Jen

Billie. Billie don't you lose my number.

Phil Collins get out of my head!!!!!

One day and counting and then I'm done. How quickly the week has gone.

I have never ever trained anyone in my life and now I know how hard it is. You want to give someone all of your knowledge of a job that you have had for FIVE YEARS and it is IMPOSSIBLE!!!! I feel bad for Bora because I know that I am stressing her out!

I went for my interview at the Museum of Contemporary Photography yesterday and I think all went well. I think they want someone to give tours and well, if I get the job, I think that person would be me. I'm not quite sure I feel about that yet, but beggars can't be choosers, right?

Where is the rest of the ok bloggers?

Jen

I swear there's a curse on me. I went to lunch with the Chris Ryan machine today and heard that stupid Tiny Dancer song by Elton John. Once again, I have it stuck in my head. Grrrr!!!!! Hold me closer tiny dancer!

Anyway, I guess Karma does work, kind of. I got an e-mail from Museum of Contemporary Photography for a job offer. The reason why I say "kind of" is because it only pays $8 an hour which is much less then what I make now. Hey, at least it's in my field, right? Actually, the job sounds really cool, so I hope they take me.

Yoga tonight. Time to stretch out those muscles that I used for my bike ride on Sunday . . .

Jen

This is what you get, when you mess with us.

I've been writing a list of all the stuff I do here with descriptions and came to an amazing three pages. It's a shame that I'm terribly anal about organization, especially because I will be training a dear freind (also known as Bora, my roomate from two years ago) for my job. So yeah, I got my friend my old/current job. I knew that she needed a stable job so I recommended her. I think the guys (bosses) really liked her too. She starts training with me on Wednesday. Anyway, I hope she doesn't kill me because I know how I can be. Actually, I'm sure she already knows how I am because she did live with me. It should be fun though!

Um, yeah. So, it's high time the Karma kick in. I get my friend a job and someone gets me a job, right? Isn't that how it works? KARMA WHERE ARE YOU?

Jen

Let's scare everybody, let's just roll.*

What do you do when your hub dies? Buy a new one!

Since I am not fluent in computer mumbo-jumbo, I will explain this as I know how. Our hub passed away early this morning, leaving us without our beloved internet and the ability to share files. We got a switch this afternoon, making everything just a wee bit quicker and office life just a wee bit happier. Did I mention that I only have four more days left of work?

I can’t write too much today because it’s already getting late and I have tons more shit to do before I leave. I will tell you that my bike is a piece of crap. Gant and I rode our bikes from our west Lakeview residence, down to the lake, south to North Avenue, north to South Avenue (ha ha. Just kidding!) actually north to Wilson Avenue and then back home. Why my bike sucks? 1) The seat has made a permanent bruise on my ass. It hurts and I am bitter. 2) It felt like I was riding on one of those exercise tension bikes the whole time. I must remember to grease it up before, or if I ever take it out again. Past all this bitterness, the ride was great and the Lake was beautiful on Sunday. Especially when I was riding with just a T-shirt on and I was fine. I love the global warming!**

*I'm fairly sure these are the lyrics. . . hmmm. It's from the new Superchunk album - third song called Phone Sex. Gooogle searches will have a great time with this one. . .
** This too I am kidding about. Here are my quick thoughts about the weather. You know how the weather person usually tells the records for that day in history? Well for Sunday, with a high of 65 here in Chicago, that record was broken sometime in 1850’s. Was global warming really an issue in 1850? Did people even think that it was due to something called global warming? My guess is no. I’m sure that they just enjoyed a kick ass day.

Becky

We're not gonna ma-a-a-ake it, oh no!*

Reasons to Live in Wisconsin:
1. A round of 4 beers is $7
2. The cheese is good
3. My family lives there

Resons not to Live in Wisconsin
1. Too many Packer fans
2. Stores don't sell booze after 9pm (in some counties)
3. Its cold
4. The drive from Milwaukee to Appleton is BO-RING
5. My family lives there (I know this joke is old but they really are a blessing and a curse, you know?)

I know that there is more, but its monday morning and I'm tired. I'm glad not to be travelling this week so things like Yoga can happen. and that is good. we bonded with my family this weekend-greg got drunk with my dad and mark and we picked out bridesmaid dresses for the upcoming June wedding**. we also convinced my sister that age 26 is your late twenties so she is really old. we missed the nice weather but I was still able to avoid wearing my winter coat so it was pretty nice up there too.

*The Presidents of the United States of America make an appearance in my CD player on the trip this weekend. quality stuff!
**There's nothing like spending $200 on a dress that you will only wear one night ever in your entire life because it is so ridiculous looking.

Becky

these are my favorite chords, I know you like them too. When I get a new guitar, you can have this one

Its good to be back. and I just got my new thinkpad from work! too bad it still only runs windows 95 cause our company is in the dark ages. but all in good time I suppose.

happy friday

ps-Jen, you know how I feel about Hall and Oates!

Jen

No can do.

Wow. My mind is racing this morning. Of course, it could be the two cups of coffee I just had. I’m not quite sure.

