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.

Bike

Following Pablo's and Dave's great example, I decided to ride my bike to work this morning too. It was the first time I had been on the bike in quite some time, but it felt great!! It actually took me the same amount of time to get to work as it would with the bus.

A few weeks ago I bought a fancy Garmin watch that has a GPS and tracks my time and distance, and I wanted to share it with you, but truth be told I didn't read the directions and now I don't know if it's even possible to share the info through a link. I need to figure it out sometime, but not tonight. In short, I rode 11.6 miles (both ways combined) and it took me a little over an hour. That's all the stats I can share with you right now.

My mom and dad are here right now and between unpacking, shopping for the apartment and for them, and doing killer accounting homework, I've had a crazy week and I'm exhausted. Mom, dad and I went to Agami tonight for some sushi, and it's kind of funny how things have changed. I used to not eat sushi at all, and I was always the one who didn't know what to order and always had someone else order for me. Today I was the one ordering for my dad :)Tomorrow I have to go to Cincinnati for work and I have to get up at 5am. The good news is that I come back again tomorrow night so I get to sleep in my own bed. The bad news is that I have no blinds in my bedroom because I couldn't find any that I like yet, so it's not exactly dark in there in the morning.

So I'm off to bed.... Good night and sweet dreams.

Parents, Plays and Orlando

My parents were supposed to come today, but my mom just called me an hour ago to tell me that they were denied boarding because the flight was oversold. And when they arrived in Frankfurt (from Luxembourg) their flight to Chicago was already checked in full and there were no more seats. Tough luck. So they have to stay the night in Frankfurt and will arrive tomorrow morning. The good news is that they will each receive 600 Euro in cash or 700 Euro in Travel Vouchers, plus the hotel and meals until tomorrow morning are paid for. So at least it was worth it! And they already knew it was overbooked and had thought about volunteering anyway... so it wasn't really a big surprise.

In other news... Orlando Bloom is taking a break from making movies. I haven't discussed this with Nena yet, but I'm sure the two of us won't be very happy about this. Good for him for wanting to go back to the theather, but why does he have to choose a city so far away (London)? He could have done theather in Chicago!!

Speaking of theater... last night I went with Pablo to see his mom's and sister's play called the Hall of Hungry Ghosts, and I have to say it was great!! I loved it! It was very moving. It's only playing until sunday, but if you have the chance to go see it, you should. Check out the links for more information.

I had a very accomplished day today and wanted to share how proud of myself I am :)

First, I found yet another EXCELLENT sushi place today. Annabelle and I went to Friends Sushi on Rush and Erie today for lunch and had some great Tuna rolls. Crunchy, Creamy and with Avocado. Yum!!

After work I attended an open house at DePaul University to check out one of their Masters Programs. It was a great info session, but when I got home I was a little discouraged at the thought of another 2 years of school, not to mention another 30k of student loans (or whatever it will cost me). But I still want to do it... just have to figure out exactly which field because Business Management (my undergrad) is definitly out!

So after the slight frustration I decided to go to the gym to make up running the 6 miles Aaron made me miss on saturday morning. I got way too drunk and was way to hung over to get out of bed at 5.45am. I've been feeling guilty about not making it to the group run on saturday morning and I'm really happy I was able to do it tonight!! And to my delight my gym membership was still active.

Those were my accomplishments of the day :) I've been meaning to put up some pictures of the new place, but I've just been too busy. I promise I will get to it soon. My mom and dad are coming to visit on friday for two weeks, and I'm sure we'll get some pictures done then.

Last weekend in Annapolis

It's been a crazy week (Condo closing, packing, school work, Arthur visiting, etc...) and I've been meaning to post these pictures ever since I got back from visiting Susi and her boyfriend Matt in Annapolis. I was only there for one night, but it was so much fun!! Susi is one of my oldest friends - we established that we have known each other for almost 20 years!! She still lives in Germany and her and Matt met when he was stationed in Germany in the Army. Just after they met he was send over to Iraq. He's since lived in Germany with Susi for a while and has recently returned home to Annapolis because he left the Army.

To make a long story short, Susi was there visiting, and I decided to join them for the weekend. They have a gorgeous house on the bay, with a fun little golfcart, a cool bar, a big dog, and the family was over on saturday night to play poker. Good times!

