December 2003 Archives

I was trying to remember what I did last New Year's Eve but my mind is a blank. I did look up my blog archives but as I hadn’t written about it, going to assume it wasn't that memorable. This year won't be any different. Choo-Choo and I are laying about waiting for the Chinese food I ordered to arrive. The plan then is to watch About A Boy on video. You would think I would do something else with my time since I saw two movies earlier today at theatre (21 Grams & Girl With a Pearl Earring), but I figure I'd continue on and make it a marathon. After that I'll be watching XX/XY. After that, who knows? Goodness, I'm feeling like an overachiever today. I also managed to start and finish a book (Grand Canyon Inc.) as well as put in a few good hours at work. So yes folks, I'm going out with a bang. Happy New Year!

My niece is obsessed with her feline cousin Choo-Choo. So every time she comes over, she chases him around and tries to feed him treats. Earlier today she was bugging her mother about what's going on with Choo-Choo. Her mother in turn calls me up and puts my niece on the phone. Now talking to a 2 year old in person is challenging enough but trying to understand her over the phone drove me bonkers. After 5 minutes of me screaming, what into the phone, I'd had enough. If I have to ask someone to repeat themselves 10 times, then I'm not really interested in talking to them over the phone; not even for a New York minute; even if they are talking to me about my beloved cat, Choo-Choo. Ok, I know I'm ranting here but I just had to get it out. Maybe I’m just tired. My niece was being rather cute about the whole thing. Maybe it was her mother laughing in the background as I screamed into the phone walking down Michigan Ave that sent me over the edge.

I didn't make it to work yesterday. I felt sick so I took the day off. It was probably more mental than anything, but my whole body was in pain. So I slept most of the day. Today, I finally made it to work. I was one of the few people there. Midway through the day, I received a phone call from Ms. Shasta MacNasty, inviting me out for drinks after work with her and fellow blogger Mike. Since I was still a bit under the weather, my initial thought was to decline but said yes as I figured, what the heck; only Choo-Choo is at home waiting for me and he can manage on his own. So met up with Mike, Ms. Shasta and some of her coworkers at Kaz Bar located inside the House of Blues Hotel. While there I had a good time chatting with everyone. One guy had a wireless laptop so we looked at some crazy pictures on the Internet. A few were related to the yahoo dating group that Ms. Shasta got banned from. I haven’t gotten banned yet, but I’m sure it’s just a matter of time. In any event, the other pictures were showcasing some ghetto fabulous weddings with the first being the funniest. We also talked about getting together sometime in the near future to sample some of Chicago ethnic restaurants which should be a lot of fun!

As someone who is on the Atkins Diets, I'm a little concerned about the beef supply here in this country. Each day, more and more tidbits come out about the cow with mad cow disease. It is my understanding that meat from said cow was sent to 8 different states. Who knew there was so much meat on one cow? As more evidence seeps out about the history of this cow, looks like we can thank our neighbors to the North. No they are not being made scapegoats, we really can Blame Canada.

So I'm wondering, is it to late to send out holiday cards? Sure Christmas has come and gone, but there's always New Year's greetings right? Hmmm, maybe I'll get around to sending them out this week. You would think with my week off I would have done that, but I didn't. Oh well!

I go back to work tomorrow. I'm so not ready. Choo-Choo needs me at home. I like being at home. Speaking of Choo-Choo, I need to figure out how I can start claiming him on my tax return. I looked at my most recent pay stub and noticed that I've paid more in taxes this year than I made during my first year out of college. Something is just not right with that. I'm all for paying my fair share, but single people get screwed so I need some dependents. And now really, why can't I claim my cat? He's like a child that never grows up. He is dependent on me to provide food and shelter. Heck, my apartment complex charges me extra rent to have a cat. That all adds up when you throw in medical care, grooming, treats, etc. Well, it's just an idea.

