Jen

It’s great moving a couch in the rain.

Ok, I personally didn’t move it, but I oversaw the moving process. I was out in the rain just like everyone else last night. OK?!?!

Gant got his bed in early, and then we went to Pat’s house to pick up the couch. Pat was going to throw it away, but I couldn’t let him do it. The couch is just sooo comfortable. It’s a complete piece of shit, mind you, but it’s so soft. AND it has character. Bean, one of my favorite kitties, used the arm rest as a scratching post, so there are some cat scratch marks, a few beverage stains (nothing like turning over the cushions!) and there you have it! Our new couch in the dinning room-transformed-into-study area of our house. We tried to wait out the rain, but it obviously wasn’t happening. Pat and I thought it was pretty fuuny when the news said, “FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR ALL OF COOK COUNTY.” Um, that’s one huge flash flood if you ask me.

So, the apartment is looking good. It’s nice to finally have everything come together.

We have a very fun weekend ahead of us. The band is coming in to record again, there is a “triple decker” party Saturday night, and Pat and I are hopefully going away somewhere Sunday and Monday, although that is still in the works.

What's with all these half days? Am I the only one who has to work all day the Friday before Labor Day?

Now I’m going to going and scratch my eyes out because of these damn allergies. I warn you, my next post maybe unreadable because I won’t have eyes any longer. So I apologize in advance.

get the hell out of my library!! you know who you are.

the flood was scary last night. at least it didn't come in the floorboards.

i'm outa here at noon today!! i love 5 hour workdays. they're so much fun. italian food and jugs of wine are a possibility for tonight, but we'll just have to wait and see.

i watched the end of the cubs game yesterday on the televisions outside the tribune tower here in lovely downtown chicago. it was me and a crowd of grizzled old bums. that's the only way to watch tv. time to pretend to work. but i mean it. get out of my library.

Becky

Monsoon!!!!! Monsoon!!!!!!!!!!!!!

were there floods last night? yes. Did we experience them? yes. are we okay? yes. here's a tip: if the Eden's is closed, do not go to Park Ridge! just take it as a bad sign.

today is my last half-day friday. boo :(. but we get a long weekend and its supposed to be nice and the band is going to be here and nancy is going to be here and I don't have to worry about anything. yay!!!!!

Jen

I had lunch with my friend Eugene, who is a great listener and a great support. I am so lucky to have good friends.

Sometimes I wish that I could write more things on this blog, but you never know who reads this thing. I hate to have things come back at me. There were a few months back when things were really difficult. Even at my lowest point, I screamed in words but never mentioned a name. I never posted anything specific, because I feel everyone has a right to their privacy. I know I would not want someone publicly diaplaying all my imperfections. I guess my conversation with Eugene really made me want to share and here I am still writing in code.

See you tomorrow.

argh!

i am incredibly pissed at my boss right now, but i just have to ignore that.

there's this snack shop/newspaper shop in the basement of my building. i go there occasionally to buy some chips or whatever. there's always people in front of me buying $10-20 worth of lottery tickets. can someone explain the appeal of the lottery to me? it seems like throwing money away, and $10-20 a day is a lot of money to throw away. now i admit, i waste some money too. i smoke a little bit, usually a pack a week or less. but let's go on the high side and say i smoke one $5 pack of cigarettes a week. that averages out to $260 a year. that's a decent chunk of change. maybe i should stop smoking. anyway, say you're a habitual lottery player and you buy a ticket for the mid-day and the evening drawing every day, as well as 2 for the big game every weekend. you're spending $12 a week, or $624 a year on lottery tickets and that's for someone who doesn't play very much. a hardcore lottery addict would easily spend twice, if not three or four times that. and i don't get this people who keep playing the same number every day because it's “bound to come up.” you're number has as much of a chance of coming up as the number my credit card’s account number does. every time the lottery goes every combination of numbers has an equal chance of being pulled. and that chance isn't very good. the worst part is that our government is the one who is running this scam. since the lottery is very popular with lower income people, it can basically called a highly regressive tax, punishing those who can least afford it. i hate the lottery, and it should be done away with.

the game last night rocked hard. nothing like a close game to get the excitement going. and it was the most beautiful night possible for baseball. i don't generally like night baseball, but last night was as good as it comes. time to work. and fume about my boss.

Becky: The night I met Ronnie Woo-Woo

Okay so one night after I first moved to the city we went to this bar in Wrigleyville called John Barleycorn. Its not the greatest place in the world but not the worst either-but it is a total wrigleyville-postcollegestudent-yuppie bar. Keep in mind I just moved into the city and did not know alot about the Cubs at this point (greg had not started his teaching yet).

So I am there with two girlfriends and we sit down at a table in the back. The place was crowded as there had been a cubs game earlier that day. We are there for a few minutes when this guy approaches our table with this guy wearing a cubs uniform who looks like a bum (I mean no disrespect by this term). and the guy is like "hey ladies, this is ronnie woo-woo" and we (being the stupid people that we are) are like, "who?" so they tried to convince us that he was a cubs player, but we didn't fall for any of that jazz.

At this point they sit down and ronnie attempts to speak and we have no idea what he is saying. My two friends then suddenly see some people they know but I don't know and leave the table. Then the guy who first came over left the table and I am left sitting next to Ronnie Woo-Woo trying very hard to figure out what the hell he's talkin about and mostly just smiling and nodding. This went on for what seemed like forever but was probably 2-3 minutes.

I can't really remember how it ended and it wasn't until weeks later that I found out that I had been talking to the "ultimate bleacher bum"

Greg, explain more about who ronnie is okay?

ps-today I got free boccoli and cauliflower from work. the funny part is that I work in the R&D center of a consumer goods company that makes plastic bags.........

Jen

You need to run fast. You know, hold down the B button and run. Don’t keep pressing it.

Poor Brian. Don’t play Nintendo with me, folks. Especially if you can’t remember how to make Mario run fast. I had the pleasure of hanging out with a “long lost” friend from high school yesterday, and somehow we ending up playing Super Mario Bros. 3. I am obsessed with that game.

I am actually busy here at work, so I don’t know how much I’ll be writing today. I had to chime in and say something.

I’m looking forward to the Ronnie Woo-woo story and Greg’s update on the game last night.

Oh, and Marc- If you are in town on Friday getting a tattoo, a mere 5 minute drive from my place, I will be greatly disappointed if I don’t hear from you.

gotta run now, but tomorrow I'll tell my story called "the night I met ronnie woo-woo"

Jen

Hey Becky- you have to tell the story when you met Ronnie Woo Woo. When I think about it, it makes me laugh. Tell it, Tell it!!

Greg- are you sure they haven't played Genie in a Bottle on the organ at Wrigley?

I swear, my legs are on fire! I sat outside on our lawn for the third day in a row and boy am I getting dark!* Burning!

*If you have ever seen me, you know that I never ever get tan.

hehehehehe.............you said dank.

that was one of the words of the weekend during the camping trip cause it summed up how we felt the first 2 days. the other word was supple. don't ask.

ps-in like 8th grade I was watching The Burbs with my sis and friend carrie and Tom Hanks described his cabin as being "dank." We thought he made up that word for a very long time cause it sounds kinda funny. especially when you say it over and over again.

sometimes

i agree.

me and shorty are heading to the bleachers tonight. hopefully the cubs won't make me weep with another performance like yesterday’s. i'm figuring the beer and hot dogs will be free flowing.

a lot of people complain that wrigley field is old and uncomfortable. a lot of these people are sox fans, but that’s unimportant. what makes wrigley such a great place to see a baseball game is that baseball is old, so i feel like a part of history when i watch baseball in a stadium with as much history as wrigley. stan musial and ernie banks and dozens of hall of famers played on the exact same field that I’m staring down on. i love the look of brick and ivy and wrought iron. i like the fact that i'm close to the field. i like the fact that it can be a little dank at times.

i really don't enjoy going to see games at newer stadiums as much. i went to a game at cinergy in cincinatti and it was only okay. the short bursts of pop songs and the people with the t-shirt guns seemed to signify an admission that the world is governed by the short attention span. but wrigley hasn't done that. there's no 'genie in a bottle' between innings, only an organ. no pounding animated graphics, only the scores from every major league game being played. no t-shirt guns, just ronnie woo-woo. it makes me feel like the game is the same no matter what joe morgan says. and god do i hate joe morgan.

for those of you who neither enjoy nor tolerate nor understand sports, look at it this way. for me, seeing baseball in wrigley is like seeing your favorite band at your favorite small club rather than at the nearest football stadium. it puts it on a human scale. it just feels right.

enough babbling about baseball. i know it doesn't really matter, but you have to pass the time somehow. i should work.

Jen

Becky! 6:58? That’s amazing! Err, I’m still in bed at that time.

