A Walk to Remember
OK, it actually wasn’t.
But it was a good walk to clear my thoughts, rearrange things in my head, and to think about where I’m going to go from here.
Took some pictures around Chinatown which probably won’t come out since it was cloudy and kinda dark. I had sushi at this restaurant, but it was pretty bad - I felt like I was chewing rubberbands. Walked around a little more after dinner. City Hall looks pretty nice at night, all lit up. A guy passed as I was taking pictures and said, “I guess you’re not from around here.” I said yeah, it’s pretty obvious. “Well, I am. And I’m moving to California in two weeks. And you know what? I’m not going to miss it here at all.” I think I kinda looked like a deer in headlights after he spoke. “Well, enjoy your trip. Goodbye.”
Goodbye, weirdo man on the street.
Venting
I’m tired of being what you want me to be
Feeling so faithless, lost under the surface
I don’t know what you’re expecting of me
Put under the pressure of walking in your shoes…
Caught in the undertow, just caught in the undertow…
Every step that I take is another mistake to you…
Caught in the undertow, just caught in the undertow…I’ve become so numb, I can’t feel you there
I’ve become so tired, so much more aware
By becoming this all I want to do
Is be more like me and be less like you
“Numb” - Linkin Park
I’m physically, emotionally and mentally tired. Life is just overwhelming right now sometimes I feel like I’m treading water just to keep afloat.
Hey, did you know that I can’t swim?
The last few weeks have really been tough for me. I don’t even remember how much of that I’ve talked about here. There’s just so much to do, so much I need to know, so much that people expect of me, at times, I feel like I don’t even have time to breathe anymore.
But at least life throws little blessings my way.
I want to thank my coworkers for being extra awesome, from my X-Systems family in Chicago who have been so concerned about my dwindling sanity, to my new coworkers out in Columbus and other places who have busted their asses trying to help me find my footing and show me the light. Without this support group, I don’t know where I’d be right now.
Dave has been super understanding with my rants and raves at home, and also dealing with my extreme moodiness, which is a once in a blue moon kind of thing. He’s letting me get some rest and giving me extra TLC to nurse me back to some peace of mind.
It sucks when you’re traveling and you’re grumpy.
Anyway, I’m going to go take some pictures at Chinatown and then drown my sorrows in all you can eat sushi.
Agonizing Pain, Chinese New Year and ‘Lost’ Soulmate
It’s been a pretty busy day in Philly for me.
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I was at a client site today, and when I was taking my notes out of my binder, I got the WORST PAPER CUT EVER. I had accidentally run my index finger along the side of the paper, slicing up the very tip of my right index finger. Sure, there wasn’t much blood, but it hurt like hell! It was a pretty deep cut, too, all the way to the bone. Ok, not that far, but pretty deep. And since it was on my index finger, I noticed it all day - I mean, I work with computers - I’ve gotta type! The cut is incredibly annoying, and I’m tempted to go to the front desk to ask for a band-aid tomorrow. It hurts! Pity me! *cries*
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I’ve decided to once again give up red meat for Lent. Not only that, but fried foods and promised to hit the gym at least twice a week.
I didn’t go to church to be one of the masses of Catholics with the funny dirt on their heads.
At lunch with my clients, I realized that my fish and shrimp was deep fried.
At dinner today, I order a shrimp dish. Little did I know that there was meat in the sauce. I’m right by Chinatown, so my clients took me out to dinner at a local favorite. The place was PACKED. I was amazed at how active Philly’s Chinatown is. Then I realized that it was Chinese New Year. Well, that explains it. Happy Chinese New Year!
So I was down, 2 of 3 Lenten promises broken today.
BUT
I did go to the gym. Actually worked up a sweat on the treadmill. When was the last time I went? I dunno, do a search on this site. Going to the gym is enough of an event for me to post about it. i went to the hotel fitness center and found it empty. Happy at my stroke of luck, I set the TV to my latest obsession, ‘Lost’. I started to work out and realized that I couldn’t hear the TV over the sound of the treadmill, so I went over to the TV to put on the closed captioning.
As I was walking back to my treadmill, a man came into the room. I was a bit nervous. I was hoping he wouldn’t want to change the channel and make me pull out my, “I was here first” card.
He came in, looked nervously at the TV, which was on a commercial. He kinda stood around, looking at the TV. Then ‘Lost’ came back on.
“You watching ‘Lost’?” he asked me.
“Um, yeah.”
“Awesome. Mind if I make it louder?”
“Be my guest!”
So he made it louder. And then he asked to turn off the lights, but then opened the door, so I didn’t feel trapped. So it was our own little ‘Lost’ movie theater. Pretty cool, if you asked me.
So cool, I forgot the excruciating pain of my index finger.
“Why” you may ask, “are you typing this post if you’re complaining about your index finger?”
Well, it’s because I love you, that’s why!
