Jonathan by the lake 

Warming up by the pretzel machine. 

The Cubs/Phillies game on Saturday. Check out the fog on the buildings. It was freezing. 

A Happy Mother's Day to my most excellent mom!
I heard that Erik made her breakfast in bed, so I'm glad that one of the kids could represent.

Midterms done? Check.
Three midterms finished! Hooray. Yesterday was the final two and it was a long, long, sapping day, but I managed to get through relatively unscathed. School is crazy too since there are staff changes before the end of the quarter and it adds to the upheaval. Oh well: bring it on. All I have today is my client session, and I hope the little dude is in the mood to say his good words today.

Clarence and Jonathan arrive in Chicago tonight, though, which makes the weekend very exciting. Plus, tomorrow is a Cubs game. And it's supposed to be in the 70s this weekend. Things are looking up!

Happy Birthday to Bryan!
Cinco de Mayo Baby.

Who lied?
Everyone told me that grad school is fun. It's totally unfun! I mean, objectively I'm happy I'm in the program when I look at how much I've learned in the past eight months, but I won't lie and say that I'll be sad when it's over. Because this kind of sucks. Yes, my attitude is bad right now.

One exam down, two to go!
Yahoo! It was back to back class, session, and rigorous exam yesterday and by the end of it, I was a rather sapped shell of a girl. I managed to bounce back, though, and treated myself by letting myself study in front of trashy television. Did you know that there are TWO different nanny shows on Monday nights? Weird. It was also clear to me that I've been too fricking steeped in SLP studies that while I was watching one of the nannies talk in a cockney kinda accent, I thought to myself: "Hmmm, she is substituting final thetas for /f/s."

The wine/cake party for Laura this past Saturday (thanks to Katie for the picture) 

Happy Belated Birthday to Laura...
...who turned 26 yesterday. Lucky girl!

In other news, this weekend is coming to a quick, screeching halt, as usual. Sad stuff. This week is going to be rather hellish, but I'm eager to get this shite over with. What was this weekend composed of, besides studying?

1. Wedding reception in Joliet, IL with Todd on Friday evening. It was a nice reception but it took us like two hours to get out there, what with Chicago traffic and all.

2. Laura's birthday dessert/wine celebration held by Megan in Evanston. We had to miss the tapas night she was having afterward because of...

3. Brooke's improv show late Saturday evening. Brooke and her improv group were in town from LA to perform at the Chicago improv festival. I haven't seen Brooke since college graduation, and I also got to see Amy at the show, who I also haven't seen since graduation. Crazy.

4. Lee's choir performed a Concert for Peace at the Broadway Methodist Church here on Broadway. It was pretty awesome: the choir is knockout good, and they did some rocking South African numbers that were lively and fun and made for an excellent study break.

Now I'm about to go off and study some voice and find some dinner. Go ahead and ask me about the glottis, I'm all over it.

The Ugly Girl Experiment
James details it in his blog today. This whole topic came up from a email exchange today. I love stories about this guy. I should also note that a nameless friend of mine and I both had a *massive* crush on this same dude our freshman year when we had a seminar with him (South African Government, I believe). We would come back from class and then moon together over how sensitive and mature he was. Just goes to show our 18-year old judgement is sooooo right.

News of note
TGIF: hooray!

I got another haircut last night, finally. It's short and sassy again and looks a lot more cleaned up than it did. The long outgrown shag was driving me up the wall.

After studying last night, I joined Todd to see his roommate's/bandmate's other band, Bear Claw, perform at the Empty Bottle (DC contingent: Bear Claw is coming to DC is July). I was wise and wore earplugs, and made Todd wear them as well. It made a huge difference, as it was loud in there and now after taking audiology, I'm paranoid about ear care.

On the way home, we listened to music by a band that may be my favorite only from name alone. Seriously, I have never come across a better band name, it gets me every time: I Love You but I've Chosen Darkness. The music was good too, btw.

Ugh, it's cold and grey in Chicago this morning. Are you all jealous?

Woooooo!
I have three midterms next week. Of course, I do.
One on Monday and two on Thursday.

I started studying for the Monday one last night and got through a good portion of the review questions.

My plan was to spend the next hour and a half getting started on studying for one of the Thursday ones today.

But it's much more interesting to go through my old archived emails and to read them to see where my life was at such and such point.

Happy Birthday, Miss Suzi!
I hope that you find some time for celebration and cake within the end-of-school craziness. You're the best!

I love this story about the Buffalo herd being corralled into a tennis court in Maryland.

Kiley in her bib and with her bbq chicken sandwich. The picture doesn't do justice to demonstrating the massive size of these sandwiches.  

Steve and Todd, debonair with their wine and their bibs.  

Cole slaw came with dinner. Todd got a HUGE dish of it compared to the small mounds that the rest of us got, as you can see above. We should have stuck a candle in Todd's massive bowl.  

Baby chicks at the baby chick hatchery at the Museum of Science and Industry! 

Myself, Madeline, and Katie at the awesome train exhibit at the Museum of Science and Industry. 

