Thanksgiving, Phoenix, and all the rest

Thanksgiving
So, Thanksgiving... was an interesting time. Matt & I drove to Rockford Thursday morning to head to my dad's house for Thanksgiving (he hosts it every year). We ended up getting there pretty early (earlier than normal, as my dad serves lunch at 12 sharp on Thanksgiving)... hung out with my odd family, ate some good food,& watched some football. A funny part in the day came during lunch, sitting at the dinner table when Matt starts talking football with my cousin. They start talking about the new surfaces being used for fields in the NFL. Matt says, "yeah, a lot of places are using that astroglide surface now" D'oh.

Thanksgiving evening, Matt headed to the burbs to hang out with his family, while I stayed back to hang out with my mom & younger brother. It's an annual tradition to go play Bingo on Thanksgiving evening, so my mom, her boyfriend & my brother headed to the old fogey filled Bingo hall. As usual, I didn't win a dang thing (unless you count winning a raffle prize of '5 bingo dollars to be spent at your next Wednesday or Thursday night bingo!' as winning, and also as usual, it infuriated me to no end. Bingo ended up going until fairly late, my mom dropped me off at my dad's, I went to bed, preparing for my 10 year high school reunion the next evening.

Now, I know, who goes to stupid reunions? I only decided to go once my friend Megan convinced me to. Matt drove back to Rockford for the night, picked me up, and we headed to the hotel we'd be staying at (the hotel was in the same parking lot as the reunion locale, so no driving would be needed after a night of heavy drinking). Prior to heading over to Stephanie's parents house (where we always used to meet before dances) Matt drove me back toward my dad's place, mentioning that he needed to pick something up. Intrigued, I kept trying to figure out what it was, and only once we were very close did I figure it out. He ended up jokingly getting me a corsage for my reunion. I guess his request didnt go over so well with the florist, as he went in, asked, "I'm looking for something gaughty, do you have anything?" The florist wasnt amused, but before she could say something, Matt pointed to something and said, "That will work" -- anyway, so I had an awesome corsage for my 10 year HS reunion.

The reunion itself was pretty stupid. Hanging out with Steph & Brandon and Megan & Beth was pretty fun. It's good to see old friends, I wish we did more often. Also got to see Megan's brother Alex and his girlfriend Kate... the following morning, Matt & I went couch shopping very quickly & then he headed over to my mom's house to meet her, my brother, and my 2 neices & 1 nephew. We hung out at her house for a while, but had to head back to Chicago to get to a Wilco concert that night (which ended up being pretty cool).

Phoenix
This past weekend (November 30th-December 3rd) a bunch of us headed out to Phoenix, Arizona to watch the Illini take on Arizona. Illinois ended up losing, both to the Wildcats & the refs, but I'll leave it at that.

My old roommate Sean also lives out in Phoenix and was teh gracious host to roughly 7-9 of us depending on the evening. He had plenty of aerobeds, blankets, towels, etc... he's all growns up now, out there in Phoenix (although I think his mom has a lot to do with that). Anyway, 7 of us got to Phoenix late Thursday night, just in time to miss the snow in Chicago that ended up cancelling a lot of flights. I guess we were one of the last flighst allowed to leave O'Hare. Anyway, Sean picked us all up at the airport, we headed back to get ready to go out for the evening. Spent some time in downtown Tempe, which didnt leave a good impression on me after the first night... we first stopped at a brewery that claimed to close at 1AM on Thursdays. We get there around 11:30, they claim the kitchen is closed and the bar is on last call. What? So what do we do? We sit down and order a round of beers. We headed to one other bar that night, but soon called it an evening, as we were all tired.

Friday morning we all get up, Sean & Teri's boyfriend Kieffer headed out early for golf while Matt & Ben cook breakfast for the rest of us. The plan for Friday was hiking at Piestawa Peak, but there was more to the plan than Teri knew. Kieffer didnt actually go golf, but rather, he headed up to the trail we planned to hike. He found a spot on teh trail that was out of sight, and waited for us to walk by so he could propose to Teri. Hoooray, she said yes!

We finished hiking, stopped at an In N' Out burger (first timer), and headed home to rest before dinner. We ate at a really great Japanese choppy place where they cook your meal in front of you on the table. It was tasty. We then headed out in Scottsdale for the evening, had many drinks, eventually made it home.

