Exhausticated is a Word, Look it Up

No blogging for this working girl for a hot minute... Why? You may ask - is it general apathy, a lack of wit and wisdom (P.S. why when I hear that particular word combination "wit & wisdom" it makes me think of all of those shitty "Chicken Soup for the Soul" books - boo I say!)..No friends, it is none of the above and mostly the fact that getting to work at 8am is totes different then getting to work at 9am and these 6am mornings are wearing me down! That and the fact that at the new job I have no access to email or blogger or even gofugyourself.com which is KILLING me..Shooting me in the face with a lack of internet goodness to pick up my day.

To be honest even if I had access to internet goodness I wouldn't be able to use it because the new job is hopping. Yes, I said hopping and applied it to a job at an investment company - suck it! I've never worked someplace that is so utterly business like - like I'm Melanie Griffith in working girl but without the 80's hair, I feel lost. I am wearing nylons people - NYLONS - almost every day because that is what one must do when one wants to earn money and also have what is that stuff called?! Oh right! Expendable income... It's pretty great though, although tiring....

Last weekend I soaked up the three day long-ness of it all and did all sorts of summeresque stuff. Dave and I took the bikes out and about - which was way more fun than it should be. On our bike meandering we stopped at Penny's (BEST noodle shop in Chicago - no backtalking about it!) and had an early dinner, because we like to counteract any sort of healthy exercise benefits immediately... But, wait there's more! We sat down a table away from the guy who plays Pete on 30 Rock. Which Dave coped with well, while I madly squinted at him trying to figure out if it was really him. Whisper-talking to Dave "Is that the dude from 30 Rock? I think it is?! Is it?!?!?" Finally confirmed that it was him and immediately wanted to talk about the show.. But couldn't because Dave is sane and wouldn't take the bait to questions like "What is Tracey Jordan's porn/video game called again?" That is why we heart Dave because he keeps Heather from making a fool of herself. Long story short, biking will take you places where you will see and be seen by semi-famous really funny dudes..

Life is puttering along, I can't wait to adjust to this whole new job/new schedule thing but it's slowly but surely coming.. This weekend we are not only biking but stopping to play tennis (followed immediately after by Dairy Queen I can almost bet on it!) which makes me think it's almost summer, which is a relief and I have a feeling it's going to be a good couple of months!

Things that are YAY!:

1) The Expression Toot! Toot! It's the Party Train - accompanied by a 'I'm pulling the whistle on a train" hand gesture - sure to be annoying any day now but still so much fun to do. I have also picked up the "That's what she said" bug from Suzie which means using the phrase in the most inappropriate of times. Like at work when asked to make 20 copies...

2) Kate Atkinson - Balls out awesome writer (no not Katie Atkinson from college - Look at me! I remembered a name from college!) I've read three of her books, well devoured three of her books lately (because I'm hungry like a wolf for literature) and they are brilliant. Clever, funny and the plots are always complex without making your head hurt. I also just finished "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter" by Carson McCullers and it is still haunting me...so good.

3) Biking with a cute boy! - An old favorite but coming back in style..It is so awesome sharing adventures with someone who makes you laugh while also steering you down new and interesting shortcuts...YAY!

Things that are Boo:

1) Missing Besties - It seems as though everyone I heart is in NYC or busy with a million things here in Chicago..Or maybe it's just me who is busy - I have been in a bit of a job induced haze for the past couple of weeks...Point is I miss my BFF's...Call me or I'll call you or well, you know the drill

2)Chicago Summer - Oh the humidy and horror of it all! Super Boo! Can't it just be temperate for once?!? Also, if that can happen can we also have the ocean? Thank you.

On the Cusp...

Taking a deep breath over here... Spring is always a crazy time of year - seriously, more people suffer nervous breakdowns and serious bouts of depression during the spring time than any other time because all of the blooming, the growing, the change reminds people just how stuck they are. Stuck works in the winter, it's cozy in the winter and a slap in the face on the first 70 degree day..This spring has been even crazier than usual what with the lack of serious permanent jobage and the chaos of the 2nd Story Fest (yay! we are awesome!).

