A Little Bit of Lactic Acid Does a Body Good

I rode a large portion of the Lake Shore Path today on my commuter. It was a bit difficult because there was a really nasty side wind that cut across the lake. Normally I don't mind side winds, but because this one was coming off the lake I had almost no proctection from it for the entirety of the ride. It was probably good for me though, because I got a hell of a workout, and now I'm pretty much dead.

I made it up to about Fullerton and then turned back and stopped at Navy Pier on my way to Hyde Park. Navy Pier was bustling with people. Tourists. The type of people who stop in front of you to take a picture, and then you almost hit them. The type who doesn't know how to steer a bike on the Lake Shore Path and you almost collide with them. Small Children. Old People.

I guess I get a little bit of road rage when I'm riding my bike. I'm so used to riding in the middle of nowhere, farmland, where you don't see a person for miles. When I get out on the Lake Shore Path and there are thousands of people doing every sort of sport imaginable, I guess I get a little impatient. I nearly hit a girl who was riding an old bike and texting. While that was on purpose. There were also groups of families riding along that I yelled MOVE OVER at on several occasions. I'm probably the asshole biker that everyone complains about.

At Navy Pier I bought a lemon ice. It was amazing. I was going to get those cinnamon roasted cashews that you can only find on the street in New York, the fair, and Navy Pier. But then I saw the lemon ice and I was sold. Now I really want the nuts. Damn.

I probably won't get out on the Lake Shore Path again this year. My bike goes home on Friday, and between now and then I have a ridiculous amount of things to do.

But then when I get home I get to reunite with my baby (aka my Scott road bike) and then maybe I'll actually get to ride it outside (for the first time EVER).

Until then, hot legs workout?

Orange dans le Tour

Sweet blog I just found. It's in French though...

But seriously, it has great behind the Tour de France features... an industry I would love to work in someday. I think I would be very good at logistics and planning of a three week event. I've even considered sending a resume to Chicago 2016 on several occasions, but have to decided to wait until I hear if they get the nod or not.

Orange dans le Tour

Big Gray Plastic Tubs

So the goal for the weekend is to move all of this:







...into those 15 gallon (or whatever) gray plastic tubs that you buy from Target. Its gonna be a bitch, let me tell you. Especially because I'm pretty sure 6 tubs won't do it, and I'm too afraid to ride the Green Line to Target (because of the derailment yesterday). Should make for an interesting weekend.

Last Day At My First Big Kid Job

Today was my last day the the 3rd Ward Alderman's Office. It was supposed to be a nice relaxing day, with a lunch in my honor... and then the Green Line derailed and we had to do damage control on the phones the whole time (because they cut the power to the whole neighborhood, and people were pissed... and the press wanted a statement from the Alderman).

Aside from the drama, I really enj0yed my time at the Alderman's Office. It was almost like a real desk job. I had my own desk, a computer, and a telephone. Ok, I had to share it with like three other people, but still.

I learned a lot of important things working for the Alderman. I got a new perspective on the South Side Community, and I learned the ins and outs of Chicago Power Politics. I also got to help bust a few prostitution rings.

I learned a few life skills too. I had my first real boss, one that demanded a lot from me (and scared the hell out of me). I was most certainly the bottom of the food chain, and had to work my way up to gain the respect of my co-workers (my first desk was in the hallway, no computer, no phone). I went from being the file bitch to the go to girl for all things computer. And I met a lot of cool people that I probably wouldn't have met normally.

I don't know if I'll go back to working at the 3rd Ward when I return from Paris. I do know, for sure, that I do not want to work in Chicago Politics. Those Daley's... damn, they've got this city wrapped around their fingers (and that's why shit like the Green Line derailing happens in the first place).

For now, I'm more or less unemployed until the first day of Camp (June 16th!), although I do have some meetings before then. Just means I'm going to get real poor, real fast.

