Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Google's creepiness makes me laugh

I love Google. And I especially love his cute little kids Gmail and Gchat. I think they're pretty much the bees knees. How else would I get through the long days at work? They're just so much fun to play with.

But my love comes with an acceptance of the darker side of Google. Do you ever notice the sponsored links in the Gmail window? They always correspond exactly to the specific subjects of your emails. And I have to admit, I find that a little bit creepy. It's like some little Google man is watching you on your computer to see exactly what you type, and then throws some links in there that relate to your topic. Weird.

Though some of the links kind of pertain to the email, some of them are just downright random. And hilarious.

In an email chain with my boyfriend asking what I should wear to chaperone his high school prom, (Oh wait, that sounded bad. He's a teacher there and I'm his date. I'm not a cougar, no worries. He is legal, I am legal, we're all good.) the sponsored links include Pretty Dress with Sleeves and Ghetto Prom Dresses. So if I want to dress like J.Lo in the 80s, I know where to go. Thank God.

In an email informing me of a comment on my last post "Will Walk for Cupcakes", one of the links was for Chocolate Whoopie Pies. Yum. For some reason it reminds me of old people hooking up and that just isn't a pleasant thought.

An email from a friend asking for my t-shirt size came with a link for an I am McLovin T-Shirt. Sweet.

Another link in an email from my boyfriend suggested I find out Why Is My Baby Crying? The email said "Good morning" and asked how my day was going...and it was a good day. Random.

And though some links are funny, some are little disturbing, too.

In an email from my mom asking me about my plans, I got a nice little link to Jump Into the Spirit World. No thanks. 

In the same prom email with J, I got a link for Human Interaction Design. Doesn't that remind you of a geeky kid who needs to find a date to prom and instead of asking a real girl, he creates a female robot to bring with him? Yeah, I watched too much TV as a kid.

Another email notifying me of a comment on my last post had a link for Quality Walk-In Ovens. A walk-in oven? Really? That sounds horrifying. Why would someone need to walk into an oven?

And finally, in an email from Facebook letting me know I had been tagged in a photo, Google suggested I look at a Female Anatomy Photo. Great. Google thinks I'm a pervert. I'll pass, thanks.

So thank you Google for keeping me entertained...and constantly wondering where the little man is who's watching me type. 

Monday, April 27, 2009

Will walk for cupcakes

Oh cupcake, how I love thee. You're so sweet and delicious, I could
just eat you up.

Last Saturday after walking/dodging raindrops at the American Brain Tumor Association 5k with my friends, we went on a mini cupcake crawl around Chicago. We overeagerly planned to walk to our destinations...all 5 of them. Unfortunately, none of us took into account how much our legs/ankles/hip flexors (in my case) would HATE us for all the walking we did (guess we forgot about that 5k earlier in the day). By the time we got to our third stop, we were literally crawling. 

But despite the minor pain and cramping, the cupcakes were AMAZING. And I think the only way to describe my euphoric frosting-topped tour would be through photos. Yikes, I might start drooling a little...

Sidenote: I am going to try my hardest to describe these cupcakes without using my least favorite words (moist, creamy, gooey). Unfortunately, those words often apply in this case. 

Stop 1: Swirlz

A delicious peanut butter crunch cupcake. Yes, the photo is a little off, but I was just so darn excited to eat it, I couldn't waste time with my silly camera. It was SO good. The perfect blend of chocolatey cake and peanut butter frosting. It tasted like a giant Reese's Peanut Butter Cup...only better.

So excited to eat cupcakes. This was the exact moment I wished I could pull a Zack Morris and call a time out to freeze the scene. I would have jumped over the counter and stuffed as many of those cupcakes into my bag as I could. Sometimes I really wish TV "special" effects applied to real life. (Please excuse the hair...it was raining and gross that day)

Stop 2: Sweet Mandy B's

The sun made a brief appearance when we got here. It was a sign that we were about to experience a little piece of cupcake heaven.

A hastily taken photo of the display case. I got one of those white ones—the Snickerdoodle cupcake. The frosting was a bit too...creamy (ugh, I had to say it) for me, but I loved the cake part of it. It was the pinnacle of cinammony deliciousness. 

Stop 3: Molly's Cupcakes

Best. thing. ever. I love sprinkles. I think they present a great philosophy for life: Sometimes all you need is a little color to make life sweeter. 
 