I find myself drifting through the day, distracted by a million tugs on the sleeve of my subconcious. Little things have become hard to do and big things like job interviews and organizing schedules now seem so much easier than figuring out what to wear or how to keep in touch with the bajillion of friends that I no longer can keep a handle on...lameness... But, the lameness is breaking up just like the winter weather has and I find myself on the cusp of something potentially good- a job, a new one that is in a totally foreign much more corporate environment - which I'm thinking of as "Yay new environment! I will approach this like I'm Uncle Traveling Matt on the Fraggles and just observe how strange corporate shit works". To be honest I've worked in a quite a few creative offices in the past couple of years and the chance to work in an atmosphere that has honest to god rules and boundaries seems like a nice change of pace... I say this now...This is quite a big change though and it means that the "Holy shitballs! How am I going to pay my rent AND buy groceries!" worries may be over! Hoorah!

The Boy I heart and I went to the Dog Park this weekend (P.S. Big Ups to Puptown, the best dog park in Chicago !) and my head almost exploded with all of the cute dog-ness running around. Puggles and terriers and labs and golden retrievers all running in never ending circles with intermittent breaks to suck down some water. I heart going to the dog park (although not so much the dog beach because it's, well, it's kind of too much and also kind of like standing in a big pile of gross because you know that every dog that has visited has used the beach for business other than ball catching) but, I heart the dogs and not so much the people.. I mean there was a guy there this Sunday who must have just gotten his first digital camera before coming to the park because he was up in everyone's junk taking pictures, getting in the dogs ways - I mean let them have their room, it's their time! - and totally neglecting his seven year old son who was literally throwing himself around in the gravel, which is recockulously disgusting, I mean I barfed a little in my mouth... Long story short the amount of cute dogs outweighed the effects of rude folks and it made me hopeful that this summer will bring tons of surprises and more days of lazing around watching cute things run in circles...

I feel caught between places, moments, jobs, seasons right now. Life is a jig saw puzzle who's pieces almost match up and it is driving me a bit crazy. I am no good at living in the gray areas, at handling the in betweens and that is what the past few months have schooled me in. Learning to not only accept each bump in the road but also to learn from it, to trust that whatever comes along it's really not the end of the world (unless it is the end of the world - I just watched Cloverfield and that shit is scary).

Things that are Yay!:
1) The Worst Hard Time by Tim Egan - A book about the Great Depression, more specifically the Dust Bowl. I can hear you thinking "Awesome Heather! Like actual real life isn't depressing enough!" And yes, this story is depressing which is probably why I never really got all the facts about it but, it is so much more than that. It is inspiring that folks lived through four years straight of drought and dust storms, that they had the tenacity to hold on. It is also just a really great book that gives the reader all of the facts without skimping on the actual people's story... Really good! P.S. Because I'm reading this I turned to Dave during a thunderstorm last night and said "People living in the Dust Bowl fired explosives into clouds to make this sort of shit happen!" to which he replied "Nerd - O!"

2) The Bryant Park Project - NPR Podcasts how I heart you! Especially this twice a day bad boy that makes working on expense sheets twenty times easier...

3) My friend Heather - Who said "Why haven't you blogged lately?" which made my heart grow two sizes bigger because I honestly think that nobody reads this..She is amazing and I am lucky to have a friend to not only drink margaritas with but who also tells me the truth, straight up on a daily basis...She is gold!

4) 30 Rock - Lately has been too good to be true! Is it getting funnier?!? Is that even possible?!?!?

5) Curling Irons! - Used to be on my boo list because of an unfortunate curling iron accident that occurred backstage during a Betty Jane Turner Dance Recital when I was six (dancing the Can Can, might I add!) but now has rocketed to the top of the Yay! because, honestly, I have not been able to afford to get hair done and this bad boy makes it looks so bouncy like Shirley Temple! Whoot!

Things that are Boo:

1) Saying Goodbye - to all of the truly awesome, funny, creative in the best sense of the word, folks that I've worked with for the past three months... They make this job the best!

2) Starting Yet Another New Job - Makes me so nervy! Yipers!