Click on the link to see a few more pictures... Enjoy!

I will post more about the new home, the closing, etc after I move this weekend.

Are they kidding??

We put in a work order with the building today because it's been freezing in here!! It's like this all year long, but at least in the winter we're dressed for it.
During the past week, it's been so cold that we had a space heater on ALL DAY!!

Today an engineer from the building came up to our office and said he would fix it. An hour later we received an email with the closed work order... it said that he turned the heat up from 57 to 61 degrees!!! First of all... why is it only 57 degrees in here??? Second, how is turning it up to 61 helping?

AHHH!!!

This one is for you Susi :)

Since I can't post any pictures of the two of us, I'll tell you a story that I know you will appreciate. I don't know what made me think about THIS today, but I did...

Years ago I had the biggest crush on an American Figure Skater named Mark Michell. I have no idea how old I was, but my guess is somewhere around 13. I was a silly, naive German girl, and the United States were faaaar away. Plus I was only 13, so the chances of ever meeting my crush were slim to none. Besides, at that age, my crushes lasted about a month before I moved on to the next.

Fast foward 13 years...

I gave up Figure Skating when I moved to the U.S. at 16, and haven't even really been to many ice rinks since then. I had looong forgotten about Mark Mitchell and any other skater I ever had a crush on. But one day, while working for Lufthansa German Airlines in Boston, we crossed paths...

I was working the check in counter when a man came over and handed me his ticket. I didn't look at his name too closely as I was punching it into the computer, but as soon as I opened his passport I stopped. The guy didn't look familiar when he walked up to the counter, but the picture sure did! It was Mark Mitchell!! The funny thing is, I had only ever seen pictures of him, so I immediately recognized him on the picture, but the person in front of me didn't look familiar at all. To make sure it's him, I asked him if he used to be a figure skater, and he was surprised at the question, but said yes. I told him I used to be a skater too, and I used to always watch him skate on TV. We exchanged a few stories while I was checking him in, compared where we used to skate and who we knew, and I think I upgraded him to business class. He was still pretty damn hot, and he lived in the Boston area. But I didn't confess my crush.... The guy was OBVIOUSLY gay. :(

So that's my luck. Destiny brings my crush right to me, and he's gay!!?!?

But at least I will never have to wonder what would have been if I ever met Mark Mitchell :)

What's wrong with my scanner??

I just tried to scan in a picture of me and Susi today. Susi sparked my memories today with her comment about the times when we were skating, so when I got home tonight I looked at some of the pictures again and they made me laugh. But my scanner didn't want to cooperate... it won't scan anything. It's not recognizing my computer for some reason, although it's also my printer, and it prints just fine. Does anyone have suggestions??

"Hello, my name is Alvin"

This is Alvin. Alvin and I have just been all over town! We went to Uhaul to pick up some moving boxes, and then drove to Dominick's and did some serious grocery shopping.

Zipcar is God's greatest invention!!!

I have a Billboard!!

That's right...

Immigration Reform

There is a great discussion about Immigration happening on Pablo's blog.
Check it out... Post your opinions!

I made an interesting discovery today... Although I've only been running regularly for about a month, I can already tell that my endurance has gotten better! I've been taking a Cardio Strip class (yes!) every tuesday night, and by the end of the class each week, I was dead! I haven't been in class the last two weeks because I was out of town and had a root canal last week, and when I went today, it seemed easier than ever before!! I was so excited when I realized there are only five minutes left in the class, and although I was sweating, I wasn't totally out of breath :)

And given the type of moves I was doing... I couldn't help but wonder what all this would do to... em... other areas of my life that are always more fun when they last longer with less effort. Hmm....

First Day of Official Training

Although I've been running and unofficially training for the Chicago Marathon, I started the 'official training' today. I got my butt out of bed at 5.45am, got on the bus at 6.10, and got to the Group Run Site at Foster Ave Beach at 6.45am. WAY too early to be doing anything, much less run three miles.

But the people from that Aids Marathon sure know how to get you going.... Despite the early morning hour, it was so much fun! The atmosphere was motivating and supportive, and all the people there were great fun. We each had to run three miles and were timed, and then put into Pace Groups. The group seems great, and the pace was just perfect! The three miles were a piece of cake... nice and easy. And one of the girls I met (Stephanie) and I decided to get together during the week to go for some runs.

