Salvaged New Year's Eve Plans

When it looked like all hope was lost, things improved.

It occurred to me that I might want to find a fun restaurant for the night and convince Michelle to join me.

But this is Chicago and everything was booked.

I gave up and settled in for the night. I figured I'd get some egg nog.

I was watching The Blind Side when Bad texted me to see what I was up to for the night.

When he found out I was up to a whole bunch of nothing, he invited me to join him and Jordan out for tapas.

Not wanting to be a third wheel, I asked if I could bring an additional wheel.

Michelle was at home, also watching The Blind Side.

She thought it might be fun to do something other that watching tv and drinking hot chocolate.

So we are off to salvage our New Year's Eve!

Thank God!

Happy New Year

Looking back on the last year, things have really changed a lot for me.

This time last year, I was still a medical student.

The idea of actually leaving medical school was just something I joked about with Bad and Lion.

This time last year, I was in New York City, getting ready to spend a fabulous New Year's Eve in Harlem with Top.

She had just moved to NYC and hadn't even found a job in her career path yet.

My brother still wasn't engaged and we were starting to joke that we hoped his girlfriend wouldn't give up on him.

I was still weighing the idea of letting my hair lock up. It's such a commitment to grow dreadlocks; I wasn't sure I could do it.

I was full swing in an involvement with a guy that just didn't have room for me in his life.

Bad was  contemplating if he and Jordan were really serious enough to move in together.

Noni had only recently found out she was pregnant this time last year.

Everything was just so different.

I can only imagine the things I'll be pointing out as completely different this time next year.

Have a good new year's eve blogosphere!

The Sickness Continues

I still feel pretty bad. The only thing that makes me feel like I will survive this sickness is that I still have an appetite.

I've missed all the events we had planned for the kids at church, but from what I hear, they went well.

I had some stuff I had to take care of, such as finalizing my lack of New Year's Eve plans, but I was able to take care of that without getting out of the bed.

That's right, no New Year's Eve plans. No show, no toast downtown with my friends at midnight, no cute outfit.

I have no idea where I'll be, or what I'll be doing. I really hope I don't feel better by Friday night because I will be really sad to be doing nothing.

Tomorrow night, a family friend is having an engagement party.

He's the same age as my brother and he's getting married. I'm not sure when the wedding is, but I figure it's sometime in the next year.

That means I definitely have two wonderful weddings to look forward to next year. Well, maybe only one.

I don't know where his fiancee is from. And they don't live in Chicago, so maybe they're not getting married here.

I guess we'll see.

One thing that made me happy today is I got some face time with Easy.

He called me about six times this morning, but I missed his calls. I was knocked out on aspirin and Tylenol PM.

But when I awoke, I e-mailed him.

He called me later in the evening and then we got on video chat.

We were only able to talk for about five minutes, but at least it was something.

I miss him so much. I miss talking to him everyday. The e-mails do fill in the gap, but it's not the same as talking to him.

And now I'm feeling sleepy again. Seriously, sitting up for more than ten minutes at a time just wipes me out.

I'm thinking about sticking with my idea of making something new each day starting January 1st.

I think I will keep it on this blog, no need to start a new one.

The question will be what to make. I guess I should start brainstorming.

An Unplanned Evening

Easy wasn't able to get online tonight. Which sucks.

There could have been any number of reasons why he wasn't able to.

The wifi could've shut down at the hotel. Or his roommate could've been using the laptop. Or he could've fell asleep.

They've been on a hectic schedule since they got there. They've been almost literally all over Spain.

Even though I really miss Easy and was looking forward to talking to him, not talking to him tonight taught me something.

I am okay if something doesn't pan out like he says it would.

A number of weeks ago in the not so distant past, that would have been a huge red flag and I would be looking to run unless he had a really good explanation.

But today, my trust is not so easily shaken. I'm able to think of lots of plausible reasons why he wasn't where he said he'd be.

The evening ended up being quite eventful. Michelle and her sister came over. They stayed for quite a while. We were watching tv and laughing and joking.

It would've been fantastic fun if it weren't for the fact that my nasal passages were becoming more and more inflamed and I couldn't really breathe right.

And to make matters worse, every other commercial on the tv promised solutions to nasal congestion. And all the commercials fixed inflammation, not mucus.

It was like being taunted. I wasn't going to leave the house to go get medicine. The last time I left the house, I got sick.

A discussion of New Year's Eve came up and nothing got settled. I don't know what's going to happen.

I may just stay sick so I can't go out rather than feel disappointed.

I guess we'll see what happens.

But back to Easy. I wish I had an outside interpretation of my reaction to his not being able to chat online tonight.

Is it that I really am gaining more genuine trust for him or is it that being in love blinds me and makes me more accepting of flaws (at least in the early stages)?

Top always says that saying "I love you" is the easy part.

It's the time after that when things get tough because then you have to back it up. I hope me having more trust is a starting example.

What Could Make Me Feel Better?

Talking to Easy could make me feel better.

He was supposed to call me or video chat me the other night, but he ended up not being able to. That kind of sucks.

Before he left, I really wasn't expecting to see his face at all until he gets back in January.

So when the option came up to video chat on gmail chat, I got happy.

And seeing as how I'm sick and have only left my bed to eat, go to the bathroom, and bathe, it will be a welcome change.

All I've done is play Sim City 4, read blogs, and watch HGTV. I can tell I'm getting a bit better because I'm not feeling like sleeping all day. I've only taken one nap today.

Even if I don't get to talk to Easy today, I think I will be okay. I mean, it will suck, but it's not like I haven't been hearing from him.

I think I get an average of 3-4 e-mails from him every day. He's been doing a great job of keeping in touch with me.

It's times like this when I look back on the types of guys I was involved with before Easy. They were great guys in their own rights.

They just weren't great for me. Or to me. What can I say? I guess they just weren't that into me.

When I think about how good Easy is to me compared to the crap I used to put up with, I need to go back in time and backhand myself.

Seriously, I should have done better. I shouldn't have settled for less than what I wanted.

That means I will do my best to appreciate Easy and reciprocate how he treats me.

I'm enjoying where we are now. I highly recommend a mutually satisfying relationship to everyone.

Of course, if they were that easy to find, I wouldn't have anything to write in The Medley.

Getting Ready For New Year's Eve

I've been MIA for a couple of days without intending to.

After I got my hair done on Christmas Eve, I went out to an early dinner with Top and Bad, and then I met Camille and Michelle (and a couple of our other friends) to go see Little Fockers.

And I caught a cold. Or maybe the flu. I'm thinking it's the flu because I've had a really bad fever and everything hurts, serious myalgia.

But Christmas was fun and lowkey. My mom finally put some ornaments on the tree.

Here's our tree.

After Christmas, I went from a slight cough to full-blown sick. I've been sleeping on and off for the last three days and doing not much else.

My hair ended up not being plum brown. My hairstylist found this new color she simply had to try on me. It's called Berry Wood. More red, less burgundy.

It's subtler than I thought it would be. But I love it. She says the next time we dye it, the color will be more obvious. I took a picture of it, but you can barely see the color in the picture.

Here it is.

So getting ready for New Year's Eve is on the agenda.

I usually don't take a whole bunch of medicine when I'm sick, but I cannot be sick this Friday!

As of now, we only have a hotel room. Nothing else. I don't know how we're going to work this out.

My flaky-friends proof plans were not sell out proof. No Kevin Hart show because the tickets sold out.

There is another comedy show, but I don't know about that one. It costs more and my friends aren't fans of those comics.

So we've got three days to sort that out. We'll see if I end up getting the new year's eve I want or not.