On my normal blog rotation this morning, I stopped by you look good in black and learned many interesting things. First of all, about the Hall and Oates VH1 special! How cool is that? I was at the shops yesterday looking for another congratulatory item and I heard some remix (it had the same vocals as the original but it was more dance oriented) of "I can’t go for that" by H&O. I knew all the words, probably because my mom had that album and played it when I was younger. Then I had this thought: “what if people younger than me hear this remix and think that it’s a new song?” I started feeling old. Anyway, if I had cable, I’d watch this Behind the Music for two reasons: 1) I love Behind the Music and will watch it for pretty much any artist. I think I only turned it off when there was back to back specials on Shenia Twain and Faith Hill. 2) Hall and Oates may not be the best band on earth, but some stuff is pretty catchy.

The second thing I learned: There is Weblog Awards. Of all the sites listed, Slatch is the only one I know of. After going through all the categories, I stumbled upon Wil Wheaton dot net. So I’m thinking, “isn’t Wil Wheaton that kid from Star Trek the next gen*?” So, I go to the site and find out that it really is him of Star Trek fame and of course, Stand by Me, one of the best Stephen King stories to be made into a movie. Here is my take on Wil Wheaton’s site: It should not be nominated for best comedic site because it is NOT funny. I do have to admit, it’s strange reading this guy’s weblog, especially because you know there are hard core Star Trek fans who read this in hopes of gaining insight to what it was like to be the youngest ensign in Starfleet.**

Ok, time to move on.

I wonder what I should do this weekend? The weather will be so nice and I don’t want to waste it. I really want to go on a bike ride by the lake or walk down Belmont and hit all the antique shops I’ve been meaning to go to since I moved to my current Lake View location. Umm, yeah, that was three years ago.

Time to find some lunch.


*I think I just gave you a clue that I used to watch that show. I know, for shame.
**dork, dork, dork.

Jen

Walking down a crowded avenue. Other faces seem like nothing next to you. And I can't hear the traffic rushing by. Just the pounding of my heart and that's why. . .*

Done, done and done! It's finished! Expect to see a beautifully designed, quality CD sometime in March.

My boss is on a business trip for the rest of the week which is both good and bad. Good because I don't feel stressed to be busy every second and I can take my time with my work. Bad because when he isn't here, I spend way too much time on the internet and pretty much no time working. I am so bad.

Write Brian and wish him a happy birthday. With any luck, I'll be seeing him when I'm on my Las Vegas/LA vacation that will be happening in a little over a week.

I just read Chris's new blog and I like it. Check it out. I can't believe that Sister Christain was filmed at his high school! I used to love that stupid song when I was little. My mom actually had the 7 inch single to it.** Anyway, I was on a mini road trip to good ole Madison, WI when I stumbled upon this "Masters of Metal" tape at some gas station. It has that song on it, along with other cock rock favorites. Too bad I can't think of them right now. Damn.

As you know, we are looking to replace my friend, Barb, who left this job Friday. Anyway, my boss is giving this intelligence test to any people coming into interviews. I'm no genius, but I think some of the questions are really easy. I've been looking at the tests of people he has interviewed thus far, and it's amazing how many easy questions people get wrong. Here are a few examples.

When wire is selling at $0.0125 a foot, how many feet can you buy for fifty cents?

Imagine Imaginary - Do these words have similar meanings, have contradictory meanings or mean neither the same nor opposite?

Familiar is the opposite of - friendly - old - strange - aloof - different.

Clear is the opposite of - plain - obvious -explicit - distinct - dim.

Which number in the following group of numbers represents the smallest amount? 6, .7, 9, 36, .31 or 5?

The girl who's test I'm reading from got the last one wrong. Maybe she didn't see the decimal point.

*"Angel" is the only song to get "Tiny Dancer" out of my head. and conveniently enough, apart of my second footnote.
**I wish I could find it! I do have a lot of other cool 80's 7 inches in my possession such as "Angel" by Madonna, "the Super Bowl Suffle" by our poor, misunderstood Chicago Bears (aka the disowned team) and "We're not gonna take it" by Twisted Sister.

Becky

yay for coming back to chicago soon!!

oh, my trips to the plant are so fun....this time I have avoided eating too much meat, which usually happens when I travel. I am happy that I brought the laptop this time so that I could play computer games all night in the hotel. spider solitaire is pretty cool....

wearing steel-toed shoes and walking around all day really starts to hurt after a few days. gotta run now, see you all soon!

PS: Greg: there better be some gas in my car when I pick it up tomorrow :) and no more making fun of Rosa or I will turn her against you. she is slimming down, okay? and that's more than I can say for you.....(just kidding!)

wings tomorrow? when is that show?

Jen

Apparently (due to our little tracker) we are the website to go to for pictures of passed out drunk girls at your friend's party. That and lyrics to All Star by Smashmouth. Go figure.

Is this day over yet?

are you all you want? yes you are

long day going here. it's one of those days where i'm afraid to put my head down cause i might not lift it back up. thank god for winamp and heymay. rock.

i look like total hell today. i chose not to shower this morning to increase my sleep time. i haven't had a haircut in weeks, maybe months and i only had one shitty old sweater left at shorty's place. i look like a bum. especially compared to the girls in the leather boots that seem to populate my office. thankfully i just hide out in my office all day, so i thought i could get away with looking like shit. but of course today is the day that i get to ride on the elevator with the CFO. i know the square of carpet in the right hand corner of the middle elevator really well. i feel like quitting or knitting.

i found this really intersting quote in the last chapter of June Jordan's book On Call. She's writing about Black Vernacular English, more popularly ripped on as ebonics, and it's evolution and relevence to the lives of African-Americans. One of her students' cousin was killed by the cops in New York and his family was unable to get any information from the cops or a prosecution from the district attourney. She had him write an essay about his feelings on the whole subject and this is from that essay,

I believe that to a large degree, justice may only exist as rhetoric.

it's interesting because it seems to tie into the idea that justice is tied up in the language of the law which dispenses it. and it's only available to those who speak that language.

anyways, it's just an idea i was thinking about last night and today. it probably has a ton of holes in it, but at least it's something to ponder. later.

