February 2004 Archives

Last year after seeing all of the movies nominated in the 14 major categories, I was only able to correctly predict winners for 6 categories. So this year, I thought I would take a different approach. Hey, why see all the films; I'll just make my predictions based on buzz or lack thereof. I'm sure that's what some of the Oscar voters do. So let's see if I fair any better than last year. Below are my predictions. I reserve the right to change my predictions so long as the ceremony has not yet begun.

Update: Of the 17 categories I made predictions on, I was only correct for 10 of them. That's a borderline passing grade. Oh well! Quess I better stick to my day job. Perhaps the biggest surprise of the night for me was that bad boy Sean Penn won the best actor award for Mystic River. I really wanted thought Bill Murray to would win.

Every week, Norm over at NormBlog profiles another blogger. So far, he's done 23 profiles of mostly high profile bloggers. This past Friday, he profiled James Joyner of Outside the Beltway fame. In that I'm probably not on his radar, I thought I'd answer his questions on my very own blog. Hopefully, he won't mind too much.

Why do you blog? > I want to be heard. I want to be validated. I want to be loved and adored.

What has been your best blogging experience? > Being profiled by the Chicago Tribune last summer. More importantly, meeting people through my blog who could potentially become long term friends.

What would be your main blogging advice to a novice blogger? > Just go for it; but be true to yourself. Don’t do or say anything outside your comfort zone to get readers, those will come in due time.

What are your favorite blogs? > Tough question. There are so many that I like. But I will list three diverse ones that I started reading during my initial months of blogging. They include: American Idle, Bookslut and Oliver Willis.

I had an intense dream last night about a boyfriend from Junior High. The sad thing is that I can't remember his name. Just his face. Since I've had many dreams about him in the past, I wonder why he still haunts my dreams? We did end on good terms. Hmmm..

I pray that I will one day have a successful marriage with beautiful healthy children. In addition, I pray that I will grow old with my husband. However, should the marriage fail, I pray that I will put aside my hurt feelings and do what is in the best interest of my children. I'm thinking about this now as I just got back from my niece's 3rd birthday party. My younger sister had the "diva in training" with her first husband. My sister has a rocky relationship with her first husband and as such, he wasn't invited to the party. Not sure I agree, but it was my sister's decision. In any event, midway through the party I heard my sister talking on the phone in a raised voice. In that I knew she was talking to her ex-husband and that others could hear, I took the phone from her and went into a closed room. I probably shouldn't have gotten into the middle of things, but as I've had to deal with the asshat since my sister was a freshman in high school, I felt like I could butt in. He wanted to pick up my niece in what would have been the middle of the party. I tried to advice against doing so, but he's a hot heat and he said he was coming. So for the rest of the night, I was on pins and needles thinking that he would arrive and cause a scene. Luckily that never happened. But the whole thing made me want to drink. Unfortunately for me, my sister has a dry house. This situation as well as others that I’ve heard about with other friends made me promise myself that if I found myself in a similar situation, I would do what was in the best interest of my child -- that being to have both parents at the celebration; particularly if the other parent is trying to play an active role in my child’s life. I know it’s difficult, but in the end, I think that would have been the right thing to do.

I truly wish I had psychic powers -- it would alleviate much stress and worry.

You're Brave New World!
by Aldous Huxley
With an uncanny ability for predicting the future, you are a true psychic. You can see how the world will change and illuminate the fears of future generations. In the world to come, you see the influence of the media, genetic science, drugs, and class warfare. And while all this might make you happy, you claim the right to be unhappy. While pregnancy might seem painful, test tube babies scare you most. You are obsessed with the word "pneumatic".
Take the Book Quiz at the Blue Pyramid.

Quiz found via Jennifer Weiner's Blog.

So I took the plunge a few weeks back and signed up for match.com. I figured, nothing ventured, nothing gained. At first I just set up the free profile. However, at the urging of friends, I paid for a 6 month subscription so I could take advantage of all the features offered; most importantly being able to communicate with the men who have "winked" at me. Below is an email exchange from one of these men.

He wrote:

You are a cutie and appear really sweet... I would like to perhaps open a dialogue...However, I am currently separated and living with the spouse and kids. I haven't had had the time to clear up the living situation for various reasons best discussed over the phone... Part of the problem is time and the other is I am trying to reach an amicable split which takes time and patience.. However, I am exploring my options...be that as it may, that's why I don't have a photo online...

