Thursday, December 30, 2004

Wireless rocks! Oh, and I'm momentarily back in my apartment.

Monday, December 27, 2004

Have I mentioned how much I love Peyton Manning?

Thursday, December 23, 2004

I was going to write about the cold, about rape, about ipods, about good books I've been reading, about the absurdity of gift exchanges. But instead, I am going to go home, pack, and go to bed because tomorrow I get to go HOME! (Yes, it's a little complicated to have to leave home to go home, but it's nothing new for me.)

Wednesday, December 22, 2004

When you work on the fourth floor, hearing someone trying to break into your office through a window is more than a little frightening. Luckily, it was just a window washer and what sounded like a break-in was simply a cleaning. I think I've been alone in the office a bit too much this week.

In other news, I finished my Christmas shopping on my lunch break and almost managed to walk out without a present for myself. But when you find a book at 20% off that you've been thinking about buying for months and you forgot to put it on your Christmas list, you just have to purchase it. (And don't tell me to go to the library. I do go, and I have countless books out right now. Some books you just need to own.)

Tuesday, December 21, 2004

I think I need to just be single/celibate for a long while. I don't know what makes me think I'll be any more successful at that right now than I ever have been before, but it's a nice holiday thought :) Breaking hearts, however inadvertantly, just sucks.

Saturday, December 18, 2004

You know you're overeducated when...

Jacki and I went to a show last night, at an upstairs theater of Second City. A few of her friends from college were involved with the show (writers, actors), so she wanted to be supportive. The show was a series of comedic sketches. The sketch that should have been the funniest for me involved Matthew going to a publisher with his Gospel. The editor's response was that he'd already seen similar stories from Mark, John, and Luke, and they needed to spice up the story a bit to sell it. The sketch had definite promise, but I could get past the idea of Matthew being last. See, most biblical historians agree that the chronological order of the Gospels is: Mark, Matthew, Luke, John. John was almost certainly around 20 years after Matthew, so the sketch makes no sense. There were countless other historical/biblical inaccuracies in the sketch that bothered me too. Dammit, I want to be able to enjoy comedy shows and DaVinci Code just like everyone else. Stupid education :)

Friday, December 17, 2004

"Today is a slacker day in my office so I'm just reading company emails but I figured that yours was more of a priority at this point."

That kind of shit freaks me out. I don't want to be anyone's top priority :)
I almost tripped over a pigeon this morning. I found that disturbing, especially since I was walking, not running.

I think you have to admit you're an adult when you start getting Christmas cards from your dry cleaners. Especially when they're addressed to "Mr. and Mrs..."

There is such high turnover of staff at my Thai place that they have once again forgotten who I am. Thank God.

At what point in this whole personal ad thing do I have to actually meet the guy? With one guy who responded there's now been ten emails sent between us. He asked for my picture, so I sent it. I didn't ask for his, and he didn't volunteer it. I know his favorite authors, how he spent Christmas as a kid and where he will be next August. I don't know his last name, where he lives, or what he does for a living (except that money is not a motivating factor and he told me that unprompted). This quasi-friendship/relationship or whatever that's developing seems a little unnatural. And honestly, I don't really want to know what he looks like or meet him or anything. It's really nice just the way it is. I like emailing him. Maybe I wouldn't like him in person, and part of me doesn't want to risk that :)

Thursday, December 16, 2004

Yes, I'm a big dork, and I'm VERY bored at work right now. So I sat down and figured out exactly what percentage of hours next year I will spend at work (figuring in weekends, vacation time, etc). The answer: 19%. My math could be way off, but if it's correct (and I think it is), I should probably stop complaining about work :) Even assuming 8 hours of sleep a night (which I never get), work is still only 29% of my awake hours. That's pretty rad. I'm not going to figure out the percentage of my life I spend commuting because that would just depress me!
My favorite new response, from a guy with great taste in books and movies but who's listening to the all Christmas music radio station this month (eeeek!):

"I'm the most cheerful and upbeat cynic that you will ever meet. I moved to Chicago from Florida so that I could go to Cubs games. I'm popular with the building staffs at home and work. I'm useless at parties because I small talk at a preschool level. I laugh at everything, occasionally to the point of inappropriateness, except while driving at which point I morph into the Grim Reaper. I hold doors. I've never been in a fistfight. I fear spiders and public speaking. I also have a crush on Peyton Manning.

