Well, folks...looks like I'm here to stay!

What a crazy few days it’s been!

The most exciting part is FINALLY being in my new apartment! It’s shaping up really well, and I love getting everything settled and where I want it to be. The move-in process, though, was not so easy. Apparently the unmarked apartment I signed a lease for was apartment 31. Too bad I thought apartment 31 is actually apartment 29. It wouldn’t have been such a big deal…except apartment 31 is in the basement, a place I will not go. Anyways, it took three hours and a dozen phone calls to resolve. If you want the whole story, call me…otherwise I think I’ll lose most of my readers in the 3000 words it would take to recount it.

Still, it all worked out, and I love my place! I’m always open to guests, so let me know if you’ll ever be in the area.

I started nannying Monday, and so far—so good! Emily is adorable and I’m totally into her. Not to mention I dress her head-to-toe in Ralph Lauren and make her wear sunglasses. It’s too cute!

What I’m really looking forward to is tonight (should the weather clear up)…Cubs game! I’m finally going to Wrigley for a game, and I cannot wait. Thank you, Kraft, for the fabulous seats…Kait, Jay, Ryan and I are going to have a blast. I’ll make sure to update you on what it’s actually like inside the ivy walls.

So that's about all that's new here. I'll post photos of my new place as soon as I get my camera back from Kaitlyn (on that note, pics from my weekend with AJ will have to be posted, too!), and remember, I'll be here until August 31, 2010. So, let me know if you're up for a visit!

I got lost yesterday...again.

As I mentioned, I am joining a gym that is a mere block away from my new apartment. I went there yesterday to check the place out and get a feel for it. I was running really behind schedule because I spent the morning with the family I will be nannying for. I ran home after I left their place and grabbed all my workout gear, then headed down Addison to Fitness Formula Club.

Thus begins my afternoon of ridiculous events that would only happen to me.

I hopped off the bus at Addison and Halsted, two hours late for my appointment with the membership coordinator, and headed south on Halsted. With my huge Vera Bradley bad in tow, I walked as fast as my freakishly short legs could carry me. I made it about 5 blocks before it hit me…I should have been there by now.

Now, let me give you some perspective. I live on Waveland Ave., about a mile and a half from my new apartment and gym…which both also are on Waveland. Waveland is north of Addison. I know this because I walk south to get to the Addison bus or L every day. So why, then, did I walk south on Addison to get to Waveland? I have no idea.

So, I turned around booked it the 7 blocks back up to Waveland. Not thinking, I took a left…again the wrong way. Good thing, I only made it one block this time before turning around.

By the time I made it to the gym, I was already sweating like a crazy person…and I was two-and-a-half hours late.

The guy I met with, Greg, was a good sport about it and showed me around the facility. As part of my trial, I got a free day at the club to test things out and see how everything felt. So, I left Greg and headed up to the locker room to get changed.

I made it into my sweats, t-shirt and socks before realizing…oops! I forgot my running shoes. My flip-flops were just not going to cut it, although now that I think about it, I ran about a mile in those puppies getting to the gym, so maybe I underestimated them.

Good thing I brought my swimsuit. Swimming happens to be one of my favorite activities anyway, so I wasn’t too upset to move it up in the itinerary. I got changed again, this time ready to hit the pool for some laps.

Well, laps are a lot easier with goggles. Which…shocker…I forgot.

I was already in my suit, so I headed to the pool any way. Luckily for me, no one was in there. I paddled around for about 30 minutes, looking like a total fool to whoever was watching the cameras aimed over the pool. I’m sure it was entertaining if nothing else. Then I spent a few minutes in the hot tub, thinking about how lame I can be when I forget things.

I was really hoping that after only 40 minutes of ‘working out,’ Greg wouldn’t be at the desk when I got down there. Then I would be the girl who was not only really late, but the girl who was given a whole free day to try things out and only used a kick board in the pool.

Well, he was down there. He looked a little surprised to see me so soon, but I just brushed it off and thanked him for his help.

As I headed out of the gym, I plugged my earbuds in and headed down Waveland toward home. The Cubs were playing, so the path took me through some crowds at the back of the stadium. About the time I hit Wrigley, my iPod died.

I rolled my eyes because it was kind of the perfect way to end my afternoon fiasco. In reality, though, it turned out to offer something a little better than a musical walk home.

Waveland is tree-lined from one end to the other, and yesterday happened to have a perfect summer evening. The sky was blue and twilight was just setting in. A light breeze, the baby brother of Chicago’s famous wind, rustled the leaves and set a pitch for the birds.

As the shouts from the stadium disappeared behind me, a different pair of hawkers offered lemonade for 25 cents a cup. My dad taught me always to carry extra quarters for situations like this, probably because he witnessed many successes and failures on his own street corner when my sister and I tried to pass our concoctions off on neighbors, as well.

