Friday, August 26, 2005

Blast from the past

Cubman and I dated for 7 months in 2002. or was it 2001? (You'd think I'd remember this stuff with the scarcity of boyfriends in my life). We met at a Cubs game and the "relationship" got to the point where his friends thought we were getting engaged. Yeah, right! About two weeks after one of his friends voiced that opinion, we broke up (not because of that, not directly anyway).

I won't deny that the break-up (I guess you'd call it mutual, even though I was the one who made the final break) left me pretty disillusioned with men as a species. After getting over the hurt, I realized that Cubman wasn't a bad guy per se, just a person who made poor decisions.

It was difficult to see him at Cubs games, since I continued to go to games, but usually alone. Fortunately, there was always the game itself to distract me from our conversations. And then he wasn't there anymore...

Until a few weeks ago.

He came down from his usual spot, found me in my usual area and interrupted a conversation I was having with a baseball scout. He kept saying how great I looked (honestly, I don't think I've changed much) and said he just got a new job and he's going out of town for training. Turns out, he was unemployed for more than a year!

Since then, he's included me in a group email of Cubs-related spam. I didn't realize that my email address had stayed the same.

There is a special event this weekend during the Cubs' home series and Cubman might be there. Hmmn....

Wednesday, August 24, 2005

One in a million

Now tell me honestly, does this look like the type of place to harbor a killer?
According to CNN, SHARK ATTACK

some diver became lunch for a great white shark off the coast of Adelaide (don't worry, I'm not going to Adelaide).

For those statisticians out there, the chances of me getting snacked on by a shark are 1 in 10 million. Compare that to the 1 in 4.3 million chance of getting hit by lightning and sure, I'll go snorkeling. Of course, even better are the odds of getting hurt falling out of bed (1 in 370,000). Personally, I think this last one depends on how much Jack Daniels is consumed. ;-0.

It's so bizarre to think that my favorite country has so many ways to kill me! Spiders, snakes, sharks...you want to get killed? Australia can accommodate. If you don't believe me, read "In a Sunburnt Country" by Bill Bryson. It's hysterical, in a scary kinda way!

By the way, this photo was taken in Port Douglas, a tiny little town near the jump-off point for the Great Barrier Reef. Picture Key West, Florida about 40 years ago. It has one main street and you can walk from one end of town to the other in about 15 minutes (20 minutes if you window shop).

65 days and counting!

Tuesday, August 23, 2005

Garbage-picking, corporate level

"Pretty nice, huh?"
When my boss walked past my desk carrying two more-than-slightly-used solid wood in/out boxes that he pilfered from the dumpster near the freight elevator, I had to shake my head.

We have officially become garbage-pickers, I thought. How low will we sink?

Another coworker proudly walked off with a small green plant with intentions of dressing up her desk area.

Having seen my boss' loot, I strolled over to the hallway that held the remnants of what used to be our neighbor's office. In front of me was a Toyota-sized gray dumpster or as I like to call it, the homeless person's Office Max.

Our one and only neighbor on this floor moved out on Friday. It's not that we have the rest of the floor to ourselves, it's more a case of our little office being surrounded by a bunch of nothingness. I'm trying to look on the bright side and realize that anyone that gets off the elevator on the 24th floor is, by default, coming to see us. I guess that's good.

Just so you know, my haul consisted of exactly one thing and it's pretty sad actually: a round, rolling step stool that sits flat on the ground when stepped on.

My mother would be proud.

Monday, August 22, 2005

DC - there and back

Note to self: Never fly into or out of O'Hare during the weekend of the Air and Water Show.
Result? One+ hour spent baking in a 747 oven on the tarmac at hot-as-hell Reagan National Airport. Thank G for iPods and much-needed naps!
Anyway, back to my visit with Jada in DC.

I didn't go to our nation's capitol as a tourist to see the Washington Monument, the White House and the endless museums. I went to DC as Jada's friend and we did stuff that she would ordinarily do on a weekend.

We spent Saturday afternoon at the Virginia Wine Festival (where we decided to be very "Martha's Vineyard" in pretty dresses and sun hats). Mother Nature found this very funny, apparently, because she cranked the heat.
Think lying in a cast-iron frying pan over open flame, smothered in bacon grease.
IT.WAS.HOT.
Oh, and the humidity in DC? Beautiful silk floral dress, a wide-brimmed summer chapeau (Audrey Hepburn would be proud!) and a river of sweat streaming down my back. EWWW!!
Nevertheless, we sauntered through the festival, thinking cool thoughts and sipping a variety of locally produced white wines. It was wonderful!!

Back in DC in the late afternoon, we cleaned up, sacrificed fresh clothes to the heat and headed to Georgetown. Mellowed by an afternoon of wine-drinking, we made our way to a funky Middle Eastern restaurant called Mie n Yu ("me and you").

On the way up to our third-floor dining room, we passed a large round table of eight people enclosed in the world's largest bird cage! How fun!! On another level, off to the left side of the staircase on a small landing was a very private four-person booth surrounded by velvet curtains.
Our dining room had hot pink walls meeting an orange ceiling. Each table's seating featured a daybed covered in satin and beaded pillows with fringed curtains separating the neighbors. Everywhere you looked was something beautiful and elaborate to see and to touch. Oh, and the food was great too!

Sunday morning was spent at the East Market, an antiques, produce and handicrafts fair that occurs every weekend in the District (Capitol Hill area). After perusing the vintage furniture, we came across a table full of purses with a strangely familiar zigzag design. Made by a company in Miami, the coin purses, clutches and totes are made from gum wrappers! The multicolored papers once held gum from foreign countries (so no green Wrigley Spearment purses!), then folded and braided into fabulous designs.

Had they not been on the pricey side, I definitely would've brought (at least) one home with me. (I have a "thing" about spending more $$ on a purse than I have to put in it.)

The best part of the weekend, however, was being able to re-connect with my friend while doing everyday things. Uninterrupted by friends and family, we had time to talk...really talk. The stay-up-till-2-am kind of talk.

Time spent with good friends is so important to me. Sometimes its value lies in the opportunity to vent my frustrations caused by the stalemate that is my life. More often, like this weekend, it is the chance to be a sounding board for my friends when they need a shoulder.

I've always envied (and been intimidated by) the life my friend Jada leads: great job, fun city, Dr. husband, loving and admiring family. All the pieces in place for a successful life.

Or so I thought...

Without going into details, let's just say that her life isn't as perfect as I've always imagined and I'm afraid it's taking a toll on her. She's more introspective and less joyful. She doesn't laugh as easily as she used to. But, as with everything else, she keeps plugging along, trying to fight this intruder into her bliss.

Jada has been there for me during divorce, boyfriend breakups, job stress and all that crap and I intend to do the same for her. I just hope God poured wisdom into my words of advice. Things aren't perfect for her, but she trusted me enough to share her disappointments and hurt with me. For this I will always love her.