Jen

Looking on she sings the songs. The words she knows the tune she hums.*

If you want to know what I did last night, go to my first blog from yesterday, go to the first paragraph, copy and then paste here. We have to finish the album tonight. No ifs, ands, or buts.

I'm kind of tired today, probably from having only five hours of sleep a night for the past three nights. It always amazes me when someone can get by on that little of sleep. I need a good 7 hours of shut-eye to be at my best. 6 hours is fine, but if this repeated for more than a week, I need to take a little nap to get the weekend going. 5 hours is just approaching "pushing it" for my body. If we stick with this, I'm bound to be super bitch by the end of the week. Watch out.

What is with this crazy Chicago weather?! It's fifty degrees outside. FIFTY! It feels like spring! I will be so depressed when the temperature drops again. The only good thing that may come of this would be if it snowed (just for one weekend ONLY) so all of the ok+3 can go skiing/snowboarding. After that, bring back the fifties because I'm tired of wearing my winter jacket.

Work has been going surprisingly well, considering that my time here is very limited.** Even more surprising is that my boss has been great and very supportive to me during this transition.

Still no word on the job front. I've e-mailed some professors at Columbia to see if there are any positions opening. It would be so convenient to work in the same place that I go to school at.
Ahhh, a girl can dream, can't she?***

*I had this goddamn song in my mind all last night because I heard it on XRT yesterday. You should hear Greg and I sing Tiny Dancer together. We rock.
**Limited to 8 days, bitch.
***If we are talking about dreams, I really wish that someone would come up to me with a bag of money and tell me that I can do whatever I want with it. Then every week, for the rest of my life, this would happen. A girl can really dream. . .

Jen

Isn't that chick from Willie Wonka called Veruca Salt? You know, just like that good-for-nothing-name-stealing-sell-out-chick-band that used to be popular? Am I right or am I right? For some reason, I remember reading a review of Eight Arms to Hold You which is also a stolen name from, hmmm, a Beatles song or something like that? Anyway, besides speaking of how the album was very uninventive and just not very good, it talked about how that was a stolen title and the same with American Thighs, which was taken from an AC/DC song. I love that song.

It’s been way too long since I’ve blogged. Sorry people.

Beck’s in virginia again until Thursday, so I have free reign of her car. I’ve been driving it all over the place, I miss having a car. This morning I even drove it to the el stop, even though it’s only a 5 minute walk away. I'm so lazy.

In other news, I'm getting fat. I really need to start doing some sort of physical exertion to stop the spare tire from growing. I'm starting to look dangerously similar to that chick who turned into a blueberry in Willie Wonka. On a related note, Becky’s cat Rosa is also a little chunky. Don’t tell Beck I told you this or she might get mad at me.

I love my laptop, but you know you’re a geek when you bust it out at a bar. I did that yesterday. I am a nerd.

Anyone going to the Josh Caterer/Liz Elmore/Grant from Husker Du show at prodigal son on Thursday? I played there yesterday and it’ll be a neat venue to see those three play at. Plus they have PBR for $2. I do not have a drinking problem.

More from me later, except knowing me that’ll be in 6-8 weeks.

Jen

I want to run through the halls of my high school. I want to scream at the top of my lungs.*

9 more days at work. Cool.

Last night, I spent lots of quality time with my girls** and Greg. We were huge dorks. As he sat on the couch with his laptop working on the inside of the insert, and I sat a mere four feet away on my computer working on the images for the front cover. At least it looks like the album is finally coming together though! It seems like we have been working on it for ages. I’m really excited to finally send it out and see the finished project. Hopefully, if we keep to our current schedule, we can get everything out by Wednesday and have it back by the end of February. Coolness.

I also bought a congratulatory*** pair of shoes last night that I am currently wearing. There’s nothing like buying stuff when you know that you will have absolutely no income in two weeks. Hurrah to being poor.****

I’m sure that most people think that I have a “problem” with shopping. When I say “problem,” it’s because I’m always buying stuff. My closet can be an intimidating place for some. It’s filled with tons of clothes, shoes, bags and coats. For some reason, I think Greg, Gant and Pat witness it the most because it seems that whenever they call my cell phone, I’m out buying a “congratulatory item” for myself. Let’s see, here are some “congratulatory” reasons: getting a good grade in a class or on a test; having a good critique; finishing with finals; getting somewhere on time; eating a tasty lunch; you get it. Fine, basically anything makes me shop, shop, shop!

This morning, I was in such a good mood. Even though I had to wake up way earlier than I wanted to, I felt so refreshed. I guess that’s what getting on with your life feels like. It’s giving me these feelings of “out with the old and in with the new.” Bring it on.

Well, I have a big two weeks planned out for office work, which consists of lots of organizing. Time to get started.

