Poison B & J...

Today for lunch, I get to starve. A tiny 100 Calorie Packet of Goldfish and water. No, I am not on a starvation diet, merely counting points. I had a lovely PB&J ready to eat, took one bite and realized something about it was off. It tasted like chemically poisony.....soap? Maybe. My hypothesis is:

There were some drops/puddle of standing water in the Glad container I put the sandwich in. This water was leftover from the dishwasher. And soaked into my sandwich. I have absolutely no proof of this. A PB&J gets a little oogy after sitting around for a while, so any dampness could be attributed to that. Either way, I can't eat the sandwich. And to be safe, I'm throwing away the sandwich and container.

So why only the goldfish? Well, I am counting points, so the only feasible lunch is Subway. And according to weather.com, it "feels like 103" out right now. So I absolutely refuse to walk around out there just for a sandwich. My options in the building are basically a donut or Sbarros. And I refuse.

Sure, walking home in the predicted "feels like 106" after work on an empty-ish stomach is not smart.

I know posting about the heat is annoying, but has anyone else noticed that is is cooler in Arizona right now?

Go ahead be gone with it...

The two books I'm reading right now are The Lovely Bones and The DaVinci Code. Last night I had a nightmare where my brother had murdered some girl and then my Mom was like, Ok, let's wait until the police figure it out. But I just knew he was going to murder her next and she would not turn him in. This is the reason I don't read two serious books at once. And really, it's not just because of the nightmares (although I'd rather NOT have nightmares) but also because I find thriller-esque books sort of tedious. I know some people probably like the whole idea of "what will the next clue reveal," but I'd rather read a book that is character driven any day of the week. So yeah, I'm moving through DaVinci Code fairly quickly mostly just because I want to be done with it.

So for a while I was imploring Justin Timberlake to get his act together and rejoin the world of music. Now that he has, I'm not sure what I think. Sure, the song is catchy. But do I like it? I don't know. Makes me nervous about the rest of the CD. Oh, and the video is really stupid.

I'll be dreaming my dreams...

I always know I'm being fairly good on my diet when I start dreaming about sweets. Last night it was donuts and cupcakes. I was shopping and I left my donut on the counter and someone ate all around the edges leaving me this sad shell of a donut hole. I was so upset (I just wanted my donut damnit!) and the store agreed to give me another. Only they didn't have any. They only had cupcakes. So you see, donuts and cupcakes in one dream, two of my favorite things.

The brother is currently having his tonsils cut out. Send some happy, positive thoughts his way...

I love this.

Book quest update...

So, since that last post (2 days?) I finished the Alchemist. I made the mistake of reading part of the foreword, which turned me off from the get-go. The foreword was all hype for the book. Ie: I never thought the book would get so big, Julia Roberts loved it, President Clinton was pictured with the book etc. Written by the author. I felt a little pukey reading this guy talk about how big and awesome his book became and how he never expected it.

Then the book. Maybe I'm cynical (ok, no maybe. I am cynical) but I really thought the book was a bunch of hooey(who says that?). I mean, sure the story was nice: a boy following his dream. But it was so Godly and preachy. I mean, it was like being involved in a long conversation with a really dippy philosophy student who just wants to talk about how everything in the world is connected but having no say of your own. You can't really argue with a book as you're reading it. And sure, it's nice to think the world has a soul, that we're all part of the soul, etc, etc. But I'm cynical and it just didn't pierce my cynical shell. It sort of annoyed me.

Now people who read the book and loved it can condemn me. Which could be fun.

Next up: The Lovely Bones.

Since last we met...

• I spent a day with two of my high school girls and had an uproariously good time. We also saw a boy from high school, his wife and their baby. Growing up is weird. Talked a lot about how old we are, especially since one of the girls is getting married next summer. A year from Thursday. Scary, huh Kate?
• I did all my laundry (Ok fine, my mom did all my laundry. While I was with the high school friends talking about how grown up we are. Eeerrr, grown-ups still have their mom do their laundry occasionally right?).
• Went to a fine art fair.
• Did some homework.
• Avoided some reading for my class.
• Watched in awe as Mona jumped about 5 feet in the air trying to catch a twist tie (her favorite toy). I think her body was at least at the height of my head.
• Since I last updated about Time 100 I have finished two more books (hell yeah!), Invisible Man and Ragtime. Both were a good read. Such a relief from Infinite Jest. Next up: The Alchemist.
• I walked all over the "Sheffield Garden District" on a garden walk. A few hours in the sun, no sunscreen and absolutely no difference in skin tone. I am a pasty, white, non-tanning mutant. My power is the ability to stay so white.
• Not only do I knit and purl, I also bind off and cast on (I believe we were taught the long-tail method). Tonight we might be trying lace, cabling, and most definitely learning how to correct errors/dropped stitches.

