The best summer job

When I was in high school and college, I had a lot of menial summer jobs. And I viewed almost all of them the same why, as a short-term stop on my way to partying with my friends and goofing around.

Accountability and responsibility? No thank you sir or madam.

Oh those were the good old days.

My menial jobs ranged from retail to warehouse work, but the best summer job I ever had was working as a "barista" at Gloria Jeans, a coffee store chain, at the local mall. Spend all day making drinks and insulting customers behind their back? Yes please!

It was such a fun job, full of entertaining co-workers, all the coffee/smoothies I could drink, fresh bakery and trips to the storage area, which I coupled with a smoke break or quiet time resting my feet on boxes. Who could ask for anything more?

Yes, I am a much better employee now, but back then, being a "reliable worker" was good enough. And, most of my menial jobs took me back as an employee because I didn't a) steal from them and/or b) skip work because I was drunk (too often). Both important qualities in a trustworthy worker.

I didn't have to take these jobs seriously because I was going to college where I would meet the man of my dreams and get a degree, leading to getting a good job (only two of those three things actually happened for me).

And while I rocked the jean shirt, khakis and apron at Gloria Jeans, I relished in the fact that the biggest decision I had to make was there was what the daily coffee selection would be and ensuring I used skim rather than 2% when making someone's latte. 

You know, managing the tough decisions. 

The job also indulged my anal retentiveness by giving me the chance to grind beans, making sure every bean was crushed and cleaning the space up with a brush. Seriously, it doesn't take much to entertain me.

I bring this up today because I was fondly thinking of these memories, when you weren't expected to work hard or do more than your manager asked for because, well it wasn't ultimately your responsibility what happened to that store. You worried about getting paid on time, making sure you had enough shifts to save for school and go out.

My how things change when you join the full-time workforce. But now you get more perks, like paid vacation time and 401k. Yes, it's the small things that count. And should I hit the jackpot in the lottery, my resume is ready to go back to Gloria Jeans, where I can kick back and relax.

The question for tonight: what was your favorite or least favorite summer job?

E-mail etiquette: f-you or miss you?

This morning the TODAY show and RedEye both hit on a topic I found very interesting: the tone of your "goodbye e-mail" if you've been let go from a job

Note: I have not been let go from my job nor do I have any plans to leave. But as layoffs become more of a reality for some, this issue did catch my attention.

Most of the goodbye e-mails I've received are the standard, cordial, "I'll miss working with everyone here," type of e-mail, but there have been a few with a more biting, bitter tone. And I shook my head while reading them.

Hey, I've been let go from a job, I know the feeling of anger and resentment that you feel in that moment when you are suddenly losing your income for the foreseeable future. I've been more than tempted to tell my co-workers to go f*ck themselves and that they are all d-bags, but I didn't. 

And I didn't do that for one reason: I might need something from them again. And really, in many industries, it's a small world and that stuff isn't forgotten.

There is nothing worse than telling someone off, only to run into them again when you need something from them. And the momentary thrill of leaving with your middle finger extended wears off shortly after and you can't take it back.

So while some may not resent sending off a brutally honest e-mail, I don't have the guts to do it and I don't think I would even if I did have the 

What about everyone else? What kind of e-mail would you send out: cordial or brutally honest? Or, if you've been let go from a job, what kind did you send?

Does crying make you weak or human?

I am not a really a crier. But sometimes, I get so frustrated that it manifests itself in tears and I don't know how else to express my feelings.

Last week a friend and I talked about an interesting topic: crying at work. Some friends think it's a sign of weakness, especially from a woman, but I disagree. Crying doesn't make you weak, it makes you human. And if I saw someone cry, I would remind myself that they are a real person and may just need someone to ask if they're okay.

Some colleagues and I talked about our "secret place" to go cry at the office, which includes "taking a walk" to a deserted part of the building or hiding in a bathroom stall. One girl had a super creative idea, which is to go to the ground floor lobby of a neighboring hotel, where the bathroom stalls are the size of studio apartments. I've received several crying phone calls from bathrooms and the acoustics are amazing.

We even came up with the idea of creating a "crying room" at all offices for women to go for a few moments of alone time to gather themselves. It would be decorated in neutral colors, with soothing waterfall machines and a kitty poster that says "hang in there!" And of course, assorted make up to help touch up your face before going back to your desk.

Crying isn't something to be ashamed of, whether it's at or outside of work. I'm not saying you should cry all the time or at the drop of a hat, but when the urge comes, it's okay to indulge it from time to time. And if your friends are as loyal to you as you hope, then seeing you show tears and emotion won't send them running in the opposite direction.

I may not be the best at consoling people when they're crying (because I want to help,) but if you need a shoulder to cry on or need someone to talk to, I'm your woman.

How does everyone else feel on the this subject? Are you showing weakness if you break down at work or in front of friends?

Goals for 2009

Happy New Year! Woo! I hope everyone had a safe and fun New Year's Eve. As per usual, mine was spent in Chicago with close friends, drinking way too much and having champagne spilled on me (again.) But there was no crying or bloody noses this year so that's a plus.

And now that we're officially in 2009, I'm thinking about resolutions. Normally, I don't make them because I rarely keep them, and this year because of my list, I'll forgo the laundry list of things I will do differently and keep it simple with two main goals.

In 2009, I want to really do two things: 

• Be happy

• Stay healthy

As a note, I'm not saying that I'm currently unhappy. Overall, I am a happy person who looks at life with a "glass half full" mentality, so to help me stay on this path in 2009, I want to challenge myself (with my list and beyond) and continue working on things in my personal and professional life. And reminding myself that I can't let the little things bother me, it will keep me grounded and focused. 

So goal #1 is to keep being me but remaining happy and content. I'm grateful for my friends, family, good health and a good job, so as long as I can focus on these things, the rest will follow.

For goal #2, well I'm leaving that one a little vague. Sure, I would love to lose 10 pounds and say that I will work out four times a week, but I'm looking at this on a bigger scale. It's eating more in moderation and watching portion control, it's keeping a better balance of healthy vs. unhealthy foods and allowing myself a treat without turning it into a candy binge. It's all about baby steps.

