The thing about me and blogging

The thing about me and blogging is that sometimes when actual things are happening in my life it is more challenging for me to muster the energy to write it on the internet. Typically when nothing of interest is taking place, well, that is when I seem to write about myself. The former is the case lately.

I've been in Michigan for the weekend, which seemed necessary given my mother's health scare. She seems quite well, btw. It was also my nieces birthday, so that was a nice event to be able participate in. And also, just trying to prep for this upcoming (actually, it is here) week where I embark on my nuttiness of two classes, work, music making, and then just life in general. I worry it is a bit much and I've been trying to mentally prepare, mainly by watching tv.

So, I got this new point and shoot digital camera. I've needed one as my old Casio is on its last leg. I mean honestly, the casing has almost completely separated from the camera. I often think it is some sort of miracle that is actually even works. So, I did a little research to find a camera that had sufficient photot AND video capabilities and I came up with this little guy:



The real reason I pushed to get it now is because I wanted to take some video of my parents in an effort to put together some sort of video presentation for their 50th wedding anniversary celebration which will take place in July. More on that and the video later, but overall I'm pleased with my purchase. These are a few moments from the weekend. Sorry they are so stylistically schizophrenic, but I was playin'.











I love this picture of my mom. Her eyes seem so sparkly.



My dad and I went for a bike ride. Quite a helmet, eh?



This is behind my parents house. They live in this weird subdivision now, but there is a corn field behind their house which I am frankly quite glad for.



My little miss sunshine, niece. She is now 12! I can't believe how much she has grown just since Christmas.



These are my nephews ingenious shoes. They oddly reminded me of the way I dealt with my old car (covered it in duct tape.)











They are all teenagers now. It totally freaks me out, but the kids are growing up and it is a reminder of the ways in which I am also older.





The cam is not so shabby for being just a lil guy. The quality of the videos I took is pretty stellar too. A pleasing purchase to go along with a pleasing weekend.

Tonight I attended my first class of the new quarter. It lasted for one hour. I think that wont be the case for future weeks, but it made tonight all the better.

Tomorrow I will head to the dentist first thing because I've been having terrible tooth pain for two weeks causing me to live on ibuprofen. Tooth pain is the worst, and don't I know it. I honestly can't even really type about this because I am so over the insane amount of dental issues I've had. It is truly unique. I hope to have it fixed tomorrow as my somtach can't take another day of those little brown tablettes.

I'm out for now. Maybe this will get me back rollin' with my regular overshare.

Cheers!

Faux

I know I've been absent, but I have a good excuse.

Actually, it seems like many around me have a good excuse as sickness and odd happenings abound.

See, I found out on Friday night after my concert that my father had taken my mother to the ER because she was having issues with her heart. In short, she did not have a heart attack, but her heart was not working properly. This is not entirely a surprise, as she has had heart problems in the past. But, it was of course scary and her two night stay didn't make my weekend all that enjoyable. She is now home, on some new meds and doing fine, so overall I think this turned out alright, but it sure disrupted business as usual. I will head to Michigan on Thursday to see her.

The concert on Friday was quite the success. You can read about it in the trib, here. The Russians apparently came out in full force to enjoy some music in their native tongue. Overall, it was quite moving for me.

Besides spending time worrying and dealing with my most recent toothache, I did get some time out in the sun this weekend. It was a stunning day on Saturday. Brunch at The Bagel with Ryan and then an afternoon of cleaning. The kind where you open up all the windows and shake out your rugs. It feels so good to be in my apartment right now as I seem to have eliminated the staleness of winter.

Sunday, Tina and I had a bit of a picnic in the park, which was honestly too cold to be that hospitable to us, but we braved the temps to take in the Vitamin D. I then spent some time working out (which I am managing to do quite regularly!) and then headed to the asian food store to by more faux meats. WHICH, everyone in my life, including my vegetarian friends are giving me a hard time about. I am just so fascinated by the fact that these are so successfully made. Take for instance, the fake shrimp I bought.



I made a tofu and "shrimp" soup, with rice noodles, onion and green and red peppers. It was delish. But, I mean, I get it. The fake shrimp are totally creepy and weren't nearly as good as some of the other fake "meats" I've been trying. It is fascinating, though. I'm not making anyone else eat it anyway, so let me enjoy.

Yesterday and today have been rainy and grey. I guess it is suitable for those who are on a real spring break and have taken off to somewhere tropical and warm. I on the other hand am just trying to appreciate the quiet. Maybe I'll sit by a heat lamp or something later.

Slow on the Blog

I've meant to type each day for the past few days but it seems my mind needed some sort of break following completion of said final.

I've also just been in sort of a foul mood and rather lethargic.
Linsey suggested it is the barometric pressure, which is a possibility, but I think there is just a lot of annoying stuff sort of creeping up on me and I'm not necessarily handling it very well.

