RING RING | JUNE 30, 2007

Last week Steven and I had a discussion (okay, argument) with someone about how we do not have a land line. We only have cell phones. The person we were discussing this with thought it was ridiculous to only have cell phones because NO ONE CAN FIND US. We told him we thought it was ridiculous for us to have a land line, because SOMEONE COULD FIND US.

Is there some hidden benefit to having a land line that we are unaware of?

COMING SOON FOR KIMBERLY | JUNE 28, 2007

UPDATE: I have added a video for clarification!

THE GAME OF LIFE | JUNE 27, 2007

Dodging solicitors (for lack of a better term) at the street corners in Chicago has become a little game I like to call "Avoiding the Crazies."

They are always there. You can't avoid them. They are there when you are trying to walk to work, they are there when you are taking your lunch break, when you are running errands, when you are trying to catch the train home... they are there purely to get in your way and slow you down.

They are a little bit different than beggars, but some beggars fall into the same category because they are so pushy. In levels of aggressiveness (from low to high), the opponents are as follows: beggars, lunatics, paraphernalia distributors and the dreaded charity workers.

The tactics for avoiding them are simple at the "low" aggressiveness level - you just avoid eye contact and keep walking. You act as if the people do not exist. This applies to beggars mostly. They are not going to chase you down the street.

Once you have mastered the low-level aggressiveness tactics, you are ready to tackle medium level aggressiveness - lunatics. When you ignore these people, they are going to keep harassing you - so you have two options - to continue forth and keep ignoring them, despite them yelling at you/spitting at you/throwing things at you, or you can talk back to them. Usually, it is not worth it. Just keep walking unless it is truly offensive.

Pre-meditated maneuvering becomes a necessity when dealing with the higher-level aggressiveness opponents (paraphernalia distributors and charity workers). These people will chase after you if you ignore them. If you don't avoid them in the beginning, you are stuck listening to their spiel or having to tell them off.

Ideally, you would be walking within a large group of people when you come into contact with the higher-level opponents. Watch closely as you approach - if the opponent is attacking the people on the outside of the group, stay on the inside. If they are going towards the insiders, move to the outside and use them as a buffer.

If you are on a wide enough sidewalk, you can make it clear that they are not to approach you. You can also speed up, or cross the street (normally their pack is on both sides).

In the end, you have to do whatever works for you!

Another game I play on a daily basis is called "Not getting hit by jacka$$ drivers while walking on crosswalks," but we'll discuss that another day.

WHAT A MOMO | JUNE 26, 2007

Here's something weird - Data has refused to eat his favorite treat - greenies - for the past month. He would only eat his dry food. Which is really something to complain about, but we wanted to give him treats.

We know he likes "salmon" flavored things, so we bought him a box of wet cat food with different types of fish, including salmon. We put it out for him and he refused to eat it. So we got our his regular food. and he ate that... then the salmon food.

The next day he refused to eat his dry cat food for breakfast. I gave him the rest of the salmon pack for dinner.

Monday he skipped dinner, and so far today, he has skipped both meals.

We know he is just trying to get us to give him the wet food. So who do you think we win the battle - us or him? (Who is going to give in first?)

NOT DEAD... JUST DEAD TIRED | JUNE 25, 2007

I am guilty of using this excuse before, but I have been too busy to write anything here and it drives me nuts. Why can't this wedding just plan itself? Why can't someone work for me? Ha ha.

I am scared at how fast time is flying by and how much Steven and I have to do. I know we will get it done, I am not worried about that. I am just worried that the rest of my life is going to be this busy!

THOROGOOD KNOWS | JUNE 22, 2007

You talk too much, you talk too much,
I can't believe the things that you say everyday
If you keep on talking baby,
you know you're bound to drive me away

I spend so much of my day sitting at my desk deep in architectural thought that by the time I get home I need to talk to someone - usually Steven. I blab and blab and blab about my day... it must drive him nuts!

THIS COULD HAPPEN TO ME | JUNE 21, 2007

I found this on *lynne*'s website and I had to post it here too - because I love Star Wars and because I am an architect. Thanks for pointing this out *lynne*!

