It's friday...let's party

i'm soo glad it's friday. time to ditch work tonight and head to visit my bro and dad for a day. a break from everything is SOO needed:):)

screw my last post

ok. so i decided to take the 'scenic' route home today (which means i went through downtown Chicago) looking for a payless shoe source along my way to bring back the boots i bought recently cause they're a piece of crap and the two days i wore them my feet were cold and wet the ENTIRE day...i finally make it into my neighborhood and i smile to myself that i can actually call it my neighborhood and all of a sudden i see lights flashing behind me and i realize that i'm being pulled over. apparently for not stopping at a stop sign a block from my apartment. WHO EVER STOPS AT STOPSIGNS. i drive All day long and i'm a safe driver and i don't need to get a ticket right in front of my own F-ing house. on top of whatever the hell amount i'm gonna have to pay for the ticket, what happens in this supid state of Illinois is they take your license and mail it back to you "two days later" ...what the hell for, i don't know. but that means that i can't go out tonight with a friend who recently moved into town and a few of her fun friends before they leave again for california. i'm furious. tonight is Fat Tuesday, so lots of people are going to be out so it would've been a really good time. Now i can't get in anywhere without my f-ing picture ID. screw the scenic route and stupid boots and false advertizing and stupid Chicago police who have nothing better to do than piss off perfectly good drivers who don't have money to pay a shit ticket.

and no, i'm not pmsing, i'm just incredibly pissed off.

A few words to live by...

"Sing... with your head up
with your eyes closed
not because you love the song
because you love to sing
because you love to sing, oh"


listen to the song on myspace...it's a fabulous song
(from "You love to sing" by Copeland)

a Valentine's Day gift...

if you guess correctly what it is, you get a prize...

let it snow, let it snow, let it snow...

i just returned from taking my dog for a walk, and let me say that taking my dog for a walk is quite something for me. which i know, is sad, but as much as i DO love my puppy, baby, my sweetheart, i usually kind of hope he runs around the courtyard outside my door when i let him out, and count that as a 'walk' which is supposed to make sure his heart keeps beating for the next 8 years. i don't take him for a good walk on days when it's kind of cold out or raining cause i'm lazy and i don't feel like it...
but TODAY...today is a special day...

why? one might ask??

today is special because it snowed all day and it's just too beautiful not to enjoy on a nice walk. i didn't realize how much i missed the snow when i was in West Virginia until we got some snow here in Chicago, but we didn't barely get any snow in Chicago so far this winter, until today. it was--having to shovel the sidewalk every 15 minutes, dig your car out of the parking lot, 'where the hell are the plows and salt-trucks', not get home til 7pm cause traffic was so slow on the freeway--kind of day, and it was fabulous. granted, a few more days like this and i'm sure i'll be moaning and groaning like the rest of the city, but seriously, i've missed it.

and to prepare myself for whatever is ahead, i stopped by a few stores along the way home and purchased a few necessary items...
1) a pair of gloves to go under my already cute, but not warm enough for these frigid temps, mitten/gloves...


2) so that my ankles wouldn't continue to be cold and wet all day...(i haven't had boots like this since the 3rd grade, but they're awesome:))


3) just in case i get stuck in feet of snow on the side of the highway or in my parking spot on the street...(and look how cool it is, it extends and everything)


needless to say, i'm ready and prepared for anything now...

and with an apartment that's actually warm again...

and no, that's not the time, it's the tempurature, IN MY APARTMENT...yeeehaaa, i can relax without 18 layers of clothing.

a good day.

oh, and icing on the cake, i received two gifts from friends in west virginia this week. yesterday i got a WV sticker for my car that i've wanted and requested, but was forgotten by a certain someone who recently took a trip to Chicago (but no worries, it was great to get in the mail;)), and the other was a Christmas/New Year's/Valentine's day gift from a couple of friends/co-workers who i miss and need desperately to call again...so thanks:) you all made me smile:)

and just to finish with just a tiny piece of the greatness...