I wrote back:

Thanks for your honesty in the email. I'm intrigued, but thinking it may be best for you to resolve your current situation. Once that is complete, feel free to look me up. If I'm still on match.com, perhaps we can begin a dialogue. However, at this point, don't think it would be in my best interest to even explore a friendship.

What the f**k? Do I have desperation written on my forehead? I can't imagine that any woman looking for a serious relationship would respond warmly to this guy. But hey, what do I know.

Having dealt with weight issues since college, I'm sympathetic to most with health problems as a result of obesity. But taking a restaurant chain (say McDonald's) or a manufacturer (say Nabisco) of a food product to court “for making you obese” is just ridiculous. Geez! All fast food restaurants now provide nutritional information for items on their menus. The same is done for all fatty and potentially "addictive" junk food found in the grocery store. Granted serving portions have gotten larger, but it's up to the individual to exercise some self control. Furthermore, people (myself included) need to take responsibility for what we put in our mouth. If I fall for all the marketing ploys and overindulge on the food and then get fat, that's my fault. That's not the company's fault. More importantly, suing is not the answer. With all this litigation, no wonder everything in this country is getting more expensive. Thankfully, the Illinois legislature passed a bill earlier today that will stop these ridiculous obesity law suits in state court. Other states have similar legislation under consideration. Here's hoping the Governor signs the bill.

Illinois General Assembly House Bill 3981 Synopsis As Introduced Creates the Illinois Commonsense Consumption Act. Provides that no person shall bring a qualified civil action in State court against any manufacturer, seller, or trade association of a qualified product. Defines "qualified civil action" to include a civil action brought by any person against a manufacturer or seller of a qualified product, or a trade association, for damages or injunctive relief based on a claim of injury resulting from a person's weight gain, obesity, or any health condition that is related to weight gain or obesity. Makes exceptions to the limited liability.

The A & F Quarterly is no more. Learnt of the cancellation from a letter I received from the company with a refund check. I didn't buy the clothes or particularly like the catalog itself, but I signed up to receive a few years back after realizing that people on Ebay where spending ridiculous amounts of money for some of the older ones. I did hold on to most for awhile, but sold most of them late last year. Looks like I should have held on to them even longer. Oh well! I did make a good profit when I auctioned them off. In case you're curious here is exactly what the letter said:

Thanks Ursula,

It's been a lot of fun over the past few years enjoying the A&F lifestyle with our models and countless celebrities who've dropped in on the action. However, even the best parties have to end.

Attached is a refund check for the subscription you've already paid for.

We realize you may be experiencing some withdrawal symptoms, but there's no need to worry. Even though the A&F Quarterly has ended, we've got something much more fun up our sleeves...so be ready.

Sincerely,

A & F Quarterly Magazine Staff

Hmmm! I wonder what they have up their sleeves. Here's hoping they get back to the business of selling clothes instead of peddling soft porn.

Goodness, I can’t believe my post of yesterday. Granted it was what I was feeling at the time, but its such raw honesty that it makes me feel vulnerable. That is not a state that I like to be in. Oh well! I should say that I'm feeling better this morning. I am still thinking about my mother and that probably won't change since the 10 year anniversary of her death is on March 11th. The good news though, it that I'm focusing on remembering the positive things about her. I'm trying to draw on her strength to deal with where I'm at with my life. It's really not a bad life, but I just want more. More importantly, I know it's up to me to make that happen.

