The Everyday Adventures of Me in the City

San Francisco part two: Girls Gone Touristy

noreply@blogger.com (Bayjb) — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 01:17:00 +0000

As the bookend to my BlogHer adventure, I've decided to show you the second part of my trip in pictures. BlogHer ended Sunday so my friend Sarah (who is also the first friend I made in Chicago) met me at the hotel and we were off!

Sadly we weren't "Girls Gone Wild" but we did cover a lot of the tourist attractions in the city in the two days we had together. Below is my montage for you all. Oh I have plenty more than this but it's just a sampling of our fun. I'm saving some for my "food love" post soon.

I also just wanted to clear up one thing, I did change my clothes while I was there, but because of the cold northern California weather, I only had one coat/scarf that could keep me "warm," which is why you'll see me in the same external outfit in every relevant picture.

San Fran's Bart map - easier than Chicago?

Chinatown

San Francisco (from the top of a painful hill!)

Me and a cable car

Fisherman's Wharf - Sea Lions!

Boudin Bakery - famous San Francisco sourdough

Local dungress crabs

Ghirardelli

Cupcake break from Kara's!

(raspberry buttercream frosting)

Lombard Street

Palace of Fine Arts (boo construction)

Sarah and me at the De Young museum garden

Haight Ashbury

Coffee with Angela!

Heading the airport

Phew I'm pooped. And I decided to spare you pictures of being hit on my a woman at a bar and a man vomiting between the Bart cars while heading to Oakland. No I wouldn't actually take pictures of that but you know what I mean.

San Fran was an awesome time and a perfect break from Chicago, but like Dorothy said..."there's no place like home."

Fortunately, my friend Sarah is coming back to Chicago in two weeks so it's time to get the band back together again. Woo hoo!

San Francisco part one: BlogHer '08

noreply@blogger.com (Bayjb) — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 08:26:00 +0000

After three crazy days, a run-in with hotel security, a cheeseburger party, damaging photos, many late nights and one early morning, BlogHer ’08 is officially closed for this year. And now it’s 1:15 a.m. San Fran time and I’m blogging because I can’t seem to fall asleep yet. That will be painful tomorrow. Anyhow, my time in San Fran for the conference has been amazing. Truly eye-opening and just an overall a great experience.

It's true that I haven’t been “warm,” except for my time around a microwave and heat lamp, since I arrived on Thursday, but I would come to this conference again in a heartbeat. But next time, I’ll bring warmer clothes as opposed to the “cute cool” clothing, which I currently have. Yeah cotton jackets and layered T-shirts = not a good idea. I should have listened to my friend Sarah's advice a bit closer.

I don’t want to bore you with all the details of the conference but I did want touch on some of the highlights from this part of my San Fran visit.

BlogHer ’08 Highlights:

Cab trip to the hotel

My interview with the New York Times

Bloggy meet ups

Parties

Presents

Cab Ride:

So on our way to the hotel from the San Fran airport, we got our first real indication that we weren’t in Chicago anymore. Cabs here proudly state that they take credit cards. That is awesome. In Chicago, I have to fight with a cab driver to take my credit card but here, they not only state that they’ll take it, but display the credit cards they accept. I love San Fran!

So during our bumpy ride into the city, our cab driver suddenly pulls over along the side of the road (not in front of our hotel) and a man, who was waiting on the sidewalk we pulled in front of, approaches the car, and slips something to the cab driver in exchange for money. My car-mates, Danielle and Teresa, and I didn’t quite know what to say and then suddenly we’re back in traffic heading to the hotel. It wasn’t until we were checked in and Teresa and I met up later that I said, “hey was our cab driver doing a ‘drug deal’ on the ride to the hotel today?” Now I can’t say for sure that’s what happened but it was O-D-D.

Me & the NYT:

Yep that’s right, I was interviewed by a Style-section reporter for the New York Times. On Friday, the first day of BlogHer, I was really excited to attend the Twenty-Something meet-up session. I met a ton of nice people in my first few days here but I was really looking forward to this meet up to find people in my age range. After the meet-up, the reporter approached me and introduced herself and said she wanted to ask me a few questions. The Times is doing a story on BlogHer and she interviewed me for part of the article. Now I’m not expecting to see my name in the paper (even though it would be awesome) but as a NYT Style-section fanatic, that would definitely be a treat. So fingers crossed and I’ll keep you guys posted when the article runs.

Bloggy meet ups!

Obviously there are a lot of bloggers at BlogHer, specifically women bloggers (shocker I know.) As I mentioned above though, everyone I’ve met here has been really cool. And my bloggy business cards (picture still coming) from Angie were a huge hit. People have commented how “cute” and "clever" they are, to which of course I say “thank you." I’ve collected a ton of cards from mom and 20-something bloggers and overall, I found that people were really interested in finding out what people were blogging about, how long they’ve been blogging and what kind of topics they write about on their blogs. I will be working on adding some of the new blogs to my Reader next week and checking them out as soon as possible. And I met someone Saturday night who already reads my blog, which was a huge treat. I felt insanely flattered.

Part of my Chicago blosse and my new blosse addition: Vanessa

One of the most interesting things I overheard in a break-out session was, "I work in porn, but I don't use my real name. I mean I want to be a teacher one day." Awesome, just awesome.

Famous blogger "run-in:" At the BlogHer Community Keynote speech on Friday night, a co-worker I was sitting with casually leaned over and whispered at me:

"Do you know who is sitting at the table next to us?

"No."

"Dooce, she's sitting like in your seat at the table next to us."

"Really? No way." (Turns out my co-worker was right, so to share this news, I texted a few friends about my fortune, followed by me repeatedly staring at Dooce without trying to look like a crazy stalker.)

Party-time

The time change has been hard over the last few days, but that hasn’t stopped me from partying like a little rock star! Thursday night we went to the Newbie party at the hotel, where I got to see my Chicago blogger buddies and meet a Katelin and Vanessa in person! The bar at the Newbie Party was also very generous – Teresa’s cranberry and vodka was about 80/20 in mix, with the 80 being vodka. Meow!

The hotel was also hosting a People’s Party, which we got to a bit late and thus lost out on the goodie bags. They were really cute too, which made it all the more disappointing that I didn’t get one.

But Sprout was doing a drawing for a gift bag, full of yoga mats, SIGG bottles and kid-friendly toys. And let me say, I entered the drawing only because I know I wouldn’t win. I never win stuff like this but I always throw my card in anyhow. So you can imagine the SHOCK on my face when the woman doing the drawing pulls out a business card and says, “Everyday Adventures of Me in the City? You’re the winner!” I seriously burst out laughing and “woo-ing” very loudly (because of a glass or three of wine). So I grabbed my HUGE bag of stuff and filtered through it in the hallway answering “no I’m not a mom but my friend is!” to people’s questions about my prize. Now, I have plenty of gifts for my beloved Ada, Sarah and some for me too.

Then Saturday night, TNT hosted a BlogHer party and I was particularly excited because, as you all know, I just listed The Closer on my list of “things I love” right now. Gina Ravera (Det. Irene Daniels) from the show was there and I was literally trying not to geek out in front of her.