From the front of the Museum of Contemporary Art from our walk on Saturday morning. I loved this sculpture. 

Birthday dinner
Last night, Steve and Kiley (Todd's good friends) and I took Todd out for his birthday dinner at a bbq place called Carsons in downtown Chicago. It was a completely fun, throwback experience. The place was huge, old-school, and came equipped with an elderly, courtly waiter for our table. He was so gracious that he even caught on that it was Todd's birthday and came out with a surprise dish of ice cream. The best was the plastic bibs that our waiter tied on each of us, despite the fact that Todd was the only one who had ribs.

Happy Birthday to the Todd!
I hope that 27 will feel so right.

To the point where it's a problem
I am addicted to an Explosions in the Sky cd that I received for christmas this year. I play it incessantly when I study...like the only thing I play when I study. I'm listening to it to what amount to an unhealthy amount. But nothing pleases me more than spreading out on the dining room table with my computer and my notes and popping in that cd and feeling like I have a soundtrack.

Winter Weekend Revisited
Poor Madeline. She came all the way to Chicago to visit her friends living here, and the weather went from 80 degrees (Monday) to the 30s again this past weekend. She was indeed a trooper, though, but we had to chuckle when we stepped outside in the wind of downtown Chicago and it was snowing.

We had a great time, though. Madeline arrived on Saturday morning safe and sound with only the slight snafu where Todd and I headed most of the way to O'Hare before turning around and going to Midway beforehand. Afterward, Madeline and I spent the morning strolling through my neighborhood and then took the bus downtown to see the Magnificent Mile. The weather was not great and the wind was something else, but the place was still crazy busy. Who would have guessed. Madeline's friend, Katie, met us down there, and then gave us a ride back north, beforehand showing us her fabulous loft/condo on the edge of Lincoln Park. Lovely.

That evening we met up with Madeline's friend, Randy, and his cousins for Italian dinner on Southport (yum and reasonable) and then to see one of the cousins friends play at the Elbo Room. Tiny little place and close by so we could walk home.

The next morning, after a delish brunch and Nookie's Tree with Randy and Todd, Madeline and I met up with Katie and went to the Museum of Science and Industry to see their "Body Worlds" exhibit. Amazing. If you hadn't heard, a German dude took all of these real human cadavers and molded them in such a way to show off the human anatomy. Unbelievable stuff and totally crowded too. BUT, in Chicago through December, so all of you visitors will need to come and check it out.

Madeline took off in the late afternoon, and then Monday morning crawled up upon me before I knew it. Today went by quickly, and now I'm spending the evening poring over books.

Rockin'
Man, last night we went to see Yo La Tengo play at the Vic Theater. It was awesome. They were super tight and played a whole variety of songs--lots of favorites including "On Our Way" and "Cherry Chapstick"--and played three (!) encores! Plus, the Vic Theater is huge and lots of balcony seating and provides a decent view of the stage so we got to sick on our tuckuses all night. I bet that there wasn't a soul there under the age of 25, though.

The best was that there was the super-fan sitting behind us. She was rabid and loud and most probably very drunk. After every song, she would bellow "Fuuuuck Yeaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh!" or "DUUUUDE!" even after the really quiet, dreamy songs, in between kicking Todd in the back. She was the antithesis of the average audience member there who mellowly sits and takes it all in, maybe occasionally nodding to the music. It was hilarious.

Regardless, definitely one of the best shows that I've ever seen.

A Huuuuuuge Happy Birthday to the ADD!
The bestest ever! I hope that this year is also the bestest ever for you.

Happy Wednesday!

Read this article to help you get through the day.

The best part:

Stevens allegedly told police that he was “caught,” while fiddling with his towel, occasionally exposing his genitalia.

“Oh you caught me,” Stevens allegedly told police. “I was having sex with my girl and you caught me.”

Police later discovered Mrs. Stevens was out of town for a funeral.

Police allegedly detected a strong odor of alcohol coming from Stevens. Carriker asked him how much he had to drink and Stevens allegedly replied, “Not enough.”

(via obscurestore)

What kind of American English do you speak?

My linguistic profile is as follows:

60% General American English
20% Dixie
20% Yankee
0% Midwestern
0% Upper Midwestern

We've talked about a lot of these differences in class in terms of phonetics. Especially number 20, which I pronounce all the same.

(via tmn)

Hell Monday is over!
Hooray! There's a lot of stuff due at the beginning of this week, but the end of the week should be fun, culminating in Madeline's visit this weekend. The weeks are already zooming by.

I have to mention as well that yesterday I watched "You Got Served" with Todd on his On Demand. Oh my gah. There was a lot of serving going on, and although the movie couldn't have been more than an hour, 45, it managed to draaaaag. I'm not sure if you've seen this opus yet, but suffice it to say that the movie revolves around serving suckers and serving suckers back. Todd managed to sum it up nicely when he dryly commented "I guess that what we've learned from this movie is that revenge is best served boring."

