Follow My Red Jacket

I'VE MOVED

2007-08-05T20:35:00.000-05:00

Hey Y'all!

So I've moved everything over to Wordpress. You can now find things over here.
Mostly the same address, just interchange wordpress for blogspot and you're there.
See you after the jump.

Pad See Eiw on a Sick Day

2007-08-03T21:19:00.000-05:00

The cold I mentioned earlier finally took me down by the time I woke up today. Felt so tired and generally icky I called in to work that I wasn't coming in. I went back to sleep and didn't wake up until NOON.

Later I got hungry and ever the food nerd, I still felt the urge to make something even though I didn't go to work (for any lurkers out there I work as a food scientist). So, inspired by J.R., Michelle's cuz, I decided to make pad see eiw from scratch. Made my way over to Argyle and picked up flat pan noodles and other essentials at Tai Nam and then walked over to Ban Le for a banh mi sandwich. So good and so cheap! All the sandwiches are less than $3! At the last minute I also got a Thai iced tea and I swear it's the best I've ever had - it had the perfect balance of sweetness, milkiness and tea flavor. Yum!

Now if you want to make pad see eiw, this is the recipe (found here) that I used as a loose guideline. I say loose b/c I tend to go with my tastes rather than a by-the-book recipe.

1 Cup Rice Noodles (soaked in water)
½ Pound Boneless chicken breast
1 Cup Sliced broccoli or Chinese broccoli
1 Teaspoons Oyster sauce
1 Teaspoons Black Soy sauce
1 Teaspoon Light Soy sauce
1 Teaspoons Fish sauce
1½Teaspoon Sugar
1 Teaspoons Minced garlic
4 Tablespoon Vegetable oil

It's sooo easy and it's a cheap meal! I made about three times the recipe and did the sauce ahead of time, adding all the liquids and sugar together except the oil. Start with lightly browning the garlic with the oil and then add your meat. Let it cook about half-way through (if you let it cook too long the meat will get hard before the whole dish is put together) and then add the broccoli. Let the veggies cook down a little bit and then add your noodles and sauce. Toss thoroughly and when the noodles look light brown you are good to go.
Give it a try! It's just as good as any restuarant will give you and for less money :)

2007-07-31T22:25:00.000-05:00

It's only 8:30 and I'm ready to call it a night. I'm soooo very very tired. I have a bad cold again. Who gets colds in the middle of summer? And I've managed to do it twice in the past couple months. The nose is running and I have an old smoker cough. Yuck.
---
I realized today that I have gotten way too used to working in the 'burbs. Downers Grove is full of perfectly manicured lawns and soccer moms with squeaky clean kids. Everything is so...homogenous. But today I had to go downtown for work and for the first time in a long time I took the train into the city. It sounds so cheesy to say, but I really missed the whole El/city experience.

I was soaking up the scenery today like I was a tourist. The grit of old dilapidated buildings, the hipsters mixed in with blue collared peeps, all standing in silence with iPods plugged in and newspapers in hand as the train wound its way through the neighborhoods. No straight leg, pleated khakis in sight. I was definitely not in DG anymore!

I do love living in the city. Last time I felt the way I did today I was in Lincoln Square meeting up with a friend at Cafe Selmarie. It was a spring night and there was a soft but steady rain falling. All the restaurants were cozily full of people. The trains were roaring in the background and there was a hint of music coming from the Old Town School up the street. I pullled my trench coat closer to me and slowly walked to my car taking it all in...

I'm hoping to have more of these moments sorta soon...the search for The Perfect Place has started in earnest. I'm focusing on Edgewater, Lincoln Square, Roscoe Village and Lakeview so if you run across anything nice let me know!
---
P.S. All the pics from two Saturdays ago at Samantha's house are finally posted at the ole flickr page. :)

Oops!

2007-07-10T20:54:00.000-05:00

Whoa looks like I neglected this bloggie for a very.long.time.

How to catch up? You know how when you run into an old acquaintance, you don't know quite what to say b/c it's not like you can summarize months, years, whatever, into one neat sentence? Well I haven't exactly gone years w/o posting but yeah, that sentiment pretty much sums it up for me. So I'll say now what I usually say when someone asks me "Hey how you been?"

I am good.

And we'll leave it at that :)

(Yes that was lame. But stay tuned kiddies.)

Homework

2007-02-20T22:28:00.000-06:00

So I decided to take a short photo class. I figured why not? Salsa class proved to be super fun (so much fun we're thinking of taking level 2 salsa!) so why shouldn't I dive into something else I like? Results of the first class are below. Topic: night/low light photos. Weather: mother friggin cold. As a result I wasn't too picky with comp. I just wanted to take the shot and get the heck out of there!

On another note, in THREE short months, we are on our way to GREECE!!!!
Yay vacation!!!!

Sunday Night Insomnia

2007-01-15T02:53:00.000-06:00

For some ungodly reason, I can never manage to get any sleep on Sunday nights. Even if I am extremely tired, without fail I toss and turn in bed and watch in defeat as the clock changes from 12am, to 1, then to 2. This inevitably screws me over Monday and so for the rest of the week I go sleep deprived. Ugh, I hate that!

So with my trusty new laptop in tow, I surfed the hell out of the internet. Here's some sites where I wasted my life tonite. I'm sure y'all will find good use for them when you're having a bored moment as well.

1. www.myspace.com/lanetech97
Egads! 10 year high school reunion! Where has the time flown? After Court mentioned the site when we were at Hooters on Friday, I had to take a peek. Duuuude, I haven't seen most of those faces since we graduated. A good portion of them don't look even remotely familiar. And a lot of peeps have like, 3 kids already. Crazy! Most interesting find: apparently Trey the Chocolate Jock from Power 92.3 graduated with us!

2. Buzzfeed's compilation of Gates vs. Jobs articles. With the purchase of my MacBook Pro last month, in my opinion Jobs wins HANDS DOWN, but it's nice to see all the reasons why he's so great in print. If tech news isn't for you, then you can peruse Buzzfeed's articles on Britney's Lumpy Ass.

3. In another Jobs/Mac related item, if you google "i don't know what to do with my life" (and yes I really did that), Jobs' commencement address to Stanford in 2005 is the first hit. Definitely worth reading.

4. Free Banksy art! Grab some cool wallpapers or print them out.

5. Misc. Chicago food discussion threads. Favorite Tea Cafes, LTHForum's Great Neighborhood Restaurant Awards, and NewCity Chicago's listing of top taco joints. Or check out the 12 restaurants with the most health code violations. Two of them are close to my house!

6. Last but not least, Girlshop is having a huge sale. Girls, have fun going through all the online boutiques.

And even after doing all this I am still not one bit sleepy. It's 3am. Mother f.

2006-12-01T10:30:00.000-06:00

It's 10:30 in the morning.

I'm in my pajamas, watching tv in bed with a hot chocolate on my nightstand.

And it's Friday - no work to be had!

The beauty of a SNOW DAY...

I think I'm going to take a nap now :)

2006-11-27T22:28:00.000-06:00

A bit late-ish, but let’s put it down for posterity.

T-Day Highlights and Lowlights in no particular order.

Highlights:
Having the kid sis home. Hanging with Emerson and his little bros Friday (we watched WAY too much Borat on YouTube after getting our shop on in Woodfield). The Romanian food at Ella’s cutie pie of a daughter, Allisia’s, 1st b-day party. Hershey Candy Cane Kisses. Purchasing my mom’s Christmas present for 50% off with an additional 20%, then 10% taken off at Macy’s. Successfully resisting the MBP purchase again. Strawberry whipped cream cake from Lutz. Coming back to work with no boss today. Two for $5 deal at Target for a mini Christmas tree and ornaments.

Lowlights:
Making a purchase off of Bluefly only to find it marked 20% down the next friggin’ day. Shopping at Woodfield for almost 5 hours and walking away with only 2 things. Three pairs of shoes in 1 week (!!! Well it’s not really a lowlight but this addiction is a disease I tell ya’). Tighter pants after a weekend of gluttony. Tighter pants after a weekend of gluttony. And...tighter pants after a weekend of gluttony.

Wow Wow Wee Waa!!!

2006-11-16T22:33:00.000-06:00

I like Cadbury Creme Eggs but not this much!

The making of this behemoth was found on Pimp That Snack via Slashfood. Impressive 'eh? It's 56 times bigger than the original! Here's the stats-

Standard creme egg - Height: 2" Girth: 4" Weight: 40 g Calories: 175
Creme de la creme egg - Height: 8" Girth: 16.5" Weight: 2.25 kg! Calories: Approx. 10000!

Hehe, just wanted to share with y'all. Happy Friday!

More Lens Lust

2006-11-15T21:36:00.000-06:00

It's been a while since I picked up some camera gear, and with Christmas around the corner I've got my eye on some goodies. The one big thing on my wish list is a Lensbaby. Here's a snippet of info from their site:

The Original Lensbaby lens is the hybrid love child of an old-fashioned bellows camera and an up-tight tilt-shift lens. The Original Lensbaby captures images with glowing highlights, subtle prismatic color shifts and the trademark Lensbaby graduated blur. The Original Lensbaby features a single, uncoated optical glass element which is quite sharp at f/5.6 and f/8 but becomes softer and slightly diffused at f/4 and more diffused and impressionistic at f/2.8.

The Original Lensbaby is a favorite among artists, students, and toy camera lovers who enjoy raw, imperfect, and soft images. Portrait and wedding photographers who want to soften features appreciate the Original Lensbaby's romantic possibilities.

It's ironic that in an age of perfectly crisp digital images, lo-fi cameras and their pics are as popular as they are. And while I love the kind of images that Holga's and Diana's produce, I have no patience for film. I've gotten way too accustomed to the instant gratification that digital gives that going back to film is not something I want to do right now. Enter the Lensbaby and voila! Holga-ish images with the convenience of digital. Check out the flickr Lensbaby group here to see some images.

