Ten years in the making

For approximately the last 1o years I have wanted to go to Germany. I was close to going when I was 15, but someone backed out of the trip and it was cancled. Now, nearly 10 years later I have let him know I've dropped the grudge because this Madchen (girl) is headed to Germany in two days! I'll be gone for 10 days all together, with the first part of the trip in Belgium and the remainder in Germany. Since I am going for work, most of my time will be spent touring manufacturing facilities and learning about European wood manufacturing. However, they do have a few fun days planned for us. A night at Oktoberfest will round out the trip.

Ich spreche nicht gut Deutsch, aber ich bin sehr aufgeregt!! (I don't speak German well, but I am very excited!)

Auf Wiedersehen!

City girl

Despite being ecstatic about moving downtown, I was a little nervous about what it would do to my commute to work. So far it hasn't been too bad at all. There was a week where there was a ton of traffic getting into the city, but for the most part it hasn't been all that bad. I only have to leave a little earlier in the morning, and best of all I discovered they opened a Dunkin' Donuts not too far from me. The crowd in Dunkin' Donuts at 6 a.m. is an interesting one. They're not just stopping in quickly on their way to work like I am; they've been there for awhile sitting and chatting when I show up.

Living in the city has been great. I've done more in the month and a half I've been living downtown than I probably did the whole rest of the summer. It's worth the extra money and the extra time in the car in the morning. Every Saturday morning there is a farmers market in Cathedral Square. I've gone and walked through a few times. Every Thursday in the summer there's Jazz in the Park right outside my door. On Sunday's I journey over to the East Side and study for the GRE at Altera. The lake is only a short four block walk away. I can basically walk anywhere I could possibly need to go, other than work of course. Concerts, drinks, dinners, I've done it all since moving down here. This girl belongs in the city.

We have nothing to discuss here

There is a time and a place for everything. That's nothing new. The bathroom is neither the time nor the place for most things. Yet people seem to think it's the opportune time and place for chit chat. When I am taking care of business I don't want to hear about your weekend or discuss the weather. Nor do I want to linger awkwardly after I'm done washing my hands because there you are sitting behind a closed door jabbering away. Go in do your thing, wash your hands and get out. Please don't skip that middle step though. That's a topic for another day.

It's bad enough everyone in the bathroom has to listen to each other pee or do whatever. Sure we all know what goes on in there and it's nothing to be ashamed of. Going to the bathroom is, after all, a necessity. However, there is no need to draw attention to it. A simple hello or smile as we pass (no pun intended) is sufficient. Long drawn out conversations should be reserved for places a little less private, even if it is called a "public" restroom. Truth be told, most likely I don't even care about what you are saying. It seems the people most prone to this bathroom behavior are people you'd otherwise have little conversational contact with.

The bathroom is a private place. Let's try and keep it that way.

Home is where the heart is

Ed. Note: More often than not, I think of great things to write about when I am either lying in bed or driving home from work. Neither are exactly optimal opportunities to write. Tonight, I am sacrificing sleep to get this down. I've left you hanging long enough, after all. ~Kim

They say home is where the heart is, but what happens when the heart is in two places? I think the phenomenon starts in college. You are regularly traveling back and forth between your childhood home (or in some cases the brand new house your parents move into while you are away) and the city that would become your home for four years. You catch yourself talking about when you need to "go home," meaning your college dorm/apartment, while you are "at home." Usually then, your words get all jumbled together as you try to backtrack and reword what you just said, afraid your mom heard. And although you do truly think of the place where your family is as "home," you can't help but feel a connection and some security in returning to your college home.

The same goes for post-college life, away from "home." You are a functioning member of society now, living in some cases cities or states away from where you first came. You go to work, you come home and check the mail, which for the first time will all be for you, you make yourself dinner. You are home. You travel and can't wait to just be home again. Between visiting people, traveling for work and making trips "home," you find yourself in need of a weekend at home.

Once again, you are faced with the conundrum of where home truly is. Is home the place you sleep every night, keep most of your belongings, and pay too much a month to occupy? Or, is home where the heart, or more specifically the past and your family ties are? Is home not a tangible destination at all? Isn't that, after all, exactly what the phrase "home is where the heart is" means? That is exactly the problem, though; can you heart really be in two places?

