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January 30, 2004
um, yeah, just when i
um, yeah, just when i thought it couldn't get any colder...
it did.
it wsa -7. yes, negative seven. when i left my apt this morning. the wind chill was < -25. we were under a wind chill advisory. ie you could die if you go outside.
dude. that is cold.
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Posted by christina at 2:11 PM | Comments (0)
January 29, 2004
if I could have just a touch of you / could I tear myself away?
good god. i hate the cold. i hate the snow. i do love being alive, though.
it was 0 when i left my apartment this morning. zero. like so fucking cold. the wind chill was -14. i wore my big puffy jacket, therefore was warm. thank god. the high is suppose to be 5 today. as i told ben last night, it never ever ever ever ever gets this cold in the south. i miss the south. i think that ben is tired of me missing southern weather. but he enjoys my so called occasional southern accent. just wait until he meets rachel...
it has snowed a fair amount the past couple of days. tuesday's commutes were killers.
yeah, i've driving around in the snow like a regular chicagoian. it actually is not where near as bad as i thought. mostly because snow itself is not slick, so you have traction on it. and because the city does a good job of salting and plowing so that we really don't get any ice.
the snow is pretty packed down now, so i am back to wearing regular shoes in. for a couple of days i wore my snow boats in and changed when i got here.
i keep telling myself that this is the worst of it. that this will make the 20s feel so much warmer. which is so true. think about it, that is a 20 degree warm up, but would be the difference between 70 and 90. yay. can't really get your mind around that, can you.
ben and i figure out our first person we know independently of each other. i don't know the dude well, but it just goes to show you what a small world it is. though, the randomness of ben and i meeting also goes to show you that it is a small world. (ben went to northwestern as an undergrad, but had already graduated and moved into the city when i randomly met him at a party my friend who lives next door to him was throwing. i can't remember if i ever shared the how we met story, but there it is in a nut shell. random.)
anyways, i keep dreaming of all the things i'm going to do when it is warm. mostly not die.
ah, must work, yes, i do die in the cold. please send gifts of hot chocolate and rum. and servants to put hot coals at the foot of my bed.
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Posted by christina at 3:45 PM | Comments (0)
January 27, 2004
seriously, today i really really
seriously, today i really really mean it.
ENOUGH WITH THE SNOW ALREADY.
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Posted by christina at 10:38 AM | Comments (0)
January 26, 2004
i know it's not sensible / to be this passionate...everyday
i swear, stop with the snow.
snow is much much nicer in the south where you get to enjoy the initial prettiness of the snowfall and the whiteness, but it melts before it gets too gross. it does not melt here and it just keeps snowing.
we've had old snow on the ground for a while, saturday we got a couple more inches. i do admit that saturday was beautiful watching the snow fall from the apartment window as we curled up on the couch and read. ben finished the di vinci code, i read (and finished) tori morrison's sula. very good. the snow made it hard to gather up any motivation to go out, but i did gather just enough to walk the 2 blocks to my favorite sushi place for take out. dude. ben lives close to all my favorite places.
friday we saw lost in translation with a bunch of friends from school. it was a great movie. i totally doubly recommend it. marina and i then went out to our favorite bar to meet some of her friends (the bar is basically on the same block as ben's. it is awesome.)
sunday i was actually fairly productive with the grocery store, and a run (it was above 20 degree, therefore runable, though i had to run in the street cuz it was the only clear place), and 3 hours of work. then my usual sunday phone calls, then bed. it was beautiful.
