homecoming

i spent 2 and a half years trying to get to chicago, who would have thought i'd be so happy to leave? well i'm not so much happy to leave as happy to go home to atlanta.

i think my new boss took the hint and assigned me to a project that includes a week of travel to atlanta. i'm extending the trip by the two weekends around that week. ethan has been growing up without asking me, all having conversations and potty training etc. i neeeeeed to see him and give him a huge hug and a leetle kees (think 'nacho libre'... haven't seen it? see it!)

2 midwest colleagues are coming with me and i've got to entertain them. here's what i have planned:

• sunday night - a huge southern meal at my sisters, complete with the bean bag game (though that's more popular up here than in the south), mosquitos, runnin' around barefoot, lite beer. you know, typical stuff.
• monday night - a tour of atlanta, maybe a visit to the varsity and georgia tech
  

Originally uploaded by khakiaraki

• tuesday night - a battle re-enactment at kennesaw moutain complete with a band playing 'dixie' .. alright that's not really going on. maybe a nice dinner somewhere downtown.
• wednesday night - a visit to la fonda latina - home of the freakin' best mojitos in all of the land. and they come in pitchers. =D
• thursday night - a night on the town, maybe a visit to figo pasta and paolo's

the colleagues leave on friday and i have the weekend to play! i'm thinking pool party, a brunch complete with grits (yum! they don't have them up here!), maybe a hike up kennesaw mountain. in general relaxing and getting as much ethan-time as i can.

stay tuned for pictures!

the scene

every year, the yuppies of chicago like to relive their frat party days... on water. they call it the chicago scene boat party. the party is held during the warmest time of year (august) and part of the day (noon-6pm), otherwise lake michigan isn't too friendly.

ok, so you have to find a boat to go on. you can't just swim out there and mooch off everyone else. i happened to know someone who knows someone who knows someone with a boat. and since i'm a girl, i naturally got an invite. we head up to montrose harbor bright and early last saturday with enough sandwhich meat and bread for 35 people (i didn't know everyone else would bring sandwhich meat and bread too...). once everyone arrives and takes their dramamine, we head for the play pen which is the area inside the barrier walls at chicago avenue beach. we hitch up to literally 20 other boats to make this huge line of slippery wet fiberglass that intoxicated people can hop across to check out the offerings of other boats.

* courtesy other's blogs and a google image search

needless to say (i hope), i was a little out of my element. so i sunned and chatted with people on my boat. i eventually got the courage to get into the water and it was coooold! but you do get used to it and once i got on a enormous 12 person float complete with mesh bottom to let water in, cupholders, and floating cooler, i was doing pretty good. people would come over to sit in the float and chat a while: a bacherlorette party (not my idea), an annoyingly drunk florida fan (he was wearing a florida t-shirt, i wasn't profiling), water gun weilding folks etc. i got supersoaked a few times.

you're thinking 'who got hurt?', right? all is going well the first few hours. a few close calls of people slipping, catching themselves and laughing about it. then, a jump, slip, and thud. everyone hears it and cringes while they look around trying to find out where it came from. then we see a girl face down on a boat. a few seconds go by and she lifts up her head and blood is literally gushing out of her face. i realize who it is - my friend who invited me! it was terrible. blood was everywhere. the dj (yes dj) on the boat next to us cuts the music and calls out for the coast guard over the speakers. they come to pick up my friend and speed away to shore. i learned later she went to the emergency room and got 13 stitches.

surprisingly, they turned up the music and everyone started to get their party on. there were some more accidents, a rousing rendition of 'take me out to the ball game', a dude with nipple rings (gross) trying to get some people to dance with him (we all just watched), a inflatable hampster exercise ball they crammed 4 people into, a beach boys song (finally!), and more beer and seaweed that anyone knew what to do with. well some people threw the seaweed. and actually they drank the beer, so i guess they knew what to do with it. i was good though ;) i did forget to reapply sunscreen and have lobster legs now.

as the sun started to set, boats started to leave and head back to their harbors: montrose, belmont, monroe, diversey, burnham, etc. on our boat, everyone headed for the kitchen to gorge on all the food they were bypassing in lieu of beer. i'm glad i brought sandwich fixins for 35.

remember my friend who got hurt? she was such a trooper; she rode her bike over to meet us at the harbor when we came back. she even had a beer to wind down the night!

the scene boat party was an experience, i'll say. i'm not sure if i can handle it more than once, but who knows? if that's the only time i get in the water all year, i might have to go back.