A glamour shot of my mixed berry cupcake. I think I fell in love with it a little bit before I ate it. It was filled with blueberry and raspberry compote and was topped with blueberry frosting. It was amazing. The frosting was so light and whippy (yes, that's a word) and it complemented the cake perfectly. 

From there, we were supposed to go to Southport Grocery and Dinkel's, but we were all way too tired. Plus, we were all spiraling into sugar-induced comas at that point. But it was so worth it. My favorite? Probably Molly's. But Swirlz was a very, very close second. And so was Sweet Mandy B's. I loved them all. 

Before we went home, we made a quick stop at Pocket Puppies, a pet store that specializes in teeny tiny dogs. The dogs were adorable, yet freakishly tiny. I was afraid I was going to break them. 

Cutest. dog. ever. This was a 9-week-old Yorkie. Normally I'm not a fan of pet store puppies (the thought of puppy mills makes me so sad), but we couldn't resist holding some of these little guys. They were so cute. I hope they all get good, loving homes soon.

So then I went home and passed out. I literally took a 3 hour nap, woke up and got ready to go out, found out my plans were cancelled due to exhaustion, and went back to bed. All that walking and sugar killed me a little bit. But I loved every sugar-coated second of it.

Hmm...now I want a cupcake.

Thursday, April 23, 2009

Why yes, I was named after Pamela Anderson. How did you ever guess?

In case you just started reading my blog or learned to read recently or something, please allow me to introduce myself:

Hi! My name is Pam. Nice to meet you.

Ok, technically my name is Pamela. Pamela Lynn actually if you want to throw in my middle name. My Mom thought it sounded musical...I think it sounds like a stellar hooker name. 

No one has ever really called me Pamela. Maybe my parents once in awhile, but I've always been Pam. This guy I very, very briefly dated in college decided he wanted to only call me Pamela. But the way he said it seemed so condescending or something. I couldn't put my finger on it, but it bugged the heck out of me. 

This guy at a bar last week told me I should go my Pamela instead of Pam. He said Pam was the ugly name for an ugly girl. What an ass. The sad thing is, I've gotten that a few times. Not exactly in those terms, but one guy in a business meeting told me his daughter Pamela HATED the name Pam because it wasn't pretty. Gee, thanks a lot. Psssh, I love my name, thankyouverymuch.

Yet I find that most people usually have something to say about my name. When I introduce myself (especially in social settings), one of three comments inevitably follows:

Question 1: Oh, like Pamela Anderson?
Answer in my head: Yes, JUST like that. My parents foresaw the success of Baywatch before it was created and wanted to name me after a skankalicious, big-boobed blonde with questionable morals before she was even a "star". Really, how did you guess? It was supposed to be our little family secret... 
Real answer: Uh, no. Not at all. Haven't heard that one before.

Question 2: Is your real name Pamela?
Answer in my head: Yes, it's my real name. Where else would you get the name Pam? From Pamantha? Pamricia? Pamelamadingdong? Why would I give a fake name? And if I used Pam as my fake name, I guess I'm not very clever then. No no, when I go by an alias I prefer to go by something fun and random, like Gretchen. 
Real answer: (pause) Yeah, it's my real name. 

Question 3: That's my mom's name.
Answer in my head: (When I started college, it seemed like everyone's mom's name was Pam. I got this pretty much on a daily basis) Awesome. Just like every other middle-aged woman in America it seems. My mom's name is Kay. Want to talk about it? 
Real answer: Cool. It's a great name. (awkward laugh)

A lot of people often mishear my name as "Kim" which is always interesting to me. Hm. And in college, when everyone was drinking and trying to meet people, I introduced myself as "Pam. Like the cooking spray" so they would remember me. Yeah, I was pretty cool.

I love my name. It's different and I think that's why I like it. Plus, it's spawned some pretty random nicknames that make me laugh: Pamcakes, Pamcat, Pamelama (short for Pamelamadingdong), PamelamaPinkPajama, Pamella, Pammers, etc. They're definitely a step up from Spam, which was my nickname growing up. I despised it. 

So, that's "Pam" in a nutshell. Anyone have any fun/interesting stories about their name? 

Time for bed. This is "cooking spray" signing off!

