Emme goes out on the town. Finally!

On Saturday I finally had my first legitimate night out here in Chicago.

Yes, my first official night out and we've lived here for like 7 weeks now.

You're rolling your eyes right now interwebz, aren't you?

That's okay :)

I told you in a previous post that I enjoy the quiet life about 90 percent of the time. I mean, I do enjoy exploring this city, but most of it has been done in the day light. Usually the weekend evenings = me at home + a glass (or three) of wine + homework/ a good book/pinterest. But on Saturday I went out for a friend's birthday and it was SUCH A BLAST! She came into the city to celebrate her birthday and to spend some time with some family that she has in the Lakeview neighborhood. There were four of us that went out for dinner and drinks to celebrate her 25th. I was actually contemplating cancelling because I had some sort of upper respiratory crap going on, but I am really glad I didn't.

We went to Via Carducci for dinner. It's a cute Italian place on West Fullerton. I had the Rigatoni Siciliana; a rigatoni pasta with roasted eggplant in a tomato cream sauce. And it was topped with perfect, fresh, melt in your mouth mozzarella. Divine.

I also had a pomegranate martini, and that was excellent as well. I love to be perfectly buzzed after one cocktail. Especially in Chicago where you will often pay ten dollars for one cocktail! heh. 

After dinner and some great conversation we decided to go grab some "fruity drinks" at Fiesta Mexicana. I have to confess that as the night went on I became more congested and I only had one more adult beverage which I couldn't fully taste due to my irritated sinuses. Buuut I can tell you that I had a fantastic time at Fiesta Mexicana. They had a great Latin band playing and it was impossible not to dance. The music was moving everyone. Everyone in the place was laughing and dancing and drinking super smooth tequila shots.

Oopsie. I forgot the tequila shot. I guess in total I had three adult beverages, because I did have one tequila shot. It was on the house because it was Tiff's birthday, and it was the smoothest tequila I've ever tasted.  Wish I would have asked what brand it was.

The evening ended much too quickly because Tiff had to get to Union Station to catch the train home, but I arrived back at the apartment with a huge smile on my face. It was great to celebrate with such a dear friend, and I look forward to having more nights out here in the Windy City.

Daydreamin'

This is Will's schedule lately:

1. Go to hospital all day.

2. Study quietly at home all night.

A couple o' med books. No big deal. ;)

 My schedule has been:

1. Work at the museum. Usually 9:15 am to 4:30 or 5 pm.

2. Convince Will that it is too nice to stay inside ALL day, so we go for a walk/throw the football around/get in some sort of physical activity for a half hour or so. Then it's time for Will to study again.

3. Do my own homework/procrastinate doing my own homework.

4. Day dream about happy things such as:

  Daydream No. 1) Being able to actually afford to shop at the Hyde Park Treasure Island grocery store.

Oh! Hello there, you crazily delicious, outrageously expensive Treasure Island olive bar!

And perhaps one day I'll be able to afford you too; you lovely, odorous, overpriced imported cheese.

 

Daydream No. 2) Being able to plan and afford a vacation again.

Gorges du Verdon, anyone?

Daydream No. 3) Wait. How about actually being able to plan anything again. 

Me: "Can we go to Mackinac Island for the weekend in June or July?"

Will: "I'd love to honey, but it depends on my clinical schedule."

Me: "I am going to buy concert tickets for August 28th, kay?"

Will: "That's excellent! Just remember that we don't really know if I'll be able to make the show or not. It depends on my clinical schedule."

Remember me? I am the hospital that OWNS YOUR HUSBAND! *insert evil laugh here*

Daydream No. 4) Possessing a student loan balance equal to ZERO.

Knocked out our six figure student loan balance? Gee golly, that's grrrrreat!




Those are all good daydreams, no?

You've probably already guessed, but tonight Will's studying quietly, and I am daydreaming again! 

Ciao!

Emme

PS. I know that this post might seem kind of cranky and ungrateful. I am the first one to admit that I am occasionally cranky, but I'm never ungrateful. I must reassure you that I knew what I signed up for when I married my med student husband. Truly, I wouldn't trade him for any of the daydreams listed above.

This was the kiss that made me Mr. Med Student's Mrs. :)

Nights at the Museum!

Actually, I've been spending my days at the museum, but I wanted to make a clever title referencing the Ben Stiller/Amy Adams movie where all the exhibits magically come to life at night and take over the whole place!

Did you already catch that reference?

Good! :)

I have been an employee at Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago for about a week now.

The Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago, Illinois.

The Science Storms Exhibit. A personal favorite.

I have to say that I quite like my job so far. Of course, like all of the jobs I've held previously, it has aspects that I enjoy and some that I don't like so much.

