Trevor is NAKED!
And it's freaking me out. His face, not the rest of him, startled me this afternoon as I walked up to meet him, Dan, and Simona Segar at J. Patrick's. They'd gone to see a space for rent with Desiree and Russ Grant, and met me up the street for a beer to talk about what they'd found before Dan and Simona had to go off to work. As I approached their sidewalk table, I noticed that Trevor looked different, even from the side. The stubbly profile I'd grown so accustomed to over the past few years seemed oddly absent. As he turned full-on to greet me, I realized that he'd SHAVED OFF his ENTIRE BEARD. And I'm still getting used to his totally, obscenely naked face. He apparently snuck in some shaving implements from the drug store yesterday afternoon and did it sneakily while I was at school this morning. He dropped about ten years and I'm still getting used to the change. He dimples are bigger, and I won't get any beard hairs in my smooches, which is great, but I still need a couple of days to get used to my new husband.
Pictures are coming, so you can see the nudity for yourselves. Happy Monday!
Monday, July 28, 2008
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Yep, so, I've got myself a nameplate for my new office. I won't get keys to my new office until the second week of August (although I can get into it with the secretary's keys...) but it's still pretty cool. I requested that my title be listed as "Super Hero," instead of "Instructor of English," but I guess the sign guy didn't get the note. The office doesn't have a window, but there are loads of bookshelves upon which I can pile tomes and tomes of teaching materials and robots of various sizes. Now, after a nice long (but quite rewarding) thirteen hour day, I'm sitting here with Trevor and Henry, watching Keith Olbermann on MSNBC (he's so over-the-top and hilarious), drinking a glass of wine (Henry passed on his glass, but that's not stopping Trevor and me) and contemplating dinner.
Last night we met with Dan and the Grants to talk about the restaurant biz. After seeing the Grants' new venture, Logan Bar and Grill, we were thrilled to be able to pick their giant business brains about opening a bar. They were tremendously helpful for Trevor and Dan, and they're still willing to answer the boys' questions in the future, which is a tremendous help. As a bonus, we ate at Crust on Division and it was taaasteee. It's one of the only all-organic restaurants in the state (I think that's the right credential, though I might have gotten it wrong) and specializes in flatbread pizzas. Those were great, as was the bowl of gazpacho I slurped down, and as was the lemon cheesecake. Yum to the tum. Plus, Dan's old chum was the manager and he was awfully friendly to us, which we loved, of course. Afterwards the two boys and I went to Archie's in Dan's neighborhood to talk further shop and have a beer. An enjoyable evening all around.
Last weekend we saw The Dark Knight, and although I didn't spot myself in any of the scenes in which I was an extra (two scenes--look for me, I"ll be tiny, blurry, and short-haired), it was an AWESOME movie. Mom and Dad Bork got to see it at a premiere at the Navy Pier I-MAX; one of Dad's clients is a large machine dealer, so all of the weird machines in the film are his. They didn't enjoy it quite as much as Trevor and I did, but they said it was lot of fun when all of the machinery guys in the audience cheered when they spotted one of their machines. Tomorrow I'm going to go to the X-Files movie (Trevor's opting out of seeing it...) and I'm quite excited about it. I might go for a taco afterwards, and perhaps make a stop at Nordstrom on the way back. The new fall shoes might be on the floor, and I certainly can't go back to school wearing these old and worn flappers. Mulder, Scully, tacos, and new shoes--really, a perfect day. I'll tell you all about it tomorrow.
I want to believe, my fellow Lone Gunmen.
Friday, July 11, 2008
The Borks Come to the City!
Well, they're almost here, anyway. Mom and Dad Bork are thinking seriously about selling the house in the suburbs and moving downtown. We'd be thrilled to have them so close, and the place they're considering is sooooo coool. It's an old office building on Michigan Avenue that's been converted to condos. The windows in the units are the same windows from when it was an office building because it's a historical landmark and the facade can't be changed. I have a super crush on these big black-paned windows and am sold on it for those alone. It's also across from Millennium Park and the Bean, and walking distance to Macy's, also a major selling point. For me, anyway. I took some photos when we got to the unit after climbing up three flights of stairs from the 10th to the 13th floor (yes, they might live on the 13th floor. I warned my mom about poltergeists, but she didn't seem too concerned. We'll see how concerned she is when her furniture is stacked to the ceiling and her toy clown is trying to strangle her...). I was motivated to take the pictures because of our headgear.