Leaving Chicago

School finishes on the 13th of June for me. Friday the 13th. It's still three weeks out, but with an early move out date (June 6th) and finals, time is running short. That said I've begun to realize that I've only got a three weeks left in Chicago, and little time to enjoy the city. So here is a little list of a few of the things that I would like to try (trrry) to do while I'm still here, seeing as once I leave I won't be back for at least 9 months.

-Goose Island Brewery (great restaurant!)
-Shop the Magnificent Mile one more time (maybe not buy anything though)
-Salonica (cheap yummy breakfast)
-Cafe Korea (best homemade noodles in HP)
-Bike the Lake Shore Path (especially before my bike goes home soon)
-Dinner with Aunt and Uncle
-Get a French Visa (ok I HAVE to do this, but still)

That's it I guess. Might as well keep it short because I am only going to have time to do anything of this for one weekend, and that's a lot of restaurants for two days ;-)

NYC Day 6 Pictures

Central Park.
I woke up really early to go for a walk in Central Park. It was a beautiful morning, and the park was incredible.

Central Park Castle.
I found this is in the middle of Central Park. I climbed to the top later, it was really cool. I don't know why it was just tucked away in the park, but it was really cool to check out.

French Embassy.
I just randomly came upon this while walking back to my hotel from Central Park. I think it's a bit nicer than the Armenian one, no?

Chinatown Steal.
Bartered for this fake D&G in Chinatown. I like it a lot. Emily was killing it because she speaks Chinese and she was doing all her business in Chinese, and they were very impressed so I think they gave us a better deal. Maybe not, I don't know.

Brooklyn Bridge.
We came upon this cool photo-op when we came up form the subway, at this point it was pouring a little bit. Oh well.

Hotel.
The Hyatt, which you can see the sign for in the background, was our hotel. Check out the part of town we got to stay in.... for free. Nice huh?

*That is all I've got to share right now, if I find anything else I'll add it. On a similar note, there is no video for Day Six because I got home late that night and just wanted to go to sleep.*

NYC Day 5 Pictures

UNICEF Staff
Angela Wharton (Rapporteur), Parsa Sobhani (Chair) and I (Director) before committee started hanging out in the UN Building.

Presiding over UNICEF in the UN.
First, check out where we are. AMAZING. Behind us are the booths for the interpreters, and in the middle is where the transcribers sit. It was a pretty cool facility, and I'm glad we got to use it for committee. I'm on the left doing my director duties (reading/editing resolutions), Parsa is in the middle being chair, and Angela is on the right doing her thing (passing notes).

The Interpreter?
All of the booths for the interpreters. Impressive, no? On a slightly different note, I was in a movie. Well, I might be. The people who produced Mad Hot Ballroom and Spellbound were filming a documentary of our conference. I was on camera a few times, so we'll see if I make the cut. This is only the second film (after the Interpreter) to be filmed in the UN building.

Dinner in Bryant Park.
For the last night, this was absolutely perfect.

We Survived the Creeper '08
This was taken as the police pretty much made us wait in the lobby while they dealt with a creeper that followed us from 52nd and Broadway, through two subway rides, to our hotel at 42nd and Lexington. We survived the creeper in the end, and this photo documents it.

New York City Day Five--MUNing in the UN

Absolutely exhausted and a bit sad that I was going home the next day.

NYC Day 4 Pictures

Armenian Embassy
As Emily and I were walking to the restaurant we were going to eat at we came across a bunch of embassies. We finally figured out what they were (it took us awhile), and then we decided to take a picture outside one of them, this is the Armenian one.

Museum of Sex.
Sorry Meredyth--didn't get to go inside, but I was excited to see it. Also, this is the best picture we could get, because there was a man sleeping in front of the main sign and we didn't want to wake him up.

*Unfortunately I didn't get any other pictures this day, my batteries were recharging.*

New York City Day Four--UNICEF

This video was done after a very long day that including a lot of committee session and a very long walk in the rain. It was all good though.

