The whole story on youtube (this is episode 1)
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Roar.
I've been to the zoo a lot this semester, studying first bird and now mammal behavior. I always check to see what the lions and tiger are up to while I'm there.
Turkey, turkey.
A good Thanksgiving.
On a completely related note, everyone should watch Drunk History.
On a completely related note, everyone should watch Drunk History.
Sunday, October 2, 2011
Apartment pictures
I moved all my boxes into my room but that's as far as any of us have gotten unpacking.
My room.
veiw from the bed:
Look at that lovely purple wall I painted.
This is the dining room right outside my room. We're just going to use it as a second living room though.
The "kitchen"
and pantry.
bathroom.
Other living room.
Look, a green thing outside the window! much better than alley parking lot.
My room.
veiw from the bed:
Look at that lovely purple wall I painted.
This is the dining room right outside my room. We're just going to use it as a second living room though.
The "kitchen"
and pantry.
bathroom.
Other living room.
Look, a green thing outside the window! much better than alley parking lot.
Saturday, October 1, 2011
That last post was REALLY long. If you TL;DR it, that's fine.
Today (the day after the move), I woke up earlier than I wanted to, thinking I had a Saturday event to work at school.
Turns out I didn't, which I did not discover until I was at school, running between the buildings trying to find where everyone was.
I was a little annoyed about coming all the way downtown for nothing, but then I remembered that today was the Chipotle Festival! I texted up Anna to see if she wanted to go, then took a nap in the lounge while I waited for her to get out of rehersal.
The festival was fun, even though it was sooo chilly today (I was in tights). We bought a locally grown apple for $1, tried some local wine, ate some new Chipotle soft tacos, and went to all the food-informative stands to get our pamphlets stamped (so we could get a free burrito!). We also got our picture taken:
and a free tomato seed in a little paper pot, and a t-shirt that I was supposed to paint, but didn't because the tables were too crowded. On the way out, someone gave us a sample of applesauce on the go (applesauce in a bag with a spout thing).
Then we went to Art Effect to look at pretty things and try stuff on for fun, and did the same at Ragstock, though I bought some thick knitted tights there. (Pictures to come.) We got dinner at CBA, yum.
On the train back toward the loop, at a stop, I happened to glance up out the window towards the people sitting on the opposite platform, and who should be waving at me but Amanda! She and her old roomie Sarah were on their way back from the festival as well, and I got to look like a weirdo waving at them from the train.
Then I came home and got my internet hooked up, wheeee!
Today (the day after the move), I woke up earlier than I wanted to, thinking I had a Saturday event to work at school.
Turns out I didn't, which I did not discover until I was at school, running between the buildings trying to find where everyone was.
I was a little annoyed about coming all the way downtown for nothing, but then I remembered that today was the Chipotle Festival! I texted up Anna to see if she wanted to go, then took a nap in the lounge while I waited for her to get out of rehersal.
The festival was fun, even though it was sooo chilly today (I was in tights). We bought a locally grown apple for $1, tried some local wine, ate some new Chipotle soft tacos, and went to all the food-informative stands to get our pamphlets stamped (so we could get a free burrito!). We also got our picture taken:
and a free tomato seed in a little paper pot, and a t-shirt that I was supposed to paint, but didn't because the tables were too crowded. On the way out, someone gave us a sample of applesauce on the go (applesauce in a bag with a spout thing).
Then we went to Art Effect to look at pretty things and try stuff on for fun, and did the same at Ragstock, though I bought some thick knitted tights there. (Pictures to come.) We got dinner at CBA, yum.
On the train back toward the loop, at a stop, I happened to glance up out the window towards the people sitting on the opposite platform, and who should be waving at me but Amanda! She and her old roomie Sarah were on their way back from the festival as well, and I got to look like a weirdo waving at them from the train.
Then I came home and got my internet hooked up, wheeee!
The Move
Almost all my things had been packed by Friday, with the exception of my bedding (still needing to be washed first) and a pile of likewise dirty clothes. Friday morning I got up earlier than usual (as I had on Thursday as well) to start the laundry before going off to my classes (of which most of the homework had not been done, my time occupied solely by packing). I barely managed to stay awake during morning class, and then, a fortuitous stroke of luck cancelled afternoon class, and I was able to go home early to finish packing and clean the apartment.
I had just started to sweep and scrub the cubby where the litterbox was when the landlord arrived with one of the new tenants requesting that he be allowed to move his stuff into our basement. We were not given any prior warning, and we didn't feel rude enough to turn away his giant moving truck, although we felt this situation fairly inappropriate. Then I had to clean while staying out of the way of the guy, and later when some movers and his girlfriend showed up, I had to keep telling them to stop boxing in all of Michelle's things in the basement because she needs to get those out later.
Anyway. At 3:00 Emily and I bussed over to U-haul to pick up our rapist moving van and somehow managed to make it into the alley without hitting anything. We loaded up as many boxes from the kitchen and our bedrooms as would fit plus some little random things that weren't boxed up.
Then we had to move the cat. We decided to move him first just to get it out of the way. Lacking a proper cat carrier, we decided to fashion one out of a box with some holes stabbed in it. Mapplethorpe was locked in the bathroom to prevent escape attempts while the front door was left open, so I took the holey box in and plopped him in it. He tried to jump out immediately, and I had to close the flaps quickly. Theses boxes, however, leave a little gap sometimes between the flaps, and if he could get one nose sticking out, apparently he could get his head sticking out. Cats are deceptively good at fitting through tiny spaces.
"Emily, I need help!" I yelled through the bathroom door, trying to squish the cat back down through the box flaps.
