I haven't written in a long time. There's so much to tell you about, but I never find the time unless it's days like today, when I'm overwhelmed by something that seems so worthy of writing. Someday, I'll tell you about my urban planning class (which I love), the stress of the semester and its new batch of kids (who break my heart), and the mess of trouble I can get myself into some days.
But today. We just got home from seeing Catie Curtis at the Old Town School of Folk Music. Catie Curtis is one of my faves -- Shannon predicted this, I think, when we were roommates senior year of college and she brought me her copy of Catie Curtis's self-titled album, which honestly didn't catch me right off the bat. It took till grad school, when I found myself swimming in the sorrow of her song "Troubled Mind."
Honestly, I can't remember if this was the second or third time I've seen her play live. I think it was the second -- it's at least the second time I've seen her play live since I've lived in Chicago. She played two of the songs that just live in such a deep place for me; "Kiss That Counted" had me singing and smiling when she started her set with it, and I cried when she sang "Magnolia Street." There were, of course, other gems.
And then there's the Old Town School... I can't really describe that place and how it makes me feel. Overwhelmed, maybe. Awestruck. Intimidated, even. If you know me, you know that music is so beautiful and personal to me, and you take a place like that where the rooms are filled with people taking lessons, making music. Wow. I'm humbled, and I'm saddened that I quit playing the piano and the guitar and haven't been able to overcome the emotional block I have on playing music myself.
Put together a musician I love in a place that's so amazing, and well, I didn't think I would be able to actually go talk to Catie Curtis when she was hanging around at the merch table after the show because I couldn't stop crying. I get so fangirl-shy around musicians I love, but I actually thought of something to say to her about her "It Gets Better" video (with her partner Liz). Annabelle was good enough to push me to get a picture, which I wouldn't have asked for myself, on account of the shy, fangirl thing I had going on.
I'm thinking that maybe I'll go tune the guitar. Maybe.
Showing posts with label pics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label pics. Show all posts
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Monday, July 26, 2010
I'll try to be better, honest.
I'm trying to be better about blogging. Now that I'm out of the groove, I don't know what to write about anymore. So, I'll write a little about the weekend.
We met up with my pal MBJ, who I haven't seen since winter. In the meantime, she had a baby, an AWESOME baby, who I'm totally in love with. It's the eyebrows.
Annabelle and I hung out with MBJ, Baby Oliver, and MBJ's mom. They're like family to me, and whenever I see them, I realize how much I miss them. There was much baby smooshing and kissing, and cuddling, and even my mom is having baby withdrawal from the short time she spent with him on Sunday.
The rest of the time was family. They're as crazy as ever. Need I say more?
I'm going to try to enjoy this last week of my "summer vacation" before it's back to work full-time. I actually like working; I need that structure in my day. So far, I've been pretty good about keeping myself on a schedule and getting some things done each day -- look, I can create my own structure! Kind of...
Excuse me while I go stare at the pics of that cute baby for awhile.
We met up with my pal MBJ, who I haven't seen since winter. In the meantime, she had a baby, an AWESOME baby, who I'm totally in love with. It's the eyebrows.
Annabelle and I hung out with MBJ, Baby Oliver, and MBJ's mom. They're like family to me, and whenever I see them, I realize how much I miss them. There was much baby smooshing and kissing, and cuddling, and even my mom is having baby withdrawal from the short time she spent with him on Sunday.
The rest of the time was family. They're as crazy as ever. Need I say more?
I'm going to try to enjoy this last week of my "summer vacation" before it's back to work full-time. I actually like working; I need that structure in my day. So far, I've been pretty good about keeping myself on a schedule and getting some things done each day -- look, I can create my own structure! Kind of...
Excuse me while I go stare at the pics of that cute baby for awhile.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
I got a feeling...
Last week, Liz and I declared during our morning train commute that November was going to be a good month. We agreed we were both getting back to our weekday swims. So far, we're 2 for 2. And, unlike October, November has been sunny! Supposedly, we had 22 days of rain in October, when our average is 12. No wonder I felt like crap.
This talk of swimming and sunshine -- it's about feeling good. I get into a cycle of feeling meh and not wanting to exercise, when exercise is clearly something that helps me to not feel so meh, so I'm not exercising and not feeling less meh but feel too meh to get myself to exercise.
But, it's November. I got a feeling that this month's gonna be a good month...
I hate to sweat. I really, really do. Swimming is good because it's low-impact and not sweaty. It's strange for me to think of enjoying anything active, even when there isn't sweat involved, but I really enjoy my swimming.
