In the hopper

See the title? That's where all of my fun ideas are. And, where they remain. I have a couple of decent blogs formulated and rough drafty, but not quite finished. It's been a busy week, first VonSis's birthday Monday, then Poptart's birthday Tuesday..... On top of that, my stomach and I aren't getting along today. Bleh. Therefore, nothing going on here today folks, please move along. Oh, and yes, you heard it here first - Chuckles is coming to Chicago this summer. Or so he says. We shall see. Will there be shenanigans? Check back to find out.

Dear Check Please

You can suck it. For real. SUCK IT. Thanks so much for not only having a segment on Kuma's Korner, but ALSO for re-running it, what, like daily?! Saturday, Jyl and I met up at Kuma's at 2:30 (2:30!!!) for "lunch" at Kuma's. The place was teeming and overflowing with *gulp* yuppies. The wait? 1 1/2 hours. For lunch. At 2:30 in the afternoon. In a snow storm. We were both starving, so we didn't wait. We ended up at this cute little cafe. It was good, but it was no Kuma's burger. Sunday, I had hoped to meet up with John and Toni at Kuma's. They headed over there around 5. 5:00 on Oscar Sunday? 2 Hour Wait. Again, nothing but yuppies. As Toni said "Not a tattoo or piercing among them." On top of that, it was a 1 hour wait for take out!! Needless to say John and Toni headed elsewhere, and I stayed home. I ate a cheese sandwich. A poor poor substitute for Kuma's. I love Kuma's. I feel happy there. I feel at home, and truly among my people. But now, just like any good thing, it's become trendy and overrun with the bad. Until they expand, or summer, when at least the beer garden is open, I won't be going back. Check please - shit - please stop playing the Kuma's episode!! I think the whole freakin' Midwest knows about the best burgers in the world. (Ok, why did I want a gigantic cheeseburger each day this weekend? Well, I'm giving beef up for Lent, so the perfect last meal would have been Kuma's. Alas, Check Please has ruined that dream for me) *deep breath* I feel a little better. Not quite beef/cheese/frizzled onions/bacon/homemade chips better, but better. V.

Red Light Camera Hell

Dear Red Light Camera, Oh, you are SO tough. Ok, you got me. But let me fill you in on something. There wasn't just a little ice, the entire street was a sheet of ice. So, when you send me the pictures of me "running" the light, I'm going to fight it. I hope that the pictures relate to you that I didn't run the light. I skidded through the light. My car wasn't even going straight. I was in forward motion, but kind of going sideways. I think the camera will show my terrified face, and me white-knuckling the steering wheel. My normally 20 minute drive home from schule was a one hour nightmare. I went no more than 10 mph at any given time. I even yelled at a police man. He was at some mini-mart with a dozen other cops, and he's standing kind of in the street saying "Go! go!" I looked at him and said "No! No." Last night was one of the top 5 scariest driving experiences I've ever had. So, red light camera, send the stupid ticket. In April, when there's no snow or ice. I guarantee you, I won't be paying it.

Damn you John Hughes

At lunch yesterday Marci asked me when am I planning on trying on-line dating again.I told her I didn't know, and that I'm hoping to work on my real and actual crush. In a similar vein, Shannon, TheMarty and I discussed how internet dating is a whole different animal than liking a guy (say in your class). We all agreed that the situation I'm currently in is a little bit harder than the online alternative. I was thinking about all of this stuff last night and today. I blame John Hughes for the romantic mess that I am. I am Watts, with no Keith in sight. I'm Allison, without a kind-hearted jock to kiss me after I put on a little eye-liner. I'm more Ducky than Andi. I grew up on these movies, and I think they set the bar high. Maybe too high. I think that deep down I want unrequited/conflict/misunderstanding/resolution/big kissy ending/happily ever after/end credits, and I want it all within 90 minutes. I want the gazes and the sighs. I want the slightly deluded but ultimately supportive parents. Who are sometimes matchmakers. I want to know which of the two groups I fit into. Richie? Other side of the tracks chic? What? I mean, what other options are there? I want Shermer IL. I want all of this set to a fantastic soundtrack. Rumor has it John Hughes lives not too far from Chicago. I'm thinking of looking him up and asking him to be my wingman, I think he owes me that much, and that he'd be great at it. I think I need to explore this topic further, but alas, work calls. Perhaps another day.

