Tuesday, August 31, 2004

Just checking in...

I don't really have too much going on, unfortunately. Everything is pretty chill. Addy was here this weekend!!! Sooooo fun. Friday night during "lunch" I went to go see her and my friend Dave and this kid Steve at 24-hour Starbucks, then I gave Addy the tour of Intel and then finished up work while she slept like a normal person. Saturday morning I got a few hours of sleep in and then chilled with Addy. We went to lunch at Sweet Tomatoes, YAY!! And Dave came by my apartment so we got to hang out with him, it was great. He leaves for Russia for a year tomorrow, so that is sad. Sunday I went to church with Addy and heard Luis Palau speak (he is SO GREAT!) and Scarlet Cord (my favorite band at the church, a youth band) led worship. YAY! The new sanctuary opens up in 2 weeks! Then Addy went home and I took a nice long nap! Tonight Keith and I went to Chipotle for dinner... yuuuuuum. We're definitely keeping the Portland location in business!

I got my new Oregon plates and a new cell phone... check my IM for the number. :) Good stuff going on... I'm truly becoming an Oregonian... yeah right. I'll always be a Chicago girl at heart. There's no way I could ever learn to drive like these crazy people! Oregon is a cool place to be though.

My shift is really not so cool now that I think about it. I LOVE working nights actually, but the crazy thing is that every two weeks, I work 3 weekend nights (Friday, Friday, Saturday). The front end of the week night shift only works 1 weekend night (Saturday) in a two week period. I really get shafted as a young single person who wants to be able to go out at night. Oh well... live and learn I guess. I wanted that other shift but it just wasn't available. I better just make the most of my weekends when I have them... and maybe I will take weekend nights off when necessary for my social life!

So since Jenni and Ryan aren't updating their blogs, I haven't been as motivated to update mine. Peer pressure or something like that. I'm trying to be better about it, really I am.

I have 6 gmail invites now, so let me know if you want one. I'm always happy to give the fans gmail invites. :)

So this week I'm working Wednesday 8 AM - 3 PM, Thursday 12 AM - 7:30 AM, and Thursday 7:00 PM - 7:30 AM. Yes I know that's a little nuts... I have this training thing going on though so I have to work some weirdo hours. As though my "normal" hours weren't weirdo enough!

Made lasagna yesterday... lots of lasagna. At least I'll have food to eat for the week.

That's about all of the excitement in my life that I can think of right now. Oh, I'm still addicted to Craigslist and I got Addy addicted to it as well. Goooooood times. :)

Thursday, August 26, 2004

Just a quick hello...

Use Windows Messenger! Talk to me people. :) I miss you.

P.S. -- I have FIVE new gmail invites... let me know if you want one.

More rants and raves to come soon!! (I have some good ones cooking up)

A quick one... what's the deal with all of these new CDs being "pre-released" to iTunes... a conspiracy I tell you! And I even happen to be an iTunes fan!

Monday, August 23, 2004

Pottery Barn

I've officially joined the Young Yuppie's of America Association (YYAA)... I received my first ever Pottery Barn catalog. LUCKILY, it's addressed to Kelvin Tang, apparently the previous renter of lovely apartment number 336. He's probably moved on to a nice yuppie house in the suburbs or loft in the Pearl. Who knows. All the same, here it is... and of course I'll be browsing it, looking for anything else I can add to my apartment. Who knows. Maybe I'll find a nice apothacary table... get the reference anyone? ;-)

Okay I'm back (again)

Sorry for the infrequency of my posts the last month or so. I know nothing is more annoying than trying to go to read someone's blog and having it not being updated, especially when you're bored. So I'm on this totally messed up schedule now... I have no problem sleeping during the days, which is good, but it's hard to switch back. In order to perfect the art of switching back, you have to sleep only about 4 hours on the last day of your work week, which is so hard to do. It's like, you KNOW you don't have to get up to be anywhere, and yet for some reason you "need" to get out of bed anyway? Somehow one's mind just doesn't work like that after 4 hours of sleep. So needless to say I slept until 3 yesterday and then didn't fall asleep until after 6 AM, then slept until after 1 today. This is unfortunate because I have a doctor's appointment at 8 AM tomorrow, so somehow I'm going to need to get up by 7! Yikes...