In an effort to lift the load off of my back, I made my way to the gym last night ... which, I would like reiterate ... I hate it. I hate going down the block, changing into my gym clothes, and mustering up the gumption to get moving. But, with that being said, it feels so good! It really changed my day around yesterday and I just want to serve as a testament that if you can't get yourself to workout or think it isn't worth it, it is. I am an example of someone who hates it, but needs it.

Right now I'm sipping some coffee from the office's Keurig maker, contemplating how almost all of my colleagues decided to be gone for one reason or another today. Maybe I didn't get the memo? I often think on days like today, is it better to be here when it is so terribly quiet or should I have jumped on the bandwagon and taken a day as well. But, here I am and somewhere they are.

Also, I think it worthy to put it out there on my blog that I'm contemplating a move within the city of Chicago. If my current life plans stay true to form, I am committed to this place for at least one more year and recently I've been feeling the overwhelming urge for a change of scenery. I don't know that this will actually happen, because truth be told I live in a wonderful apartment that most would deem a "sweat deal," but I can't help but think it might be time to find my next. I've been looking online, but I think that route my not prove that successful as scammers seem to have taken over craigslist, so maybe this weekend I'll have a few hours to ride my bicycle around and check out the scene. For some reason I keep thinking I would like to be near the lake for a year, but I imagine the desirability of those neighborhoods and my need to stay within budget will keep me from that idea... but it keeps popping up.

I have a William Ferris Chorale concert tomorrow night. It is all in Russian. One piece, sixty minutes, just voices and flute. I'm tired, just thinking about it.

Success!

I've completed my paper.
It felt as though the weekend was somewhat of a void because of it, but I've successfully put together about 15 pages of communications goodness... or so I hope.

Today is a stunning day. Highs of 60 degree Fahrenheit with nothin' but sun. My bicycle ride to work took just 15 minutes and I didn't even break a sweat.

I began to write this at 10am and now just getting back to it at 4:12pm.

I had two cavities filled this afternoon.

Only two more appointments until completion of dentil work.

I'm not gonna say anything else at the moment.

Bubye.

Oh, and real quick

In my attempt to use my blog as an unabashed source of embarrassment for both me and others, I found these pictures at home before my parents moved out of their house and I thought they would be humorous to share.

See, when I was 17 I won this scholarship that involved flying to Iowa and participating in the Donna Reed Foundation competition. (You'll see me in the back row of this photo)Part of the package was to get your picture taken by a professional photographer... and so I did. The funny part was that the dude insisted on putting a cowboy hat on me because he thought it was a good look for me. Being the pimply faced insecure recently chubby 17 year old that I was, I didn't object.

These are the results from the contact sheet:



Now if that doesn't scream classic cowboy, I don't quite know what does. Actually, I think I just hear the screams of discomfort. Either way, the results are brilliant.

What to do?

Dear Friends,

I imagine you wont hear from me much this week as I have a paper of final proportions due on Monday and rather than spending time updating my blog, I'm attempting to commit any extra time to writing. Can I just say that it is so much more difficult to write a paper I would like to do a good job on rather than one I don't care much about. In this instance it is simply not enough to just put words on a page, but rather attempt to have them mean something. Eek.

Yesterday, another rainy day, I made my way up to the computer store to see if my data had been recovered from my bogus harddrive and placed on my new super sleek Seagate harddrive. The gentleman explained that they had transferred what was found and I could take a look on their harddrive to see what was recovered as they are not allowed to look at my data. I spent some time at his computer only to realize that none of my pictures or videos had been recovered. Only useless files that I didn't care much about. I explained this and was notified that I wouldn't need to pay for the entire services (which would have totaled $275) as the data was not in fact recovered. Mind you, I had already paid $50.

Here is where my moral dilemma begins.

Later in the evening I took the harddrive home which they had transferred the "less than" information to. Upon plugging it into my computer and doing a little searching, I realized that the information on this new external harddrive was not actually the information I viewed on the computer at the computer store and MUCH of my information was in fact on the harddrive. Not all of it, but much of it... so now what do I do? My inclination is to just be done with it and I've received confirmation from a few friends that I don't need to go back to the computer store and offer to pay. But, I can't help but feel a bit guilty. What do you all think?

My bicycle continues to be a source of pleasure. It has some new pedals, a new fender (so I don't get anymore mud on my butt) and a blinking red light so you crazies in your cars don't hit me. I really feel enabled now that I am able to ride again, although this morning's ride was cccccold.

Also, last night I was asked to be a bridesmaid in my friend's wedding and I have to say it was about one of the most awesome things someone has ever asked me to do. Don't worry, I wont be donning a dress or carrying flowers, but I will be standing along side a wonderful friend on a very important day in her life and that seems just awesome.

I'm off to contemplate whether I'm a thief or not.

Riddle me this

Today my parents attempted to Skype with me, but when the connection was made, rather than seeing their smiling face I saw this:



Now, we reconnected multiple times and this is what I see each time. My parents aren't what I would consider especially able when it comes to this technical, so they very well could have pushed some button that triggered "night time European Skype scene," but I can't quite imagine how. It sure made me laugh though as my mom uttered "Well, Maybe we're in PARIS?"