After 2 hours on the phone with Olympus America, I have been unsuccessful in getting my most recent pictures taken on C-3000 camera downloaded to my computer. Maybe this is a sign that I need to move forward with purchasing the Casio EX-Z4U Exilim Zoom Digital Camera that Santa forgot to get for me. Not only is it cute but it has quite a few features and then some. Ok, back to drooling.

Best Buy no longer carries movies in VHS at their stores. This I learnt earlier today while shopping for copy of Finding Memo. When I asked the clerk where I could find a VHS copy, he just laughed and said they stopped carrying movies in VHS last summer. I'm sure this is becoming the policy at more and more stores. It just sucks I tell you. Maybe this is yet another sign that I need to buy a DVD. Sure you get better picture quality, extra scenes and even interviews with the actors/directors, but I still think the whole thing is a scam. I just know that once I give in and start to get movies on DVD some new technology will come out to replace. Anyone remember the laser disc?

Christmas came and went without much fanfare. It started with me exchanged Christmas greetings in the morning with a few friends and family members. Then waited for my younger sister and her family to come over for dinner. No surprise but she was late. In fact, she was 5 hours late. Oh the joys of family events. Things actually went smoothly once they showed up. I made lasagna with the halal ground beef and we exchanged gifts while we waited for food to cook. We also played a few rounds of UNO which was rather fun! We also took some crazy pictures which I may one day post. Finally, we also called some more family members to wish them the best for the holiday. All in all, not a bad day.

I had a lovely Christmas Eve. I had dinner at Rosebud on Rush with one of my friends and her family who were in from Texas. The food and service at Rosebud was a little mediocre, but the company and general festive nature of the evening made up for it. We then headed over to Fourth Presbyterian Church for services. When we arrived, I felt like Mary and Joseph who had difficulty finding room at the Inn. The church was packed with lots of people who I suspect almost never go to church expect at Christmas and Easter. We ended sitting in the upstairs balcony on the side which felt like stable accommodations because we couldn't really see anything. My friend and I made jokes about the situation which totally help to not damper the festive nature of the event. I felt a sense of calm and peace within as I sang some of my favorite Christmas hymns. So here's hoping that everyone out there who celebrates this holiday is having a Merry Christmas. Merry Christmas everyone!!

Feeling worse today. All I want to do is stay in bed but I have plans. I probably should have done that yesterday but went to movies and saw both Mona Lisa Smile and The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King. Then came home and stayed up wicked late doing laundry. I won't share any spoilers on either movie, but I really liked both of them. However, the Lord of the Rings movie was about a half hour too long. Wondering, who told Hollywood that it was now acceptable to make movies over 3 hours long? There use to be a time when a studio wouldn't release a film over 2 hours, and now they think it's acceptable to market films that are approaching the 4 hour mark. Now granted I like going to the movies, but I just think that anything over 3 hours is way too long; particularly if it’s the third part of a trilogy. In any event, if you haven't 'seen either, go check them out sometime this weekend.

Forwarded to me by a friend.

Campbell's Chunky Soup has a site that will contribute a can of soup to local food banks for every person who visits the site. Just click on the helmet of your favorite NFL team, and a can of soup will go to a food bank in the area surrounding that team. The URL is: Click for Cans.

Please pass the URL on, it's just about the easiest thing anyone can do to help others!

Damn! I woke up this morning sick. Just my luck to catch a cold while on holiday. I'm been trying for weeks to fight it off, but it finally caught up with me today. My body aches. Oh well. I still plan to go out and see The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King today. Plus I have a few errands/chores to finish. Maybe if I work hard enough while doing my chores, I can sweat this cold out. I just hate being sick.

