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[May. 21st, 2007|11:28 am] |
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I'm pretty much going to stop writing here. If you continue to have any interest in what I have to say (mainly about things that I observe at work and around Chicago), you can read about them at http://lookoutbear.blogspot.com. |
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| (no subject) |
[May. 7th, 2007|02:07 pm] |
My coworker just came into my makeshift office (a freezing cold "conference room") with a calculator she claimed was broken. "I pulled it out of my desk and it doesn't work," she explained, "can you order me a new one?"
I knew immediately that this was not necessary. You see, one glance told me that it was a solar powered calculator and it would need a minute to soak up some light after being stored in a desk for a long period of time. I handed it back to her and told her to try it again in...oh, about 30 seconds.
Now, I know I've become the resident IT person (Nick Burns, the Company Computer Guy, if you will) but this isn't even difficult technology. It's a fucking calculator!
Come on. |
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| Yet another baby post |
[Apr. 26th, 2007|08:36 am] |
This past weekend, Jimmy and I traveled to Michigan to witness the "dedication" of his niece, Maevyn (or Baby Mae). A dedication, it turns out, is a non-denominational, extremely short religious service led by a talkative pastor on the back porch of Jimmy's sister's house in Attica, MI. Attica is WAAAAY out there. Quiet, simple, and peaceful. Kind of a nice place for an event like this.
His brother-in-law's family was interesting to say the least. They talked loudly about things most people would deem 100% inappropriate to talk about in front of other people in general, let alone people you've never met. In this case, those things were 1. someone getting a hysterectomy and 2. shitting blood.
Jimmy's extremely sweet and good natured side of the family was clearly mortified. I knew this because various people gave me "just so you know, we're not blood related" looks.
Everyone bailed right after the service (presumably because of the lack of alcohol) to go somewhere else and party. We stayed and played with the cute baby.
We left Attica and traveled to Ann Arbor where I had a wonderful visit and saw nearly everyone I was hoping to see. On our way to Ashley's we came across 2 EMTs and 2 law enforcement officers trying to wake up a drunk homeless man sleeping in the middle of the sidewalk on State St. We passed them just in time to hear the question, "you been drinkin' today?" and the mumbled answer, "Oh hell yeah" It's the little things that make me miss Ann Arbor. |
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| (no subject) |
[Apr. 19th, 2007|01:52 pm] |
They found that kid from Chicago who had been missing from Grinnell College for 7 months...or his body, I should say.
They found him dead in a pool when they pulled up the tarp to prepare the pool for summer. Aside from how obviously upsetting the entire situation is, I am additionally pissed off that they missed finding him in the first place. The pool was just a few blocks from campus. The police and search teams say everywhere (including the country club where the pool was located) were searched "extensively".
Grow up. If you searched a country club extensively, don't you think that would include peeking under the pool tarp? This poor kid's parents have been worrying about him for 7 months thinking he was still alive somewhere as there was "no trace" of his body anywhere in Grinnell or the surrouding areas (except that there was).
To be fair, I don't have the whole story. Maybe it will come out that someone put him in the pool after the search efforts died down, but it's not really looking that way.
So sad... |
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| (no subject) |
[Apr. 16th, 2007|11:09 am] |
Jimmy and I applied for an apartment this weekend. It's just down the street from where I live now. It has a sunroom, a back porch that will be great for grilling, a built-in bookcase and decorative fireplace in the living room, a neato black and white checkered kitchen floor, a HUGE bedroom, and a smaller second bedroom that will serve as an office/place for all of Jimmy's instruments/extra bedroom.
The current tenants are a young woman and her two kids. It's a small space for a family like that, but she's maximized space like nothing I've ever seen before. Nearly every item in the apartment was from Ikea, including one of the big blue bags that you use inside the store as a shopping bag. This led us to believe that she works for Ikea. I will definitely take tips from her on making best use of the space.
I'm excited about the place. This management company seems to be great at circulating money back into their properties. They replaced the windows not long ago, the kitchen is fairly new, and it appears as if they actually clean and paint on a regular basis. It will be a nice change.
I'll be moving in at the beginning of June so if you come visit this summer, there will be an extra bedroom for you! |
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| (no subject) |
[Mar. 31st, 2007|08:18 pm] |
On my final night in Holland, I pulled a Ryan Atwood (yes, an OC reference...it's an excellent television program) and went running on the beach. The sun was just beginning to set and I was the only person in sight for miles.