2006-11-14T22:46:00.000-06:00

Ever since I switched into developing coffee and tea drinks, I often get the question “So do you like it more than sauces?” In all honesty, both products have really different ingredients and processing that it’s hard to compare. With dressings and sauces I got pretty comfortable playing around with oils, vinegars, and spices to get a certain flavor profile and consistency, so I figured coffee products should be easier right? Isn’t it all about coffee, chocolate and milk? Ummm yes and no.

This is what my first cupping sessions sounded like (cupping = the formal evaluation of the coffee/cocoa/tea product with the customer or marketing peoples):

Panelist 1: Sample A had more creamy notes, with the vanilla upfront and the cocoa pleasantly mild.
Panelist 2: Yes, I agree, in Sample B the coffee was too strong. It’s that god-awful robusta isn’t it? You can’t taste the cocoa at all! And it had no body!
Panelist 3: Ugh B… it tastes so earthy, almost like dirt. I’m tasting coffee first, then the milk, then that offensive finish at the end. Maybe we should try a different blend of Mexican and Colombian. What do you think Joy?
Me: Ummmm…I think I don’t like B either. It ummm, tastes different… Yeah, it doesn’t taste good…

That is the problem with being a newbie in a field where you’re working with people with seriously honed taste buds. At first everything tastes the same! Either that or I get tongue tied trying to find a way to describe what I’m tasting. And heaven forbid if I prepare a cup of coffee wrong. One time I (gasp!) used warm water to prepare a cup (it should be cold going into the brewer). And today I got strange, “you crazy lady” looks after assuming we taste the coffee out of our standard insulated disposable cups (you MUST use ceramic or porcelain).

However I never get tired of observing one thing. Sooo, when you taste straight up coffee you have to slurp it. It’s loud and sounds gross to people passing by but it’s a funny sight when you see a room full of people doing it. After slurping you spit it out. Usually there is a spittoon but a lot of times the tasters resort to using a regular old cup since that’s the most handy. Inevitably the sample cups and make-shift spittoons get mixed up and people end up sampling other people's...well you can guess the rest...

2006-11-13T22:44:00.000-06:00

Hello peoples – long time no blog! So let’s catch up... Gosh what hasn’t changed in the state of the world within the past month? Within the groupie circle we’ve gotten new engagements, new jobs, new pads, new cars, and even a new majority in Congress! Now that is one productive month! As for me I have my new RED iPod and I think that is pretty nifty in itself. :)

No complaints about the weekend. X & N’s b-day celebration on Friday was fun with Borat being the perpetual icing on the cake. You must watch this movie! OMG I COULD NOT STOP LAUGHING!!! Saturday’s mission was accomplished with the discovery of THE DRESS for Samantha’s wedding (she looked gorgeous!) and the night finished off with a performance from the Luna Negra Dance Company. I had the perfect seats – Row N dead center. And no tall people in front of me either! Yay! Sunday’s highlights included finding the Gilmore Girls Seasons 1 and 2 on sale for $14.99 at Target. Oh the little things...

But what is it about waking up to rain on a Monday that can put you in a crabby funk? Well I was ok... as good as can be expected after having to be in Elgin at frickin 7 in the morning for a test run. But once I came back to the office everyone at work had these apathetic expressions on their faces. It was shaping up to be "one of those days”...

Eh, whatever. Monday is over and we're one day closer to the weekend. And you are now caught up :)

Cutie Pie

2006-10-03T22:16:00.000-05:00

I couldn't resist posting this pic of little Miss Alexandra. Isn't she cute? She had her face painted at the Apple Fest in Long Grove this past weekend where I waited an insane amount of time for apple doughnuts. (Random side note: I really should have bought the apple cider. Omg. So good. Liquid apple dude. Liquid apple. I love the autumn season. But I digress.) The things I will do to satisfy cravings...

So what do we do after spending a good part of the afternoon waiting in line to purchase food? We spend a good part of the evening waiting in line to buy one last ice cream cone from Toot's on Central and Montrose since, as it turned out, everyone and their mama was out to get one last thing from Toots before they move locations. However when I step up to place my usual 'Small Vanilla Twinkle Coat' order the guy says 'No more Twinkle Coat. Gone forever.' Whaaaa??!! Porque? But the sign next to the window said 'Same exact stuff' at their new location...we'll see... I was denied my final twinkle coat and had to make due with a Dipped Top. Oh well, still the best soft serve ice cream around anyways. The perfect cone to get on summer days.

Biggest regret of the night: Not winning the "Lick Me" sign. I would've been the coolest girl in school if I hung that sucker in my cube at work :p

The Weekend Josh Will Never Live Down

2006-09-13T22:47:00.000-05:00

Hey y'all! Halleluia this week is half over! This week has been...busy. The work office and lab have officially moved to Downers Grove and I now drive about 50 miles A DAY to get to and from work. Ugh. On the plus side, I've got a nifty new cube, I've met some really interesting people and best of all I've gotten sneak peeks and tastes of what you guys will see early next year. I am liking sharing the same facility with the meat and bakery depts of SL so far. :) Now if only we can get this rain to stop...
Here's some of the pics from the weekend (me and the groupies left Chicago behind for a few days for the quiet of Lake Wisconsin). I will never look at a pontoon or Josh in the same light. :)

Random Family Notes

2006-08-21T21:11:00.000-05:00

-Summer is flyin' by again...The little sis was dropped off again at college this past weekend. Doesn't the little bugger look so darn happy? I miss her already. :( (Btw, gas in Indiana was friggin $2.74!!! So cheap!!!)

-This picture of my dad cracks me up every time I see it. My dad falls asleep at the drop of a hat and he always ends up in funny positions or holding random objects. In this case it was both. I tried prying the remote from him but damn he was holding on tight!

-My mother LOVES her some Oprah. However she is in denial. Last year for Christmas, she gave me an Oprah magazine subscription. Among my family members, we all knew it was really a Christmas present for her under the innocent guise as a gift for me. Now for my birthday on Friday, she happily hands me a pink gift bag. I reach in and lo and behold, I am now the proud owner the Oprah 20th anniversary 6 DVD set! Just what she, I mean I, wanted!

This is why I love my family...

Peru: People, Places and Protest

2006-08-13T22:03:00.000-05:00

Peru was in one word, amazing! Here's a picture sampler - took a bunch of pics as always but the computer is tempermental so they will trickle slowly into flickr this week. :)

Today is Wednesday I Think

2006-08-09T20:19:00.000-05:00

We´re on our way home tomorrow. It´s hard to believe that it was just yesterday when we jumped out of the train at Km 104 and started the trek to Machu Picchu. That trek kicked my booty and handed it to me on a plate. It was soooo hard! I was huffin and puffin and had leg cramps in both friggin legs.

But on the ascent up to the Sungate, you take that one last step up and there it is, Machu Picchu in all its glory below you and then it all becomes worth it. Then this morning we started the day back at Machu Picchu to catch the sunrise from the ruins. Way cool. I mean it´s just so awesome, it´s hard to explain if you haven´t been there. You´re surrounded by stillness and green mountains all around you and you feel like you can touch the sky...

2006-08-06T21:10:00.000-05:00

Today we conquered the Sacred Valley. Or shall I say the Sacred Valley conquered us?
Omg...making your way through the ruins and mountains of Peru is no joke people!!!
But we did it! =)
Tip #2 - Bring toilet paper! Especially if you are a girl!

Wish I could post pictures...

Greetings From Peru

2006-08-05T19:20:00.000-05:00

Hellloooo everyone!!!
Me and Mich(-elle ´cause that´s what she prefers) are here in Cusco, Peru!
It is COLD. My number one tip is dress like it´s late fall because you will freeze your ass off like I am doing right now.

She found internet!!! Too bad it´s a 15 minute limit.

ok bye =)

Hmph....

2006-07-31T20:29:00.000-05:00

IT IS TOO DAMN HOT!

When Life Gives You Lemons

2006-07-23T22:19:00.000-05:00

Make lemon cake! I needed a little food therapy, so that's what I did today. Last week was a bit...stressful. Thanks guys for listening to my irrational rants. :) I was (and am still) freakin' out. In a nutshell, a job offer came out of the blue but I didn't count on the old job counteroffering with a different position and title. Things are in limbo until I see the details in writing so in order to distract myself I hit the kitchen.

I regularly check a number of food blogs and an article in last week's Tribune highlighted a few more blogs I had overlooked. Over at Fancy Toast Erielle Bakkum had a recipe for lemon cake that I just had to try for myself. If you like lemon treats you'll definitely like this cake. It's moist and sweet with just the right amount of lemon (the secret is the lemon syrup that is allowed to soak in before the glaze is applied). Chase it with a tall glass o' milk and you are in heaven my friend.

The only addition I would make to the recipe is to heat up the glaze before applying it. My glaze came out looking more like super thick frosting and was in no shape to be drizzled on the cake like the recipe called for. I warmed it up for less than a minute in the microwave and that helped A LOT. By the time I was done the sun was down (which equals crap lighting) so no decent pics of the final product. (Below the lemon syrup is starting to soak in.) But trust me, it was good. :)

Time To Break Out the Haagen Dazs

2006-07-18T20:16:00.000-05:00

My horoscopes have been eerily applicable to me lately. For example:

Horoscopes For Today: 7/18/2006
Leo: There's nothing wrong with being indecisive -- it shows that you're taking all your options seriously. So don't listen to folks who tell you to hurry on up today. Don't worry about taking too long to come to your conclusions, because you need to feel comfortable with where you put your energy and time. And if you need to change your mind, that's okay, too -- you're entitled to do that every once in a while. Take the pressure off of yourself!

Don't want to think anymore. I need sleep. Hopefully resolution will come soon.

Uh-oh

2006-07-17T20:15:00.000-05:00

I didn't think resignation letters could be denied...
In one day things got topsy turvy.
Today it got a lot more complicated.
I get the feeling I'm gonna get ganged up on tomorrow.
And it doesn't feel too nice.

Hmmm seems I've got template problems...