We couldn't find any tape fast enough, and he eventually broke free. In fact, we couldn't find the tape at all, but we had a large roll of contact paper, so we thought we'd give it another go.
Mapplethorpe promptly forgot that we just tried to stuff him in a box, and rubbed all over our legs as we prepared the contact paper in advance. I tried to lure him into the box with food but he seemed sceptical, so I had to put him in there again. I was prepared with the flaps this time, and Emily pasted on the contact paper as soon as they were down. Then she pressed down in the middle where the cat was trying to bust free while I applied more strips to thicken the contact paper shield.
We had forgotten to tape the bottom of the box (it was just folded), so we had to carry him out to the van with another, flattened box blocking the bottom escape route.
Once in the van (I was to drive, but apparently I take too long to figure out how to drive a van, and Emily took over), we had not even reached the end of the alley when the cat broke free of the box.
"Welp.. he's out." I said
"At least he's in the van," said Emily.
Of course he was not a happy cat, riding in the back of a big scary moving vehicle, even if he got to climb all over the boxes (his favorite thing to do in the living room).
"Please don't pee on anything," said Emily. She also said, "I like how we're so used to his annoying meowing that we're just ignoring it." and "I bet he'd like Adele, since he's such a prissy cat. Maybe that would calm him down."
When we got to the new apartment, I unlocked and opened the front doors, and opened the side door ready to grab the cat and carry him up.
We couldn't find the cat. He meowed at us a few times but we couldn't pinpoint his location. I thought perhaps he was on the other side of the boxes, so I climbed up to look but he wasn't there.
"Uh. Mapplethorpe?"
Then I heard a meow right by my knee, and when I moved a box there he was smashed in between four boxes. I helped him wriggle free, and took him upstairs where I locked him in the bathroom again with his litterbox for the duration of the move.
It poured and hailed as we were finishing, and we had to sit in the car and wait it out because Emily didn't want to hydroplane on the road. (It rained on and off the whole night.)
Michelle was home when we got back to the old apartment, which was good because Emily's full-size bed needed to be moved and I certainly didn't have the arm strength to be much use. I helped her move the box springs, which was hard enough. The bed barely fit in the van, and had to be shoved through the doors at an angle.
Turns out all three of us were what was needed for the top mattress, and just barely. We loaded up my mattress and it's broken down frame, Emily's darkbox, and the futon from the living room.
I sat in the middle between the seats for the drive, and much effort was exuded to get all that heavy stuff out of the van and up the stairs into the apartment. We promised ourselves burger king when we were done, and Emily promised to buy us milkshakes for helping move her bed.
The last load was the living room chair a few last odds and ends and mostly Michelle's things. In the middle of loading, the new tenant girl showed up with her cat, wanting to move her in. Michelle had to clear out of the basement so that she could do that.
Our pause in working lasted longer, however: the neighbors, who share our parking lot, requested that we back up the van to let them into their spot (we were parked perpendicular). At the exact same time, the neighbors across the alley wanted us to move so that they could back their van out of their garage and leave.
After some mild confusing, we finally got the tenant girl to move her car a little away from our van so that the garage van people could back directly out into our parking lot, and then turn left and exit, which would free us up to back up and let the neighbor van people in. Simple, right?
Try expalining that to 3 sets of idiots, two of which don't speak english.
After multiple yelling and hand gestures, we got the garage van people to back up, but instead of turning left they turned right, which was the way blocked by the neighbor van! We were like WTF are you doing!?, because they were not able to do a full turn, and their back half of the car was blocking our path, making us unable to back up making the neighbor van people unable to go in which meant the garage people couldn't go forword.
THIS SITUATION LASTED FOR 10 MINUTES. These stupid people would NOT resolve the situation. The neighbor van lady started talking to us in Spanish, even after we told her twice, "WE DON'T SPEAK SPANISH". I tried mollifying the neighbor van lady that we were doing what we could (she seemed to speak English better), but I don't think she really understood. The only option was for the garage van to be able to back up further before they turn, which they couldn't do because the new girl was in the way. It took her forever to figure this out, and after she moved down to the end of the alley, we slowly got everything straightened out, much to our EXTREME annoyance.
Then when everything was loaded, we cleaned everything else that needed to be cleaned, and called the landlord over.
P.S. the new people locked the door to the basement (I guess they thought we were going to steal their stuff or something), and there's not key to that door, and I got to laugh at them for it, though they were kind of freaking out because all their things and their pets (cat and two rats, ew) were in there. Landlord's 9-year-old broke in with a credit card later, fyi.
So we passed inspection well enough, and got our full deposit back, wooooooo. Then we got to leave forever!!!
It was super exciting to get the last of the stuff up and in the apartment. The cat got let out, and after making sure we had sheets for when we came home, we set off for Burger King! and to return the van.
Well, turns out burger king closes at 10, and as we didn't get done until a little after 10, that screwed up that plan.
We thought to just try McDonald's instead (not as good), but the van place was in Chinatown, and as we discovered later, Chinatown does not have any Mcdonalds. We ended up picking a random chinese restaurant (hot pot), which was also the one where all the workers are especially bad with english, even for chinatown. It was a night filled with bad communication.
We got home a little after midnight, where I promptly fell asleep, forgoing a shower, though I needed it badly.
Stay tuned for part 2? The Unpacking...
I had just started to sweep and scrub the cubby where the litterbox was when the landlord arrived with one of the new tenants requesting that he be allowed to move his stuff into our basement. We were not given any prior warning, and we didn't feel rude enough to turn away his giant moving truck, although we felt this situation fairly inappropriate. Then I had to clean while staying out of the way of the guy, and later when some movers and his girlfriend showed up, I had to keep telling them to stop boxing in all of Michelle's things in the basement because she needs to get those out later.
