Winding Down

I took a little break there after keeping everyone on the edge of their seats with my "Apartment Curing" and I do apologize. I am sure everyone missed hearing about my latest adventures with cleaning supplies that should really be labeled as toxic substances and choosing between lampshades.

But really, I seem to have gotten things pretty well wrapped up and I've just been enjoying living in my "new" home - and also trying to get back to using my Y membership instead of piling on the pounds while I go broke paying for the damn thing.

I do really feel like my place is more "home-y" and just coming in after a long boring day at work is refreshing. I may still have a list of 18 or so things left to do (well, it WAS 20 but I've made some progress!), but I'll check those off as time and money allow and will try not to let them bug me.

It's not like there isn't enough to think about right now, what with the holidays coming up, my boss leaving to have a baby (it's gonna be a SLOW 12 weeks without her!), some work/play travel on the near horizon, a potential job switch (most likely pretty far off now, post-maternity leave I believe), and all the other little details that make up our lives. It's easy to focus closely on something like your home for awhile, but I think it's good to let it go, too, every now and then (figuratively speaking - I still gotta keep up with the scrubbing and sweeping or I'll never forgive myself).

Now I want to focus on just relaxing into that wonderful feeling of fall/winter near-hibernation. Not so hard to do when it's dark at 5:30 and you find yourself yawning uncontrollably at 9:30 after reading just 4 pages! I suppose one of the first things on my list that I need to take care of then is pulling out the ginormous A/C unit in my living room. The chill is most certainly seeping through already!

Well, I'm off to wash some dishes and get ready to [watch the boy] make some dinner - a delish new fall recipe of chorizo and sage pasta, mmmm! And I suppose I had better start making a list of things I'll need for my turkey day recipes, too! My favorite holiday of the year, no doubt, and this year I am especially thankful to no longer be employed in retail. That's certainly worth raising a glass (ooohh of Beaujolais Nouveau) to!

I almost peed my pants

While reading about all the exciting new stuff going on in the St. Louis bar/restaurant scene.

The Grind is back, The Cabin Inn is coming back, a Mexican place is taking over M.P.O's shack on Manchester (didn't know it had closed), and NELLY IS OPENING A PLACE BEHIND MY OFFICE. (Oh, with Larry Hughes and Marshall Faulk, too - who I guess are pretty cool, but they're no Nelly).

I wondered what was going on over there.

Week 8: Wrapping it up.

It's almost all done, and I've gotten more accomplished than I imagined. I think I would have been able to do a lot more if I didn't completely wipe out my cash flow midway through, but that's life. I am going to leave you with a link to my Flickr Before/After slideshow, and I will be back sometime soon with a more substantial entry, and my future plans. Because it's so exciting and I know everyone loves to hear about me cleaning my apartment. But whatever ;)

End of Week 7, and it actually looks like I've gotten something done.

For what started out as a slow week, one which left me less and less motivated after every frustrating day at work, I am absolutely amazed at the progress that was made last weekend. And even though I have spent what will most likely be my last dollar on apartment "stuff" for quite a while (and took the drastic measure of freezing my credit card in a hunk of ice), I am pretty content. The only things that would make me entirely content right now would be painted walls in my bedroom and a sofa.

Basically the biggest deal was getting my living room back by finally taking care of the mountain of crap I'd accumulated in my "outbox". Yes, it was great to get rid of things that did me no good and just took up valuable space, but staring at said crap for weeks on end, and seeing it first thing when I walked in the door or out of my bedroom was completely depressing. Now all my stuff (well the stuff that isn't in the basement storage waiting for one or ALL of my sisters to move out) is on it's way to a yard sale fundraiser for Illinois' favorite Jr. Senator and Democratic Presidential candidate. Excellent timing.

I swept the living room FINALLY, and finished (mostly) arranging my new entryway. I could use about $50 in final touches, but I'll deal for now. One totally free thing that made a big fat difference was bundling up all the cords under my desk and by my phone, and running the DSL phone line under the baseboard and neatly tacking it around the walls and doorway. It looks a lot nicer though I wish I had some way of getting rid of all the wires once and for all.

I also framed my cool 1899 map of St. Louis and hung it up in a nice conspicuous spot. And I learned that by taking the time to hang things at the right level (approx. 57" from the floor to the center of the frame) can really make a huge impact. It may seem low, people really have a tendency to hang things up high, but the point is to be able to look at the piece straight on. Apparently that's how art galleries do it, and I'm not gonna argue with them!

So now it's just time to clean things up (again, but it'll be easier with less junk in the way and less than 8 weeks worth of dirt), and come up with one consolidated list of things to do and things to buy. I have scraps and lists and ideas everywhere and I'd like to get it all together so that when time and $ allow, I can jump right into a project or go right out and look for a specific item. Then the secret is to simply keep up with things. Maybe that's easier said than done but once you have a vision and have invested a little sweat equity, it's not as hard to keep going.

Alright, off to bed, if the neighbor's pug upstairs has finished running laps around their 18 x 13 living room, that is!

My "Have-Done" List

As opposed to a "To-Do" list.

Today, as Week 6 draws closer to an end, I have continued to feel overwhelmed but managed to work on all sorts of random things throughout the day with minimal time-wastage. However, as I look around my apartment I still see plenty of things that have been bugging me and have been on the list of things to do for the past six weeks.

So I decided that I needed to quickly write out my "Have-Done" list so I don't feel so bad and so that I have one more thing to motivate me to keep ticking things off the other list.

Stuff I "Have-Done" this Week:

1. Bought new switch plates for the whole apartment, and put them all up
2. Took down old clutter-magnet storage rack on closet door and put up ironing board holder
3. Sorted stuff from above-mentioned storage rack and threw away/gave away a bunch
   
4. Major crazy bathroom cleaning, hung new shower curtain, cleaned out medicine cabinet
   
5. Washed dinner dishes within 24 hours of using them (um, we tend to use a lot of dishes, this is a bigger deal that it may seem)
6. "Made" kitchen curtains from cute dishtowels, and hung them
7. Began hanging aluminum trays (eBay!) on dining room wall (ran out of hooks, getting more tonight)
8. Three loads of laundry, all put away (including new duvet!)
9. Made bed, put new duvet on comforter
10. Re-potted three houseplants (two of which had been sitting in the same dirt since I moved in here!)
11. Removed bedroom A/C unit (really motivated to do that, it was apparently dripping water into the walls and now I have some nice water stains to show for it! Dave is going to fix it eventually, though)
12. Cleaned A/C and took it down to storage, also rearranged storage and threw some crap away (Sidebar: Looking at some of the other storage units down there made me feel much better about the amount of crap I have - it's amazing how much a person can cram into an 8x8 cage!)
13. Washed and vacuumed my car (OK, not really for my apartment, but it's along the same lines
14. Braved Home Despot twice, found most of what I needed and picked out paint chips for bedroom (currently narrowed down to two light blue choices)
15. Organized bottom of hall closet (I think I can handle doing one shelf/day from now on...it's pretty craptastic
16. Came up with LOTS of plans for future work on the apartment in the absence of any real funds. Spent more than enough time online solidifying said plans, but I didn't let it get in the way of work - I actually had a really productive/non-painfully boring week.
17. At dinner (real dinner) at home twice, soon to be three times. Although I was a pouty brat last night so that doesn't entirely count I suppose.

OK, I think that's about it. Maybe more, but those are the things I remember best. Not too shabby! Hopefully tomorrow I can load up my car with Goodwill stuff (just the trunk though, cause they don't take donations on Sundays, I'll have to go later in the week). I think once I get most of this junk out of my living room I will be much happier!

Memo to anyone remotely concerned about the Environment

Dearest friends:

I wish to share with you all a brief, yet sincere and borderline pleading, suggestion tonight.

Go and buy one, two, three, or more of these (or otherwise similar) bags.
I can not think of a single reason NOT to do so. They are $1 at Schnucks. They are larger and more durable than plastic and similar size (though more flexible) than paper. They have long handles that could go over your shoulder thereby freeing your hands to do other things like open doors, carry something else, or hold someone's hand.

After you buy them, USE them. Put them by the front door after unloading to remind yourself to throw them back into the trunk. Again, I can't think of a single reason you wouldn't want to use these. In Ireland, a plastic bag at the grocery costs 15 cents and NO ONE ever bought them. Brilliant really. Besides, don't you get annoyed with all those darn plastic bags that pile up in your kitchen/storage room/drawers, etc?


I thought so. Pain in the rear, and ugly at that. Now if Target would only start doing the whole reusable bag thing, we'd be set! But every bit helps. So next time you are grocery shopping, don't forget to add to your list "reusable bags".

Thank you and we now return to regularly scheduled programming.

;)

Week Five....oh crap, it's already Week 6

Yeah, so Week Five (office week) sort of got away from me there. Last week was busy and I was just sort of moping around a lot thanks to a yuck-o week at work. Just hellaciously boring stuff that left me totally unmotivated when I got home at night.