It's warm here in Chicago, and humid, though not nearly as humid as the weather gurus kept predicting, and for that I'm pretty happy. I had to go to the Michigan Avenue Mac store yesterday to pick up Trevor's computer (the screen was getting fixed), and it was the release of the new iPhone. There was a line two blocks up the street and I overheard one of the employees say that the wait was 3-5 hours just to get in the store and buy your phone. They wouldn't even let me in! I had to show the guy my ID, give him the receipt for the repair work, and he went and got it for me. Luckily, all of those crazy folks only had 80-ish degrees of gorgeous weather to wait it, and not the 96 degrees and super-high humidity the news had promised. I think all of the rain we got Thursday night cut down on the heat.
Last night Trevor and I met both Dans and Mona at the AllRise Gallery, which has just relocated from Milwaukee Avenue in Wicker Park to a half block away from us on Grand (right across the street from our video store!). The show was actually really interesting, and the space is terrific. We'll certainly go back, and I hope they get some people in there to buy some art so they'll hang around.
After that, Trevor and the gang went out to Archie's Bar in Dan's neighborhood. I, being tired and lazy, went across the street to the video store to rent The Ruins, a B horror movie based on a book by Scott Smith. I'd listened to the book on tape a couple of months ago while commuting, and it was so much fun and terribly stressful; I was constantly yelling at the car stereo and gripping the steering wheel for dear life. The movie didn't disappoint, though it was less stressful simply because of the cut down length (which was necesssary), and the fact that the book was able to get, though the perfectly done third-person limited narration, into each of the four main characters' heads throughout their terrorizing journey. The movie was terrifically gory, which was absolutely to be expected since the book was just as, if not more, bloody. And it was pretty well done, even though some of the character traits were shifted, and of course plot and story points were changed. Scott Smith co-wrote the screenplay, which I'm sure contributed to the faithfullness to the book's creepiness. I'd not recommend this for the faint of heart, but if anyone's looking for a disgustingly bloody B horror movie, absolutely check it out. Read the book, too!
And speaking of third-person narration (when does anyone get to say that?) I heard the "Dueling Critics" on our WBEZ program 848 yesterday morning discussing the new play at the Chopin Theatre, The Strange Elephant. It's apparently a fantastic piece of 'meta-theater': the characters spend much of the play trying to capture and destroy the third-person narrator. It sounded like fun, and the production itself with the set pieces (an enormous mechanical elephant--who wouldn't want to see that?) would be a hoot. I'll try to convince Trevor to go. We also have to see the zombie play by the Sandbox Theatre Project. It's called Multi-Purpose Doom, and Lovely Lisa Munzenrider's boyfriend, Josh, was asked to participate. He turned it down. He turned down a play about zombies. I will never forgive him. We of course will go to see that one, especially since it's a guaranteed good time. The last play I saw them do was a romantic comedy set in a storefront neighborhood gym. One of the actors spent the entire 90 minute play on the treadmill. Seriously. It was hilarious.
And speaking of Lisa, we've got a lunch date so I'm going to spruce myself up to something presentable and meet her for a sandwich. I might persuade her to go the Penelope's to do a bit of shopping...
Rock on, True Believers!
Well, they're almost here, anyway. Mom and Dad Bork are thinking seriously about selling the house in the suburbs and moving downtown. We'd be thrilled to have them so close, and the place they're considering is sooooo coool. It's an old office building on Michigan Avenue that's been converted to condos. The windows in the units are the same windows from when it was an office building because it's a historical landmark and the facade can't be changed. I have a super crush on these big black-paned windows and am sold on it for those alone. It's also across from Millennium Park and the Bean, and walking distance to Macy's, also a major selling point. For me, anyway. I took some photos when we got to the unit after climbing up three flights of stairs from the 10th to the 13th floor (yes, they might live on the 13th floor. I warned my mom about poltergeists, but she didn't seem too concerned. We'll see how concerned she is when her furniture is stacked to the ceiling and her toy clown is trying to strangle her...). I was motivated to take the pictures because of our headgear.
It's warm here in Chicago, and humid, though not nearly as humid as the weather gurus kept predicting, and for that I'm pretty happy. I had to go to the Michigan Avenue Mac store yesterday to pick up Trevor's computer (the screen was getting fixed), and it was the release of the new iPhone. There was a line two blocks up the street and I overheard one of the employees say that the wait was 3-5 hours just to get in the store and buy your phone. They wouldn't even let me in! I had to show the guy my ID, give him the receipt for the repair work, and he went and got it for me. Luckily, all of those crazy folks only had 80-ish degrees of gorgeous weather to wait it, and not the 96 degrees and super-high humidity the news had promised. I think all of the rain we got Thursday night cut down on the heat.
