Don't Ask Me to Make A Decision

Outside of work, I am a very indecisive person. I once spent 45 minutes at Nordstroms (the happiest place on earth) trying to decide if I wanted pink or purple Uggs. In the end, my father became angry and told me to decide or he would for me - so I went with the pink ones - and then went back and got the purple ones on super sale :) When out with friends, I'll often provide options of what to do and when they cannot decide, I often find myself unable to decide either. I tell them it's "ladies choice," but that doesn't seem to make any difference.

The reason I'm indecisive is that I'm a product of habit. Ask anyone who knows me. I get up about the same time, I put my clothes and make up on in the same order, I usually prepare the same lunch during the week and the same dinner at home. And I come from a very brand loyal household. I don't have to decide between what brand is best because I buy what my parents buy and I have bought for the last few years. Advertisers would be smart to hook my family because we'll never leave you! I love Yoplait, I only brush with Sensodyne (thanks to my root canal) and use Reach toothbrushes. Tide is the only detergent in my apartment and Jif is the only peanut butter for me. That's not to say I'm against trying something new, but it's hard to commit when you have that connection to something that you've used for years because I tell everyone I know about it and how much I love it!

For example, I was amazed when I recently switched from Clinique to Mario Badescu skin care. Clinique was with me through high school, college and my early- to mid-20s. I relied on it to keep my skin in good shape and my rosacea under control. But then, fate intervened and now Mario is my new man. Now I can't live without Mario, especially the Azulene Skin Calming cream, which feels very good on my rosacea cheeks. Case in point my mini-scene at Nordstroms this weekend when the counter had the audacity to not have my Keratoplast Cleansing Lotion. I hope they learned something that day. Don't keep me from my brands, you'll get an earful, just like this guy at Nordstroms did.

Knitting Girls Gone Wild

I'm in my late twenties and I knit...and not with women who are four times my age, actually it's with women I know and who are *gasp* within my age range! What I love about knitting is that while we do knit (for about 20 minutes) we also talk about anything and everything while enjoying dinner from local take out establishments.

No knitting discussion topics are too big or small, including babies, work, STDs, affairs, office interludes, "adult" toys and/or relationships. In fact, tonight we covered on all of these topics. And, yes we do laugh at the people sharing stories on these topics but it's all in good fun. Tonight, Amanda's beautiful daughter Ada joined us for her first knitting session and proceeded to scream and cry the entire time. Poor thing. Amanda called her attendance the "best birth control prescription" and Cassie was nice enough to break the awkward silence and say that she still wanted her own baby Ada one day, which only prompted Anne and me to say that we didn't, which might be partially true. Fortunately, Auntie Me saved the day on the way home when Ada spit out her pacifier and required my quick work in supplementing it with my pinkie finger while franticially digging for the nook in layers upon layers of clothes.

Another good thing about knitting is that time seems to fly, which is why it's very late and I should be packing my bags for work tomorrow. My fingers are crossed that it won't be painfully cold tomorrow morning, however the weather in Miami is around 75 degrees daily so it's time to shave the legs and pull out the skirts for next week!

Guidelines

Speed limits are like food expiration dates - both could be considered to be "guidelines." Tonight on the bus ride home, the bus driver must have been confused because a 50 mph speed limit does not mean you should go 35 mph and then slow down even more as you approach a bump. I appreciate the thought of sparing me that bump in the road, but really, it's okay. I'm tough, go 50 mph.

When I lived in Minnesota, speed limits weren't even considered law or guidelines, it was flat out ignored! My road rage really developed when I lived there for two years and I can guarantee you that any speed limit on the road had another 15 mph added on top of them just to keep with traffic. Even my once aggressive driving has tamed thanks to living in Chicago without a vehicle. I can't even remember how to fully parallel park! That is sad.

While I'm lax on the "guidelines" of speed limits, I'm definitely strict on food expiration dates. Tonight I found a yogurt that expired on January 5 and I was conflicted about what to do, considering Jewel doesn't carry Yoplait Whips anymore. Normally, I would toss it out for fear of food poisoning but I didn't...so maybe I'm not so "expiration date" militant anymore. My parents will be pleased.