Looking back, 2008 was a big year with big milestones - especially during the summer months - and I'm hoping 2009 is just as good. I learned a lot and met a lot of new people, and I hope the new friendships I've forged are just as strong next year as they are now.

Did any of you make New Year's resolutions or goals? If so, feel free to share them, I would love to hear what everyone else is going to be working on this year!

Key Learnings, mini drunk blog and Chicago holiday traditions

I cannot believe it's the middle of December. Wha? Where are the weeks going? This week I head home and I've already started overpacking. Is that even possible?

Let's get into the key learnings to spare me from finding another sweater to pack.

Key Learnings:

• When you say, "I'm ready to make out," make sure it's by people you want to make out with (unless you don't really care who it is)

• Just because it's "open bar for two hours," doesn't mean you need to drink a full night's worth of wine within two hours

• Men who deliver food on bikes in the rain should be paid double

• Gluhwein is awesome, but drink it as fast as you can to avoid the odd taste

• When your doctor says (with a tone) that you've put on five pounds, do not say, "yeah? you have too," especially when she is pregnant. Oops!

• People are meaner the closer it gets to Christmas

• Baby strollers in crowded, public places are a menace

• When having a celeb sighting at the gym, make sure your CWI's aren't at full alert

• The first taste of caffeine soda after a long day tastes like sweet heaven running through your veins

• When 40 mph wind gusts are blowing at you, tear your hat off and do a Charlie's Angels hair flip. At that point, just own it

Chicago Christmas

Along with the Michigan Avenue lighting, I love going to visit the Christmas Market at Daley Plaza and the Macy's windows. For some reason, I was possessed to visit both of them this weekend, along with just about every tourist in a 20 mile radius...and in the rain. That did not help my cold. 

View of the Market

But I got some sweet pictures and good food, including German Gluhwein, which is spiced red wine. I'm not a red wine fan and the spice tasted a little like lighter fluid, but it did clear some of my sinuses for a few minutes. Score. I also got some cinnamon-toasted almonds (gebrannte Mandeln in German), which bring back a lot of memories from my time overseas. The crowds were awful, but it was worth it.

Gebrannte Mandeln (nom nom nom)

Gluhwein

Also, here is a picture of my name on Santa's list in the Macy's window. Fingers crossed I'm on the "nice kid" list.

Mini drunk blog

Here's a shock, I was "overserved" at my holiday party this week (two of the above key learnings happened there) and I came home, downed a container of cold pasta like an animal and decided to drunk blog. Below is the text from my drunk blog attempt. Imagine me laughing in the background too and spitting pasta. It's sad.

"So right now, I am totally hammered and eating cold pasta to sober up before I go to bed and I'm watching the Office. But it's really not htat funny and I want to see more Jim/Pam before it goes o nhiatisus for a month. I mean what's up with that? I even SMS texted Jenn but she's not answering nad someone got my Xmas card today and it made them happy. That's not normal. Th room is spinning. Cold pasta, I want it to be awarm but it's not. But that's okay.  I love the office, dwight is fuuny. bedt ie."

How was everyone else's weekend? I get to wear jeans to work this week, which I am super excited about, but it is causing me to rethink my casual wardrobe.

Update on my 15 things before 30 list

Shortly after my August birthday, I made a list of 15 things that I wanted to do in the next year, before I turned 30. I called it my "twentysomething bucket list."

It's been about two months since I posted the list, so let's check in with how I'm doing. I could use some help prioritizing things too so please weigh in with what I should focus on next.

(All items that I've completed or have updates on are in bold)

My list:

• Make some amends with my mom

• Wear a bikini in public

• Go out on at least two dates

• Make out with at least three guys

• Volunteer - Obama campaign

• Take at least 2 yoga and Pilates classes each

• Do something totally selfless

• Take a disco dancing class

• Give $100 to charity - see picture below

• Take cooking lessons

• Make a gourmet meal for my closest friends

• Run a 5k - training starts in December, planning to run in the "Race to Wrigley" in April 2009

• Go to at least 12 new restaurants (no duplicates) - 4 so far (Counter, Mity Nice, Vinci, Wakomono)

• Read 10 books - 3 completed so far (Nineteen Minutes, Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse -in progress)

• Go skinny dipping

Hmm so the updates for two months in aren't too bad. I do need to pick up my reading and of course the dating/making out items. Those are a continual work in progress, yet more difficult than I anticipated.

For my charitable donation, I picked a cause that is very close to my heart, breast cancer. My mom's mother passed away from breast cancer in the 60s so I always do what I can to support the Susan G. Komen Foundation and celebrate National Breast Cancer Awareness month.

This year, my colleague Leah was one of three staff members participating in the Breast Cancer 3-Day walk in Atlanta, where she walked an amazing 60 miles in three days. Her hard work and dedication prompted me to donate $100 to this worthy cause. Below is a picture of our "check

 presentation." Great job Leah!

Quick notes: volunteering for the Obama campaign was an amazing experience. I learned so much from it and met some amazing people. I went once, thinking I wouldn't go back and I did every week for over five weeks, plus two weekends. I highly recommend volunteering.

Plus, does anyone know where I can take disco lessons in Chicago? I've been looking online but I can't find any! I had no idea it would be this difficult.

Any tips or preferred things that I should focus on during the upcoming winter months?

And seriously, TGIF. I cannot wait for this week to be over and have a nice, relaxing weekend. Any big weekend plans for everyone? 

Next weekend, I'm in Madison for the Badger game, but given our season, we're there more to "have fun," if you know what I mean. 

Any movies you recommend that I should check out?

Lunch habits

I am cheap and my cheapness doesn't just include dinner and drinks, lunch has also been grouped under this frugal umbrella. I’m not one to make a big lunch at home or put forth a lot of effort in making a lunch for work because I’m usually too busy working to enjoy it when it comes time to shove food down my throat.

Which is why I bring the same lunch to work every day. It’s sad.