*I have no idea who sings this song, but they play it on XRT all the time. It's damn catchy as a song, and most appropriate to how I'm feeling right now.
**my computer and scanner
***for quitting!
****and unfortunately a shopaholic, as in my case.

Becky

way to go jen!! way to stand up for yourself. we will party when I get back on thursday

Jen

Free at last! Free at last!

I quit my job today.

So what's new with you?

On Friday night when I was walking home, this strange feeling came over me. I can't really explain it, but it's like having your vision become cloudy and then everything becoming clearer than it was previously. For the past couple of months, I've been coming home from work so pissed at the politics in this office. I would take everything as a personal offense rather than seeing this as "just being a job."

Then there was this feeling and I knew. I knew that I was done working here, and that if I were to quit and not even have a job to go to, I'd be ok. It was a huge relief for me.

After I knew I had to quit, it was just a matter of how to do it. I spoke to Janet (my coworker) Sunday night, and she gave me the go ahead and advice on how I should go about it. So, I wrote my letter of resignation last night and handed it to my boss this morning.

We had a talk about it just a couple of hours ago. It was really tough for me not to cry. Yeah, as much as I bitch about things here and the politics, the people do mean a lot to me. I'm only 23 years old, and I've been working here since I was 18. I've grown up here, and I'm going to miss these people- not the job.

But it went well. Very well, which in a way, also freaked me out, because I was expecting some sort of argument. I even had thoughts that I may have to say, "Take this job and blow it out your asshole!" but it never came up, which is good. There is no point in burning bridges, especially when you don't want to hurt the feelings of people you care about.

As of Friday, February 1st, I will no longer be working here. So, um, anyone looking for a photographer?

Becky

Bring on the weekend!!!!!!!

I think that Jen should quit her job, don't you? you don't have to put up with that crap! you have to list your priorities of what you want in a job and then think about what you are getting out of that job and what you could get out of a different job. sounds like fun right?

This morning I spent $200 of the companies money on NY strip steak, cut it up into pieces and put it in bags and it is now being transported up to madison. thank the sweet lord that I did not have to go on that trip.

tonight should be awesome. basically everyone I know is coming tonight and even some out of town friends. I've been stressing out so much this week over my sister and her antics that I just need to relax.....

ps-my sister had her car packed to move to st. louis with hardly any money and not knowing anybody or anything. my mom wrote me today and says she wants to stay in madison. whatevs, just stop bringing me into it if you are just going to change your mind!!!

Jen

What do you want me to say?

I learned an important lesson yesterday when speaking to the boss about me taking the week off to go to LA and Vegas. Never say, "It's not my fault for your procrastination"* even if they say you can speak freely. Hold your tounge! It's a trick to make them even more pissed at you!

Today is officially Barb's last day at work, and my last day of sanity. This environment in bound to suck until there is a new hire or I leave. Leaving is a thought. I want to see my mom in Vegas that week. I want to visit my friend Nathan. Should I stay or should I go? Your opinion as blog friends are much appreciated. E-mail me if you have the time and can possibly help me on this situation.

Of course, and most importantly, I will greatly miss my dear friend Barb who has put up with all the shit along with me, plus been a great listener, a terrific pal to hang out with and an awesome person in general. Of course, the people she is moving on to need her much more than me. Will you ever forget your third grade teacher? I know I will always remember mine. Go Barb for leaving and moving one to bigger and better things!

Tonight, the boys are playing at Coyle's. Wish Greg luck on hitting those high notes!

*The procrastination issue: The bosses knew that Barb would be leaving for over a year, yet they waited to the butt end of December to even begin looking.

Jen

Your etiquette. Your rules on interaction. What are you waiting for?*

I have no idea. Please refer to the fourth paragraph of this blog.

It's been so long!!! Ah, but that's because I've had finals. What a stressful week it's been. I have some kind of sickness. .. cold? sore throat? maybe even flu? I don't know. Anyway, I had very little left of a voice on Tuesday and still managed to give a 15 minute presentation on why I think Dr. Hugh Diamond's photographs of psychiatric patients in the 1850's is the beginning of photo therapy.

Wednesday was a little better. I didn't have to talk much during my final critique, athough the critique itself seemed to last forever. I also had such a good day (hanging with the guys for lunch at the Berghoff for beer and German food, and then hanging out with Ken until 5 when my final started) so by time it was time for the critique, I was ready to get it over with and have more fun!

Today, for some uknown reason, I had class. I had my final review last Thursday, so class made little sense to me. After contemplating whether I should go or not to class last night for many hours, I asked my wise roomate what I should do and he said, "You're paying for it, you might as well go." Then I asked Pat, and he said "you should sleep in (because you are sick.)" Although Pat's offer was WAY more tempting, I got my ass up and out of bed this morning and went to class, which wasn't a waste after all.**

Back at work, almost the first time in a week. Today is the big day that I tell the boss that I have tickets for my LA/Vegas trip for the first week in February. If you read my blog from last Friday, you'll know why this is such a big deal. I'm really in no mood to tell him, but what can I do about it? I think it would be way worse to wait until the week of and, oh, just not show up. Or mysteriously call in sick for a week. Hmmm. not such a bad idea.

Speaking of Arguments. . .