PS: Great news—no cavities! And I got an A+ for my flossing efforts. Woohoo.

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

This post makes my teeth hurt

I am forcing myself to go to bed early tonight because I was a total zombie this morning. A really, really grumpy, crabby zombie. Every night I have the best intentions of going to bed at a semi-decent hour, but then I get hooked on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon or an old episode of Friends. Why is all the good TV on late at night? 

Tomorrow I have to leave work early to go to the dentist. Yuck. I used to be terrified of the dentist when I was little. I would literally shake the entire day before an appointment and beg my Mom not to make me go. I HATED the dentist with my whole heart.

I'm much better now, but this time I am almost positive I have a cavity. Womp womp. I hope I'm wrong. I just hope she doesn't have to poke at my teeth too much with that awful metal poking scraper stick thing. You know, the really sharp one? It digs into your gums with alarming precision. I despise that and the sound it makes against your teeth...

Ok, I'll stop. I'm making my teeth hurt writing about it. Oh no wait, that might be the cavity. Argh.

I'm also going to see Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat tomorrow night at a small theater near my parent's house. I haven't seen it in years, so I'm kind of excited. In the height of it's popularity when I was 10, I think I saw it about 5 times in the theater. And I had the biggest crush ever on Donny Osmond. Yes, I was a bit of an odd duck. But his voice was just so dreamy...

Alright, I better tear myself away from Susan Boyle (can't stop watching that darn video) and Blogger and force myself into bed now. Goodnight!

Monday, April 20, 2009

"It's like I have ESPN or something"

Ah yes, Mean Girls. So many amazing lines to quote from that movie. Everything from "Boo, you whore" and "Oh my God, Danny Devito! I love your work!" to "I wish I could bake a cake filled with rainbows and smiles and everyone would eat and be happy..." and "On Wednesdays, we were pink" (which I recently said to my boyfriend...he looked at me like I was nuts.)

But the one that popped into my head after I had a very weird incident at work last Friday was Karen's brilliant line, "It's like I have ESPN or something." It just seemed to fit. 

First, a quick back story: My Mac laptop at work is older than dirt. It takes about an hour to start up, it gets temperamental when it doesn't get enough sleep, and it lives on a couple second delay...meaning, when I type a letter on the keyboard, it shows up on the screen 2 seconds later. So annoying. It can barely load my Gmail, let alone play videos. And since I work in an office where Youtube and Hulu are all the rage, I feel a little left out. 

So Friday afternoon, I was sitting in the kitchen at work filling out the RedEye crossword and eating lunch with my coworker. She mentioned some YouTube video I should watch when I got back to my desk. Bummer. So of course, I complained and said, "I can't watch anything on my computer. I hate it. I wish it would just give up and die already. I keep waiting for it to shut off and never turn on again."

[dun dun dun]

A few minutes later, I finished my lunch and went back to my desk. My laptop was sleeping, so I hit the mouse to revive it. But something was very wrong. My normal desktop popped up, but it was completely frozen. Even the clock was frozen on 12:59pm. Almost exactly the time I sent my computer a death wish.

[cue Twilight Zone theme song]

I had to manually shut it down and stood waiting for it to reboot. A gray screen appeared...and then it started clicking really, really loudly. It was coming from inside the computer. The screen went black again, but the clicking continued. Loudly. 

I ran to get the IT guy and after only a few short minutes, he called it. Time of death: 1:28pm. Cause of death: The tiny laser reader arm thingy (technical term of course) fell out of whack. So essentially, the computer was unfixable. And very much dead.

Creepy, huh? Be careful what you wish for, I guess. Because the "new" computer I now have is another Mac laptop that has already died multiple times, can't play videos and has keys that can't be used without the help of an external keyboard. Womp womp. 

I lost everything on my other computer. Luckily, the only project that wasn't backed up was one I had recently started, so I didn't miss much. Thank goodness. 

Oh! And Erin tagged me in the Surprise Picture Post! 
Here are the rules:
•Take a picture of yourself right now.
•No primping or preparing.
•Just snap a picture.
•Load the picture onto your blog.
•Tag some people to play along.

Yep, that's me and my frizzy hair (thank you, rain). Oh look! There's even some Christmas wrapping paper, a photo album and my drying rack thrown in to add some interest. Very exciting, I know.