After doing this today, I KNOW I can run the marathon! Now I just have to worry about raising the money. So those of you who have been waiting to see if I would even make it past one mile, you can go ahead and donate now. I'll make it :)

I can't wait to go back again next saturday!! And next week we're running four miles. Every week it increases by one mile.

Last night I met up with some friends at Schoolyard Tavern to watch the Democratic Candidate Debate, and we had such a fun time! There was a whole group of people there watching the debate, but honestly, I couldn't hear a thing and have no idea what happened. Plus Katie and I were chatting through most of it. So I will have to watch it again. But after the debate was over Katie, Tod and I stayed for another drink and talked. I don't know why I didn't know this, but Katie used to work on Capital Hill as an assistant to a repulican senator for four years. I didn't even know she was interested in politics. And Tod is part of a group called Lakeview Residents for Barack Obama. So needless to say, we had some very interesting discussions! It's always great to hear different viewpoints. Not that either Tod or Katie are 100% republican or democrat, but they both have some opinions in both directions. It was fun listening to them give their reasons why they feel a certain way about a certain issue. I think it's great to have discussions like these, because you hear different viewpoints and this either strenghtens your own viewpoints, or it gives you the chance to reevaluate them. I love having these discussions and conversations! It was fun!

Oh, and I just had the sandwich, and I must say it was pretty good. There are different varieties, and I probably got the best one out of all of them... the Shaved Turkey Monterrey. The kit comes with a little country white sub roll, mesquite smoked turkey, monterrey jack cheese with jalapenos, salsa, and southwestern style ranch dressing. You assemble all, stick it in the microwave for one minute, and voila! The only thing I would have changed about it is the roll. I hate soft, white bread. So... would I spend money to buy this? Yes, probably. But only in an effor to save money, because it doesn't come CLOSE to a Tomato Mozzarella Sandwich from the Corner Bakery.

No such thing as a free lunch?

Oh yes there is! Thanks to Oscar Mayer Deli Creations Hot Sandwich Melts. They were giving them away on the street today, and let me tell you.... it was apparently THE excitement on Michigan Avenue. I've never seen so many people so excited over a boxed sandwich lunch. It was kinda fun to watch so I thought I would share. I didn't actually eat the sandwich yet, but I'll let you know if it's any good whenever I do. For me personally, it was much more exciting when they were handing out Ben and Jerry's Cherry Garcia Ice Cream Cones :)

And I'd like to share that whenever I post from work, everything is in French. I am on a French server, and therefore all the commands on Blogger are in French. I have no idea what half of them mean, and it really annoys me!

The presidential candidate debate is on tonight!! Can't wait to see it! Is anyone else watching it?

April showers hopefully bring May flowers...

I don't quite feel like working yet, so I thought I'd post a message before I get to work...

It's a nasty day out there today. From my window I can't even see into Vince Vaughns window across the street! Which is ok, because he doesn't actually seem to live there yet. But honestly, I was a little excited this morning when it was raining, because it gave me a chance to try out my new, trusty, lime-green-zebra GustBuster!! And I'm happy to say it worked fabulously!

Not much else is new. I went to my first Cubs game of the season on Monday night with Pablo. We had nice seats, decent weather, and a great time! And the Cubs even played some extra innnings to make sure we would get our money's worth. Well... the tickets were free, so we did get our money's worth anyway. I've said it before and I'll say it again.... You can't beat beer and hot dogs at the ballpark!

On a not so fun note, I had to have a root canal yesterday. The endeodontist pretty much had me hanging upside down in the chair, to make sure he could see the tooth directly without mirrors (tooth on the top right). I've never had a dentist do that before. But the good news is I didn't feel a thing! Not the entire day, even after the numbness faded away! The bad news is, I do feel it today. It's not terrible, but it's sore. I have some persription pain killers, so I'll be fine, but it makes chewing a little difficult. Looks like I'll be having soup for lunch...

That's all for now... Hope everyone is having a great day!

