Prangster in Chicago

Comma, comma, period

This afternoon, I left work around 5pm. I'm getting upgraded to a white Macbook and the IT guy took away my computer around 5. My generation can't do work without a computer that's connected to the internet so I packed up my stuff and waved goodbye. It's 8:30 now and a lot of people are probably still there since a bunch of annual reports are launching in the coming weeks.

Getting home a little earlier, I thought I'd get some stuff done. I cleaned up my online portfolio a bit and signed up with Taproot. It's a volunteer foundation that connects creative professionals with non-profit organizations in San Francisco, New York, Boston, Washington D.C., Seattle and Chicago.

I did some pro bono writing for a little non-profit during my final year in uni, but maybe this will be a different. The non-profit I worked with was a church-related cultural exchange organization that was located in the suburbs inside this little shack without air conditioning. I rewrote their website. I think.

Not that I'm looking

I rewrote my CV tonight because it's smart to be up-to-date with these things. And because I felt like "designing" something.* I used Pages (the Mac equivalent of Word) because I'm a wannabe with no clue how to use any of the Adobe programs.

* Trust me, my CV needed a redesign. I don't mean to alarm my designer friends, but I need to let you know that I used Futura font.

Solitary confinement

Last night I went to sleep knowing today I would be spending the day by myself. So I woke up at 1:20pm. Too luxury.

At 3:30pm, after a decent amount of internet-ing, I talked myself into getting dressed and leaving my apartment. It was sunny outside. There were lots of people walking around. In groups. Talking and laughing. I was surprised because I had no idea it was such a lovely day.

First, I went to Intelligensia and got a large au lait, stirred in two sugars and put a lid on top. Then I walked up to Borders. I started with the Women's Interest section (UK Elle) then migrated to Men's Interest (US GQ) and then to the Foreign section (French Elle) and finished up in the Travel section (National Geographic Traveler).

I made a note to remember two things.

1) The "Project Upgrade" spread where they upgraded the work style of six real-life New York guys. Those guys looked like freaking models after GQ was done with them. And all GQ did was figure out their correct size. Every guy should take a look.

2) A GQ interview with a Hollywood hairstylist who said he never washed his jeans and instead, threw them into the ocean once in a while. That made me chortle until I remembered I've stopped washing my jeans too.

If you wash your jeans, you'll find that really gross, but you have to understand that these days, I don't do anything in my jeans apart from tuck them into my Tretorn boots, walk around outside in negative temps and sit in my fancy chair at work. I've been alternating between two pairs of cheap Uniqlo jeans for most of 2008. And just about every day, I wear the same black Uniqlo down-filled jacket with one of my many scarves (though lately I've been partial to the grey one Janice gave me because I can wear it like a loose collar and it doesn't itch). And every single day, I have my seaweed green sheepskin mittens, and sometimes the earmuffs too. I can't wait until it's not so cold so I can wear other pants and other jackets.

After Borders, I went to TJ Maxx to look around because I could. Then I went home because I needed to go to the bathroom. (How sophisticated of me.)

It's almost six o'clock now and it's dark outside. I like how I can start the day not wanting to go out, but after having been out, I can't wait to come back home again and think and write.

Snow, come back

Frango

I love Frango.

When Chicago River freezes over

The soup went bad but I didn't believe it and I let it boil until my whole apartment smelled of bad soup

More bad news: I slipped over on the sidewalk on my way home and there was someone walking behind me and someone walking towards me in the opposite direction, so they both saw. I hope it never happens again.

I should really write more tonight considering the weekend was so great. But I'm tired. It's Monday, after all. And my eyes are dry. But here is a brief recap of the weekend:

I went to see There Will Be Blood on Friday night. So good! On Saturday afternoon, went to the outdoor shopping mall in Skokie. Then had an impromptu delicious dinner at the Hopleaf. Got home and found this month's Lucky Magazine had come in the mail. Oh, how I love getting good mail on Saturdays...

Sunday, went to Borders. Had fries from the hotdog place opposite my street. Watched Croupier DVD. It's a Clive Owen movie I've been wanting to see for maybe five years. That's about it. The weekend was so relaxing and fun despite it being -18 degrees yesterday. That's celcius, by the way. Today it was the same. Brrr. I'm going to lie down on my floor now. The giant who lives upstairs is being so noisy. If only I could open my jar of salsa I would have some Tostitos (with a hint of lime)...

I hope the smell of soup gone bad goes away soon. Burn, gift candle from Jessi, burn!!!!!!

White people party time

On the way to the Mac Store on Michigan Ave last weekend, I saw these posters on the side of the Burberry store. The people in it just seemed so over-the-top that I had to laugh.

Lessons in snow

This past week it's been so snowy. Snowy enough that I'm in a sweat by the time I walk to the end of my street because I have to trudge through snow that's a Pringles tube deep. Snowy enough that I'm a little bit over the 'Yay! It's snowing!' phase. But what's good about it being so snowy is I'm seeing crazy snow stuff like this:


It's all curled up and under the shop awning! Reminds me of those images of Guinness Book record holders of the world's longest fingernails. Their nails curled up and under...so gross.


See the icicles? Yikes! So scary. So weird.

It's Groundhog Day

I'm about to sit down and watch the movie but I'll first show you some photos I took earlier today when I was out and about downtown. And then I'll watch the movie. So that's the order.

Okay. So I went by Millennium Park after lunch to see the Museum of Modern Ice. It's a "brilliantly covered ice wall that is nearly 100 feet long and over 10 feet tall. This monumental installation, titled Paintings Below Zero, is the largest and most spectacular  work yet from Canadian artist Gordon Halloran."

Maybe it's because I'm still metric-centric and I don't really grasp what it means when something is described as "100 feet long" and "10 feet tall", but I was a little underwhelmed. Maybe I was expecting something bigger? Or something more like a "museum"? I've never heard of a museum being 100 feet long and 10 feet tall...seems like the PR people got a little carried away.

Anyway, I took a photo of the colorful ice wall. Does this look like a museum to you?


Then I turned around and saw the Bean was all covered in snow. So cute!


Then I went to the other side of the Bean to look down at the skaters on the ice rink. Except it was empty. They had that ice rink machine going, probably to smooth the ice out? I don't know exactly, but it took ages. When the machine was finally done -- and mind you, it went around twice -- one of the rink employees went out to test it and everyone got excited about seeing the skaters soon. (I just wanted to see a few skaters fall. Is that so terrible?)

But then that stupid ice rink machine came back out! Oh my gosh, the skaters looked so hurt and irritated, like 50 people had just cut in front of them in line at the DMV. Arrr, even I got annoyed. Just let the freaking skaters get on the ice!!!!! We want to see the skaters!!!!! But by then, we'd already waited more than 15 minutes in the freezing cold, so we just walked away. Meh. Gosh, I can't remember another time when I got so annoyed waiting for something. Or so annoyed watching an ice rink machine make the rounds.

Here's the empty rink. Devoid of skaters. Devoid of fun, joy and people falling over. See that stupid ice rink machine on the right side? Oh, seeing it makes me so full of rage.