TWENTY TEN IS COMING UP. And I don’t want to miss making the last post of the year!
So I guess I should probably check in with how life is going! Pretty exciting, I should say for the most part.
First and foremost: I got my own apartment! This was back in the beginning of October actually. Such a momentous occasion should have merited a blog post almost immediately, but again, I was just so damn busy with settling in and work. It’s a one-bedroom apartment in a building that was previously a brewery. The layout of the building is a bit awkward because of the conversion, but the place isn’t too shabby. I don’t have much furniture: a mattress and a chair. The living room is a very barren place. -_- I’m still saving up for a trip to IKEA or something. Maybe I should just check craigslist. That’s actually how I found both my job and apartment… so why not?
Also, a couple days ago, I was finally offered a full time position at work! YESSSssss!!!!! 
I’m very happy there, and the new position will be giving me more development experience that I’ve been wanting for a while now. AND I’ll be getting a nicer salary! AND BENEFITS! Oh, how I missed you, health, dental, and vision coverage… So yeah, looks like things are starting to take off!
I’m quite proud of myself for getting this far on my own. Independence is awesome. Also knowing that I accomplished this on my own merits and abilities makes it all the sweeter. But again, a HUGE BIG GIGANTIC thank you to my cousin and her boyfriend for letting me stay at their place while I looked for a job and my own apartment. I seriously wouldn’t have had this awesome opportunity without their generosity and support. I took a risk leaving my last job and coming here to Chicago, but I’m very glad I made it. There were many reasons for wanting to leave, and perhaps I’ll share them here one day, but let’s not dwell on the past, hm?
And just because I got a sweet job and my own apartment doesn’t mean I can slack off! My New Year’s resolution: Go to the gym and get back in shape! Yeah, that’s such a typical resolution, but now I actually do have time and money go, so no more excuses! And I also saw a friend over the holiday break who’s been hitting the gym like crazy—and she is looking GREAT. I’m quite motivated by that actually, so I have a LOT of catching up to do. So come next week, I’ll stop by the gym around my neighborhood and check it out. I got one more resolution, but I’ll post about that later… 
Have a safe and happy new year! Hope you had a great 2009, and that the next year will bring you more happiness than the last!
Famous Rockstar, Racist Russian
Personal December 15th, 2009
Woke up late this morning. It was probably due to me reading my book real late last night, combined with hearing my slightly loud neighbors in the room next door. It’s weird though, because I woke up to my alarm clock at 7 AM. But then I snoozed it or turned it off then went right back to sleep. And in those 2 hours I had a couple of dreams. I say a couple instead of one because they didn’t seem related or lead into one another. I guess one could debate that dreams really don’t make sense and don’t have to relate; thus the dreams are all one dream. Whatever. Here’s what I can piece together from memory…
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Tags: dreams
Don’t be a rude customer
Personal November 30th, 2009
Just got back from the bank.
I did my usual thing, filling out a deposit slip and signing my paycheck. It was lunch time, so there was a small line in front of me. While waiting, I could overhear one of the customers at the teller window.
Obviously he sounded agitated, because he was saying out loud something like, “Don’t tell me you can’t do it. Just do it.” The teller, very cute and pretty, I might add, seemed a bit meek in saying that she couldn’t perform whatever task the rude client had demanded of her.
Fortunately, it didn’t escalate to the point where a manger had to get involved. Still, I felt a little bad for the teller, having been in her position before. I’m not sure if she was new to this, but I wanted to cheer her up with a horror customer story of my own—and mostly flirt with her… she not only had really cute highlights in her dark hair, but she had this teeny, sexy piercing in her nose. And she had glasses, totally hot .
Unfortunately, there was more than one teller working the line, and I just ended up with someone else.
Tags: banking, customer service
Jimmy John’s
Chicago, Memories October 13th, 2009
Today I decide to get a sandwich at the Jimmy John’s I found down the street for lunch. I lock my computer, put on my jacket, grab my book, and set forth to the elevator.
On the ride down, I share a conversation with a fellow from the support team. Small talk ensued:
“Are you from Chicago?”
I respond, “Nah, I’m from Maryland.”
“Isn’t it really cold out there?”
“Yeah, sometimes, but it’s not as cold as it gets here.”
We were about to discuss the current weather (it already feels like winter, where the heck did fall go?!) when we reach the bottom floor and go our separate ways.
I exit the building, walk west on Jackson until I reach the Jimmy John’s. I enter the small vestibule and then attempt to push open the door to the food place actual. It doesn’t budge. I see two young girls ahead of me through the glass pane. They look at me, but to my luck, don’t seem to laugh at my inability to operate a door. I push slightly harder and it finally snaps open. I step forward and give a slight nod, raised eyebrows, and light smirk to flaunt my triumph. One of the girls smiles and I proceed to the line to get my meal.
In line, I look back at the girl, she looks to be in her early to mid 20’s, blonde, and cute. It might be my imagination, but I think she is eyeballing my book, Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger. I start to imagine myself approaching her, saying some witty line about my struggles with doors that seem to have vendettas against me. Instead, I am snapped out of my musing by the cashier who takes my order.
After I pay for and receive my sandwich, I look back and see that the two girls have left. I walk back to the entrance to return to the office and see that one of the girls had forgotten her scarf nearly fallen on the floor, dangling off the lower footholds of the highchair. I exit outside and try to find them walking away, thinking I could catch up to them and bring them their scarf. It takes only a minute and I see them rounding the corner of Jackson and Franklin. I could try to run after them, but I had failed to grab the scarf myself since my hands were full with my book and food.
I stood there outside for a minute thinking I could valiantly rush in, grab the woolen scarf, run after the girls, and return it to them safe and sound. I contemplate the chivalrous nature of going out of the way to return something lost to a beautiful lady. I always wanted to do something impulsive, quixotic even.
I turn in the opposite direction to go back to the office, where I eat my lunch, uneventfully.
Then I think to myself, “Damn.”
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