Chicago Day 5

We've been here only for 5 full days but I feel as if it's been weeks. For the past 2 nights I've spent the nights with my good friend Katja. We haven't been able to hang out as much as I would have liked but it's still good just to see each other for a bit. I think we're going to try to get Oprah tickets someday!! I'm not really a huge fan of Oprah but it would still be cool to go. Wouldn't it be great it we went on her Favorite Things show?! "Everybody gets a humpback whale!!" (Dane Cook joke, in case you didn't get it.)

Yesterday I got my hair trimmed and the stylist (Tony from Italy) straightened it for me. WOW! I LOVE my new hair!! Of course as soon as it gets wet it will be curly again so that's why I'm never taking a shower ever again (kidding.) It didn't take too long to style straight but I don't think I'd be able to do it well at home. I'll definitely be getting it done like this more often!

After the hair, Susan and I went out to the Northbrook Shopping Center. I got some stuff from Lush (soap place) and Susan got a lot of things from fancy stores like Juicy Couture, Ralph Lauren, Burberry, etc... They all have nice things but I just cannot justify spending 90 bucks on a T-shirt. Are you kidding me? $90 for a shirt? NO WAY! Then we ate at Boston Blackey's. They have really great burgers for a very reasonable price.

Tonight Susan, Josette, Katja and I are going to the Baton Club. I guess it's just a show with lots of hot ladies that you later learn are actually men. I've heard lots of good things about it so hopefully it will live up to its reputation.

In other news, school starts for me on Jan. 13. You may be thinking, "Wait a minute. I thought you were done with school. Why are you going back?" Yes, I am done being a student. I was hired to teach one section of Intro to Media Writing this spring. I pays about the same as teaching 2 sections last semester did... so I need to find another job. Problem is... economy sucks. No one is hiring. SO, I'm trying to figure out what the hell I'm going to do with my life. Maybe just stay at home and not spend money. Sounds like a plan to me.

So school is starting in a few days and I have yet to write the syllabus (and by "write" I mean revise from last semester to this semester) so I am currently sitting in a little cafe with free internet downstairs from Katja's apartment. My plan is to write this dang syllabus now but I think we all know it's not going to happen until Monday night.

Wish me luck.

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The Mysterious Gold Key

Tonight Jerry, our niece Lauren, and my friend Katja were on our way home from dinner and I was in the back seat of my car trying to clean up a bit (empty pop cans, water bottles, receipts, wrappers, etc...). I looked in the seat pocket on the back of the passenger seat and found something mysterious inside. It was a gold key. A big gold key. I mean this is no average key. The "handle" part is at least 1" x 1" and has the inscription L 21 on it.

This is not my key. I have no clue where it came from or how long it's been there. It's freaking me out. Not really freaking me out, just really making me wish I was a CSI person and had the brains to figure out where it's from. A part of me thinks that this might actually be MY key... but I think I would remember if I had a ginormous key like this. It's not my safety deposit box key, not a work or home key, not the key to my chastity belt--uh I mean my diary... The fact that it says "L 21" on it makes me think it's to something like an apartment or a mailbox or safety deposit box. Who knows?!?!

Chicago has been great so far. We've shopped and dined and entertained. Yesterday Jerry, Susan and I went to the movie Gran Torino. Other than some crappy acting at times (Clint Eastwood was, of course, great), the movie was pretty good. I thought it was supposed to be an action movie but it's actually a kindhearted story about a war veteran who goes through a racially-based change of heart. He lives in a neighborhood that has become a mostly Hmong area in his town and struggles to find any way to relate to these people. I don't want to give away any part of the movie, but it's definitely a tear-jerker that will really make you think about immigrants and refugees differently. I would recommend that everyone see this movie -- even if you wait to rent it.

Today Lauren came into the city and we had lunch and saw Jess from the first season of Rock of Love with Bret Michaels. I've never watched the show but Lauren knew her and got really excited. I guess this Jess lady won the whole thing... but Rock of Love is now in the 3rd season so I guess her love with Bret is over... what a shocker! After lunch we decided to go see some puppies so we went to a place called Pocket Puppies. They specialize in little dogs and little dog accessories. They had about 15 puppies there that were all so tiny and cute! One dog was a teacup chihuahua that was about the size of, well, a teacup. It was so little and cute from a distance but one we got close it was kind of ugly. It's eyes were bulging and on the sides of its head. Ew. They had a bigger chihuahua that we got to play with for a while and was really cute and sweet. But then Jerry started feeling itchy so we had to leave. Next we went to the Anti-Cruelty Society downtown and looked at the dogs and cats. There really weren't a lot of dogs... and I think that's good because maybe it means not a lot of dogs are being abused/neglected/dumped in Chicago? Or maybe they don't have enough funding to keep all the cages full.