Saturday was game day... we headed downtown around 11 to go to the bar where an Illini pregame was being held. That wasn't all that fun, so we eventually made our way into the arena for game 1 featuring Gonzaga vs. Texas. We ran into our fair share of douchebag Arizona fans, claiming they should have won in 2005 to head to the final four... it was nice to not have to respond to them, but rather point to the Final Four shirts some of our friends were wearing. We ended up in awesome seats, 18 rows behind the Illinois bench, I only wish a better outcome had occurred.

Saturday night we headed out in downtown Tempe. We were able to score a table at a pretty cool (and cheap due to the idiot waitress who underchared us for drinks) bar, where we spent most of the night. We did attempt to venture over to another bar, only to be bonged because the only identification I have is my Illinois State ID. Apparently some bars in Phoenix will not accept out of state IDs as identification (not to mention the person in front of us got in on their UPS employee ID). Phoenix sucks for that, sorry.

Sunday we found a place to watch the Bears game (after checking many bars in downtown Tempe, even Pizzaria Uno - which claims to be a Chicago bar)...watched the game, walked through the Art Fair that was taking place on the streets, bought a few souveneirs, and eventually made our way back to Sean's to get packed for the airport.

Overall, a really fun trip which I'm glad we made. It was nice to see Sean, as well as our out of town friends Jamie and Lee from California. Illini trips usually end up being a good time, despite the outcomes of the games. The part that wasn't so fun - returning to 20 degree weather with snow. Yuck.

All the rest
Nothing much else to report... Matt & I purchased a Christmas tree earlier this week & now it's all decorated. Steve tends to leave it alone, which is an awesome relief. I'm likely headed to his family's Christmas Eve celebration in Oak Park, and then we're heading to my family's Christmas celebration in Rockford. I havent done a lick of Christmas shopping yet, probably should get started on that... Matt & I are also currently shopping for a couch, which will end up being our Christmas gift to each other... we've also been looking at plasma/LCD televisions, but likely further down the line. I'm taking time off shortly to head to St Louis for the Illinois/Mizzou Braggin' Rights game, as well to Cincinnati for the Illinois/Xavier game at the end of the month.

That's all for now. Have a great holiday season!

Because I'm a creepy old cat lady

Because I'm a creepy, old cat lady, this post will consist only of pictures of Steve The Cat

Steve the Cat - the newest addition to our family

So Matt & I cat sat for a co-worker of his a couple of weeks ago. Never in my wildest dreams did I think that would lead to me wanting a cat. Growing up, we had many cats. I never had a good impression of them...they all seemed to be pompous little smelly bitches. Anyway, I figured cat sitting might be a good opportunity to see if we could handle having a cat. It ended up being a wonderful experience and left me immediately wanting a new kitty.

Matt's dad is a vet in Kenosha, WI so we had a pretty good chance that a new cat would come along in no time. Sure enough, a stray cat made it's way to his office. Matt's dad checked him out, determined that he was likely 2-3 years old, and had been wandering around outside for some time. Matt's inital plan was to surprise me with a new cat (which is the sweetest thing in the world), but this particular cat had shown a little bit of a crabby side. He'd sometimes hiss at people while inside his cage. Hello, I'd likely do a lot more than hiss at people if I were in a cage!

So, to make sure he was the right cat for us, Matt let me in on his surprise and asked if I wanted to head up to Kenosha to meet him. So, last night Matt & I drove up to Wisconsin to check the little bugger out. He hissed loudly as the cage was opened, but after we let him out, he seemed to make himself perfectly comfortable. He even started purring! (which I wasnt expecting)...

Anyway, we decided to give him a shot. We packed him up, including the necessary supplies from the office & headed back to Chicago. We named him Steve. Here are some pictures of Steve:

Wowsers, I havent updated in 2 months?!

I suck.

In any case, the summer has absolutely flown by. Matt & I are pretty settled into the new apartment. We're slowly building a list of things we'd like to eventually purchase including, but not limited to: a new plasma/LCD TV (I don't really know the difference) by December 2007, a new, larger bed, and a new couch (as the one we currenly have is barely considered a loveseat). We have added a new foosball table into the apartment (thanks Ben!). I continue to stink at it, but will try and get better so Matt has some competition to play against.

One great thing about the summer nearing an end - It's football season!! As terrible as Illinois is, heading down to Champaign to tailgate is still one of my favorite things to do in the fall. Our first game was a night game vs. Easten Illinois - started tailgating around noon for a 6PM kickoff. Normally that'd spell disaster, but I did a pretty good job at drinking in moderation. Ended up going out to a couple of bars in the Paign. I miss that place.

