I actually had a pretty eventful weekend for once. Friday ended up being a long work day, as I had 6 hours of class. This is incredibly unusual for a Friday, because our school generally has the common sense to ease up on us at the end of the week. I guess since we got Monday off though, they had to make up for it somehow. Bastards. Anyway, I ended up going to the Hot Hot Heat, Louis XIV and The Editors concert that night. It was at the Vic Theater, which was literally a smaller version of the Warfield in SF. It was a pretty great show. Hot Hot Heat kinda phoned in the performance, probably because they were the openers and they haven't done anything great lately. Louis XIV rocked pretty hard. I only knew their one song which Live105 used to play all the time, but their other songs aren't bad either. They also have two violinists who are fun, and the guitarists were both really really good. They were fun to watch.
The Editors were pretty unexpectedly good. I listened to their album before the show, and it pretty much sounded like Interpol, but more upbeat and not all their songs sounded the same. And granted, all their songs did end up sounding the same live, but the fact that the lead singer was insane and the songs were crafted well made the show. The guy literally would jump from playing the piano to playing the guitar and back to playing the piano in a single song. At one point, he grabbed the mike, jumped on the piano and sang his little heart out from there. It was insanity. I haven't seen someone play with that much energy in a long time.
On Saturday, I had my second wine class. This time, it was all about red wines and how to buy one that was ready to drink and one that you could put away for a couple decades. The dude poured us this Spanish tempranillo wine that was just mind-blowingly delicious. Usually we take a couple sips of the wine and pour it out, so we don't end up throwing up in the middle of class, but I drank every little bit of this wine. It was soooo good (and I was kinda tipsy after class). I also realized that I can finally taste the differences between wines. Before, I just knew if a wine was good or bad. Now, I can kinda identify flavors. Oh yes, I'm working my ways up the snob hierarchy here. This is pretty momentous. This one wine is slowly becoming an obsession too. I've been looking online for this wine and for wine stores in my area so I can go buy some. Just the thought of it makes me all warm and happy inside.
January's coming to an end (time to send out the rent check), which actually makes me happy. It means I'm that much closer to spring break and summer vacation. And boy, do I need a decent break, even though I just had winter break, I know. I got a position as a coordinator for the student-run psychiatry clinic, which I kinda happened to fall into. It'll be fun, but also a crapload of more work. I also got a research project to work on, which is mostly for summer, but it's going to get started within the next month. This is all exciting, but we all know how lazy I am. All I really want to do is sleep. Like constantly, for maybe a week or so. That sounds so awesome.
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Monday, January 21, 2008
It's all kinds of freezing
So, it's been really fucking cold here. On Saturday, it was mostly in the subzero range. I've never ever been in this kind of weather, and it's weird. I went to my wine class, and I took a cab there. But on the way back, I decided to save some cash and take the El, which was about a 15 minute walk from the bar (and yes, I was at a bar and drinking at 1:30 on a Saturday afternoon).
Now, to paint the picture properly, it was actually a really pretty, sunny day. Keep in mind, this is rare and I don't see the sun very often, so although I know it's cold, instinctively I want to be in the sun. Thus, I started walking. At first, it wasn't so bad. I was bundled up properly with my face covered and everything, and I was doing fine. Then, breathing became kinda difficult. Air that cold is very dry, so breathing it in through either my nose or mouth started to hurt like hell. To counteract this, my nose started running like mad. Now, I'm walking and wiping my nose and trying to keep my face covered all at the same time.
Then, my quads started to go numb. I never thought this was possible, since the thighs are a pretty meaty part of the body. However, I was just wearing jeans, and my jacket's not long enough to cover my thighs. I had boots on, which covered up my shins, but there was only one layer of clothing separating my thighs from the cold. This was not smart. As my quads go numb, I slow down and can't walk nearly as fast. So at this point, I start fearing for my life. I mean really, what the fuck. Thankfully, I made it, but it was rather painful. Once I got home, I immediately changed into my comfy, warm clothes. My thighs were bright red like you would not believe and cold as ice. I'm pretty sure I'd be the first dumbass in Chicago history to get frostbite of the thighs. God, this place sucks so hard.