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Posted by christina at 12:49 PM | Comments (0)
January 22, 2004
if it's truth you seek / then darling / love you'll find
so, i'm going to be spending lots of time this year is california. not really a bad thing as it is beautiful. tuesday i booked my flight to san diego in april for a thin films conference. i got a great deal on the ticket - ~180 - almost 150 less that i had priced them last week. i am not a fan of flying southwest, but for that kind of savings, i'll definitely do it - especially since they are both nonstop, and i couldn't really find a nonstop flight. not that i end up paying for it, but i don't like to spend lots o' money if i don't have to.
the big national avs conference in november is also in california this year - Anaheim to be exact. plus the week before that one my advisor wants us to submit to a conference in long beach, ca. at this rate, i should just move to ca. it would be much nicer than here right now. i hate the cold. seriously.
i have been reading all sorts of interesting things in the times lately. (well, also in the new yorker, which is a fabulous magazine, i totally recommend it.) anyways, this story supports also of my distaste for people who believe that the poor are lazy, and that we shouldn't help them. the story is long, but worth the read. it tells the story of a women who because of circumstances outside of her control, never got the education (a bachelor’s degree) needed for a job that paid more than $7. she has worked hard her whole life, but can never get out of debt. she is the working poor. it is interesting.
lately i have been reminded in all sorts of ways how lucky i am.
one being i was organizing some stuff in the apartment and found some old articles from when i graduated tech. even when i get so frustrated with work, relationships, life, sometimes i just need to pause and realize that i am still the luckiest person i know.
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Posted by christina at 1:30 PM | Comments (0)
January 19, 2004
you make it easy to watch the world with love
it is the day o' me 395 lab. (micro/nano science and engineering) it is random, but interesting. i spent the morning drawing mircochannels photolith mask patterns. i actually enjoyed it. i like to create things and it was manageable. i think that the 3 hour lab this afternoon might kill me though.
mmm, i had something to talk about, oh yes, i just want to say that i am going to visit sara in beautiful san fran for the first half of spring break. i booked my tickets last night. i am so so so so so excited. mostly to see her, but also because san fran is beautiful. and also because it was 4 degrees when i left my apartment this morning. 4 actual degrees. wind chill -20. i am hating living in chicago right now - mainly because it is messing up my running schedule. I can't run if the temperature is below 20. well, i shouldn't run at least (so lots of people say). so i am having to try to figure out when i can get my workout in when the gym isn't crazy busy. I hate running I the gym. It is 30 times around the track. 30. i think i might revert back to going first thing in the morning. the cold, though, sucks so much that i am also trying to minimize my time outside. ah, stupid cold. though i did comfort myself this morning with some yummy, warm einstein's coffee from across the way. chocolate macadamia. oh coffee and its flavors. i should also mention how much i enjoyed their christmas blend.
this weekend was good. it has been long enough now, that i am trying to balance stuff a little more. both nights i went out with different groups of friends that i haven't hung with in a while. mixed in was ocean's eleven and some football. ah, sports. though i do read during the football games, curled up with ben as he watches football. it is perfect. ben, who is so excited about baseball. his dad got season tickets for the cubs - 4 seats for 81 games. that is a whole lot of baseball. i foresee a whole lot of baseball in my future. and, i just found out that the way that the stadium sits, there is really not enough sun to work on my tan. : (. i do enjoy baseball, well, i do enjoy ben, so i am looking forward to some quality time at wrigley. and, can i just also mention that that is all my boy plans to do this summer - go to baseball games. this should be interesting...
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Posted by christina at 12:40 PM | Comments (0)
January 16, 2004
I hear this life is overrated but I hope it gets better as we go
i feel the need to blog about this wonderful story about blogging. blogs are such interesting things. i enjoyed this quote - "he wanted his posts to be read, and feared that people would read them, and hoped that people would read them, and didn't care if people read them". it is interesting. i actually have no idea who all read this page. i know for certain that some people do - the people i write it for - friends from tech, friends that i don't see often.
but, i know that if you google me, you can find this page. and so i have no idea. not that it matters. i write for my friends. i am not personal; there is nothing here i am hiding.
anyways, the article is long, but very interesting.
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Posted by christina at 12:27 PM | Comments (0)
...
wow.
marina and i saw Monster last night. it was a very intense movie. (ben on the other hand saw school of rock. we were all about going to polar opposite movies last night.)