Self expression

To the best of my knowledge, no one in my family has a tattoo. Or if they do, it's not visible and that's probably the best then that it remains hidden. My late grandfather had an old-school tattoo from his time in the Marines, but he always said he regretted getting it (young and "stupid" mistake).

In college I went with several friends to get "inked." The most painful was watching my floormate Holli get a holly twig with the word "faith" on her ankle. And when that needle went over her ankle bone, I watched her jump literally off the table. My other college friend Maggie got several tattoos, including one in the middle of her back of a butterfly while she lived in France. That was the only tattoo I've seen that made me want to get one and I honestly have no idea why.

The topic of tattoos comes up today because a co-worker of mine got one over the weekend, which is very cute. I applaud those who get one, especially of something they really like, such as pandas (college friend), leopard (another college friend) and lions (college friend for a third time - noticing a trend?) I applause them because I am a proud sissy of needles even though I uesd to have a total of eight earrings in my ears.

It should surprise almost no one then that I don't have a tattoo. Apparently tattoos and my pearl jewelry don't go together. I think the main reason I don't have one is that I honestly don't love something that much to permanently have it on me. I don't have an absolute favorite animal, sports team, saying, symbol, anything! And no, it's not because I'm dead inside. I can't even go with an astrological symbol because I'm on the Leo/Virgo cusp! Come on!

So if I had to get a tattoo, maybe it'll have to be a purse, considering I love them so much. Maybe that's my "thing." Or the Coach "C," although that might be too much.

To Wisconsin and back!

It's like Christmas. The SAG Awards are tonight and I can finally bask in the award season that has been thwarted by the writer's strike. Time to relax and enjoy poor fashion choices in the glory of HD. It is a great day.

But before this soothing therapy session, Anne and I pilgrimaged to Wisconsin to see my brother and future sister-in-law about wedding invites. I moreso came along for the ride and moral support, plus I don't get to see Andy often so it was a perfect opportunity to spend some time with him one-on-one. After a lovely lunch of sandwiches, rotisserie chicken (SO good) and potato salad (also yum) from PDQ, a Wisconsin gas station, it was down to business. I'm not disgusted about Sunday brunch coming from the gas station. That food was damn good so bring it on!

Anne was also privy enough to see the full scope of my families quirks. Andy is very similar to me, in tone, sense of humor, manerisms and thinking. Few have seen the full range of how similar members of my family are, but she definitely commented on that as soon as we got into the car. From her vantage point, it appeared as though watching Andy and I talk and interact was like watching me interact with the male version of myself, which I'll take as a good thing. And on the way home, Anne paid me the nicest compliment that I've received in awhile, if Andy can get married, then there is hope for me. Love you Anne.

So during the three-hour car trip, which actually only felt like a half-hour on my passenger side, Anne and I managed to solve serious world problems, get lost only twice (once was my fault, I cannot take full responsibility on the other) and catch up on everything big and small. Plus the wedding invites and save the date cards are set. Definitely a great day and a great weekend.

Now it's back to judging celebrities and getting ready for another week!

Day o'indulgence

I love family visits. It gives you a free pass to act like a tourist without any twinges of guilt. Today my dad and stepmom visited the city and we took Michigan Avenue by storm! Lunch at Nordstroms, window shopping, dinner at the Gage! It was a tour de force.

Fortunately we didn't have too many freak encounters, minus the homeless woman on Monroe and Wabash who stared lustfully at my stepmom's fur and muttered that my stepmom had somehow stolen this homeless woman's coat (very untrue). Oh, well there was also the fur protest next to the Apple store too, and trust me, those men and women looked like red paint was just hanging out in their pockets, ready to go. I'm glad to say that we avoided them - I didn't want to have to beat one of them to death with my stepmom's cane if they damaged that beloved coat.

I also successfully launched my "2008 trench coat hunt," giving my "girl" at Nordstroms the heads up to be on the watch for a traditional, double-breasted khaki or off-white one for me. And of course, I got my usual praise from her of "you look so great" (thank you, I do), "your hair looks great" (it does), "your make-up looks great" (again thank you, it does). This may sound conceited, but sometimes, it's just nice to hear someone say these things, even if they do get seven percent of your sale and their compliments are not necessarily true.