Hmm, what else is new with me? I've put off school for one semester. This is mainly due to my own procrastination and poor planning. I'm planning on starting my masters in elementary education in January 2007, most likely taking weeknight classes in the Loop. If I stay on track, I'd finish in 2009, which seems like an awfully long time from now.

My 10 year high school reunion is the Friday after Thanksgiving in the Rock. I'm making a point to get smashed before heading to it. . . and I'm only going if Stephanie & Megan go as well. Hopefully the Homewoods will open their house up to all of us just like back in the day!

After months of complaining about myself, I've started working out again. I'm back to my old stomping grounds at Curves. I mean, I live roughly 100 steps from the place, and apparently I never cancelled my membership (d'oh!), so I figured I'd give it another shot. It worked before, at least in that I lost 20 pounds & some inches.... I'm hoping to do the same this time, if not more. Wish me luck! (I need all the help I can get!).

I think that's it for now. DA BEARS beat the Pack yesterday, life is good.

Where the hell is Matt?

http://www.wherethehellismatt.com/

Living in sin - It's official!

Matt & I signed on the (un)dotted line on Monday, June 26. We ended up in a very spacious 1BR near Southport & Addison. Now that it's official, we've begun planning out the apartment, where certain pieces of furniture will go, what we need to purchase down the line... needless to say, it's pretty damn exciting. To spare everyone from having to read mushy musings about our new place, I will say this: I can't really put into words how exciting it is, taking this next step in my life. I also can't even begin to eloquate how lucky I am to have found Matt, and how excited I am to be taking this step with him.

That said, here are some pictures of our new place, at press time, it's named: Westview: A gated community.

Living in sin

So it's close to 100% certain that I will be moving in with my boyfriend Matt in August/September. I can't even begin to tell you how exciting this is for me, and for us. But I can tell you about our apartment shopping adventures, thus far.

We went to see a place last night that we've dubbed "Melrose Place." A 2BR place, affordable, on an awesome tree lined street, close to public transportation, with a deck, dishwasher, security system... many of the things we're looking for. It has some nice charm to it as well, with exposed trim/woodwork, an awesome built in hutch, & a beautiful bay window overlooking the street. Lots of closets & storage (although coming from a place with NO storage, even 1 closet would be exciting to me). We've placed a call to the leasing agent expressing our interest to apply for the place. He's out until Monday, so we won't hear back until then.

In the meantime, we're looking at places this weekend.

Our first appointments tonight are in a nice courtyard building, in the heart of what's been dubbed, the "Southport Corridor." There are 2-3 units (hehe "units") in this building that we will be taking a look at, ranging in cost. I think most of them are 1BRs.

We're also looking at a place that's a bit out of the area we would ideally like to live in, but it's also worth a look, as it's within our price range, and includes the +den that I'm so obsessed with.

We're meeting with a woman named Candi to show us the above apartments. I wonder if Candi has big knockers. With a name like Candi, I can't help but think that. I also shouldn't assume she spells her name with an "i" and not a "y."

Tomorrow we're going to an open house at the most interesting place to date. VERY affordable 2BR apartment. One of the main reason we're assuming it's cheap - it's a garden apartment, underneath a professional psychic. That being said, it's in an awesome location, and again, something we should at least look at before writing it off.

I can say that I'll keep everyone up to date, but I have no idea when I'll get back to updating this thing... considering I've only posted one day of recap from my Vegas trip.

Vegas - Day 1 (Wednesday, May 17th)

Jen and I flew out together, our flight was scheduled to leave at 8:05ish Chicago time, landing in Vegas at 10:56 Vegas time. We planned on taking the Blue Line out to O’Hare, so we met on the 152 Addison Bus at roughly 5:15, in order to get to the airport in time. Now, it had been overcast most of the day, with the threat of storms as well. As we boarded the Blue Line it started hailing pretty badly, worse than I’ve ever seen before. Neat.

We arrived at the airport and checked our flight status. Now leaving at 9:56pm Chicago time. Awesome. We checked in, checked our luggage, and decided we’re going to grab a beer. All lines at restaurants were enormously long, since most everyone else was delayed as well. We found a place in line at Chili’s, and quickly scored a couple of seats at the bar. It was at some point while ordering beer #2 at Chili’s that Jen & I decided to have an airport bar crawl while we waited, after all, we had 3 ½ hours to kill. We finished up beer number 2 and headed to the next bar. (Mind you, we didn’t really know where any of the bars are, so we just wandered around the airport, stopping at the next bar we’d see).