ADVICE FROM YOUR FELLOW COMMUTER | JUNE 20, 2007

Don't be the person on the train who:

1. Sits on the outer seat, puts their bag next to them, and pretends to not notice all the people walking by looking for a seat. If you are that anti-social, you probably should have stayed home.
2. Calls every contact in their blackberry to tell them about a birthday party in July.
3. Chews gum with their mouth open (chews anything with their mouth open).
4. Stares.
5. Is in such a rush to get off the train, that they push people.
6. Plays music so loud on their headphones that everyone can hear it. As much as we all appreciate RHCP, it is too early to listen to them at 7:00 am.
7. The man who snores. Loudly.

Stay tuned for updates.

FOLLOW THIS CLOSELY | JUNE 19, 2007

The Vatican has issued this list of the "Drivers' Ten Commandments."

Now, I know they created this list with public health and safety in mind, but some of these suggestions are just not manageable, especially number 3 and 8.

1. You shall not kill.
2. The road shall be for you a means of communion between people and not of mortal harm.
3. Courtesy, uprightness and prudence will help you deal with unforeseen events.
4. Be charitable and help your neighbor in need, especially victims of accidents.
5. Cars shall not be for you an expression of power and domination, and an occasion of sin.
6. Charitably convince the young and not so young not to drive when they are not in a fitting condition to do so.
7. Support the families of accident victims.
8. Bring guilty motorists and their victims together, at the appropriate time, so that they can undergo the liberating experience of forgiveness.
9. On the road, protect the more vulnerable party.
10. Feel responsible toward others.

SO TRUE | JUNE 18, 2007

This is only funny to me because it is true. I don't think the guy I see doing this everyday has a business card, but what he does is yell obscenities at people.

BRIDESMAIDS GIFTS | JUNE 17, 2007

My gift to my bridesmaids will most likely be jewelry (Oops, there goes that surprise). Ultimately, my sister (the maid-of-honor) and I will select the necklaces/earrings/bracelets/whatever, but an outside opinion is always welcomed. Here is the dress to refresh your memory. Now, which of these styles below do you like the most? And, do you think that it is even possible for a necklace to look nice with halter dress? (I am off the opinion that it does not look quite right)

#1 #2 #3 #4 #5 #6

#7 #8 #9 #10

POS PHONE | JUNE 16, 2007

My phone is out or order for awhile, so if you are someone who calls me, I will be unreachable for a few days. You can email me (see contact page), or call Steven. Thanks!

FRIDAY QUESTION #11 | JUNE 15, 2007

Should Steven and Kim get another kitten?

Someone at Steven's office found some kittens, and he has been teasing me all day with pictures of a gray and white one.

 

UNSYMPATHETIC | JUNE 13, 2007

Maybe it is from living in Rome for 7 months, or maybe I have just become jaded, but I am completely unsympathetic to the homeless people I see on the streets of Chicago.

I see them day in and day out. There is the "war veteran" who sits on the end of the bridge near the train station. The man who sits on the other side of the bridge with his "God is salvation" sign. The man who stands in front of Dunkin' Donuts and says "maybe you can spare some change on your way out." The guy in the wheelchair at Monroe and Wells. The lady without any underwear on. The man who is always on the corner of a street, yelling at someone. The people who hand out free newspapers and want a tip (on every corner).

The point is, I see them everyday. And I see the same people attending to them, and giving them money and food everyday. I don't figure they expect any donations from the people who walk by them on a daily basis, but from the sympathetic tourists who see them only once.

I understand that being born into poverty means you don't have high chances of escaping it. And I don't have ill wishes for these people. I don't even mind seeing them on a daily basis. I just want them to leave me the hell alone while I am walking to work (I also feel the same way about the peace corp people who keep harassing me. I DON'T CARE).

(The funniest person I saw was a young man with a sign saying Homeless and trying to get to Iowa. I wanted to tell him to stay in Chicago!)

HEELS | JUNE 12, 2007

This may seem like a small accomplishment, but I think I have FINALLY figured out how to walk in high heels! I was mislead in the beginning. When I bought my first pair back in December, the person I was with told me to try to land on the balls of my feet, rather than walking heel to toe, which is intuitive.