Summer

2006-07-07T23:26:00.000-05:00

A Little Bit of Everything

2006-06-05T23:12:00.000-05:00

@ the Printers Row Book Fair Saturday

This weekend was purty nice. I love summer weekends when you wake up to the sun streaming through your window, the birds are chirping and you have the whole day in front of you to do whatever the hell you want. This weekend it included going to the Printers Row Book Fair on Saturday and tickets to a concert in the Symphony Center Sunday. Well the Symphony Center concert was just alright. I had free box seats from work and Daniel Barenboim was performing but I kept falling asleep! He was playing soft piano music and it was dark and cozy in our booth...I couldn't help it. So we decided to cut out during the intermission and get donuts instead :)

We Must See This!

2006-05-31T18:12:00.000-05:00

Who can resist a man like Nacho Libre! We have to see this movie - you know it's gonna be funny if Jack Black is in it. Me and the co-workers were cracking up in our office watching the trailer (all three times). Check it out below. :)

Third Time's A Charm in San Fran

2006-05-29T20:55:00.000-05:00

I had a great time in SF! The weather was perfect, the food was delicious, and the city was gorgeous as always. The vibe there is so laid back and happy... It's gonna be hard to go back to work tomorrow. Here's some of the pics taken - I'm pretty wiped out right now and the temp in my room is literally 80+ degrees so I'm minimizing the computer time up here. Hope you had a good weekend :)

Wordpress or Movable Type

2006-05-23T18:20:00.000-05:00

I've been thinking of moving this blog to Wordpress or Movable Type for a while now. While Blogger is fairly simple to use and anyone can comment, I've found it to be pretty limited in that I can't customize it the way I want to. Wordpress and Movable Type both look like good alternatives but I wasn't too sure what advantages one platform had over the other. However, today I was doing my daily reading over at mexicanpictures.com/headingeast (which is a fantastic blog, may I add) and Raul has shed some light on each application. Good reading if you're thinking of moving too. Now I just need to find the time to play with some colors and start moving this thing which, knowing my procrastinator ways, most likely won't be for a long while...

2006-05-22T21:40:00.000-05:00

My sis is back from school for the summer! Within no time we were finishing each other's sentences and saying the same things at the same time spontaneously. We personally get a kick out of it although other people think it's a little strange :) Saturday was nice - we made it a Girl's Day with our mom and shopped around Andersonville (picked me up a sweet bracelet at Presence) and Woodfield. After we met up with Mich and watched Da Vinci Code, which I thought was just ok. The movie had a lot to live up to with the book being so good but it was pretty decent and LONG.

Last night for some reason, I just could not sleep. Sometimes I get like that - I just wont be able to sleep even though I'm dead tired. At around 1am I decided to screw the sleep and just get up and do some research for the upcoming trips. I'm not sure when I finally got to sleep but I couldn't have gotten more than a couple hours. So today I was super super tired and I had to walk my ass all over McCormick Place for the NRA show. No rifles, the National Restaurant Association. It's a huge convention for people in the food industry and I filled up on all these new food products. My favorites were the tamarind slushies, sweet potato fries, jalapeno poppers and fried(!) brownies. The brownies were surprisingly really good - the inside was perfectly moist and chocolatey...mmm! I did not like the mac and cheese nuggets though - looks and tastes like a heart attack.

Can you believe the frickin' President of the United States was a speaker here today? What does he have to do with the restaurant industry? He did mention in his speech though that the restaurant industry is the largest employer for immigrants so in that light it seems pretty relevant. Last year Colin Powell was a speaker at the convention, which I missed too. I missed Ted Koppel's talk yesterday too. It came down to work on a Sunday or see Ted Koppel...hmmm... Easy choice. Sorry Ted.

Volume 2

2006-05-17T22:33:00.000-05:00

Do you guys remember this song? It's De La Soul - Me, Myself and I from...1989ish! So loooong ago. I love this song, not only because the beat still gets me dancin' like it did back when I first heard it, but also because it reminds me of when I discovered MTV as a little kid and music then became this whole new world to me. In case you forgot who De La Soul is, I posted the video as a little 'circa '90s' music refresher since I put together Volume 2 of more old school music I think is groovy. It starts out slow then goes into a nice stream of faster songs and this time I had some requests I tried to accomodate. Still no room for Biz Markee, Hi 5, or Sweet Sensation though. Maybe for the next one ;)

1 PM Dawn - I'd Die Without You
2 Mint Condition - Breakin' My Heart (Pretty Brown Eyes)
3 Born Jamericans - Sending My Love
4 Heavy D - Now That We Found Love
5 Bone Thugs and Harmony - Crossroads
6 Shai - Comforter
7 Silk - Freak Me
8 Mary J. Blige - Real Love
9 Tony Toni Tone - Feels Good
10 De La Soul - Me, Myself and I
11 Cypress Hill - Insane in the Brain
12 Digital Underground - The Humpty Dance
13 Bell Biv DeVoe - Poison
14 Wreckx-N-Effect - Rump Shaker
15 Janet Jackson - Rhythm Nation
16 Jodeci - Lately (Live)

Aye, Rubencito

2006-05-16T22:44:00.000-05:00

I'm really really looking forward to seeing Machu Piccu in Peru this coming August. However planning the whole trip has been, well, interesting...It is NOT the easiest thing dealing with someone in another country, whether you're faxing documents over with your credit card number (seems so shady) or trying to talk to them on the phone. Today's long distance conversation was as follows.

After I dial +011 51 84 254 127 125 986 566596563456... to call Cusco

Lady: Buenes tardes

Me: Um hi, I made a reservation last week with Hotel Marquesas. Can I have a confirmation my rooms are reserved?

Lady: Aye, Rubencito...Rubencito! Rubencito...(spanish, spanish) telephono.

A pleasant sounding man takes the phone.
Man: Hello how may I help you?

Me: I'd like to have a confirmation that I have a room reserved at Hotel Marquesas.

Man: Hello, hello, I cannot hear you maam.

Me: YES - CAN YOU HEAR ME? I'D LIKE A CONFIRMATION...

Man: A what?

Me: A CONFIRMATION. I NEED A ROOM. AUGUST. I RESERVED LAST WEEK.

Man: Hello, hello? Oh have you tried our email at info@sastravelperu.com?

Me: Yes, I did and no one has emailed me back yet.

Man: No? (Mumble, mumble) Have you tried our email at info@sastravelperu.com?

Me: YES. YES I HAVE BUT NO ONE HAS EMAILED ME BACK. HOW LONG WILL IT TAKE FOR SOMEONE TO EMAIL ME BACK?

MAN: Sorry?

Me: HOW LONG-SOMEONE-WRITE-ME-BACK?

Man: Oh, have you tried our email at info@sastravelperu.com?

Me: Lord, you are testing my patience today YES I DID! Can you tell me today, right now, if I have a room reserved.

Man: Uhhh, (mumble mumble) maam if you email at info@sastravelperu.com someone will get back to you.

Me: I DID ALREADY...Oh Jesus... You know what? Fine, fine. (sigh) I will email. Again.

Man: Our email is info@...

Me: YES, YES I KNOW. THANK YOU. BYE.

This is how every conversation goes. It's kinda funny but also frustrating! Never any resolution and I end up feeling strangely defeated...

Awww

2006-05-14T22:14:00.000-05:00

Happy Day! Pictures here. Lane Tech, baby! ;)

2006-05-10T21:50:00.000-05:00

Our offsite R&D Conference wrapped up today. It was a 2 day event where the R&D departments from all of our locations gathered in Downers Grove to get to know each other, to talk serious ideation,...and to party. :) Things kicked off with a 2 hour town hall meeting led by our division's CEO and then we had lunch which was made up of new products you should be seeing by early next year. We then took tours of the new coporate headquarters which, like I was telling Mich and Kev, confirmed for me that I indeed work in a s-h-i-t-h-o-l-e. The new headquarters is huge and is surrounded by forest preserves with nature paths and overlooks a pond that has swans! Our new Tech Center will be built next door and is supposed to be super cool but that's 2 years down the road.

Afterwards I checked into my hotel room which was also situated in the woods and chilled out on my balcony overlooking a meadow. Geez I could get used to this. Luckily they let us Chicago people stay in the hotel too even though the meeting was held in the area. I guess they figured we'd all get trashed after the Spirit of Chicago dinner cruise we had that night. God it's so funny seeing your coworkers tipsy especially when they're trying to put together a congo line.

Today was all business though. Two hours of financial forecasts, 2 hours of leadership competencies, 2 hours of LEAN manufacturing training, and 2 hours of innovation and ideation. You thought that sentence was boring? Imagine sitting through a whole day of this. Blah blah blah. Today was a LONG day.

But anyways...Depeche Mode concert tomorrow! I'm looking to successfully smuggle my camera into this concert too.

Chocolate Fest!!!

2006-05-08T22:02:00.000-05:00

This past weekend, me and Mich hit up the Long Grove Chocolate Fest. Long Grove reminds me of Stars Hollow in Gilmore Girls with its cute small town feel and wholesome festivals. Could it be a more perfect day? The sun was out, the air smelled of sweet fried dough and I was surrounded by chocolate covered strawberries, fudge fondue, devil's food doughnuts, chocolate parfaits...you get the point. :) Although the devil's food doughnuts looked good, I still went for my favorite apple cider doughnuts. Poor doughnuts didn't stand a chance to remain uneaten for a whole 24 hours. I am such a sucker for anything covered in cinnamon and sugar.