In between bar #2 & bar #3, we decided we were idiots for not capturing this adventure on film, so we begin to take pictures outside of each of the remaining bars we stopped at to imbibe adult beverages. (A picture show will be posted as soon as I get the pictures).

Also in between Bar#2 and Bar #3, we decided to check the departures board, to make sure our flight time hadn’t changed again, and to make sure we were at the same gate. Our flight was listed with a new takeoff time of 11:14. 11:14!!!! Effers. We head to another bar, considering it’s was roughly 9:00pm at the time.

Bar #4 was pretty boring, so we finished quickly, and headed to the next bar. We decided to check the departures screen every time we went to another bar. We checked our flight, another new departure time, this time, it was 10:15. Now, it was close to 9:45 or 10:00 at the time, so we booked it to our gate, assuming they were already boarding. This was not the case, but during the brisk walk, we learned that the later 10:30 flight to Vegas had been cancelled. So, now we had all of our flight waiting at the gate, along with 100 more people, waiting in line after being so rudely cancelled.

10:15 rolls around, no sign of any sort of boarding of the flight. The time on the sign at the gate listed the flight at 11:14. I decided to go back to Chili’s, order 2 more beers, and carry them out, back to the gate for Jen and I. Others saw my genius idea and followed suit.

Eventually we took off, roughly around 11:20 or so, landing in Vegas at 3am Chicago time (1am out there). I felt like crap, the flight was terrible; I had to sit next to a Busy Body Lady, who needed to talk to her husband the entire time. We deplane, I felt sick to my stomach, and found a bathroom to barf in. I barfed, our bags finally arrived, and we grab a cab & head to the hotel, to go to sleep (which disgusts me, as the first night in Vegas is usually the best). We arrive at the Flamingo, enter the casino, and are no longer tired. Jen and I decided to drop our bags off in the room & head back out. More to come in my next entry.

Viva Las Vegas!

This is where I will be until Sunday. With 8 other women. Should be interesting. Hopefully I'll provide a better recap than I did for my Final Four trip. I'm dragging the laptop with me to Las Vegas though.

Menehune Tribe

So, a coworker of mine was up to no good. The office next door to ours has this dude in their window, inside their space:

A couple weeks ago, we dared a coworker to steal it. He'd try everyday to steal it, but never was able to. He eventually did. We've put him in this disguise in case they ever come looking for him:

He's also currently hiding in our reception area. You probably wont be able to spot him.

We've also contemplated putting him on the elevator, pressing a few buttons, and sending him down to 1.

Beer

Do I have basic skills?

So I have a test tomorrow morning at 8am. I am taking the Illinois Basic Skills Test, which is required for admission to most graduate education programs. I decide to take a look at the practice test provided on their website, expecting to spend 2-3 hours on it. I started at 6:20ish and am already done. I didnt complete the exam, but I did go through enough questions in each section in order to gain a better understanding just what this test will entail.

I still stink at reading comprehension, still rock at math. No surprises there. (I use "stink" as a relative term, as I dont necessarily believe I am terrible at it, just slower than most). It's kind of startling how much my little brain can remember in regard to math. At first, some of the equations were tough to remember how to solve, but once I started solving some, most of my knowledge came back. Kind of weird. I sure am glad I paid attention in high school & didn't care that I was taking classes with a bunch of nerds.

Now, I mentioned my test was at 8am. This is a little deceiving in regard to when I actually need to get up. The test is located on the 3800 block of West 111th Street. That's roughly 25 miles from me. It also requires driving on the Dan Ryan, which is currently under construction, and likely down to one lane. I expect my commute there to be around an hour. This means I will need to leave my house around 6:30, which means I'll have to get up at roughly 5:45 in the morning. I do not like the sound of that. The test is scheduled to be 5 hours long. 5 hours?! I hope it isn't divided into timed tests, based on subject matter. I also hope that we are able to leave once we have completed the test, as I do not expect to take 5 hours. One thing I do expect - I will not be able to wait to hit my bed once I get home from completing the test. Speaking of, I should head home now, have a beer, and go to bed.

Same Outfit Challenge

So a co-worker and I decided to challenge each other to a Same Outfit Challenge.