I'm back in Chicago... and I brought the gorgeous weather from Germany back with me :)

the trip was great and just the right length. I was at home for 5 days, and then spent 2 days in Amsterdam. The reason I went to Amsterdam was for a training course for work, but I was there a day early, so my friend Mieske picked me up from the airport in Amsterdam and took me to see the Tulip fields in full bloom. Then we went to see her new house (which is being built, but we were able to go inside and see it anyway), walked around The Hague, and then had dinner on the beach together with her boyfriend Bart. Great Day! Mieske will be in Chicago next month, and I can't wait to have her here :)

The time in Germany was great too. I've already talked about the kids Communion, but I thought I'd put up a picture of them too. I don't know why, but I don't have any pictures of all three of them in their white dresses. So I have chosen the picture of the them from the day before.

The last thing I will mention is that I flew back on KLM, and it was the first time I had flown with them since I started working for an airline. The airport in Amsterdam is really easy to get through, and check in was done entirely at a machine (including passport scan etc). Everything worked out perfect, but when I got to the gate I realized I hadn't gone through any security checks yet. To my surprise, the security check is at each gate! I thought that must be a nightmare for boarding and punctuality, but they made it work! The flight was really full, but they managed to get me into Business Class! :) Nothing special... the food wasn't good, the seat was ok, the picture quality on the TV was aweful, but at least the service was very nice! And I did sleep for a while, so I really can't complain. Oh, and I watched a great movie... The Freedom Writers! If you haven't seen it yet, go rent it. It's very inspirational. Made me wanna become a teacher.

It's always nice to be gone, but it's just as nice to come home. And sometimes jetlag rocks... I woke up at 6:30am this morning and went running - 3 miles :) Felt great to be up so early!

Hope everyone is having a lovely day....

Save the Planet!

It's Earth Day today, so do something to save the Earth!

Not sure what to do? Check out this website....

The things we learn about ourselves....

Going through tough times in your life usually sucks, but towards the end of it you usually realize something about yourself. Whatever it is, it's often stuff you don't really like to hear about, but it's all a great big learning experience, and through it all you grow. It's so cliche, but it's true! But the good news is that if there are things you don't like about yourself, you can change them now because you are aware of them!

So here are some things I learned about myself.... I let myself become too dependent on people. That's funny because I am actually very independent. I like living alone (not with a roommate that is), I havn't lived at home since I was 16, I don't mind moving around and starting my life all over again, and in general I've never seen myself as a very dependent person. But I have (probably more than once) done just that. Not because I intentionally did it, but it just happened that way. I was busy with school and work, and it was just easier to hang out with the same person all the time than going out and making other friends. I have absolutely no problem making new friends and meeting people, but it just didn't occur to me at the time. Mainly because I had great friends already. Until that person left one day and I found myself all alone with all my friend in other cities. Wow, what a wakeup call! The reason I bring this up is because Pablo and I recently talked about it and I've been thinking about it since then. However, I am happy to say, I've learned from it and let me tell you.... that will NEVER happen to me again!

The second thing I have learned about myself is that my hobbies and interests are ALL over the place. They always have been, and they always will be. If you ask me today what my interest are, I guarantee you that they will be different from what they were 2 years ago. And if you ask me again in another two years, they might be different again. That's not necessarily a bad thing, it's just that there are things that never occured to me before. Interests I never knew I had until I tried them. For example, a few years ago I went sandboarding in South Africa. It would have never occured to me to do that before, but I loved it and ever since then have wanted to do it again. And since then I have wanted to learn how to snowboard but didn't wanna settle for learning on a little hill in Illinois. I want mountains! Alps, Rockies, Andes! My friend Kerry just emailed me and pointed this out to me. She said 'you're running marathons, going to baseball games and basketball games, playing beach volleyball... it's like I don't even know you'. That's true. When Kerry and I were best friends in College, we did other fun things. And that's ok. Who would have thought two years ago that I would ever get a motorcycle? Who would have thought six months ago that I would ever sign up to run a marathon?? All this is NOT something I would change about myself. I like having different options, trying different things, and I would never want to rule anything out just because I haven't done it. I like being inspired, and my interests will change with this inspiration - with the people around me, with the places I visit, and the places I live. It's a great thing and I'm open for pretty much anything!

So those are the things I have learned about myself. I probably already knew them, but they are worth mentioning. In case anyone is interested... :)

The iRack

Home Sweet Home

This is a picture of my hometown in Germany - Oberesch. All of it! :) The town only has about 300 inhabitants and is surrounded by fields.

