Blah

Spring colds suck. I chalked up the first day or two to allergies. It is, after all, supposed to be the worst allergy season in ages. However, I woke up this morning and knew it was a cold. When you're getting worse, not better, it's a sure sign that the cold has not only arrived but is in full swing. Work sucked because I could barely stay conscious. And of course, some ever-observant co-workers had to repeatedly comment about me sounding a bit sick. Um, yeah, I know. Thanks for telling me. Again. Blah.

Am hoping that the work hours were the worst of it. Am feeling a bit better, but that's also because I'm drugged. And it's almost time to take more. I went through my being-a-baby period. But even that felt as though I was exerting far too much energy for too little sympathy in return. More medicine and sleep will hopefully do the trick. Tomorrow is too big a day for me to be feeling icky.

Packing, Part II

It sucks. I ran out of boxes about an hour ago and seem to be surrounded by things that require boxing. Figures.

What lack of progress I'm making in packing is tempered by the great strides I made in setting up my utilities today. Productivity indeed. I even scheduled my move-in time with the management company days in advance, which may be normal and/or expected for most people but way ahead of the way I tend to operate.

The pressure is still on. Just a few more days before the big move. Down to the wire.

Stick It To Him

In what can only be viewed as a refreshing twist of fate, Brooke Shields gave birth to her baby girl today. I'm sure big-mouth Tom Cruise is only too happy to have his daughter share the same birthday as Brooke's new bundle of joy. Heehee.

Oh Baby

Congrats to Tom and Katie on the arrival of their new daughter. Hopefully this will mean that we'll never have to hear one more stinkin' word about it.

Of course, that's wishful thinking. So here's to the most overdone story of 2005-06.

Moving Drama

More issues surrounding the home purchase and move. So what else is new? I should've known it couldn't be smooth, simple, and easy. Although my agent says this is, for all intents and purposes, pretty smooth. I'd hate to know what rocky is.

The closing date still isn't locked in stone, although we're still planning for the 28th.

The seller still hasn't fixed any of the things the inspector told him he should fix and that my attorney ordered. The biggest one being the seals on the window that need to be fixed. The same seals he had a quote on months ago. The window project he wanted me to split with him. Ha! My attorney, agent, and I laughed our butts off over that one.

As of this afternoon, that issue is pretty over. The seller is having the windows measured on Tuesday -- and the only negative behind all of this is the project could take 7-10 days and I'll be in there then. This better not affect my work schedule. But at least he's paying to have them done. I still need confirmation on a few of the other items on the list of things we asked for, but everyone seems calm about this so I'm not too concerned.

Then there's the move. Movers are sooo expensive! So much moreso than I expected. I finally booked mine, which is hard to do when you don't really know the exact closing date. Oddly enough, I think it might all actually work out fine. Friday is the closing, and then I have Saturday and Sunday to clean and do all of the other necessary things. And then I can move Monday. And I won't have to take more than 1-2 days off work and will still have slightly more than a week before I need to pack for Hong Kong. Perfect timing.

Somehow it'll all come together, but the frustration and exhaustion is phenomenal. So many people keep asking me if I'm excited. Is something wrong with me? Because I'm not at all excited. In fact, there's not enough hours in the day to get everything done. I'll be excited when I'm 100% moved in, the windows and all other smaller issues are repaired, and all of the utilities are in working order. Then I can breathe a little easier and enjoy the new place. And I know I will. I am excited about the new town and everything that comes with it. It's just a matter of getting past these obstacles- moving and what-not- before it's real and enjoyable. Right now it's just a real pain.

Hand of Justice

It always makes me feel good when the bad guy gets caught; when a sneaky government official is caught red-handed in some wrong-doing; when justice is served. Today slimey George Ryan has been found guilty of all charges brought against him, including mail fraud, racketeering, and tax violations among others.

Down goes the former governor of my fair state.