Gant finally moved in some more of his stuff into the apartment. It’s looks like I’ll have real third roommate by Thursday night! I love Gant so much, like the way he unpacks. He just takes things out of the box and puts them in no particular place. I am so anal about that crap. For instance, when I moved into this place over a year ago, I had a bunch of books in boxes. They had no where to go, so they sat in a box in the dining room. If I needed one, I would take it out, use it and put in back in the box. Needless to say, this is probably why our dinning room has turned into the room of crap. For four months, we had a tent in there. Not a tent in the box, but one actually put together. Although this really didn’t bother me, I have to admit that my parent’s questioned it a bit when they came over. Especially when they looked in side and found beer bottle caps and it had a certain “odor” about it, if you will.

That was a tangent.

Ok, I’m getting hungry and I am looking forward to eating the veggie wraps that I got from Whole Foods.

Here’s a quickie for everyone. I have about one month before school starts. Are there any books that you would recommend that I can finish in that amount of time? Discuss.

Becky

I've got blisters on my fingers!!!!!

Okay I really have blisters on my feet but thats another story.

yeah, are you looking at what time I'm posting! I am a dedicated employee if there ever was one. booyah!

Jen

Hi, I killed the president of Paraguay with a fork. How are you doing?

I called Pat and he told me the name of the movie that we saw- the City of Lost Children. Go rent it and explain it to me. Kidding.

I forgot. I watched two movies yesterday. I had to watch Grosse Point Blank because it is just so great and my sister bought it for me for my birthday.

I came into a lot of movies and I don’t know what to do with them. My parents are giving away all the crap they don’t want, and these movies fell into my hands. I do not want a copy of Sister Act, I’m sorry. Anyway, maybe I’ll have another contest and give away some movies. Just a thought.

Ok, that’s all. Yoga tonight and an update tomorrow.

Becky

Greg: you are obsessed with the clock.

Jen: if you find yourself going through a bottle of aspirin a day, there is a problem. but if you have a headache, why not take advantage of modern day medicine? just because my ancestors had allergies and had to suffer, why should I? wouldn't they want you to feel better?

so I listened to very little music over the weekend. I brought "Bleed American" with me, but my friends had left their CD's at home and all that was in the car was NOW 7. I must have heard "Survivor," "Play," and "All for you" like 50 times when we would have to jump in the car to do stuff.

ps-if you know all of these songs then its time to admit that you like mainstream pop songs, okay? I'm not afraid........

Jen

Greg, don't forget that I too am in on the football game. I actually just looked at my line-up. I have no idea if it is good or not. Who is The Indoors Laughters? I'm playing against him. I would have guessed Zach for the obvious reasons, but it's not him. Anyway, the game is on, bi-otch.

yeah!!!

it's good to have the girlfriend back in town.

they put the arm back on the clock. i know you were all waiting for a staus update. the clock is still wrong, but at least there is the possibility of it being right eventually. maybe.

i am so going to dominate the fantasy football league i'm in with scotty and zach. i'm very excited.

me and beck got bleacher tickets for wednesday night's cubs game against the marlins. i've never sat in the bleachers at night. i hope it's as neat as it is during the day. i'm on pace to go to 10 cubs games and 1 red sox game this season. that shatters my all-time record for baseball games attended in a season. and also explains why i have no money. but hey, i'd rather spend it on baseball. i love baseball.

later kids.

Jen

Becky was apart of a threesome? Greg, how do you feel about this?

It’s good to have everyone back. Back to normal.

So, last night I saw this movie with Pat and I can’t remember the name of it. All I know is that it is a) foreign b) very strange c) has this creepy opening sequence with a bunch of Santas. My allergies have been sucking royally, so I spent most of the film with my eyes closed. They were so itchy! I missed most of the movie, but what I saw, I liked.

I have this personal thing against drugs. When I say drugs, I mean anything like aspirin or antihistamines, etc.* I have this theory . . . Way back in the day, so basically, anything before about 100 to 150 years ago**, people couldn’t just go to Walgreens and pick up benedryl when they were sneezing. If they had a headache, they didn’t go into their medicine cabinet and get some Advil. They just dealt with it. I’m a firm believer that your body has everything it needs to take care of and heal itself.*** I also think that if I pop an aspirin every time my head hurts just a little, what’s going to happen when/if I have a migraine or something more painful? Will I have to take 10 aspirin just so it will go away? Yes, I know, life expectancy was like 23 years old or something like that back then. Then again, people don’t also die of allergies.

So, when Pat asked me last night why I didn’t take anything as I was listening to the movie last night, I told him my spiel. He said if I’m not going to take anything, then I couldn’t complain. Who thought of that? People complained back then! It's because they didn't have the drugs for everyday inconveniences like headaches and allegies! What do you expect of people? Hey wait. . .

*Not like heroin, coke or acid. I say go for it! By the way, I’m kidding.
**A time when grains were kept whole. I swear that commercial exists. And when I find it, you will all be sorry.
*** This is for minor problems, not like cancer or anything like that.

Becky

Okay, I am back from the Great Outdoors.

It looks like I missed quite a weekend in Champaign, filled with Coors light and everything.

Up in Wisconsin we opted for Shlitz and Hooch Ice (yeah, its good!). State park 58 rules! I was part of a threesome this weekend as it was better to be that than to be a fifth wheel. It's cool to feel like you are a million miles away from everything but then you only have to drive a couple of hours to get home.

we went hiking on saturday but we were so deep in the forest that we couldn't feel the rain we could hear coming down. now that was cool.

busy busy busy.

Jen

I forgot to mention how much Regan, the first band that played at Greg's show, sucked. So, Regan sucked. The Red Hot Valentines were good, but sounded too much like the Get Up Kids. You know there's a problem when someone who isn't familiar with the Get Up Kids hears the two albums (meaning the GUK's and The Red Hot Valentines) back to back and the person doesn't know where one stops and the next one begins.

We left before Nada Surf. Yeah, like we were going to stay around for that crap! Plus, they refused to play Popular. What's the point of hanging around?

Work is moving fairly quick now that I've been working on this project for awhile. Of course, I'll probably finish it in about 20 minutes and then the day will go slow again. How wonderful!

I'm looking forward to an evening of relaxation and maybe a trip to Target to drop off the photos from the show. For all you photographers out there that do not have the $ to go to a real photo place, I suggest Target. Not the one hour crap that they actually do at Target, but the send out to Kodak developing. They do a pretty good job for the price, plus you get doubles.

That's all from me today. See you tomorrow.

Jen

I am so over this birthday thing. Time to move on.

I’ll agree with Greg that the weekend was crazy. There is so much to write, so I’ll only try to include highlights.

Friday: Friends and I went to Estelle’s in the lovely Wicker Park area. They have the best Chocolate Martinis. I suggest having your friends take you there for your birthday. When they ask what kind of drink you want, request that one. They are perfect for special occasions.

Don’t start a fight when you are slightly intoxicated, even if someone pisses you off. Especially if you are minding your own business, sitting with friends outside of a party and you hear some drunk asshole threaten to pour beer on you and your friends. Leave the battling up to the sober boyfriend who has to cart your sorry ass around.

Saturday: TOO MUCH RAIN. I was soaked from the time it took me to walk to my car from my apartment. My car was parked in front of my house.

The show was great and I took many photos! Went to 2 parties, drank a lot of Coors light. Had band wide plus Jen rock out session to Bleed American. Ate Pokey Sticks. Went to bed at about 5. Slept on a fold out bed with too many people and also on Greg’s cell phone.

Sunday: The drive home. We managed to make very good time. After dropping off Greg and Eric, I drove to the P’s, started my laundry and took a shower. I was home by 6 with the fam and had a great dinner at the Flat Top Grill. Yum. I won $12.00 from the lottery tickets my sister gave to me with my birthday present. Yay! I fell asleep at 10:30. No lie.

And here we are today. The last of the birthday celebration ends. Janet gave me a cool gift and there were cookies waiting for me this morning when I got in.

Hungry. Must eat.

morning!

i'm back and i'm not exactly happy about it.

the show went well and the weekend was crazy. i drank more coors light than i would care to remember. i feel absolutely exhausted right now. i've got that kind of fatigue where your eyes hurt. i hate it when my eyes hurt. i also hate this job, but only 2 more weeks until school starts. i always feel better when i'm taking classes. it gives my mind a chance to work out issues rather than dwell on problems.

one of the wrigley clocks is now missing a hand. that thing is going to be the death of me.

i suppose i should do some work. but i'd much rather not.

Jen

Well, it’s been an interesting day so far. I may get a job at the Museum of Contemporary Photography (I’ll know in September), I got flowers in the shape of a cake, and my friend Kevin stopped by. Let’s hope that the day continues on this track.