Music That Makes You Go "Oh Yeeaaah..." - Volume 1

2006-04-26T21:38:00.000-05:00

Ever since Weezie came back to work with our team, we always talk about how things used to be when we were kids. I don't miss at all the sky high bangs, teased and hair-sprayed to perfection or the Cross Colors jeans worn with bodysuits. What were people thinking back then?
I do miss the cartoons - Thundercats, Jem (oohhh remember the Jem-Jerica-Rio love triange?) and Bionic 6 friggin ruled! And I especially miss the music. Thus Volume One of my circa 90's mix came to fruition. I was into more of a hip/hop, R&B sound at the time and when I hear these songs now I feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

1. Blackstreet - I'll Go Crazy
2. Digable Planets - Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like Dat)
3. Rob Base and Dj Ez Rock - It Takes Two
4. Skee-Lo - I Wish
5. Black Sheep - The Choice Is Yours
6. House of Pain - Jump Around
7. The Fugees - Fu-Gee-La
8. SWV - Weak
9. New Edition - If It Isn't Love
10. M/A/R/R/S - Pump Up the Volume
11. Deee-Lite - Groove is In the Heart
12. DJ Venom - Tetris Techno Mix
13. Arrested Development - Tennessee
14. En Vogue - Hold On
15. Babyface - When Will I See You Again
16. Boyz II Men - Water Runs Dry
17. LL Cool J - Around the Way Girl

Weez, Mich and work people have their copy. :) For Volume 2, think music in the vein of: De La Soul - Me, Myself and I, Bel Biv DeVoe - Poison, Tony, Toni, Tone - Feels Good, Cypress Hill - Insane in the Membrane with maybe a little Speed Racer thrown in. Any suggestions? Volume 2 is on it's way :P

A 'Lil Update

2006-04-25T22:53:00.000-05:00

Don't you love it when you find out at work that you've been doing something wrong for 3 years? Mother f!
Anyways, on to better things. I'm sooo excited but so very broke. Summer is almost here, which means: vacation! I'm gettin' closer and closer to having the two big trips planned out for the year. Trip 1: Back to San Fran in May for almost a week, this time with the family. Dude I can't wait - I need a vacation and now! Trip 2: out of the country - nope not Greece, instead we're going to a hot Latin American country with gorgeous mountains and ruins (more details later). Yes! It's all a matter of counting down now...

A Day In Polaroids

2006-04-16T23:38:00.000-05:00

Illegal In Chicago

2006-04-03T21:36:00.000-05:00

I was so surprised this morning to hear that my work buddy, Martin and his story (edit - I removed the link) was completely plastered on the cover of Sunday's edition of the Suntimes. Two things bother me about the article - 1. A lot of the facts about Martin's situation is false. Maybe the reporter was dramatizing details to make a juicier story and 2. although this story puts another spotlight on the hot issue of immigration, the immediate effect could be a sweep document check of everyone in our facility. Not good. Why oh why did he give his last name and use the company's name?!

But, if you know Martin, he always tries to do "the right thing" even if it comes at a personal cost. The proposed immigration bill, which would mark the undocumented as criminals hits very close to home for him and doing this story was his way of rebelling against it. My two cents? To make it short, I'm against it as well. Everyday I work with Martin and people in his situation, and they give their work 200% with no complaints and with low salaries in return. I don't think the argument that illegals are taking jobs away from Americans is valid because countless times I have seen firsthand that you will not find Americans willing to work under the conditions and salary that illegals do. This country was built by the hard work immigrants and we can't forget that.

Naperville Is A Far Away Land

2006-03-25T09:15:00.000-06:00

Being at Allan's going away party at his home in faaaar off Naperville only reaffirmed that it really is such a small world. It's so surprising who knows who. Forget six degrees of separation it's more like one or two - especially if you went to school or know someone who went to either Lane Tech or U of I and are asian.

I also found out this interesting tidbit: Dave told us his old college roommate, Kevin from the Oglesby 1 days, is the brother of Patrick Stumph, lead singer of Fall Out Boy! (Yup I know he goes by Patrick Stump. He removed the h for pronounciation reasons). Craziness! Especially if you've ever known Kevin, you'd know what an interesting contrast this is.

Should I Be Worried?

2006-03-22T21:14:00.000-06:00

Today I received this email:

Your Yahoo! ID is: XXXXXXXXX
Your password for this account has recently been changed. You don't
need to do anything, this message is simply a notification to protect
the security of your account.

Please note: your new password may take awhile to activate. If it
doesn't work on your first try, please try it again later.

Only thing is, I have never changed my password. I don't really use my Yahoo email account so I'm not too concerned about that. I'm more worried about my Yahoo Music Service b/c my credit card info might be stored in that account. Eek! Since the email said the new password would take some time to activate, I tried to login to both accounts to see if I could still access it using the "old" password and then change it to something new. But it's too late - the new password is already in effect . It's not like there's a Yahoo phone number to call either so I have to do everything through on-line forms. The heck? I want an answer now!
What complicates things is that I've got some viruses on my computer I can't seem to get rid of. Part of me is paranoid that one of them is the kind of virus that records keystrokes or something. I've stopped accessing my financial accounts and paying bills on this computer for a while now... What to do, what to do?

---
There is WAY too much drama on Chase Avenue! Friggin' soap opera I tell ya.

A Love / Hate Relationship

2006-03-20T22:09:00.000-06:00

Oh, Chicago. Where else could I do this in a day: Iraqtile Dysfunction at Second City, a Superdawg lunch, the Pompeii exhibit at the Field Museum, a Mini-Mix of Garrett's Popcorn, Femmegems in Marshall Fields on State, and The Walnut Room.

However this is ridiculous: total spent on parking $47!!!

Cole Rise

2006-03-13T23:26:00.000-06:00

Can I say "WOW"?
Photo: relocationist by Cole Rise aka antimethod on flickr.
Visit his personal site for his photos in supersized format.

Surreal.

It's Amazing What A Little Sun Does

2006-03-11T23:57:00.000-06:00

Best things about today:
Looking at my WeatherBug and seeing 69F. Going outside with a light jacket. Feeling hot with the aforementioned jacket. Watching Jawon run free around the hospital playroom as soon as his IV tubes were removed. Chasing Jawon with the yellow booties he refused to wear. Toni asking me "Where did you get those cute shoes!". Driving down the Kennedy with my windows open and music blasting. All the people dressed in green getting their St. Patty's Day celebrations on down in Lincoln Park. Picking up a coconut tapioca freeze from Joy Yee's. Long conversations on the phone. Having all the windows open in the house. Napping to the summer sounds of cars passing and kids laughing because the windows were open. Realizing it is not so dark anymore at 6pm. Finally watching Motorcycle Diaries.

The best thing today - my uncle's application for a visa has finally gotten processed after 17 years so cousins may soon be coming over from the muthaland. This is so very cool for me because it has only been me, my sister and my parents in the US my entire life. I might finally have some family here.

Fine Art Photography 101

2006-03-06T20:35:00.000-06:00

This site is an EXCELLENT resource for anyone interested in Fine Art Photography. It's got pages and pages of images from the masters (think Avedon, Arbus) as well as equally mindblowing work from "newer" photogs like Hugo. Links galore and striking photographs presented simply and effectively. Best viewed in full screen mode.

10 Bucks Goes a Long Way

2006-03-05T18:37:00.000-06:00

...when you're shopping in Argyle. I headed over there yesterday to get some genmai cha tea (brown rice tea) from Tai Nam and of course I have to pick up some goodies at Chiu Quon Bakery. With 10 dollars I got 2 pork buns, 2 sweet top bean paste buns, 3 bean paste cakes, 6 sticky rice balls, and a tray of rice cakes. So this morning I enjoyed the spoils.

Dude Tai Nam's like Joy Yee's - it's one of those places where you know you're going to run into someone from high school or college shopping with their family, or at least their tiny asian grandma. And they fit a lot of merchandise in a teeny tiny space. Only in asian stores are you going to find obscure things like artichoke and bittermelon tea. The foodie in me can spend way too much time in these places. Well I would have yesterday if I wasn't followed by a creep that worked there. Talk about aggressive, he kept tailing me throughout the store and even whispered hello in my ear as he was walking by. Eek! I attract winners I tell ya. But anyways...grocery shopping (usually) makes me happy. :)

It's Time For Some Color

2006-03-01T21:49:00.000-06:00

@ the Garfield Conservatory. Spring can't come fast enough...

Hoo-rah

2006-02-28T19:23:00.000-06:00

I love it when I come up with a new product at work and then someone tastes it and literally says:

"Hot damn that was some good shit!"

Yeah!

So I Was Bored At Work...

2006-02-27T21:50:00.000-06:00

It's funny what guys think girls like. I was blogsurfing and somehow ended up on Yahoo Personals (long story, not going into it here :) - it started with someone at work). This is what some guys will do to hook themselves a lady friend:

-If the guy was in the military at any point in his life - HE WILL WEAR HIS UNIFORM IN HIS PROFILE PIC. 'Cause you know, girls just love a man in a uniform. This also applies to policemen and firefighters. Note to guys who pose with their guns: THAT LOOKS HELLA SCARY TO GIRLS.

-If the guy is a firefighter, the tagline in his profile will be some sort of regurgitation of "I'm a lonely firefigher looking for his flame". Lame.

-The guy will post pics of himself surrounded by either small children (tends to be multiple kids or else prospective mates will think he has fathered a child on the side) or some sort of cute fuzzy animal. This screams "See how loving and sensitive I can be?".

-The guy may post pics of himself next to a badass car. Lesson to the fellas - if you decide to post your salary and it's a bit on the low side, I'm not going to believe you drive a Jaguar. Another variation, parking the car in front of a cool building. That's fine and all but I think it's funny when you notice they're in a yellow zone so it looks like they pretty much emergency parked the car, jumped out for the pic and jumped back in for a quick getaway.

See told you I was bored...

2006-02-26T23:36:00.000-06:00

Yay - Drew and Cheryl won!
They kicked arse on the free dance Thursday.

Man that girl is so brown.

Striated What?