I'm in Germany right now because my goddaughter Kim had her First Communion on Sunday. Apparently this event has turned into a huge deal since I was a kid. At least it seemed like it. The church lasted nearly two hours, and by the time we got out of there I was ready to shoot myself! If I had still been a "member" I would have quit today. You see, in Germany people have to pay church taxes. That is, everyone that was once christened into the catholic church has church taxes withheld from their paycheck each month. But since I have never received a paycheck in Germany, I have never given them any money, and therefore there is no need for me to go to court and go through the whole process of "leaving the catholic faith". But believe me, Sunday I would have!

But the reason I'm posting is not to bitch about church, but to tell you all how beautiful Germany is! First of all, it's been about 75-80 degrees every day since I arrived, and Germany is in full bloom! Everything is green, and gorgeous, and such a big difference from cold Chicago.

I arrived on Saturday after a long flight in Economy Class on Lufthansa. Thanks to Aaron I got the very last seat on the plane, so I don't want to complain about Economy. But when you work for an airline and usually fly Business Class overseas, you get spoiled! Anyway, the train ride from Frankfurt to Saarbruecken was just gorgeous.... much different than the train ride from Paris to Saarbruecken. The ride from Frankfurt goes by all these cute little towns, with little rivers running along the train tracks. And seeing this brough back a dream I had since I was a little kid.... I have always wanted to bike through Germany for a week or two. When I was younger two of my friends did this with their parents, and I would have loved to do the same! How much fun would it be to bike through the countryside and camp every night?!? I intend to do that sometime!! :)

And I've been running, which has turned out to be beautiful too. Except, today it was a bit too hot by the time I got out of bed, so I didn't get too far. Besides, running 3 miles in Chicago is much different than running 3 miles here.... where there are hills that drag on FOREVER! But gorgeous!

It's like I'm seeing Germany for the first time... I don't know why it seems more gorgeous now than before, but it does. In two days I'm off to Amsterdam until Saturday, and then I'll be back in Chicago. Looking forward to Amsterdam... I haven't been there since I was a little kid. And one of my good friends Mieske lives there, and I can't wait to see her again!

Woohoo!

I received a letter in the mail today from the German Consulate....

They have approved my request for Dual Citizenship!!! :)

The Germans are very strict about this and don't allow anyone to have dual citizenship without prior consent from them, unless you are born into it. So they wanted good reasons why I wanted to 1. apply for US citizenship and 2. keep my German citizenship. I filed all the paperwork last summer, and on my birthday in December I received a letter saying that the way it stands, the request would be denied. They simply didn't think my reasons were good enough.

Oh, but they had no idea how persistent I can be.... I wrote a nice long letter back to them, and further explained my reasons and why they are good reasons. I attached all sorts of documents for proof, and I must have been very convincing, because this time they agreed with me!

Now I get to apply for US citizenship.... :) And if all goes well, I'll be able to vote in the next election!

I'm SOOOO excited! Things seem to finally start going the way I hoped lately....

Happy Easter!

I just read an article that I found mildly disturbing. Apparently, a school in Rhode Island changed the name of the Easter Bunny to Peter Rabbit in an effort to please all religions and people.

First of all, since when is the Easter Bunny a religious symbol? What did the Easter Bunny ever do that was so special? Did he die and rise to heaven three days later? No. That was someone else. The Easter Bunny is nothing more than a bunny. He happens to be connected to a religious holiday, but that doesn't make him holy.

Second, since when do people get to rename religious traditions? That would be like re-naming Santa Claus Nick Smith. There are some traditions that are connected to religion. That is just a fact of life, and those who don't participate in that faith should have nothing to say about it! If you don't like to celebrate Easter, that is your personal choice. But don't attack the Easter Bunny for it. Nobody is trying to rename Jewish traditions or Muslim traditions. So leave the Christian ones alone too!

Then there is the ever so controversial topic of 'seperation of church and state'. Is there really such a thing in the US? How come George W. gets to talk about religion, and little school kids do not? And what's even worse, Goerge W. used religion to help him start a war... remember when we went to war, Bush said it was a difficult decision and he was praying to make the right one? The president of the United States openly gets to involve religion in politics, but some little kids in Rhode Island don't get to take a picture with the Easter Bunny?

