i just might get myself fired yet...

so, i know that talking about work is a huge no-no but...

the restaurant. the dreaded, most complained about restaurant ever...continues to be the bane of my existence. However, i have to say, after sunday, i hold my head a little higher. a few weeks ago, after they hired a girl who had three facial percings, management decided to make it a rule that the facial piercings/rings/studs had to be covered or taken out. This said waitress quit because she wasn't going to take them out nor was she going to serve food with bandaids all over her face. however, even though she quit, myself and two other servers, who have piercings, had to wear bandaids. i have to say, i was so livid that i wore it just because i couldn't come up with the words to yell at my boss. and of course, that particular morning, cute guys kept being sat in my section...oh the irony, and sadness. i had come in that morning, completely caught off guard because i have been working there for a year and a half and other than the first time the old owners saw my nose piercing, they said i had to cover it, but i didnt' and they never said another word. the new owners have never dared say anything before. i was so surprised and mad i didn't know what to do. however, this past sunday (which is about 5 shifts after the first time they said to put a bandaid on , which really is rediculous b/c if you're going to make a rule, at least be consistent...but that's another of the Many issues i have with this place). anyways...i walked in and started getting ready for my shift and the hostess came over and told me i had to put on another bandaid or take my stud out, which, frankly isn't going to happen. it hurts like hell. so i said i don't have a bandaid and walked away. a few minutes later, she calls me over and holds up this bandaid which would probably cover a knife wound. i looked at her and laughed. i said "I'm NOT putting that on my face". she replies..."well, you have to cover your nose stud and this is all we have'. i looked at her again and i said "i'm NOT putting that on my face". and i walked away to keep SERVING MY TABLES. seeing as that's actually important for my job. i know the hostess is getting pissed because she's just the unfortunate messenger of my boss who isn't there, but still wants to have his rules followed. and yes, it was easier to say no to her, than to him, but with the presenting problem, i wasn't going to budge. i realized that i'd be sent home for not following the rules, and i was thinking this just might be the kick in the ass i need to really get out of this place. i've applied to a few other places and could potentially find another job if i had the time on the weekends not spent actually working at this job. i ignored the hostess for a while and kept serving my tables. a while later she called me over again and gave me a small bandaid. i took it and walked away, but knew i'd rather quit than give in and look like an idiot over something soo stupid. She came to the back a few minutes later to tell me to put on the bandaid. i told her again that i wasn't going to do it. she said, well you have to because ___told you you have to. i said i'm not putting it on, and if that meant i'd be sent home, then i would go home. she said ok, then you have to go home. i said fine. the other two servers with piercings were listening to all of this. one girl could take hers out, but the other woman didn't want to either. and she decided that 'we servers need to stick together, and if you leave, reshae, then i'll walk right out with you'. i told her i don't care what she does, but i'm not putting on the bandaid. a few minutes later the server that was going to 'go down with me' came in the back and said that i don't have to go home, but that ____is coming later and to talk to him when he gets here. i knew it. i was calling his bluff. and it felt great!! and not to sound cocky, but he gets nothing but positives about me from the customers, he's commented on how hard i work and i never take smoke breakes...blah blah blah. he's not going to fire me, or send me home. so he comes in later, and as things slow down in the restaurant after the lunch rush, he calls me over and starts going on about how it's nothing against the piercings, but it all has to do with health codes. i gave him my shpeal about how it's more unsanitary if bandaids are falling into the food...blah blah, and i get compliments all the time on the nose stud and it's actually bad for business if we look rediculous with bandaids all over our faces, reminding him that it's not state law to have them covered and so i wasn't going to do it. he backed down and said that he'd look into it more and double check the rules. hahahahahahahahaha. so, i completely stood up to him and didn't get sent hom. but i did go apply to another restaurant on my way home that day. i have to follow up yet. and the funny thing is, everyone else was like...wowww, i can't believe you did that...lol. it's not very characteristic of me, at all, to stand up to my authorities like that, but i had had enough...

wrigley field

i now live 2 blocks from the Cubs home stadium...and i have to say, it's pretty sweet! i'm slowly forgetting my ties to the american league and the Chicago White Sox. THose ties are being replaced with excitement over a Cubs win, even against the White Sox. sad? maybe. i find myself more of a Cubs fan against my regular urge to route for the underdog...and that underdog being defined as the White Sox in VERY much Cubs territory. the north side of the city is almost cult-like in their devotion to the Cubs and when i first moved here, i realized quickly that one has to choose their words carefully when pledging allegiance to a team other than the Cubs themselves. my story is nearly always the same: i grew up loving the Toronto Blue Jays, and therefore, knew the American League better than the National league. the most i knew of the Cubs was that they never made it to the World Series because they always sucked. however, in my becoming a Chicago-an, i fulfilled my goals last summer to attend both a White Sox and a Cubs game, (and i threw the Bulls in there too) and the Cubs game was something i will never forget. I felt i had gone back in time when people lived and breathed baseball, everyone new every player and every statistic possible and they were blood fans. The WhiteSox game was nothing more than a nice afternoon on a nice summer day. Wrigley Field gets intense, and it's fans are hard core. it's kind of intriguing, and sucks you right in!!! however, i still have yet to purchase any merchandice from either team. though there's a Soriano jersey i've been eye-ing at Sports Authority.