Pity me!!!!
Winner!
Winner! - Long Beach, CA : June 2004
This was a lucky picture. If I had pressed the button at this exact moment, I would have won a gazillion tickets or something. But alas, all I have is the picture.
The Saddest City in the US
I’m here in Philadelphia, writing from my super secret location in Center City (I think that’s what they call it). Because I’m a cheap mofo, I opted to take a shuttle from the airport instead of a taxi. It took about half an hour for the shuttle to come. Argh!
I love Philadelphia. Dave lived here for several months when he was doing rotations, and I have fond memories of walking around the historical area and watching baseball at their old stadium. This place has so much history, you can just feel it as you drive around. I only wish I had time to walk around during the day so I could take pictures and do some sightseeing.
I was talking with my shuttle driver, and he said that today would have been when they had their Superbowl victory parades and celebrations. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen. He said the whole city was pulling for the team and that it was really great to see. So everyone’s a bit bummed at the loss. I let out a sad sigh as we passed the Lincoln Financial Stadium on the way to my hotel. Sorry, Philadelphia!
But there’s still next year, right?
Cheer up, Philadelphia! Yano’s here!
Fives
Today is a pretty busy day, so I’ll just throw up an old post that I never put up. Go ahead and steal it for your own site - I stole it from Mel’s site a long time ago.
Five Things You May Not Know About My Time in School
- I was the drum major when I was in marching band
- I went to an all girl catholic school, but our band consisted of boys from our brother catholic school
- I was Vice President of the Math club - because that office really didn’t do anything
- I came in 3rd in State for my division for speech making and essay writing
- I went to homecoming with this really nice guy that I liked, had the time of my life, and he never talked to me afterwards.
Five Things You May Not Know About the Job/s I Have (or Had)
- I used to work at a liquor distributing company in college. as a perk, I got to meet Captain Morgan and we got our alcohol wholesale.
- I worked at the airport during the soccer world cup and met people from all over the world.
- I’ve worked for the same company for the last 7 and a half years of my life
- I bartended private parties in college. I would make extra money when underage drinkers would give me $10 dollar tips to give them drinks.
- My first job was working for the summer program for the city of Chicago, testing underprivileged kids to give them summer jobs. It was the best job I ever had because we gave these kids the coolest jobs as artists, tutors, guides, and let them see that their lives could be so much more.
Five Things You May Not Know About My Online Life:
- I’ve had a web page since 1995.
- I have met at least 40 people who I’ve known online first - and not one of them has tried to kill me….yet
- As much as I hate to admit it, I’m really obsessive with my referral logs and who comes to the site
- The best way to get a hold of me isn’t through the phone - it’s through e-mail.
- Having a blog is the way I keep in touch with friends and family, because I never use the phone.
Five Things You May Not Know About Where I Live:
- Chicago is the 4th fattest city in the US, and I’m damn proud of it.
- I’ve been to 46 of the 50 states, and there is no other city that I have found to be cleaner, friendlier, more beautiful or as charming as Chicago.
- I actually live in a suburb of Chicago now, and it breaks my heart that I’m out of the city.
- The best time to come to Chicago is a week before the 4th of July, when we have our Taste of Chicago
- Chicago fans are the best out there - our teams play like shit, and we still love them. Most of the time.
Five Things You May Not Know About My Home Life:
- We’ve got a pool table and a wet bar with a tap in the basement
- Dave and I have different schedules - he leaves really early in the morning, I come home 2 hours later than he does (most nights)
- Dave drives my car and I drive his - his car has more miles and I only have to drive a couple miles to the train.
- I’m finnicky about how I feed the fish. I usually like being the only one to feed them.
- It doesn’t matter if I mop the floors - Dave will always re-do it after me.
Five Things You May Not Know that I Desperately Want:
- A new desktop computer- the one I have is SUPER slow
- An entertainment system and living room set for the basement - it’s going to be our home theater down there
- Money. Having a husband with medical school bills is a killer.
- For this whole Red state vs. Blue state crap to end. It’s so tiring
- Kids. Eventually. Not necessarily right now.
Five Embarrassing Fannish Admissions I Have That You May Not Know:
- I once wrote a letter to all the New Kids on the Block, one page for each of them
- I gave my business card to an athlete once
- I was called a ‘predator’ once by someone’s family member - affectionately…I think
- Several times when meeting someone I was a fan of I had lost the ability to speak and make eye contact
- My best fan moment? Being on the same plane as an artist that I’m a fan of, then realizing that once he got off the plane he waited for me to walk with me to the baggage claim. Ultra fan-giddiness!
Five Things You May Not Know About What I Do in a Typical Day:
- I snooze at least 4 times
- I have a special process when I feed my fish - I worry when anyone else does it
- I work on my webpage or future posts on my laptop when I’m on the train
- I’m sleepy in the afternoon, awake late at night
- I try not to eat anything after 8pm.
