I heart Chicago

The amount of stories I have to write about from this past week is staggering.  Unfortunately, in this age of "Omg, you have a blog and you wrote what you think about us? You're fired." Means I can write very little about my trip to Chicago.

Chicago is a great city.  This time, I actually got a chance to walk around and see the city, which is beautifully decorated for the holiday season.  There's a cupcake ATM, a lit up Trump Hotel, waterways through the city, and a clean, friendly feeling around the city.  I was able to visit my good friend Brittany again.  We've been friends since middle school, and being able to share memories and stories, old and new, over martinis is something I love.

The first stop we made after the hotel was the Blue Man Group show.  Way better and funnier than I thought it would be.  One of the girls in our group got pulled up onto stage which made it even more entertaining.

Next stop was dinner.  More on dinner below.

Next stop was the liquor store.  And boy, did we need it.

The rest of the trip was stressful and awkward, to say the least.  We worked out of our Chicago office when we weren't in training, and their connection is s....l........o..............w.  It was also cramped.  And loud, as there's no carpet or curtains or fabric of any kind absorbing noise.  However, the people that work there are awesome, so, some saving grace.

What I will say to the dinner awkwardness - imagine having dinner with 8 people, 4 of whom run the company and are oblivious to how utterly angry the other 4 people are at the table because of the way the first 4 treat the second 4.  Now, imagine the most important person being slightly intoxicated.  And asking hard and opened questions.  Whose answers cause arguments that attract attention from surrounding tables.

Now, imagine looking forward to that every single night of your trip.

If you can imagine that, you can understand why I now will stop talking about my long ass business trip to Chicago.

Writing by Hand

I've been putting off writing this card for awhile now.  It's sitting on my coffee table; a response needs to be written to my old friend turned penpal.  I love writing to her, and getting responses.  How awesome is it when you get a handwritten card?

Problem is, when was the last time you hand wrote anything?

Do you know, they don't even really teach it in school anymore?  I read this interesting article about what learning handwriting means for children, and why it matters that its missing now from school.  Now, I've heard a lot about this subject and pretended to be able to argue why it matters.  Most of it is logical, you can't write, it's harder to read, it's harder to keep up in school.  English and grammer and proper form gets lost.  Doctors scripts are illegible...

But did you know?  It helps develop linear thinking!  And a bunch of other things (read the article for more details - I refuse to rehash it here)!

In school, did you ever notice how the cheerleaders all had that same way of writing?  And you could tell a boy's handwriting write off the bat?  It seemed there were a few different styles and you could match the person to the script immediately.  Funny how self expression comes out in writing, is it not?

I'm terrified for the future.  What are these kids learning?  How homogenous will our culture become?  If our technology suddenly fails, who will have the skills to survive?  What if future generations can't express themselves?

I'm well aware I'm crazy.  But it's something to think about.  And discuss.  And maybe do something about.

Bueller.    Bueller.       Bueller.      


Bueller.......

Thanksgiving and Weight Issues

I had a great trip home.  I took time to be thankful for my family, my job, and my life.  I have a wonderful boyfriend who really makes my life better everyday and great friends!  Nothing is perfect, it is what it is.  And all-in-all, life's good.  I'm not homeless, unemployed or utterly alone.  Winning!

The only thing that was wrong with going home:  not enough vegetables!!!

I, as many people in America, struggle with those extra pounds.  Lately, I've been making efforts to work out more regularly.  With two gym memberships, I am exercising at least 5 hours a week, usually 7-10.  However, I constantly overeat.  Food is just SO GOOD GUYS.

In an effort to be better this week - me and the bf just made a grocery list and I'm going to cook breakfast for all week today.  My menu this week:

Breakfast:  oatmeal casserole, greek yogurt and a banana
Lunch:  turkey sandwich, vegetable soup, carrots, and an apple
Dinner:  vegetable (kale, broccoli, cauliflower or salad) and a pre-portioned frozen meal

We've decided to try pre-packaged meals for dinner for portion control to see if that works for a few weeks.  I'm not super excited about the idea, but I'm willing to see what happens.  After Christmas, I want to buy a juicer and start a modified Paleo diet.  I really want to see what it's like not to eat processed foods for awhile.


For now, I want to share this great oatmeal casserole recipe I got from my parents.  It's super delicious and great for cutting up into bars for all week.  It's awesome cold or warm!

Baked Oatmeal:

3 cups oatmeal
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 cup milk (or almond milk)
3-4 cups of applesauce (depending on how moist you like your oatmeal)
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp cinnamon
nuts and seasonal fruit, optional

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.  Mix all ingredients, put in a rectangular baking dish (11x7 ish).  Bake for 35 minutes.

Today, I'm going to make this with apples - I think next week I'm going to do bananas and strawberries!  I'm also going to get chia seeds at the grocery store today and add those for extra nutritional value.

What will you put in your baked oatmeal?

Stuck late at work, again.

In the industry I'm in, there are lots of RFI and RFQ posts we have to respond to.  These all have deadlines, most require us to overnight mail a big box full of documents.  (Yes, I think its a huge waste of resources when we have computers.)  So, we usually use the 7 p.m. deadline so we can drop the box off downstairs before the UPS guy comes and takes it.

