Yes, I'm Still Alive...

hi everyone. thx for bearing w/me during my temporary time out. back for a little while, tho august is already looking like a crazy month...

first of all, THANK YOU for all the nice, harassing emails from folks trying get me to log on again. it's nice to know i was missed. that, or you have nothing better to do during your workday than to read about the ongoings of my mundane MN life. either way, muchas gracias :)

the month of july has been an odd one. it started out w/me running off for a bit, only to return and find that running away doesn't change anything. it only piles stuff up and forces you to prioritize. that, and it kills your car. here's an update:

WORK: had an EXCELLENT annual review by my boss where we both came to the understanding that there isn't a fit for me at work. i'm capable of doing a hell of a lot more and he agrees. so now the big boss is passing my resume around to folks he knows outside the company, trying to help me find something. it sucks knowing the place i've invested most of the last decade doesn't want to keep me, but shit happens. and i'm a doer, so i'm just going to keep on doing...

MEN: i've rejected attempts by 2 boys this month. not too shabby for a woman who doesn't know how to date anymore. or maybe they were rejected cuz i don't know how to date anymore. either way, it doesn't matter... there's just no juicy gossip here! to illustrate the lack of juicy gossip, last wk i went into work late one morning not feeling the best. one of the ladies whispered to me "are you pregnant?", to which i responded in an equally hushed tone, "you have to have sex to get pregnant."

SOCIAL: visited friends in WI and chicago, a much needed distraction, albeit short. went to the art institute, lachetts (an AWESOME german restra on irving park), and the YUMMIEST tapas bar ever (it's so famous my dentist knew where i was talking about). i've also now seen russell crowe's german blonde twin, the biggest condo in the northern suburbs, and H-Mart. for those that don't know (i didn't), H-MART is gigantic korean grocery store the size of a super wal-mart, but WAY prettier (keep in mind we're used to shopping in LITTLE asian stores). this place is so big it even has a mini-mall inside the building w/an oddly placed, non-korean pizza hut express at the end. almost took a picture of that, but assumed i looked odd enough gwaking at the sheer size of the place...

BAKING: i've been doing a ridiculous amount of baking lately. it's killing both me and my bank account (valerie - you're right, i may have to start charging!). the most adventurous one this month was a red velvet cake dyed blue and in the shape of a care bear, or as i fondly refer to it, stupid care bear cake! never again will i drink w/my friends and agree to such silliness! among other things, i ended up spilling food dye on me, the counter, and the floor. and then the cake turned out like crap so i had to toss it and bake ANOTHER one. it wouldn't have been so bad after the 2nd trip to the grocery store and the 30 mins of scrubbing to get the dye off my arm IF it weren't for the blue frosting i found on me later that evening. and the next day on my bag. and the day after that. and the dye i found on the floor a few days later. that's just like adding salt to the wound. stupid care bear cake!

MY CAR (yes, my car gets an update): it died a couple of wks ago, only to be revived a few days and $350+ later. while mine was dead, the dealer gave me a loaner: the BIGGEST loaner they could find. it was a 2007 suzuki XL7 SUV luxury edition: wastefulness at its finest. i could barely see over the dash when i first got in it, and it took me at least 20 mins to figure out which button turned off the fan. still trying to erase that carbon footprint and the suburban soccer mom image in my head...

other than that, not a whole lot is new. attempting to enjoy as much of MN summer as possible. the fact that it's almost august means i have only 1 more month to roam freely in my skivies. after that, it'll be too cold!

thanks again for the msgs and harassment. i missed you too.

[top to bottom, L to R: a tomato plant worm that was the surprise guest at amy's going away party; the art institute of chicago; the coors car and matching cycle at work for an event; friend dane, his roomie adam, and chicago's biggest pervert dennis (tho you would never know looking at him!) at laschetts; friends terry and jenny looking uber cute at the yummy tapas place; dragon boat races at the dragon festival; my barely-over-the-dash view in the SUV]