yellow snot, not yellow snow

i'm sick.
i haven't had a cold in months. i fought the beginnings of one off last month, didn't let it manifest itself into a full blown cold. but now, i must have let my guard down. probably when i got drunk twice in three days.

last friday, eric and sarah and i and my friend jason went to Uncle Julio's for dinner. then eric, sarah and i proceeded to get drunk at our apartment. jeremy also came over. more drunkenness and also some snazzy photobooth pictures.
like these




so that was fun.

Saturday, i wasnt too hung over actually. that night, I went to Will's. We watched Sopranos. He didnt have to work on sunday so we got to sleep in. Then we went on a quest for a currency exhange to get 7 day cta passes. We ate at this amazing Austrian Bakery. i had a turkey panini that was out of this world. it had dusseldorf mustard AND pesto! yum. and i got two raspberry danishes. i love food. in my mind i weigh 600lbs.

then sunday night, Will had band practice, so sarah and i went to this party in Evanston.
it was all lesbians....and then myself.
we played a game called "slap the bag" which neither of us had ever heard before. you open a box of Franzia, take out the bag of wine, and try to slap it out of people's hands. it was interesting. our host got way drunk before we even showed up, so one of her friends took us back to their apartment and then was nice enough to drive us all the way home.
to thank her, we had her over the next night and cooked her spaghetti with meat sauce and garlic bread. her and sarah hit it off which is good but i know sarah doesnt want to go directly into another relationship. thats good. i hope she sticks to that.

tuesday is when i fully felt sick. Will came over and brought me chicken soup and tea with lemon and honey he'd been saving. he cooked the soup and tea for me. we watched Tron for the first time together. i love him. he's a good boyfriend. we didnt even do it that night. i also was on the rag. so period PLUS nasty cold = no sexin'. its a pretty gross combo. haha but usually he is the one who wants nights together where we DONT do it so that we can just enjoy being together, not just rely on the physical part of the relationship. did i mention how much i love this boy? two years, coming soon, on feb 11.

heatless, not heartless

we had no heat for the past 24 hours.
discovered this for sure last night around 1030PM.
problem is now solved at 6:15 PM. the ignition thing was shot, so we had a new one installed by the building's maintenance guy, Rey Reyes. haha his name is funny. reminds me of a spanish teacher at my high school named Gus Gusman. too funny. anyway, it just sucks cause my whole day was spent FREEZING and waiting for this repair man to show up. at first he told us 1pm. then 330 rolls around he said he'd be here at 4. then finally showed up around 445. ugh. i was supposed to go help Caitlin with her speech project thing. i really wanted to be in her Concert Etiquette (examples of what NOT to do) videos. sigh.

just heard from Shannon about an hour ago. she had her heart surgery this morning. she was all doped up, but still coherent enough for conversation. i was really worried about her. so much shit has been going on health wise for her lately. the brain tumor / radiation therapy. now this heart valve thing. all within the past year. i'm so glad she pulled through. i guess in order to repair the problem, the doctors had to stop her heart, and apparently had trouble restarting it! frightening.

my cousin wrote a new song. its called "Losin'" and its really good and i've listened to it like 10 times today. its not online yet otherwise i'd post a link here. but be on the lookout for a guy named Matt Klein someday.

dog puke

Darby puked again tonight. she vomited wednesday night and now tonight (sunday). both times it looks as if her food is barely digested. and her appetite is suffering. well, she will take people food and treats, but she won't willingly eat from her dog food bowl. she is drinking water, and still active, but i'm slightly worried. she has this liver problem, where she cannot process protein very well, so we don't ever give her things high in protein... but it hasn't been a problem before. if this happens more, i think we should take her to the vet so they can run tests.
Rudy gets neutered on tuesday, maybe Darby can go in at the same time.


and now, here are some items i'd like for xmas.

no title

went to Oakbrook mall today with my parents to xmas shop. got some stuff i'll be looking forward to wearing. we don't really do surprises in my family. mostly because this way i know i'll like what i'm getting and won't have to return things.

going to see Dwight's new cover band (Take Cover) tonight at some comic store in Lansing. mike and shannon and alicia are coming with me. should be a good time. based on how awesome dwight is as a person, i'm sure his band will be fun. i hope they do songs that we're all familiar with. it will make me more confident that my friends are having a good time, too. i want to show shannon a good time, because she is having heart surgery next week and she needs to take her mind off the 'impending doom'.

i had a strange dream about a boy i liked from jr high through high school. i haven't really thought about him in a long time so it was odd for him to show up in a dream. i wonder what he is up to these days. not that i want to have the crush again, just curious. sometimes i wonder if people from high school ever remember/think about me. was i important enough in anyone's life for them to be curious what i am up to? i guess facebook takes care of those questions if there are people that are "friends" with me on there.

