on Michigan Avenue you can always tell a tourist from a native because she’ll be wearing a mini-skirt and he’ll be sporting a trendy biker leather. as any Chicagoan will tell you, winter is not the time to be fashion conscious! keep the following in mind:
spend the extra money on a good down coat.
is thermal underwear nerdy? sure. would you rather have frostbite? didn’t think so.
make sure your boots are insulated and have non-skid soles. hell–make sure you wear boots! who cares if you have to change into your shoes at work? people break their backs from slipping on ice.
if you think mittens are just for kids, guess again–they’re warmer than gloves.
you must have a scarf. keep your mouth and nose covered because by January, it won’t be fun breathing in that cold air.
wear a hat! in the winter, believe me, no one’s going to care if you have hat head. in fact, they’ll look at you funny if you aren’t wearing a hat. hats hold in your body heat because it keeps it from escaping from the top of your head. warm air rises, remember?
if you follow the above list, then you, too, can feel smug and superior while you’re waiting for the bus or the train and some fool has their hands shoved in their pockets, their shoulders hunched by their ears, and face red as a fire hydrant. you, on the other hand, will be warm and toasty.
i didn’t listen to myself on Saturday and went out wearing just a sweater when i should have worn a coat. now i’m paying for it because i’m sick and i hate being sick and i hate chicken soup and my cat’s tail landed in my bowl just before i wrote this, and that was what made me decide to post this tip today instead of Monday morning. if i can save someone from having a tail in their soup, i’ll be able to rest easier.
once again, the cats have managed to dupe me into giving them a second breakfast. i was fairly certain that Brian had already fed them, but when i woke up yesterday, they followed me around, meowing their chorus of "feed us! feed us!"
if Angelo were human, he would make a perfect bouncer as he’s so good at guarding doors, especially to the bathroom. the only time he does this is when Brian or i are inside it when he’s hungry. if either of us decides to shower before feeding them, he’ll guard the tub by sitting on the tub mat and won’t move so we end up having to step around him.
Hopper and Hee Seop follow me around, mewing plaintively and stretching their necks towards me as i tower above them. Hopper’s expression is one of desperation–eyes wide open, head cocked–an expression she knows is hard for me to resist. and she’s the only one to whom i always cave in. Basil croaks at me in his deep Siamese voice, flashing his eyes, blue as sapphire.
and i bought the act. will i ever learn?
over summer vacation a few years ago, i brought the cats home to Chicago with me, from Columbus, OH. at the time we only had Hopper and Basil. while Brian and i visited his folks in Iowa, the cats remained at my parents’ house. my dad was going to take care of them because my mother doesn’t like animals and doesn’t believe they belong in the house. (keep in mind that she’s from a culture/country where this is the prevailing attitude.)
when i came back, she told me how funny the cats were: whenever she sat down to eat breakfast, they would go to their bowls in the breakfast nook as well. she was so delighted by this that she made sure they had food.
she routinely woke up before my dad and was already gone for work by the time he came downstairs–to feed them again! he had no idea that my mother was also feeding them because remember–she doesn’t like animals. sure, she doesn’t.
as promised, here’s the reply to the post immediately before this one, On Hot Abercrombie Chick’s Blog: Is Race-Exclusive Dating Racist? READ THAT FIRST!
click the link below to read my comments.
on a different note, if i haven’t replied to your comments on previous posts, i will soon. i think i’m sick. no, in fact i know i am but i’m in denial.
Read the rest of this entry »
out of curiosity, i checked out Hot Abercrombie Chick’s blog, since it’s so popular. at least i’m assuming it is because it’s on tons of people’s blogrolls and constantly advertised on BlogSnob.
i came across the following post, which i’ve copied and pasted in its entirety in the “continue reading” link below. or you can read it at HAC’s blog: Is Race-Exclusive Dating Racist? this is an issue i feel strongly about and replied to, though i’m not sure why because quite a few of the comments (on this and on other posts as well) are simplistic and strike me as uneducated. but that’s beside the point and an example of my “intellectual snobbery” that you can read more about in the first paragraph of the “continued reading” link in this post. 
anyway, i’ve decided to post my reply here as well, in a separate entry to follow.
Read the rest of this entry »
a leading cause of apartment fires in Chicago is the use of the space heater. don’t ever buy one. if you already have one–or more–get rid of them. right now.
then call the gas company and make arrangements to have the amount of your bills spread over 12 months so you don’t suddenly receive a huge statement. better yet, when apartment hunting, rent one with radiator heat, usually advertised as "heat included" in the classifieds.
click here for information on Peoples Energy’s Budget Payment Plan for residential accounts.
*** spoilers ***
This post definitely has spoilers, so READ AT YOUR OWN RISK. Like the previous post, this one assumes an audience already familiar with KotOR, but specifically the “old guard” at Bioware, including the Onasi Order (OO).
I <3 Carth. (Translation: Guys–I’m warning you now that I’m a total Carth fangirl, so I don’t want to rehash all those arguments previously addressed among the OO. This is meant in good fun, of course. You know who you are!)
Read the rest of this entry »
*** possible spoilers ***
Although I’ve added links to certain items for people who aren’t familiar with KotOR, this post assumes an audience familiar with the first game. However, links aren’t available for all the items.
Either way, read at your own risk!
NOTE: The playable character (PC), Sora, and the “I” are one and the same.
Read the rest of this entry »
Thursday Threesome
Onesome- Dashing through the snow: Do you get much snow where you live? Do you enjoy winter sports like skiing or would you rather stay in by the cozy fire?
i live in Chicago, so yes, we get a lot of snow, usually in January. the only winter sport i like is hockey, and that’s played indoors. also, you can really play hockey any time of the year.
Twosome- In a one horse open sleigh: Have you ever been on a sleigh ride or a carriage ride? Do you even like horses? Or would you just rather travel by your own two feet?
i’ve never been on either, but i would love to try both! i like horses, and i’d also love to try horseback riding, but they do scare me a little, mainly because of their size.
Threesome- O’er the fields we go: What’s the first thing that pops into your mind when someone says field? Corn? Football field? Outfield?
baseball
w00t! ayus na yung "Manila Center" blogroll. nakaka inis naman sila BlogRolling.com. sinulatan ko sila, pero hanggan ngayon, wala pa ako nadidinig–at Gold member pa ako! anak nang–ay–Daddy! hindi mo na basa ito. heehee.
dibala naman–hindi ako marunong mag spell at yung grammar ko nakakahiya.
i have recently upgraded my Sideblog (under “Toll Booth”) so readers are now able to leave comments to my side posts as well as access the archive. w00t!
get your Sideblog today! i love it!!!