My daily lunch consists of the following (eaten in this order):

• Peanut butter and jelly sandwich
  
• Cheddar cheese stick
  
• Baby carrots
  
• Applesauce
  

That is it. Food is pretty readily available in my office so I will grab something small to snack on if I get hungry between courses, but I keep my lunch simple, primarily because it takes five minutes to make and pack in the morning.

I don’t get tired of this "plain Jane" lunch, but I always look forward to “treat day Friday,” when I venture away from my desk and leave five minutes earlier from home because I get to buy my lunch. I consider Friday my, “you survived the week now go get yourself something nice” day, where I join the other people in my office building in waiting for warm, slightly overpriced food for lunch. I am excited about Friday now already.

But even though it’s “treat day” on Fridays, my cheapness comes out in the fact that I refuse to pay more than $6 for my lunch. In my scattered mind, I feel that anything above $5-6 is too much for lunch because then that amount moves the meal closer to being more of a dinner-like occasion. For dinner, I prefer to pay $10-12 for entrees. Now I won’t give up something if it’s over that amount, but in general, that’s a range I feel comfortable with paying. As a single income household in the city, where everything is getting more expensive, I like to splurge, but need to be mindful about when I do it and how.

So I have my “regular” meals that I get on Friday that fall within my lunch cost range and I rotate between them on a weekly basis. I was horrified to find out last week that my favorite Au Bon Pain lunch is now a dollar more than last year, pushing me out of my comfortable lunch cost range, but I might make an exception. It’s getting cold now and I need my soup!

Am I the only one who brings a lunch all the time? A lot of people in my office buy lunch so I always feel weird “brown-bagging” it. Or has anyone started to bring a lunch more than they did before our economy went south? I'm more than curious to see what you guy say :)

Reader note: Thanks everyone for their feedback on my weekend "key learnings" list. I'm so glad you're enjoying it. By popular demand, it will now be a weekly feature! Yay!

Bathroom multitasking

Mind out of the gutter, this is a PG/PG-13 blog - most of the time.

Anyhow, as a busy young professional, sometimes your day doesn't lend a lot of time for things like...lunch hours... or brief socializing. Sure you can socialize with the people who sit around you, primarily by yelling over the cube, but having that one-on-one interaction to chat about the weekend or the Hills is often difficult.

So lately I've noticed a trend in my behavior that creeps me out just a bit. I've taken socializing to the can...literally. It started during my shopping adventure with Sarah where she recounted a hilarious story for me while I used the bathroom and I realized - this creeps me out just a bit. I'm trying to well...pee and all to the soundtrack of my friend's voice. A girl can get a bit of performance anxiety if you know what I mean.

Even at work, I always say hello when I see people I know in the restroom and last week I unknowingly engaged in a full conversation with a friend while using the bathroom, from stall to washing my hands. She even waited for me when I came out of the stall because we were still talking. And in that moment I realized, oh my gosh this poor girl has been talking about Entourage and was forced to listen to the sound of me using the bathroom and then washing my hands. Good lord. While the actual sound of someone using the bathroom isn't shocking, the real question is, what if you had a moment where a "number one" becomes something more? Someone you know, like and hang out with has heard unspeakable things that could be shared on IM or worse, Twitter around the office.

From now on, I'm going to take that extra five minutes and go over to someone's desk to talk rather than rely on a bathroom run-in to turn a conversation from "hey how are you?" to "please listen to me pee." 

It's worth it. I'd gladly come in earlier to avoid those uncomfortable bathroom situations.

When it's okay to steal

When I was in my teens, I had a small "stealing" problem, and by problem, I mean that I would occasionally take things that weren't mine but that I wanted. It was never anything big, usually it included lip gloss or notebooks (harmless) but even as an adult, I still think it's still okay to steal in certain situations.

Now I don't want you all to think I'm going to Nordstrom or Gap or a major store and taking something off the rack - that's shoplifting - but I'm pleased to say I only steal now when necessary and it's mostly for revenge.

For example, yesterday I tweeted that my lunch was stolen in our company kitchen. The refrigerator is jammed packed with stuff, which is why I label and hide my food to avoid it being taken. This is the second time that it's happened lately and it drives me insane. Someone else is dining on my lunch, which I brought to avoid having to buy it, which I'm sometimes forced to do if it doesn't exist anymore in the refrigerator.

So upon discovering that I was half lunch-less yesterday, I did what I think anyone else would do, I took someone else's food in the fridge so I didn't have to go buy something. Is it fair? No. I don't know the person whose yogurt I took, but it was delicious. Do I feel bad about it? No. It stinks that someone else had to be partially lunch-less too, but it's the "circle of life." I can't help that.

Still bristling from yesterday, I was pleasantly surprised today when a) my lunch was still waiting for me in the kitchen and b) someone was nice enough to leave a magical cupcake at my desk while I was in a meeting, but with no note. I won't lie, at first I was afraid to eat it for fear of random lunch-stealing retaliation but once I identified the source (who I trust), I enjoyed it and it was lovely. See kids, it pays to steal. You might come in the next day and have a cupcake waiting for you :) That's a ringing endorsement.

Here's a picture of my "thank-you-for-stealing" cupcake. It's adorable, it looks like a caterpillar, it's delicious and I haven't gotten sick yet, bonus!

San Francisco part one: BlogHer '08

After three crazy days, a run-in with hotel security, a cheeseburger party, damaging photos, many late nights and one early morning, BlogHer ’08 is officially closed for this year. And now it’s 1:15 a.m. San Fran time and I’m blogging because I can’t seem to fall asleep yet. That will be painful tomorrow. Anyhow, my time in San Fran for the conference has been amazing. Truly eye-opening and just an overall a great experience.

It's true that I haven’t been “warm,” except for my time around a microwave and heat lamp, since I arrived on Thursday, but I would come to this conference again in a heartbeat. But next time, I’ll bring warmer clothes as opposed to the “cute cool” clothing, which I currently have. Yeah cotton jackets and layered T-shirts = not a good idea. I should have listened to my friend Sarah's advice a bit closer.