Best of intentions

I had every intention of writing a fun perky post today. And then. And then I stayed up way too late last night. Thus. I slept a little too late. And then. And then I woke up and realized that there is an NCIS marathon on today. SQUEEEE!! And then I had some errands to run. A) I have a physical therapy place and and appointment for next week. B) I joined a new gym. C) Got my eyebrows threaded. D) Realized I have yet to tackle my german homework. I have not one but two essays to write. Auf deutsch. Argh. And then I lost my motivation to provide a stellar post. So, cheap and easy is the way of today. Friday night highlight: Drinking Heineken with bohola. They and their guests performers could not have been nicer. They were so low maintenance, it was the easiest show I've worked hospitality for. And so much fun. Was slightly annoyed they ran over by 1 and 1/2 hour, but that happens. Saturday highlights: Good times at my favorite little one's second birthday. EXCEPT that everyone was wearing red. Made me want to puke a little, but otherwise a good party. Worked show at Old Town. Followed by drinking at Daily. Good times. Sunday highlights: Out with Shannon and Marty. MD acoustic show in Evanston at a small little blues bar. Sigh. Big sigh. Sure, I ignored MD like the plague, but that's just what I do. After that we went to a diner for fried foods and french toast. It was awesome. I don't spend enough time with them in general. SO, commercial break is over. Gotta go catch up with Gibbs, Abbey, McGee, Ziva.......

A little help?

Ok, I'm going to go all girl here for a bit. Humor me please. Oh, and no snark. I'm looking for honest opinions here. Here's the thing. I have this crush. This gigantic crush. He's someone from my class. So, he's been around since September. We have class once a week for 2 1/2 hours. I feel like he appreciates my humor, he's laughed out loud a few times at things I say. I feel like he picks on me (in a good natured way). He's super cute. But not unaccessible. I've had a crush for a while, but it's gotten worse. See, if I notice that there's some banter going on for a while, I get a little nervous. So. Advice. I need advice people. I dig him the most. Yet. I don't know how to approach it. I can't write more about this now, I'm getting all nervous just thinking about it. I don't want to mess it up. So, again, I say HELP?

NCISwwwwweeeetttt

Why I love the show NCIS:

• The name. NCIS. Naval Criminal Investigative Service. Naval or Navy? Either way, not of the belly button, but of seamen. Sea people. Seafolk?
• Gibbs. Yummy. Has been since the fine piece of cinema "Summer School". And he was front and center in one of those dreams last week, so, yeah. Agent Gibbs. (Not really Mark Harmon, just Gibbs)
• Abbey. She's so cool she's wicked pisser. I want to be her for, like, ever. She's a genius - she's the team's forensic scientist; she's goth - like really goth, in ways I want to be, but can't in my current life; she's like 7 feet tall and nice and thin; she rocks out the pig tails - ok, I wear pig tails fairly often, but hers are way better; she wears red lipstick, flawlessly, and sometimes black lipstick, also flawlessly. I just want to be her.
• Ducky is the punny endearing British morgue dude. Once, he got to be an undercover guy.
• NCIS shot one of it's main characters in the head. In.the.head. Right after she got shot in the chest, and I was all 'omg! Kate's dead!' and after the commercial break she sits up and everyone giggles 'Aw, gee, bullet proof vests and stuff.' Next scene? Bang! Shot in the head! That's some good t.v. right there.
• Back to back to back episodes on USA. On Monday nights. And Tuesday nights. When there's nothing better to do. Nice.
• Witty banter between all main characters. Not quite as witty as CW dialogue, but witty none the less.

Good news (for once!)

This afternoon I walked into a new doctor's office, with an old problem. Me and my 'bad' knee have not been getting along lately. Sigh. I was all prepared to hear a)lose weight, it won't hurt b)surgery c)nothing we can do. What I heard: "These xrays are wonderful! Look at this! And this! All good news!" I also heard: "Actually, we are going to work to strengthen your quads, and your weight will be less of a factor for your knees." "But you do need to rest a bit more." HA! Ha! Ha ha. Oh, that's right, brand new doc doesn't know how I roll - resting? That's for a few hours on the weekend, maybe, if I'm lucky. But I'll try. Oh, p.s. - New knee doc? H O T. Glad I was in work clothes and makeup! So For once, good news. Going to sign up at the new gym tomorrow, and probably schedule some physical therapy appointments. Gotta strengthen my quads.

