Sucky People and Humanity

There is no point writing another letter. I already wrote one to the jerk who stole my mum and the jerk who broke my car window. It seems silly now to even attempt to address this blog to the jerk who smashed into my car yesterday. This is life in the city. Take it in, breath it out. Repeat.

So yesterday I was driving home from a busy work week. I had just had a little encounter with one of my student's mothers who decided, instead of sorting out miscommunication between me and her, instead its best to just scream at me. I was in the lobby surrounded by many others and I just stood there in shock of her willingness to display inappropriate behavior. Sigh. Silly people.

But nothing was bringing me down, I thought after the encounter. I mean for God's sakes it was Friday and I had just got paid and lastly I was on my way to happy hour. What else do I need?

So my teacher friend and I were on our way to drop off my car and then go get a cerveza. I was cruising down the road in my 98' Prizm in the -18 weather but hell- I could have rolled down the windows, because the three day weekend had arrived. We were on Sacramento and as I drove through a green light suddenly a white Marques comes barreling towards me. Most normal people with basic intelligence KNOW that when you make a left turn, FIRST you drive to the center of the intersection look for a clearing in oncoming traffic and then turn.

But there it was. This massive old Marques plummeting towards me in a wide circled turn as if he took about six-eight shots and then decided driving would be a fun happy hour activity. I stepped on the gas and tried to speed up. Crunching metal blasted through my car. I screeched my car to a stop as cars blasted their horns and whipped past me. My back bumper was dangling off my car like a lonely dog left to go astray. Looking up the guy in the car glances back at me and then drives off. Just like that. The cold air is setting into my cheeks and my fingers are wrinkling by the frigid breeze. Suddenly summer is gone and here I am on Sacramento and Augusta, cars zipping around the disaster I've become.

Then something miraculous happened. Humanity appeared. A car pulled over and gave me a description of the guy. He said, "He was somewhere in his 20s, actually like 29, and dark hair, real dark like jet black ..." and on he went with a vivid description. I thanked him by his careful observation of life's daily happenings and off he went.

Then suddenly a cab began reversing down the busy road towards me. My friend and I thought, "Oh God PLEASE! We need to wait for the cops, why is this cab driver pestering us to take his cab?!"

The cab driver got out and gestured for me to roll down my window. "Oh ma'am I sped down the street when I saw what happened to you! I followed that man who hit you! Here is his license and the make/model of his car. Oh ma'am I wrote it down for you." I was in shock at his humanity and good will. He requested to remain anonymous but gave me the note card with the information jotted down like chicken scribbles. "My gift to you." And off he went into the winter night.

We were relieved at the information and began drumming the dashboard as we waited for a cop to show up to make a police report. And we waited. And Waited.
"If I were bleeding to death I would be pretty much dead by now," I said to my friend. I got out of my car again to inspect the damage. I really didn't want to wait for a slow ass tow truck to show up. I began pulling at the dangling bumper hoping I could get it to come off completely.

Suddenly a man with a little girl showed up. "Can I help you?!"
I looked at him and his little girl bundled up and said, "Well, yes could you pull my bumper off?!" He tugged at his brown dirt worned gloves and yanked until my bumper popped off. Hoisting it, he crammed it in my back seat. I thanked him and off he went.

The sun was setting now and we were still waiting at the entrance of Humboldt Park. I remember reading about various crimes that take place in this park. "In about 25 minutes we will end up getting mugged or shot if they don't hurry up," I told my friend who sat patiently by my side.

We blasted "If I were a boy," and stared at the jet blue sky turning to the color of ink.