We are both required to wear the same outfit we were currently wearing at work on Monday, for the remainder of the week. Same outside clothes, different undergarments & socks allowed. Febreeze & ironing also allowed.

Winner gets $20.

I wish I would have worn something cuter to work today.

Daily updates to follow.

Cable update

It appears the Cable Guy never came. Or if he did, he only temporarily fixed the problem. All the channels that were out previously, are once again, out. You'd think this would encourage me to find better things to do with my time. You'd be wrong, I'm now watching completely random channels. Yesterday I watched the finale to the first Survivor. That was pretty cool.

It's warm out today. I'm wearing a skirt to work for the first time in a couple of months. I think it's kind of see-through. Oops.

Cable Guy

2:34pm: So the cable guy is coming sometime between 3-5pm today. My friend Dan is over. We are drinking beer. Beer 1 is halfway done.

2:51pm: Beer 2 is opened. No sign of the Cable Guy

2:56pm: Dan is finally connected on Sean's computer (Hi Sean!). He realized he needed to press the blue button in order to connect.

3:28pm: Beer #3 is about to be served. I think I may make a sandwich. No sign of the Cable Guy. Needless to say, I am *shocked*

3:46pm: Beer #3 is half gone. One guest on Jerry Springer just called another one a "Bible thumping whore" Neat. My boyfriend needs a new remote control. I hope the Cable Guy will give me a new one for him.

4:06pm: About to open beer #4. I need to go to the bathroom, but refuse to break the seal. Still no sign of the Cable Guy.

4:28pm: Still no Cable Guy. I still need to go to the bathroom. My "r" key on my laptop is broken.

4:49: I'm nursing beer #4, Dan is on beer #5. Still no sign of the Cable Guy. I wonder if he realizes he has 11 minutes to get here. I wonder if I could charge my time off today to Comcast.

4:57pm: 3 minutes to go Mr. Cable Guy.

5:03pm: No sign of the Cable Guy. I wonder if I should call Comcast

5:24pm: Dan and I are now watching Seinfeld. I'm on beer #5, Dan is on #6. I wonder if I should eat dinner. Thai sounds good.

5:55pm: Dan & I just ordered Thai food. I ordered chicken pad thai, Dan ordered chicken fried rice. I threw in an order of shrimp egg rolls. I will give them to the Cable Guy should he show up. Otherwise, I'll give them a try, they sounded tasty. My R button just fell off again. I'm getting drinky.

6:01pm: I just turned on WGN to check if Friends would come in decently enough to watch. Weird that it came in crystal clear. I checked all other channels that werent working previously. All good. Checked all of the channels in my room. All good. Thanks Cable Guy! I didnt even have to deal with talking to you!

"Vacation" Report

Will be coming soon. Too tired now to give a recap. Quick-cap: Florida, LSU & UCLA all have terrible fans. Maybe I thought that because I was in the middle of the Florida section for the games. Mason fans, on the other hand, pure awesomeness. Hopefully I'll have pictures uploaded soon.

Summer sandals

I just spent $72 on 3 pairs of sandals. $72!! What the hell is wrong with me? On a positive note, I ordered Reef's, which I've been told are close to the best kind you can buy. These things better be the most comfortable pair of sandals I've ever worn, otherwise I'll be pissed. Especially since I just bought 2 pair of cheapie sandals from Old Navy for $5 total.

I'm too smart to be a bleacher bunny

But they are interested in me possibly writing for the paper. That would be awesome. Waiting to hear back from the editors...


Hi Amber,
Sorry for not getting in touch sooner; I was trying to get in touch with our editor, Brad, to talk to him about you. Based on the letter you initially sent me and what I learned about you last Weds, I think that the best fit for you with The Heckler is not with the Bleacher Bunnies, but rather, as a writer. You definitely understand the game of baseball and the Cubs at a level higher than what most of our Bleacher Bunnies do (admittedly, myself included). It seems you have a dry sense of humor that I think will lend itself well to writing for the paper. Plus, the fact that you are a fan of other Chicago sports could prove to be very helpful too. That being said, I have forwarded your letter/photos to Brad and George (our 2 main editors and founders of The Heckler). You can expect to hear from either of them soon to talk about the possibility of writing for The Heckler. I really hope it works out!