Now I'm blissfully enjoying my Christmas gift to myself and prepping for an exciting Tory Burch shoe fashion show in the comfort of my apartment. Tomorrow is Anne and my pilgrimage to Wisconsin - cannot wait!

TGIF!

Woo hoo! Happy Friday! Unfortunately, there is nothing exciting to report for today, but I thought some might enjoy the below photo. Sadly this is not for me at all (honest) - it's for a work gift bag, but it has definitely generated a lot of questions and chatter around my desk.

Liz and Sarah highly recommend this mixed with Coca-Cola. I'll take their word for it.

Still cold - that's nothing new

Today was a kind of cold that I have not felt in...well about three days, since the weekend. It was the kind of cold that made my teeth (minus the crowned one) and my jaw hurt. The walk from the gym to the bus stop was beyond painful.

In other news - I've placed my bridesmaid dress for Andy's wedding. Now it's hitting the gym four times a week (plus walking on Sundays when the weather warms up) to make sure that dress looks as good as possible. Might be time to dust off the charcoal gray strappy heels :)

The news today about economic stimulus checks sent another ripple through the office. A few people IM'ed me about what they would do with $300-$600 on top of a tax refund. I'mdreaming of a Macbook or a Macbook Pro Christmas...in summer!

A sign of winter weather in Chicago

So it's still cold in Chicago, but to help keep me "warm," I find interest in simple signs of the season in the city (try saying that four times fast.)

No this does not include finding joy in other people walking quickly down the sidewalks, bundled up. It's other things, like watching the lake and river steam from the cold air or watching the snow fall from the sky so lightly over Michigan Avenue late at night, when amazingly there isn't the sound of car horns and buses flying down the street. This may sound crazy, but I'm sure a few of you know what I mean.

During this weekend's most recent cold spell, I was walking across one of the downtown bridges en route to a movie when I looked at the river and was surprised to see it frozen in almost mosaic-like triangle tiles. Unfortunately I did not have my camera with me (darnit!) but today when I got off the 135 near Columbus, I was pleased to see that the ice was melting, yet the "tiles" stuck around. I thought I'd even share a photo with you all to show you what I mean.

Just another reason that I love this city, even though I'm freezing my butt off.

Dipping a toe into Chicago's online dating pool

That's right. I've finally put my toe in the shallow end of the pool to test the waters. On Sunday night, after drinking a lot of Chardonnay to drown my sorrows of the Packers/Giants game, I posted an ad on Craigslist. Now this is something my friend Sarah has begged me to do for a while and I figured, why not, especially when she would e-mail me guys posting, looking for true love, and pointing out that I should respond to them.

What I received was overwhelming, over 20 e-mails in an hour of guys e-mailing me telling me that I'm their kind of girl. For someone who has lived in the dating desert, having multiple men clamoring for your attention at once is a lot to take. But, taking a step back, I really read some of the entries and had a good laugh.

For example, read below an e-mail I received tonight from a smitten suitor, "did you know ... there are 20 angels in the earth, 10 are playing, 9 are sleeping, and 1 is reading this sweet messages."

For those who know me, they know that in the correct place and time, cheesy lines like this will actually work! Yes they will! It will make me laugh and win you men an opportunity to buy me a drink, but this...made me throw up a bit in my mouth, before snorting and pressing the "delete" button. I was also shocked to receive multiple e-mails from guys who were "21 going on 27" (that still sounds like jail bait to me) and from many guys who think after reading my posting that "hey girl" in the opening line will work (it won't.)

Unfortunately, some of the more promising possible suitors have withdrawn from the race (apparently my picture wasn't their "cup of tea") but hey no hard feelings, time to try another angle. But thank you to my 20 e-mail senders for the flattering self-esteem boost.

My favorite kind of Monday - office holiday

Yes, today the office was closed in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The wind is still cold although it is less biting than the last two days. I'll take what I can get. Ryan and I went to see Cloverfield today at the AMC and I have to be honest, I haven't been that scared in a while. The handi-cam work only make me nauseous once and overall it was smart and clever. We saw the trailer over summer and was just as wowed by it. Highly recommend - but don't see it at night.