Weekly Goals Accomplished? Part Six

I know this week is almost done, but I'm just now getting around to putting this up for last week. There are fourteen goals in total This covers the week 12/12-12/18 (Sun-Sat).

Family Member Goal: I'm supposed to reach out to a family member I haven't talked to or spent time with in the last month.
Accomplished?: No. And I really should get on this one. It is the holiday season after all. Even more so because I didn't do it last week.

Career Goal: Fill out at least 50 job applications.
Accomplished?: This goal I have accomplished two weeks in a row. I guess it makes a difference to have internet access. Although, the access wasn't compromised because I spent half of last week in St. Louis.

Career Goal: Do research on grad schools, and on how to acquire a clinic/scholarship program/homeless shelter.
Accomplished?: I didn't actually do anything for this goal last week. I just wasn't in the mood. But next week, I'll be looking up GRE information. Michelle and were just discussing it yesterday.

Career Goal: Have an updated resume by the 10th of this month.
Accomplished?: I completed this goal for the month.

Hobbies (Piano Playing) Goal: Spend at least one hour practicing the piano and/or studying music theory.
Accomplished?: I accomplished this goal. I wasn't really playing holiday music though, I was playing musical music. I'm trying to memorize this one song.

Hobbies (Reading) Goal: Read at least one book in the last week.
Accomplished?: I finally finished Great Expectations! And I started reading another Dickens classic, "The Old Curiosity Shop." I doubt I'll get through it in just a week.

Hobbies (Writing) Goal: Work on novel at least once in the last two weeks.
Accomplished?: I scrapped the one I was working on before because I just wasn't feeling the storyline anymore. So I started working out all new characters. I've got a compelling protagonist, friends becoming enemies, enemies becoming friends. Did anyone catch the Family Guy reference? Anyone at all?

Hobbies (Gardening) Goal: Work on indoor garden plan at least once in the last week.
Accomplished?: Nope. I know, why have a goal on the list if I'm never going to accomplish it?

Hobbies (Yoga) Goal: Go to three yoga classes.
Accomplished?: I didn't make this one, I was in St. Louis for half the week. I only went to one class.

Hobbies (Cooking) Goal: Make one new and one old recipe.
Accomplished?: I made the roasted asparagus that everyone loves for Easy while I was in St. Louis. He has the weirdest taste in fruits and veggies, so I couldn't make my usual spaghetti sauce for the linguine. I ended up coming up with a great recipe for marinara consequently.

Hobbies (Cooking) Goal: Write down the recipe for everything I've made in the last week.
Accomplished?: I didn't exactly get it done during the week, but I did get all the recipes down that I made in the week.

Hobbies (Travelling) Goal: Leave Chicago once a week, leave Illinois once a month, leave the Midwest once a season, and leave USA once a year.
Accomplished?: I left Chicago for bowling, I left Illinois to go down to St. Louis. I didn't leave the Midwest last week (but I did this week!). Still working on getting out of the country by next October.

Hobbies (Bowling) Goal: Improve league bowling average and lower handicap.
Accomplished?: This wasn't accomplished this past week. My average and handicap stayed the same. But I think I will have improved after my scores from last week's league are calculated in.

Hobbies (New Things) Goal: Try something brand new.
Accomplished?: That marinara sauce was brand new for me. I cannot remember ever having tomato sauce before that only had tomatoes in it. It messed with my head for a while, but I worked it out! I'm just glad I'm able to make food that both Easy and I love since we have such different textural preferences.

I got 9 of my goals completed this week. That isn't as good as my record, but it is better than my average!

Looking For 365 Days

I love reading blogs in which the write is doing something every day for a year.

I'm going to try to figure out something to do every day for a year.

I think it's inspiring in a way and it gives that sense of accomplishment. Plus, it always seems so interesting.

But of course, I have to figure out something to do.

The only thing I can think of so far is to make something everyday. It could be food or a craft item or a mix CD.

I also have to figure out if I would do it on a separate blog or if it would be a part of this one..

If there any suggestions, I'm completely open to ideas!

I'm hoping to start on January 1st of next year. That gives me nine days to come up with a definite plan

Getting Ready For Christmas

The tree is up and decorated, sort of.

We haven't put any ornaments on it, but it has lights and a tree topper.

It's just so much work to put the whole tree together and then have to take it back down again in just a short time.

It's not like we have any small children around. I'm the youngest person that will be in the house for the holiday, and I'm 26.

Granted, it is because of me that we even put the tree up. I'm the Christmas fanatic in the house.

Here is our tree.

And here are the ornaments we haven't yet put on the tree and cards we've received but not hung up.

So, we are doing other things to get ready for the holidays. Stocking up on egg nog, apple cider, and hot cocoa is a must.

Also, there is shopping for other people and their children.

Last night, we gave these two dresses to a family friend for her two daughters. I loved those dresses and was glad she loved them too.

I have some gifts to wrap for some of my kids at church.

Tomorrow, my mother and I will prep for Christmas dinner.

My family has been low key for most of the 2010 holidays, except for Thanksgiving, so we will do the same for Christmas.

We will probably have cornish hens and wild rice dressing.

I am doing something for myself though for Christmas. I'm finally dyeing my locks!

I'm excited for how it will look. I let my hair dresser pick the color. I hope it's not too bright, but I do want it to be noticeable.

The color is called plum brown. That will be a reddish-purple-y brown. I'm really excited because I've been wanting to dye my hair for a while now.

I will post a picture tomorrow after I get back from the hair dresser.

So all there's left to do now is watch Home Alone once more.

I love that scene where the kids are singing "O Holy Night" in the church and the old guy who scares Kevin inspires him to protect his house from the burglars.

I Finally Talked To Easy

Easy and I have been e-mailing back and forth sooo much since he left for Europe.

He's only been gone since Thursday and I think I already have about 20 e-mails from him.

The e-mails read like half-journal, half-love-letter. Not just his, mine do too.

I love hearing about his trip and all the places he goes and the foods he eats and especially the standing ovations received after a performance.

But I missed his call on Saturday and I was quite upset. I didn't know when he'd get a chance to call again.

But tonight, he called me. He called my cell from some unknown number.

After a lot of screaming into the phone (my cell gets horrible reception in my parents' house), we got it sorted out where he called the house phone.

We spoke for a bit, but the call quality was crap, so Easy suggested we Skype.

I signed into Skype on my laptop, but for some reason, it wouldn't connect to the internet. I tried everything.

I logged out then back in again.

I did the troubleshooting on the internet website for Skype.

I even uninstalled the program and re-installed it.

As it turns out, Skype was just having technical issues and there wasn't a way for me to get online any time soon.

Easy could tell how frustrated and irritated I was getting.

While trying to make me feel better, he let me know that at least there was no quick end to our phone conversation because he was calling me from Google.

Then something clicked and it occurred to us we could talk on Google chat.

I'd never used Google to video chat before, so there was some confusion about being logged in on gmail versus being logged in on Google Talk.

We finally got it sorted out and were video chatting via Google!

We both sat there with these big dumb grins on our faces for the full first five minutes.

I was just so happy to see him. I just really like his face. It makes me happy to look at him.

His hair is really growing. I didn't know it grew that fast. He usually keeps his head shaved bald and a close cut on his beard.

It hasn't even been a week though and he already looks like he fights bears and rips tree trunks out of the ground with his bare hands.

Those are physical attributes I like in a man, by the way.

We spoke for well over an hour, which made me so very happy.

It's seven hours ahead there, so I did feel bad about keeping him out of bed because he looked very tired.

We made plans for how we're going to get him home from the airport. That's a much easier convo to have face to face rather than over e-mail.

And we joked and laughed and exchanged a 100 "I love you"s (I wasn't keeping count, but I think it was a LOT) and talked about how much we missed each other.