All in all the job is going well though. Many weeks I hope to not switch back to sleeping nights at all. Seeing as how I'm 22 years old with no husband, kids, or any real ties in life, there seems to be no reason that I can't just sleep all day every day. Obviously I'll have appointments and some traveling and other random stuff which will make me sleep the occasional night, but for the most part I plan on being a night owl. The other good option is to do the "half-switch", sleep from 4 AM - 12 PMish on the days I'm not working. The nurse at Intel recommends this because it does allow you to be awake and out and about during the day sometimes, but still maintains about 4 hours (8 AM - 12 PM) that you're always asleep, which is good for your body. I read quite a bit of information about the importance of sleep and a regular schedule for the body because of things like the fact that the body naturally cools down at night, etc. So like I say, tomorrow will be a little bit tough, but it should only go up from here.

The job itself is fun too (I know I started the last paragraph that way too, but I seem to just want to talk about sleeping). Seriously though, I've learned a lot already. It DEFINITELY helped that I interned with Intel, because otherwise I'd be so lost! I get my computer this week which will help to be able to be in my own office doing more of my own work. And obviously I'll be doing more work and less training as time goes on, which is nice.

http://www.3m.com/us/office/postit/research/largest_pink_ribbon.jhtml Check that out... for everyone who signs up, 3m is donating $1 for breast cancer research. All it takes is name and city, not even an email address! :)

Saturday, August 14, 2004

Hello friends

From Friday when blogger was being weird and wouldn't post:

Yesterday was the last day my parents were here. We went to Tillamook, which is one of my favorite places! When Doug and I first started dating, we went there to the beach and the cheese factory, and it was a day I'll never forget. Yesterday was the same. My parents and I had lunch on the same beach and then went to the Cheese Factory, complete with ice cream at the end. Yuuuuum. Best ice cream ever! Then we had dinner at home and spent a last few moments talking.

Today I woke up and got my hair cut and car washed, then spent the rest of the day with Kendra! We went swimming, then had dinner and talked, then went to the Oregon International Air Show. Pretty cool... the Blue Angels are there tomorrow so that should be even better. I may go with Keith tomorrow but not sure yet.

My hair is SO BLONDE. It's scary. I didn't mean for it to come out that blonde, but oh well. What can you do? The two other times I've had it highlighted, it's been perfect. Definitely blonde chunks but not BLONDE. Yikes. Never going there again... that's the problem with moving. You miss people like the awesome dude at the Omni Spa.

Here's my to-do list for tomorrow, since Jenni says you can learn a lot from that:
- call Comcast
- car vacuum
- Sprint phone
- Call Sarah
- finish fixing up apartment
- mail in rebate
- Tell Cobra people my new address
- write blog
- pay CC and USAA bills
- grocery shopping
- mail Jenn book

I realize some of that is sort of vague, but I'm not going to edit it for your purposes. You'll have to figure it out or ask me about it if you're curious. That's my list as it stands for me.

I Tivoed the Opening Ceremonies and am watching them now. They're cool. This woman who basically brought the Olympics back to Greece was then fired for 3 years, at which time the Olympic Committee threatened to take the Olympics away from Greece because they were so far behind, so they brought her back and she whipped into action and took care of it all. Not such a fan of Katie Couric though. She's a little lame. Mike Kostas or whatever his last name is is way better.

Well, you're on my to-do list for tomorrow, so I guess expect another update then. And check out snopes.com if you never have before, it's been one of my top-5 favorite websites for YEARS.

Saturday:
Hung out with Keith today!!! Did some chores in the morning, then went grocery shopping with Keith. After that we had chips and salsa and made the BEST hamburgers. YUM. Oregon makes me think of BBQing because we always do the best grilling out here. YAY. We played a game of Egyptian Rat Screw (I won) and then watched the Opening Ceremonies on Tivo. Then we looked at all of my pictures from this year, then Keith played the guitar for me. Then we went swimming and then to the hot tub, then we went to Coldstone for dessert. YAY. Oregon is the most fun place ever. There's always so much to do with so many fun people. I heart the Oregon. Tomorrow we're going to New Song, which Keith promises me is an AMAZING church. We'll see.

