In Defense of the Glutes

I have just one question. Who ON EARTH thought it was a good idea to put METAL benches on the El platform? Hello? This is CHICAGO. There are serious liability issues at stake here. Imagine sitting down in the middle of January on a metal bench while waiting for your train to come and having your butt freeze to the seat. Can Chicago really afford the medical and legal bills that would ensue? Considering their ferocity for handing out parking tickets to earn a little extra cash (I would know, I've gotten 4 in 3 years), I'm going to wager, no.

If we want to be serious contenders for the 2016 Olympics, we have GOT to get smarter folks on the Chicago Transit decor committee. Metal benches have to go.

Near death experience

I thought I would share my near death experience in State College, PA. On Monday, Mike had class from 1-4 so I stayed at his apartment, he left me his key, and I decided to go for a walk in the nature conservancy across the street. We had gone walking the day before and I didn't want to be stuck inside all day so I put on my field coat, extra sweater and mittens and headed out. I was walking along enjoying the fresh air, despite the nip to it and then got to a crossroads. I decided to keep going up the hill and just as I passed into the trees I noticed two men wearing bright orange, hunters, carrying rifles or shotguns. All of the sudden, they stopped, both looked in my direction and RAISED THEIR GUNS!!!!!!! I was watching them because at that moment I realized, I'm wearing a buckskin color I LOOK LIKE A DEER. So I did the only thing I could think of, while contemplating a bullet firing at me. I hid behind a tree. I had red mittens on but they weren't enough to show I wasn't an animal, I'd probably just look like a bleeding deer and then they'd shoot just to make sure I was dead. So I removed my coat, hoping that my white sweater would act as a white flag of surrender, and walked back into the open. They did not fire but I decided it was time to go and I wasn't comfortable walking alone where hunters freely roam, rifle in hand, with walkers. On the walk back I noticed a sign that read IT IS UNLAWFUL and then in tiny print you had to get within 3 ft to read, to discharge a firearm from this point on. I was 100ft from the parking lot. Not much room to roam if you're a walker without a bright orange jacket.

On a lighter note, I found out one of my required textbooks for one class is going to cost $3500.

Spring, yellow lights, and bathroom stalls.

Come on, Bloggers... we're getting lazy.

The truth, actually, is that I've been noticing some blog-worthy things here and there, but none is really enough to warrant a full post. So I'm going to combine some things.

1. THE CROCUSES ARE BLOOMING!!!! You know what that means.. SPRING is officially here!! It's still nippy, especially when the Chicago wind kicks in, but it's tolerable now. Now we know that there really is light at the end of the tunnel, and it's not the headlights of an oncoming train! On that note, I started running again.. I'm easing myself in slowly, and I've registered to run a 5K in my neighborhood on Sunday, April 26th. If anyone wants to join me, give a holler!

2. I've noticed that in my morning walk to the train, I am relaxed and calm until I am exactly one block away from the station. As soon as I hit the one block point, I start walking faster, my body gets tense, and I get a little more anxious. When the lights start flashing, the bells start ringing and the crossing gate starts closing, I have to decide whether or not I am too far away to run. There is a magic line somewhere on the block that denotes this, but I'm never exactly sure where it is. So for the whole block I have to play the hypothetical game.. if the train comes now, should I run? No, I think I'm still too far away. Well, maybe I could make it.. What about now? Most of the time it's all for naught because the train doesn't come until I'm already in the station. But sometimes it does. I have learned recently that I usually take the 7:52 train, so now I can time my walk. I used to just get there when I got there, and I never knew when the alarms would sound... I wonder if everyone else has the same anxiety. It's like passing under a stale green light when you have to judge.. if it turns yellow now, should I stop or go?

3. And perhaps the most important... Office bathroom protocol. I am new to bathroom stalls in the workplace, and I have to confess I find them a bit unsettling. Previously my workplace bathroom was like a residential bathroom, so you shut the door and had all the privacy in the world. But now everything is out-of-whack. I hate arriving in the restroom only to see that one of the stalls is occupied. And I hate it when I'm already there and somebody else walks in. Often, in the silence, I get stagefright and can't do what I went in to do. Sometimes I reason I'll just wait until the other person leaves to take care of business, but sometimes it seems like the other person has the same idea. Then it becomes this awkward game of chicken before someone risks discovery and leaves the safety of the stall. I know that there are some people who will read this and think that I analyze too much (probably men), and there will be some who read this and say, "oh my gosh! that happens to me too!" (probably women). So I'm just putting it out there. It's a totally annoying phenomenon.

The Terrible, Horrible..

It's one of those days where everything I try to do doesn't work.

I have had an IT guy up to my desk 3 times already today about one issue, and been on the phone twice with another about a different issue.

Even though it is GORGEOUS today, I think I won't try skydiving or deep-sea diving.