In a way it was kind of bittersweet. I was so happy to actually see him and hear him, but it really sucked to not be able to touch him.

It's true that I've had some worries about how the time apart would affect our relationship.

It's a silly thought in a way because how could a few weeks apart in December (after we've declared our love for one another) do away what eights weeks apart in August and September (when things were supposedly super casual) couldn't?

But crazier things have happened. I guess it doesn't matter. There's no point in thinking about some point in the future that I can't control.

So I'm just going to be glad I got to spend so much time talking face to face with him. God, I love technology!

I've Finally Visited The White House

I may or may not do a blog post with all the pictures I took. The rooms we toured were very beautiful.

I'm just glad I've finally been inside the White House.

Well, I've been before but I don't remember it.

My mother tells me we dined somewhere in the White House, but all I remember from that is some tall man giving me a small box of raisins.

But now I have photos and lots of laughs. There were a couple of hilarious moments, but they were you-had-to-be-there moments.

And I got to see m play brother. He and his wife just bought a house here and I haven't seen them since last Christmas.

It was a pleasant surprise that he was there, I didn't know his mother had put him on the list.

So now my mother and I are going to figure out something for lunch before the shuttle comes to get us to head back to the airport.

I love travelling and visiting new places, but there is nothing like heading home.

I guess I will always feel that way when it's time to go home, even if I've been gone barely 24 hours.
CeCe Savage

Finally In D.C. And It Seems I'm An Eternal Tourist

Our flight was mostly uneventful. It was relatively full.

A full flight means irritated flight attendants, at least one crying baby, and at least one entire family with a cold.

That trifecta happened to be all within two rows of me for the flight, but it didn't much matter because I had my Kindle loaded up.

The Charles Dickens novel I'm currently reading on my Kindle that's also loaded with MP3s made for a relaxing trip.

The ride from the airport to the hotel was nice. I was being a full-blown tourist.

I was so excited to see all the monuments that I've seen so many times before.

I guess I'm just an eternal tourist.

And now m mom and I are about to have dinner. I find myself concerned because East Coast menus always have odd things on them.

Case in point: a turkey panini with lingonberry jam on it?

But I will make it somehow with this camembert cheese.

I'm excited for tomorrow.

I'm just a bit frustrated. I don't know when my mother started chewing with her mouth open and talking while eating, but it is driving me crazy!!!!
CeCe Savage

A Hero Comes Home

My mother and I are at the airport now waiting for our flight to board.

It was a relatively painless process to go through security.

While we were waiting in line, there was an announcement over the loudspeaker about a man coming home from overseas.

The announced his arrival gate and invited people to be there to welcome him.

It just so happened that our gate was directly across from his.

We stopped to get food and almost missed seeing it.

My mother an I both support the troops, so we were glad we didn't miss it.

It was really something to see. Just as we were walking up, the applause broke it.

It really made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside to see that huge crowd of people applauding an American soldier.

Then I got extra happy for a number of reasons.

#1: He was so young. He wasn't some accomplished military man with three purple hearts, but he still got a huge reception.

#2: knowing the history of the varied ways our servicemen get treated by the general public, I'm happy this man was received so well.

#3: He was black. It was a moment in history I can point to that I witnessed where people didn't seem to see color, they only saw merit. No random white people looked suddenly less proud because he wasn't one of the "us" that Sarah Palin and her people claim constantly.

#4: He had his family with him. They all looked so happy and proud. They looked overwhelmed, but in a good way.

Times like this make me proud to be American. The support we give each other disproves some of the narrative about how divided this country has become.

It was a nice moment to have right before I get on a plane to visit my nation's capital.
CeCe Savage

Test Blog

I've tried the SMS texting, and now I'm trying e-mail. Here's hoping this test post works out well!
CeCe Savage

I'm trying to setup my mobile blogging so I can still blog without taking my laptop with me out of town.

Testing, testing. 1, 2, 3.

Lessons Learned On This Saturday

* Don't give two teenage boys your car to go to the barbershop. They'll never be right back.

Camille let the boys take her car. They said it'd be a quick trip. They came back a couple hours later, and consequently, Camille didn't join us for our shopping trip because she had other obligations on her time.

*Don't go to Orland Square Mall six days before Christmas.

This one I should have known. I've been Christmas shopping later in the season and been frustrated by the congestion. I thought it would go differently because I wasn't Christmas shopping. I was wrong.

*When in doubt, go with what you know.

I didn't even go to any other stores. I went straight to the Limited, and found a couple of great dresses. I tried them on, and Michelle and I decided on which looked best. Here it is.


from thelimited.com


*Basic school supplies no longer includes paint brushes.

We went to four different stores. It was damn cold outside. And no one had brushes. One of the games for tomorrow's church Christmas party is for the kids to paint snowflakes. We've got the snowflakes. We've got the watercolor paints. We don't, however, have any paint brushes. Michelle is pretty sure they have some at the church. I hope they do, 'cause we gave up the search.

*Staying up late to fulfill a goal has its ups and downs

There is this thing about old classic books: they take forever to end. Once you're pass the peak of the story, it's a long way to the resolution. Like another 100 pages. Jane Austen did it to me. Now Charles Dickens is joining in. But at least I finished a book, finally!

*I need to pay more attention to my cellphone.

I missed Easy's call today and I also left my phone at home when Michelle and I went shopping. I do believe after today, I'll pay more attention. And I'll take it off vibrate. My phone has been on vibrate for three months.

*Don't make plans to put up the Christmas decorations at the end of a very long Saturday.

My dad wanted us to put up the Christmas decorations tonight. We all loved the idea. Until we were all back home and tired as hell. Suddenly, it didn't seem like such a good idea. We may still do it. But probably not until my mom and I get back from D.C. will it actually get done.

A Change of Plans For The Weekend

My idea of how last night and today was supposed to go didn't pan out.

At bowling last night, the team we were supposed to bowl wasn't there. They are post-bowling.

So my team came up with a strategy. We had an intra-team competition.

We bet that the best bowler on our team couldn't beat the scores of me and our other female bowler combined.

It made it fun. It was like a nice leisurely bowling game instead of a game competition.

But because of our team competition, I think we did well enough to make it difficult for the other team to beat us.

And this morning, my mom and I were up at 7 am. We weren't headed to the church for Winter Wonderland though.

We went to run errands. Sam's Club, Walgreens, the grocery store, my grandmother's house, the bank, and the post office.

We missed the Winter Wonderland. But Camille and Michelle told me it went well.

Then the two of them came over here and we made food for my church's Care & Share, where we feed the homeless.

I feel like it should be 6 pm, but it's not even 2 pm yet. Getting up so early throws off my whole day clock.

The only thing that sucks about the day so far is that I missed a phone call from Easy. He called while we were in the grocery store.

He left me a voicemail. I haven't listened to it yet cause I've been so busy, but I'll listen to it the next time I leave the house.

I was worried about not hearing from him. I figured he'd been super busy. Or didn't have access to the internet. Or maybe his plane had fallen out of the sky.

I have travel issues, but I was trying not to worry too much. I was still a good 12 hours from calling his parents' house to see if they had heard from him.

But even though I missed his call, I still have a couple of e-mails from him that I need to respond to.

He appreciated me sending him the NBA scores and other info from nba.com. That made me very happy.

He hadn't had any available time and internet at the same time, and he was seriously missing his NBA news.

But now I have to keep it up. That means three more weeks of checking all the basketball info and putting it into an e-mail.

But I'm happy to do it for Easy.

I'm just trying to pass time now until we head to the mall to get some shopping done.