Heckler Update

So I arrived at the Starbucks a little earlier than planned, grabbed a mocha and a seat, uncomfortably looking around to see if someone looked like they might be named "Laura." It was surprisingly determined early on that for some absurd reason I was feeling a bit nervous. I was only able to determine this based on the fact that my stomach wasn't taking too kindly to my mocha, and that never happens (then again, it could have just been a crappy mocha, who knows).

Eventually I spot someone sitting at a table with 2 other girls, and a Heckler paper sitting out. This had to be them. I walk over, introduce myself, and upon handshake, Laura proclaims, "You're Amber! Before we get started, I just wanted to ask you something. Have you ever considered submitting articles to the paper? (I hadn't really) You're email you sent over for this was hysterical, I even showed my coworkers that were in the office. Let me give you the contact information for our editor, as well as the generic submissions email" Score.

So then the meeting began... yadda yadda yadda... basically the job isnt as crappy as I was expecting. When reading the ad, I assumed we'd have to go to all the boxes and refill them with new papers. Who knew The Heckler had a distribution department who does this? Basically, for 2 hours before the game, you hand out papers to people heading into the game. Sounds easy enough (& certainly worth the $15/hour they pay us on the spot).

The topic of "uniform" came up. Laura explained that last year's uniform consisted of some sort of Heckler top, be it a t-shirt, tank top, etc; along with a blue mini-skirt & knee high socks. Yes, you heard me correctly... a MINI skirt AND knee high socks. No thank you. She then went on to explain that the uniform would be changing this year to something simpler & more personal choice-y (same top, denim of your choice on the bottom). Perfect. I like denim.

And finally we get to the part where she informs us that the promotions team has a name. Now, it's a group of 8-12 girls, so the immediate thought that came to my head was "The Hecklerettes" - Kinda lame, but it works. I wish that were the name, but no, the name of the group - The Bleacher Bunnies. Yes. Bleacher Bunnies. I do not like the bleachers, nor being referred to as a bunny. If hired, I will ask to wear a bunny costume, solely so I can wear bunny ears and a fuzzy tail.

I find out this weekend if they want me. (Hello, who wouldnt?)

Side note: please feel free to give me suggestions of topics I could start writing about to submit to the paper, as ultimately, that's what I want out of this relationship. That, and the bunny ears.

The plot thickens...

Now, I realize this would just be a part time gig, and wouldnt allow for me to quit at FCUsa, but it'd certainly be interesting to get some sort of job at the Heckler... hopefully it wouldnt just be somthing lame like passing out papers...

Email response from my application:

Hello!

Thanks for your interest in this opportunity! My name is Laura Lentino and I
am the Promotions Manager of The Heckler, a satirical sports newspaper (feel
free to check us out online: www.theheckler.com). I have reviewed the info
you sent me and am interested in meeting with you. I will be conducting 2
informal informational sessions/mini-interviews this week. The first will be
tomorrow (Wednesday, 3/22) at 7:00pm and the other will be on Thursday, 3/23
at 7:30pm. Please let me know which date works better for you and I will e-
mail you the meeting place. Thanks again!

Sincerely,

Laura :)

I am officially looking for a new job

I no longer wish to work at Telution/CSG Systems Inc, so I'm applying for this job. I'm fairly certain it's with The Heckler. I enjoy reading The Heckler, and I feel I would be an excellent candidate for the job (WTF is this my cover letter?). I included the photo montage below with my application. I made it in paint. It looks pretty professional.

Promotion position for Cubs enthusiasts only!

---

Satirical sports newspaper has several part-time, seasonal openings for fun and outgoing females to assist with promotion and distribution of the paper. Must be 21 or older. If you like baseball and/or satire and have an engaging personality please contact us with your name, phone number, e-mail address, resume/promotional experience and photo.

Happy 30th Birthday to Jen!

No updates, just a couple of pictures...






Paw Paw Posse in the house!

Blizzards, thunderstorms & rain

So I worked out last night for the 2nd day in a row. Its an oddly awesome feeling once you're done, but not so much during. At least not yet. I'll get there. I'll tell you one thing, it's a heck of a lot easier to work out while watching The Biggest Loser on NBC, so thankfully that was on during the majority of my workout.

I got home and ate the second half of my small oreo blizzard from DQ that I had leftover in the freezer. Completely negated my workout, but whatever, it was good.

It stormed a bit last night. It was overcast this morning when I left for work. But it was also quite warm outside, so I have no complaints.