For anyone who lives in the city, encounters with homeless people are a reality. When I first moved here (nearly 3 years ago), it used to bother me a lot, but now, the sad part is that I'm just used to it. It's hard to admit that I can walk by someone asking me to help them eat and not pay attention. I try to at least say "not today" when they ask so they know that I've acknowledged them, but sometimes I wonder if that's worse. Today, after the movie, we were walking down Michigan Avenue near Starbucks and a homeless man asked us for change, and per usual I looked over to say "not today," but what caught my attention when I looked over was his 4-5 year old son sitting next to him chatting idly.

I can be indifferent about these situations once in a while, for example during the summers when I have my "regulars" that I see down Michigan Avenue after work and the gym. In fact, they are so "regular" that this recent summer, the woman who usually sits outside Burberry and slurs, "can you spare some change" (it actually sounds like one whole word), wasn't out and to be honest, I noticed and wondered why.

But it's when I see people on the street asking for change with their kids that it really pulls at my heart. A large part of me still thinks about those encounters for a day after and I wish that I would give money to them. And sadly I would if it had not been for an encounter about a year ago with my dad and stepmom during one of their Saturday visits. I wish that had not changed my perception of giving a few cents or a dollar to someone on the street and hopefully, another encounter will change that again and persuade me to open my change purse.

Until then.

Yes Virginia - it's still cold

Unfortunately nothing to report today. I was basically a shut-in, minus a trip to Best Buy and brunch with Ryan at Francis' deli on Broadway and Wrightwood, which had a surprisingly large crowd for a bitter cold day. Today's only other excitement was re-organizing my purses and cleaning, seriously.

Fingers crossed for more adventures and a more forgiving wind chill tomorrow. Go Packers.

Newsflash: It's cold

It's bitter cold in Chi-town today. But I put on the Land's End "ninja" long underwear under the jeans, strapped on the "Minnesota" Columbia coat and I was off, wrapped up like a mummy. Liz, Anne and I dined at Nordstroms (num!) and took a showing of 27 Dresses (good but somehow missing something - great lines) and now I'm in laundry-mode and rocking the Gap "peppermint" striped pants. Oh it's relaxing time!

In celebration of the cold weather, I've unearthed the Kate Spade "Russian" Maya bag that I bought on impulse last season on 50 percent sale.

After a serious inital case of buyers remorse, its warmed on me, and with the cold weather and being all wrapped up in layers, I feel like Princess Zarina of Russia carrying it. I know that makes me crazy, but seriously the hot pink interior is just a perfect punch of color in Chicago's gray skies :)

Why does a diet feel like curse?

The holidays are hard on the waistline - no matter how many TODAY show segments give you "tips" on keeping the pounds under control. Since Thanksgiving, when I started to get sick with a nasty cold, resulting in a near cracked rib from coughing, I've been having a hard time getting back on my feet. I was a lean, mean weight training, cardio working, calorie counting machine, but three weeks of no exercise has taken it's toll and my heart hasn't been 100 percent back in the game. I go to the gym, which is still rewarding, but it's the diet portion that has me down. I still follow my tracker and log faithfully, but I'm less motiviated to say no to things that are bad or watch the portions. Then as I watch myself go over the amount I should stay within, that just depresses me more.

It's time to take things one step at a time and to start over. I know I shouldn't beat up on myself, but it's hard when you sit inside all day and candy is a readily available in your office. Plus I can guarantee you that the cold weather does NOT help. It frustrates me to no end that I can't seem to get myself back on track, like I was before. But it seems the harder I try to get there, I take one more step back.

One day and one step a time, that's what I have to do and keep telling myself that. And the ongoing wish that I would wake up one morning and be naturally thin is okay too, but I'll go back to the first dream - winning the lottery so I can play tennis and work out with a trainer all day :) That's a good one.

Rant: CTA funding - are we saved?

Well the big news 'round here today is that the Illinois legislature approved the CTA mass transit bill, which means I won't be meeting Ryan at 7:30 a.m. on Tuesday to pack on the Red line like sardines to get to work. Inevitably he'll be crabby and so will I, and that never is a good combination. That's right, I get to keep my 135, 145 and 146 routes home and I don't have to worry too much about a packed ride into work (or more packed than usual), so why am I still so pissed?