I think I'll tag just a couple people:

"That is so fetch." 
Goodnight everyone!

Sunday, April 19, 2009

Dirty pizza, teenybopper movies and internet troubles

I wrote 95% of a post earlier today and was going to come home tonight to finish it. Buuut I just went to find it and realized that due to my ridiculously bad internet connection, it didn't save. So the entire post was erased. Bummer. 

In the mean time, I'll try to do a quick weekend recap in bullets:
• I went out Friday with two of my roommates from Ireland. It was a blast. By the time the night was over, my name had been changed to Gretchen, I ate pizza off the floor (hey, it was REALLY good pizza and it was 3am) and we had a great time reliving our glory days...or at least attempting to.
• J came down early Saturday and we spent the day out and about enjoying the gorgeous weather. When spring rears its cute little head in Chicago, it's pretty much the best thing ever.
• We went out to Joe's on Weed Street Saturday night to meet up with friends and to see some band. Unfortunately, we didn't realize it was some big UFC fight night. I never knew that people actually cared about that stuff. It's totally barbaric. Who likes watching two men air-kicking, punching and straddling each other while they gush blood all over the place? Yikes.
• I went to the good grocery store today, thanks to my fabulous friend who drove me there so I didn't have to walk block and blocks through the pouring rain. Thanks Alice!
• This afternoon, I made the very wet trek to the movie theater to see Seventeen Again AND Hannah Montana (hey, I was curious). I now have a bit of a crush on Zan Efron...and I can't get the Hannah Montana Hoedown song out of my head. 
• Watching the Natalee Holloway Lifetome movie late at night is creepy. Even creepier is that those Dutch boys left her passed out on the beach...while I was in Aruba a few weeks ago we had multiple people warn us not to be on the beaches at night. Apparently they are very, very dangerous. Gives me the chills. 

So that's that. Anyone have any good stories from the weekend? 

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Don't pet the cactus

I'm one of those people who has a really difficult time following the "look but don't touch" rule. That stove is hot? Hmm, I better test it. That ice is slippery? Let me give it a whirl. Keep fingers away from the cage? Let's see how close I can get...

So it's a bit surprising that I'm still like that, even after I had to learn my lesson the very hard (and very painful) way as a kid. 

I was 5 and in Palm Springs, CA with my family. We were out on nature walk in the desert (sounds like a riveting trip) with a big group of people, when we stopped to admire some cacti along the path. As soon as the guide explained that it was called a "Teddy Bear Cactus", I was hooked. It just looked so darn cute and cuddly sitting in the dirt, I had to touch it. I knew a cactus had painful pricklers, but I just knew the Teddy Bear one didn't have them—it looked way too soft. 

I reached out to touch it, but before I could connect, the guide stopped me and pulled my hand back. She laughed as she said, "Nope you won't want to touch those. They may look soft, but the spines are sharp. You'll get hurt."

The adults all laughed and started to walk away. I hung back a little bit and looked at my beloved cactus again. I still had to touch it. 

In one swift movement, I lowered my hand down and started petting the cactus. I didn't care that it felt a little prickly, I was just excited to touch it. When I heard my Mom call my name, I quickly jumped up. My mission was complete. 

And then my hand started throbbing.

As I looked down and saw tons and tons and tons of tiny spines sticking out my hand, I screamed bloody murder. The guide ran back over to me, knowing exactly what I had done. I was sobbing uncontrollably as she stopped the tour (sorry to everyone else, by the way) and picked every single spine out with a pair of tweezers. I screamed and screamed and screamed some more. It was excruciating. But at least I got to pet my precious cactus. Was it worth it? You bet.

And because of that, I have a  weird respect and fascination with cacti...though I'll probably never, ever touch one again. Damn you Teddy Bear Cactus, damn you.

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

A haiku for Tuesday

Because it has nothing else going for it. It was just another Tuesday-ish Tuesday here in my world.

Tuesday is over
Though it dragged by so slowly
Like a drunken sloth 

Poetic genius, right there. A little secret...I love writing weird poems. Maybe it was all the dirty poems I used to write about *NSYNC in high school (go ahead and laugh) or the 3-page paper I once wrote as one long poem (my teacher loved it), but I've always loved a good rhyming...or haiku...challenge.

Hmm...more to come soon. Including the top secret one I'm working on now. Muhaha.

