So yes, I had an excellent and happy weekend, with lots of good food (including eggplant tofu curry!!), hiking, meditating in the woods, and eventually, watching football. Couldn't have possibly been better :)

There was one bizarre moment when I looked out the car window on a very random stretch of road (not in SB) and realized that we were being passed by my ex boyfriend, the same ex who's coming to visit this weekend. You'd think in a state the size of California with the number of cars there are on the road that you could easily avoid seeing people you know, but apparently that's not the case.

We did stop by SB briefly. I thought I was ready to be back there. I'm not sure that I was. It probably didn't help that Spikey now lives in what I affetcionately like to call Neighborhood of Ex Boyfriends :)

And then, of course, I came home. Flight was good, got home early. Walked in my apartment ready to fall immediately into bed. And found a dead mouse next to my nightstand.

I was pretty feaked out, I must admit. Somehow I don't mind sleeping in a cabin full of spiders or outside in the desert with snakes and spiders, but when I'm in my own apartment I do not want creatures invading my space. And since I had never even found a bug in my apartment, the appearance of a mouse was a tad unsettling. I remember seeing a sign before I left saying that there would be exterminators in the building over the weekend and that we could request their services. My guess is that the mouse was poisoned elsewhere and struggled into my apartment through the heater to die (its body was right next to the heater).

Anyway, I disposed of the mouse after an inspiring pep talk from Laz, and I slept on the couch Sunday night so as to be far away from other possible carcasses, which I was too tired to find. When I got home yesterday I went on a mad cleaning spree (not difficult in my small and already clean apartment). I found no other dead mice and no signs of mouse life in the apartment. I *think* it was a freak occurrence. But I have asked the maintenance people to come look at my heater and ensure the absence of other dead mice before I turn it back on. Ewww.

Anyone want to lend me a cat? :)

As of late last night, I am back. We did get snowed on, but not snowed in. :(

Much more to say, but I suppose I should do some actual work at work.

I didn't write this! But it did make me laugh. :)

25 SIGNS YOU HAVE GROWN UP
1. Your houseplants are alive, and you can't smoke any of them.
2. Having sex in a twin bed is out of the question.
3. You keep more food than beer in the fridge.
4 6:00 AM is when you get up, not when you go to bed.
5. You hear your favorite song on an elevator.
6. You watch the Weather Channel.
7. Your friends marry and divorce instead of hook up and break up.
8. You go from 130 days of vacation time to 14.
9. Jeans and a sweater no longer qualify as "dressed up."
10. You're the one calling the police because those %&@# kids next door won't turn down the stereo.
11. Older relatives feel comfortable telling sex jokes around you.
12. You don't know what time Taco Bell closes anymore.
13. Your car insurance goes down and your car payments go up
14. You feed your dog Science Diet instead of McDonald's leftovers.
15. Sleeping on the couch makes your back hurt.
16. You no longer take naps from noon to 6 PM!
17. Dinner and a movie is the whole date instead of the beginning of one.
18. Eating a basket of chicken wings at 3 AM would severely upset, rather than settle, your stomach.
19. If you're a gal, you go to the drug store for ibuprofen and antacid, not condoms and pregnancy tests.
20. A $4.00 bottle of wine is no longer "pretty good stuff."
21. You actually eat breakfast food at breakfast time.
22. "I just can't drink the way I used to," replaces, "I'm never going to drink that much again."
23. 90% of the time you spend in front of a computer is for real work.
24. You drink at home to save money before going to a bar.
25. You read this entire list looking desperately for one sign that doesn't apply to you and can't find one to save your sorry old butt. Then you forward it to a bunch of old pals & friends 'cause you know they'll enjoy it & do the same.

I'm ridiculously happy to be heading out to the mountains for (un)turkey day. No work for 5 days! Hiking and seeing a million stars in the sky! Lots and lots and lots of wine! Seeing my little brother and his fiance for the first time in 6 months!! 3/4 of the Jeppesons being together! (Lately we've been stuck at 3/4, especially sad since the fourth member will actually be here this weekend, but I'll be gone... guess another one of us will have to get married to get the whole back together again, but not me since my wedding will be a strictly immediate-family-only kind of affair... so maybe Chryssi or Spikey can get married soon... we'll have to find a man in the mountains for one of them...) Cornhole and horseshoes! Tofurkey!