Last night Trevor and I met both Dans and Mona at the AllRise Gallery, which has just relocated from Milwaukee Avenue in Wicker Park to a half block away from us on Grand (right across the street from our video store!). The show was actually really interesting, and the space is terrific. We'll certainly go back, and I hope they get some people in there to buy some art so they'll hang around.
After that, Trevor and the gang went out to Archie's Bar in Dan's neighborhood. I, being tired and lazy, went across the street to the video store to rent The Ruins, a B horror movie based on a book by Scott Smith. I'd listened to the book on tape a couple of months ago while commuting, and it was so much fun and terribly stressful; I was constantly yelling at the car stereo and gripping the steering wheel for dear life. The movie didn't disappoint, though it was less stressful simply because of the cut down length (which was necesssary), and the fact that the book was able to get, though the perfectly done third-person limited narration, into each of the four main characters' heads throughout their terrorizing journey. The movie was terrifically gory, which was absolutely to be expected since the book was just as, if not more, bloody. And it was pretty well done, even though some of the character traits were shifted, and of course plot and story points were changed. Scott Smith co-wrote the screenplay, which I'm sure contributed to the faithfullness to the book's creepiness. I'd not recommend this for the faint of heart, but if anyone's looking for a disgustingly bloody B horror movie, absolutely check it out. Read the book, too!
And speaking of third-person narration (when does anyone get to say that?) I heard the "Dueling Critics" on our WBEZ program 848 yesterday morning discussing the new play at the Chopin Theatre, The Strange Elephant. It's apparently a fantastic piece of 'meta-theater': the characters spend much of the play trying to capture and destroy the third-person narrator. It sounded like fun, and the production itself with the set pieces (an enormous mechanical elephant--who wouldn't want to see that?) would be a hoot. I'll try to convince Trevor to go. We also have to see the zombie play by the Sandbox Theatre Project. It's called Multi-Purpose Doom, and Lovely Lisa Munzenrider's boyfriend, Josh, was asked to participate. He turned it down. He turned down a play about zombies. I will never forgive him. We of course will go to see that one, especially since it's a guaranteed good time. The last play I saw them do was a romantic comedy set in a storefront neighborhood gym. One of the actors spent the entire 90 minute play on the treadmill. Seriously. It was hilarious.
And speaking of Lisa, we've got a lunch date so I'm going to spruce myself up to something presentable and meet her for a sandwich. I might persuade her to go the Penelope's to do a bit of shopping...
Rock on, True Believers!
Sunday, July 6, 2008
A Words Only Post
Well, gang, we've had a busy couple of weeks and, as a result of our social butterflying, I let the blog slip along the wayside. But I'm back to share what it is we've been doing.
First, I will be the newest full time faculty member at McHenry County College! I got the job offer on Tuesday at 4:30 p.m., accepted on Wednesday at 2:30 p.m., and have been planning how to organize my office since Wednesday at 2:31 p.m. It's all very exciting. It means good benefits for me and T., a bit more dough coming in to our bank accounts, and no more teaching out of my car between three campuses! It'll be really nice, especially since I'm already familiar with the school and the rest of the English faculty; it'll be a fairly easy transition.
Last weekend we got together with multiple out-of-towners. Sunday, my friend Brenda and her husband, Derek, were in town from Fargo. They were doing some style re-con for Brenda's brother Mark's gallery (also in Fargo). They're planning on having an art gallery in the front of a space they've found, a yoga studio in the back for Brenda to teach classes, and (in the future) a coffee shop there so that the Fargo-ans will be able to get a decent cup of joe (which apparently they're sorely lacking now). So they had a list of cool spots to check out for style/architecture/design ideas, and we met them for beer and pizza on Sunday night. We hadn't seen either of them in over a year--actually, more like two, when we visited the Northeast and stayed with them in Portland a couple of summers ago. It was wonderful to see them, and we hooked up with them on Tuesday night, as well, for dinner at the Green Zebra.
Monday night was a family night: Trevor's cousin Amy (Trevor's dad's sister's daughter) was in town from Toronto at a medical conference. She's a doctor in Canada, though she's only been there a couple of years. She likes it, but misses Dublin (her hometown) a bit. Trevor and I, his dad and Fran, and Sean and Angi were able to go to dinner with her at a great restaurant in our neighborhood. Regardless of where she'll be in the near future, we plan to see her again, hopefully soon. Trevor had spent time with her when he was visiting the family in Ireland, but that was years ago. The seven of us had a wonderful time, and we're going to harass her to see us again.