What I don't understand is why he can walk free from now until his sentencing. And why his sentencing isn't until August. I suppose he can go off and enjoy his summer because it may be the very last one he gets as a free man. Or maybe just the very last one he ever enjoys. He'll probably get thrown in the clink for the rest of his life. In which case, wouldn't he have asked himself if it was really worth it to get embroiled in all of this no-good-ness when he knew if he got caught he'd probably die a defeated, pathetic man behind bars?

Honestly, the choices we make...

Weirdness

I heard a rumor that the former trader ex-boyfriend got engaged. It's probably true. It makes me laugh because I never thought it was possible that he could ever love anyone enough for that.

I remember when I kicked him out of my life for the last time back in 2001. I was sick of the on-again/off-again relationship. Sick of his pathetic attempts to make me jealous. I was tired of trying at a relationship that for 5 years hadn't worked in the short or long term. I was exhausted from him turning friendship (which we did well) into a continual attempt at reviving the relationship (which had some good shots but more pretty awful ones). When I finally ended things for good on the front porch of my house, I got the best line ever from him: "Good thing it's warm outside because it sure is cold in there."

I was proud of myself for once and for all putting a stop to the emotional vampirism. Yet I missed him. Not the relationship him- he was a mediocre boyfriend and an even more mediocre lover- but the friendship him; the whole kit-and-caboodle him. Because oddly enough, we complemented each other well. We always managed to have the best times together--when we weren't making each other miserable with our failed attempts at being a couple.

I got over him quickly. I stood by my axing him out of my life, deleting his emails, often without reading them. I ignored his calls at work and home. I changed my cell number. When I moved, he never knew. And we lost touch.

As I was preparing to change jobs two years ago, we connected again by chance. Time had passed and we had both moved on in big ways. No hard feelings; just a lot of curiosity. We did a lot of emailing, but I refused to give him my number or address. I knew he'd try to get back into my life in a big way, and I just didn't have it in me to deal with that again.

During the course of our catching up, he mentioned he was living with a new girl. She was a banker. She was older. She may or may not have a child that didn't live with her. She was bossy and irritable, according to him, but she had money and liked to dote on him and spoil him. She bought a condo for them, and he was enjoying himself, just waiting for the next trip, next present, next usage of money and attention on him.

This was, of course, all so typical of him. He loved this stuff. And then he propositioned me. Not once, but twice. And in big, persistent ways. That was typical, too.

That's when I told him that it was nice catching up but that I didn't think continuing to chat would work out for us.

When he worked down the block from me (which he later did for about a year), I would occasionally run into him. Smile. Nod. He looked well, but not like the guy I dated and certainly not like the one who was my friend. He wore a lot of pink shirts. The old him would have made fun of that.

I occasionally hear about him and the woman from friends of friends. They've been together for a few years now, and getting engaged is only inevitable. I suppose deep down I assumed he'd find some way to screw this up. The fact that she never kicked him out is a testament either to her stupidity or great love. Perhaps a bit of both.

I'd like to think he's faithful to her. I'd like to think he's over using her. I'd like to think he really does love her. I just honestly never thought he was capable of being that kind of guy. Although I wish him well in that endeavor.

Happy Easter

Diva Niece's first Easter was fantastic. She especially enjoyed the bunny ears Auntie MoC gave her. She was a big hit at the family dinner, stealing the show with lots of laughs and coy smiles. She missed all of her naps due to plenty of excitement (and lots of loud voices and carrying on) involved with our family dinners and is now overly tired. And Brother and SIL can now deal with the cranky diva niece.

Packing, Part 1

If there is one thing I'm good at, it's moving. I've done a lot of it for the past 14 years. I'm a reformed nomad. But in my reformation efforts, I seem to have lost the get-up-and-go in my packing mindset. I know what to do. My mind has a clear picture of all that needs to be accomplished. However, my get up and go got up and went. And I need it to come back. I've literally stared at my big all-purpose/junk room for the past week wondering where to begin.