I believe that the blogging will be this sporadic until September. Possibly, depending on the course load, until after Thanksgiving.

Tired. Lazy. Revisit....

Ok, so here we go, time for a lame cop-out blog entry. I strive to keep my usual readers around (who are you by the way? There must be at least 20+ of you that read this daily and I know maybe 6 people who openly read this). Anyway, class has started now. I'll be busy with programming and reading 4 chapters a weekend. My blogging might fall off. Here's something easy to do that I saw here:

Revisit the 26 of 2006
Items in italics are done/being done

1. Go on at least 3 dates (with 3 different people).
2. Learn how to html, and therefore revolutionize my blog.
3. Exercise fairly regularly. And if not that, then at least sometimes.
4. Move my square of city exploration out a bit more - some places I'd like to explore are Wicker Park, Boystown, even just Lakeview.
5. Cook a meal at least once a week. Even if it is tacos every other week.
6. Go see the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and a ballet somewhere.
7. Convince my sister and S to move to the city.
8. Have a friend (make a friend?) in the city (sister does not count).
9. Buy another Frank Lloyd Wright cross-stitch, finish it and frame it to help with #10.
10. Put more items up on the walls - blank walls = boring walls.
11. Visit somewhere I've never been..
12. Be better with letter writing. I was not up to my usual high volumes of mail. I'd like to send something to someone about every other day.
13. Thorough spring cleaning.
14. Watch 3 new movies a week (this is highly improbable, but I would like to do it). --I'm close with this one...really, really close.
    
15. Try the Salt & Pepper diner, Sweet Mandy B's, that pancake house on Clark, just try some new food places.
16. Get an assistantship (this will have to be late 2006).
17. Have a high GPA - but NOT be insanely stressed.
18. Lose holiday weight and keep it off....in other words, stay true to the points.
    
19. Go to another hockey game or two.
20. Pay more attention to politics/world news. this one is a toss-up. I'm better than I was, but not great.
    
21. Start taking vitamins.
22. Visit the Mooj more since my brother is going to be leaving for college (SCARY).
23. I'll build on #22 and say: see each family member at least once each month. Although the brother might be too hard...
24. Think before I speak (a little more) or tone down the brutality of my honesty.
25. Fall in love (please?).
26. Keep on top of the clutter/stay organized.

Not too bad. Not too good either. #2 will be done by the end of November. I was good with number 3 for about 2 months. Will have to start up again.

For number 18, I vow:

Dear Diet,

It's been so long since we've been together! Your points and crappy snacks...I can't say that i've missed you. But my spare tire/buddha belly/pooch has. I have plans all weekend. Rendevous on Monday? This time we'll be together forever (right?).

Katie

The douche of the United States of America...

Do you ever read about George W. or hear about him and NOT think, wow, he is a douchebag? Because honestly, wow. He is a douchebag.

If USA Today is to be believed (I'll assume they have their facts straight) "Polls show as much as 70% public support for embryonic stem cell research."

Maybe my personal view of the president is wrong, but isn't he supposed to represent us? The citizens? I thought he was supposed to make decisions (oh, that great decider) based on what is best for this country. And ultimately, what this country thinks is best should be what he thinks is best. Is this incorrect?

So how is it that the Senate passes (with ALMOST the 2/3 majority needed to circumvent a veto) legislation that will move ahead science, 70% of us out here think it's a good idea and Bush thinks "Oop, time to pick up my veto pen?" And really, is it surprising that it all stems (ho ho hee hee, baaaad pun) from his religious beliefs?

Workplace of doom...

For those of you who don't know, I'm one of the privileged few who don't have a phone on their desk at work. Seems barbaric no? Possibly the only cubicle in the Loop that doesn't have a phone.

I also walked into one of the bathrooms on my floor 20 minutes ago and it was sauna-like in temperature. Bathroom + humid heat = smelly horribly place to be.

And I just had to dump some warm water in the sink of our work kitchen, at which point I saw stuff that you just shouldn't put in the sink at work. More tupperware than you can imagine. And, a weird, red liquid filled sauce container from McDonald's. Is their Sweet & Sour Sauce red? Why is an open, used plastic McDonald's sauce container in the sink? Is someone cleaning it to reuse it???