Two of the teenage boys from church have borrowed Camille's car to go get haircuts. And so we're waiting til they bring the car back.

But wish me luck that I find the perfect dress at Limited.

I'm hoping something black and knee-length from the Limited will do the trick.

And I also hope I have time for a nap because tomorrow is also going to be a long day.

We are going to the early morning service at church so my mother and I can make our 2 pm flight to DC.

Hopefully the stores there close late for Christmas shopping. Apparently, the best Filene's Basement in the country is in DC.

I should be able to sleep on the plane at least. As tired as I may be, I'm still happy to have to much to do.

Thinking About Easy In Barcelona

I wonder how he's doing. I wonder if he's missing me.

I wonder if it's weird that I've already sent him two e-mails before I got a response back.

We decided e-mail was the best way for us to communicate while he was gone.

Phone cards and AT&T cell phone rates and time zone differences pretty much dictated that.

I sent him the first e-mail when I knew he was on a plane from Chicago to Newark.

He e-mailed me back when he got there, but he ended up calling too, which was sweet.

Then I e-mailed him when I knew he'd be on a plane from Newark to Barcelona.

But there was no immediate response when he got there.

I figured there wouldn't be. He had lots to do. Getting to the hotel and checked in and meeting up with his group without speaking a word of Spanish is no easy task.

But I miss him. While I was at the bowling alley, there was an incredible finish to the Spurs-Nuggets game.

If you follow American basketball, you know what I mean. The Denver Nuggets were robbed!

I knew it was something Easy would love to know about, so that sparked another e-mail.

This e-mail was super long and included all the information about that night's games.

Ever since the NBA season started, he's been on NBA.com every night checking out the info.

I know that he was switching his phone from regular Internet to wifi. What I don't know is whether or not wifi is readily available to him while he's there.

So, trying to be extra useful, I sent the e-mail.

And now I'm hoping he doesn't see two e-mails from me and think I'm doing too much.

I also hope he doesn't see it and is like, thanks, but no thanks. I have a tendency to not want him involved with things I love and he just tolerates (ahem, Christmas).

And now I'm hoping he doesn't do the same to me. Because I'm not a fan of basketball.

I'd rather watch almost any other sport on TV. Skating, bowling, hockey, hold 'em poker, fly fishing. Anything.

That being said, I'm going to turn over a new leaf and let him in on the things I love and he doesn't. Because I'd hate for him to do that to me.

I want to him love and appreciate my e-mails. Not think I'm a weirdo with too much time on her hands who's trying to hone in on his favorite sport.

Missing Yoga, But Missing It For A Good Cause

I've posted a number of times about yoga on this blog.

It's one of my favorite activities/exercise options. It has done wonders for my body and overall holistic health.

But I haven't been in what feels like forever. Sure, I just went last Friday, but that's too long.

After a week of completing my goal and going three times, it's a bit frustrating to not be able to go at all.

Even though my yoga studio is part of a national chain, they do not have studios in St. Louis.

When I'm there, I try to go through my poses a bit on my own, but it's not the same.

It isn't nearly as relaxing. At that point, it's just exercise.

I was supposed to go to yoga today. But my mom changed my plans because of our shopping trip that is planned for today.

Sure I could have gone to the earlier yoga class, but that would require waking up super early in the morning. After being up late last night at a bowling alley.

When my dad and I go practice, we are out til 1 in the morning sometimes.

And then I started thinking about how I'm supposed to be heading to the church to wrap the presents for tomorrow's Winter Wonderland.

And how after that I'm supposed to be bowling with my league tonight.

And how sleepy I'd be because we have to wake up super early Saturday morning to get ready for the Winter Wonderland in the morning.

And how Saturday afternoon, I'm supposed to be heading to my grandmother's house with my mom to spend some time.

Spending time with my grandmother is a very stressful thing. I'm mostly convinced she means well, but the woman is an emotional wrecking crew.

We never leave there anything but drained and dreading the next visit. It's hard to explain, bu that's the long and short of it.

And then I started thinking about how much I miss Easy. Since I dropped him at the airport, I've actually spoken to him a couple of times.

He called me while he was at the Newark airport and we chatted a bit. But since then, nothing.

I figure he needs time to settle in. It's seven hours ahead there, so I shouldn't have been surprised to wake up this morning with no e-mail from him.

He was going through his first day there, probably trying to avoid jet lag since it was 8 am (time to go to work) by their clock and 1 am (time to go to bed) by his usual clock.

But missing him and wanting an e-mail from him saying he made it safely and everything is going well so far would be nice.

And it would give me the boost I need to make it through was promises to be a very long couple of days.

After time with my grandmother, my mother and I will probably head home to pack. Packing with my mother is always a production.

It will be interesting to see if it stays that way even though we'll only be in DC for one night.

And then I have to find some time to get the stuff I need for the church's Christmas party, get that stuff to Camille, and brief her on what needs to be done.

And to focus on the positive, I will just say how happy I am to be so busy. I like having responsibility and all these things to get done before I leave town.

Spending Time With My Dad.. And An Old Flame

Last night after dinner, my dad decides he wants to go have bowling practice. I usually go with him if he goes and practices on Wednesday.

But it was Thursday. But I was looking for activity, so I agreed to go.

I figure it couldn't do too much harm to bowl two days in a row. So we arrive at the bowling alley and get down to bowling practice.

Practice is different from bowling for recreation or bowling on league night.

On league night, the only thing you want is to get lots of pins. You don't think so much and if you haven't perfected an addition to your game, you let it go for that night.

For recreation, there's even less thinking. It's just fun with your friends, not so technical.

For practice, it's all about thinking. You're planning out your entire shot. Feet, arm, swing, speed, carry, etc.

So I'm up to the lane trying to convince myself that I have come a long way in my bowling practice.

Just because I had just rolled a strike did not mean I was automatically going to throw a gutter ball. Those days were behind me.

Just when I had decided I was maybe thinking too much, out the corner of my eye, I think I see an old flame.

He was never a boyfriend. But there was an extended involvement that overlapped more than one other guy.

This guy and I had a tumultuous "relationship" because I told him we'd never be boyfriend and girlfriend because he smoked.

I'm sorry I have no link to a previous story, but I've never mentioned this guy before.

The best I can do is link to a story about PT when I was trying to get my princess DVDs back. At that same time, I was trying to get my camera back from this guy.

I'd left my camera with him when we went to a wedding together down in Champaign-Urbana earlier this year (I know, what it is with me and weddings?).

And even though I'd been out with him a number of times since then, I kept forgetting to get it back.

Getting that camera back, for me, signalled the end of our involvement in any romantic capacity. Just like getting the DVDs back signalled that for PT and me.

But getting back to this guy out the corner of my eye. I ignored him at first because I wasn't sure it was him and I wasn't sure how to react.

I needed to figure out a couple of things first. Was he on date? Was he with his boys? Was he with his family?

Determining which of these questions had the answer of yes was crucial because that would determine how I said hello.

I figured out within a couple of frames (and without ever looking directly over there) that he was on a date.

By this time, it was pretty clear he'd seen me because his head was facing every way but in the direction we were. Which was weird cause there was only one lane separating us.

So I waited until the date chick was bowling while I had just finished. I turned his way, registered surprise, and headed over to say hello.

I was almost right in front of his face before he seemed to see me approaching. Which confirmed that he was going out of his way not to look in that direction.

After suppressing a smirk (after all I was doing the same thing), I smiled and said hello. We had a quick conversation and exchanged a hug.

Our convo lasted exactly long enough for her to finish bowling and then I was back on my lane with her watching me curiously.

Since I could look over there, I had to size her up. I simply had to. I could say with confidence that although she was pretty, I was prettier. And I wasn't a fan of her shape.