Tonight we picked up Katja at her office and ate at the Melting Pot... yummy!! Then on the way to drop Katja off, Jerry ran a red light and got pulled over... scary!! And he got a big ticket... crappy!!

Tomorrow Fred's grandson Steven is coming into town from Boston and is staying in the Hancock condo so we must say goodbye to our sweet diggs here. I'm staying with Katja tomorrow night and Jerry's staying with Joe and Josette (and the kids). Then on Thursday Jerry will start setting up for the show, which starts on Friday.

Anyway, it's late and we've got an early morning tomorrow, so I'm calling this a night. Sleep tight, Internet!

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Heading to Chi-town

Jerry and I are preparing to leave for Chicago today. I was hoping we would have been on the road by 8 a.m. but we didn't even get out of bed until 9:30.... oh well. So right now (11:07 a.m.) Jerry's on the phone and I don't think he has any clothes on so we won't be going anytime soon. Even if he was dressed, we still have a ton of things to do before we depart. We were actually supposed to leave yesterday but we got a lot of snow so we delayed departure a day or so. I'm excited to go to Chicago because I haven't seen the Sondag side of the family for over a year... plus we're staying in the Hancock tower for a few nights before we move into a hotel closer to where Jerry's muskie expo is.

I'd love to write more but there is a ton of stuff for me to do and I'm feeling bad about blogging instead of actually being productive. I suppose my first to-do is to make sure Jerry has clothes on-- and he does!! The day may proceed!

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A New Year!

A Belated Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all!!

Since I last blogged I've been thinking about things I need to blog about... and now that I'm actually doing it, I've forgotten what it was I wanted to say. I must be getting old...

Jerry and I had a very nice Christmas. It was quite calm compared to last year's (we spend Christmas Eve and early Christmas morning in the ER after his sister, Susan, got in a car accident-- no worries, just a few bumps and bruises). We had dinner with my family in Moorhead, unwrapped presents, and then waited until the 11 p.m. candlelight ceremony started... well, we attempted to wait. Around 9 p.m. we both got so tired we decided to head home and catch a Christmas morning ceremony instead. This was the first time I was home for Christmas since Jerry and I have been together. Since 2005 we've spent the holiday in Chicago, which is nice, but it's just not home. The first Christmas we spent there we had Christmas Eve dinner at the McDonald's downtown... not exactly what I would consider a "great" Christmas, but it was good being with Jerry and seeing a really big McDonald's store!

For Christmas I got a 16-gallon aquarium that I am really excited to set up (as soon as I find a home for it). At this point, Alison and Brent Olson are sitting in their home in Grand Forks saying, "Oh no, it's the summer of Jen-ocide!!" and I want you to stop! I know why all those fish (and the one frog) died and it won't happen again! .... I hope.... I think I'm going to put some goldfish and either guppies or neon tetras in it. It's going to be so lovely!

I hope everyone has had a wonderful New Year so far-- all two days of it! We had some lake friends over for the evening which was wonderful because two couples brought their kids along so we had Mamie (20 months), Becca (3 months), and Katelyn (9 months) making our home a wonderful place to play! Our friend Matt (I call him Matty) is staying with us for the weekend and he's so fun to have around. He and Jerry have been fishing a lot so far and in the evenings Matty makes me hot chocolate with Bailey's! YUM!

I've been thinking a lot about resolutions for 2009. Normally I don't make resolutions but a few things have really been stressing me out lately and I've decided to take action and make a change. First, I resolve to pay more attention to my finances and create a monthly budget. I am also going to start saving each month. It's so easy to put all my paycheck into my checking account and bypass/ignore the savings account.

I'm also going to take better care of myself. I am back on Weight Watchers and I've been going to the gym on a more regular basis. Speaking of eating well, Jerry, Matt and I are on our way to the Fireside to have dinner with Mo. So, I need to say goodbye.

Oh, one final note, another resolution I have is to blog more often! So hopefully you'll be able to read more from me this year. Love, Jen

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A BIG weekend!

I've been a very busy girl since I last updated. On Thursday Jerry and I went up to Grand Rapids Zorbaz (technically it's called Zorbaz on Pokegama) for the ugly sweater party. I'll get some pics up as soon as I get them on my computer. It was an absolute blast!! Jerry won 1st place for ugliest sweater and actually sang karaoke!! It was terrible, but hey-- I'm no Pavarotti. We met Dakota and Rachel up there and, of course, the crew from Grand Rapids was there: Schulte, Kevin, Tara, Missy, Wade (it was his birthday, too), Brandon... and Patrick Engkjer (sp?) made an appearance-- it was great to see him.. OH!! And Belzy surprised us all by making the trip up! I haven't seen her since ZOP closed and I'm so glad she decided to make the trip. There weren't a ton of people there, but it was one of the most fun nights I've had! We were just going crazy and letting loose!