ghost town

i got to see a special preview last night of the new movie 'ghost town' with ricky gervais, greg kinnear, and téa leoni. it probably won't rake in $155M its first weekend like batman, but i haven't laughed that hard at a movie in a long time! ricky gervais (the 'michael scott' of the british office) is perfect for the main role. you can tell he improvises and feeds off the other characters. i'm not a movie reviewer and i'm not going to explain the plot or build it up too much. just go see it or rent it. i'm sure i'll add it to my collection.

a weekend of festivals and sports and wicker park

the excitement of my near-death experience yesterday distracted me from documenting a really packed weekend.

friday i met up with katelyn after work at the plymounth bar rooftop lounge. it had a great view and good people watching and weird mist spraying out of pipes into the air. i guess the mist was supposed to cool you off, but it only helped my hair frizz. thanks, don't need any more help.

after that, i went home to make sure i met up with my friend alison coming in town from atlanta. we almost relived our college days by getting ready and leaving the condo at 12:30am. our destination: the rainbo club in wicker park (damen & division). supposedly wilco likes to hang out here when not on tour. i loved it already. it was a very small intimate club/lounge. no dancing going on, but there was a small stage where i bet a 1-man band could play a gig, a photobooth if you wanted to prove to all your friends you really did meet a cute guy, and a pinball machine if you didn't feel like socializing (though why would you go to a club in the first place?) alison and i met up with katelyn there and i'd say we had a pretty good time. i mean, i'm going back. most clubs stay open til 4am, which i definitely could have done, but this one turned on the lights at 1:45am and started kicking people out. note to self: go earlier next time.

in spite of the late night, i made it up for the 10am softball game. let me preface this paragraph by saying i truly enjoy the company of most the people on my softball team OFF the field. on the field, they (one) think we are in the world series or something and get so bent out of shape if anyone makes an error. we totally were winning 5-1 until the last inning when we lost our mojo and let the other team score 9 runs. so we didn't make it to the next round of playoffs. fine by me because it was stinking hot and humid and i was ready to quit. we all went to el neuvo mexicano on clark st. for lunch after. it probably wasn't the best idea to order sugary margaritas and sit the hot sun... we learned our lesson; i think everyone's stomach hurt. food was awesome though. i will definitely go back but on a cool evening or in the fall.

following some afternoon errands, alison and i made our way to the taste of lincoln festival. supposedly they had food and bands and crafts for sale, but all i saw was drunk people. and i wasn't one of them. ok i lie, i saw some bands. one even played 'sweet home alabama' and made me feel quite at home (except i was the only person to yell out 'roll tide roll!' after they sang the chorus... guess they don't do that up here). i figured out the point of festivals is not what they portray themselves as (taste, art fair, etc); it's about beer and meeting people. lots of beer, lots of people. basically a huge street party every weekend of the summer. it's pretty awesome, but i'll have to get there earlier again.

i love that i go to church at 6pm on sundays (yes i am following a paragraph about beer-filled street festival with a statement about church). 6pm church = still get to sleep in. which i did and then met mj and jenna (gals i've met through rose) at 3rd coast cafe for an amazing weekend brunch. i went home to change clothes (sundress on a windy day is never a good idea) and run some more errands. at 4pm i filled in for another softball team hoping to redeem myself for saturday's poor showing. again, the guys on the team take it way to seriously. one guy ran over from shortstop to catch a fly ball that i clearly could have gotten. on another play he so easily floated the ball to me at second and screemed at me not to go for the double play. i shouldn't have listened and gone for it, but when people scream you usually take a few seconds to react. oh well. i also walked and struck out. i have learned to restrain myself from giving the ground a severe beating with the bat after a strike out; i think i'm maturing!

after the game, i got all spruced up and headed to wicker park for church. i was actually supposed to go to church and then run a booth at the wicker park festival. i never actually made it to church because i thought surely they wouldn't be preaching while the loudest band i've ever heard was jamming on a stage literally outside the school where church is held. so i just found the booth and let everyone know i was there. want to know what booth we had? it was a 'make free buttons' booth. yep, buttons. like the ones you had all over your bookbag in 3rd grade. but those cooky wicker park people totally ate it up. we were non-stop button-making-machines from 7-10pm. everyone wanted to know why we were giving stuff away for free and we said 'we're with citichurch and we wanted to share the button-love'. facetious, but you get the point. the church wants to be good neighbors and reach out without being fake. i love it.

so that was my weekend and that's kind of how all my weekends have been. busy. non-stop. great.