These (possibly from that exact date) are what I found in my crisper. Some of them were still apple shaped, although wrinkled like old men. A few of them were moldy piles of skin. Surprisingly they didn't smell like anything. You'd think there would have been a strong sour apple smell (sort of an overstrong apple cider gone bad is what i imagined). I'm fairly sure I even held the bag (the apple bag was still in the drawer, which made cleaning 1 billion time easier) up to my nose. I'm a smeller, what can I say?

The lengths....or post number 400...

Disclaimer: I am 93.25% sure that the main person this post is about does not read this blog.

Recently friendship and all its incarnations have been front and center in my daily brain muck. A lot of different thoughts. But today, this one: how far should one go for a friendship?

There is one friendship of mine that I am the one always taking the steps to keep in touch. As sort of a test, I stopped getting in touch with said person. And haven't heard from person since. If i were to contact now and question this, the reply would be "well, you didn't get in touch with me either." I've heard it all before.

As I'm getting older, friendship seems harder to keep and harder to make. Losing one sucks. Which is why I was going to great lengths to keep it. But the idea of grasping/hanging on with a death grip to someone's arm (it's how i view it) to keep them around is a drain on me and kind of sad.

The worst part of it all is that I know I am bad at getting in touch with people. And I wonder if someone feels that way about me, that they put in all the effort and I just float along.

PS- post number 400! That's a lot of shit I've been spewing onto the internet...
PPS- info about the fridge crisper next time

Time to question my homemaking skills...

My mom, after lending her time and SUV to my new Ikea bookcase, wanted a diet coke to take on her return trip to suburbia. I had an empty 12 pack in the fridge but no coke. At that point I took a close look at the fridge and noticed a really sticky, jelly-like substance on the bottom shelf. The sister had mentioned it on Wednesday but I ignored her. After throwing away the empty 12 pack I decided to chip away at that substance. At this point the fridge is so bleach wiped it's frothing.

Then I made the mistake (or had a stroke of good luck?) of opening the crisper.

I think I'll leave you in suspense here. Next time I'll tell you what I found in that crisper and how old it was. Any guesses?

Rumbling...

Every five or so seconds the building is sort of rumbling. Sort of earthquaky. Maybe it's just thunder? Maybe the sisters (not using slang, literally sisters. As in nuns) next door are going full steam ahead with their construction. All I know is that this is an old building. And when it feels like it's shaking a little...I don't like it so much.

Is there such a thing as casual friday for the postal workers? Because I swear my mailman just showed up in a tank top (with some kind of hokey surfery print on it) and shorts.

Still rumbling and shaking over here. Ooh, that last one was scary and long. If the building falls on me, blame it on the sisters.

Zinger madness...

There is this delightful little twinkie-like cake called a Zinger. My old roomie, Janet, introduced me to the Zinger. During certain times, times of high stress and times of hormonal hijinkery (no it is not a word, but it sounds good doesn't it?) I crave a Zinger. Today was one of those days (just for your knowledge and in the interest of putting too much information out there in blogosphere/cyber-world this particular instance is due to my hormones. Obtuse men that means I'm on the rag. If you don't know what that means, you're not allowed to read my blog anymore. You're banished).

All I wanted was a Zinger. And my Dominick's was out of Zingers. Shock. Anger. Despair. Solution: Krispy Kremes!

And my Dominick's was out of Krispy Kreme donuts. Anger. Despair.

So now I'm here gorging on E.L. Fudge cookies. It could be worse, but it could be a delicious Zinger. Stupid small grocery store.

Observe...

I knit. I purl. Now I just have to get a bit better at it. Next week I will bind off and cast on (is that right?). And then I'll be on my way...

My classmates (there are 4 of us) are diverse. A trixie about my age, a 70 year old non-stop chatterbox and a 35-40 year old single working woman. The teacher/shop owner is possibly my favorite. Down to earth, kind of funny in a quirky cynical knitter way. I'm very happy with the class and the place. I learned really quickly and Mary (the owner/teacher) took each of us at our own pace. Chatterbox only learned to knit. The rest of us are knitting and purling. I'm on my way to ultimate nerdery.

Possibly one of my least favorite things is the sound of someone else clipping their nails. Not cutting. Clipping. In their office. Sort of loudly and echoing. That shouldn't be ok should it? Close the door to clip your nails.

On my walk to class I passed a woman all in running gear (spandex, a jacket, hair back, running shoes, a CD walkman). She was walking. With a cigarette. Do you think she tells her significant other that she's running and then goes out walking and chain smokes? That was my first thought.

In the grasp of dusk and summer...

