Da Bears

So as we all know I don’t do sports. Think about them, talk about them, watch them, or never ever play them, but I do keep up with major games – especially when my home team is winning. I leave the sports talk for my brother, but in honor of the Bears going to the Super Bowl, here’s a list that a friend posted and I thought I’d share here. The question on my mind though is, will I get to hear the Super Bowl Shuffle once again?

In honor of the Chicago Bears going to Super Bowl 41, here are 41 things that have changed from the last time the Chicago Bears played in the Super Bowl (which was Super Bowl 20 in 1986):

1. Brian Urlacher was in 2nd grade. Rex Grossman was in kindergarten.

2. Peyton Manning was 10 years old. Eli Manning was 5 years old. Their dad, Archie, had just retired from the NFL two years earlier.

3. Lovie Smith was in his first college coaching job at University of Tulsa.

4. Ronald Reagan was the President, and Harold Washington was the Mayor. James R. Thompson was the Governor running for re-election and his office was in the new State of Illinois Center, which is now called the James R. Thompson Center.

5. George W. Bush was 39 years old and still drinking. His father would run for President two years later.

6. Rod Blagojevich was just out of law school and was a low-level
prosecutor working for the Cook County State’s Attorney, Richard M. Daley.

7. Barack Obama had just moved to Illinois, and Osama bin Laden was fighting the Soviets in Afghanistan.

8. Red Grange and Sid Luckman were still alive.

9. The Colts had just moved to Indianapolis from Baltimore and were the doormat of the AFC EAST. The Bears were the champions of the NFC CENTRAL.

10. Property in Wicker Park and Bucktown was cheap because they were really bad neighborhoods.

11. CD players, cellular phones and fax machines were expensive,
cutting edge technology and only a few people used them.

12. “Surfing the net” meant a volleyball game at the beach, and virtually no one used the “@” key on their TYPEWRITER.

13. Sam Walton was still alive and was wealthier than Bill Gates. Windows were panes of glass…not a computer operating system that was a pain in something that rhymes with glass.

14. The Soviet Union was our main enemy, and Saddam Hussein
was our ally.

15. There were no lights at Wrigley Field, and the oldest park in
baseball belonged to the White Sox.

16. Michael Jordan and Ozzie Guillen had just finished their “Rookie of the Year” seasons. Jordan’s coach was Stan Albeck and Guillen’s manager was Tony LaRussa. (Three out of four of those guys are now wearing championship rings, but what ever happened to Stan Albeck???)

17. Soldier Field had AstroTurf. The Houston Oilers played in the
AstroDome.

18. The Fox TV Network didn’ t exist, and ESPN had yet to air a
single live pro football, baseball, or basketball game.

19. MTV played music and so did some AM radio stations.

20. Lindsay Lohan and Hilary Duff weren’t born yet; Jackie Gleason and Richard Nixon were still alive.

21. Hillary Clinton had dark hair and was the First Lady……of Arkansas!

22. “The Love Boat” and “Diff’rent Strokes” were still on network TV every week.

23. Martin Luther King Day was about to be celebrated as a National Holiday for the first time. “9-11″ was a phone number many cities were just adopting for emergency calls – not a date of terror.

24. I-88 was called “Illinois Rt. 5″ and I-355 hadn’t been built yet.

25. What the CTA now calls “The Blue Line” had just been extended to O’Hare, and the Orange Line to Midway hadn’t been built yet.

26. Q101 played adult contemporary music and most teenagers listened to WLS. Music from the 70’s and 80’s wasn’t “retro” yet.

27. Tiger Woods hadn’t won an amateur golf tournament yet.

28. Most people knew Seattle just as a city in the Northwest U.S. – not the home of grunge or Starbucks.

29. Only Southerners went to NASCAR races and only Northerners went to NHL games.

30. The Chicago area had no Wal-Marts, Targets or Home Depots, and Walgreen’s was only in the Midwest.

31. Depending on your bank, your ATM card was good at only “Cash Station” machines or only at “Money Network” machines, but there were no fees.

32. “The Phone Company” was Illinois Bell.

33. They still sold leaded gasoline and you couldn’t pay for your gas at the pump.

34 . Discover Card hadn’t been discovered yet, and Miller Genuine Draft hadn’t been brewed yet.