I had my picture taken with her too, but I need to track it down from the photographer so it’s coming! I’m not letting that slip by. And some of my 20-something peeps at the party and I closed that night club, Ruby Skye, down…at 9:30 p.m. It was a ton of fun, and proves again that Chardonnay for me is very effective in helping me to loosen up.

Below is a picture of the cocktail napkins at our Macy's party last night. I thought this napkin was the most genius idea ever. By day 2 of the conference, a lot of bloggers had run out of business cards so this was a proper substitute to hand out to people. Our Chicago/LA/Texas bloggy group thought it was awesome. I hope someone grabbed a stack before we left the party.

Christmas morning-like joy

OMG I have so much stuff, I’m so glad I brought a big suitcase to take back to Chicago. Below is a picture to show you a sampling of the stuff I got here at the conference. I will definitely be keeping some of it and donating it to my friend Sarah, who is hosting me Sunday-Tuesday at her apartment, and giving some to Yoda Amanda’s daughter Ada. I’m getting Karma on my side by paying it forward here.

So in a nutshell that’s my time at BlogHer. I could go on and on about this for days, but rather than ramble about it, I’ll just say this on top of my highlights. Going to BlogHer was definitely an experience. It was overwhelming at times, but totally worth it. I got to go to some great sessions and meet some really cool people. It wasn’t all play (I was there for work) but the opportunity to go was amazing and I really hope I can go next year too. And I have more pictures to collect so there are more antics caputerd on film that are not represented here.

So what's next? Well while co-workers and blog buddies are flying back to Chicago today, I'm opting to stay behind on the West Coast and get some "R&R" with my buddy Sarah, who lives in San Fran now but is in the process of moving back to Chicago in August.

I’ll be back in a day or two with the second part of my San Francisco adventure: the chronicles of Jess and Sarah. And our adventures are starting with the Dark Knight in IMAX and will likely end with someone being drunk dialed as we sing/scream Journey into the phone. Beware.

The List: What I love/hate right now

noreply@blogger.com (Bayjb) — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 18:15:00 +0000

Things are pretty busy at work and getting ready for BlogHer so I'm keeping it short tonight.

I've already listed things that I'm grateful for so now I'm going to share with you all some things that I'm loving and hating right now that aren't maybe as profound.

I'm loving....

Clinique City Block, SPF 25 - I wear it all year but especially in the summer. I live in it.

Mario Badescu Azulene Calming Mask - My skin is super sensitive and I have rosacea and honestly this stuff calms the extra redness on my skin. Just don't laugh while wearing it, your face is pulled tighter than a sheet.

Old Navy fold over skirt - Yes the fabric is non-natural but it's great to wear in summer and it doesn't care if you're having a "fat" or "skinny" day.

Reef Sandy flip flops - I have these in about 5 colors and I wear them all the time. I even have them in black now so I can "wear" them to work.

Ice cream/fro yo - Now that it's warm out, I crave this all the time. Our go-to place in our building just raised prices though so I'll be paying for my treat, so I'll have to space it out more.

Bloggy business cards - The beautiful Ang made some for me for BlogHer and they are AWESOME! I'll post a picture of them soon, they are adorable!

The Closer on TNT - my parents got me watching this show and I love it. It's only on in summer so it's on my "must watch" section of the DVR.

Babies! - Yes I will be an awful mother but I sure love getting my baby fix, thanks to Yoda Amanda and the beautiful Ada. I got to visit both of them this weekend and I got lots of great pictures of the lovely Ada Q. I just need to get around to turning the flash off my camera so I don't hypnotize her with the flash light. I seriously have 10 photos of her with the same look on her face - see below.

I'm hating...

Sunburn - I've gotten two minor ones this summer already. I need to be better about applying the SPF all over and not just on my face.

Humidity - Very unflattering on the hair. Plus I hate sweating already before I get to work. Ick.

The possible actor's strike - I love television, please do not keep me from enjoying my favorite shows (primarily the Office) this fall.

Birds - I have a flock of them that hang out in the mornings near my bedroom window and the chirping is driving me crazy!!!!! They do it every weekday and even on the damn weekends! Come on!

Cleaning - Erin has a great idea of doing the cleaning in 15-minute intervals during the day with a set goal of what to clean each day. I am planning on adopting this method in my own apartment but for now, I hate cleaning, especially the bathroom and kitchen.

So that's what I'm loving/hating right now. Anyone have items to add to the list?

Note to my lovely readers: Thursday I leave for San Fran and I'll try to blog as much as possible from BlogHer so you can all see the awesome pictures and read the updates from this Everyday Adventures girl/woman. My Reader right now is pretty out of control and I'll try to post as many comments as I can before I leave and definitely when I return. So please keep comments and I'll return the favor ASAP. I have not forgotten!

Civic duty calls

noreply@blogger.com (Bayjb) — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 18:52:00 +0000

Here is a snippet from a phone call I had with my dad earlier this week:

Dad: You got some mail here today

Me: Oh yeah? Is it a check or a bill? I prefer a check

Dad: Neither, but you have been picked for something

Me: Really? What's that?

Dad: Jury duty

Me: Shut up, no I wasn't, really?

Dad: Yep, I'm mailing the summons to you today. I would have called the courthouse myself to tell them you can't serve but I'm afraid they'll look me up and ask me to serve instead and I don't want that

Me: Thanks dad *grumble grumble* Sure send the alleged summons

So yesterday the letter from dad arrived in the mail and sadly this is what was in there....

An official jury summons for Wisconsin. It's been about 5 years since I was last called for jury duty and apparently when I renewed my WI driver's license last summer, I was moved up in the line. Well at least that's what I think happened. Crap.

Tomorrow I will have to call the local courthouse to see if they can give me an extension or release me from serving, considering I don't live in Wisconsin anymore or pay taxes there, but I still hold a Wisconsin driver's license and just this year declared myself an Illinois resident.

When I shared this unhappy news, someone told me to go get an Illinois driver's license, but I don't want to give up my Wisconsin one. I know it's dumb and honestly I have no good reason to keep it, but I don't want an Illinois license. The vain part of me says that because I don't want a new driver's license photo. Look at my current one, I look really cute and my last two driver's license pictures looked AWFUL. I can't let this go, I'm adorable!

Fingers crossed the Wisconsin court house is lenient with me. Otherwise I'll have to figure out how to handle this little mess then.

Damn you civic duty.

28 going on 16 - the car fight continues

noreply@blogger.com (Bayjb) — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 22:07:00 +0000

When I go home to Wisconsin to visit my family, I've noticed that the Amtrak train magically puts me in a time warp once I board at Union Station and I exit the train as a 16-year-old again. This is not always a bad thing, but there are a few teenage memories I would prefer not to relive.

The major issue I have when I go home is: the car. I don't have one in Chicago because a) I don't need it and b) right now I couldn't afford it between gas and parking so I happily walk, bus or El just about everywhere I go. I rarely ever take cabs and when I do, it's a treat. This is why I look forward to going home because I get to DRIVE. I love driving, singing to the radio, driving on the freeway, parking, you name it! Sometimes I fear that I'll forgot how to drive when I haven't been home in a while but it's just like riding a really big bike :)

My dad is great about basically handing over his car to me after he picks me up from the train station. The car and a full tank of gas is pretty much at my disposal. Awesome! I always return it with at least three-quarters of a tank and try to leave him a couple of bucks to contribute to the refill, but that doesn't always happen.