2006-02-23T22:07:00.000-06:00

Today I was checking the specifications on some red jalapeno powder I plan on using in a new product. There was a heading entitled "Extraneous Matter" meaning other stuff you might find mixed in with the pepper powder. This is what was listed under that category:

Insect fragments: 50 per 25g maximum
Striated animal hairs: 6 per 25g maximum

Whoa. Good to know there's a limit on how many insect pieces and animal hairs there are in my food. It kinda seems high to me anyways. I can understand the insect pieces but animal hair? Where the heck is that coming from? I find out goodies like this every day at work. The canned soup you eat has bug pieces in it too, well basically anything that contains vegetables will have bugs in it because there is no way to completely eliminate them but there is an acceptable level. Did you know there is an acceptable amount of mold and other microbial growth in your food as well? And don't get me started on the chemicals that are in no fat foods. Yeah...just what you wanted to know huh? :) Some food for thought.

All It Takes Is Chocolate, Really

2006-02-22T23:06:00.000-06:00

I found this to be interesting on Gapers Block today. When asked "How old are you anyway?", these 2 responses caught my eye.

"In four months i will be 27.
twenty-seven! twenty-seven! the greying has begun! the twisted ankle is STILL not healed! the fertility has become an unexpected topic of discussion! the friends are now beginning to marry! the desire to own a house has arisen! twenty-seven, the year in which i tell aging that if the house is a-rocking, it should not bother knocking; it should, rather, enter at will."

"28.
Wait, is that right? I always have to think about it.
It's like the faux-adult age. Some peeps are getting hitched, some are buying places (meee!), some are birthing. But no one's doing all 3 things. We're just testing out being grownups. "

And I thought I was the only one that felt this way. When I was a kid, being 25/26 years old seemed so much more mature than it really is. I feel like I'm still a kid! I thought I would have a lot more things figured out at this point but I'm still clueless. Some people have a 5 year plan and lucky them they stick to it. Me, I have no idea what I may do tomorrow, much less 5 years from now. It's exciting and scary all at the same time. Some days you're on top of the world, you've got family, friends, a good job etc. Things couldn't be more perfect! Other days something doesn't feel right. Am I doing what I'm meant to do? Am I truly happy? Today was one of those days. So what did I do? I ate all of this in one sitting:

I immediately felt much better! One of the best parts about being a 20-something is that chocolate can fix damn near anything still.

Brrrr!!!

2006-02-18T08:40:00.000-06:00

Good mornin'.

It's freezing outside! If I don't let the cold get to me I might check out If Trane Wuz Here at the Theater Building Chicago this weekend. Savion Glover and Coltrane? Looks good - I so wanna go!

Oh and, SpyBot Search and Destroy and Firefox are my new best friends. My computer is back to normal - yay! Thanks for your help guys - no more grosso pop-ups of casino websites or ladies in Lombard looking for "love". :)

---

In other serious matters - we have two contenders for the annual bff trip! Three years ago it started with San Francisco. The next year we flew across the pond to London and the rest of the United Kingdom. And last year horseback riding in the jungle was on the itinerary in sunny Mexico. For 2006, we have

Italia

or Greece

What do you think? Both places look awesome. Photo credits go to Kelly McCracken (Kalloosh on Flickr) for the Italy picture and Joe Reid (Fianna on Flickr as well) for the Greece picture. Side note - check out the rest of McCracken's photostream. The things she does with her holga are just amazing. What I love about her style is that dreamy, timeless quality that is consistent in her pictures. It's definitely worth a visit and hey, she's from Chicago too!

Watch us end up in Peru trekking up some mountainside in search of Machu Picchu (which is also on my life to-do list). Last year we were thinking Hawaii or Italy for destinations, but somehow we ended up in Mexico. Hehe, go figure. I can't wait to pack up and see where the world will take us next...

Dagnabit

2006-02-13T21:04:00.000-06:00

What an interesting way to document your family's progress. This project spans thirty years solely in pictures.

---

When we came back from Cinci, I noticed there was a speck of mold on some bread Rick had set aside for quick lunches. So I asked him, "You want me to throw this away?" I could tell by the look on his face he didn't really want to and that he thought the bread was worth salvaging. But once I see any sign of mold on food I won't go near it so I gave him this disbelieving "I can't believe you would still eat this" look. He reluctantly gave in and threw it out.

Fast forward. I brought some porkchops to lunch. It was a bit heavy so I reached for some rye bread we had up on a shelf above Rick's desk. I opened the bag up, took two slices and proceeded to eat my lunch. Then Rick says "I think I'm gonna make a sandwich." I hear him open up the bag of bread, then....silence. Finally he says "Ummm did you check the bread before you ate it?"

Oh bloody hell. I turn around and the entire friggin' loaf is covered in mold. Not just any mold but heavy multi-colored growth. OMG!!! What have I eaten??? Rick, of course had this satisfied smirk on his face.

Rick: "And you wanted me throw away..."
Me: "NOT ONE WORD FROM YOU!"
Rick: "I'm just saying..."
Me: "I MEAN IT!!!"

Hola. :)

2006-02-11T10:02:00.000-06:00

I need more of this. I just want to hop on a plane, go to some far off land and disappear for a week. I'm really kicking myself for not taking a pic when we first took off for Cinci. We were approaching downtown and the sun was just starting to rise. The good 'ole skyline came into view and just then the sun broke out, bathing the city and the horizon in this creamy pink/orange light. Now that is the proper way to start the day! We live in such a truly beautiful city.

The next few days were pretty chill. Ah...corporate culture. Have a few meetings, schmooze, have an all out dinner and retire to your king bed in your huge suite for the night. Sleep and repeat the next day. Even better, you don't have to pay for anything. I wish we did this more often...

Work quickly piled up as soon as I got back but it was nothing that a dinner out with the girls couldn't fix. We headed out to de cero's on Randolph and although it was good, it was the most I have ever spent on Mexican food! Geez, I had two pork tomatillo tacos, a blazin' hot goat cheese tamale, and washed it down with a tamarind margarita all to the tune of $30! This would have cost me less than 10 bucks at Los Arcos for something comparable but I guess that's the price that comes with the atmosphere.

Yay - the weekend is here. I'm out for more good eats and good company...

Leavin' On a Jet Plane

2006-02-05T22:15:00.000-06:00

Saturday I got my hair did and chopped off three inches of hair. Isn't it bouffant-y looking? Every time an Eastern European woman does my hair, they inevitably style it like this. Ugh, I always feel like a small town news anchorwoman.

I generally feel hesitation whenever I get a haircut. This probably stems from the first time I got my hair cut from someone else besides my mother when I was a kid. Just in time for 2nd grade school pictures, this guy cuts my hair and I end up looking, like well a guy. I was all excited too because I finally got to have my hair cut by a pro and when I saw he cut off way too much hair, I just about cried right there in the chair. Hehe, yeah that's always stuck with me. Nowadays it isn't quite that bad. But my last bad experience was a couple years ago when this lady gave me highlights, assuring me the whole time it would look natural. Instead I came out practically freakin' BLONDE. I was so shocked when I saw my reflection and it took me more than a year to grow that crap out!

But anyways, I had to get the haircut 'cause I'm on my way to Cincinnati on the corporate jet for a meeting with the big research and development honchos of the organization. Can't be looking scrubby now can I? No real work til Wednesday...yay!

2 really quick reviews: I love my coffee. I scoff at the instant stuff and favor local cafes usually going for full bodied dark roasts with just milk and no sugar. If I see an Intellegentsia sign, I'm so there because I know the coffee will be perfect. So on Saturday I took a tour of their roasting facility with Wongthip. They give you background on where they get their beans, take you around their offices and tasting rooms and roast beans right in front of you on their old fashioned german machines. Four coffee blends are waiting for you to sample upon your arrival and you leave with half a pound of the coffee they just roasted. Pretty cool.

After that we headed over to Fat Willy's in my old 'hood Logan Square. I've been waiting to try this place out and it didn't disappoint. With all the snow falling yesterday, I was in the mood for something warm and substantial so me and Wongthip shared a beef brisket sandwich, jalapeno corn fritters and a hot brownie toppped with ice cream and whipped cream. Omg...per-fec-tion. I will definitely go back.

Alrighty I have to wake up in 5 hours so I should prolly get to bed now :p

C'mon All the Kids in Japan Are Doing It

2006-01-28T23:53:00.000-06:00

Let's make shiny mud balls!

Bowl Haircuts Were All The Rage

2006-01-28T23:32:00.000-06:00

Photos from back in the day of me and the kid sis. If you couldn't tell, my mom loved pink and the oh so sensible bowl haircut. :) More background on the pics up at flickr.

One of The Reasons Why I Will Never Be Out of Debt

2006-01-25T22:09:00.000-06:00

I am beginning to think that I am personally funding my dentist’s kid’s college fund. Despite taking immaculate care of my teeth there’s always something more I need to have done. I went in to see Dr. Pops today and this is what he had to say:

Resin Based Composite $186
Resin Based Composite $159
Root Canal Therapy $689
Crown $795
Prefab Post $233
Extraction $170

Grand Total $2232!!!

Thank God for insurance! But seriously though, I don’t know what else I have to do to be dental work free. This visit I have a cavity forming on a tooth that I thought was already practically a huge filling – was there really any tooth left to have a cavity on? But despite that price tag, the scariest thing on that list is the extraction for the last wisdom tooth I have left. If you’ve never had an extraction, what they do is they basically numb you up, take a pair of pliers, and just go in your mouth and pull the sucka out. It is so very crude and if you’re squeamish don’t look at what else comes out with your tooth. Not a pretty sight.

But anyways, met up for the third time with one of the companies I’ve been interviewing with. Turns out I was the first call back and I passed the psych test (yay! I’m sane!). Spent nearly 2 hours getting grilled again by a panel of three but this time around I wasn’t as tongue tied. The official verdict will come in three weeks…

To Sleep, To Dream

2006-01-23T23:50:00.000-06:00

In a little bit I’m off to bed.

I was going to do a little blurb on the little things of today, like betta fish shopping, tearing up when Mildred said Friday was going to be her last day, the difficulty of finding a non fast food restaurant to eat in at exactly 2 pm, adventures in caring for a nickel sized frog, or some other mundane detail of the day.