Especially the first lap.
There's NOTHING like the first dive down, smoothly moving through the water to a steady freestyle stroke. Breathing is so simple, the water is so clear, and the strokes are steady and even. This first lap is as good as it gets for me, and I'd love to have every lap feel this week, this satisfying.
The problem is my breathing. The first lap is great because I've used my inhaler preventatively but haven't yet got my heart pumping. My need for air feel so much simpler in that first lap. I take one--maybe two--breaths across the pool in the first lap, compared with the three I take in subsequent laps. I don't work hard in that first lap. It just feels natural. The rest of them will all be work, and when I get a good lap in there somewhere in the middle of the swim, I feel really good about it.
Besides the asthma, I never learned proper swimming breathing. As a child, I was deathly afraid of the water, and I hated swimming lessons. As an adult, I don't know how to plug my nose underwater without actually wearing nose plugs. I honestly think my breathing would be smoother if I could swim without the nose plugs. (If you can describe how that's done--plugging you nose from inside while you swim--do tell!)
I'll close with a recap of our Halloween festivities with my family, courtesy of Anne. Her costume was truly frightening, by which I mean AWESOME. And, for your reading amusement, here's her story about what happens when I'm not there in the morning to save her life.
This talk of swimming and sunshine -- it's about feeling good. I get into a cycle of feeling meh and not wanting to exercise, when exercise is clearly something that helps me to not feel so meh, so I'm not exercising and not feeling less meh but feel too meh to get myself to exercise.
But, it's November. I got a feeling that this month's gonna be a good month...
I hate to sweat. I really, really do. Swimming is good because it's low-impact and not sweaty. It's strange for me to think of enjoying anything active, even when there isn't sweat involved, but I really enjoy my swimming.
Especially the first lap.
There's NOTHING like the first dive down, smoothly moving through the water to a steady freestyle stroke. Breathing is so simple, the water is so clear, and the strokes are steady and even. This first lap is as good as it gets for me, and I'd love to have every lap feel this week, this satisfying.
The problem is my breathing. The first lap is great because I've used my inhaler preventatively but haven't yet got my heart pumping. My need for air feel so much simpler in that first lap. I take one--maybe two--breaths across the pool in the first lap, compared with the three I take in subsequent laps. I don't work hard in that first lap. It just feels natural. The rest of them will all be work, and when I get a good lap in there somewhere in the middle of the swim, I feel really good about it.
Besides the asthma, I never learned proper swimming breathing. As a child, I was deathly afraid of the water, and I hated swimming lessons. As an adult, I don't know how to plug my nose underwater without actually wearing nose plugs. I honestly think my breathing would be smoother if I could swim without the nose plugs. (If you can describe how that's done--plugging you nose from inside while you swim--do tell!)
I'll close with a recap of our Halloween festivities with my family, courtesy of Anne. Her costume was truly frightening, by which I mean AWESOME. And, for your reading amusement, here's her story about what happens when I'm not there in the morning to save her life.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
a weekend with a mix of rain and sunshine
Anne's parents were here over the weekend. They're good folks, and of course, we had a nice time.
Anne's paternal grandmother died not long before she was born. Parts of her life are well known, while some details remain shrouded in mystery. One of those mysteries has been her early life in Chicago. Anne's Aunt Mary has recently been doing some genealogical research, and between her research and Anne's dad's great uncle, we learned the name of the street she was born on: Grenshaw.
In my summer class on Chicago geography, we worked with a lot of homeowner data in Chicago's Puerto Rican neighborhood, so I learned how to find a lot of information online. I thought, Surely there must be a way to find her birth certificate, so I poked around the city websites. And, I found it. Fifteen dollars later, we knew a bunch more information about Anne's grandmother, including the address for the house in which she was born.
Saturday, we headed over to the North Lawndale neighborhood and found the house.
(That's her dad.)
After her parents flew home on Sunday, her dad emailed a few pictures to his siblings, along with the copy of the birth certificate, and he CC'd Anne and me. It's been a joy to see the responses from his siblings, reading how much it means to all of them to have this information. I'm happy I could give that to them.
Anne ran into one of our neighbors on her way in from the garage on Sunday, after dropping off her parents at O'Hare. We don't really know our neighbors that well, and in a moment of channelling her mother's extroversion, she stopped to chat with him.
