beer me some wedding

oh, no. i'm not getting married. but my roommate is in august! but i'm proud to say i'm finally ready to go to her wedding. see, i am a bridesmaid, and we all bought our dresses a few months ago and i ordered mine a size or 2 too small. but i told my roommate, i would lose that weight and fit into that dress, and today, officially i tried the dress on, and it fit!! it made me very happy, because it's nice to have that affirmation of success. my "meredith" diet is working. now i'm hoping that i will be able to really take my dress in this summer!!

"the new girl"

tomorrow, i start my new job... at the art institute!!!! i'm so excited, and nervous. i really need this job to work out for me, so i need to rock their socks off. but at least no matter what happens, it will be a fun job. i mean, i get to hang out with art all day! and edvard munch is one of my favorite artists, so i really couldn't be luckier. God has really designed this all to work out so incredibly smoothly for me;

- i mean my cover letter was addressed to the wrong business (it was an older cover letter, addressed to the museum of contemporary art - whoops!!!!) but they still called me for an interview;
- one of my dogwalking coworkers quit the week of my interview, but this led to my boss interviewing people she thought could hire the same day i found out i got the job;
- i was able to train my replacements and still have a couple days off for fun and "business casual clothing" shopping;
- a friend has me watching his dogs for a week and paying my very graciously for it, making up for a week without any income;
- my dogwalking boss still loves me - she is such a wonderful person! she gave me an unbelievably fantastic reference to the AIC when she didn't even know i had interviewed there, and she would give me another great reference if i ever needed it;
- my quitting the sverige shop was also good for my boss, she can't afford her own employees hardly anymore, and we have a great relationship so i know she would also give me a great reference if i ever needed it;
- public trans will be my new best friend! no more driving everywhere and worrying about parking and snow!!

thank you Lord for providing for me. may my performance be in your hands.



art art art art here i come!!!

the doors

so i don't really know who follows this blog, or if anyone other than molly and sofia read it/know it exists. but i always think it's probably for the best. especially when i feel so inclined to write in it at 3:11 am.

it is at moments like these that i like to listen to the doors. they just seem to capture a lot of what i want to feel in their music. i started listening them the summer i was 19. i think vargo and those nunica people made me really want to listen to the doors. i can visualize the standing by bonfires or in circles indoors, drinking, smoking, shootin the shit, and listening to music i wouldn't think to listen to until years later. "riders on the storm" remains one of my favorite songs.

that summer may have been a little crazy and extreme, but it is memorable none the less. i realize that my life so far has been pretty exciting, and every year is different and more interesting. and most importantly i can think fondly back to these past times and enjoy them in the present still.

January 20, 2009

so this year i'm all about starting the year off on the right foot. in almost every aspect, this is going well so far. a lot of good thinks are happening to me (thank you good Lord!), but there are still heartbreaks that make me extremely sad. like when did adultery become OK?? oh the poisons of the world... we shall never escape them i suppose.

but on the lighter side of life, one of the great steps of this year is the Inauguration of our new President!! Wow. it's so amazing. i only wish i didn't have to work so i could watch on tv today. i can listen up on NPR but i'm training someone too, so another distraction from the historic speech. oh well... maybe i'll spend the afternoon watching videos online...

green

sometimes, i have been know to indulge in some green activities. they just come upon me a times. and i love them.

a friend of mine told me about this ann arbor based "hip-hop" artist called Dabrye. my friend had done some mixing/producing for this guy, so listening to it the other day made me think that dabrye was perfect for green activities. and it is!

i wouldn't exact say dabrye is pure hip hop, it definetly has a major electronic influence. and judging from my friends equipment, the electro and slightly techno aspects of it are the majoring of dabrye's talents. he also brings in rappers, giving it it's hip hop basis, but it flows really well together. it's very smooth but still saves a bit of an edge at the finish.

my only dislikes are that dabrye seems to switch from it's hip hop and electro natures quite drasitcally. one song will be totally mellow, and the next will be violent rapping. i know you want both buddy, but just pick a sound and go with it.

but oh man, kraak and smaak, i must go. lush out.

art i like

movin' on up...

ahhhhh hurrah hurray! a good mood i be in!

i'm so selfish in this recession, getting jobs when i don't need them... well that's not so true... i got a job at the Art Institute of Chicago! i found out yesterday, and it is like an answer to prayer. the whole thing is so surprising, i had no idea that i would get this job, applying for it because i didn't think i'd get it! it's not a super job starting off, i am a temp Guest Services Assistant for the Munch exhibit in february. but it's a foot in the door and i get the chance to apply for full time after the first 90 days. so i'll work a lot more for less pay, but i'm pretty sure it's worth it.

so now i will leave dog walking behind, and give someone else the chance to be bff with all of my favorite pooches. Oh Boozer, Max, Gincho, Pumpkin, Rasta, Hawk, etc.... i will miss you guys so much! it's weird that you can bond with dogs that aren't even yours, but some of these guys, you could just tell they were happy to see you. you build a relationship with these guys, and will be very sad to leave them like this!

though i have to say, this chicago winter does not make me miss dog walking, i am very excited to be white-collared and commute by eL like everybody else. stupid snow...

i hate snow, i like soup

so having grown up in illinois and michigan, one would think that 23 midwestern winters are something i've grown accustomed to. but this winter.... oh my oh my.... this winter... is kicking my ASS. i have always professed to loving snow, up until this winter. i don't mind the cold, that northern blook in my thrives, i say! but perhaps this unusually harsh and snowy winter on top of my ourdoorsy job, on top of my first car with no 4-wheel-drive, has finally pushed me over the edge.

i was praying that our big snow had come, and we could get little snows for the rest of winter, but no. we got dumped on again. i spent a half hour digging my car out today even though i wasn't going anywhere, just because i know that if i didn't do it today, there would be no hope tomorrow. the first snow taught me that, and i got lucky last time. especially since the school across the street was out for xmas break and there was extra parking.

but this time, i'm getting desperate. i shoveled my spot nice and clean, tested it, and left it, and i am prepared to defend that spot with my life!!! well ok a beach chair and a large card-board box. please be a good chicagoan and don't steal it!!!!


on the brighter side of life, the cold and snowy weather has brought out my fondness for cooking again. i usually go through fazes of cooking, and i'm rediscovering how fun soups are. thanks to a cook book SB gave me for my birthday, and a soup pot my mom gave me for encouragement, i made a fantastic tuscan bread soup. it was a smashing success, and i'm currently making an adapted non-bread version right now with the left over stock and veggies. it's exciting.

i'm planning my next meal/soup. there was a delicious Garlic Chicken and Artichoke dish that is prepared in a crock pot that i am thinking about trying, or a cheese soup that looks divine... it's weirdly exciting. and my roommates like it because i'm a very sharing person.

soups on!

tigers

so if anyone of you doesn't know me, then you wouldn't know about me and the tiger. muwhahaha.

but my real question is, are you a friend of the tiger??
you can become one by going to this website.

http://www.savethetigerfund.org/Content/NavigationMenu2/Community/TigerFriend/default.htm

why should you be a friend of the tiger? well my friends, they are just the tip of the iceberg. you save the tiger, save the world. tigers are in danger for the same reasons our world is in danger, so therefore, like i said, you save the tiger, you save the world.

just think, all the forces that drives us towards our own destruction are things like poverty, overpopulation, pollution, and ignorance are why our children may never know a tiger to exist in the wild. you may say, who cares. people are what really matter, not that pesky environment. but i say, tigers are our brothers. they stand for power and balance and survival, just like we should.

plus they are so darn cute!/kickass!