UNAUSAMUN 2008--Keynote Speaker

Ban Ki-Moons speech, about the first five minutes. I got glared down by a security guard, so I stopped taking video. The images aren't that great, but the audio is fabulous. I think it really motivated the delegates that he was there, I know it motivated me.

NYC Day 3 Pictures

Empire State Building
This was the centerpiece for the long walk I took. I thought it was pretty cool to get that close to one of the most famous skyscrapers in the world. And no, King Kong was not hanging off the top... that would have been cool though.

Street Hot Dog.
One of my goals for the trip was to eat a hotdog from a street vendor. I did, and it was delicious, and here is the proof.


The UN
When I got there the flags weren't up anymore , but I think it looks way cooler with the flags up so I stole one of Emily's pictures. The building featured is the GA Hall building, pretty cool.


Opening Ceremonies.
The man featured in the middle of the GA Hall Dais is Ban Ki-Moon, Secretary General of the United Nations. I will post part of his speech, because it was amazing to see him speaking while on his own turf. Gabriella (DSG) and Ravi (COS) are sitting on either side of him.


In the GA Hall.
So I had to usher on the balconies, but it was ok, because I managed to take a picture that was this cool. The GA Hall is absolutely incredible, albeit a bit outdated.


US Placard.
So yeah, this will be my seat one day. Definitely.

Staff Picture.
This is pretty much the entire UNAUSAMUN 2008 Staff. I'm somewhere on the right side. The staff was really cool, and it was a pleasure to get to know a lot of them.

Emily and I outside the UN.
Outside the UN there are a lot of statues that have been donated by different delegations over the years. This is one of the most famous statues. Emily was my roommate for the trip, and ew had a really good time hanging out.

New York City Day Three--Ban Ki-Moon

The third day I was in NYC was the first day I got to go the UN, so these are my reflections on that.

Times Square--Neon Nights

THIS IS ONE OF THE MOST INCREDIBLE THINGS I HAVE EVER SEEN IN MY ENTIRE LIFE.

NYC Day 2 Pictures

Trying to recreate an important scene from Gossip Girl.
So if you watch Gossip Girl you might recall the images they use (constantly) of Serena arriving in Grand Central Station and being spotted ("spotted in Grand Central Station, S back from boarding school..."). I tried to recreate it, but it was hard with my camera and the crowds, but that's what this is supposed to be.

CHINATOWN.
I love this picture. Everything looks so bright and delicious. Before going to Chinatown I felt that everything I'd heard about NYC was a bit of an exaggeration (except Times Square). But I was totally wrong. There was so many people in Chinatown, and so much stuff was going on. It was fabulous.


Neon Nights.
This picture just reminds me of NYC in general. Bright lights and fast cabs going by. I love it.

Hanging out in Times Square at Night.
I though Times Square during the day was incredible. But this was just mindblowing. It felt like it was day time with the amount of lights there were. And there were so many people out, and it was well after 11:30pm.

Bryant Park Fountain.
Ryan and I ended up hanging out in Bryant Park for awhile. Bryant Park is where Fashion Week is held, and it is a fabulous little oasis in the middle of Midtown.

New York City Day Two--Times Square at Night

This is the video I took on the second night. I was wide awake from eating a lot of ice cream at a diner, so I went in the hotel stairwell to vlog.

NYC Day 1 Pictures

These pictures are all from my first day in New York. It was a pretty exciting day, and I definitely took a lot of pictures! These are the best of the best...

First time at Times Square.
The main building in this picture is the MTV studios. On the side of the street I was on there was a massive TV screen that was playing MTV. They weren't taping TRL when we were there, so unfortunately there were no screaming girls outside.

Ryan and I in Times Square.
Ryan is pretty much my MUN soulmate (to steal a term from my USG). We had a good time enjoying the insanity of Times Square.