But since my office is already sort of in OK shape, I didn't miss out on much. And since it is in the living room, I had already started cleaning things and reorganizing and I am already a spastic filer so that wasn't an issue either. I just have a teeny pile of things to do and I am caught up. Oh, and a craft project that will require a trip to that fabric store that I'll really have to motivate myself to do so it can wait.

So onward to Week 6 where I am supposed to be concerned with the Bathroom. Luckily mine is small, so there's not much to work with, but unluckily it was/is FILTHY. I mean, we are talking I was probably inhaling some awful gross toxic mold with my morning shower until I bleached the hell out of it just now. Bad. But I am renewing my motivation to keep it clean, and I am always happier when it's clean.

As a matter of fact, I am currently taking a little PBR break to regain my senses after inhaling all the awful gross toxic bleach that I used to clean the aforementioned mold. But I used up the bottle which means one less toxic thing in my home and next time I'll get to break out the fancy Method stuff. Cheap thrills, I suppose!

The frustrating thing now is that I have to declutter the shelves and cabinets and baskets that hold my "bathroom stuff" (aka Junk!), and I REALLY want to get rid of the craptastic, falling apart, Target clearance etagere so I can put up some nice glass shelves. That hopefully won't fall down. Stupid plaster walls ruin everything, but I am still going to give it a try. Less storage space = less stuff to store and that's the name of the game now.

Other than that, I am trying to catch up on unfinished projects from other weeks. Such as giving away my give-aways, hanging the cool aluminum stuff I got for the dining room, getting a new trashcan in the kitchen, finishing up my new table/bookshelf next to the front door, framing about a bazillion things and hanging them up, and getting a couple more odds and ends at various stores.

Only problem is that I am now BROKE. Completely and totally. I got paid Friday and I am already not sure I will have enough for actual groceries for the next 9 days let alone enough to do any shopping. I don't know where it all goes, but it sure is depressing. To make matters worse (well, not true, I did it to make matters better in the long run), I cut up ALL of my credit cards except one that I decided is going to reside at my parent's house and therefore out of my hot little hands and out of use.

Basically all I can do now is compile wish lists and make plans and spend my time keeping things clean and organized. Not so much fun, but it does make a world of a difference. So now it's back to the bathroom and then I can cross something off my to-do list and add it to my "done" list. Yippee! :)

AT Cure: Week 4

So Week 4, which is about the Living Room (and closets), has been pretty uneventful. The only improvement to speak of is ONE set of new curtains hung on a freshly cleaned window. Granted, I was cleaning 3+ years of dirt and dust from the poorly painted window frame and the wall-embedded radiator (non-functioning) beneath it. Plus I had to hang new hardware. The whole thing was really just a one-Pabst job though, so it's sort of pathetic that it's already Thursday.

However, I came to the realization (after consulting my Outlook calendar at work) that I have not had a single free weekend since undertaking this effort. I've also had several random after-work obligations instead of my usual free and clear weeknights.

But I have spent all together too much time deliberating about what to do, shopping (online and countless trips to Target, plus a 3 hour escapade to the hell that is Brentwood last Saturday), and just wasting my time. I feel even more lazy since I've been to the Y only once since I began (and that was just last night - I couldn't take the disgusting, lethargic feeling any more).

I have another work thing tonight (hopefully will be out of there by 6:30...we'll see), but I really need to get something done. I think my goals for the next two days will be to get rid of my "outbox" which is overflowing with stuff to give away, give back, store, or otherwise dispose of. It's right smack in the middle of the living room right now and I think it's totally bringing me down. Another goal is going to do some serious couch shopping (hello Saturday afternoon), and I am hoping to come to some sort of conclusion about what I can afford then.

Otherwise, I just need to start being decisive and make hard decisions...put some $ out there because I know it will be worth it in the long run. I don't like being indecisive just as much as I dislike wasting my money - it's a tough combination that I am sure most people understand. I just am not going to look forward to looking at my credit card bills next month!

So now I am just crossing my fingers for some super-productive nights because Saturday night we leave for two days in Chicago and then it will be Week 5 and I don't want to get too far behind. Only 1 glass of wine for me tonight, so I can go home and work and not pass out!

Dogs Barking (and no, not just my feet).

It has occurred to me that I just do not understand how the owner of a dog who barks incessantly in an urban neighborhood at all hours of the day and night can live with themselves and said dog and NOT feel completely awful and alienated and shunned from their neighborhood.

Proof, I suppose, that many people just don't give a damn. But really, what is the point of having a pet who is so clearly unhappy with it's situation in life (YOUR life) that it cannot stop barking?

Luckily it's cool enough for windows open in the living room but warm enough to turn the air on low in the bedroom to sleep. And I won't have to listen to the damn dog.

And I am certainly getting to bed early, too. I was at a "Networking Happy Hour" all night, and wore my heels ALL day (with a considerable amount of walking and lots of standing), so these dogs are barking for sure. At least tomorrow is casual Friday ;) NO evil heels for me!

I tell you, too, networking is also a bit overrated. Living in the world's biggest small town and putting people in a room with an open bar and sufficient hors d'oeuvres means that people are just going to behave like college kids at best and no real business relationships will be formed. A hella big waste of time and $ if you ask me. But no one asked me. I am at the bottom of the totem pole, so basically I just get told. So it goes.

AT Cure Week 3

I still don't feel like I have completely transitioned out of Week 2 since I have a couple loose ends in the kitchen and dining room still, but most of those involve buying things and that's out of the question at this point, since I am BROKE (what else is new?).

But Week 3 tasks are slowly being checked off the list, and I suppose slow and steady is better than nothing. I've gotta say though that this Cure thing has really gotten in the way of me getting in any quality Y time, which is hard enough as is. I feel GROSS. But perhaps when all is said and done I will be happier and thus more easily motivated to work out. Whatever. But for now I feel like I have to be putting in the majority of my free time at home, or else I won't get stuff done on schedule.

So it is. And so my list for this week goes:

1. Vacuum, dust, mop floors. AGAIN? I guess I could stand to do this on Saturday, especially since I never got around to the living room at all. Wait, take that back, I finally vacuumed the living room rug, and it makes it look not so ugly. But the floors are growing dust colonies and I must not let myself put it off much longer.
2. Clean the entrance of your apartment and all related closets. Well, I have made progress on this, emptying out the sad little hand-me-down side table and drawer, assembling my new clearance Victoria Hagan for Target cream colored console table, and moving the bookshelf out of the way, taking off all the books for sorting, and dusting the thing for potential reuse elsewhere. I haven't done the closet yet because technically my one closet isn't just for the entryway. Actually, it's not at all, but it's so bad that I need to get a jump start I think.
   
3. Create a Landing Strip. The landing strip is the area of your house where you come in and drop stuff. Basically it's close to the front door and is supposed to handle what you throw at it in an organized fashion so that you can come and go more peacefully and keep the outside nonsense away. This is something I needed to tweak for sure, and I was excited to get moving. So, see above: I got a new console table to start with. But, I also need to get a better coat rack and install it on the door to the furnace...my current one is plastic, only three hooks, and falling apart. Then it's a new doormat, new rug for inside the door, and an artsy fartsy arrangement of essential items on the new console. OH, and a new mirror. My old one was perfectly to scale for the old table, but now it just looks so sad and teeny.
   

Hmmm, reading that last bit just reminded me of MORE STUFF I HAVE TO BUY. I guess I just need to be more scavenger-y of the clearance aisles and try to shop somewhere other than Target and all the fancy stores online. I have a $15 TJ Maxx gift card that can probably be put to good use for one of the above items.

A challenge of this entire process is of course sorting through your junk and actually getting rid of what you don't use, love, or need. I am finding myself taking a harder look at things already, but it's still difficult sometimes to get stuff out the door. Luckily, the darling boyfriend is really good at calling stuff out on it's uselessness AND he even took stuff to Goodwill for me already. Out of sight, out of mind, and there's no looking back that way!

And then finally, this week I am supposed to cook two things at home in my kitchen. I am going to count last night's dinner as one, even though Andrew did the majority of the cooking. I lack self confidence in the kitchen, especially around someone else. BUT I feel like I helped out a lot more than normal (I sometimes just think it's best to be out of the way in that hot and teeny space), and I actually chopped stuff with the scary big santuko knife. We had really tasty shrimp risotto that we made with lobster stock and some tasty bok choy sauteed with my most favorite thing ever, bacon. We knocked back a bottle and a half of wine, indulged in fancy schmancy chocolate hazelnut gelato, and then passed out. I think I could do that every night. My wallet probably wouldn't agree, but my tummy sure does! At least there were leftovers for tonight!

Now I need to start thinking about the next meal I cook. It might be Saturday am breakfast, and if I make banana bread like I've been planning for the last few weeks, that will totally count as "cooking" right? Scrambled eggs, bacon, and banana bread sounds like something I can handle. It's going to be the getting up early in time to do it that'll be tough!