I'm extremely happy to be back in Chicago. After a few days of having a slight cough, my voice decided to leave last night during dinner. It gets a bit better every few hours, but at the moment I am almost completely unable to speak. This may be a problem tonight as I am supposed to go socialize at the bar for MT's birthday. Perhaps I'll have to bring a notepad.
I got confirmation today from the shelter where I got my cats that it is, indeed, my kitty Robert on the cover of their "Year in Review" newsletter that I got in the mail a few weeks ago. They also informed me that he is featured in their 2007 calendar. He's "Mr. March". I definitely have to get my hands on one of those. |
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| (no subject) |
[Mar. 27th, 2007|07:53 pm] |
It's my second night of four in Holland, MI. Training is intense and the days are long, but I'm actually kind of enjoying it. I sat and talked with a guy tonight who lives in the city in Arkansas where WalMart is based. He works for a Haworth dealer now, but he used to be a cigarettes and tobacco buyer for WalMart. He said he got personal hate-mail on a daily basis. Terrible job...
I drove around a little bit after the "social event" we had tonight. It made me a little nostalgic. It was around 8:00, the sun was going down, and lots of kids were riding bikes or going on walks with their parents. It's been awhile since I've been in a neighborhood like that.
I also went to Meijer for the first time since I moved out of Michigan. Man, do I miss Meijer! The U-Scan asked me if I had any bottle slips. BOTTLE SLIPS!? I had forgotten those existed! I don't know if this is standard in all Meijer stores now or what, but this Meijer had a "Mail and Tobacco Center". I don't understand why those two things would be in the same spot.
I'm now in my room at some random hotel (I got to the hotel where I was supposed to stay and they told me they were overbooked and didn't have a room for me despite the fact that I booked my room over 2 months ago). I'm making the best of it by enjoying my alone time with some TV in my king size bed. |
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| (no subject) |
[Mar. 15th, 2007|12:24 pm] |
I ran into Julian on the train yesterday. I figured this would happen eventually as we live in the same city in nearby neighborhoods (only about 2 blocks apart as it turns out) and presumably use the same public transportation. We must have been sitting across from each other for about 3 stops before he noticed and got my attention. Apparently I am more oblivious while riding the train than I had originally thought.
He looks (and acts) grown up. It's strange to talk to someone that you haven't had a real conversation with since they were 16 years old. I guess the 5 years between 16 and 21 offer a lot of growth. For the first time, it wasn't awkward or fake. It was just nice to see him and hear that he's doing well and I got the impression he felt the same way. I'm happy with that. It would be cool if we could interact every once in awhile and have it lack awkwardness.
The nice weather was awesome while it lasted. It got me out to the bar on two consecutive weeknights. I don't think that has happened in...ever. Tuesday night at Sheffields, Brian brought a friend from his old job who also brought a friend. When Brian's friend's friend arrived he tried to chest bump Brian's friend, but Brian's friend didn't see and the chest bump set-up went unnoticed by everyone but me. It ruled.
Brian's friend also told Brian later that he thought Jimmy was gay. Interesting considering I was all but sitting on his lap all night and gave him a kiss goodbye. Also interesting considering Jimmy drank shitty beer all night and this guy's self proclaimed "drink" was Goldschlager on the rocks. Gross. |
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| (no subject) |
[Mar. 12th, 2007|11:55 am] |
This is a really interesting article about the possibility that a nutrient found in orange juice could eventually be used to stop the growth of certain types of cancer cells. That would be cool.
http://agnews.tamu.edu/dailynews/stories/BICH/Nov3004a.htm
Same old stuff going on with me. I'm starting to look for a bigger apartment in Andersonville. Bekki is moving on May 1st to Rogers Park (YES!). It's sunny and beautiful and I've been going on lots of walks. Also, I saw Fast Food Nation last night and highly recommend it. |
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| (no subject) |
[Mar. 5th, 2007|09:39 am] |
My vacation was wonderful. We got almost 2 feet of powder the second night and enjoyed an amazing and difficult next day of powder skiing at Alta. My family got along well. My mom was in a good mood for nearly the entire trip despite my brother losing his IPod and we had a very nice time together. I was a little sad when I got back to Chicago. It was sort of like coming home from camp.
This weekend I spent way too long at Target trying to pick out a birthday present for my cousin Adam's 2 year old son. They were in for the weekend from Boston and Sam's birthday is next week. I got him a toy trumpet/saxophone (you can bend the top and bottom parts into the shape of each instrument and it takes on the sound of that instrument). It's hard to shop for a kid you don't know that well, but he ended up liking it a lot.