Monster was intense like boys don't cry. boys don't cry made me wonder how human being can be so horrible. monster made me realize that there is a whole subset of the population that i will never understand. i totally recommend the movie. (it has also gotten great reviews.) be prepared though for a really intense experience. it was not as gory as i suspected, but it was as moving.
it makes me wonder, how in our society, people can fall through the crack, feel so hopeless. i cannot fathom feeling so hopeless as the main character did. it made me feel very lucky, again. i had no control over the family i was born in, as she did not. and that family ruined her for the rest of her life.
anyways, so see it.
in other news, it has been a strange week. i have been working a lot, but feeling like i am getting nothing done. i am uninspired. i am waiting on somethings, and once i get those, i'll be off and running. but now i am just blah. wednesdays and fridays are my days o' research as i have no classes. it works out nicely, except that i really would just like to go veg in a lecture than have to go fight my usual fight with the sem. back to treasure hunting.
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Posted by christina at 9:49 AM | Comments (0)
January 13, 2004
and when you wake the morning covers you with light / and it makes you feel alright
ah, busy, busy. i keep thinking i should write, but i never have the downtime to actually do it. so i am just going to do it right now as i am avioding my never ending treasure hunt for FIB burns. sigh. it is really like trying to find a larger than average needle in a haystack, but still a haystack.
the weekend was good. quiet. watch a couple of movies - including monsters, inc, which i had never seen. it was quite good. i was really amused and made us watch all the dvd extra since i have to send it back to rachel soon. slept a lot. ran and got Einstein’s. yummyness.
my cat is extra cute. it is like sleeping with another person. it is really relaxing to curl up and pet her as i fall asleep. she sometimes will get up to rearrange and lay back down on top of my hand. this reminds me of what a large cat she is. but she is the perfect cat. i fear she has spoiled me for the rest of my life cuz she is such a great cat.
work is busy. and frustrating. i feel like i work a lot, but don't make any progress. plus all this treasure hunting is driving me batty.
i don't know how i feel about this whole bush/treasury secretary thing. i am not enraged because i am not surprised. how sad is it when it becomes normal to find out that the white house lied to the public and acted as the school yard bully to the world – now just with evidence of advanced planning.
i also don't know how i feel about the immigration thing. on one hand i don't support people who cross into this country illegally. but i do know that they are an important part of the us's standard of living. illegal immigrants do do all sorts of work that americans believe they are above - financially or task wise. if we were to rid the country of illegal immigrants, then i think the public would be really surprised at how dirty things would get. i don't know what a good solution would be.
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Posted by christina at 12:37 PM | Comments (0)
January 8, 2004
all I need is the air that I breathe and to love you
so yes, my body hates me. though now i have whipped it into shape with some beautiful antibiotics. yeah for drugs. but the last 3 days did suck.
but, i do have a spectacular boyfriend. amazing. and so cute.
i feel much better now than i have the past three days. and i did get a whole lot of reading done, cuz when you can't sleep, cuz your in pain, you need a distraction, and books are my addiction. i'm currently reading A Confederacy of Dunces. it won the 1981 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. jahn recommended it to me when we were browsing the used book store after thanksgiving. it is very funny. not addicting like the di vinci code, but amusing all the same. it has been a good distraction, but i doubt i would have made as much progress as i have if i didn't have all the time on my hands in which i could only read. i definitely recommend it. it is quite random.
too bad my research hate me also. it just has been a weird week. things not working, though they seem to be. things not working, though i've changed nothing.
i hate the snow. it is beautiful when it falls and for the first couple of hours of gazing at it from the warmth of one's apartment. it is now three days later and it got so cold. (tuesday morning it was -8 with a wind chill of -25. now that's cold. today's high of 25 seems balmy.) the snow, of course, still sticks around. it is dirty and nasty and the icy just making walking around a dangerous proposition. we are suppose to get a little more snow over the next day - but nothing over an inch they say.