The Mystery of the name Dogtown...

Has apparently been solved!

Maybe these guys have too much time on their hands, but I admire their ability to seemingly get to the bottom of the story. I never much liked the idea that my neighborhood was named after a story about poorly-treated "savages" who ate stray dogs during the World's Fair.

This is what happens when I am bored out of my mind at work...I start reading the amazing literary work that is the Suburban Journals. Yikes.

Progress is being made...

My kitchen looks a lot better already. Monday night was a long night with lots of progress made, and lots of paper towels used up. I scrubbed all the surfaces and even tried about three different methods to get the sink as clean as possible. It's still rusty, but at least I gave it my all. The stove was especially gross since it's actually been getting some use lately. But it's all shiny now. The only things left in the kitchen are the fridge/freezer and the pantry. That shouldn't take too long because I am not a food hoarder. I throw things away when there is even a hint of it being bad, as long as I am taking the trash out at the same time.

I have a few details I want to add in the kitchen (shelving, hooks, curtains, etc.), but I think it's going to be pretty much complete on time for week three which is all about the entry-way. Good timing since I just got a new console table delivered from Target.com today (free shipping!). Hopefully it will encourage me to keep going and to declutter some more in order to make room for it. I'm excited!

I also need to find a way to finalize stuff in the dining room, though cause the book doesn't give a week just to that area. I imagine not many apartments HAVE dining rooms, so I am lucky, but it also becomes a new place to stash crap (most of which was given to me by people trying to clean out their OWN homes. Oh the vicious cycles must end! Goodwill, people!). But yeah, the dining room is just going to get hit whenever I can do it...bit by bit I suppose.

The difficult thing about this project, though, is not getting discouraged by the big mess that I am stirring up as I work, or by the fact that there seem to be a ton of projects looming and maybe not a whole lot of time in my life to spend on them. But, you can always put things off for another day. They'll never get done of course, which means sometimes you just have to dig in and get it over with.

Which is why I am off to watch the Cardinals tonight. HA! Real productive, right? And they will be amazing to watch, I am sure.

Week 2: Attacking the Kitchen

Short and sweet here because I actually need to get some work done tonight (and going to Target for the umpteenth time in the past two weeks doesn't count). Week two of my mission is all about the kitchen. Supposed to scrub it from top to bottom, declutter every surface and cupboard and drawer, and that includes the stove and fridge.

For having a kitchen as big as a shoe box, I actually have quite a bit of work ahead of me. I'm starting with the floor since I didn't get to that last week. I already have a zillion things in my head to get rid of. That will be the easy part.

The hard part is the second half of the kitchen task: cooking. As I mentioned before, I am supposed to make something from scratch (a new recipe) on my own in the kitchen this week. I'm nervous and haven't come up with any ideas for sure yet, but of course it had to get all hot again this week, right? I have to be stuck in my un-air conditioned kitchen slaving over a hot stove during some good old St. Louis Indian summer night. Oh well, enough complaining, I've got a floor to scrub!

Week 1: Mopping, lots of mopping

So the Apartment Therapy Cure is set up in 8 week increments, with basic goals for each week. Week 1's main task, aside from setting goals, figuring out what needs to be fixed, buying fresh flowers (I failed that task, only went to the grocery store once, it was Whole Foods and their flower selection, while nice, was way too pricey), is to mop.

I didn't even own an actual mop until Wednesday. Yes, sadly for the past three+ years I have been "Swiffer Wet" mopping my entire house, which aside from the bathroom and kitchen tile, is hardwood. Probably not the best method to clean things, and definitely a waste of materials (those things just get thrown away, and dry out before my entire living room is done).

My darling boyfriend did actually mop the floors last summer while I was in Ireland, so it hasn't been three years since they've been mopped. But I was overdue.

Anyway, I sort of enjoyed myself. I moved all the stuff out of each room, pulled furniture away from the walls, broke out the Murphy Oil Soap, scrubbed the baseboards and mopped. My house smelled so good this morning. And it's crazy how good it looked! I didn't think something so simple would have such a big impact on the overall feel of my house. But I am sold on the idea, and there's no going back. I'm not quite done yet, I still have the VERY dirty kitchen floor and the very LARGE living room floor (which has also become the landing zone for my sorting and giveaway piles). I am hoping to tackle those on Sunday night after a weekend in the country.

Can't remember the specific tasks for week 2, but I know it has to do with getting the kitchen in order. I am excited for that too, since my teeny kitchen is completely disfunctional. Not that I cook or anything...but that's part of the plan, as well. I am supposed to start using my kitchen to cook meals in. As in the stove, and not as in boiling water for pesto pasta. Something about roasting a chicken I think. It could be interesting...especially if I don't allow the darling boyfriend/chef of the relationship to do it. Maybe I need to buy a fire extinguisher first... ;)

Why buying good quality cookware is always a good idea

Last night while uploading and editing my pictures for the apartment therapy chicago flikr page, I was making a little dinner - some pasta with tomato/goat cheese sauce. Pretty much almost what I ate the night before at Dad's b.day dinner (although that was much better).

Anyway, I was a bit distracted while I was getting all my pictures up and looking at everyone else's, that I neglected to turn the burner off underneath my saucepan after I mixed up my pasta and ate. It wasn't until I headed back into the kitchen for a pinot grigio refill about 45 mins later that I noticed the flame was on.

I turned it off and peered into the pot, expecting to see the nice non-stick coating demolished and the rubber spatula completely melted. To my amazement, it was fine! The leftover sauce was nothing but charred remains, but the pot was completely intact. I rinsed it out tonight after work, and you'd never know what had happened.

Gotta love Calphalon. It's totally worth it. I am not buying the cheap stuff ever again.

My latest obsession

Due to some incredibly boring days at work recently, I have rediscovered the amazing Apartment Therapy blogs (I am partial to NY, Chicago, and Kitchen). Luckily, I was just in time to learn of their semi-annual 8-week home "Cure", which began Sunday.

As you may know, I have been in my current apartment for well over three years and pay an amazingly low rent, especially for the amount of space I have. Yet I have never fully taken advantage of this apartment, and I have furniture that could rival any dorm room out there. I decided to finally get off my butt and do something about it.

So I joined up with ATChicago's regional group and I have begun my mission. I have almost no money to spend, but I am hoping for a little advice from my fellow cure-ees, some peer-pressure style motivation, and perhaps a little creative budgeting in both time and money to ensure that I actually see some results after these two months are up.

I'm excited. And willing to take any and all advice from my two and a half readers here. Perhaps you'd like to do your own Cure? I don't think it's too late to start. You can get the companion book at your local St. Louis Public Library branch - I did, and they had more copies available through inter-library loan.

You can see my "before" shots on the AT Chicago Flickr site linked above. I'm putting it all out there, and I am looking forward to some nights and weekends spent scrubbing, de-cluttering, and re-organizing. And goodwilling. Lots of that. Wish me luck!

Oh I almost forgot.

Yes, I did break down and bought a new (to me) car. It's a 2004 and really low miles and it's tons of fun to drive around. I won't be dumb and describe my car for all the internets (and their accompanying stalkers) to hear, but it's super great. I heart it. My favorite things are the sunroof and keyless entry, but also the fact that I can accelerate with dignity on the westbound 40 on-ramp at Broadway. I'm lucky, even if I have 5 years of budget-straining payments to make now... :P

Baking when it's 90 degrees can make you a little bit crazy

Recently in a brief moment of delusional grocery shopping when I thought that I might like something that I used to eat all the time as a kid, albeit drenched in French dressing, I bought some cottage cheese. Gross, right? I know. I hate milk and I thought I might get some more calcium and protein by eating the stuff and if I liked it as a 5 year old, then why not as a 25 year old.

Not so much. I tried eating it tonight, plain, and it wasn't going over well. Then I nuked a potato and tried to tell myself that it would be just like my usual spud topping of tons of melted butter, salt, pepper, and Parmesan. Also not so much.

So then I decided to Google "cottage cheese recipes" since I didn't want the stuff to go to waste. I mean, I am sure there have been plenty of things I have eaten that had a not so yummy ingredient hidden inside. I could surely find something to use up this gross goo (although I still haven't tried it again with French dressing, but I can't rationalize buying bright orange sauce for one experimental snack).

After a few pages of recipes, I came up with this one here. Intrigued with the concept of cottage cheese in a baked good, and scoffing at the odds that I actually had just enough of every ingredient needed (oh yeah, I also have a pound of frozen cranberries from last Thanksgiving when I made like 4 quarts of a tasty but expensive Cranberry-Pomegranate-Tequila Sauce that I have been trying to use), I set to work.

I mixed things up rather quickly, after unearthing my silicone muffin mold from the bottom of my dusty cabinet and chatted with my neighbor through the kitchen window. I felt like it could actually be pretty tasty, and if not I wasn't going to cry over the loss of the cottage cheese or the cranberries.