More soon?

Still trying to get this to work.

Sunday: Went to church downtown with Keithers, then went to the Bite of Oregon (think Taste of Chicago). Fun was had by all, and then I came back home and watched the Olympics on Tivo per my usual as of late.

Monday: Went to work!!!!! Okay, it wasn't that exciting. It was NEO, which is New Employee Orientation. That's okay. I got to learn all about benefits and stuff so that was good times. And I met some pretty cool people including a dude who lives in the apartment complex right across from mine. Then I went by the post office and ever since then I've been scrapbooking and watching the Oympics. I've never watched this much of the Olympics in my life. Tivo is the greatest invention ever. Seriously. I used to think it was dumb and pointless too, but it's NOT. You can fast forward through all of the long swimming and Bob Kostas talking, and just watch the final laps. You can rewind. You can watch in slow motion. You can take an hour to watch the 4 hour opening ceramonies. I'm telling you, it's the best. I made terayaki chicken and vegetables with rice tonight for dinner, yum.

I need to join a gym with a pool. I miss swimming. Swimming a lot in the pool downstairs makes me miss it even more, plus watching it on the Olympics does the same. I just need to get back in the water. There is a discount for 24 Hour Fitness I think so I think I will join it and go swimming there at least on my days off. I can just start out doing 700 yards or so a day and then work my way up. Oh swimming, how I long for thee.

Trying to post again...

Wednesday, August 11, 2004

Yay

My apartment is really coming together. I have pictures hanging and everything is pretty much set. Once I get all of my tables in, it will be perfection! Still no estimate on when those are coming in, but hopefully as soon as possible! I also have a fair amount of work to do in the guest bedroom, but I need to wait on that until my parents are gone. It's hard to do with them here. Ikea seriously is the best place for candles (among many other things, including frames and much much more). My mom even said that she's always thought Ikea was way overrated, but that they really do have decent stuff at very reasonable prices. Whenever I have the chance in Chicago or LA or Seattle I will try to stop in, because there's always more you can get at Ikea.

Sketchy people live in my apartment complex. I guess that's to be expected from any apartment complex, but it's just funny. I was at the pool today and overheard many a conversation. There was this group of girls a few years younger than me, only one or two lived here but they invited over a bunch of friends. They were all smoking and just chatting about their waitress jobs and whatnot. One of them didn't work at all. Then there are all of these "families" that I can't really figure out. One little girl called someone mama, and then "the dad" (?) said "That's not Mama, that's Tanya". And then later on some other little boy splashed me a little and "Tanya" said "Sorry!" and then said "It's not my kid... actually I don't even know him, I'm just apologizing because I feel bad for you". So what's the deal with that? And Tanya was sitting with the guy that I think is the dad (who seems to be dating Tanya), but in between them was another guy who looked a little younger (they are around 25, he was maybe 21). Who was he? Never figured that one out. Tanya started talking to him about how she sells stuff on ebay for a living, saying that she started 6 years ago when her parents discovered ebay early. Her first sale was an antique bedpan she bought for $3 and sold it for $70, so she got hooked on it. She shops at thrift stores, estate sales, and garage sales, for those who were thinking of going into the business. Anyway that's the gossip from the pool today. I'll let you know if there's more again.

cnn.com is really such a great website. Earlier today I read about this half-ton man who checked into the hospital 8 weeks ago (after several other hospitals rejected him) and has lost 300 pounds already. He hopes to lose at least 450 more and his ultimate goal is to be able to walk out of the hospital and go on a walk with his wife. They had to find a special ambulance to get him there and he is on two hospital beds. He is on a 1200 calorie a day diet. Previously he could not even turn over without help and had tons of health problems including diabetes. The hospital is expected to cover much of his several million dollar bill. Yesterday I read about conjoined twins who had been seperated from the head and saw each other for the first time. Both were more interested in watching TV and their mother. Whatever floats your boat, I guess. I also read about some dude that pulled over a cop and said "arrest me". The cop was like "what the heck?" and the dude was like "I'm drunk". So the cop called for backup because it was admittedly kind of weird and they arrested the dude for driving without a license (suspended from an earlier DUI) and DUI. He was 4 times over the legal limit. They said he was hysterical and much nicer than most DUIs tend to be. Cool.