Let's start with the good things:

- Pretty much every museum guest I come into contact with on a daily basis is happy. Many of the museum guests are on vacation, or on a field trip, or just off work and enjoying their day. This is a wonderful change from my last position. My last job was at a medical clinic where all of our "customers" were sick, crabby, and not so happy!

- It's kind of hard NOT to be happy at the museum because there is just so much fascinating stuff to see. It puts a smile on my face seeing people in awe of the exhibits; little kids especially.

- I get to see the exhibits before they're open to the public. I also have the option of wandering around on my hour lunch to check out the exhibits.
 
- Because I am a MSI employee, I get in to all of the other museums, the Shedd Aquarium, and the Art Institute for free. I also get a free parking spot in the garage which will be nice when it's the middle of January and -10 degrees!

- My job is an active one. I am constantly standing, walking, climbing stairs, etc. This is a really welcome change from my last job where I sat at a desk and stared at a computer screen all. effing. day. This girl was NOT made for a desk job.

- The museum is .6 miles from our apartment, so I can to walk to work everyday. Yessss. What $5.00 gas? Huh? This whole no driving business is definitely one of my FAVORITE things about Chicago. I love that we walk, bike, or bus everywhere.

- I love that I work in a place that constantly encourages learning and exploration.

So as you can see, there are some really great things about my job. There are also few things that aren't so great. Namely, bratty children. Children straight from hell, nay, the spawn of Satan himself.

Okay. I'm going a little overboard.

But I swear to you that some days the place is excellent birth control. Have you ever seen an inconsolable teeny tiny two foot tall child throw himself to the ground, kick, scream, thrash, shout, SHRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRIEEEEEEEEEEEEK, swear, punch, etc. because his mom told him it was time to leave? Oh my goodness. Observing evil children = really, really good birth control.

Little blonde demon boy, you make me NEVER want to have children!

Also, while the majority of my coworkers seem to be really nice people, there are a few that are cliquey, and that kind of sucks, because occasionally it makes you the odd-woman out. Yep. I'm the new girl.

And I can't forget to mention that our schedule only comes out one week at a time, and weekends are required. I was spoiled at the clinic because I did not work any weekends, and the schedule was always the same. That made it easy to make plans! Now making plans is extremely difficult because I don't know my schedule for the following week until Wednesday (or Thursday) of the current week. I was also full-time at the clinic, so I had benefits there. At the museum I am technically part-time. Part-time = no benefits and no accruing vacation. (Not that I have the money for a vacation at the present moment anyway, but still. You get my point.)

And then of course there is the pay. I am now working for significantly less than was paid in my last position. It sort of feels like I am sliding backwards in that aspect. :(

But, as I read over this post, I see that the pros definitely outweigh the cons. So I am a happy camper.
For now, at least. When I get my first paycheck I might cry. ;)


In other Chicago news, I am starting a list of things I want to do once school gets out in 6 weeks.

1. Visit the Hyde Park Art Center. I can't believe I've not been there yet. It's ridiculously close to our place. Shame on me.

2. Visit the Chicago History Museum. This place has mixed reviews, but I get in for free anyway, so I am going!

3. Visit the Field Museum. I haven't been in soooooooooo long. I can't wait to see it again.

4. Go to another baseball game. Hopefully I'll have been to a few within the next six weeks! Will and I went to our first game of the season awhile back. See what we got for free?!

Oh yes. Awesome pom pom Cubs hat. We LOVE promo games. :)

That is my list so far. Can you think of anything I should add friends? Have you begun to make summer plans?


Tata for now,
Emme

Favorite Things

Stopped on my bike ride this morning to sit and listen to the waves crashing into the shore.

Ignore the wind (this IS the Windy City after all) and just listen to the water. Is there anything more soothing than that sound? Ahhh. I love it.

"Home"

Last weekend, Will and I went home for Easter to spend time with our families.

By "home," I mean the small town we moved away from just over a month ago. I think since I spent the first 26 years of my life there, I will always call it "home" even though Chicago is slowly starting to feel like home too.

I'm really glad we went because had been itching to take my first fishing trip of the season with my dad. He and I have been fishing partners since I was a toddler. Our fishing trips are really important to me, because life is short and I love time spent sitting out in dad's boat, just him and me, shooting the shit. And when luck is on our side, we're also catching a catfish or two.

Well, luck wasn't on our side last weekend, but since it had been over a month since I'd seen my dad, it was nice to catch up. And he cooked me and Will a great breakfast, which if you know my dad, is a very VERY impressive thing.

I seriously couldn't tell you the last time my dad cooked ANYTHING, unless you count grilling burgers or fish on the grill. Mom does 99.9% of the cooking in their house. I was so impressed to wake up and find my dad cooking breakfast that I *had* to snap a photo to remember the occasion.

