Finally...An Update...

So yeah, been a while huh! So much has happened. I think I haven't blogged in so long mainly because I would talk about the mental institution that I work in. I live it everyday so why rehash it right? But I will get to that in a bit. Things in my family are a bit dramatic so why rehash that as well. Oh, I will talk about that as well. It has only been a few nights in the new apartment that I feel like a totally different person now that the move is finally complete. We each have our own office in the new place and that is a wonderful thing. We are no longer living on top of each other and after a week it seems to have made my chi a bit better. What I really need to happen next is for some freaking warmth in this city. It is almost the beginning of May and it is rainy and cold. Warm up is on its way they say but I will believe it when I see it. We are even about to get rid our our car. We love the car but we live in Chicago where we just do not need one. The only time the car gets driven is to the only Super Target in the area which is in Hillside. I think the only reason we go out there, other than Super Target rocks, is to drive the car. So I guess it has become our Target car which is no reason to hang onto it. The car is paid for which is fantastic but it still cost us almost 300.00 per month in car insurance and parking to keep it. We have been using/splurging with ZipCar. We love ZipCar. We just used one today to finish the move. We needed an SUV to move the rest of the stuff and there is a Ford Escape just down the street. When we want to roll in high style we get either the BMW 325 or the Audi A3. So we are actually using ZipCar when we still own a car...where is the logic in that? So in the next few weeks the car will be sold. We will miss her but it is time to let her spread her wings and fly the coup! I have lived in Chicago a year and a half. I have loved every minute of it. I am so happy we decided to move here. Being off for ten months really did me a world of good and now that I have been at Neuberger for almost a year in July...well...I still wish I was off sometimes! Anyway, Chicago is a fantastic city and it suits our needs and desires very well. I feel like I should have moved here years ago. Now that we have our nice big apartment with a kick ass view...it is even better. We are still a bit slow on the making of friends but we are getting there. We prefer quality over quantity anyway! Work is a nightmare. In the course of two months we have had ten people quit and half of them have been in my department. So we have been having to scramble a bit at times and it seems we are treading water but we are making it work with what we have. It has become apparent in these trying times who are team players and those who are worthless. My direct supervisor quit two weeks ago because she could no longer "work for crazy." She left without having anything lined up which is a testament to her misery at Neuberger. I am sure, now, she has plenty of practice time with her taser. I am looking, although not that hard, for a new job but I feel like I am obligated to be there at least a year for some reason. I am not a job hopper and have only worked for three companies in 12 years but I cannot keep doing the Neuberger thing for much longer. To much drama and ridiculousness will/is taking a toll. So my year will be up there in mid-July so I will plan on going on a shopping spree for a new job. So Ron and I recently celebrated our fifth anniversary! We didn't go all out and have a big celebration. We did, however, make a little trip to Tiffany & Co. and got rings. Not sure what to call them...commitment rings, wedding rings, domesticated partner rings, etc? I just call them bling. We are committed to each other, we cannot get married, and a domestic partnership doesn't seem worth the paper it is written on (in Illinois we can get a civil union but still seems worthless since we cannot get hitched but I digress) so we got our rings cause we love and care for each other. I am a very lucky man. Ron just recently started back to college at DePaul University here in Chicago. He was looking at community colleges and the such but I told him to just go to a real school and get this done so he settled on DePaul...which really isn't settling since it is such a good school! I am so very proud that he got in(which really was no surprise) and he seems to be liking it and is doing well in his first two classes. Eventually he will need to go full time to finish up so we will cross that bridge when we get there. He is also planning to do a course overseas which will be fabulous! We recently adopted a black cat and named him Archer (after the secret agent Sterling Archer from the animated show on FX). So far he has been a great kitty. I bit friendlier than Miss Kitty but still no match to her. He is slowly finding his place in our home and in our hearts. I am happy we have him and he has been a good mate for whiney little bitch...aka...Moses. I am sure he can't help it since he is a little out of kilter because of the move but he has started the ass raping sound again. Probably need to go get another D.A.P. refill and hopefully that will do the trick. I also cannot believe that my fish Marty is still alive. I got him while I was still at Markit so he is pushing two to two and a half years old, which I think is about the last time I cleaned out his bowl. Anyway, all animals are alive an well. Which cannot be said about my family. My brother has completely lost his mind and just needs to go away. He keeps getting in trouble with the authorities and has been arrested several times within the past several weeks. I am not going to go to much into it but his actions are causing a ripple effect in my family and with his children and he should be, although he is incapable of being, ashamed. He is simply a disgrace. I need to call my sister-in-law to discuss flying my oldest niece up. She recently turned 13 and so I believe it is time for her first flight. So the plan is to fly down to Dallas and have her meet me at the airport then we will fly back to Chicago together. I want to be there to experience her first airplane ride. I remember mine like it was yesterday so I know that this is something she will never forget. I also feel as if she needs a break from all the drama going on and I think this would be a great vacation for her. So hopefully we can narrow down a time frame this summer. What I would really like to get back into is Cooking With Karen. Hopefully soon I can put together a little something to share. Not sure if it will take me months to write a new blog but when I feel inspired to write it all down then I will.