Anyway, the wine class turned out to be fun. There were two glasses of wine in front of me when I first sat down, red and white. The red was for the class, and the white was a 'welcome wine.' Hehe. I thoroughly enjoyed the fact that we got a starter wine at the beginning of a class where we'd be drinking wine for 90 minutes. I actually also learned a lot about wines. For example, in Illinois, two-buck chuck is called three-buck chuck because of shipping or some such nonsense, which makes me want to move back to California even more. Paying more for that crap wine is a crime. We started the tastings with the red wine that was sitting there, then the instructor poured four other wines that had been doctored to exaggerate certain flavors. This was painful. I started to become afraid of drinking the wine because it tasted so bad. It was seriously like some sort of sadistic initiation ritual into the world of wine. Adding lemon to wine = not pleasant. But you all know I drank it anyway. :)
Well, there'll be more updates on the class and life in general as more stuff hopefully happens. Maybe. Right now, I'm sleepy.
Now, to paint the picture properly, it was actually a really pretty, sunny day. Keep in mind, this is rare and I don't see the sun very often, so although I know it's cold, instinctively I want to be in the sun. Thus, I started walking. At first, it wasn't so bad. I was bundled up properly with my face covered and everything, and I was doing fine. Then, breathing became kinda difficult. Air that cold is very dry, so breathing it in through either my nose or mouth started to hurt like hell. To counteract this, my nose started running like mad. Now, I'm walking and wiping my nose and trying to keep my face covered all at the same time.
Then, my quads started to go numb. I never thought this was possible, since the thighs are a pretty meaty part of the body. However, I was just wearing jeans, and my jacket's not long enough to cover my thighs. I had boots on, which covered up my shins, but there was only one layer of clothing separating my thighs from the cold. This was not smart. As my quads go numb, I slow down and can't walk nearly as fast. So at this point, I start fearing for my life. I mean really, what the fuck. Thankfully, I made it, but it was rather painful. Once I got home, I immediately changed into my comfy, warm clothes. My thighs were bright red like you would not believe and cold as ice. I'm pretty sure I'd be the first dumbass in Chicago history to get frostbite of the thighs. God, this place sucks so hard.
Anyway, the wine class turned out to be fun. There were two glasses of wine in front of me when I first sat down, red and white. The red was for the class, and the white was a 'welcome wine.' Hehe. I thoroughly enjoyed the fact that we got a starter wine at the beginning of a class where we'd be drinking wine for 90 minutes. I actually also learned a lot about wines. For example, in Illinois, two-buck chuck is called three-buck chuck because of shipping or some such nonsense, which makes me want to move back to California even more. Paying more for that crap wine is a crime. We started the tastings with the red wine that was sitting there, then the instructor poured four other wines that had been doctored to exaggerate certain flavors. This was painful. I started to become afraid of drinking the wine because it tasted so bad. It was seriously like some sort of sadistic initiation ritual into the world of wine. Adding lemon to wine = not pleasant. But you all know I drank it anyway. :)
Well, there'll be more updates on the class and life in general as more stuff hopefully happens. Maybe. Right now, I'm sleepy.
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Lessons in snobbery
I am slowly getting over the massive soreness from yoga last week. It was so painful over the weekend. I was sore from my biceps to my shoulders to the middle of my back and my legs were also sore. Gah, I'm so glad I can move like a normal human being again.
Anyway, I'm actually being kinda productive for once in my life. I'm going to the gym regularly (I did go for a slow jog even with the soreness). I'm kinda getting my studying done and kinda sorta maybe understanding things. I applied to be a coordinator for one of the free clinics. I've been going to class, which is not as easy as it sounds, those bastards are at 8am. I also signed up for a wine course on saturday afternoons.
Yeah, that's right. I'm actually taking a class to make me even more a snob. Didn't think it was possible huh? The class is a basics course for people who have no clue when it comes to wine. It's also at a wine bar (seems obvious, but the other class was at Whole Foods, so there) in Lincoln Park, which is apparently where all the fun is. The point of which is I'm getting out of downtown, I'm doing something somewhat interesting, possibly meeting new people, and if all else fails...I'm getting drunk. I like my plan. I like it a lot.
The first class is this saturday. It's going to be a partly cloudy day with a high of 10 degrees and a 'real feel' of -12 degrees. Fuck. My. Life. 10! Ten whole degrees as a high! And it's not even going to feel like ten degrees, it's going to feel 20 degrees colder than that. I'm freaking out, man. This really isn't helping me save money either. There's no way I'm going grocery shopping in this weather, so I'll have to have it delivered. There's no way I'm taking public transportation anywhere. I'm pretty sure I'm going to take a cab to the gym, which is an unbelievable thing to do in my mind. Oh and what's the low for saturday? It's -1. With the real feel nonsense of...wait for it...-25! Woooo. So, you know, if you all don't hear from me by Monday, I'm probably in a block of ice somewhere.
