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By kilax, April 10, 2008 8:03 pm

A lot of umbrellas were abandoned in Chicago today.

When it rains like it did today, I just walk in the rain, sans umbrella. I am that person you always see, looking pathetic, with their umbrella inside-out. There is really no point for me to even bother. I’d just as well get wet.

And… because I can’t help but post these photos, check out the “pothole” my parents encountered when they arrived home from work today.

Is it still called a pothole when it is this BIG? The view of this photo is coming away from my parent’s house – they have to cross this bridge each day to get anywhere – there is no other way into their home (our their one, sole neighboring house).

The barricades were not up when they got home. Apparently, my mother “went to the town hall immediately to tell them about their pothole EMERGENCY.” So the police came out and set up the barricades.

It’s always fun when my mom calls me, all excited, to tell me a story like this. She is so animated.

According to my mother, the pothole is the width of a car, by 3′-0″ lengthwise. She also said it is over 4′-0″ deep. Hmm, judging from the photo, I don’t think my dad is that tall… unless he is standing on a ladder or something?

Anyway, can you imagine driving home in the dark and not seeing that thing? Whoops…

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By kilax, April 9, 2008 5:58 am

“Where’s Data’s yellow foam ball?”

“I don’t know.” Steven looks up from his book. “I don’t remember the last time I saw it.”

“Hmm. Should I get a new one out for him?” I ask hopefully.

“NO! We need to put some of his toys away before we get any new ones out.”

“But why? They are only cat toys!”

“Because they’re ALL OVER the house and he doesn’t even play with them!”

See what an awful mother I would be?

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Hey, I guess my new book only provides 4 idioms per week! Yeah, should have researched that a bit better. I am probably going to spread them out – Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday… or something like that. (Or just tell me if you think I should get rid of the feature all together!)

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By kilax, April 8, 2008 8:50 am

It perplexes me that any pedestrian in the Chicago Loop would run through the crosswalk when the “do not walk” sign is present – rather than wait 20 seconds for the “walk sign” to appear again.

Is the pedestrian in such a hurry to get to work that they would rather risk their life running in front of traffic than be late?

There are a lot of cars in the Loop during rush hour. I have a suspicion the car is most likely to win the race.

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Today’s Idiom: to pour oil on troubled waters – to make peace, to calm someone down

I tried to pour oil on troubled waters, but Steven was so infuriated he wouldn’t listen to me, and continued to yell back at our neighbors.

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By kilax, April 7, 2008 6:04 am

Guess what? It’s Celebrate Architecture Week!

Officially, I don’t know what that means. I know it doesn’t mean we will be having a party in my office. Or getting any days of from work. Or really even discussing it.

I think it was created last year to celebrate (boast about *cough*) the 150-year anniversary of the American Institute of Architects (of which I am an Associate Member… under Steven’s last name. Oops, I’ve created a person who doesn’t legally exist!).

Unofficially, I am going to use this as an excuse to ask you what your favorite building is, and why. It could be a place you’ve lived in, went to school in, worked in, walked by, got arrested in… or never even seen! It could be existing, planned to be built, or demolished. If you can’t pick one, tell me about them all! If you don’t like any, tell me why! Believe me, whatever you say is going to interest me, because this is the dorky stuff I am in to (Hey, it’s my job to be a dork).

Since I am asking you, I must tell you what MY favorite building is – the Sagrada Família designed by Antoni Gaudí in Barcelona Spain. (See my personal photos of it here).

I love everything about the Sagrada Família, but especially it’s beauty and structural system. It is completely unconventional and creative. You are awestruck upon seeing it – whether or not you like it! I cant wait to see it completed someday. In person.

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Today’s Idiom: a flash in the pan – promising at the start but then disappointing

Kim was really excited after training her new coworker. She listened intently, asked a lot of great questions, and showed promise and dedication in her first days of work. Unfortunately, she turned out to be a flash in the pan – not a few days later and she was writing 30-minute personal emails, playing around on MySpace, and searching for a new home – while at work.

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By kilax, April 6, 2008 7:55 pm

I used to be that woman who refused to buy clothes that weren’t a certain size. Even though the clothing size label isn’t on the outside of clothing, it still makes me feel rotten on the inside to not be wearing “my size.” It’s a mental thing.

