4 Goals for Summer 2011

Summer is (hopefully) officially here in Chicago and here are a few goals for my first full summer in this awesome city.

1. Play outside. I find it far too easy to hide inside (where there is AC) and not go outside. I mean, I have a Kindle FULL of books to read, a couch to sit on, and cold beer. Why do I need to go outside? Probably because I live in one of the best cities on earth and my skin can use some sun.

2. Wear sunscreen. An hour at the beach on Monday left my arms and legs and chest as red as Pantone 195c (see above), and Jimmy said that sitting next to me felt like sitting next to a space heater. I am RADIATING heat. I am in skirts and dresses until my thighs fade enough to put jeans on again. So, for the rest of the summer, I will be SO MUCH BETTER about sunscreen.

3. Run more 5Ks. I ran the JP Morgan Corporate Challenge last week (well, I ran some of it and walked the rest with a coworker), but I want to run more and be better.

4. Find a local farmer's market and go. Pretty self explanatory, but this is one thing I want to do.

What are your goals for Summer 2011?

4 Things I'd Do If This Doesn't Work Out

I often think about what I would do if my current career aspirations didn't work out. You know, if I can't hack it in the cutthroat world of marketing and PR (but let's be serious, I can). But it's always good to have back up plans and dreams.

1. Hooters Girl. Anyone who knows me knows that I can do this. And I heard once that you make hundreds in tips. So, there you go. Plan A.

2. Freelance Writer. I love to write. And the only reason I don't write more is because I simply don't have time. So if I could figure out how to make that pay the bills, I would. I know there are a lot of people (probably more talented writers) trying to make this work as well. But I do love writing.

3. Dolphin Trainer. I went to the aquarium with Jimmy last weekend for my birthday, and I decided that I want to be a dolphin trainer. How hard can it be?

4. Baker. I love to bake, and even though I don't have a scrap of artistic ability, I'd love to learn how to decorate baked items. I think that would be so much fun.

Realistically, I could end up anywhere, doing anything. But these are four things (some tongue-in-cheek) that I could do. Who knows? Maybe I'll end up being a dolphin-training, freelance-writing, baker who moonlights as a Hooters girl.

5 More Things I've Been Up To

So again with the not posting. Sorry guys. Here's a list of things I've been up to lately.

1. Baseball. Ah baseball, the great American sport. I've been to four games in the past month or so...three Cubs games and one Sox game. All but one were pretty cold. The Cubs won 2 of the 3 games I went to. The Sox were not playing very well when I went, so they lost. I'm starting to love baseball!

2. Visitors. My dad came to visit in the first weekend of May and we had a blast! We went to a baseball game (Cubs vs. Reds) and an AMAZING dinner at The Purple Pig. We also checked out the Bodyworks exhibit at the Museum of Science and Industry and a show at Second City. Then on Sunday we took Paige and Kate to Tweet, my new most favorite brunch spot.

Sidenote: Seriously guys, Tweet is amazing.* It's a gay bar by night and the best brunch ever by Saturday/Sunday mornings. And just as seriously, brunch is my new favorite meal.

3. Work. Well, this is a given. But I've been working a lot lately. I've started this new thing where I go in at 7:30 so then I can get a good day of work in and still be able to leave at 5, and then I have a little free time and can enjoy the sunshine before my body starts to cry for sleep. But I've really been enjoying work and I'm trying to learn as much as I can as I go along the way!

4. Yoga. I finished Beginners 1 (aka Yoga for Dummies) and signed up for Beginners 2 (aka Yoga for the Dummies who finished Beginners 1). I'm still not very good, but I really enjoy it and am starting to feel more comfortable in the difficult positions like shoulder stand, plough, and crow. I love it because there are only 12 asanas (poses) and it's easier for me to remember exactly what I'm supposed to do for each one, rather than trying to follow along with new poses each week. (We don't do the pose pictured above, btw.)

5. New friends. I've made a few new friends since moving here and have been spending a bit of time with them lately. I recently went and saw "Bridesmaids" with the ever lovely Anna and have been doing all sorts of fun things (such as bowling at Southport Lanes, seeing shows at iO, and wandering the city) with my new boyfriend Jimmy.