Thank goodness the day is almost over. I feel like an emotional wreck. Plus I'm feeling really tired. Tired of having to be strong all the time. Tired of always having to be the sensible one. Tired of having to be so adult about everything. Tired of doing what is expected. I just darn tired of almost everything around me. Particularly because while I know I have so much going for me, I continue to feel so empty inside. It's hard to explain, but this is what I'm feeling. I'm even frustrating myself by writing about it because lately I feel like I just complain and don't really do anything to fix "the problem." Worse yet, I have those moments (days and months really), where I pretend that all is well is my world. Yet these feelings of emptiness always creep back. Nothing really seems to fill the void. Not shopping, not food, not even my books. Having Choo-Choo helps, but you can't really carry on a conversation with a cat, can you now? I am on better terms with both of my sisters which helps tremendously, but we each have our share of issues, that it's hard to talk to them sometimes. I also have my friends, but it's hard for me to open up. There are very few people outside of family that I trust completely. Granted I know they would be supportive, as they have been in the past, but what I yearn for, what I long for is my mother. I know it's not healthy to yearn for someone not among the living, but I can't help it. I try and move on, yet it always comes back to this. All of these emotions were stirred up again for me when I heard that my coworker passed away. I wasn't particularly close to her. She was in accounting and I am in sales. But the unexpectedness of it all is shocking. She was only a couple years older. So it makes me think about my mother who also died way too young. It makes me think about the void in my life. When she passed, I said I was going to try and lead a fuller life but in that I got caught up with trying to raise my younger sister, it was more about survival. Now that I'm on my own, I really don't know what to do with myself. Part of me wants to take all these risk, but I play it safe because I'm afraid of the uncertainty. Arrhh! Why does life have be so difficult? Hmmmm!

The weekends are never long enough. Just got back from another creative memories scrapbooking class. Now trying to relax before the weekend comes to a close. Yesterday morning instead of lounging in bed like I planned, I went shopping with my younger sister. Didn't get back until around 6ish, at which point I turned around and headed for Blogger Reading sponsored by Gapers Block and Self-Publishers Event Council of Chicago. The event was fun but in that the room was crowded beyond capacity, it took away from the enjoyment of the readings. Particularly, if you were one of the unlucky people like myself that had to stand for most of the night. So much for showing up early. I should say that Ms. Shasta did an excellent job. She channeled all that nervous energy and had the audience laughing for most of the time she read. Other favorites from the night include readings by SourBob and Mimi Smartypants. SourBob was no so sour. In fact, his reading was quite funny and he was quite pleasant to talk with. Same can be said for Mimi Smartypants who was quite animated. For a complete list of readers, go here. Well, off I go to crash on the couch. Je suis tres fatigue!

Happy 35th Birthday to my older sister! And thanks to my younger sister for reminding me that it was our sister's birthday. No matter how I try and plan for these things, I always forget. It's not that birthdays/anniversaries aren't important to me, they are. But often life takes over and I just forget. I know, shame on me. I really have to get better about these things.

Despite the fact that I drank a lot of water and took a couple Advil’s, I still woke up with a hangover. But like a good soldier, I was at my home office desk ready to work around 7:30am. Now here it is late afternoon, and I'm glad the day is almost over. I'm ready for the weekend to begin; no but no bars for me. At least not tonight. I'm having dinner with a friend at Grand Cafe Lux and then we plan to see the movie Miracle. It's exactly the sort of feel good movie I need right now. You see one of my coworkers died this morning during an emergency c-section. I didn’t know her well, but we would from time to time chat in the hallways. The doctors were able to save the baby but he’s now in intensive care. So we’re all praying that he pulls through. Her pregnancy was complicated, so it's a miracle that he was born. She leaves behind a husband and a one year old son. To say that we are all shocked by this development is an understatement. It's also stirred up a whole bunch of emotions within me as she was only a couple years older than me. God doesn't give us more than we can bear, but some people just seem to get more than there share of life's troubles.

Drinks at Coogan's followed by more drinks at Grape Street and Vine. I know I'll pay for it in the morning, but now I feeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeellllllllllllllllll good! Oh yeah!

Forget the Ringling Brothers Circus. I want to check out the UniverSoul Circus when they stop in Chicago. Major bummer that I have to wait until late September. Based on the write-up in February 23rd issue of Newsweek, its sounds like the only black owned-and-operated traveling circus, puts on a great performance.

Now that 2,600 gays/lesbians couples in San Francisco have realized their dream of getting married, I await word of the first divorce in the bunch. Ok, I know that's a really negative statement but it will be interesting to see if these couples fair any better than their heterosexual counter-parts. For the record, let me that I’ve always been supportive of the gay rights movement. However, until about a few years ago, I was against homosexual marriages; primarily on religious grounds. I did support gay couples being able to get the secular benefits of marriage if they formed a domestic partnership, but I just didn't want the relationship to be called marriage. That I felt was something a man and a woman did. I have since evolved from that original viewpoint. In my opinion, to be against homosexuals marrying is to be in favor of discrimination against a group of people due to their sexual preference. That I cannot support. As such, my new motto is live and let live. Ultimately churches will need to decide in they want to perform these marriages, but I think the government should not stand in the way of progress. Let them marry. The whole institution in and of itself is pretty fucked up, so maybe this shake up will be good for everyone in the long run. After all, doesn’t the support of these relationships ultimately lead to acceptance and support for all types of families? I think so. It will be interesting to see how this issue is decided in the judicial and legislative branches across the country.