After the first batch cooled, I bit into one hoping that it would at least be edible. It wasn't half bad! A little dried out (they don't brown at all so it wasn't that easy to tell when they were done), but okay. Then I got a whiff or a bite of something a little weird. I couldn't put a finger on it, but it was almost a musty bitterness. It was fleeting, and since I am not planning on giving these muffins to anyone else, I didn't care.

The next batch was ready soon after, so I tried one again. Round two seemed even better. But there was that strange odor/taste again.

I thought about it for a while, and then it hit me like a ton of bricks - my old cranberries were giving off the essence of a flipping Lambic beer.

Do you think anyone has ever compared any baked good to such a thing? Doubtful. Really freaking doubtful. I don't know what is wrong with me :)

Broke. (Or, The Honda Gods Hate Me)

***Note: The dollar amount below has been changed to $700!!!!!!!!!!! It may be time for Colleen to get a new ride. I told them to hold off on the work till I decide...this was NOT in my budget! ;) ***


As you may or may not know, my drivers side door lock mysteriously broke over a month ago, and ever since I have been forced to climb in and out of my car through the passenger side. No amount of prying by myself, my mom, or Norm the mechanic has been able to get the damn thing un-jammed, so finally I gave in and took it down to the Honda dealership.

They called this morning with a first glance estimate. About $400. That's right, and that's without replacing the inside door panel which they most likely will break while trying to access the lock and latch. It's absurd, but I don't have a choice. I was next to tears when I told the guy to just go ahead.

The thing is, my plates just so happen to expire at the end of this month, which means a safety inspection and an emissions test (my car just missed the cut-off for emissions-test exemptions. All cars older than '96 don't have to test for emissions anymore beginning SEPTEMBER 1. Oh the irony). Needless to say, I can't take it through the emissions test without the door being able to open, and I know it can't pass a safety inspection without the same. PLUS it's been smelling really exhaust-y lately, so it's not even a shoe-in to pass THAT test without even MORE work.

I just finished paying off the LAST $400 car repair bill from March, and now I'm starting all over again. I'd like to start getting ahead, and I don't see how I could be without a car. I'd get to and from work okay, but not much else. We don't have public transportation that's conducive to non-commuter use.

Plus I have been insanely good about staying on a budget now for about a month. I mean completely nitpicky about where every last dollar gets spent, staying in most of the time, and cutting back on almost every single thing I enjoy. I flippin used up my travel shampoos before I would go buy another bottle of the stuff (with coupon), for pete's sake. I've eaten hot oatmeal for breakfast on days when it's 85 degrees at 8 am because that's all I had! I don't really get why karma has to kick me in the butt so much. I hate being a slave to plastic, but life doesn't seem to give me many other options.

Well, I just needed to vent. And now I need to work. It's gonna be a slow one today I fear, as usual. My job require very little actual brain function, even when I'm busiest. And that just means more time to wallow in self-pity ;)

Not that I have really thought too hard about the '08 election just yet...

But I really enjoyed this article about Chelsea Clinton. I have never known too much about her, and I didn't realize how close we are in age (2 years is a bigger age difference in grade/high school I suppose).

Anyway, just thought it was interesting. I admire her intelligence and understated demeanor.

And I thought I was a procrastinator!

I was given the insanely wonderful gift of going home early this afternoon from work (after a tasty, 2 1/2/ hour office birthday lunch out at Copia).

As I walked up to my apartment door, I immediately smelled fire. Not just smoke, but the smell that an actual fire makes. I sniffed the hallways up and down, and put my hand on my door (ha! just like they tell you). I opened it slowly, expecting to hear a crackling noise or see flames or something just like when I was home watching the girls when we were little and Maggie told me Brendan's room was on fire and I walked up there and cracked the door and sure enough, flames shooting off the desk!

I didn't see anything, or hear anything. I walked through my bedroom and saw Dave the maintenance guy's truck out in the backyard. Weird, I thought, I better go see what burned.

Luckily everything seemed to be under control. Dave was just burning yard waste in a barrel in our backyard, right outside my back door. I didn't go out there, just watched for a minute, and then realized that it was the pile of brush that had been sitting in the corner of the yard after he cleaned up all the stuff that fell when the apocalyptic storm hit last summer. A year ago this week actually.

I figured it'd never get done, and who cares, really. It was just ugly. But at least I know that there are WAY worse procrastinators than me. I've let dishes and laundry pile up before, many times, but NEVER for an entire year!

Well, I'm off now to enjoy my slightly longer weekend. Oh, but first, I finally got a new phone so if you could please email me phone numbers (or just text them to me, the number is the same), that would be fantastic!

Happy Weekend!

Christmas in July

Today at work I got a nice little present (besides my boss coming back after nearly two weeks of vacation - I was BORED). What did I get? A heater. In July. That's because it FEELS like Christmas time over in my corner of the office. It's regularly 62 degrees when I arrive in the morning, and it gets to be no higher than 66 in the afternoon. My fingers turn blue, I shiver (though I wear three layers, closed toe shoes, long pants, etc), and I can't concentrate. I drink hot tea but it gets cold in no time, and it just makes me have to pee which means I leave the office only to dread walking back in because as soon as you open the door you are blasted with the arctic air.

The guys in my office, and anyone with actual windows doesn't think it's so bad. I am clearly at the bottom of the totem pole, so they won't turn the thermostat up for me. But they gave me a heater, and thanks to my walls (which I love so much), the little thing actually worked. I had it on the lowest setting possible and there was a noticeable difference immediately. I still need to layer my outfit, but no more shivers.

Now maybe the "Christmas" theme can continue, with Sprint delivering my new cell phone (old one has been broken for a week and a half), and my car door maybe magically finding its way open for a low low price, and limited time in the shop. We'll see.

Briefly

• My car door lock is still broken, and I am increasingly annoyed at having to climb in from the passenger side. I'm becoming quite stealthy at it, but that hasn't completely stopped the occasional odd look from bystanders.
• My cell phone is broken. Just as it hit the two year mark. It's like they have an internal timer. Sprint won't rush ship the new one, and I refuse to step foot in their stores, thanks to a mildly traumatic series of visits LAST time my phone died.
• My teeth/mouth/the gaping holes in my jaw STILL hurt from getting my teeth yanked Friday. It gets minuscule-y better each day, but I had to stop the vicodin if I wanted to drive above-referenced car to below-referenced job.
• I'm increasingly bored at work. I think I have learned everything that they want me to learn, and even when I vocalize my feelings ("hey Amy, I am seriously bored out of my mind"), I am more or less brushed off. It makes the days go slow. Nothing I do really takes that much mental capacity, either. No good. I'll keep at it for the paychecks, though, don't worry.
• Over the last two weeks though, I have been able to see and spend time with some of my favorite people ever (not all, but lots of 'em), which is sort of surprising considering how crazy things have been. It is always nice to hang out with the girls, catch up, and reminisce. I am lucky to have so many really sweet and fun friends.

That's all for now. I am going to change and head out to 33 to enjoy an evening on their patio during the most beautiful night of the month so far. Never thought I'd say that about July in St. Louis, but this is some fantastic weather.

A Taste of Their Own Medicine

I just read this article over at NyTimes.com and I instantly thought to myself: serves them right. Honestly I think the "boozification" of Rome is an awful thing, but if Italians want to complain about the behavior of tourists in their cities, then they need to take at look at their own behavior while touring other countries. Last year in Ireland you might recall my constant complaints about the horrendous attitudes and overall rudeness of the swarms of Italian students and tour-guides. It was awful, and they stood out amongst countless other nationalities represented on the streets of Galway like no other. I think it just goes to show that most people have no idea that they are being hypocrites when they complain about other people. We could all stand to scrutinize our own actions more often, because clearly we agree about many things on principal, we just don't like to admit our own guilt.

Quick update

Apparently my car wants to make me completely insane until it finally dies or I get the chance/$ to buy a new one. Last week, while driving, the drivers side door lock decided it never wanted to unlock again. NEVER. Ever. Not even after a million tries with the switch and the key and a mechanic taking the inside panel off and yanking and trying to get it to budge. So now I might have to have a body shop take the outside panel off (how?!?!), or perhaps the "$65 just to look at it and THEN we'll overcharge you for everything" dealership can help me out. Until then, I am getting my daily stretching in by crawling over the passenger side, often in heels, sometimes in a skirt. It ain't pretty.

ALSO, looks like us city-dwellers can save some money on Brita filters: the city of St. Louis was recently awarded the Best Tasting Water, by a council of city mayors. Read all about it here. And Nicole, make sure to spread the word to your picky volunteers when they beg for bottled water at the fair or the levee ;)

Payday just isn't my favorite day of the week.

I know that may sound strange, but honestly, I dislike payday pretty badly. In fact, I bet if I kept track of my mood for each day of the past two or three months, I am quite sure that every other Friday would count as some of my worst days. Totally absurd, especially for a girl who is nearly 5 months into her first "real job" post-college, and who is making a rather decent starting salary, right?