Saturday we had Sam's party at Aimee and Benji's place. I gave Jack his birthday present too since I missed his party while I was away. Apparently the people at My Gym pulled him out and through the gathering of guests on a wagon while he played a tambourine with all of the intensity a 3 year old could possibly have. I'm a little sorry I missed that. Baby Emily is getting big (relatively...she still only weighs 7 lbs) and she's still extremely cute.
Saturday night friends came over and we played Wii. The idea was to Wii bowl and then real bowl, but Aaron wanted to play tennis and Brian wanted to play golf so we did that instead. But then we did real bowl at this awesome old bowling alley in Lincoln Square. I bowled horribly.
But...the most important thing that happened this weekend is that Bekki got in to Northwestern! That means she won't be leaving Chicago and instead will be moving closer, either to Rogers Park or North Andersonville. YES!
Have to add this:
My coworker just showed me her wedding invitations. Her fiance's first name is Benjamin and his middle name is Franklin. His name is Benjamin Franklin. It is printed on their wedding invitation. There's nothing that's not funny about that. |
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| (no subject) |
[Feb. 21st, 2007|02:53 pm] |
I leave for Park City on Friday. I will be spending 5 days with my family skiing and staying in a rented house. I'm VERY excited. I need some time off and time with my family sounds great right now.
This guy just came into the showroom and was unable to find his business card so he gave me his "personal card" which just lists his name, number, email address, and the address for his music website. Naturally, I checked out the website. His bio contains this sentence: "I like to write about archetypes and hide them in the charicatures in my songs." Awesome dude.
Looking forward to dinner with friends tonight. The place is called "House of Sushi and Noodles" but the online menu does not have any noodle dishes on it. I'm curious...
I'm also curious how closely their tempura green beans are going to resemble TGI Friday's green bean fries. Probably not much. |
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| (no subject) |
[Feb. 15th, 2007|08:34 am] |
Valentine's Dinner Special at Reza's in Andersonville:
$29.95 per person
feta, radish, and parsley plate with pita bread
lentil soup for both
choice of any salad off the regular menu for both
1 appetizer each from a list of 9
2 entrees each from a list of 13
1 dessert each
1 glass of wine each
This was a nice thought and a superb deal. The only problem was that it wasn't really thought through that well or apparently explained to the wait staff that well. Normally, a restaurant that serves a meal with this quantity of food wouldn't even think of the meal lasting any less than two hours. You need time to relax while consuming that much food. Reza's was determined to get us out of there in just over an hour leading to a huge waste of food.
The next issue was the "order any salad off the menu" issue. I was assuming that these salads would be side salad portions, but no...my salad was big enough to be my entire meal. I think the intention was for us to share the salad, but then why would we each get to order one?
The final issue was with the lack of understanding on the part of the waitress. The menu read "choice of 2 entrees". Why would I want 2 entrees? That's just rediculous. When I ordered my chicken kebabs, the waitress said "are you sure you don't want to mix?" (she also didn't speak very good English and was hard to understand). So my assumption became that you could either get a bigger portion of one entree or smaller portions of two different entrees. I stuck with the chicken...easy enough.
Then it was Jimmy's turn. He ordered the lamb chops and she said, "do you want to mix?" He said no, went on to order his rice (oh, we also got a GIGANTIC plate of rice with each of our meals) and then changed his mind. "Can I get the chicken kebab as well?" he asked. The answer was, "No, you already ordered lamb chops." It was as if he had lost his chance to mix two different entrees. We decided to leave it alone because she was obviously very confused. Turned out to be a good move as the lamb chops were excellent and the chicken kebabs were boring.
End result: huge amount of food stuffed into my face in a little over an hour for a lovely Valentine's Day dinner with Jimmy. He also got me an awesome cook book and all of my favorite candy. My parents sent me a package with candy and a microfleece blanket.
