What's In Your Party Wardrobe? A Set of Horns?

I ran into my downstairs neighbor today at the train stop. She is finishing grad school at the Art Institute and was talking about her job search. She went to a job fair in New York, where she said she interviewed with a lot of intimidating art people.

"You know, Orlan?" she asked.
"No," I said.
"Well, she reconstructed her face with plastic surgery and gave herself horns. Her hair is like 'Bride of Frankenstein'. And I sat across from her at the job fair and was all, 'I do landscapes.'" (She said this with total embarassment.)
I said, "Well, it sounds like it was hard to take her seriously!"
I should have said: "It sounds like you dodged a bullet!"

Another friend of mine recently (around X-mas) was arrested for biking with a keg while he was dressed up like Santa. And, he's Jewish.

Enough said about that.

Finally, I broke my Frankenstomach frankenfast of two days without coffee. I realized that I was just too out of it without the caffeine. However, I decided that I'm not allowed to drink coffee on the train. I spilled on my pants (dry clean only), my sweater (white), and my fake zebra skin iPod cover. Mostly, I was concerned about the fake zebra skin - you can't wash that shit! But much to my surprise, fake zebra skin absorbs coffee without a trace. Who knew? Note to self: incorporate more fake zebra skin into polyester-stocked party wardrobe.

Frankenstomach

I've been suffering from a mild flu-bug/stress stomach over the past couple of days. This frankenstomach has no friends, and friends of the special sort that I seem to favor - namely - cheese, coffee, caramel, and spicy foods. Boo! I mean, how much chicken soup and yogurt can one person eat?!?! Both the frankenstomach and the modified diet makes a grumpy Miz M indeed.

All news is not bad though - I had a lovely weekend. I spent a ton of time outside, riding my bike, rollerblading, reading books outside with Mr. D. - I even grilled burgers and veggies in my special marinade. Spring in Chicago is lovely and manic and good.

Spring Shine

Rode my bike to work for the first time in 2007 - !
The temperature was great for riding - sunny, 50s, and no breeze. I saw the usual excitement - some dude repainting a fence along the lake for the park district - with no shirt and some shorts! Someone is ready for summer - haaaaay! (But, hello? It's 50 degrees?)

It takes me an hour to ride my bike to work - an hour! While that is a great workout, and allows me to consume insane quantities of Chinese food at lunch, it can also be pretty tedious and tiring. While trying to plan alternate routes due to "three-track" construction (end result: same commute with a reason to leave work early sometimes...) I discovered a CTA/bicycle hybrid route to work. However, the whole maneuver of putting one's bike on the bicycle rack on the front of the bus seems slightly intimidating. I ordered a flyer from the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation so I can study it before my attempt. But if that works out, maybe I can get to work without sore legs and sweating profusely!

This weekend I plan on getting my tan on, vegging out by the lake, and possibly drinking some beers. I'm going out to celebrate my cousins' birthdays, and spending some time with Mr. D. It's called Spring, and that's what I'm talkin' 'bout.

Da Good Vibes

It's spring, and it seems like a lot is happening with everyone with the (slow) increase in temperature and (occasional) appearance of sunshine.

A couple items to note:

- a good friend of mine is having some relatively major/minor surgery today so send "da good vibes" to her

- spent the weekend in my hometown catching up with people and hanging out with my parents. I got a good long motorcycle ride in with my dad, which was fantastic. I really love riding on the back of a motorcycle because I always notice things more clearly - the pattern of the clouds, the sparkles on the river, the quintessential craggly tree on the edge of a farm field. It seems odd to appreciate nature so much from a roaring, speeding motorcycle, but it really is rejuvenating to me

- finally, as an homage to my impending life change, I'd like to note some daily details that may reveal my mixed feelings on the subject. Chalk one up for the pro-leaving side: the one working elevator in my office building has a pee stain in it

Pasta Version of "Loaves and Fishes"

It feels like a Friday, as the days of the week are stretching out endlessly into the cold weather and cloudy spring. I ate another meal of the pasta version of "loaves and fishes" - a pasta dish I prepared with Mr. D for dinner on Saturday night, along with our Easter foods of mac & cheese and cupcakes. I am only reminded of the neverending food of the "loaves & fishes" because I cooked the entire box of pasta, and the zucchini/pasta leftovers have created a seemingly endless number of meals since.