He's living with his best friend in an apartment that's made me happy -- from the street, you can see the beautiful red color they painted the living room, and the bay windows have been flanked with beautiful flower boxes with amazing arrangements. The best friend told Anne about his friend, who went about creating the perfect space in that apartment. He wanted that work to continue around him until it was finished, even as he spent the weekend in bed, dying of cancer. The doctors did not expect him to survive the weekend.
The weekend was bittersweet. All around us... life and death, beginnings and ends, discovery and loss, joy and sorrow. Seemed fitting, really, that the weekend was a mix of cold rain and warm sunshine.
Anne's paternal grandmother died not long before she was born. Parts of her life are well known, while some details remain shrouded in mystery. One of those mysteries has been her early life in Chicago. Anne's Aunt Mary has recently been doing some genealogical research, and between her research and Anne's dad's great uncle, we learned the name of the street she was born on: Grenshaw.
In my summer class on Chicago geography, we worked with a lot of homeowner data in Chicago's Puerto Rican neighborhood, so I learned how to find a lot of information online. I thought, Surely there must be a way to find her birth certificate, so I poked around the city websites. And, I found it. Fifteen dollars later, we knew a bunch more information about Anne's grandmother, including the address for the house in which she was born.
Saturday, we headed over to the North Lawndale neighborhood and found the house.
(That's her dad.)
After her parents flew home on Sunday, her dad emailed a few pictures to his siblings, along with the copy of the birth certificate, and he CC'd Anne and me. It's been a joy to see the responses from his siblings, reading how much it means to all of them to have this information. I'm happy I could give that to them.
Anne ran into one of our neighbors on her way in from the garage on Sunday, after dropping off her parents at O'Hare. We don't really know our neighbors that well, and in a moment of channelling her mother's extroversion, she stopped to chat with him.
He's living with his best friend in an apartment that's made me happy -- from the street, you can see the beautiful red color they painted the living room, and the bay windows have been flanked with beautiful flower boxes with amazing arrangements. The best friend told Anne about his friend, who went about creating the perfect space in that apartment. He wanted that work to continue around him until it was finished, even as he spent the weekend in bed, dying of cancer. The doctors did not expect him to survive the weekend.
The weekend was bittersweet. All around us... life and death, beginnings and ends, discovery and loss, joy and sorrow. Seemed fitting, really, that the weekend was a mix of cold rain and warm sunshine.
Friday, September 11, 2009
all hail... feet...?
Apparently, this is my 150th post to this blog. I wish it was something awe-inspiring, but instead, it's a photo of what I have to put up with at home, courtesy of my iPhone. Clearly, A was BORED and needed ATTENTION.
In other news, I've got several yarn projects in the works. I'm working on a long, skinny scarf knitted from the first two skeins of yarn I dyed. I also started a baby kimono for my friend Suzanne (baby due in November). I dyed some yarn last weekend for a crochet project for a friend of A's, and as I'm unsure whether or not she'll find this blog, I'm not going to tell you what that project is. It's a crochet project, and it'll be cute.
And now, seeing as I've talked yarn and shown you some feet (I was probably trying to knit when those feet happened, actually), I think I'll call it a day.
In other news, I've got several yarn projects in the works. I'm working on a long, skinny scarf knitted from the first two skeins of yarn I dyed. I also started a baby kimono for my friend Suzanne (baby due in November). I dyed some yarn last weekend for a crochet project for a friend of A's, and as I'm unsure whether or not she'll find this blog, I'm not going to tell you what that project is. It's a crochet project, and it'll be cute.
And now, seeing as I've talked yarn and shown you some feet (I was probably trying to knit when those feet happened, actually), I think I'll call it a day.
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
your fail is my triumph
Heinous introduced me to the FAIL blog when I visited her a few weeks ago. We looked at some pretty damn hilarious ones then, but I haven't seen many lately that have had me actually cracking up. This one today was good:
see more pwn and owned pictures
I think these really are funnier when shared.
see more pwn and owned pictures
I think these really are funnier when shared.
Monday, February 16, 2009
back to it
I'd like to get back in the habit of blogging again. I'm not sure why I stopped. I won't go into details other than to say that The Wife has been having a bad patch, and while that has weighed heavily on my mind, it's not something I've wanted to write about. I also had a patch of worsening depression that's now managed.
So, back to it.
We didn't actually spend Valentine's day together. We don't really care about that stuff. We exchanged cards, and she brought me home the frosted heart sugar cookie she was given at work. That was all we needed, really. She spent the evening with a friend of hers, and I went out with two of my friends. I hate to admit it, but "He's just not that into you" was rather cute (predictable, yes).
