i'm leaving on a jet plane...

chillin like a villain

Because I leave for vacation tomorrow, I should be tying up all the loose ends here at the office..but I can't. I'm already on vacation mode and truthfully, my brain's swirling with all the last minute errands and packing I have to do tonight in preparation for the trip. Charge the camera (check), pack the flip flops (check), do last minute loads of laundry (to do later), run to the bank (to do later)...the list just goes on and on.

Manana me & the bf are heading to Santa Monica to hang out with our friends Rachel & Guang. They have a sweet pad about 6 blocks from the Santa Monica beach, which unfortunately looks like we won't be enjoying too much off. Temperatures are only going to be in the 60's!! How can Chicago weather actually be hotter than that of southern California? Dammit.

Anyway, in any case, I am off from work until next Wednesday and I couldn't be more thankful. Since I haven't really had a day off since Christmas time, I am sooo looking forward to some heavy duty R&R. I plan to stay away from all forms of technology during the trip, so you won't be getting an update from me in a while. But in the meanwhile, I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday weekend. Peace n love!!

peace n love.

the immaculate conception..

Has anyone else read about the female shark in Omaha Nebraska which immaculately concepted an offspring? Evidently, she hadn't had contact with a male shark in over three years but SOMEHOW was able to fertilize her own eggs. Even after DNA tests were done, there was no evidence of paternal DNA found.

Asexual reporduction...parthenogenesis...immaculate conception...Whatever you wanna call it, that's fucken evolution, man! Female sharks everywhere are saying "who needs that hammerhead anyway, I will do it myself!!!"

my blog has a new face...

Just as the seasons change, so must the face of my blog. This time, I decided to update it with vibrant colors. And what a pain in the ass it was! The new blogger has done everything in it's power to mess up any templates I tried to use. Even this one looks kinda scrunched in Mozilla, which is my browser of choice...but I digress...for the most part, I'm loving the template.

So, any feedback on how it looks? Let me know if it looks jacked up when you visit. I will troubleshoot it as best as I can. Peace n love to all...

the baby blanket

There is truly something to be said about creating something with your bare hands. A certain pride that you just can't get from buying that same article from the store. Within the last year, I have gone from learning to knit, to making scarves, to knitting hats. Now I'm starting to challenge myself into more complex projects such as blankets and purses. Who knew I could be so crafty??!!

And, while school has been keeping me busy like no body's business, I still try to find time to knit. My current project is for Mike's sister, who is expecting her first child. Since she decided not to find out the gender of the babe, I opted for a gender neutral light green organic cotton fabric from blue sky alpaca. It's pure ecstasy to work with and so soft I just want to wrap myself up in it from head to toe. I found the basic checker box pattern for the blanket on this lovely blog, though I changed it up just a tad. As of now, I'm about 1/4 through and am damn proud of my work...but I have along way to go.

Wish me luck!!

scattered thoughts

Viva la Craigslist! God I love this site. Over the course of the weekend, I got a 80 gig Video ipod (still factory sealed) for a whopping $75 cheaper than in the stores. I know it was a splurge, but it was high time I treated myself to something nice, dammit. Next on the agenda: the $70 Belkin FM tuner for the ipod...found on none other than craigslist for $30.

Another positive: I was able to rent one of my units on the first day of showing it. My new tenants will move in Mid-May and I am happy as a lark to not have to be without rental income for too much longer...To top it off, I didn't have to pay for the apartment listing because it was (you guessed it) listed on Craigslist for FREE. Damn, I'm like a walking billboard for them today, aren't I?

In other news, it's been over 2 months since I started working out 4 to 5 days a week on the elliptical and weight machines. In fact, my new found regimen inspired my bf to join the gym 3 weeks ago. To date, he has lost 5 pounds...as for me...a MEASLY 3. What the hell? I am so hating on him right now.

Oh, and school is going extremely well. I'm getting an "A" in my Stratification class thus far, and it's midway through. But, I'm still struggling to find a topic for my 18 page research paper. It has to examine one of the primary barriers children face in education. I'm thinking it will either be on School Funding or Bilingual Education. Wish me luck.

the most kick-ass sign EVER

Did anyone in the Chicago area see this sign near an expressway?!! Drats, I wish I had caught it in person!!! It only was up for 15 minutes before it was yanked.

By the way, I found the picture at: this blog via the chicagoist. It's actually a very creative & interesting blog so go check it out!

do ya feel like swimming?

I found this post on the consumerist just simply hilarious. Try mapping out a course from a city in the states to London, UK. Just try it. Try it. I will wait....you done yet? FUNNY HUH??!!

Here's the scoop:
It was found that when you map a route from Chicago to London, Google Maps suggests you SWIM 3,500 miles ACROSS the Atlantic Ocean to get there. The trip will take a whopping 29 days, 22 hours just to arrive in the UK...damn, there goes ALL of your vacation time. I heard of traveling on a budget, but c'mon!