But even though it’s the end of the day, I still can’t shake this dream I had last night from my consciousness. This morning I woke up from one of those dreams that you experience so vividly and fully that when you wake up, you question whether or not it was a real moment or that it really happened. You desperately want it to be true and you try to go back to sleep to try to continue where you left off but it never works. All you’re left with is blurry faces and shapes and the realization that something that felt so true in that moment really wasn’t. I’ve been trying to pinpoint details of this dream all day today but all I can remember is feeling so extremely connected to someone. It almost leaves me feeling unsettled because of how intensely close I felt to this person without knowing who they were once I woke up.

Ah dreams. I’m hoping to have some more pleasant ones tonight. Speaking of... I’m up way too late again. Damn insomnia. Has you up thinking all sorts of crazy stuff. Alrighty g’night!

New Toys Make Me Happy

2006-01-22T01:05:00.000-06:00

My Rebel came in on Friday. I wasn't expecting it til later this week so this made my weekend. Yes! If you're in the market for one of these, this guide from Canon-Europe gives a good overview on the the controls and all that jazz. I love this freakin' thing!

2006-01-18T23:31:00.000-06:00

-Food therapy continued today - I’m on a Latin kick. Argentinian yesterday and Cuban today at Café Laguardia w/ some of the ChE’s. Mmmm…the jibarito sandwich – marinated steak nestled between two slices of fried green plantain, along with tamales, fried sweet plantains, and cinnamon spiked flan. Have to have the sangria to wash it all down with of course 

- Another flickr related site: Flickeur.
“Flickeur (pronounced like Voyeur) randomly retrieves images from Flickr.com and creates an infinite film with a style that can vary between stream-of-consciousness, documentary or video clip.”

The music creeps me out a little but it's a nice piece o' amusement.

Tuesday Was Even Better

2006-01-17T22:57:00.000-06:00

Today felt so LONG. Too much going on today that it feels like yesterday was a week ago. I had to be at work at 6am to run three test runs in the plant, two of which did not go smoothly. Then when I come back, Mildred pulls me aside and tells me she gave her two weeks notice! Mildred and I held down the fort at work for over a year when we were short staffed, just us two. She’s the one who put into motion switching me into R&D at SLC and we spent so many late nights at work trying to keep our heads above the water with the overwhelming workload. She practically taught me everything I know there with her unending patience and was always willing to help me with a smile. I was so bummed but happy for her at the same time because after all the years of long days she’s just going to chill in the Indiana countryside with her hubby. They both quit their stressful jobs today and from now on have no deadlines, no projects, and no worries.

But for me this is so not good. If I thought things sucked before, it’s not going to get much better. I’m the next in line so I’m not sure what the expectations will be. If things work out with me either finding another job or deciding upon school soon, my poor new co-worker will be left. Poor thing, he’s only been there less than three months and we’ll all have cleared out.

So what did I do? I called up Mich and said I need a drink...and now! I drowned my sorrows in a La Passion with a lomito thrown in to round out the meal. My lomito was good but I think I could have used another La Passion. And another and another and another.

Even Target Can't Fix This

2006-01-16T20:34:00.000-06:00

Usually a visit to Target makes me ridiculously happy. I always go there with the intention of buying a few random things like shampoo or lotion but I leave with a cart's worth of impulse buys. Every time!!! Why does everything have to be so dang pretty and cheap??? Did I really need that that pair of brown suede flats, that mini console deluxe travel cooler and warmer, or that cylinder of cinnamon pecan caramel corn? But that packaging is just so appealing...

But I digress. Today me, Pepito and Emerson stopped by Target after work and after doing the usual damage we're wheeling the cart to my car when we see it.

Running down the diameter of my spare tire's shell is a LONG and DEEP scratch. Nooooo!!! My car is only 6 months old and already it is scarred. Dangit. I was so pissed. 1. The scratch was not there yesterday and 2. The little sis had my car all day today. Grrrr...

Birthday Boys

2006-01-15T22:29:00.000-06:00

Saturday was all for the January birthdays. Kevin, Salvador, Rocky, and (next week) Yone, are all 1 year older. Woot woot! The day was filled with knights, horses, presents, Kung Fu Hustle, mahjong and food, food, food. Haha, Xin left some *cough* creative tags up at flickr which I'm sure the guys will appreciate. :)

2006-01-12T21:46:00.000-06:00

Listening To:
The Soul Sessions
By: Joss Stone

Do you ever call those numbers you don't recognize on your cell phone? Most of the time I just ignore them 'cause I figure if you're calling for something important you'll leave a message. But today I checked my phone after work and I had three missed calls, 2 of which were the same number. Curiosity got the better of me and I decided to call that number back. Four rings pass then someone answers "N******** Foods". !!! That's the company I was interviewing with last month, the one that made me take all those tests. Turns out they emailed me earlier asking me to come in again.

I mean, that's a good thing and all, I made it to another round, but I'm not feeling as happy as I thought I would be. With this company it's a step up, but with the other company I interviewed with, the culture there was awesome. I really liked the people and the energy, but in this case, I'm bordering on being overqualified for the position. Argh and add to that, now things at SLC are actually going pretty decently, dare I say things are going great. With my new co-worker, the work load is much more bearable. Sooo what to do? Well I shouldn't even be thinking too much about this until I have a written offer in my hand. Soooo there. I'm done. :) Ideally if I could I would chuck the food industry for a year or so and just travel the world...now that would be cool...

But anyways, behold, Kaizen's fave group EVAR: The Dormitory Boys !!! Gotta love that Video Gallery. :)

Whatever You Want

2006-01-11T22:02:00.000-06:00

The current issue of Snaps Magazine has a lot of cool pics to see. This issue's theme "Whatever You Want". Issues 6-8 are still up too so get to clickin'!

---
Boy am I having a bad case of the blahs...

A Million Little Lies?

2006-01-08T22:52:00.000-06:00

Like countless other people, I bought A Million Little Pieces by James Frey, today at Barnes in fact, after watching a compelling Oprah show. Then I find this from The Smoking Gun. I'm thinkin' Oprah's not too pleased.

Can You Tell

2006-01-05T19:39:00.000-06:00

Which one is the robot? In case you're wondering the robot, Repliee Q1, is on the left and her co-creator Hiroshi Ishiguru is on the right. It's a bit hard to tell isn't it? From the National Geographic site:

"Repliee Q1 (at left in both pictures) appeared on June 9 at the 2005 World Expo in Japan, where she gestured, blinked, spoke, and even appeared to breathe. Shown with co-creator Hiroshi Ishiguru of Osaka University, the android is partially covered in skinlike silicone....Internal sensors allow the android to react "naturally." It can block an attempted slap, for example. But it's the little, "unconscious" movements that give the robot its eerie verisimilitude: the slight flutter of the eyelids, the subtle rising and falling of the chest, the constant, nearly imperceptible shifting so familiar to humans..."

Creepy. Be afraid, be very afraid.

Un-Meaningful

2006-01-03T17:01:00.000-06:00

Hey all-back for the new year. What day is today? With all these random days off for the holidays, I've been kinda disoriented time-wise. For the past two weeks I'd wake up and wonder do I go to work today? I always have a hard time wrapping my mind around accepting a new year. Another year has passed so quickly with more weddings, more babies getting born and more old people event things. Crazy!
I was resolved to write meaningful posts this year. Posts of importance, posts of substance! So I tried to do that today and...I got nothin'! So posts about meaningless crap it is. :)
No work today, so I tried to do some after Christmas/New Years clearance shopping, hence the Pier One mirror shot. Nothing much to speak of left which may be a good thing because I am thinking about getting this:

I want this camera.

I need this camera.

It's the Canon Digital Rebel 350D XT. I could really go for the Canon 20D, but for the money and my experience level, I think the 350D is the way to go. I've been looking to move up to a dslr for a while and Canon is having a rebate promotion going on until January 15th where you can get up to 3 times the rebate amount back depending on the items you buy. So should I take the plunge? The holidays have left my wallet hurting but when can I get the camera any cheaper? Oh dilemmas, dilemmas. Don't even get me started on what lens(es) to get. I've been doing research and it looks like it's practically a crime to not get the 50mm/1.4. I'm just wondering if it's going to work as a "walk around" lens for me.

The last time I had an slr in my hands was probably high school so I've been itching to get my hands on one again. My lil p&s has been loyal to me and it will still be my "take everywhere" camera but I think the 350D will give me that extra bit of freedom I'm looking for in composing shots. The past year has largely been about dusting off old hobbies as a result some of my pics have been featured in some other places - nothing huge and I'm not quitting my dayjob, but it's a neato feeling when someone asks for your permission to use your stuff. :) So hopefully more of the same in 2006. Here's to doing what makes you happy!

And Dance By the Light of the Moon

2005-12-24T21:22:00.000-06:00

Christmas 20(!!!) years ago. This was taken in my old kindergarten teacher's classroom when I was in 1st grade. I didn't want to take it, but Miss Nancy said I'd be glad I did it when I'd get older. I think she was right. :)

Fast forward to the present. All the presents are wrapped. The food's done getting cooked and I'm getting ready to head out while "It's a Wonderful Life" is on. I love Christmas! Have a good one!

Santa and Me!

2005-12-23T17:53:00.000-06:00

Well, not really. But that's the name of the site on which this picture appears that features vintage photos with Santa. Browse for some holiday photo fun.

On a side note, why do I always find the perfect gift for someone once I give them something else. Oy, my credit card is tired...

Buena Vista Social Club

2005-12-20T22:01:00.000-06:00

I love, love, love this CD. Afro-Cuban jazz at it's finest. I first came upon Buena Vista Social Club while listening to an online radio station a while ago. The song Chan Chan started to play and from the first few chords I was drawn in. Then this achingly beautiful horn solo comes out of nowhere and my ears just about melted in sheer pleasure. Other notable tracks: El Cuarto De Tula, El Carretero and Dos Gardenias.
Check out the Amazon link above to stream some of the music and this PBS site for more info. If you like what you hear, let me know and I'll send along the songs. :)

---
Round 2 in the interview game was yesterday. Well, first I had to stop off at the place where I had the 1st interview to do a 33 page personality test. I don't know what is up with this company. How many more damn tests do I have to do? Then I rushed over to the second company, and met with a senior manager and project leader. Lo and behold the senior manager says "Not to put you on the spot but I have some problems I want you to work on." and pulls out a pile of papers. Another "test"! Turns out I had to write 2 essays and do three math word problems in 15 minutes. I felt like was taking a final for school and I hadn't studied at all! I think I squeezed out some decent answers but we'll see. I really liked this company, but I don't want to get my hopes up. I can't wait til this is all over...