My answer is yes. I always thought it was ridiculous on T.V. shows how people would say their friends were their family. However, when you live away from "home," you fill that void with close friends. You haven't replaced your family, and probably never really could. You have just filled the space. You've made connections to the people and places around you to make it feel like home, and somewhere along the way it actually becomes home. So why not have two homes? It really is the best of both worlds. You are happy to go back home, but when you leave you are happy to come home again.

That twinge of guilt about calling the other place home in front of your mom will never go away though, I'm sure of it.

Baby it's cold outside

Current temperature in Milwaukee: -3 degrees F

Current "feels like" temperature in Milwaukee: -23 degrees F

Winds are blowing at 13 mph

Brrrr. Having lived my entire life in Chicago and Milwaukee, both cities notorious for chilly winter weather, you would think I was well adjusted and could handle it. Yet winter after winter once the real deep freeze finally sets in you would think I had lived most my life in Texas. I think back in high school sometime during all that running outside in January my big toe on my left foot got frost bite. Now every time it's even remotely cold I loose feeling in it. It's really a weird sensation.

Last night some friends and I ventured downtown to see "Sonic Vision" (though we chose to call it the Laser Light Show) at the Planetarium/IMAX. Sure, the temperature was in single digits, if not negative digits, but the cold was not going to keep us away from lasers! Before I picked my friends up I had to buy some gas. My little car struggled to start with a quarter of a tank, so I saw it in all of our best interest to fill her up. My fingers were uncovered for about one minute. That was one minute too long. As I stood outside next to my car I tried to turn my back to the wind to take some of the cold away. It really didn't work. Finally! The numbers on the pump said 9.5 gallons. We were back in business. I closed the the tank up and made my way back into the "warmth" of my car.

My fingers hurt they were so cold. Only a few more blocks and I would be at my friends' apartment. It was my lucky day. There was actually a parking spot in the lot! I hurried to the door: my arms full Dairy Queen (I can't believe they all really wanted ice cream on a night like this!) and a bowl they had left at my place a few weeks before. We ate the treats and I tried to warm up before heading back out. We left the apartment bundled up and pretty much ran to my car.

After navigating through the horrendous road construction in downtown Milwaukee, I managed to find a parking spot a block from the museum. We hurried inside, bought our tickets. For the next hour and a half we were warm and enjoyed the show. Unfortunately, there were no lasers. Then it was back to the cold. I'm pretty sure that in the hour we were inside it got colder. It was that boogers in your nose freeze sort of cold.

It's a good thing that groundhog didn't see his shadow.

The Blizzard of 2006

"The Blizzard of '79, two small children, no morning kindergarten, endless games
of Candyland and short supply of chocolate. All of these things and events
led up to me writing my first book."
~Nora Roberts

There were no small children, no games of Candlyland and not only just no short supply of chocolate, but no supply at all, during my experience in the Blizzard of '06.

Around 5:45 I finally dragged myself out of bed, surprised to see my heat was actually on high enough that it was warm outside of the covers. I tried to check how much snow had fallen, but my windows fog up in my bedroom. I walk to the living room to look out the balcony doors. My car is covered, but it doesn't look so bad. My morning continues as usual, the only difference being that i bundled up before heading out the door.

I clear off my car and I'm on my way. The roads are by no means good, but they're not too bad. I'm not surprised though. In my experience Milwaukee County doesn't understand what a plow is. I slowly make it to I-94. It's all down hill from here.

I slowly merged onto the highway, sort of getting in a lane. Traffic is moving slowly, but it doesn't seem so bad. I can definitely make it to work. The cars in front of my are slowly trudging along. Everyone seems to be merging to the left, so I follow suit. Well, I tried to follow suit, but my car didn't agree with the plan. Instead, I drifted to the right. Then I stopped. No, the car stopped. (Ed. note: It's stories like this that make me wish I was one of those people who named their car. This would be so much more entertaining then.) I had driven no more than 8 miles. It took me 1 hour.

After trying to get the car to move for a few minutes, I switch on my hazards and start to think about what I can possible do. With no real solutions come to mind, it was time to call home. What they were going to be able to do 90 miles away, I'm not sure, but it seemed like a good idea. After deciding that my best bet was to maybe try and dig out around my tires, I carefully get out of my car and face the snow. That, was not the solution. So it was back to my car. After making about more attempts I sit back in my car feeling dejected, with tears on their way any minute. Just then, a white car is next to me with the window down. "Do you need a push?" the kind stranger says. "Yes, thank you!" I eagerly reply.