There was one bit of good news, which is that Sami got into Albert Einstein's med school, which is so awesome! Eeeeeee! Yes, those are squeals of delight. Such squealing. Selfishly, this means I will finally have someone to visit in New York, and plans are being hatched to see a certain young, male actor naked....er, i mean in a play about some horses or something. Yes...horses. Creepiness aside, it really is great. Go Sami!
Anyway, I'm actually being kinda productive for once in my life. I'm going to the gym regularly (I did go for a slow jog even with the soreness). I'm kinda getting my studying done and kinda sorta maybe understanding things. I applied to be a coordinator for one of the free clinics. I've been going to class, which is not as easy as it sounds, those bastards are at 8am. I also signed up for a wine course on saturday afternoons.
Yeah, that's right. I'm actually taking a class to make me even more a snob. Didn't think it was possible huh? The class is a basics course for people who have no clue when it comes to wine. It's also at a wine bar (seems obvious, but the other class was at Whole Foods, so there) in Lincoln Park, which is apparently where all the fun is. The point of which is I'm getting out of downtown, I'm doing something somewhat interesting, possibly meeting new people, and if all else fails...I'm getting drunk. I like my plan. I like it a lot.
The first class is this saturday. It's going to be a partly cloudy day with a high of 10 degrees and a 'real feel' of -12 degrees. Fuck. My. Life. 10! Ten whole degrees as a high! And it's not even going to feel like ten degrees, it's going to feel 20 degrees colder than that. I'm freaking out, man. This really isn't helping me save money either. There's no way I'm going grocery shopping in this weather, so I'll have to have it delivered. There's no way I'm taking public transportation anywhere. I'm pretty sure I'm going to take a cab to the gym, which is an unbelievable thing to do in my mind. Oh and what's the low for saturday? It's -1. With the real feel nonsense of...wait for it...-25! Woooo. So, you know, if you all don't hear from me by Monday, I'm probably in a block of ice somewhere.
There was one bit of good news, which is that Sami got into Albert Einstein's med school, which is so awesome! Eeeeeee! Yes, those are squeals of delight. Such squealing. Selfishly, this means I will finally have someone to visit in New York, and plans are being hatched to see a certain young, male actor naked....er, i mean in a play about some horses or something. Yes...horses. Creepiness aside, it really is great. Go Sami!
Thursday, January 10, 2008
The joy of yoga, kindof
I've been in Chicago the past few months, and I haven't really gotten a whole lot out of it. I decided over break that for this new term, I would get out of my apartment more and see the city and/or just do something more productive with my time. You might call it a new year's resolution of sorts, although I think those are such crap. So maybe a new semester resolution? Er, how about doing something and sucking it up instead of whining all the time? I think I'll go with that one.
On Sunday, I went to the Art Institute of Chicago, which has all kinds of pretty art, as one would assume. It has the pretty French stuff and weird modern stuff and different exhibits with random stuff like textiles and architectural designs. They have a room filled with Monet's paintings, which made me so happy. There's something about his paintings that's just soothing and peaceful, except for the London ones. I don't think he liked London so much. Case in point:
The Art Institute has this painting, and it is absolutely beautiful. In real life, the colors pop off the canvas, there's light, it's happy and it's just a pretty painting. And then there's this one:
Yup, that's his take on London and their beloved Houses of Parliament. All the landscapes in France are soft and sunny. His paintings of Venice were also rather bright and happy. Then, there's this dump. Granted, he's right. London pretty much is a dark, dismal place, but someone could have at least had the decency to bribe him into making it look nice. Anyway, there was a lot to see at the museum that I didn't get to, so I'll have to go back at some point and check the rest of it out.
I've also decided to try to finally set up a regular exercise schedule, instead of sporadically doing stuff. I went out for a run on Monday, which was actually really great. It was a nice 65 degrees and I was able to go running comfortably in a T-shirt...In Chicago...In January. I was rather pleased by this. That only lasted a short time as it's cold again, but it was so nice not being cold for once.
Last night, I decided to check out a yoga studio relatively close to my place and finally start up yoga again. So, the way my neighborhood works is a little strange. It's the nicest neighborhood in Chicago. It's downtown, in between Michigan Ave and the Lake. However, I spend most of my time south of my apartment building. School is that way, so are all the grocery stores, dry cleaners, bank, etc. There's also some ritzy stuff like the Neiman Marcus and Saks Fifth, but there's also common-folk stuff too, like Gap and a Walgreens. It's nice. However, the two blocks just north of my apartment are the fucking richest and most upscale blocks I've ever seen. Since I never go there, I really never noticed the difference.