the view from my doorway


the view of my street

sharing the love

so, Friday was an Insane day...three of my six team members called off from work, which left me and two others to do the work that six usually do. it was draining and exhausting, but good...i took one of my members on a ride to Dunkin Donuts and while driving, he noticed the music i had on in my car...Trouble by Ray LaMontagne. He is a near 300 lb black man who has a history of drug abuse and severe mental illness, but he's really like a teddy bear and is working on being a good family man and remaining stable. since the first day i worked with him, i could tell he feels comfortable talking to me--but not in a weird, inappropriate, transference or sexual kind of way, so it's good. anyway, the 'soul' in Ray LaMontagne was noticed by him and he said a few different times that he enjoyed the music. so, i gave him the CD, as i can just burn another copy, and it was like Christmas day, he was like...'are you serious? i'd love to have the cd'. overall, it was a good visit, and not just because of the music. visits like that are why i like my job. they're not all like that, but when they are...it feels like i'm making a difference, even just a small one. and my sharing of great music is just the icing on the cake...:)

wow can those hips move...

The Evolution of Dance



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top 10 reasons why it's cool to have so little heat in your apartment that the temperature is consistently 50 degrees or less...

10. when your dog is upset with you about working too much and goes through all your garbage, leaving thrown out left overs and used tissues all over the apartment, no ants come to the crumb-picnic cause THEY"RE ALL DEAD.
9. you start noticing a severe looseness in your clothes because it's to damn cold to do anything but sit under covers and wait til the next time to leave. making food or anything related to food is frankly too much work cause you can't feel your fingers...not only are all of the silverwear nearly cold enough to freeze water on, but so are all the plates.
8. you can drink coke that's been bottled and sitting on your shelf for a week without adding ice to chill it, or having to put it in the refrigerator to chill it because it's already cold enough...
7. when your friend from west virginia comes to visit, you can put that strange little truth to the test..that truth where using body heat to stay warm will really keep you from freezing to death...the question remains...did we strip down to do so, or did we remain clothed?? only me, the hot Paramedic (aka the hot EMT), brayson and any bug that happened to still be a live in my apartment will ever know.
6. you have yet ANOTHER reason to call your landlord and bug him about how you really should just take him to court already because of Another landlord/tenant law he's breaking. not only did the leak FINally get fixed after freaking 3 months, but you get to call him and call him now to tell him to TURN ON THE HEAT FOR THE LOVE OF GOD ALREADY.
5. you get to look forward to the time when you actually have your own control over your thermostat...no matter what the monetary cost.
4. you get to make Great use out of your blankets, socks, slippers, more slippers, sweatshirts, long underwear, more sweatshirts, hats, scarves and mittens than you may EVER have thought possible.
3. every morning it's a toss-up weather your contact lenses have frozen in the solution and you'll have to wear you glasses to work.
2. ...i'm out...i got nothin else...

it really , quite...sucks.

at least at this point, at least the Hot Paramedic knows that i'm not lying when i say it's cold here...he knows first=hand...and i have a witness other than my dog, cause my dog can't talk. i'm not really sure when the temp outside is gonna increase again to bring the temp INside back to something somewhat livable...but all i have to say is, it was -7 degrees this morning, without the wind-chill factor. i'd Much rather have 3 feet of snow...

strangely, the Hot Paramedic said that he had an enjoyable first trip to Chicago and likes the city. i guess the Cheesecake factory, the Chicago HIstory Museum, Goose Island Brewery, the Container Store, bus rides, taxi cabs, Borders, waiting forever in sub zero weather for the buses and cabs, Giordano's, breakfast at Nookies, the view of the city on Lake Shore Drive, and Brayson did a good job of convincing him that Chicago is still a great city, regardless of the tempurature. who knows if he'll ever return though...i'm guessing the first and second months of the year are gonna be out of the question as times to go north for his vacation:):)