I’m in the office by myself, so as you must know, I’m not getting anything work related stuff done. Hey, it’s my birthday! Isn’t there a law that you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to on your birthday?

Oh, yeah, I forgot. I wanted to tell everyone Thursday, but I didn’t blog. It isn’t all that bad. Unfortunately, it has the worst ending ever. Why Smash Mouth? Why? Please go see it, or at least rent it.

Almost time for lunch. I’m thinking either Quesadillas or a sandwich. Hopefully, I’ll be back later.

Jen

WOO-HOO, I’M 23!!

Do I feel any older? Nah. But someone once told me that age is just a number, it’s how young you feel that is important. I bet that came out of a self-help book or something.

Cubs lose! Cubs lose! That game yesterday was so absolutely pathetic. I’ll be the first or maybe the millionth to say it. I don’t believe that I was the one to bring them bad luck. I like to blame that on my boss. But really. I was right behind first base about 15 rows back. If you were watching the game yesterday, and you saw who caught one of the many foul balls that came into my section, well, that wasn’t me. I was sitting near them. Black shirt, brown hair, glasses.*

So, today is the day, and I still don’t know what I’m doing tonight. My friend, Seth knows someone who has a free hour of drinks at Tequila Roadhouse. I really do hate that place, but if you just think about free drinks and ignore the surroundings, it ain’t half-bad.

Also, my buddy Eugene is spinning at a party, and although I really don’t know how I feel about going to someone else’s party for my b-day, it’s still an option. I’ll be with my friends, and a bunch of strangers. But really, isn’t that how we spend each day of our lives any way?**

Tomorrow is the DAB show, which I am looking forward to photographing. I still have no one to drive down with. Hmmm. I asked a bunch of people is they would like to go and meet Greg and I out there, but it looks like a no show. BOO!

*I never really wear my glasses, but I needed them yesterday. I didn’t want to miss one losing moment!
**Discuss.

a song for a heart so big, god couldn'y let it live

i work directly across from the wrigley building in downtown chicago. my office is on the 33rd floor and i have a window that faces the wrigley building's clock tower. it's a square tower with four huge clocks and two of them are visable to me from my office. at least one of them is always wrong. two days ago the left clock was wrong so they went and fixed it and then it was right. but yesterday, remarkably, the right clock was wrong. so they fixed that one yesterday. and today the left one is wrong again. there is seriously something funky going on over there. the cool part is i get to watch them fix it. i wish i could walk around the top of that building. it looks neat.

the show is on for tomorrow night. the line-up is as follows:

8 p.m. Regan
9 p.m. Drawing a Blank (that's me)
10 p.m. the Red Hot Valentines
11 p.m. Nada Surf
12 p.m. Everyone go home cause the show is over.

The show's at the courtyard cafe inside the Illini Union on Green Street in Urbana. If you are around there, go. It probably won't suck too much and I think it's only 4 bucks.

I'm very arbitrary with my capitalization.

tonight i board an amtrak train to champaign. i wish i had a lap top with a dvd player, but my books will just have to pass the time instead.

Becky

Hello from beautiful Sun Pairie!! Look at me, I am on vacation in wisconsin and I still get the first blog of the day!

Our trip got slightly delayed so I had some extra time to kill. The P's were glad to see me and I had a good sleep last night with the exception of when my car alarm went off at 4 a.m. for some unknown reason. I think it was the Sun Prairie thugs-they want to steal the sleeping bags and lawn chairs that I have in my car.

have a great weekend!

ps-HAPPY BIRTHDAY JEN!!!!!!!!!!!!

If you wanna find all the cops, they're hanging out in the donut shoppe

lack of sleep setting in.....need to drive to wisconsin......need to get home cooked meal.....

3-0 brewers up. only 1/3 of an inning into the game.

this ain't looking good.

i blame jen for any bad stuff that happens in today's game because she's there. and we all know she's bad luck. unless of course the cubs win, and then she's good luck.

wings tonight, 7 p.m at fizz. you're all welcome.

too much work. too little time. too few wings in my system right now.

correction:

I won $.40 in the powerball drawing. apparently one of the tickets won $6 yesterday so that was my share. so I am only $9.60 in the hole!

boo! I didn't win powerball. Do I want to be in the pool today? another $10? no thanks-that a couple of beers, you know?

Becky

So it looks like it is up to me to support this blog today caues Jen is gone and Greg had been having computer problems.

Well, it looks like Kevin Matthews is no longer with 94.7 as morning radio host. this is upsetting. not because I like kevin matthews that much particularly, its just that I finally found something to listen to in the morning that did not
a) make me fall asleep (all music seems to lull me to sleep in the morning and this is bad when you are driving)
b) make me want to go the the radio station and punch the hosts in the face because they are so dumb (aka eric and kathy, eddie and jobo, etc.)

any suggestions? any other morning talk shows that are good? anyone?

Unless greg can hurry up with the heavy metal tape, I could be in some serious trouble. I will have to think about this stuff during my time with nature over the weekend. cross your fingers for no rain!

Becky

It's funny! I swear, it's funny! Okay, maybe not the ending, but every movie has its bad parts I guess. You just really have to be in the mood for a silly movie. Hopefully it was a good birthday movie.

So I have a new pop song that is my guilty pleasure. It's called Hit em up Style or something like that and its by this soulful lady.

okay, gotta work. more later on the dissappearance of my favorite radio personality.

Jen

I want to live in 60657 Lofts!

This is the first day I have been really late (10 minutes) to work for the past two weeks, and surprisingly enough, I feel like and absolute hole for it. Before I used to come in late guilt free. Now, after Bill and I had our “talk” it’s been all guilt, guilt, guilt, even when I’m a minute late. Ugh.

Last night, after yoga, I was so wired. I could fall asleep until after three. Waking up at 7:30 am sucks. My eyes actually hurt.

I can’t wait to get back on my school schedule. It looks like I may have two full days off. I may have to work, but there is no way in hell that I am doing the 9 to 5 thing once grad school classes are going on!

Ah, but no matter what the critics say, I’m excited to go see a movie, although it may be the biggest ball of cheese since the one I saw in Wisconsin.

As for yoga yesterday, our Mary was there, and the usual people who go to our class. No twilight zone like last week. To top it off, Mary was totally riding me for everything. “Tailbone in, Jen!”

Bill, the boss, seems to be in a bad mood today. He just stepped out for lunch, so it gave me five minutes to type this up and post. So, I’m apologizing in advance for the lack of blogging from me today and tomorrow. I’ll be at the game tomorrow! Let’s pray for sun!

So, most likely, I’ll see you on my birthday.*

*That’s FRIDAY, AUGUST 24TH for those of you who lose track of the days.

I've got $10 going to the powerball game. If we win I could get my share of over $200 million. wish me luck!

there's nothing like gambling at work.

Becky

Good Morning Everybody!

Okay, so I am a little excited that tomorrow will be my last day of work for the week. Thursday after work will include a drive up to lovely Sun Prairie, Wisconsin to get some QT in with the P's. Friday is the trek over to State Park 58. Check out the scenic views. yeah, you're jealous.

I was checking out some other blogs yesterday and ran across a part of a guy's blog that is like a photo-blog with one picture a day. so check out see not heard if you get a chance.

well, another trashing of Rat Race yesterday, but I think we should press on. Besides the web page is pretty cool.

Becky

You know you are a nerd when:

You get really excited about getting new batteries for your calculator cause you have been staring at a really light screen for weeks and now the numbers are nice and dark.

But not me, of course.

why do the cubs taunt me so?

game one - fun

game two- left me blue

i can rhyme.

so the decision has been made to attend a second jimmy eat world/hey mercedes show. me and beck and hopefully others will be heading up to madison to catch them up there. hopefully it'll rock. i had a hell of a time getting out of bed this morning. i stayed over at beck's and whenever i do that i'm always able to convince myself that it won't take me very long to get to work so i can sleep an extra hour and i always end up showing up an hour late here. shit.

cubs game in 1 hour 15 minutes. they better win. or else.

Jen

I liked this so much that I had to post it. Thanks, Eugene for the forward.

Subject: GOP name change

The GOP National Committee announced today that it is changing the Republican emblem from an elephant to a condom because it more clearly reflects the party's political stance: A condom stands up to inflation, halts production, destroys the next generation, protects a bunch of pricks, and gives one a sense of security while screwing others. And, furthermore: It was reported today that at a White House staff meeting last week there was a heated discussion about the health of Vice President Cheney and his angina problem. President Bush interrupted and stated emphatically that, "men do not have anginas." The president was especially perplexed when a staffer said that Cheney has, "acute angina."

Becky

Wow, Jen you have mad birthday celebrations going on this week!

I've got work to do again! woohoo! but now I have a new hatred for lawyers (except for those who are going to marry my sister).