Two words: our governor. It makes me more than upset that the transit bill went down to the wire like this because of his BS-last minute addendum that seniors got to ride free to work. I know this will make me seem much meaner than usual - denying grandma and grandpas a free ride while they live on a fixed income, but let me explain. I don't agree with rides being free but I do agree that they should have heavily discounted rides. I have a set of grandparents living on a very fixed income, I get it, but I do not agree with the Governor doing this one thing at the last minute and not even because he's that concerned about seniors. He's doing this because he already looks like an ass for raising taxes, after he was elected heavily-based on his statement that taxes wouldn't be raised. I'm not nuts about paying 9.25 percent sales tax down here, but if it solve the crisis, okay. The Governor all but forced the legislature to approve this bill because if they didn't, then they're the jerks who are cutting the 80-some bus routes and forcing 2,400 CTA workers to be laid off. I wouldn't want that on my conscience.

As much as I believe in the good of people, "elderly" people will abuse this once it's enforced. I know because I watch people abuse the senior citizen seating on the bus all the time and that makes me upset because I will be paying more (when I don't make a lot already) to cover this. I fully plan on telling my dad, who will be 60 this year, that once this is enforced we should ride the bus downtown, because technically he's a "senior" so he should ride for free.

Okay, blood pressure is going down and I feel much more relaxed. But with the Nevada primary coming up this weekend, I could go "batty" again. Time to hit the gym again ASAP to keep me off the clock tower.

Facebook - the new frontier

I never thought it would happen but I am now on Facebook. Of course it's for work reasons (wink wink) but I have to admit, it was like a whole new world opening up! I found people I went to high school and college with who I lost touch with over time and all the cool icons and groups. I am now a proud member of "Addicted to the Colbert Report" and "Wisconsin Football fan," courtesy of my brother, who also couldn't help but mention that I swore I would never join Facebook, yet here I am. It's awesome, check it out and don't be afriad to "friend" me.

Liz, Anne and I went to 1154 Lill on Armitage last night for a "spring makeover event." The last few free events that I had at Lill were a lot of fun, good wine and appetizers and of course I'm surrounded by purses, my favorite thing ever! I did not make a bag last night but Liz did, selecting the new Drea style with a lovely combination of black, soft purple and champagne colors. Very exciting. They even had free makeup consultations and make-up/brow waxing from Beauty on Call. Liz and Anne won a free brow wax, which was Anne's first ever! She was very brave. The Trader Joe's hummus was amazing (must go over there to find it!) Looking forward to the next VIP event, especially with the nice SWAG we got.

Attack of the ugly hats

So tonight on the 145, I was treated to my very own ugly hat attack - a first for this season. Tonight bus ride home featured two faux pas: the Sanjaya and the puppy.

The Sanjaya came on the bus at Wacker and was rocking a knit hat with ear flaps and yes, a faux hawk of yarn. At first I was rather shocked at what I saw and who thought it was a good idea to wear it. I couldn't stop staring at it on the bus until the next fashion offense came on the bus.

Before I tear into this girl, I should say that she could not have been more than 15 years old...I hope. The first thing that caught my eye was a fleece hat that also covered her ears but also had floppy puppy ears, that kept getting in her face. And of course she had a matching pink Jansport with pigs or a pink check pattern on it, I couldn't see. Wow. Let's hope she's just too young to know better.

On a quick side note, I'm VERY much enjoying the Conan O'Brien show since the writer's strike. I'll even be bold enough to say that it has not been this grassroots funny in years. It reminds me of when my brother and I would watch Conan on tape, before DVR and before he became popular. Keep it up Conan, but definitely bring the writers back, I miss my other shows!

Don't be a 135 hater, be a gym quitter instead

So yesterday while riding on the 135 to work, we encountered an unusually disgruntled woman around the Belmont stop. I'll set the scene for you: it's about 8:20 a.m., the bus is jammed as always and people are starting to get finicky because it's the realization that we will all not be in to work on time today...again. So we stop at Belmont and per usual the driver asks us to move back, but we can't because there is no room (where would you like us to go honey?). So we move through the Belmont stop and onto the LSD on ramp, where we slow down because of all the traffic merging at that light.