And then the article stated a little side note that had nothing to do with Easter.... Sasha Cohen (the Figure Skater, not Borat) performed at a Christmas show one year where a choir was scheduled to sing Christmas carols. And because Ms. Cohen is half Jewish, the choir was asked not to sing the carols. What?? She isn't even religious enough to choose a full religion! She is HALF Jewish. Clearly she doesn't believe in her religion 100%, so why does she get to be offended by Christmas Carols?

And here is the last one... The city of Chicago asked the Christkindl Market not to promote the movie 'The Nativity Story' for fear it might offend someone. It's a Christkindl Market! Even if you don't know what the word Christkindl means... it implies that it is religious, and has to do with Christ and Christmas, and that's exactly what it is. (Christkindl is the German equivalent of Santa - meaning not by looks, but by the fact that this is who brings kids their presents on Christmas). If you are going to a Christkindl Market, you are entering religous CHRISTIAN territory. You don't get to be offended about anything Christian you see there! If you are, then don't go there.

I think religious activism, or rather anti-religious activism has been taken a little far here. There are certain traditions that different religions have, and they shouldn't be changed, no matter what religion it is. I thank you - Richard Singleton from R.I. - for introducting the "Easter Bunny Act" to help protect the Bunny's good name! This bill would stop all local minicipalities from changing the name of popular religions and secular symbols.

I am by no means religious, but come on!! Isn't it enough yet? Can't we all just get along and learn to live with the fact that there are more religions out there than just our own, and respect them for what they are?

Thank God for Binny's

A few years ago in Australia I fell in love with this sparkling shiraz they had there. Ever since then I have looked for it, and have not been able to find it ANYWHERE! I've looked in specialty wine shops, I looked in Germany, I searched in Boston, and always without luck. Until today... I ventured into Binny's for something different, and happened to see it!!! I'm so excited! This was my first time at Binny's and I was blown away by their wine selection. There used to be a huge liquor store in Boston (the name escapes me right now) but that was nothing compared to Binny's!

So tonight will be spent with a bottle of sparkling shiraz, a movie with my favorite Mexican (Gael Garcia Bernal) and a some kind of dinner featuring Stove Top Stuffing (loooove stuffing and haven't had any in a while).

I have had a lovely few days in general. On thursday I signed up to run the Chicago marathon (yeah baby!), on Friday I went to Rise for some sushi and martinis with Katie and Julie, and today.... well today I haven't done much, but still had a great day.

Party like it's 90210?

Has a cashier ever asked you what your zip code is, and your answer was 90210? (My ex used to do that all the time, and as stupid as it is, it made me laugh every time).

Beverly Hills 90210 was with us from 1990 until 2000, and chances are, everyone in our generation has at least seen a few episodes in their lifetime. If you're a girl, you probably watched it every week for 10 years. I remember in Germany it was always on TV on saturday afternoons, and it was the highlight of the weekends when I was 12. I kept watching it week after week, season after season until I moved to the US and temporarly stopped. Since TV shows are usually a bit behind in Germany (they usually start a year after they have been successful in the US), I missed a few episodes in the move to the US as they were a bit ahead, but eventually I started watching again. Until in 2000 I moved to Germany again.... At that time the show was in its final season, but in Germany there were still a year and a half of shows left. I had already seen all that, and wanted to know how it would end! I asked my friend Kerry to tape every episode and bring it with her when she would come to visit in the summer. Being a true and loyal friend, she followed orders and we had a little mini-marathon when she came to visit in the summer of 2000. It was the weekend before my wedding, which kinda symbolized that I indeed grew up with the show!

And now I have a big confession to make.... I have become re-addicted! I can't believe this has happened to me, and I honestly don't know how I could have let it. I discovered a few weeks ago when I was home sick that re-runs of 90210 are on Soap Net (a channel I didn't even know existed!). And ever since then, I have started watching them as if I have no idea what is going to happen next. I can't f-ing believe it! It's like I've been brainwashed and can't remember if Brendon and Kelly end up doing it, or if Donna will marry as a virgin. Except, I DO remember that everyone did it with everyone, and even Donna couldn't hold out til the end.