Double dose of fun last night at Wrigley Field. luckily we left during the 5th inning of the second game before the cubbies were totally destroyed. Greg continues to teach me about baseball: last night I learned about the old "double switch". and to think that I thought they only used that trick in The Parent Trap. Baseball is so clever.....

Time to work on the eight limbs for Yoga tonight. but the question of the day it: will Crazy Mary be there? and can we handle another class without her?

Jen

Game on!

Woo-hoo! The office is going to the Cubs game on Thursday this week, so it’s almost like having a day off in the middle of the week. Hell, I don’t even mind hanging out with the people on my office! Kidding. Everyone knows how much I like the people here.

This adds to Jen’s fun week o’birthday. We’ve got a movie, a game, a love connection*, the actual night out for my b-day, a show and free dinner with the P’s Sunday night.

I’m still looking for someone to drive down to Champaign with me on Saturday. Pat is moving that day, so he can’t go. Notice how I happen to be “conveniently” out of town on moving day. He, he.

Why does my phone smell again? About 2 weeks ago, my phone smelled like a fat guy’s BO.** So, I did all this stuff to make it smell better, and it seemed to work. The smell is back again today. I did the whole fantastic thing, but I can still smell it. Who uses my phone when I’m not here? I can just imagine it; some big janitorial guy comes in the office, sits in my chair, kicks his feet up and calls his mom who lives in Oklahoma.

Oh, I didn’t get to steam clean my carpets yesterday. I spent too much time helping Gant clean up and trying to put together this stupid bookcase. I put together every piece of assembly required furniture in my house with ease, but for some stupid reason, I can put this together. I think it’s because I don’t have enough torque.*** It’s even funny for me to be using that word, but I couldn’t screw the wood screws all the way into place. It was so hard! This is how hard it was. Gant couldn’t do it. If you’ve seen Gant, all 6 something feet/many pounds of him, you know that he should be able to screw those into place. Gant has torque. But no. So, now I have a half-put together bookcase in my living room.

I’m going to write some e-mails. Back later, hopefully.

*I’m kind of a third, but asked to go with, wheel on a dinner “date” with the roomie-Gant and an old friend of mine.
**Not that I am an expert on the scents of BO, but you can imagine who might fit the profile of a certain smell.
***Gant made fun of me for repeatedly using this word to explain why I couldn’t put it together. “You said torque.”

Becky

Okay, so Ebert says Rat Race is not good. But that does not matter. I mean, I agree that its no Burden of Proof, but what is, really. So we are going on a blog trip to the movies on wednesday. expect a full report on thurs.

Wed night will also involve an early bday-celebration for our Jen cause I will be busy enjoying nature to its fullest on the real day of her birth.

Is work over yet? good lord! I'm back with nothing to do now that the evil marketing department has squashed all my work.

ps-you know you have worked in a corporate office too long when you subscribe to daily Dilbert cartoons and everyday you are like "that's totally how it is! Dilbert is so true!" but not me, of course.

Jen

Can the cubs possibly disappoint me more?

If they lose today, then yes. Yes they can.

Anyway, I went to that sucky shower on Saturday. BOO!!! Here are some interesting tidbits from the day:

1) My newborn baby cousin, Mark, is an awesome baby. However, he has an adult sized heed on a baby body. He’ll be crying himself to sleep tonight on his huge pilla.
2) My cousin, David, the groom, has shoes the same color as his socks and pants. It was hard to tell where his leg stopped and foot began. It was like his whole lower half was beige. I have never seen that on another male in my age group. I wonder if the soon to be miss' had anything to do with that?
3) I should not be referred to as “little one” any more. For example, a relative would be speaking to me and my mother and they would say something like, “So, is your little one (head gestures pointing at me) moving with you and Teddy (my step-dad) to Vegas?” a) Hello? I’m standing right here! I can talk! Ask me the damn question! b) I am not little anymore!
4) Just because someone has money doesn’t necessarily mean they are not cheap.

The rest of the weekend itself was great. I got free beer at I-bar and hung out with Pat, Kevin and Pat. Just curious, but is this two Pat thing still confusing?

Today is Pat’s first day back at UIC. It’s crazy to think that in a month, I’ll be back at school myself. I am extremely looking forward to Grad school. It’s what keeps me going at this job: knowing that I’ll be back and doing what I love in no time.

Tonight, I steam clean the carpets.

let's play two!!

going to see a doubleheader today. the baseball kind. i'm quite excited.

i'm even more excited about the plan having their remix section up. you can download all the tracks to 'the city,' 'a life of possibilities" and "what do you want me to say?" that's pretty kick ass. now all i need is pro-tools. does anyone have pro-tools? i know i can make a fat booty-shakin' bumper of 'life of possibilities' okay, maybe i can't. but it would be fun to try.

i've been working hard today. there must be something wrong with me.

rock.

Becky

I can't eat Golden Grahams anymore. In fact, I really can't eat cereal anymore. I just don't like it. give me a bagel anyday.

Yesterday I spent 4 hours watching Burden of Proof on Lifetime. I'm not sure why, but I did and it was good and I am very happy that I have cable now. What? You've never heard of it? The made-for-tv-movie starring Hector Elizondo (or something like that) as a top-notch laywer who's wife commits suicide and the rest of the family is involved in a commodity trading scandel? good stuff. good stuff.

steak on friday was good. the last 18 months have been better than good.

i love the dewey decimal system

i worked at the library my senior year of college. I would find really old journals, mostly from the 1800's, bring 'em back to the office, fix their record in the electronic card catalog and then barcode them. it was a hell of a lot of fun. i love books, and i used to love going to the library because it always smelled like old books. there's nothing as comfortable as an old dark library. it makes you feel so safe.

people are really bad at shelving books. how hard is it to know that 976.01 goes after 976.007? apparently it's the most difficult thing ever. but if a book was missing, i could usually find it. it was fun spending 20 minutes looking for an old copy of the minutes of the chicago sanitation board so i can take it back upstairs and bind it. why was that fun? i think there's something wrong with me.

when i'm done with the teaching thing, maybe i'll go back to work in a library. i have a feeling i would always love that.

thinking, that's all.

enough about libraries. tonight we dine on steak. i know eating meat disqualifies me from ever being in a successful rock band, but i like it so much gosh darnit!!

Jen

The plane! The plane!

This is what I’ve been doing all morning: sitting in Bill’s empty office with the binoculars, ready for any kind of plane action. Oh, and let me tell you, I’ve seen action. I’ve seen everything from the refueling plane to the little planes that make loops and leave a smoke trail. Woo-hoo!

I am so very excited that I found someone else to indulge in my guilty pleasure with me. So I want to see Rat Race! Is there anything wrong with low, slap-stick-like humor? I don’t think so!

I found my stupid recipe for the stupid shower tomorrow. Pardon me, I should not say that my recipe is stupid, because it’s not. I found this recipe for Pad Thai from the Royal Thai School of Culinary Arts in Thailand. Just reading it makes me want Thai. mmmmm. . . Thai.

Today on XRT is “Indiana Johns” day. All day, it’s John Hiatt and John Mellancamp. I’m only mentioning it because I think that’s a funny title. He he.

Otherwise, I am counting down the minutes until I get the hell-o operator outta here. Since I am an A.D.D. child today, and my attention span is about 2 seconds, I’m gonna go.

Have a good weekend!

Becky

No, I did not get a perm.

I heard a clip from that new movie Cpatain Corelli's Mandolin (or whatever its called) and let me tell you-Nick Cage sounds ridiculous! what kind of accent is that supposed to be? Italian? The movie in general looks pretty bad, but who knows. I, on the other hand, really want to see Rat Race. Gotta love that Jon Lovitz.......

Krispy Kreme for breakfast......yum.

ps-I am still heading out to wisconsin state park 58 next weekend even though I am getting ditched cause greg is a rockstar. Hey, I get to go spelunking! does it get better than that??

Jen

My friend Darrell asked me to write him a recommendation letter to help him get into the Air Force Officer’s Program. I’m completely stumped as to what to say. D is an awesome guy. I met him in sculpture class at UIC during my first year there. I was only 18 and D was 26. He was apart of a weird group of people I hung out with at that time; weird in the sense that we only really hung out on school nights and everyone was older than me.

Being so young had its ups and downs . . . At lunch, we would all go to the Jack’s Tap on Jackson and Peoria, and he would buy me beers. We all come into class buzzed. Sometimes, we would go out and I would have to be the designated driver because they carded me at the places we would go. Try carting around a car full of drunk mid-twenty somethings when you are 18. Part of you feels especially cool for hanging with the older crowd, the other half is pissed off that you have to be the mother-figure and make sure that everyone gets home safely.

Anyway, I can’t write this to the Air Force!