With any luck I'll be spending tomorrow night in a cabin by a lake. That's assuming, of course, that LA traffic lets us out of the city and that we don't get lost and sleep in the Xterra again. I feel a little more confident about the second than the first.

I hope you all have a terrific holiday! Don't be too jealous of me-- I don't get to watch football on Thursday!

Maybe when I get back I'll try to write something coherant about how much I am thankful for right now, but that might be quite the lengthy post :)

Somehow I imagined that this being a 2-day work week for me I'd have plenty of energy and motivation and be super productive. Nope. I've barely managed to keep up with work email, much less accomplish anything. Oh well.

Quick, go to sunbowl.com and vote for NU as the team you'd like to see represented from the Big 10. Unless, of course, you'd rather go to Nashville or Detroit than El Paso. Never mind the fact that we're not even bowl eligible yet :)

Who wants to do Russian homework when there are Manning brothers to watch?

CORRECTION: The strategy outlined below does not accomplish its stated purpose.

My (purely hypothetical) way to scare an ex-- when he says he misses you and asks why you were always so good together, responsd, "Maybe we're soul mates. It's unfortunate we now live so far apart."

I, of course, have no idea if this would be successful in frightening him into keeping his distance from you.

I have one fervent wish... that the people who blare songs through their headphones on the train will learn to listen to better quality music.

You should all go to the NU game tomorrow. Or at the very least watch it on CBS.

You know you're life is sad when...

...you wake up at 6am and think, "wow, it's great to sleep in."

...your boss tells you you work too hard.

...the highlight of your day is watching a fictional character pretend to sing your college fight song on TV.

Nope, not multiple choice; just a day in the life of me.

So I decided to respond to The Recycler, as Kim has now dubbed him. He sounded perfect for me, except that he's into big weddings, which is of course a problem. But I figure the chances of us getting to a place where that would be an issue is close to nil, so it couldn't hurt to write. Anyway, I spent forever trying to figure out if I should write and then another forever trying to figure out what to write. And which pics to attach. And then the email bounced back from two different email accounts. Stupid aol. Why would I even want to date a guy who uses aol anyway? Hmph. I have one more email address to try sending from. I'll keep y'all posted.

Things I've learned so far today.
- All guys my age are named either Mike or Kevin. (Actually, I already knew that, but I always included John and Brian in the mix)

- There are apparently a lot of guys on CL who simply cut and paste the same response to every girl's ad. Maybe it works somtimes?

- There is at least one cute (if the pic's accurate), smart guy out there who said, "I contributed a great deal of time and money to the Kerry and Obama campaigns. Now that the election has passed, I'm looking into how to revitalize Chicago's recycling program." Wow. Actually, he sounds pretty cool, and he uses lots of big words, which always gets me hot. :) I probably won't respond, but hey, it's nice to know guys like that exist.

- I tend to attract Asian guys. I had already experienced that in real life, but I never knew it had more to do with my personality than my looks ;)

- Apparantly, saying that I hate diamonds sets up off from "typical Chicago girls." One guy, who's run three marathons, said, "You hate diamonds? Every guy on earth would fall in love with you..." Sure, right up until he realized he could never apologize by buying me a tennis bracelet...

Anyway, my conclusion from this experiment is that CL is not a good place to meet a guy. But it's still pretty damn hilarious.

I leave you with my favorite response. He even included a phone number.
"Hi,
I am an adventurous, aggressive, assertive, caring, charming, chivalrous, loving, gentle, (sometimes a little rough), dominant 5-11, 175 LB,brown haired, blue eyed, surfer cowboy, turned international businessman.
I own an investment banking firm and develop projects all around the world. Recently I have built a University, a toll bridge, banks and factories, all in Europe.
I am currently working on one interesting project. California's ultimate health spa resort, where the beautiful people will come to play....on a hot springs location. Offering programs, and accommodations of the ultimate in a luxury adult pleasure spa. You could even serve to inspire the creation of that incredible resort.
Locally I am starting to design a glass house on top of a sand dune on property I own overlooking the water with a panoramic vista of the city's skyline, dunes trees and birdies as far as your eyes can see. I love the water. I have also lived in Hawaii, Florida, and British Columbia all right on the ocean. Sailing, power boating, scuba diving and walks on the beach with pantherra, my used to be pure black, slightly graying, slobbery mastiff. Breeding and riding my Arabian horses, snow and jet skiing are also too much fun.
I love art. All art, Gallery parties and showings, museums all around the world, movies, the performing arts, dance,ballet,opera and yes even the symphony.
I enjoy shopping, traveling, reading and learning via all methods. I have simple tastes, so therefore "SIMPLY THE FINEST WILL DO" :-) ! I appreciate fine gourmet, both cooking and eating out, good companionship, intense intellectual and physical stimulation,and building an empire!
Care to be empress?
Or at least have too much fun along the way checking it out?
I wish to get to know you better. I have much to offer on many levels.
Let's chat."