35. Stereo TVs were the rage that HDTVs are now. 8-track tapes were still being made.

36. All of the Blockbuster Video stores that are now closing hadn’t opened yet. Betamax was still competing with VHS.

37. You paid cash for your groceries and fast food, and you used a travel agent to book airline flights.

38. Bowl games didn’t have corporate sponsors, and if the #1 ranked team was in a conference that played in one bowl game and the #2 ranked team was in a conference that played in another bowl game, then so be it! They let the sportswriters vote on the national champion. (and no college football games were played after New Year’s Day)

39. The Baltimore Ravens were the Cleveland Browns. The Tennessee Titans were the Houston Oilers. The Oakland Raiders were the Los Angeles Raiders that had just left Oakland. The Arizona Cardinals (the former Phoenix Cardinals) were the St. Louis Cardinals, and the St. Louis Rams were the Los Angeles Rams. The Jacksonville Jaguars, Carolina Panthers, Houston Texans, and the Cleveland Browns (not to be confused with the
Cleveland Browns that are now the Baltimore Ravens) didn’t exist. The Seattle Seahawks (last year’s NFC Champions) played in the AFC.

40. Number 9 on the Bears was their Punky QB…not their perky field goal kicker.

41. There were no iPods – just Sony Walkmen – so if you said something about a “shuffle” on your Walkman, they assumed you were listening to “The Super Bowl Shuffle”

and one thing that will be the same from the Chicago Bears last Super Bowl appearance…..

THEY WILL WIN!!!! GO BEARS!!!!!!

Happy Halloween!!

Tonight is mischief night and I’m sitting here in my pink pjs writing this blog. Ah well. Anyway, I never heard of mischief night until I came out to the east coast, actually my uncle told me about it. No mischief here unless you count all the clothes in the living room, the lights and TV on everywhere and a rose sitting out. Apparently my annoying food stealing roommate is out causing mischief. This is not about my terrible living situation, this is about Halloween!!!

I’ve always loved dressing up until recently. Maybe because I hit that age where it’s not about dressing up but it’s about how slutty/”sexy” you can look… and I just don’t do “slutty.” I’m more of a “cute, trying to be sexy but I giggle too much.” Not that you need to know this.Anywho, tomorrow I will be going to New York City to watch the Halloween Parade!!! I’m sooo excited. 1, because it won’t be too cold, and 2, it’s going to be awesome. Since I figured that I have no idea where I’ll be next year, why not take advantage of how freakin close I am to NYC. This means going dancing on a Thursday, uh… okay, that’s all I’ve done so far. But now I can add going to the New York Halloween Parade to my list! I’m pumped!!! I’m going to be dressed as a pilot actually… well, sort of. Let’s say I’m going to be a “cute” pilot (see comment above about being slutty).

Here is a link about the Halloween Parade if you’ve never heard about it (I’m only saying this because I’ve never heard about it until I came here to Montclair)

New York’s Village Halloween Parade

And a little something to get you into the mood… by the way, saw the movie in 3-D… awesome. Go see it.

I’m Back at School

Yippee! I’m back to the super speed of school internet! This is very exciting stuff since all summer I’ve been only able to check my e-mail to read the highlights and that took an hour (sucky dial-up). But here I am, back finally, and boy am I sleepy…

So I will now leave you with an awesome video that I first saw on VH1 (I think) and then I clicked it through my cousin’s IM away message. Check it out.

Treadmill Dance. OK-Go’s “Here It Goes Again”

Now my question is… how long did it take to practice the dance to make it look that good? (Or is it just good editing?)

Happy 4th!

I accidently posted this twice and the other version won’t seem to go away.  I’ll try again later today… 

An overcast morning here in America’s birthplace on America’s birthday.  When I used to live in the city, my mother always told me to go to the fireworks in Philly since it is America’s birthplace… I mean, Philly should have the biggest celebration, right?  Well, I did my last year that I lived in the city, and it was so… hm… not worth it.  But at least I can say that I went.  Just like you would really only go to the big 3rd of July fireworks in Chicago looking over the Lake only once every several years… just to say that you went.  (Last time I went I was right against the fence of Buckingham Fountain, and could barely move).  By the way, the fireworks in Chicago were way better then the ones in Philly… Last year around this time Live 8 was happening here and Sir Elton John was preforming for the 4th festivities… I didn’t attend either… actually, I don’t remember what I did.  And that’s the day I’m going to have today, a very non-memorable one.  Since it’s going to rain and I’ve lounged about all weekend by the pool, I need to get some work done at my non-air-conditioned home since I’ve been staying at a friend’s place all weekend where there is air-conditioning… and a pool.  I’m not usually a pool person, but when it’s in someone’s backyard and there’s some privacy, it’s fantastic.  I’m slowly trying to loose this farmer’s tan I’ve seem to develop.  My friend from the NYC area told me that I was the first person she’s ever heard use the term “farmer’s tan.”  What a city girl. 