SHRUG

It's been a good if not slightly strange weekend. It rained both Saturday and today, most all day long. This can put most anyone in a funk, given that the rain is cold, the winds swift, and the skies grey. I've been doing my best to combat it by staying active, but tonight I'm feeling like I didn't make the best use of all my weekend. I did have a lovely Lunch/Dinner yesterday for Robin's birthday. Great food and wonderful company.

You know, I turned on the TV yesterday evening for a bit and found some old tapes of Otis Redding being played on PBS, which I totally support. That kind of historic video is totally valuable to watch. Today on the other hand, right now, is freaking "James Gallway and The Priests" which is honestly typically weird made for pbs music programming. Often this will include Yanni or some other producer of Muzak and to this I say "no!" and "make it stop!" Who likes this stuff?

Silence

It is an absolutely stunning day out. 63 degrees Fahrenheit and sunny.
The bicycle ride to work was wonderful and we ate Vietnamese food for lunch.

I don't have much time to type as I'm about to run off to therapy.

I've just completed reading and article on Quakerism, which reminds me that I would love to go to a Quaker service. I think I could use that exercise in silence and I really admire their history of progressive social work in the US. I think there is a gathering in Chicago. I will try and check it out.

This weekend will mostly be rehearsal and homework, with a brief stint on the south side to celebrate Robin's birthday at Soul Vegetarian. I look forward to that highlight.

I've been listening to Serge Gainsbourg albums for three days straight. Still interesting.

Off I go.

Means of Mobility

Oh, friends!

Here she is.



Isn't she simple and lovely?
I rode her to work today because it will be 50 something degrees. It felt so good, if not a sore reminder of how long it has been since I've ridden. There seriously is nothing like riding a bicycle and as a means of mobility, I feel once again more able to come and go as I please. Granted, this is enhanced by our improved weather conditions, but who cares about the formula as long as the result is as good as this one.

I have to say, that when putting the bicycle together I was wishing my father were here. My ability to do anything remotely mechanical is lacking. This may seem a twisted path, but moments like that remind me of mortality and how people wont always be here to help you so you must learn to do these things on your own... so I guess that is what I did. Making my way to the hardware store to buy a proper wrench. The funny end to that is that when I showed my father the wrench via skype, he told my I had purchased the wrong one. Well, it got the job done, so what can I say.

Today I was riding to work I noticed that the man holes along the sides of Fullerton Avenue are literally collapsing. I saw three different covers that were being sucked into the pavement, one leaving a hole so gaping that any person could accidentally fall into the sewer. This is how the streets in Chicago look after a long winter. Resembling a war zone, but this year seems worse than years past.

After receiving an email today from the Democratic party asking me to contribute slogans to go on a billboard speaking out against Rush Limbaugh, I would like to say that I think they are giving him exactly what he wants/needs. This attention is silly! I understand his influence and his listener base is huge, but that 'ol fat white drug addict needs to be ignored. That's all I have to say about that.

Off I go for nwo.

Freshly Shorn

Here I am.

I've been so occupied these past days that I haven't taken a moment to type, but now I will because ... well, because I can.

I had nothing but a productive weekend. Spending most of my time typing away on a paper, which I realized has made me less able when it comes to small talk. Rather than listing off the many things I've been doing, I'm really only able to speak in terms of the readings I've been doing or the papers I've been writing... which although *I* find interesting, its a little heavy in passing. Regardless, I've been keeping my head down and trying to get things done. Because I knew I was going to be dedicating a lot of this week to writing I also took Monday off in an effort to give myself some time to get the other life stuff done. I did some laundry, picked up the house, made food for the week, went to Target (what's a day off without a trip to Target?) and took some clothes to the drycleaners for alterations.

I have these jeans that are nice and I really like and just a little bit too tight. They fit, but let's just say I wouldn't choose to sit in them all day at work. My new years goal was to lose just a couple of pounds so that they would fit more comfortably. Soo, I've actually done that. Lost a couple of pounds and well, the jeans still are too tight around my belly. As a quick side note, this reminds me that I am my father's son because he would always wear his belt to the side because the buckle would cut into his stomach. I think I'm developing his same stomach. Anyway, I took the jeans to see if they button could be moved over just a bit because then they would fit perfectly. My Korean drycleaner looked at me after my request and just said no as the button was immovable. I inquired if there were any way to make the jeans bigger and she giggled as though I had eaten too many donuts and nodded her head no. Then! She proposed the brilliant idea in her sweet accent that she add another button so that I could have two. I affirmed her idea which excitement. Adjustable jeans! That rules!

All in all, taking the day off was the perfect preemptive strike on feeling run down. I feel generally good today. I'm also freshly shorn too, which always makes things pretty good.

My new bicycle should be delivered today.
To say I'm excited would be an understatement.
I fell even more in love with the idea when I found out it would 50 degrees later this week.
Spring cometh, and boy should it ever after this hellasnowy weekend we just endured.
I think this was our last snow for the year, or so I'm hoping.

Ok, I need to get some stuff done.