What am I looking for? Well, the killer reading list is what prompted the logorrhea before you, so intellectual curiosity is obviously a good thing. The vastly underrated "politeness" is something I look for. As for the more general relationship issues, I've unfortunately narrowed it down to something between "one-night stand" and "white picket fence." Anyone looking at my history would say I don't know what the hell I want or label me with the dreaded "commitmentphobe." I say society is full of commitmentphiles who are far too quick to subvert their personalities to a codependent state, and I'm looking for someone with a strong personality that isn't going to let that happen."
Advice to the men out there replying to personal ads: If she doesn't ask for your picture, don't send it. The trick is to woo her before she sees what you look like.

In case, any of you were wondering what prompted the responses I got, below is the ad I placed. (Feel free to share it with the single men in your lives...)

A little (ok, a lot) about me:
• Last five books I read: The Effect of Living Backwards, Name of the Rose [re-read], You Shall Know Our Velocity, Foucault’s Pendulum [re-read], Reading Lolita in Tehran,
• Books I’m currently reading: The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, Middlesex, Friday Night Lights, The Namesake
• On my to-read list: Everything Is Illuminated, The Divine Comedy, Love in the Time of Cholera, The Time Traveler's Wife, The Kite Runner, The Devil in the White City, The Known World, The God of Small Things, Brothers Karamazov, Infinite Jest, War and Peace, Dreams From My Father, Will in the World
• Number of marathons completed: 1
• Number of half-marathons completed: 4
• Favorite distance to race: 10 miles
• Languages studied: French, Russian, Hebrew (Modern), Spanish, German, Greek (Attic)
• Favorite musical soundtrack: Evita
• Favorite musical to see live: Rent
• Favorite recent movie: Garden State
• Favorite musical artist: Ani DiFranco, through Alison Krauss is growing on me
• Favorite football teams: Northwestern Wildcats, Cleveland Browns, Indianapolis Colts (I have a crush on Peyton Manning)
• Favorite baseball teams: Cleveland Indians, Chicago Cubs
• Way I like my beer and coffee: very, very dark and rich
• Dietary preference: vegetarian
• Favorite food: Thai red curry with eggplant and tofu
• Favorite place to get burritos outside of Mexico: Freebird’s in Isla Vista, CA
• Favorite radio stations: Chicago Public Radio and WOXY
• Political leaning: liberal
• Current salary: not high enough for the work I put in, but more than enough to support my modest lifestyle
• Degrees: BA, MA, both in the same useless—though fascinating—subject
• Favorite physical activity: hiking
• Favorite city other than Chicago: London
• Favorite guilty pleasure TV show: Desperate Housewives
• 5’5”/130/blond/blue

What am I looking for? Given my less-than-perfect experiences with guys who were exactly what I was looking for, I’m going to decline to answer that. Instead, why don’t you tell me why you are who I *should* be looking for.

Tuesday, December 14, 2004

I have made another foray into the world of Craigslist. This time, instead of saying what I'm looking for, I just listed things about myself (books I've read, etc). Thus far, this has been an astounding success. I have yet to get any of those cut-and-paste, respond-to-everyone emails and have instead attracted seemingly intelligent thoughtful guys who actually engaged with the material I gave them. Fabulous!!

Seriously, though, in approximately one hour I've received THIRTEEN legitimate (or at least personal) responses. I give you one quote from each:
1. "Yet, I am not exclusively brawny. I read classical
literature, serious fiction; enjoy coffee and teas,
cooking a lot."
2. "Why am I who you should be looking for? Hmmm...a tough question to answer without sounding pretentious. How about because - I have two tickets for the Ani Difranco show in February and need someone to fill that second ticket - I love to run, but you could probably kick my butt if you've done a marathon - I only go between 4-7 miles on my daily runs.
3. "I go to London about once every 2 months for the weekend and just indulge in culture. I'm middle of the road politically, I volunteer at one of the city's cultural institutions and literally can go from drinking beer (good beer, mind you) to black-tie events with zero problems."
4. "I am not a huge reader,
but I love to give books as gifts and I think learning is always
important."
5. "I'd say I'm a sincere, kind, honest, loyal, and cool person. I like animals a lot, and nature. I'm fond of thai food...basil fried rice is good or pad thai. I'm a cubs fan. I havent' been to london but would really enjoy to visit there."
6. "God, you sound amazing. I wish you nothing but the
best of luck in your search....I only wish for the
best for my fellow vegetarians....."
7. "(Funny story that just crossed my mind. A few years ago I met this
really attractive woman and I mentioned Plato and made a reference to him. She
honestly thought I was talking about the clay we use to play with as kids.
What floored me was that she has NO idea who Plato the philosopher was....
Moral of the story is I don’t care how attractive you are, please be intelligent....)"
8. "i work at chicago public radio and tutor/teach hebrew and judaica, am applying for a masters of theological studies program, like to read and listen to music"
9. "former Foucaultian now a Churchillian"
10. "You come across as warm, intelligent and nice...so I'm writing back to you in your own format which I hope you will take as a compliment rather than just
imitation...."
11. "Sweetie, and you have a hard time finding good guys why?
You would be such a catch."
12. "Job - Attorney, work for the govt. but not the man
Salary - not as high as if I sold out, but enough to keep me from
selling out."
13. "Way I like my beer and coffee: beer is all good and i like my coffee
like i like my women, tied up in a burlap sack and thrown over the side of a
donkey"