Luckily, Steven was there to let me know that I looked awkward walking in heels. But even though he tried them on and walked around in the house, that didn't help me get any better.

I prefer to wear them at work though, and I think the last four weeks have finally broken me in! I no longer almost fall when I am walking. Well, I no longer almost fall ALL of the time. I still have my moments.

RIDING THE TRAIN TODAY | JUNE 11, 2007

Yeah, they aren't joking about the up to two-hour wait. Luckily, the air conditioner was working.

Now, I just want to know how somebody got hit by the train, and why.

LOST | JUNE 10, 2007

Steven and I lost another weekend in traveling. 300 miles on Friday night, 225 Saturday morning... then the reverse on Saturday night and Sunday morning. Fun events that you travel to - like weddings and graduation parties - aren't be as fun as normal when you are dead tired. Meh.

FRIDAY QUESTION #10 | JUNE 8, 2007

How do you find the time to read blogs, or even blog at all, when you are working a 40-hour week?

Oh, and plan a wedding and clean your house and get a few hours of sleep each night too.

100 WORDS | JUNE 7, 2007

Have you seen this ridiculous list of 100 words that the editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries think every high school graduate should know? I've bolded the ones I knew without looking up for your amusement. I encourage you to visit dictionary.com to look up the ones that intrigue you!

I've noticed how poor my vocabulary is since I have started work and begin many sentences with "what's the right word to describe it..." I am working on it, but this list is just ... fatuous!

abjure abrogate abstemious acumen antebellum auspicious belie bellicose bowdlerize chicanery chromosome churlish circumlocution circumnavigate deciduous deleterious diffident enervate enfranchise epiphany equinox euro evanescent expurgate facetious

fatuous feckless fiduciary filibuster gamete gauche gerrymander hegemony hemoglobin homogeneous hubris hypotenuse impeach incognito incontrovertible inculcate infrastructure interpolate irony jejune kinetic kowtow laissez faire lexicon loquacious

lugubrious metamorphosis mitosis moiety nanotechnology nihilism nomenclature nonsectarian notarize obsequious oligarchy omnipotent orthography oxidize parabola paradigm parameter pecuniary photosynthesis plagiarize plasma polymer precipitous quasar quotidian

recapitulate reciprocal reparation respiration sanguine soliloquy subjugate suffragist supercilious tautology taxonomy tectonic tempestuous thermodynamics totalitarian unctuous usurp vacuous vehement vortex winnow wrought xenophobe yeoman ziggurat

How many do you know?

UGH | JUNE 5, 2007

If a couple is immature enough to have an argument about something as irrelevant as MySpace, then they probably shouldn't be getting married in the first place.

And this was in the Chicago Sun-Times today.

OUT OF THE LOOP | JUNE 4, 2007

I may have figured out what that personality test that I took for work meant when it said I was too "trustworthy." Sometimes I find out things about people that really surprise me. I think I expect the best of people, and am extremely surprised when I find out otherwise.

I was telling Steven that I was surprised that the test rated me as too "trustworthy," because I have a really hard time trusting other people to share in tasks - at least I did before. Maybe that test was picking up more on my trust of people's moral behavior rather than their professional behavior.

REAL PERSON | JUNE 3, 2007

I am so close to being a real person - I work 40+ hours a week, I have a monthly train pass for my commute, I received my first real paycheck, I don't have any free time and I rarely see Steven...

The only thing holding me back is that I haven't started paying bills yet. But Steven and I are working on figuring out how we are going to organize our finances. I sure am lucky to be engaged to someone so organized!

FRIDAY QUESTION #9 | JUNE 1, 2007

What do you think of all the current artists doing covers of older songs? (i.e. Fergie's cover of The Temptation's Get Ready, Gym Class Hero's cover of Supertramp's Take a Look at My Girlfriend, every song Gwen Stefani has produced in the last 4 years...)

If I realize it is a cover, I usually don't enjoy it. If I don't realize it is a cover, I usually find it fun!

Sometimes you don't even realize it is a cover because it is artfully done; then it is catchy.

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