he's still one of a kind to me.

This is why I get confused walking to my car every lunch. I literally have to pause for a second. Alberto (mine) is on the far left. He's the adorable one. I have yet to find out what his friends' names are.

it's all about the benjamin.

Saturday morning my friend Marty and I were walking to Jimmy John's for lunch. Laying on the sidewalk was some cash. "Oh, a twenty!" Marty exclaimed. Then he unfolded it and there was another twenty. And then he unfolded it again and there was... a... hundred... dollar... bill. What?!

We literally hugged each other and did some jumping up and down. Then we did a quick surveillance of the area for any hidden cameras and/or Oprah who would come running out and yell at us for taking it and being bad Samaritans. With none of the above in sight, we hightailed it out of there.

As excited as we were, it was rather sad to see how quickly it was spent. Cabs, drinks, food -- $70 each for a Saturday in Chicago doesn't exactly afford the lap of luxury. (Sadly that also means I still had to foot the bill for my Friday and Sunday, which weren't cheap either.) Nonetheless, free money is free money!

The running joke of the day was guessing what bad karma was going to befall us. Our first purchase with the cursed money: bus fare up to Lakeview. Naturally we assumed the bus was going to explode in a freak accident.

Despite our fears, we made it out of the weekend unscathed. Well, aside from some loss of dignity and a huge hangover, but I think we brought that upon ourselves.

under construction.

Just your typical Tuesday in the office. Please add drilling holes in old floppy disks to my job description. (It's more efficient than sorting through and seeing what confidential information they have.) If this is what they want to (over) pay me to do, who am I to say no?

the underground candy railroad.

Almost everyday my boss puts a Dove chocolate on my desk, as she does with everyone in the Fiscal team. Everyday I take said chocolate over to my coworker Sarah in Professional Development, with whom I barter it for a Starburst. Everybody wins.

I've learned something very valuable: I need to stop telling people up front that I don't care for chocolate. As this case proves, there is always something to be gained.

That... plus I wouldn't have to deal with people guffawing, "What?! You don't like chocolate?!" ever again.

Addendum: I do, however, love peanut M&Ms, so whichever coworker brought those and placed them in the common area, you I like.

In a related matter, who else thinks that me working in an office again will make me fat?

but i don't hate the universe.

Addendum: Spending lots of time in the sun and at the terrace this weekend helped a lot too. How could I not want to spend my summer looking at this everyday? Perfect.

the universe hates me.

Sunday I cruised back into Madison. Monday morning I was back at the office. Tuesday I picked up the keys to my sublet for the next two months. Friday I wanted to punch someone in the face.

That would be the day my boss at UIC called me and asked if I was available to teach a summer course starting the following Monday.

My gut reaction was, "Are you fucking kidding me?!" Despite my near blackout rage, however, I managed to calmly explain to her that I had actually just moved to Madison for the summer for a job. She understood and apologized for it being so last minute. Getting things approved budget-wise is never an easy process. And that was that.

As soon as I hung up, my mind started racing. Maybe I should call her back. Maybe I could still pay my sublet and move back. Maybe my new / old work would not damn me straight to hell for bailing after only a week. Maybe my summer could return to form as I had originally intended it -- leisurely, lovely, and most importantly, in Chicago, the city where I actually lived.

Soon the delusions settled and I realized things happen the way they happen. There are worse places to spend your summer than in Madison. I'm here. And before long I'll be back there.

(Drinking a lot of gin and buying some new jeans this weekend also helped ease the pain.)

the commute is a bitch.

I found summer employment. Or should I say it found me? Since I was in town for the weekend, I popped into my old office last Friday to say hello and walked out with a job offer.

My feelings of being back in Madison for the summer while missing out on a lot of Chicago fun time are bittersweet. However, my feelings are rather irrelevant as my bank account is pretty pumped for a regular 40 hour a week paycheck through August. Plus, if last summer is any indication, I'll be back here more often than not as it is.

My going away party is this weekend. My welcome back party will probably be the following weekend. No need to RSVP to either. Presents optional.

if these shoes could talk.

A before and after shot, but in reverse. It was about time for a replacement pair, no?

However, since the pair on the left have literally traveled across the globe with me, I have yet to toss them. And I'll probably continue to wear them until the sole completely falls off. (It's already halfway there, so not long.)