Monday, April 13, 2009

A run-in with Debbie Downer

Last weekend, I ran to the grocery store with my Mom to pick up a few things.  We were ready to make a quick run through the store...until we ran in to my Mom's cousin. AKA Debbie Downer. And that meant a very long, very depressing conversation was inevitable.

Though we're close with the rest of our family, we've never been very close to my Mom's cousins  We know them well enough, but probably only see them every few years. In this case, it has been a couple years since any of us have caught up. And the thing is, Debbie has quite the reputation for dropping the most tragic, depressing, heart-wrenching drama bombs every time you talk to her. Everything is just sad, sad, sad. And this time was no exception.

It started off light with "how are yous" and a quick comment about her daughter getting into the college of her choice. And then BAM! twenty (yes twenty) long minutes of everything that has gone wrong over the last couple of years...

After hearing in detail about crystal meth addictions, abused children injuries, guns, accidents, witness protection stints, hospital trips and arrests, we thought it was over. 

But wait, that was only about ONE person in her life. Let's not forget the bouts with cancer, more addiction, oxygen tanks, homelessness, etc affecting the rest of her relatives.

It's horrible, it really is. She has had so much sadness and tragedy in her family and we're there to support her. But really? In the grocery store? We were standing next to the little smiley lamb cakes for goodness sakes. There is a time and a place for those conversations and the bakery section of the grocery store certainly isn't it. As she was talking, people kept walking by and you could tell by their shocked faces that they definitely overheard her story. I nearly laughed...but I'm not completely heartless, so I didn't. 

It was nice to see her and catch up. But after we said goodbye, my Mom and I both looked at each other, said a silent "Oh my God" and walked away very quickly. It kind of put a damper on our excited Easter moods. Thanks Debbie!

Oh and silly question, everyone...how do you get more friends on Twitter? Do I just randomly start following people? Just wondering...I love Twitter so far!

Sunday, April 12, 2009

Easter love and leaky eyes

Happy Easter, everyone! Hope you all had wonderful days! I did for the most part. I just got back from a very interesting time at my Grandma's house...

I had a lovely little Easter morning with my immediate family, looking through our Easter baskets (yep, we still get them), eating blueberry muffins and getting ready for church. Church was a bit long...we had to stand in the back the whole time, which is good for people watching, but not good for paying attention. Then we headed to my Grandma's, where my leaky eyes got the best of me.

Yes, leaky eyes. You know when you start to cry and then stop, but feel as if you're on the verge of tears for a while after the fact? Well maybe that's not common, but for me, it's a regular occurrence. And it is SO annoying. 

It started over brunch, when my brother unintentionally insulted me in front of a bunch of my very impressionable cousins. I was so embarrassed. While everyone else laughed it off, I felt really uncomfortable as I tried to nurse my hurt feelings. 

So I got up and mingled around for a bit, then came back and tried to shake it off. But then my Mom started motioning to me from the other room, telling me to come join her conversation with my uncle. So I ran over to see what was up and realized that they were talking about my upcoming job search/move to Milwaukee.

And that was when I started panicking. I've never had a panic attack or an anxiety attack or whatever, and maybe that wasn't what it was, but all of a sudden I got really hot and clammy, felt like my heart was going to beat out of my chest and felt tears well up in my eyes. 

I quietly listened and fought back tears while my uncle, in a very stern, matter-of-fact voice told me I should be prepared to be unemployed, anger my current coworkers and boss, and have an impossible time finding a job. 

It got to be too much for me. In one crazy moment, I bolted from my chair, ran upstairs and burst into tears in my Grandma's bathroom. Totally uncalled for, but I just couldn't help it.

After a few minutes, I composed myself and went back downstairs. I couldn't look my uncle in the eyes, but my Mom turned around and asked if I was okay. And that set me off again. I ran back upstairs, tears welling up again.

When I came down again, my cousin asked if I was ok...and it set me off again. (Don't you know you're NEVER supposed to ask someone if they're ok if look like they've just been crying??) It literally happened 6 times. I begged my sister to go since she was driving me home and luckily she agreed. I just couldn't stop crying. And I wasn't even upset, my eyes just had a mine of their own. I was completely mortified.  

