Not many words are needed...

Fuck!

TGIF!

I got THE most gorgeous Lillies today!! And they smell amazing! I wish you could smell them. Maybe try to get your nose really close to the monitor and take a big whiff. Can you smell it?

Happy Friday!! Woohoooo...

I went to the doctor today because I was really dizzy again yesterday. This happens to me from time to time. It happened the first time three years ago, and was extremely severe then. I was in the hospital for two days and in bed for another two weeks without being able to move. Every time I would move, I would vomit. It was the worst feeling ever! Since then, I have been dizzy from time to time, but not nearly as severe as then. I've gone to several different doctors, but none of them figured out anything. The first time when I was in the hospital they told me I just had the flu. The flu??

So today I went to my trusty Doctor, Dr. Lenet. I love that man! He did a few different tests with me that involved a lot of head turning. Basically, he made me dizzy to figure out what makes me dizzy. At the end of it all, he determined that I probably have "Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo". He gave me some reading material about it, and it sounds about right. What sucks is that it doesn't go away.

The good thing is that it doesn't happen that much, and when it does, it doesn't last too long. Except that first time, I never had it longer than a day. It comes as goes at random times. What sucks about it is that there are things I used to do that I can't do anymore. I never really made the connection, but on the way home from the doc I started thinking about it and it all makes sense. I used to be a competitive Figure Skater and could spin around in circles endlessly without getting dizzy! Now, I can barely dance different ballroom dances that involve me spinning. When I worked at Arthur Murray I used to get sick dancing hustle all the time (the ballroom version of hustle, not the wedding version). I've also been getting sick on rollercoaster during the last few years, which never bothered me before. AND I seem to get seasick now.

Maybe all those things were unrelated and I should give them another try to find out?

Oh, and worst of all... I got caught in the storm on the way home from the doc. I've never been so wet in my life. It started when I was about 15 steps away from the Grand redine stop, and I was SOAKED by the time I got to the station. I got on the train and a couple of fellow smartass riders asked me if it's raining outside. Haha. It kept pouring until I got to Lawrence and as I was getting off the train I was told to 'stay dry'. Again... haha! I did everything but! I took the bus back to Beacon and walked the few steps home. But my street was flooded, so I was walking in water up to my ankles. It was disgusting!

Crosstown Classic

On Friday afternoon Pablo and I went to the Crosstown Showdown at Comiskey. It was great!! We met at the red line after a half day of work, and had a few "Wifebeaters" (=Stella Artois) on the way to the game. That usually doesn't work out so well for me, but somehow I managed to keep it together :) (While googeling Stella I just found out that I'm not the only one that gets really f-ed up on that stuff. That's reassuring).

The Game was excellent and the Cubs beat the Sox 5-1. But that wasn't the only beating happening... there were SO many fights in the stands. Pablo got some nice videos of a few of the brawls. Check out his website for the footage. Another fun fact is that Comiskey, or U.S. Cellular Field, or whatever it would like to be called, has a nice assortment of ... well... everything. They had dippin dots - the ice cream of the future!! Yumm!! And of course the mandatory hot dogs and Miller Lite.

After the game we went to China Town for dinner, and then to Melissa's for the after party. Her place was awesome and she had a fabulous roofdeck with gorgeous views of the skyline. We had some jungle juice (bad idea after lots of beers), made some new friends, and caught up with some old friends (=Dave). Fun!

The next morning didn't turn out to be so much fun. I had a wicked hangover that I wasn't able to properly nurse because I was having my own little party that evening. My party was really fun too, although there were only a few of us. We had some great wine, cheese and homemade guacamole, and just sat around chatting until 3 in the morning.