As I surveyed the room for the zillionth time yesterday afternoon, I came to the sad realization that this was going to be more difficult than past moves, if only because I have taken to just tossing things haphazardly into the room. Wherever it landed, that was "home" for the particular discarded belonging -- until now, when I need to actual categorize it.

First on the list was pictures. I love them. But I hate putting them in albums or boxes or any sort of orderly place. So the past three years worth of pictures have taken up one big corner of the all-purpose room. Last night I began putting them in order, and it's been really fantastic. I've forgotten about some of these fantastic times, and it's a wonderful way to recall them. I've made a lot of headway between last night and a few hours tonight. I'm in May 2005 -- so just one more year of pictures to go. And then...boxing up the albums. I just know when I tape some of the boxes shut, I'll feel like I've accomplished a huge task and will have the desire to move on to something bigger. Like books. I shudder to think about that project.

By completing some smaller tasks, the packing groove will come back, and I'll get back into true form. There's a lot to be done between now and the end of the month, though. I figure if I can pack just one box between now and the end of the month, I'll be done long before I'll ever have to be. I just need this to go smoothly. Because this move, coupled with the chaos of work (so, so, so chaotic and will continue to be this way for another week), is driving me batty.

Springtime

At last, Spring has arrived. I can hardly argue with a 70 degree sunny day in Chicago. It's here and I'm happy.

As I walked home along the tree-lined streets of my little suburb, I couldn't help but look around and think to myself that this would be the last Spring I spent in the town I adore. In a few short weeks, I am off to a new, equally nice place, not very far from where I currently live but different enough to make me wonder just what wonderful adventures await me there.

I doubt there will be children learning to ride their bikes, nearly running me over, as I walk home from work. Or neighbors grilling steaks midweek. But there will be a few things I don't have within walking distance of my current abode -- and that's margaritas. And a beer garden super close as well. Both just as nice Welcome Spring sights as bike riding and BBQs.

London

Just returned from 10 days in London -- mostly business with a few days of holiday thrown in for good measure.

Before the good stuff, it's important to remove the distasteful moments from my memory. Lowlights included the following:

* Staying in the British Ghetto in Islington. I liken it to what Lincoln Park was 30 years ago and what Bucktown and Wicker Park were just 15 years ago. It's definitely not an area through which I'd feel comfortable walking alone at night, although the main drag featured a number of fantastic bars and restaurants. It was just everything else that sucked.

* The hotel in Islington was a dump. So much so that I am neither linking to its web site nor mentioning it by name. Really sad was the fact that the rack rate was staggeringly expensive for what it was all worth.

* The same co-worker had her purse stolen twice within the confines of the same breakfast room/bar. Top that. (The good news that came out of this was being handed cheap rate reservations at their sister property in the West End for our troubles; a 4-star joint that was absolutely elegant, proper, and just perfect)

With that aside, the highlights were numerous:

* Business was truly fantastic.

* I adored the group of people I spent time with -- although drinks every night took its toll. Averaging 3 hours a sleep a night is sad. But the amount of laughs were worth it. Cheeks still hurt. I may be catching up on sleep all night.

* Windsor Castle is amazing. I'm not sure there is a word to sum it up beyond that. And the town itself is quaint (albeit a touch touristy) and offers some fantastic little pubs.

* Though I've been to Westminster before it was fantastic to do it again, this time with the audio tour. So incredibly impressive. Though it's hard to pick one favorite aspect, I found Poet's Corner to be enlightening and revealing the most surprises.

* The Tower of London is historically interesting and obviously holds the Crown Jewels. It's a good piece of history, and though I've been past it a zillion times, it was nice to have an extensive tour of the inside buildings.

* British pubs are unbeatable, except perhaps by those in Ireland.

And then there are some unmentionable stories... One or two of which I am still breaking down and reviewing in the deep recesses of my mind.

Home for six weeks and then off to Hong Kong. Much work to be done between now and then, and there are definitely long hours ahead...Plus, the whole home buying thing, which is kicking into high gear. Still slated to close by April 28. This is definitely a busy, busy month.