God, I love Craigslist :)

EDIT: I have more to share. Unfortunately, the guys who don't read before replying have begun to find me. And the guys who don't quite *get* me. But it's not all bad:
14. "You sound a little bit, well, determined. I'm not sure you "should" be looking for anyone. I think it happens in God's time, not ours and happens when you least expect it, so stop the search, it's a lot less stressful that way. But if you want to see if we might be compatible or at least able to be friends, then let's grab a cup of that dark coffee and find out."
15. "Umberto Eco is one of my most favorite writers - and to see someone else who has actually (re)read two! of his books is amazing. "
16. "Cool ad. My, we are into Umberto Eco. I'm with you on the beer."
17. "Well I am six foot five inches tall, blonde hair, blue eyes....weigh about 240. I live in the burbs but drive so do not worry aboyt that. You should be looking for a guy like me because I enjoy a woman who enjoys and demands to be pampered. This includes paying for her manicures, cleaning her house, washing her dishes, and doing her laundry."
18. "Sweet God you've done a lot in your 26 years!!!! congrats!!! Well, to be honest, I am looking for that girl I get along with 95% of the time. No relationships are without conflict, I think 95% is an attainable goal. I want someone I can converse with first, be on the same level with, and basically someone to miss when she leaves!! I am not materialistic, nor do I wish to "own the world". I am happy doing what I do and taking time to help others who may need my help.
I would bet that I am not as smart as you are, but I am educated. I may not be able to speak modern Hebrew with you but if you are willing to talk in English I would bet we could have a good time ; )"
19. "So u really speak how many languages?"
20. "You didn't lick your fingers to turn the pages of "Name Of The Rose", did you?" [Editor's note: If you haven't read Name of the Rose, I'm not explaining this to you. Read the book- it's one of my all-time favorites]

Friday, December 10, 2004

Most of you know that while I generally like my job, I kind of hate the place where I work. Here's a shining example of why:

Today we had a staff meeting. These meetings always run to long and simply rehash information we've already gotten 12 times over email. Today was a mini computer training, which is useless because anyone who knows enough to follow the training could figure out how to do this shit on their own. Nevertheless, we had a training. And the tech geek running the training used his own laptop for the presentation AND LEFT AIM RUNNING. And he had it on one of those super annoying settings where a little alert comes up every time someone comes online or goes idle-- all projected onto the big screen, along with his buddy messages. Ok, that's a dumb, dumb move, but maybe he just forgot he had it running. Mistakes happen. I can accept that. But during a break, when he was playing with computer settings and opening new programs anyway, HE DIDN'T SIGN OFF. Hmph. If anyone in that room besides me knew a thing about computers he would've been reprimanded on the spot. As is, no one seemed to even notice.

I either need to get out of here or completely stop associating with anyone outside my own office.

Wednesday, December 08, 2004

I'm an idiot. The "mouse tail" was dust and hair. It held up surprisingly well when poked with chopsticks, but the hair dryer effectively destroyed it. At least I didn't call maintenance or get married ;)

Lesson learned yesterday: sometimes honesty actually *is* the best policy. Who knew.

Tuesday, December 07, 2004

Nothing like a gray rainy day to help you mourn the loss of something you never had.

And something that looks suspiciously like the tail of another dead mouse is sticking out from under my bedroom heater. As I didn't have the time or energy to deal with it this morning, I'm still holding out hope that it's nothing more than dust that happened to form itself into that shape in the night. I'm also debating with myself about how much of a wimp I would be if I called the maintenance people and asked them to deal with it. It's tempting. I need a husband before I buy a place and have to deal with such things without the help of building maintenance.

Monday, December 06, 2004

I'm alive. Had a good weekend. Still single. Details possibly available upon request.

Friday, December 03, 2004

A little freaked out about The Boy coming to visit tonight, but I think I'll get over it. I hope. If anyone believes they must meet him and pass judgment let me know and it may be arranged. There's talk of heading to the NU basketball game Sat night if anyone's interested.