Don't worry, we watched the entire thing, though. I also saw from watching the credits (!) that Kevin Federline is also in it. Daaamn!

Chicago Celebrities
Last night I went with Todd and his friends to see Shellac at Martyr's Pub. Unfortunately, Grace was unable to attend, but don't worry, vroom vroom, I held down the fort for you.

Besides seeing the acclaimed Steve Albini of Shellac (see, I've even learned his name!), as we were waiting outside for one of Todd's friends to meet us, Jeff Tweedy from Wilco was in line to get into the show. Throughout the entire show, he and his wife were standing or sitting right in front of us. He's a lot shorter than I thought he was. Chicago celebrities abound!

Yay for Saturday!
Ahhh, it's a gorgeous Saturday outside. I just woke up and am going to try to muddle through a draft of a mid-quarter report, but blogging is calling my name.

It was an excellent Friday night. Todd and I got some cheap noodles at Cozy Noodles on Clark and then wandered over to meet Pam and Dave B for some drinks and catching up. We eventually settled on a tapas place on Halsted, and it was awesome. We tucked into some sangria pitchers and made a night of it. By midnight, we looked around and realized that we were the only people in the place besides the people who worked there. I'm sure that they loved us. Immediately after, we wandered over to Hydrate, a gay bar closeby that I always walk by but never have gone into. There was much dancing going on, not so much by us. By 1 a.m, Todd and I bailed and walked the block back to my place. I love this neighborhood.

Adventures on the el
On Fridays, all I have is my one client session, so my travel time is like three times the amount of time that I actually have to be on campus. I don't mind, since I usually like the zone-out time and looking out the window on the el. Since my session isn't till 1, I ride the train on the non-express times and it's a much more colorful ride compared to the usual commuters that I travel with. Please see as follows:

1.) Crazy man with a cane: Crazy people LOOOOOVE me. I should have had my cockles up when the google-eyed bald man with a cane walked into my car. It was a full car, though, so I figured that there was enough of a buffer. The dude settled into the priority seating area by me and proceeded to spend the first fifteen minutes muttering to himself and slapping the glass next to him rhythmically. I was sitting there, minding my own business and holding this large piece of poster board that I was using for my session (a board game I created with a simple snake picture and lots of construction paper pasted on). The crazy man honed in on that poster board and started questioning me about it. I tried to politely but clippily answer his questions and then put on my sunglasses and turned my eye gaze in the opposite direction. This didn't stop the man, as he came up with his own conclusions. Out of his mouth came the following:

"You're an art student, I bet. Well, that's pretty good art you've got there. It's no Picasso or Michealangelo, but it'll do."

Once he realized that I had checked out of the conversation, he said "Ooooh, I see how it is."

Then he took a large swig of the bottle that he had nestled within is coat, swung himself off of the seat, and then got off at the next stop. As soon as he stepped off of the train, everyone around me let out audible sighs of relief: they had escaped his attention.

2.) On the ride home, I was riding me some sort of fugitive who was caught. He in cuffs and boxed in by four huge men. I guess that they figured that the best way to get him across the city was to take the el. They support public transportation. They guy looked glazed and a bit resigned to his fate, but I couldn't help but wonder what it would be like to be heading toward some sort of punishment when you're surrounded by tons of people heading home and to their weekends.

Anyway, in other news, Grace couldn't come to Chicago this weekend because of her work (damn work), but Vroom vroom will be visiting in another month, and the weather will probably be more lovely then, so maybe it's even better.

Also, I'm starting to really like working with my sassy little dude of a client. The other day he told me that I looked Japanese without my glasses, and today when I walked him out the door and he greeted his babysitter he stuck his finger up his nose and refused to take it out despite her admonishments. He's still a lot of work to prepare for, but it keeps me on my toes. I'm happy to report that he was really, really into the board game that I created for him. Usually his attention span lasts for about ten minutes for each activity, but he wanted to play this game for like 20 minutes! I was amazed.

And this is odd, how?

Hambone sent me this article with the line

"Hambone, this story has your name written all over it." How very true.

Graduate student arrested
Mathematics student admits to about 60 incidents of lewd behavior toward Asian females on campus

Upon interrogation, Lohman confessed to cutting the woman's hair and to cutting the hair of Asian female students at least eight other times, University communications director Lauren Robinson-Brown '85 said. All of the hair-snipping incidents occurred on campus, Davall said.

Lohman also admitted to pouring his bodily fluids into the drinks of Asian female students on more than 50 occasions, Robinson-Brown said. The fluids poured into the drinks were semen and urine, Lt. Dennis McManimon, the Borough police's spokesman, said in an interview Tuesday.

....

A search of Lohman's apartment revealed "a quantity of women's panties and numerous mittens," according to a statement from Borough police.
The investigation, McManimon said, "has been leaning" toward the conclusion that Lohman stuffed the mittens with the hair he had obtained from students and used them for personal sexual gratification.

Sordid!

Lifting something like 500 pounds.  

Close up. 

Pat pulling the semi! 