i feel like i've been home longer than i actually have. i can't imagine what i'm going to feel like by wednesday. i have to stay here til at least then because Rudy is getting neutered on tuesday morning. gotta make sure he is ok before i leave him. i already miss Will like crazy. i keep watching romantic movies and it makes me wanna curl up with him.

speed reading

i am two chapters away from finishing Dogrun, which is due back to the library today. thought i would give myself a bit of a break though. i read at least 10 chapters yesterday night at Will's while he did homework and saturday at the hair salon. besides reading, at Will's we ordered Thai food and listened to records. Mike's girlfriend Lisa was over, then his parents showed up. His parents are great. his dad is hilarious. i can see where Mike gets it. after they left, we watched most of Edward Scissorhands... i like the movie but it always just ends up making me sad. plus i had hoped to watch the Hustler, another Paul Newman movie. i developed quite a terrible headache and wasn't enjoying myself til everyone decided to retire to their respective bedrooms. orgasms are good for headaches, just saying.

i was supposed to have gone to the Pink Spiders concert last night, but ended up skipping it. to my surprise, Matt Friction texted and called my phone, left a voicemail asking where i was! my phone had died earlier after ordering the thai food around 7pm. Matt called around 11 i guess. nice to know i was missed. we just exchanged texts a while ago, explaining my whereabouts. apparently it wasnt their last appearance and a new album is in the works this winter followed by another tour. Matt is relentless. the boy does not give up. good for him.

although i am not in any kind of christmas-y mood, i still think i'm going to put some xmas lights in my room, and probably leave them up long after the holidays. just because the other lights in my room are somewhat harsh, and i'd like lower lighting when it's just me and Will laying around. i'm leaving the rest of the decorating of the apartment up to Sarah, because i honestly could care less about being festive. we're not having a party so i don't feel the need to make the place look nice.

somehow i bit the tip of my tongue, and it does not feel pleasant.

i'm excited to eat all day on Thanksgiving. i don't know why we only get turkey on Thanksgiving. it is definitely a meal i could eat more often, especially since i don't really want to eat red meat much anymore. poultry cannot be beat in my opinion. and oh boy, i cannot wait for green bean casserole. that shit is heavenly. sadly, holidays don't seem that important to me anymore since my family is so small the past few years. without grandparents, holidays are lackluster. i don't even know if we'll be seeing my aunt/uncle/cousin at all around Thanksgiving. probably yes for xmas though. i wonder if i'll be invited to Will's family's this year for xmas, since this year i've seen his mom and dad more than had occurred last year.

ok attempting to finish the book now, then take a bath, have some nachos, watch one life to live, drive Sarah to school and return my library books!

cheese

i need to stop eating so many foods with cheese as the main ingredient. for dinner last night, Sarah and i went to Uncle Julio's, i had cheese and onion enchiladas. i ate my left overs for lunch today. yesterday's lunch consisted of mac & cheese. sunday night Will and i went to El Pacifico and i had enchiladas there too. don't get me wrong, i do love cheese. but its doing a number on my stomach lately. plus i'm sure its not healthy to eat this way. i need to buy more vegetables and fruits. its just hard to have time to go out and buy those things every couple of days when i have the dog here with me cause i can't take him with on the walk since i'm afraid to tie him up outside and leave him. he is too friendly if people come up to him they will probably mess with him. if he were a big scary pit bull or at least growl at people instead of wag his tail and jump at them willingly, i wouldn't be so cautious about tying him up for a few minutes while i run in somewhere. but i wouldn't want anyone taking him, or in the very least, unhooking his leash to let him roam around. he's not smart enough yet to stay away from cars. i really hate it that dogs aren't allowed everywhere. correction, dogs that you cannot carry aren't allowed everywhere. i understand restaurant policies, i wouldn't ask for that. and ok, yeah, a supermarket probably wouldn't be good either. anything with worry about food contamination. But there was some woman on the bus last night with a chihuahua in her purse and no one gave her a hard time. i'm sure the bus driver didn't really notice, but everyone on the bus sure did. although the dog wasn't noisy. but still. what if i needed to go somewhere that wasn't walking distance with Rudy. its not fair that my well behaved dog is not allowed to ride on a bus or on the el, but a stupid little accessory type of dog is. people who are allergic to dogs are just as allergic to those little dogs carried around in public places, so why are they still allowed or at least ignored? NOT FUCKING FAIR if you ask me. i guess my real problem here is trust. i cannot trust people. i think the worst of people. that they will do harm to my dog if i leave him tied up or in the yard without supervision.