That's about all I've been doing lately, and it keeps me pretty busy! I'll try to get back on here a bit more regularly to post about the random thoughts I have throughout the day. Unfortunately, I'm feeling a bit under the weather right now but I've been to the doctor and should be all fixed up in no time!

Some projects for the next few weeks are finding more recipes that I can make using my square foot of counter space, actually making the cookies I've been wanting to make for a while, using my black bananas for banana bread (my coworkers will love that!) and keeping the chaos in my apartment at a more manageable level. Oh, and figuring out my Health Insurance, paying off my credit card once and for all, and celebrating my birthday!

*If you ever go to Tweet, you have to try the Chilaquiles. Trust me. It's amazing.

8 People You'll Run Into In The City

Now that I've been living here for a little while, I'm starting to notice some characters that come through my life every once in a while. This post was originally going to be much snarkier (if that's possible) because I was very, very frustrated today. But then I went to yoga and relaxed and didn't feel like being so mean anymore.*

So anyway, here are 8 people you may run into while traveling around the city:

1. Young men with neck tattoos. Your mother must be so proud. The same goes for those young men with tattoos all over their face.

2. The homeless woman outside of the train station. I don't purposely avoid eye contact and ignore you out of the meanness in my heart. I find it easier to avoid contact and communication than repeatedly say no every day. And I don't say no because I'm judging your lifestyle. I say no because I, too, have very little extra money besides what I use for rent, food, and the necessities.

3. The lonely looking person waiting for a train or bus. Sometimes you look so sad. I just want to give you a hug and say, "Hi! You're not alone in this world!" But most of the time you look like you want to be left alone. Sometimes this person is me.

4. The slightly crazy looking person on the sidewalk. (Or the train, or the bus. Most of my interaction with crazy people happens during my commute.) Please stop flipping me off. Please stop singing Michael Jackson on the train (ok, don't stop doing that. I loved it). Please stop following me down the sidewalk. But mostly, please don't try to talk to me when I'm reading my book.

5. The "socialite." Don't you ever get tired of going out? Do you ever wake up and say "What am I doing with my life besides partying?" I'm hoping you find your bliss in hangover-free mornings, and soon.

6. The cute guy walking a dog. Yes, I realize you're married. But you should know that I'm not staring at you. I'm thinking of a way to become friends with your dog.

7. Suburbanite teenagers on the train. (Or bus.) Yes, the city really is the big, scary place your parents warned you about. And yes, this means you should act terrified on the Yellow Line** and the northern half of the Red Line. Oh and PS, the seats on the train aren't all covered in urine***. I promise. But if you're really worried about it, take a cab. Those are mostly clean.

8. Me. Well, I'm a 22 year old woman who's apartment is always teetering on the brink of disaster. I'm getting into yoga, addicted to my phone, and starting to learn as much as I can about marketing banks. I love my Filofax, chocolate, and my family. I'm trying to figure out how to leave my mark on the city, but thus far I'm quite content with my (mostly) quiet little life in the big city.

Which one would you most like to meet?

*Sorry, Heather.

**I'm of the opinion that the Yellow Line is the tamest CTA line there ever was. I mean, it goes to SKOKIE for goodness sakes.

***I like to think this. I'm sure there are a lot more urine covered seats than I want to know about.

A Few of My Favorite Things

My loveliest friend Heather requested a blog. Being the entirely reasonable person she is, she gave me until Wednesday to write it. However, being the entirely too busy person that I am, I don't have tomorrow night or Wednesday night to write it. So tonight it is.

Unfortunately, I cannot for the life of me think of an interesting thing to make a list about. So this will be a "favorite things" post. Also unfortunately, I can't afford to get everyone a KitchenAid Mixer or a trip to the Bahamas*, so you'll just have to read about my favorite things!

1. Puppies! I met my uncle's puppy, Bedlam von Chaos, this weekend. He's a weimaraner. And he's adorable. And did I mention his name? Bedlam. What a great name for a pup! We spent a rainy Saturday afternoon napping and reading on the couch and, let me tell ya, if that's not heaven then I'm not sure what is. (Also, a google image search of "weimaraner puppies" produces the cutest page of results on the entire internet. In fact, I did it for you. Click here for awwwws.)

2. Girl Scout Cookies! I finally got my Girl Scout cookies in the mail and the first thing I did was devour a box of Caramel Delights (formerly known as Samoas). Then I put my Thin Mints in the freezer, as that is the ONLY way to enjoy Thin Mints.