The only drawback about having to rely on my dad's car when I go home is when it's not as available as I want it to be. There have been a few occasions when the stars align and somehow everyone needs to use their individual cars at my house, thus leaving me to beg for rides or sit around and wait for people to come back with cars so that I can leave. I look like a little lost kitten in the window, pawing at the glass, asking when I can go out to play.

There is nothing more demeaning at the age of 28 than begging your dad to borrow the car for the night. Usually when I say, "dad can I have the car, PLEASE," his automatic response is "where are you going?" followed by "what time will you be back?" I usually shuffle my feet and come up with a half-correct answer but then he'll sometimes say, "well if you don't want to tell me, then you can wait or I'll come with you." Most of the time it's okay if he comes with me (no I'm not going to the sex store or to cruise for guys) but when you're home and in a three bedroom house stuffed with people, I need me time alone and I don't want company. Plus why do I have to actually tell him. Come on, just give me the keys, it'll come back with me in one piece!

The other way I get the car when the stars align so unholy against me is if I take dad somewhere to meet his golf buddies on the weekends they spend the day at the course. Of course the drawback to this is that I have to take him to meet the guys at some ungodly hour of the morning on the weekend (around 5:30/6 a.m.) and promptly have to pick him up at 2:30/3 p.m. that afternoon when he's done. Sometimes that just seems like too much work so I spend time hiding in my house so that I don't get picked to do yard work or garden while he's gone. Thank goodness for Lulu and Wi-Fi at our house because they have kept my stepmom from finding me! Another benefit to being petite.

Ah to be 28 going on 16 again those weekends. I wonder what other painful teenage memories I can relive when I go home? Hopefully not the whole being-caught-by-your-parents-while-making-out-with-a-guy bit. No thank you.

Also, one week from today, from right now, I will be in San Francisco for BlogHer and I cannot wait! Counting down the days to California sun and bloggy goodness.

Random Tuesday - advice and stickers with a dash of humor

noreply@blogger.com (Bayjb) — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 18:53:00 +0000

While I was home this weekend, a few weird/funny things happened so I thought for today's random post, I would bullet them out and share a few photos. Gotta love a weekend at home :)

Good advice
I laughed when I saw this note on my parent's oven Sunday night....

Why did I laugh? First off, it's kind of funny, but the reason the note is there in the first place is because we store our birthday cakes in the oven so they don't dry out. One year when the cake was in the oven (sans note), my stepbrother preheated the oven to make a pizza and left the kitchen while the oven was warming up and, well, cooked the cake. Fortunately it didn't do that much damage but now we clearly mark when cake is in the oven to avoid this little disaster. That's a good piece of advice.

Stickers

While celebrating dad's birthday at the ballpark this weekend, a woman approached us while tailgating to solicit money. Normally my dad would say back, "no thanks" or in this case "it's my birthday today, you should give me money," but before he could, the woman started handing out witty stickers. I was excited to see what sticker from her collection she would choose for me and here it is:

I don't know why she chose this particular one for me, spanking is not really my thing, but thanks? Plus did you have to do that in front of my dad and family? Geez, they'll be teasing me for months about this.

One sticker she did have that I specifically requested is:

I know a few people I could give this to :) I might have to make this a blog award icon.

Hope you enjoyed today's randomness. We will return to our regularly scheduled programming shortly.

A Funtastic 4th of July weekend

noreply@blogger.com (Bayjb) — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 22:48:00 +0000

I'm thrilled to report that I had another funtastic weekend, this time at home, which was a great follow up to last weekend's blogger extravaganza.

Every year I go home to Wisconsin for 4th of July but this year was extra special because it was also my dad's 60th birthday.

But before the birthday celebration today, dad and I still made time to head out to the neighborhood I grew up in for the annual 4th of July parade on Friday. And let me tell you, this parade is huge. People are very serious and territorial about marking spots for the parade and people will be packed in five rows deep to get their parade on. And of course when this happens, there is fun people watching in abundance. People in Wisconsin definitely love their 4th of July parades. Happy Birthday America.

Wisconsin parade fashion

The only downside is that the neighborhood parade starts at 9 a.m., which means we have to leave at 8:20 a.m. to make it over to the other side of town, park and get to a spot in time. Every year, my wake-up call for the parade goes the same way around 7:45 a.m.:

Dad (bangs on the door): Jess, it's time to get up

Me (sleepily): Five minutes please

Dad (five minutes later - bangs on the door again): I'm serious Jess we have to get going

Me: Getting up now *actually still lying in bed*

Dad (impatient): NOW Jess, come on

Me (angry): FINE I'm getting up! Get off my back

Don't worry, we're talking again by the time we're sitting at the parade, me unshowered and with zero make up on outside of SPF.

Well this year the weather was amazing here so there was an even larger crowd than usual at the parade and below are some photos that I thought you might all enjoy, including kazoos bands and camels, yes that's right, camels.

The famous local kazoo band

New addition this year: a camel

The only thing missing this time was a float from the Nature's Outpost store, which last year threw plums instead of candy into the crowd. It was a nice change of pace, until we realized the kids on the float were throwing the plums like baseballs. I had to duck and hide from one, to which my dad replied, "hey can you stop hiding and go get that plum over there, I love plums." Keeping me safe, that's what dads are for.

As I mentioned at the beginning of this post, today is my dad's 60th birthday. I know he doesn't read this blog (thank god) but I still want to wish him a very happy birthday. I love you dad.

Also, please no judgement on this picture, it was taken after baking in the sun for three hours.

His gift this year is the iPhone (hey 60 is a big birthday) but I also made him a video on Lulu's iPhoto program to the following song from Loudon Wainright. Seriously, I cried while making it because the song fit so perfectly. Good daughter = me.

My approach to making out with guys

noreply@blogger.com (Bayjb) — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 20:47:00 +0000

As as just about everyone knows by now, I am not very good at flirting. Actually I think I might be more "action than talk" when it comes to guys because I don't know what to say to them, especially in the heat of the moment, so I tend to just stop talking and tell them what I want or coax them into doing what I want.

That method seems to get a pretty good response from members of the opposite sex too so I keep with this approach because if it ain't broke, I'm not fixing it.

Last weekend, someone told me that I'm the most "brutally honest" person he's ever met and well, I would be lying if I said that's the first time I've had a man say that to me.

I blame my caveman approach with guys, specifically when it comes to making out, on my first boyfriend, Peter (names have been changed to protect his identity). Peter was a great guy and I actually saw myself marrying him, but he was more of an "I don't want to disrespect you" kind of guy, which is sweet at first. And I was fine with the getting-to-know-you stuff and talking and whatever when we first met and started dating.

But when you're 19-years-old and crazy in love, you don't want to talk after a certain point or be regulated to just hand-holding. You want to make out and that's what he had a difficult time leading to. So after we had been together for awhile, there was more than one occasion where I had to be the "instigator" or just say, "hey can we stop talking and make out now?"