Tuesday was my second sitting for the tattoo, and after three hours in the chair (lordy it was painful by the end of that third hour...) I met up with Trevor, Brenda, and Derek at the restaurant for some deelicious dinner. I wasn't able to enjoy the second part of the meal, though, because I was achy and exhausted after my sitting. Luckily, the next afternoon, after I'd finished with class, I swung downtown to pick up B & D, then we visited Trevor at the gallery. They really liked it--the show is a lot of sculpture and installation, and quite interesting. The three of us headed to our hood (the terribly far 1.2 miles away from the gallery) and we grabbed a beer before I took them to the few blocks to the Blue Line to catch the train back to O'Hare for their 8 p.m. flight. I graded papers the rest of the night (or, as some would say, I passed out from exhaustion on the couch) and then was back up at 5 a.m. to head out for class.
Thursday, I was happy not to have a thing to do after class. It was 2 hours of driving to get back to the city from Crystal Lake on Thursday afternoon because so many people were heading downtown for fireworks. And of course I'd left my phone at home on the charger, so I had to listen to music instead of finishing my book on tape (Hell House by Richard Matheson--it's just okay, but it's almost over and I have to see who else survives the haunted mansion). But home was lovely once I got there, and Trevor and I did not much of anything to prepare for the Segar's BBQ the next night.
The Fourth of July came, and T. and I went to see Wall-E, which was cute, fun to watch, and just plain enjoyable. We thought of Greg because during the previews we saw a trailer for Beverly Hills Chihuahuas, and we know that he, Paula, and the girls will be going to see that one as soon as it comes out. That night we went to Dan and Simona's BBQ. Lots of food was eaten, and lots of fireworks were set of by us (not me specifically, but Trevor) and the rest of the neighborhood. We didn't stay the whole night, because I'm an old lady who tires easily (and gets eaten by mosquitoes easily), but we had a great time.
Saturday came and we attended another BBQ to see some more out-of-towners. My old roommate Jenn was in from Massachusetts with her husband, Jeremy. Their friend Tara had a barbecue for them in Rogers Park, and we headed up there to grill up some Tofurki Sausage (tasty, actaully) and catch up with the Evanses. It was great to see them, and Jeremy admired my new tattoo (though made fun of my Sherman the Robot. Rude.). We're hoping to see them again before they leave, but they're not here for too long and seem to have a booked schedule. No matter what, though, it was so good to see them and it made us crave a visit out East soon.
Today, Trevor had an appointment at the Mac store's Genius Bar to fix his computer screen. His iPhone also had a screen issue, and they gave him a new one on the spot! His computer will take a couple of days to fix, but he backed everything up and is good to go on his old computer for the time being. We walked up to the MCA to catch the Jeff Koonz exhibit. We agreed that it wasn't our taste in art, but there were some terrifically interesting (and eye-catching) pieces. I think we spent more time in the MCA store than walking through the exhibit. We stopped at Chipotle for tacos, found some folders I needed for school tomorrow, and then saw Iron Man, which was F-U-N. Robert Downey Jr. was charismatic and made the movie as fun as it was. It looked great, was funny, charming, and just a perfect summer movie. Better than Wall-E, though they're not quite in the same genre, so it's not fair to compare them.
And now, after eating at our favorite Thai restaurant for dinner, we're home for the night with Henry (who, I haven't even mentioned, has been a kennel-coughing, blanket-eating, blanket-barfing, collar-gnawing spaz for the past two weeks). I am supposed to be grading student papers, but am writing this blog instead. And now that I have nothing else to describe, I guess I'll go do my work. Blergh!
Well, gang, we've had a busy couple of weeks and, as a result of our social butterflying, I let the blog slip along the wayside. But I'm back to share what it is we've been doing.
First, I will be the newest full time faculty member at McHenry County College! I got the job offer on Tuesday at 4:30 p.m., accepted on Wednesday at 2:30 p.m., and have been planning how to organize my office since Wednesday at 2:31 p.m. It's all very exciting. It means good benefits for me and T., a bit more dough coming in to our bank accounts, and no more teaching out of my car between three campuses! It'll be really nice, especially since I'm already familiar with the school and the rest of the English faculty; it'll be a fairly easy transition.