I'm on a Relay for Life team with the Stitch'n'Bitch, and we're preparing a fundraiser. We'll be selling handmade items, including hand-dyed yarn by yours truly. I bought 16 skeins of superwash wool and borrowed a crockpot from Siobhankha. This doesn't do the work justice, but you can at least get a glimpse of the dyeing so far.
The bathroom has been overrun by yarn. Seven more skeins to go, plus rewinding some of it (because the tangles just got out of control for some of them).
In other news, I started tracking Weight Watchers Points online last week. I though that afternoons were my weakness, but it looks like evenings are just as bad. I blame our inconsistency with being home at dinnertime and thusly not cooking. I will be better! I will! But not this week. I have something to do every night this week: 2 nights with friends and 2 with work. Oh well. ;)
I suppose the only other interesting thing to note is that I went to Philly with Merdie. She had a job interview out in the country, and we could fly into Philly for pretty cheap. I'm not a fan. We had a helluva time finding the public transit, and when we did, it was poorly marked (talk about carrying your bag up and down stairs till you find the right platform!) with no token sales. And I didn't see one accessible vehicle. You know it's a bad sign with the tourists (some dude) are asking other tourists (us) how to get places. The small town where she interviewed was super cute, and we scored big at the outlet mall on the way back to Philly. Also? Cheesesteaks.
I'll leave you with some pics.
So, back to it.
We didn't actually spend Valentine's day together. We don't really care about that stuff. We exchanged cards, and she brought me home the frosted heart sugar cookie she was given at work. That was all we needed, really. She spent the evening with a friend of hers, and I went out with two of my friends. I hate to admit it, but "He's just not that into you" was rather cute (predictable, yes).
I'm on a Relay for Life team with the Stitch'n'Bitch, and we're preparing a fundraiser. We'll be selling handmade items, including hand-dyed yarn by yours truly. I bought 16 skeins of superwash wool and borrowed a crockpot from Siobhankha. This doesn't do the work justice, but you can at least get a glimpse of the dyeing so far.
The bathroom has been overrun by yarn. Seven more skeins to go, plus rewinding some of it (because the tangles just got out of control for some of them).
In other news, I started tracking Weight Watchers Points online last week. I though that afternoons were my weakness, but it looks like evenings are just as bad. I blame our inconsistency with being home at dinnertime and thusly not cooking. I will be better! I will! But not this week. I have something to do every night this week: 2 nights with friends and 2 with work. Oh well. ;)
I suppose the only other interesting thing to note is that I went to Philly with Merdie. She had a job interview out in the country, and we could fly into Philly for pretty cheap. I'm not a fan. We had a helluva time finding the public transit, and when we did, it was poorly marked (talk about carrying your bag up and down stairs till you find the right platform!) with no token sales. And I didn't see one accessible vehicle. You know it's a bad sign with the tourists (some dude) are asking other tourists (us) how to get places. The small town where she interviewed was super cute, and we scored big at the outlet mall on the way back to Philly. Also? Cheesesteaks.
I'll leave you with some pics.
Saturday, August 23, 2008
an end of sorts
Well, I'm not going to make it to the finish line of the Ravelympics. I've got a ton done, but I have to work Orientation tomorrow--a session for first-years and their parents, so I have to be, you know, awake and well-spoken. I'm happy with how it looks so far and what I've got done.
Ricky likes it, too.
I've got a few more on Flickr following the project, including a few tonight without Ricky (start here).
Ricky likes it, too.
I've got a few more on Flickr following the project, including a few tonight without Ricky (start here).
Thursday, August 21, 2008
the finish line is in sight
Finished all the squares of my Ravelympics afghan tonight, and I began the assembly, which I'm pretty happy with. It took a few false starts to decide I like it best with the pieces crocheted together. I was so excited I had to take a picture and post it on my Ravelry, even though I'm dead tired.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
pics ahoy
I'm never going to get around to writing about New Orleans, at least not in the next week or so. So, if you'd like, go ahead and take a peek at my pics. Merdie had some good ones, too, but she hasn't posted them (*hint hint*). There are a LOT of pics from Graceland.
Also, saw this billboard >on the way to the train this morning.
Why do they have to put anti-choice billboards right by one of my favorite chicken places? And, why do they have to toy with our emotions in the process with pictures of cute babies? An embryo is less than 8 weeks into development--that's not a baby.
Also, saw this billboard >on the way to the train this morning.
