apparently, i've got a thing for female british singers... i just discovered Adele and i think she is awesome.
Cold Shoulder
Chasing Pavement
May 31, 2008
May 29, 2008
i'm back!
i've been MIA and for good reason... it's been a busy week. last saturday was the Rilo Kiley concert, which kicked ass. i had a fabulous time. the music was great and we picked a good spot to stand. Jenny Lewis has awesome hair of which i am supremely jealous.
i wish i had sexy, in-your-eyes bangs! i had lots to drink that night because i didn't have cash and forgot to ask if the bar took credit cards until *after* the bartender started pouring the booze. i was informed that i could only pay with credit card with a minimum purchase of $25. and, the atm was broken. oops :)
sunday i flew out to Seattle for the AIR conference. my flight was super early, and of course when i got home from the concert i was not fully packed and ready to go. i slept for 3 hours, woke up hung over, and headed to O'hare. not such a good way to travel, seeing as plane rides usually make me queasy when i'm not hungover. again: oops :)
i flew over pretty mountains, which was fun. i got to Seattle, checked into my hotel early, showered and felt better. my co-worker and i went out to lunch before registering for the conference and attending the new comers' meeting and opening reception. i was exhausted when i got back to my hotel and went to bed early. there was no time for fun on sunday.
monday i went to a bunch of conference presentations. my boss and co workers gave 2 presentations that i attended. i was done with conference stuff by 4:30 and i went out with ro (a-dawg's friend who is doing her clerkship for the summer in Seattle). ro was an awesome tour guide, even tho she'd only been in the city for about a week, lol. we met up at Pike Place Market, where i bought some souvenirs for a few people.
the market was crowded with people, and filled with tables and tables of fresh fruit, veggies, fish, and flowers. there were also plenty of people selling all kinds of arts and crafts. i got to watch the famous fishmongers who throw the fish across the counter to be packed up to go. after tossing a few fish back and forth, they threw a giant, stuffed animal fish out into the crowd (at a bunch of girls, of course, which made them all scream. ok, ok. i screamed too). this guy was my fave (he was cute!):
right outside the market is the location of the original Starbucks, which still has the original logo. we stopped there for a quick browse and ro got a drink.
from the market, ro and i headed to the pier to see about a ferry boat ride.
unfortunately things were closing down by that time, so we went to plan b: the Seattle Center. we walked up the ridiculously hilly streets to catch the monorail to the Seattle Center, where the Space Needle is located.
we decided to have dinner in the restaurant at the top of the Space Needle, but the earliest reservation we could get left us with over an hour to kill. fortunately, there was a festival going on, which made for the best people watching i've had in a LONG time. seriously, there were people square dancing on one side, and african drummers on the other. there was also a Wii tent set up for people to test out the Wii Fit. ro rocked at the balancing game, but i kicked ass at hula hooping. we shopped at the Space Needle gift shop and watched kids ride the amusement park rides. then ro decided that we must ride the Pirate Ship ride. i am surprised we fit and even more surprised they let us ride and didn't laugh at us!
we finally got to go up to the top of the Space Needle. it doesn't feel as tall from the top as it does from the bottom, but the view is awesome. we took pics and hung out on the observatory deck while they set up our table.
because the sun didn't set til very late, we got to see the view during the day and again after dinner when it was dark. this was very, very cool and helped make the pricey dinner worth the cost. (you don't have to pay to go to the observation deck if you eat at the restaurant). dinner was awesome. i had a seafood trio platter with salmon, shrimp and scallops. the restaurant is on a rotating platform and the outer wall is made entirely of windows. ro and i were lucky to get a table in the outer ring, right against a window. the platform moves really slowly, but during the course of your meal, you go around 360 degrees quite a few times. it's really fabulous, despite the motion sickness-y feeling it sometimes causes. finally, ro and i called it a night and took the monorail back to downtown Seattle. by the time i made it to my hotel monday night, i was exhausted!