I'm on vacation all this week. Yippee me! Earlier today I finished my Christmas shopping and tonight I saw Pirates of the Caribbean at the Brew & View theatre. Cool flick! Now I finally get why everyone is making a fuss about Johnny Depp's performance. Now currently wasting time talking to boys on AOL. Not really sure why I'm doing so because all of them just really want to get their freak on, and I'm more interested in talking to someone who might show promise towards becoming a boyfriend. Sometimes I really wish I wasn't such a prude. It would be nice to have a casual fling while I wait for my true Prince to come along. However knowing that I get very emotional about sex I avoid situations that would cause me emotional distress. Oh well! I suppose in the end we all have to do what's best for us.

Had lunch yesterday with a friend at Smoke Daddy which is one of my favorite bbq joints in the city. The ribs were just what the doctor ordered for the hang over I was nursing. After lunch, I headed back to my friend's condo to help her pack up her living/dining area. Despite the fact that the condo is barely a year old, the wood floor already needed to be refinished due to poor workmanship the first time around. Finding space to put her stuff was not easy. From what I've seen with many of the new construction condos, storage space seems to be in limited supply. This issue reared its head again with another friend who I was supposed to help today. She just moved into her new condo yesterday, and she postponed my helping her today as she has already run out of storage space even though she still had many things to put away. Yet again, her building is new construction. With that in mind, when it's my turn to buy, I'm really going to have to look for a place that has adequate closets or storage facilities. That might mean staring clear of some of these newer buildings with their lavish features that are going up all over the city. In the end that might be a good things as the prices wanted for some of these places is simply unreal.

Happy Hanukkah to all my Jewish friends out there!!

My department at work had a holiday happy hour last night. We originally planned to go to the W Hotel, but ended up at The Hunt Club. After a couple hours there where I learnt more about the sexual history of my teammates than I really should care to know, we headed to Butch McGuire's to meet the friends of one of our coworkers. What a total meat market. Goodness, I felt like I was at a frat party. After some time there, we left and decided to have Mexican food at Blue Agave. I really just wanted to go home but in that two of the coworkers I left with were borderline drunk, thought it might be best to go someplace and relax without a drink in hand. One ended up coming home with me as she missed the last train out to suburbia. The other drove home tipsy. She said she was fine but considering how much alcohol we all had; don't think it was really a good idea for her to drive. After having her walk in a straight line several times, stopped putting up a fuss since I know she didn't want us to call her husband again. Plus I just figure that in the end, we all have to take responsibility for our actions. In case you are wondering, this is the same coworker that got wasted at the holiday party. All in all, it was a good time but drinking without having a proper meal is definitely not a good idea. Now trying to nurse my hangover.

Left work a bit early yesterday and after purchasing two serving bowls at my new favorite Kitchenware store Sur La Table, I headed to the movies to see Somethings Gotta Give. What a great movie. Ok, some of the jokes kind of fall flat, but it was good to see Hollywood embrace a more realistic version of romance. Granted there are quite a few older men out there like Jack Nicholason's character Harry Sanborn who only date younger women, most people date others who are close to their own age. However, you wouldn't know it from watching most romantic movies. So it was good to see Jack's character fall in love with Diane Keaton's character because even though she was a little neurotic, her life history and shared interest truly made her a woman to love.

Someone sent this Christmas link to me earlier today. Thinking it's kind of cute. Enjoy!

Just wondering, am I the only person who still has a rotary phone? I called Dell customer service earlier tonight from my rotary and ended up having to switch to my cordless as I couldn't navigate the automated system. I know its faster to use touch-tone phones, but I really like my rotary phone. I picked it up a few years back at an estate sale in Boston and according to the label, it's over 20 years old. Yet, I've never had a problem with it. In fact, it's much more reliable than any of the newer phones I've purchased. So it would be comforting to hear that companies are still willing to accommodate rotary customers like myself.

My good friend Andrew over at American Idle, listed a number of high profile current events that happened over the last two decades and documented where he was when he learnt about each. I’m amazed that while I can be so forgetful at times, I remembered where I was for most of these events.