The police man finally did show up. He was polite and kept asking us if were were okay. He said they had the guys address and they would take him to court for numerous offense's. Who knows. I thought about my 500 deductable that is coming out of my pocket and how much it sucked. I thought about it about two blocks down Sacramento as we finally drove home. Then for some reason I just didn't care. Because although people out there do things to us that hurt or inconvenience us horribly, and God doesn't it make you want to hate city living or just sum up that everyone out there sucks. Everyone but a few. Although the idea went through my head to feel this way, instead I felt kind of relieved. Relieved that I was okay and peaceful at the fact there are good souls. Four of them showed up today in the midst of my chaotic moment. There are about three or four good souls to balance out the ones who do these things to us and our '98 Prizms. Because those 'sucky' people have their reasons too and I will never know his or why he looked back at me, standing in the middle of the intersection staring at my smashed up car, and then decided to drive away. But it doesn't really matter, because yes Chicago is city life at its finest and worse. Its -15 degrees but God it is full of humanity.

As we turned down Armitage my friend and I looked at each other, "Happy hour???"
We laughed and nodded and drove my crackling car home.

Thank you jerks for smashing my car window

I was driving home from the gym tonight. I felt pretty good about being productive with my day. As I pulled out of the parking garage I noticed the orange light was lit up indicating that my door was 'ajar.' I got out and shut my trunk tightly and shut my driving door again. But there it was, the light glowing at me. I had no idea why it was still on.

I got home and as I was getting out into the frigid winter night, there it was-staring at me. My little side window was smashed in. Then suddenly my eyes widened as I realized the other car doors were unlocked. Frantically I opened my glove compartment only to see my beloved GPS still resting inside. My heart fluttered in relief, because God knows I am in love my GPS almost as much as my boyfriend.

I had an empty box sitting in my back seat. Maybe the asshole thought something magical, that would solve all his problems, would be inside. Dude, its empty. But no, he broke in and reached his long arm to the front door and then opened up the other doors. However, nothing from my trunk was gone. Maybe he wasn't trying to steal anything. Maybe he was ready to take my blue piece of crap car for a joyride. I mean it has 140,000 miles on the thing. Seriously?! Who honestly thinks its worth taking? But I will never know, because there it was still waiting for me after my workout with glass shattered all over my back seat.

The funny part is I teach in the fifth most dangerous neighborhood in Chicago. Yet my window is smashed in a secure parking garage in Lincoln Park. Everyone reminds me a million times a week to be careful coming and going from work. Yet when I go to the upscale neighborhood a few miles away it is then that my car is screwed with.

Oh to the Jerks that smashed my window. Lucikly you were nice enough to only smash the side window. Thank you for that. I appreciate you not smashing the main windows. That would cost a lot more. That was sweet of you. But hey, future reference-an empty box in a back seat of a car may not be the winning pot of gold you are looking for.

Post New Years=The GYM explosion

It's a new year and hence many of us are making little resolutions. Some are big and many small. But as we watch the ball drop, we can't help but repeat our lil' resolution in our heads. We say it a hundred times as if that in some way will ensure that we will, this year...actually, keep our new years promise.

There are oh so many things to resolve to do in a new year. Such as: I will become a patient person who jumps out of bed every morning for work with a gigantic smile plastered across my face. Or: I will volunteer every weekend for the next 52 weeks. Even in blizzards. Or I will stop saying F*ck no more than 10 times a day.

But one of my favorite little resolutions that is oh so unoriginal but yet quite endearing is the promise of THIS year I will go to the gym and loose those love handles! I will loose those pounds!

I personally have never made this my own new years resolution. Even after quite a few drinks on new years eve, I try to keep my resolutions more manageable such as . I will make my bed every day. OR I will listen to the news and actually set my alarm 20 minutes early to ensure I have time to scrape the mountain of snow off my car to avoid being late for work. But after seeing the swarm of new workout rookies maybe I should make my goals loftier, or should I?

The past couple days at Bally's Total Fitness it has honestly been an ant farm. There are people crawling everywhere! The personal trainers are racing around like unfed mice sweat flooding from their heads as they slap a smile across their faces and give personal training session after session after session...

I've become used to the medium flow of the gym or the quiet hum of a Saturday workout as I pedal away on the bike. But now its swarming from every side. People are frolicking about in their new work out clothes hopping on tread mills, bikes, elliptical machines with issues of US Weekly glued in their hands.