p.s. if anyone can think of another word i can use instead of 'awesome' i would really appreciate you letting me know.

it was bound to happen

as the title indicates, something happened that was bound to happen. working in a highrise and living in a highrise and using elevators every day, i was bound to get stuck in one.

well it happened yesterday at work. going to a meeting with some colleagues, we get in the elevator with 2 other people. push the 32nd floor button. nothing happens. push door open. nothing happens. push all the buttons. nothing happens. then all the lights on the buttons go off.

and we all chuckle but are maybe secretly a little nervous.

we push the emergency button and a loud bell sounds. a person comes in over the intercom and tells us to "stay calm" to which we all kind of laugh because are we really going to be in here a while??

in the end, i like to make it sound worse than it was. we were "freed" after about a minute and a half. kudos to the security desk in the building for such a quick response.

i shall keep you posted on any other near death experiences i have. any near train derailments or collisions with cabs, i'll be sure to include.

;D

D-F Day

i'm debt freeeeee!!!!

this may not be something to brag about for most people; but to me, this is a significant statement. i have been a slave to citibank, american express, mbna, the government, for credit cards and student loans since i was 19 years old. and i thought this was just the american way.

in september 2006, i was introduced to dave ramsey and his concept of "debt is normal; don't be normal". i have to give credit where credit is due though; my sister and brother-in-law got on this crazy debt-free, no-credit-cards, beans-and-rice lifestyle at the end of 2005 and i thought they were a little off the deep end. but their determination to get out of debt and be free (and my brother-in-law's semi-crush on dave ramsey) peaked my interest and i started listening. dave teaches simple concepts that apparently no one wants to think of on their own: budget, plan for large expenditures, have an emergency fund, tithe; if you can't afford it with the money you bring home, you can't afford it! a little extreme, but you know what, my grandparents did not have credit cards and they turned out just fine. they were even able to leave inheritances to their children. will our generation be able to do that??

when i listen to dave, i hear people in their 50s call in asking for help with their 60K, 70K, 100K debt and they make 40K a year. and they have 3 kids. and creditors calling. and then i hear how the #1 cause of divorce is money problems. and then i read that your heart is where your money is. do i want my heart to belong to citibank? or american express? for skymiles?

never (again)!

i don't mind sharing how much i was in debt, more reason to be ecstatic that i am out of debt. when i graduated from college at 23 years old in may 2004, i had $11,000 on my american express card, close to $4,000 on my mbna card, a few thousand on my bankone card, and a whopping $35,000 in student loan debt. that's over $50,000... wow, i just added that up for the first time. scary how much money banks will give people who don't have jobs.

i remember my coach in high school telling me not to get credit cards once, but no one really hit me over the head with it. now i know: have some personal responsibility and don't think for one minute that a bank is going to turn you down for credit and an opportunity for them to rake in billions in interest. don't get me wrong, i'm all for capitalism and earning money when you have an idea and drive and ambition. but now i am an advocate for personal responsibility and eliminating consumer debt (at least in my life and whatever children i may have in the future). and you better believe whoever i marry will share that. marriage is hard enough (i hear) without introducing major issues like disagreeing over money.

so this is my blog and you're choosing to read it. this is my point of view on debt and money. not a soapbox or a lecture.

i will say, that i will NEVER be in debt again!

today july 17, 2008 is d-f day.

bastille day 2008

* from www.someecards.com, a ridiculously inappropriate and politically incorrect greeting card website

the cousins invited me to join them for a prix fixe (fixed price) dinner at brasserie ruhlmann in the near north side. for $40, we got all we could eat and drink, including veuve clicquot rosé. delicious. a nice bonus, my friend andrea from the former small group was in town for work and was able to join us.

so when food is unlimited, you can kind of treat that as free food. and people, now matter how dressed up they are or what high class part of town they come from, all act the same when they want to get their money's worth. just create your own mental picture.

however, i cannot judge. it was a monday night and i still definitely got my money's worth of champagne.

house of blues

one of the oddest looking buildings in chicago, in my opinion, is the house of blues. it looks alike so:




despite it looking like a fish, the joint can put on some pretty good shows as well as a sunday gospel brunch (any takers?)

so far, i've gotten to see 2 free shows at the house of blues. first i was invited by a friend to see the b-52s in their comeback tour/new album tour. the show rocked and we got to meet the band after. the opening band was eagle*seagull - cure-esque, 80s british rock-type band. i really like them.