After about five minutes of pushing, he gets me out! I slowly roll back along with the traffic. The exit to turn around is just a mile away. I finally get off the highway and start my voyage along the side streets. Nearly an hour later, I am almost home. Less than 50 yards from the driveway to my building, the car in front of me gets stuck. She turns it around and calls back to me that I need to just turn around because I'll just slide back. Well, I need to go forward in order to turn around, and I do it with no problem so I figure I can make it the short distance to my place. Wrong again Kim. A bus was stuck in the snow - right in front of the drive. Next plan of action: Drive to the hardware store a few blocks up and leave my car there. I get to the hardware store and it is clear I'm not making it into the lot. It's time to head back. After making a circle that took me a few miles, I make it back to my intersection. I can see the bus is still there. Looks like I'll be parking in the Sentry parking lot. Seems simple enough.

Once again, my car is stuck. Luckily there aren't many cars around so I am able to go in reverse to get myself out of the mess. I some how manage to pull into what could be considered a parking spot, and begin my walk up the big hill to my apartment. The bus is gone.

Two hours after leaving for work, I was back in my apartment. My jeans were soaked. My hair, which had been straight two hours earlier, was now curly in random chucks from getting wet in the snow. My gloves were dirty and wet. But I was home. I was warm, sort of. And most importantly, I was not in my car any more.

But now what? I was too worked up and stressed out to just go back to bed. I couldn't go anywhere. I was too restless to just sit and watch TV. Well after talking about it for a week, I put up my Christmas tree. I also cleaned the place a bit. Looks quite festive now. Around lunch time the snow had pretty much stopped so I decided I'd head over to get my car. The parking lot had been plowed, so I figured this would be a breeze. Well, the area around my car wasn't. Stuck again. I manage to rock myself out of the snow and head to the road. About 20 feet later I was turning into the drive to my building. You guessed it, stuck again. A woman walking by stops and tries pushing me. No luck. Another nice stranger stops his car and gets out to help push. Nothing. He offers to drive it up, as he's very good at maneuvering through the snow, if I'm OK with it. I say sure. He gets my car in and up to the visitor lot. We can't get it into a spot all the way, but I figure that's better than nothing. My car is at least safe in a parking lot.

Finally around 2:00 they start plowing our drive and sidewalks. I go outside once or twice to see if I'll be able to get my car into a spot. No luck. Eventually around 4, the lot I'm parked in is cleared and I can try and move my car. I manage to unwedge it a little bit, but I can't back it out enough to move it to a spot. As luck would have it another car pulls into the lot. Two guys get out and ask if I need some help. They get a shovel and we dig my car out. My original plan was to drive back to my actual parking spot, but I decided not to push my luck and settled for the spot I could easily pull into. Nearly 12 hours after starting my day and 10 inches of snow later, my car was finally safely back and I was done dealing with the snow.

I was forced to use a vacation day and missed the office Christmas party. Getting stuck in a blizzard is not exactly my idea of a vacation. I have decided one of three things is necessary: 1. I find a job that is actually in Milwaukee County; 2. I move to the West Coast where it doesn't snow; or 3. I marry someone that is really rich so I don't have to work and can choose to stay home and go no where without feeling guilty.

This whole experience could lead me to write my first book too, but I'm pretty sure it would be a much more negative story than Nora Roberts (not that I've ever actually read hers).

Sweater weather and pumpkin flavored everything

Today's entry comes to live from my balcony. Thankfully in the amount of time it took for this page to load a cloud came by and I can see the screen again.

It's a beautiful fall day. Unfortunately, because of all the wind the last couple days the tree outside my apartment is missing most of its leaves -- thus explaining the trouble viewing the screen of my laptop. It's about 45 degrees out (or at least that's what the weather channel tells me). I walked over to Walgreen's today to drop off some film and then headed to "downtown" Tosa. I finally went into the little book store. It was very quaint. It's the kind of place that has regulars, or at least that is the feel I got when I walked in. It sort of seemed like the woman at the counter was thinking, 'and who do we have here.' I didn't get anything, but found all kinds of interesting things. After that I walked over to Starbucks. We're half way through October and I still hadn't had a Pumpkin Spice Latte. I'm not sure how that happened. Needless to say, I ordered a grande Pumpkin Spice Latte and made my way back to my apartment. My love for pumpkin spice coffee is about equal to that of trisketts. I wait all year for this time of year just for the coffee. Don't get me wrong, there is plenty to love about fall, but my favorite part is pumpkin flavored everything. I often think its a flavor that should be offered year round, but then I stop and think: would it loose its appeal then? Until that dilemma is solved, I'll just have to drink up and eat up as much pumpkin flavored treats as I can.