So I figured I had a list anyway, might as well post it on Craigslist. Plus, we all know I just want more excuses to be on Craigslist. Within two minutes I had two responses. What amuses me most about this is that the second response was from a guy who had clearly not read my ad. How do I know this? 1) The only thing he really said about himself was that he works at "a Fortune 500 company." 2) He attached a picture of himself with his BMW. Oy.

And has anyone seen the previews for this week's Joey? I only got a glance, but I think Matt LeBlanc is wearing an NU shirt in one scene. Might need to watch just to find out why.

I would like to reassure everyone that I don't actually have any intention of pursuing a PhD in Medieval European Christianity. Or Underwater Basket Weaving. Or Contemporary American Paganism. Or Historical Slavic Linguistics. In fact, I do not intend to collect any more degrees at all, useful or otherwise.

Of course, that is always subject to rapid change.

Bad sign: when you call the Thai place and give your phone number, and the guy says, "Hey, how are you today?" I may have an addiction.

Tonight on the train, the woman across the aisle and I were both reading novels by Umberto Eco. I almost commented that she had good taste in books, but she seemed to be quite engrossed in Brother William's crime-solving techniques.

On a totally different subject, I'm thinking of going back to school to get my PhD in medieval European Christianity.

You know what's been missing from my life for the past month? RUNNING!! That's right, I'm back. (And for all you worrywarts out there; I took a whole freakin' month off after the marathon... I'll be fine...)

[Note: You may now once again quit reading my blog, unless you really really care about things like hydration and pace and race strategy.]

As my boss was leaving the office today at 4:30, he turned to me and said, "I'm glad I get to leave right now, even if you don't." Hmph.
***
Speaking of bosses, I don't think I'm a very good boss. I have a slight problem delegating. I'm not a control freak, really.
***
And, you know what, I love Desperate Housewives. I am mystified how I feel such a connection to a show that depicts the kind of women I would normally hate. Anyway, I'm hooked. Just wish I'd discovered the show after a season or two was on DVD. The suspense is killing me.

Troy and Eulalia have requested that I prioritize my list. That sounds like a lot of work. So, let's just say if you know a straight, single, not-horrible guy you think I wouldn't hate at first sight, let me know. I think you all know me well enough to know what would work and what wouldn't! And if there are no guys in this city I'd be compatible with, well, c'est la vie. I *think* I might be ok with being single. ;)

I've been saying for awhile that if my neighborhood just got one good independent coffee shop and one good independent bookstore I'd never leave. Well, we're halfway there. One of the best coffee shops I've ever been to (and that's saying something) just opened a block from my apartment. If you ever need to find me on evenings or weekends, you know where I'll be :)

Earlier today I was all set to blog about how I think I'm ready to put myself back on the dating market, and a friend called to talk about a bad date and about how much she hated dating. Hmm. Even so, I think I might want to date. If I can find the perfect guy. So I'm enlisting the help of my friends. If you know a 25-30 year-old single guy with all the following characteristics, whom I have not met, then please let me know.

-tall
-sexy
-speaks at least one language other than English
-well educated, and even more important, well read
-loves football and all other sports except basketball
-recycles
-has been in enough relationships to know what he's looking for
-doesn't want a traditional wedding
-ambitious, but not motivated by money (it's ok if he has money; he just can't care about money)
-has a good relationship with his family
-from the Midwest (or has at least lived in the Midwest for a while)
-leans liberal in his politics
-will be there when I need him, but doesn't want to spend every day together
-adventurous
-loves to travel, but also loves to be at home
-physically fit, and especially likes to run
-lives within the city of Chicago, preferably on the north side
-has never been married and has no kids, and is not desperate for either, but is not necessarily opposed to either
-doesn't hate vegetables
-willing to watch foreign films or dumb comedies
-knows the meaning of life

So, get going, people. You must all know at least 20 or 30 single guys who meet all my criteria :)

[BTW, for you grammar freaks-- I know I did not use parallel construction in my list. It bothers me, too, but I'm trying to deal with it.]