Dear Air Force:

Darrell is the perfect candidate for your program! He buys underage girls beers! What more can you ask for!

Sincerely,
Jen

He does have so many more terrific qualities, like he’s a great listener, he’s sweet, funny as hell and extremely intelligent. Somehow, I keep focusing on the beer part.

D and I are still friends, although our time together has nearly disappeared. Come to think of it, since I turned 21, we haven’t been out for a drink. Ok, well maybe once or twice. Normally, we just go to eat. Hmm…

23rd Birthday countdown: 8 days.

i have on wicked hangover

i have to stop drinking on work nights. it's the worst when you wake up on someone's couch, smelling like smoke, and you have to fa-breeze yourself, borrow a shirt and catch a train. it just hurts the head.

those who don't know me really well may get the impression from this blog that i drink too much. let me clear that up. i do.

the super-bad news is that i can't go camping with becky next weekend up in wisonsin. i feel kinda like an ass about it. but on the upside, my band is playing with nada surf next saturday at the courtyard cafe at the u of i in urbana. you remeber nada surf right? "i'm the head of the class, i'm popular" so on. so forth. come see it though it should be good.

work sucks. but i signed up for classes on tuesday. i somehow have to convince my boss to give my every thursday morning off. that won't be easy.

rock on kids.

Jen

It’s already after noon and no one is posting.

I’m guessing, if my fellow bloggers are anything like me, that they don’t have much to talk about. Of course, I start off saying that I have nothing to say and end up with a full page blog.

Last night I had the pleasure of rearranging my living room, which I have been wanting to do for sometime. There was just way too much furniture in there and it wasn’t functional. Although this may comment on society today, or maybe on just what I think of as functional, but what is the point of a chair, especially a nice cozy one, if it doesn’t face the TV? We had this chair stuck on the side of the TV. Now, although this may be good for conversation, no one ever uses it. Why? Because you can’t see the TV from it. Instead, you have to crowd on the couch or sit on the floor. That is not functional.

That took up a large portion of my night. Then Pat came over. Old Nintendo still rules in my book.

Bill is gone for the rest of the day today and all of tomorrow. Usually he is out of town during the air and water show, which is this weekend. The office gets to take advantage of his office, which faces the beautiful Lake Michigan, to watch the planes practice.

We aren’t that high in the sky, well, I guess 65 is pretty high, but we are covered in clouds. It’s just a white foggy mess out there, and I’m missing everything. Then again, maybe I’m not.

This weekend I have to go to my cousin and his fiancée’s wedding shower. I totally like my cousin. He’s a pretty cool guy from what I know of him. And then, he brings her home. She’s so . . . Barbara Bush. And so not like him. She has the old ladies dress from Sears, the string of pearls around her neck and she acts likes she 40 when she’s only 23. Basically, we don’t get along.

This sucks for many reasons. I don’t know how many of you have been to a wedding shower, but if you are male and reading this, most likely you have not gone to one. Sometimes they can be fun (AKA- my sister’s wedding shower) or suck hardcore. It depends on the food, the relatives and of course, entertainment. What I mean by entertainment is that sometimes, they make you play games. Stupid, freakin’ wedding games. For instance, for this shower, I have to bring a recipe, and then, we are trading them. Seriously. Can someone shoot me now? And if Barbara’s family is anything like her, I’m sure I’m up for a million laughs on Saturday.

All this talk has made me hungry.

Becky

So I don't know if I am in a wierd mood today or what but I actually found the joke on my joke-of-the-day email funny today. enjoy!

LABOR PAINS

A married couple went to the hospital to have their baby delivered. Upon arrival the doctor said that he had invented a machine that would transfer a portion of the labor pain to the father. He asked if they were willing to try it out. They were both very much in favor of it. The doctor set the knob at 10% for starters, explaining that even 10% was probably more pain than the father had ever experienced before. But as the labor progressed, the husband felt fine, so he asked the doctor to bump the machine up a notch. The doctor then adjusted the machine to 20%.

The doctor checked the husbands blood pressure and pulse and was amazed at how well he was doing. At 50% the husband was still holding up fine, since this was obviously helping out his wife he encouraged the doctor to transfer all of the pain.

The wife delivered a healthy baby with virtually no pain. She and her husband were absolutely thrilled. Everything was great until they got home and found the mailman dead on their porch

ps-Travis is playing the Riviera in October. Tickets go on sale Saturday!!!

What a hellish, hellish day full of tons of mistakes. I just want to go home and nap. or possibly puke.

I am signed up for football. I am blagh. I shall destroy all.

I suck so bad.

Jen

Hey all.

I can’t write loads today because Bill is in the office all day long, which doesn’t really happen all that often. We, meaning the office of five that I work in, are taking Bill out for his birthday. I have little to no money, especially for these lunching adventures, but I am excited for an office outing. That means 2 hours off of work, and it’s OK with Bill.

Besides that, I shouldn’t have gone out after yoga last night, but Gant talked me into it. Do not get the Irish crème* pie at the Pick-me up Café. It is not all that good and definitely not worth $3.50.

Also, I am signed up for Zach’s fantasy football league and well, I know nothing about football. I am willing to give it a try. Now, I don’t know if Greg signed up for this or not, because I’d really like to kick his ass. (Yes this is a threat and yes, I’m hoping this will make you blog.)

Bring it on, bitch.

*I did not put an accent on this word. MS Word does it for you. Personally, I think only good pies with the word crème should have the accent, not dry, kind of tasteless pies.

Becky

Mary, what happened?

We were a little surprised last night when a different voice answered the phone at NU Yoga on Lincoln Ave and found out that our illustrious yoga leader (aka Crazy Mary) was on "vacation." You better be back next week! Who else is going to help me with my hamstrings!

Big bossman is here today. and then I get to have a meeting with a lawyer later this afternoon. wish me luck.

Becky

someone got to leave work early today, lucky.

If I hear another joke about my "buns" I am going to scream! Didn't we decide that rolls are different than buns anyways?

Nothing exciting going on recently, except that the weather is finally awesome!! woohoo!!!

Jen

Hey, slacker boy, where are you?

Jen

Last night I did it! If you know what I mean.

No really, I died my hair. I got red dye that washes out in a month, but I’m sure it will be gone sooner. Anyway, I don’t think it looks all that different. In some lights, it looks the same and in others, definitely redder. I dunno.

Finally, after how many weeks?- Beck and I can finally go back to yoga. It’s been way too hot, but today, it’s perfect-although I bet Crazy Mary thinks differently. The last time it was all sticky and humid, we had the headstand incident, and we can’t have that again.

This morning, on my way into work, I had all this free time because I was early.* I decided that I needed to have McDonalds hash browns**. If you know me, you know how much I dislike their food- besides the triple-thick milk shake, breakfast foods and of course, fries. Wendy’s is approx. 3 million times better. Which reminds me of a story.

Why McDonalds Bites the Big One, by Me

So, I’m in McDonald’s *** and I’m eating chicken mcnuggets**** and guess what I bite into? A bone! It was absolutely disgusting. If you know me (yes, once again . . ) you know that I have problems looking at bones. They make me nauseous. I have nightmares.***** When I eat meat -and when I say meat, I really mean chicken or turkey, because it’s the only meat I eat- I make some one take it off the bone for me. Do not read The Jungle, if you ever want to look at meat the same way.

I have this chicken bone, and I wrap it up and bring it to the counter. I was only into my 2nd nugget, so I thought I’d get food to replace what I didn’t eat. I tell the woman at the counter and she says:

Stupid, crabby McDonalds worker: You can have a hamburger, cheeseburger or a 4 piece.
Me: I don’t eat red meat, and I’m certainly not going to eat nuggets after this.
S.C.McD.W.: So what do you want me to do about it?

That is not the answer you give me.

I speak to the manager and get a free chicken sandwich. To this day, I am so skeptical about eating their meat products.

EAT AT WENDY’S!!!!!

*I know, please don’t die of shock. Lately I have been coming in early, because I was “talked” to regarding how late I come in every day.
**They are K.A.!!!
***The one in Rosemont, on the corner of Higgins and River Road- just so you know. . .
****Why do they have to put “Mc” in front of everything!?!?!?!
*****kidding.

Becky

I actually remembered to tape Jimmy Eat World on Kilbourn last night!

so I was late to work today cause I wanted to watch it this morning-they rocked hard and Jim showed his support for Coven. I'm sure that Mark Borchardt would be proud.

Becky

way to go jen, you good looker you!

I have to say that I have never been approached in a club/bar/whatever, but I did get honked at by at least 10 trucks on I-55 this weekend. WooHoo!!

Jen

I’m not going to post love stories anymore.

I need one more day for my weekend. I missed most of Sunday because I was up way too late- late meaning, past when the bird start to chirp, past the sun rising, past when I get up for work. So, I slept through a beautiful day and when I got home last night, I was wired.