Last night, it was 7 p.m. and we were not done.

Someone calls around, no mailing place is open except for FedEx a few blocks away.  We call, their driver will be there until 8:10, even though they close at 8.  At 8:02, I run out of the office with a box.

I realize how ridiculous I look, running down the Philadelphia sidewalks in a dress and boots, but I don't care.  This project doesn't get turned in, I'm going to be pissed.  Because I'm running.  And I look ridiculous.  And it's 8 p.m. and I'm still working.

I get there, the doors are locked,  I run around the building and find the FedEx van.  I get there, out of breath and ask the lady "can you take this box, it is all good?"

"Well ma'am, this is a UPS label."

"Oh...man..."

Never ending pause....

"Well, there's a UPS truck sometimes still loading just down the alley, let's go see if they are still there!"

I thank the lady profusely and wish her a happy Thanksgiving.  The UPS truck is abandoned, so I call back to my company.

"I found the FedEx truck, but it's a UPS label."

"So they took it, right?"

....

"No, but I'm at the UPS place now, can you call here and tell them I'm at their loading dock in front of their truck, please?"

___

Later when I got home, I just took a breath and said out loud, "that was absolutely ridiculous."  And I completely got how insane everything was that just happened.  Welcome to the real world.

(Grand) Parents

I'm posting this from work.  But to be fair it's 6 p.m. and I'm supposed to go home at 5 p.m.  I'm just waiting for this thing.  This project thing.  It's like in college when you are the one putting together the final submission and one person in your group waits until the last minute.  Yea, that happens in real life too.  Only it's not their fault.  So I'm not mad.  I'm just hungry.

And really looking forward to Thanksgiving.

Guys, I have a niece.  I've been allergic to babies since I could have one, but this little bugger stole my heart. She's so freakin' cute and adorable.  All I want to do for those 4 days is hug her.  Although I'm pretty sure my mom will not let that happen.  She's obsessed.  It's the first grandchild - it's so weird to think of your mom as a grandma.  It's actually blowing my mind a little.  Every time I think about my parents being grandparents it makes me sad.

Sad for reasons I'm not going into right now because one of my bff's is coming in from New York today and we get to hang out for a few hours and I'm not ruining by being depress-y about my parents getting old!!!

But seriously, what is with all of this life change?

I called my mom on Saturday because I was having a lot of stomach issues.  In tears, I just wanted her help and advice.  When I was a teenager, I did not want anything to do with her advice and help.  Can you even imagine a world where you don't have your parents to bounce stuff off of?  I know some people don't, but for those of us that do, be extra grateful and make sure they know it at Thanksgiving.  Because let's face it, your mid-twenties suck and your parents have already done it.  They know more than we ever thought.

WEIRD HOW THAT TURNED OUT, EH?

Hiatus

It's been awhile since my last post.  I did a lot of growing up and now have decided to join the Rebel Blogger movement.  If a movement can be defined as 2 people....

My excuses for never writing range from "who cares about what I think or write?" to "what if my boss or future employer reads this?"  Well, whatever.  I've decided I don't need a themed blog (popular ones for girls range from fashion, to music, to cute animals - all of which I love, but none of which I wish to write exclusively about) or one that has a vast following.

So here's to you, those three people that I know read my blog (Srav, Liz and Lorna)!  I'm going to start posting again.  I started today already!  Liz posted a DIY post I did on her awesome Get Rich or DIY Tryin' blog!  I made a cool little owl named George to hang on my wall!

Liz and I had a conversation while I was in Colorado that inspired me to start blogging again (more about the Colorado trip later).  She has been trying out blogger meet-ups and has decided that most bloggers are actually super snobby assholes, my words, not hers.  So, she decided to forget those guys and write about what she loves, and I'm supporting her movement by joining it!  It helps that my online persona is like Sam Weir in Freaks and Geeks.  The online world is so big!  There are SO MANY people out there writing and doing and creating. Almost nothing will set me apart, so, why bother trying?  I'm just gonna do what I love and screw the rest.

Life has been crazy lately.  TV shows and movies have been addressing kids, high schoolers, college goers, and 30-60 somethings lives forever.  But rarely does a show or story address the hell that is your mid-twenties.  Graduating from school, searching for a job that you'll probably hate, trying to decide how to act "grown up" and paying back student loans is stressful.  There are a lot of emotional and stressful situations, and there's no guide book.  Everyone I talked to about it says "just survive and wait for your thirties".

Surviving I am.  I moved in with my boyfriend in a super uncharacteristic move.  I have never been in a happier living situation since I got my period.  I finally got a job thanks to help from one of my best friends.  Boxing has become one of my favorite pastimes, and I'm not half bad at it.  Makes working out a lot easier, I'm much more motivated.  My friends since college have changed, and it's not always happy.  I feel a lot less social than I did in college, but I think that's just part of this era, I suppose.  I could go on and on; there are so many issues with being in your mid-twenties, but only so much attention span for one post.

So tune back in this week.  Read some entertaining stuff.  Or at least stuff you can either relate to or laugh about....