At first it was obviously fantastic to bring home that four-digit paycheck. I hadn't seen anything like it at Target unless there had been a holiday, which I also worked for time and a half, and maybe threw in a few dozen hours of overtime as well. But I quickly realized that I had to take control of my ever-increasing debts, especially since I was (am) young, healthy, and fresh off a two month stint of near-unemployment preceded directly by Christmas. That did NOT help things at all - unless of course, you work for Capital One. Then you might think my situation was fantastic and improving at a glorious pace. Hell, you'd even spontaneously raise my interest rate 5 points just for shits and grins. Get her while the plastic's hot, right?

Well luckily I saw through it all and mustered the guts to shove my credit card deep into the filing cabinet to cool off (replaced in my wallet by a never-swiped and therefore pure and untouchable unless in the most extreme emergency MasterCard, in case the '93 Honda just doesn't want to see it's 15th year of pavement). I even managed to convince Bank of America to give me a 0% interest rate card to transfer the dreaded balance to through next summer, so Mr. 13.8% APR could kiss it and I could make progress without $30 in interest every month.

However, I still had to dedicate myself to a new and drastically harsh pay-down plan if I was going to reap the full benefits of the 0% deal, clear my conscience, and get my credit into a good place for the looming car purchase and SOMEDAY allow myself the flexibility to save for a down payment so that I don't have to be at the mercy of my finicky furnace, drafty windows, and low-end AC units in this little oven/igloo I call home.

I should also mention the "other" credit card stuff I had to pay off before their promo rates expired this summer - there was the Discover that was "just for Christmas" (yeah right), and the couple hundred on the Firestone card after I dropped my car off for an oil change and some of the most expensive pieces of rubber and metal ever made. So it goes.

So I made up my mind, broke out the calculator and notepad, and budgeted myself into penny-pinching oblivion. All of that new-found wealth that I happily looked forward to every other Friday was now gone before the direct deposit had a chance to get say hello to the overdraft fees and $4 Subway debits it landed next to. Thanks to my near-psychotic online bill pay scheduling, I had those huge payments whisked away to never-never land at Visa, MasterCard, Discover, wherever, the moment my account went from near-red to black.

In the meantime, I've kept meticulous notes about the balances, calculated how many days till each was going to be paid off, showed myself best-case scenarios, worst-case scenarios, and scheduled my paycheck to have it's happy little four figures ripped apart well into '08.

It's enough to make a girl cry. Actually, it HAS made a girl cry. And pout, and whine, and moan, and sigh, and almost just give up. It's made me a real blast to hang out with on those Fridays, should you be so lucky. But I am starting to feel like I'm getting somewhere. The two little guys will be goners before the temperatures drop below 80 regularly again, and the big guy is going to see some serious dents before long. It's really really hard not to keep using my card though, and that makes me mad, too.

I don't want to throw away all my hard work and "sacrifice" (can you really count not being able to go out to dinner and shop at Whole Foods as a sacrifice when children are starving in North St. Louis?), but bridging the gap between that last $20 from the ATM on Monday and payday on Friday isn't easy. Actually, it's way TOO easy to just say screw it, I need this, I want this, it's so-and-so's wedding/bar mitzvah/first night out of the house in two months, whatever, and break out the plastic. I've done it a few times, but nothing too awful yet. I'd like to keep it that way.

So tomorrow I do NOT look forward to checking my account online, and seeing all of those automatic debits put in place before I even finish my first cup of coffee. What I WILL look forward to is the day when I DON'T see them there, perhaps sometime next June. It will have been worth it. In the meantime I'll continue to count the days, and also be praying that the Accord keeps running and that Andrew doesn't run out of MacGyver-like recipes to make do with the bachelor-like state of my refrigerator and pantry. At least chickpeas are cheap. I'll have all the hummus and falafel I can get, no credit card required.

Screw NASA

OK Elliot, here's your blog: (Edited with LOTS-o-Links!)

NASA is being run by idiots, and aside from being an embarassment (love triangle/assault anyone?), they are sorry excuses for scientists as well.

This story on NPR yesterday and this morning pretty much made me mad. I don't get it at all.

NASA apparently isn't sure that Global Warming is a problem that they should worry about helping to fix, because it might not be a "long term problem" and they aren't sure that people can really do much to change it.

Then NASA administrator Michael Griffen says this, "I guess I would ask which human beings — where and when — are to be accorded the privilege of deciding that this particular climate that we have right here today, right now is the best climate for all other human beings. I think that's a rather arrogant position for people to take."

Um, hi, is draught, massive hurricanes, tsunamis and millions of potential refugees, melting arctic habitats, and the death of many endangered species (plant and animal) not enough to warrant taking action to stop the climate change? For pete's sake, female sharks are reproducing BY THEMSELVES! (6 years ago!!!) The marine biologist from the university in Belfast that is studying the sharks was quoted as saying:

"if self-impregnation was occurring in the wild because female sharks cannot find male partners amid rapidly declining shark populations, it would represent 'an evolutionary dead end that compromises the survival of the species.' He said he suspected this was 'already a problem in the real world', and noted the population of blue sharks off the west coast of Ireland had fallen by 90 percent in the past 12 years."

Alright, I really should get back to work. I'm playing secretary this week. It's really great.

The Cube

I absolutely never would have thought that I would be pleased to be sitting behind a cube wall. But I am, and I am pleased. It's not a full blown cube, and I have a LOT of space, in addition to a new 7ft/4ft L-shaped desk. Plus I have privacy to concentrate and get stuff done. I might get some little speakers for my iPod now that I have a little noise barrier. Also, I have been here just about three months. I can't believe it! I think some people thought that I was trying to avoid them by asking for walls (that were offered to me, btw), but I am the only person, aside from our admin, whose desk was just sitting out in front of everyone. I felt like a glorified secretary, and also like whatever work I was doing wasn't quite important enough to warrant privacy and quiet. People would stand right in front of my desk by the file cabinets and have conversations that didn't involve me at all. I'd just look up from time to time to see if they noticed that I was trying to work, but I rarely got a response.

Anyway, maybe it's a little sad to be so excited for something like a cube wall, but I don't care. Yippee for me! :)

Whoa.

I am not really sure if anyone reads this anymore (why would you? I don't write anything, not because I don't have anything to say, but more because I realize more and more every day how damn small St. Louis really is, and I have to watch what I say).

But..............there was a guy with a gun in my office building today and he assaulted some guy from the parking lot company over a $5 fee in the office right below me and after the guys threw a few punches, the angry customer reached for his gun, and tried to cock it but luckily it jammed and he ran out. The cops took about 10 minutes to get there, and I work downtown! They never found the guy, but they impounded his car (he got away on foot!), and they have the wallet and credit card he had with him.

It was really really really scary. We locked ourselves in the office, called 911, and stayed away from the windows (interior ones that face the hallway). They had a canine search the building, and apparently a bunch of cops cleared it, but they refused to come up and let us know that everything was ok. We just got brave, cracked the door, and asked another curious tenant if it was ok.

I heard the woman in the office below screaming "no, no, stop! help!", and lots of thumping and banging around. It was very surreal. We need better security there, apparently. And people need to not be so damn crazy that a "no credit card" policy at a $5 flat rate parking lot doesn't incite such violence. For pete's sake, there's an ATM attached to our stupid building, just around the corner from where this guy was parked.

I don't get it. I am just glad to be ok. But I am freaked out that he will come back. What would stop him?

Fanstastic

This happened about three blocks from my work, and about 2 hours after I left downtown tonight. I mean seriously, WTF? It's still broad daylight at 7 pm now, and there are all kinds of hotels around and people out and about for the baseball game, dinner, working late, etc. This sucks pretty bad.

The Best Thing About Excercising My Right To Vote

Is walking up to the Carpenters Hall after work, when I just so happen to be wearing my black pointy-toe slingbacks, AKA my "Sexy Professional Shoes" (according to my boss!) and having the group of guys hanging around outside smoking go pretty much completely silent.

Ha! I don't know if I should love it or hate it!

STL thoughts

-Whoever thought that the city of St. Louis would be home to some of the most obnoxious members of the avian species? I suppose that since I live across from FP I get an extra large dose of the creatures, but it's getting a bit annoying. Not only do the birds start chirping outside my open bedroom window at FOUR AM, but apparently a woodpecker has set up shop in a nearby tree as well. Today was the second morning in a row that I've been woken up by the incessant tapping. Grr.

-With all the highway 40 nonsense filling our ears lately, I think its easy to think that the whole thing is a big unnecessary waste of time and money. I think there are better ways it could have been done, but here is a little example of why this highway needs help fast. The accompanying audio clip says that this shot is from underneath the McCausland overpass...right next to my neighborhood. Not very comforting to think that's what's holding up my car as I drive to the mall or whole foods. Yikes!