View from the women's bathroom of the John Hancock. Not sure if you can make anything out from my excellent camera's abilities. 

View from our table from the 96th floor. 

Hillary and Megan at the John Hancock. 

Manic Monday Revisited
Oh man, I'm so glad that today's over. We had our first exam in what seems like the most challenging class of the quarter and I also had another client session to plan for. I'm happy to report that they both went relatively well, so I've earned my evening of chillness and maybe a little reading, but nothing that pressing. After the disaster first session with my client, things have definitely improved and now we're actually having fun during the time. Last Friday, the little dude even expressed a little sadness that we had to end an activity and that it was time to go. I was gobsmacked. Seriously.

This past weekend was nutty, but it was a good time. Friday night, Todd and I went out with Laura, Hillary, Megan, Nikki, and some others from my program for a free happy hour at this meat-market bar nearby and then we zipped over to the John Hancock to have martinis in their Signature Room. The drinks are expensive, but the bar is at the top of the John Hancock, so you have a stunning view of the city at night, and it's basically the same price you pay to get up there to see the views anyway. This way you get a drink for free. When Anne and I went on the architectural boat tour last summer, the guide opined that the best view in the city is in the women's bathroom at the John Hancock bar. It's so true: it looks onto the South of Chicago, and the window spans the room and it is stunning. We totally lucked out, too, and landed a table right by the window at the bar and let me just say that Chicago at night is a sight to behold.

Saturday, I joined Todd and some of his friends to see his friend, Pat, compete in a Strong Man competition. How awesome is that? We got there in the morning just as they were pulling the semis. Later on, they lifted ungodly amounts of weight (325 in each hand for the heavy-weights, which is where Pat fell) and then there was a keg-carry race. It was all extremely whacked out and fascinating. It was also gorgeous and sunny that day with a little bit of a bite of breeze. The breeze made it misleading, since we all came out of there with various degrees of burns. I have a red face and cheeks and Todd earned some wrist-band style burns since his wrists were the only part of him directly exposed (he was wearing a baseball hat, not a ski mask as you might think by that statement...although that would have been hilarious).

After some studying for voice, we went to see his friend play blues guitar in a bar in Lincoln Square (Dad, you would have liked it a lot), and then went and got some grub before crashing very hard for the night. I think my body is unused to having so much sun exposure at one time.

Sunday, Lee and I began painting the apartment. We're going for a yellowish color for the living room and a pinkish color for the dining room. She recruited a whole troop of people from her church to help, and thankfully, they knew what they were doing. It's a long process, and only just begun, so the apartment is kind of in upheaval right now. Grace, be warned, for when you come and visit, that you won't be visiting an apartment o' luxury as you expected, I'm sure. Then after some quick studying, I joined Jenny, Pam, Amie, and Abby for a delicious Mexican dinner that Jenny and Amie cooked up at Amie's place. Jenny's in town for a whirlwind visit since she got two days off in a row, and it was nothing less than excellent to see her. I had to beg off early, though, much to my consternation, since I needed to leave behind the good times, good food, good company, and good margaritas for voice study notes and session planning.

And that's my news. I'm feeling more upbeat than I was at this time last week, as I'm happy to report.

Almost weekend
Yay, one more day to the weekend. I have my second client session tomorrow, and I'm steeling myself for it. My client is spirited, and more challenging than the typical clients that people in my class get, but screw it. What can I do? Just give it my best. I was feeling really bummed and overwhelmed at the end of last week and the beginning of this week, but I'm feeling better every day. But, we have a voice exam on Monday, which is kind of hilarious to me. We've been in school for a week and a half so far!

So last night we didn't end up staying to see Crooked Fingers, which was a bummer, but they weren't going on till 11pm (dude, don't people have to work? I'm so lame.) and we weren't game for being totally out of it today. But, the Abbey Pub is cool and we stayed there for dinner. They had a meat loaf special for $5 that was so delicious and that and a few on-special drinks cost about $20. I think I'm in love.

It's chilly again in Chicago, but the sun is out so things are totally dreary.

Checking In
Man, this quarter so far has been kicking my ass, and it's only just started! I had an indecently stressful first week and a half, and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it settles down once the routine is on and I know what to expect in terms of how much time to pour into each class or session-plan. In the meantime, I'm feeling a bit runover, however the good news is that i feel an iota less runover every day. Perhaps in two months (by the time the quarter is over), I'll be all right altogether!

The weather is lovely in Chicago--warm and in the 70s. This past weekend was rather fruitful as well. On Friday night we went to go see these bands, Mirror America and Pinebender, (I think) at Subterranean, an extremely cool and open music venue in Wicker Park. Saturday, after I pushed Todd's bed onto his toe cracking his toenail (yowch) when helping him move it, we hobbled over to a gallery to see his friend's performance art show opening. awesome. Finally, on Sunday we walked around his neighborhood in the sublime sunshine and warmth, found the nearest coffee shop, and checked out the changing neighborhoods. Afterwards we grilled steaks on his porch.