Update: Top 10 Reasons for Marriage Equality. Link found while cruising Bazima.

I am having one of those days where I don't particularly like what I do for a living. I am stressed beyond belief. I know I need to calm down and get things in check. I know I need to count my blessing for even having the job. But I can't because I'm putting so much pressure on myself it's almost unreal. I need a vacation.

I forget to mention that I got a Valentine on Saturday. It came from the Pink Nun as I was waiting at the the Corner of Clark & Belmont for the #22 Bus. Now having a good chuckle as I read the poem in the Valentine Card:

Mind over matter Decide to get empowered before you get de-flowered this is the hour of will power

To that I say, whatever! More power to anyone out them getting some. But just be sure to use a condom!

Is anyone from Illinois paying attention to the Senate race? With so many millionaires in the race, thinking this will turn out to be one of the most expensive Senate races in modern history. Quite a few are already using some of their personal fortune to finance political advertisments, to help build name recognition. Interesting tidbit, one of my friend's mom dated one of the candidates for a while. She met him on match.com. I won't tell the name, but he's one of the Democratic nominees. In any event, if you are not yet registered to vote, tomorrow (February 17th) is the deadline to vote in Illinois primaries.

I have a major crush on John Burke. He first came to my attention many years back when he was one of the on air personalities at Personal FX: The Collectibles Show. I don't really like his new gig, but at least I get to see him on a regular basis again.

I suppose if you don't have a traditional bank account, and your company has signed up for the new payroll card, that might be the way to go. Personally, I think banks need to do more to make accounts more accessible to the 32% of the population who don't have an account. Even with this new payroll card, customers will end up paying fees to get access to their own money, which makes this almost as bad as cash checking places.

No hot date for Valentines Day/Night, so ended up going to a circle of friends party. Since we were suppose to bring other fabulous single people not already on the list, I invited Ms. Shasta who is always fun to hang out with and Carlos who made a brief appearance before jetting off to another party. Totally understood, since my invite was so last minute (shame on me!). In addition to my blogger friends, saw people there from my work, church, and Michigan life. So there really is some truth to the statement that most of us can be connected to each other by no more than six degrees of seperation. In any event, knowing many people in the room was good for me because I was more relaxed since I wasn't forced to talk to people I didn't know. Granted that was the whole point of the party, but when it's on a night like Valentines, when you know everyone in the room is single and looking it can be a bit overwhelming. I should say that the host did a nice job of organizing things, only complaint is that the music was a little off so couldn't really get my dance groove on. So at around midnight about 8 of us left for The Leg Room which thankfully had no wait to get in. Once inside, we immediately found the dance floor and spend most of our time there. Around 2:45am, everything (well really the vodka tonics) finally caught up with me and I knew it was time to leave. Now here it is mid Sunday afternoon and I'm barely functional. Back to bed I go........

Udpate: If you want to read more about Saturday night, go check out Ms. Shasta's entry. She is more explicit about what went down. Plus she has quite a few pictures posted; many of which show me making a fool of myself.

Out shopping for shoes I didn't really need, decided to take a detour to the movies. Ended up seeing: The Dreamers. Can't say I really recommend as the whole thing was somewhat pretentious and a bore. But, if you end up checking this movie out, be forewarned that there is a lot of nudity and sexual activity. I knew it was rated NC17, but was surprised by the numerous scenes showcasing both male and female genitalia. I suppose the movie also got the NC17 rating as there is a hint of incest between two siblings (boy and girl) who end up spending a great deal of time with a young American who is visiting Paris.

Nothing like being on the phone with a senior level executive at a major fortune 1000 company and then have your cat come into your home office and start meowing loudly.

For those of you out there who share my negative sentiments re Valentines Day, here are a few cards for you to choose from.

