good/bad

I love getting ready for Halloween.

Not bad for a $10 old navy sweatsuit and some felt.

But I also hate it, b/c by the time the work is done, you realize your two day-old pumpkin is already too banged up and rotten to carve, and it's going to be too cold on the 31st to wear anything other than a winter coat anyway.  Oops.

That's if I can even convince the kid to wear a costume anyway.  Oh well.  I was really looking forward to carving a pumpkin last night but we made the best of it.  Got out the chalkboard paint instead and then the chalk markers.  Didn't turn out too bad.

Would have looked better carved though.

Now is the part where I mention I just have to make it to Friday, b/c I hate my job and each day is slowly bleeding the life out of me.  I need a beer.

Current beer-scale: 9.3

thank god for football

So how to survive another case of summer ending...

I picked up after Labor Day fitting two interviews in for jobs I wasn't too interested in but was happy to set up after a long dry spell.  I have a good feeling about at least getting an offer from UChicago, although I'm not sure I want to head down there every day and I don't think the salary will be where I need it to be.

The same could be said about the salary at the WTTW job, and that's potentially only a two year contract with part of the job being working to secure additional funding.  But Sen. Durbin was in the lobby as I was leaving, and I took the chance to say hello and shake his hand.  It made for a slightly more interesting interview story than usual when I got home.

Ah, home.  Where I'd much rather be right now.  Taking yesterday off meant I was home for 5 glorious days over the weekend, putting up closets and taking care of kids.  It was fantastic.  Now all I have to do is hang on until the NFL opens tomorrow night and keep my fingers crossed that Michigan goes down in flames on Saturday.

Current beer-scale: 9.1

How to enjoy a long weekend while job searching

Simple: have a two-year old and take him to a farm where he can run around and ride a tiny train. 

 Done.

And try to ignore the fact you're going back into the office on Tuesday.  Don't let it spoil what was a great weekend.  Sooner or later you'll find something else.  You hope.

Current beer-scale: 6.8

*fart noises*

That's more a Thomas blue than xmas, but fuck it, I've got a kid. 

These felt more like a "had to" vs a "want to" for tomorrow's office cookie day but I'll be damned if those aren't the nicest blue and green that I've put together.

Ribs are feeling better but with a few inches of fresh snow down and about 80 cookies plus bourbon balls to carry I think I'll still be on the train tomorrow. Ugh. Man I wish I dip into that bourbon right about now. Oh we'll hopefully in a couple more days I can put away the pills and pick up a tumbler.

Current beer-scale: a post-great weekend 3.5

snuck in a few miles there

Nothing like laughing maniacally as you ride home after more than a few drinks.

Had to leave the office party a little earlier than I would have liked to get to Iron Cycles and pick up the trek after its tune-up.  Still managed to have a handful of whiskeys before leaving, more than enough to get me in bad shape today.  But riding home was fun.

Bike rides great, good to have it back.  Too bad it's going on the rack for the rest of the bad weather.

Current beer-scale: a low 4.1

And that's why it's my favorite holiday

He's a little young for the reference (and so are the daycare staffers apparently) but he seemed to be having fun. 

Current beer-scale: 7.1

It's been a long week(s)

A few days on the train and I'm going fucking insane. But it's finally the holidays and I can drink drink drink. Yahoo!

Current beer-scale: 9.5

Stay safe man, stay safe

Okay, after 7 cocktails at the office holiday party all anyone could tell me as I was leaving was "stay safe."

Like it's so hard to walk three blocks to the train. Everyone knew I wasn't riding. Is it that much of a reputation killer to ride a bike and enjoy pounding the occassional half-dozen cocktails?

Current beer-scale: very low

Ew.

Yeah, Black Friday is always a blast. Hungover, waiting for family members to leave me the hell alone, it's my favorite day of the year.

Actually, once everyone is gone things usually pick up. The wife and I take the dog around the deserted neighborhood and put up christmas crap. This year that included our new tree since the last one got trashed in our water-logged basement last year. Thanks, crappy old apartment.

But we were psyched to put this one up-a 7.5 ft fat-looking fake wesley pine with lights from Home Depot. Of course, once we opened it, the stand was missing. The lights didn't work. And oh yeah, there were rat turds all over the place. Good times.

So we made a rare Black Friday trip to a store to make a return, which thankfully went smoothly. There weren't any more wesleys left but we picked up a GE after we opened it in the store to make sure everything was in it and used a display outlet to make sure the lights worked. Ah christmas.

But it's up now, getting decorated, and we have three more days off to relax. Finally, the thanksgiving I was hoping for.

Current beer-scale: 6.6

Whiskey Wednsday

Turned into hung-over Thanksgiving. It took a beer and three whiskeys to put up with having my mom stay with us last night, and that put me in great shape today to deal with prepping the disgusting turkey. Fucking fantastic.That is fucking gross, even though eventually it looks like this.
And the dog always enjoys her thanksgiving, especially when she ends up cleaning the plate of who-ever is paying the least attention.
I think that's strawberry topping from a cheesecake, although it could be cranberry sauce too. Ah, the holidays.

Current beer-scale: 2.2

2.5 more days

Ugh.

More work on the walmart bike last weekend, and it's slowly coming together. Frankenbike was in worse shape than I thought and not all the parts are salvage-able, but I'm still only $20 over the $100 mark for the bike so there's some room to upgrade.

Which is good, b/c the wife started making some subtle hints about Christmas shopping this weekend and nearly sent me into a panic. I have no clue this year. Nothing new. I usually have very little clue in general but it seems to be spectacularly low this year. What do you get your pregnant wife of 5 years for Christmas?