ok, next, and my most favorite. i found out last minute that the house of blues was giving away complimentary (free with fees) tickets to see my first love: gavin rossdale. he was back on tour with his first album since 2005. imagine how dismal the world seemed the past 3 years; it's because gavin was out of the public eye. ok, i'm being silly, but his first band, bush (bad name choice...they're british), was my first concert ever and i've loved the band and their sound ever since.

my favorite songs:
sixteen stone: everything zen, comedown, glycerine (who doesn't love glycerine?)
razorblade suitecase: swallowed, mouth, straight no chaser
deconstructed: mouth (remix)
the science of things: the chemicals between us, prizefighter, letting the cables sleep
golden state: hurricane, float, solutions
distort yourself (from the band institute): when animals attack
wanderlust (gavin rossdale solo): forever may you run, love remains the same

back to the story. so i got to see gavin for free last night and it was just like i was back at the civic center in birmingham, al in 1995 (!?!) at my first concert. he opened with machinehead (also good song) and continued to play a mix from all albums. and man, was he full of energy, jumping around the stage. one thing i like was that he kept looking around making eye contact and pointing at the fans. and he talked in between songs with his british accent. he did remark that he will not make it be so long before he comes back to chicago because he loves our "energy".

i should also mention the opening band for gavin was we are empires. they had an interesting sounds. very loud. i like half of their songs. you can download their album for free at their website.

so besides getting to see 2 free shows, i like the house of blues because it is a very intimate venue. there are no bad seats/standing room in the place (except if you happen to get behind the only tall guy who also feels compelled to raise his cup to the band every few minutes when he really digs the song). it's close to the clark/lake or state/lake 'L' stop and all the shows end around 11pm (i know i'm old, but i like to get my beauty sleep!).

margaret's last night in the city

to go out with a bang, that's what margaret wanted to do.

so we got all dressed up, including our new friend katelyn, and hit the town. we started at the signature lounge at the top of the john hancock and enjoyed some delicious martinis and an amazing view of a storm rolling in over the city. black clouds and a lightning show.







then we caught a cab and zoomed down michigan avenue towards my new favorite place, pops for champagne. it turned out to be an interesting night as we attracted a lot of attention, had some odd conversations, and made it home by 2am.


on a school night!

fireworks, the taste, and wisconsin?

independence day. in atlanta, i went to the pool and may have watched fireworks in marietta. nothing too elaborate, but always celebrating our nation's birthday in some way.

ok, in chicago, it's a different story. independence day is more of a week here, starting the friday before the 4th and ending the sunday after. why, you ask? lemme tell you:

the famous taste of chicago started friday before the 4th and it took up about 8 city blocks including buckingham fountain and the grant park music shell. restaurants from all over the city set up mini kitchens and were cranking out food for literally millions of people. there was a ferris wheel, cooking demonstrations, huge chess sets, and and, should you desire, a station where you could test yourself for adult adhd.



entrance to the taste

after the race

buckingham fountain

they also had 4 stages where live bands played pretty much all day long, with some popular acts headlining the shows at night. fo free.

on first sunday the city had a 5k/10k "race to the taste". i totally did it so i wouldn't feel as guilty for going to eat all the delicious food afterwards. after the race, we tried some of the foods available to tickle the palet. here were my favorites:

• bolat african cuisine (jerk chicken, spicy rice & beans, plantains)
• soul vegeterian east (vegan sweet potato pie)
• chicago joe's (calamari)
• polka sausage & deli (pierogies with sour cream)
• aunt diana's candy makers (frozen chocolate bananas!)
• fireplace inn (bbq meatballs)
• lagniappe-creole cajun joynt (beignets)
• lou malnati's pizzeria (uh..deep dish)
• star of siam (pot stickers)
• c'est si bon (cajun chicken tenders & hone biscuit)

lest you think me a pig eating all that at once, i will have you know that i went to the taste on 4 separate occasions. it was actually a few blocks from my office, so i went for lunch one day. long lunch.

some of the (free!) concerts we watched were josh kelly, plain white t's, ryan shaw, and joss stone (love her!). we missed chaka khan, stevie wonder, bonnie raitt, dave barnes, broadway in chicago, old 97's, and about a half-dozen others. i can honestly say, there was too much to do.

hi!

other than the taste, there were street performers and shopping sales galore. fireworks on july 3rd (they want people to stay up late and not feel bad because they have the 4th off from work) which lasted for about 30 minutes. the most amazing show i've seen to date. there were over 1 million people at grant park to watch the fireworks. the crowd was so big, that the people spilled off of the sidewalks into the streets and they shut michigan avenue down. literally wall-to-wall people on the streets.