Now, when it's the choice between grilled steaks in the sunshine vs. sitting in my apartment and poring over wonky lesson plans and voice disorder texts, it's not much of a question in terms of what I want to pick. This is why self-discipline needs to become part of my life, folks. But tonight, I'm going to see Crooked Fingers at the Abbey Pub (jealous, Bill?), and I'm stoked. I need an effing break, people.

Happy Birthday to Christie!
Girl, 29 is going to feel so good.

Check it out

Robin's got a new website that I'm shilling for. The link is going to be added as well, and feel free to add it to your site too as a personal favor to the Half Egg.

The Postal Lady
So I've gone to the little postal shop on Broadway the last couple of days since I sold some textbooks on Amazon (muuuch better pay than the NU bookstore buyback). Jenny had been telling me about her since day one, since this woman is quite a character. She's a wee little Asian lady and apparently is 200% sassy. Jenny commented that every time she had gone in there in the last few years, no matter what she was doing (buying boxes or mailing a letter), the Asian lady had something to say about it (ie, "why not mail it via such and such way, it's cheaper?" or "that box you're buying is all wrong for whatever it is that you need to pack up).

Indeed. On day one, I was mailing a book expedited mail since the buyer requested that. Tha Asian lady tsk-ed over the price difference between that and media mail, urging me to go media...it was much cheaper! I assured her that I was being compensated for the expedited mail, and that seemed to satisfy her.

Today, I was mailing another book, this time media mail. I handed it over, and she cocked an eye, and then said "You know this is going to take two weeks, right?"

Oh My Gah
So I was sure that this first week back would be an easy one with things getting heated up later on, but it was not to be so. As soon as we walked into class, it was totally hit-the-ground-running and there's no rest for the weary! I have my first session with my client this Friday and then another on Monday! I'm excited but extremely nervous and know that I'm going to spend about ten trillion hours planning for these sessions when someone with experience would spend maybe an hour. The learning curve is extremely steep right now, and I know it'll only get better, but it's excruciating in the meantime. But, as my mom likes to tell me ad nauseum, you have to eat bitter before you can taste the sweet.

So, my goals for the quarter are:
1. stay on top of classes
2. stay on top of lesson planning
3. try not to get trampled under the self-inflicted pressure of it all.

But, the good news is that it's been warm and lovely in Chicago. It's raining right now, but warm and feels and smells like spring.

Man, it's gorgeous today!
Sunny and at least in the 60s. I think spring may finally be springing...

One Day More...
...of freedom! Classes start tomorrow. It should start pretty easy since I don't have class till noon, we had today off, and (so far) I don't have classes on Friday. Next week will be sure to be busier with labs and a client and all of the trimmings, but week one is always manageable.

Anyhow, the rest of the weekend was good. I spent some of it in Bolingbrook helping/mostly-watching Todd pack up his stuff. It's kind of amazing, because he doesn't have much really, and it looked like a relatively painless affair. When I'm in that position, there's a whole lot more caterwauling and hair pulling and teeth gnashing and a whole boatload of complaining. That night we went out for his roommates' goodbye shindig (they're loading up their truck to drive to Denver tomorrow), and yesterday I drove out with him to Wilmington for Easter lunch at his parents' house. Let me tell you: there was some lamb to die for present.

Today is my day of productivity. It's sunny out so I feel invigorated and ready to tackle the list of things to do before classes begin again: grocery shopping, coffee bean buying, laundry, cleaning, bill-paying, email writing, call making. Although I'm not thrilled about starting into the grind again, I'm glad to get back into a routine and get back to a regular workout schedule. I also vow (for real this time) to stay on top of my classes. No more cramming, people. It just can't be that way no more.

Before I forget, Thanks to Des and Bryan for the beautiful set of condolence lilies that were sent to my parents' house. They were lovely and appreciated as was the gesture.

Back in Chicago
I came back to Chicago and snow last yesterday. Okay, so the snow didn't stick, but it still cracks me up that it was gray and snowing in the city. My flight out of DC sat on the tarmac for an hour before taking off due to weather conditions in Chicago, but I am grateful that it was only delayed an hour, since it could have been much worse.

It was a good visit back to DC, but sad of course. I was grateful and thrilled to be able to see friends (Suzi, Anne, Christie [!], Des, Jonathan, Clarence, and Matt) as well as family and it was good to recharge my DC batteries. Still, driving on the GW Parkway on a nice day and looking over the Potomac at all of the monuments...nothing matches it.

The service for my grandmother was touching but very sad. Silver lining: it didn't pour the day of the burial as it had done the day before, so it wasn't messy like it could have been.

On more uplifting notes, some highlights of the week:

I had lunch with Des, Clarence and Jonathan at my favorite cheap Malaysian place, Malaysia Kopitiam, on M Street. By their doorway they had a whole slew of chairs with Asian type fabric and plastic coating on top of them. As we were putting on our coats, the following exchange occurred:

Jonathan: What dynasty do those chairs come from?

Clarence: The Kitsch Dynasty.