I had to go through that neighborhood to the yoga studio. These few blocks include the Hancock Tower (which I did realize was there thankyouverymuch), The Drake Hotel, other really fancy ass hotels, Bloomingdale's, Gucci, and The Private Bank. Yup. That's what was written on the door and the sign outside in fancy gold print. The Private Bank. They might as well have written "The Bank for Only the Ridiculously Rich Who Do Not Want to Associate with Lowly Commoners." I mean, wow. That's one of those where I stopped on the street, stared and then started laughing hysterically.
Anyway, I made it to the yoga class in time. It's possibly the nicest and most extravagant yoga studio I've ever seen (although, I'm sure there's 'The Private Yoga Studio' out there somewhere). It also had a teacher who kicked my ass in the name of inner peace. It felt great at the time, but man, my shoulders and legs are sooo sore. Getting up in the morning hurt so much. It made me reconsider this whole 'going out' idea, but then I thought about how awesomely in shape I would be if I kept this up. So I think I'll go regularly. :)
Well, that's all. I haven't gotten any pictures on phone. I'll figure that out at some point this year.
On Sunday, I went to the Art Institute of Chicago, which has all kinds of pretty art, as one would assume. It has the pretty French stuff and weird modern stuff and different exhibits with random stuff like textiles and architectural designs. They have a room filled with Monet's paintings, which made me so happy. There's something about his paintings that's just soothing and peaceful, except for the London ones. I don't think he liked London so much. Case in point:
The Art Institute has this painting, and it is absolutely beautiful. In real life, the colors pop off the canvas, there's light, it's happy and it's just a pretty painting. And then there's this one:Yup, that's his take on London and their beloved Houses of Parliament. All the landscapes in France are soft and sunny. His paintings of Venice were also rather bright and happy. Then, there's this dump. Granted, he's right. London pretty much is a dark, dismal place, but someone could have at least had the decency to bribe him into making it look nice. Anyway, there was a lot to see at the museum that I didn't get to, so I'll have to go back at some point and check the rest of it out.I've also decided to try to finally set up a regular exercise schedule, instead of sporadically doing stuff. I went out for a run on Monday, which was actually really great. It was a nice 65 degrees and I was able to go running comfortably in a T-shirt...In Chicago...In January. I was rather pleased by this. That only lasted a short time as it's cold again, but it was so nice not being cold for once.
Last night, I decided to check out a yoga studio relatively close to my place and finally start up yoga again. So, the way my neighborhood works is a little strange. It's the nicest neighborhood in Chicago. It's downtown, in between Michigan Ave and the Lake. However, I spend most of my time south of my apartment building. School is that way, so are all the grocery stores, dry cleaners, bank, etc. There's also some ritzy stuff like the Neiman Marcus and Saks Fifth, but there's also common-folk stuff too, like Gap and a Walgreens. It's nice. However, the two blocks just north of my apartment are the fucking richest and most upscale blocks I've ever seen. Since I never go there, I really never noticed the difference.
I had to go through that neighborhood to the yoga studio. These few blocks include the Hancock Tower (which I did realize was there thankyouverymuch), The Drake Hotel, other really fancy ass hotels, Bloomingdale's, Gucci, and The Private Bank. Yup. That's what was written on the door and the sign outside in fancy gold print. The Private Bank. They might as well have written "The Bank for Only the Ridiculously Rich Who Do Not Want to Associate with Lowly Commoners." I mean, wow. That's one of those where I stopped on the street, stared and then started laughing hysterically.
Anyway, I made it to the yoga class in time. It's possibly the nicest and most extravagant yoga studio I've ever seen (although, I'm sure there's 'The Private Yoga Studio' out there somewhere). It also had a teacher who kicked my ass in the name of inner peace. It felt great at the time, but man, my shoulders and legs are sooo sore. Getting up in the morning hurt so much. It made me reconsider this whole 'going out' idea, but then I thought about how awesomely in shape I would be if I kept this up. So I think I'll go regularly. :)
Well, that's all. I haven't gotten any pictures on phone. I'll figure that out at some point this year.
Monday, January 7, 2008
I'm back. . . for now muahaha
I just realized it's been nearly two months since I wrote anything here. Probably because nothing terribly interesting happened to me for most of November and December. Then that thing that was sucking the life out of me went away for a little while. Yes, I'm referring to school.