I think I am going to Indy this weekend. After changing my mind at least 12 times about it. And after selling the 200 level tickets I had, for a loss. Doesnt matter though, I love hoops, I love downtown Indy, and I know I'll have fun. Now if I could just find a place to stay...

Working out is weird

Its been nearly a month since I last worked out (at least that's my assumption since I cant even remember when the last time was). While I only worked out for 50 minutes, I am already starting to feel the ramifications of such a vigorous workout. (This may also be due to the fact that I was too lazy to stretch afterwards).

Tonight is also the debut of Lorne Michael's new sitcomSon's & Daughters on ABC. It better not suck, I've been looking forward to it since the Superbowl commercials.

I stink. I need a shower.

I love March

March is easily the best month of the year. College basketball, St Patricks Day & my birthday. All of them involve a good amount of booze. Starting tonight, it's Dirty Red's birthday.

Thanks but no thanks

My rejection letter from Teach for America:

Thank you very much for your interest in Teach For America and for the time and effort you invested in applying to the 2006 corps. I am very sorry to inform you that, after careful consideration of your application, we did not select you to advance to the interview stage of our admissions process.

Your initiative in applying to Teach For America demonstrates your commitment to expanding opportunities for children and effecting social change. While we would like to offer all candidates a path to realizing these aims, we know that Teach For America is not a fit for everyone. Over time we have developed a set of selection criteria that helps us select those most likely to be successful in our particular program.

We know, however, that you have the potential to make a significant contribution to meeting our country's pressing social needs, and we encourage you to pursue other ways to make a difference. To assist you in your pursuit, we have posted on our website a list of recommended resources. If you also are interested in being contacted by other educational and service-oriented organizations that may wish to recruit Teach For America applicants for similar opportunities, you can complete a short form here. Although this e-mail may bring disappointment, I hope that your experience with Teach For America thus far has been positive. If you would like to share any anonymous feedback on our admissions process, we welcome your reflections and suggestions here. Lastly, I am sorry that we will not be able to provide individual feedback on admissions decisions, given that we do not have the resources to handle the volume of potential requests. We attempt to minimize the frustration we know this can cause by being upfront about this policy in our application.I wish you the best in your future endeavors.

Sincerely,
Monique Ayotte
Vice President, Admissions

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So 16 hours have passed since finding out and I've realized not being accepted certainly isnt the end of the world. Teach for America has approximately 17,000 applicants, and usually only accepts 2200 of them, so I can't say that I feel as horribly as I did when I first got the letter. I have other opportunities (other certification programs, school, etc) so I can guarantee myself that I will be doing something different come Fall. Thanks to those of you who helped along the way, especially to those who helped with the application process.

Today is apparently the day

I find out today if I am accepted to participate in the next steps of Teach for America. As stated below, the next step in the process is interviews, which will happen at the end of March. I've already checked my email 7 times, and checked the website twice. (Even though the website clearly states that applicants will not be able to check their status until 8pm EST today). I realize I probably shouldn't be nervous, but I currently am, and likely will be until I get the final word as to my status.

Please do a dance, say a prayer, do whatever it is you do in order to wish luck upon people.

I'll try and keep this page updated as much as I can today.

Today has been neat

I should have realized that today wouldnt be a good day when the specific car on the train I boarded this morning had no lights. I also should have realized this when I got up at 3am, took my towel to the bathroom & turned on the shower, thinking it was time to get up and get ready for work

Things that could have gone better in the past 24 hours:

-Going out to lunch specifically for one coworker who was too busy to get out, offering to pick up something up for others in the office, and then forgetting the initial person's food.
-Not having my pizza stolen from the floor refridgerator. Granted, it was my own fault for not labeling it as mine, but who goes into a fridge and eats someone else's takeout food? How do you even know how long it's been there?
-It would have been nice to have that slice of bread that comes with my Cosi lunch (that I went out to get since I offered a coworker, and since I had no pizza left to eat). I accidentally left it on teh kicthen counter (which in this office means the food is fair game), my CEO grabbed it, walked toward me with it, and didnt give it back once I told him it was mine. Not only that, he taunted me with it. That was nice.

I have also decided that I am giving up my aversion to hugging and cuddling for Lent.

The End.

What's been happening with me lately...

So I've been fielding questions as to why the heck I've been writing a letter of intent, updating my resume, etc, so I figured I'd use this to explain what my future plans are.

I applied to Roosevelt University at the end of December. Found out mid-January that I had been accepted to their Elementary Education program for the Fall of 2006.