-The impending state takeover of the St. Louis schools has me thinking that, 1. it's been a long time coming, and 2. people probably won't give this new arrangement the time it needs to enact measurable change, but since the takeover is going to last a minimum of 6 years, it just might work regardless of public opinion. I think the biggest problem with the school district in the past 5 years has been the fact that a couple misguided looneytoons have gotten impatient and pissed off when things don't go their way so they wipe the slate clean and hire someone new. Something must change if the city is ever going to attract new residents and businesses and people can't ignore the problem anymore just because they didn't go to city schools or have to send their children to them. I'm crossing my fingers, but I am not holding my breath.

-I like to read this blog because it talks about lots of important local issues in a way that doesn't get super snarky or stupid or angry. Most of the people commenting have knowledgeable opinions as well. I think more people need to get a well-rounded view of the issues our city faces. I also think that people tend to focus so much on national and global issues because they are easy to prove your helplessness. But local issues are just as important as national and global issue, if not more so. Why? Because that's where people can actually change things. But there's also little excuse for non-performance, which would mean that we can't be lazy. And that's hard. But things don't get better just by sitting on your couch watching the latest TV drama.

That being said, I'm on the look out for some way to get involved in the local political/revitalization/bring the city back to its former glory scene. If anyone has any good ideas, let me know. And I'll be sure to recruit any interested parties when something cool comes up.

Um Yeah.

Well, I feel like it's been too long since I last wrote anything, so I am just going to put a bunch of randomness out there, and then go iron my pants. I have got to do it tonight because I am still getting used to the whole idea of looking "put together" in the morning, and therefore do not know how to give myself adequate time to complete all 8 million tasks one must do in the morning before work.

Work=Good. I like it a lot, and I think I fit in pretty well with my co-workers and I sometimes feel like its just one big internship or a service project or something, not my real job. I think that's because I am still getting over the fact that businesses pay people to sit, and that my duties aren't exactly as concrete as they were previously. But I really enjoy being able to use my brain, and actually have people appreciate it, rather than feel like my daily existence was just an insult to all intelligence and common sense.

I'm also pretty damn pleased that it's just about springtime. I love daylight savings time, and I especially love the fact that it's longer this year. My crocus's in the front yard are coming up one by one, and so far the squirrels haven't trampled them. That means that the tulips and daffodils won't be far behind, and thanks to global warming, we probably won't get any early spring frosts to kill them like last year. But honestly, I love spring. It's my favorite season of all. I could do maybe 3 weeks of summer, two weeks of fall (I have horrendous hayfever then, otherwise I'd probably enjoy it more), and one week of winter. The other 46 weeks of the year should be spring. I wore flip flops today after going for a jog (that's right, I excercised!). I was also completely moved by the fantastic weather that on Saturday I opened all my windows, cleaned my ENTIRE apartment (for the first time probably since Andrew did it all when I was in Ireland), and even took the huge stack of donations taking up a good chunk of my living room floor to Goodwill and the computer recycling place.

I think spring came just in time, too. I was starting to get a little freaked out about stuff like my car, money, the shitty apartment I have lived in for WAY too long, etc. I know that the good ol' accord only has a little more time left on this earth, and with my jacked up credit card balances (thanks to 2+ months of sporadic employment and Christmas), I have been feeling that I might never be debt free. Honestly I know I am just impatient. I am making more than enough to live off of, finally, and I just need to have a little self-control and pay it off chunks at a time. But I want instant gratification, and I want to move into a nice new apartment and drive a nice new car and sit my happy ass on a nice new couch. Lifes too short to worry about that sort of bullcrap, but my crazy-person side forgets that. Now I can get out and walk and relax and get a little sun and stop going so damn stir-crazy. I hope.

Finally, I am starting to realize that I'm gonna be 25 soon. I think that's kind of a big deal. I am not one for big parties or anything, but I'd really like to celebrate my birthday this year for real, instead of just dinner out and taking it easy all day. It's on a Sunday, which is fantastic because that is always a good day. And, we can go out on Saturday night. So.....if anyone wants to do anything, let me know. I obviously get veto power, but I am not really coming up with anything in particular at the moment. That could change, and if I do think of something, all concerned parties will recieve some sort of email with the plans. It might be last minute, so just keep the 31st free if possible.

Ok, I better get to ironing. And finishing off this 4 day old bottle of Sancerre. It's not so bad, surprisingly. I'm sort of shocked that it's still around, actually. Good stuff like this should not go to waste, even if it is just a Monday night!

Getting Old?

I am not old. I don't think anyone who is still in their twenties or thirties should even begin to consider themselves old. But today I got a little reminder that maybe I'm not quite so young: my first ever Social Security benefit statement. That's right, if I were disabled today, I'd get benefits. And a decent amount at that. Something to be said for starting to work at age 16 and going full time at 18 I suppose. But it made me feel old, and on top of my "real world" job, it made me stop for a second and think.

But I didn't worry about it too long, and as vindication of my un-aged status I was given a little encouragement tonight. While working our way slowly to the door at the Scottrade Center after the Bills game, Brendan was trying to finish his big expensive beer. With about 4 good gulps left he handed me the cup. I began to chug it down when the usher looked over and said, most seriously, "are you old enough to be drinking young lady?"

I stared him down while I slammed the rest of the beer, and almost thanked him. Apparently I'm not too old if I still pass for not-yet-21!

Who Wants to Get Married at 8:30am on a Wednesday?

I made the poor decision of cutting through downtown and driving down the riverfront today as I got stuck in traffic for this spectacle. Not the prettiest sight given the traffic jammed road that cut off the "ceremony" from the Arch, and the gray slush that these wacky brides in their bright white gowns were trudging through.

Needless to say, I wasn't the only one a little late to work. Which is only getting better, I might add. I had my first real project today, and I am excited to be getting into things. I also got my business cards!!! How official, right? :)

Snow Day

My second day of work only lasted about an hour and a half. Thanks to lots of sleet and oncoming snow, I got to leave early. It took almost a half hour to get home, but I can't complain about getting paid to sit around in my polka dot fleece pants and hoodie, now can I?

While wasting time on the internet, I came across a blurb saying that Missouri is getting new license plates, AGAIN. The current ones were barely 10 years old, and we have to pay an extra fee for them. However, the powers that be claim their new stickers (or tabs) will be less likely to be stolen because now they will be made specifically for the new plate. It sucks when those things get stolen, too, because you don't usually realize it until you get pulled over. Licence plate theft is one of the biggest crimes in STL, so I do hope this will make a difference.

In the meantime, you can vote for your favorite of one of three riveting designs here. Democracy at it's best, right?


PS: Spellcheck on the blog wants me to capitalize "internet." I think that's wacky. It's not like we need to capitalize words like House and Office and Shopping Mall. Just because it doesn't physically exist, does that mean we need to give it all the attention of a true proper noun?

First Day

So the much anticipated first day of my "real job" has come and gone. I'm completely relieved that all of the nervousness and planning and worrying is over because I am more than ready to move on with life.

It went well. Very well. The people I met (two of the head honchos are still out of town from a conference last week) were all incredibly nice. The job itself seems perfectly interesting, even with plenty of data-entry to get things caught up and running more efficiently. I am glad that the position is new because they are just so happy that someone is there to help lessen the load and there isn't a set standard of what I have to do every day.

One of the guys wants to sit down and discuss the whole housing concept with me (he read my paper I wrote on affordable housing that I included with my resume), and he seems like he is going to make sure that I have every opportunity to learn about the decision making they do and the reasons why the fund exists. I also get to attend weekly meetings with their software developer as they work on an updated version of the asset tracker they created and use.

I think its going to be really cool. It's totally casual, I may even get away without heels, which would be fantastic! I have a desk kind of out in the open right now, but I will eventually get a bigger desk that will be sort of cubed in. I also will be getting a brand new computer with a 17" monitor...fantastic given the amount of time I will be staring at it!

I have keys to the building and office, a parking pass, business cards on the way, a super comfy big office chair, and all the Ronnoco coffee, soda, and juice I can drink. I doesn't get more office-y than this. I also found out that we get paid every other Friday, just like at Target, so I won't have to rearrange my bills or anything. I also get paid THIS Friday! And Monday is a HOLIDAY. And it's possible that tomorrow could be a snow day, or at least a late start...and we get to wear jeans when it's bad out!

All in all, I'm pretty satisfied. It felt strange though, working at a desk and realizing how different it will be than retail. I mean, obviously there are huge differences. Retail is constantly going and if you stop you get in trouble or you get some obnoxious person pleading for your help. At an office you can take a mental break whenever you need to without a million people literally waiting for you when you snap back into it. I like working on my own, too. I like being able to think things through without constant supervision and opinions. I think this is going to work out quite nicely.

And it is all proof that everything really does happen for a reason.

Highway Madness

Everyone knows it's coming. What they don't know is what exactly life will be like once the old Highway 40 starts shutting down, not to be fully functioning again until 2010, from whence it shall be called....The NEW I-64.

