a view from my 'hood

Thanksgiving

The Lights Festival

The Lights Festival on Michigan Ave.  

The Great Flood of '08

It's been a long week. 

Last Sunday I awoke, ate a healthy breakfast, and geared up for my usual weekend workout.  As I was headed out the garage door, I noticed that the shower curtain in the downstairs bathroom was drawn shut.  "Some night when I come home late; that's going to freak me out.  I'm going to think someone is hiding behind it," I thought to myself.  I promptly walked over and opened the curtain, thus silencing my paranoia.  En route, I noticed a single ply of toilet paper floating in the toilet.  Thinking nothing of it, I flushed the toilet and went on my way.

I was feeling particularly spry and energetic that morning, so I drove Petunia to X-Sport Fitness (the preferred gym of the Chicago Bears) for a morning class and a little cardio action.  I wasn't feeling completely exhausted after the class, so I found myself at my *other* gym, Flirty Girl Fitness for some boxing drills.  Only in Chicago can you find an all-women's gym with a boxing class (complete with pink Everlast equipment)  set to Miley Cyrus music.

I digress.  Several hours later, I returned home and noticed water pouring out of the garage.  "Please don't let that be coming from the apartment," I thought.  As the garage door slowly unveiled the source of the cascade, my heart sank into my stomach.  I scrambled for the key while the freezing cold water seeped through my shoes.  Finally, I opened the door to reveal the toilet spewing out (clean) water.  I took a step into the apartment.  Squish.   "Uh-oh".  

At first, I thought the toilet had only overflowed into the landing next to the bathroom.  After talking with Sarah "the Saint" and my Dad, it was concluded that I would rent a wet-vac from Home Depot.  I scrambled to the HD and rented the Wet-Vac, only to find that it didn't properly fit in my VW Bug.  Foiled again!  I struggled with the Wet-Vac for quite sometime before deciding to drive home with the hatch open.  

Just as I got the Wet-Vac wedged into my car with the hatch open, it started to snow.  So there I was: having a panic attack, stuck in traffic, with the snow blowing into my car and in my face.

Priceless.

*Fast forward to me realizing that the water had seeped through the wall, under the stairs, and into Sarah's room*.  (Expletive). 

*Fast forward to me realizing that the water had ALSO seeped through the other wall, under the stairs, and into the neighbor's adjoining apartment*. (Expletive. Expletive).  

Yep.  My neighbors LOVE me, by the way.  They've really enjoyed being inconvenienced by the water, servicemen, and the sound of industrial-sized fans all night.  

Epilogue:

The carpet has been completely ripped out.  Industrial fans and dehumidifiers have been commissioned to dry out the place.  If it doesn't dry out, maybe it will freeze over and we can charge admission for ice-skaters(?).   Fortunately, Sarah is the kindest, most understanding person in the world.  She has taken the "it could have happened to anybody" stance, rather than giving me the boot.  She says one day we'll laugh about the time I flooded half of Chicago.  Here's hopin', Hanchar.  Here's hopin'.

  

Michigan Avenue

Good news.  I'm employed.  Eddie Bauer hired me as a seasonal associate at their Michigan Avenue store.  It's nothing fancy, but it will get me through the holidays and still allow me to audition...yadda, yadda, yadda.  

I'm mostly excited because Michigan Avenue will be beautiful for the holidays.  There is a big, festive parade with my old friend, Mickey Mouse, and it appears to be quite the event.  The top picture is of the Eddie Bauer I'll be working at- it's gigantic!

*Nerd Alert*

As it turns out, Eddie Bauer was a real person.  He actually invented/patented the first goose down coat and outfitted Jim Whittaker in his journey to the peak of Mt. Everest.  I'll have to take employee discount and go scale a mountain now...

  

Anish Kapoor's Cloud Gate Sculpture

Millennium Park

Today I walked through Millennium Park.  It was lovely.  You should do it sometime.  

Tails of the Rat

Today I saw my first rat.  I was completely calm and rational about it...

That's a bold-faced lie.  I totally flipped out.  

First, let's discuss what he did not look like: 

Aww.  Ratatouille!

 

 Rizzo :)

Jaq and Gus Gus

No, no...  I saw this guy's twin brother:

Plague-Carrying Demon, Spawn of Satan, Rodent

Now if only I had a giant marble, bathtub, plastic shoe, bucket, and a rubber band...