Lately, I've been thinking about the book I want to write someday. I still have no idea what it is I would write about, but the idea remains on my mind. I have an internal problem though. The thought of the masses reading something I wrote scares me to death. Ironic, I know. I can write this with no worries because I really don't know how many of you are reading. For all I know it's just my mom and sister. I have no problem with the pieces I write for work because for the most part I don't know who, if anyone, is actually reading the pieces I write. In college when I took creative writing I would get major anxiety on the days we would workshop my stories. I felt like such a poser in that class. Here I was with 11 other students who could write, could really write. They were descriptive and creative and passionate. I came out of the class with a B or A/B I think, so I couldn't have been that bad. It's not even that I handle criticism poorly, the build up to it though is enough to kill a person.

Something about the fall just makes me want to read and write. I can't explain it, but I do really like it. Maybe it's just too hot and uncomfortable to be creative in the summer. I don't know.

Happy pumpkin season!

Silence is overrated

"People have to talk about something just to keep their good voice boxes in working order, so they'll have good voice boxes in case there's ever anything really meaningful to say."
~Kurt Vonnegut

It's funny how you never notice how friendly the people you spend your day with are until you can't do something as simple as saying hello back to them.

I was talking to a friend the other night and she made a comment about how she had always wanted to loose her voice. Something about it always just seemed "fun" to her. I can see where she's coming from. It’s a bit mysterious in ways. However, the novelty of that mystery wears off faster than the novelty of the "Cows on Parade." I had always thought that I would rather not be able to speak than not be able to see. I think I'm changing my mind. Although the thought of not being able to see all the beauty, and at times horror, in this world is hard to grasp, I really don't think it is even comparable to lacking the ability to communicate. It would be hard to not be able to see it all, and I admit I think I would feel like I was missing out on something. But seeing isn't believing.

The ability to speak is something we take for granted. Plus, not being able to talk is just plain boring. I know that come next week when my voice is completely back I'll have forgotten all about my struggles with communicating, but for right now I am ridiculously thankful for the sense of speech. Sure if you permanently couldn't speak you would no doubt learn sign language and would find ways to communicate. But just like the whole world doesn't speak English, the whole world certainly does not know sign language.

So much rests on our ability to communicate. All week long I have felt like all the people who I don't work with on a regular basis have been thinking I'm a jerk because I haven't been saying hi back to them in passing. Well, I try to say hi but either just some weird noise comes out or it’s so quiet they can't hear. Maybe they thought nothing of it or maybe they think I'm a horrible human being. The thing is, either way one of us is getting the message wrong. Nonverbal communication can only take you so far.

Sure a smile is worth a million words, but then you're just that weird girl who is always smiling but never saying a word.

One year later

Well, as of this weekend I've officially lived in Wisconsin for one year (not counting the four years at Marquette). It's really hard to believe it has been a year already. I really think this truly was the fast year of my life. I didn't think I was ever going to adjust to living alone. Now, I don't know that I could ever live with a roommate again. Actually, one roommate would still be nice, but I definitely could never do the five roommate thing again. Hell, I couldn't do that when I was! There is something very nice about living alone though. The mess is all yours so you can't be mad about it. Well, you can be mad about it, but it's not getting cleaned unless you do it yourself. When you just want to be left alone, you don't have to worry about someone coming in the room and insisting on talking. Ok, well that's really all I have. I know it's not much, but I figured I should write something to celebrate this big day.

Thunderstorms and car alarms...These are the things that dreams are made of

While sitting at the picnic tables between the office and the cemetery and eating lunch yesterday it was clear a storm was brewing. There was an almost too calm breeze. The sun was no were to be seen, yet it was still bright out. That annoying kind of brightness where you don't take sunglasses because it is a cloudy day. I only hoped the storm would hold off until I go home since the weekend before I had what seemed like a near death experience driving north on I-94 in Racine. That day, I was sure I was driving into the end of the world, but I digress.