I know, I never proclaimed a band of the month for December. I know I suck on updating this section, so I should probably drop it. Anyway, since all of this blog didn't really get a chance to talk about it, my choice is. . .

Band of the Month for December: Fugazi

The Argument is an incredible CD. I'm not too great at critiqing music, so I don't want to do that and somehow ruin an excellent album. Also, I figure that most people that read this blog have very similar tastes in music. I'm guessing that most of you even have the CD. In that case, you know it rocks. If you don't have it, buy it.

Here is a list of past bands/artists to make the list.

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
July: Jimmy Eat World
August: Rufus Wainwright
September: Guns 'n' Roses
October: Coldplay
November: The Dismemberment Plan***

ps. This blog should change it's name to Becky plus Occassionally Two. Look at her go!

*From Closed Captioned by Fugazi, which is actually off End Hits.
**Notice how I made Gant, wise. Ahh, the boy amazes me sometimes.
***The rumor is that you can buy tickets on-line for the DCFC/Plan show. I am so there!

snow! yikes!! it's not looking good outside folks, not good at all.

last year after the first big snowfall it took me over three hours to get home and then I was in tears!! I then proceeded to get stuck in my alley and the neighbor that was helping me out asked me if I "knew how to drive" and was really really mean to me. thanks buddy, you were a real help.

you know how I said this morning that I was glad I went to yoga last night cause I feel great now? yeah, that "great" feeling has now turned into pain and I am about to lay down on the floor of my cubicle. if only I didn't have so much crap in the way.

alright, the checkbook is A-okay, but I opened my mouth too soon and said that I would be in after work to pick it up and I got a bit of a lecture that I have to come between classes to get it and no other time. yeah, I know dude.

I am missing the fun Bergoff lunch today, but thats what happens when you work in Willowbrook. Hopefully Jen is feeling better and the echinachea (or however you spell it) tea is doing the trick.

ps-real world chicago started yesterday but I missed it. I have to see how fabulous wicker park is!
pps-I like the new no doubt album. its fun, okay.
ppps-did I tell you that we really like LOTR? and I was surprised at how scary it was! if I was a kid I would still be having nightmares about those orks (or however you spell it), yuk!!

Becky

Let's set a few things straight......we here at the okplusthree have no jokes about george bush and pretzels (at least not that I know of) nor pictures of drunk girls in general or those from purdue. sorry about that.

finally we got back into the swing of things at yoga even though I will miss next week again. I can feel it today and it feels nice. I think I left my checkbook there, though, so hopefully mary did not go crazy and spend all of my money.

coyle's tippling house on friday night is the place to be people! greg is going to rock and rock hard!

time for the ultimate crumb cake.....

Becky

Guess who's flying to virginia on sunday. yay! its me!! more fun!!

Its been so long since blogging, I think I've lost my style. Work is so wierd right now. I don't know how I got to where I am which is having so much to do that I don't even know where to start. so I think I won't-I will sit here and read blogs and do online banking and relax. and then I will get fired. boo on that. so I guess its back to work then.

so I'm not always into getting too personal on these blogs, but I am in a situation right now where I really need advice. someone who is really close to me is not doing very well in life right now and has talked about taking her own life on a few occasions lately. she doesn't want to talk to me or see me cause she resents me for being successful and doing things that she feel she cannot do (like keep a job, relationship, etc.). I really want to help and support her but I don't know how. everything that I saw to her makes it sound like I'm talking down to her and if I try to complain about something to show her that my life is not perfect then it looks like I'm patronizing her. so I've been writing her letters cause I don't know what else to do. write me if you have any suggestions on how to make a person feel better about themselves without sounding like a jackass.

thanks. more to come on a lighter note soon.

Jen

I fight the authority, the authority always wins.*

Today is John “Cougar” Mellencamp day on XRT along with Los Lobos. Curious, but how in the world did John Mellancamp get a “Cougar” in his name? Is he cougar-like?

I’m mad at my boss. I asked for time off to go to Vegas to see the P’s and also to go to LA to see my friend, Nathan. With Barb leaving next Friday, and this office screwed because they have not yet hired anyone to replace her, he doesn’t want me to go. Well, I’m going anyway folks, because I have tickets already paid for. Ha! So take that! Anyway, there is absolutely no reason why I shouldn’t be allowed to go. Here are my two main reasons:
1) I work here PART-TIME. That means that when I take a day off, I do not get paid. I get no benefits, no paid vacations. NADA. So, basically, I am screwing myself out of a weeks pay because I want to go away.
2) It’s not my fault that the heads of this office waited so long to find Barb’s replacement. Why should I have to suffer?

BOO to not getting days off!

I am here at work, oh so bitter, and not feeling well. But yet, there is a glimmer of hope for the day. The Yosh is in! My beloved friend, Ken (Yosh, short for his last name of Yoshii) is in town! He called me last night from somewhere near Omaha to give me the good news. As of yet, there are no big plans for the night. As long as I can take a little nap before going out, I’ll be up for anything.

I almost forgot!!!! My review kicked ass yesterday. All reviews were very positive, so I’m feeling a bit of relief. Now I just have to write that stupid paper.

Oh yeah. I also was harassed by a homeless man the other day. He swore at me A LOT. Tuesday night, Aaron and I were headed to the red line to go home, and there was this homeless guy standing by the steps to go into the subway. Hmmm, I want to write the story, but a lot of swearing goes in to it. So to make this more PG . . . .

