Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Resolutions

This year, I resolve to:
1) Talk to women
2) Do things I don't want to do (see 1)
3) Somehow start having as much fun as I did in college again, which will entail a high amount of productivity, and lots of time with new and old friends.
4) Road trip. I'm really serious about this one. Two summers in a row have failed me. I want it.

Saturday, December 04, 2010

One of the following people needs to die in the next 27 days

Elizabeth Taylor
Fidel Castro
Ariel Sharon
Muhammad Ali
Zsa Zsa Gabor
Kirk Douglas
Roger Ebert
Ernest Borgnine
Margaret Thatcher
Dick Cheney
Stephen Hawking
Henry Kissinger
Jack LaLanne
Mickey Rooney
Ray Bradbury

Why, you may ask, do I want one of these people to die? Because the celebrity death pool between Thom and I has put me in the hole. Thom's LAST CHOICE was Gloria Stuart. And I just checked up on all his people and she bit it back in September. Lucky bastard.

Tuesday, November 09, 2010

Fortune cookie: You will enjoy a trip to Asia soon

... of course, I got that fortune cookie about a year and a half ago.

Still - what's better than a trip to Japan? A free trip to Japan! What's even better than a free trip to Japan? BEING PAID to go to Japan, which is exactly what I'll be doing this December 6th-11th.

Okay, so I might have to give a presentation defending our company's new model train product ideas to a group of 30 individuals who don't really speak English and want desperately to shut the US branch down, and my failure may put both me and five other individuals out of a job as well as hasten the end of an entire hobby industry, but still! Japan! And I'm being paid to go!

Woon.

Monday, November 08, 2010

Word.

This world is strange and wonderful. That's all I have to say.

Thursday, October 21, 2010

I WIN.

I am so proud and excited to say that today I found out that I will be placed on an improv team at Improv Olympic. It is the second-best known improv company in Chicago, the US, and arguably, the world. It is something I've been hoping for for about a decade and it means A LOT to me. People come from hundreds of miles away and move their lives to take classes at this place so they can have a chance at performing there. It is the result of a total of about six years of improv classes, reading the improv bible about eight times, and thousands of dollars.

What do I get out of it? Starting in around January, I'll get to perform with a group of people that I've known the past year and a half one night a week in front of paying audience members, I'll get to see any shows for free, and I'll get to interact and work with people I've admired for years. And anyone that's ever thought I sucked at anything, if they see me on stage they can basically just shove it. Please come see me perform so you can share in my joy. Just do it on a night that we don't suck as a group. Cause that can still happen, easily.

Sunday, October 17, 2010

I think I need some new music

Does anyone have any they can recommend?

I'm interested in the following, but will take other stuff. Thom, I'm looking in your direction particularly as you're usually the one who reads this and also because you have been my best source for new music.

1) I heard the Walkmen's album "You and Me" is pretty good.
2) I want MGMT's first album "Oracular Spectacular"
3) There's still some Modest Mouse I don't have
4) I need more of The Smiths & Morrissey
5) Likewise for Mos Def and Of Montreal
6) Blind Melon's "Soup"
7) More of the Black Keys (all I have is "Magic Potion)
8) Anything else that you think is great

I need the music because my life sucks right now thanks to my job. New music fuels my fire and I haven't had any new fuel for a while.

Tuesday, October 05, 2010

You can't make this stuff up.

From the Trib:
"A man described as mentally unstable stopped his pickup truck in rural, out-of-the-way spots in Illinois and Indiana, randomly asking strangers questions about honeybees before opening fire".

I wish I was there to see it.
Man: "You know honeybees? They're weird."
Stranger: Whatever you say.
Man: DIE [takes gun out].

The Lo(a)ner

Dear *Insert Student Loan Company Name*:

Why, oh why, do you think I have money? I selected "income-contingent" because I thought you would realize I don't have a lot of money, but apparently you like getting all theoretical, annualizing money that I don't have, nay, never will have each year as you estimate the "fair" payments I should make each month. Hopefully, my latest letter to you will clear things up. Thank you for your time. And yes, I refuse to be your friend, you lo(a)ner.

Cordially,
The Borrower

P.S.-Somewhere stored away in a closet there is a piece of paper that I paid way too much money for and now I can't make a profit off it. It would've been a good investment had the economy decided to remain healthy. Bummer, just a bummer.