30 Rockefeller Place
Being a big fan of 30 Rock I begged the group I was walking with to go to the Rockefeller Place. It was a lot different than it looks on the TV but it was still really cool to check out. Down towards the bottom of the picture is where the ice skating rink is in the winter. It was really cool to see this important facility for Network Broadcasting.


Ryan, Me, and Emily at 30 Rockefeller Place.
We figured we should take a picture with the monument to John D. Rockefeller seeing as how he put a lot of money into our University (actually he pretty much founded it himself). We made Liz (our MSU friend) take the picture because she isn't cool (pretentious) enough to be UofC.

My USG (ECOSOC) Group
Here is the majority of the staff that I spent most of the week with (especially when we were training). The guy in the yellow is Parsa, he was the chair for the committee I worked on, and the girl with red hair on his left shoulder is Angela who was the rapporteur for my committee. The picture was taken outside the UNA building.

New York City Day One--Long Day of Traveling

This video was made while I was waiting for the other USG groups to get back from their dinners so I'd have someone to hang out with. At this point in the trip I was still a bit shy (I know...) and I was sticking pretty close to the other UofC kids. This day was a bit like the first day of summer camp... We got there, signed in, and were sort of overwhelmed and nervous. After that we went on a walk around the neighborhood (aka Midtown) and checked out the major sites, sort of like having a first tour of a summer camp. The evening was dominated with orientation, and silly get-to-know you exercises, also like summer camp. In the evening the different USG groups went out to dinner together. My group got real NYC pizza, it was fun.

A highlight of the day was seeing Times Square for the first time, and 30 Rockefeller Place (30 ROCK!).

Heading Off To NYC!!!

I made this video pre-departure. I was really really excited to go to NYC, and I wanted to test that my camera was still working... it was, and I'm so thankful for that.

Best Week Ever!?!

So I got back from NYC a little over 12 hours ago, and pretty much crawled into my bed and fell asleep. I'm pretty sure it was the best time I've ever had on any MUN Conference (ever), and I'm kind of not ready to be back at school. I've got to take a midterm this morning, and then do a couple hours of class, after which I will post much better blog posts (with sickening detail) about our escapades in New York City. Oh school...

Camp Units

Wow, I just have so much to share today. I just heard back on what units I'm leading at camp this summer. Let's talk about how perfect my line-up is... all of my units are outdoors, which means I can avoid crazy Camp Directors as much as possible! And I'll probably get in really good shape, and on top of that I'll get a good tan. What could be more perfect? Also, it looks like I'll get to do a lot of cool things (i.e. canoeing, fishing, biking, etc...) I'm pretty stoked for the summer now.

Units:

June 16-20: Summer Hoops
June 23-27: Go Fore Golf
June 30- July 3: Sportz Morph
July 7-11: Ultimate Angler
July 14-18: Canoeing
July 21-25: Intro. Biking
July 28 - Aug. 1: Tennis
August 4-8: Madison Lakes
August 11-15: Football

Fantasy Team

Oh, and I also need to brag about my bitchin' Fantasy Giro d'Italia team.

Team

GC Riders
Andreas Kloden
Denis Menchov
Climbers
Alberto Contador
Gilberto Simoni
Sprinter
Mark Cavendish
Domestiques
Marco Pinotti
Jonathan Patrick McCarty
Yoann Le Boulanger
Wildcard
Graeme Brown

Don't worry if you know who none of these people are. The are just some of the best cyclists in the world. I don't know how I managed to fit Kloden/Menchov/Simoni/Contador (the top 4 favorites) on the same team, but I did it. And Cavendish and Brown are not bad sprinters. I might have a slow start, but by the middle of the second week I should be towards the top of the standings, guaranteed.

I guess I sort of love when Grand Tour Season hits.

ALBERTO CONTADOR

Yes, that is him. I totally met him/got an autograph, but was so flustered that I forgot to ask for a picture with him. He is really nice, and kind of really good looking. He also won the Tour de France last year, so he is sort of a big deal. Oh, and he's on my Fantasy Team. Represent.