Current beer-scale: 8.7 but coming down as I talk myself into Caleb Hanie starting the rest of the season. Ouch.

three weeks

Thanksgiving is just three weeks away. A mere 23 days. I can it that. Just hang on a few more weeks and it's five days off time. Sure, no problem.

Current beer-scale: 8.8

Kick it off right

It didn't look good as I was leaving today.

So the heat hasn't come yet, but that's no reason to leave the cap on the growler. Especially after racing the clouds and cab douches to come home early and cut the grass.

It looked pretty bad by the time I was almost home. There were actually people stopping on Lincoln at Wilson to take pictures of the sky. I was more concerned with whether or not any of these were starting to look particularly funnel-shaped.

Nothing really happened though, and I got the grass cut after taking the dog out. Nicked up a finger too, although I didn't realize it was full-on bleeding until I was nearly done.

Now to drink my growler and go see "Conan O'Brien Can't Stop." All in all a great way to start a long holiday weekend. Happy Independence Day!


Current beer-scale: 8.9

in for a dime

in for a dollar.


Man did I need my huge cup of coffee this morning. After sleeping like crap and slogging through the neighborhood I was looking forward to actually feeling warm.

With Fat Tuesday in the rearview I was debating whether I should give anything up for Lent this year. The charm of withholding something from myself that I immensely enjoy wore off some years ago but it never hurts to try and be a better person for a while. More than going without, I've tried to change behaviors I'm not particularly proud of in the past.

This was more fun in college, to see if I could go 40 days without beer or soda or anything else I enjoyed on a regular basis. But this year is going to be difficult. I've decided to try and curb my use of my middle fingers while out on the bike or walking the dog. Talk about something I do on a regular basis. It seems like I can't commute to work or take the dog out without some asshat rolling through a stop sign, texting through an intersection, or just plain being a douche. I usually feel completely justified in my judicious use of a middle finger salute, but it never accomplishes anything. People will be jerks whether or not some other idiot is flipping them off. So for the next 40 days, and possibly even longer, I'm going to try and slow my roll a little and be cool.

I wouldn't bet money on my not giving anyone the finger until Easter, but I'll do my best. I made it through this morning at least.

Current beer-scale: 4.9

Happy photobomb!

Hi! Merry christmas!

Current beer-scale: 7.3 & on our way to the brother-in-law's

made it!

I don't know how it happened, but the holidays are here and I have a few days off. Perfect timing, b/c even in decent conditions I feel like today's ride will take a day or two to recover from. But after a few drinks last night I feel ready to have a few more and get that recovery started.

Holiday beer-scale: a festive 6.9

Wow. Just...wow.

So. That is indeed some guy reading the situation's book on the train, and not noticing my taking a pic after 5 drinks at the office christmas party. Let's just say I was trying not to cackle hysterically while taking it.

Even better, we saw the christmas train just as we exited the red line @ fullerton. Now that's good timing.


Current beer-scale: 1.9 after a solid 5 whiskeys @ the party this afternoon.

So it begins

Tonite's the second holiday party on my schedule but the first of four coming from work. There's tonite, Saturday's reception for Dec graduates, Tuesday's department party, and Wednesday's University party. Woof. I still rode today b/c having to go up to RoPo means I could leave early to stop at home then go to the party. Tonite's actually the one I'm least looking forward too, but when it's done it's Friday so I'll suck it up. I'll deal with having to take the train next week if it comes to that. That's what fancy phones are for.

I installed the available update for my Droid X yesterday and I have to say, that might be the last phone I ever need. The camera is great, there's plenty of memory for my decent-sized personal playlist, angry birds is addictive, and the call clarity isn't too bad either. I'm not immediately comfortable with change on a device I've gotten used to, but most of the changes seem surface-level. The only thing that did happen was I lost the band and album info on all the music I already had on the phone. But everything else works.


I took this last night after the update while I was goofing around. I had hoped a picture of the tree would help my mood this morning, no luck so far. The polaroid effect does a nice job of concealing just what a crappy fake plastic tree we have. Other than the laptop that could be a picture from my childhood. Minus the tinsel. I miss tinsel.

Current beer-scale: 8.1

Two turkey hilights & bitching about headwinds

Woof.

We put our tree up post-thanksgiving as is our tradition, and afterwards I had a chance to "fine-tune" frankenbike for this week. Quotes b/c there's nothing fine about it. But the tires felt a little slushy and needed some air, and since I had toe-clips going unused they got tossed on the worst bike in the city. Just in time to struggle through a totally craptastic headwind on the way in this morning. If it stays breezy it might be time to switch to the cutting-thru-the-neighborhood route instead of the path. Shortcuts are smart. But there's nothing like going back to work after a few days off with elements that seem dead set on keeping you from getting there.

And what a few days off they were. ND beat USC, the Bears beat Philly and M. Vick got hit a few times, and I figured out that I could use my mother-in-law's laptop to put the NFL network broadcast on the big screen to cap off Thursday.


The dog was less than impressed, but she was exhausted from getting so much attention over the course of the day.


I don't blame her. The holidays are fun, but damn can they be draining.

Current beer-scale: 8.2

Too early friends

It was cold in Chicago for a couple of days last week. Cold enough that pumpkin lattes sounded really good and it was maybe time to start actually nailing down Thanksgiving plans. It was the first week of November after all.


Not quite time to put up Christmas lights though, which is starting downtown. Granted, there are millions of lights to put up so I guess it makes sense that things might start this early. ZooLights are already going up I'm sure. But look how gorgeous it still is outside! Let's get to Thanksgiving before we start the Christmas countdown at least. It's going to be 60 degrees for christ' sake (and I can't wait to ride in it!).

Current beer-scale: 8.1