Thursday, September 30, 2010

And with this post...

I tie the rest of the year for most posts. Since the start of this year, excluding the month of September, we've posted only 12 times; since the start of September, we've posted 12 times. I can't even figure out the math on the percentage that we increased our productivity! Thanks, everybody, but mainly Waple!

The bad news, the good news, and the ugly news

The Bad News

It doesn't look like the job I thought I was going to get, the one that would have been permanent, will be mine after all. About a month ago someone made it sound like it was going to happen and then... nothing. And I can't afford to wait around worrying where my next paycheck is going to come from so, since my contract with them is up in a few weeks, I went on to...

The Good News

I landed a three- to four-month contract with another company. It was totally out of the blue, but perfect timing. They actually want me to start the day my other contract ends, which couldn't be more satisfying. Plus, the position offers me more opportunity to manage, which means I'll be building new marketable skills instead of doing essentially the same thing day-in and day-out.

The Ugly News

I'm still far from my ultimate goals, but I suppose I should look at the bright side: 1) I have goals and 2) I have my whole life to reach them.

Sunday, September 26, 2010

Come see me perform!

If any of you are free on Sunday nights around 7 or 8pm, I'd love if you could come by and see me perform with my improv group at iO! It's the student graduation run, which lasts for eight Sundays, and we've had six shows so far. So we'll have one more show this coming Sunday (10/3) and then our last one on 10/7. The show is $5, starting at 7pm at the iO Theater (3541 N Clark). If you wanted to come at 8pm that'd be okay too, cause there are five groups that perform and they start at 7pm, but the group I'm with is always either 8 or 8:30pm. The last group finishes at 9:30, so if you wanted to make it a shorter night, you don't have to be there right at 7pm. If you all can't make it, I won't hold it against you. It's kind of short notice on purpose, cause student shows can often times be extremely painful (see: tonight's show). But I've been doing well and it's looking like I have a shot at getting placed on a team that will perform there consistently! All of these eight shows serve as auditions, basically. So if that happens, you will have so many opportunities to see me!

Thursday, September 23, 2010

an annual sara update!

Hello! It’s been about 11 months since my last post, when I announced that I lost my job but gained a boyfriend. I kept saying to myself “I will post again when I get a job and have something good to report.” Well, the day has come! I just got hired for a temp position as an assistant to the school nurse at a middle school on the south side. It’s just data entry and filing, and will most likely only last 3 or 4 months, but still, it’s something.

Being unemployed for nearly a year has definitely been a learning/growing experience for me. I spent most of the year being depressed, doubting my skills as a social worker, and not knowing what to do with my life. I had always been an overachiever and worked really hard at school and then at my job, so when that was taken away from me I just didn’t know what to do with myself. You don’t realize how much of your identity is tied up in what you do for a living until your job is gone.

It took about 10 months for me to finally realize there is more to life than working and making money. I realized being unemployed was not the waste of time I thought it was, and I actually accomplished quite a lot in the last year. When I had a job, all I wanted was a boyfriend, someone who really knew me and I could talk to about anything. And here I am, about to celebrate my one year anniversary with Matt! I’ve never been in a serious relationship or been in love before, so the fact that I’ve been with Matt for so long is a huge accomplishment for me, just as big and important as landing my dream job. I’ve also become a lot closer with my parents, and especially my brother, whom I never used to talk to at all. I’ve gotten more involved in my hobbies, such as taking dance classes again, doing yoga multiple times a week, knitting, and learning to cook. I’ve had the time to really think about and work on things I didn’t like about myself, and finally break some bad habits, such as my m&ms addiction. And I’ve also been able to do a lot of fun things in the city that I wouldn’t have been able to do if I was still living and working in the suburbs. So while I’m still not sure what’s gonna happen with my social work career, I am much happier with other aspects of my life than I ever have been.

Here are some other exciting things I’ve done this year:

-went to Vegas for the first time

-had my car window broken and ipod stolen

-learned how to file a police report and insurance claim

-had some minor surgery on my cervix

-saw Lady Gaga at lollapalooza

-went on a yacht in Lake Michigan

-went to my first Sox game and Bears game

-ate a lot of sushi

-gotten much better at NY Times crossword puzzles

Monday, September 20, 2010

How cute!