So I wore all “my size” clothes until they got tighter and tighter. Then I finally went shopping and couldn’t find anything that “fit.” Well duh. I kept looking for “my size.”

Steven was with me and trying his hardest to help me find a pair of pants for work. He brought me a nice pair of pants and said, “Why don’t you try these on?”

Well, I freaked out. “THOSE WON’T FIT!”

“What do you mean they won’t fit?” he asked. “You haven’t even tried them on!”

“They are my OLD size. I don’t fit that size anymore. I need something BIGGER.”

After I told him, I wanted to cry. But at the same time, getting it out made me feel better. I didn’t feel so bad buying bigger clothes after that.

And honestly, I don’t think I am a disgusting, unattractive person at this weight. I just look at pictures of myself, say, 50 pounds ago, and feel so sad for what I know I can be.

*that is not me in the photo, but probably close to what I look like*

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Today’s Idiom: a pig in a poke – an item you purchase without having seen; a disappointment

Luckily, our new couch and loveseat didn’t turn out to be a pig in a poke! We placed our order based off of a picture in an ad!

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By kilax, April 5, 2008 11:56 am

Today I showed this book to Steven at the bookstore and said, “Steven, look at this book! I think it will like, help me with my vocabulary! And sounding smarter and stuff.”

Alright, that is not a direct quote, but it is unfortunately close to what I actually said.

I’ve wanted to improve my vocabulary for sometime now. And one of my coworkers has an extremely wide range of vocabulary, and I am just a teensy bit jealous…

I bought the book and started working in it tonight when I realized each daily worksheet has a feature called “Today’s Idiom.” Apparently, an “idiom” is what I actually meant the other day when I said “A lot of my older colleagues use figures of speech I have never heard before…”

So, I am going to introduce a new feature on my blog to help me learn the idioms – I will share them here at the end of each post, in a section called “Today’s Idiom.” Well, I’ll do that until I get sick of it anyway.

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Today’s Idiom: to eat humble pie – to admit your error and apologize

A few weeks ago, when Christina and Kyle were here, we challenged them to a game of bowling. After losing miserably, Steven and I both had to eat humble pie. (Steven and I don’t like the taste of humble pie, so on Friday we each bought our own custom bowling ball. Now Christina and Kyle are going to get some humble pie in their FACES the next time they’re here.)

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By kilax, April 4, 2008 5:45 am

What is your relationship like with your family? Do you live in the same town? How often do you see them/communicate with them?

Hi, my name is Kim and I am being nosy. But I’m curious, so what the hell.

I’ve always gotten along with my family – except for maybe two years in high school. Of course, those were my depressed/rebellious years, so it’s my own fault. I can’t imagine what it was like to be my parents then.

My family lives in Iowa. I think if I averaged out all the times I see them a year, it would be 6-8 times a year. But I talk to my mom at least a few times a week, and send a few emails back and forth to other people. I miss my sister a lot.

Steven’s family lives in Kansas City and we really only see them 3 or 4 times a year. We talk to them maybe once a month. Good thing my brother-in-law started a blog or I would have no idea what the hell was going on in his life.

So, I am wondering… is it common to be this disconnected from your family? It doesn’t bother me too much, but I am wondering what other people’s routines are.

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By kilax, April 3, 2008 8:41 pm

Reason #242 I love my mother: She calls me and tells me goofy little stories.

In the middle of a conversation, my mother says, “I called you the other day and you never called me back!”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t see your call! What’s up?”

“Remember when we were talking about how dumb those ear piece [bluetooth] things make people look?”

“Yes.” (Visions of Dave’s lovely illustration pop into my head. Thanks Dave.) “Why, did someone you know get one?”

“No, no… I was in ALDI the other day and I saw this guy wearing one. He was just so gorgeous… he could be a model! I kept staring at him, and when I saw him wearing the ear piece, he didn’t looked dumb at all! It looked good on him!”

I’m laughing at this point.

“So, I guess if you’re really HOT,” she continues, “they look good on you! But if you’re kind of goofy-looking to begin with, you just look even goofier wearing one.”

Ha ha. Does anyone else think it’s funny to hear a parent describe someone as “hot”?