Overall it was a nice weekend. I did skip running and still haven't been able to make up for it because I'm seriously exhausted. Not just from the weekend but from everything that's been going on (work, looking for new job, school, running,...). But at least that made the weekend even more worth it :)

Oh, and Pablo sent me some pictures last week for our good old Detroit times. I realized when I uploaded them that the date they were taken was in April 2004. That's how far we go back!! Back then I was living with Caterina and Gerard, and Nena and I had just met and become friends. Hard to imaging we haven't been best friends forever :) T.K was also in town visiting, and we all went downtown Detroit to "Blue". The pictures are hilarious, especially the ones of T.K. dancing ;)

Dreams

Have you ever had a dream that felt so real, when you woke up you weren't sure if this actually happened? It's kind of nice when it's a good thing you dreamt about, but it sucks when it's something bad. I used to have very real-feeling dreams while I was having sleep issues and taking Ambien for a couple of months. But before and after Ambien, I've only had three dreams that really had me worried, and one of them last night...

The previous two dreams happened years ago, and both were about me. In both dreams, I ended up dying. The dreams themselves were so stupid and unrealistic, but the feeling I had when I woke up was not. For example, in the first one I was chased and eaten by a dog, and I can still remember seeing my own face as I was dead. It was so scary!! For weeks I was a bit scared of dogs, and even now when I see a German Shepherd or a Rottweiler I wonder if this is it. The second dream was more bizzare, and thankfully someone woke me up before I actually saw myself die again, because I was tossing and turning and making noises in my sleep. The story in the dream involved an old high school friend from Germany and planets. I had heard in the news that day that there was supposed to be a meteor shower that evening, and that must have stuck in my head. In the dream my friend and I were watching the meteor shower and suddenly they all started coming at us. Everything was spinning, including the planet we were standing on, and it kept getting smaller and smaller. Planets, meteors, stars and whatever else my imagination held came just flying by us and at us. Think starwars, but you're just two regular girls standing on a planet that is spinning around, while being bombarded with anything that can fly (and in dreams, ANYTHING can fly). Weird dream. But it still felt real and had me freaked out a bit. Wow... i just realized that ever since then I've had issues with dizziness. Hmm... I wonder if that's related.

The third one happened last night and wasn't about me, but about someone I really care about. I don't really want to get into the details, but it had me worried. Nobody died, but the person was seriously injured in a motorcycle accident. I was in the dream too, but I wasn't able to help. I cried so much in the dream that I almost kept going when I woke up because it felt like it had really happened.

The REAL question about dreams is what they mean. I guess we won't ever really find out, but supposedly when you die in your own dream it does not mean that you're actually going to die (well one day, but not quite yet). I've read before that it means that a part of your life is ending. If a loved one dies in your dreams, it supposedly means that the relationship with that person is 'dead', and you should let go of it. But what does it mean when someone you love gets seriously injured? Does that then mean the relationship is injured but not dead?

Who knows.... Dreams are weird. That reminds me, has anyone ever seen the movie with Gael Garcia Bernal called "The Science of Sleep"? THAT's a weird movie about weird dreams!

Home Sweet Home

This is the lovely building I live in...

And this is what you will find when you google my address....

Outlines Chicago December 1995
Crime Report
Arrest made in brutal murder of Uptown woman
Lolita Wilson, 29, of Bloomington, Ill., was arrested Nov. 15 and charged with first-degree murder in the death of Theresa Gibson, whose body was discovered in a basement at [my address]. Gibson was killed on or about Jan. 22 by wounds to her head, inflicted by a hammerlike object, Area 3 Det. Sgt. Frank Kajari said. Her body was found only a few days before the arrest; there had been an attempt to hide it, and some parts of the body were missing, he said. Reports indicate the two women had a "domestic argument" before the slaying, he said.
Wilson was being held in Cook County Jail, Kajari said.

That gives me such a warm and fuzzy feeling. There are still body parts missing!?! And today I got the keys to the basement storage unit. It's not really scary down there at all, and everything has been completely redone. But it still creeps me out. Maybe it's haunted!! And apparently someone thought it would be funny to hang up a glow in the dark skeleton in the corner. I jumped when I saw that. I won't be going into the basement much....

Finally!

It's the first day of summer!!!

And tomorrow we are going to the Cubs/Sox Game and we'll be drinking beer and eating bad food all day long. Wow, that is so needed! I'm blowing off running on saturday morning...