Band Boy hasn't called and I'm not going to call him. Somewhat surprised by his lack of follow-up, since we did seem to connect so well when we met up last Thursday. He said all those complimentary things and we made definite plans for this weekend. So not really sure what happened. This whole episode is just further confirmation that dating is like a foreign language that I may never speak fluently. Oh the rules! I wish I had better insight on men. Why can't they mean what they say and say what they mean? Hmmm. I'm sure they probably say the same thing about women.

Based on the notes taken by the medical examiner re Dr. Atkins death, guess I need to give up the diet. I've been on it for about 6 months and have had double digit weight loss. Plus it has helped lower my blood pressure, glucose and cholesterol among other things. Lately though, I've gotten totally sick of it and I've noticed that I'm experiencing more acne. So in the next week or so, I'll probably switch to the South Beach Diet or the Fat Flush Plan. Both seem to offer a more balanced diet than the Atkins plan. And granted my doctor said it was ok to continue on Atkins provided I take the appropriate supplements, I'm ready to diversify what I eat on a daily basis. More than anything, I miss eating fruits.

One downside of working from home, is that I don't get to use my commute time to read. Granted I have more free time, but I haven't really spent much time reading any of the novels on my nightstand. I did manage to finally finish reading: Notes from a Small Island. The author Bryson, spent 20 years in England and after deciding to move back to the US, he goes on a four week tour of England. His insight on all the places visited makes this the perfect companion should I ever decide to cross the pond and visit for a month. So impressed was I by his writing, that I've already ordered a few more of his other travel books. Speaking of travel books, Paul Theroux is by far by favorite travel writer, but I can already tell that Bill Bryson could be a close second.

Now on to my second book of the year. It's titled Lanark: A Life in Four Books. I'm only on page 30 of this 600 page novel but I can already tell I'm going to love it. Wondering, has anyone else out there read it? Jessa over at Bookslut raved about it which is why I decided to give it a whirl. But would be interested in hearing others thoughts about this book.

I'm not sure why, but I got a good chuckle out of reading this article. An oh, please don't ask me if I have one or plan to follow the instructions on buying one. I won't tell.

Here in Chicago we've moved on from the Jackson Jackson Super Bowl half-time scandal. Our focus has turned to a trucking scandal that is one again exposing the corruption going on at City Hall. Three people including a cousin of the Mayor have been fired from their city jobs. I'm sure more will follow. Below is a joke that kind of sums up how things are done here in the city. It's funny as heck but really sad at the same times.

Today was a wasted day. I did manage to go to the gym, but beyond that, I have done nothing. Trying to recover from a rocking good time last night/this morning. I hung out with fellow Chicago bloggers Ms. Shasta, Carlos and two of my best friends. The evening started with us meeting up for Chicago Wolves hockey game. With pre-game laser and fireworks show, plus the hip music being played through the game, it made a non hockey fan like myself happy to be there. After the game we headed back to the city and stopped in at Spot 6. We had planned to dance the night away there, but in that we couldn't really get our groove on to what the DJ was playing, we went up the street to Moxie where we livened up the joint and danced the night away. We had so much fun that I didn't get home until shortly after 3 this morning. It was indeed a wicked good time.

Using my new Fellowes Paper Shredder, I am shredding everything in sight. Oh yeah! Being able to see the floor in my home office does feel good. Of course, I'm thinking of keeping the shredded paper in case I need to ship something. Damn! So much for trying not to be a packrat.

I should have gone out tonight. Sitting at home on a Friday night doing laundry and wondering whether or not he's thinking of me is so not cool. So thank goodness I have plans for the rest of the weekend.