Capture of Saddam - my apartment, Chicago, IL Death of Princess Di - my apartment, Chicago, IL OJ Verdict - restaurant downtown with a client, Chicago, IL OJ in Trouble (car chase) - at some awful play about JFK with best guy friend, Chicago, IL Start of the Gulf War I - dorm room, on phone with my friend James, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI Start of the Gulf War II - my apartment, Chicago, IL Death of King Hussein - can't remember WTC Attack - LexisNexis office, LaSalle Bank Building, Chicago, IL Kirk Gibson Home Run - huh? Loma Prieta Earthquake (SF Quake '89) - can't remember, probably dorm room at Michigan Challenger Disaster - J E Burke High School, walking from gym to accounting class, Boston, MA

So my friends, where were you?

I don't know how to ride a bike. There I said it. Yet another embarrassing secret let out of the bag. I'm thinking about this as the Fraiser and Niles characters from Frasier don't know either. Unlike them, I never tried to learn. We couldn't afford one so I never got a chance to try. Then as we got older, I was too embarrassed to admit never having gone through this childhood right of passage. Now I know I'd be too afraid of falling off to try. It's another reason why I don't roller blade. Goodness! I feel like a wimp!

At work today, one of the gals in my department make a comment about a dance she saw Beyonce do. Then one of the metrosexuals chimed in and said she was fat. Now Beyonce may be a lot of things, but fat she is not. At least that is my opinion. But to hear this guy tell it, any woman over a size 2/4 is fat. I just looked at him and shook my head. Does he not know that the average woman in America wears a size 12/14? Goodness! No wonder so many women have body issues. I myself have been dealing with my own issues. But things are looking up. Since my birthday in August, I've been on the Atkins Diet which has resulted in double digit weight loss. Hey, and you thought I was no longer keeping secrets. In any event, I know medical opinion on the diet is mixed, but it's worked for me, so I'm going to stick with it in the New Year. Right now my goal is just to maintain what I've lost so far as it's been somewhat difficult to stick to the plan with all the holiday festivities. Heck, I broke down and had a couple glasses of sangria with dinner last night at Emillio's. I did pass on dessert, so I was pretty proud of myself. Beyond my weight loss goals, trying to increase the number of days I'm going to a gym. Some weeks I go often. Other weeks, I don't go at all. It might help to find a workout partner, so maybe I'll post a sign at the gym. Then again, maybe not! I know where I want to be by next August and that might just be motivation enough to keep going.

A belated happy birthday to my best guy friend. Yikes! I can't believe I forgot to call him on his all-important day as I already had the card/gift purchased. Now going to crawl under a rock! I really have to get better at this. I get upset when people forget my special day so I really have to make more of an effort to remember other people’s birthday.

Tis the season for holiday parties. Two were on the agenda last night. I went to the first but never made it to the second. It was a dinner party with a white elephant gift exchange. The host has thrown this party for the last few years and she always does a fabulous job with decorations and more importantly the food. So I'm overcome with holiday cheer. Of course, I still haven't put up my own Christmas tree yet. Maybe I'd do that this week sometime.

Choo-Choo has turned his back on me. I took him today to his hair trimmed as despite the constant brushing the hair on his stomach gets tangled and severely matted. But instead of just a regular groom, Choo-Choo came back with the a lion cut. He is not pleased. It's the perfect cut for summer, but not ideal for winter. Thank goodness he doesn't go outside. Here's hoping he'll forgive me soon. I'm trying to butter him up with Pounce treats but he's still giving me the cold shoulder.

I am still recovering from the festivities last night. My company had our holiday party at Grape Street and Vine which is a really cool piano bar. I eat, danced and had way too many vodka tonics. Not wanting the good times to end, I agreed to go to another party but one of my colleagues got so drunk that just as I was leaving my immediate supervisor pawned her off on me. I could go into details about the comical things that ensued, with me trying to help her go to the bathroom while trying to call her husband at the same time, but I'll just leave it at that. All day today as the story got retold within the group, couldn't help but laugh. More importantly, thank the lord that I wasn't the subject of this year's embarrassing holiday party story.