This week, I saw my old housemate from my study abroad tour in Barcelona! I was apprehensive (as we hadn't seen each other in six years!) but we had a fantastic time. We had a lot to talk about - grad school, travelling, boyfriends, world religions - and I felt both a sense of continuity of the past as well as looking brightly ahead into the future.

There's A Broke-Ass Fridge Too

Remember the "Fridge Smellification Committee" that I started at work?

Well, here is an email regarding the state of our broke-ass fridge sent by one of my colleagues at work today. I'm glad to see that my legacy will carry on after I leave my job.
-----------------------

Esteemed colleagues:

The refridgerator REEKS. Please take a minute to clear out anything that is yours and past the point of tolerable smellification levels. Don't think you have anything in there that's smelly?... That is probably why it smells so bad. For the sake of those of whose offices are situated within close olfactory range of the fridge, check it even if you think you are not at fault.

I thank you. The now delicate state of my smellification system thanks you.

xxxxxxx

Oh behalf of all those offended

Broke-ass Building

I'm not talking about moola, no, but rather my office building. The building where I work is "ghetto" as we used to say in my high school. The building is probably over 50% vacant, probably because nothing works, especially the elevators. I mentioned the "elevator creeps" in a previous post, but right now the biggest creeps are the building managers and building owner. Out of four public elevators, only one has been working most days. And by "working", I mean you still take your life in your hands - mental clanking and pinging, elevators that don't stop on certain floors, or ALWAYS stop on certain floors (floor 9) because one of the call buttons is broken. They have someone coming in to "fix" the elevators just about every other day and they still never work. It's ridiculous.

As if that wasn't enough, everything inside our office is broken too. We haven't had a copier or printer for at least two weeks. Or a postage meter. I have outdated postcard stamps hidden in my desk (23 cents) and can make essential copies of letters on the fax machine. Letterhead? Forget it! I'll just draw our logo on some legal paper. It's too bad that mental telepathy isn't more widespread because that sure would save a lot of hassle to just be able to mentally copy and fax this stuff instead of getting so frustrated with this crappy junk that doesn't work.

The New Bikini Wireless

Things have calmed down a bit at the end of the week - thank goodness! I've had to adjust my commute, my work environment, and my work projects for the next few months all this week. Damn! Now I'm mentally adjusting to my new routine (or the idea thereof) which has given me some ideas on how to make my *last* summer in Chicago a lot more fun.

I'll be doing a lot of writing for the next few months for work and so I think I may have to set up a satellite office... hmm, maybe on North Avenue beach! Huzzah! Bikini Wireless! Suntan report. Can I write about water quality while drinking margaritas???

So I made the official annoucement today at lunch. Surprisingly, my eyes welled up with tears - I guess I still have some mixed feelings about leaving Chicago. But, it is a huge relief to have it out in the open now and not have to worry all the time about being discreet about my plans. Phew.

The Cat Will Soon Be Out of the Bag!

I have decided to go to graduate school in North Carolina. Hooray! I'm happy with my decision, and now feel I can go about life for the next four months at least at peace with my next move in life. Phew! My family and many of my friends now know, and I make the official announcement today to my coworkers. I'm sure it will cause some degree of hub-bub, but hey -

On to other things -
I've had to adjust my commute this week because of the crazy broke-*ss CTA, but it hasn't been so bad. I've been able to make up some interesting stories about those folks that ride the Blue Line from Bucktown, and I find that commuting on hours that are slightly off have made it bearable.

Easter is coming up and I'm planning to rock a purple church hat on Sunday. I just wish I had some gloves to really pull off the church lady look. Oh well - it'll be freezing cold anyway so dress gloves would maybe have to be tossed for snow gloves anyway.