Tuesday, August 10, 2004

Okay I'm back (and it's a long one!)

Hey kids... sorry for the delay. So here's the update:

Reno/Tahoe: It was fun, as mentioned before. Not too many other exciting details. My sister and I rented tubes and floated down the Truckee River, that was super cool. I'd love to go back to Tahoe sometime.

Thursday: The drive from Tahoe to Portland. It took a lot longer than it was supposed to, but I got here, got the keys to my apartment and lease signed, and moved all of my stuff in. Ate dinner at Burgerville (a GREAT local place, the In N Out of Oregon if you will), then collapsed on the flor and fell asleep.

Friday: Went to the DMV, found out what I needed to get my Oregon Driver's License. Got my DEQ (clean air test)... $21. Ridiculous, it's free in Illinois. Although it's $50 in California, so I'm not doing that bad. Went to buy a new bed, my parents bought me one and I bought one for the guest bedroom as well. Did some unpacking, got my cable modem and cable TV installed, went back to the DMV to get my ODL and register my car here. Got a few things from Target, made my bed, got a little bit more settled in. Could NOT get my wireless to work, which became an ongoing project of the weekend, especially since I needed it for Tivo to work.

Saturday: The furniture day. Started at JC Penney at the mall where I got these GREAT new dishes that I've had my eye on for a while, and also a chip and dip tray and an oil dipping set that is absolutely stellar. PLEASE come by and visit, stay an hour or a month, I'd love to have you. I'm all about the guests. I looked at their furniture and found a few pieces that I really liked, but I continued looking. I went to like 5 more furniture stores and found a local places with really reasonable prices, great quality, and excellent service. So I picked out a sofa, a coffee table, 2 end tables, and a dining room table with 4 chairs. The dining room table is my FAVORITE, because it is "counter-height" (brand new, the guy special ordered it for me out of a 2 week old catalog). It's going to be really great I think. But he called me the next day and ALL of my tables are on back order. The couch he is going to deliver tomorrow (I haven't been home the last two evenings, when he's tried to deliver). So that was really exciting. My first big furniture purchase! Still could not get the wireless to work!


Sunday: Went to Sunset with my parents, they really enjoyed it. Then we went down to Woodburn to go to Wal-Mart and the outlet mall down there. We got lots of great stuff from Wal-Mart, just sort of the essential home items. We had lunch there, and went to the Kitchen outlet store, but I didn't find anything I wanted. We stopped by Fry's on the way home to return something from the Chicago Fry's and then headed home. After an hour on the phone with Linksys (with them walking me through stuff I had tried a million times before), they fixed my router. I needed a firmware update, which I had tried but wasn't able to install, but she finally showed me a "back door" to installing it. She had to ask a bunch of other people though. So YAY for wireless working. I started Tivo and could see that it was connecting fine, but didn't have time to set it all up that night. Saw a great desk in the Office Depot ad, including a bookcase and a filing cabinet, so stopped by there and got that.

Monday: A chill day around the house setting up furniture like the desk and getting things more unpacked. Finished Tivo, went to the Goodwill to get a black blanket to keep the light out of my room when I'm sleeping during the day. ;-) Chipotle is just opening up a block away from my apartment, so Keith and my parents and I went to Chipotle for a dinner. It was a free day for all food and drinks because it was like their "trial run". YUM. It was extra-good Chipotle. You know how sometimes it's way better than others? This was one of those great days. Stopped by Keith's house and saw it... very nice place. Got my renter's insurance and everything like that set up, and went to Intel to see Kendra around 11. We ended up looking for my cube which was already there and labeled, and ran into the hiring manager who knows us both. He asked me how I wanted my cube configured, so that was cool that I got to pick that out. I also met a woman from Northwestern (BME grad) who has the same job as me but works the opposite shift. SUPER cool. Tons of fun.