So while we're waiting, a woman runs up the bus out of no where (for those who don't know, there is not a stop near the on-ramp) and begins knocking on the bus to see if she can get on. I shake my head at her through the window because it's not going to happen and I know that, and she continues to bang on the bus harder, thinking this will just cause the driver to get annoyed and stop to let her on. But fortunately my bus driver did not, she shook her head and continued on to LSD, which caused the woman to begin screaming obscenities and give the woman her stubby middle finger, which was covered by a black glove. I couldn't help but laugh at this because I have also chased a bus at a non-stop, hoping they would let me on and I have been denied (although I never reacted that way).

But somehow, hearing this woman scream "f*ck you, f*ck you," while giving her the finger was just too amusing and I laughed, before having a flashback to the woman who nearly kicked my ass this summer near the CVS on Broadway, who shouted the same thing to me and gave me the finger as well.

Also - These post-New Years exercise fanatics need to stop going to the gym. I know they'll start dropping more at the end of the month, but I'm ready for that to happen now! Last night they totally ruined my workout because I could not get on a machine! And the gym doesn't have "courtesy times" established for peak hours. Not cool. Just face it post-New Years workout people, you're going to fail at this resolution and quit going to the gym so stop being selfish and ruining this for the rest of us. You're a quitter and that's okay, no one judges you, but just own up to it and give me my f*cking elliptical machine when I arrive to the gym!

Thank you.

Golden Globes letdown

For all of you who know me pretty well, this is my favorite time of year. Red carpets, winner predictions, glitz and glamour, all from the comfortable spot on my couch in the living room. And this year I was going to be able to enjoy all of that fashion-fun from in HD! But no, along with killing all of my favorite shows, likely for the season, this writer's strike as also harpooned my awards season fun.

The "news conference" last night, which was more like a bad hour-long episode of Access Hollywood, which I also hate, was painful to watch. Personally, Nancy O'Dell's arms were way to tan, compared to her face, and was it just me or is she still nursing? That part was painfully obvious. It was nice to have the show really clip along, allowing for less time for me to be distracted, but in the end, it was all anti climatic.

I was very surprised by Cate Blanchett, Marie Cotillard and Sweeny Todd's wins, especially that last one over Juno. This opens up my Oscar ballot way more than I thought it would. Javier Bardem and Daniel Day Lewis are a definite so at least I'll know those are locked up. Sounds like I'll need to rely more on my Oscar prediction issue of Entertainment Weekly to help me round out the ballot.

In closing - congrats to the Packers, who will now face the Giants next Sunday night. Saturday's game (in a blizzard at Lambeau) was great. Also, I invite everyone to checked out Linkedin, which Sarah referred me to. It's a networking site, sort of like Facebook for professionals. So far it's helped me connect with an old friend from college that I lost touch with so that is worth it!

Nice little drag queen Saturday

So the biggest news of the day is that a Noodles & Company, my Lakeview treat and Wisconsin favorite is opening a downtown location! Yay! And it's at Lake and Michigan so it's not far from work at lunch or for dinner. This is an amazing discovery. No sign yet of when it's opening, but I'll definitely be paying closer attention after work. This is what happens when I take the 135 to work express, I end up missing stuff like this!

Now on to my next addition that I'm trying to curb, Ciao Bella sorbetto, which was featured this year on Oprah's "Favorite Things" bonanza. I purchased the Blood Orange sorbetto for Ryan (a blood orange addict) as a Christmas gift and got him hooked. Then on a fateful trip to Whole Foods in Lakeview, I purchased the Raspberry flavor and now I'm hooked like a meth addict (which I'm actually not). I crave it day and night. Fortunately it's only 100 calories per serving (1/2 cup - 4 servings per container) so I don't feel too guilty eating it and the color is amazing. I'm actually salivating just thinking about it. So no trip to Whole Foods for me this weekend because I need to try and go a week without it...wish me luck.