Stressed to the max after my trip - decisions, decisions! - working on my second job this week as well as the first, and feeling exhausted every day. Also, a blessing and a curse - I got to go out to two amazing "donor" type lunches this week. Complete with rich foods and cocktails and wine, I have to say that it is super fun, but it also messes you up for the day!

Anyway, last night my friend J* asked me to come hear some music. It was at Katerina's, it was flamenco (my favorite), and it was totally fabulous. All the musicans were AMAZING. It was a great way to relax for awhile.

Sa-da-tay!

North Carolina was beautiful, but it was also a stressful visit. I realized that I need to do some soul-searching for what I want out of the grad school experience, and also do some more research on faculty and curriculums, etc. Exhausting!

In the meantime, I've been trying to relax and unwind. I watched the awesome, "Pootie Tang" for the first time. Loved it! The characters were hilarious and the spoofiness was really funny.

I also rearranged the furniture in my bedroom, and I'm on a health watch to make sure I'm eating some good fruits and vegetables and exercising a bit. As for my grad school decision:

"I'm going to sine your pitty on the running kine!"
- Pootie Tang

Wrench In My Plans - Whatchoo Tryin' Ta Say?

I picked out all my outfits - professional, tasteful, stylish, but not too stuffy or over the top - packed my bags and headed to the airport yesterday. When I arrived at O'hare, I saw that my 5:40 p.m. flight to Raleigh/Durham had been cancelled. Argh! Waiting in line with about 30 bitchy people, on the cell phone with customer services, etc. etc., I had the possibility to try to fly standby (11 p.m.) or connect through St. Louis and arrive today at 1:20 p.m.. My lovely Polish agent tried hard to find me another spot, but to no avail. So I got back on the train at approximately 6:30 p.m. to head back to my apartment. Within 20 minutes, my flight to St. Louis had been cancelled!

After spending 30 minutes of my bus ride to my apartment on hold with customer service, I got booked on the 5:40 p.m. flight to Raleigh/Durham tonight. So I have to skip my entire day at Duke. Funny enough, I was in the cancelled flight line with a young woman who was going to the same place. Listening to her on the line with customer service, I pegged her as a not very friendly person, and one without a lot of warmth. Harsh it seems, but I introduced myself to her anyway. She was a PhD candidate in Psychology and Neurology and said that Raleigh was "okay."

"That's not really a glowing review," I said.
"Well," she said, "Raleigh is okay. I don't really like the program, so..."

Hmm. I realized that she didn't view me as a friendly soul seeking to chat in the airport, but rather as a competitor for a seat on a flight to Raleigh/Durham. Huh.

I think it would be too flaky to interpret these signs"from the universe" as a "no" towards Duke, but none of that made it seem more appealing. Rather than trying to split the little time I have left in North Carolina between Chapel Hill and Duke, I'm just going to go in depth at Chapel Hill. It may be my number one choice at this point anyway. Also, on the "good people" scale of life, I emailed my student host how my flight had been twice cancelled. She called me immediately and we chatted about it, and we talked about my upcoming visit, etc. She was sweet, flexible, and friendly, and said that she was that way because that was how people were when she visited Chapel Hill. Nice!

Being home this extra day has been a good opportunity to take some time to relax. I've been also able to email some of the professors that I'm interested in at UNC. Does it seem like I'm trying too hard to find a moral or silver lining in all this? Well here it is:

When life hands you cancelled flights and thunderstorms, use that extra time to take a bubble bath.

Or, something like that.

Refreshing Spring Salad - Better Than Airport Food

With all my excitement and stress for my impending trip, I realized I needed to put away the Doritos and eat some real food. I put together this salad today and it was super-satisfying:

- Arugula
- Tomato
- Avocado
- Carrot
- Feta Cheese
- Splash of Balsamic Vinegar

The avocado was perfectly ripe and, along with the Feta cheese, added a great deal of richness to this salad which made for a full and satisfying lunch meal. The arugula added a little fresh spiciness, the carrot, a little earthiness, and the tomato rounded it out. Yum!