A year ago today, I started this blog. With this post, I will have made 758 entries and received 1515 comments. In addition, according to my sitemeter stats, I've had 20,386 unique visits. Wow! With so many blogs out there, I'm grateful for everyone who has stopped by. Granted I do this because I want to record my own personal history, it's nice to know that on average I get about 75 unique visitors per day. So for those of you who check back here on a regular basis, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. Some of you I’ve never met or even exchanged emails with, but it warms my heart every time I check my stats and see your ip/domain name. Here's hoping that you'll come back for many months/years to come. I won't promise that I'll write something everyday, but I do intend to keep chronicling my journey. So here’s hoping that you’re along for the ride. It's probably going to be like a roller coaster, but here's hoping that there are more highs than lows.

I did the first wave of Christmas shopping today. I only purchased items for myself, so I suppose you can't really call it Christmas shopping. The problem is that I don't really know what to get the people on my list. I'm not around them much doing the year as we live in different states. So without asking for a wishlist, I'm clueless. I suppose I could just send gift certificates, but that seems so impersonal. It totally lacks original thought. Then again, maybe it would be for the best. At least people would get what they want. There is nothing worse than getting a gift you don't really like and keeping it because you don't want to offend the other person. Goodness! No wonder people procrastinate. The search for the perfect Christmas gift is just way too stressful.

Nightline is broadcasting much of the debate between the 9 Democratic candidates. Based on what I already know plus their performances tonight, I'm not impressed with any of them. It's sad to say, but I just don't think any of them would beat George Bush were the elections held tomorrow. Yes, even Governor Dean. He may have the most money and momentum right now, but I am of the opinion that his candidacy is wrong for the Democratic Party. But hey, what do I know. Former VP Al Gore endorsed him today, so maybe he knows something I don't.

Since it's highly unlikely that a family member or friend will get me the Saab 9-3 Convertible I hinted at last month, just thought I'll suggest an alternative Christmas gift. This one is more reasonably priced. Item in question is a Casio Exilim EX-Z4U Digital Camera. Sure I already have a Olympus c-3000 Digital Camera, but it's so bulky that I hardly take it anywhere. Plus the technology is totally dated since I purchased over 3 years ago. Now looking for a digital camera that has at least 4.0 megapixels that is also small and sleek. It needs to fit into my smallest purse. This one by Casio seems to fit the bill. Plus it's gotten great reviews. So here's hoping that Santa remembers that I've been good this year.

So instead of just talking about dating, I'm starting to do something about it. I'm trying to be more social when I go out. You know, talk to people outside my circle of friends. In addition, I'm also exploring various dating groups. So last night instead of joining my friends who were doing the 12 bars of Christmas pub crawl, I went to event at Slick's Lounge sponsored by this interracial dating group I found on yahoo. I almost backed out of going, but in that I got Lauriean to go with me, that made it easier to show up. The turn out was lower than expected, but it made it easier to get to know everyone there. While I didn't meet anyone I'd be interested in dating, I had a lot of fun. Particularly, on the dance floor. I woke up sore and a few pounds lighter this morning from all the dancing I did last night. It's been many many years since I danced that hard. So hopefully, I'll get to repeat it sometime in the near future. As for dating, well this sort of event was a good first start. It provided an opportunity to meet people I wouldn't have met going about my everyday business. Now I just have to get up the courage to join a dating service like match.com. You know, increase my odds!!

My popular request, a new picture of Choo-Choo lounging on one of the wingback chairs I recently purchased on Ebay for a rock bottom price.