(You might have had to be there, but it cracked me up for about 20 minutes).

Afghan feast with Anne and Christie on Wednesday might. Enough said, really, but it was good to break naan with them.

Matt's place for Italian dinner on Thursday night. It was my first time seeing Matt's new loft condo which was swanky and very nicely painted. I also got to see my favorite baby angel, Spike. It must be said that Spike is looking a lot more svelte these days. He even felt lighter when I picked him up. It's the stairs in the loft; he didn't have to climb stairs for several rounds of apartments beforehand. I also suspect that he's mellowing in his dotage because he just lay there on the ottoman scanning the scenery despite a whole hubbub of new people in the place.

Anyway...

I got back yesterday at around one when Todd picked me up at the airport (very seamless, as soon as I was coming out to the pick up place, he was pulling into O'Hare). Last night we went to see Slint at the Metro, a club close by that I had never been to before. Slint was impressive and seriously intense (no on-stage banter, total concentration during all of the songs, relatively quiet crowd). It was a sold out show, too. The Metro is a cool venue, though. Its size reminds me of the 9:30 Club, which is a good thing.

We had to go back to Todd's to retreive the show tickets and on the way back we passed Navy Pier on Lake Shore. Navy Pier is a big touristy playground right on the lake with a big old lit up ferris wheel and lots of other tourist-attracting stuff. Something like the following exhange happened as we drove by:

Todd: I've never been to Navy Pier before.

Kristin: We should go. Isn't it something that you can at least you that you experienced?

Todd: No, I don't really need to say that I experienced Navy Pier.

Kristin: But, don't you want to experience it before you judge it at least? Even if you'll probably dislike it?

Todd: Maybe.

Kristin: Besides, you can probably have cotton candy there.

Todd: Sold.

That also made me laugh for about twenty minutes.

What you can expect to receive from me for upcoming gift occasions.

(via tmn)

Welp...
It's good to be back in DC again. There's something about coming home, and while it's still a little chilly here, the skies are crystal blue and it's sunny and it's a nice departure from the grayness of Chicago. I like my parents' house and I love the purple room that I normally sleep in and I adore the perfect mattress on the brass bed in that room and I eat up the quietness of Great Falls.

For those who don't know, my grandmother passed away earlier this week. I was actually planning on coming back to DC for a few days to see her and missed her by a day. Wretched timing, that. But, my family seems to be doing okay, and it's the end to her suffering, so there are some silver linings to be found. Another lining is that now I will get to see a lot of my family that I normally wouldn't, including the California contingent and Robin who's flying in from Texas late tonight.

The service is going to be on Thursday, and I extended my stay till Friday. During these three days, I'll be able to spend time with family and also get to see a lot of friends. I was telling Anne this morning that it sounds extraordinarily self-centered, but I can't help but be relieved that my grandmother passed this week while I'm on Spring Break. Otherwise, I don't think that I would have been able to skip class and come home.

Off to DC
Well, I'm off to DC this evening and will probably be out of the loop for a little while. But then again, most of you reading are in DC anyway so I'll probably be seeing you shortly.

St Patrick's in the City
My first St. Patrick's day in Chicago, and I missed the famed green river. Apparently, all of the big parades were this past weekend, which time was spent in convalescence and studies, so I missed all of the fun and the greenness.

Last night, however, I walked over to Southport to the Mystic Celt and joined Katie, Hillary, Lauren, Laura, and Megan for some St Patrick's celebration. The place was packed, and by the time that I wandered up at 7:30, there was a line that went halfway down the block. It was fast-moving, thankfully, and it took me only about 10 or 15 minutes to get in the door. The doorguy checking IDs inquired about my Virginia license and I found out that he was actually from Alexandria, went to West Potomac high school, and worked at Faccia Luna in Oldtown for about seven months. Small world.

The Mystic Celt itself was full of festive 20-somethings, blared U2, and served overpriced green Miller Lite. It was crowded, but manageable and a good time altogether. I left around 11:30 when the party was still raring. And I didn't even have anything to do today except to wait for the gas guy to come and check our meter. Most of those other people at the bar probably had to work today. I suspect there are many sorry looking worker drones hanging around the office today.

Gooooo Puerto Rico! 

A mural in Humboldt Park: there a bunch of these around.  

Sunday lunch 

Belated Sunday
I didn't get a chance to report on stuff that happened earlier this week until today, what with studying and all, but I need to tell about the date that I went on with Jenny and Pam on Sunday. They picked me up on the cold sunny Sunday and we drove over to Humboldt Park, the Puerto Rican neighborhood in Chicago. Jenny's mom is from PR so we were in search of some Puerto Rican food. There are these enormous metal Puerto Rican flags that line the street there, which Jenny commented made the neighborhood seem like a "Puerto Rican Busch Gardens."

We wandered into a restaurant we saw and it was clear that we were the newcomers. Thumbs up to Puerto Rican food: I had pork and fried plantains. yum.

Humboldt Park is close to where Todd's new place is, so hopefully there will be more Puerto Rican food in my future.