Was that catty of me? I dunno, probably. But, hey it's what I do. I like to know that an old flame could be doing better.

And it's not just about looks, she seemed kind of boring. Or maybe they were just new to each other and didn't have a whole lot to talk about.

The guy I knew would have been laughing and talking and affectionate the whole night.

Okay, now that I've got that out of my system (I know, shame on me), I hope he finds a good girl for him. Better than that chick. I just wasn't a fan of their lack of chemistry.

Even people who withhold emotional complaints, smoke, have questionable ambitions, and really weird fingernails deserve to be happy.

We ended up leaving the bowling alley around the same time. I'm very glad we used different exits. That would have been super awkward to walk out together.

My 200th Post!

I'm very excited to have reached this mini milestone. I was excited about post #100.

I wonder if I'll be as excited about post #300...

So, what to talk about? I'm going to discuss my upcoming travel plans.

They come just in time to help me fulfill my goal of leaving the Midwest once a season. I didn't think it was going to happen.

But thanks to my pastor, it will! He got my mother and I an invitation to visit the White House. We're literally going on the 20th. I'm just making my goal!

I've never been before even though I've been to D.C. a number of times.

All I can think of is two things.

When Beavis and Butthead visited and were talking about TP for their bungholes. I know, how twisted of me.

And also, what should I wear??

Nothing in my closet will do of course.

I didn't decide this, my mother did.

She's right though because since I've been doing the healthy eating yoga thing, my body has changed. The way clothes fit me has changed.

Express Jeans no longer make my ass look fabulous. It's all about Levi's now.

And as far as dresses, it seems as if the Limited took my measurements when they stitched up their size 2 dresses.

Tomorrow I'm supposed to be going shopping with my mom. She has to purchase a gift that is going to my church's Winter Wonderland.

I am hoping to find the perfect black dress for Monday.

It's going to be a busy weekend. The Winter Wonderland is a holiday party my church has for families that cannot afford to have full blown Christmases. We give gifts etc for the children.

The Winter Wonderland is Saturday. Tomorrow I get to spend hours wrapping presents before I head off to my bowling league.

I really really hope I don't get a paper cut. That would suck.

Sunday is my church Christmas party. I was supposed to run the games and activities for the children like I did last year.

But the only flight my mother and I could get leaves before the party starts. But luckily, Camille is stepping in for me to take care of the kids.

I'm just excited about all the holiday themed activities I'm involved in this weekend.

Sappy Alert: It should take my mind off of missing Easy.

Spending Time With My Family

I wrote a post this morning about spending time with Easy's family.

His family loves to have fun and loves to laugh. My family is the same way.

But today I realized how close our senses of humor really are.

His family has a lot of fun cracking jokes and making fun. You definitely have to have thick skin.

If you do or say something funny, it will be brought up again and again and again. Stories will be told for the enjoyment of everyone around you.

Tonight my parents came home from work and we sat down to dinner. We were laughing and cracking jokes about our family and friends etc.

There were stories to share about the time we spent apart (including a funny story from dinner when I was in St. Louis).

The only difference between my family and his is my family adds an element of physical comedy.

If there's a story being told, the person the story is about has to be physically imitated as well. It's just funnier that way.

In that respect, Easy's sister would probably be the favorite in my family because she's the only I can remember physically imitating someone she's joking about.

What can I say? Spending time with my family just makes me feel like the holidays are approaching.

My parents and I eat dinner together pretty regularly when everyone is in town. But it seems like we spend more time at it when the holidays are upon us.

And there are always funny stories that come from it. Such as, after dinner my mom had us all cracking up.

She asked me to get her hair bonnet that she sleeps in because she was going to lie down before bed.

She requested that I look on the dining room table for the sleep bonnet that was in the red bag next to the wig.

I go to the dining room table and see a red purse with wig on the table next to the bag. I look in the purse and announce that I don't see the bonnet.

Then as she's coming down the stairs to investigate, I notice another red bag on the dining room chair. This bag happens to also have a wig in it. Next to the wig is... the sleep bonnet.

So she meant the wig next to the bonnet, not next to the bag. And she meant near the table, not on it.

We were both cracking up at the fact that there were two red bags and two wigs and how it was understandable that I would get those instructions wrong.

No wonder I'm such a stickler for people saying what they mean and meaning what they say.

I truly believe I would have found the bonnet the first time had she said on the chair not on the table. But who knows?

One thing for sure is that my family always provides a good time.

Driving All Around The City And State And Midwest

Easy and I agreed that last night when we drove to Chicago, I would take the first leg of the trip.

It's only 300 miles, so I didn't know how long that first leg would be since it's not a very long trip.

But there ended up being inclimate weather (as expected) and so I didn't really feel comfortable driving on those un-salted exits.

As such, I ended up driving the entire time. That and Easy was sleep for part of it.

He had a rough day at work yesterday and I did whole bunch of nothing besides filling out job applications and blogging.

So I didn't mind driving. Even though I knew I'd be doing more driving this morning to take him to the airport.

When I dropped Easy at the airport, we were sitting in the car saying a long goodbye. I was surprised the security lady didn't fuss at us to move.

When I had gotten far enough from the airport on my way back to Chicago, I got a phone call from Easy.

I thought it would be to say that he missed me already. It was not for that reason.

He was calling to say his bag was overweight and he could either take clothes out or pay $200 to board the heavy bag.

That meant I got off at the next exit and headed back to the airport to pick up a pile of clothes.

Then I got to drive back to the city and then to south side to head home.

I was very tired when I got home. I ended up taking a nap even though I'd gotten several hours of sleep and had only been up a few hours.

Who knew driving could take so much out of you?

Later, I'll post about some time I spent with my family that reminded me of earlier in the day with Easy's family.

Spending Time With Easy's Family

This morning I woke up late. I felt badly about that because Easy and I were supposed to run some errands before I took him to the airport.

They weren't complicated or numerous errands, just a stop at the AT&T store and breakfast at Chick-Fil-A.

But when I called to apologize for being late, he didn't even answer. I figured that meant he was asleep.

I was right. He called me back when I was getting of the expressway with a groggy voice to tell me his parents were joining us for breakfast.

I get to his house, and it reminds me a bit of the McAllister's house in Home Alone.

Except Chris was the only one headed to an international flight.

And there were only 6 family members at the house.

But it was a good time. His twin nieces were playing with the Christmas ornaments that weren't yet on the recently acquired tree.

He and his sister were taking turns to see who could be the latest to start their day.

And his parents were doing lots of other things besides getting dressed.

And amongst all this, there was laughter, jokes, fussing at everyone by everyone else to be more timely.

I wanted to leave Easy's house at 9:00 am. We ended up leaving at around 10:45.

So we exchanged the stop at the AT&T store for a 1-800 call and Chick-Fil-A for McDonald's.

Because we didn't have time to eat breakfast with his parents anymore, Easy asked them if they wanted to ride with us to the airport.

They explained to him that he was old as hell and didn't need an escort the airport.

Then when he said he was leaving and would see them next year, they both suddenly appeared downstairs, fully dressed, and upset that he would think of leaving without a proper goodbye.'

I think I am really going to love his family. They are hilarious.

They're all so quirky and unique that I feel like my quirky and unique-ness has a place to fit in.

I'll write later to tell about the airport adventures.

I Am Not Fit To Deal With Patients? Phooey

There is a company that shall remain nameless that I am incredibly frustrated with.

Part of the application process is not just to upload a resume and fill out information. They also want you to fill out a survey.

This survey asks questions that are really silly and compare qualities in a ridiculous manner.

One of the questions asks you to choose which quality you possess the most and which the least.