Who has to ask for that? Hi, I'm pawing at you like a bear and leaning in very close, that's a sign to kiss me. If I had a nickel for every time I had to hint (not very subtly) that I wanted to make out, I would be able to pay off my college loans. Yes, I'm not kidding, but am being slightly dramatic. These hints usually consisted of me pushing him around to corner him or playfully wrestling so I could get him in a submissive state. I hate being the dominant one sometimes and Peter has ruined the whole "submissive" thing for me.

I think near the end of our relationship, he just gave up like an animal. Ironically, that wasn't what contributed to us breaking up, but I'm sure my overly aggressive nature didn't help.

Another example of my making out approach occurred when I was living in Germany for a semester in college. All of the American students went to a bar in a dorm every Thursday night for cheap food and beer/wine. Well one night after a bottle of Chianti, I had been eyeing up another American student for a long time and decided to move in for the kill.

After engaging in some small talk, I opted to "corner him" by stealing his Birkenstock and refusing to give it back until we made out. Yes I did this rather than just tell him that I like him. Once he realized I was serious, he complied (willingly of course) and when we were done kissing, he asked how it was and the only thing I was coherent enough to say was, "not bad, really, but I've had better." Yes I did actually say that. To no surprise, we did not make out again after that incident. Feel free to laugh, it's funny...now.

My Chicago bloggy buddy Jenn has illustrated on her blog tonight a wonderful Paint picture of beating a man into submission (with a Wii remote this time) in order to make out. It's a genius idea and self-serving to both parties.

Am I the only one who does this?

An angry letter about 10.25 percent

noreply@blogger.com (Bayjb) — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 17:49:00 +0000

Dear Chicago -

First off, thank you for being so great lately with the weather and the CTA. Seriously, a girl cannot complain. I did have awesome bus service and timing this weekend with my bloggy friends in town so thank you for cutting me a break. I'm not sure if you're the person to really be talking to about this, but just wanted to put it out there.

Moving on to the real purpose of this e-mail, I have again quite a bee in bonnet about something that I saw on the news last night - the official one percent increase in the Cook County sales tax, bringing it to 10.25 percent. 10.25 percent!!! Are you f*cking kidding me? That wasn't supposed to happen until November when you can rob the tourists who come here for their holiday shopping and feel so much cooler that their gift from the Disney Store came from Chicago. What the h*ll??

As you can imagine, other residents aren't overly thrilled about this either and the news caught some real gems on camera to illustrate that point too. But seriously, I love shopping and you're making it ten times harder for me to do so now. Now I have to start shopping online and shipping big ticket items to Wisconsin where sales tax is only 5.6 percent. I don't want to have to do that! I am glad that it does not apply to groceries though, that would be like breaking my ankle and then my knee to make sure I stay down.

And I'm even more upset because you're doing this to balance our city's budget, which we can never seem to have under control anyhow and to fund transit, which is archaic at best and also never seems to have enough funding. I love living here but you're making it really difficult for me. There are even rumors that the sales tax might have to be increased again too, seriously? Chicago wants to host the 2016 Olympics and we can't even balance our state budget or fully fund transit, yeah that's making us look real good.

Now I know people are going to tell me to "suck it up" and just deal with it and I will. In a month this will be a dead issue and in six months we'll all forget what 9 percent felt like in the pocketbook but it's the psychological response to double digit sales tax when no other city in the nation has that. I am writing this to be forthright with my feelings on this.

So I'm officially putting the county sales tax "on notice." Yes you're right up there with Harry & David and meteorologists. How do you feel about that? Think about it and get back to me.

Burn in h*ll,

Jessica

Note to readers: This might seem harsh and hyper emotional but I had to vent my feelings on this topic. 10.25 percent sales tax is ridiculous and honestly, it makes me *gasp* not want to shop anymore. I'm taking my gift cards home to Wisconsin with me this weekend so I can shop in peace there. So take that Chicago! You have won the war, but I want to win a few battles.

Olympic glory & a blog-errific weekend

noreply@blogger.com (Bayjb) — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 12:41:00 +0000

That's right, I held the torch and I didn't have to run.

On Thursday and Friday, my company was hosting a New Media Academic Summit at Northwestern and I was lucky enough to be chosen to live blog the two-day event. So while my fingers felt like they would fall off by Friday afternoon, one of the coolest parts of the entire Summit was being able to hold one of the official Beijing 2008 Olympic torches. One of the panelists ran with the torch and brought it in to show everyone and to take pictures. Below is me in full Olympic glory.

Once I was done living out my gold-medal dream, it was time to run home and prepare for Chicago Bloggerfest 2008 (unofficial title for this weekend's activities). It was also Pride weekend here so you can imagine in the Boystown/Lakeview neighborhood - where the first Bloggerfest event was being held - what the scene was like. And the blog-errific weekend didn't end on Friday night, we carried it through the entire weekend.

Below is a full summary of all the fun we had. Seriously, the woman and men I met and hung out with this weekend are awesome and hilarious. Love them all.

Friday - Blogger's gone wild

Friday night, just about any Chicago bloggers (who were available) within driving, train and walking distance gathered at Sheffields for a night of beer and beergarden fun. It was a "who's who" of blogging: Deutlich, Maxie, Joy, Jenn, Jamie, Angela, Renee, Rachel, Kayleigh, Dan Mega, Princess Pointful, Peter, Angie, Veronica (Rachel's sister) and of course, yours truly. We literally took over a corner of Sheffields' beergarden but without name tags, getting the group together was a little challenging. No biggie.

At the bar, Deutlich and Maxie recounted their trip from Virginia to Ohio to Chicago, which I give them a ton of credit for. I would not have been awake later than 10 p.m. after leaving my home at 4 a.m. that morning. But the rain held off and it was an awesome time of blog stories and laughter. These ladies (and guys) totally crack me up. Everyone had plenty to talk about and got along really well. It was awesome to meet so many people I already "know" from their blogs and find out even more things we have in common. And of course we consumed copious amounts of beer and shots (fortunately I excused myself from that). And Jenn even gave me an awesome card, full of drawings and everything! *Kisses*

Unfortunately, Sheffields' beergarden closes at midnight so we were kicked to the street and we ended up at Clarkes on Belmont (yes that's confusing) for drunk food. Renee was awesome and gave me a ride home and even though it was nearly 2 a.m., I didn't want to go to sleep! Hell no! It was time to download the Swell Season concert online that I went to a week ago and listen to the new Coldplay song I'm obsessed with. Finally, I forced myself to go to bed so I could get ready for Saturday's Cupcake Crawl goodness.

Saturday - Cupcakes and beyond

Since I don't drink beer all that often, I woke up Saturday with a killer headache, but that would not keep me from my cupcakes. Deutlich, Maxie, Jenn, Jamie, Angela and I met up again in Lincoln Park to embark on the first-annual bloggy cupcake crawl and we took our love for cupcakes and open minds to two places: Sweet Mandy B's and Swirlz.