Anyway. At 3:00 Emily and I bussed over to U-haul to pick up our rapist moving van and somehow managed to make it into the alley without hitting anything. We loaded up as many boxes from the kitchen and our bedrooms as would fit plus some little random things that weren't boxed up.
Then we had to move the cat. We decided to move him first just to get it out of the way. Lacking a proper cat carrier, we decided to fashion one out of a box with some holes stabbed in it. Mapplethorpe was locked in the bathroom to prevent escape attempts while the front door was left open, so I took the holey box in and plopped him in it. He tried to jump out immediately, and I had to close the flaps quickly. Theses boxes, however, leave a little gap sometimes between the flaps, and if he could get one nose sticking out, apparently he could get his head sticking out. Cats are deceptively good at fitting through tiny spaces.
"Emily, I need help!" I yelled through the bathroom door, trying to squish the cat back down through the box flaps.
We couldn't find any tape fast enough, and he eventually broke free. In fact, we couldn't find the tape at all, but we had a large roll of contact paper, so we thought we'd give it another go.
Mapplethorpe promptly forgot that we just tried to stuff him in a box, and rubbed all over our legs as we prepared the contact paper in advance. I tried to lure him into the box with food but he seemed sceptical, so I had to put him in there again. I was prepared with the flaps this time, and Emily pasted on the contact paper as soon as they were down. Then she pressed down in the middle where the cat was trying to bust free while I applied more strips to thicken the contact paper shield.
We had forgotten to tape the bottom of the box (it was just folded), so we had to carry him out to the van with another, flattened box blocking the bottom escape route.
Once in the van (I was to drive, but apparently I take too long to figure out how to drive a van, and Emily took over), we had not even reached the end of the alley when the cat broke free of the box.
"Welp.. he's out." I said
"At least he's in the van," said Emily.
Of course he was not a happy cat, riding in the back of a big scary moving vehicle, even if he got to climb all over the boxes (his favorite thing to do in the living room).
"Please don't pee on anything," said Emily. She also said, "I like how we're so used to his annoying meowing that we're just ignoring it." and "I bet he'd like Adele, since he's such a prissy cat. Maybe that would calm him down."
When we got to the new apartment, I unlocked and opened the front doors, and opened the side door ready to grab the cat and carry him up.
We couldn't find the cat. He meowed at us a few times but we couldn't pinpoint his location. I thought perhaps he was on the other side of the boxes, so I climbed up to look but he wasn't there.
"Uh. Mapplethorpe?"
Then I heard a meow right by my knee, and when I moved a box there he was smashed in between four boxes. I helped him wriggle free, and took him upstairs where I locked him in the bathroom again with his litterbox for the duration of the move.
It poured and hailed as we were finishing, and we had to sit in the car and wait it out because Emily didn't want to hydroplane on the road. (It rained on and off the whole night.)
Michelle was home when we got back to the old apartment, which was good because Emily's full-size bed needed to be moved and I certainly didn't have the arm strength to be much use. I helped her move the box springs, which was hard enough. The bed barely fit in the van, and had to be shoved through the doors at an angle.
Turns out all three of us were what was needed for the top mattress, and just barely. We loaded up my mattress and it's broken down frame, Emily's darkbox, and the futon from the living room.
I sat in the middle between the seats for the drive, and much effort was exuded to get all that heavy stuff out of the van and up the stairs into the apartment. We promised ourselves burger king when we were done, and Emily promised to buy us milkshakes for helping move her bed.
The last load was the living room chair a few last odds and ends and mostly Michelle's things. In the middle of loading, the new tenant girl showed up with her cat, wanting to move her in. Michelle had to clear out of the basement so that she could do that.
Our pause in working lasted longer, however: the neighbors, who share our parking lot, requested that we back up the van to let them into their spot (we were parked perpendicular). At the exact same time, the neighbors across the alley wanted us to move so that they could back their van out of their garage and leave.
After some mild confusing, we finally got the tenant girl to move her car a little away from our van so that the garage van people could back directly out into our parking lot, and then turn left and exit, which would free us up to back up and let the neighbor van people in. Simple, right?
Try expalining that to 3 sets of idiots, two of which don't speak english.
After multiple yelling and hand gestures, we got the garage van people to back up, but instead of turning left they turned right, which was the way blocked by the neighbor van! We were like WTF are you doing!?, because they were not able to do a full turn, and their back half of the car was blocking our path, making us unable to back up making the neighbor van people unable to go in which meant the garage people couldn't go forword.
THIS SITUATION LASTED FOR 10 MINUTES. These stupid people would NOT resolve the situation. The neighbor van lady started talking to us in Spanish, even after we told her twice, "WE DON'T SPEAK SPANISH". I tried mollifying the neighbor van lady that we were doing what we could (she seemed to speak English better), but I don't think she really understood. The only option was for the garage van to be able to back up further before they turn, which they couldn't do because the new girl was in the way. It took her forever to figure this out, and after she moved down to the end of the alley, we slowly got everything straightened out, much to our EXTREME annoyance.
Then when everything was loaded, we cleaned everything else that needed to be cleaned, and called the landlord over.
P.S. the new people locked the door to the basement (I guess they thought we were going to steal their stuff or something), and there's not key to that door, and I got to laugh at them for it, though they were kind of freaking out because all their things and their pets (cat and two rats, ew) were in there. Landlord's 9-year-old broke in with a credit card later, fyi.