3. Sisters! I drove back to Monmouth this past weekend with Paige for the 118th birthday of our beloved fraternity, Alpha Xi Delta. While there, I was able to see my lovely sisters and spend the weekend celebrating Founders Day.

4. New music! Over the past week I've discovered Brooke Fraser (LOVE) and Lupe Fiasco (LOVE). Also over the past week, Lady Gaga released Judas, which is a really awesome new song.

That's all for now!

*I really wish my favorite things right now could be KitchenAid Mixers and trips the Bahamas. I just got my car insurance bill, so my favorite things next week will probably be cereal and ramen noodles.

4 Really Great Decisions I've Made Lately

I'm just going to come clean and say that I'm not sorry for not posting more regularly. Because if I was a slave to the blog, then I wouldn't have anything to write about. Plus I really don't like apologizing in every single post I write. It makes me feel guilty.

So, in my free time when I find myself not tethered to a computer*, here are some really good decisions I've made:

1. Started running. This was a good idea for multiple reasons**:

a. I just feel generally better.

b. I enjoy the feeling of camaraderie I have with my fellow Lake Shore path runners.

c. I just feel like there should be a third list item. (Lists should be comprised of more

than two things, or so Mrs. Soderberg taught me in the 7th grade. Or was it one thing?

Who knows.)

So, even though I can feel the shin splints coming back with a vengeance, I think this was a good decision. So far. I've signed up for a 5K at the end of May and have tentatively (ok, not tentatively) decided to run a half marathon in September. Training during a Chicago summer, however, may not end up being a great decision. Time will tell.

2. Read. Read, read, read. I've read more in the past few weeks than I've read since I graduated college. In fact, just tonight, I read Bossypants by Tina Fey in one sitting. Added bonus of reading: I don't rot my brain with the same reruns of Criminal Minds and SVU. Although I just realized that my reading caused me to miss tonight's brand new episode of How I Met Your Mother. Oh well.

3. Bought an awesome shirt. My friend Tynan started an awesome clothing line called Namesake Apparel. {Tumblr & Etsy} (Just so you all know, and so you all can be just like me, I got the white shirt. I'm wearing it tomorrow.) Anyway, you should go look at this stuff because the designs are awesome. And my friend is awesome. So, go forth and spend!

4. Stayed up all night. Because you're only 22 once. And my sources tell me that once you get old and arthritic, you can't do that anymore.

Anyway, those are the great life decisions I've made in the past few weeks. My next post will tackle the adult tasks I've been procrastinating on. These include things like figuring out my health insurance and....figuring out my health insurance. Stay tuned!

*I manage two computers at work, so, not surprisingly, I don't really feel like dealing with my computer when I get home from work.

**A list within a list. I'm committed to this concept. Don't judge.***

***I work for a bank now. I'm being brainwashed into the idea of disclosures. No minimum balance required to read, must maintain $5,000 in total relationship with me to avoid a monthly service fee of an $18 Starbucks Gift Card and an Almond Joy candy bar. © 2011 Confessions of a Listaholic.

5 of the Most Egregious Errors in Online Dating

Well, it's April in Chicago. I'm hoping that spring isn't too far behind.

I'm starting to grow my bangs out, so needless to say, I'm entering kind of an awkward stage in my life. So naturally, I thought it would be a good idea to start another profile on OkCupid. I know I quit my last one because I was spending far too much online and I found the whole process to be a little creepy. But I'm giving it another try, but this time with limits. I try not to check it too often and delete messages that give me the creeps. However, I have found quite a few common errors on these gentlemen's profiles:

1. Zoolander face. No one looks good with the Zoolander face. Not even Ben Stiller.

2. Wildly inappropriate messages. I'm sorry, but messages saying "Your really hott" are not only completely grammatically incorrect, but they're also incredibly creepy and not productive.

3. Creeping. The same people look at my profile over and over and over and never message me. That, sir, is creeping.

4. Not asking questions. When you actually do message me, ask questions. Don't just talk about yourself. How am I supposed to respond to that? With the same level of narcissism?

5. Generic profiles. I'm pretty sure every guy on OkCupid is a world traveler, an adventurous eater, and really good at making people laugh. But I already assumed that, so tell me something else about yourself.