So Sorry

My apologies to the few of you who stop by here every once in awhile to stalk me. I've been rather absent. Truth be told, I'm exhausted. Mentally. Physically. Spiritually. I've thought about posting something a few times. I just haven't had the energy.
I'll be back, but for now I'm laying low.

Another recap of my exciting life

When I was asked by a friend this morning what was going on in my life, I realized that I have been very bad about keeping my fans up to date with what is happening in my life. And, so, to make your lives a little bit richer this morning, here is a recap of the last two weeks of my life.

• As previously stated, we finally found approved subletters for our apartment. That search only took an eternity! It also left us just over one week to vacate our apartment and figure out where to live.
• I found a new place to live that I love but can't move in until July 1.
• I loaded all my junk into a storage room (with the help of some fabulous friends who will be the first guests to dinner in my new place) and I am living at the White House for the month of June (have I mentioned that I have amazing friends?)
• Friday and Saturday of this last weekend I was in Hyde Park working at our huge Alumni Weekend event. I met some very lovely people (and some very cranky people who need to find a better hobby than complaining).
• I enjoyed a lot of laughs with co-workers. When we are all beyond tired, everything is funny.
• Sunday I went to the aquarium with every child in the Greater Chicago area. Thanks to an old friend from my short-lived grad school days, we had free tickets to see everything. Most importantly, the birthday girl had a great time!
• I did not bring my camera to any of these events. Whoops!
• I had to say farewell to some dear friends who have moved their little family to PA. Great opportunities for them, saddness for us.
• I now have a reason to visit PA! Roadtrip time!
• My coffee and Diet Coke habit has gotten completely out of control.
• I'm sure that I am forgetting something but my brain hasn't turned on yet so I don't know what it is.

Tonight I am trying out a new recipe for my lovely hosts this month. Perhaps I'll take some pictures of it and post the results tomorrow. Perhaps not. Happy Monday!

Big News!

WE HAVE APPROVED SUBLETTERS!!!!!!!!
The lease has not been signed, but that should get taken care of this weekend. I'm not really concerned about it. All I know is that they have been approved to rent the place and will be moving in June 1. So, I'm on the hunt for a place for me to live but I have several different options and am not all that worried about it (I'm just tired out).
SO HAPPY!!

Weekend Recap

Since I know that you are all dying to know what I did this weekend, I will tell you.
Friday found me with my apartment all to myself while my roommate was enjoying lovely Iowa City. A few of the girls came over for a little dinner and girl time.
Saturday I woke up at 7am and had a small panic attack thinking that I had to go to work. When I realized that it was Saturday and that I didn't have to get up for anything, I went back to sleep for another 2 hours. I had a little quiet time at home, ran a couple of errands, treated myself to some flowers at the farmer's market and then got ready to meet up with Kelly to spend the afternoon at Wrigley Field. Thanks to my friend, N, who wasn't able to use his tickets for Saturday's game, Kelly was able to enjoy her first time in Wrigley with the best seats I have ever had at a ball game. You could actually almost see the player's faces. Bonus, we were in the sun almost the entire game so we didn't freeze and it was a pleasant enough day that we didn't sweat to death either.
(Side note on an entirely different topic, yet totally related: The first person who can tell me how to understand guys wins the grand prize.)
The Cubs won the game after almost blowing it in the 9th so Kelly got to see Wrigley at it's best when all 40,000 of us stood to sing the "Go Cubs Go" victory song at the end. Downside to Cubs winning is that you will have that song stuck in your head the rest of the day.
I had a little dinner with friends that night and then declined the offer to see Star trek with them and opted to sit on my couch and watch a movie all by myself. That is something that I have not done in forever and it was the perfect way to spend my Saturday night.
Sunday afternoon my other friend Kelly (yes, I know a lot of people named Kelly) and I took advantage of free admission to the Art Institute of Chicago and went with the rest of the city to view the new Modern Wing.
I am not personally a fan of most modern art but the new wing is beautiful. We wandered through a few of the galleries and walked across the bridge that leads to Millennium Park. As you are crossing the bridge, you can look back and see the new part of the building but you also get views of the Pritkzer Pavilion and the rest of the park that you don't normally get to see. If you are a fan of Modern Art, it would be worth a return visit as the collection is very good. And, if you are not a fan but want to see the new building, admission is free until Friday!
Our visit was capped off with iced coffee and people watching in the park. People watching during the first nice days of the summer is always great in Chicago.
The rest of the day was spent taking a walk by the lake and then ice cream with friends.
What did you do this weekend?

Huh?

Somedays I wonder what language I am speaking at work. I am sure that I am not alone in this. Most industries require a certain amount of vernacular to be learned and at some point it all becomes second nature and you start talking like you are in an alien movie or something. An outsider overhearing conversations would be completely clueless. Here are just a few of the things that I throw around every day. See if you can guess what they mean.

Lybunt

Sybunt

Lyd

Syd

Lapsed

Non

Never

Retention

OPA

OSC

HUM

SSD

PSD

OI

IHouse

BRE

OGE

Shell

Imprint

And the list could go on...

Harry Potter: The Exhibit

A week or two ago I was wasting time at work online and discovered that a Harry Potter exhibit was coming to the Museum of Science and Industry. I had just watched the 1st HP movie the night before for a dinner and movie night (dinner by the fabulous Chef Jimzey) so I thought that this would be a nice addition to our movie watching experience (we plan to watch all of them over the next several weeks). Thankfully, at least one friend didn't think I was a total nerd and was as excited as I was to go. We purchased our tickets and Monday night after work, M and I headed to the south side to see what it was all about.
It was kind of strange to go into the huge museum when it was closed except for the exhibit. Everything was very dark and very quiet with only a few museum workers hanging around. I really wanted to bolt into one of the wings and wander around but I was pretty sure that would be a bad idea. The exhibit was well done. Even the people out front selling you audio tours and telling you to wait a bit before going in spoke in English accents and said they were from London. (I'm going to go out on a limb and say that most of them were actors and NOT from London...) The first stop once you enter is with the Sorting Hat where a few people from your group will get sorted into houses. Then there is a short video thing that really makes you feel like you are in the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland. Then, it's a free for all through the rest of it. There are costumes and props from all of the films (even the one that hasn't come out yet). The people walking around to help out know amazing details about all the films. I was really glad that we went on a Monday night after hours because it was not crowded at all and we could walk around and see everything without being crowded (and without little kids running everywhere). I was glad that M had read the books and seen most of the movies so that she could explain a few things to me. The end dumps you out into the gift shop as any good exhibit should.
Overall, it was enjoyable. Not as fantastic as I had hoped for. But, it's also the first leg of the national tour that it is doing and it's early on in this stop. So, it might even get better with time. If you are or know a HP fan, it's totally worth the money.

It's too early for this

It wasn't even 10am this morning before I got an e-mail from one of my clients calling me out on something. Not a fun way to start my morning! Yes, she has every right to call me out on it. Yes, it was totally my bad. In the grand scheme of things, it's probably not a big deal but I do feel horrible about it. This is the part of new jobs that I hate. Making mistakes, feeling totally overwhelmed by how new everything is, feeling like you should be 'getting it' more than you do. I've only been here a bit over 3 months. I should give myself a little grace. I just hate messing up. I'm enjoying my new job but it has been the hardest transition into a new job that I have ever had to make. The expectations were high from the moment I walked in the door and I hate the feeling of not living up to those expectations. Things will be fine, I know that. I'm pretty sure I'm harder on myself than anyone else is.