Our first stop was Sweet Mandy B's, which was cute and adorable on the outside and smelled like bakery heaven on the inside. My cupcake was lovely as was my M&M cookie but seating was scarce and presentation was pretty simple. And for noon on a Saturday, the shop was hoppin' with people picking up cakes and sheets of cupcakes left and right. It was a great place but a little difficult to move around in.

Swirlz in Lakeview was our second stop and I have to admit, I was blown away by not only the selection and presentation of the cupcakes but also the service. It was like Nordstroms service but to the next level. Pam, who was the manager on duty Saturday, was just above and beyond nice to us, patient while we made our decisions and nice enough to let me take some pictures inside. She even gave us an additional cupcake to try because their vanilla flavor is known to be so good - and her recommendation was right-on.

My red velvet cupcake was just incredible (and gorgeous) and Pam gave us free cupcakes cards for our next visit. I'll be back there in a red-hot second. Pam even gave us a gluten-free cupcake to try and compare with the traditional ones.

In case you don't know, gluten-free products contain no wheat and seeing that I work in food & nutrition brands, I have heard about gluten-free products as a growing trend. I'm pleased to say that the gluten-free cupcake tasted no different than a traditional cupcake - I would not have even known the difference - and Pam told us that Swirlz works with nutritionists at the University of Chicago in developing their gluten-free products, which surprised me, but I think that is pretty cool. I very highly recommend checking this place out. And Swirlz's tag line is, "cupcakes make you happy" and they are so right.

(Lovely lady bloggers enjoying the nice weather and cupcakes!)

(So many wonderful choices)

(Cupcakes galore! - my red velvet one is right above this)

So once the cupcake crawl was over and we were all sugared-up, we moved on to downtown and the Taste of Chicago! Of course it was packed and hotter than h*ll on the pavement, but it was a good time. We walked around Buckingham Fountain and the Taste, where Jamie and I opted to try the fried cheese ravioli, which was incredible, and Jenn, Jamie and I opted to go with traditional hot dogs, Chicago and regular style. Can't mess with that. Both food choices were very good :)

(Maxie, Jenn and Angela at Buckingham Fountain)

And for some entertainment, I'll share a soundbite that Jamie, Jenn and I overheard while maneuvering through the horrible Taste crowd:

Unnamed Girl: So I didn't even know there was a state called Illinois. I thought the state was called Chicago, I mean it is the biggest city here.

I sh*t you not someone said that and we heard it. And yes, English is her first language. Gotta love the Taste, you see a little bit of everyone there, even a guy with a live snack (and not a small one) wrapped around him. That almost beast the iguana on the El.

Millennium Park was up next, where Angela and Deutlich convinced us to lay down on the ground in front of the Bean to take a picture of the group. The ground was hot and dirty but I think the picture turned out awesome so it was worth it :)

By now we're hot, sweaty and "pink" from the sun (yours truly included) so Jenn came up with the brilliant idea to rest out feet in the Park's "foot bath," which was like heaven. The cool water felt awesome on my feet and we all tossed in a penny with a non-boy-related wish. So after a luxurious foot bath rest, we were ready to break up for a bit before a full night of fun began.

I met up with the group again at Giordano's for a lovely Chicago-style pizza, which hit the spot, and conversation that had me in stitches. Seriously, these ladies and Dan cracked me up and while we didn't solve world problems, there was more than enough laughter to go around. Unfortunately, Friday night and our Saturday-day activities left everyone a bit tired so our post-dinner plans changed and we hit the Union bar for a drink and then broke up to head home. Of course, Dan, Angela and I hung out for a while longer chatting at Belmont and enjoyed the view of drag queens parading around in the rain and talking over the incessant sound of car horns.

My only bad idea of the night was walking home at 2 a.m. in the rain with sketchy and lots of people out. Bad idea. Nothing happened but there were a few times I was a bit creeped out.

So a big thanks to Maxie and Deutlich for making the trek out here to visit everyone. It was so cool to meet you and hang out with everyone. I miss you guys already! I had so much fun with everyone this weekend. Now I have to find something fun to do next Friday and Saturday nights! And more pictures are rolling in so I'll keep posting them, including some with me actually in them, as they come in.

Oh yeah, I'm going back to Wisconsin this weekend for the 4th of July so if anyone is in the southeastern Wisconsin area then, let me know and we can do a mini-meet up. As you can see, when bloggers get together, fun is always had.

Things that I'm grateful for

noreply@blogger.com (Bayjb) — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 14:16:00 +0000

So tonight's post might seem kind of random but I've seen other blogs talk about this so I figured it was appropriate for me to do so as well.

I'm not always the nicest, happy-go-lucky person but that doesn't mean I don't know and recognize things that I am grateful for. So I've decided to list them below to prove yet again that I'm not a heartless b*tch - I'm just misunderstood :)

Things this Everyday Adventures girl is grateful for:

My friends
Parents who love me just as I am (good and bad)
A job that I like (the majority of the time)
Good health (knock on wood)
Full head of hair (even though it has some gray in it)
A full, nice set of teeth (yay braces!)
Being able to live and dress myself all on my own (most days)
Not having a huge student loan to pay off
Being able to "afford my life," even though some more money wouldn't hurt
My knitting group (I always look forward to 10 minutes of knitting, dinner and then an hour or more of gossip)
All ten fingers and toes (even though my center of balance isn't great)
Being able to successfully manage my way living in Chicago
Public transportation (CTA) even if it's not the most reliable (cabs are so expensive now)
Being able to look at life with a glass half-full attitude
Finding something new and beautiful every day (I know this sounds sappy but it's true)
Being able to laugh at just about anything
No credit card debt
Being brave enough to leave school in Wisconsin and chase a crazy dream to Minnesota to study
My blosse :) because honestly when I started this, I had no idea of anyone would read it but I'm glad you all do

So that's my list of the really important stuff. I opted to leave off some things that aren't as important as this, like clothes, handbags, etc. They're nice, but definitely not as meaningful. And this isn't a "final" list at all, I'm sure more things will be added to it as time goes on.

Anyone care to share what they're grateful for? It can be anything!

Class of 1998: Ten f*cking years later

noreply@blogger.com (Bayjb) — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 01:08:00 +0000

Some of you may have seen my Tweets from about a week ago announcing (with a bittersweet tone) that Facebook recently invited me to my 10-year high school reunion. Well Facebook itself is not hosting it for me, but my high school, which has a group on Facebook (which I find odd that it exists there) notified me about the event. Actually, June 13 was the official 10-year anniversary date of me graduating high school and I celebrated...by going to work and it was pay day so it was doubly good.

So my 10-year high school reunion is set to be in Wisconsin in August, on a Saturday at a bar on the west side of town (which I find somewhat interesting yet fitting), and for $25 I can relive all the painful anxiety and low self-esteem emotions that made three of my four high schools years awful. Ah the memories, me with thick glasses, baggy clothes, braces, big boobs, long blonde hair, my ears fully pierced and making it through each day with one thought: "I can't wait to get the f*ck out of here and away from these people."