Liz and I checked out Wilde on Broadway tonight too - an Irish/American "pub" in our Chinese-food dominated neighborhood. Wait for a table wasn't too bad but you could definitely tell the hostess was stressed and had little control over the crowd. Food was good - can't go wrong with the chicken sandwich. I would also like to go back during the day to see it in daytime with better lighting. Definitely recommend it! Plus, we got to see two drag queens come in. Apparently it was RuPaul's birthday so they were ready to party, unfortunately they didn't want to wait at the crowded bar. I did see them later while walking home though so they still had a good night :)
Gotta love this city and neighborhood.

Quoi? Mon Agrafeuse?

For those of you who don't speak French, today's title means, "What? My stapler?" Yesterday a colleague asked to borrow my stapler and because they're in short supply here (in an office of 500 people), I'm possessive about it. But how could I say no to a VP? Anyhow, I forgot to grab it from the general office she was using and feared it was gone forever, until I showed up this morning and someone (honestly I don't know who) placed it back on my desk. I didn't even know it was there for about an hour! Talk about a New Year's miracle, whomever rescued it has saved me from stealing one from another colleagues desk.

In unfortunate news, I went through my cell phone bill and it turns out that the Sprint people didn't so much screw up my bill and it really, painfully is $124. Ugh, it makes my stomach turn. So as much as I love raging against the machine, I will have to concede and sadly pay it. Back to checking my usage once a week again. Boo!

Sadly, it's been a quiet Friday, nothing else overly exciting happened! The last notable thing for today - I sat next to a girl on the bus who had a massive wart near her thumb and some dumbass who likely just left his mother's basement for the first time in a while kicked my bag (which he should have been slapped for, it's Coach!) Fortunately nothing was damaged. Now I have my eye on an adorable scarf to match my carryall :)

Killing time while looking busy

So today was a fascinating day on NYT.com, just thrilling reading of one article after another. It has even lead me to be inspired to get a Sunday Tribune subscription just to enjoy all of the lovely weekly ads from Target, etc. and to sit with it sprawled out on the couch while I dissect it better than the frog in high school.

For any of you who know me, I have one weakness or kyptonite that makes me stop (often multiple times) in my tracks...purses, specifically Coach bags. I don't know why the signature "C's" call for me, but they do and I am weak before them. According to this article in the Times Style section, because of the rise of European visitors to the U.S. because of the weakened dollar, some upscale stores in the U.S. are actually limiting the number of designer handbags (usually Prada, Gucci or Louis Vuitton) they can purchase at one time or within a specific period of time. The most interesting part of the article was that in Europe, Asian customers were at one time banned from LV if they made too many purchases within a short period of time (especially during the luxury boom of the early 2000s) and they were asking Western visitors on the street if they would go in to buy for them! You bet I will, if I get a bag for free :) Especially the LV Monogram Speedy :)

The second, overly appropriate article for me is about bridesmaid dresses. As you all may know, I will now be appearing as a bridesmaid in my baby brother's wedding in May. Seems scarily hard to believe but it's true. I'm actually really looking forward to it and I'm glad to say that it is NOT at all like any of the dresses from the new movie with Katherine Heigl, mine will be a darker version of "Badger red" with nice beading. Time to get my upper body in shape! Anyhow, it seems that "wear again" bridesmaid dresses are the latest trend and I absolutely agree with it. I don't know if I'll wear mine again (unless some teenager asks me to go to prom - hopefully he's over the age of consent) but I could shorten it or wear it while washing the dishes, who knows! Options are the best thing to have.

So I believe my final thought today has to be on my mediocre bus ride into to work today. I'm rocking the whole, "getting up 5 minutes earlier and not getting distracted by TV" thing in the morning, but today a woman got on the 135 at my stop and pushed her way in because it was crowded, which it always is. Anyhow, I was hypnotized en route to work by her Caucasian Jeri Curl hair with faux blonde highlights as she tried to apply her Nars eyeshadow with a brush while the bus is literally boucning around on LSD heading downtown. People who apply makeup on the bus always intrigue me. It's like watching an accident that you can't look away from. And the best part is when the bus bounces or stops suddenly while they're mid-application.