Why do they have to put anti-choice billboards right by one of my favorite chicken places? And, why do they have to toy with our emotions in the process with pictures of cute babies? An embryo is less than 8 weeks into development--that's not a baby.
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Google Street View: The Newest Undercover Cop!
Holy cow! Have you seen this?! Gawker has a post on what appears to be a drug deal caught by the Street View crew taking pictures on Chicago's South Side. You can even see the license plate of the car involved. SERIOUSLY. Go check out the Gawker post for their set of screenshots. Here's a sampling from Google, if you want to take a look for yourself:
View Larger Map
View Larger Map
Monday, March 24, 2008
weekend update
I feel like I should post, but I can't think of anything worth posting, other than I'm clearly spending too much time at Planned Parenthood lately, which I know because I had a dream on Saturday night (after an 8-hour day there) that I was pregnant and needed to have an abortion. Our Dean of Faculty here at the college was really sweet to me about the whole thing (in my dream). Weird.
In other weirdness, I spent yesterday with my family eating good food on a holiday we don't observe, other than to exchange chocolate bunnies. Highlights from the day included: an awesome talk with my cousin on the train about her ex, my uncle's baked beans, fried chicken, playing Apples to Apples with almost the whole family, hugging my mom, laughing at unspoken masturbation jokes with my uncle and the 20somethings in the fam, giving my mom her iPod, and the shit my bro's dog will put up with. Case in point: wearing stupid shit while we take her picture.
Clearly, the dog has good reasons to hate us.
In other weirdness, I spent yesterday with my family eating good food on a holiday we don't observe, other than to exchange chocolate bunnies. Highlights from the day included: an awesome talk with my cousin on the train about her ex, my uncle's baked beans, fried chicken, playing Apples to Apples with almost the whole family, hugging my mom, laughing at unspoken masturbation jokes with my uncle and the 20somethings in the fam, giving my mom her iPod, and the shit my bro's dog will put up with. Case in point: wearing stupid shit while we take her picture.
Clearly, the dog has good reasons to hate us.
Monday, March 10, 2008
I won't be giving the thumbs up for awhile
note the bruising on my wrist and up the thumb side of my palm
4 days after I fell on my hand
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
sleep, coffee, and colored ice
I got half a good night's sleep last night. Sometime between 1 and 2, the nosepiece (?) on my CPAP started clicking. It didn't matter how I moved (or whether or not I did) and whether or not I held my breath. It was totally random and exceedingly annoying. We both woke up. Rather than mess around with it, I turned it off and slept the rest of the night without it. I'm guessing those 4 hours were pretty unrestful, given how I'm feeling today. I'm wondering how in the heck I'm going to figure out what went wrong with that thing--I haven't had any problems so far. Frankly, the thought sleeping without it after getting used to sleeping with it just makes me want to curl up and pout. I've finally been getting a good, restful night of sleep. I don't want to feel like this again every day. *sigh* Hopefully, I'll be home early enough to play with the damn machine tonight. Or hopefully, Anne will be patient enough to put up with me in the middle of the night tonight if it messes up again.
It's not a good time for this.
On Friday (a day off), I literally slept all day and was a wreck that night when I was awake. I then also slept most of Saturday. I felt like crap both days, and since I haven't come down with anything, I was either able to fight something off with all that sleeping or had a serious case of the allergy wipeouts--I took double the amount of normal allergy meds on Saturday and finally started to feel better. Then, of course, cue the CPAP problem.
In better news, my friend C and I went and saw the Museum of Modern Ice last week. Here's a sample of my pictures:
This is C. She wanted to pose by the refrigeration piping.
I'm also happy to report that it's not totally impossible--though it felt like it--to find fair trade coffee at the average chain grocery store. Good grief did it take a long time, though. The last bag of beans I bought was Starbucks' Estima blend, which is the only fair trade blend they sell at Starbucks. It's also, unfortunately, just about the only blend I couldn't find at the local chain grocery store. The bags of Sumatra were calling to me like the devil conscience on my shoulder, but the angel conscience reminded my I promised myself to only buy'n'brew fair trade coffee at the house. I ended up with Rogers Family Organic Coffee Breakfast Blend because it was the only one I found that explicitly said FAIR TRADE. It looks, though, that in the brand, all the Organic Coffee's are fair trade. I'll have to remember that.
Enough rambling.
It's not a good time for this.