So we passed inspection well enough, and got our full deposit back, wooooooo. Then we got to leave forever!!!
It was super exciting to get the last of the stuff up and in the apartment. The cat got let out, and after making sure we had sheets for when we came home, we set off for Burger King! and to return the van.
Well, turns out burger king closes at 10, and as we didn't get done until a little after 10, that screwed up that plan.
We thought to just try McDonald's instead (not as good), but the van place was in Chinatown, and as we discovered later, Chinatown does not have any Mcdonalds. We ended up picking a random chinese restaurant (hot pot), which was also the one where all the workers are especially bad with english, even for chinatown. It was a night filled with bad communication.
We got home a little after midnight, where I promptly fell asleep, forgoing a shower, though I needed it badly.
Stay tuned for part 2? The Unpacking...
Thursday, September 15, 2011
This is how I feel about Chicago Weather
>>My family, I anticipate your confusion. I have provided the links below so that you may educate yourself in the ways of the modern internet meme.
Rage comics
Meme history
Rage face
Monday, September 12, 2011
Schedules
Victory is mine, I was able to swap a "Meh" class for a more interesting one, bringing the schedule that was up in the air closer to not being so sky-high.
My class schedule is as follows:
Monday: 9-12 Animal Behavior (science)
Tuesday: 9-12 Basic Metalsmithing (studio), 4:15-5:45 Tai'Chi (general elective), 6-9 Chinese Watercolor (studio)
Thursday: 1-4 Urban Enviornmental Studies (science), 4:15-5:45 Tai'Chi (general elective), 6-9 Chinese Watercolor (studio)
Friday: 9-12 Greek Plays (humanities), 1-4 History of Poetry (humanities)
My admissons work schedule:
Monday 12:30-3 (tours)
Every other Thursday: 9-12 (office)
Unscheduled tasks to be given by assigned admissions person of importance (Lauren)
My internship schedule:
???????? (TBA, still doing interviews)
My class schedule is as follows:
Monday: 9-12 Animal Behavior (science)
Tuesday: 9-12 Basic Metalsmithing (studio), 4:15-5:45 Tai'Chi (general elective), 6-9 Chinese Watercolor (studio)
Thursday: 1-4 Urban Enviornmental Studies (science), 4:15-5:45 Tai'Chi (general elective), 6-9 Chinese Watercolor (studio)
Friday: 9-12 Greek Plays (humanities), 1-4 History of Poetry (humanities)
My admissons work schedule:
Monday 12:30-3 (tours)
Every other Thursday: 9-12 (office)
Unscheduled tasks to be given by assigned admissions person of importance (Lauren)
My internship schedule:
???????? (TBA, still doing interviews)
Sunday, September 4, 2011
Poker face
Everyone has a default face. For some, it's more unfortunate than other's. Over the years I've been increasingly reminded that I fall into the former category.
I try to keep my face animated whilst engaged in some sort of interaction with other people to mask the default, but this doesn't always work, especially if I am concentrating or focused on something and forget to stop looking so scary.
Things I have been told I look like that at the time were not accurate of what I was actually thinking/feeling:
Bored as fuck.
Thinking "Why the fuck are you telling me this stupid story."
Condescending as fuck.
Pissed as fuck.
No expression, I might as well be a fucking spy.
I feel it is doing the public a service to inform you that I, despite whatever deadpan expression is on my face, am not planning to kill you in your sleep.*
*Usually.
I try to keep my face animated whilst engaged in some sort of interaction with other people to mask the default, but this doesn't always work, especially if I am concentrating or focused on something and forget to stop looking so scary.
Things I have been told I look like that at the time were not accurate of what I was actually thinking/feeling:
Bored as fuck.
Thinking "Why the fuck are you telling me this stupid story."
Condescending as fuck.
Pissed as fuck.
No expression, I might as well be a fucking spy.
I feel it is doing the public a service to inform you that I, despite whatever deadpan expression is on my face, am not planning to kill you in your sleep.*
*Usually.
Friday, August 26, 2011
I just want my drink!
Nothing is more frustrating than a drink bottle that WON'T OPEN. In the past, I've resorted to poking holes in plastic bottles and draining out that way. Now I've come up against a glass bottle, which I probably shouldn't break. Shards, and all.
Monday, August 22, 2011
Friday, August 19, 2011
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
All one panel, because I'm lazy!
meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meowmeowmeowmeowmeowmeowmeowmeowmeowmeowmeowmeowmeowmeowmeowmeowmeowmeowmeowmeowmeowmeowmeowmeowmeowmeowmeow....
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Ohhh, that's what cool people do on weekends.
Mad shenanegans with Devin (remember Devin? From Ireland? No? Anyway he was in town.) and Emily last night.
We were all, let's hang out! So Emily and I went to this gallery/rock concert party at the army store (confused by the venue too) on Milwaukee, which was real loud and awkward. Devin somehow knew like everyone there and he doesn't even live in this city. How? We don't know.
Mckenzie from school apparently was working the event and she scrubbed off the under-21 sharpie X on my hand so that I could get "fucked up". I was like, thanks. gross beer.. >_> woo.
The party ended early for a party, and suddenly we're standing in a group of Devin's friends and there's about 11 different potential parties/bars/raves to go to, and no one's making a decision, and Emily and I are standing off to the side going, How do you know about so many parties??
This one guy has a car, so we drive to someone's house where I think we crashed a "party", though even I could tell it was super lame, so we obviously didn't stay there long.
Then we drive to downtown to this high-rise apartment building to this other party which had way too many bros in it. But the building had a pool, and we were like, hell yeah. Let's go swimming.