I have decided that unlike most of the population, I dislike summer. In fact, my current rank of seasons is as follows:

1. Fall
2. Spring
3. Winter
4. Summer

I love some things about summer: ability to be outside some of the time (it can get too hot), farmer's markets, less school. I don't like getting to work sweaty, the air conditioner, the windows closed all the time or being sweaty period.

On a totally unrelated thread of things I dislike: blank walls. I've been slowly working my way towards getting a bunch of stuff on the walls in my apartment. I just put some of these on the bedroom wall. They look OK (not as brilliant as I imagined, but not bad - painted two shades of blue and silver). I also have these to put somewhere downstairs. I'm unsure of where. My newest idea is to put them in that blank wall space right under the balcony. Anyone who knows the apartment, any suggestions? They will be painted two shades of red and black.

I also just found these corkboard tiles online and really want to make a checkerboard tackboard on the wall by my desk on the balcony. Now I just have to decide about colors...

I am exhausted from helping the sister move. I thought I'd post a no-brainer for you guys just to give ya'll something to read.

5 things in my fridge:

1. Brita (the only thing I really drink)
2. Parmesan cheese
3. Soy milk
4. Blueberries that were fresh from the farmer's market last weekend but are just that littlest bit too old now
5. Sprite (probably old now, was for guests or for the rare drinking occasion. RARE.)
   

5 things in my closet(s):

1. Litter box
2. Christmas decorations
3. Loads of clothes
4. Air mattress
5. Suitcase
   

5 things in my purse:

1. Wallet
2. Advil
3. Orbit bubble mint
4. sometimes a cell phone
5. sometimes a chapstick
   

5 things in my car:

1. Lots and lots of old mapquest sheets/directions. I'm no good with the directions. Usually I just keep them because I'm too lazy to throw them away. But I recently had the occasion to reuse one, so it's good that I'm lazy.
2. Wipes
3. Litter (I keep extra bags in the trunk)
4. Several ice scrapers/snow brushes
5. iPod radio transmitter
   

Nerds form hypotheses...

There is this couple that lives in my building. They embody the word nerd. They have the nerd walk, that weird shuffle. And the nerd clothes - he with a terrible t-shirt, acid washed jeans that are too short. She with the generic stripy ill-fitting top and shorts up under her boobs. They look like they are 12 years old. But I have seen them "carting" their groceries (with one of those white old lady push carts) rather domestically...I am certain they are "living in sin." Both of them exhibit what I coin the bland happy nerd smile.

From this couple and my dealings with nerdling undergraduate computer boys (and girls) I offer the following nerd hypothesis.

There are two types of nerds: angry nerds and bland happy face nerds.

I understand that there are some outliers. But let's focus on the two.

The angry nerds are usually loud and totally obsessed with one aspect of their own brand of nerdery. They are one-uppers when it comes to any aspect of their brand of nerdery and sometimes with anything. Most of them do weird things like wear bowler hats or trench coats. Always, always they annoy in class.

The bland happy face nerds are the quiet nerds. The ones that can be seen with a half smile most of the time. For some reason they look a little vacant (writing complex algorithms in their head?). Barely noticeable almost anywhere including class.

Almost every person I can remember from my last batch of classes can be classified. If I had to judge me in class I'd be a bland happy face nerd.

Just FYI, the definition of nerd is: A person who is single-minded or accomplished in scientific or technical pursuits but is felt to be socially inept.

Book quest update...

I know I've been a bit boring lately, but we're in the heart of summer here. So I'm either running around and doing stuff like crazy...or alternately sitting doing absolutely nothing. It's been nice to have so much down time. But at the same time, I did get a little bored today. In a month or less, I'm sure I will look back at this day fondly, wishing desperately to be bored again. But today, eh, not so much fun.

It took me 3 months to finish Infinite Jest. I have already finished a Time 100 book since. It took a week and a half? Just goes to show that Infinite Jest really was a long, trying struggle. Sure this book was about 1/4 of the length of Infinite Jest and half the actual physical size (less words on each page) but still. I flew through it. I just finished Under the Net by Iris Murdoch. I actually liked it. It was sort of a caper book, sort of just general fiction.

Anyway, the Time 100 has been increased by 22 books. We added the 30 books that librarians think you should read before you die - in actuality it was only 22 because there were 7 overlapping books and the Bible. Unlikely that any of us would completely finish the bible. So now there are 122 books to read - and instead of the Time 100 I'll call it the Book Quest. So far I have only read 28. 94 left...

At this rate I'll be done about 2 and a half years from now...