On Friday (a day off), I literally slept all day and was a wreck that night when I was awake. I then also slept most of Saturday. I felt like crap both days, and since I haven't come down with anything, I was either able to fight something off with all that sleeping or had a serious case of the allergy wipeouts--I took double the amount of normal allergy meds on Saturday and finally started to feel better. Then, of course, cue the CPAP problem.
In better news, my friend C and I went and saw the Museum of Modern Ice last week. Here's a sample of my pictures:
This is C. She wanted to pose by the refrigeration piping.
I'm also happy to report that it's not totally impossible--though it felt like it--to find fair trade coffee at the average chain grocery store. Good grief did it take a long time, though. The last bag of beans I bought was Starbucks' Estima blend, which is the only fair trade blend they sell at Starbucks. It's also, unfortunately, just about the only blend I couldn't find at the local chain grocery store. The bags of Sumatra were calling to me like the devil conscience on my shoulder, but the angel conscience reminded my I promised myself to only buy'n'brew fair trade coffee at the house. I ended up with Rogers Family Organic Coffee Breakfast Blend because it was the only one I found that explicitly said FAIR TRADE. It looks, though, that in the brand, all the Organic Coffee's are fair trade. I'll have to remember that.
Enough rambling.
Monday, November 19, 2007
foiled again!
On Saturday, we made the trek down to Bloomington for about 24 hours of fun. We had lunch with my dear friend (since high school!) J, who hadn't yet met Anne. It was lovely, as always, to see her and laugh with her. We then headed over to Merdie's place, where we did a little crochet and Food Network before we headed out to dinner. Next stop, Illinois Wesleyan University for their monthly folk series Blue Moon Coffeehouse to see folkrocker Jess Klein. Ever since having a dream about serious flirting with Jess Klein (thank you, prozac dreams!), my love of her music has been amped up to an all-around love of Jess. She's in my five--you know, the list of people with whom it's not cheating. ;) Merdie's love of Jess and her music has also grown over time, so the two of us were super psyched to see Jess. (Anne, who also likes Jess's music, humored our crushes.) We arrived early at Wesleyan to camp out for good seats. I grabbed a spot by the door, Merdie sat on the steps, and Anne tossed her coat on my head while she wandered off to the bathroom. Being the odd kid I am, I sat there with her coat on my head, covering my face, Merdie laughing nearby. The place was deserted save for us... until the door behind me opened and Jess and Darcy, the Blue Moon organizer, walked past and up the stairs to the Green Room. Apparently, Jess gave Merdie a "Huh?" look about my sitting there with the coat over my face, to which Merdie just shrugged. I'm star-struck enough with musicians that I don't really need any help looking stupid in front of them. Needless to say, Jess didn't end up coming home with us. *sigh* The show was great, so we left happy anyway.
It's truly amazing that such big, soulful sound comes out of such a little woman.
My little 3.1 megapixel just isn't cutting it with video compared to some of the bigger-and-better-and-newer models. I tried anyway, and I cleaned up the sound as much as I could (funny, that my brother is a musician/producer with quite an ear, and I can barely clean up sound on a video :P ). This is Jess doing "Real Live Love."
It's truly amazing that such big, soulful sound comes out of such a little woman.
My little 3.1 megapixel just isn't cutting it with video compared to some of the bigger-and-better-and-newer models. I tried anyway, and I cleaned up the sound as much as I could (funny, that my brother is a musician/producer with quite an ear, and I can barely clean up sound on a video :P ). This is Jess doing "Real Live Love."
Thursday, October 4, 2007
my brother, the showman
My bro got a nice review this week from XLR8R:
Yea Big & Kid Static S/T Jib DoorThis project is so good. The rhymes are cool, the beats rock, and the two of them are so much damn fun. Can you tell I'm a proud sister?
This LP is worth listening to just for Deejay Yea Big’s production. Stuttering, glitchy, and just plain jaw-dropping, Yea Big’s beats are up there with the big guns of Prefuse 73 and Daedelus. With Kid Static’s humorous, yet angst-filled rhyming filling it out, this duo have put excitement and innovation back into hip-hop.
Monday, August 20, 2007
*ahem*
I have no idea at all where my brother gets his crazyfun spirit. Certainly not from me. No, nope, not at all.
At his show at the A-V-aerie in Chicago, on tour with the Mae Shi, Friday, August 10, 2007.
(left to right: my mom, my cousin's gf, my cousin, Anne, and me)
At his show at the A-V-aerie in Chicago, on tour with the Mae Shi, Friday, August 10, 2007.