Until tomorrow...which thankfully is Friday!!

Updated: Friday 1/11 - Thanks to Liz who found a slip in my comment about my brother's wedding. I am still a bridesmaid! And she found a typo that this spell-check didn't catch, thanks Liz!

Why the CTA made me nearly an hour late for knitting

Last night I had a sick feeling in my stomach, primarily because I was supposed to be at knitting by about 6 p.m. and ended up showing up around 6:45 p.m. Why did this happen? That would be because of my CTA nightmare, consisting of confusing the 144 and 143 bus and then a 151 driver who decided to "do his job" and be a knob about it. I was supposed to go to Wellington and Broadway, which the 143 would get me close to, but rather, my confused mind got on the 144, which dropped me at Irving Park and Marina (to those who do not live in Chicago, these intersections are NO WHERE near each other and likely 2 miles apart). So I jump on a 146 to Belmont after a brisk 3 block walk south, which gets me closer to knitting and then alas, a 151 is at Belmont and LSD/Sheridan. I frantically wave to the guy to hopefully let me on, saving time, but he denies me, waving me forward to the stop. After serious swearing, I start walking to the stop just south of Belmont, when the bus driver passes me and blows through the stop. KNOB!!! Mental note: always use TransitChicago.com to check the bus routes before I leave, unless I'm really 100% sure I know the answer.

I'm behind in posting so I might have two entries for today, as I got home late last night from knitting and had to watch the last pre-strike Gossip Girl, which was not as smutty as I hoped it would be, but still delivered for the evening.

I'm also back into watching more of Conan again, now that he's back on without writers because honestly, it's funnier than it was with writers and The Daily Show (now renamed A Daily Show for the interim time) have not been very funny. Sure Jon Stewart's uncomfortable looks and laughs are entertaining, but his comment on Monday about the strike and 9/11 seemed pretty inappropriate. The Colbert Report though...still solid! I would watch that no matter what.

Okay time to check out my Sprint bill, which apparently is $124 with 80-some minutes of overtime use. Oops. Fingers crossed for a printing error!

Blowing through nap time

Even at my late-20 something age, I still enjoy it when my dad worries about me. Tonight, in the midst of terrible thunderstorms in Chicago, Wisconsin and Indiana, he called while I was waiting for a 145 or 146 in the rain to make sure I was okay. Apparently there were tornado sightings between Chicago and Wisconsin and south of the city as well. Of course I didn't this out until I was home and saw the radar online...and I'm glad I didn't.

Now that it's back to work and Liz's office coffee cup crisis is getting better (and an opportunity ripe for the black coffee cup market) so it's business as usual. I'm back to pondering deep thoughts, such as "how do I properly use this eye makeup brush on my crease properly," and "do my newly shorn eyebrows work for my face shape? Or do I now have a more perplexed look on my face?" Deep thoughts.

Before I go back to my issue of Us Weekly and watch LSU hopefully crush Ohio State (suck it Buckeyes!), I say that one of my New Years resolutions this year is to get back on blogging track, to my readers (however many of them are our there), I promise to do better.

Now back to Britney's recent meltdown and how I can be as skinny as the stars, without the food delivered to my home and the oodles of money to work out with a trainer for hours a day and not worry about working....

Happy New Year!

So it's 2008 - and from my very hazy, wine-induced memory of New Year's Eve, it seemed to sneak up on me, slap me across the face and then fade away again. Mental note yet again about over consuming wine at parties. No good comes from it.

On the freak front, I have been fortunate lately on vacation to be leered at by old men, especially at the gym. I won't lie, it's flattering since it reinforces that someone is looking ;) But it's still creepy, no doubt. I was also fortunate to have a homeless man in front of Water Tower's bus stop laugh uncontrollably at me and cars going by, getting dangerously close to traffic and then coming back to the curb. I was almost curious to find out what was so funny , but then I realized that I really didn't want to know or engage in conversation.

In another surprising development, I was asked to be a bridesmaid in my brother's May wedding. Trust me, I was just ask shocked as those who know the entire story. Looks like I will be trading in a black Ann Taylor dress for a Badger-red one. Time to get to the gym and start tanning!!