It's almost inspiring. I almost felt guilty because a line was forming waiting for machines as I huffed and puffed away on my machine. I look around and its cute the way everyone is filled with motivation and hope for 2009. Its like almost a good ol' middle finger to the economy in ways. Its almost like we are uniting with a message of hope: I may not have a job but god help me I will fit into my skinny jeans!

But as I'm later waiting for a treadmill, my stomach growling for its dinner... I can't help but think, "Do these new bees really believe in themselves enough?" Will you all be here two months from now?

Probably not. But oh how good it feels to have enough faith in ourselves to make the goal in the first place.

Our Christmas Tree: One True Thing

My dad always cuts down our Christmas tree. I remember when we were kids he would go to the tree farm way out in the plains of the Midwest and hunt down a tree. Sometimes my mom would bundle us up and we’d tag along with my dad. He always wanted the tree that had this big hole in the side. It looked perfect from the front until you turned it ever so slightly and its wound stared you right in the face like a man balding from only in the back of his head. We’d protest, “NAHHHH! Oh Dad, but it has a big hole in it!” All around us rows and rows of trees stretched each way, but somehow, each year my dad would find that one, that he felt ‘needed’ a home. He’d drag it to the car tying it securely on top of our blue mini van. When we got home it took us an hour to figure out how to situate the tree just right. It was like the tree was like a gambling indebted uncle that we had to present flawlessly to the rest of the world. We’d turn the tree a hundred times, propping its empty back towards the corner. Finally we’d get it so it looked just about right. Almost like we got it from a Home Depot. We hung our ornaments on that tree-the ones from kindergarten that were falling apart and those less than lovely ones we made somewhere along the way that my mom insisted were beautiful. Then finally my dad would get on top of our kitchen stool and place the cloth angel with yellow yarned hair on top of the tree. Each year my dad brought home the ‘needy’ tree and we would shake our heads, reposition it a hundred times, decorate the tree and make it our own. Over the years though the trees came to represent many things. It was our childhood innocence as we fell asleep underneath its piny branches Christmas eve. It was the place where I discovered my parents putting all my presents instead of Santa. And later it held presents no longer really for me but for new babies and new beginnings. Now that I am 26 I look forward to going home to ‘the’ tree. In a way its one true thing that I know will be there each year. Although it is far from flawless and missing a few branches and greens, the tree is full of character, charm, and sincerity. For me, its part of what I remember as being home.

long distance relationships

Long distance relationships really suck. For many obvious reasons. But for a few slightly less apparent. Such as the following:

1. When my light bulbs burn out in my room, they seem to go unfixed.
2. I can't really know for sure that my boyfriend has shaved for the day.
3. My heating bill is higher because I have no warm body by my side.
4. Going to Chili's isn't as fun anymore.
5. There's nobody to fight over the TV with.
6. It costs approximately 8 dinners out together to pay for one plane ticket to see each others' face.
7. When I tell stories, my best audience is missing.
8. It would take me over 15 hours to drive to his house to watch a new episode of The Office.
9. I may get a flat tire because he isn't here to tell me to put air in my tires.
10. My Christmas lights fell down...AGAIN.
11. Facebook wall I miss you posts are a shock to your system: like going from eating from Whole Foods to eating at Mcdonalds. The number 2 super size just doesn't hack it.

But at least we are have free verizon to verizon connection.
Or else the relationship would really be doomed:)

wine glasses

the other night i cleaned out 16 wine glasses. some were from having a few friends over. the others my two roommates and i consumed. one thing i'm noticing in my return to chicago winter's brutality is that our little friend vino seems to be the sure fire way to get chicago residents through this hell hole home that we call our own. thank god we moved into a place with a built in wine rack.

The Balancing Act

I've been thinking about how hard it is to keep a balanced life. So I made a list of cleansing strategies:

1. Eat healthy
2. Go to the gym
3. Take a break/limit the booze
4. Keep up with new and old friends
5. See your family
6. Do well at your job and DON'T get fired (you won't be able to get another job in this economy)
7. Keep your relationship with your significant other fabulous.