I suppose I could be over reacting.  In all fairness, the rat was outside, and across the street posing no immediate threat to me or Buster.  I guess I should have a teensy bit of empathy for the guy, I mean in the Chinese horoscope sense, I, too, am a Rat.  As a matter of fact, 2008 is the "Year of the Rat".  Maybe he was having himself a celebratory parade for which he was the grand marshall... awww, okay, Rat.  You win.  You stay on your side of the street and I'll stay on mine.  We Rats only have until January 25th, and then it's the Ox's year. Rats!      

All I ever needed to know, I learned from Kermit

 Shout out to Sarah, Jess, and Mary.  I miss you girls.

Muppets Saying Goodbye - video powered by Metacafe

All bundled-up.

One of my favorite things about Chicago is getting all bundled up in cutesie sweaters, coats, tights, jackets, thermal underwear, gloves, hats, and scarves.  (Okay, I lied.  There is nothing "cutesie" about thermal underwear).  I've discovered that there is an art to layering up.  One carelessly layered sweater and you're not only unfashionable;  you're in a thermal straight-jacket.

I'm particularly proud of this little ensemble because it is what I wore the first time someone asked ME for directions.  That's right... I'm blending it.  Watch out.

Barackin' the suburbs just like Michael Jackson did (what?...they're both half white)

I guess I'm pretty glad that Barack is our President elect.  I was out pounding the pavement looking for a job today, and then I remembered that we're all about to be socialists... so I stopped for lunch.  

I stopped at Camille's cafe, a little sandwich and salad shop on La Salle.  It was raining and my umbrella had snapped in half (future shiv), so I was ready for my Bolshevik Break (see Socialist joke above).  Somehow, I keep getting turned around downtown and have to ask the question "Which way is the lake?".  I carry a map with me, but I like to maneuver on my feet.  Did Lewis and Clark have a detailed map?  No!  Hmm, they did, however, have a Native American guide...I'm pretty sure I could find one on the Southside for cheap.  I'll look into it.

Nevertheless, job search 2008 is on!  I've applied at retail stores around the city, and a few legit jobs on Monster.  I'm slightly commitment-phobic when it comes to jobs.  I HATE having to quit, so it puts a lot of pressure in finding the right job from the get-go.  

Time for yoga!  Namaste.

Here are a few pictures of my room featuring my recently assembled IKEA furniture (not shown: piece of crap IKEA manual).  I also wandered up to the roof of my building today... Check out the wicked view!  I had to hold on to my hat- literally.  Oh, and don't be confused by the tank top- there is a possibly snow flurry as soon as Saturday.   

Goodbye Sally, Hello Petunia.

I made it.  Chi-town is mine for the taking.  Watch out Oprah- there's a new ambitious, black woman in town... and then there's me.    

Day #1: Buster's Great Escape.  

Buster made a break for it.  While Mom, Dad, and I were moving boxes up the stairs and into the apartment, Buster saw his window of opportunity and bolted.  My fuzzy-faced little guy scrambled through the gap in my porch fence, down the hall, down the stairs, across the parking lot, and squeezed through the only hole in a chain-linked fence.  As it turns out, my Dad is actually (insert your favorite superhero here).  In a flash, Dad was in the parking lot; hopping the chain-linked fence like a 16 yr old hoodlum running from the cops.  Buster was captured and returned safely to my new abode.  A not-so inexpensive trip to Home Depot and Petsmart was made.  The loft is now a Canine's Alcatraz; even Lassie would be screwed.  

"Mustang Sally, you better slow that Mustang down..."

One of the perks of Sarah's awesome loft is its garaged parking spot.  Holy cow. The spot alone is a tight squeeze, but factor in the 3 cement pillars, brick wall, and other cars and I might as well be playing parking mine-sweeper.  *x-ed out exploded, frownie-face*.  Sally, my aptly named Mustang, in all of her sleek, baby blue beauty, could barely fit.  At a 187.5 inches in length... it just wasn't happening.  Another not-so inexpensive trip, this time to Carmax, has brought me the joy of Petunia- my neon green VW Bug.  Petunia is 160 inches long, a far less-wide.  Her previous owner suped her up, so she's extra sassy under the hood.  

IKEA. 

I put together my dresser, bookshelf, tv stand, and bed... If I ever have to look at another long, flat, over-sized  IKEA box of nonsense, it will be too soon.

 I conquered IKEA and therefore I can do anything.

Peace, Chicago.