Thank goodness the work week is over. I'm exhausted from it all. I've said it before and I'll say it again, being in sales is really stressful. Yeah, the financial rewards are great, but sometimes a fat paycheck comes with too high a price. So sometime in the near future, I'd like to switch to a marketing position. Ideally, I'd like to do that within my current company. However, there are no open positions within that group, but hoping that will soon change. While there are no guarantees, I've made my desires known and hoping that my performance will put me at the top of the list. Time will only tell. Career transitions are always difficult and the current state of the economy isn't helping matters. I suppose if all else fails, I'll move forward with filling out a few of the graduate school applications currently piled up in my home office. Yes, I'm thinking about it! I haven't submitted any yet as I really don't want to incur any more debt. However, if I'm going to be working for another 25+ years, I'd like to do something that is more fulfilling to the soul.

Earlier tonight I went to yet another great event hosted by the University Of Michigan Club of Greater Chicago. It was the 72nd Annual Sports-O-Rama. Over 300 Michigan Wolverine fans were there tonight to hear from Head Football Coach Lloyd Carr as well as a few other dignitaries from Ann Arbor. As part of the event, we also have a silent auction to raise funds for student scholarships. This was extremely successful. I actually bid and won two tickets to the Steppenwolf Theater. I don't know yet what performance I'll get to see but I can't wait. Maybe I'll go with a date. Then again, maybe not. In any event, the evening wrapped up with cocktails in the VIP Lounge where I briefly spoke with Tony Pape (current Michigan student/future NFL lineman) who is this year's recipient of the Ernest T. Sigler Award. It's an award presented annually to an outstanding varsity athlete from the Chicago area for their performance on the field as well as their academic achievements in the classroom. All in all, a great event! Even though I've been active with the club, this was my first time attending. Now, I'll have to make sure I attend annually and maybe one of these days I'll get my best guy friend who is also a Michigan grad to attend. Being an active member of the alumni association does have its privileges.

Once again, my lower back is hurting me. This is what I get for over exerting myself at the gym. Goodness! Why am I constantly injuring myself? Maybe I should just stop going to the gym. With or without the help of a trainer, I always end up on the injured reserve list.

Just a quick note to say hello! HELLO!!
Oh wait, MEOW!
Ok, now back to your regular scheduled programming. :)

40 Million and counting. That's how many people in the world are living today with HIV. This is such an unreal number that it's frightening to think about it sometimes. While there is a concentration in certain areas of the world and certain segments of the population, HIV/AIDS affects people of all races, religion, and socio-economic status. So I ask all of you out there to educate yourself and be compassionate to those who may have it. Also, to make smart choices when it comes to your own body. And finally, to support the various charities out there that are trying to help people with this disease as well as those working towards finding a cure. One charity I wish to highlight that has a global audience is Project 46664 which gets it's name from Nelson Mandela's prison number. "46664 is a vital campaign to help fight a tragedy of unprecedented proportions that is claiming more lives than the sum total of all wars, famines, and floods," said Mr. Mandela. Support the cause in any way you can! 30 Million have already died from this awful disease.

There was a time in the late 90s when I had no credit card debt. Considering how reckless I was in college and then with the drama surrounding my Mom's death, I was really proud of that accomplishment. Then late 2001 I got downsized and I got reckless again. Now I'm on a plan to eliminate my credit card debt in 2004. I set this goal for myself after totaling up the amount I have paid in finance charges for the last 12 months. Goodness – total highway robbery! Granted it's not a large sum of money (heck it's not even 1/4 of my monthly gross), but its money that I could have had in my move to Europe (yes I'm thinking about this) or buy a condo fund. I haven't decided which it will be but I'll be making a decision in 2004. In any event, thank goodness I have good credit. I was able to transfer the balance over to my emergency credit card that is currently offering 0% finance charge on transfer balances until December 2004. The only thing left to do is set up the payments to make sure they are automatic so I don't loose out on this great offer. And oh yeah, to forget about that Duncan Phyfe dining room set I've been eyeing on Ebay.

Btw, if you're not using Microsoft Money or Quicken to manage your money, start now. It's amazing what you'll learn about your spending habits once you have the information all together for analysis.