This Sums Up My Weekend

2005-12-19T22:00:00.000-06:00

Awwww...

Who Do You Look Like?

2005-12-14T22:20:00.000-06:00

Today I came across this site from My Heritage.com where you upload a pic of yourself and have the site search it's celebrity databases for a facial match.

My top 5 matches:
1. Reika Hashimoto
2. Halle Berry
3. Ninet Tayeb
4. Zhang Ziyi
5. Bipasha Basu

Quite a multicultural bunch eh? Can't say that any of them look close to me.
Give the site a try, who knows who you look like?

Let It Snow Damnit!

2005-12-13T21:42:00.000-06:00

Listening To:
Be
By: Common

Please, please, PLEASE may it snow A LOT tomorrow!

My boss says if it snows a lot, there's no way she's coming to work and to be fair, we don't either. Yes! As soon as I heard that, my mind was made up that I wasn't going to work the next day. Hmmm, the news keps reporting how the city is preparing for the snow tomorrow. Dangit. But if I see a three hour travel time for the outbound Kennedy, awww hells no am I going to work. It better snow loads tomorrow so I get my snow day wish.

Around the House

2005-12-11T21:51:00.000-06:00

6 Hours at Woodfield

2005-12-10T22:22:00.000-06:00

SHOP SHOP SHOP SHOP SHOP SHOP SHOP SHOP SHOP SHOP SHOP SHOP SHOP SHOP SHOP SHOP SHOP SHOP SHOP SHOP SHOP SHOP SHOP SHOP SHOP SHOP SHOP SHOP SHOP SHOP SHOP SHOP SHOP SHOP SHOP SHOP SHOP SHOP SHOP SHOP SHOP SHOP SHOP SHOP SHOP SHOP SHOP SHOP SHOP SHOP SHOP SHOP SHOP SHOP SHOP SHOP SHOP SHOP SHOP SHOP

And It's Not Even Officially Winter Yet

2005-12-08T21:46:00.000-06:00

Usually I can be home from work in twenty minutes with no traffic, but today the trip took almost 2 1/2 hours. Hello winter! Don't you wish you could have snow days with work? You would turn on your TV while you get ready for the day and lo and behold your company's name is scrolling at the top of the screen along with a message saying they're closed for the day. Then you would spend the day playing in the clean snow or putzing around the house in your pj's with some hot chocolate in hand...

Back to reality: here's a quick snap of the outside world (with some Christmas tree lights twinkling back) as viewed from my front door. Stay warm!

Minimiam

2005-12-06T21:27:00.000-06:00

Whoever said "Don't play with your food" obviously has not seen the photos of Pierre Javelle & Akiko Ida. Minimiam combines tiny plastic figures and food to make some delicious photos. By manipulating scale and composition, whipped cream becomes an immaculate snowcovered field for sledding and tart pans become ice rinks where miniature skaters effortlessly glide. Who knew cauliflower would look so good?

Ouch

2005-12-06T17:15:00.000-06:00

Oh man...I am so glad that "interview" is over...

The interview was slated to start at 9am.
I didn't come back 'til 3:45.
That's how long it took.

I took three tests. 1st test: basic math, no calculators. Not too bad but when was the last time you had to long division by hand with long ass numbers? Second test: 2 pages of columns and columns of numbers in teeny tiny print and I had to mark which columns had the same numbers. Weird. Third test, logic and word questions. At this point I'm thinking "Wtf?".

Afterwards I was grilled twice by a panel of three employees who were all managers and directors of research and development of various products. Horror of horrors! It's like this: I easily get all jittery if I'm on the spot and at that point, word vomit just spews itself from my mouth. I cease making sense and I mumble and it's just awful. Well at least they took me out to lunch. Butternut squash ravioli at Feast was good but really I was in no mood to enjoy it. I thought this was over, but I have to go back again for ANOTHER damn test. A personality one this time. Don't know how I'm gonna sneak out of work this time. I'm totally out of vacation time. Looks like it's time to be *cough, cough* sick...

You know what made me feel better though? M sent along this mp3 of a prank call from Roy Wood Jr. Freakin' HILARIOUS! Please play it! Find it here and click on any of the Barbara's Checks links under prank calls and enjoy!

Oh The Weather Outside is Frightful

2005-12-05T19:10:00.000-06:00

Stupid Blogger has been having hiccups as of late...

So how was your weekend?

Mine can be summed up with
1. Kids at the hospital sharing how their sisters passed gas.
2. Empanadas, lomitos, and mangotinis...oh my! ATC was right. Argentinian food rocks! Thanks for the suggestion - my stomach was very happy. :)
3. Driving through the winter wonderland that is Wisconsin on Sunday. Again. Hopefully this is close to the last time. Made for some pretty scenery though.

So what will this week bring? The Christmas spirit is getting infectious and I'm running on happy juice. As I write this, the tree is getting assembled downstairs while an old Christmas record (yes, record - old school baby!) we've had since I was a kid is playing. Somehow it isn't Christmas without hearing Johnny Cash singing Little Drummer Boy at least once during the season, haha. Being the procrasinator that I am, I haven't started shopping of course and I don't even know where to start this year. Twenty more days to go...plenty of time! I really need to go on a (picture) shooting spree. Haven't felt right being postless on flickr. That will come soon, I just have to take care of some important stuff for the time being. Speaking of...my break is over...back to work I go...

Because You Don't Hear It Often Enough

2005-12-01T19:09:00.000-06:00

Beauty can be found in the most unexpected places...

Sometimes you need a little (or BIG) reminder that "You Are Beautiful" too.

Check out the The 2005 Year in Review and the Installations links in the YAB site to see what I mean. Better yet, get yourself the stickers and a camera and participate in the project too.

Meet Big Daddy

2005-11-30T20:53:00.000-06:00

My new co-worker rocks! For more than a year my group at work was short staffed and we've finally gotten someone who is a perfect fit. He's got tons of experience, is totally competent, funny as heck and as the ultimate sign of approval, even got anointed with one of Ms. Patricia's nicknames. Henceforth, Rick is... Big Daddy! (In case you're wondering, my nickname is Little Momma.) To top it off, BD has a larger Tagalog vocabulary than I do - and he's Mexican! Him and Mildred are having so much fun conversing in Tagalog and taunting me with my inability to join in.

Things are going alright at work for now, but hopefully it will get even better next week. The first real attempt at leaving helljob starts next Tuesday with an interview I managed to score. I hate interviews. Never felt comfortable being in the hot seat. I'm trying to be optimistic but they're looking for someone with ~10 years experience! I'm thinking "Did they not look at the year I graduated college?". But the HR rep said they liked my resume despite the lack of experience. I guess that's a good thing but still I'm worried about what their expectations are... At the very least this will be good interview practice for when something more appropriate comes up. Weird side note: I have to take three written tests before I do my interview rounds. Not sure how I feel about that.

Ok, enough overthinking. Just had to get all the anxiety out of my system.

This Can't Be Good

2005-11-29T21:46:00.000-06:00

Espresso Fettuccine. Found at good 'ole Unimart.
I almost wanted to buy it just to see what it would taste like.
Almost.
But I did find that my Tom Yum noodles now come in an oh so convenient microwavable bowl. And tikoy balls look awfully similar to fish balls for pancit. The dad was fooled and unknowingly bought the tikoy balls. I didn't want them to go to waste so I tried to eat them. Ugh - I couldn't make it through one. I might as well have eaten moth balls.

Bewitched, Body and Soul

2005-11-27T00:28:00.000-06:00

After doing some after-Thanksgiving shopping, my family decided to make it a girls movie day and we headed out to watch Pride and Prejudice . Well, not exactly. We really intended to see either Rent or Walk the Line, but when we arrived we found that we had just missed both movies by ten minutes and one was full anyways. By default P and P won out but I’m glad we saw it. Chick flick indeed! Ah, the British. Those accents, the buttoned up propriety. Conversation becomes an art form because one’s real intentions lie in what is not said rather than what is plainly stated and that makes for some clever mind games. I’m more of a Gabriel Garcia Marquez follower rather than a Jane Austen fan, but the traditional romantic in me *swooned* and I felt all warm and fuzzy once the movie was done. Afterwards snowcovered sidewalks and light flakes met us as we exited the theater. I pulled my coat closer around me, looked up at the flakes falling from the sky and I couldn’t help but smile.

Tomorrow...fun’s over. Hittin’ the road to Oshkosh and Greencastle.
Everyone’s going back. :(

My Contribution For Thanksgiving

2005-11-22T21:03:00.000-06:00

Hopefully it will look something like the above. With Martha Stewart's guidance, I am confident the baking magic will come back to me.
Recipe here.

In other Thanksgiving related matters, I'm most likely going to pass on the Black Friday specials but checking out http://www.bfads.net may not be a bad idea if you are willing to brave the crowds.

I Was Always a Quirky One

2005-11-21T20:40:00.000-06:00

I used to love doing that on our chairs in the living room. Even back then I had a thing for the color red and I always felt extra sassy with my red tights on. Hehe, yeah had too much fun going through old family pics today...I'm determined to dig up some more of my favorites from the oldies vault soon. However the pics from ages 10-15 will be mercifully absent in an attempt to forget the "awkward" years. I can't believe my mother let me out of the house looking the way I did. Thank God I grew into my teeth. :)

---
In years past, Thanksgiving didn't rank too high on my list of favorite holidays. Turkey, the usual family parties, all of it seemed so routine and un-special. But this year I've changed my ways. With my family now all over the place, it's become such a rare thing to have us all together, much less for four straight days. So this weekend is gonna be extra nice for me with everyone coming back into Chicago. I spent a long while looking at old pictures in the family album tonite and I have to say, I miss my crazy mixed up family.