Five hours later I walked out of the office. No storm yet. I successfully make it home without getting stuck in a storm. It still seemed like it was coming though. The night went on and still nothing. There are storms in St. Louis, but Milwaukee is safe still. The news warns of the pending storms. I go to bed. Still nothing.

3:30 a.m. I am woken suddenly. The lightening is illuminating the entire sky. The wind is howling. The thunder sounds nothing like the angels bowling. Instead it is more like hundreds of bowling balls being dropped simultaneously all around you. The water gushes out of the gutter outside my window. The storm is here. This is no storm that you fall right back asleep during. Not only am I awake now, but I am starving. There is no way I am about to fall asleep. Then, another deafening crash of thunder. This time alarms are set off on at least three of the cars out in the parking lot. Clearly, this night was not meant for sleeping.

At some point I finally fall back asleep. However, 5 a.m. comes a lot sooner when you are woken up at 3:30. Like always, I hit the snooze button until the alarm on my cell phone goes off at 5:40. There's no dragging myself out of bed yet on this dark and rainy morning. It is still raining out, though it has let up significantly. Finally, a little after 6 a.m. I get myself up. It's going to be a long day.

You look like a monkey, and you smell like one too

After five years of having to fess up to Uncle Jerry that I still have not been to the Milwaukee County Zoo, I finally made it there. I was a bit skeptical of the quality, having grown up just miles from one of the finest zoos in the country, but I went in with an open mind. The zoo is a very nice area to walk around, but as far as quality goes Brookfield is far superior. There really were not very many animals out, which was a little disappointing. It was a beautiful day for it though. It was only about 70 today -- perfect zoo weather.

There were a lot of peacocks though. Like this one.

There was also a baby peacock. (It kind of blends into the background, sorry.)

Well, that's about it for my adventure to the zoo. Oh, I also had the worst Chicago style hot dog of my life.

Last Friday I spent my free afternoon walking around near the lake front. This is the Milwaukee Art Museum. My batteries died almost immediately, so I didn't get as many pictures as I would have liked.

A Parallel to Bob Dylan's life??

"I'd seen and heard trains from my earliest childhood days and the sight and sound of them always made me feel secure. The boxcars, the iron ore cars, freight cars, passenger trains, Pullman cars. There was no place you could go in my hometown without at least some part of the day have to stop at intersections and wait for the long trains to pass...The sound of trains off in the distance more or less made me feel at home, like nothing was missing, like I was at some level place, never in any significant danger and that everything was fitting together."

~Bob Dylan, Chronicles: Volume One

My thoughts exactly. I could not agree more. Although the train whistles are almost annoyingly loud here some days, I would miss them if they were gone. I need that noise. I can't sleep if it's too quiet. I need to know life is going on still outside my windows. There's some sort of strange comfort in the whole thing. At the real root of it though, as Dylan points out, is that it makes me feel at home. It makes me feel safe because it makes me think of LaGrange, my family, my childhood. I can connect so many memories to trains or railroad tracks. Very few of them actually have to do specifically with the trains, but since they were such a presence it all connects back. I suppose it is sort of like the whole idea of how a smell can stimulate a memory. What makes a sound any different?

Bittersweet transitions

Well, it's official. It may have taken me eight months to go through with it, but I am a Wisconsin resident. The man no longer thinks I'm living in Illinois. About a week ago I made my way to the Department of Motor Vehicle in South Milwaukee. The people you'll find at the South Milwaukee DMV are almost as entertaining as the people at the Plank Road Walk in Clinic. Of course, by entertaining I mean totally annoying. Luckily, the time I spent there was probably the shortest amount of time an individual has ever spent in an DMV. A major plus in the whole experience of changing my drivers license and plates.

Unfortunately, Wisconsin passed a law in the last few months that prohibits individuals who are getting a Wisconsin ID for the first time to take it home with them that day. Something about fraud. I blame Illinois good ol' governor George Ryan for this pain in my neck. Apparently some of those truck drivers involved in that scandal then started coming up here to get their licenses. Super. So, I had to wait almost a week for my ID to arrive. This wasn't such a big deal during the week, but it sure did put a damper on any weekend fun.

