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T h e A d v e n t u r e s o f C h i c a g o J o

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Busy-busy-busy!

2005-06-06� � 4:30 p.m.
This was my first truly Benito-free weekend in a long time, but things went pretty smoothly. I swear that the past week has taken a year off my life, though.

Great. Now I�ll only live to be 103.

If it isn�t already obvious, the key to my sanity is to keep incredibly busy. So, this weekend was as packed as I could schedule it.

Every other Friday night there�s a �skate rave� that takes a good amount of rollerbladers on a 10-15 mile trek through the city on a themed tour. Previous raves were famous battle sites, the city�s candy factories, and the path of the great fire. Friday�s theme was A Tour of the Islands.

The weather was great, and the skate was pretty comfortable. However, there were a few problems. Although I�ve been skating on and off for a couple years, I�m just not a speed skater. Since many people in the group are racers, they only know to go fast. After a while, the group splits into two: the speedy folks, and the slow pokes.

I have no issue with being in the back of the group. I�m uncomfortable skating in large numbers since everyone�s kick-offs could very well hit mine, and it�s thinner in the back. The bad thing about being in the back is that everyone back there is usually very inexperienced.

One girl was all flail-y arms, threatening to take me out at a moment�s notice. Another girl would go speedy-speedy-speedy to get in front of me, only to slow down significantly and make it difficult to pass her. Some girl dropped her cell phone, and this guy in the back came to a fast, dead stop to pick it up for her. That�s nice and all, but I will run your ass over if you deserve it.

Perhaps I�m too mean. After all, I�m the runner who will clip walkers coming toward me who don�t move over. (I�m not that big of a bitch. I only clip them if I can�t move any farther to the right. And then, I only clip them lightly in the shoulder to let them know they�re being a herd of assholes for walking hand-in-hand, four-across on a busy sidewalk.) But I really have no patience for people who can�t think through what is and isn�t proper etiquette for sharing the roads, sidewalks, and lakefront paths.

I think being both a runner and a blader, I�m more aware of others and better at sharing the available space. While in races, I constantly check over my shoulder when changing paths or when I know I�m going to slow to a walk. On the lakefront, I also always check before crossing the lanes. As a blader, I occasionally receive mean remarks from bikers about kicking out, and I tell them nicely that I�d stop my pushes if they announced that they were coming up with a friendly �On your left!� I also announce to runners my intentions so they don�t suddenly dart in front of me and make either of us one with the pavement.

It�s just the way it is. Think about your actions, and anticipate others�. Then we�re all less likely to get hurt.

I left the skating group about a mile early since we were passing my house and I didn�t feel like hanging out with any of them any longer. I got semi cleaned up to go to Happy�s house, but my motivation to leave the house just wouldn�t kick in. I talked on the phone to my BFF in Dallas for a while, and then my sister called me.

Nothing against any of my friends, but there�s something about my sister that just clicks. We never really got along while growing up, but now she�s one of my favorite people around. Most of that 2-hour, 13-minute conversation was all private stuff, and it was much-needed. (Thank you, Sissy.)

I went to bed at a decent hour, and I woke up super-early, as I have been for the past week. With so much time to spare before my first scheduled event, I took off for an early run. I forgot to eat or drink anything, so it was total shit. I turned around very soon into the run, making it out for only 40 minutes.

A shower and a change into cute clothes, and I was on my way to get my haircut. My very awesome stylist further fixed my screwed up �do, and we bitched and moaned about how retarded boys are. I like her a lot. I need to somehow integrate her into my friend group, but I don�t quite know how to make that transition.

$45 and 45 minutes later, I walked toward my favorite consignment shop. I made a quick stop into the so-so thrift shop and scored an Ann Taylor knee-length khaki shirt for $8 and some Old Navy pin-striped pants for another $8.

With my two new treasures in-hand, I made it to the good place with high hopes. I did pretty well. I got a 3/4-sleeved black shirt with this criss-crossed front for $10, a capped-sleeved cream colored shirt since I wore my last one out for about $5, and a fitted jean jacket for $10.