Personality

After Pablo posted the results from his Myers Briggs Personality Test a few days ago, I read through his personality traits and decided I must be the same as him - an ENFP. I even read it to Annabelle, and she agreed 100%.
I then took a compacted version of the test and it turns out I am an ESFP. I read through those personality traits, and most of them were true as well, except a few little things, and when it comes to relationships. In other cases the ESFP applied more than the ENFP, and in others it was reversed. I decided I must be somewhere in between an ENFP and ESFP. Here are some of the highlights, but if you're interested, click on the links at the bottom.
Also, if you're interested to find out what YOU are, click on the link above to take the test. Let me know what you are...

ESFPs generally have the following traits:
Live in the present moment
Are stimulated and excited by new experiences
Practical and realistic
Warmly interested in people
Know how to have a good time, and how to make things fun for others
Independent and resourceful
Spontaneous - seldom plan ahead
Hate structure and routine
Dislike theory and long written explanations
Feel special bond with children and animals
Strongly developed aesthetic appreciation for things
Great people skills

ESFPs are good at many things, but will not be happy unless they have a lot of contact with people, and a lot of new experiences. They should choose careers which provide them with the opportunity to use their great people skills and practical perspective, which will also provide them with enough new challenges that they will not become bored.
Possible Career Paths for the ESFP:
Artists, Performers and Actors
Sales Representatives
Counselors / Social Work
Child Care
Fashion Designers
Interior Decorators
Consultants
Photographers

Most ENFPs will exhibit the following strengths with regards to relationships issues:
Good communication skills
Very perceptive about people's thought and motives
Motivational, inspirational; bring out the best in others
Warmly affectionate and affirming
Fun to be with - lively sense of humor, dramatic, energetic, optimistic
Strive for "win-win" situations
Driven to meet other's needs
Usually loyal and dedicated

Most ENFPs will exhibit the following weaknesses with regards to relationship issues:
Tendency to be smothering
Their enthusiasm may lead them to be unrealistic
Uninterested in dealing with "mundane" matters such as cleaning, paying bills, etc.
Hold onto bad relationships long after they've turned bad
Extreme dislike of conflict
Extreme dislike of criticism
Don't pay attention to their own needs
Constant quest for the perfect relationship may make them change relationships frequently
May become bored easily
Have difficulty scolding or punishing others

There are a couple of difficult relationship areas for the ENFP. The first problem is that many ENFPs have a problem leaving bad relationships. They tend to internalize any problems and take them on their own shoulders, believing that the success or failure of the relationship is their own responsibility. As perfectionists, they don't like to admit defeat, and will stick with bad situations long after they should have left. When they do leave the relationship, they will believe that the failure was their fault, and that there was surely something they could have done to save the relationship.

So, what do you think? Does that pretty much summarize it? I would say I'm a little bit of both. Here are some links to the full pages.
The ESFP - The Performer
The ENFP - The Inspirer
ESFP Relationships
ENFP Relationships
ESFP Careers
ENFP Careers

What a day

I've been meaning to blog about our work meeting last week where our job relocation to Florida was announced to us, but I've been too busy (or maybe annoyed) to discuss it. So I will save that until I'm at work this week. Afterall... what's the point of working if they're letting me go anyway?

