Uh-oh

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

A Little Bit of Everything

@ 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!

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

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

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...

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

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

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

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

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!!!

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

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

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

Illegal In Chicago

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

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?

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

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

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

Surreal.