something cute that happened yesterday that i want to write down so i do not forget it.
i was walking alone (without Rudy cause i'm afraid to tie him up of course) to the foodsmart around 3pm. i had on a different coat than usual and had just gotten out of the shower and straightened my hair, left it down. i was approaching the other side of Humboldt and i see Will coming perpendicular to me. he is looking down at his feet, didn't seem to see me. i shout "HEY!" and he looks up, seems to take a minute to realize its me. we embrace and continue walking together. he's walking to the el to go to school, and the foodsmart is on the way. so he goes, "i saw you coming but i didn't realize it was you. i thought to myself, 'theres a cute girl coming this way, i better not make eye contact.'" i dont know why but i just couldn't stop smiling after he said that for about an hour.

the worst is yet to come.

blah is the only word i can use to describe the weather for the past five days. its been cold and damp and gloomy as hell. the sun came out for maybe a half an hour yesterday, but i slept thru it because Rudy gets me up at 7am, keeps me up til 10 maybe 11am, then i try to catch more Zs til about 1pm. i love having this dog, i really do. i just hate winter. i would be fine if there were some sunny days in between, but almost a week straight of rain and gray skies has gotten to me. i just hope that he likes being with me. i do the best i can. i dont remember Blackie being this hard to take care of, but we all shared responsibility back then, even Mom before the stroke so she was able to go and walk him. but now by myself and living on the 3rd floor of the apartment building in the city, in the winter, is especially hard to take care of a 6 month old puppy. that being said, i wouldn't trade him for the world. and i want to keep him with me as long as i don't have a job. and let's face it, that won't be for a while.

last night i went to a Bulls game with Jason. his sister had gotten 4 free tickets somehow so he invited me along. they played Dallas Mavericks. Bulls won 98 to 90 i think it was. people were both happy and pissed. i say pissed because if the Bulls had scored 100pts or more, everyone would have gotten a free Big Mac. but Ben Gordon had control of the ball for the last 20 seconds, and pretty much just let the clock run out without even trying to score. i'm sure he didn't really have a clue, but people were booing him at the end anyway. which i think is rude. they still won. it was a good game. sucks that cheese fries and a coke cost me $12 though (including tip for our waitress. waitress because we had 'club' seats in the 200 level.)

tuesday night Will came over. We ate at Streetside and then we watched The Long Hot Summer. its a Paul Newman movie. i've been wanting to see all of his old movies lately so i'm netflixing them in chronological order... at least the ones that sound interesting. The Hustler is coming next.

tonight i am going to the Double Door to see this guy Aaron's new band, AMFM. he is supposedly putting me on the list. if it turns out i have to pay, i'm going to go see FCAB play at Cal's instead. i just don't feel like having to pay for a band i know nothing about, even if i know the bassist. well, i barely know him. and he has a crush on me. and i don't want to perpetuate giving him the wrong idea. i don't understand what it is about already being in a relationship and then, and only then, having other guys be interested. when i was single and really wanted someone between soph. year of high school and junior year of college, NO ONE wanted to be with me. then i found someone so compatible, that i am so much in love with, that i would never ever leave just to fool around with other people.... and THAT's when someone else wants me. i never had that phase of 'dating around casually'. i went straight from getting lead on, wanting a relationship from 2 different people, both of whom did not want to be with me until after i was unavailable, to being with someone very seriously. and i'm not saying i want anything different. i just wish it would have happened when i was free to be in this kind of situation. but i'm not going to jeopardize what i have with Will. i'm positive i won't find anyone more compatible, more right for me, than he is.

tomorrow night, Drew (Will's roommate) is playing at the Beat Kitchen with Brendan Losch so we're going to that. Beat Kitchen has awesome food, too. i just wish they could put us on a list so that we wouldnt have to pay the $10 to get in. that seems pretty steep for a Beat Kitchen show of what seem to be local unknowns. i dont know the girl who is headlining. never heard of her. i can see paying $10-15 for a touring band, like The Pink Spiders, who will actually be there next sunday. hopefully. Raf texted me last night that he quit TPS. because Matt is being a jerk. he's not the first to quit, and i'm certain he's not the last. i think the show might be their last, unfortunately. i just wish Raf had stuck it out to the end of the tour, its over in like a week.

time to feed Rudy.

B is for 'burbs, and boring.