I’m actually looking forward to going back to work tomorrow.  Amazing… It’s supposed to rain though, so maybe no swimming at Sesame Place.  After the first day I seriously though about quitting.  I’m not getting paid enough for the 12 hour day that I had, and was it really worth it.  But then I think about the 7 little girls that I watch over and know I have to stay with them. 

Hm, the sun’s about to come out.  Maybe I’ll get one more dip in the pool before I go home.

Have a fun and safe holiday today!!

And an article for the road:

In Queens, It’s the Glorious 4th, and 6th, and 16th, and 25th… (New York Times) ~ We all celebrate Independence

A repeat

This post won’t seem to go away… I accidentally posted the above post twice and this just won’t delete… and I really don’t have more to say.  So you get this lame post with an explanation why it’s lame.  Sorries.

Retraction

Well, I might have said some pretty harsh things in my last post about men. I guess all men don’t suck and I really am sorry if I said anything hurtful or anything I said at all, just ignore it if you think it pertains to you. It probably doesn’t and I was drunk. So, I’m sorry.

Anywho, this week is going to be nice and relaxing, that is if my central air doesn’t decide to give up on me. Curse this heat! I think I actually prefer winter… but then once winter comes I really don’t prefer cold… so hm. Crap. That air conditioner is really making a lot of noise. It’s cooler outside then in my house!!! Grumble!

Not as if you really care, but that guy never called me back after he said that he would. Wait, hm, I don’t remember what day was that rambling drunk post, but I did call him, he actually picked up, talked to him for two seconds, he had to go and said he’d call me back “later,” whenever that may be. So I give up on that guy. Well, not like I really had any hope in the first place, but it could have been some fun. Ah well.

I’m actually excited about my job. It sounds very tiring, but I think I’m going to truly enjoy it. Open House for the camp is on Saturday and I get to meet my group of 4 year old girls. Exciting!!! Alright, my computer is super slow. Once again, I have to mention that I miss my super fast Internet. Sigh.

Boy Speak

Another lonely Friday night, this time listening to the thunder and rain outside and hoping that my place doesn't flood or something crazy like that. Once again, waiting for a phone call that probably will never come. At least not tonight. Sigh. I think I screwed up on this whole "dating" thing. I mean, seriously, I didn't realize that there are rules to this. And then there is the whole "boy speak." When he says later that came be up to 7 days or until you call back. You can't call back in the same day necessarily because that could look desperate, but then again, waiting too long could make him lose interest, which is what I think is the case in my case. But then I'm losing interest too, so I guess it's okay.

Why do guys need to lie? I would much rather hear the harsh truth, like "I'm just not that into you anymore, or ever was" then, "well, I've been trying to break it off for awhile now if you hadn't noticed" or some crap like that. It kinda sucks to sit back a week later and realize that you were just used. Or a month later. As I slowly get drunker here, I will ramble more about stupid boys. Why do boys think annoying a girl will make her like him? Instead it just pisses me off more, and makes the teaser look more unattractive and undesirable. It is very Jr. High. Heck, anything that has to do with something that resembles something that you would do in Jr. High to attract the opposite sex is annoying at this age. Prove to me that you've grown up dammit! Then there's the whole attraction issue. Can you be attracted to someones personality more then their actual appearance? I've been with several people that I've done the whole thought process of "what would our kids look like" and some of them would be very ugly children. I know that you can be physically attracted to someone but hate everything about them so shouldn't it work the other way also?  Which is better though?  Especially since I can't seem to get both in the same wonderful package?  I'm having doubts that that is possible.  Or strongly like the majority of their personality and just dislike something about their appearance that is just pushing you away a bit?  How important is it to have both?  Well, I guess I know the answer to that.  God I miss fast Internet. 

And how about the whole a little too late syndrome. The whole realizing that you were majorly wrong the majority of the time and suddenly realizing it when you're apart?  But then again, at least he knows what he did wrong and accepts it unlike some other people that thinks he's God or something and thinks it's all about him and he didn't do anything wrong and only did what made him happy. 

Hm.  Though I am tipsy on this rainy Friday night, I know I shouldn't be ranting about boys here.   But since I am a bit tipsy, I don't care and am going to post it anyway.  

