Saturday, March 31, 2007

On Spring break now!
I'm heading off to Dallas this afternoon to visit Robin and will be back next week.

wooo! I plan to eat a lot of dumplings.

Tuesday, March 20, 2007

All Moved In!
I'm in the new place, finally. It is great. I am currently Internet-less since my Internet doesn't transfer over till the beginning of April, but the good news is that the library is a block away and free wi-fi there! That's where I am right now.

So, the move. It was okay. Todd and Rich helped me, and Rich allowed us to use the Bear Claw van, which was very awesome of him. We moved the big stuff in about four hours and two van trips. The weather was brisk, but sunny, although a few snowy flakes came down. But, the worst planning aspect of it all was that I opted to move in St Patrick's Day. And my old place is in Party Central #2 and a couple of blocks away from Party Central #1. My little side street is usually busy, but people were skulking for spots and double parking as early as 9 a.m. that morning! Because people were getting their drink on at around 8. Fun!

The most hilarious thing was that I got residential moving posters from the alderman's office. They threaten towing in big red letters, but apparently, the only way to have any real towing pull is to get your signs put up by city hall. I decided that I wouldn't really get any car towed anyway, but might as well try to clear a spot for the van. So, I dutifully put up the signs two days beforehand and hoped that people would heed them and clear out on Saturday morning from 8 a.m.-2 p.m. No, they didn't. Not only did they flagrantly ignore the signs, but they were double parking. Lee's boyfriend walked by at 9 a.m., when someone was pulling in to the spot. Needless to say, finding a space for the van was a pain. We did manage to carve out one little corner, but had to pull forward and block a busy driveway whenever we loaded a piece of furniture.

But, the stuff is mostly in the new place now. I love the new place. It's strewn with books and papers at the moment, but slowly everything is being put away. It's light and cozy and my first night there was peaceful, although I'm getting used to the wheezing of the steam heaters. My toilet was running when I moved in and I called the maintenance guy last night. He fixed it today, so I'm pleased with the efficiency of it all.

I'm going to go home and cook dinner right now.

Tuesday, March 13, 2007

Moving blows.
Saturday is the big move! In the meantime, I've been loading up my car with odds and ends that I don't need help with in the hopes that Saturday's move will be made easier and easier. But, my room has magical abilities to hold large amounts of crap. I haul it out, and it regenerates. Now I'm hugely pooped and it's time for bed.

But, hey, it was 70 degrees in Chicago today! It was, as the newscasters described it, "the best weather in Chicago in 2007 so far." So true. It was sunny and breezy and outrageously lovely. But, tomorrow it's supposed to drop to 30 and there is talk of snow on Thursday.

Saturday, March 10, 2007

Happy Birthday, Charles!

31.

We are definitely grown-ups now.
Touting
I found a new hair salon that I love. It's called Twisted Scissors. It is a block from Todd's place, so easy commute, and it's a start up by some renegade hair stylists that used to work at Roscoe Village's Big Hair. Big Hair is always packed and involves a wait, and their hours are short and strict (I think that they stop letting people in at 4). I liked it because it was funky and cheap. But they recently raised their prices. However, Twisted Scissors is funky, the stylists are super nice because they own the place and want regulars, it's roomy and light-filled and more laid back, and lots cheaper than Big Hair. I got a great cut and a blow dry for $20!

Run, don't walk, to Twisted Scissors. I have their number if you need it.
onBeing
Jenn Crandall, who was in Robin's class in Pakistan and who was in Beijing at the same time as me as well, is a photojournalist for Washingtonpost.com. She has started this onBeing project that is hands down great. Really, they're awesome and I'm proud to know their creator.

Check them out here!

Monday, March 05, 2007

Happy Casimir Pulaski Day!
Don't know who he is? I didn't either until this year. He's a Polish war hero who fought in the revolutionary war. It's a holiday here in Chicago, and all of the schools have it off. Ladies and gentlemen, that will make this my fourth Monday off since I started my job almost two months ago. I lerv the school schedule. A little about Pulaski for your edification from the website I've attached:

In 1779, Pulaski was ordered to join General Lincoln in the South to help recapture Savannah. After French General D'Estaing, leader in the attack on the southern capital, fell wounded, Pulaski is reported to have rushed forward to assume command and raise the soldiers' spirits by his example and courage, only to be mortally wounded himself. Pulaski was named the "Father of the American Cavalry", and remains one of the well known figures of the American Revolutionary War.

Are you dying to know what I've been doing with my day? Well, I began the slow move of my things over to my NEW PLACE. My great new place is in Lincoln Square and it's perfect and I love it. It makes packing shite into my car and carrying my millions of text books and papers everywhere a lot less painful.

Three day weekends are awesome. This weekend, I caught up with Northwestern ladies for some tapas at Cafe Iberico (my first time there--cheap tapas!), ventured to make some roast lamb with Todd, saw Russian Circles and Del Ray play at Schubas (thanks for the ticket, Todd), and had dim sum with Lauren at Furama in Uptown. I also showed Todd the new apartment and recruited his help to help me schlep up some bags of aforementioned text books that I had been slowly loading into my trunk.

I also had an adventure with selling things with Craigs list. This apartment came with a giant china cabinet that neither Lee nor I wanted to carry with us once we move out. I figured that I would sell it on Craigs list for some cheapie price and that was the right thing to do because I got like six or seven responses within six hours of posting. Since it was Jenny's old roommate who had left it with her, and she didn't want the cabinet, I'm taking the earnings and taking us out one night. We also have a giant blue rug that we need to get rid of and I'm going to try the same thing.

Thursday, March 01, 2007

Congratulations...
to my little brother who got into his first choice school: UT-Austin. We doubted you a bit along the way because, while very smart, you also tended to be a bit lazy with the school work. But you proved us wrong, and I'm super excited for you. I also can't wait to come and visit Austin again.