Tuesday: Went to Seattle! Went to Red Robin for lunch on the pier (I love watching the water and the boats), then went to Pike's Place for some fresh fish and flowers. I love getting flowers there, they're so pretty and cheap. Got sashimi grade tuna which will be soooooo yummy. One of my favorite things!! Then went to Ikea for candles, bookshelf, wine glasses, and some "art" to put on the walls. Anything is better than having the walls white. Which reminds me, I'm glad they are white now! When I moved in there were "accent" walls, some yellow and some burgandy, and they were like "we thought you might like them, but we can paint them back". And I was like "uhhh, yeah". So today they FINALLY painted them and they look so much better. Especially the kitchen, it was so dark and now it looks great. I'm glad that that is done. Tonight I've been putting together the bookshelf and getting pictures ready, etc. YAY.

More soon... hopefully more of interest, but at least you know what's been going on in my life lately!

Wednesday, August 04, 2004

RYAN BOYLE IS MY HERO!!

Because he gave me my long-awaited gmail invite. YAAAAAY for him. I'm SO EXCITED to finally have it, so now I can finally start using an email other than my Northwestern address. This is STELLAR.

To make a good day better, I got an email from Chipotle saying they're opening like half a mile from my apartment (only their second Portland location, the first opened in February) AND that Monday is like their "test day" with free food from 5 - 7 and I'm invited. YEAAH free Chipotle on Monday. :)

To top it all off, I got an email from a recruiter at Schlumberger, asking me for a phone interview. I applied their last October or November because I think it's a stellar company, but alas... they're just about 8 months too late. Still super exciting though, I'd love to work there sometime in the future!!

I'm in Reno... will be in Portland tomorrow. YAAAAAY. It's been an excellent trip, lots of chilling at the pool and at Lake Tahoe. I HIGHLY recommend Lake Tahoe, it's beautiful. We had a lot of fun there. I've been doing a tiny bit of gambling, really only with the money the hotel gave me. So that's fun. We have a long drive tomorrow but it's worth it! I can't wait to finally get there. I'm writing from the Java Jungle, this cute coffeehouse in Reno with wireless. Whoever invented wireless internet is a genius!

Okay so that's all of the excitement I have at the moment, on Friday I should have my cable modem hooked up if all goes well so you can expect a more detailed and exciting update then. :)

gmail, Chipotle, and Schlumberger, all in one day!!

RYAN BOYLE IS MY HERO!!

Because he gave me my long-awaited gmail invite. YAAAAAY for him. I'm SO EXCITED to finally have it, so now I can finally start using an email other than my Northwestern address. This is STELLAR.

To make a good day better, I got an email from Chipotle saying they're opening like half a mile from my apartment (only their second Portland location, the first opened in February) AND that Monday is like their "test day" with free food from 5 - 7 and I'm invited. YEAAH free Chipotle on Monday. :)

To top it all off, I got an email from a recruiter at Schlumberger, asking me for a phone interview. I applied their last October or November because I think it's a stellar company, but alas... they're just about 8 months too late. Still super exciting though, I'd love to work there sometime in the future!!

I'm in Reno... will be in Portland tomorrow. YAAAAAY. It's been an excellent trip, lots of chilling at the pool and at Lake Tahoe. I HIGHLY recommend Lake Tahoe, it's beautiful. We had a lot of fun there. I've been doing a tiny bit of gambling, really only with the money the hotel gave me. So that's fun. We have a long drive tomorrow but it's worth it! I can't wait to finally get there. I'm writing from the Java Jungle, this cute coffeehouse in Reno with wireless. Whoever invented wireless internet is a genius!

Okay so that's all of the excitement I have at the moment, on Friday I should have my cable modem hooked up if all goes well so you can expect a more detailed and exciting update then. :)