Ennui

I don’t really have anything to say. I am just sitting at my desk and on my lunch break. I just found this amazing word in my thesaurus: ennui. This day is going fast so far, so that is good. Like before, I am still looking forward to my relaxing weekend. I actually made an appointment to get a massage on Sunday. Ooooh-wee! I can’t wait. I am sure I will be lethargic for the rest of the evening. I feel like I have 87935 knots in my back, so hopefully the massage therapist will triple the time of the massage. I try to weasel a massage out of John all the time, but I rarely get one, now I am resorting to pay for one.

We are supposed to get bad storms coming through tonight. Someone mentioned a “squall line” and I feel like we have had many of those lately. Just the phrase “squall line” frightens me. A couple months ago I awoke to a really loud scary siren with a man’s voice telling everyone to seek refuge. I honestly felt like it was WWII. John grabbed his wind-up radio and we went in the downstairs hall of our building. No one else was awake but us, freaking out. Hopefully that doesn’t happen again tonight because that will only add 923838 more knots in my back.

Well my Stouffer’s lasagna is getting cold, so I better go.

Wow. Sorry this blog was so uneventful. I will try to make up for it next time. Ciaooo.

The Art of Doing Nothing

I have decided that this weekend will be full of nothing. I'm not driving anywhere, getting on a plane, or doing anything. I haven't had a weekend like this for a long time. I think it is taking its toll on me because I got sick last week and now I can't kick it. It has turned into a head cold and I look like an idiot with my mouth open all the time, but I can't breathe. I have lost count on how many times I have sneezed today and I currently doped up on some cold medicine. I just want to snuggle with my computer monitor and fall fast asleep.

I usually don't like weekends when I do nothing, but I have been deprived of "nothing" for too long. This weekend I am going to sit around in my PJs as long as I want, watch some sort of marathon to increase the probability of doing nothing, and basically just lounge and do nice activities. If weather is nice, maybe I will ride my bike in the park! I might even hit up the outlet mall because the mornings are just getting harder while I try to find work clothes to wear. I could even read "The Art of Doing Nothing" but that would mean I was doing something, right? They should put that on tape for people. It is just cruel to make people read a book to tell them how to do nothing. Something tells me that the people who actually need this book, don't have time to read it. I, on the other hand, will master these techniques this weekend! I know it is only Monday, but I have to make this plan and try to stick to it. This morning John IM-ed me and said, "Let's do nothing this weekend." He said his wallet needs to rest & I know I need to rest. I am glad I have a companion to do "nothing" with and I can't wait.

CHICAGO

I’m back from my whirlwind weekend in Chicago! I fully understand now why it is called the windy city! I had a wonderful birthday and great memories from my birthday weekend. On Friday, John and I spent the day at Shedd Aquarium and saw some amazing fish. We bonded with otters, dolphins, beluga whales, turtles, and basically anything else that swam and we thought was cute. We also saw some freaky stuff that really gave us the creeps. We met up with Kedavies and Katie for some fun St. Patty’s festivities. That night we celebrated St. Patrick’s Day (the right way) with green beer and friends.

Saturday we walked around the city with our tour guide, Katie. She is a spectacular tour guide and will take you inside of buildings. She also brought us to the animal shelter where she works and John and I almost walked out with two large orange kitty brothers. We hit up Michigan Avenue and I rambled on about Oprah facts. We caught the game at Katie’s apartment (which is the perfect size apartment for mini-me) and cheered for the Hoosiers. The TV network put us out of our misery and switched to another game, so we didn’t have to watch the final fall of IU this season. The only thing that diverted our attention away from losing was Annie, Katie's cat, and her amazing kitty tricks. I have never seen a cat like her go hog wild on this toy. We laughed pretty hard everytime she batted the ball around really fast and it never got old. We stuffed ourselves with Chicago pizza and contemplated snoozin’ on the couch all night. We went out and met up with some more old college friends--Amanda and Andrea. It was so great to see everyone again. Just like old times, but only in a really loud Latino bar. We peaced out of there and headed to the Gin Mill. On our way, I bumped into an old IU friend on the street. What are the odds? The Gin Mill treated us right and before we knew it, we were singing “Man in the Mirror” only to be followed by “Africa” at 2:30am.
We were rudely awoken to it being morning too soon. We crashed at Katie’s apartment and rushed back out to the suburbs to get ready at our hotel for our last day (and my birthday!) in Chicago. John and I spent the day at the Field Museum. We saw Sue, the T-Rex, hieroglyphics, and the exhibit for The Evolving Planet (where we saw fossils found from John's hometown). It was really a fascinating day at the museum and I had a little birthday cake too! We were sad to have to leave, but we had a fantastic time in the windy city. I absolutely love Chicago. Thank you all for showing us a great time! We will back soon!

