the time I arrived at 3 pm, so I sat and rested in my hotel room, which was a nice thing to do. After observing some of their training on Friday, I drove back to Chicago, having seen a great deal of the small roads of IN but none of Indianapolis! Oh well, I guess I will have to go there another time.
I got back yesterday afternoon and Tracee and I had nap time. Then we ate and got dressed and went to Clay and Cocktails at the Hyde Park Art Center. We met Aileen and her roommate there. We saw the exhibits, played with some clay, and met some people so it was a good time all around.
That is about all I have for now. I am not sure how I am going to reintegrate into 'normal' life after four weeks of living out of a suitcase, sitting in conference rooms, and eating out. I am having a hard time getting motivated to go to the grocery store but it will have to be done tomorrow!
Monday, February 1, 2010
Blond Joke - what's today?
T-G-I-F vs.S-H-I-T
A businessman got on an elevator.
When he entered, there was a blond already inside who greeted him with a bright,
"T-G-I-F."
He smiled at her and replied,
"S-H-I-T."
She looked puzzled and repeated,
"T-G-I-F," more slowly.
He again answered,
"S-H-I-T."
The blond was trying to keep it friendly, so she smiled her biggest smile, and said as sweetly as possibly, "T-G-I-F."
The man smiled back to her and once again,
"S-H-I-T."
The exasperated blonde finally decided to explain.
'T-G-I-F' means 'Thank God,It's Friday.' Get it, duuhhh?"
The man answered,
"'S-H-I-T' means 'Sorry, Honey, It's Thursday'-- duuhhh."
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Don't look at me!!
I have been meaning to update my resolutions with one that has to do with taking more interest in what I look like when I leave my apartment. I often leave in odd ensembles, especially in the winter when I just want to be warm without concern for color combination. To this end I installed a full length mirror in the apartment so I can easily assess my look before departure. There were several reasons for me wanting to make this resolution. First, I sometimes get to work, go to the restroom and find that I am looking a bit odd. Like the top and the bottom do not go together like I thought they did. Or like the picture I took of Eric and I before Christmas. I thought I was rocking a great outfit but, as it turned out, I was looking a little frumpy. Second, leaving knowing you look good is a good boost to the self-esteem, and I can certainly use that boost. Third, you never know who you will run into.
So today all of these came into play. The "to do" list for this morning was: go to the gym and get an estimate on my car for front end damage. I knew it was not really a great idea to combine the two, but hey! I have things to do! So I went to the gym, as I was preparing I looked in the mirror and noticed I had some heavy circles under the eyes, ah yes raccoon eyes. I need more sleep. But what was I to do at that point? So I did my workout, washed my face, threw on outerwear and headed to the estimate place. Of course I get there and the guy doing my estimate is cute. And then another guy in the waiting room starts to talk to me.
The next resolution will have to be about better communication skills, but that is too much at this point.
So today all of these came into play. The "to do" list for this morning was: go to the gym and get an estimate on my car for front end damage. I knew it was not really a great idea to combine the two, but hey! I have things to do! So I went to the gym, as I was preparing I looked in the mirror and noticed I had some heavy circles under the eyes, ah yes raccoon eyes. I need more sleep. But what was I to do at that point? So I did my workout, washed my face, threw on outerwear and headed to the estimate place. Of course I get there and the guy doing my estimate is cute. And then another guy in the waiting room starts to talk to me.
The next resolution will have to be about better communication skills, but that is too much at this point.
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
It is a new year
So I obviously haven't written for a while. This is because I have been mostly thinking about troubles with work and with Eric over the past months and neither subject is a good one for this blog. But it is again a new year and this, as last year, gives me pause to think about the past and look into the future. I don't really like the person I am right now, so I need to plan a way to become a person who I am more comfortable with. This isn't so easy and I think it is going to take more work than can be elaborated right now. In any case, let's revisit last years goals one last time:
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) I did okay sometimes and not okay other times. Moving to Chicago has not been good for my physically. Even though I was running quite a bit for a while, my sedentary job, depression, and good food (I guess) have led to some weight gain. However, I had been the same clothing size since I was a junior in high school, so I guess going up one clothing size in 13 years isn't too bad. But I can stand to lose the weight so I need to do that. This one is going to carry over to 2010.
2) I have done okay with diligence about work. It is helpful to have a job with deadlines that must be met and productivity monitoring programs (monitoring workflow and production is 40% of my job). I could still use a kick in the pants now and then in my personal life to get stuff done, but we will give this one a check.
3) Check.
4) Check.
5) Sort of check. I have not been all that impressed.
6) Laughable. But I did post 28 times in 52 weeks, it could have been worse.