All I can say is: wow! I go to visit North Carolina tomorrow and I am feeling a lot of mixed feelings. Coming off of a wonderful birthday celebration, I question this desire I have to move out of Chicago. But looking into these new places is really exciting! And getting a chance to see these schools, meet the faculty, discuss my intelletual interests and desires, and explore new career opportunities is totally thrilling! And, I feel a lot of excitement about the proposed 70 degree temperatures! Haaay!

I've been in Chicago for four years now, and I've certainly had a lot of ups and downs. But the possibility of a big change has really cast a different light on just about everything. Some days, I feel nostalgia - if I move away, I won't be able to go to the Chicago farmer's markets, or cuddle up with Mr. D every day, or step into the spring mud on my way to the neighborhood El stop. Some days, I think of how I want to sell all my stuff and leave all the little annoyances of jobs and the slow-ass brown line and my outrageous gas bills behind me. Yesterday, I had an anger moment at Chicago - hey! you haven't appreciated me enough ya bastard!

One thing I know is that I'll find cool things to do (like farmer's markets or jewelry classes) anywhere I go. And that the people that I really love, and that really love me, will be in my life no matter where I live.

Miz M Telling Her Birthday Story

Nutella Birthday Crepes With Strawberries

I started celebrating my birthday one day early when Mr. D took me out to breakfast this morning. Nutella crepes with fresh strawberries, oodles of whipped creme, coffee, and tea. Oh yeah, and a side of bacon. Mmmmm. It was a perfect, rich, yet light breakfast that both made me feel like a kid, and like a lucky woman who can appreciate good food and good company.

More good eats are on the horizon to celebrate my 28th year - lunch today with some girlfriends (maybe burgers and basketball!), and lunch and the symphony tomorrow with my mom. Tomorrow night's dinner will be tapas and some beers with friends, and this weekend will be a mandatory viewing of the movie, "The Host."

Let the Decision Making Begin!

So now I've heard back from all the graduate schools. As I mentioned, I got accepted to University of Illinois-Chicago, University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill, and Duke. Whoop! Whoop! I did not get accepted into University of California - Berkeley. Suckers! I'm truly okay with it though, because I just wanted to make sure that I gave myself a chance to apply. And I'm happy to say that the waiting is over, and the decision-making process can begin. I'm going to visit the North Carolina schools in a few weeks. Besides the excitement of moving to a new place and doing something new, I'm currently lusting over the warm weather! It's in the upper 70s there this week. Ahh...

If you have a more adventurous palate for salads, here's a good one that is cheap, tasty, unusual, and if prepared correctly, quite elegant.

The basic formula is celery, green apples, and Parmesan cheese with a little salt, pepper, olive oil, and lemon juice. It's a very light Italian salad, but could be varied with say, cider vinegar instead of lemon juice and some red pepper flakes. I suppose you could also make it a mayo salad if you want, but then you are adding calories and heaviness to the salad, which it doesn't really need.

You can chop up the ingredients any which way, but if you can manage to slice everything razor thin, it can look quite elegant!

During the beginning of the month, it always seems that money is tight. The freedom of living in my own place and belonging to a gym among various things, has a price. My new strategy is to stretch money out with my food budget to cut the funds spent on eating out. To attempt to alliviate associated stress, I find clever grocery shopping and cooking skills to be a major blessing, and a must. In the past three months I've discovered skills that I forgot I had. You know, how to make something good with a little this and that in the fridge and some dried pasta. Recently, I thought I didn't have anything in the kitchen, but I boiled some noodles, added some vodka marinara, capers, feta cheese, onions, and salami. Wha-la! Two meals worth of some totally decent pasta dish, and I still haven't had to go to the store.

For my next trick, egg salad on crackers! But, I also want to get a little better and cooking great food from scratch for cheap. A quick google revealed this seemingly awesome website, which I'm going to go read right now. Happy cooking!