Personal Advertisement: Katie has found a new jacket (circa 1991) in her closet at home that has never been used. It is reversible—hot pink or purple, take your pick! The late ‘80s were about letting you be control of your fashion. Warning: The jacket does tend to add about 45 pounds to whoever wears it and bunches up in the back. Katie is going to put this jacket on eBay, but I thought I’d do my share and post this advertisement on my own site. Interested buyers name your price. I’ll let Katie know you are interested and she will have to decide if you are worthy of this great find.

*P.S. It is the 1st day of Spring and it is snowing outside! It waited all winter to snow today?!

The stars at night, are big and bright, deep in the heart of Texas!

I'm back from my business trip and really loved Dallas. I didn't get to see that much, but I enjoyed my time there. The days were really long and I was exhausted at the end of each day. I've learned that even if my shoes have little heels, that does not mean that I won't be shifting weight in pain by the afternoon. I met tons of people and most were international. It wasn't too shabby being surrounded my cute foreign plastic surgeons. Heeeeeeeeey. Or shall I say Ciaooooooooooo.

My hotel room was really nice and I fantasized about living there long-term. Big comfy beds, constant clean towels, huge bathroom, great water pressure, living room, & room service. All the essentials. :) I took full advantage of it all. I even read the newspaper in bed. For a second, I thought I was a 70 year old man. I spent some time with Julianne and she showed me the city (and took me up on a sleepover!). We went out to Greenville Ave, supposedly the hotspot in Dallas, and had a great dinner at a wine bistro. She became a little tour guide and showed me downtown and where JFK was shot. It was strange to see it in person and not on the 2 hour conspiracy shows that I watch about it.

The city surprised me on how modern and fast-paced it was. I knew it was a big city, but I didn't feel like I was in Texas until I saw this. The meeting was held at a hotel in the Galleria mall, so I sometimes grabbed lunch and watched people ice skate in the mall. Yes, they ice skate in the mall. It is a great way to pass the time while munching and realize that it really is too late to learn how to skate after the age of 7.

Anyway, I'm back and survived the flight. Anyone that knows me, knows I have anxiety about flying. I didn't think it would be appropriate to grab my boss at take-off, mid-flight, whenever I heard anything ding or see someone's face that looks frightened, and at the landing. But I did it any way. Just kidding, I just sat there freaking out to myself with my palms producing about 3 gallons of sweat. Sorry, that was gross.

Well I am really tired and need to catch up on sleep, plus I need to focus all my attention on this incredibly strange family that is stuck in the middle ages on Wife Swap. (Seriously, who are these people??? "I don't need to school. I have plenty of friends. They are all just on vacation." Yeah freaking right. You home-schooled shoe-making chivalry enthused person. Please, I hope some of you are watching.) Anyway, like I was saying, I am going to bed now. Tomorrow is dinner & game night with friends! I gotta rest up for the serious competition. This is going to be another busy week with work & American Idol on and everything. John and I are also going to Chicago for the weekend and will be celebrating my birthday! Wow, I am going to be 24. How did this happen? I guess going on business trips ages you. Soon I really will be a 70 year old reading my newspaper in bed!

Yee-Haw!

I am taking my first "business trip" this week. How did I become an adult that takes business trips? Only people like my Dad does stuff like that. I used to play office with Kyleigh when I was younger. She was always the boss, imagine that, and I was her secretary or some other subordinate role like a shoe-shiner or whatever. We wrote notes on little pieces of paper and shoved them in random drawers in our desk and took phone calls and messages. I then relayed the messages on to Kyleigh and she would tell me what my next move should be. "I'm really busy today," Kyleigh would say, or "Tell them I'll call them back later." Sometimes I took the initiative to relay these messages on my own when people would call. We even had the pink message pads and I had the authority to check the Urgent box whenever I felt it was necessary. I enjoyed "office" better than "school" because Kyleigh was always the teacher and I was the student. She would wear high heels around the house and tell me there was a fire drill. I would have to go outside and she would follow, telling me to be quiet. Maybe this is why Kyleigh is a teacher and I am in business.