Okay, so this year:
1) Lose the weight!
a) Increase activity by taking walks during breaks - I get to 15 minute breaks, I should get up from my desk and move around during them. I have been doing okay at this since the beginning of the year. I feel like an idiot walking in circles around the food court. But I will feel great in a bikini this summer.
b) Increase activity by joining a gym, taking dance or yoga classes, etc. I am working on finding what will work best for me. And I have two bar method classes to take. Hot Yoga and the YMCA seem to be in my future.
c) Eat better! Increase consumption of soup! Drink plenty of water. Eat more vegetables and fruits.
2) Get back on top of my money. I was super on top of my money when I lived in Lancaster- it was crazy. I went to see my financial advisor and he was wowed. He said, "and you are still single? How can you still be single?" I often ask myself the same question. I must be nuts. Anyway, I just kind of let the finances go in grad school since I was living in the red anyway, why look at the red every month? School was enough stress without sweating every cent in the red I was... though I did sweat my dwindling Mutual Funds until I went paperless. Now I ought not to be living in the red, the mutual funds have rebounded, I need to save for the next round of graduate school and the time I am likely to be unemployed before I return to graduate school. A planned unemployment that I hope to fill with some travel. So I need to slim down the expenses and amp up the savings. I do not really understand the concept of budgeting- I know what it means, I know what a budget looks like, but making it work is beyond me, so maybe I could figure that out somehow.
3) Have more fun! I can't remember the last time I had fun, the last time I was able to honestly say, "I had a great time." It sucks and it will change.
4) See Chicago! I have been living here since August and I have been almost no where. There is no excuse. The question is where to start?
5) Get an Illinois Driver's License and a Chicago library card
6) Study for and take the GRE this spring, apply to graduate school beginning the process in August
7) Find a new hobby. This one is going to be the most difficult, I predict.
8) Improve relationships. Make new friends. Possibly scale off some toxic relationships.
9) Take steps to be more happy. I think each of the above are some of the necessary steps.
That is what I have so far. An ambitious but attainable list.
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) I did okay sometimes and not okay other times. Moving to Chicago has not been good for my physically. Even though I was running quite a bit for a while, my sedentary job, depression, and good food (I guess) have led to some weight gain. However, I had been the same clothing size since I was a junior in high school, so I guess going up one clothing size in 13 years isn't too bad. But I can stand to lose the weight so I need to do that. This one is going to carry over to 2010.
2) I have done okay with diligence about work. It is helpful to have a job with deadlines that must be met and productivity monitoring programs (monitoring workflow and production is 40% of my job). I could still use a kick in the pants now and then in my personal life to get stuff done, but we will give this one a check.
3) Check.
4) Check.
5) Sort of check. I have not been all that impressed.
6) Laughable. But I did post 28 times in 52 weeks, it could have been worse.
Okay, so this year:
1) Lose the weight!
a) Increase activity by taking walks during breaks - I get to 15 minute breaks, I should get up from my desk and move around during them. I have been doing okay at this since the beginning of the year. I feel like an idiot walking in circles around the food court. But I will feel great in a bikini this summer.
b) Increase activity by joining a gym, taking dance or yoga classes, etc. I am working on finding what will work best for me. And I have two bar method classes to take. Hot Yoga and the YMCA seem to be in my future.
c) Eat better! Increase consumption of soup! Drink plenty of water. Eat more vegetables and fruits.
2) Get back on top of my money. I was super on top of my money when I lived in Lancaster- it was crazy. I went to see my financial advisor and he was wowed. He said, "and you are still single? How can you still be single?" I often ask myself the same question. I must be nuts. Anyway, I just kind of let the finances go in grad school since I was living in the red anyway, why look at the red every month? School was enough stress without sweating every cent in the red I was... though I did sweat my dwindling Mutual Funds until I went paperless. Now I ought not to be living in the red, the mutual funds have rebounded, I need to save for the next round of graduate school and the time I am likely to be unemployed before I return to graduate school. A planned unemployment that I hope to fill with some travel. So I need to slim down the expenses and amp up the savings. I do not really understand the concept of budgeting- I know what it means, I know what a budget looks like, but making it work is beyond me, so maybe I could figure that out somehow.
3) Have more fun! I can't remember the last time I had fun, the last time I was able to honestly say, "I had a great time." It sucks and it will change.
4) See Chicago! I have been living here since August and I have been almost no where. There is no excuse. The question is where to start?
5) Get an Illinois Driver's License and a Chicago library card
6) Study for and take the GRE this spring, apply to graduate school beginning the process in August
7) Find a new hobby. This one is going to be the most difficult, I predict.
8) Improve relationships. Make new friends. Possibly scale off some toxic relationships.
9) Take steps to be more happy. I think each of the above are some of the necessary steps.
That is what I have so far. An ambitious but attainable list.
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.
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