Funny that an emotionless robot like myself would get sartorially sentimental. On the other hand, I'm sure the majority of my friends wouldn't be the least bit surprised.

from botanicals to buttocks.

My landlord planted irises which have recently bloomed out front. They put me in a good mood every time I walk through our gate. Which, by the by, has been a lot recently since my bike got a flat tire last weekend. (I go in and out of the garage with it.)

Speaking of which, who has a set of socket wrenches I can borrow so I can fix that? How am I going to have killer thighs and a rockin' ass by the end of summer if my bicycling around town comes so suddenly to a halt? Please, lend me your tools. Do it for my ass.

upside-down dreams.

I have this weird thing I do where if I'm tossing and turning a lot I rotate myself around and sleep with my feet toward the headboard. Works like a charm every time.

Also, I more often than not nap in that same backward position. (Or should I say feetward position?)

I wonder what that's all about.

(School is over, I'm unemployed, and the roommate is out of town, a.k.a. I have a lot of time on my hands. Whilst cycling through TV, books, and cleaning, my mind has a tendency to wander. And wonder.)

there's a fiesta in my belly.

Friday night after the bars: chicken burrito (from Picante)
Saturday brunch: breakfast burrito (at Deleece)
Saturday dinner: home-made veggie enchiladas
Saturday after the bars: slice of taco pizza (from Ian's)
Sunday lunch: leftover enchiladas

Are you sensing a trend? I think the only break from my all Mexican food, all the time was some Raisin Bran I had for breakfast this morning. However, if I could find a way to add guacamole, salsa, or jalapeños to cereal, you better believe I'd do it.

peshtigo, that fiery lil' town.

Highlights from my five-day stint at home include:

• a nonstop gorge-fest of food: Friday fish fry, Luigi's pizza and Brothers Three pizza, plus my mom's home cooking;
  
• going out to a bar with the parents and running into two uncles, an aunt, and two cousins as well as my 7th grade math teacher;
  
• going to ShopKo with the madre on Mother's day, where she bought me an end table;
  
• lots and lots of TV (boo me);
  
• lots and lots of running on the treadmill (yay me!);
• realizing that if I moved back there for the summer I would most definitely go insane from boredom.
  

may mixtape.

• Fuck You - Lily Allen
• Meddle - Little Boots
• Good To Sea - Pinback
• Sleep Alone - Bat For Lashes
• Gobbledigook - Sigur Rós
• Little Pieces - Gomez
• That Home - The Cinematic Orchestra (f. Patrick Wilson)
• The Planets Bend Between Us - Snow Patrol
• As Tall As Cliffs - Margot & The Nuclear So & So's
• I Sing I Swim - Seabear
• Boy With A Coin - Iron & Wine
• Ten Women - Conor Oberst & The Mystic Valley Band
• Blue Ridge Mountains - Fleet Foxes
• Acid Tongue - Jenny Lewis
• I Wish I Was The Moon - Neko Case
• Myriad Harbour - The New Pornographers
• Magick - Ryan Adams & The Cardinals
• Good Arms vs. Bad Arms - Frightened Rabbit

(Track list on iTunes)

unemployment benefits?

I turned in my last paper yesterday morning. That usual feeling of exhilaration that only finishing a semester can do came over me, however, it wasn't very long lasting. Instead now I'm consumed with wondering what the hell I'm going to do this summer.

I'm sure even my mother knows that my coming home to Peshtigo this weekend wasn't just a "Happy Mother's Day!" trip. More than ever, I was in dire need of an "I'm going to eat your food and not spend money for a while because I'm broke" trip.

I said I was consumed with wondering, not consumed with being proactive toward finding a solution.

i need to adjust my junk mail filter.

Email has to be simultaneously the best and the worst thing to ever happen to university life. I say so because it's pretty much almost entirely unilaterally positive from the perspective of the student.

Email is not a proper substitution for coming to office hours. Email is not an excuse to not read the syllabus. Email is not the proper medium for many a conversation, especially your grade. Email is not a lot of things, kids. Get a clue.

I swear, if I get one more stupid email from a student, I will scream. However, my refusal to answer them in a timely manner (which to them means instantaneously), I'm sure infuriates and worries them to no end, so at least that brings me some solace.