But the list of qualities are three great qualities that I feel all people should possess, especially people who are working with sick and infirm people.

They tell you this survey has right answers and wrong answers. I apparently did not have the right answers.

I don't know if this is because my training in dealing with patients is rural and urban centers expect something different.

Or maybe I'm too independent.

Or maybe I should have spent my time trying hard to suss out which answer they would have preferred. Not that it would have helped to do that.

My patients in medical school loved me. I wish I could reference this job application to them.

Some stupid survey isn't going to give them an idea of how I am in those situations.

And the questions were so general. I know for a fact that it's not that black and white.

But here I sit, jobless. And unable to fill out a survey to get to the next step of the interview process.

I can't help but feel it's not fair.

But I will still keep applying for all these jobs and hope that someone will give me a chance.

I interview really well. If I could just get an interview, that would vastly improve my chances over just looking at my resume.

Getting Ready To Leave St. Louis

I'm thanking my lucky stars that the weather is holding in St. Louis.

It's bad enough that Easy and I will be driving back to Chicago at night, at least we won't be doing it in the snow too.

So today has been a nice relaxing day. I helped Easy finish packing his things while he was at work.

And then I was just chilling and catching up on reading blogs while filling out follow up application stuff online.

I figured there was no rush to get dressed because Easy had a full day of work.

I had, of course, forgotten that his roommate mentioned last night at dinner he only had a half day of work.

So I hear the door open and I know it can't be Easy. I freak out a bit because I'm not dressed.

I was sitting in the kitchen in a wife beater and panties.

Thankfully, I also had a blanket wrapped around me because their place is never warm enough.

That could've been much worse. But as I'm contemplating how I can get upstairs and put on some real clothes, he informs me he's heading back out again.

He came into the kitchen to put down the mail on the table, so I'm sure he noticed my state of undress.

But before he goes, he asks me if I have some time to check out this entrepreneurial opportunity.

I'm immediately skeptical because that particular phrase sounds like an introduction to a pyramid scheme.

Whether or not that was the case, I couldn't actually discern because the video he pulled up for me was very vague.

He showed me one of those promotional videos about a "sales opportunity" and a chance to "be my own boss" and "work in a team" to gain extra cash.

They actually said "this is not a get rich quick scheme".

But I just don't do sales. Last night at dinner, I informed some family friends of Easy and his roommate that I couldn't do pharmaceutical sales.

It's just not for me. It's for some people; I am not one of those people.

So then I began wondering a few things. Why did he ask me this while Easy wasn't around?

Had Easy taken advantage of this entrepreneurial opportunity?

All I know is that was a mildly amusing 15 minutes of my life.

It reminded me of when my college roommate tried to get me involved in selling and purchasing pre-paid legal services.

I have such a hard time saying no to these things.

I usually end up giving a vague response that it probably no more vague than the promotional videos they have.

I'm just glad we'll probably be on our way to Chicago before the roommate gets back from where he was headed.

I'm Here In St. Louis And All I Am Is Happy

I was on the train yesterday on my way down here and I was instant messaging Top, just catching up.

She has some very interesting things going on career-wise, by the way. I'll probably write about that today in the The Medley.

When I told her I was on the train on my way to St. Louis, her response was something like, "wow, that's a big step."

I had completely forgotten that I was against not having transportation out of here.

The last time I came to visit, I almost had a panic attack thinking about getting on a train or bus down here.

This time, all I could think about was not wanting to be on the road driving in these weather conditions.

And since Easy and I decided we wanted to spend these days together before he leaves the country, it was simple, I was taking the train.

The only debate was whether he would get my ticket for Sunday evening or Monday morning.

And then when I got here, I was in the worst mood. I figured it was because I was so cold the whole down.

I hate being cold. But there is no way to avoid it on a train when the only available seat is in the front of a car and people keep coming in and out of the car to go buy snacks in the Cafe Car.

Even with the blanket Easy bought for me last time I was here, my Timberland boots, and the seven layers of coat/sweater/shirt didn't help.

And then he was late picking me up because he decided to give a co-worker a ride home.

And while I was waiting, my life was interrupted by the usual scary and/or nasty characters one sees inside a bus and train station.

Somehow I ended up in a terrible mood by the time I was in the car. He was a bit frustrated with me that my mood didn't immediately improve.

I told Easy I was hungry and sleepy. I'd only had a short nap on the train before the gusts of wind kept me up and I hadn't eaten since early the night before.

I am not a real person when I haven't eaten. It's like those commercials advertising for breakfast. I'm some monsterly version of myself.

But he stayed upbeat and took me to the grocery store on the way home.

The dinner I made was great by the way. Linguine marinara, sauteed shrimp with a butter garlic white sauce, and roasted vegetables.

Easy and his roommate are always both so happy when I visit. At least they are around dinner time.

After dinner I took a short nap, about 90 minutes. And then suddenly, I was a real person again!

Because the sun sets so early, even though it felt late, it was only around 9 pm.

Easy and I are night owls, so we still had time to hang out and have fun before bedtime.

I'm trying not to think about how two days from now, I'll be dropping him off in the international terminal at O'Hare to not see him for three weeks.

I'm mostly succeeding because right now, I only have a big smile on my face.

December Is Quite A Month

There's a lot going on this December.

*I'm going to visit the White House next week with my mom. I'm very excited and hope to have some pictures to post here from it after that.

*The weather has turned violent. I walked outside and stepped immediately into a snow bank and got slapped in the face with hard snowflakes.

*At least I'm not driving in this weather. I'm taking the train to St. Louis in the morning and haven't driven all day. But I've still been out in the weather because of plans I made before it started snowing.

*The Bears are killing me! They lost so horribly to New England tonight! I think when Dallas started playing better, they sucked up everyone else's talent. Not literally, but maybe there's just only so much talent available in a given Sunday.

*Lots of good movies I want to see are out. For instance, I'm seeing the third Narnia movie tonight and I just saw the Harry Potter movie last week. December usually sucks for movies, but not this year.

*New Year's plans aren't set in stone (thanks friends), but they are mostly going well. I should still get the grown-up Chicago style New Year's Eve I wanted.

*I pretty much know what I want to get my people for Christmas, but the problem is going shopping. I don't want to pay shipping but I don't want to venture out into the snowstorm to shop. I guess I'll see which one wins as Christmas approaches.

Brushing Worrying Aside For Now

I was just thinking about all the ways things could go wrong between Easy and I.

I was thinking it on and off Friday and yesterday. But today, I'm not thinking about that at all.

I'm just excited. I'm going to St. Louis in the morning. I'll be glad to spend some time with Easy before he leaves the country Thursday.

Even though it's only a couple of days I'll be there, I'm still really looking forward to it.

Easy is not a holiday person like I am. I love Christmas and New Year's. I really love October through February.

Easy does not. He was a jam session and he booed someone who played a Christmas song.

I'm not kidding. He actually booed another grown man for playing a Christmas song.

So there will be no squeezing the holidays into the small bit of time we get to spend together during December.

In fact, I'm kind of glad he won't be around. I will miss him, but I could do without his Christmas cynicism.

I'm all into the cheesiness of the holiday season. Christmas music, wearing lots of red, enjoying the cold. all the mess.

It's just my luck that I keep attracting men who hate Christmas. But that doesn't matter this year.

So for the next three days, I'll be in St. Louis. I'll be helping Easy pack and avoiding discussing Christmas.

I think his desire to always compromise is rubbing off on me.

Weekly Goals Accomplished? Part Five

I skipped two weeks because I just wasn't spending a lot of time blogging. There are fourteen goals in total. This covers the week 12/05-12/11 (Sun-Sat).