michigan avenue

pritzker pavilion

after the fireworks show

the extremely unfortunate thing was that there were 4 gang-related shootings downtown as everyone was leaving the fireworks. we heard them but didn't realize that was gunshots we were hearing. a tad unsettling.

on the actual day of the 4th i slept in. and slept in good. i think i got up after 12pm. then margaret and i did some sightseeing since it was her last weekend here. we went to the sears tower, marina city (aka corn cob buildings), state street shopping, and a walk along the chicago river.

wrigley building, tribune building, chicago river

marina city

then we went to a friend's rooftop condo for a cookout and again more fireworks. this time however, you could look 180 degrees around the rooftop and see a dozen or so fireworks displays from all the neighborhoods. it was unlike anything i had seen!

and how does wisconsin fit in? on the 5th we trekked (well, drove) to milwaukee, wi for the biggest outdoor music festival in america: summerfest. it was kind of odd, all the people we saw, though it made for good people-watching. the main reason we went was to see steve winwood and tom petty & the heartbreakers in concert. it was sooo good! they played all my favorite songs and some new ones; tom petty kept saying "you guys are so amazing" (in his stoner type voice).

my neighborhood

at alison's boyfriend jeff's house on the northside

sarah, jessica, and jeff

jessica and me at the tom petty concert


when margaret told one of her friends back in alabama that she went to see tom petty in wisconsin, her friend said "what's wisconsin?" no lie. a tribute to the school system.

oh, i almost forgot to tell you. the last and most important difference between an atlanta 4th and a chicago 4th. it was in the 60s. i wore pants and a jacket! but...no mosquitos. no humidity.

:)

cross-town classic

this weekend chicago is gearing up for the cross-town classic, battle of the #1's, the redline rivalry.... the cubs vs. the white sox

to set up this great series and rivarly, here's a little history of the 2 great major league baseball teams of chicago.

the chicago cubs: in 1876, the chicago white stockings (as they were originally known) became one of the 8 charter members of the national league. they win the inaugural national league championship with a 52-14 record. after that, they kind of sucked until 1880 when they won the NL championship again (and they do for 3 straight years). those pesky boston red stockings took away the potential 4th straight championship. they have up and down years, trying to change things up a bit by changing their name to the colts in 1894. the sole highlight of a disappointing 1897 season was a game against louisville where the colts put up 36 runs! in 1902, the chicago daily news referred to the team as the "cubs" because of all young players on the team. the young team improves and goes all the way to the world series in 1906. who do they play? their now rivel, the white sox (see below); the event seemingly put the whole city on hold for a week. the white sox take the series though. the cubs get their revenge as they take the 1907 world series, holding their opponents the detroit tigers to 3 runs combined. 1908 is the same world series show down: the cubs vs. the detroit tigers. the cubs win indeed, and become the first team to win back-to-back world series. but as we all now know (or you do as of reading this post), that was the last world series the cubs have won. legend has it, there is a curse on the cubs, placed on the team by billy sianis who was kicked out of the world series game in 1945 because of his pet goat. despite the cubs' drastically different seasons, their fans are full of optimism and wrigley field is packed each baseball season. the talk on the town is 2008 (the 100 year anniversary of the last world series win) is the year for the cubs. we shall see!


the white sox: in 1900, charles comiskey moved the st. paul saints minor league to chicago. the cubs owner, wanting to preserve the fan base of his already established team, filed suit against comiskey. after a battle, it was decide that comiskey could move his team to chicago on 2 conditions: 1) he could not use 'chicago' in the team name and 2) the team had to play south of 35th street. so the team became the white stockings (the original name of the cubs from 1876-1889) and set up camp on the south side, thus pitting northside cubs and southside sox fans against each other for the past 100+ years. during their first few years, the white sox had some hitting problems and were dubbed "the hitless wonders". but as mentioned above, the white sox did take the 1906 world series. in 1915, the white sox purchased the contract of shoeless joe jackson and along with him a few record hitting seasons. then a dark cloud settled over the sox in the 1919 season. 8 players lead by ex-underworld street brawler chick gandil and including shoeless joe attempted to throw the world series. the plot became obvious and a criminal investigation ended with the 8 players (later known as the black sox) on trial. in a bizarre turn, all confessions disappeared and the players were acquitted. however, the newly appointed baseball commissioner forever banished the 8 from the game of baseball. after some disappointing seasons, the sox renewed their enthusiasm in 1959 and earned the name "go-go" sox. the 1960s saw an intense rivalry with the new york yankees and the sox were almost sold to milwaukee. in 1984, the sox win the longest game in history: 2 days, 25 innings. in 1988, the sox were threatened to move down to florida, but the fans of chicago held "save our sox" rallies in front of the state capital. it came down to the deadline, but the funds were raised and the sox were destined to stay in chicago. in the late 90s through mid-2000s, the sox would finish 2nd or 3rd in the AL. then in 2005, the season started our normally, but the sox go all the way to the world series against the boston red sox and end up taking the series in a 3 game sweep. this was the team's first series since 1917.