And it wasn't really what my uncle said, it was how he said it. I think I was more shocked than anything because he's a really nice guy. I guess he felt really bad, but I didn't talk to him before I left. Between my convo with him and my brother's unkind words, I had had enough. 

I feel really bad that I let it all get to me, but I just felt so overwhelmed. Apparently my upcoming move is a much touchier subject than I realized. Yikes. 

So now I'm curled up on my couch, watching The Sound of Music and trying to get over my embarrassment. At least it was just family, right? Ugh. It's still bad. 

Friday, April 10, 2009

I took the plunge.

I am now officially on Twitter. And for some reason, I'm really nervous about it. Kind of like when I started this blog, actually. 

I know I have a lot to learn...like what all the "@ username" means (I'm assuming it's how you talk to people?) or what "rt" stands for. Yes, I'm a newbie. Please don't laugh too hard. 

But after being super creepy and following celebrities on it all week like Justin Timerlake (of course), Ashton Kutcher and Jimmy Fallon (love him), I just had to give it a whirl. And though I'm nervous, I'm pretty darn excited, too.

Thank you to everyone for all the comments/advice/suggestions. You guys are the best!

So now it's time to hop on the fun train and follow me!

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Birds tweet. I don't...yet.

Can someone please explain Twitter to me? I mean I get the idea of it, but what is the point? I think I might be one of the only people in the world that isn't on it right now and I'm beginning to feel a bit left out.

I really hadn't heard of Twitter until last summer. One of my friends got really into it and urged me to sign up. So I did. But I didn't really know anyone on it besides her and it kind of creeped me out because people kept asking to follow me, even though I didn't know them. It was semi-entertaining for about a day, and then I got bored with it. I still have my account, but I haven't "tweeted" (is that the lingo?) since July.

Last week, I was proofreading (surprise, surprise) and saw that the other copywriter had included copy about Twitter into a piece we created for our wireless client. I was pretty surprised. And then suddenly, I saw mentions of Twitter everywhere. On TV, in the newspaper, online, on every blog, etc. Whoa. And then I found out that some celebrities are apparently really into it (gotta love celeb gossip) and now I'm even more intrigued.

So I'm rethinking the whole Twitter thing. Maybe I should give it another shot. Hmm. Anyone have any good advice/tips/tricks/opinions/ideas they can give me? Are the celeb tweets real? And how the heck do you know who to follow, etc? And what does following even mean? I think I have a lot to learn...


Tuesday, April 7, 2009

I ate a bug today. Ew.

Tuesday. Ugh. I very strongly dislike Tuesday. It really doesn't have much going for it, does it? I mean Monday is Monday, so that's an excuse in itself. Wednesday is Hump Day and halfway through the week. Thursday is almost Friday (plus great TV) and Friday is Friday and the weekend. So what does Tuesday have? Nothing.

In my experience, Tuesdays generally tend to be not the best days. Bummer, since my birthday falls on a Tuesday this year (woot woot June 16th). And today was an exceptionally Tuesdayish Tuesday. Here's why:

• I had to spend the first 4.5 hours of my day proofreading. Now I know I'm a copywriter and I know a certain amount of proofing is expected, but it's been out of control the last few days. So much so, that I can't even finish my regular work. As in the writing. As in my job. I used to not mind proofreading things, but now when I read the same 8 page piece for the 10th time in two days, I am ready to scream. I literally wanted to pull my hair out. I haven't even taken a lunch (something I always do) since I've been back from vacation because I haven't had time. Ok sorry, I'll quit complaining.

• Today I brought some of my deliciously fresh looking blackberries I picked up at Trader Joe's last night. I washed them in the kitchen at work and then went back to proofread. Of course. So I was sitting there, not looking at my berries and reading the same line of copy for the 67th time, when I noticed my berry tasted funny. So I looked down at the plate of plump blackberries and to my horror saw tiny little bugs crawling on them. I jumped up from my chair, let out a screech and pushed my plate away. By then I had already eaten half the berries, surely covered in bugs too, and that was enough to make my stomach churn and my skin crawl. Sick. I ran straight to the kitchen and dumped the rest. And now I might be ruined on blackberries for a long time...

• It was cold and windy. Not as bad as yesterday, but still. It's April! 

• The end of my day was spent editing stories about people suffering from nervous breakdowns and bouts of depression. It was seriously so...depressing. 