Let's focus on some good things going on right now.  Not like anything bad is really going on, but there are some really good things.  Like my job.  I will finally teach.  It is so exciting.  I will be teaching only 3 weeks out of the 9 though, which kinda sucks… a lot, but at least I've got something.  I made my syllabus and everything and am very pumped up.  4-7 year olds.  About 10 of them.  Then I'll also be a camp counselor for all 9 weeks.  I will be in charge of a bunch of 4 year old girls.  Exciting.  Tomorrow's training session got canceled.  I'm a little pissed here.  I could have totally of went somewhere this past week.  Oh well.  I had my visitor come this past week and we had fun together.  So I shouldn't complain. 

Okay.  I'm going to go watch some girly movie and finish drinking the night away until I fall asleep or something.  I feel like a bit of a loser right now.  Not cool. 

The Offical Beginning of Summer

Boy oh boy. What a year. A year ago I just graduated from UPENN, which was a great achievement for me, attended PaFA's graduation and ASE opening where I realized that I don't know anyone really there anymore, I was still with Mark, I was waiting to hear from grad schools, mainly from wonderful Montclair, since I was rejected from my first choice right off the bat, and I was probably planning my big trip to Disney World to attend Star Wars Weekend in anticipation of the last and final installment of the Star Wars movies. A year has passed and I finished my first year at Montclair, survived my first year at Montclair and my MFA program, made some fantastic friends that I truly am thankful for, broke up with Mark, had a party recently basically celebrating the fact that I am not with Mark anymore where my friends and I danced the night away in New York at some 80's club, attended PaFA's ASE opening again, once again realizing that I don't know anyone there anymore (except this time someone remembered me ), went to the second year's MFA Thesis show opening in New York City last night, and now, I'm sitting here, alone on a Friday night avoiding thinking about and obsessing over if some boy is going to call me or not. I mean, I definitely feel more confident about myself and my looks then a year ago, but this is something that I forgot all about, the nerves that build and build with anticipation and worrying if someone likes me or not. God I feel like such a GIRL! Well, I called him and now it's in his hands, hence why I'm sitting here wondering if my phone is going to ring. I'm such a loser. Ugh!

Anyway, enough about boys. Work. I actually will be getting a job this summer that I'm super excited about. Something that hopefully will help me decide what I want to do with my life: I'll be teaching art. How exciting!!! Granted it's for a summer camp for kids, and I'll also be a counselor (it's not an overnight, just a day camp), but it sounds like it's going to be fun and intense. My friend Sunny did this last summer and she liked it and thought I'd really enjoy it, and I really think that I will. Maybe it will change my opinion on teaching younger kids, but somehow I doubt that.

Well, I'm out. I have sitting around and watching bad TV waiting for me.

Have a good weekend!

Happy Birthday to Me ~ Yip-pee

Wow. I'm a whole 25 years old today. Technically I turned 25 yesterday since it's 2 AM now.  Yeahyeahyeah, that's nothing. That's not old at all, I'm a youngin'! Since I can't sleep after a very peaceful day spent here in my dorm and then in NYC with my friend Colin, I'll write about some issues that I've been thinking about and also share what I did on my birthday… not like the three of you who read this don't already know.

I spent the morning recovering from feeling sick the night before… nothing terrible, just a fever and general yuckiness. I'm much better now. I also got to pick out a birthday present from a friend on-line (Thank you) this morning, that was fun. After I finally got my butt out of my dorm room and got on the train to NYC I walked to Chelsea and saw some art (that really didn't impress me), but then I saw someone I recognized – it was Mr. Jerry Saltz himself. I've probably mentioned him before, but he was talking to I assume, an artist, and he wouldn't have recognized me anyway, so I just speed up my walk and went on my merry way. I never could handle seeing people that I kinda know, or I know them, and I know that they don't know me (a lot of "knows"). Very unlike my brother who is recognized by everyone… hmph. (He knows I love him)

Anyway, after Chelsea I went to wait for Colin by his work. He gave me a drawing that he did and had hanging in his room when he lived in France… I love it! I have to get it framed. Anyway, we walked to Battery Park which is near the tip of the island. It has Tom Otterness sculptures everywhere. It is a very cool place and wanted to see it ever since Tom came to talk at Montclair. Colin told me that he stops by this park every morning before he goes to work and since it was such a beautiful day we walked to it. It was awesome. I always love just sitting in parks where there are kids playing and it just seems peaceful, even when there are kids yelling and screaming. After the park we went to eat at a diner and then saw Ice Age 2. It definitely was not as good as the first. It had its funny moments, but overall, not noteworthy. A little disappointing. But then again, all I heard about it was that it was funny for the kids, but not as amusing for the adults, and that's what it was. Then we went to Coldstone ice cream place and I had a "Birthday Cake Remix" which is cake batter ice cream, brownies, sprinkles, and fudge. Mmmmm… it was great!