But the pool was closed and we couldn't get in, but we found an open door to the roof, which was probably the best part of the night.
This building is about 40 stories high. Outside and all night is some major heat lightning going on. We climb up this short ladder to the very top of the roof, which is just a flat plane of weird squishy white roof material jutting above the regular, larger part of the roof around and below it.
The experience was incredible. As soon as I stepped off the ladder, the warm wind was whipping everywhere. It was almost strong enough to knock me over, and most of us sat down rather than fight for stable footing. Right next to us was the slanted roof of the Smurfit-Stone building. It's one of those city buildings I look up at almost every day but seeing from this new, closer angle really made a striking impact on how large the building is, and how high up I was.
We could see the light-devoid area of the lake, and the top of the Columbus building/museum. The whole aroma of colors was the storm's dark purple and the yellow lights from the city streets, a dizzying look down. It was perfect to sit and watch the lightning snaking in between the buildings and over the lake.
I could have stayed up there a really long time but we returned to the party after only 15 minutes or so. Of all the things I've done in Chicago, this was by far the most inspiring.
It was good that we went back indoors, because shortly thereafter it started pouring. By the time we left the party for good, it was full-on flash flood.
We scrapped any further party plans and made a mad dash to the car, which still ended with all of us quite soaking.
The roads were an absolute mess. We were headed back to the driver's house to just hang and finish the night, and we had a ways to drive from the loop to Wicker Park. We drove through rivers on the street, had to detour around lakes formed under bridges, and thankfully did not end up like the stranded truck drivers in the news this morning who had to be rescued by boat.
Emily and I slogged home before dawn, and conclued our night of masquerading as normal party people. The awkward party parts of the night were super lame, but I could get used to having rooftop or rain adventures on the weekends..
We were all, let's hang out! So Emily and I went to this gallery/rock concert party at the army store (confused by the venue too) on Milwaukee, which was real loud and awkward. Devin somehow knew like everyone there and he doesn't even live in this city. How? We don't know.
Mckenzie from school apparently was working the event and she scrubbed off the under-21 sharpie X on my hand so that I could get "fucked up". I was like, thanks. gross beer.. >_> woo.
The party ended early for a party, and suddenly we're standing in a group of Devin's friends and there's about 11 different potential parties/bars/raves to go to, and no one's making a decision, and Emily and I are standing off to the side going, How do you know about so many parties??
This one guy has a car, so we drive to someone's house where I think we crashed a "party", though even I could tell it was super lame, so we obviously didn't stay there long.
Then we drive to downtown to this high-rise apartment building to this other party which had way too many bros in it. But the building had a pool, and we were like, hell yeah. Let's go swimming.
But the pool was closed and we couldn't get in, but we found an open door to the roof, which was probably the best part of the night.
This building is about 40 stories high. Outside and all night is some major heat lightning going on. We climb up this short ladder to the very top of the roof, which is just a flat plane of weird squishy white roof material jutting above the regular, larger part of the roof around and below it.
The experience was incredible. As soon as I stepped off the ladder, the warm wind was whipping everywhere. It was almost strong enough to knock me over, and most of us sat down rather than fight for stable footing. Right next to us was the slanted roof of the Smurfit-Stone building. It's one of those city buildings I look up at almost every day but seeing from this new, closer angle really made a striking impact on how large the building is, and how high up I was.
We could see the light-devoid area of the lake, and the top of the Columbus building/museum. The whole aroma of colors was the storm's dark purple and the yellow lights from the city streets, a dizzying look down. It was perfect to sit and watch the lightning snaking in between the buildings and over the lake.
I could have stayed up there a really long time but we returned to the party after only 15 minutes or so. Of all the things I've done in Chicago, this was by far the most inspiring.
It was good that we went back indoors, because shortly thereafter it started pouring. By the time we left the party for good, it was full-on flash flood.
We scrapped any further party plans and made a mad dash to the car, which still ended with all of us quite soaking.
The roads were an absolute mess. We were headed back to the driver's house to just hang and finish the night, and we had a ways to drive from the loop to Wicker Park. We drove through rivers on the street, had to detour around lakes formed under bridges, and thankfully did not end up like the stranded truck drivers in the news this morning who had to be rescued by boat.
Emily and I slogged home before dawn, and conclued our night of masquerading as normal party people. The awkward party parts of the night were super lame, but I could get used to having rooftop or rain adventures on the weekends..
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Skates
Rather than spend another $86 on a 30-day train pass for August, I decided to instead buy a $4 pair of second-hand roller skates and, (when it's not in the 90s like this week), start skating to work.
Just for fun, I put them on right after I bought them to skate home on. In case you are wondering, skating is not like bike riding. It does not come naturally after years of dispractice.
I managed to stay upright, no thanks to the pitted, glass-infused, porous, shitty sidewalks of Chicago; however, I did make a right fool of myself for 9 blocks, constantly waving my arms to try and correct my balance, stumbling through the starts and stops.
(Seriously. Anyone? How does one "go" without tripping? And I can't seem to recall the trick to making the back stopper (for there's only one) work. So far I've just been grabbing onto nearby objects to stop. I tried the ski toes-in trick to slow down, which only makes your feet run into each other. I also have problems standing still: I try to keep from rolling forewards, but the skates then take me backwards!)
Anyway, there was a lot of "Don't fall, don't fall, don't fall" and "Oh no" going on. Of course there was the one nice Chicago driver who held up the traffic behind him to let me "cross" the street. Even the old Mexican ladies were laughing at me. (Ok, they weren't laughing, but they did say "Be careful!".)