Winter break was really, really nice. The whole sleeping in all day, hanging out with people, eating whatever the hell I wanted (sooo many cookies) and general laziness was amazing. I went up to Berkeley and finally had dinner at Downtown with Sami and company, which is something I never did while living in Berkeley. That was yummy. There was also much movie watching, well, I guess I just mostly saw Juno and Sweeney Todd. Juno was great, witty and kinda surprising in the end. The characters develop very well and it was a highly enjoyable film. Sweeney Todd was completely different. It was waaay darker than I thought it would be, but it still worked in my opinion. Very strange though with the whole singing and killing thing. Very strange.
I also hung out with the family a lot and honed my technology skills quite a bit. For example, I installed a new router for the house, and it was only supposed to take me 20 minutes according to the manual. It took me 3 hours. This includes a frustrated call to Sami so she could look something up on the internet...because I killed mine. I also found a way to hook up my laptop to the tv. That only took about 10 minutes, not including the two trips to best buy, because I forgot to buy something I needed the first time. Yeah, I'm so awesome. Anyway, it all worked out for the best. My mom now has decent internet and I got to watch whatever I wanted the entire time I was there, which, as the youngest, never ever happens. I was pleased with my efforts.
Christmas was nice and quiet. New Year's turned out to be a lot of fun this year, somehow. My track record with New Year's isn't the greatest. Either I stay home alone and cry, or something goes horribly wrong if I go out. I went into the city for the Patton Oswalt, Doug Benson and Arj Barker show, which was hilarious. I didn't even have to be drunk during the show to enjoy it, but I totally was anyway. Yeah, I think I may have sprained a muscle from all the laughing. Those muscles are out of shape. I also got to ride in a limo to the show, which was my first limo ride ever...and it was sweeeet. Limos are really, really cool. Once I'm making doctor money, that is how I'll be rollin' to work. You best believe. Then there was much walking to make up for the awesome limo ride, but after the crappy walking there was much drinking and dancing to Journey, so I think it all worked out well in the end. And now it's 2008. Fuck.
Anyway, I'll try writing more later, it's past my bedtime. Also, I have pictures from way back when. But I got a new phone, and it doesn't want to sync up with my computer... so I'll be clearing a 3-hour block to deal with this problem. Hopefully there'll be pictures some time in the future.
Winter break was really, really nice. The whole sleeping in all day, hanging out with people, eating whatever the hell I wanted (sooo many cookies) and general laziness was amazing. I went up to Berkeley and finally had dinner at Downtown with Sami and company, which is something I never did while living in Berkeley. That was yummy. There was also much movie watching, well, I guess I just mostly saw Juno and Sweeney Todd. Juno was great, witty and kinda surprising in the end. The characters develop very well and it was a highly enjoyable film. Sweeney Todd was completely different. It was waaay darker than I thought it would be, but it still worked in my opinion. Very strange though with the whole singing and killing thing. Very strange.
I also hung out with the family a lot and honed my technology skills quite a bit. For example, I installed a new router for the house, and it was only supposed to take me 20 minutes according to the manual. It took me 3 hours. This includes a frustrated call to Sami so she could look something up on the internet...because I killed mine. I also found a way to hook up my laptop to the tv. That only took about 10 minutes, not including the two trips to best buy, because I forgot to buy something I needed the first time. Yeah, I'm so awesome. Anyway, it all worked out for the best. My mom now has decent internet and I got to watch whatever I wanted the entire time I was there, which, as the youngest, never ever happens. I was pleased with my efforts.
Christmas was nice and quiet. New Year's turned out to be a lot of fun this year, somehow. My track record with New Year's isn't the greatest. Either I stay home alone and cry, or something goes horribly wrong if I go out. I went into the city for the Patton Oswalt, Doug Benson and Arj Barker show, which was hilarious. I didn't even have to be drunk during the show to enjoy it, but I totally was anyway. Yeah, I think I may have sprained a muscle from all the laughing. Those muscles are out of shape. I also got to ride in a limo to the show, which was my first limo ride ever...and it was sweeeet. Limos are really, really cool. Once I'm making doctor money, that is how I'll be rollin' to work. You best believe. Then there was much walking to make up for the awesome limo ride, but after the crappy walking there was much drinking and dancing to Journey, so I think it all worked out well in the end. And now it's 2008. Fuck.
Anyway, I'll try writing more later, it's past my bedtime. Also, I have pictures from way back when. But I got a new phone, and it doesn't want to sync up with my computer... so I'll be clearing a 3-hour block to deal with this problem. Hopefully there'll be pictures some time in the future.
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