Today was an event all on its own. It started with Comcast ringing my doorbell at 9.50am. I had an appointment with them for today to set up my telephone service, and I'm so glad they actually showed up this time!! The last time they didn't, the time before that they couldn't fix it, and the time before that I had forgotten to bring my modem. So this was progress!! It was two guys, as one was apparently in training. They started working on the setup, and assured me that in a few minutes they would be gone and I could go back to bed (which I actually had no intention of doing, but it was still nice to hear). 4 (!!!) hours later they were still there! By now we were all sitting on my couch, drinking water, chatting about everything and nothing, and watching the Cubs Game. (Because there were problems with the setup, and not because we hit it off so well they didn't want to leave...) It was at times actually quite challenging to keep the conversation going. But that's never really been a problem for me, and in preperation for a potential future career in couseling I decided to practice my asking and listening skills. It turns out, one of the guys works at Comcast full time and does construction work part time. He doesn't have a single day off, but that's ok with him. His motto is that no job gets left undone, which is why he's doing well with the construction business, and that's also why my Comcast job wasn't abondoned. On a sadder note, he just had to foreclose on a house, because he wasn't able to find a tenant for it fast enough. Not even the bank would take the property back! But still, business is doing well and money is coming in. In fact, he was just offered a job managing 50 apartment buildings for 50k/yr. But he turned it down because it seemed like too much responsibility. The second guy and I go way back already... he set up my original connection when I first moved in a month ago (What are the odds of having the same Comcast guy come to your house twice??). I'd like to say if he had done it right the first time, he wouldn't have had to be back (and two others in the meantime), but I didn't want to be rude. After all, I wanted to get this done now! This guy wasn't quite as chatty, and all I found out is that he's a Sox fan, and he thinks the TV ad that claims you can get money for your old cellphone is bogus. He's probably right about that.

What exactly the problem with my Comcast service was... I have no clue. Seemed to be a wiring issue. What matters is that they fixed it and now my TV, Internet, and Phone are up and running. Yay! Unfortunately my wireless router did not work when the guys finally left, so I was forced to call linksys. I once spend 2 hours on hold with linksys, and just the thought of calling them really annoyed me. But I did anyway and was only on hold for maybe 10 minutes :) The problem was fixed within a few minutes and I was able to get online with no wires too.

After that I spent 3 hours working through Accounting problems. I had been doing that all week and couldn't really make sense of it. I emailed my team and professor for help, neither of which were able to. The professor didn't even bother answering. But I'm proud to say, I did figure out how to calculate the Net Present Value, thanks for my friends at Wikipedia.

Then I decided to cook.... god help us! Cooking for me usually involves pasta, and so it did again today. As I was excitedly cooking away with my new pots, I realized it was getting a bit smokey. And about a second later the fire alarm started beeping as loud as it possibly could. I quickly opened all the windows and doors, and the alarm shut off. Whew! As I was quietly saying to myself that I really don't belong in the kitchen, I realized the smoke was coming out of the oven, which I had turned on to bake some Texas Cheese Toast (Yum!). But the toast wasn't actually in yet. What the hell was the smoke from?? I opened the oven, and immediately the alarm went off again. I must have dropped one of my oven mits into the oven when I opened it to make sure nothing was inside. And of course the mit was not quite on fire, but totally scorched. I grabed it with the other mit, and tossed it out the back door onto the back porch. Ahhh! The back porch is wood, and the think now had a small little flame on it! I managed to grab it again, bring it back inside and throw it in the sink before serious damage could have been done. Disaster avoided.

Just had my lovely dinner with Texas Toast, and must say it was all worth it. I may cook again sometime...



And as if this post wasn't already long enough, I need to share that I signed up for the Chicago Distance Classic Half Marathon today, and a whole bunch of other little 5K runs.

Oh, and for those of you who haven't seen one... I was out in the country (aka suburbs) yesterday and saw my first cicada. They're super loud, and look a little too much like Cockroaches for my taste. But it was cool to see and hear them. Who knows where I'll be in another 17 years. Here's a picture of one:

Have a great night everyone!!

Marathon Update

WOOHOO!!

Here's some info about today's training run. We ran 12 miles (from Foster Ave Beach all the way to Oak Street Beach - AND back). I think that's slightly insane, and my body doesn't like me very much right now, but at the same time it feels so great :)

Overall, we ran the 12 miles in 2:35 hours, with an overall average pace of 13 minutes per mile.

Child Molestor?

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Map

I biked to work again today and tracked my progress with my nifty Garmin watch. I think I may have figured out how to post it finally....

Take a look at the map.