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By kilax, April 2, 2008 9:39 pm

A few bullets for you:

• Regarding our noisy and disruptive neighbors: We’ve been in contact with the owner of their townhome, the management company, and our townhome association. Each of them expressed concern and had a course of action they would follow to try to take care of it. We’ll see how noisy the neighbors get this weekend…
• I received the last government issued ID card in the mail I signed up for using Ilax as my last name. So now I don’t really have any excuse not to change my last name now, unless… it will mess up my stimulus check?
• Until now, I haven’t used anything I learned in college in real life. But I just started working on a major library programming study – something I actually dabbled in a bit in school. A friend and I designed a Mediathéque in Montréal (click here and here). I am excited to work on something new at work.
• A lot of my older colleagues use figures of speech I have never heard before… therefore, I have no idea what they are talking about when they try to emphasize something…
• Every time we buy a new bag of cat food for Data, he acts all snobby the first time we feed it to him. He’ll wait hours before he eats it. HOW DOES HE KNOW IT’S FROM A NEW BAG?!
• More and more, I wish I could just write whatever I want here, with out being so completely vague sometimes. I have a lot I would like to say.

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By kilax, April 1, 2008 5:47 am

An excerpt from a recent email to a friend I knew in high school:

“Working is treating me good… but I am really busy and feel like I never have time to relax. I can’t believe this is what being an adult’s all about. I really don’t think I am cut out for this lifestyle – at least for the next 40 years! Ha ha. I need more time to have fun. I like to have fun. I am not so good at being serious ALL THE TIME – which is funny – all my classmates in college thought I was really serious, but really, I just didn’t click with many of them. Yikes, I’m such a bitch.”

(Part of) Her response:

“I am glad to see you love your job…even if it is a part of being an adult!! And I find it quite hilarious that you are having a tough time being an adult…you were always in such a rush to get there and be on your own. More time for fun should be a requirement in ALL our lives!”

I barely keep in touch with two of my friends from high school. And that is through email alone. And I didn’t talk to either of them for at least a few years in between.

So what’s wrong with me that I lived in the same town for over 17 years and couldn’t make any friends?

Because, like my friend said in her email, I was always in a rush to grow up and be independent. I am not sure where that urge came from, but it is what drove most of my decisions, resulting in me not having many friends, and being withdrawn. And uptight. And stressed out.

I had a great first year of college. I met Steven and… spent all my time with him. I didn’t take the time to make any new friends, even though these were people I would spend the next five years of school with. I don’t regret it, but it also means I really didn’t have any close friends.

Steven moved to Chicago after my freshman year and we spent the next four years in a long distance relationship. I’ll admit – it was hard at first, just because I felt lonely. But then I started to focus immensely on my school work and that occupied my time, and of course, kept me from taking time to make friends.

So, for the first part of college, I was actually serious and uptight and very anxious. I had a very full schedule and was too stressed out. I never did anything fun. I turned down invitations to work on school stuff (which is why they probably thought I was serious). By the beginning of my junior year I kind of snapped from all my of anxiety and nervousness. I started seeing a therapist and taking lexapro, an anxiety drug.

I made a very big mistake – I didn’t tell Steven about the drugs at first. I don’t think I told any family members either. I was embarrassed for not being able to fix my problems on my own. I didn’t think anxiety medicine would actually help, but I was desperate to find a way to relax and be happier.

But they did help! I stayed on them for a year and eventually came off them when I moved to Rome – they became too expensive! I shouldn’t have gone off them because of money. That can be dangerous, but it worked for me. The therapy and drugs helped me learn how to relax and be a calmer person.

I realize it’s my own fault that I could not “click” with my classmates. By the time I was able to be a “normal” person they had already formed all their cliques. Everyone was friendly, but I didn’t have a group I really belonged in. Of course, I still have friends I keep in touch with college, but not as many as most people have.

I told my friend:

“It is funny that I used to be so serious and now I just want to have fun and relax. I guess that is a good change for me! I am a lot less uptight. When I started college, I was still really stressed out and serious, but it became too much for me, and I started taking anxiety drugs to calm down. It actually really changed me. I got off them after about a year and still feel much better. It’s nice to think that prescription drugs DO help sometimes.”

I am writing this because that email just started me thinking about all of that again. And I just felt like it is something I might share. I think it explains a bit of who I am.