I don’t want to bore you with all the details of the conference but I did want touch on some of the highlights from this part of my San Fran visit.

BlogHer ’08 Highlights:

• Cab trip to the hotel


• My interview with the New York Times


• Bloggy meet ups


• Parties


• Presents
  

Cab Ride:

So on our way to the hotel from the San Fran airport, we got our first real indication that we weren’t in Chicago anymore. Cabs here proudly state that they take credit cards. That is awesome. In Chicago, I have to fight with a cab driver to take my credit card but here, they not only state that they’ll take it, but display the credit cards they accept. I love San Fran!

So during our bumpy ride into the city, our cab driver suddenly pulls over along the side of the road (not in front of our hotel) and a man, who was waiting on the sidewalk we pulled in front of, approaches the car, and slips something to the cab driver in exchange for money. My car-mates, Danielle and Teresa, and I didn’t quite know what to say and then suddenly we’re back in traffic heading to the hotel. It wasn’t until we were checked in and Teresa and I met up later that I said, “hey was our cab driver doing a ‘drug deal’ on the ride to the hotel today?” Now I can’t say for sure that’s what happened but it was O-D-D.

Me & the NYT:

Yep that’s right, I was interviewed by a Style-section reporter for the New York Times. On Friday, the first day of BlogHer, I was really excited to attend the Twenty-Something meet-up session. I met a ton of nice people in my first few days here but I was really looking forward to this meet up to find people in my age range. After the meet-up, the reporter approached me and introduced herself and said she wanted to ask me a few questions. The Times is doing a story on BlogHer and she interviewed me for part of the article. Now I’m not expecting to see my name in the paper (even though it would be awesome) but as a NYT Style-section fanatic, that would definitely be a treat. So fingers crossed and I’ll keep you guys posted when the article runs.

Bloggy meet ups!

Obviously there are a lot of bloggers at BlogHer, specifically women bloggers (shocker I know.) As I mentioned above though, everyone I’ve met here has been really cool. And my bloggy business cards (picture still coming) from Angie were a huge hit. People have commented how “cute” and "clever" they are, to which of course I say “thank you." I’ve collected a ton of cards from mom and 20-something bloggers and overall, I found that people were really interested in finding out what people were blogging about, how long they’ve been blogging and what kind of topics they write about on their blogs. I will be working on adding some of the new blogs to my Reader next week and checking them out as soon as possible. And I met someone Saturday night who already reads my blog, which was a huge treat. I felt insanely flattered.

Part of my Chicago blosse and my new blosse addition: Vanessa

One of the most interesting things I overheard in a break-out session was, "I work in porn, but I don't use my real name. I mean I want to be a teacher one day." Awesome, just awesome.

Famous blogger "run-in:" At the BlogHer Community Keynote speech on Friday night, a co-worker I was sitting with casually leaned over and whispered at me:

"Do you know who is sitting at the table next to us?

"No."

"Dooce, she's sitting like in your seat at the table next to us."

"Really? No way." (Turns out my co-worker was right, so to share this news, I texted a few friends about my fortune, followed by me repeatedly staring at Dooce without trying to look like a crazy stalker.)

Party-time

The time change has been hard over the last few days, but that hasn’t stopped me from partying like a little rock star! Thursday night we went to the Newbie party at the hotel, where I got to see my Chicago blogger buddies and meet a Katelin and Vanessa in person! The bar at the Newbie Party was also very generous – Teresa’s cranberry and vodka was about 80/20 in mix, with the 80 being vodka. Meow!


The hotel was also hosting a People’s Party, which we got to a bit late and thus lost out on the goodie bags. They were really cute too, which made it all the more disappointing that I didn’t get one.

But Sprout was doing a drawing for a gift bag, full of yoga mats, SIGG bottles and kid-friendly toys. And let me say, I entered the drawing only because I know I wouldn’t win. I never win stuff like this but I always throw my card in anyhow. So you can imagine the SHOCK on my face when the woman doing the drawing pulls out a business card and says, “Everyday Adventures of Me in the City? You’re the winner!” I seriously burst out laughing and “woo-ing” very loudly (because of a glass or three of wine). So I grabbed my HUGE bag of stuff and filtered through it in the hallway answering “no I’m not a mom but my friend is!” to people’s questions about my prize. Now, I have plenty of gifts for my beloved Ada, Sarah and some for me too.

Then Saturday night, TNT hosted a BlogHer party and I was particularly excited because, as you all know, I just listed The Closer on my list of “things I love” right now. Gina Ravera (Det. Irene Daniels) from the show was there and I was literally trying not to geek out in front of her.

I had my picture taken with her too, but I need to track it down from the photographer so it’s coming! I’m not letting that slip by. And some of my 20-something peeps at the party and I closed that night club, Ruby Skye, down…at 9:30 p.m. It was a ton of fun, and proves again that Chardonnay for me is very effective in helping me to loosen up.

Below is a picture of the cocktail napkins at our Macy's party last night. I thought this napkin was the most genius idea ever. By day 2 of the conference, a lot of bloggers had run out of business cards so this was a proper substitute to hand out to people. Our Chicago/LA/Texas bloggy group thought it was awesome. I hope someone grabbed a stack before we left the party.

Christmas morning-like joy

OMG I have so much stuff, I’m so glad I brought a big suitcase to take back to Chicago. Below is a picture to show you a sampling of the stuff I got here at the conference. I will definitely be keeping some of it and donating it to my friend Sarah, who is hosting me Sunday-Tuesday at her apartment, and giving some to Yoda Amanda’s daughter Ada. I’m getting Karma on my side by paying it forward here.

So in a nutshell that’s my time at BlogHer. I could go on and on about this for days, but rather than ramble about it, I’ll just say this on top of my highlights. Going to BlogHer was definitely an experience. It was overwhelming at times, but totally worth it. I got to go to some great sessions and meet some really cool people. It wasn’t all play (I was there for work) but the opportunity to go was amazing and I really hope I can go next year too. And I have more pictures to collect so there are more antics caputerd on film that are not represented here.