I don't want to misrepresent this, but high school wasn't all painful. My senior year of high school was literally the best year ever. Had my first kiss, first real "boyfriend" and date, got contacts, started to not be afraid of my breasts and body and the biggest coup, I was a forensics, a.k.a. debate rock star. Medals, first-place trophies, recognition and jealousy from my teammates, including my former best friend. I drank that shit up like it was wine and I wanted bathe in it. Suddenly the chubby, petite girl got kind of better looking and was good at something, wha????

Oh the chance to see them all again, especially the guy I crushed on for all four years of high school, who conveniently lost his virginity to my former best friend on her couch because "they were feeling horny one night." Ah high school, misty water-color memories. Ironically, he went on to pursue "music" at college and illegal substances so I think I got the better end of that stick in the long run.

A lot of things have changed in ten years and thanks to Facebook, I've been able to follow many of my old classmates, many of which fall into one of three categories:

Drunk
Married
Unmarried with a kid (some with multiple kids)

Fortunately, I seem to fall in the outlier category from this: single, working and content.

I'm not surprised that most of my old classmates ended up back in Wisconsin, living in the city we all grew up in. One old classmate, who recently friended me on Facebook, was so excited for me that I was living in the big city and said it was brave. BRAVE? Maybe to them it is, but to me, it's second nature. It's interesting to see how you grow up and away from the people you once held so close to you. Even relationships with family members have changed in that time. Some I've grown closer to and some I've drifted away from for better and worse.

And thinking about this reunion has prompted me to start taking a trip down memory lane, looking at pictures of me and seeing how dramatically different I am now from the timid, insecure and scared girl I was before. Heck if I look dramatically different from a picture that's two years old and posted outside my work cube, imagine what has changed in 10 years? Some of the funniest memories I recounted while looking back include smoking my first cigarette outside the mall with a friend of mine, thinking we were so "bad ass" and how I smoked cloves at the bowling alley "lying" that it was from someone else. And who could forget sipping a screwdriver from someone's thermos, again thinking I was "bad to the bone."

But as I look back at the girl who was 18, miserable and at a huge crossroads in her life, personally and emotionally, I look back at her and the 28-year-old me would tell her this if I could:

You will be okay and all this confusion and insecurity will work itself out. Be strong and don't let the bumps you're about to go through and the heartache you'll encounter break your spirit. You are strong and you will make it through.

And I can imagine the 18-year-old me would look at me (timidly), initially say nothing and then say something like, "well I'm glad it works out, sort of, but damn you're kind of mean." Grow up girl.

So yeah, what the hell, I'll pay $25 to see some people I used to crush on and feel insecure around. I have a feeling it'll be more of a self-esteem boost and "life choices" affirmation than anything else. Woo hoo! Class of 1998!!

Who has two thumbs and sucks at flirting? This girl!

noreply@blogger.com (Bayjb) — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 23:15:00 +0000

You may think I'm kidding, but I'm not. I suck at flirting. Let's take Saturday night as another shining example of this point.

Scene: Unnamed Lakeview bar and grill, me entering to pick up a carry-out order. Dressed in an Old Navy tank top (with a small smoothie stain I discovered later), bra strap exposed, looking very warm and flustered from the heat and wearing a cotton skirt with little make up on. I go up to the bar to pick up my order and two nice-looking guys are sitting at the bar as well. Non-spoken descriptions are below in italics.

Guy 1 (the blonde-haired guy): Looks at me, gives me a warm smile, which I return. Hi there.

Me: Hi

Guy 2 (the dark-haired guy): Also looks at me and smiles while Guy 1 continues to throw looks my way. Hey there.

Me: Hi

Bartender: Okay here's your order. He tells me the amount and I hand over my credit card, Guy 1 and 2 are still smiling at me, which I continue to smile back.

Me: Thanks, turns to Guy 1 and 2, have a good night giving them my patented "look"

Guy 1: You too, I leave but can feel someone watching me as I go. Tempted to turn around and give one final look and smile but do not.

End scene

Okay so that might not have exactly been me flirting and of course there is the likely possibility the guys were just being polite and watched me walk away out of horror for my outfit choice. Either way, the entire way home I'm kicking myself in the a** for not saying more to them or really anything. These guys were cute! But as I walk home, cursing, I realize I can't go back because they've seen me with a carry-out order so if I go back I'll be a) psycho for going back to ask about some asinine thing with my food or b) obvious that I would like them to ask me to stay for a drink or offer to join them. What is my problem?

And yet again I have solidified the fact that I suck at flirting, mostly because I still have a hard time believing a guy would want to flirt with me. I really not trying to be self-deprecating here but I'm totally serious! I am awful when it comes to guys because I have no idea what to say to them or my snippy, sarcastic humor ends up scaring them away or putting me in the "friend" category almost immediately. I'm the buddy, the wing(wo)man. Guys talk to me to get to one of my friends. It's so true.

Here's another solid example of my poor flirting skills. Right after college, I was living in Wisconsin and could not find a decent job to save my life. So one night, I go out with my friend for her birthday and I end up hammered and making out with her boyfriend's friend at her apartment. While this guy and I are fooling around, he whispers to me, "what do you want?" And I sh*t you not, this is my drunken answer, "a job." Really, I'll let that sink in for a moment because that is what I said without even thinking. And his response? "I can't give that to you." And thus the fooling around was done not long after that comment.

This guy would have done anything I asked him to with his mouth or hands or both, resulting in my toes curling and likely being rendered speechless and my answer to him is, "a job." In actuality, I wanted him to do something with his hands or mouth to take my mind off not having a job, but apparently I could not communicate in the heat of the moment. My friend could not stop laughing when I told her that. It was embarrassing.

Once after a night out in Chicago, I had a guy offer to take the bus home with me, even though the El would drop him off closer to his house, and my comment to him was, "why would you do that?" My friend Sarah, who was trying to set me up with this guy (who is now engaged to someone else), looked at me like, "Jess do you seriously not see why he would do that?" And my answer was yes.

So next weekend when we're out, my goal is to turn off the inner monologue long enough to give flirting a real try without sounding like a moron. And I'm actively recruiting for my own wing(wo)man so let me know if you're interested in applying. References are appreciated.

The Swell Season & Blogger event!

noreply@blogger.com (Bayjb) — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 15:53:00 +0000

Big post tonight, my randomness from last night is g-o-n-e, for now.

Tuesday night Anne and I went to the lovely Chicago Theater for the second of three sold-out concerts with the Swell Season a.k.a. Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova from the indie movie "Once." Oh they also won the Oscar last year from Best Original Song.

Glen is already a star with the band the Frames (which I had not heard of before the concert) but after watching the movie and hearing the Oscar-winning song "Falling Softly" (video below), it moved me to tears so I had to see them live. And last night at their final show, Barack Obama was in the audience, how cool is that?

The opening act was a super cute, super nervous guy from Kentucky (whose name I didn't catch) who commented that the Chicago Theater crowd was easily "36x larger" than any audience he has ever played before. Random guys were handing out samples of his upcoming CD (from Jewel plastic bags) after he finished playing, but I couldn't grab one in time. Shoot. But I can download the entire concert from a Web site for only $5.95! They gave us cards about it as we were leaving so I'm totally going back to save it to my computer.