Family Member Goal: I'm supposed to reach out to a family member I haven't talked to or spent time with in the last month.
Accomplished?: No. And I really should get on this one. It is the holiday season after all.

Career Goal: Fill out at least 50 job applications.
Accomplished?: This goal I have finally accomplished! I switched my schedule around to avoid my internet-killing brother. So I should do a better job of reaching this goal from here on out.

Career Goal: Do research on grad schools, and on how to acquire a clinic/scholarship program/homeless shelter.
Accomplished?: I have done research on the clinic. There are a lot of extra steps that need to be taken, but having a solid checklist to go by is helpful. I have also come up with a solid list of grad school programs that I may potentially want to apply to.

Career Goal: Have an updated resume by the 10th of this month.
Accomplished?: I have updated my resume by adding in my forgotten certification in CPR. Also, I"m finalizing my references list.

Hobbies (Piano Playing) Goal: Spend at least one hour practicing the piano and/or studying music theory.
Accomplished?: I finally accomplished this goal. I do love playing holiday music.

Hobbies (Reading) Goal: Read at least one book in the last week.
Accomplished?: I've finally been reading again on my Kindle instead of just playing Every Word or Mine Sweeper. But I'm re-reading Great Expectations and that is going to take awhile. I'm about 1/3 of the way through it.

Hobbies (Writing) Goal: Work on novel at least once in the last two weeks.
Accomplished?: Nah. I just don't know what to do with the characters I've created. I may have to start from scratch.

Hobbies (Gardening) Goal: Work on indoor garden plan at least once in the last week.
Accomplished?: Not really. I'll get a half for this one because I've at least decided to start with an herb garden.

Hobbies (Yoga) Goal: Go to three yoga classes.
Accomplished?: I was able to accomplish the goal. It was really hard to go to five classes a week. I tried, but it was a toll on my body. I think it will take more time to work up to the great goal. For now I'll stick with three times a week.

Hobbies (Cooking) Goal: Make one new and one old recipe.
Accomplished?: I stumbled upon a great new recipe for home fries. It's just a spin on something I've tried before that didn't work out. I made them as a healthy alternative to french fries to go with turkey burgers. I normally hate turkey burgers, but have found a way to make them and enjoy them. Score one for healthy eating.

Hobbies (Cooking) Goal: Write down the recipe for everything I've made in the last week.
Accomplished?: I haven't cooked too much this week, but I did manage to write down all the recipes.

Hobbies (Travelling) Goal: Leave Chicago once a week, leave Illinois once a month, leave the Midwest once a season, and leave USA once a year.
Accomplished?: Chicago was left a couple of times this week, but only to head to the south suburbs. Still counts though! I left Illinois in November, and I'm set to do it again next week. It's almost officially winter, and I don't see me leaving the Midwest, but I'm gonna see. And I still have until next October to leave the country.

Hobbies (Bowling) Goal: Improve league bowling average and lower handicap.
Accomplished?: This was accomplished. My new average is 99, and my handicap has lowered to 90.

Hobbies (New Things) Goal: Try something brand new.
Accomplished?: Technically, I accomplished this because I have developed a brand new way to bowl. It's a stretch I know, but considering how different it was from what I was doing before and the vast improvement in my score, it should count.


I got 10 1/2 of my goals completed this week. That is a new record. Maybe in a few weeks I'll get all of them!

Of course now I need to edit a few of them, particularly the ones about grad school and my future career plans. I need a more detailed goals list.

But I'll worry about that next week.

A Bit Of Pre-Emptive Worrying

I was on the phone with Easy last night and he seemed incredibly distracted. I thought maybe it was because he was tired.

He had a very long day yesterday. He's an elementary school music teacher and last night was the winter concert.

It was a huge deal and everything went well, but he was tired afterward.

Turned out that was not the reason for his being distracted. He was reading my blog. He says he finds it really interesting.

So that means he will keep reading my blog. I wonder what it feels like to read about yourself through someone else's words, especially with a different name.

He definitely is experiencing something similar to what my friends have experienced. It's already changed the names he uses.

He usually calls me by a different nickname. But last night he kept calling me CeCe.

That made me laugh cause it makes me think of how Camille call's Bad's girlfriend Jordan in everyday convo, not her actual name.

And Top doesn't refer to Easy by his actual name, she usually just calls him Easy.

I was thinking about all of that as I listened to him comment on what he was reading.

I thought about that and the fact that I'm going to St. Louis for another visit on Monday. I'm going to spend some time with Easy before he heads to Europe.

Then that made me think about how much I'm going to miss him. It's been there in the back of my mind, but it's so close now.

This time next week, he will be away on God only knows what kind of schedule.

He and I have sort of settled into a schedule of when we talk and text. But all that will change in a few days.

Once a certain time hits, I won't be able to look forward to a call from him and hearing about his day. That makes me sad.

But the realistic person in me is now reminding myself, and all of you, that this schedule wasn't set in stone to begin with. We've only been talking everyday for a number of weeks now. Weeks, not months.

So logic tells me, "calm down chick. It's not that big a deal. He'll be back in a few weeks."

What are the chances that logic will win? I need a cartoon accountant to run the numbers on one of those ticker tapes calculators while wearing a visor and smoking a cigar. I'm going to say the chances aren't good.

I really hope I'm not foolish to look forward to when he gets back in January. The plan right now is for me to pick him up from the airport and go with him back to St. Louis.

If I get a job by then, I guess those plans can change. But they can also change if things between us are different when Easy gets back.

A lot can change in a few weeks. I'm hoping nothing changes. But I won't know until January.

Until then, I'm going to do what I do best. Have hope and optimism and all that crap.

Another Post About Leo, And Not A Happy Reconciliatory Post

So Leo sent me this ridiculous text the other day. I wasn't going to post about it, but I think I should because my last post.

My last post was about how Easy reads my blog now. That made me think of Leo because he made a comment around the time we first met.

That comment basically said he wasn't surprised that things hadn't worked out with these guys I'd dated in recent history because they weren't that into me.

Proof that they weren't that into me was that they didn't even care to read my blogs. I told him they didn't exactly know about the blogs, but he was convinced it was an important point.

So of course when Easy spent well over an hour last night reading this blog I had spent a lot of time pouring my life into, it stood out to me as very-much-into-me-behavior.

Part of me wanted to text Leo just to say, "so there." But seeing as how I'm ignoring him and his texts, that wasn't an option.

Back to this latest crazy text. It said:

I hope all is well and everything works out with the st louis cat but i would bet my check that you guys wont be together by this time next year. Good luck

After I saw that text I was like "what. the. fuck." This is after not responding to his last few texts sent over a period of 4 weeks.

If someone isn't responding to any outreach on your part, why not just move on? Why resort to the ultimate dick move? Because he's a crazy person.

I had neither confirmed nor denied any relationship between Easy and I. The last time I spoke to Leo was when I first went down to St. Louis and nothing was settled between us.

But to send that asshole-y text and end with good luck just really pissed me off. I immediately forwarded it Easy.

He cracked me up with his response. He said he really wanted me for himself, but he didn't want to stand in the way of true love.

I let him know I wasn't interested in dating a completely crazy person and he was my choice. As if that's what Leo even wants.

I doubt he thinks that he and I should be whatever it is we were before. Does he think he and I would be together this time next year. I doubt it.

I just don't understand why he won't leave me the hell alone. I'm hoping this is my last post about him.

But if he texts me something else crazy in a couple of weeks, I'm going to have to post it so the blogosphere on whole can laugh at him for being a crazy person.

Easy Reads My Blog Now

Or at least he's read it. I mentioned something Wednesday night about my blog and he goes, "say what?"