Saying goodbye

When I was 14, I acquired a second set of parents. Laura and I were beginning to spend a lot of time together, as teenagers do, so she got VonMom and VonDad, and I got Ma and Pa added to my life. I also acquired Sarah (I'd always been curious about what it was like to have a little sister). I couldn't have been luckier. It's hard enough to be a teenager, but one with pretty much four parents? That was me and Laura. It went like this: If I got bad grades, no problem, I got no phone usage, no going out on weeknights - well, that curbed Laura's phone usage and weeknight social life almost exactly. If Laura blew curfew? Well, I was in trouble too. Who else was I going to go out with? Besides, who had the driver's license in high school? Yep - Laura. For as awesome as he is now, VonDad was a hardass when I was a teenager. Granted, thank God he was, but still. Ma was also a tough cookie. VonMom was pretty much the 'whatever doesn't kill them makes them stronger' type, which was pretty cool. Pa? Well *grin* Pa was the awesome one. Pa was a cop, so his hours weren't your typical 9 to 5. Therefore, we spent a lot of time with him during the summers. Laura, Sarah and I would lay around in the pool that was always somehow ready and waiting when summer was just around the corner. Pa would go to Subway, or to get ice cream. It didn't take long before he knew exactly what my order would be, just like he knew his daughters'. One year when he worked some event that the President and First Lady were around, he brought home these really cool tshirts. They had POTUS and FLOTUS on them (which at the time I thought was so super cool) and I remember specifically he didn't bring home just two, there were a few extras, he gave me one right away. I think I still have it somewhere, because it's one of those memories. I've already shared the Medusa's story, and the chuckle and the shaking of his head are such a reflection of how he looked at Laura and I. Again, it was absolutely a "those girls" kind of thing. It was, is endearing. Over the years, as time goes, the time we spent with our parents lessened. Laura has a family, I have my stuff. I still looked forward to every opportunity I had to spend time with Ma and Pa. They even have their very own nickname for me. It would be silly from anyone else, but from them, it's got meaning. Sorry, it's entirely theirs' and I won't be sharing it here. I know he used it every time he saw me. We had an on-going joke, he and I. Laura and I actually grew up in two different neighborhoods. They were next to each other, and we lived only blocks apart. However, to go to Laura's I had to walk under a set of train tracks. The joke was that we each said the other lived on the 'wrong side of the tracks'. My parents' neighborhood is a little odd, and they have this cookbook, and Christmas decorating awards, and green thumb awards, all of which Pa thought was hilarious. So, me being me? OF course I gave him a cookbook one year for Christmas. Another year I drafted a fake letter from my parents' neighborhoods community club stating that even though he lived on the other side of the tracks they were giving him an honorary Christmas decorating ribbon. He thought it was so funny. Sometimes when he laughed, he had to wipe his eyes from the tears. He had a great laugh. He always treated me like a daughter. I remember one night I was on a date. I was pretty young, and I was out with a guy my parents didn't approve of. So, I lied to my parents and told them I was with Laura, when I was really at the movies with A. Well, neither A nor I had a driver's license, so we had taken the bus to dinner and a movie. Of course, the bus had stopped running some time before we were heading home. Shit. And this was before the time of cell phones people! So, I got all scared and worried. A was useless. He just sat there smoking his Marlboro reds. I swallowed my fear and called Laura. Who ended up picking us up? Pa. He pulled up. I was pretty scared. He drove A home in silence. He shot me one of those looks, a dad look, but he never said anything. And, he never told my parents. I was so grateful for that. I'd gotten used to napping with Ma and Pa on Christmas day. Every year for 20 years I've gone to their house for dinner. For the past however many years, Laura has done double duty with her in-laws, so I usually had some down time with her parents. So, yep, a few times we just moved from dining room to living room and we'd all drift off. After a while we'd wake up, chuckle a little, and get ready for Laura to come back or for dessert time to get under way. That's a comfort level that only comes from lifelong friendships, and love. I could go on and on about what a great man Christian Michal was, but I won't do that. I know that in the next two days I will have to say goodbye to him, and I won't hear his standard "Ok sweetheart. You take care. Say hi to your parents. Stop by anytime." I'm a better person for having known him, and having him in my life. I think he knew that I loved him, I take comfort in that. Truth be told, he's always been one of my favorite people. May angels lead you in, Pa. I'm going to miss you.

Sad and nothing but

I have a post to write. One that I've known was coming, even one that I've been formulating in my head for the past month. But for now to be the time? No, I'm not ready. Who is ever ready when someone you love dies? Not me. A great man passed away today. Someone I've known damn near 20 years. More than 1/2 my life. Laura's dad passed away today. Devastated might begin to cover it, but not really. I have so much to say about him. I really do. But not today.

Total cop out.

My weekend. In pictures. Lame, and a cop out. Alas, today I am a busy girl. Bigger and better posts down the road.