Spotted: gray hair #2. I found it about 10 minutes ago. I stopped everything to pull it out. I don’t want it to give its hair friends crazy ideas that gray is the cool color to be. Everyone in the office tried to talk me into believing it was blonde, but I know better. Only gray hair shines like that.

I was going to dye my hair on Friday before I went out, but decided against it. I was getting used to this hair. Well , not any freakin’ more! This makes me think about the b-day. I know I’m only 22. . .

Birthday Countdown: 11 days.

Nothing on my Friday wish list came true. BOO!

It looks like you guys had a fun time in St. Louis. I love it there, I mean, I wouldn’t live there or anything, but visiting is cool. I have some awesome photos that I took in the arch. If only I could post those. HINT, HINT! Anyway, next time you guys go, I am so in.

Jen

Come on Davey, sing me something that I know.

And he did.

Now, I’m not the biggest fan of all new Promise Ring stuff, but I will admit that Very Emergency has its moments and happens to be a damn catchy album. This is good because songs from Very Emergency made up most of the night at the Empty Bottle on Saturday. That and $3 Coronas.

No matter how many times I have seen the Ring, their shows are still packed with energy and sincerity; every song makes you jump around and sing along.

I read this paragraph about them and it stated this, which I thought to be very true.

“The Promise Ring inspires fanatical devotion in its fans: live shows are like teen angst confessionals where boys and girls swarm the stage, shouting the lyrics, straining to be as sincere and charming as von Bohlen, and wishing that someone, somewhere would write a song as disarming and crush-worthy about them.”

I thought about this when I was leaving, maybe it’s because you look around after the show and you notice how everyone is eyeing everyone else, hoping that they were watching you rock out and much as they were. So, I’m standing by the merch table when this guy, who I noticed had been looking at me, approaches me to tell me his name, which is also Davey. I never know what to say in these situations, especially when I know Pat is waiting to meet up with me later. So, I introduce myself, but say that my friends and I are just on our way out. “Yeah, we’re leaving too, but I just wanted to tell you that I saw you by the stage and I think you’re cute.”

The best part was that I had Pat to go home to in the end.

Becky

Could I do any more work? I don't think so.

I will be a little out of it this week as work has got me swamped. but all is well. I forgot about my worries on the Delmar strip in st. louis this weekend-got to eat homeade hummos and drink alot of Carlo Rossi. yum.

Jen, I hope that you held down the fort in Chicago this weekend.

my other ride is your mom

St. Louis was a great time and the wheel did not fall off my friend's car as we drove it down there. I even made up a great new game. Here's the rules.

We played this game with a cell phone, but you can use your regular phone. The key is to think up 1-800 numbers that might be phone sex numbers and then call them and see if you're right. for instance, 1-800-TITSASS (1-800-848-7277) is a phone sex number. however, 1-800-TEENS69 (1-800-833-6169) is not. Go on, play, and let me know if you come up with any good ones. Feel free to throw 1-888 in there too, but not 1-900 unless you want to pay $2.99 a minute.

More on the journey later, but for now it's time to read the tribune.

Jen

Just because I think you need a laugh today, and I have a pinching feeling that no one checks the links on the sidebar, please look at this and this.

I'm hoping I'll be back later. If not, here is my wish list.*

Three things I wish would happen to me this weekend: 1) Someone will buy me Jimmy tickets that go on sale this weekend for my birthday.** 2)I will find $500 on the street and proceed to buy a DVD player and take my friends out for drinks.*** 3)I will get the third McDonalds Monopoly piece and I will win a new car!

*We haven't seen this in awhile!
**I know that I've said that I might not be here, but there is a good chance that I will. AND if I'm here and I don't have a ticket, I will have to kill someone for one. Simple as that.
***I don't want to be too greedy now, $500 is enough. Besides even though I asked for a DVD player for my b-day, I know it will never ever happen.

Jen

Schlitz bad, sleep good. No wait . . . Schlitz, still bad.

Quiz: What do you get when you have three people at a bar, with $15 bucks between them hoping to get as much alcohol as possible?

Anyway, I got a late night visit from Tim MacDaddy and the next thing you know, we are picking up Gant and friend, Tina, and heading to the Long Room, which, very cleverly named, is a long room. The reason why Gant is not included in the above quiz is because he wimped out on us and got some peach Belgium beer (which was really good though).

And now the rain has brought us beautiful, clear, blue skies and perfect weather. . . can some one tell me why I’m still inside? Ah, yes. Work. Silly me.

whiskey bad, sleep good. no wait . . . whiskey good.

i stayed up way to late last night drinking a bottle of bushmill's irish whiskey with a friend. by the time i quit i was hammered. and now i'm tired.

i finished fixing my buddy's car, so it's all rock and roll. i tested it out and everything seems to be just fine. at least i didn't die.

okay this is stolen from driving at midnight, but it is so hilarious. follow these steps. they are quite simple and quick. plus it's a 1-800 number so you won't get in trouble at work. and i swear i'm not trying to trick you into calling phone sex or anything.

1. Call Deutsche Bank / National Discount Brokers
at 1-800-888-3999.


2. Listen to ALL of the options (it only takes a
moment).


3. After hearing the 7th option, press 7 and
listen.

that is so funny. i think i'm going to call it again right now.

blogspot is seriously starting to piss me off.

since no one can read this, that is all.

Jen

I had this dream last night that freaked the hell out of me: I get home from somewhere, and Gant and Marisa aren’t home. So, I go take a shower, turn on the TV and get a glass of water. I’m in the living room, and I hear this clicking noise in the kitchen, I run into the kitchen, because it sounds like the stovetop trying to ignite a burner. I get there and turn off the stove and I turn around and notice that my back door is wide open. I know someone is in my house; I turn around, and see a figure emerge from Marisa’s bedroom. He has a gun and he shoots as I run out the back door. I then wake up.

I think I had this dream because someone has keys to my apartment and they shouldn’t. I’m going to change the locks.

Besides that, I’ve had a good day so far. Scary dreams can either put you in a crap mood all day, or make you realize that it was only a dream, you are perfectly fine, so go out and have a good one.

After reviewing my schedule, it looks like I probably won’t be here for Jimmy/Hey May at the Metro. So, BOO!!! I think I’ll be in California, which is very cool. It just sucks that the dates collide like that.

Besides my buddies that relocated there, and a blog friend, is there anyone one else out there from the southern CA region that can tell me what kinds of cool stuff there is to do? I’ll be near San Francisco and only there for a week. . . I’ll find out positively- either today or tomorrow if I’m going.

My phone here at work smells like ass- actually, to be more specific, like a big, fat guy’s BO, so you can guess how pleasant it is to pick up the phone. I’ve tried everything-I’ve scrubbed with rubbing alcohol, then practically dipped it in Fantastic. I think I can still smell the odor, but maybe that’s because I know it’s there, or was. Does anyone have suggestions for disinfecting phones?

shady business

i was there for the illegal cable hook-up. very shady. very shady indeed. but i got to watch the braves lose to the astros in 11, damn astros, and a little bit of reverb on hbo. rock.

on an unrelated story, on tuesday i helped my friend change the brake pads on his car. everything was going swimmingly until we broke on of the bolts that holds the caliper on the frame. 4 hours later, we had successfully drilled the bolt out without damaging the threads, found a new bolt and inserted it, changed the pads and mounted the tires. unfortunately we broke one of the lug bolts that holds the tire on as well. i tightened down the other three and flipped the bolt on the broken one and tightened it as much as possible so that should hold it for a while. what a nightmare. however, his brakes work excellently. as long as the tire doesn't fall off.

i am very happy about the uncancellation of the cancelled show. very weird though.

Becky

Dear Jimmy,

I am very sorry that I got mad at you. Thank you for the un-cancellation of the show at the Metro. I promise I will never doubt you again. I'll be at the show with bells on!

your truly

Okay, since I know that someone will mention this if I don't, let me tell you that there were some shady dealings last night. I'll just say that I don't know how, but I can now watch HBO and alot of other channels that I never had before. use your imagination.

ps-sorry to bring up work but, I HATE MARKETING. stupid people make me do all of this work and worry all day and then cancel things at the drop of a hat. do you ever think ahead?

Jen

To go with Zach's theory, I went to the Metro home page and according to them, the Jimmy show is on for September 15th. Supposedly, there are internet pre-sales of tickets now and on August 11, tickets go on sale for the general public.

Now I have to figure out if I should get a ticket, because there may be a chance that I will be in town. What to do, what to do. . .

Does anyone know what is really going on?

Jen

Ok, it’s decided. And I think you know why.

OK plus three Band/Artist of the Month: Jimmy Eat World.