between 1903 and 1997, the cubs and white sox occasionally met in a 'city series' or single charity games called the 'crosstown classic' or the 'red line series'. because these games did not count toward any team ranking in their respective leagues, they only served to provide bragging rights.

then interleague play began in 1997, and the cubs and white sox have routinuely played each other 6 times a year (1 3-game series at each ball park). in the 10 years, 60 games have been played. 30 won by the cubs, 30 won by the white sox. naturally, the heightened excitement and rivalry has led to some, shall we say, disagreement among fans and players.


this 2008 meeting will be even more intense. the cubs are #1 in the NL, the white sox are #1 in the AL.

as an impartial outsider (a southerner), i have the option of cheering for both teams. they're both talented, both full of history, both have die-hard fans, great parks (though to me, the white sox park is more like turner field in atlanta, while wrigley has the feel of an old classic stadium).

i have been to 3 white sox games, and 2 cubs games. i live on the north side. i work in the south loop. i live off the red line. if you made me choose, it would be tough, but i guess i'll have to route, route, route for the cubbies!


go cubs go!

managerish

managerish (n): a language devised by middle-managers for the purpose of sounding more intellectual and important than they really are.

examples:
"response point-by-point via return email"
"people culture"
"anemic addressment"
"trend patterns"
"manually pattern"
"granular level"
"feature function capabilities"
"business strategy of cost optimization"
"repository for catching observations"
"team member synergies"
"manual workaround process"
"manualized processes"
"granularity"
"low hanging fruit"
"home-run!"
"fully crystallized"

note: this blog will be updated as middle-managers continue to introduce me to this language
another note: to help you determine if you're working with someone speaking managerish; they love to print out 10 page documents, highlight one sentence, hand it to you, and ask you to explain the highlighted part.

band party, softball, books, ribs, and face paint

that in one sentence summed up my weekend.

i joined this group called the chicago sport and social club when i signed up to play softball and kickball for the summer. kickball is NOT as much fun as it was when you are kids. the guys try to show off and pitch the ball so fast that you either a) air kick or b) kick an easy-out pop fly in the in-field. the girls join to meet guys, so girls outnumbered guys 2-1. not that i mind girls; i joined to meet people. but the girls on my team are not competitive; 1 girl actually watched the ball as it sailed over her head... she didn't even run! our team name is 'take out the catcher'; a name cleverly devised after we won the first game by 1 point when one of the guys ran into the catcher of the other team when she wouldn't move away from the plate.

softball IS fun! it's slow pitch, so you can easily look like a dork by swinging too fast. people with skills join softball, so there are only 3 girls on my team. the weird thing is that 4 people including myself lived in alabama. the softball team name is 'there's no crying in softball', a lil tribute to a great line from 'a league of their own.' we have a good team, won all games but 1 and are in first place. i did strike out once and totally pulled a buehrle (white sox player who let a space heater have it).

anyway, long background to the start of my weekend. the chicago sport and social club puts on social events in addition to sports events. this weekend they put on a band party (yes band party) on the fake boat at the north avenue beach. the band was a really rad 80's cover band, sixteen candles. it was a beautiful night, breezy and in the 70's.

the next morning, margaret and i got up bright and early to be at the softball fields for a 9am game. unfortunately, not enough players for the other team showed up so they had to forfeit. but we wanted to play! so we gave them 2 of our players and played a 9 on 8 game. we creamed 'em. afterwards, most of the team went out for unlimited brunch and $1 mimosas at this place in lincoln park.

i decided to skip kickball and take margaret to one of my favorite places in the city: printer's row. we took the 'L' there; i think she's getting used to it. there was a huge book fair this weekend, and all these booths were set up selling rare and used books, magazines, maps, and a few VHS tapes. i didn't get any. it was very crowded this past weekend, but normally, the place is quiet and there is a nice square with benches and a fountain where you can sit in peace and think for hours (if of course, that is what you wanted to do for hours).