On Tuesday, Sarah and I went to Oak Park for the day. I had not been there since junior year of high school, for a choir competition, and during that time I only really saw the inside of Oak Park River Forest High. We walked around in the various shops but there was nothing super interesting. There was a really cool toy store, however, where I purchased a finger puppet, a wind up alligator, and a present for Will for Christmas. And at a store called Gifts and Bonzais, I found a cute little mushroom shaped tea light holder. It looks psychedelic and is another addition to my room looking slightly more drug sympathetic haha
Sarah and I also went to Guitar Center, and this guy Aaron was working. He's this dude I've been talking to thru myspace for a while and we text every now and then. It was weird to meet in person for the first time. Awkward. But he seemed happy to have someone visit him at work. We played with the keyboards/synths. I really want a new one. I want to sell my yamaha that I got about 10 years ago and buy this one that I saw there. Its made by NORD.
Its red and its gorgeous. Aaron can get me a discount, but it's still going to be around a grand. :(
Tuesday was also election day, and as we all know now, Obama won the presidency over McCain. Will, Sarah, and I watched the last hour or so of election coverage. Grant Park looked packed. I'm just glad nothing bad happened and no riots broke out.

Yesterday I came home to my parents' house. Went to Target and surprisingly found lots of clothing for Will for Christmas. I can safely say, I'm pretty well set as far as xmas gifts for him goes. I'll get another couple little things though, I'm sure. Today was pretty boring. Mom and I went to lunch and Borders and Best Buy looking for Beatles Yellow Submarine on DVD. That's four places I've been to now that don't have it. I guess I have to order it online.

Ogie is taking pictures of me tomorrow. I have to drive down to his school in Bourbonnais to meet him. He wants me to wear my Halloween costume. I hope he takes some good ones so I can have copies and give one to Will. oooh that would be another good xmas gift. Professional picture of me in my Super Girl costume to put on his wall. At least then his whole closet door full of Super Girl photos will have me up there too. Is it stupid to be jealous of a comic book character??? Cause sometimes I am.

week one

Sunday, 11.2.2008
i wanted to start a new blog for a year. my goal is to write at least once a week from this November until at least next November. hence, the title being 52 weeks. i am stealing the idea from a book i just checked out of the library.
yes! i said the library! i finally got my very first library card.
i accompanied my boyfriend to the Harold Washington Library this afternoon. he had to study and i had absolutely nothing else to do, so why not FINALLY get a library card? its something i've wanted to get since i moved to the city TWO YEARS ago! i can't believe the entire time i lived practically next door to the HWL and never once stepped foot inside or bothered to get the library card.
when i was little, my grandparents had Homewood library cards and so i never really needed to get one in Orland because i'd just have my grandparents get books for me. then, when my grandparents passed away, i wanted to get my own in Orland, but they have some crazy fees for those of us who live in the unincorporated Orland parts, instead of the actual Village of Orland Park. so i just never bothered. also, i could always utilize the college library before. but now that i have graduated AND have all this free time, it was about damn time to get one.
i have to say, the HWL is outstanding and massive. i had no idea there were so many floors. yes, it looks big from the outside, but inside it seems even bigger.
i checked out two books.
365 Days by Julie Doucet

it is a diary/graphic novel combined. so far i am 1/4th of the way through because i started reading it while Will was studying. i love the way she draws and makes fun of her drawings in little notes right next to them. i've been reading a lot of Jeffrey Brown's novels, and decided to find another author with the same "small press" feel. this woman lives in Montreal. Jeff Brown is from Chicago, though. i think i like him so much because he mentions things i'm already familiar with. 365 Days has immediately inspired me to start keeping a diary again, albeit weekly instead of daily, and in blog form rather than by hand with a comic feel....

the other book i got was Dogrun by Arthur Nersessian. i've only read two other books he's written, yet often cite him as a favorite author, so i figure in order to make sure this is true, i ought to read a few more of his novels. this one seems short so i'm sure i can tackle this no problem within the three week time limit the library lets books be checked out for.


after being at the library for a good 4 hours, we walked to Graham Crackers, a comic book store so Will could pick up some comics he was looking for. then we both seemed to notice how incredibly hungry we were and decided on getting Italian food. i called Sarah (my roommate) to look up the address of a place Will's only had take out from, but she didn't answer. so then i called my dad. and it took him probably 15 min to do something it would've taken Sarah 5 min to do. and he didn't even do exactly what i asked, but i thanked him for trying. we ended up winging it and finding it. it was called Oggi Trattoria . it's in West Town on Grand Ave. and it was probably the best (fairly priced) Italian food i've had since Cupino's closed in Lemont. i paid because Will bought us dinner last night, and it ended up only being $29.

i really need a job so i can keep eating to the degree i am accustomed. i don't want to have to always budget my meals or feel bad for spending a little more for a good meal. still waiting to hear from WLS about getting that 2nd interview....