I hope you all watched the season premiere of "How I Met Your Mother" tonight. It was good, so good that it had, wait for it... lipstick lesbians!

Now, as a buzz-kill to that, cute kittens dressed in suits:
http://twitpic.com/2qfzh0

Be honest...

do you think I would be a good creative writing instructor and/or professor of English?

Thursday, September 16, 2010

Hello.

Survey: Are you reading this? Please respond within the next week by commenting on this post.

Thursday, September 09, 2010

Carmelo?

Those of you who follow the Bulls, which is probably just Waple and me, should take note that Carmelo Anthony, an all-star who Charles Barkley calls "the greatest pure scorer in the NBA," wants to be traded to the Bulls. I was getting pumped about our new lineup for next season, but I must admit it'd be nice to bring in 'Melo. Of course, the Bulls will have to give up a lot, possibly Noah and Deng, but if we keep Rose and at least one good big guy (Boozer), it might be worth it.

Wednesday, September 08, 2010

Stress

I might get employed (for real) soon, but I'm a bit stressed about it. I need to discuss it privately. E-mail me, friends!

Friday, September 03, 2010

I want a time machine.

That is all.

Starfucker?

Can anyone suggest if Starfucker is worth a listen? This song caught my ear in a recent Target Pharmacy commercial and I liked the style.

Wednesday, September 01, 2010

I'm going to try and post more.

This blog has gone stagnant again. Maybe it's futile to keep it going in the midst of facebook and all, but I want it to live on, so I will post. Maybe this will just become my blog in the future.

School starts in five days. September 7th, to be exact. I'm totally unprepared (not totally my fault). I have read a lot this summer, but the curriculum of the course was changed by the admin like three weeks before school started, so even if I had done a lot of prep work it would have been a waste. Also, I tend to underestimate my abilities and over-worry myself. Mostly, I'm just bummed because it's so great to be so free in the summer and get personal things done (reading, organizing, etc.) that I can't do in the school year when I am swamped. And I will be swamped this year, since it's a new school and subject. I will mostly miss seeing all my friends. In addition to being overly busy, I know being in the city prevents me from seeing people as often. That sucks a lot, and I don't know what will happen to change that.

In addition, my kitchen is still non-existent. I hooked up my new fridge five days ago, and it was the first fully functional fridge my place has had in its year of existence. So it was a great relief to have an appliance hooked up at all, first of all, and secondly to have it work well. The rest of the place is in shambles - no mounted cabinets, no functional range, nowhere to sit, and a bedroom full of most of my furniture and everything else I could cram in, leaving nowhere to maneuver freely. My one place of refuge is the 10 sq. ft. around my computer. I hope that it's all done soon, like in a few weeks, ideally, so that when I'm stressed after a day of school I can come home, relax on a couch, watch TV, and make some food. All things I can't do right now.

Finally, on the new student front, I saw some of the names of the students I'll be having next year. It only took two names before one of them was named after liquor. Cavoursier. It's a misspelling, I know, but it still sounds the same. I saw some more names today. Majestic was one. It's an interesting cultural phenomenon. Maybe that would be a good name for a kid. Phenomenon. Phenomenon Waple. I actually kind of like it. And kids would call him 'Nom for short.

Anyway, I hope all's well and that those of you looking for jobs are making progress. I'll be really stressed this year, but really thankful to have a job too. Please come visit me any time.

Love,
'Nom.

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Celebrity death pool revisited

As far as I can tell, no one on Thom and my celebrity death pool has dies this year. Now, there's still time for Dick Cheney to shoot himself in the face or have a heart attack, or for Wilford Brimley to die ironically of diabetes, it's looking like it might end up a tie.

Do we want to spurn some new interest by adding some new people to the hit list?

Friday, July 23, 2010

Chicity

If you're in or within a reasonable radius of Chicago and you're an awesome friend, let's all plan a big get-together soon. Who's in?

Monday, July 12, 2010

Steve's Wedding

I can't wait for the debauchery of this coming weekend. This is one time I'm glad Steve is getting married. Bloomington makes my soul happy, even though I sold it to Thom.