After lunch, we drove over to Bucktown to find some coffee. An excellent afternoon full of Chicago sightseeing. And no studying.

...and the dust settles
Wow, this has been a crazy past week. I finished my last exam yesterday afternoon, and was absolutely wrecked afterward. An exam on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday each. By the time I reached yesterday morning, I was worn out. I managed to eke through, though, about which I'm thrilled. That past quarter gave me a mighty good drubbing. Daaaaamn.

Yesterday morning, Jenny moved out as well, which is very, very sad. We loaded up her little UHaul in uncommonly beautiful weather, and I believe that she is now safe and sound in Ann Arbor, although I should call and check. The apartment is cavernously empty and bare without her and all of the furniture right now. I need to get on hanging some pictures to cover up these bare walls. I positioned my lone red armchair in the living room yesterday, and it's a hilariously lonely scene. When I was telling Hillary about it last night, it occurred to me that the living room looks not unlike a set from a play.

I also need to acquire some kitchen stuff stat. Lee moves in within the next month or so, and I'm sure that she is going to bring supplies, but I can't live as an ascetic till then.

Intensity
I just watched Bus 174. It was incredible: powerful and riveting and tremendously sad. The movie details a hostage situation that happened in Brazil in 2000 where a mild-mannered street kid held up a bus, had the robbery go awry, and the entire thing ended up as a long, drawn-out hostage situation. Because the entire thing was filmed live by what seemed like billions of journalists, every single part of it is on film. The entire thing is pretty devastating, but the end...Jesus.

To brighten the evening
I'm knee deep in going over notes from language disorders tonight. One of the disorders we talked about in class is Williams Syndrome: one where the kid has a low IQ but relatively good verbal skills. Williams Syndrome kids tend to be super friendly and love to chatter, dropping in fifty cent words in various places even if they don't know the meaning.

Examples from a presentation given in class:
1. ) One statement from a WS kid: "The snow is making all different colors of the rainbow in the trees! It's like SHINY RAINBOWS in the trees!"
2.) When talking about bees leaving the behive, "The bees abort the beehive."

I love it.

With the todd, who was so game in helping to prepare for the party. thanks, todd! 

With my NU classmates. I put the camera down after this and forgot about it, damn it. 

Hillary and me. 

Kevin, Brendan, and myself 

My room was the coat room. I wanted to take a photo of the piles, and this was't even it at its height. 

PARTY!
Last night's goodbye party for Jenny was a success, I am happy to report. The organizing was headed by Pam, and contributed to by Amie, Abby, Brendan, Jenny, and myself. Besides everyone seeing Jenny off, each of the organizers invited others that they know, so the party was kicking full blast most of the time. People started trickling in at 9 and things didn't die till 4. I can't remember the last time that I stayed up till 4; I don't know how good I am at it anymore. Anyway, we ordered a keg, two cases of beer, a case of wine for the evening and people brought wine and beer as well. To my surprise, we kicked the keg, and finished most of the beer. And people devoured the loads of snacks that Abby and Amie had brought. I was amazed.

No complaints about noise either from the neighbors, and one of our neighbors even stopped by, graciously toting a bottle of wine.

Amie organized a contest in which people tried to name Jenny's new car. The winner? A combination of two:
"Lady Brendan: Four doors and a dream."

I woke up this morning feeling run over. I went and got lunch with Jenny and Todd and then came back home and went back to sleep. Now I'm staying in for a quiet night and trying to get some studying done. I foresee an early bed time. Thank God.

How to guides
Here's a cool collection of How Tos.

My new years resolution was to try to be less of a People Pleaser, so I liked:
Say No to Overcommitment.

I also like: How to end a conversation with body language.

Or: Solving tough problems with a nap.

(via tmn)

One of my dad's pictures of Mei Xiang and Tian Tian. Perfect roundness.  

Alignment Issues
Awww, Tian Tian and Mei Xiang are going at it again, The Washington Post reports. But there are some problems, apparently.

In past years, they've shown excellent sexual behavior but have been a bit out of sync," Lisa Stevens, the zoo's assistant curator for giant pandas, said today. "We're very concerned about the lack of synchrony."

Translation: The male giant panda is eager, Stevens said, but has "alignment" problems; the female cries out to him loudly and displays other come-hither behavior, but then lies flat on her stomach.

Also, you can watch their mating habits on the panda cam!

Productive Robot
I had the most deliciously productive morning. For once, I didn't have to be on campus super early, so I took advantage of this occasion and, in the following order, accomplished the following:
1.) slept in till 7:30 (luxury!)
2.) Ate some kashi good friends cereal while stripping my sheets
3.) Trekked down to the laundryroom, loaded three machines
4.) Made my way to Jewel, bought much needed groceries and got some quarters.
5.) Mailed a letter on the way back and then put stuff in the dryer.
6.) Walked over to Strange Cargo with Jenny. Obtained some cutie-smartypants clinic shoes. They are too much.
7.) Walked back. Dragged clean laundry upstairs.
8.) Put away clean clothes, put on clean sheets, ate lunch.
9.) Worked with Jenny to make invitations/warnings for our neighbors for the Friday night soiree. Then taped them to their doors.
10.) Showered.
11.) Loaded up my bag and left.

