update on my life
Aww, man...I'm not in the mood to think so much right now but Jon is thoroughly occupied with the FSU game so timing probably won't get much better than this! So, hi, how's it going? What can I say about the past month? It's been crazy. After seemingly saying goodbyes to everyone for weeks and weeks, the move came up surprisingly fast.
My birthday, in fact, was spent cleaning, packing and throwing things out (with a little help from my friends). We finally got to bed about 3am and had to wake up early, turn in keys and get our butts on the road. That may have been the longest day of my life. Jon drove for about 10/11 hours straight with a few stops to stretch, buy Red Bull, etc. Tia, my cat, sat on my lap the whole trip. It was interesting. She is a nut and wouldn't sit still at first but then seemed like she was passed out (which worried me just as much). She kept doing this weird breathing thing that I think was a little kitty anxiety attack. Needless to say, she loved it when we stopped for the night and she got to hang out in the hotel room and was very unhappy to be shoved back in the car the next day.
When we got to Chicago, it was HOT...like Florida hot the first week. Since then, it's not been so bad, but I think we showed up during the warmest week of the year. This encouraged me to buy an air conditioner. I had convinced myself that I could probably survive living a month or so without air conditioning until it started to cool off. So we tried windows open and fans going but in the end, I'm so glad I got the AC. When it's stuffy inside and you're sweaty and sticky, you're just not in the mood to unpack and do the things you need to do when you move into a new apartment. The weather lately (especially the past week or so) has been downright cold at times, so I'm loving being outside and having the windows open.
I had a job interview the first week I got here but nothing came of it and Jon & I have been temping for the past 3 weeks or so. I'm doing a 3 month gig at a magazine publishing company. I'm just doing the basic clerical-type stuff and data entry (more like trying to clean up their database of companies and contacts by getting rid of the duplicates). It's really not my style, but I like the people there and although I'm usually pretty bored, I can listen to my iPod all day or to their shared music folder which has some interesting tunes. I'm more the type of person who likes to have a bit of social interaction with my workday, but it's only 3 months and it pays the bills and I'm sure it will only help my chances of getting a bigger/better job in the future. Any experience helps, right?
Jon just started working at this architecture firm where he'll be for at least a month. He makes a dollar more than me (because I'm a woman and life is unfair, hahah ;) and on his first night there, they had a little party at a fancy restaurant by the river. There were snacks and drinks and it was a gorgeous night. They all seem like great, smart, fun people and I'm really happy for him. I got lost along the way and got to walk through the Sears Tower too. That building is just far too big. It's obscene.
What else? We've been doing the tourist thing a little bit. Taking lots of pictures and going to the museums, parks, roaming around downtown and also shopping till we're dropping. Well, we needed some business-like clothing and considering that we moved here in boxes and a Mini Cooper, we needed something to sleep on, a TV stand, kitchen supplies, and other things that make living a little bit easier. We still have a lot of stuff to buy but it will have to come little by little because I am pretty low on dough these days and it will take a while of saving to build up the ol' bank account again.
We've discovered that a short train ride away, in Evanston, is a wonderful movie theater next to an Urban Outfitters, across the street from a Borders, an awesome little noodle place, a World Market and a Game Stop so there's something for both of us. We've already been there 4 or 5 times and I have the feeling we'll be spending some quality time there in the future. Speaking of trains, I have discovered that I have a love/hate relationship with the transportation system here. It runs 24 hours a day, which is wonderful, but it doesn't always run when it's supposed to and that leads to occasional overcrowding, yelling, sweating, swearing and unpleasantness. Mostly during rush hour or before/after Cubs games.
There have been days where I've had to wait for 4 trains to pass by before I could finally push and squeeze my way on. Those days are not fun. There are other times when I get to sit and stretch out and look out the window and enjoy the city without having to walk or worry about buses. Those days are awesome. I'm sure I'll get more used to it, but they are raising fares this month and having only lived here for a month, I don't see how, when there are so many people riding the trains and too few trains coming and going, they're not making enough as is. I obviously welcome the higher fares if it means less crowding and repairs but we'll just have to wait and see. Either way, it's much better than the bus system in Tallahassee or in Coral Springs and about on par with New York and London. Better than London if you consider that the cars are air conditioned so they don't have to post the heat-stroke warning signs that I experienced each summer I visited there.
If you haven't looked at my pictures on Facebook, you should. They are amazing, if I do say so myself!
On a completely different note, Hurricane Dean hit Mahahual, Mexico last month and I was shocked to see some of the pictures of the cleanup. For those of you who don't know, Jon & I were just there in June when we went on a cruise. Mahahual was by far one of the most beautiful and awe-inspiring places I've ever been. Everyone we met was wonderful. They were celebrating the 3 year anniversary of the day they first got electricity when we were there and I can't help but think that it will take a very long time to get everything back to the way it was. Now, Hurricane Felix is on track to hit either Belize or Honduras, two places we also got to visit on our cruise and I have my fingers crossed for them. We didn't get to see much of Honduras, but Belize and Mahahual were definitely two places I could see myself returning to one day.
