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!

Ski Trip!

So I am sitting here listening to a bunch of music from Songza.com, a site that Eric introduced to me. I am enjoying it because I am having trouble putting money or effort into my Ipod, it is good enough for running right now, but it is fun to be able to check out some other music that I am not familiar with. For example, last semester when I was writing my dance critique I used Songza to listed to some of the music the pieces were set to and it helped to remind me of what had happened. Also, my friend Tiffany likes a band called Griffin House and so I am listening to some of their music right now. It is pretty good- nice guitar and lyrics. And I can listen to some music to get Beyonce out of my head!!

I am trying to get down to business on my thesis but I have to uphold my blog resolution! I have set a goal to get a first draft of my thesis proposal done by Feb. 10, that is one week from now so I better get writing and revising! But first a little on the ski trip this past weekend:

The trip is an annual trip for Eric and his friends, their significant others, and some other fantastic people. This year ten people made up the group and we stayed in a great chalet close to the ski hill. The chalet had four bedrooms and two baths. It could have slept 20, if my calculations are correct. It had two gathering areas with TV's, a kitchen, dining table, and best of all a spa outside. We also had access to the indoor pool, spa, and workout room at the lodge for the ski resort. There isn't much to say other than that it was a great trip. I think fun was had by all. I certainly had a great time. I learned to ski. Unbelieveable. It is sort of unbelieveable that I had never learned to ski before, but then that I learned at my ancient age.... =)... that is pretty cool. I guess I was doing pretty good, at least that is what people told me. It was fun going down hills, except that I would start going too fast and panic, forget what I was supposed to do to slow down and instead throw myself into the ground- it is a pretty effective way to stop. The first four or so times it did not hurt to fall, but two of my falls hurt. I have always thought that skiing was a leisure time activity, but it really is a sport. It uses a lot of muscles! I started the weekend pretty sore from Kilties and overdoing the sautes in jazz class, which was bad news for skiing. But I survived with the help of many showers, dips in both outdoor and indoor spas, Advil, and stretching. I am looking forward to going skiing another time when I do not start out in pain! Yipppee!