Moral of the story: if you see someone struggling on skates, follow them! It may be hilarious.
Just for fun, I put them on right after I bought them to skate home on. In case you are wondering, skating is not like bike riding. It does not come naturally after years of dispractice.
I managed to stay upright, no thanks to the pitted, glass-infused, porous, shitty sidewalks of Chicago; however, I did make a right fool of myself for 9 blocks, constantly waving my arms to try and correct my balance, stumbling through the starts and stops.
(Seriously. Anyone? How does one "go" without tripping? And I can't seem to recall the trick to making the back stopper (for there's only one) work. So far I've just been grabbing onto nearby objects to stop. I tried the ski toes-in trick to slow down, which only makes your feet run into each other. I also have problems standing still: I try to keep from rolling forewards, but the skates then take me backwards!)
Anyway, there was a lot of "Don't fall, don't fall, don't fall" and "Oh no" going on. Of course there was the one nice Chicago driver who held up the traffic behind him to let me "cross" the street. Even the old Mexican ladies were laughing at me. (Ok, they weren't laughing, but they did say "Be careful!".)
Moral of the story: if you see someone struggling on skates, follow them! It may be hilarious.
Monday, July 18, 2011
Pure 95degreeweather can melt her!
I have nothing to say about today, except that it is very hot.
Here's some little tidbits from the past week, for (hopefully) your amusement.
1. little boy in store: *grabs purse* I'm a girl!
same little boy: *purposefully, repeatedly runs into picture of model on wall* Excuse me, ma'am.
me: that kid is really bored.
2. woman on train talking on phone (in slow, deliberately calm voice the whole time): Hello?.. I'm here... I'm going to hang up if you're going to keep talking like that. You don't need to be swearing... No, I do know you. Your actions tell me who you are. Your actions tell me-- excuse me. You're talking over me... It says here, in this book I'm reading (which had a rose on the cover, btw), "When someone lies to you it can break your heart, because they don't trust you enough to tell you the truth."... *hangs up*
me: are you for real, lady?
3. Cashier in store looked like an Indian Rowan Atkinson.
4. Police car driving past Harry Potter midnight showing line: (in loudspeaker) Harry Potter is sold out! (jk)
5. Fellow tour guide uses term "IRL" in real life.
6. I did not video giving the cat a bath, though I probably should have. In any case, the end result is a partially-bathed cat and 12 scratches on Emma's legs.
7. My boss uses LOLcat picture in work email.
8. ohmigod it is so hot I am seriously melting. There I go, puddling on the floor..
Here's some little tidbits from the past week, for (hopefully) your amusement.
1. little boy in store: *grabs purse* I'm a girl!
same little boy: *purposefully, repeatedly runs into picture of model on wall* Excuse me, ma'am.
me: that kid is really bored.
2. woman on train talking on phone (in slow, deliberately calm voice the whole time): Hello?.. I'm here... I'm going to hang up if you're going to keep talking like that. You don't need to be swearing... No, I do know you. Your actions tell me who you are. Your actions tell me-- excuse me. You're talking over me... It says here, in this book I'm reading (which had a rose on the cover, btw), "When someone lies to you it can break your heart, because they don't trust you enough to tell you the truth."... *hangs up*
me: are you for real, lady?
3. Cashier in store looked like an Indian Rowan Atkinson.
4. Police car driving past Harry Potter midnight showing line: (in loudspeaker) Harry Potter is sold out! (jk)
5. Fellow tour guide uses term "IRL" in real life.
6. I did not video giving the cat a bath, though I probably should have. In any case, the end result is a partially-bathed cat and 12 scratches on Emma's legs.
7. My boss uses LOLcat picture in work email.
8. ohmigod it is so hot I am seriously melting. There I go, puddling on the floor..
Friday, July 15, 2011
Events
Some stuff that's happened this week.
-Cat convention (Meow Con, most likely). Mapplethorpe couldn't attend.
-Harry Potter finally ends. Thanks to all my Harry Potter fan friends that have talked me into seeing every movie in theater. To celebrate the last, I got my Hermione on and conjured up some butterbeer with Neville's biggest fan before going to the midnight premier (after a basilisk-sized line, of course).
-Attempted napping on the 14th floor lounge in between morning and afternoon tours. Lovely day.
-Cat convention (Meow Con, most likely). Mapplethorpe couldn't attend.
-Harry Potter finally ends. Thanks to all my Harry Potter fan friends that have talked me into seeing every movie in theater. To celebrate the last, I got my Hermione on and conjured up some butterbeer with Neville's biggest fan before going to the midnight premier (after a basilisk-sized line, of course).
-Attempted napping on the 14th floor lounge in between morning and afternoon tours. Lovely day.
Saturday, July 9, 2011
But the sandwiches!
It was one of those days. You know, the ones that start the night before with a very interrupted sleep cycle (due to things like: roommates who go to bed later than I, pets who get lonely in the middle of the night and somewhere learned how to open doors, cats in the alley who have serious issues to work out).
Showed up to work really sleepy, low energy. Perked up a little with help of a bagel, compliments on my "I'm a kitty cat" shirt, and some over-zealous air conditioning.
This is day 3 of 3 in my super long work weekend, where I am at school 9-3 (as opposed to usual 12-3/not at all on Saturdays). Get picked to go down to Columbus building to wait for 12:00 tours. At 12:30, after having narrowly escaped tour, get asked to stay behind for another 15 minutes "just in case".
12:35. Tour shows up.
Did my usual speedy-yet-informative Columbus building tour, answered gazillion questions about writing program, next take tour to residence halls.