I'd like to point out that the map says it took me 9 hours and something to complete the 12 mile ride. Well... I'm not THAT slow. I left at 8:10 and came home at 5:58, but I was at work in between. It took me a total of 52 minutes to get to work and back.

What a fun and totally unnecessary toy!! I love it!

More to come as I REALLY figure out what it can do.

Pictures

It's been a really busy couple of weeks, and this weekend I finally found the time to take care of some thing and to upload the pictures from the last few weeks.

My mom and dad were here, so there were lots of pictures taken. I only posted a few that we took at my place, when we went out to dinner with Mieske (my high school friend who lives in Amsterdam) and from the Odessey Brunch Cruise I took them to for mothers/fathers day. I noticed when after I uploaded the pictures that I still have an obsession with sailboats. I've wanted to learn to sail for years, but had a little set back when I got sick sailing last year. Maybe I should give it another chance... Oh, and I finally got a chance to take a few pictures of my place, now that it's decorated. I know some of you have been asking me to do that for two weeks now, and I finally got to it!!

And I posted a few pics from this weekend :) On Friday I attended a dinner party at the Sofitel for the Union of French Expats, mainly for the free dinner (no pics). On Saturday Pablo, Becky and I went to a BBQ in Andersonville and then to the Mid-Sommarfest, followed by a fundraising party for one of my running buddies David. Exhausting day because I also ran 10 miles in the morning. But we still had a great time at the parties and the Mid-Sommarfest. The highlight of the evening was seeing a woman who had a sushi roll tattooed on her back. Yeah, that's right... a Maki Roll. And on Sunday Annabelle had a BBQ for her birthday (it's her birthday week!). Oh, and Annabelle - I posted the Air France pics for you too!

Well then...

I've been spending the past two months or so looking for a new job because I don't really like mine. No wait, that's a total understatement... I fucking hate my job, the company I work for, and my boss. And I must have applied for at least 50 jobs in the past month, with little or no responses. Part of the reason for this is that I'm trying to get into a different field, and with no experience in anything but airlines, that is proving to be more difficult than I thought.

Well... the last week there have been rumors going around our office that "things" are happening. What things exactly, nobody really knew. There has been some speculation that some jobs are being eliminated, but again, nothing was confirmed. My boss called me on friday to tell me that we will be having a meeting on June 14th to discuss the future plan of the company, but she didn't make it sound like a big deal, so I kept telling everyone that they are just being paranoid. My boss is in Detroit, and I am in the office in Chicago with the entire Chicago team (which I'm not part of). And after some converstations with others in New York, Houston and L.A., it turned out that every sales office in the country is having a staff meeting at the same time on that same day. Hmm.... suspicious.

So today I asked the Sales Manager of the Chicago team if he would write me a recommendation for Grad School. I didn't want to ask my own boss, because I don't like her. And I really like the Chicago boss and I know he likes me too, so I thought he would probably give me a better recommendation. As we were discussing grad school, he asked me to come into his office and close the door. Hmm... again, suspicious.

As it turns out, he thinks it's a great idea that I want to go to Grad School and he thinks this is a great time for it. Hmm... Then he swore me to secrecy (maybe posting this on the internet is violating that a little) and he told me this:

My position is being centralized. It will be announced during the meeting on June 14, and my options are to move or find a new job. And all this will happen before September.

Now, what pisses me off about this is not that it's happening. There have been plenty of rumors, and I've been wanting to leave anyway, so I'm almost happy about this. However, it pisses me off that MY OWN BOSS hasn't said a word about it, although she knows I just bought a condo. Stupid bitch!

So... I'm obviously not moving anywhere. I need to find a new job, and I need to find one soon. I've been looking for a while, so hopefully it'll soon happen. If anyone knows of any jobs that are meaningful and worthy, let me know. I'm trying to get into non-profit work because I want to help people and do something better with my life than create excel spreadsheets. Plus that will get me into a field that is more related to my potential Masters that I plan on getting.

Oh, and I'm calling in sick tomorrow!! I might as well spend the day with my parents before they leave on Wednesday.