Homework Blitz Weekend

Hey There-

So this weekend is my pre-NYC time to get all of my homework done. I've dubbed it the Homework Blitz weekend because I really like the word blitz. Basically I've got to get all of my work for this coming week and next monday done before I get on a plane to NYC for a week. I could just do whatever I get done and then have work left when I get back, but I really don't like that idea. At all. I know that I'm not going to want to do work when I get back, and on top of that I'm going to need to catch up on about 5 TV shows' finales. So yeah, Homework Blitz Weekend is a go!

This weekend has actually been pretty fun, aside from actually having to do work. Meredyth and Mayon threw a "Nueve de Mayo" party at Mayon's new place. It was a success, in my opinion at least. Yesterday I went to the FOTA Fashion show because Anton and Meredyth were walking in it, and I wanted to see if they had really learned everything they could from Miss J on ANTM. They did pretty good. The runway was like a square which I think threw off everyones walks a little bit because there were awkward corners. But seriously my kids were much fiercer than everyone else. Mad props to them.

Well I'm going to get back to work. I'm reading about the media and its relationship to politics, which is really interesting, but I think I've learned it all from 30 Rock already.

I Just Bought A Plane Ticket To Europe!

Well ok, my Mom did... but still. This means its pretty much definite, because it costs $225 to change anything, and my cheap family won't want to do that!

My flight plan is a bit convuluted. I list it below, but it involves four airports total...

DEPART
Thursday, September 25, 2008
		Northwest Airlines Flight 1250 Nonstop		Thursday, September 25, 2008 Depart: OHare International, Chicago, IL, US (ORD) @ 6:00pm Arrive: Wayne County Intl, Detroit, MI, US (DTW) @ 8:22pm
<<>>
		Northwest Airlines Flight 50 Nonstop		Thursday, September 25, 2008 Depart: Wayne County Intl, Detroit, MI, US (DTW) @ 9:35pm Arrive: Ch. De Gaulle, Paris, FR (CDG) @ 11:35am Friday, September 26, 2008

RETURN
Sunday, March 15, 2009
		Northwest Airlines Flight 61 Nonstop		Sunday, March 15, 2009 Depart: Ch. De Gaulle, Paris, FR (CDG) @ 12:45pm Arrive: St Paul Intl, Minneapolis, MN, US (MSP) @ 4:10pm
<<>>
		Northwest Airlines Flight 140 Nonstop		Sunday, March 15, 2009 Depart: St Paul Intl, Minneapolis, MN, US (MSP) @ 6:52pm Arrive: OHare International, Chicago, IL, US (ORD) @ 8:14pm

Cool huh?


*****

EXACTLY ONE WEEK TILL NYC!!!

May Already

Normally I'm sort of against willing time by. Might as well live in the moment, right? But I must say this quarter has flown by, and I'm so glad. Spring in Chicago is pretty chill, there is a lot going on at school, and the city starts to wake up from the stupor of the long winter. So there is definitely a lot to do. I'm just ready for summer vacation, that's all. That might partly be because most of my friends back home are finishing up in the next couple of weeks, and seriously that's not fair.

I know I've written about this before, but I just have so much to look forward to. The next week should be pretty chill, I'm heading off to NYC in a little over the week, so I'll be pretty focused over the next ten days or whatever on getting everything together for that. I'm pretty stoked. But then that next month is going to be such a bitch. It'll be hot, but I'll be in school. Damn.

I'm such a whiner. Probably because I've got the ear infection of the century and am very ornery. VERY VERY ornery. Hah, that's a funny word.

Oh, and I must point out that my friend Danny is going to be in Dublin next fall, which most certainly means Nora will be going to Dublin. Hmm, I'll have to create a list of all the places I'll have friends... it's gonna be epic.

Ok, I've spent enough time procrastinating and writing about nothing.