I bought two cups…probably erasing all the paddling I’d done in the pool, but I figured it was only right since there were two kids. They poured my lemonade and sent me on my way, a cup in each hand.

I continued on my walk and sipped my lemonade, and again thought about how lucky I am to be in Chicago, making my next move. Making my own life. Isn’t that a great thing? I don’t mean just for me…but in general?

The baseball, the lemonade, a perfect summer night and starting a whole new life in one of the worlds’ greatest cities…pretty All American. And really, really great.

Just like the Girl Scouts taught me...

It’s official…I am a full-time nanny! If you had asked me a year ago about this situation, I may not have been as excited. However, with recent economic issues (ah-hem) and the desire to stay in Chicago for a little while longer, this is the perfect solution. Not to mention, I’ve found a great family and the cutest little baby on the planet to hang out with, so it’s not such a bad deal. Also, I’ve made some great connections here who will hopefully lead me to some freelancing opportunities. So, I guess we’ll see!

I’ve been thinking a lot about my new apartment and my new life, and I honestly couldn’t be more excited about everything that’s coming up! Luckily for me, everything seems to be falling into place (knock on wood, of course). However, there are a few more things I want to do while I’m here.

First off, I really had not anticipated how difficult it would be to make friends in a new place. I’m under the assumption that most of you reading this know me, at least a little. If I am correct, then you know as well as anyone that making friends happens to be a forte of mine. But there is a common factor of all my previous friend-meeting grounds…wherever I went, the place was chock-full of people with the same common goal as me. High school: graduate high school. College: graduate college, maybe throw some (or a lot) of partying in along the way. In Chicago, I don’t have that luxury. I have moved to a place where people are established with jobs, friends, routines and hangouts. Breaking in isn’t easy. Not to mention, the other interns at WGN are not too social, and babysitting is not the best job for meeting people.

Luckily for me, I have a great base here. Kait, Erin, Alan, Ryan, Allie and Paul (until they left me) were lifesavers in my first few months here. Also, visits from some of my favorite people spiced things up and kept me excited.

But I have decided to take some steps in building my own little world here. Let me clarify that this decision is not to split from my friends here…but for me to get to know more people and have some things to occupy my time in the evenings after work and when Kait and Erin might not feel like reliving college with me by drinking a bottle of wine on a Tuesday night. Haha

Hot Commodity is a good start. I’ve gotten to know some really cool people, and I get to keep singing. But…I still feel like I could be doing a little more…

So, I’ve decided to join a book club. I like to read, and the time commitment is relatively small. I think I’ll be able to meet a pretty wide array of people, as well. Besides, watching a baby for 10 hours each day is bound to provide some down time.

Also, I’ve registered for details about Meet Ups around the city. There’s a group that meets for different theatrical events once a month. And another that meets at different museums throughout the city. Actually, there are a few thousand Meet Up groups in Chicago, with one fore about every hobby, interest or specialty. Anyway, I imagine these are pretty flexible, and will give me more insight about events and happenings around town. I can pick and choose what I want to attend, and I’ll get to meet a concentrated group of people with similar interests.

Finally…I’ve joined a gym. Every one in my life seems rather surprised by this, and I am, too. Not that I am opposed to fitness, I just really hate gyms. I played sports through middle and high schools, and rollerbladed down trails near my house, so I just never got into the habit of running in place on a treadmill.

Well, I found a place a block from my house that is really nice. I’ll spare you all the details of the layout, although, if you want them, feel free to check out the Fitness Formula Club’s Web site at www.ffc.com.

I’m hoping that this will also be a place for me to meet some new people…not to mention, they have a beach yoga class on Sundays that I am dying to try.

So, here’s to making new friends but keeping the old…and maybe getting in shape along the way.

The East Coast's Finest Makes a Visit!

Well, aside from catching the plague this weekend, I managed to shimmy around Chicago a little bit with my favorite Capitol Hill lady, AJ Parker!

We kicked off our weekend of shenanigans in full 80s-glam style, all too pay tribute to Mr. Michael Jackson. Tributosaurus played three MJ tribute shows around the Chicagoland area, and we were lucky enough to catch the outdoor show at Fitzgerald’s. The bar was really far out of town, but totally worth the hike (thanks Lisa and Pete for the ride!). A few hundred people turned out for the show, packed with Chicago’s finest musical talents, great bar food and $12 Stoli pitchers. I was blown away by the music, and I think the crowd was blown away by our outfits.

Here is Tributosaurus’ Web site, http://www.tributosaurus.com/, definitely check it out. They were amazing and I will be taking in more of their shows in the future.