Whatever, right?

I have been scoping out the official website from MO-Dot on the whole shebang, and it seems like a whole hell of a lot to get done. I will be holding my breath, that's for sure. Oh wait, I live almost entirely east of the project. And if things go as planned, I'll be completely out of it's reaches before they even think of closing my dearly beloved Oakland Ave. access ramps.

If you commute on 44 and you think you will be in the clear, well think again. Obviously this is the best alternate route for most people. And thanks to all those additional cars (and semis!) anticipated, they will be restriping the highway in both directions from Grand to 270 in order to add a fifth lane. AND the speed limit will be reduced to 55 MPH. 44 is already a speed trap is some places, so I imagine it will only get worse. It will all get worse, but just sayin...

My advice

1. MOVE. Eastward. There are many wonderful neighborhoods in the STL city limits. Check out the crime map if you don't think it's really safe. It IS. Besides, most crimes are those of opportunity, meaning don't be stupid and give a bad guy an easy break. This moving option would be especially smart if you either work from home or work somewhere far from where you live in an eastward direction. Like Clayton or Downtown. Next week when I start my new job I will be using 40 to commute, but that's just because I live right next to it. I could just as easily skip the highways, shoot down Manchester/Chouteau and be at the riverfront in no time.

2. WALK. If your car is already going to be in overuse mode because you have to go a wacky way to work, then think about just letting it sit awhile when you do get home and walk or bike to where you need to go around town. Clearly not a good plan when going on a grocery trip for a family of 7's weekly stockup but if you are just going to the bank and the post office or something, I think it would be a good idea to consider a nice calorie burning method of transport instead of the fossil fuel burning type.

3. Public Transportation. That's right folks, I bring it on again. I am even more excited about this method now because my new office is RIGHT NEXT to the Landing Metro stop. Which means I can hop on a bus up the block from my apartment, shoot over to the CWE Metro stop, and be at work in a relatively short amount of time. And during my commute I will have burned no gasoline, read a chapter in a book, listened to my ipod, burned a few calories walking to/from the stops, not gotten road rage/speeding tickets/stuck in a traffic jam, etc. If you live anywhere remotely close to a stop, I encourage you to use the trip finder at Metro's website just to see how long it would take you to commute this way. Even if you do it just a couple times a week, it could make a big difference.

4. At least just think about what you are going to do/how you will get along without a quick access to the Galleria/Crate and Barrel/Whole Foods/Trader Joes/Cardinals Games/Work/Grandma's House. It might still seem a long way away, and I hate being an alarmist, but I do think that most people are going to be pooping in their pants when it finally happens, and it's not that far away. I guess I worry about it a lot since I do live so close to the heart of action on 40 and I see the daily crush, I mean near standstill traffic that backs up rain or shine for hours every day. All those people are going to have to go somewhere else. It ain't gonna be pretty.

WHAT?!?!

I'm sorry, but since when has the rock and roll guitar NOT been a sort of phallic extension? It just is, for pete's sake!!!! Anyone who has ever been to a rock show knows this, understands this, hell, they don't even need to mention it because it just IS. It's rock and roll!! It's a performance. It's not like he was trying to get all up on the guitar. That is just EXACTLY what ever other rock guitarist looks like when they are playing (albeit sans the "symbol" shaped guitar, but nonetheless). And after all the hoopla that went down with Janet, and then the fact that you could tell all the performers this year were all securely fastened into their not-so-revealing ensembles, they come up with this?

AND THEN, the Snickers Ad is getting all kinds of bad press. I understand this was a bit more risque, however lets be honest, it was effortlessly predictable. I think next year they should make a commerical with obviously gay actors. Then they will get all the wacky religious righters boo-hissing and it will just prove to the country again: damned if you do, damned if you don't. To me, advertising is all about stereotypes. Actually, anyone who has ever taken a basic business or marketing class should understand that as well. It's the end-all-be-all to reach your "target market" and you can only do that by stereotyping either the target group, or that group's antagonistic adversaries. Society constantly condones it...we allow ourselve to be surrounded by targeted advertising at all times. But when millions of people are all crammed around the boob-tube at the same time for a highly anticipated glut of marketing magic, well that's when things finally get noticed.

Finally, I want to briefly mention another instance of sterotyping offending the masses...the now-infamous local Barbie email forward (and it's ensuing Post-Dispatch review). It has apparently annoyed most every group it defined (although whoever was behind the Soulard Barbie needs to take a little trip to see what it's REALLY like...animal prints and nosejobs aren't quite the reality). It also proved, via the dichotomy between St. Louis and Metro-East versions, that people in St. Louis proper have little to no clue as to what life is like across the river. For the most part, it's a suburban mecca much like their own. Yet for all the complaints coming from soccer moms across the metropolitan area, the last line in the article just kills me: "The Barbie has on a sweatsuit and is driving a minivan. I was in our local paper last year, and you guessed it — I was wearing a sweatsuit. I also must admit it: I drive a minivan."

I'm moving to Switzerland. That's all I can say.

It's Official

I start on Monday.

I am NOT ready.

But I really can't wait to start working again. I am starting to feel really stupid and lazy. I need a paycheck so I can pay off my credit cards and start going grocery shopping regularly again.

I have to force myself to endure some serious shopping this week, though. I keep putting it off, but I honestly don't think I own enough work appropriate clothes today to get me through a single week of work.

I GOT THE JOB!!!

That's right! I got the job I wanted, the best job I've interviewed for with the best people, the best location, and hell, even the best money!!!!

I was on the phone with the recruiting place, talking about the position I interviewed for yesterday. It was a decent sounding gig at a local bank, but nothing that blew my mind. After my interview, I knew I'd get an offer from them for sure, but I was hardly interested because I had been holding out for the Equity Fund.

Literally two seconds after I hung up with them, the phone rang again. I was hoping it wasn't the same place, wanting to bore me some more with their canned lines about my "goals" and my "expectations." It wasn't. It was the two girls I'd interviewed with at the fund, and they were so excited!

I honestly can't ask for a better deal. It's almost too good to be true. Great pay, full health benefits, 401(k) with 5% match, 2 weeks vacation, free parking, casual dress code, an awesome building on the landing right next to the metrolink. And they just need me to start by the 20th. I am thinking of taking next week off to get myself and my apartment all ready, and then starting on the 12th.

I can't wait!!!! I have been a smidge bored, and I am getting broke. But now, I will be able to pay off my stupid credit cards once and for all. And quite possibly get a new car. But regardless, at least I will be in a MUCH better situation than I was at Target. This is amazing!!! Time to bring on the bubbly!

A Few Random Reasons Why I Need a Job

-Staring at the un-decorated state of my apartment is making me crazy, yet I have no money to buy stuff and have limited creativity to do anything cheaply.

-I stalk the mailbox, and as soon as I hear the mailman shut the door, I'm there. But it's always something lame like a bill or another obnoxious mailer from PETA who can't even spell my name right.

-I also stalk myspace, facebook, blogs, cnn.com, etc, WAAAAY more than is healthy.

-I haven't taken advantage of the time very well and done any sort of cleaning in my apartment. I started on the hall closet yesterday, but only got halfway through. I hate all the junk I have but I can't really decide what to do with it all.

-It's way too cold to sit in my drafty apartment for so many long hours...I just want to be in a nice climate controlled office.

-I really need a schedule, and some income to get me back to the gym or something. The only excercise I get is my fingers on the keyboard or washing the dishes or carrying laundry up the basement stairs. Not enough to keep up with my endless snacking.


In other news...Chicago is a great city. St. Louis is a baby, miniature city. I like them both, but I don't know if I could ever live in Chicago. St. Louis needs to catch up a smidge (aka public transportation/walkable neighborhoods), and then it would be perfect. Ok, maybe not perfect, but better.

Lots of good albums are coming out soon. Most notably for me, Modest Mouse in March. Arcade Fire is coming out soon, Shins is already out (but I don't have it yet), Wilco is in May, and I know there are a few more. It's super exciting, and another reason that I need some income...

At least my tax return comes this week or next. Yippee for cash money that should probably go straight to my credit card bill but will actually be spent on far better things like expensive dinners out, clothes, cds, and maybe some stuff for my apartment.

Finally, I am just going to say that it's totally sad that you can't get normal TV anymore without some crazy roof mounted antenna. I am forced to pay Charter $11.50 a month for local channels, plus a few extra, and they say it's not even their choice to charge that. It's decided by the municipality! What the hell? I thought the municipalities were the ones that provided free TV signals...apparently it's really a big conspiracy to give you a shitty free signal so you are forced to pay. Another thing I will grudgingly do when I get a job, but it will pretty much just be for Cardinals watching on my new fancy couch that I'll buy, too. But I will still feel like a sellout.

Second Interview, Shopping, Lipstick, & My Inability to Dress Myself, etc.