The whole transition is very bittersweet. It's weird to look at my car every morning and not see Illinois plates, and every time I open my wallet it freaks me out that the ID says Wisconsin. At the same time, to a certain extent it makes me feel like I belong here. I'm not just a college student spending some time here. It also means that I've committed myself to living here for awhile, because I'm not about to go through all that changing stuff again any time soon. That part is a little sad. I love Illinois, and Illinois will always be home. Sometimes, though, you need to just make a commitment and let yourself grow. Living in Wisconsin on my own is letting me grow. As cliche as it sounds, I don't think I'd be who I am if I hadn't been living here for the last eight months. Though, it will be hard to face everyone back home with an Wisconsin driver's license and plates.

I may have made the plunge into life in Wisconsin, but hear me, I am no cheesehead.

My evening at the Plank Road Walk-in Clinic

As far as I am concerned I have never had the real flu and I have never had strep throat. I get colds and sore throats relatively often I suppose, but they never amount to much. I've been tested multiple times for strep, but it always comes back negative. So last Wednesday when I woke up with a sore throat I didn't think much of it and got dressed and headed off to work. The tea I drank in the car did little to sooth my pain, but I took it in stride. The office was approximately -20 degrees on Wednesday. (editors note: an extreme exaggeration for dramatic affect.) Again, I didn't think much of this as a co-worker agreed that it was colder than usual in the office. As lunch time neared and my coldness turned into the chills I started to think maybe I had a fever. I pushed on. During my lunch break I went out to my car to warm up. When I came back in, I still had some time and a co-worker asked me if I'd walk to Shopko with her. I said sure. After all my throat was still killing me and I could use some throat drops. The block and a half walk was horrible. I've never been so dizzy from walking a block in my life. I pushed on. As the day went on my voice started to become unrecognizable, the chills picked increased and I was totally wiped out. I left a little early, barely able to focus because I was so cold. How I made it home, I have no idea.

Upon arrive in my lovely new apartment on the second floor I was grateful for the thermometer my mom gave me for Christmas. I waited patiently as the device measured my body temperature. As I took it out of my mouth and flipped it around to read it I was shocked by what the numbers read -- 102.7. I was one sick kid. I changed and fell asleep almost instantly on my couch. I woke up about three hours later, read a few e-mails and was in my bed an hour later. I slept straight from 9 p.m. to 6:30 a.m. I got up, checked my temperature again and to see if my tonsils were swollen at all. Until Thursday, I did not know exactly where my tonsils were. I know now because I have never seen tonsils so swollen! This time my temperature was 100.5. Excited it had gone down a bit I laid back down in my bed until 7 when I needed to call work and tell them I wasn't coming.

I managed to make it to work on Friday, though I wasn't feeling exactly 100 percent. My throat was still hurting and a little swollen, but the fever was gone. I made it through the day and was happy to welcome the weekend. I took it easy all weekend, telling myself if my throat was still sore and swollen Monday I'd go see a doctor. During the course of the weekend my fever went up and down, but never was very high.

Monday came, my fever was completely gone. I decided I'd go see the doctor though. Coming from a family that doesn't go to the doctor for the sniffles, this was a big step for me. I called the number on the hospitals website to try and find a doctor. The lady on the phone kept trying to find a clinic that had an opening for me. After about 20 minutes she tells me they have two clinics that accept walk-ins and are open until 8 p.m. I tell her I'll just do that. So, I leave work and after making two wrong turns into huge traffic jams I make it to the Plank Road Walk-in Clinic. I sign in at 6:11 p.m.

While sitting in the waiting room patiently I was exposed to some of the most interesting characters. First there was the chubby girlfriend who was acting like it was this huge inconvenience to be there. Each time someone was called before her boyfriend she had to know why. They were sicker, idiot. Then there was the very large black man who was getting restless and kept switching seats. Shortly after moving closer to me he busted out his cell phone to check in at home. Now, this wouldn't be a huge deal, as a few people had made calls, but he chose to make his call on speaker phone. SPEAKER PHONE!! After he hangs up he proceeds to check his voicemail on, you guessed it, speaker phone. About 20 minutes later, after about an hour and a half of waiting, they call my name.