Since I�m looking to replace my favorite pair of jeans (thinning due to overuse -- eek!), I stopped in the full price section for a look-through. Unfortunately the dresses are right next to the jeans, so I got a good look at this little black dress.

Thin straps, v-neck and back, and fitted all of the way through. I brought it into the dressing room with hopes that it would look like poop.

Yeah, right. I had no such luck. $50 later, I became the new owner of a very awesome dress. Now if only I had somewhere to wear this dress to...

Since the weather is finally nice, I walked the three miles home through the different neighborhoods, stopping to get Hambone�s prescription food at the halfway mark.

The rest of Saturday afternoon was spent putzing around the house, cleaning and organizing the office. I recently learned that my building has basement storage, so I prepared everything to go downstairs.

Early in the evening I headed to Happy�s house to make her and her roommate dinner and to hang out with them. After several hours of girl time, Happy, a guy friend, and I headed to a bar for a friend�s birthday party. We refused to pay $20 to enter the private party area since we weren�t taking part in the all-you-can drink, so we few headed to another part of the bar to sit and talk a bit before retiring for the night.

And retire, I did.

The next day my eyes popped open at 7:33 (as usual lately), only to have me force them to close again. I managed to lay in bed until 8:30, when I gave up and got my day started.

I got my large Tupperware boxes, my ladder, and my paint and supplies into my storage cage. I watched Hero from Netflix (yawn). I washed laundry, did chores, and starting writing a letter to a friend.

And then it was time to volunteer. There�s a church up north with a live-in program for self-sufficient seniors. Since I�m afraid of old people, I figured this was a good opportunity to ease myself into not being such a �fraidy cat.

I cooked quite an elaborate dinner for 12 seniors. The menu included ham (someone else had that duty, as I couldn�t stomach it), corn, green beans, mashed potatoes, yams, rolls, and a chocolate cake. As I washed dishes, many came to the back and said that it was the best meal they�d had.

It was nice to get out of the house and to cook food for someone else, but I�m still afraid of old people.

The rest of the evening was spent with back-to-back Law and Order episodes and an especially snuggly cat. No complaints there!

Today�s been especially filled so far. I�m now getting to work an hour earlier, and it�s not really feeling any different. Since the more hours I bank means the more hours I don�t work later, I�m all for that.

I�ve been flipping between projects all day long, balancing a surprisingly difficult PowerPoint presentation (lots of graphics and charts to create) with my usual work.

Over lunch I decided to take action on something I�ve been procrastinating with. Long ago I took an online real estate class, and it just didn�t work out. I finished the class, but I never got around to taking the licensing test. Lo and behold, I�ve forgotten everything since then, and my studying has been too difficult to concentrate on. So in an attempt to finally get this done, I�ve signed up for a six-week course. I�ll be all official by the end of July, and I�m excited about that.

WAY TO TAKE ACTION, JO!

I�m a little hesitant to mention this since it�s such a long shot, but I�ve been invited for an interview for this Chicago-based documentary where the filmmakers are following two runners in their quest to the Chicago Marathon.

Here�s the description for the part I�m interviewing for:

... a young woman in her late 20�s to early 30�s. She has never run a marathon and therefore will be training primarily to finish. She will explain her decision to take on the challenge and her training will be documented step by step from her initial low-mileage runs to eventually completing the entire 26.2 mile race. Her demographic will specifically be highlighted as the film emphasizes the importance of women who are growing the sport like never before.

I�ve watched the trailer and read the entire write-up on the project with hopes that I can match that tone in my interview. (Note to self: Don�t be so spunky.) How cool would it be to have these next few months documented, though? I�ll have my fingers crossed until then, but I�m certainly not counting on it since I�m sure there are many, many others also being interviewed for this same part.

All righty. It�s just about time to get outta here. Tonight�s plans involve a short run, lifting legs weights, getting dressed in something hot, meeting up with some girl friends while they drink martinis and I join in the conversation, and then cooking dinner for them at one of their places.

Busy-busy-busy!�



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