It's been a long time since I've been to the lovely Chicago Theater and the sound inside was insanely awesome, the acoustics were amazing. So while we were regulated to the rafter seats, it was still a fun time with beautiful music. I highly recommend checking out the movie and the Swell Season tour if you can. I would definitely see them again.

Taking off for Air One!

I love many things, one of which is shoes made in Italy. Another thing I love is meeting bloggers, especially local ones so tonight, I was invited to nearly combine these loves by attending a blogger event for Air One airlines at Gioco's in the South Loop. And joining me were three lovely Chicago bloggers, Jenn, Joy and Angela. Great company.

Air One is an Italian airline who is starting US routes to Milan this month, but only from Chicago and Boston, so to celebrate the new flights, they hosted a blogger event to mingle and learn more about Italian culture. I do have to disclose that Air One is a client at my company, but I was officially "off the clock" when I attended and I don't work in the department that organized the event.

Marco from Air One talked for a bit about airline and then shared with us some differences in English and Italian cultures. How do Italians spot tourists? Drinking espresso after 10:30 a.m. and/or wearing shorts. I did hear about the "shorts red flag" from friends overseas so I trust him on that one. And they said chef Phil Stefani is creating the flight's menu. Sounds good to me. Air One was even doing a drawing for a free round-trip flight from Chicago to Milan. Fingers crossed that this girl gets chosen (please, please, momma needs a new pair of Italian leather shoes or a Prada bag). Plus it's a partner with Lufthansa and speaking from experience, that is a good airline. German!

We enjoyed some lovely wine (which we couldn't remember the names of so Jenn and I ordered them by numbers 1, 2 and 3) and the food was great too, or as Joy would say as the waiter's approached, "kay." It's tough to pick a favorite from all the nummy options but I would have to say that the fried meatballs and the pesto/mushroom and margarita pizza were the big winners. Plus we got some free SWAG before leaving, which included a new flash drive. Score. That will make a lovely addition for my Lulu. Check out some pictures below.

Four lovely Chicago bloggers

Marco introducing us to Air One (above)

Q&A about how to spot American tourists (below)

All the randomness fit for print

noreply@blogger.com (Bayjb) — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 00:03:00 +0000

I normally get all of my genius ideas on the elliptical trainer, probably because it's the only time I can actually focus and clear my brain. The voices in my brain are very high maintenance during the rest of the day.

So because I've been super busy at work again and working later, I haven't had the energy or time to go to the gym and come up with genius ideas to write about, so tonight, this post is stuffed with all the "randomness fit for print!"

Random #1: Am I losing my mind?

I think my brain is starting to short out because lately I've been crazy forgetful about things. Today I totally forgot about a meeting and showed up like 10 minutes late with people asking me what happened. I never forget stuff like that, what is wrong with me? I had the Outlook reminders going and everything.

Recently I've almost nearly burned down my apartment twice by forgetting that the stove is on. I finally remember that my place is running the risk of burning to the ground when the smoke alarm is near going off and my food is no longer edible. Right now I consider myself lucky if I leave the house with my purse, keys, Chicago Card and a full set of clothes on. I actually now keep a small deodorant and toothbrush at my desk because I fear I'll forget it so I'll be covered.

Maybe it's time for herbs or something to combat this. Or maybe I'm getting dementia a bit early in life. Or maybe my crazy lists are my actual method to avoid madness.

Random #2: The "Pretty Lady" Bus

Note: this random scene actually happened on a Monday but is being shared with you all on a Wednesday

Scene: Morning, me waiting for the bus, trying to shake off the already early case of the "Mondays." A short, express bus arrives, half-full, I begin to try and step on the bus when I'm stopped by the driver. Note: comments will be put in italics)

Bus driver: I'm only picking up ladies today, pretty ladies (no one steps on the bus, unsure if he's serious or how to respond)

Me: Are you kidding?

Bus driver: Nope, pretty ladies only (nods happily and smiles)

Me: How do you define pretty? That's kind of subjective

Bus driver: (scans the women waiting) Pretty ladies only

Me: You can't do that, this is a public service, my taxes pay for this, I need to go to work

Bus driver: (still scanning the women waiting and begins pointing) You, you, you and you (pointing at me) can board

Me: Woo hoo! This is a great policy!

(Later at another stop and more pretty ladies boarding the bus, a guy jumps on the bus)

Bus driver: I said pretty ladies only! (The man looks rather shocked and refuses to deboard. A stare-off continues)

Me: He's not kidding (the stare-off continues and the guy scans his card, making it clear he's not leaving)

Bus driver: I'm just kidding, it's all good buddy (he's not kidding, we continue to work in awkward silence)

Random #3 Picture time!

In my recent post about why I would not make a good mother, I reference my Yoda Amanda's daughter Ada. Well at Yoda's recent birthday party, I was able to hold this little slobbery angel before she got too fussy and Amanda captured it with her camera. The adorable, precious result is below.

Should I be worried that her e-mail to our friends with this image was titled, "Jess does have a heart....awe?"

Peer Pressure - do it, do it, do it, do it

noreply@blogger.com (Bayjb) — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 14:07:00 +0000

I am a sucker for peer pressure. I have trouble saying no to my friends and family, especially when they give me the "pretty please" look or tell me how important this party/movie/event/dinner/kegger is to them. I pretty much yield.

In college, I got in trouble for minorly defacing property because my friend asked me to go to a frat's keg party. I originally declined because I had plans with my eventual boyfriend, but all she had to say was, "Jess we'll go for 10 minutes, 10 minutes and we'll leave after that." Yeah right. Four hours later we were both drunk on Boones Farm and busted by the rival keg house for defacing school property were permanent markers. Oops.

Fortunately, the college peer pressure I caved in to did not involve a beer bong or something that would end up on YouTube, but even in my late 20s, peer pressure is still there and I still cave to it, but this time it's a bit more expensive (but no longer requires getting school officials or the police involved.)

The kind of peer pressure I am referring to is the social shopping peer pressure. The kind where you go out with your parents and friend, not intending to spend money (like me this weekend) and come back with three bags from Pottery Barn and one from Banana Republic. To be fair, everything was 30-50 percent off (minus a bracelet) but still. My friend Ryan calls me the "enabler" because any time he sees something he likes, I tend to say, "you should buy that," and he usually will, after he nicely curses at me for reinforcing what his head is telling him, which is that he should really buy that DVD/CD/shirt/man-bag/etc.

In the hall of fame though is my stepmom, who is the ultimate in peer pressure selling. When I called her to convince me not to buy a Kate Spade messenger bag (on sale again), her line was, "well Jess you can always return it." And like a moth to the flame, I bought it and still have that (and use it). Watching her work her magic on others, I know when she's close to convincing them because she will actually take their purse or other shopping bags to hold so that they can go up and buy what they've been contemplating. Genius.

My friends Liz and Sarah are also close seconds to her, although Sarah is a bit more aggressive in her peer pressure selling technique. She's made me spend much more money than necessary on things by saying the standard girl-influential lines, "they look great on you," "that [shirt/skirt/etc] makes you look so thin," and the ultimate line that I've used (with success) on my friends, "[insert name] you deserve it." You're totally right, I do.

