Day 3 of Sick: Wii

Today I was able to eat a little and coherently interact with other humans.
In the morning I had tried to get ready and go to work, but my body was just not having it.

In the early evening, Andi & I played Lego Batman for 3 hours straight.
It felt more like 30 minutes.
We spent the rest of the night feeling like we had lost time, which I guess we did.
That's probably what Bruce Wayne feels like when he wakes up from an hour of sleep after a whole night of being Batman.

Day 2 of Sick:  The Little Couple Marathon

I was too sick to even watch TV the first day, I mostly just slept and choked down water.
Today I could watch for a few hours at a time and stumbled across this marathon.

I can't figure out what is so engaging about The Little Couple. It's not just that they're, well, little. It's something else. Because any other people doing these menial activities and you would be bored to tears. But I couldn't stop watching.

Granted, it may have been the fever.

3AM

Guess who woke up to throw up the most they ever have?
That's right, me!

So begins the tale of how I was incapacitated for 3 days in a row (and am still not really back to full strength).

There are few things I hate more than throwing up. It's an absolute nightmare.
I'm sure no one likes it (unless bulimics do. Do they? They have to do it so much.)

I will spare you the gory details, but just know that it is the most I have ever thrown up, ever.
And that it made me very, very sad.

DSW

Sunday was a relaxing day, Andi & I went to Tank and then shoe-shopping at DSW.

**Boy-Warning: It's about to get all girly in this blog.

I had 2 rewards coupons and a gift card from my grandparents for xmas, and I was in desperate need of some brown heels.
Behold! I fell in love with these and they are now all mine.

I spent the rest of the evening relaxing and actually went to bed at a decent hour, looking forward to the week ahead. Cue ominous music...

Drinks at the Ale House

Some of the Twisty and HouseCo cast went out after the shows on Saturday.
A lot of us had played in both shows, since we were short cast members from the holiday.

I always really enjoy playing in shows around the holidays, it's packed and the crowd is in a great mood. Tonight was no exception, both shows were very fun with extremely responsive audiences.

We like to pull audience members on stage at various points in the shows to play with us.
In Twisty, a vivacious woman with a huge laugh was pulled up and would only respond to things by whispering to Kyle, who would then repeat what she said.

Cast:  So what's your favorite hobby?
Audience member:  (silence)
Cast:  Like, your favorite thing to do? What is it?
Audience member:  (whisper to Kyle, shrugging)
Kyle:  (repeating her, loudly) The bj's

Sherlock Holmes

Merry Christmas!
Since most of our friends were out of town, Matty and I spent the afternoon together, drinking and chatting.
In the evening we headed to see a showing of Sherlock Holmes.

The theater was packed, so we ended up way in the front.
The movie had already begun when a family with a child who was, a) too young to understand the movie concepts and b) suffering from some affliction that made her scream every 2 minutes, sat in front of us.

I enjoyed what I could hear of the movie. I may have to go again.

Wii

Jay definitely got me a Wii for Christmas.
We did our gifts last night, because apparently neither of us has any self-control.
Then tonight we laid around and watched movies.
Not exactly a traditional holiday evening (maybe) but very nice all the same.

(We watched Hard Candy, I can't recommend it enough.)

Shane's Self-Potrait (a little blurry from the camera, not the picture)

My younger brother is a fantastically talented artist.
He's about to turn 17 and he's already had all sorts of high praise and awards for his work.

Today I received this email from my Mom:
"I forgot to tell you the news about Shane! He entered a drawing in this years Reflections contest in the Visual Arts category. The theme this year was BEAUTY IS... and he won first place! His art teacher said he won some type of cash award, but we haven't heard about that yet. Now his work will go to the next level of competition, so we will see what happens :) "

I'm really, really proud of him. But also a little jealous. It's nice to have a tangible talent.
When someone says, "Oh you're an artist, what have you done?" he can just hand them a drawing.
But when someone says, "Oh you're a comedian, are you funny?" I just scowl and say "No".