Homeless guy: Do you have any spare change?
Me: I’m sorry, I don’t have any.** (Aaron and I start down the stairs)
HG: You f#cking B!tch!
I ignore him and keep walking down the stairs.
HG: I hope you f#cking die!
Me: Are you talking to me?
HG: Yes?
Me: Did you ever think that maybe I don’t have any change to give you?
With no answer from the asshole, I continue down the rest of the stairs. He begins to follow.
HG: I hope you f#cking die, whore!
Me: Getting a f#cking job, asshole!
Aaron was nearly tearing a whole into my arm by then. He couldn’t get through to us, because, well, he had no money to get on the L. I was pretty freaked out though.

Ok, this is more PG-13. I am terrible at editing out swears. So, so sorry.

*If I cut out the “authority always wins” part and just leave “I fight the authority,” it could be a part of a Fugazi song.
**Now, mind you, I usually say I don’t have change but really do. On this occasion, I actually had no money on me.

Becky

Hi Y'all

Sounds like everyone is doing well. good luck on your review today Jen! tonight is my last night in Lynchburg, so that's pretty sad. no more holiday inn select, no more blue ford taurus, no more dinners by myself. whats a girl to do. am I actually going to have to be social again?

gotta run!

Jen

Seems like a long time ago. . .*

That I was home.

It's late, and I'm still at school. Can this possibly suck more?

Actually, it hasn't been all that bad. Aaron has been keeping the crew with alcohol, so we have all been printing with a buzz. (Greg would be proud.) Last night it was red wine and tonight, Rum and coke. I feel so sneaky. We have these coke bottles, and we drank some, and Aaron goes into the mens room and fill them up with rum. Then we all giggle like school girls. tee hee.

Wasn't it absolutely beautiful outside today? I was so jealous. I had to be in the darkroom and all I could think about was going outside and playing, umm, you know. Walking around, or going to a park or something. It was just an amazing day for January.

I had to skip on the yoga yesterday, so I'm feeling very blah. Plus I slept on the futon from hell last night (aka Pat's futon) and my back hurts. Becky, next week, we are definitly going.

Woo hoo! It's official! I am going to be in the LA vacinity during the first week of February. SO any of you out in the CA area, please e-mail me and give me the scoop.

Ok, I gotta go. I want to leave here while I am still young and of child bearing age. Plus my big review is tomorrow so wish me luck.

Goodnight.

*I love the weakerthans, especially this song. The last, last one.

becky

hi from VA!!

quality testing is quite fun, what can I say. Unfortunately I brought the cold with me to virginia so its about the same temperature here as it is in chicago.

I had a fun day of travelling! (not!-go wayne's world go) I sat two rows in front of a lady with a screaming cat on the plane to atlanta. thats right, a cat. I love cats, but not that one. boo! I mean meow!!

I miss everybody! I want to go to yoga tonight but I cannot! I feel so far away..............

anyways, more tomorrow. everyone is really nice, but its still lonely.

ps-moulin rouge? an surprisingly excellent film! and I thought I hated nicole kidman..... my older sister's fav movie growing up was far and away and she and tom cruise are total cheese in that movie. plus have you ever seen to die for? yikes...

blogger is making me mad today. it took all day to publish the blog i wrote yesterday. oh well, forgive and forget.

mommy, what are these?

perhaps the funniest thing i've heard for a while. me and beck were at dominick's yesterday and this 8-year old girl picks up a box of condoms and asks her mom the above question. i want to stick around to hear the answer but me and beck had to leave before we busted out laughing.

the beck is in virginia all week, but she promised to try and blog if she has a computer connected to the internet. i plan to be in my bed all week, okay not really, but i kind of wish i was.

today is window washing day here at 401 N Michigan, and if you have a window it's a freaky day indeed. first they throw down the ropes and once you get used to something banging against your building every 3-5 seconds the window-washer repels down. i'm on the 33rd floor and i don't think i've ever seen a bird, much less a human. he scared the beejebus out of me. but as quickly as he arrived, he was gone.

i'm almost out of here. and that feels good.

Jen

ONE SIZE FITS MOST

Usually I do a song quote to start off my blog, but I found this statement funny. It was on the tag in my new gloves.

Is it really Monday already? Jeez.

I’ve been dreading this week since I started Grad school. That is, the week when all my projects are finally due. There are a couple nice things about being an art student.

1) There is usually one really big project due at the end of the semester, unless you are in first year classes, where there are smaller projects due (but they are not that complicated).
2) There are usually no papers.
3) Very few books are required.

This semester has followed the above rules fairly nicely. Unfortunately, it’s time to pay up. This week, Thursday, I have my “end of the semester review” in which I will be showing the project that I have been working on all semester.

Next week Tuesday, my one and only paper of Grad School, I’m betting, (besides my thesis!) is due along with a ten minute presentation and Wednesday, my mimic of 19th century photograph project is due.

It’s very scary to have your grade based on one single project, but hey, what am I going to do about it?

This weekend was nice and relaxing, giving me much time to think about the work I have to do this week. Friday, Becky and I watched America’s Sweethearts, which gets an overall “boo” from me. There were some decent parts but not enough to make it good.