I've been thinking about trying to incorporating these strategies into my life as a little test or self trial to see: will I become more balanced, spirit filled, and happier?!

It's not an easy gig being on top of life. Lets start from the top and work our way down:

1. Eating healthy is empowering. Each dip of my yogurt, tuna, and fat free cottage cheese lunch makes me feel stronger. However, its not as fun as deep dish pizza or Floyd's (the bar across the street) and its fabulous pesto sandwich. I don't actually have much time to eat at work. I'm running to the copy machine or leading a child up to the discipline office. By the time I get home at night I'm starving! which leads to dinner which leads to John and Kate plus eight. And that equals=no gym para mi. So I'm working on my healthy snacks and my hearty 8 am oatmeal and yes even cooking chicken on the stove. I mean Chipotle and I will remain friends, just not best friends.

2. The gym. WEll, I have a little love hate relationship with my Bally's Total Fitness. They basically own you, and you end up signing away for some god awful 2 in a half yr membership without realizing it. Then if you try to cancel, the customer service guy, with his sweet talking voice, reminds you that its a healthy thing to be part of the gym and don't you want to keep your heart happy with you? Well of course! You end up hanging up and practically signing up for another couple years by the end of that phone call. Its not that I hate the gym. I just rather go for a five mile run outside. But the reality is: I live in Chicago again. And there is no way I'm running in 15 degree weather. So here I am biking away, signing up for classes, hoping on the treadmill. And you know what. It does feel damn good. I try to remind myself of that as I leave the gym after my work out. I close my eyes, and say, this feels damn good. Then after my 10 hour day is over the following day, and I'm getting into my car, I say to myself, 'remember that damn good feeling' Sometimes I do so distinctly! and other times I don't. That is until my roommate is blowing up my phone and reminding me our spinning class is in thirty minutes. So off I go into the vicious cycle of love/hate with my pumping heart along the way.

3. Booze. Oh how good it feels to pour a couple glasses of Vino on a cold Chicago night. I cuddle up on my couch with my roommates and we get all toasty with red wine. Or we trek, ALL the way across the street to Floyd's where we sit in booths with the juke box ringing in our ears and drink crappy PBR but it goes down like water. I've been to about 8 weddings in the last six months and so I'll contribute my desire to 'throwing it back' to all those open bar experiences. I was spoiled. I will also contribute this desire to the cold winter I've returned back to. How can I not want a warm glass of pinot noir? How?! With those two factors plus the reality is I teach urban children all day, I'm practically destined to drink a cerveza. However, last week I said, slow down missy! The hangovers aren't quite as forgiving and running on that treadmill isn't quite as easy after last evening. So I'm becoming a picker drinker now. I pick the days that I rather just be friends with my diet dr pepper and its just the right thing to do. I guess its all a balancing act, when to let go, when to hold back, but I'm learning day by day!

4 & 5 Keeping up with People:

Well I have facebook so that's easy:)
Its important to do the texting, gmailing, facebooking, calling, messanging and sometimes...oh yes sometimes real interacting with real friends and family. Even if the others seem so much easier:)

6: Keep your job:

My boyfriend lost his job due to this economy. I have been experiencing his life second hand of course, but honestly people, the economy sucks keep your JOB! keep it close, keep it tight, wake up, jump out of bed (not literally please) and be thankful for your job. I'm working on that. I get up and stumble to my shower and as I'm trying to find a matching outfit, I think yes YES WE CAN! By the time I get a dunkin' donuts hot tea, I'm actually almost convinced and its only 7:30! Having a job is important and I'm bound to appreciate it; even if my students drive me to #3.:)

7: significant others:

Its the people we love that we take for granted the most. So every now and then I have to remind myself: time to send him a blue mountain card, do something different and fabulous and when your sig. other has a birthday attempt to bake a cake. Even if it ends up coming out of a box. At the end of the day, #7 is the balance beam for 1,2, 3, 4, 5, and 6.


Here's to our endless journey to knowing when to stay inside and outside the lines.