Today I become a boss. HA HA HA!! Drunk with power.... (I'm kidding; I'm actually a little terrified at the thought of being in charge of someone, and I'm going to miss my complete independence in my job, but this is a good and necessary thing)

****

Oh, and I'm not going anywhere. I am staying right here to work for what I think is right. I am disgusted with the partisan split in this country, and I want people to once again start recognizing what we do have in common. I am, at heart, a small-town Midwestern Catholic, and I refuse to blame "Middle America" for ruining the world, or whatever it is we're doing. I know this is a flip from some of my initial reaction after the election. I've been doing a lot of thinking and talking. (Thanks Jim! Thanks Dad! Thanks Mom!)

And I've been spending a lot of time thinking about my grandparents. They've spent their whole lives working hard, providing for family, helping strangers, and teaching others to do good in the world. I am who I am because of them. If I value respecting all people and helping those less fortunate, it is because they taught me to do so. And yet, two of my grandparents vote Republican. If Granddad were still alive, he would too. And if Granny still votes Democrat, I know she does so with hesitation.

And I know and understand their reasons. The only difference between us, really, is that I have had different experiences. My morals, my values, are still very much Midwestern Catholic. I may not believe in God or go to church, but I am about as Catholic as it gets. Maybe it's because my Mom is a crazy liberal, or maybe it's because I spent college reading the writings of radical theologians, but I very much believe that Catholicism is completely compatible with feminism and environmentalism and everything else I hold dear.

So I'm not happy about this election, but I understand it. And I'm going to forget that I don't agree with those in power at a national level and work to change things on a local level. It's not enough to simply call myself a liberal.

Mind you, I still think Dick Cheney is an evil man who's misleading the very people who are voting for him. But I'm not mad at the voters.

I'm thinking Belgium right now, but I'm open to other ideas if anyone wants to flee the country with me.

I was on the phone with my mom yesterday, and she said that the Republican party has been calling for my brother about 10 times a day. Apparently my brother is registred as a Republican, which is hilarious considering that my brother is far to the left of me. Anyway, he's voting absentee, so they've been calling to make sure he turned in his ballot, which they will regret later. At one point they asked my mom if they could count on my brother's support, and her response: "I highly doubt it." Hee hee. Thank God there are people like my mom and my brother and his fiancee living in Ohio. Now if only I could convince my grandparents not to vote...

Getting eight hours of sleep helps. A lot. And I managed to do that even with getting up ridiculously early to go vote.

Speeaking of which, in the 10 minutes I waited in line at the polling place I almost saw a fight break out. Some guy took his ballot up to the worker feeding them through the machine and said that he'd messed up on his ballot and wanted a new one. Instead of listening, the poll worker went ahead and fed it through the machine, and the guy was not allowed to start over. He was none too happy and started cussing out all the workers. It was just lovely. Sadly, not the only incompetance I saw at the polling station. Gotta love our electoral process. And I had a hanging chad I had to fix :) I miss voting in California, using big magic markers to fill in the circles and having more Green Party candidates than Republicans on the ballot.

With that ringing endorsement, GO VOTE.

***

Oh, and I forgot one of my favorite moments of the weekend. Went to the Wilco concert Halloween night, and for the start of their encore they played "Don't Fear (The Reaper)." Even having seen BOC in concert I can tell you that this was a tremendous performance of the song. But it was all I could do to keep from shouting out "More Cowbell!"

Work sucks. I don't wanna go back.

No matter how much I love seeing out-of-town friends, I think it just makes the separation more difficult. You just about get used to a person being far away and then you see them and realize just how much you miss them. The goodbyes this weekend were pretty tough. At least last time I said goodbye to Chryssi and Spikey I could say "see you in four days." This time it will be three-and-a-half weeks. I realize that sounds a little crazy. But couple that with saying goodbye to Mikey and John with no idea when I'll see them again, and it was all a bit hard.

Though on the other hand, if every weekend was like this one was I would quickly die of sheer exhaustion. And I would run out of money even quicker.

Lessons learned in the past two days: apparently assigned seats to events are highly overrated. And if you want tickets to a sold out concert, you can just go on to ticketmaster and order them.

Must sleep well tonight. Need to wake up early tomorrow to vote. Wearing my "Run Against Bush" shirt to work tomorrow :)