So my message for the kids today is this: peer pressure is okay (in the social shopping sense) as long as you know your limits. If I have buyers remorse or second thoughts, I have zero problem with returning items I've bought, or re-arranging my budget for this pay period so that I can have it. Be smart and shop and enjoy your post-shopping trip with a fashion show of all your new stuff. Love it.

Oh and the line, "we'll go for 10 minutes" doesn't always work anymore on me for parties. Sometimes I'm literally tracking time on my cell phone while for others, 10 minutes becomes several hours, without permanent markers.

What I want to be when I grow up...again

noreply@blogger.com (Bayjb) — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 16:56:00 +0000

I've been a kick-a** communications professional (at least that's what I think I am) for the last three years, but I couldn't help but wonder what I would do if I didn't enjoy my job?

Realistically, 20-something men and women will change jobs multiple times in their lives and even change careers at least two or three times. So if I need to start thinking about a second career, what should I be considering?

A woman I used to work with teased me that I would would do a great job in one of the following professions (should I choose to make a career change):

Guidance counselor

Game show host (maybe the phrase "no whammies, no whammies" is in my future)

Stand-up comedienne

I admit, I did have to laugh at the guidance counselor recommendation. When I asked why she chose that profession for me, she thought for a second and said, "you'd keep it real with the kids, tell them when their dreams are too big or aren't realistic." She might have a point there. But as a child whose parents have worked in education, I don't think the school system is for me, although I would love to have the summer off. I've seen how tough it is for teachers and I don't think I have that level of patience in me.

So then I thought about stand-up comedy. I think I'm pretty funny and entertaining but I don't think that's the right more for me either. I have this horrible prophecy about turning out like Kathy Griffin, given that I love pop culture and swear like a trucker. Don't get me wrong, I love her, but I don't want to become her. And since my original choices of being a doctor, Solid Gold dancer and international supermodel didn't pan out, I need to be a bit more realistic with my choices.

Before I moved to Chicago, I had just about given up on my current profession after a bad string of jobs in Wisconsin. My current company was my last chance at making it in the communications field. If it didn't work out there, I was moving back to Wisconsin and flipping to a coin to decide if I should go to law school or nursing school (I think the latter would have won). Fortunately, I came to Chicago for a three month internship and am still here over three years later and things are actually going pretty well so I'll stick it out, but it never hurts to have options :)

Any comments from my blosse about career options that I can add to the list? Someone mentioned "personal shopper" to me, which is nearly perfect because I love to shop and spend other people's money. So that's another one to add to my list of possible careers.

Note: I just wanted to clarify that I'm not thinking of leaving my job, I like my job but always like to hear interesting ideas of what else I could do if my current career doesn't work out long term :)

Am I mother-material?

noreply@blogger.com (Bayjb) — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 00:03:00 +0000

Most of my non-blog friends know that I am not exactly child-friendly even though I recently admitted that I did want to have kids, contrary to popular belief. In my 100 things about me meme (where I admitted I wanted kids), I also mentioned that I hate inattentive parenting. But overall, I'm just not sure I'm mother-material.

I've been known to take candy from children, be unsympathetic when they cry and hiss at them when they're being obnoxious. I even have an old issue of the Redeye at my desk with the cover title, "No Way Baby!" And once while babysitting, a kid told me she didn't want to do chores because "she doesn't like to work," so I dragged her and her sister outside in the cool weather anyhow (with jackets on) to pick up sticks at 10 cents an hour. They earned their 40 cents that day, and I made sure to stick around to supervise and point out areas they were slacking in collecting them.

This sounds mean, I know, but I bring this up because I found out my college roommate from Minnesota is pregnant and it was quite a shock to my system. Outside of my knitting Yoda Amanda, this is my second friend having a kid and it's a lot to take in, so couple this with my brother getting married, and I'm reaching for the paper bag. At 28, I don't so much hear the biological clock ticking, but I almost want to tap it to see if there's even one in there, or if the batteries died awhile ago.

Should I choose to have kids (which will first require a mate), it'll be a bit more difficult for me anyhow because of an ovarian cyst I had in college. I don't like to talk about it very much because it went from "well it doesn't look cancerous" to "we need to take you into surgery now." So I'm sure that experience just seeded in my head that I wouldn't want to have kids anyhow because I'm one fallopian-tube deficient.

So why don't I think I'm mother-material? That list is pretty simple:

I'm selfish (I really am, I like doing what I want, when I want)
I can barely take care of myself (what I constitute as dinner would horrify some)
I'm not the most patient and tolerant person (I have a short temper about things)
I don't know how to relate to kids (why can't they watch the Colbert Report with me and understand the jokes??)

All good reasons why I would not make a good mom. But this weekend while at Yoda Amanda's birthday party, I saw her nearly 6-month-old daughter Ada and all it took was this look.....

And I couldn't wait to hold her and hug her and kiss her soft cheeks until she cried for me to stop. So maybe I'm not mother-material now, at a selfish 28, but I know I can't resist a look like the one above anytime. Maybe next year I'll be a bit more mature.

Dating "deal breakers"

noreply@blogger.com (Bayjb) — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 16:18:00 +0000

My friend Sarah once told me that I have "too high of standards" with guys. Personally, I disagree.

My core standards with guys are actually pretty common (I think):

Has a job that isn't illegal

Has job aspirations or goals

Is financially-stable

Are these really too high of standards? I don't think so!

But then as friends and I started talking about dating, the subject of "dating deal breakers" came up.

Dating deal breakers are basically traits or quirks of a potential mate that bother you enough that they would cause you to break off the relationship, if necessary. Much like my list above, I thought about the things that really are important to me for any guy I would date and consider marrying.

Sadly, there were several things on that list...but again some of them are traits that I would hope none of my friends would want in a spouse or boyfriend. Some of these deal breakers might be catty but here they are.

Jess' deal breakers:

Smoking - I hate it. I'm sorry but the guy would have to quit if he really wants to date me and I would have to clean down his entire house so the smell is gone. Hate it.

Multiple tattoos - I don't mind one or two tattoos but if we're talking about "sleeves" or something scratched on his neck or across his stomach (a la "Thug Life"), no thank you.

Shorter than me - I am a petite woman, 5' 3" to be exact, so after much thought, I really don't think I can date someone my height or shorter. I love tall guys and honestly, if the guy is my height, he's probably underage, so I can't have him anyhow :)

Lack of physical health - This is not meant to be catty but I work out, I'm active and I try to watch what I eat. I don't want a guy who will make me feel bad about myself for not eating organic foods, etc. but I want a guy who also takes care of himself physically. I want tickets to the gun show!

No sense of humor - I love to laugh and I'm told I have a good sense of humor myself so someone who can make me laugh (which doesn't take much) and who enjoys laughing is important too.

Doesn't verbally abuse me - I can't imagine someone who likes being told awful things about themself, like being fat, ugly, etc. so I don't want that either!

So that's my list and to be fair, it's included these quirks for a long time so it's not like I've been adding things on over the years, this is a standard list for me.

Maybe this is why I'm single ;) But the core standards still apply. Last thing I need is to be featured on COPS for my boyfriend selling drugs out of my apartment. That "night vision" light is also unflattering on my skin. Never a good thing.