So what's next? Well while co-workers and blog buddies are flying back to Chicago today, I'm opting to stay behind on the West Coast and get some "R&R" with my buddy Sarah, who lives in San Fran now but is in the process of moving back to Chicago in August.

I’ll be back in a day or two with the second part of my San Francisco adventure: the chronicles of Jess and Sarah. And our adventures are starting with the Dark Knight in IMAX and will likely end with someone being drunk dialed as we sing/scream Journey into the phone. Beware.

Olympic glory & a blog-errific weekend

That's right, I held the torch and I didn't have to run.

On Thursday and Friday, my company was hosting a New Media Academic Summit at Northwestern and I was lucky enough to be chosen to live blog the two-day event. So while my fingers felt like they would fall off by Friday afternoon, one of the coolest parts of the entire Summit was being able to hold one of the official Beijing 2008 Olympic torches. One of the panelists ran with the torch and brought it in to show everyone and to take pictures. Below is me in full Olympic glory.

Once I was done living out my gold-medal dream, it was time to run home and prepare for Chicago Bloggerfest 2008 (unofficial title for this weekend's activities). It was also Pride weekend here so you can imagine in the Boystown/Lakeview neighborhood - where the first Bloggerfest event was being held - what the scene was like. And the blog-errific weekend didn't end on Friday night, we carried it through the entire weekend. 

Below is a full summary of all the fun we had. Seriously, the woman and men I met and hung out with this weekend are awesome and hilarious. Love them all.

Friday - Blogger's gone wild

Friday night, just about any Chicago bloggers (who were available) within driving, train and walking distance gathered at Sheffields for a night of beer and beergarden fun. It was a "who's who" of blogging: Deutlich, Maxie, Joy, Jenn, Jamie, Angela, Renee, Rachel, Kayleigh, Dan Mega, Princess Pointful, Peter, Angie, Veronica (Rachel's sister) and of course, yours truly. We literally took over a corner of Sheffields' beergarden but without name tags, getting the group together was a little challenging. No biggie. 

At the bar, Deutlich and Maxie recounted their trip from Virginia to Ohio to Chicago, which I give them a ton of credit for. I would not have been awake later than 10 p.m. after leaving my home at 4 a.m. that morning. But the rain held off and it was an awesome time of blog stories and laughter. These ladies (and guys) totally crack me up. Everyone had plenty to talk about and got along really well. It was awesome to meet so many people I already "know" from their blogs and find out even more things we have in common. And of course we consumed copious amounts of beer and shots (fortunately I excused myself from that). And Jenn even gave me an awesome card, full of drawings and everything! *Kisses*

Unfortunately, Sheffields' beergarden closes at midnight so we were kicked to the street and we ended up at Clarkes on Belmont (yes that's confusing) for drunk food. Renee was awesome and gave me a ride home and even though it was nearly 2 a.m., I didn't want to go to sleep! Hell no! It was time to download the Swell Season concert online that I went to a week ago and listen to the new Coldplay song I'm obsessed with. Finally, I forced myself to go to bed so I could get ready for Saturday's Cupcake Crawl goodness.

Saturday - Cupcakes and beyond

Since I don't drink beer all that often, I woke up Saturday with a killer headache, but that would not keep me from my cupcakes. Deutlich, Maxie, Jenn, Jamie, Angela and I met up again in Lincoln Park to embark on the first-annual bloggy cupcake crawl and we took our love for cupcakes and open minds to two places: Sweet Mandy B's and Swirlz.

Our first stop was Sweet Mandy B's, which was cute and adorable on the outside and smelled like bakery heaven on the inside. My cupcake was lovely as was my M&M cookie but seating was scarce and presentation was pretty simple. And for noon on a Saturday, the shop was hoppin' with people picking up cakes and sheets of cupcakes left and right. It was a great place but a little difficult to move around in.

Swirlz in Lakeview was our second stop and I have to admit, I was blown away by not only the selection and presentation of the cupcakes but also the service. It was like Nordstroms service but to the next level. Pam, who was the manager on duty Saturday, was just above and beyond nice to us, patient while we made our decisions and nice enough to let me take some pictures inside. She even gave us an additional cupcake to try because their vanilla flavor is known to be so good - and her recommendation was right-on. 

My red velvet cupcake was just incredible (and gorgeous) and Pam gave us free cupcakes cards for our next visit. I'll be back there in a red-hot second. Pam even gave us a gluten-free cupcake to try and compare with the traditional ones. 

In case you don't know, gluten-free products contain no wheat and seeing that I work in food & nutrition brands, I have heard about gluten-free products as a growing trend. I'm pleased to say that the gluten-free cupcake tasted no different than a traditional cupcake - I would not have even known the difference - and Pam told us that Swirlz works with nutritionists at the University of Chicago in developing their gluten-free products, which surprised me, but I think that is pretty cool. I very highly recommend checking this place out. And Swirlz's tag line is, "cupcakes make you happy" and they are so right.

(Lovely lady bloggers enjoying the nice weather and cupcakes!)

(So many wonderful choices)

(Cupcakes galore! - my red velvet one is right above this)

So once the cupcake crawl was over and we were all sugared-up, we moved on to downtown and the Taste of Chicago! Of course it was packed and hotter than h*ll on the pavement, but it was a good time. We walked around Buckingham Fountain and the Taste, where Jamie and I opted to try the fried cheese ravioli, which was incredible, and Jenn, Jamie and I opted to go with traditional hot dogs, Chicago and regular style. Can't mess with that. Both food choices were very good :)

(Maxie, Jenn and Angela at Buckingham Fountain)

And for some entertainment, I'll share a soundbite that Jamie, Jenn and I overheard while maneuvering through the horrible Taste crowd:

Unnamed Girl: So I didn't even know there was a state called Illinois. I thought the state was called Chicago, I mean it is the biggest city here.