a few weeks ago i went with some friends to the Cubs game. which i Walked to, and then Walked home from. it was fabulous!!
But don't fret, i'll always be a Blue Jay...even if another Joe Carter doesn't ever save the day in the bottom of the ninth, game 6 of the World Series, coming back from behind with a three-run homerun...oh...those ties will never die!! i can see it as if it was yesterday!!

a lot of time on my hands

so just to clarify, i've had the last few days off, minus today, which is partly why i feel like i've posted every little detail that has happened to me over my moving-extravaganza. i've had a lot of time on my hands, and a lot of people who weren't here to be a part of this big change in my life that have been wonderful enough to want to know what happened. For all of the others that don't really care that much...well...oh well.

this is probably it for a minute...as work returns to my life and things get back to normal...for a while anyways..

so i finally took some picks of my apartment. i got this sweet-@ss lamp thing for free from a friend who's boss was moving and giving stuff away. the pics didn't turn out as well as it looks hanging from my ceiling...a feat i must admit i'm proud of. this light fixture, if you will, is supposed to be placed in a light socket...but i have two fans and no where to hang this great lamp/thing. so, as i do...i fixed it so it works. but not before i almost electrocuted myself.

so without further ado
um that closet still needs to be organized. when you walk in...on the right is the bathroom


so that's it ladies and gentlemen...hope you like!! i think i do!!

the last two days.

you know when you needed a new couch when...

Salvation army throws it in the trash...yep...i went back last night to donate a few bags of clothes i forgot about and i saw my couch in the trash pile. it May have had something to do with the fact that i forgot to bring the 3 inch legs of the couch with me in my rushing around when i dropped it off on Saturday and so the couch looked even more pathetic on the ground...but, still...it was in the trash. love it.

doggie therapy...

my dog tried to commit suicide when i left to do laundry this morning. i, like an idiot, left the windows open and left to go to the basement to put in a much-needed load of laundry. i returned thinking that everything had gone well...and then a few minutes later i found this:

good thing he didn't jump. and though i don't think he'd rather die than live without me (i'm not That self-absorbed), i think he panics and tries to get out to not be alone...either way tho, he owes me Another screen.

Reshae the handy-man ...woman...whatever..

so, a few years ago i bought this fabulous armoire from salvation army for $99 that was probably purchased from Pier One Imports long ago from some nice/donating rich people with good taste. the problem is, even if it was made as a TV cabinet, it was made poorly, even though as a cabinet and bookshelf it couldn't be better. it's not very deep and the tv didn't fit as i have a massive flat-screen that is nearly 2 feet deep...well not really, but almost. anyways. i now live in an apartment that doesn't involve room for a bookshelf/armoire And a TV stand. and so i decided to figure out a way to fit my TV in the cabinet anyways. and so i did...

First i placed the cabinet on it's front so i could cut a hole in the back...
Then i measured out a 13" by 13" square in the middle of the back...
Then i used this nifty saw i bought at Home Depot last night and after nailing a few holes in line with the hole i wanted for a starter, i started sawing a few straight lines...
I bought nifty hinges and a latch to have the extra wood swing up so that it could swing back down whenever i'd not need it as a TV cabinet anymore. but i decided not to because it would have made more holes in the back and i didn't want to see them through the front. plus, there's a portable shelf that fits in the space that has a backing on it and you won't even ever see the hole if it's used as a shelf again anyways.

i think it worked well...
i think i'm going to put a shelf above the tv for dvd/vcr...as there's plenty of room and my tv looks mini in the cabinet! but i'll save that for another day. i totally felt like i was in an amature version of New Yankee Work Shop though, and i loved it!!

It's good to have good friends...that hook you up with great tickets...

So a month or so ago, Death Cab for Cutie tickets went on sale for a concert at Millenium Park, and even though i tried to get some, within three days, they were all sold out. I received an email from a friend of mine stating that he had a 'handful' of tickets and wanted to know if i still needed one...turns out i'm headed to see them tonight afterall...which is FREaKIng awesome!!

i should be napping...or at a softball game. i'm not.

so. i can not even begin to describe the craziness that was yesterday...move day. but i'll give it my best shot...

i woke up early (7:23am) because i couldn't sleep anymore for stress and decided to head to my new apartment to check it out as it's been 6 weeks since i saw it, for the first time and for only 15 seconds. my memory was a little poor and i needed a refresher. i also decided to pick up coffee and breakfast for me and my bro while he was sleeping. Sadly, i was very disheartened by what i found as my new home...as it was smaller and less nice than i had remembered it. nasty yellow dirty walls, kitchen cabinets that are metal and fit in with the blasted 1960s and someone was parked in my new parking spot. needless to say, i needed a few minutes to regroup, wipe away a few stray tears and accept that this is where i'm living, like it or not, cause i'm not planning on breaking my lease. Bro did a great job of assuring me that everything would be ok...:)

we decided to pack the car and head to the new place to clean it so i'd feel better about moving my things in. and amazingly enough, Lysol-ing the finger prints from the last tenant away and sweeping up all nastiness really did help. we discussed different colors i can paint the place to help it not look and feel really, well, not what i want it to be...we ate lunch at Chipotle and headed to U-haul for the truck. by 3:07pm we had arrived back at the old apartment, with an old friend and a pile of new ones to help me move all of my belongings. within an hour we were done packing the truck and were headed to the new place.

