Thai Walks

I walked outside today after work and I wasn't cold.  I don't think this has EVER happened!  It was odd and very amazing.  It's going to be great here when it's warm - I can feel it!  So because it was warm when I got off work, and because sometimes I feel like I should be able to reward myself because I have a job, I decided to get some Thai food for dinner.  I had been planning this all day in fact.  While I was at work I googled Thai places near my apartment and found one not too far away.  So after work I hopped on the North Ave bus and headed a couple blocks east to this restaurant called Aroma.  I went in, ordered my pad thai and decided just to walk back home.  It was a really nice walk and I had one of my 'I'm actually living in Chicago I'm so independent I'm really proud of myself I can't believe I'm actually here' moments.  I've gotten these moments a few times since moving here.  Usually they happen when I'm walking someplace new by myself and when it's not freezing.  So I walked about 15 minutes back to my apartment through this neighborhood called Old Town.  They have a bunch of restaurants and little shops and grocery stores and cute alleyways.  It's also the home of Second City, where a bunch of celebrities like Tina Fey and Steve Carell started out.  So I went home, ate my pad that (amazing) and then decided to blog about it.  The end :)

Work Perks

Things I've gotten free from work:
Over 30 lunches, snacks throughout the day during shoots, all of the ingredients to make guacamole, a block of pepper jack cheese, a bag of mozzarella cheese, a Calvin and Hobbs book, a baseball cap, a cashmere coat, a $25 gift card to AMC, a $40 gift certificate to a local pizza place, and a $50 Visa prepaid card.


People I've met at work:
The assistant locations manager for The Dark Knight, the co-producer for Buffy the Vampire Slayer, 3 people in the credits for The Time Traveler's Wife.


Things I've gotten to see at work:
Commercials being filmed that will broadcast nationwide


Things I've gotten to do at work:
Talk to important people who are filming movies and TV pilots in Chicago, interact with the production team filming a Showtime pilot, hang out with super cool crew on shoots, found a box to mail William H. Macy his scotch.

Check it out...

I posted a new vlog! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9UNRNC0LOc 

New Blog

I'm starting a new blog. It's going to be a little more personal than this one. Because of this, I'm making it private. Let me know if you want to read it and I'll send you an invite!


Happy Friday! Leaving work at 4 today - yay!

Thanks, Christy

So Christy has been bugging me for awhile now to write a blog entry. I told her to write one for me, and she did. Here it is:


"I had a pretty low key weekend. Saturday I only left my apartment to get the mail. Boy was I glad I did because I got a package from Christy, the most awesome person ever.  She sent me a raincoat that her mom got on clearance...it's a decent raincoat.  It's black with a nice hood and it's long so my clothes won't get wet in the rain (and will hopefully block out some of the Chicago wind!). It also has zippers on the side to make sitting easier (pretty snazy). She also sent me a collage of pictures of Chicago (that she took, of course), some chocolates for Valentine's day, some Valentine's socks, pez, and the sweetest card ever.  Of course I hung up the picture right away and dove into the chocolates.  I put the card in a prominent place in my apartment so I could be reminded of our friendship on Valentine's Day and smile whenever I see it.  I ate three of the chocolates that day, and saved the 4th for Sunday.  Today I went to Target with my friend Danny.  Luckily he has a car and offered to drive.  I was able to get the pillows I wanted and a swivel vac,. I'm waiting for it to charge so I can see how it works and clean my apartment."

Thoughts

Kind of bored, kind of lonely, missing my St. Louis friends, strained eyes from staring at my computer for too long today, in need of social interaction but too scared to make it happen, texted a friend,  just went to dinner with a friend, ate amazing french toast, felt great getting out of my apartment, got a hug goodbye, needed that hug, sitting in my apartment, feeling what I felt before I left my apartment, resorting to talking to internet boys to curb my social appetite, wanting to cuddle, wanting to ask my neighbors for a random food item just to meet them, too scared/shy to do so, thinking it didn't feel like 3 degrees outside, thinking maybe it was the seat warmers in the car that confused my sense of temperature, wondering why another friend hasn't called or texted back, hoping he's okay, wanting to go to sleep, thinking about watching a movie, knowing that I'll fall asleep during the movie, done thinking for now.

The People in my Neighborhood

I think I moved to Chicago at just about the worst time of year.  I want to get out and explore the city and just walk around and take pictures of everything, but it's freezing!  When I walk outside, my immediate goal is to get inside.  This is obviously everyone else's goal as well.  Yes, people here do walk fast, but there are also people who are a little more leisurely in their pace.  If someone wants to get around you, they will.  I haven't discovered too much rudeness about the city yet (besides the incident listed below).  I also haven't discovered any extreme friendliness.  People here are independent.  They're very much in their own world and don't seem to pay much attention to others.  This, I have found, is more apparent on the streets of Chicago and on public transportation than in buildings.  People seem a bit more caring/friendly when you're inside.  Perhaps this goes along with the winter/freezing thing.


The one account of actual rudeness towards me occurred last week when I was waiting in line to board the Megabus.  The line of people waiting for the bus stretched out across the sidewalk and there wasn't much room for fellow pedestrians to get through.  There were maybe 6 inches between me and the person in front of me, and a man walked up to me and literally put his hand on my upper chest and pushed me out of the way so he could get by.  He didn't say anything.  But really?  Who does that?


I think if we all practiced good "customer service" outside of retail stores and restaurants where it's required by the job or to get a tip, we'd all be a lot happier.