Monday, May 24, 2010

News

I instead got my hands on this lovely 45:
It cost a little more, but the cool news is it came with a letter of appraisal from the foremost Beatles autograph expert who valued it at $3000 more than what I paid! And it's a lot cooler than just a piece of paper. If you're nice to me I'll let you lick it some time.

In other news, I finally got a cell phone. Ben, I need your number. Mike told me he got a call from you the other day and I thought you were still out of the country. So I don't know what the right way to reach you is, but I want your number so I can drunk dial you.

Also, renovations on my condo will hopefully start sometime this June and finish in July. I hope you all can come down and spend some fun times in the city with me this summer. If you need any reasons, here's the best one: I live a mile from a beach. It'd be really fun to have a day at the beach and then come back and hang out in the city, have dinner, drink, and play video games. Raise your hand if that sounds good. Both of mine are up.

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Never call me cheap again

Why? Because I am about to spend lots of my hard-earned money on this:
















This is a piece of paper signed by all four Beatles in 1963. I have wanted something like this most of my life, and yes, there is a part of me that is wondering why I'm spending thousands of dollars on a piece of paper. However, there's another part of me that says, "Cause it's fucking awesome. That's why."

Saturday, March 06, 2010

Join us!

Hey Waple... buy one. "One of us! One of us!"

Cell Phone Obsession
Via: Cell Phones

Monday, February 15, 2010

so suave.



may 2006

Sunday, February 14, 2010

Thursday, February 04, 2010

Radiohead performance!

In case you haven't heard, Radiohead did a special performance recently to benefit the victims of the earthquake in Haiti. They auctioned off the seats and made a lot of money for donations. They also debuted a new song allegedly from the new album they're currently working on. There is a link to the bootleg of the performance available here. Enjoy!

Monday, February 01, 2010

My new job

For those of you who don't know and still read this (no one? Palmer? Ben?), I got a new job. I am going to be working at New Westinghouse high school, which is a Chicago Public School on the west side of Chicago in Garfield Park. It is actually a pretty rough neighborhood, but the school is one of only a handful of selective enrollment schools in Chicago, so that means the kids that are there want to be there. I hope that means discipline problems won't be much of an issue, and same for interest in the subjects. The neighborhood does make me question public transport, though. It'd be nice to be able to get rid of my car and save a few thousand a year, but we'll see.

There's a lot I still don't know about the job. I don't know what I'm teaching yet or if they'll want me to coach anything. All I know is that I'm going to be super busy and that I'm getting a huge pay raise from my current job. I'm looking forward to it, but I'm mostly just relieved. Getting a new job has been on my list for a while and I was really going to be in a pinch if I was at the same school again next year, earning little and being far away from my condo in the city. This new job basically means I can run my life completely independently. I'll get a cell phone. I'll be at my condo all the time. I'll meet new people in the city. And I'll pay for it all. That last part I'm not so excited about, but I guess it's all part of growing up that I've staved off long enough. I just hope that with this new job I have time to do the things I love: See improv shows, do improv, exercise, possibly even get a girlfriend (gasp) and keep my sanity. On the other hand, getting a new job right now is pretty hard to do. I had emailed districts I had connections with to see what their status was for this coming year and not only were they not hiring, they were actually cutting back. That put my new job into a new perspective - not that I didn't know already that it was an ugly job market.

I don't know how long I'll be at this new school because you never know what can happen, but I hope they like me as much as the administration liked me at my current school. It's nice to feel like your job is secure. I also don't know how often I'll be seeing all my friends who are now not so near as before. I know it's not easy to come into the city, but that's going to be my biggest concern - keeping up friendships with people I won't see as often. That being said, everyone is welcome at my place literally any time for as long as you want. I'll put pictures up of what it looks like soon, but most have seen it and I still don't have a bed. So whenever I get things all tricked out you'll see what it looks like.

Thursday, January 21, 2010

There's a football fan in all of us

Whether you like football or not, I can almost prove that there's another version of you out there that DOES like football. How can I prove it? Well, I was looking online at photos from crazy football fans from this year and a few of the photos stood out because some aspect of the people in them reminded me strongly of some of my awesome friends. See if you can guess who and why.

Sunday, January 17, 2010

What are the top three things you would want to do for a living?

Unrealistic:
Rock star
Famous comedian
Advocate for the poor

Realistic:
Carpenter
Teacher
Dodgeball business owner