I had forgotten that I hadn't really mentioned my blogs to him. I guess I was concerned about how it would change if he knew about it.

But he asked for the web link to this blog (he wasn't too concerned about The Medley) and I gave it to him.

Then I sat on the phone with him as he began reading the blog. He read most of my recent posts. Then he read every post with the tag "Easy".

That meant reading about how angry I was when things fell apart in August. And reading about my comparison of him and PT from back when we first met.

It was very interesting. Mostly he found it funny. He read some portions aloud and used the exact inflections I intended while writing the words.

He totally gets me. But I have to admit I was nervous for him to be reading all that stuff. It was like handing him a journal and saying, "have at it."

What made it worse is that I wasn't able to stay on the phone the whole time. I had to get off the phone because my dad and I were heading out to go have some bowling practice.

Easy called me about 30 minutes after we got off the phone. He wanted to tell me how much he cared about me.

He also told me that he loved me and he felt that I was an amazing woman and he was lucky to have me in his life.

That was a much better response than, "you suck for comparing me like I'm real estate.

I don't know if he is going to make a habit of reading my blog. But so far, I don't feel like I'm writing anything different than if he didn't have access to it.

The Job Hunt With No End In Sight

I spend hours each day on the computer. Sometimes I'm doing fun stuff like playing poker or The Sims 3.

That's not always the case though. Usually, I'm applying for jobs.

This is something that is very frustrating. I was optimistic that I would have a job by now. But that is not the reality of my world.

I'm still looking for a job. And I'm also looking up info for grad school. I'm going to get a Master's degree from somebody at some point.

But the job application process is never-ending.

My favorite job sites are the ones where you spend about 20 minutes putting in all the details and information.

Once you spend that time, you're good. After that you click "apply" and it fills in all the information.

I loathe the sites where I have to put that information in over and over again.

The biggest issue is trying to fill out these applications during the day. My brother is an internet hog.

I'm not sure how he's hogging all the bandwidth. Maybe he's downloading movies. Maybe it's that evil ass iPad.

I'm always willing to blame Apple/Mac, but the point is, it's really difficult to get anything done during the day.

Even Google takes three tries to load up. So instead of applying for 15-45 jobs in one afternoon, it's more like 1 1/2. Seriously, it's frustrating.

So I've taken to applying for jobs in the evening. Since he's left the house, I've done upwards of 30 applications. That's good for one day.

I may actually reach my goal of job applications for this week. And all I had to do was switch my entire schedule around.

Now if only someone will want to interview me instead of sending a "thanks but no thanks" e-mail.

How To Bring In The New Year's As An Adult, Chicago-Style

What are my fabulous plans for New Year's? Admittedly, they are not plans that will knock every one's socks off, but I am in love with the plans.

It started with a search on ticketmaster.com to see if there were any good live music shows or something like that going on. Some comedy shows popped up in the search.

While I would prefer live music, the comedy shows won out. DL Hughley had a comedy show that I would love to go to, but the tickets are more than I can afford. So Kevin Hart's show in the theater district downtown is the one.

The show is at 7 pm, so there needed to be some place to bring in the New Year. There's no way I want to be driving through the city on New Year's Eve. I do not have a death wish.

So then I needed to find a hotel. Gloria had the best idea to just bring in the new year in a hotel bar, and that we should get a room at that hotel. Best idea ever was the thought I had.

I figured we could park by Bad's house and take the bus to whichever hotel we get. And we could maybe avoid downtown prices if we stayed near a train or bus line.

Chicago only charges one cent to ride the CTA on New Year's so that's the best way to get around. I'm all for avoiding driving.

What hotel did I land on? The Congress Hotel. It's on south Michigan Avenue. I definitely wanted to avoid the Magnificent Mile because their prices are ridiculous.

What's even better about the hotel is that Chicago does fireworks at midnight, and we happen to be across the street from them by staying at the Congress Hotel.

The room I reserved is a lake-view room, so that adds another option for bringing in the New Year.

Also, the hotel has a great bar that is free to get into for the night.

So, for New Year's, I'll be hanging out at a great hotel, taking in a show, and bringing in the new year with possibly fireworks and definitely a champagne toast.

The only thing is my friends. Easy will be overseas, so the New Year will be brought in with my girls (and guys) in Chicago.

The thing is, some of my friends are kind of flaky. They cannot be counted on to follow through with plans, even if it's plans that they make. There are certain people I can depend on, others... not so much.

But for New Year's, we have to pre-pay. Well, we don't have to, but I want to. Paying ahead of time will ensure that I won't be on the hook for money for a hotel room or whatever.

Some people, like Michelle and Camille, are definitely into the plans. Gloria is into them as well, but it depends on what her boyfriend Gregory will be doing.

Bad and Jordan and some of his other friends may join us, but that's still up in the air as well. But even if it's just Michelle, Gloria, Camille, and I bringing in the New Year, it will be so much fun. With just the four of us, it will feel more like the mood I had in mind when I was trying to figure out what to do for the night.

I'm excited for New Year's and I'm hoping nothing happens to make the plans fall apart.

Having Fun With Easy And Michelle

This is about a funny day from a couple weeks ago.

I spent most of the day with Michelle and her cousin Thing 1 (or 2, I don't remember which twin I assigned which name).

We had fun shopping for the Winter Wonderland. And when we were done, we got Thing 1 a birthday outfit.

Poor Michelle spent a lot of her day driving between Tinley Park and North Michigan Avenue. Basically, a half tank of gas.

And now I'm with Easy and Michelle. We're at this jam session that Easy goes too.

A very unique mix of people come to this thing. Black, white, young, old, doesn't matter. If you like live jazz, this is the place to be Wednesday night.

One thing that makes hanging out with Easy and Michelle so much fun is the silliness that ensues.

That and making fun of strangers. And today, there happens to be an abundance of strangers around merely to amuse us.

At Forever 21, there was an employee there who had the world's largest muffin top. And her hips and behind area were quite narrow. She had on skin tight pants with a belt pulled extra tight. It was as if someone inflated her mid section with a bicycle tire pump.

But the majority of funny people are at this jam session. There is a woman here who Easy and all his friends swear is possibly a hooker.

She keeps making out with this guy who the guys think is her pimp. Michelle and I think he's possibly gay or at best bisexual. It's just his voice and mannerisms. Maybe that's why the guys think he's a pimp. He has the feminine voice of an old school hood pimp.

Then there is this man sitting here snacking on Cheez-Its. Not a handful or a ziploc bag full this man has an entire box of Cheez-Its.

And then there's this incredibly fat man who walks up to him and says, "I don't know you, but may I please have a handful of your Cheez-Its?"

I don't know if that's really what he said, but they didn't seem to know each other and he walked away with a handful of Cheez-Its. And put the entire handful in his mouth at once.

And then there's all the old men who keep hitting on Michelle and me. One is the hand-caresser. Another is the toothless-smiler. Yet another is sir Stares-at-my-boobs.

And then there's a guy who is playing great. He sounds almost as good as Easy, but maybe I'm biased. That's kind of how I felt watching this guy jamming on the saxophone. Funny and mildly enjoyable.

But this guy looks like he came just from work. Michelle and I were trying to figure out his uniform. It's something for transportation.

Maybe you've seen that recent airline commercial with all the people coming out the subway and walking the streets of new york city singing about great fares.

And of course there was Walking Stereotype Guy. He looks like a guy from the hood, specifically Chicago's south side.


He was old but still had corn row braids. Once you pass the age of 23, take those braids out your hair! And he had on a fur coat that was fancier than the coat the woman with him had on. And of course his ears were pierced.
But one thing is certain amidst all these characters, I'm having fun. I always do with Easy and Michelle.