I sh*t you not someone said that and we heard it. And yes, English is her first language. Gotta love the Taste, you see a little bit of everyone there, even a guy with a live snack (and not a small one) wrapped around him. That almost beast the iguana on the El.

Millennium Park was up next, where Angela and Deutlich convinced us to lay down on the ground in front of the Bean to take a picture of the group. The ground was hot and dirty but I think the picture turned out awesome so it was worth it :)

By now we're hot, sweaty and "pink" from the sun (yours truly included) so Jenn came up with the brilliant idea to rest out feet in the Park's "foot bath," which was like heaven. The cool water felt awesome on my feet and we all tossed in a penny with a non-boy-related wish. So after a luxurious foot bath rest, we were ready to break up for a bit before a full night of fun began.

I met up with the group again at  Giordano's for a lovely Chicago-style pizza, which hit the spot, and conversation that had me in stitches. Seriously, these ladies and Dan cracked me up and while we didn't solve world problems, there was more than enough laughter to go around. Unfortunately, Friday night and our Saturday-day activities left everyone a bit tired so our post-dinner plans changed and we hit the Union bar for a drink and then broke up to head home. Of course, Dan, Angela and I hung out for a while longer chatting at Belmont and enjoyed the view of drag queens parading around in the rain and talking over the incessant sound of car horns.

My only bad idea of the night was walking home at 2 a.m. in the rain with sketchy and lots of people out. Bad idea. Nothing happened but there were a few times I was a bit creeped out. 

So a big thanks to Maxie and Deutlich for making the trek out here to visit everyone. It was so cool to meet you and hang out with everyone. I miss you guys already! I had so much fun with everyone this weekend. Now I have to find something fun to do next Friday and Saturday nights! And more pictures are rolling in so I'll keep posting them, including some with me actually in them, as they come in.

Oh yeah, I'm going back to Wisconsin this weekend for the 4th of July so if anyone is in the southeastern Wisconsin area then, let me know and we can do a mini-meet up. As you can see, when bloggers get together, fun is always had.

Things that I'm grateful for

So tonight's post might seem kind of random but I've seen other blogs talk about this so I figured it was appropriate for me to do so as well.

I'm not always the nicest, happy-go-lucky person but that doesn't mean I don't know and recognize things that I am grateful for. So I've decided to list them below to prove yet again that I'm not a heartless b*tch - I'm just misunderstood :)

Things this Everyday Adventures girl is grateful for:

• My friends
• Parents who love me just as I am (good and bad)
• A job that I like (the majority of the time)
• Good health (knock on wood)
• Full head of hair (even though it has some gray in it)
• A full, nice set of teeth (yay braces!)
• Being able to live and dress myself all on my own (most days)
• Not having a huge student loan to pay off
• Being able to "afford my life," even though some more money wouldn't hurt
• My knitting group (I always look forward to 10 minutes of knitting, dinner and then an hour or more of gossip)
• All ten fingers and toes (even though my center of balance isn't great)
• Being able to successfully manage my way living in Chicago
• Public transportation (CTA) even if it's not the most reliable (cabs are so expensive now)
• Being able to look at life with a glass half-full attitude
• Finding something new and beautiful every day (I know this sounds sappy but it's true)
• Being able to laugh at just about anything
• No credit card debt
• Being brave enough to leave school in Wisconsin and chase a crazy dream to Minnesota to study
• My blosse :) because honestly when I started this, I had no idea of anyone would read it but I'm glad you all do
  

So that's my list of the really important stuff. I opted to leave off some things that aren't as important as this, like clothes, handbags, etc. They're nice, but definitely not as meaningful. And this isn't a "final" list at all, I'm sure more things will be added to it as time goes on.

Anyone care to share what they're grateful for? It can be anything!

What I want to be when I grow up...again

I've been a kick-a** communications professional (at least that's what I think I am) for the last three years, but I couldn't help but wonder what I would do if I didn't enjoy my job?

Realistically, 20-something men and women will change jobs multiple times in their lives and even change careers at least two or three times. So if I need to start thinking about a second career, what should I be considering?

A woman I used to work with teased me that I would would do a great job in one of the following professions (should I choose to make a career change):

• Guidance counselor


• Game show host (maybe the phrase "no whammies, no whammies" is in my future)


• Stand-up comedienne

I admit, I did have to laugh at the guidance counselor recommendation. When I asked why she chose that profession for me, she thought for a second and said, "you'd keep it real with the kids, tell them when their dreams are too big or aren't realistic." She might have a point there. But as a child whose parents have worked in education, I don't think the school system is for me, although I would love to have the summer off. I've seen how tough it is for teachers and I don't think I have that level of patience in me.

So then I thought about stand-up comedy. I think I'm pretty funny and entertaining but I don't think that's the right more for me either. I have this horrible prophecy about turning out like Kathy Griffin, given that I love pop culture and swear like a trucker. Don't get me wrong, I love her, but I don't want to become her. And since my original choices of being a doctor, Solid Gold dancer and international supermodel didn't pan out, I need to be a bit more realistic with my choices.

Before I moved to Chicago, I had just about given up on my current profession after a bad string of jobs in Wisconsin. My current company was my last chance at making it in the communications field. If it didn't work out there, I was moving back to Wisconsin and flipping to a coin to decide if I should go to law school or nursing school (I think the latter would have won). Fortunately, I came to Chicago for a three month internship and am still here over three years later and things are actually going pretty well so I'll stick it out, but it never hurts to have options :)

Any comments from my blosse about career options that I can add to the list? Someone mentioned "personal shopper" to me, which is nearly perfect because I love to shop and spend other people's money. So that's another one to add to my list of possible careers.

Note: I just wanted to clarify that I'm not thinking of leaving my job, I like my job but always like to hear interesting ideas of what else I could do if my current career doesn't work out long term :)

When parents should(not) call their kids at work

My job isn't always high-stress but when it is, that is the exact moment that my parents call me at my desk to chit-chat. Believe it or not, I try to be polite when I tell them that I can't talk but somehow when I actually say that, it never seems to come out as nice as it sounded in my head.