(left to right: my mom, my cousin's gf, my cousin, Anne, and me)
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
trains may be slow, but basketball games move quickly
Saturday was hot. Ohso hot. Miserable hot. So, of course, we ventured out. We had tickets to see the Chicago Sky vs. Washington Mystic. It was a hot trip down to the UIC Pavilion, and with a Red Lind delay, we were pretty sure we'd miss tip-off. Except we got there, and no one was there. We check and rechecked our tickets. We ended up peeking our heads into Guest Services, only to find out that the game time was 7, not 5 like was printed on our tickets. The kind folks at Guest Services pointed us toward food and drink, and we cooled down before the game. 
Around 6, we headed up to our usual seats--we have a four-pack of games we're attending this season with the same seats, this game being game 3 for us. We perused our programs, blew up our inflatable noise maker thingies, and watched the drumline play down on teh court. A young man in a yellow t-shirt approached us after a few minutes. "Are you two along?" Our affirmative response was followed up with something like "Would you like to move seats down to the floor courtesy of Discover?" Dude. We went from seats midway up the upper bowl to seats on the friggin' floor.
Look at how close my toes were to the court!
We had a great view of the game. This blind kid could even read the shot clock at the other end of the court. It was easy for me to follow the game, and it was a lot of fun.
It was like a dream come true for us.
Did I mention we also got free t-shirts and a gift card from Discover? All we had to do was hold up a sign from Discover during the first time-out in the first quarter and look excited about our tickets. Duh. I think we might have been on tv.
Yesterday, I ventured by train to Bloomington to see folks I don't get to see that often. My friend Carol was scheduled to defend her dissertation at 1pm, and knowing the UNreliability of Amtrak, I opted to take the first train out, which came into Bloomington at about 9:35, twenty minutes late.
I was greeted by one familiar face and one new face--my good friend Ophelia from high school and her son, who I'd never met. (They were in Kansas City when he was born, and I was a poor grad student.) I had a fabulous morning with them. Eric taught me about Pokemon while his mom and I drank coffee. He then led us on a walk around downtown Normal before I walked us over to Avanti's for lunch. He's a pizza fiend!
I can see a lot of his father in his face, and he has his mom's creative spirit. It was so good to see both of them. She's such a good force to have in my life, and I'm so glad I got to see her. We had endless phone conversations during high school and college, and it was good to have her energy in my day.
Eric and his mom dropped me off at the dissertation defense, where Carol was trying to laugh and be cool. I'm sure was was pretty damn nervous inside, though.
She did a great job. Her work on the Exeter Book and its riddles has been interesting since we started grad school together, and it was so cool to see how it came together into a huge project that dealt with things like bringing literature to the people and changing what we think literature has to be.
She passed, of course, so I grabbed a shot of her advisor signing off on the paperwork after we all had the chance to applaud for her, my friend Dr. Smartass.
My train was two hours late into Bloomington to bring be back home yesterday, and of course, it was hot and humid in the station. Not a great wait, I tell you, but I did have a great Jimmy John's sandwich while I waited. I'll tell you what, those college towns know how to balance the flavors of the veggies with the right amount of mayo. :P
After a long trip with lots of time spent with our train just sitting (Who are they learning communication skills from, the CTA?) I finally rolled into the house at 11:30. I pooped today, but it's been a few good days. :)
We had a great view of the game. This blind kid could even read the shot clock at the other end of the court. It was easy for me to follow the game, and it was a lot of fun.
Did I mention we also got free t-shirts and a gift card from Discover? All we had to do was hold up a sign from Discover during the first time-out in the first quarter and look excited about our tickets. Duh. I think we might have been on tv.
Yesterday, I ventured by train to Bloomington to see folks I don't get to see that often. My friend Carol was scheduled to defend her dissertation at 1pm, and knowing the UNreliability of Amtrak, I opted to take the first train out, which came into Bloomington at about 9:35, twenty minutes late.
I can see a lot of his father in his face, and he has his mom's creative spirit. It was so good to see both of them. She's such a good force to have in my life, and I'm so glad I got to see her. We had endless phone conversations during high school and college, and it was good to have her energy in my day.
She did a great job. Her work on the Exeter Book and its riddles has been interesting since we started grad school together, and it was so cool to see how it came together into a huge project that dealt with things like bringing literature to the people and changing what we think literature has to be.
