My friend* just sent me this...she logged into her email only to find her junk mail to contain 666 messages. Is it a bad sign?

*I blacked some stuff out for my friend's privacy

A Tribute to the Bird

On Thursday, I said

It's freakin COOOOLD here! 20 degrees with winds putting us at just 7 degrees. Gotta love Chicago.

Taking out the trash yesterday morning was my only direct experience of nature. GOD it was SO cold. Great day for staying in and making a Thanksgiving feast for 8.

Today, it's in the 50's. WTF? Well, I welcome the weather in the 50's to stay as long as possible. Tollwaywarrior and I think the party was a good one. Lots of wine, good conversation, and so much warmth that it was a relief to have the blasts of 20 degree air come through the window cracked open. I talked so much that I am still trying to regain my voice! People were too full to eat dessert. And I have to mention how good one of our guests Pecan Pie tasted...he said it wasn't going to be good. OMG, au contraire my friend...freakin good pie.

The Bean - Downtown Chicago

Pretty Red Tree

Unlike a premature grey hair, this red tree is beautiful.

Halloween

This was taken back in October. A bar down the street from us puts out pumpkins every year. You should have seen these carved dearies on Nov 1...stacked in the dumster.

Spider Kid

Watching this kids pose for his mother's camera was priceless. He really got into his costume. Added some kicks, punches, and sound affects too.

Is Roy a HORSE?

Jerry's great-grandfather, John Westley Roy, came to Michigan from Missouri in 1931, in the depths of the Depression. He built a home five blocks north of a plant operated by General Motors' AC Delco division and worked there for a decade before he was injured and retired to a farm.

i'm sure this article will be archived soon..thanks NYTimes!...still not getting nytselect.

Doesn't this sounds so cruel!

Cruelty to vegetables must stop! This is evil! THey never even had a chance to be carved out into jack-o-lanterns! It's like eating VEAL and baby corn!

(you know i'm being a smartass)

Coldplay in Chicago, March 31

We got tickets...I can relax now.

Sedgwicks

Went to new bar tonight...very happy with music rotation. i thought i was at home, asleep, and dreaming. Wilco, Weezer, The Killers, Postal Service, Beck...yeah,freakin grrrreat!

Just the beginning

My little jaunt over to the yarn store made me realize that Fall is over...or the Chicago version of Fall is in full effect. Good thing I had some old Starbucks napkins in my purse b/c after standing out in the 30 degree weather with light snow and wind, your nose will snot continuously when you get to your destination. I was tempted to wipe my nose on the different fabrics sold in the store.

Good Night

Last night, we went to see Good Night and Good Luck. I totally enjoyed the Good Night part and got into it...a bit too much. Like if this were a party, I'm the one who drank from the fish bowl thinking it was a martini glass, and passes out in the laundry room. It was a 9:50pm show and my day started at 5:50am, so it wasn't because the movie wasn't good. Hopefully next time I will enjoy the Good Luck too.

All you font lovers

Thanks Basia!

Open Heart Surgery

I watched an open heart surgery today. Basically, this person would not have made it up to this point (5 days old), before modern technology. I saw a heart taken apart, the top lobe of the right lung moving up and down, the body put on a bypass machine to keep the body alive, and the heart flatlined. This is a gross image, but think cherry slushy...the scrub nurse put crushed ice in the cracked open chest to keep the heart cool. And there was a piece of equiptment that looks like a whisk.

Christo on Broadway?

Nah. But after seeing half the road torn up and covered with a white canvas, I thought Christo had a new installation.

Wash your damn hands!

At a previous job, I kept tabs on the women at the office who washed their hands and who didn't. I wasn't very nice about the women who did not. And I'm not sorry. I told other woman of the one woman who walked out with soiled hands. I warned people after she touched something in the break room. Filthy. She was the receptionist, too. She locked and opened the door, made coffee, and layed out doughnuts and Einstein bagels.

Progressive

This is nice

Boston

Bands named after cities/countries/continents (i.e. Chicago, Boston,Europe) don't work.

SO...

Why would you name your kid after one?

Alarming

Tonight, I picked up my ringing cell phone and turned off my living room stereo.
6:15?! Oh shit, I thought, guess I should get dressed for work.
My sister, who was on the phone, clarified that if it were 6AM, she would NOT be awake to call me. So I soon realized that it's still Thursday. Phew!

The reason for the late afternoon nap is do to the early morning on my day "off." Those who took and passed the Illinois Bar were sworn in today at 10:20AM. What a LONG LONG LOOOOONG event. For those learning about viscosity in physics class, if the ceremony were a liquid, it has HIGH viscosity...It's like pouring chilled syrup on frozen pancakes while dining in the Arctic tundra...you watch in disbelief how long it takes to pour and when it does, it drags on and on.

You wonder why lawyers and for that matter, Chicago local govt get a bad reputation. I can't believe how "commentors" stood there, first had their resumes read (including what fucking high school he/she attended), then mentioned that their "lovely" child also sat in the audience to be sworn in, and gave trite advice that took more than the 2 minutes originally allocated.

First of all, WHO THE HELL CARES?! Second, how much did you pay to get on the "commentors" list. If this were elementary school, your child's ass would have been kicked in the school yard. Get your cronies off the stage. What was supposed to be an honorable ceremony was so cheapened. The words of the oath were beautiful and the new attorney's who recited them must of been so proud. I only wish the cronies were not invited to an event many people travelled far to witness.

Obama on the Daily Show

After watching Mr. Obama with Jon Stewart (non-sexually) tonight, I actually feel this thing in the pit of my stomach called HOPE. Obama is the bomb.com/kickass. He's witty and charming. I'm so damn glad he's on our side! And the analogy of what is going on with Iraq, I almost wanted to cry b/c it was so right on! In a nutshell, Obama said that our presence in Iraq is like a bus that crashed in a ditch...you're already there, so you have to deal with it...However, one thing we have to do is to: Get another driver b/c he has already fucked up the bus!

Hospital Coffee Shop Man

Dear Mr. Hospital Coffee Shop Man aka Barista*,

You're pretty stuck up. And I'm not the only one who thinks so. We rag on you and how you're such a stuck up prick. It seems to me that you've surrounded yourself by people you hate, hospital people mainly (i.e. doctors, nurses, pharmacists, etc) because they're educated and I have to agree, think are God's gift. So you're stuck up back to the people you think are stuck up. Strange. If it weren't for my ear for the White Stripes, you'd never be nice to me. Turd.

Nurse SYC

P.S. sorry for shorting you and the hospital $.10.

*Barista - Pretentious sounding word used by dejected art history and drama majors that describes their employment in order to make themselves feel better about serving coffee.

Example:
-So what have you been up to since you graduated?
- I'm a barista at the Coffee Bean, but only until I get a sitcom.
Taken from www.urbandictionary.com

Running with the rat

Saturday, I ran with my running gal pal in Lincoln Park. We had to stop and walk the last half mile. So there was ample opportunities to see what is lurking in the beautiful fall leaves you can't help but crunch your feet in when you're running. There was one leaf in particular that stood out. We saw it and I thought "Ooh! The brown leaf looks like a rat." Quickly, we figured it was a flat rat, dried out. A cartoon family of birds could have used it as a rug in their living room. Disgusting!