Day 65 - Fixin' to vs. Finda'

Today at work, I was flexing my multi-dimensional skill set. I really ought to be employee of the month. I spent the majority of the day in the textbook department, learning the computer applications and helping customers. I processed web orders and was left a lone for what seemed liked the longest 30 minutes of my life when I was hit with a random barrage of customer questions. Hopefully it will get better in the days to come. One thing that the textbook department has over tradebooks is the limitless supply of random conversation. Today did not disappoint. Patsy is from Tennessee and she says I'm fixin to go to the store. She also has fixins with her big Thanksgiving dinner. Jimmy is from Chicago and he says I'm finda go to the store. They ask me which one have I heard more often. I said finda sounds a little more natural to me, but I try not to say either, because it may be difficult for the average person to understand. This led to my learning that a person from Michigan may call a shopping cart, a buggy and a water fountain a bubbler. Language variation is a funny thing.

The evening was uneventful. I have been riding my bike for the last few days, I think that my lock issues were due to the colder temperatures. Now that it has been a little warmer, the lock works fine. The store is open later on account of rush, so I had to bike home in the dark. I really wanted some pancit from Noodles Inc, but the night and my budget said go home and make ramen noodles instead. Not quite the same, but I'm not hungry anymore. I'm happy that Modern Family is back, and I watched Revenge, the newest Wednesday night drama on ABC. I also attempted to do a little background research on the subjects that Bea suggested from the DuSable Museum. I found out that my friend Lauren has purchased her tickets and will be visiting on October 14, that should be a good time. Exploring will be a lot more fun when one of my besties can join me. I'm off for the next couple of days, let the fun/retail therapy begin!

Day 36 - Bike Maintenance

Zach and I had an unnecessarily intense conversation about the existence of the Illuminati and who may be a part of it. These are our positions and I think that the evidence supports both ideas, but he is not trying to hear it. Zach thinks that Rupert Murdoch, Jay-Z, Rhianna and countless other successful people have bartered their lives for fame and money. He thinks that they are under the control of this super old organization, its in the lyrics, the decisions they make and the symbols that they use. I happen to believe that Jay-Z and his publicist are at least as smart as 18 year old Zach from Chicago and they are using the folklore to generate a buzz around his image. People spend so much time and energy investigating this conspiracy all the while increasing the fame of those celebrities. I would put a goat on my t-shirt too if I thought someone would be more interested in me and eventually give me more money. Besides how prestigious is your secret society when a Disney move (National Treasure) could reveal the majority of your legend. I ended with agree to disagree but he still seemed pretty worked up about it. Oh well.

I didn't feel the earthquake here today but there were some rain storms rolling in this morning. I forgot the plastic for my bike seat, but I managed to dry it off with my sweater. Luckily the rain had stopped so I biked over to the bike repair shop on 60th and Blackstone. This was the place that I went to buy a bike and they only sold bikes on Saturday, luckily they repair bikes on Tuesday. A nice little girl took the notes on what was wrong and 15 minutes later Chris came and fixed my bike in 5 minutes flat. Apparently the spring had dislodged in the gear shifter, he put it back in position and now the gear stays put. He pumped air into both tires and said that it was no charge. I know that their bike shop employs kids from the neighborhood to give them something constructive to do, so I insisted on giving him 5 dollars for his help. In retrospect, I suppose I could have given more, but it was an easy fix. If I made a dollar an hour, I would be living in my own apartment in Chicago, it was better than nothing. At any rate, my bike runs like a dream. I would take this over car repairs any day, two wheels are the way to go. The rest of the evening was uneventful but I am off of work until Saturday, looking forward to these blank canvas days.

Day 35 - Hiding Out

I made it to work on time today. I need to take my bike to the shop, the gear shift on the handlebar is not working properly and the front tire could use a little air. Every morning I take it to work, I swear I'm going to take it in afterwards, tomorrow for sure. Since I did not have enough sleep yesterday, my 3 hour nap today has made up for it. I didn't mention it before every other day when I get home, the dog or the cat has vomited in the house. I have picked it up before and let Lauren know about it. Today, I was not feeling so generous. I walked past the mess, took my snacks and some DVDs to my room and camped out there all evening. I've also been scrap booking and talking on the phone. I have my big Society of American Archivists conference on Thursday and I need to make sure that I have a Bloody Mary, extra spicy, my resumes and some witty canned answers, ready on that morning. There is no time for strike outs in the Big Leagues.  

Day 21 - Epicurian App

I rode my bike to Hyde Park and Indiana looking for a thrift store. Instead I found some suspicious characters and another bad lead from yelp. At least it was nice outside and the route home involved a trek through the trails of Washington Park. I was going to drive to another thrift store in Hyde Park, but I couldn't find that either. I wound up at the grocery store. After that I took a nap, did some laundry, and cleaned the kitchen. I found a new app for my iPhone, it's called Epicurian. With it I can get recipes on demand and generate shopping lists based what's in your cabinet, how experienced of a cook you are, or what you feel like eating. This app led me to makes seared chicken with a tomato sauté with rice and lima beans, it was delicious. I spent the rest of the night reading and relaxing, tomorrow is going to be a big day.

Day 19 - The Big Easy

I took the Admiral out for a spin today. I biked to the 57th Street Beach. It was overcast but still pretty warm. I rode around the lakefront a little further, found a bench and read a little bit of my book. I'm reading Susana Clarke's "Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell", although it is science fiction and very long, I am determined to finish it. After awhile I went to find something to eat. On 55th and Cornell, I saw a brunch special at the Big Easy restaurant. I ordered catfish, scrambled eggs and roasted potatoes. I ate all by myself, just listening to other people's conversations and watching people walk by. A highlight were these honey covered, raisin filled ho cakes that preceded my meal, very delicious. Next I rode to Powell's bookstore on 57th. I spent two hours in this amazing place. As soon as I thought I had browsed all of the shelves, I saw a door, went through it and there was another room, twice as big as the first. Books about Photography, Chicago, Greek History, literary critiques, anything you could think of. Then I saw a staircase, I go downstairs and they have all the discount books, manga books, science fiction, and travel books. One drawback is that they want you to buy and leave, there are no comfy chairs and well lit corners in Powell's bookstore. I was sitting on step stools and leaning on bookshelves to flip through books. After that I rode home, it was a nice break in the monotony. I've got the Admiral's lock up procedure down to a science.