After Tributosaurus we met up with some friends at McGee’s near DePaul. Beers were only $1, so it doesn’t get much better…but it had to be the yuppiest of all yuppy bars. And this comes from a preppy sorority girl. In all reality, our MJ ensembles didn’t help us fit in, but I wouldn’t say it’s worth another trip back.

Friday morning I had to be to WGN by 4:30 for the 8^th-annual Kids Fair! The event went really well, but it’s just another indicator that my time at Channel 9 is winding down. I’ve been working on Kids Fair stuff since my first week, crazy that it all culminated a few days ago.

After the Kids Fair, AJ met me to head way off the blue line to the Donald E. Stevenson Convention Center for COMIC CON! That’s right…it’s a comic book convention. AJ donned her Wonder Woman t-shirt to make sure she fit in with the demographic, but I remained in my WGN Kids Fair swag…complete with Harry & David’s chocolate spilled down the front. Classy.

Anyways, I was there representing the station and holding raffles for sweet WGN prizes (plug!), but AJ had a few other ideas about a day at Comic Con. Between drawings, she and I checked out booths, snapped pics with some Star Troopers and met reality royalty Adrienne Curry and Christopher Knight. Adrienne was way prettier in person that she appears on television…but with a price tag of $20 for a photo with she and her husband, AJ and I passed. We did, however, get a not-so realistic caricature drawn of us. By the end of our Comic Con adventure, we were beat. So we hopped back on the blue and made our way to good ol’ Lakeview.

After napping off the night before and two conventions, we dolled ourselves up for a sushi and bar night with Kaitlyn and Sherri. After some research on BYOB sushi places, we decided on Toro sushi on Clark, just south of Diversey. We arrived at about 8:30, three bottles of wine in tow, only to find out that the wait would be too long for us to enjoy dinner. I was disappointed, especially after seeing incredible, massive rolls delivered to the lucky patrons who showed up early.

Kait, AJ and I still had a yen for sushi, so we heeled it down Clark, hoping to find an alternative. Kabuki saved the day. Most of the tables were empty, which made me nervous at first, until Kait made an excellent point: all the people eating at Kabuki were Asian. We figured that was a good sign, and we were correct! We started with edemame for the table, each ordered two rolls. I would say kabuki was 7-for-7. The sushi was fresh and the veggies were perfectly ripe and crispy. Not to mention, we sat right next to a table with a photo of Frank Sinatra, because apparently that’s where he used to sit during his visits to Kabuki.

Full of fish and wine, we trekked way downtown to LaSalle Power Company. My sinus issues were really kicking in at this point, which was a huge bummer because this place was amazing. It had a great atmosphere and tons of personality. With gilded bronze ceilings, huge paper ball lanterns and a DJ accompanied by a guitarist and drummer, this was unlike any place I have ever been to. The drinks were good, and even with a packed floor, we got great service. I checked out at about 1 a.m., but will definitely go back again.

Unfortunately, the trip to the Power Company was my last appearance for the weekend. AJ did manage to have some fun without me…good thing! I felt terrible that our much anticipated weekend of shenanigans was lightened by the plague, but I think we made some headway on a few more trips coming up this fall!

Thanks for coming, AJ, it was so great to see you!

P.S. I have photos from the weekend…but since my camera is MIA for a hot sec (AJ!), they’ll be up soon!

I'm still here!

It’s been a while since I’ve updated! What can I say? It’s been a really, really busy few weeks.

The internship is going fabulously! I can’t believe I’m less than three weeks from the finish line. I’ve learned a lot, networked with some great contacts and even played a little softball with the WGN Bozos! We didn’t win the championship, but we did make it to playoffs…so I think it was a pretty successful season.

You may or may not know that I’ve been singing with an a cappella group here in the Second City. Hot Commodity is an eclectic group of singers, all of whom have significantly more musical experience than myself! Still, they put up with me and have given me a foothold here in my new home. Our first gig was last week, and it went really well. Totally different from the Central Harmony concerts I have become so familiar with, we performed in a bar on a small stage, individually miked. It was nerve-racking! Erin and Alan came all the way up to The Spot to see the show, and it was so nice to have some familiar faces there.

It looks like my next career move will be…nannying! Who would’ve thought? I start at the end of August, watching a little 5-month-old baby. I’m looking forward to starting because it’s going to give me the opportunity to stay in the city and work toward finding a more permanent position this year.

Speaking of staying in the city…I found an apartment! Woo hoo! I finally feel like I’m starting my real life. So for anyone who wants to come visit, I have an extra room (it’s small, but you’re welcome to use i!) and a kitchen with a full-size stove ready to churn out all kinds of dago dishes. Not to mention, I’m a block from Wrigley and right on Halsted, better known as Boystown. Lots of great restaurants and bars, so it’s bound to be a crazy year!

That’s about it! It’s a quick update after a few long weeks, but I’ll be more diligent. After all, who knows what’s to come?