Layout Question
Working on some layouts, and I just wanted to ask your opinions:
What do you like in a layout?
What turns you off in some layouts?
What do you like/dislike about my layout(s)?
Are you able to see all my layouts on your monitor (does it fit on your screen)?
Do you have a favorite layout that I’ve had?
I’m working on some pretty cool stuff right now…can’t wait til you all see it!
Flash Mind Reader
Gil was showing us this site yesterday. It’s uncanny how it works. At first I was skeptical, but I can’t figure out how this thing works!!! If any of you figure it out, let me know, because it’s bugging me!
All you have to do is choose a two digit number, do some math, match up your answer with a symbol, and click on a button. The Crystal ball then tells you what your symbol is. It gets me every time!!! Why?!?! Why?!?!?!
Superbowl Play by Play
Yep. The superbowl party is going on and I’m here to give you the highlights. Here we go!
5:10 - Alicia Keys channels Ray Charles and sings ‘America’ with some deaf and blind kids. Sure, we make a couple jokes about blind kids wandering around on the field, but after a few moments, we all start getting a little teary eyed watching these kids belt out the song. *sigh*
5:27 - The combined armed forces choir sings the National Anthem. We have a debate on the war in Iraq, then hush up as they sing. Claudine stands. Dave’s dad looks for where he put his beer. Dave’s mom tells us Christmas is over and we should take down our wreath. Fatima belches, politely.
5:33 - The best coin flip ever. They bring in a little kid to flip the coin. Lots of pressure to give a little boy. He takes it, we hold our breaths, and the ref tells him to toss it high. He does, but doesn’t flip it. Just throws it up, and it lands flat down. Hilarious!
5:49 - The LeBron James Bubblicious commercial just made us go “What the?!? They still make Bubbalicious gum?” If so, do they really need to have it named after a basketball player? The star studded Diet Pepsi commercial fell a little flat (hardee har har). Carson Daly and Wilmer Valderrama driving Pepsi trucks? Do their careers suck that badly? Chetan loves my meatballs. He asks me for the recipe. I tell him, “CostCo!” But then I fess up and said that the meatball sauce is all me.
6:00 - I know a lot of commercials aren’t going to be aired because people are afraid of the FCC fining them. Sadly, GoDaddy.com’s try at being racy sucked badly.
6:24 - Hmm, been busy ‘entertaining’ so I haven’t been able to watch the game much. I DID catch the Capital One commercial with all the Marvel Superheroes. LAME! Me and Fatima were puking. Eew. Lame! OK, back to eating brownies!
6:56 - Um, I wanted to comment on a commercial, but I don’t remember. I’m really full. It’s affecting my mind. The Dennis Rodman commercial was interesting. Oh yeah! The Batman Begins movie commercial! Fuck yeah! That shit looks awesome! I’m going to be first in line. OK, not really. But I’m gonna watch that baby - Christian Bale is a perfect young Bruce Wayne!
7:17 - The ‘Tomorrow’ commercial with the football players singing was really cute, though overhyped. Marian provided what is so far the best quote of the night by saying, “Hmm, someone should make a song called ‘Yesterday’.” We laughed and said, ‘Um, duh! The Beatles!” as Paul McCartney comes on screen to do half time.
7:26 - The half-time show is OK. I like Paul McCartney, but it’s so ‘blah’. The first part was boring, though the second half was a bit more lively. The stage setup was pretty cool. And having the audience hold up the ‘Na Na Na’s’ was laughable. Come on, Paul! Take off your shirt! I guess not. It’s was a so-so, SAFE, halftime show. Grr. This Superbowl so far is so tame!
7:30 - This internet connection I have next to the food is pretty popular. It’s like a little internet cafe - people are in line to surf the web and check emails. Marian has deemed this little area “Christine’s Computer Corner Cafe”.
7:32 - I just sent Gil out to walk my dad’s dog. Why do I get this nagging feeling that the dog’s not coming back?
7:56 - What’s with all the monkey commercials? OK, fine, they’re funny, but still. I’ve also found my favorite commercial of all, the one where the guy is making spaghetti for dinner and chopping some stuff up, then as his wife is coming to the door the cat comes by, drops the spaghetti sauce and he picks up the spaghetti soaked cat in one hand and the knife in the other and his wife comes in and it looks like he’s killing the cat. Awesome!
9:01 - The feeding frenzy is over and we’re all actually WATCHING the game now. The Eagles just scored a touchdown, but is it too late? I don’t think so!
9:30 - Game over. So my prediction was wrong. Maybe if I was watching the outcome would have been different! Anyway, once Michael gets here we’re going to watch ‘The Grudge’ and get nice and scared before sending everyone home. The party was a success and everyone got full and had a good time.
Next - the Oscar party!