Work Christmas Presents

Several of the people I work for gave me presents today.
Over and over I found myself saying "you didn't have to do that".
I was pleasantly surprised, at my last job no one handed out presents.
But here it seems to be part of the norm - presents for Christmas and cake on your birthday.

After a year of being unemployed, coming from a workplace that, while I enjoyed, did not have many perks, I'm starting to feel a little like Annie.
"I think I'm gonna like it here."

Christmas Presents

It's a very odd thing, sending and receiving presents via fedex.
I mean, it's nice, at least we still can give each other things from 1000 miles away.
But we don't get to see each other's reaction. Which is good, in case I decide to send them something horrifying.

So watch out family.

Dollar Store Find

Note that this is not "as seen on TV", but a "TV Brands Product".
Unfortunately I saw this on my way out of the store and was unable to purchase it.
Which is a shame, because I would love to instantly slit hard to open plastic packaging.

Birthday Twinkies

Today was Jay's birthday so I made him chocolate twinkies with peanut butter filling (recipe courtesy of Mel Evans).

He seemed to like them. Although not as much as Jason Flowers, who, from what I heard, ate anywhere between 5-10.

HouseCo Poster

I've spent all my free time in the past 2 days working on this poster until it satisfied Norm.
My brain is shutting down from how much work I did. But I really like it.

I did it!

Pillbox

I carry various types of pain-relieving drugs on me at all times (it's over the counter). Due to the different afflicitons that I have, migraines and various types of inflammations, I used to carry several full bottles on me at once. It takes up a surprising amount of space. So I bought this little pillbox to carry a little of everything.

The only downside is now when I take something I get curious looks, often from the people I work with.
It can't help that the pillbox says "addicted" on it.
No one has said anything but I do wonder what they're thinking.
Like "oh, that new girl has a problem" or "why is she taking roofies at work?"
And there's no real proof that they're not roofies, I am pretty tired by the end of the day.

Text from Frank.

I don't know if there's a better feeling than knowing you have made someone proud.
Frank was my Level 4 teacher at Four Day Weekend, the first training center where I learned long form. And even though I've had so many teachers now, those guys have a special place in my heart and I am forever grateful for what I learned there.

Frank and I have kept in touch and we talked for awhile last night, catching up one everything.
It's great to have people back home supporting what you do and believing in you.

The offer that he mentions is coming here to visit and guesting with one of the SC house ensembles. He (and the other Four Day guys) have become very busy as they begin to work on their pilot(s). The last time Frank visited was 2 years ago.
But he says he will come up in a few months.
And now I'm writing that he said that on the internet, so he's accountable to each and every person who reads this.

Purple Penguin

I spent Sunday recovering from the anniversary. I think I got home around 3:30am after Zach put me in a cab (free drinks all night = no driving).
This penguin was one of my many souveniers. They were set up everywhere and people started to take them. I wanted one, but Norm stopped me because he didn't think they were takeable. After awhile we realized that tons of people were carrying them around, so he said to go ahead. But then there were no more left. Near the end of the night, I found this one. He may have been discarded because his beak is chipped. But I don't care, I love him.

They also handed out swag bags, which included a jacket, a Second City book, and some other things. My absolute favorite is this chair ornament:

It's amazing how something as simple as a style of chair can represent something so specific to so many people. It's the same chair from every improv scene I've done since classes at Four Day Weekend.

Now it lives at my desk, where it can remind me the reason I work a day job in the first place.

The Second City's 50th Anniversary

I was very lucky to get to go to portions of the Anniversary this weekend.
I was even more lucky to be Norm's guest and have an all-access Alumni pass, so that I could hang out in the lounge and see everyone who was there.

The rooms were set up with simulcast tv, so that you could watch the shows in a lounge with everyone.
I also had tickets for the ETC stage, so I went back and forth.
In the end, it was more fun to be in the lounge, where you could chat and watch.

After watching the ETC show for a bit, Zach and I ran into the back bar area to grab a drink.