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Posted by christina at 7:16 PM | Comments (0)
January 5, 2004
will you hold me sacred / will you hold me tight
winter has finall arrived in chicago. i don't know what the official snow fall value is, but i know i had to brush at least 3 inches, if not more off my car this morning.
it was a beautiful weekend. friday was unbelievably warm (like in the upper 50s). ben and i took advantage of it with a night walk (in just sweatshirt jackets) up through wriggelyville. it was so nice. saturday night was the night for my christmas present from ben - blueman group tickets. his brother's girlfriend had flown into town that day for a visit this week (amherst gets an OBSENCE amount of winter break - like 6 or 7 weeks), so we met ben's fam + pete's g/f downtown at this really nice restaurant for dinner before the show. it was really good. and i really enjoy his family. we laughed the entire 3 hours through the 4 courses.
The snow fell outside.
The blue man group was awesome. (yep, the blue man group is the same as the blue men in the intel commercials of yester year.) i had high expectations and they were exceeded. it is a show i'm going to have to see again. it was a great present. ben did well with that and a mix cd for my drive home and back. We had a great time out and stayed up late talking because the show had us all hyped up.
six inched of snow was forecasted over saturday night and sunday. when i got up sunday it had been snowing for a while. it was the perfect day to be wrapped up on the couch inside. ben watched lots o' football (i must admit that the greenbay game was good). i curled up beside him and read the Di Vinci Code. he had brought it from his mom for me - i'd been really wanting to read it. i started it about 1 or so, finished it about 11 - and i didn't read straight through - in that time i went home. it was that good of a book. i couldn't put it down. i'm a fast reader anyways, but when the book is so interesting and a fast read anyways, i blow through it. i am going to have to reread to true enjoy it. my first read was many to find out what happens. i totally recommend it.
so it was the perfect day - book, snow, boy, warmth. who could ask for anything more?
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Posted by christina at 3:27 PM | Comments (0)
January 2, 2004
before I put another notch in my lipstick case / you better make sure you put me in my place
happy new year!
wow. i love the beginning of the year. it is like the beginning of a new journal, the possible stories to fill the pages seem very exciting.
i actually had a great new year's eve. in principle, i hate new years eve. it is the one single holiday with lots of pressure on everyone to have some sort of excellent experience - single, nonsingle, happy, nonhappy. it usually is so anticlimactic. i have had a couple of good new year's.
new year's 2002 - dinner at the spag fac, watching the ball drop at jr while playing some money/dice game (which i didn't have the two dollars, but the boy who won, i was dating, so never did pay him that $2 i owe him). after we went to another party where we danced among the young.
the year i was feeling kinda out of it to start with (have been since returning). we went to a small party (the perfect size actually) at lindsey's, who wasn't there, but nick (her b/f and ben's best friend) threw it until she got back after midnight. we did have the funniest game ever. it is a kareoke game for the play station that in addition to having the music and words, also rates you on your rhythm and the pitch. it is so cool. i am in love with it. we played it on multiplayer where you compete against your friends (ben beats us all every time, but i didn't do half bad). last night, lindsey played single player, which is more like a game with the computer that the better you do, the more outfits (for the onscreen talent) and venues you unlock. it is pretty damn cool. we are all addicted and have plans, for the 3 night in a row, to play it tonight. lindsey lives super close to ben, which is really nice, as i am reminded of college days last night when we walked over in our pjs.
so, new year's eve was good. we sang. we chatted - it was a mostly guy (ben's frat brothers) party. i was the only girl for a bit, than some other random girls showed up. i didn't really talk to them, as i am pretty good friends with ben's friends now, that we actually spent about half of the party apart, chatting with different people.
midnight came, there was lots of champagne, lindsey returned (yay!), we sang more, we drank more. we were in bed by 2:30 with the room spinning. the next day, we paid. we think it was the champagne that gave us disgusting hangovers. at noon we mustered the strength to move to the couch and watch a movie and then play some zelda when nick came over to hang out (while i curled up with my book). at 6 i finally gathered the gumption up (after two doses of advil) to go home to feed my cat. around 11 ben finally left the apartment as we went over to lindsey's for some aforementioned kareoke.
all in all, hang over not withstanding, it was a great two days. i am a very lucky girl who is dating a very lucky boy. and that's how it should be.
ah - i finished Lovely Bones (the book) yesterday. i totally recommend it.
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Posted by christina at 11:41 AM | Comments (0)