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!