So it was a good day. Tomorrow my friends from school and I are going to some Chinese buffet that the two guys in my year have gone to and keep talking about and my friend Saraivy and I really want to go… so, why not for my birthday? Since I'm not a big drinker and I love to eat, this seemed just right. Heck, I didn't even have a drink today (sorry John). Over the years it seems like I've gone out to eat more then anything else. Even my 21st birthday, my two closest friends at the time, well, one took me out to lunch at Philly's Hard Rock Cafe, and the other took me out to dinner at the Cheesecake Factory (mmmm). No heavy drinking, no bar hopping… sigh. Oh well. I get drunk after smelling some wine, I'm that much of a lightweight as anyone knows. I've always preferred a small, close group of people that I really care about around me rather then a bunch of drunk people that I barely know. Ah well.

Overall, today was good with all my birthday wishes and tomorrow will be good. All I need now is to get some art work done in time for my final critique May 8th!!! AHHH!!!

Happiness

So I wrote this much earlier yesterday while waiting around to meet my friends in Chelsea.

There are so many things to be thankful for in this world. On days like today I walk around, take a deep breath, step back, and think about all the good things in life. There are so many reasons to get out of bed in the morning. There are also reasons to stay in bed, but on days like today, I can’t help but smile when I step outside no matter how much I’d rather stay in my room and watch bad TV. Besides being thankful for my family and friends who love me, it’s the little things in life. For instance, it’s 1:30 P.M. on a Thursday and I’m sitting here writing in this pizzeria in Chelsea NYC. Up to this point I can list all the wonderful things that I take for granted that I’d like to take note of here. Now I know this is going to be a huge run-on sentence, but bear with me.

Waking up in my own room (yeah, something that shouldn’t really be an issue), technology – a computer that works, being on-line 24/7, AIM so I can talk to those friends of mine that live faraway, or actually go to school with me so I can find out what I’m missing by not being there, an e-mail that checks itself automatically like every minutes or so (Gmail rocks), a shower that isn’t clogged (thanks to me, I put the Draino in last night, as you could imagine this is a constant problem with three long haired girls using one shower – get your mind out of the gutter), the color pink (the color of the polo I’m wearing), corduroy (my jacket), checking the weather on-line realizing that it will be nice enough not to wear 15 layers and just put on a short sleeve shirt and a light jacket, looking at the time when I thought I was running late and realized that I can make a quick Ego waffle before I leave the place, not having to run tot he train, living across the street from the train station, my disc man that is also an MP3 player, being able to sit on the train peacefully, listening to music and writing (I’ve sat near some people that are really annoying and loud, even through headphones), cute guys with curly hair (nice to look at), leaving the train station and know exactly where I am in NY without having to walk a block and realize that I was going the wrong way, being able to look forward at the world while walking realizing my confidence in myself is growing, getting to my destination where I walked to rather then take the train an hour and a half earlier then I was supposed to leaving enough time to grab some food near by at a pizzeria, Mountain Dew (oh mighty Mt. Dew, how I love thee), and the man giving me an extra garlic knot which brings me to right now 1:45.

It took me 15 minutes to write about all the good things that are in my life just in the few hours I’ve been awake. Some other things I’d like to note that I’ve been thinking about lately that I’d glad I have in life: good friends, add in good drinks equals a heck of a great time, friends that aren’t afraid to tell each other that they love each other (if you feel it, say it right? Not all the time, just every once in awhile it’s nice to hear that you’re loved). Speaking of love, falling in and out of love. If I never experienced the bad (the ugly and the worst) I’d never be able to fully appreciate what is to come or what I have when it comes to love. Unexpected phone calls and notes, especially from people who you thought forgot all about you, animated movies, they sure do make me happy (I can’t wait to see Ice Age 2 this week). I got really lucky with my class at Montclair. I really truly enjoy every person’s company in the first years crop. If they weren’t who they are, I would of dropped out back in early October like I was seriously considering. Speaking of good friends, it’s time to go meet them…

So yeah, There you go… a post, that I hand wrote and wrote here. Yippee!!! I hope I didn’t bore you too much. Until later…