My train was two hours late into Bloomington to bring be back home yesterday, and of course, it was hot and humid in the station. Not a great wait, I tell you, but I did have a great Jimmy John's sandwich while I waited. I'll tell you what, those college towns know how to balance the flavors of the veggies with the right amount of mayo. :P
After a long trip with lots of time spent with our train just sitting (Who are they learning communication skills from, the CTA?) I finally rolled into the house at 11:30. I pooped today, but it's been a few good days. :)
Thursday, July 5, 2007
redeeming my morning; or, a post about my days in Iowa
I *did* try to volunteer this morning. Honest. I got up early. I showered. I put on scrubs. I sweated on the Red Line. And, they weren't open. Yeeaaah. Monthly Thursday morning staff meeting. Sipping my frappiccino, I decided it wasn't worth it to go back to bed. I've been uploading my pictures from the weekend, so I actually did something productive with my caffeinated morning.
I left Saturday afternoon to spend a few days in Iowa with Merdie and her BFF L. L lives in the town where she grew up, population roughly 1,000. That's smalltown living to this city kid, and it was nearly a 3-hour drive to the house from Omaha, which is the closest major airport. We hung out in Omaha on Saturday night, eating at Spaghetti Works and shopping in the Old Market district. Merdie was cat-sitting, so I helped a little on Saturday and Sunday nights. (And by "help," I mean I got to sleep in the tempurpedic bed in the upstairs bedroom with the upstairs cats to keep them company. It's a tough life, kids. Sunday, we drove up to the Lakes. I met L's mom on the way up when we stopped to drop off the pug-a-lug Lucy, my new BFF.
Monday, L and I dropped Merdie off at her adjunct teaching gig at one of the local community colleges and went to see "Ocean's Thirteen," which was fun. After we picked up Merdie, we headed home, sending Meride off to do her grading while L and I cooked and did stuff around the house. Tuesday, Merdie headed back out to teach while L and I were complete lazy bums, spending the day with Discovery's "Dirty Jobs." It's so awesome.
Besides that, I watched a lot of Food Network stuff, which is par for the course when you spend time with Merdie. Tuesday night's dinner was back up at the Lakes, before which I cracked my head racing into the car in the pouring rain. I didn't even get a bump, folks, as evidence of my injury. Boo. After a major Advil drugging, Merdie and I lit cheese on fire.
For her birthday, I brought her some Kaseri cheese to make saganaki, and we did a fine job of it for our first try--it tasted great! I flew back yesterday after a glutonous buffet lunch at the Ameristar casino in Council Bluffs.
Honestly, most of my pictures are of L's pug Lucy. She was my pal. We played a LOT. When we were in Omaha, L bought a door mat that says "Dog is Nuts." It's completely accurate.
And now, good people, I must go resume my obsessive watching of "Judging Amy."
I left Saturday afternoon to spend a few days in Iowa with Merdie and her BFF L. L lives in the town where she grew up, population roughly 1,000. That's smalltown living to this city kid, and it was nearly a 3-hour drive to the house from Omaha, which is the closest major airport. We hung out in Omaha on Saturday night, eating at Spaghetti Works and shopping in the Old Market district. Merdie was cat-sitting, so I helped a little on Saturday and Sunday nights. (And by "help," I mean I got to sleep in the tempurpedic bed in the upstairs bedroom with the upstairs cats to keep them company. It's a tough life, kids. Sunday, we drove up to the Lakes. I met L's mom on the way up when we stopped to drop off the pug-a-lug Lucy, my new BFF.
Monday, L and I dropped Merdie off at her adjunct teaching gig at one of the local community colleges and went to see "Ocean's Thirteen," which was fun. After we picked up Merdie, we headed home, sending Meride off to do her grading while L and I cooked and did stuff around the house. Tuesday, Merdie headed back out to teach while L and I were complete lazy bums, spending the day with Discovery's "Dirty Jobs." It's so awesome.
Besides that, I watched a lot of Food Network stuff, which is par for the course when you spend time with Merdie. Tuesday night's dinner was back up at the Lakes, before which I cracked my head racing into the car in the pouring rain. I didn't even get a bump, folks, as evidence of my injury. Boo. After a major Advil drugging, Merdie and I lit cheese on fire.
For her birthday, I brought her some Kaseri cheese to make saganaki, and we did a fine job of it for our first try--it tasted great! I flew back yesterday after a glutonous buffet lunch at the Ameristar casino in Council Bluffs.
Honestly, most of my pictures are of L's pug Lucy. She was my pal. We played a LOT. When we were in Omaha, L bought a door mat that says "Dog is Nuts." It's completely accurate.
And now, good people, I must go resume my obsessive watching of "Judging Amy."
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