tuesday was more conference-y stuff. at 5:00 my co-worker and i caught the last double decker bus tour of the day. the ticket machine broke so we got to ride for free. among the highlights of the tour were the Seattle Art Museum, which has a giant, moving sculpture in front of it:
the building that provided the exterior and helicopter pad for season 1 of Grey's Anatomy:
and the home of the Real World Seattle cast and the dock where the infamous slap occurred:
after the bus tour, my co-worker and i walked around a bunch. there are some crazy hilly street in Seattle and we had to climb a couple. we had a fantastic dinner at a restaurant called Etta's. i discovered that i like halibut and coconut cream pie (that's made with real coconut). i was skeptical about both, but the waiter assured me it would be great. and he was right. he was also cute. i enjoyed him, and the food. we did a ton more walking before i made to the hotel where i crashed from exhaustion.
wednesday was the last day of the conference. i only went to one session and took my time packing up and wandering around the city some more. i had to leave for the airport at 12, so it was a short day in Seattle. and today, it was back to the grind!
i wish i had sexy, in-your-eyes bangs! i had lots to drink that night because i didn't have cash and forgot to ask if the bar took credit cards until *after* the bartender started pouring the booze. i was informed that i could only pay with credit card with a minimum purchase of $25. and, the atm was broken. oops :)
sunday i flew out to Seattle for the AIR conference. my flight was super early, and of course when i got home from the concert i was not fully packed and ready to go. i slept for 3 hours, woke up hung over, and headed to O'hare. not such a good way to travel, seeing as plane rides usually make me queasy when i'm not hungover. again: oops :)
i flew over pretty mountains, which was fun. i got to Seattle, checked into my hotel early, showered and felt better. my co-worker and i went out to lunch before registering for the conference and attending the new comers' meeting and opening reception. i was exhausted when i got back to my hotel and went to bed early. there was no time for fun on sunday.
monday i went to a bunch of conference presentations. my boss and co workers gave 2 presentations that i attended. i was done with conference stuff by 4:30 and i went out with ro (a-dawg's friend who is doing her clerkship for the summer in Seattle). ro was an awesome tour guide, even tho she'd only been in the city for about a week, lol. we met up at Pike Place Market, where i bought some souvenirs for a few people.
the market was crowded with people, and filled with tables and tables of fresh fruit, veggies, fish, and flowers. there were also plenty of people selling all kinds of arts and crafts. i got to watch the famous fishmongers who throw the fish across the counter to be packed up to go. after tossing a few fish back and forth, they threw a giant, stuffed animal fish out into the crowd (at a bunch of girls, of course, which made them all scream. ok, ok. i screamed too). this guy was my fave (he was cute!):
right outside the market is the location of the original Starbucks, which still has the original logo. we stopped there for a quick browse and ro got a drink.
from the market, ro and i headed to the pier to see about a ferry boat ride.
unfortunately things were closing down by that time, so we went to plan b: the Seattle Center. we walked up the ridiculously hilly streets to catch the monorail to the Seattle Center, where the Space Needle is located.
we decided to have dinner in the restaurant at the top of the Space Needle, but the earliest reservation we could get left us with over an hour to kill. fortunately, there was a festival going on, which made for the best people watching i've had in a LONG time. seriously, there were people square dancing on one side, and african drummers on the other. there was also a Wii tent set up for people to test out the Wii Fit. ro rocked at the balancing game, but i kicked ass at hula hooping. we shopped at the Space Needle gift shop and watched kids ride the amusement park rides. then ro decided that we must ride the Pirate Ship ride. i am surprised we fit and even more surprised they let us ride and didn't laugh at us!
we finally got to go up to the top of the Space Needle. it doesn't feel as tall from the top as it does from the bottom, but the view is awesome. we took pics and hung out on the observatory deck while they set up our table.