The nurse asks me about my symptoms and tells me about the importance of having a primary care physician. She does a throat swab thing for the strep test and leaves me to wait for the doctor. After another 20 minutes or so the doctor comes in. Not looking at the notes the nurse took at all, she again asks me why I'm there and about why I don't have a primary care doctor. The strep test is negative. She checks my throat, liver and spleen. "I'm going to have someone come in to give you another test. It will only take a few minutes. It's to see if you have mono," she says. Mono, just what I need. I wait another 10 minutes for the person to come in. She pricks my finger, gives me a bandaid and says the test takes five minutes. She leaves the room. I wait. It starts to get very quiet in the hallway. I start thinking they forgot about me and I am all alone in the Plank Road Walk-in Clinic. I wait some more. Finally after about 10 more minutes the doctor comes back. It's not mono. They are going to send the sample from the strep test in for a throat culture. I'll have to wait two more days to find out if it is definitely not strep. She tells me most likely it's just a virus and to keep doing what I was doing since I seemed to be getting better.

At 9:30 p.m. I left the Plank Road Walk-in Clinic. I didn't have strep. I didn't have mono. And that was my evening at the Plank Road Walk-in Clinic.

All moved in

This weekend was moving weekend. Despite a few road bumps (i.e. friends bailing out on helping) the move went relatively smoothly. It is so nice to be up on the second floor. It's amazing how much more light I'm getting. Taking today off from work was a good idea because I don't think I would have ever got everything organized and unpacked. There are still a few things to do, but nothing major like putting all my clothes and dishes away. Last night there was a pretty bad thunder storm and my power went out for about a minute, which was a little creepy.

I actually met my neighbor, which was very nice. Turns out he went to Marquette too. He stopped by tonight and we enjoyed a beer and talked a little. The other two people that live on my floor are old. He told me the lady that lives across from me carry's around a cage with like a bird or something in it. Stay tuned for stories about this woman. I have yet to see her, but now I can't wait to.

That's all I have for now because I am totally exhausted. Peace Out.

The solitary life, Scientology and Sesame Street

It's always nice to have visitors. It makes living alone a little bit more thrilling. However, it also makes you realize just how happy you are to be living alone. For the first time in about a month I didn't have anyone staying with me for the weekend. Although I enjoyed all of my visitors, it was so nice and relaxing to just be here alone. Yesterday after coming off from the Marquette basketball game and lunch I had the chance for the first time in a while to just sit and relax. The previous weekends were relaxing to an extent, but really just weren't the same. I turned on some Bob Dylan and sat down on my couch with some popcorn and the latest issue of Rolling Stone. It was really quite nice.

In the issue, there is an article about Scientology. Knowing really very little, other than I think it's crazy, I decided to read the article and learn a little bit about the religion. Although I didn't finish it because it was just getting too long and I was getting restless (I am part of the MTV generation after all), I did gain a better understanding of the religion. However, I do still think they are a bunch of nut jobs. Children that are raised in Scientology are some what excused, as they were born into it and don't know any better. The same could be said about me as a Catholic I suppose. However, these people who are choosing this path as adults are just plain crazy. Only the highest levels Scientologist, from what I understand, know the full "story" and belief structure of the religion. Plus, it costs like an arm and a leg to be a fully practicing member. It's going to take a lot more to convince me on this one.

Sidenote: It's not so much the MTV generation that has this short attention span and needs the flashy colors and scene changes. Really, it is the Sesame Street generation. The thought behind Sesame Street was that kids need these short snipits to keep their attention. If a segment goes to long, they get bored and disinterested. I don't doubt this is true, in fact I think Sesame Street has done wonders. After all, I can count to 10 in Spanish. The problem is that so many things now have this same format. And people wonder why there are so many kids with ADD, but that's a whole different rant.

Moving on up to a deluxe apartment in the sky!

Well folks, come April 1 I will no longer living in the "garden." Not only will I be moving to apartment that gets light and is warmer, I will have a balcony. Even better, I will be saving $5 on my rent. I know, that's huge! I'm very excited about the move and only hope the next 6 weeks move quickly.

In other news, Gov. Doyle(that would be the governor of Wisconsin all you prairie state inhabitants out there) recently signed a law that requires all children to sit in a carseat or booster seat until the age of 8. Yes folks you read that right, 8 years old. The law goes into affect in June I think. I have no idea how they are expecting to enforce this one. There is only one way to describe this law: RIDICULOUS.