So back to my business trip. I am going to Dallas. Never been to Dallas and I’m excited to see the city. I have never been and I think it will be strange to take myself so seriously. Well, I probably won't really do that, but maybe others will think I am serious. I will be wearing a suit everyday. Or the same couple suits juxtaposed on one another. I'm not that professional to have enough suits for business trips. I also got some nice luggage as an early birthday present from my parents. Another accessory to reflect my oh-so-important status. And the luggage all matches...that is really high class. I am going to stay in a nice hotel with a beautiful lobby and I'm pretty sure I will bounce on the bed a few times. Maybe even order room service? Open that little chest of alcohol and candy bars that my parents used not even allow me to gaze upon? I am even going to visit with a college friend while there. I invited her over for a sleepover, not a very professional thing to do, but I'm still 23, I can do what I want. My only fear is that I will be like Bridget Jones during the whole trip...fumbling over all my words, getting into uncomfortable situations, and not having anything work out. I guess in the end, everything worked out for her, so that brings me hope. I'll keep you updated after I return! Ciao!

In My Life

The other night I went to a Beatles concert. When I closed my eyes it was The Beatles, but when I opened them it was 4 guys dressed up as John, Paul, George, and Ringo. The few entertaining hours I had enjoying “The Beatles” really flooded my mind with memories. I know The Beatles were huge back in the day and I wish I could have been a part of the Beatle-mania craze. As a former *nsync crazy fan, I can’t imagine the lines I would have crossed with The Beatles. I would probably have been one of those girls crying at their concerts. Even at our fake Beatles concert, we have a crazy fan. Some middle-aged woman threw herself on stage and had to be taken away by security. We all cheered and were proud of our fellow crazy audience member. I was taken aback by actually seeing how The Beatles have made their way into everyone’s lives, not matter their age. While at the concert, I looked over to a girl that was probably 7 years old. She sat there singing along, knowing all the words. I know I didn’t experience The Beatles firsthand, but I never thought about future generations identifying with them. This young girl was singing the same song I was singing and the same song so many others have sung before us. I also had another realization when the band started to play “Roll Over Beethoven. This song is so old, and some may consider it the 1st of its time when Chuck Berry sung it. The Beatles took this song all over the world, and now that I live in St. Louis, I can actually still go see the real thing, Chuck Berry perform his original song.

Well gonna write a little letter
Gonna mail it to my local D.J.
It's a rockin' little record
I want my jockey to play
Roll over Beethoven
I gotta hear it again today
You know my temperature's risin'
And the jukebox's blowin' a fuse
My hearts beatin' rhythm
And my soul keeps singing the blues
Roll over Beethoven

A lot of Beatles songs bring back memories for me. I remember being on a road trip as a kid and sharing headphones with Courtney listening to Beatles music. Kyleigh fell asleep and we used her cd player and used up all the batteries. We listened to at least 4 Beatles cds and played dumb when she awoke, very angry that her batteries were dead. I remember being at an 8th grade graduation picnic and sad that I was getting ready to move to the Midwest. My friends and I danced in the pouring rain to The Beatles and I knew I would always remember that moment. In college, while studying abroad, I went to a Bealtes cover band every week to dance the night away. It was the tiniest club you could imagine and completely underground. Passerbys on the street had no idea what kind of party they were walking by. We befriended “The Beatles” and some became a little more friendly. One, so friendly, that now, she moved back to Italy and is back with her Beatle. Some of those nights were the best I have ever had. We danced until the wee hours of the morning and I think those nights will be the closest I will come to a true Beatles concert. I still laugh when I think about the “Help Guys.” These Italian men must have really loved the song “Help” because they took off their clothes (Yes, I am serious) every time The Beatles sang it. At first my friends and I were wierded out by these men, but over the months we grew more fond of them. Towards the end of our abroad experience we danced and enjoyed The Beatles nights with the “Help Guys.” Other songs remind me of late nights at the beach, college, or in the Burkett's family room with John on the guitar and playing

There are places I remember
All my life, though some have changed,
Some forever, not for better,
Some have gone and some remain.
All these places had their moments,
With lovers and friends I still can recall,
Some are dead and some are living,
In my life I’ve loved them all.

The Beatles music makes me feel love, sadness, happiness, and peace in ways that no other artists have reached me. I guess that is why the have withstood the test of time and will continue to engage new fans with music. I know that The Beatles will always influence my life through music. Their lyrics help me appreciate life and bring peace to my mind.

And when the night is cloudy,
There is a light that shines on me,
Shine until tomorrow, let it be.