I also just completely my application for Teach For America that I submitted on Thursday night. Teach For America is the national corps of recent college graduates of all academic majors who commit two years to teach in urban and rural public schools, and become lifelong leaders in the effort to expand educational opportunity. Its mission is to build the movement to eliminate educational inequality by enlisting some of our nation's most promising future leaders in the effort. I find out on February 28th if I will be asked to come in for interviews, which occur between March 20-24 or March 27-31. After that, I will find out if I am offered an opportunity to join the corps on April 13th. Keep your fingers crossed, as I am finally doing something to get myself out of the crappy corporate world.

Other than that, nothing much is new. As usual, I've been travelling a bit to see Illini games this season, including upcomming trips to Ann Arbor on Tuesday, and Iowa on Saturday for Senior Night to bid farewell to Dee Brown and James Augustine. (Which by the way, I am still refusing to admit Dee will be gone after this year).

Work is busy and it sucks. At least I have the fall to look forward to, as I am positive that I will either be going back to school or joining Teach For America. While it's very exciting to finally be doing what I want (teaching), it's also pretty darn scary to realize I will no longer be working in the Loop.

Mr. Orange Hands

LDanimal19 (5:01:53 PM): too bad i couldn't be sneaked into krush...i'd go as mr. orange hands the anti-mr. bluehands

Can someone get my friend Dan into the Krush seats? Thanks.

Amber's Owners Manual

An owners manual (of sorts) has been requested to better explain the oddity that is me. I should be getting a start on it next week. So far the topics that have been requested are:

1. what/how I eat
2. what to wear ( more imptly, what NOT to)
3. how to not behave like a stupid girl
4. on alcohol
5. how to attend a sporting event

Please feel free to add your own.

Mocha in a bowl

I've learned something new today. A large mocha at the Uncommon Ground bar/restaurant/coffee joint near my place is served in a bowl. At first I was unsure how I was to consume this delicious drink. Do I pick it up and drink from the bowl, ala left over milk in a cereal bowl? Do I spoon it into my mouth? Either way, I could end up looking like an idiot. I looked around to see if anyone else had one of these large drinks. No one did. I sought the advice of some of my internets friends and decided it was ok to pick it up and drink right from the bowl. I spilled a little, thankfully none of it was spilled onto my computer.

And now back to attempting to write my essay & letter of intent for Teach for America. Don't know about those plans yet? One of these days I'll fill you in.

Effing Blowhio

The best part of my Sunday trip to Columbus, Ohio. . . Stopping at the Steve Alford All American Inn in Indiana.

Bumper Sticker Fun

Ran across this today:

People should have "Honk if [something something]" bumper stickers in their offices and on their homes, and if a passerby agrees with [something something], they should say "Honk!"

One of my favorite Natalie Dee pics: Not that good at yoga

Mondays suck

Especially when you sleep horribly the night before. Even after going to bed at 11 pm.

Dear co-workers who know nothing about sports,

Please bring some sort of facts with you when you want to talk about college basketball with me. Yes, we lost at home to Penn State. Yes, that likely cost us a #1 seed in the tournament. Who the eff cares? The season isn't over today.

Still in the Top 10 in both polls.

Rich McBridiculous and Jamazing Smith

66-51 win.

At the Kohl Center.

New team. Same results.

I love the Illini.

Another creepy marker picture

Here's another picture of my friends and I watching the Illini game. It was drawn by a creepy older gentleman at the bar. All he does is drink soda and draw groups of people. He then asks you for $1-$20 per picture, upon handing it to you.

Happy 20 Year Anniversary!

Twenty years ago today, the Bears capped an unforgettable season with a monumental victory, thrashing the New England Patriots 46-10 in Super Bowl XX.

http://www.chicagobears.com/news/newsDetail.jsp?id=13941

We are having an Anniversary Party to celebrate tomorrow night. Prizes are being given to best dressed. (Guests have been asked to wear Superbowl 20 gear)

I also made homemade sugar cookies with rum frosting tonight. Not sure how they turned out yet.

POPOZAO!

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I shouldn't be doing this

I have a blog! I'm officially a nerd.

Welcome to my little space on teh internets. I cannot promise that I will be very dilligent in keeping it up to date. I can promise that I will try and make it as interesting and humorous as possible.

Here is a picture of my friends and I watching the Illini game. I'm the one getting my arse kicked in the bottom right.