Yes, I had my second interview today at the job on the landing that I really really really want. I think it went well. It was a very conversational meeting with a guy who was quite fatherly and not at all an intimidating business guy. Makes me want to work there even more, but since I didn't get to talk too much, I feel like it's all in their hands now. They have a few candidates for the position, and they told me I can expect to hear from them late next week. More waiting, but this time, I can't do anything. Except write a nice long thank you note to the guy, reiterating my amazing business writing skills and my persistant determination to work for them.

After my interview, I felt somewhat useless. I am broke, and jobless, and even though my sink is still full of dishes from Tuesday night's dinner, I wanted to just get out of the house. So, in an effort to reclaim the front corner of my living room, I decided to finally go make some returns from last December's mad shopping rush. Nothing was a gift, it was all stuff I bought for myself while shopping for others and for whatever reason it needed to go back.

I hit my targets in a logical order: Old Navy, Crate and Barrel, and then the Galleria. I still have one bag for Target, but I wanted to go to the Hampton one, so that can wait till later today.

I got through Old Navy pretty quickly. I intended on exchanging a pair of pants for some black ones that I could wear to a wine tasting Monday, but I wasn't impressed with the two pairs they had, and they were $30, so I wasn't drawn to them as a great bargain or anything, and I decided to wait and see what I could come up with at the mall.

Crate and Barrel was fine, too. I picked up some random kitchen things in exchange for some pans I bought but never gave to anyone, and still got out of there with some money credited back to my card. I didn't go upstairs to covet the beautiful $1000 couches, though. That will have to wait until I actually am hired by someone, and know a real paycheck is imminent.

Then I hit the Galleria. First stop, the Clinique counter at Macy's for....Lipstick. I haven't bought actual lipstick since high school, and I don't ever wear anything except Chapstick Lip Moisturizer. But Katie has pointed out that if I am going to have a "real" job, I probably need to take things up a notch as far as makeup goes. I remembered that I had an old nubbin of a Clinique lipstick that I used to love, it was sheer red with little gold flecks, and it actually looked natural on me, so I hunted that down and brought it to the counter.

Of course that kind was discontinued, but the girl went right to another kind of lipstick, and it seemed to be an almost perfect match. I tried it on and I was impressed that it didn't wash out my extremely pale skin, or look fake, or clumpy or anything. I am still not sold on the idea of wearing it all the time, but for work, I'm down with it. It didn't really leave a mark on my Starbucks cup (because what's a trip to the mall without a Starbucks drink?), so I am not too worried that I will be one of those gross ladies leaving huge marks on wine glasses or anything. Andrew, you have the right to break up with me if that ever happens. I swear.

I returned some cute but too big ballet flats from AE, then wandered around looking for new black flats, black pants, and some cute, dark colored top for the wine tasting (Oh, right, Andrew and I are taking the train to Chicago on Sunday for a big wine tasting on Monday. It's going to be flipping cold there, and there's a dress code for the tasting, so no jeans for me. I'm a bit at a loss...).

I realize that I pretty much hate cheap clothes. I also totally dislike shopping, I always have. It might have stemmed from my general brokeness since I started working and buying my own stuff, or maybe just because I'm not that girly. I don't know. I loathe the atmosphere of the mall, too, so that doesn't help. So since I can't afford Urban, or Anthro, or Banana, or Ziezo, or Mezzanine, and I have a really hard time visualizing myself wearing the cheap trendy stuff crammed onto the racks at H&M, Target, and Forever 21, etc. (not to mention the fashion wasteland that big retailers seem to think St. Louis is. We can't get anything too cute here. Nope, midwesterners don't deserve the Stella McCartney line from H&M, etc.), I am stuck.

My modus operandi then has been to stick with what I know. Some form of jeans, some form of flat black shoes, and some form of tshirt. Boring, yes. Comfortable, of course. But not what you really want to wear out for the night at a good restaurant or whatever.

I call Katie all the time for advice, but I aside from giving her my credit card and free reign to shop online for me, I can't expect too much. She's halfway across the country, in far more fashionable D.C., and has given me more advice than any grown girl should need.

I don't want to turn into a fancy pants dresser. I don't have the money to redo my wardrobe, and I really hate the idea of sacrificing comfort for "style". One of the most nerveracking things I consider when thinking about a "real job" is having to decide what to wear to work every day. I have worn a uniform that requires absolutely no thought in the morning; just pick up a clean pair of pants, a clean shirt, maybe they're a little wrinkled, but who cares you'll be covered in dirt in about an hour so whatever. I have a feeling that I will be in for a seriously messy bedroom floor, a closet in disarray, and a growing credit card bill once I start working. And I better think about giving myself a good hour to figure out what to wear. Shoot, not to mention the fact that I'll have to blow dry my hair in the morning, too. Whoo...that's just too much!

I guess I'll venture out again tomorrow. Just want I wanted to do on a Saturday...go to the mall. For the third day in a row. Maybe I'll try a scenery change at West County. I know they have all the cheap clothes stores with the horrible return policies AND the fancypants Nordstrom. Perhaps I will have better luck there. We'll see...

The Frenchman has said it best.

Listen to this little commentary from today's All Things Considered. I think he has summed up my sentiments on the issue perfectly. And with a way cooler accent than I could ever hope for.


...Best Quote: "Without cigarettes, Ireland would have been Holland."

It takes every fiber of my being...

Not to just walk out and quit the stupid Wash U bookstore. I can't stand it, but I do only have two more shifts, 9-1 tomorrow, and 9-2 Thursday. That's only 9 hours. I can handle it but I wish I didn't have to. At least all the book hauling is quite the calorie burning activity. And my arm muscles are doing pretty good, too. ;)

But, what bugs me the most is the obvious misery that the managers and supervisors are living in, yes they don't seem to want to do anything about it. I honestly can't stand watching semi-intelligent people in dead end jobs moan and complain about every little aspect of the job that absolutely no one is forcing them to keep. It kills me to know that someone could be a mere 14 credit hours away from a college degree, and still can't figure out a way to make it happen, so instead they make life miserable for themselves and also attempt to do so to everyone around them.

I know just as well as anyone, college is expensive. But for pete's sake, there are a million different ways to pay for it, including just being a broke student with a million loans who is going to have a way higher earning potential when all is said and done. Take one class a semester. Stop buying flipping Starbucks and new clothes and take the bus and finish your stupid degree and move on!

The same goes for people who are just unhappy in their actual job, degree or no degree or whatever. Do something about it. Get off your butt, stop crying and whining, and change your situation. No one's gonna do it for you. Yes it can be scary to make that jump away from the easy and familiar sights of the only thing you think you know. But honestly, it isn't so hard to move on from something you don't like. I know. I do miss my friends from my old job, but there are some people that I have happily forgotten ever existed, and many aspects of the job that I am so glad I will never have to deal with ever again. Even being broke off my you know what right now, I am still happy I left. And if all you do is complain all the time, you can be sure that you will find yourself with no one left to listen before long.

Go Hugo Go!

The best coffee shop ever FINALLY reincarnated.
I can't wait!

Second Interview!

I worked my butt off yesterday and today at my little insignificant campus bookstore job. I can't stand to be bored, I can't stand to watch the minutes drag by at work, and I can't stand laziness (unless you are acting that way by yourself, or with your loved ones, when nothing else important is being ignored). Since I used to be in a position to tell people what to do when they were just standing around doing nothing, I find it exceptionally hard to just watch while my lazy co-workers do nothing.

But as soon as the supervisor walked in today, over four hours after I had gotten there, put myself to work, and got a million things straightened up and stuff, I told him that as soon as he was ready to send someone home early (Since the "rush" is pretty much nonexistent now. They don't seem to get how many people buy their books online.), I was claiming first in line.

Lucky for me, I got to head home before 2, instead of 4:30, and upon arriving home, I was greeted by the lovely flashing "1" on my answering machine.

A message! And just when I am waiting to hear back from the job people! Yay!!!

Sure enough, it was one of the women that I interviewed with on Tuesday, asking me to come in and speak with the Senior Asset Manager. Yippeee!!!! I am obviously thrilled. She did say that they are "just starting their second interviews." Which means competition. But I have until next Friday to prepare. And prepare I must, because this guy is kind of a big deal when it comes to development. You may be familiar with this development (and my feelings on it, but that's a whole other story). Well this guy is also a Senior Vice President with the developer of that project, and he was apparently in charge of developing, leasing, and managing the whole shebang. Kind of a big deal.

Yes, I am nervous. But I have confidence in myself, and I have tons of drive to get this job. It feels so different than when I was interviewing the last time. I actually think this could lead somewhere meaningful for my career, not just be one of those "get some experience on my resume, whatever it is" jobs.

And since next week is the last week I am working at the bookstore, I will be VERY ready to start a real job again, with a real paycheck. Not going to school gives me way more time to sit around my apartment, which means way more time for me to think about everything I want to change, and everything I want to buy. But until then, I'm stuck pining away over my Crate and Barrel and Pottery Barn catalogs. ;)