I could probably go on writing all night but I doubt anyone will even read through this much, so I'll call it a day. I miss you all in Tallahassee and love hearing about what's going on there via Livejournal or Facebook or whatever, so don't forget me!
My birthday, in fact, was spent cleaning, packing and throwing things out (with a little help from my friends). We finally got to bed about 3am and had to wake up early, turn in keys and get our butts on the road. That may have been the longest day of my life. Jon drove for about 10/11 hours straight with a few stops to stretch, buy Red Bull, etc. Tia, my cat, sat on my lap the whole trip. It was interesting. She is a nut and wouldn't sit still at first but then seemed like she was passed out (which worried me just as much). She kept doing this weird breathing thing that I think was a little kitty anxiety attack. Needless to say, she loved it when we stopped for the night and she got to hang out in the hotel room and was very unhappy to be shoved back in the car the next day.
When we got to Chicago, it was HOT...like Florida hot the first week. Since then, it's not been so bad, but I think we showed up during the warmest week of the year. This encouraged me to buy an air conditioner. I had convinced myself that I could probably survive living a month or so without air conditioning until it started to cool off. So we tried windows open and fans going but in the end, I'm so glad I got the AC. When it's stuffy inside and you're sweaty and sticky, you're just not in the mood to unpack and do the things you need to do when you move into a new apartment. The weather lately (especially the past week or so) has been downright cold at times, so I'm loving being outside and having the windows open.
I had a job interview the first week I got here but nothing came of it and Jon & I have been temping for the past 3 weeks or so. I'm doing a 3 month gig at a magazine publishing company. I'm just doing the basic clerical-type stuff and data entry (more like trying to clean up their database of companies and contacts by getting rid of the duplicates). It's really not my style, but I like the people there and although I'm usually pretty bored, I can listen to my iPod all day or to their shared music folder which has some interesting tunes. I'm more the type of person who likes to have a bit of social interaction with my workday, but it's only 3 months and it pays the bills and I'm sure it will only help my chances of getting a bigger/better job in the future. Any experience helps, right?
Jon just started working at this architecture firm where he'll be for at least a month. He makes a dollar more than me (because I'm a woman and life is unfair, hahah ;) and on his first night there, they had a little party at a fancy restaurant by the river. There were snacks and drinks and it was a gorgeous night. They all seem like great, smart, fun people and I'm really happy for him. I got lost along the way and got to walk through the Sears Tower too. That building is just far too big. It's obscene.
What else? We've been doing the tourist thing a little bit. Taking lots of pictures and going to the museums, parks, roaming around downtown and also shopping till we're dropping. Well, we needed some business-like clothing and considering that we moved here in boxes and a Mini Cooper, we needed something to sleep on, a TV stand, kitchen supplies, and other things that make living a little bit easier. We still have a lot of stuff to buy but it will have to come little by little because I am pretty low on dough these days and it will take a while of saving to build up the ol' bank account again.
We've discovered that a short train ride away, in Evanston, is a wonderful movie theater next to an Urban Outfitters, across the street from a Borders, an awesome little noodle place, a World Market and a Game Stop so there's something for both of us. We've already been there 4 or 5 times and I have the feeling we'll be spending some quality time there in the future. Speaking of trains, I have discovered that I have a love/hate relationship with the transportation system here. It runs 24 hours a day, which is wonderful, but it doesn't always run when it's supposed to and that leads to occasional overcrowding, yelling, sweating, swearing and unpleasantness. Mostly during rush hour or before/after Cubs games.
There have been days where I've had to wait for 4 trains to pass by before I could finally push and squeeze my way on. Those days are not fun. There are other times when I get to sit and stretch out and look out the window and enjoy the city without having to walk or worry about buses. Those days are awesome. I'm sure I'll get more used to it, but they are raising fares this month and having only lived here for a month, I don't see how, when there are so many people riding the trains and too few trains coming and going, they're not making enough as is. I obviously welcome the higher fares if it means less crowding and repairs but we'll just have to wait and see. Either way, it's much better than the bus system in Tallahassee or in Coral Springs and about on par with New York and London. Better than London if you consider that the cars are air conditioned so they don't have to post the heat-stroke warning signs that I experienced each summer I visited there.
If you haven't looked at my pictures on Facebook, you should. They are amazing, if I do say so myself!
On a completely different note, Hurricane Dean hit Mahahual, Mexico last month and I was shocked to see some of the pictures of the cleanup. For those of you who don't know, Jon & I were just there in June when we went on a cruise. Mahahual was by far one of the most beautiful and awe-inspiring places I've ever been. Everyone we met was wonderful. They were celebrating the 3 year anniversary of the day they first got electricity when we were there and I can't help but think that it will take a very long time to get everything back to the way it was. Now, Hurricane Felix is on track to hit either Belize or Honduras, two places we also got to visit on our cruise and I have my fingers crossed for them. We didn't get to see much of Honduras, but Belize and Mahahual were definitely two places I could see myself returning to one day.
I could probably go on writing all night but I doubt anyone will even read through this much, so I'll call it a day. I miss you all in Tallahassee and love hearing about what's going on there via Livejournal or Facebook or whatever, so don't forget me!