There were bars set up every few feet and all the drinks were free, but we went to the backstage area because it was the closest. While our drinks were being made, Jill Talley (of Mr. Show), rushed by us on her way to the stage. She's not somone that many people are aware of, but I am and I absolutely adore her. As she brushed by us I almost burst into tears.

Obviously there were many, many other famous people there but seeing her meant the most to me. She was the only regular female cast member on Mr. Show and she is incredibly talented. She's also the voice of Karen, Plankton's computer wife, on Spongebob.

If you don't know who she is, enjoy this video from Season 2 of Mr. Show.

Muggle Facebook Comments

A lot of my friends from high school are married now, usually with kids.

I know that is probably the more normal path, instead of working during the day and out doing some variety of bits every night.

Sometimes I wonder how things could have gone differently, but even in reflection it just doesn't appeal to me. And when I see Facebook posts like the one above I realize that I don't even speak their language.

They live in a land of babies and TV and Home Depot.

I live in a land of horrible jokes about pedophiles and rape.

In the end, I think we're both happy with our choices.

I know I am.

Ed Hardy Beer

A new grocery store opened right in Lincoln Square. Something we have sorely needed, considering how much Andi & I go to 7-11 instead of a grocery store, because it's close.
It's very small but has essential things like milk and fruit.
It also has a huge butcher area with selections of meat I have never even heard of. And sauerkraut. So much sauerkraut.

The upstairs has a large beer and liquor selection, which included this Ed Hardy-Brand Beer as well as an Ed Hardy Vodka. Apparently Ed Hardy really and truly understands his demographic.

Since the break-up a lot of things have changed, and recently it would appear that some of our once-mutual friends have decided to be mad at me. Even though that's not necessarily fair.

But I do understand - you see your one friend is very sad and down and the other friend seems to be okay. So maybe you make some assumptions about what happened, whether or not they're true.

As far as I know, not many people know the reasons behind why things finally ended. And that's fine, it's not a story I enjoy re-telling. I am certainly not going to post it here.

What I will say is sometimes when one person makes a mistake that hurts the other person, they begin to grieve during the relationship, but can heal after it has ended. While the mistake-maker has to go through a completely different emotional process, that in my experience is much worse than just a relationship ending.

Just because one person made a mistake doesn't mean you shouldn't be there for them. But it's also not fair to blame the other person for the way your friend is feeling. Because the only people who really know what happened are the people it happened to.

Since this blog is to be about happy future things, consider this entry me tying up a string from 2009. Part of moving forward is dealing with the past.

My New Desk

After being unemployed for a year, I am now doing temp-to-perm at a great company.
I have been here about a month and still have 2 months to go before anything official happens. But I really really hope it works out. And not just because being unemployed is awful, but because I actually like it here.

It's the first administrative job I've had where I don't have to answer the phones, which is nice. The building has a ridiculous amount of restaurants and even a CVS on the first floor, so I never have to go outside. It's right next to the El. But most importantly, everyone here is very nice and helpful. It's the opposite of working with those cranky investment bankers.

And yes, that is an energy drink front and center. I also have Starbucks every afternoon...I need it. No matter how many terrifying caffeine-related articles my Dad sends me (sorry Dad).

Previously...

From November of last year until about right now marks one of the worst years of my life.

My previous blog detailed many of these events (the lay off, the cut Harold team, the dog being eaten)but after awhile I quit writing on it as much. I also started leaving out some details.
I was having problems with my relationship, though to my recollection I never mentioned it. It was a very, very hard thing to go through.
It wasn't a sudden end like many are, but it unraveled slowly. While I feel healed from the actual breaking up, the reasons behind it will probably always be with me.

As people, we like to believe we can trust again.
We believe that we can start over, not project past events onto new ones, find someone who won't hurt us, be happy, do bits.
At least, I like to believe all of those things.
I'm already off to a good start. So I thought I would celebrate it with this new blog, one that documents how much better 2010 is going to be.

2009 sucked.
Here's to the future...