Here's my daddy looking happy about cooking us up some delish cheesy eggs and sausage:

Though the fishing and eating was great, I have to say that the best thing about going home was spending time with our families. When we left, I have to admit that I was a little heavy-hearted. I know that we are only 75 miles away, but with busy schedules we figure that we'll probably only be able to see our families once a month or so. I am extremely close to my family. I am lucky that I grew up in a happy home with lots of wonderful memories, and that my parents also happen to be two of my most favorite people in the world. Spending time with them is very important and special to me, and I am looking forward to the next time we can go home for a visit. I've been feeling a little lonely since we left last weekend.

Since I haven't started working yet, I haven't really made any friends here in Chicago. Since Will started at the hospital, I have been doing a lot of homework, a lot of walking/biking, a lot of exploring our neighborhood, and a lot of enjoying the lake front. What I haven't been doing a lot of is socializing, and I miss it. I am definitely not an extrovert, but I do have a handful of very close friends that I miss dearly, and I hope we're able to spend time together soon. I feel like the older we get, the busier everyone gets. People get married/have kids/move away, and it gets harder to spend time with the people you care about.

I'd really like to make some friends here in Chicago. I was asking Will the other day if anyone he has spoken with at the hospital is new to the area and has a spouse/significant other, or if there is a medical spouses/significant others group at the hospital. No luck so far, but I'm sure once I start work at the museum I will meet some great people! I am definitely staying positive about the whole situation, and trying not to dwell on the lonely feeling.

Until next time,

Emme

Home Decor When You're Married

A lot has been going on in the W household lately. In fact, I have many blog topics swirling around in my brain that I plan to develop in the next couple of weeks, but today's topic is home decor.

More specifically, home decor when you're married and have very different decor tastes.( Or for those of you who aren't married; home decor in a committed, long-term relationship when you have very different tastes.)

When you are married/in a long-term, committed relationship, you will compromise constantly. It is a big part of what keeps your relationship harmonious and healthy. Home decor is our newest compromising challenge...

My husband is many things. He is intelligent. He is hilarious; the man makes me giggle on a daily basis. He is extremely handsome. He is optimistic. He is even-tempered. He is rational and logical. He is fit and strong.

He is a WHIZ at movie trivia. He is in love with horror films. Actually, he is in love with films in general. And that is all well and good, except when he tries to sneak this sort of thing into our living room decor scheme:

Oh yes, this currently hangs in our living room. Moldy, smelly, rotting, half-dead hell demons will soon be roaming the Earth.... and they WILL EAT YOU. Oh, PS. Welcome to our home! Please make yourself comfortable!

Um yeah. Not exactly the impression that I want our visitors to have when they walk into our home. :)

Here is an example of the type of art that I have hung in our home:

Shitty photo, but lovely art. I like cool blues, greens, and grays--this painting is almost entirely made of them. It also has a worn out, extra-distressed looking frame that I adore.

I've hung wedding photos in our apartment too, but since they would give away our identities and I am blogging anonymously for now, I chose not to include them here.

Sooo as you can see, we are having some trouble meshing our decorating styles. I want our space to feel relaxing.

Will wants....zombies and mobsters. And it's not that I don't like mobsters and zombies as much as the next girl, but in my living room where I spend 90 percent of my time when I am home? I don't know...

Here is a shot of one corner of our living room:

I actually like the Goodfellas poster, (and the Cubs helmet!) but you can certainly see that this movie poster style decor is very different than the look that I envisioned for this place.

 Below is another photo that I chose to hang over our dining room table.

Again, you see it is definitely right up my alley. There are cool greens, blues, and grays galore.


Calming. Relaxing. Soft hues.
 

Annnnnd then we're back to Will's style on the opposite wall:

 Busy. Loud, vivid colors.



I know in many households the issue of contrasting home decor tastes can be solved by something known as the "man cave". The man cave is decorated 100% in the man's style. He can do with the room whatever he pleases! It is perfectly okay for the man cave to be adorned with ratty old furniture and sports memorabilia. It can boast a leaning Tower of Pisa crafted entirely out of beer cans. It can proudly display glowing neon bar signs. It can display zombie movie posters galore.

But alas, the man cave option doesn't work for us. We live in a 900 square foot apartment that has 4 rooms; a TEENY kitchen, a bathroom, our bedroom, and our living room/dining room.

One idea I am toying with is moving my paintings into our bedroom, and making that the relaxing space. Then I'd let will have the living room/dining room. Our kitchen is much too small to hang any art, and our long entry hall could be adorned with our family and wedding photos.

The only problem is that we are doing one of three things in our bedroom; sleeping, passing through to get to the bathroom, or "it". And when you're doing one of those three things, you're not really stopping to appreciate the relaxing art.