Saturday, Pat and I spent most of the day searching for a new futon mattress. His current mattress sucks royally. It has gotten to the point where, to keep the mattress from falling between the bars, he has to keep it open all the time and stick wood under it. Talk about shitty nights of sleep. Anyway, we found one that was nice and affordable, but he couldn’t get it until Wednesday. Due to the dire need to get a new mattress, we drove to Ikea (!) and there, found out the true glory of the futon. They are just so cool there and they fold up so small! The prices aren’t unreasonable, but compared to the first deal, it was a bit much to spend. After all this, we walk away empty handed.

So yeah, that’s about it. I still haven’t seen The Royal Tenebaums, so I guess I’ll try that for next weekend.

We still haven't picked the Band/Artist of the Month, but my vote goes for Fugazi. If I don't hear from Beck and Greg, that's what it's going to be! Later, I'll run down what I think are the top 5 albums for 2001, that is, if I can narrow it down.

Time for Silk Road Spicy Chicken!

Jen

After reading my last post, Barb requested that I ask another question.

Me: If you are wearing jeans on a no boss day and then for some reason, the boss decides to show up, which two articles of clothing can you use to make yourself business ready?
Correct answer: Office pants or office sweater used as a skirt.

Barb and I both have a pair of “office pants,” which is a basic pair of black pants that we keep in a drawer of our desks. These came about one day when Bill said he’d be out all day, and then pulled a surprise attack saying that he may show up.

As a joke, Barb took her office sweater (a sweater she always keeps here for when it gets chilly) and wrapped it around her waist like a skirt, just happening to be one of the funniest things I ever saw. We figured that Bill probably wouldn’t notice that it was the sweater, because he seems pretty oblivious to what we wear, that is, unless it’s jeans.

He never did show up, so that was cool, but Barb went out and bought these pants that she “would never wear anywhere besides the office.” That is how we started the trend of keeping a pair of pants here in the office.

Didn’t I make this story sound like a Tall Tale or something?

I hoping to finally see the Royal Tenebaums this weekend. I know people have mixed feelings about it, but I want to see it.

Next week: first week of finals. Boo.

Jen

I always thought that you were so brave, for packing up and leaving town.*

The band photo was cancelled again! At least I got to witness the glory of auto-tune and pro-tools last night. What a holiday miracle!

So, yeah. By next week, I’ll have a list of the top five albums of 2001 from all of us here, and hopefully our band of the month for December. Sorry that I’m running a bit behind.

I am very very sad. My bestest bud here at work, Barb, is leaving our office as of the 18th of January. BOO! She is moving on to bigger and better things, so that I am happy for. Obviously, the bosses are replacing her with some stranger, so there are a bunch of interviews going on today. I would like to have a private session with these people and ask them they following questions:

Me: Let’s say the fax machine is giving me an error. If I were to say something along the lines of “I’ll give you an error,” what would you say following this statement?
Correct answer: Error this.**

Me: What two words do we use all the time when referring to another person?
Correct answer: Man or dude.

Me: What dish from Silk Road will we split all the time in the future, and what kind of egg roll do I eat?
Correct answer: Spicy chicken with a vegetarian egg roll.

Me: What is the pop tart of choice?
Correct answer: Chocolate or cinnamon.

Me: Where do pens go once all the ink is gone?
Correct answer: In the empty pen jar on top of the file cabinet.

Me: Which song is the worst song ever played on XRT?
Correct Answer: Jeffrey Gains version of In your eyes.

See? Only Barb knows these answers!!! Basically, I don’t like change, and I’ll miss Barb.

*This song is forever etched in my head after last nights recording session.
**I wrote a long and probably annoying blog a couple of months ago about how Barb and I find this very, very funny.

Oh the grammy's. gotta love um. they really represent what is good in music today, you know?

my vote is on Linkin Park for best new artist. oh yeah. although I think that it would be alot cooler if they changed their name to Linkin Bark.

Becky

I'm sure that I could be a movie star if I could get outta this place

Virginia just got a foot of snow. hooray for going there on monday!!

There was studio magic last night and I think that the album is pretty darn good. Other than that I guess I don't have too much to say today.

ps-happy bday to Michael Stipe, 42 and Dave Foley, 39. (do you miss news radio? I do)

Jen

I just read Greg's post and noticed that we do talk about porn quite a bit here. Maybe we should be called Ok porn three. That reminds me of that keychain I bought in Vegas. . .

Jen

It's the color of love. . .

So what about the Kohl's story, Beck?

I never did find out if there was some sort of porn going on last night. As the music got louder, I just kept saying to myself, "if it's two of those gooney art students* going at it, you definitly, DO NOT want to see it. Just leave!"

I was also at the Ginger's close out party, and damn those fries were good. Ginger's always pours a nice pint of Caffreys. It just goes down so smooth.

Tonight is the band photo shoot on the L with Beck as assistant. Look for us on the brown line at 8 or so tonight.

I need to get some work done, so here are three of my New Year's resoultions:
1)Don't smoke.**
2)Don't drink as much.***
3)Don't procrastinate.****

*This is a funny thought, considering that I am an art student. I do not consider myself gooney, because my clothes always fit me properly, and I don't pretend to know more about art than I really do.
** Hey wait, I don't smoke! Damn, that was easy!
***as Greg Roooos. Kidding.
****This will never ever change, so why write it?