Now, let me clarify a few things...my old couch was Disgusting and i had decided to purchase another one from IKEA (which my friend B helped pick out last weekend)(yes i had her take a pic with me at IKEA...it was an exciting shopping trip!!)

while she was here for the weekend because Avenue Q is in townand it was great...though i digress...

also, i'm cheap/poor and didn't want to pay $80 to have my new couch delivered and had decided that i'd use my moving U-haul to pick it up...new apartment, new couch...perfect.
what complicated this, of course, was that U-haul told me that the truck had to be back at the lot by 8pm at the latest. and IKEA is in the burbs, so i had to try to fit moving all my shit to a new apartment, up three flights of stairs, and then go all the way out of the city and back before dropping it off nicely on time at 8pm. as one can imagine, i soon realized that this was going to be like trying to fit a circle into a square...it's impossible. by 5:45pm we had the new apartment filled with boxes and all my stuff, and my wonderful friends were enjoying pizza and beer. we decided to try to beat time and get my couch, including dropping my old one off at a Salvation Army Drop-off Donation center. by 6:30pm we were on our way to IKEA having donated my old couch (though they might even throw it in the garbage cause it's that nasty!!) traffic made an already long trip even longer, and by 7:20pm we were off the highway and on our way to the store, only to realize that i wasn't sure how to get there...and got lost. another friend was amazing at telling me over the phone while i drove how to get back on track. we spent no more than 5 minutes in IKEA rushing to pay and put the new couch in the truck and we were headed back to the city...by about 7:50pm. by 8:15 i called U-haul to let them know we were on our way, apologizing for being late and blaming my tardiness on the traffic, even though we still head to my apartment to drop off the couch before we could get the truck back to U-haul.

The woman on the other end of the line was the same woman that told me two times that the truck HAD TO BE BACK BY 8PM. she explained that becauese it was the end of the month, it was policy that all equipment had to be back at the store before she could leave. I had told her that i've been able to leave keys in a drop slot multiple times before without any problems. She told me that i had to have the truck back by 8pm anyways. This same woman answered the phone when i called to apologize for being late. She calmly stated that it was fine, and to not worry..."You can just put your keys in the drop slot". I nearly coughed and started laughing in shock and awe and exhaustion and anger at what she had put me through all...Freaking...day trying to get that Damn truck back by 8pm. i was a nightmare. i said thankyou, and hung up the phone, prompting pulling into a target parkinglot to tell my brother that we could relax and chill the F out already.

We went back to the apartment, brought the couch upstairs to my apartment and brought the truck back...by 11pm...just because we could. we got home, ate some food, took showers, made our beds and finally got to sleep. it was Insane.
this is the view from walking into the apartment...it's a studio but has an eat in kitchen and an actual kitchen instead of a closet with a stove. i didn't want to post pics yet because it doesn't look anything like it will once everything is away, pics are on the wall and, for that matter, the walls are painted...but first things first...unpacking...

the bed is on the right kind of behind that chair and the eating area/kitchen goes around the corner in the back by the far windows. there's a closet and bathroom to the left of the picture...near where my brother is standing by the tv cabinet...new pics will come soon enough.

oh...so today, bro and i went for breakfast and headed back to the old apartment. i had been paranoid that my car would be towed because i parked in someone elses's spot due to the SUV that was still in my spot by the time we returned home from U-haul after midnight.This morning i left a nice note on his/her windshield that politely stated that "As of June 1, this parking spot belongs to my Toyota Yaris. Please find alternate parking ASAP". when i came back after cleaning my old apartment, the car was gone. Perfect!

so. my bro left, and i have an apartment of things that need to be organized and put somewhere other than where it can currently be found. but i'm so damn tired, i didn't even go to play softball today..and i LOVE softball. i just couldn't. instead i wrote this post, and will shortly be taking a nap. on my new couch.

earlier when writing this post, i noticed that Brayson had walked into the bathroom but hadn't come out. i went to find him on which i figured was the carpet b/c he always slept on that in my old place. This is what i found. please disregard my rediculous baby talking to him...i didn't realize i was that pathetic!! don't disregard the music you hear in the background...it's The Frightened Rabbit, and i saw them with bro and his friends Thursday night. they're great!! perhaps even my new favorite band...;)


he's been in and out of there three times since that video...