I feel so bad about this too because I love my dad and I love it when he calls just to hear my voice, but he always (unknowingly) calls at the wrong time. For example, he calls when I'm neck-deep in billing worksheets or I have a serious deadline due to my VP or someone is yelling at me in the background. He'll innocently call on his lunch break to ask how my day is and what I did the previous evening. But because of his ill-timing, I end up barking into the phone, "dad I can't talk right now, can you just e-mail me or call me later?" And it's then that he sighs and says, "okay sweetheart," but I can tell he was just looking to catch up. It kills me every time this happens, like it did today.

I asked a few women in my office about this and they all groaned and agreed that they get calls like this to from their moms or dads. A few women in my office have even told their parents that they don't have a phone at work to avoid them calling at an inopportune time.

"You shouldn't give our your work number to family...ever," one woman said to me, but I think it's okay to share it, as long as both sides have an understanding of when to use it.

Examples of when it's okay to call your child at work:

• You've been in a serious accident and/or are going to the hospital


• Someone we know has died or another family member was in a serious accident


• You're coming into town unexpectedly and I'm getting a free dinner and ride home from work


• You've put money in my bank account because you love me


• You won the lottery and are buying me a condo


• The house has burned down

These are all acceptable situations to call me at my desk.

My dad, god love him, is also guilty of leaving a 5-minute voicemail message in the mornings on his way to work. This message is left on my work phone, which I check when I get in. But no matter how many times I've told him that I don't have time to listen to a 5-minute message and that I delete it after minute 1.5, he still leaves it. A couple of times I've gotten busted for not listening to the entire thing because he'll ask me questions later in the message (i.e. dinner locations when I come home for a visit) and I obviously don't respond (because I didn't hear them). When he mentions it later to me, I end up fibbing and saying the message cut out.

So am I an awful child? Maybe/maybe not. But I'd like to think that on the whole, my positive daughter traits outweigh the negatives.

Follow up from yesterday's "fashion flaw" post

Thanks everyone for the great feedback to yesterday's post, I'm so glad that I'm not alone in this thinking. Phew. I promise that if I bump into any of you on the street and you happen to commit any of those flaws that I won't judge you at all.

I do have to say though, I really hate the ill-fitting sandals thing though. I have big feet so I can't judge others, but seriously, shoes that fit are a great thing. No toes hanging over or heels half-off the shoe. Ick. I am an offender at not keeping up on a pedicure though so even I'm not exempt. I need to take my own advice.

Breaking news: I'm going to BlogHer!

Danielle made my day/week/month today and told me that I'm going to BlogHer '08 this year in San Francisco! I heard rumors about this from a spy in the office but today it became official and I am so excited that I'm running around giving people random hugs. Look out Rebecca.

Now it's not going to be strictly parties and mingling, I'm there in an official capacity, but I am looking forward to meeting other bloggers and finding more blogs to add to my Reader. I've even put the word out to my buddy Sarah, who lives in Oakland - actually the "Lincoln Park of Oakland" - in the hopes we can meet up for dinner one night. I've shared my recent Sarah-experience, but this time it'll be much tamer.

So it's time to get some sun on my pasty skin and get ready to have fun, work hard and try not to geek out too much at the conference. Between the wedding going well and this, my week is off to a great start! So I proudly display the below button in honor of my news!

Let me know if you're heading to BlogHer and you can swing by to say hi. I love meeting bloggers in person.

I'm also catching up on my Memorial Day DVR shows, which includes HBO's movie, Recount, about the 2000 presidential election. In 2000, I was studying in Germany, finding out with the other program students that Florida was too close to call and the US didn't have a president for nearly a month. We watched CNN (the only English television channel) daily, trying to piece together what was going on and how this could have happened. 

If you have HBO, I highly recommend checking it out. It's definitely an interesting retelling of what happened and for some of us, seeing what we missed while partying at discos and being irresponsible.

I swear there is a printer elf that steals from me

I work in a large office at a large office building downtown. I'm fortunate that I have a printer, bathroom, kitchen, copier and fax machine all within close proximity to my desk, just in case I need to get to one of them in a short amount of time. This is moreso needed for the printer and fax machine, but you know what I mean.

Even though this printer is close to me, I still have to share it with with all the men and women sitting in my cube-area. And recently, I've noticed that if I send something to this printer and don't go to get it right away, that it's magically gone. How is that possible? I even asked one of the women that sits near me if she accidentally grabbed my printouts when she picked up her paperwork. She claims she didn't and I guess I believe her, but where did my two-page memo go?

So now the only way I can rationalize this mystery is to imagine a little elf that hides behind the printer and pencil sharpener and pops out when he knows I've sent something to print but that I am not there to pick it up right away. The little elf, who hums a working song, jumps out, climbs up the printer and picks through the waiting papers for my stuff. He then cackles, climbs down the printer with it and goes into hiding. I don't know what he uses my paperwork for, but he has a fondness for my work apparently.

Now I wait by that printer for my stuff to go, and listen for the sweet hum of it warming up when I send a file there.

Stop stealing from me elf!! Pick on someone else for a change!!

Things I recommend: Quitting your job (if you hate it)

For the record, I have not quit my job. Things are actually going pretty well there right now so no complaints here. I'm actually writing this post to give a friend of mine a boost. She's unhappy in her job right now so I want to give her a preview of the euphoric joy she'll be feeling soon enough when she's outta there.

I've only been "fired" from a job once, and even then they told me the news, it was more of them "letting me go" because it was clear both parties were not happy. When they first said, "today is your last day," I thought I was going to faint. I am a planner, I always have a Plan B. They broke up with me before I could meet someone better and end it with them. So I had a good cry, was escorted out by security and drove home (still crying) to an empty house and a full liquor bar.

Before I joined my current job, I had a lot of internships and short-term positions and my last one was awful, almost rivaling the one that I was fired from. I'm not a huge crier but I would cry every day at my old job. It got so bad that my parents would come down to check on me in Chicago to make sure I was still doing things, like showering and going outside because I was so depressed. To quote myself on New Year's Eve of that year, I told my closest friends that if I was still at that job the same time the next year, they had permission to slit my throat with a broken bottle. That part I'm not exaggerating. You can ask them.