ok, by this time we were hungry. so we headed up north to the lincoln, damen, irving park intersection (one of those crazy 6 way intersections i still haven't quite figured out) for ribfest chicago. yes my friends, a street of meat. and fried candy bars, root beer, regular beer, watermelon, and hummus (that's not normally included i don't think). i don't think the participating food vendors had to submit portfolios of meat before joining the ribfest line-up. we learned quickly that if there's no one standing in line for the food, it's probably not that good. we did try some awesome root beer and key lime pie. whenever chicago does a festival, there's always at least 2 stages with band line-ups. i only paid attention to one band, skybox, and i quite liked them.

ribfest, complete with tornado watch, ended in early evening (well that's when we left). i thought i would be up for dinner or drinks at the top of the john hancock building, but i passed out. it was a good day.

sunday was another early day. in order to get involved with this new church i'm trying out, i volunteered to help with this kids carnival they put on in wicker park. i signed margaret and myself up to run the face painting table. we were a huge success! non-stop face painting from 9:30am-12:30pm. margaret made a little girl cry when she realized she was not getting a pink unicorn but instead a pink blob with a purple line sticking out the top. kids have crazy imaginations; i got asked to paint a red bear, a submarine, a white horse with purple spots, a leopard (really?), and one girl asked me to write "killer" on her arm. i didn't question, just painted. we were supposed to paint until 3pm, but i guess the rain wasn't done unleashing its fury on chicago and we got completely drenched. another good day though.

having margaret in town is a lot of fun. we realized we must be on the same brainwave occasionally because we say the exact same thing at the exact same time often. it's fun.

a day in the life at the new job

get to work at 8am (with 1 coffee in hand)

review data analysis portion of new project, defining fields, objectives, scope, identifying contacts and setting up meetings 8:30am-4:30pm

determine that you are looking at the wrong information and your day was pretty much a waste of time 4:30pm

this has happened to me more than once! arg.

the new job is getting better though. i have a new rowmate who is talkative and has a nice laugh. we have also had 2 other new people start this week which meant their assigned 'buddies' brought in donuts, cookies, cinnamon rolls from anne sathers (yum!). this department likes to eat!

me-me

day 1 - my little sister, margaret, wanted to come live with me for the summer. she lived with lea in new york last summer and wanted to take advantage of my new town this year. we met up in new york over memorial day weekend and she was going to fly standby on airtran U (for college kids) back to chicago. we get to the airport on tuesday and there are no flights to chicago! so instead, she hopped a plan back to atlanta (sad) in hopes of making it to chicago within the next few days. what airtran doesn't tell you (or at least emphasize) is that you can fly standby for $69 per segment and you cannot check luggage. so i had to take margaret's luggage with me to chicago and sent her to atlanta.

in atlanta, margaret learns the people in new york lie and there really are flights to chicago that day. multiple! so she gets another standby ticket and gets on a plane to the midwest. i however am at the airport, on the runway, in the air, at my destination airport for 10+ hours on tuesday. so margaret makes it from nyc to atl to chi before i'm halfway through my flight.

but she made it! and i did too! we took the elevated orange line into the city and margaret commented on how it's kind of scary to ride on elevated tracks. i said 'oh these have been around forever and nothing happens.'

day 2, 10am - green line derailment

e-man

i talked to my nephew today for a good 5 minutes. he's only 2, so i couldn't understand everything he said. if i was quiet (because i can't talk in loud 2-yr-old-speak in the office) for even a second, he would say 'you here? you here re-re?'

i asked him if he wanted me to come over and play, to which he replied 'oooohhh yeeeeeeeah!!!'

he's so amazing. a little person who i can absolutely and honestly love with no reservation. unconditional love. in those moments, i get sense of why God made us. who wouldn't want to love fully and completely? it's an amazing feeling.

tulip days

chicago has a love affair with beauty, i think. for a little over a month, the city welcomed spring by covering every pot or patch of dirt in tulips. and not even just the places the tourists see. all colors were appropriate: white, yellow, hot pink, purple, red... one of my favorite things to do was walk home from work a different route every day and look at all the pretty flowers. when i visited chicago in 2004, the landscaping of the city was one thing that stuck out in my mind. i could tell they cared about making the city look beautiful for residents and tourists and anyone who would appreciate it.

they also invited chicago architects to create kinetic art displays for michigan avenue.