Elevator broken in res. hall. We wait 10 minutes for the overcrowded other elevator to show up. 17, 16th floor go smoothly, 11th not so much. There's only 1 key to the staged room we show, and when I arrived it was already out. Normally we can catch up with the other group and there's no problem, but because of the elevator disfunction, by the time we arrived to the show room, the keyholder was long gone.
Ok, I say to my tour group, stay here, I'm going to run down and get it.
So I run down the stairs. It's super crowded in the lobby, but I shove through and get the key. Everybody's waiting for the elevators and they're not showing up. Upstairs my tour is waiting for me in a lonely hallway.
Ok, I say to myself, it's only 11 flights. You can do it!
So I start running back up the stairs. Start walking around floor 4. At floor 7, try to give up. But the elevators! They are not working! So I have to press on, finally making it to floor 11, sweating like crazy. My tour is appreciative.
Ha ha, I say, this is going to be my story of the week.
Story of the week not so funny when I arrive back at admissions to find that everyone has been sent home and all the lunch sandwiches have been taken. I could have dropped to my knees and yelled "NOOOOOOOOOOO!" if I had the energy and was in an 80s movie.
My lunch! My sandwiches! The thought that kept me going on the stairs! The only thing left was a platter of vegetables and some melon slices, which I angrily took after complaining to my boss about the key problem.
Well, losing those sandwiches was the last straw. I exited the building in a whirl of bad energy, strengthened by me missing my train, twice (once as I came out of admissions, and again as I came out of McDonald's after missing the first one and deciding that if I had to wait I might as well get to eat too). Then I took the orange line, which was crowded, had to wait for the bus, hit my head on the bus sitting down, listened to the screaming toddler on the bus, slouched home in the heat.
Life owes me a lunch break.
Showed up to work really sleepy, low energy. Perked up a little with help of a bagel, compliments on my "I'm a kitty cat" shirt, and some over-zealous air conditioning.
This is day 3 of 3 in my super long work weekend, where I am at school 9-3 (as opposed to usual 12-3/not at all on Saturdays). Get picked to go down to Columbus building to wait for 12:00 tours. At 12:30, after having narrowly escaped tour, get asked to stay behind for another 15 minutes "just in case".
12:35. Tour shows up.
Did my usual speedy-yet-informative Columbus building tour, answered gazillion questions about writing program, next take tour to residence halls.
Elevator broken in res. hall. We wait 10 minutes for the overcrowded other elevator to show up. 17, 16th floor go smoothly, 11th not so much. There's only 1 key to the staged room we show, and when I arrived it was already out. Normally we can catch up with the other group and there's no problem, but because of the elevator disfunction, by the time we arrived to the show room, the keyholder was long gone.
Ok, I say to my tour group, stay here, I'm going to run down and get it.
So I run down the stairs. It's super crowded in the lobby, but I shove through and get the key. Everybody's waiting for the elevators and they're not showing up. Upstairs my tour is waiting for me in a lonely hallway.
Ok, I say to myself, it's only 11 flights. You can do it!
So I start running back up the stairs. Start walking around floor 4. At floor 7, try to give up. But the elevators! They are not working! So I have to press on, finally making it to floor 11, sweating like crazy. My tour is appreciative.
Ha ha, I say, this is going to be my story of the week.
Story of the week not so funny when I arrive back at admissions to find that everyone has been sent home and all the lunch sandwiches have been taken. I could have dropped to my knees and yelled "NOOOOOOOOOOO!" if I had the energy and was in an 80s movie.
My lunch! My sandwiches! The thought that kept me going on the stairs! The only thing left was a platter of vegetables and some melon slices, which I angrily took after complaining to my boss about the key problem.
Well, losing those sandwiches was the last straw. I exited the building in a whirl of bad energy, strengthened by me missing my train, twice (once as I came out of admissions, and again as I came out of McDonald's after missing the first one and deciding that if I had to wait I might as well get to eat too). Then I took the orange line, which was crowded, had to wait for the bus, hit my head on the bus sitting down, listened to the screaming toddler on the bus, slouched home in the heat.
Life owes me a lunch break.
First Fridays
in Pilsen = open galleries to look at.
Went out, saw some stupid art, found a "very vintage" garage sale, hated it but found this cool carved necklace:
which I would totally have gotten if it weren't for that $30 price tag. Wish I had money to go to vintage stores and flea markets all the time. Wait, what? That seems backwards.
Went out, saw some stupid art, found a "very vintage" garage sale, hated it but found this cool carved necklace:
which I would totally have gotten if it weren't for that $30 price tag. Wish I had money to go to vintage stores and flea markets all the time. Wait, what? That seems backwards.
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Well today was July 4th.
And this stupid bitch forgot to bring her camera.
I spent most of the day sitting in my pajamas eating sugar and watching Ugly Betty, listening to the sounds of theillegal Hispanic population of the neighborhood celebrate more festivly than I.
Then Emily came home and ended that sad party, and we armed ourselves with some hard cider and cupakes, and walked to the hill park on 33rd for 360degree show.
..Where we sat on the grass watching fireworks of varying distances, the smoke from the gunpowder clinging to the orange city lights, gradiating into night sky, the big dipper just barely visible above us. Not to sound gross, but the moon totally looked like a luminescent aged toenail clipping
If I ignored the m-80s going off and 10-year-olds singing Bon Jovi, and focused instead on the crickets singing and the fireflies (Emily still astounded I've never seen them before), it was a very peaceful, sunburnt summery evening. Complete with our own drunken stranger soundtrack, two guys singing American Pie and Country Roads and the Cheers theme song.
