Hair Cutting...

So to save money I have been cutting Ron's hair for a while now and I must say I am getting really good at it. Ron cut my hair a while back and he did fine but it was very very short! I am considering cutting Moses's hair. It is getting hot out and his hair is really long. I really don't like him with short hair but he seems miserable. I should take him to the groomers but that costs $$$ so I think I might just throw on a 2 guard and go to town. I will post before and after pics.

Recruiters Suck...

I am getting really pissed off at my recruiters. So I have decided that I am going to call/email twice a day everyday until I get what I want. At this point I really don't care if it is some data entry shit just as long as I make some coin and get out of the apartment!

We Need A Boat...

...or at least friends with boats...which would require making new friends...anyway, today was beautiful. After raining all weekend Memorial Day turned out to be 90 and humid but still beautiful out! We walked up to the lake and watched all the boats and sail boats drift by wishing we were out there on the lake as well. There were even a few kayakers just chilling. Heck, I would even settle for a kayak!

Air Conditioning...

Living in Texas all my life I guess I never learned to fully appreciate the beauty that is central heating and air. Now that I live in Chicago I realized that I took it all for granted. Our little apartment does not have central heat or air. We have steam heat radiators and if we want air then we open a window. Actually I love the radiators. They put out a nice amount of heat and since it is steam heat then it does not dry out my sinuses. Plus the radiators themselves look cool. Now that the frigid temps of winter are gone I am reminded once again the beauty of central air and how much I miss it. For the most part we really do not need A/C much in the spring and fall and I am ok with that. The problem I have is the humidity. I should not have to sweat while I sleep! So last week we drove over to Costco and bought a window a/c unit. I have never used one. Actually I did have one in my little house in college but it only had two temperatures...off and frozen. Seriously it would freeze over and it looked like a block of ice sitting in my window sill. So I never touched it. The one we got at Costco is really nice and cools up to 745 sq. ft which is perfect. So far so good. Luckily we didn't chunk it out the window when installing it.

My New Tattoo...

Most people get tattoos in their 20s but I waited until 35. For the past 10 years I have always thought that the Eye of Rambaldi from Alias would make a cool tattoo. In fact, on the show the symbol is actually a tattoo on the hand that signifies followers of Rambaldi. I did not want to get it on my hand but instead opted for the inside of my left wrist. I love it!

Grocery Shopping...

Grocery shopping is one of those necessary evils of the world. I don't hate it but I don't like it either. The grocery stores here in Chicago mainly just suck. The Jewel Osco (Albertson's) down the street is horrible. The store is poorly laid out and not very roomy and it is very expensive. There are no Super Targets here the Super Walmart's are way out in the ghetto! So I guess I am just being picky but but I really really miss Central Market back in Dallas. I know it can be expensive but hell if we are going to spend a fortune on food might as well make the trip worth it right? We are trying to eat better. More fruits, veggies, and whole grains and less crap. It is no wonder people are so damn fat because the crap is cheap and the healthy stuff is expensive. Anyway, once I get a job we are going to start using Peapod which is a grocery delivery service and I can't wait! If we are going to spend a fortune on food anyway then might as well have it delivered right to the door. When I was living in Dallas I used Albertson's delivery and loved it...until they discontinued it.

Law and Order:LA...

...cancelled!! HAHAHAHAHA! That is what they get for canceling the original!

Upcoming Dallas Trip...

We are headed for a brief Dallas visit the weekend of July 1-4. Can't wait to get my MiCocina on!

Chicago Traffic...

Sucks! The Texas registration and inspection are set to expire at the end of this month. So Ron didn't go to work today until 2 so we took the morning and went to the Vehicle Services department. We were in and out in 20 minutes. That would never happen in Texas where the standard wait is typically the rest of your life. We got new plates and a new title very easily. Then I decided that I needed a state id card so we went next door for that. There is a greeter at the door that you have to meet with to make sure you have all the required documentation for the service you need so that way time isn't wasted. Doesn't happen so much in Texas. Anyway, we were in and out in 30 minutes and the ID card was made right there so I don't have to wait several weeks to get it! Then we go for the inspection. Here in IL this process is different than in TX. Inspections are free!!! I thought "wow, that is great but that is a lot of money the state is loosing but oh well." You have to take the car to a designated inspection place and it takes no time at all. Then we needed a parking permit to park on the other side of Broadway. Basically giving us more options. We got that done and so getting home and searching for a spot still took an hour. But it is all done! All we need to do now is get our IL drivers license. We have to take the written test and I have to take the driving portion...ugh. Oh well, needs to be done.