Jimmy told me after dinner that he was all ready to send me orchids at work (because I'm allergic to every other flower), but then he didn't know if it would be okay because I have to be so professional at my job and I don't have an office. The fact that he even thought to do that blows me away. I would have been surprised as shit. He wins. |
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| (no subject) |
[Feb. 14th, 2007|07:44 am] |
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You know you're fully integrated into the industry you work in when you watch a TV show for the first time (in this case "House", which is an excellent program. Joe...I can see why you like it so much) and know immediately who provided all of the furniture...and you care. |
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| (no subject) |
[Feb. 6th, 2007|03:34 pm] |
A few of the boys I grew up with were involved in a bad car accident in Malibu this past weekend. My cousin Austin (3rd cousin, but definitely still family) was thrown from the car and is in pretty bad shape. He's in an induced coma and things seem to be progressing in the right direction, but he's certainly got some major hurdles to conquer before he'll be back to his old self.
This sort of thing is difficult for me as I don't believe that anything besides time and science will physically help his healing. However, if praying is something you can do, I appreciate knowing that the support is there. And if you're more like me, just try to keep him in your thoughts for me.
Thanks. |
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| (no subject) |
[Feb. 2nd, 2007|10:02 am] |
It's been such a crazy busy week at work that I wasn't even able to stay awake last night while my friends were over. I hadn't seen Linzo in over a week and I was really pumped about playing some Wii tennis with her, but all I felt like doing was laying on the couch. I fell asleep around 11. I'm extremely lame.
Now I'm back at work for the last day of the week. It's never "casual Friday" here in the Haworth Chicago showroom, but today we dubbed "cleaning day" and so I was allowed to wear jeans. Of course, half of the sales people here are bringing in last minute clients so Jaime and I look like we're underdressed. Awesome. Our Global Accounts Director even decided to bring in the head of the Ideation team (the one area of the company I might consider staying here to work for) without letting us know. Even more awesome.
Anyway, it's certain that only Jaime and I will be doing any cleaning so I should get to wear jeans. Who cares?
Borat and Stranger Than Fiction tonight at Brew n' View. I love this city. |
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| Just have to pause to say... |
[Jan. 31st, 2007|04:43 pm] |
75 messages in a GoogleGroups chain and counting...
And it's about the SCIENCE MUSEUM!
I LOVE MY FRIENDS! |
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| (no subject) |
[Jan. 25th, 2007|03:47 pm] |
Finally, pictures of the dinky baby!
Here she is not fitting in her carseat or her clothing:
Here is a good close up of her looking very peaceful:
Look how much hair she has!
And here is Jack looking excited about meeting his new baby sister (note the t-shirt. It says "Big Brother AKA: The Boss"):
 |
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| (no subject) |
[Jan. 24th, 2007|11:47 am] |
I'm back in Chicago after a thrilling two nights in Holland, Michigan. My hotel room had a full living room and kitchen in it which was not very helpful during a short stay, but will come in quite handy when I'm back there in March for a week. (p.s. if anyone wants to take a trip to Holland between March 26th and 30th, you could see me there).
I spent two days learning a fairly straight forward forecasting program and I learned what a web-frontend is (thank you BEAR...made my experience that much more interesting). I made a bunch of new friends including very cool girls from Atlanta, Boston, and Calgary. This means I also gained some great vacation destinations.
I drove back to Chicago and went immediately to my cousins' house to see their new baby girl. She is REDICULOUS. I've never seen such a small human. I'll post pictures as soon as I have some to post. I got a new point and shoot digital that I'm excited about so I'm sure there will be lots of practicing on little Emily. Hearing Jack talk about his sister is precious though I'm sure it's only a matter of time before he whacks her in the face with a toy.
My parents were also here when I got back because they were burying Ken in Illinois. Ken Neumann, my dad's business partner, died last Friday after a long battle with cancer. He was a truly amazing man and a wonderful mentor and friend to my father. He will be greatly missed. Cancer blows. |
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| (no subject) |
[Jan. 21st, 2007|11:49 am] |
My cousin Lisa had her baby yesterday at around 4:00 PM. Emily Noa Goodman weighs 5 lbs 10 oz...TEENY. She has a full head of dark, curly hair.
That's all I know so far. I'm pretty excited to hold her as I don't think I've ever seen a baby that small. It will have to wait until Wednesday though, since I am leaving tonight for two days of CRM training in Holland, MI for work. Wahooooo! |
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| (no subject) |
[Jan. 17th, 2007|11:12 am] |
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If anyone has cool photos of the ice storm aftermath in Michigan, can you please send them to me at jlsmith84@gmail.com? I'd really like to see what it looks like and my mom is convinced that she isn't capable of taking a couple of shots to send to me. Instead she just keeps calling me and saying, "I can't tell you how badly I wish you were here to see this." |
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