The show is totally stupid now that I'm an adult, and I think I have become a little dumber just by watching it again. But it's fun and I can't help it, and it's especially fun on a saturday night when I come home drunk! It's my dirty-little-guilty-pleasure-secret and the first step to recovery is aditting you have a problem. So I'm putting it out there in the world and admitting it....

Yipee!!

Today I accomplished something I thought never possible. Or at least not in quite a while....

I made an offer on a fabulous condo today and it was accepted (well...after a little negotiation). I'm closing on May 15th and plan on moving in at the end of the month over Memorial Day weekend. It's a brand new condo conversion, and the place is not quite finished yet, so I have to wait until then. The place is in a cute courtyard building on Beacon Street in Uptown. Basically, it's between Montrose and Lawrence, and between Clark and Broadway. I looked around some places in Lakeview, Uptown, Buena Park and Ravenswood, and this one was by far the cutest place and the cutest neighborhood.

I can't tell you all how excited I am!!! Updates will come as they are available and I'll email you my new address when everything is finalized.

Nena's 30th Birthday Party

It's been a crazy week, and it was finished off by Nena's 30th Birthday Party on saturday. I took the Megabus out to Detroit on Friday night (fun!) to make sure I wouldn't miss it. And what a great time we had!! Click on the link to see some of the pictures from the evening...

The highlight of the party was without doubt the pepsi-machine-kegarator!! I can't remember how Nena ended up with this Pepsi machine, but somehow she and Kevin did. The problem was that it was broken and no longer dispensed any cans. They have had it for a little while, but the only things that still worked on the it are the light and the cooling function. Cooling function? That's all you need for a keg! So sometime last week Nena decided she wanted to put a keg in there, and after a day of gutting and drilling Kevin managed to turn it into a kick-ass kegarator! Who can say they have a pepsi machine that dispenses beer?? Kevin and Nena would be the only two people - probably in the world.

Anyway... great weekend! Happy birthday girl :)

Vacation Photos

I posted some more photos from past vacations in South Africa, Australia, Mexico and France. If anyone is interested in seeing them, clink on the link... Enjoy! :)

Go Bulls!!!

Michaellyn and I went to our first Chicago Bulls game on Tuesday evening! I bought the tickets a couple of months ago, and they were initially intended for someone else, but things change... and so us two girls went together instead! The Bulls were playing the Boston Celtics, and it was the 'official St. Patty's Day Game', which added some extra fun to it all. We each got an 'Erin go Bulls' shirt when we came in, there were crazy people in leprechaun outfits, and there were little Irish girls dancing all around United Center (think Riverdance). And of course the beer was flowing. Good Irish fun!! But St. Patty's day also made it a bit more confusing for us because the Bulls were wearing green (normally Celtics colors). We weren't really sure who our team was for the first few minutes :( But of course we figured it out and cheered for the Bulls and our friend Hinrich. Of course Chicago won the game... Chicago will always be better than Boston, and I can say that from experience.

Go Bulls!!!

Another one gone...

My former roommate Kerstin is getting married in two weeks, and last night we had her Bridal shower / Bachelorette party. She moved to New York last August, so she was only here for the weekend, and therefore we had to hold both parties on one night.

The day started out with just me, Kerstin and her new sister-in-law Christina in the Signature Lounge at the Hancock. After a few martinis we got on the red line (important moment for Kerstin who lived in Chicago 5 years and only once took the train!!) and headed to the Cheescake Factory in Skokie. Took us about two hours to get here, since we ended up getting off on the wrong stop and our ride was waiting somewhere else. But eventually we made it and met up with some of Kerstin's friends and former colleagues in Skokie. After dinner some of us girls then went to Schaumburg to go dancing for the Bachelorette party part of the evening. Great night, and the bride-to-be had a great time.

Click on the link if you want to see more pictures!