In other Wisconsin news, Gov. Doyle vetoed the conceal and carry bill. At first thought I agreed with Doyle vetoing it because seriously, why does anyone need to have a concealed gun. However after being talked at by a friend who was of quite the opposite opinion on the matter I did start to see the validity of the bill. After all, it's not like criminals are going to not carry guns because it is illegal. They all have them now anyways. Our discussion on the topic was like two weeks ago so I don't remember the details. I wasn't totally convinced, but I am more open to the idea now. What was the most shocking thing I learned during this whole gun debate that has been going on that something like 36 states (might have been more actually) have conceal and carry laws. Who knew? Certainly not me. I say I was talked at about the issue because I think friends should not discuss politics or religion for that matter. Really, I don't like discussing politics with anyone. So to have shared these thoughts today about these laws for all the world to read is quite out of character for me. I feel like talking politics/religion with friends just leads to sour feelings. Unless of course you are both of the same opinion, and then what's the point really?

Oh, and I discovered Rosemary & Olive Oil Triscuits this week. They are absolutely fabulous. I recommend everyone go out and try them.

Life without Internet access is sort of like being a hermit

For about 3 weeks now the Internet connection I was conveniently stealing from someone in my building has been lost. I never realized how dependent I was on the Internet for communication and information. Luckily, Marquette isn't too far away and I can come here to take advantage of all the wonderful computers in the library. It is a little weird, it is a Saturday afternoon and this place is almost completely empty. Why was it never like this when I came to study? I won't complain though because if all the kids were here I wouldn't have a computer to use.

Work is no longer boring. Instead it is insanely busy. I would take busy over boring any day though. I really like it a lot more. I actually feel like I am a necessary asset now. On Thursday night I stayed about 3 hours late. It is amazing how much more you can get done once everyone else leaves. It's just so much easy to work when everyone around you isn't talking. It's amazing anything ever gets done at that place. The lights in the office turn off automatically at 6 p.m. Since we didn't know how to turn them back on, we had to just sit in the dark with only our desk lights and the glow of our computer screens. It was really kind of creepy.

Most people hate when their lives become stressful. I'm different that way I guess though. Now that there is some stress back in my life I feel more like myself. It's like like my life was off balance the last few months because there was no energy behind what I was doing. Now that there is so much going on at work and will be for at least another month, there is something motivating me. I never really saw stress as motivation before, but I really think it can be. That pressure of a deadline that I had been missing so much is back, and I love it! For the first time in almost 5 months I can honestly say that I really like my job.

Hitting the open road

Everyday when I drive to work it is sort of like I am hitting the open road. Today, though, it really was the open road. As the rest of the world enjoyed the Federal holiday, I enjoyed a stress free drive to work. I never saw more than 4 cars around me at any point during the long drive. It was crazy. The traffic going into the city was a little heavier but still pretty light.

I spent all of Sunday night dreading having to go back to work. I decided going back to work after a week off is worse than going back to school after a month off. When you go back to school you are going back to new classes and new adventures and experiences. All that going back to work offers is the pile of stuff to do you left before vacation. It's not nearly as exciting. Luckily I didn't need to try and get ahold of anyone. I felt bad for all the sales people since they basically got nothing done other than leaving a million messages. I really should have tried to call the guy who blew off our interview two weeks ago, but I figured he wasn't there. I'll return to my daily phone messages tomorrow. I'm still annoyed that he blew the interview off. Seriously, who does that?

The Packer's fired Mike Sherman today. A little part of me got a cheap thrill out of hearing the news. At the same time though i felt bad. I know the Shermans and from my experience they are a really nice family. It's really a shame for them. However, I do enjoy watching all the fans suffer.

And that's all she wrote.

"I'll be home for Christmas, you can plan on that"

It's hard to believe that Christmas is in a few weeks. This was probably the fastest three months of my life, but then again maybe I say that every year. I'm not sure if I'm more excited for Christmas and my birthday or for the week off of work that I'll spend in LaGrange. It's snowed enough up here to make it seem like Christmas is actually coming. Now that it's been a few days since the snow first came it's not quite as treacherous to drive in. This is Wisconsin, you would think "they" would know how to handle snow. Yet, year after year the streets of Milwaukee barely get plowed. I don't understand it in the slightest.

I put up my own Christmas tree and, although a little pathetic, it looks pretty good.

Every time I think of something really good to write about, my Internet never works when I get home. That has happened many times in the last week or so. I wish I remembered what all those ideas where now that I can finally update. Oh well, guess this is all you get for now.