Here are the lucky bands so far that have had the pleasure to grace our list.* These bands were chosen due to heavy rotation in our minds, hearts and CD players. Mind you, Band of the Month does not necessarily mean the band just put out a disc or they are playing a show. Also, a band may appear twice on the list, although it hasn’t happened yet.

July: No Doubt
August: Hey Mercedes
September: Radiohead
October: Modest Mouse
November: The Dismemberment Plan
December: The Sea and Cake
January: Built to Spill
February: Hagfish
March: Death Cab for Cutie
April: Smoking Popes
May: Pat Benetar
June: Travis

PS. Our archives look like absolute crap. Not like you are going to, but I suggest not going there to look for anything.

*You’ll notice how the list starts before we were this blog was started. That’s because this list was in my head first before it became a collective, which started in March. If you have any complaints about past bands, I will be happy to e-mail you a full explaination of why these bands were chosen. If you've been reading for awhile, you'll also notice that I had to move a band. I just couldn't deal with it being in a pretend month anymore.

Jen

Wasn’t the end of last night’s game incredible?!?!

I also got my ass kicked in 10 and 2. Beginners luck I say.

So, last night, as I’m leaving work, Pat calls me, which is a little odd. It’s only odd because he never calls me at that time unless it’s important, we are meeting somewhere or he’s asking me to pick something up. I ask if anything is wrong and he just asks what I am up to- my first hint that something is up. Also, the caller ID is blocked, so I am confused to where he is. According to him, he’s at work and he’s going to be hanging out with Mike. Ok, fine.

So I get back to Pat’s to pick up my stuff and Eugene and Pat W. (roomie) home. 2nd hint something is up- Eugene being over. Pat W. and Eugene are friends, but Eugene is primarily my Pat’s friend. They keep asking me what Pat and I are doing tonight and when he’s coming home. I keep saying that he’s at Mike house. They seem to be acting strange and I can’t put my finger on it.

After about 15 minutes, and all sorts of weird questions as to Pat’s where-a-bouts, I notice that a few of his belongings are still at the apartment- things that he would take with him. For instance, his face to his car stereo. Then I notice his keys. As I’m holding up his belongings, I ask, “Ok, so what kind of joke are we pulling on Jen?” They look at each other and Eugene says, “I think Pat should tell you.” While Pat is saying, “I think Eugene should tell you.” Basically, I give up and go in his room- no one there. Or so I think- he’s behind the door.

The best part for me was when they all were talking about how they had so “cleverly” fooled me. It was also kind of funny that they spent the time to block caller ID, so I wouldn’t know where Pat was calling from. Ah, alcohol. It makes us do strange things.

Becky

Whoa! the Hero is getting fancy! Go check it out. I think I am going to just leave it up on my screen and watch the pretty colors all day long. Just like the lights at Ohare going to the C concourse.......

Time of arrival to work this morning: 6:45 am. I am hardcore to the max. but I am leaving at 2:30 to go meet up with a nice gentleman from AT&T cable to get hooked up.

Jen

May angels lead you in.

I just read that Mr.Belvedere* passed away! This is all the more reason to get the ATTVSIL** Network going!

Hey, so now that 2 out of 3 Ok *** are mad at Jimmy, I’m thinking you guys don’t want to give them our prestigous honor of Band/Artist of the Month?

Yesterday, I got kinda buzzed (actually, I was wasted) after work with Pat at this bar that our friend Brian works at. I hate taking public transportation when I’m intoxicated (at any level). I get this feeling like everyone is looking at me and they all know that I’ve been out drinking. It’s a paranoia that only exists on the L or any buses, but never anywhere else. Maybe it’s because they are always watching. . .

I did find out some bad news. . . A friend’s father passed away on Sunday due to heat stroke. The family thinks that he was outside, working on the car, when he felt tired? hot? ill?-and decided to come in and relax. When the family got home, he was in his chair. . .

I feel terrible for my friend and her family. I can't even imagine having a parent pass away, especially one so young. That is why this heat is so scary. If it can happen to a football player or a healthy older man, it can happen to anyone. So I say, stay in, keep cool, drink lots of fluids or go to the beach at night like I do.

*I’m too lazy to post my own link to the article, so you can go from link to link and get some good reading in the process.
**All The TV Shows I Love
*** I was planning to be out of town that week, so I wouldn't be able to go anyway.

grrrr!!!

i agree with beck. i just wanted to see the rock and roll machine known as jimmy eat world share a stage with the hey mercedes project and maybe jefferson starship. a boy can dream can't he?

they just racheted up my workload here by 3 notches. i'm actually considering staying late tonight. i'm not sure i want to do that. that would mean i take this job too seriously. and i hate this job. so i don't want to take it seriously. sorry about my lack of blog yesterday some days i'm dumber than others.

back to work.

Becky

I never thought I would say this, but I am really mad at jimmy eat world right now. All I have to say is that if you were planning on going to see them with Hey Mercedes at the Metro on September 15th then you should make other plans.

boo.

ps-ozone action day today. lovely.
pps-I did go to bed early last night, but stayed up a little later than I planned on watching Dateline about these people who installed all of these cameras everywhere around their house to live in public on the internet at weliveinpublic.com (currently not up as the project is over). anyways, they are crazy-who wants to see some wierd guy diong his business over the internet?

Becky

busy busy busy

I wish I had a room with a view.

Bedtime tonight will be as soon as the sun goes down. I want to go to bed early, but even I have to draw the line somewhere.

Jen

On Friday, I said that I wanted to go to the beach and go out somewhere drinking. Well, mission accomplished!

Friday, I went out to Bart-crap-let to a going away gathering at a bar which wasn’t all that fun, probably because it was Bartlett. Saturday also got the going away treatment, but it was way more fun. And yes, last night, Pat and I went to North Ave. beach. So I got the joys of the lake without the crowded beaches, tons of children and too much sun, because we went at 7:30pm. The water is still cold. I’m figuring by September, it should be just about the right temperature.

Birthday countdown: 18 days.

It’s funny because Pat doesn’t know when my birthday is and I won’t tell him either. He knows it’s August, but he doesn’t know the day. And he doesn’t read this, so my birthday countdown won’t give it away. So, I’ve been dropping clues. We were watching TV, and there was an ad for Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back*, which hits theaters on August 22nd. So, I say: “Hmmm, that comes out right around my birthday.”

Last night, at the beach, we were playing with the sand and I made a volcano, just for childish purposes, and Pat asked me what it was. I said, “it’s Mt.Vesuvius. It erupted on my birthday.” Which is true, back in 79 AD.** Then I got the speech that he knew I was dropping hints and that he would figure it out, or remember the day of my birthday, without my help. All I know is that I’m guarding my drivers license, because I’m not going to let him get the day that easily. I want him to work for it.

One more thing. It’s time for Band/Artist of the Month. Take a wild guess what band my vote is for.

*No comments on the movie.
**I know this bit of information due to the BBC. God bless British television.

Jen

Don’t you hate it when someone calls you and they think your someone else and you think their someone else and then you two talk . . . and anyway, here’s what happened.

Me: Hello?
Unknown person: Heeeey (In that tone like they know you)
Me: Hello?
U.P.: It’s me, Laura.*
Me: Oh . . . hi! How are you doing? (Still shocked that she’s calling me.)
Laura: Great, what are you up to?
Me: Well, I’m just on my way out the door to go to Paul Berko’s going away party.
Laura: Oh, I don’t know him.
Me: Yeah you do, he went to our high school.
Laura: Oh. . . I guess I don’t remember him.**
Me: Ok, well, where are you? Can I call you later this weekend?
Laura: I’m at home.
Me: Home where? Park Ridge?***
Laura: No. I’m at my mom’s house in South Bend.
Me: (Long pause . .. me thinking, who the hell is this person? I don’t know anyone in South Bend? Is South Bend in Indiana? What the hell?) Um well, why don’t we talk later.
Laura: Ok. Bye.

I have yet to ask Marisa (roommate #1) if she knows a Laura in South Bend, well, because if she does, then I had better give her the message.

*I have this friend Laura from high school that I used to be good friends with until we had a falling out about two years ago. I haven’t spoken to her since.
**I find this strange because our high school wasn’t all that big. There were people I didn’t know of, this is true, but I can’t imagine anyone not knowing who Berko is. The only kids I didn’t know of in my high school were the kids who got off early on the work release program or those that just didn’t show up.
***She lived in Madison for a short while. So I was confused as to what home she was speaking of.

Becky

My feet hurt. My shoes are too small.

I was on a tri-state tour this weekend. Illinois on friday (of course, my home state), Indiana on Saturday and then Wisconsin on Sunday. Let's hear it for the midwest!