Sooo...

Any suggestions you all can offer on how to solve our decor dilemma are greatly appreciated!




Sincerely,

Emme




PS. How stinkin cute is our chubby Puss-in-Boots?!

Second chances. And third! And fourth!

My feelings of failure, rejection, and heart break are no more. I sent resumes out like a madwoman all weekend. And guess what?

I got three calls for three different job interviews today! That makes me really happy and also a little terrified because I despise interviews.

I loathe them with every fiber of my being. They make me feel like a total kiss ass, and the questions are always the same.

For example:

Interviewer: Why do you want to work here?
What I say: Because I believe in this company's mission and I have excellent customer service skills! I want to use these skills and my experience with blah blah blah to make clients comfortable, happy, and returning to this business!
What I wish I could say: I really do think this job sounds enjoyable and like something I can do well; however I also need a paycheck. It is really expensive to live in Chicago. Our rent is almost a grand a month, and I don't even want to disclose how much our parking spot is each month. It makes me gag.

And have you been to Hyde Park Produce? How about Treasure Island? Harper Foods? The produce is cheap, but everything else is so expensive that when I see the price tags my eyeballs bug out of my head a la Pepe Le Pew in love!

Interviewer: Tell me about yourself.
Me: I graduated from college in 2010 and for the past five years I have worked at Blah Blah Clinic. I filled many roles at the Clinic such as yada yada and wah wah waaah. I am punctual, professional, and I have a knack for problem-solving. I also have over 9 years of experience in customer service, and extensive knowledge of medical billing practices. I believe these skills and attributes make me a perfect fit for this position!
What I wish I could say: I love my family, my friends, my husband, my cat, being outside, hiking, and fishing. I have a hefty interest in criminal justice and criminology. I love baseball, and I love footbal. I enjoy wine tasting, and reading fiction for pleasure. Oh wait...you just want to know about my qualifications to do this job? Eh, that's not really telling you about myself, is it you tricky, tricky little man/woman?

Interviewer: What is your greatest strength?
Me: Definitely my positive attitude. I have a can-do attitude, and I absolutely do not believe in the saying, "that's not my job!" I am a fast learner, and I am always more than happy to do what it takes to be a positive, productive employee!

You get the point. I'm sure you've all interviewed before. I hate feeling like a total kiss ass and having to smile until my cheeks hurt. I hate sales, so naturally I do not enjoy "selling myself" (sounds kinda dirty, but we're not talkin' prostitution here friends.) to potential employers.

But you gotta do what you gotta do, right?

 Now, please remember that I don't have any offers quite yet! I may be getting ahead of myself here, but planning is what I do. If you know me, you know that I am a planner extraordinaire. Seriously. It borders on obsessive planning. I say if you fail to plan, you plan to fail. So I've been pretending that each potential employer has offered me the job, and I've started a list of pros and cons for each position.

Position Number 1 is at the Museum of Science and Industry in the gift shop. It is described as "part-time temporary" with the possibility of going part-time permanent.
Pros: The job is part-time. This is a big "pro". I want a part-time job so I have time for school, and so I have time to gallivant around Chicago as I please! It's also very close to our place, so I'd be able to walk to work.
Cons: Weekends and holidays are required. Eww! I haven't worked a weekend or holiday in over 5 years, so I've gotten really spoiled. It may truly turn out to be a temporary position, so I may be out of work again in 4 or 6 months or so. I might have to sell. As I mentioned above, I am no saleswoman!

Position Number 2 is with a small, family-owned dog walking business as a dog walker/pet sitter. M-F 11am to 4pm with occasional weekends/nights/holidays.
Pros: The job is part-time. I would get to spend my workdays with animals! I would get plenty of exercise, and get to spend my workdays outside in the spring/summer.
Cons: It's on the North side, about 12 miles from our place. This means the commute would probably be close to an hour using public transit. I would have to spend my workdays outside in the fall/winter. This means working outside in sleet /rain/cold/blizzard/holyballsthewind!

Position Number 3 is at a Pilates Studio on the north side. I would be their receptionist. M-F 4pm to 8pm.
Pros: Free Pilates classes! More $ than I made at my job at the clinic. No weekends/holidays required as far as I know!
Cons: It's on the North side, so again I'd have about an hour commute or so. The hours are right over dinner, so I wouldn't be able to cook dinner or have dinner with Will. (Yes, having dinner together is important to me, mock me if you wish!) The hours are at night so I would be waiting for/taking public transit at night. (Again, mock me if you wish but sometimes it's sketch at night.) Not such a big deal during the summer, but I would be waiting in the dark in the fall/winter.

As you can see, each position has good and bad aspects. Here's hoping I have a job offer (or three) in a few days!

Wish me luck!

Emme