But, on the plus side,  I did get to go to Pilates (yay!) and I got my copy of New Moon back so I can reread the Twilight series (hey, after all the proofing, I need something mindless to read).

And tomorrow I definitely want to write about my love for Chicago 2016. I really, really, really hope Chicago gets the 2016 Olympics! But for now, I'm off to veg out some more. 

Sunday, April 5, 2009

The real world and the dream world

This weekend I was up in Milwaukee visiting my boyfriend. Milwaukee, as in the place I'll be moving to within the next 6 months. Eek!

Back in September when I made the decision to move up there, it seemed so far away. But suddenly the whole thing is becoming very, very real. I'm at the point where I need to start pumping up my resume, freshening up my portfolio and beginning the job hunt. Though I can't make the move until the end of the summer because of my current lease and the fact that Chicago is AMAZING in the summer, it's time I start getting serious. Yikes.

It really hit me last night when J and I were out on a double date with his two teacher friends, who are getting married in July. We went out for a couple of drinks after dinner and at one point, J's friend raised his glass and made a toast to me and my move to Milwaukee. He toasted to "new friends" and while it was very flattering, it scared the crap out of me, too. It was an "Oh my God, I'm really going to do this" moment. 

I'm excited to move there, I really am. Not because I like the city (ehh...), but because I'm excited to be close to J and after doing the long distance thing for 2 years, it will be really, really nice to get to see him on a daily basis. But I'm really going to miss Chicago. I'm going to miss living close to all my friends, the newly-established book club I'm in, being close to my brother and sister, working down on Michigan Avenue, Berry Chill, the water taxi, my Pilates place, etc, etc. I love Chicago. So while I'm excited to make the move, I can guarantee I'll shed a few tears as I pack up my apartment. Gosh, I'm already getting sad thinking about it...thank goodness Milwaukee is only an hour and a half away.

And by the way, I really need to stop watching Twilight. I bought it at Target so it came with a free iTunes download. So naturally, I downloaded it, put it on my iPhone and watched it on my way to and from Milwaukee this weekend. Not to mention the fact that I watched it a few times last week...I'm addicted to it.

So that would probably explain the crazy dream I had in which I became a vampire. I was at a family cook out and someone casually mentioned they were a vampire...and yeah, I just magically became one. So weird.

Speaking of weird dreams, I also had a dream that I met Justin Timberlake (eek) and then he had the stomach flu and gave me the stomach flu and I was psyched that I could tell people I got it from him. Gross. I also had a dream that I met the Gosselins (of John and Kate + 8), but it was 6 years in the future and all the kids were like morbidly obese. Sad.

Yeah I guess my mind was busy last night...and now I'm off to watch Twilight again. I need to stop.

Thursday, April 2, 2009

Nice to meet you. Now let's date.

Lately, I've been thinking a lot about past and current relationships I've had with guys. I've heard my friends and my sister talking about the right place to meet them, and I'm not sure such a place exists. In my personal experience, I've met the guys I've dated totally randomly.

So I thought I'd share some of my stories. I left a couple guys out because my post would probably be about 20 pages long, but I kept in the good ones. And I changed the names to protect the innocent...and to give myself a laugh.

Dairy King—My high school boyfriend, AKA my first boyfriend. Our relationship can pretty much be summed up by cars, Dairy Queen, cheating (on his end), drama, drama, drama and gas stations. Yes, gas stations. Because that's where I met him. On that fateful February evening of 2002, a love connection was made at a Mobile station in the suburbs. My friend and I were at pump 6 and he and his friends were at pump 9 (can't believe I remember that). I was a junior and desperate to find a date for my junior prom because I went to an all-girls high school and boys were quite scarce. So my friend and I had actually been on the prowl that night, driving around town looking for cute boys. Ok yeah, probably not the coolest thing to admit, but whatever. 

So while we were pumping gas, the guys noticed us and came over to say hi. Boys were actually talking to us. Amazing. We ended up making random small talk and then they invited us with them to Taco Bell to go get food. And I can honestly say, I've never been more excited to go get mediocre and somewhat questionable Mexican fast food. I was giddy the whole time. We ended up hanging out the whole night and then talked on the phone the next day and despite a small mix up with the guys (I liked Dairy King, but he liked my friend and my friend liked the guy that liked me), it all worked out. Dairy King and I started dating and the rest is a whole long teenage drama-filled story.