because the sun didn't set til very late, we got to see the view during the day and again after dinner when it was dark. this was very, very cool and helped make the pricey dinner worth the cost. (you don't have to pay to go to the observation deck if you eat at the restaurant). dinner was awesome. i had a seafood trio platter with salmon, shrimp and scallops. the restaurant is on a rotating platform and the outer wall is made entirely of windows. ro and i were lucky to get a table in the outer ring, right against a window. the platform moves really slowly, but during the course of your meal, you go around 360 degrees quite a few times. it's really fabulous, despite the motion sickness-y feeling it sometimes causes. finally, ro and i called it a night and took the monorail back to downtown Seattle. by the time i made it to my hotel monday night, i was exhausted!
tuesday was more conference-y stuff. at 5:00 my co-worker and i caught the last double decker bus tour of the day. the ticket machine broke so we got to ride for free. among the highlights of the tour were the Seattle Art Museum, which has a giant, moving sculpture in front of it:
the building that provided the exterior and helicopter pad for season 1 of Grey's Anatomy:
and the home of the Real World Seattle cast and the dock where the infamous slap occurred:
after the bus tour, my co-worker and i walked around a bunch. there are some crazy hilly street in Seattle and we had to climb a couple. we had a fantastic dinner at a restaurant called Etta's. i discovered that i like halibut and coconut cream pie (that's made with real coconut). i was skeptical about both, but the waiter assured me it would be great. and he was right. he was also cute. i enjoyed him, and the food. we did a ton more walking before i made to the hotel where i crashed from exhaustion.
wednesday was the last day of the conference. i only went to one session and took my time packing up and wandering around the city some more. i had to leave for the airport at 12, so it was a short day in Seattle. and today, it was back to the grind!
May 18, 2008
a-dawg's mom has a really green thumb, so i asked for recommendations on a pretty but low maintenance (and hard to kill) plant to keep at work. she gave me some ideas, but then she also sent me a few plants, which was super nice and awesome!
this is the begonia she gave me (after lucy took a little chomp out of it; you can see the evidence on the counter). it's quite pretty even without the flowers.
she also gave me an impatiens...
... and some rosemary. a-dawg also insisted i get a cilantro plant when we went to Gethsemane, so i've got that too. should make for some very yummy recipes!
this is the begonia she gave me (after lucy took a little chomp out of it; you can see the evidence on the counter). it's quite pretty even without the flowers.
she also gave me an impatiens...
... and some rosemary. a-dawg also insisted i get a cilantro plant when we went to Gethsemane, so i've got that too. should make for some very yummy recipes!
SO effing jealous...
apparently, everyone but me got to go to see Flight of the Conchords last week, including The Watcher and Eddie Izzard!
and there are no good clips from the show available on youtube yet. :(
i did find this tho:
"Two guys in roller skates. That's way hotter than one!"
and there are no good clips from the show available on youtube yet. :(
i did find this tho:
"Two guys in roller skates. That's way hotter than one!"
May 14, 2008
i finally started a project i've been meaning to do since christmas... scanning my mom's collection of family photos. this is one of me and my mom that i keep coming back to:
i find my mom's expression really hard to read in this one. i wonder what she must be thinking at the time the picture was taken. i think about my mom at my age, with 3 kids between the ages of 4 and 9, and it blows my mind. i think about my parents having a kid and starting a family at the age of 16 and 19, and that also blows my mind. i don't know how we didn't all starve, or how they managed not to leave one of us on top of the car while driving off, or how they managed to keep us off the streets and away from drugs (neither of which were ever very far away at all) and keep us safe. it's just... mind blowing.
i find my mom's expression really hard to read in this one. i wonder what she must be thinking at the time the picture was taken. i think about my mom at my age, with 3 kids between the ages of 4 and 9, and it blows my mind. i think about my parents having a kid and starting a family at the age of 16 and 19, and that also blows my mind. i don't know how we didn't all starve, or how they managed not to leave one of us on top of the car while driving off, or how they managed to keep us off the streets and away from drugs (neither of which were ever very far away at all) and keep us safe. it's just... mind blowing.