Soon before we left, someone in Chinatown started releasing paper lanterns. We got to watch the glowing lights go up until they went out. For one, we then got to watch the paper part drift slowly back down and land in the park where we were, but some kid jacked it before I could.
Now I'm home. One block away there's a grouping of people letting off fireworks in the middle of a 4-way intersection, making all the traffic wait until the fire stops, then going around the pile of rubble, which will entirely still be there in the morning.
Outside my living room, there's a rap-listening gathering of dumb-looking people talking and drinking and unintentionally including me in their party because I have my windows open for the cooler air.
Stay cool Chicago. We'll be up past 3 listening to things exploding and waiting for a reply back from RLTO.
I spent most of the day sitting in my pajamas eating sugar and watching Ugly Betty, listening to the sounds of the
Then Emily came home and ended that sad party, and we armed ourselves with some hard cider and cupakes, and walked to the hill park on 33rd for 360degree show.
..Where we sat on the grass watching fireworks of varying distances, the smoke from the gunpowder clinging to the orange city lights, gradiating into night sky, the big dipper just barely visible above us. Not to sound gross, but the moon totally looked like a luminescent aged toenail clipping
If I ignored the m-80s going off and 10-year-olds singing Bon Jovi, and focused instead on the crickets singing and the fireflies (Emily still astounded I've never seen them before), it was a very peaceful, sunburnt summery evening. Complete with our own drunken stranger soundtrack, two guys singing American Pie and Country Roads and the Cheers theme song.
Soon before we left, someone in Chinatown started releasing paper lanterns. We got to watch the glowing lights go up until they went out. For one, we then got to watch the paper part drift slowly back down and land in the park where we were, but some kid jacked it before I could.
Now I'm home. One block away there's a grouping of people letting off fireworks in the middle of a 4-way intersection, making all the traffic wait until the fire stops, then going around the pile of rubble, which will entirely still be there in the morning.
Outside my living room, there's a rap-listening gathering of dumb-looking people talking and drinking and unintentionally including me in their party because I have my windows open for the cooler air.
Stay cool Chicago. We'll be up past 3 listening to things exploding and waiting for a reply back from RLTO.
Friday, July 1, 2011
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Storm
Seems the X-men were on the move tonight
sorry for the low quality.
Mapplethorpe did very well for the pre-hail hour of loud thunder. He even sat on the windowsill by the open window. Oh Chicago kitty, thunderstorms don't faze you. He totally bolted once the hail started denting the roof though
i wonder if people who got stuck out in it developed superpowers like in the Misfits (that's a uk show i'd recommend btw, in case you didn't get that reference. I'm not explaining the X-men one because if we're friends I expect you to have at least basic knowledge of x-men and their powers.)
sorry for the low quality.
Mapplethorpe did very well for the pre-hail hour of loud thunder. He even sat on the windowsill by the open window. Oh Chicago kitty, thunderstorms don't faze you. He totally bolted once the hail started denting the roof though
i wonder if people who got stuck out in it developed superpowers like in the Misfits (that's a uk show i'd recommend btw, in case you didn't get that reference. I'm not explaining the X-men one because if we're friends I expect you to have at least basic knowledge of x-men and their powers.)
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
I don't even know
First road trip evah!
Wha'did we do?
Ignored Indiana 'cause it's boring
Tried to sleep here in Kentucky
Ended sleeping in Tennessee
(did not actually sleep in boot store)
Hung out with some accents in Alabama
Looked at their tornado damage
Ate peaches in Georgia (they were Californian, shh)
Ate and shared watermelon with street passerbys in North Carolina
Got lost in the (Appalachian? geography fail!) Mountains
(Asheville has more hippie white people with dreadlocks than in Portland)
Wildlife encounters:
Listened to a cardinal's opinions in Cullman, AL
This butterfly (moth?) as a petal fill-in
As soon as I get the results back from What's That Bug?, I'll let you know what the hell this thing is
No picture, but we saw a tortoise crossing the road in the mountains, wtf?
Wha'did we do?
Ignored Indiana 'cause it's boring
Tried to sleep here in Kentucky
Ended sleeping in Tennessee
(did not actually sleep in boot store)
Hung out with some accents in Alabama
Looked at their tornado damage
Ate peaches in Georgia (they were Californian, shh)
Ate and shared watermelon with street passerbys in North Carolina
Got lost in the (Appalachian? geography fail!) Mountains
(Asheville has more hippie white people with dreadlocks than in Portland)
Wildlife encounters:
Listened to a cardinal's opinions in Cullman, AL
This butterfly (moth?) as a petal fill-in
As soon as I get the results back from What's That Bug?, I'll let you know what the hell this thing is
No picture, but we saw a tortoise crossing the road in the mountains, wtf?
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Sunday, June 12, 2011
OMGWTFBBQFAIL
There are several explainations as to why I have so much trouble lighting a barbecue. Mostly, I'm super retarded, but I think buying briquettes from the dollar store was a bad idea too.
Picnic/bbq with Anna went a lot like this:
The lighter fluid had no problem lighting, and we'd think it was all OK to go, then the barbecue would be all like:
We ended up cooking indoors.
Oh, and the cat was all "PRISON BREAK!" a couple of times
because he's a spaz and hates us.
Picnic/bbq with Anna went a lot like this:
The lighter fluid had no problem lighting, and we'd think it was all OK to go, then the barbecue would be all like:
We ended up cooking indoors.
Oh, and the cat was all "PRISON BREAK!" a couple of times
because he's a spaz and hates us.
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