I feel like death

I hate colds. They destroy me. Maybe it’s just my feeble nature, or the fact that I can be knocked over by a light breeze, but I just feel like heck when I get a cold. I have one now.

Sorry it’s been so long, I was on a bit of a holiday from blogger. I was just checking our tracker and we got three of the most ridiculous searches ever in the last couple of days. Someone searched for ok for husband to look at porn, someone else for friend +party +"drunk girls" +"passed out" +pictures and finally for "it's gonna take time a whole lotta precious time".

First off, what porn is ok for husbands to look at? Is she trying to find some porn that somehow isn’t actually porn? Or did she catch her husband looking at porn and she wants to know if that’s normal? I wish I had these answers.

Some people search for the oddest porn. We occasionally get searches for young asian sluts, but that’s relatively normal. I get emails advertising those every day. Whoever was searching for “passed out” “drunk girls” at a friend’s party had a very specific type of porn in mind. I applaud you for knowing what you like. It’s possible he wasn’t searching for porn at all, but this is the internet and the internet is 90% porn and 10% blogs like us, so I got my money on porn.

And to the final search, it’s Got My Mind Set on You by George Harrison, god rest his soul.

Tonight is the final night of recording. It’s sad, but happy at the same time.

p.s. I used the word porn 10 times in this post . . . oops make that 11.

okay, I'm silly and I love quizzes:

You're just a girl; you tend to get frustrated easily, you daydream quite a bit, and you try to avoid making trouble, though curiosity always gets the better of you. Even under tight circumstances, however, you put aside (some of) your fear and figure out what's the best thing to do. You want a better understanding of your world.

Ummmm, right now I'm tired and wish I didn't have 2+ more hours of work to go through, but whatevs. I was flipping through the radio stations on my way home last night and ran across the lite (i'm not a regular listener but this happens once in awhile) and stopped because "everything I do, I do it for you" by Bryan Adams was on. This was like my favorite song in the whole world in like 7th grade or whenever that Robin Hood movie came out. (kevin costner has a nice butt). anyways, I have not heard this song in like 5+ years and I remembered every single word to the whole song, except this one part that I remember not knowing what he was saying back then.

but it was so cool that I still remembered everything and it totally brought a smile back on my face from the days where I used to pin-up poster of christian slater and sleep over at my friends house and not really care about anything except what I was going to wear the next day.

Becky

I love Sade.

guess who closed out ginger's pub last night? guess who got up at 6:00, a mere 5 hours after getting home? okay, greg was there too, but man am I tired.

Meeting time-remind me to tell my story about Kohl's and then liteFM.

Jen

Yeah, so I'm back.

I had a very eventful day printing. Plus, I didn't spend half as much time doing it as expected, so I'm happy.

Right now, I'm in the Grad room, but since no one is here, I don't have to sneak it in as usual. How difficult is it to go back to go back to your usual schedule after a nice, relaxing holiday. I'm going to say nearly impossible and mean it. It was almost painful getting up and getting my ass in gear. Ugh. At least I only have one more class this week and then work as usual.

Ok, We have our own black and white darkroom connected to the Grad room and it sounds like there is some sort of soft core porn going on it there, I'd check, but I'm seriously afraid of what I may walk in and see. Hmmm, do porns use Smooth Operator by Sade?

Jen

Oh fine mom, how's Washington?*

Guess where I am supposed to be?!?!?

In class. I had full intentions of going, and then Pat got a flat tire, and being the good girlfriend I am, helped get the car to a Just Tires, and here it is, sometime after three and I'm still not in school.

I'm blogging from Pat's computer right now, FYI.

Anyway, HAPPY FREAKIN' NEW YEAR!

I got out of the stuffy dress up party I was supposed to go to, by default, and ended up at the party mentioned above by Beck. It was fun. It was even more fun trying to figure out who hooked up with who, who was booty grinding on someone other than their significant other, and trying to hook up the CS machine with one of the many girls who liked him. Oh yeah, and trying to stop anymore glass objects from being broken. I swear, at least 4 bowls fell from nowhere and smashed. It was unreal.

I also have a New Years resoultion list somewhere, so I'll be sure to post those later.

As for now, I pick up my photos at 4:00 and then I have to make some prints for tomorrow's critique.

PS. Greg called me at about 2 this afternoon and he wasn't doing anything. E-mail him and tell him to blog, OK?

*This wonderful quote is from the best New Years song ever written, aka The Ice of Boston, by the Plan. It's tradition to play it every year and sing along, although this year, it didn't happen. BOO. Good thing I wasn't standing alone, buck naked on NewYears Eve. . .

Becky

You're so unbelievable

Well here we are, 2002, how wonderful. I hope that you all faired well in your new years celebration. I suppose that things are always fun when you go to a party at 5:30. thanks to jenny and katie and cari (not that she remembers any of it) for a fun party especially with all of the clean-up that must have taken place yesterday. The funny part is that for a while, the majority of the party stemmed from greg and his friends. what a popular guy.

work is work and my engine light is still on and will be untill monday when I have an appointment. yip. then I get to go to virginia for a week by myself. I have to say this is the first time I will be travelling by myself to a plant where I have a task (i.e. not just going out for some stupid meeting). so I will be mostly on my own. hey, Mjarc, any good suggestions on what to do, good places to eat, whilst travelling solo?

does anybody know autocad? stupid thing won't print out to size. boo.