Three Things

2005-11-20T22:53:00.000-06:00

3 Things That Made Me Happy This Weekend
-Harry Potter. It was that good.
-Hacker Pschorr Beer and Papa John's Jalapeno and Sausage pizza for 3 meals. Sounds kinda gross but I had a mad craving for it.
-Staying in Sunday afternoon and relaxing with a cup of cinnamon coffee
I brewed while watching food and travel shows.

3 Things That Irked Me
-93.9 playing Christmas music nonstop when it's not even Thanksgiving yet.
-Yahoo Music and Shop Etc. who keep sending me invoices for things I NEVER RECEIVED. Best quote from Shop Etc. "Please send payment immediately to ensure no interruption in magazine delivery" Well, there's nothing to interrupt because I haven't received a damn issue and I don't want to either.
-Flickr pervs who add every girl possible to their contact list so that when these unsuspecting girls check out the perv's page it's him fuggin'
nekkid. Yuck.

3 Things I Have Procrastinated On For Too Long that I Finally Did
-Summing up the yearlong tab M and I have been racking up.
-Tackling the 4 inch thick pile of reports I had to finish for work.
-Doing research on Chicago area grad schools.

3 Additions to the Bookshelf
-PostSecret : Extraordinary Confessions from Ordinary Lives by Frank Warren.
-Found: The Best Lost, Tossed, and Forgotten Items from Around the World by Davy Rothbart.
-Photobooth by Babbette Hines.

And Finally 3 Things I'm Looking Forward To
-The sis coming home.
-A three day work week.
-This year finally having Thanksgiving with just the family at home.

Feelin cozy...

National Geographic...of course!

2005-11-17T21:47:00.000-06:00

Last weekend I picked up National Geographic's 100 Best Pictures: Collector's Edition Volume 1. On the cover is that well recognized picture of the young Afghan girl with the piercing green eyes. To this day that image still compels me in a way that leaves me feeling slightly...uncomfortable... Hard to describe but it's all in the eyes, that vulnerable defiance.

As a kid, I would spend a large portion of my library time in grade school going through old issues of National Geographic. Page after delicious page was a story played out in lush imagery. In one issue I could travel the globe from my desk and I promised myself that when I grew up I was going to see these things with my own eyes. NG played a huge part in giving me the travel and photography bug and now that I am older I've started my own globetrekking. If I could have one ounce of the creativity their staff writers and photogs possess... Being one of those lucky individuals is still my dream job. :)

See what I'm talking about and pick up the issue and also check out NG's Photography page. Photo news, galleries, wallpapers, gear help and of course images you won't soon forget.

Cross Your Fingers

2005-11-16T22:17:00.000-06:00

I was in line at Popeyes today to pick up chicken for my dad when the guy after me in line says "I'll take the Managers Special but can you cook it twice for me?"
The heck? Never heard of that one. Perhaps it's not oily enough fried only one time. :/
---
Time to make some changes. Well, it's been time for a while now as everyone and their momma knows. Mich and Kev will be happy to hear that the job search has earnestly begun. Finally hit the wall this week. It's going to take a long while to land another job but at least it's a start. Like I told her, jobhunting sucks but working at S*** L** sucks even more. I will gladly give up my 40% discount on Coach handbags if I could have a happy workplace. Also on the to-do list: checking out schools. Another degree? That option doesn't sound so out of reach anymore. Hehe wish me luck - maybe one of these days I'll figure out what to do with my life...
---
Countdown to Pepito's return: 7 LONG days. :(

A Few of My Favorite Things...

2005-11-14T20:23:00.000-06:00

-Faced with a munchie dilemma at work, I made my way to the cafeteria vending machine. Cheetos or chips, hmmmm. Then I spot this:

Blair's Death Rain XXX Hot Habanero Kettle Cooked Potato Chips.
MY GOD THESE CHIPS ARE HOT. I love hot foods but from the first chip my upper lip in was a sweat. Definitely beats Kruncher's Jalapeno Chips in the heat race.

-Hersch, author of one of my fave blogs, All Things Chill gives the heads up on the $10 Holiday Sale going on at Threadless. Yay cool (and CHEAP)
t-shirts! Make your picks soon before they sell out. Me likes this design, Release by Dan Gilbert:

- And I picked this up over the weekend:

Bobbi Brown's limited edition Tube Tints. Makes a sweet little Christmas present for any girlie in your life. These shades work on anyone and don't worry guys, you can just pick them up and check out, no confrontations with make-up ladies at the cosmetics counter. :)

----

(Not-so) hellish work update. Sooo if I talked you over the weekend, you'll remember how I shot up out of my sleep Saturday after remembering that I totally forgot to send a mucho importante package for work. Almost ruined the weekend because I was so damn worried about what the boss would say. Even the soju enhanced karaoke fest for The Wongers and Kaizen's birthday couldn't make me forget I dropped the ball on this one. I was bracing myself for verbal ass kicking today but...she actually took it quite well. *Phew.* Crisis averted...for now at least.

I Don't Want To Go To Work Tomorrow

2005-11-07T22:35:00.000-06:00

I'm baaaaack! Woot-woot!

And...I'm pretty wiped out right now so this will be a quick one. Dang that two hour time difference - I got used to going to bed at 5am and waking up at noon Chicago time. California was AWESOME. Just had to say all of you going soon will have great weather and I'm sure great times. :)
More "stuff" to follow.

Away Message

2005-11-02T22:52:00.000-06:00

Off to San Francisco for a few days. It'll be nice to get a way for a while and catch up with an old friend. Probably will not have much computer time soooo things will be even quieter around here and flickrland for a bit. The pic below was taken with my first ever digi-cam when I visited San Fran a few years back, a 1.x mp Cybershot. Hehe now-a-days you can get cell phones with better photo resolution.

See ya laters! I'm out.

"keeping up the fight"

2005-11-01T20:00:00.000-06:00

And that's what online magazine Revol does so well. My choice for this week's photo/imagery pit-stop is chock full of all sorts of creative eye candy guaranteed to keep you waiting anxiously for the next issue. This joint venture by brother-sister team Dante and Debbie Carlos (Debbie resides in Chicago) currently has six issues up for your perusal in which you'll find amazing illustrations, graphics, photos and other visual goodies. You gotta check it out - VERY good stuff in there.

Boo!

2005-10-31T21:02:00.000-06:00

Too many caramel apples consumed today...

and 100 Grands...

and Snickers...

and Peanut M&M's...

"Fun Size" my ass...I can hardly type this 'cause my hands are shaking so hard. Parents are in for a surprise when their children really do transform into demons with all the sugar that's going to be consumed.

Favorite new candy: Mint Kit-Kats.
Why did you have to bring this into my life, M?!!
Hmmmm...I could really go for one of those right now...

Ah, Weddings...

2005-10-30T22:46:00.000-06:00

Weddings. In some strange way I still can't believe we're old enough to get married. It's probably because the groupies have all known each other since high school so that's how we see each other - the same old kids we were back then. Some peeps we don't see too much of anymore so weddings have become the place to catch up on everything. Time really does fly by so fast. The now Mrs. Bahk was gorgeous in her dress and the now Mrs. Mathew is 7 months along. Crazy! One surprising thing...the music was actually really good. Turns out the dj spins downtown in clubs. I knew once he broke out The Percolator it was over for me. He went all the way back to school dances in the gym with that one. All that was missing was that nifty Tetris mix and I would have been complete. Me and my weakness for 90's music...It was a very good night...

Another Day, Another Concert

2005-10-29T01:52:00.000-05:00

This time it was the Black Eyed Peas and Gwen Stefani at the Allstate Arena. Since this week pretty much sucked ass I wasn't as up for this as much as I usually am for concerts. But once I heard the music I got totally pumped! Turned out to be the best way to put an end to the week. The BEP set was too short though - 45 mins! Last time I heard them at HOB they played a nice long set and I was at the front of the stage highfive-ing them all during the concert. It was nice :) Pics, of course, are up at flickr.

Conversation With a Southsider

2005-10-27T21:12:00.000-05:00

Me: Hey Iz, what's going on?
Iz (with big cheesy Izzy smile): Sox won you know.

Me: Yes I know.
Iz: The best part is we got it first before those sorry ass cubs.

Me: Yeah I bet they feel salty. But whatever...tomorrow's Friday. I've had a crappy week.
Iz: You know what? It's ok because the Sox won. Don't worry about it - EVERYTHING will be great because the Sox won. It's gonna be good for a whole year because the Sox won. We're the fucking world champions!

Me: Oh yeah? That good huh?
Iz: OH yeah...

Me: I knew this would make you happy.

Venting

2005-10-26T21:55:00.000-05:00

Mother-f! So ANGRY today!
Mad, mad, MAD!!!
It's the effing end of the day and I'm still super pissed.

I work insane hours at work...I get yelled at.
I've been doing the work of 2-3 people for the past year...I get yelled at.
Some other department fucks up...I get yelled at.
I bother to think for myself...I get yelled at.

Wtf? So SICK of this.

Mmm, Mmm, Mmm

2005-10-25T21:04:00.000-05:00

Pictured here is the Black Bean and Rice Burrito entree along with what might be either Beef Pot Roast with Vegetables, Ham & Shrimp Jumbalaya, Pork Chow Mein or Chicken Tettrazini.

Never seen them before? It's because it's for the military. From the website:"All are fresh and will store a minumum of 5-7 years. No cooking is required and no water needs to be added. These are fresh meals direct from the factory".

Good grief can you imagine what this tastes like? We talked about these meals briefly today at a seminar I had to go to for work. Apparently the Holy Grail of military food developers is making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich that will be good for THREE years. Hmmm... :/