moving, part II

i never lived in a high-rise before. i got a really good deal (well it will be good when my condo in atlanta sells and i won't have to pay the mortgage). i like high-rise living a lot; i have a great view, doorman, taxi-caller. real in-town living. there are a few bad things about high-rise living: getting all the way out the door and realize you forget something, not knowing if people in other high-rises can see you, and in chicago, the wind. i think i've gotten used to it by now, but i live close to the lake and when the wind is blowing, it screeches and howls by my windows. the first night i heard it, i kept getting up to check the windows to make sure they wouldn't get sucked out. still intact, so no worries.



my view


my neighborhood is mixed with high-rises, graystones, big sidewalks, old trees, and flowers. a few streets over is old town. old town is great. i love it. it's home to second city (famous improv comedy theatre), a few good mexican restaurants, fleet feet sports (they watch you run and pick out shoes for you), a spice store, an oil store, a chocolate store, the twisted sister bakery, a 24 hour starbucks, a few delicious italian restaurants, to name a few things. north of my neighborhood is lincoln park. it's huge, first of all, and there is a lot more to do than go for a stroll. a free zoo, the lincoln park conservatory, a lake where you can paddle around in a giant swan (or row). i also joined the chicago sport & social club and play softball at the fields.


i know 1 person who moved up here from atlanta last year. she's been great, inviting me out places and introducing me to her friends. i also have gotten to hang out with my cousins a few times. suprisingly few of the people at work live in the city, so i don't really think i'll be making life long friends there. that and apparently people stay in my department for 2 years or less before moving on.


i'm still not used to the weather. in atlanta, i'd be in flip-flops and shorts by may. in chicago, i still wear a jacket to work and some days wish i had a scarf and gloves. have only brought out the flip-flops once and regretted it by the end of the night.


all-in-all, the moving process was a success. i think i managed to move quite cheaply too. i like the city and neighborhood and the lake. i'm sure come warm weather, i'll love all those things too.

moving, part I

i mentioned to my friend erin (who's moving to london today) that she should start a blog to keep everyone up to date on her big move. a great idea, no? i realized i should do the same to keep everyone abreast of my move and new life in chicago. hence, i'm backtracking to march 2008.


a quick summary:

• packed up most of my 1 bedroom condo in atlanta with the help of some friends and family
• hit the road in a bright yellow penske truck with my friend kimberly
• stopped in nashville to visit janna p.
• spent a long day traveling through tennessee, kentucky (lots of distilleries), indiana (very long state, doesn't have celery), and into illinois
• chicago welcomed me with cold temperatures and snow and traffic
• kimberly and i got to my new place and had approximately 1 hour to unload the whole truck and get everything up to the 26th floor or they would lock us out
• finished in just enough time and ended the day with giordano's deep dish pizza (yum)

kimberly hung out for the cold weekend and i'm sure was happy to head back to warmer weather.

since moving day, i started work in downtown chicago (aka the loop). i ride the cta bus or take the red line to work and since it's warmed up to the 50s & 60s i walk home. not having a car has been mostly great. i don't get stuck in traffic, i walk slowly through the neighborhoods and soak everything in, and have basically built in exercise to getting where i need to go. the down side: when it rains. everyone wears rain boots which is smart. i need to get some. also umbrellas do no good here. i've had mine flipped inside out by the wind too many times to count.

work started slow (really slow) and i became dependent on coffee. in a one-block radius from my office, there is a cafeteria, a corner bakery, 2 starbucks, and 2 dunkin donuts, so temptation was present. i decided to kick the habit when i added up all the $1-2 charges for coffees and was shocked at what i spent in my first month. living here is expensive!

so my atlanta colleagues would be very impressed with me; i make it to work around 8am every day. this is a significant improvement from my usual 9:30-10am (sometimes 10:30am) arrival times in atlanta.

making acquaintances has been easy. i meet new people practically every day. my accent gives me away to being new to the city, but that makes starting conversation easy. everyone has their opinion of the best restaurants, neighborhoods, and summertime offerings.

making friends is a slow process. a note to all who move: be prepared to not like your city for the first 6 months or so. i heard that and thought i believed it, but being here for almost 2 months has made me accept it. i am excited about what the next 6 months to a year will bring. who will i know? what will my favorite hang-out be? how well will i be able to traverse the 6 street intersections?

i hope i don't give anyone i've talked to the wrong impression about my move, because i feel like i've come across a little down about it. i got what i wanted: living in chicago! and i am thrilled that this move has put atlanta back in a special place in my heart. i love the south. love atlanta. love midtown. who knows, i might end up back there; but for now i know i'm supposed to be in chicago and am going to enjoy it!