May 13, 2008
some things never change...
i've always loved games (board games, card games, word games, you name it...) and i've always been goofy and fun about it...
settling down
it's been over a month now since my promotion, and i feel like i am settling into my grownup job (with the accompanying grownup pay and benefits - yea, baby!). i think everything is just kind of settling down. i'm starting to feel more settled and comfortable in my own skin and just generally more like old myself. i'm feeling more secure and at peace with the mistakes i've made and the tough choices i've had to make (whether i like them or not) over the last year or so. i'm looking forward to settling into a new home in a few months. i guess i'm kind of finding a nice little groove. it feels good. i would even dare to say i feel somewhat content. i'm not blissfully happy or anything... not even close. but, i am kinda starting to feel satisfied with my own imperfect little corner of the world.
and, it's summer(ish), so i'm enjoying being out and about. i'm loving yoga, which is a total surprise, but hey, i'll take it. i'll probably take some (free! gotta love the perks of the job) community college classes this summer - probably Spanish. the Rilo Kiley and Feist concerts are coming up, which i am super excited about. not to mention going to Seattle twice this summer (once for work, once for fun). i thoroughly enjoyed getting rap revenge on my brother courtesy of Rap Master Maurice. so yea, things are pretty good and it looks like this will be a pretty good summer. so yay for keeping my chin up (just barely!) and surviving some of life's suckiest bits.
and, it's summer(ish), so i'm enjoying being out and about. i'm loving yoga, which is a total surprise, but hey, i'll take it. i'll probably take some (free! gotta love the perks of the job) community college classes this summer - probably Spanish. the Rilo Kiley and Feist concerts are coming up, which i am super excited about. not to mention going to Seattle twice this summer (once for work, once for fun). i thoroughly enjoyed getting rap revenge on my brother courtesy of Rap Master Maurice. so yea, things are pretty good and it looks like this will be a pretty good summer. so yay for keeping my chin up (just barely!) and surviving some of life's suckiest bits.
Feeling it from dark to bright
When a wrong becomes a right
When a mountain fills with light
It's a volcano, it's a volcano
It's a volcano, it's a volcano
So much present, inside my present
Inside my present
So, so much past
May 4, 2008
yesterday anna and i went on a fun adventure to find a wig shop on milwaukee and division. we had a fun time trying out different, new hair styles. we were actually in the neighborhood where i used to live as a kid. well, one of them, anyway. it is the neighborhood i'd lived in the longest (though not consecutively). my family lived in the lower level of this building:
the two lower window in the front are where our living room was. a lot of the buildings in the area have been replaced by condos, so i was surprised this one's still standing. they totally redid the face of the building tho, and i initially thought it had been torn down and replaced. but no, it's still there, and now it's got a shiny new front.
i think the wooden fence my dad built around the property while we lived there is still up too...
the first time i got to have my own room was while we lived here. my room was in the corner off of the living room, so the first window in the red brick portion was my bedroom window.
i always feel weird when i visit the old neighborhood. the last few times i've been back, i've noticed the gentrification, but it still surprises me to see the trendy little boutiques and coffee shops interspersed with the older, "ghetto" storefronts and restaurants. it's sad for the people who are getting pushed out, but at the same time, it's nice to go back and not feel unsafe. there's definitely a lot of mixed feelings about what's happened to the old neighborhood.
the two lower window in the front are where our living room was. a lot of the buildings in the area have been replaced by condos, so i was surprised this one's still standing. they totally redid the face of the building tho, and i initially thought it had been torn down and replaced. but no, it's still there, and now it's got a shiny new front.
i think the wooden fence my dad built around the property while we lived there is still up too...
the first time i got to have my own room was while we lived here. my room was in the corner off of the living room, so the first window in the red brick portion was my bedroom window.
i always feel weird when i visit the old neighborhood. the last few times i've been back, i've noticed the gentrification, but it still surprises me to see the trendy little boutiques and coffee shops interspersed with the older, "ghetto" storefronts and restaurants. it's sad for the people who are getting pushed out, but at the same time, it's nice to go back and not feel unsafe. there's definitely a lot of mixed feelings about what's happened to the old neighborhood.
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