Last weekend we got together with multiple out-of-towners. Sunday, my friend Brenda and her husband, Derek, were in town from Fargo. They were doing some style re-con for Brenda's brother Mark's gallery (also in Fargo). They're planning on having an art gallery in the front of a space they've found, a yoga studio in the back for Brenda to teach classes, and (in the future) a coffee shop there so that the Fargo-ans will be able to get a decent cup of joe (which apparently they're sorely lacking now). So they had a list of cool spots to check out for style/architecture/design ideas, and we met them for beer and pizza on Sunday night. We hadn't seen either of them in over a year--actually, more like two, when we visited the Northeast and stayed with them in Portland a couple of summers ago. It was wonderful to see them, and we hooked up with them on Tuesday night, as well, for dinner at the Green Zebra.
Monday night was a family night: Trevor's cousin Amy (Trevor's dad's sister's daughter) was in town from Toronto at a medical conference. She's a doctor in Canada, though she's only been there a couple of years. She likes it, but misses Dublin (her hometown) a bit. Trevor and I, his dad and Fran, and Sean and Angi were able to go to dinner with her at a great restaurant in our neighborhood. Regardless of where she'll be in the near future, we plan to see her again, hopefully soon. Trevor had spent time with her when he was visiting the family in Ireland, but that was years ago. The seven of us had a wonderful time, and we're going to harass her to see us again.
Tuesday was my second sitting for the tattoo, and after three hours in the chair (lordy it was painful by the end of that third hour...) I met up with Trevor, Brenda, and Derek at the restaurant for some deelicious dinner. I wasn't able to enjoy the second part of the meal, though, because I was achy and exhausted after my sitting. Luckily, the next afternoon, after I'd finished with class, I swung downtown to pick up B & D, then we visited Trevor at the gallery. They really liked it--the show is a lot of sculpture and installation, and quite interesting. The three of us headed to our hood (the terribly far 1.2 miles away from the gallery) and we grabbed a beer before I took them to the few blocks to the Blue Line to catch the train back to O'Hare for their 8 p.m. flight. I graded papers the rest of the night (or, as some would say, I passed out from exhaustion on the couch) and then was back up at 5 a.m. to head out for class.
Thursday, I was happy not to have a thing to do after class. It was 2 hours of driving to get back to the city from Crystal Lake on Thursday afternoon because so many people were heading downtown for fireworks. And of course I'd left my phone at home on the charger, so I had to listen to music instead of finishing my book on tape (Hell House by Richard Matheson--it's just okay, but it's almost over and I have to see who else survives the haunted mansion). But home was lovely once I got there, and Trevor and I did not much of anything to prepare for the Segar's BBQ the next night.
The Fourth of July came, and T. and I went to see Wall-E, which was cute, fun to watch, and just plain enjoyable. We thought of Greg because during the previews we saw a trailer for Beverly Hills Chihuahuas, and we know that he, Paula, and the girls will be going to see that one as soon as it comes out. That night we went to Dan and Simona's BBQ. Lots of food was eaten, and lots of fireworks were set of by us (not me specifically, but Trevor) and the rest of the neighborhood. We didn't stay the whole night, because I'm an old lady who tires easily (and gets eaten by mosquitoes easily), but we had a great time.
Saturday came and we attended another BBQ to see some more out-of-towners. My old roommate Jenn was in from Massachusetts with her husband, Jeremy. Their friend Tara had a barbecue for them in Rogers Park, and we headed up there to grill up some Tofurki Sausage (tasty, actaully) and catch up with the Evanses. It was great to see them, and Jeremy admired my new tattoo (though made fun of my Sherman the Robot. Rude.). We're hoping to see them again before they leave, but they're not here for too long and seem to have a booked schedule. No matter what, though, it was so good to see them and it made us crave a visit out East soon.
Today, Trevor had an appointment at the Mac store's Genius Bar to fix his computer screen. His iPhone also had a screen issue, and they gave him a new one on the spot! His computer will take a couple of days to fix, but he backed everything up and is good to go on his old computer for the time being. We walked up to the MCA to catch the Jeff Koonz exhibit. We agreed that it wasn't our taste in art, but there were some terrifically interesting (and eye-catching) pieces. I think we spent more time in the MCA store than walking through the exhibit. We stopped at Chipotle for tacos, found some folders I needed for school tomorrow, and then saw Iron Man, which was F-U-N. Robert Downey Jr. was charismatic and made the movie as fun as it was. It looked great, was funny, charming, and just a perfect summer movie. Better than Wall-E, though they're not quite in the same genre, so it's not fair to compare them.
And now, after eating at our favorite Thai restaurant for dinner, we're home for the night with Henry (who, I haven't even mentioned, has been a kennel-coughing, blanket-eating, blanket-barfing, collar-gnawing spaz for the past two weeks). I am supposed to be grading student papers, but am writing this blog instead. And now that I have nothing else to describe, I guess I'll go do my work. Blergh!
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
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