When you hate your job, like really hate it, you hate everything. Every weekday is a curse and you lie in bed thinking of reasons why you should go in and not call in sick. I've known a few people who have cried themselves to sleep because they don't want to go to work. Making it through every hour and every day is a challenge and sometimes you wonder if you really will survive.

But fortunately, there is some relief - quitting. I don't recommend doing this unless you have another job to go to or if you house can handle one income for a little bit, so there is my disclaimer. When it does come time to talk to HR and your manager, the best phrase out of your mouth will be, "I'm here to give you my two weeks notice." It might be hard to actually say when the time comes but once you do, the weight begins to lift off your shoulders. The sun shines brighter and birds chirp lovingly for you. When I quit my old job, I went out for lunch and for the first time in almost four months, I smiled like I meant it.

People who know how unhappy you are, they congratulate you and take you out to get drunk and start spending the new raise in salary. And you feel like things will finally get better because they will.

Now you all might think that this is overdramatic and that I'm too "committed" to my job, making it my "life," and to some extent, you're right. But at the age that me and some of my friends are at, we're still putting in our time and having to tolerate things we normally wouldn't want to. The work/life balance bit isn't easy and I'm still trying to figure it out too. But fortunately the people I work with are good about it so I don't mind going above and beyond at times.

I don't plan on quitting my job anytime soon and hopefully they don't want to break up with me either but whenever someone asks me about their job troubles and when you know it's time to quit, I can only tell them my story and say, "you really know when enough is enough. You really can feel it in your heart."

My official blog disclaimer

I've been blogging now for nearly five months and recently, I've been thinking about taking this down, primarily because it appears as though my good-intentioned blog has greatly upset some people in my personal life.

For those readers who do know me personally, they know that this blog is not a full character representation. On here, I do come across as bitchy and biting and sometimes mean, but in reality, that is not the person I am at all. I like to think of myself as a good person, who is pretty multi-dimensional. Only one or two of these dimensions is shown on here. While I am bitchy and sarcastic, I'm also funny and sensitive (yes that's hard to believe sometimes.) I love my family and my friends and even if I poke fun at or pick on them here, that does not reflect how I feel about all of them as a whole and it is not meant to paint them in a negative light to everyone reading this.

I won't stop writing about things on here just because some people don't like them, but I am having to learn where to exercise tact in my posts. I do have a tendency of over exaggerating and going "too far" on things so at time, I have to take a step back too.

So for all my readers, lurkers, friends, family and co-workers, below is my official blog disclaimer: 

Anything mentioned on my blog, The Everyday Adventures of Me in the City, is purely my point of view and may not be the point of view of those reading this blog or who are mentioned within. If you have a concern or comment about what I write here, you are encouraged to comment in the relevant posts or e-mail me offline to discuss more. This blog is not a full representation of me as a person and is not ill-intentioned or directed harshly at any one person or group in particular.

So in light of this, I'll be retooling a few things that will be appearing on this blog over the next week. The blog will remain actively updated but watch for content changes in the coming weeks.

Who's the best big sister? I am!

Not to toot my own horn, but I have compiled a list below of why I am an awesome big sister:

• I'm tolerant 


• Our secrets that go in the "vault" stay there


• I'm patient


• I tell my brother the truth instead of telling him what he wants to hear

This morning, my brother had a big job interview and I could immediately tell that he was really nervous. 

So, like any good sister, I offered to help him practice his interview skills and take a look at his cover letter, which he had to submit before the interview. Oh boy am I glad I did. My first few cover letters when I was job hunting were awful. I had no idea what to say, how to make it "pop" or really what I was doing. I pretty much just wanted to call the prospective employer and say, "look, I'm awesome, hire me." But sadly that doesn't work, so instead, I whipped his into shape in only two drafts (with an example of mine as a guide) and I spent an hour on the phone with him last night doing practice interviews.

We practiced some of the questions we both thought the interviewer might ask and when my brother was stuck, I used all my PR and communication's skill to help. At the end of our role-playing situation, he said, "wow, thank goodness I'm not paying you to help me. You're really good at this" (I am.) I even got an "over the phone" high-five.

So he was all ready to go and I even got him to admit (with a bit of prompting) that I am the best big sister...for now. I'm sure I'll screw something up next week.

My cheap and dishonest tendencies

I try to fight it but my parents raised an honest girl. And according to multiple friends, those who dare to say it, a cheap girl too. Not to be confused with a cheap date, I guarantee you that is not the case.

Anyhow, after my free coupon-prompted trip to Victoria's Secret, Rebecca commented again on Monday that I'm cheap. Actually, she said "frugal" but let's be real, it's the same thing. Apparently taking advantage of the free underwear coupon and going into the dreaded store on a Friday to purchase other items makes me cheap. Or further demonstrates that I am frugal.

I'm teased because I know how much everyone should contribute to the dinner tab, rarely ever take cabs and I manage and budget my finances like a huge corporation. I agree that I might be a bit...unforgiving about money and hoard it like cattle, but it's with good reason. I have a few friends who are...not the best with money and while they are very generous, they also have bad credit and credit card debt. I know these two things are not mutually exclusive but I don't have any trouble paying my bills on a monthly basis. And if I lend money, it's at a 20 percent monthly interest rate. It's not personal, it's business. Plus when you don't grow up with a lot and spend every free moment working to stay afloat, you can't help being sensitive about money.

So leading into the dishonest part, today I bought lunch (don't get excited, it's expensible) and noticed when I got back to my desk that I was incorrectly rung up by the cashier. He only charged me $2.25 instead of $8.50. I thought for a moment about calling or going back down there with my food to clarify, but decided against it and enjoyed my lunch and the newspaper online. Dishonest? Maybe, but considering I'm honest 99 percent of the time, I'll hang on to the 1 percent right now. Bad to the bone.