We made a trip to the Wisconsin State Fair yesterday. We saw a 946 lb pig named "Dog," Greg's left eye had an attack, and I almost threw up in the poultry arena. All good stuff. I didn't get to go on the big slide which was a little disappointing. but I did have a cream puff which was delicious even if greg is a baby and wouldn't eat one.

Don't you love it when a drive that should take just over an hour takes you 2 1/2?

Jen

Yes, I am curious. Curious enough to add this link.

I knew there were shows I forgot! I love Get a Life and Parker Lewis! Wonder Years is also a great addition. . . E-mail me if you have any more suggestions! I'm sure there are so many other awesome shows we've missed.

This morning, I guess I had a pre-mid-life crisis. As I was running my fingers through my hair, some stray strands came off onto my hand. So, I'm looking at this one that is half blond/half brown. My hair is still going through a big transition from when I dyed it brown from being bleached blonde, so I figured some of the blonde may be left. Then I look closer because I notice how super shiny it is. It was gray!!!! I'm 22 and I have a gray hair!

I'll need to drink German beer tonight to forget about my aging body. Which also reminds me. . .

Countdown to 23rd birthday: 21 days.

Becky

Best beer garden in the city! 3 Weiss beers on tap! I am excited for the bier stube!!

ps-I would like to add "The Wonder Years" to the list, please.

I can see the outside world!!!

The transition to my new solo-office is complete. I can now look out the window at all times, as I am 3 feet from it. I can also listen to music through speakers rather than headphones, which is nice. I even have wrist rests for my keyboard and mouse so i won't get carpal-tunnel syndrome, or however you spell the damn thing.

the tv station should also include 'parker lewis can't lose' and 'get a life' starring chris elliot. and hell's yeah it should have gilligan's island. but only the episode's before the harlem globe-trotters came. it was all downhill after that.

jenn, you're more than welcome to join us for beer's at riese's bierstube. it's on irving, just down the street from the el stop. come on. you know you wanna go.

bee-otch.

Jen

We’re gonna do it!

Ok, so do Laverne and Shirley work at a Schlitz brewery?

I believe that Fizz wings are no longer worth 20 cents apiece. Due to the below average size of the wings, I say they should be 12 cents! Let’s fight back! Let’s reclaim what is ours!

Bill (my boss) got some BS from the Republican Party about having his name carved into the Founders Wall at the Ronald Regan Republican Center, what ever that may be. Anyway, to get his name up there, he has to give a “membership gift” of $120 and he has to pledge that he will “help our new President fight the Democrats’ attacks.” The Democrats’ are attacking? Where have I been?

Ivan brought up a brilliant idea yesterday. There should be a cable channel that is called “All the shows I love.” On this station there would be, of course, Perfect Strangers, old school Cosby Show, Growing Pains, Family Ties, Mr. Belvedere, and I Love Lucy. Greg wants Gilligan’s Island. You can take it up with him if you have a problem.

I want to go to the beach this weekend, I think. That or go out drinking. Or go somewhere. Anyone have any good suggestions of things to do this weekend?

Becky

So everyone here seems to be noticing my hair today, even though it was curly yesterday too! All of the guys here are amazed that I can make my hair go curly or straight-isn't is amazing! If only it would look good one of those ways.......

We had a good mix of people last night for wings. I think that we consumed somewhere along the lines of 150. They love us at Fizz on Thursday nights. We also helped to empty their stash of Schiltz cans (retailing $1.50) thanks to greg, chris, pavlo and ivan.

I hope that Apu can pull through...........

Becky

I know, I know, I do have a car that keeps me dry.

Its just sometimes when I look at the alarm clock and it reads 5:20, I wonder what I am really doing with my life. so I have to find joy in the little things, like making fun of you guys.

Jen

PS- Becky- you have a car and get to drive to work!!!! Doesn't that count at all? I may not get up as early as you for work, but that's because it just isn't possible for me. I don't exist before 7:20 am.

Jen

I had this dream last night that I called the usual Thursday night wings/tikki folks and everyone got tickets to the Cubs game and no one got me one. So, I had to stay at home and watch the game from there. I see everyone on TV having a good time, and I’m sitting at home by myself. What a crappy dream!

Then I woke up, fell back to sleep and had some dream about going to Grad school and I was filming some commercial to support the school. It had all these kids saying stuff like, “I made it in the real world because of Columbia College.” I’d never film a piece of crap like that, but it made me laugh when I woke up.

I guess the point of this is I’d love to go to wings later. Ha! Aren’t the Cubs in California tonight?

Good.

Becky

All I have to say is that if you guys were hardcore-workers like me, then you would've avoided all the rain cause you would've gotten to work at 6:45 am for a 7:00 meeting. so boo-hoo for you!

Okay, sorry that was mean. I am in a good mood today again-I got my hair cut last night and its awesome-super-duper curly today! (I am reminded of when I was Annie in 8th grade-that's right, I was the lead-but I'm not as red this time)

wings tonight, rain or shine. are you in? rock and roll.

Jen

My Life in Rain.*

Let’s see, it started raining at oh, 7:15 this morning, right? By time I left my house at 8:20, my street was flooded and water was already collecting on the sidewalk. After analyzing the situation, I went back inside, found a pair of crappy flip-flops, grabbed my raincoat, and headed for the L. By the time I reached the corner, I was already pretty wet. Of course, there the water was even higher. Two other people were struggling on how to cross the street without having to walk through a half foot of water. My thoughts were that if I stand out here, in this monsoon, thinking of better ways to cross the street to stay dry, then most likely I’ll get even more wet. So I went for it. The water is up to about mid calf on the street. Then, as I step onto the curb, I lose a sandal in the mini Lake Michigan on Paulina. Thank god they float!

So, an hour and ten minutes after I leave my house, I get to work, completely wet. I would like to thank Chicago Streets and Sanitation for not cleaning out the drains and giving me 6 inches of water to wade through, the CTA for always making me late and putting a smile on my face, and last but not least, Old Navy for making a $3.50 flip flop that floats.

But seriously, how can I still be in a good mood? After you get just so wet, every thing gets funnier.

*Insert obscure band reference here.

brrrr!!!

i am the wettest man alive.

i got here about 3 hours ago soaked to the bone, and i'm still quite damp. and cold, very cold. rain sucks when you gotta walk to work in it. but it's better than extreme heat.

i'm hoping to switch over to my fired office mate's desk later today, but we'll see how that goes.

i must say again, brrrr!!!!

Check this out!

Jen

Becky, that was funny last night! Almost as funny as being on a "break!"

I am on a "break"* with a friend of mine. That is one reason why I am no longer seeing Radiohead tonight. That's Ok though. I'm still debating if I should go to Grant Park and just listen. I don't know if it's even worth it.

Ok, lunch time. No jello for me.

*Don't ask, it's better that way.

I have two words: Hyper Hypo

my company sucks

that's the message we got from the cfo today. no raises, small bonuses and lots of sadness in the office. don't anybody try and get a job here, cause we're not hiring. however, i am in a good mood. it could be because i don't give a lick about my job. or it could be because fred mcgriff was 3/4. whatever it is, gotta keep the vibe flowin'. gotta unlock the flava'. i wonder what the flava' tastes like. jenn, how were things on the minor crisis front? i think i need some sugar-free jello. well here's some right here!!! i think i'll eat it! bye!

hey - remember when I dropped my entire coinpurse worth of change at the foodcourt last night? that was funny-I found some more in the Pottery Barn bag this morning!

Becky

I have to say that I am doing well today. work has been busy this morning which has been nice and I even have a few things on the horizon this afternoon.

Plus I am getting a haircut tonight which is the best thing in the entire world! say no to frizz. that's my motto.

Then I am going to watch one of the best movies ever and eat pizza and sit in front of my air conditioner.

Three cheers for the hottest day of the year!! oh wait, that sucks. boo on the heat index. even football players are dying. what is this world coming too?

Jen

I’m on my feet, I’m on the floor, I’m good to go.

I was good to go this morning, until the stupid machine told me I had no money on my L card when I knew I just put ten bucks on it last night. So, I’m sitting on the L, reenacting the scene in my head from yesterday and then I realized what a moron I am. This is what I think happened: I put the card in, and put in a ten. I hear an L approach in the subway. I look to the screen and vaguely make out what I think says $11.50, press “vend” quickly and run to catch the L. What I think actually happened was the stupid machine spat out my ten because it wasn’t good enough. I already had $1.50 left on my card. When I looked at the screen, I must have misread $1.50 for $11.50. I figured the machine took my cash and I was good to go. I did not check to see if my $10 was returned. I did not pass go or collect $200.

Did I mention how hot it was outside and that my perception of the world was askew?

I’m still in a great mood though, although I’m sure who ever took my ten is in a better mood. A good day is needed for all of OK, because yesterday was a crappy work day. How are you guys today?