Saturday...

I love visiting Ikea but I am not a fan of the Ikea in Schaumburg just west of Chicago. The building is shaped like an giant octagon and is rather confusing at times. I loved the Ikea in Dallas (well, Frisco) because it was enormous and very easy to get around in. But we needed bedside tables and we wanted to get out of the city for a few hours. Because we hate parking the car in Chicago (we do not rent a parking space...yet) we decided to utilize Zipcar. We splurged and got the BMW 328xi and loved it! Anyway, we drove out there and remarkably enough it was not packed so we took our time walking around. One think I loved about the Dallas Ikea was the model apartments that were set up showing you what it was like decorating a place of anywhere from 250 to 700 sq. ft. But we got what we needed and decided to cruise around in our spiffy Beamer. We then headed back to Chicago and traffic is always a bitch. Pressed for time we decided to take Diveresy instead of going around downtown and back up Lake Shore Drive. Well that took forever but we dropped the car off with two minutes to spare. If we ever decided to get a new car we are definitely adding that BMW 3 series to the list cause it was fun to drive, beautiful, and most importantly I looked pretty damn good driving it. Really we can live without a car here but it is really nice to know that we have the Tanry in waiting if we need it. Once we rent a parking spot then we will use the car more and not rely on Zipcar so much. But finding a parking spot on the street can take a small miracle and can be a very frustrating experience. So we pay Zipcar to ease our minds and frustrations. Next time we may opt for the Audi. Overall, it was nice getting out of town for a few hours and getting my mind off the job situation.

Seriously...

Still no word. I have called and left my recruiter 2 messages and 2 emails today and it is now 5:15 on a Friday so I am fairly certain that I am screwed and have to wait the whole weekend. I don't understand why recruiters do this cause this has happened to me before in Dallas. On the bright side...Ron and I got out lat night and visited Cocktail and Roscoe's. Cocktail is nice but my gin and tonic tasted fruity. They use the measurement machines like you see in airport bars. I don't like that. After that then we visited Roscoe's for the first time and it was ok. It seemed somewhat like JR's back in Dallas. It was a really nice evening. Then Ron is working a later shift this evening so I am sitting here not doing much of anything. We walked around the Andersonville area and it is rather quaint.

Still No Word...

This is really beating me down. It seems my recruiter and the company I am hoping to go to work for are playing phone tag. She told me yesterday that she is getting frustrated with them. I have a bad feeling about this. I am perfect for that job but if they want to rehire someone that once left then that will be their mistake. I am just getting very impatient and annoyed. So much so that I think I am unintentionally being mean to Ron* and meaner than usual to everyone else. Sorry about all that :)

Job Search...

So the job search is still going on and I am getting really frustrated with the entire process. At the moment I am being considered for a Loan Operations/Underwriter position at a Chicago based Investment Management firm. I was contacted by three different recruiters for the same job because of my experience in the syndicated loan industry. There were four other candidates that interviewed and they narrowed down the group to just me! Great right? Well, it was great until my recruiter told me that there was a former employee that was wanting to come back the the firm. Mrs. Recruiter seemed really pissed at this and I was none-to-happy either. Why did this person leave in the first place and why are they wanting to come back? We both thought that the individual left for greener pastures and realized they made a mistake. I would always be reluctant to rehire someone that left like that even if they were eligible for rehire. One of the guys is on the same page as myself and Mrs. Recruiter so he trying to get the hiring manager on board with me as well. So now I just have to be patient and wait for the answer.

Done with Face Book...

So yesterday I decided once and for all to deactivate my Face Book account. I have been thinking about it for a long time now. I am just so fed up with the privacy issues and people ranting and raving about shit that doesn't mean anything to anybody. I had already deleted 75% of my friends and was down to about 40. If I want to talk to my friends then I will pick up the phone or write an email. I am going to give my FBing a rest for 30 days to see if I can break the habit. I can always reactivate the account if I want but I deleted the links from my computer and the app from my iPhone. I will keep twitter only because I follow 6 people and only 6 people follow me. I think I have made one tweet this entire year.