Sligo—My Irish guy. The only guy I've actually met while at a bar. It was September of 2005 and I was studying abroad in Galway. It was like a Monday night or something (we went out pretty much every night of the week there) and my three roommates and I were at our favorite pub, Hole In The Wall. We went out just to have a few drinks, maybe meet some cute guys and have some fun, but we didn't realize that Irish kids didn't go out during the week. The pub was dead

So we sat there at a table in a corner, drinking our double red bull vodkas (yikes) and looking like total lushes, when we noticed a group of people sit down at the table next to us. The group was made up of two guys and two girls (all Irish) and they were being pretty loud. And the girls wouldn't stop looking at us. After already having a few drinks, I was getting super annoyed. That is, until the good-looking, dark-haired guy got up and started chatting with us. He asked if he could buy us drinks, ALL of us (though apparently my dear friend A missed out...sorry). I later learned that apparently if an Irish guy likes you, he'll buy drinks for you and everyone you're with. Not sure if that's true, but whatever.

So after he bought the drinks, he slid into the seat next to me, introduced himself as Sligo, told me I had lovely green eyes and then asked for a kiss. Well of course I giggled and asked why, to which he explained that it was his 21st birthday and at that pub it was customary to get a kiss from every girl (or guy) at the pub on your birthday. So what did I do? I kissed him. Within 5 minutes of meeting him. Though I was a bit drunk, it was good and I was totally hooked. We texted the entire next day, went to a movie (Goal!) the next week and dated until I left in December. We actually never "broke up", we just said goodbye to each other and left it at that.

I later found out that it was actually his 23rd birthday the night we met, but he thought 21 sounded like a more interesting age to an American girl. Actually, I didn't find that out until a year and a half after I got home. He sent me a confession e-mail. Hilarious. 

J—The peanut butter to my jelly. My dear, sweet boyfriend, and the guy I'm moving up to Milwaukee (eek!) for at the end of the summer. When people ask us how we met, we tell them it was through mutual friends. We lived in the same dorm sophomore year when we met and we do have mutual friends, so it seems totally legit. 

The truth? That's a bit more embarrassing. I actually had a rather large crush on his roommate, before I even knew who J was. One night, I went out with my friends and we ran into the roommate at a party. We ended up all hanging out together and I drunkenly (ok yikes, I sound like I drink all the time...I really don't) followed him back to the dorm. Well, he clearly didn't want to be anything more than friends, but I made some excuse about watching TV and went up to his room with him. We sat on his futon, flipped on the TV and I passed out. Nothing happened at all, and I didn't expect it to...I was totally not that type of girl. So I guess the roommate got up and went to his bed, leaving me sound asleep on his futon. 

J was working late that night and got home to find me, a girl he didn't know, sleeping curled up, shivering in a little skirt and tank top. So he very kindly covered me in a blanket so I wouldn't freeze. The next morning I woke up, not knowing where I was and got up quickly to flee the room. J was laying on his lofted bed, looking down at me. He asked me if I was alright, but I freaked out, grabbed my purse and ran out the door without saying a word. Really classy, I know.

I later found out through mutual friends (see they do tie in somewhere), that J kept asking about me. We became close friends and even went on a few dates, but it wasn't until I got back from Ireland and after I'd said goodbye to Sligo that I started dating J. And we've been dating ever since.

Talking about the guys I've dated opens up a whole can of worms. Yikes. I saw Sligo last summer for the first time in almost 3 years, which was....I don't know how to describe it. Bittersweet, I think. I haven't seen Dairy King since summer 2003, though my mom runs into his mom occasionally. Hmm, perhaps I'll have to share more guy stories sometime soon, now that this got me thinking...

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

I heart Easter candy

Whoppers Robin Eggs are soooo good. I can't stop eating them. And those little sugary chocolatey Cadbury eggs? My favorite. I don't know what it is about Easter candy but I just love it. 

Ok yes, totally random post but a) my internet is being ridiculously annoying right now and keeps cutting out, b) I had to proofread for 4 and a 1/2 hours straight today and my eyes can't seem to focus and c) I need to go to bed early because I stayed up way too late last night watching Twilight. Oops.

In the mean time, I'm whipping up a couple of good posts, so stay tuned!