The Secret

I just watched Larry King talk with his guests about the movie and book The Secret. First of all, Larry King bugs me. I would like to see him argue topics with his guests, instead of just asking questions and accepting the answers. That's why I enjoy Bill Maher. Oh, Bill Maher will be on Larry King on Monday, and maybe that will get Larry's pulse pumping.
Anyway.... The secret is the law of attraction, and it states that we can attract anything into our lives by simply believing in it. Well... not just believing, but truly feeling it and knowing that it will happen. This may seem like a far fetched idea when you first think about it, but I'm sure some of it is true!
Regardless of what material things you may or may not attract into your life, isn't happiness more imporant anyway? Consider this: I've always believed that happiness is a choice and everyone creates their own happiness. I haven't always lived by it, but I've been preaching it to someone for months now. When things don't go the way you want them to go, you can either chose to let it get you down, or you can chose to see the good in it and be happy and grateful for the things you DO have. The secret says that if you are truly happy with yourself and knowing that you are worth it, you will attract more things to be happy about into your life. Of course you will!! Because when you are in a happy mindset, you will not be focused on the bad and therefore you only see the positive. Bad things will still happen to you, but you won't be focused on them.
Now, whether or not you believe in The Secret and the law of attraction, doesn't it already make for a better life if you focus on the good instead of the bad? Doesn't it already build up your confidence and self-esteem if you chose to believe in yourself? People often believe that others influence these things, but the truth is, everyone creates it only for themselves and nobody else is to blame or to thank. It's a choice, and you can chose to continue to be happy. Or you can chose to doubt your own worth and chose not to be happy by BELIEVING you are not happy. Focus on the good, and the good will continue to come to you. Basically: Happiness is all in your head!!
Has anyone else seen the movie or read the book or heard all the hype? What do you think?

The Lives of Others

After seeing a German movie win the oscar for 'best foreign movie' last weekend, I happened to see today that the film is playing at Landmark Theater right around the corner from me (LOVE that theater!!). As a German, I felt obligated to see this movie, because German movies do not tend to make it so big that they are shown in theaters in Chicago. Or anywhere outside of Germany for that matter. The most noteable German movies of recent times (that are also usually available at your local blockbuster) are The Priness and the Warrior, Goodbye Lenin, and Run Lola Run. Rent them sometime.
This movie is called "The Lives of others" and shows how the Stasi monitored the lives of the East Germans. And let me tell you, it is scary to see how much control a government can have, and how they can monitor your every move! And even more disturbing is that this movie is based on true historical events. The movie itself seems to focus on an artist couple, but more acurately, it focuses on the guy who is assigned to monitor them. The purposely unnoticable guy in grey, who isn't able to stay detached from the situation of the people he is monitoring, and as a result has a life changing experience. I don't want to say too much more, in case you want to go see it. The movie is great, and definitely worth seeing!! If you're not too bothered by subtitles, go see it! And if you are bothered by subtitles... get over it and go see it anyway!

Happy Chicago Election Day

... and I can't vote :( I'm in the process of applying for citizenship (trying to get the Germans to grant me dual citizenship right now), so hopefully by the next elections I will be able to cast my vote too! On a more disturbing note, I have actually voted once, in the last presidential elections. I was with my friend and he wanted to quickly stop by the polling place and vote, and I told him I would just wait for him. We were chatting while we were in line and weren't really paying attention, and apparently nobody else was either. The next thing I knew we were both standing in the poll booth. Nobody ever asked me for ID, or voter registration or anything. So he let me fill out his form (with his instructions of course), and I'm proud to say I/we did NOT vote for Bush!
Having a great day today so far! I have dance class tonight, which is always exhausting but so much fun, I applied for my dream job yesterday and am determined to get it, and I just bought a pair of tickets for a Cubs vs Sox game this summer! Even though I don't care to watch baseball games on TV, and I don't really understand the game, I have always enjoyed beer and hot dogs and just being at the game. So I'm excited!
Hope everyone is having a great day too.... :)

My first post!

My first post... And what a better way to get started than with a trip?! My mom and I just got back yesterday from a lovely trip to Costa Rica. We stayed at a great hotel about an hour away from Liberia in the Guanacaste Region called Hotel Borinquen. The Hotel is in the Rincon de la Vieja National Park and surrounded by Volcanoes. They have boiling hot springs all around to prove it. It was absolutely gorgeous! We did nothing except lay around, read, sleep and listen to the sound of howler monkeys (which sound like they are HUGE, but I suspect they really aren't). Oh, and the hotel has 200 some horses, so there was also some riding!!
As this is the first post, and I'm just trying to figure out how to do it all, I will leave it at that. I'll post some pictures so you can see how beautiful it is! I also have a new camera that I apparently haven't quite figured out how to use correctly, so some of the pics may be a bit blurry.

I will post more soon. Enjoy....