Incredible! Anyway, class today was surprisingly good and shorter than usual, even. I now have two more days left (yaaaay!), but an artic project to get done in the meantime and studying to try to get ahead on. I just spent the last couple of hours typing up notes.

I'm pretty psyched for Friday, though: Last day of classes (hooorraaaay!) and also the big good-bye party for Jenny.

Comic Book Journalism
Here's a case for it from the Columbia Journalism Review. They mention Joe Sacco's stuff.

(via tmn)

Flat Heads
My brothers and I have flat heads in the back: it's kind of like someone carved out a part of our skulls leaving a little slanted flat spot. It still weirds me out a little bit when I run my hand over the back of my head: it's kind of mutant-like. I don't know which of us has the most pronounced flat head, but I know it's because we slept on our backs and our little soft, baby heads flattened out when resting on the flat crib surface...and then hardened, like cement. Awesome!

Well, apparently, more kids are turning out like we are since more kids started being put to bed on their backs. And there are helmets for this now to correct the problem! The Post has an article about it today in their Health section called "Baby's First Helmet." The helmet is pretty sweet looking: maybe I should explore one for myself.

It's like Christmas
The New York Public Library Digital Gallery has put a collection of their digital images online for your and my use! There's tons of cool stuff as well. One could while away many minutes poring over the categories.

(via tmn)

Yeah
So remember how it was 64 yesterday? It's gray and snowing outside right now. That's hilarious.

But, the good news is that it's the LAST WEEK OF CLASSES. Hooray!
And as I write this, I am done with acoustic phonetics. Hooray again!

64 Degrees
That was the high today. It was glorious in Chicago. Sunny, blue skies, warm air: it oozed of spring. It's a trick, since it's supposed to get chilly again later this week, but it was tremendous to have it even last a day. Sadly, I had to spend the bulk of the afternoon inside, working on this articulation group project, but I did get to pop out as the afternoon hours waned to run a few errands. It was lovely.

I'm doing homework right now as the windows are wide open and the breeze is coming in. It makes doing the homework almost-not-a-chore. Almost.

Weekend!
Man, Friday was so very long. I normally get out of class at 11, but yesterday we had to stick around campus for a meeting that occurred at 3. It was brutal. But, the good news is that Lauren, Hillary, Nikki and I had the f-f-f-Friday lunch. A few of us normally try to go out and get some sort of /f/-inspired food item (in the past: pho, frijoles, fish). Yesterday was falafel. We went to this place called the Pita Inn, and it very well be one of my new favorite places in the Chicagoland area. Tons of good food for so cheap. They knew the way to my heart.

Last night was super, super chill. Jenny, Amie, Todd and I sat down and watched "The Story of the Weeping Camel." This past summer, my dad had been telling me about it and urging me to see it, not in the least because there was an unbearably cute kid in it. This was very true, but in actuality, there were two unbearably cute kids in it. There were also lots of unbearably cute camels, baby camels, and baby lambs. It was too much. The movie was beautiful and moving and highly recommended. The story revolves around this one baby camel who is abandoned by his mama, so there were several scenes of the baby plaintively mewling for her all by his lonesome in the Mongolian desert. A more pathetic sound you have never heard.

Afterward, everyone else fell asleep, but I stayed up to watch some quality television, including the program "I Married Sebastian Bach." Enough said.

Brrrr
It's freezing in Chicago. Last night was in the teens, and I saw two separate people on my way home from school who were wearing shorts. Let me repeat that: there were two separate people wearing shorts. Lauren's Asshole Rule was definitely in effect. Meanwhile I'm all layered up and rocking some sexy long underwear.

It's "Cookie and Candy Thursday" in our MA room again. Three people are assigned to bring in some sort of treat for everyone, and it's a pretty awesome idea. Today someone brought in a big box of Peet's coffee, which was the best idea yet.

I finally got around to trying to register for classes next quarter and one of the classes I need to take I can't get into because the system reports that it's above capacity. I probably can still get in (I hope!) since there are so damn many of us this year that most classes will be above capacity, but this is what I get for sitting on this task for awhile. Dizzamn!

Maybe I should...
I'm clawing my way through the last few pages of this paper. I'm going to have to carve it down at least three pages since it's kinda bloated right now and I'm not even finished. I just talked to someone else in my class who's struggling to get to five pages.

I received the following suggestion from todd on how I should begin it:

"Man has pondered many questions throughout the ages, but none so much as the eternal question of why dudes have nipples. Seriously, WTF? But somewhere down the list, if you keep reading it for quite some time, you'll see man's question of why some kids can't talk for shit but some are awesome at it."

And really, isn't the basically what this entire graduate course is about?

Anyway, I'm going to work on this paper for 45 more minutes, and then go get me a fountain diet coke as a reward.