We headed back home Friday afternoon and recovered for the rest of the day. Then, today (Saturday) I graduated!!! I finally earned my master of arts in communication! I was the very first master's student to walk across the stage-- which was pretty cool. Plus I got to wear a Phi Kappa Phi medal so I felt very important. I'm really going to miss all my friends at NDSU and I hope we will all stay in touch. I'll still be back there this spring because I think I'll be teaching one class on Tuesday/Thursday but it won't be the same.

Well, now that I'm no longer a student and not really employed for the time being... that means I get to lay around and complain about stuff... politics, entertainers, sports, my husband (I do that anyway), the weather, other people, the TV, the radio, the food, etc, etc, etc.... In order to do that I have to be really well-rested. So, I am going to take a nap. Goodnight!

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So close to the end!

I am graduating in four days! Finally, after almost 19 years of school, I can finally (I hope) say that I'm done. It feels so good but it's also scary because I have little clue what the next step will be. There are so many things I want to do with my life and figuring out which route to take first is intimidating.

Speaking of being done with school, I just found out today-- the Tuesday of finals week-- that I still have to write another paper. See, I'm enrolled in an independent study with my advisor, and just got a message today saying I need to have my final "research report" in his mailbox this week. WHAT? Research report? It is the first time I've ever heard of such a thing. We've only met for the independent study (which, by the way, I don't even need to graduate) twice and the first time we met he said, "Your goal for the semester is to finish your master's paper." So that's what I've been working on and that's what I finished this semester. I didn't know I needed a separate paper for this independent study course, but he says I need a paper to grade to get the credits. Oh, and to top all this off, my advisor has been in Africa for the vast majority of the semester so it's not possible to just to talk to him in his office to get all this straightened out. Yay.

In other news, I'm sick. Started with a sore throat a few days ago, and now it's a full-blown cold. Stuffy nose, congestion headaches, watery eyes, sore muscles, the whole kit and kaboodle (what does that mean, anyway?). Finals week is definitely not a good time to get sick. While driving into school this morning I was as high as a kite on Dayquil and could hardly keep my eyes open because they're so sensitive to the light (and of course I forgot my sunglasses) and I kept swerving off the road and would find myself either going really fast or really slow. I'm feeling better tonight which is good because I have a lot of grading to get done tomorrow-- plus the departmental holiday party where I'm supposed to be playing Santa. I've been told to bring my Santa hat and sunglasses.... not sure why.

Enjoy the pic of the Santa hat in use. Jerry and I went to take some Christmas pics out on the ice before the big blizzard came, but the light was so bad that none of them turned out. So now we have a bunch of random pictures of us on the ice.

Does anyone watch Dexter on Showtime? The season finale was last night, and although it was a little disappointing, I still love that show. It's just great! Can't wait for the next season. It's one of those shows where at the end of each season you think, "How can they make another season?" But they always do and they're always good!

Well, time to go blow my nose and put myself into a drug-induced coma until the morning. Goodnight!

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On the hunt...

I'm looking for a job. It's one of the most miserable experiences I've ever had to go through... well, maybe not quite, but it really sucks. The job that's at the top of my list is at MSCTC in Detroit Lakes as an academic advisor. I sent my application materials in yesterday so hopefully I'll get an interview and things will go well. We'll see. It's frustrating to have no clue who else is applying because I have no clue what kind of chances I have. I think that I'm definitely qualified for the position, but who knows... maybe some amazing person who already has a ton of advising experience also applied and will whoop my ass. Can I say ass on a blog? Oh, well, I just did... twice.

Anyway, keep your fingers crossed about that job. I'll also still be teaching one class at NDSU... I think. There is one section of Media Writing that needs to be covered so I guess I'm teaching it AND also developing it as a hybrid online course so I can also work in D.L. (I HOPE!).

So on Thursday I decided it was time to put the Christmas tree up so Jerry and I hauled it downstairs. First of all, last year, Jerry and Kyle were in charge of putting the tree away and I've learned to never let that happen unsupervised ever again! The tree wasn't in its box (yes, it's artificial-- we have cats people!!) but rather smashed into a tiny spare bedroom closet so when we tried to get it out some branches were caught on the door and bent back. Then, when we got the tree downstairs, I noticed we were missing the stand. So I searched high and low and in my search for the stand, I realized the vast majority of the ornaments were missing. Eventually, I found the stand, the tree rug thingy, and all of our missing ornaments not-so-gently shoved in the closet under the stairs! Agh!! Jerry denies that it was him that put them there, and I know I didn't do that, so we'll just blame Kyle. He's our scapegoat.

Then I had this whole ridiculous battle getting the lights to work on the tree. I went into town to get some light-battling gear, and by the time I got home Jerry had them all working. And he said he had them working in less that five minutes. uh... I am not a handywoman!

Once I get the tree decorated I'll post a picture. But for now I have speeches to grade! yay... not excited.

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