Until today, I have not talked about Janet Jackson exposing her breast to the world during the half-time show at the Super Bowl last Sunday. Yet, people keep coming here and leaving comments. I wonder if they realize that they are commenting on a post I wrote about last year’s half-time show. Oh well. As for what I think about the whole ordeal, I think it was intentional and not a wardrobe malfunction. I also think others beyond Janet Jackson knew what was going on; yes even Justin Timberlake. He is not being real by pretending to be upset and shocked by the exposure. That’s not how he sounded in an interview shortly after he came off stage. Something tells me he’s just trying to cover his ass as he’s afraid of what the backlash might do to his career. Finally, while I think that the act was in poor taste, I think the whole controversy is overblown. Damn, it was just a breast! And oh yeah, don’t give me that crap about turning a wholesome event into a strip show. At its core, football (a sport I like) is a sport where grown men beat the crap out of each other. There is nothing wholesome about that. Particularly when you find out that quite a few of these men go home and abuse either their spouse or children. So instead of calling to complain to the FCC about what happened, people need to be calling to request that the agency not waste the taxpayer’s dollars investigating. Really what is there to investigate? Just hand out a fine that would deter future stunts like this and move on. Daytime television (i.e. soap operas) with its almost daily episodes of simulated sex is more detrimental to the youth of today (who trust me are watching), than a half a second glimpse of Ms. Jackson left breast.

For a long time, I didn't particularly like drinking water, but I'm drinking more and more since it's good for the diet. With the increase, starting to realize that not all bottled water is equal. My favorite is Dannon's Spring Natural Water. I'm not sure what they do to it, but it makes me want to keep drinking more. Interesting that I should even be buying bottled water as in college, I thought the selling of bottled water was a scam. Now here it is 10 years later, and I can't bring myself to drink tap water.

I'm leaving the comforts of my home on this snowy night to go hear a boy play in a band. I actually met him on AOL some time ago and this has been the first opportunity for us to meet. It should be interesting. Goodness! Feeling a little nervous and crazy about the whole thing. I even had myself a drink but can't calm down. Hmmm, maybe I won't show up. Ok, getting away from the computer before I loose my nerves.

Update: I sat round for another 20 minutes before leaving the house. I was pretty nervous about the whole thing, so ended up having another drink to calm my nerves. It's bad enough that I was meeting him for the first time, but others would be around him and wasn't sure I'd be able to handle it. All went well thought. I got there (The Lyons Den) about 9:50pm. Quickly checked myself in the bathroom and then got a drink. Then proceeded to the back room where I spotted the main attraction. After a few awkward moments, I could tell that there was an attraction. He was attentive and totally flirted with me. Plus he introduced me to some of his friends. Then his band went on and I just sat back and watched. They were pretty decent. Then after they finished, I waited around like a groupie and we had a few more drinks where more flirting took place. The night ended with a hug and a kiss. We also set tentative plans to go out next weekend. So we'll see what happens. If he doesn't call like he promised, I'll be disappointed, but I just an email from an interesting guy via match.com so things are picking up on the dating scene. Oh yeah!

Yesterday after a productive work day, I met a friend at Square Kitchen for dinner. I wasn't stress or frustrated, so was really surprised that my sleep was disturbed by weird dreams. In the one that I remember the most, there was some sort of storm, and a guy across the street fell from about the 7th floor to street level. If that wasn't bad enough, then Choo-Choo got struck by lightening which caused him to clone himself many times over. In that the clones were dangerous for reasons unbeknown to me and needed to be destroyed, I started screaming and crying because I couldn't figure out which one was my beloved Choo-Choo. They all looked the same and meowed the same. This is about all I remember from the dream. It was all just a little too weird. A little too scary. A little too Matrix Reloaded for me.

Looks like Senator Kerry will win Arizona, Delaware, Missouri & North Dakota. So if he maintains the momentum and wins the nomination, it should be an interesting match-up in the fall. So here's hoping that Ralph Nader, listen's to his friend's at The Nation and decides not to run. While I'm usually in favor of third party candidates getting a chance to get in the mix, Ralph Nader is not the guy. If he does run, I'm afraid he will be nothing more than a spoiler like he was back in 2000. That would not be a good thing.

This is probably more information that you my readers need to know, but what the hell, I'm in the mood for sharing. Basically, every time I go to the doctor for a physical (thankfully only once a year), I get performance anxiety. Despite drinking bottles of water, I have a hard time peeing in the cup. Then to make matters worse, the nurses have a hard time finding veins to draw blood. Thankfully, I only got poked twice today -- but this portion of the visit took over an hour and two different nurses. God help me if I ever really have to go into a hospital. The whole ordeal was so tramatic that I almost fainted. Of course, it didn't help matters that I hadn't eaten in over 15 hours. They make you fast for 12 hours prior to the exam and 1 hour exam took 3 with all the drama. Thus, I had to sit there and gather myself. Oh well! And to think I use to dread the pap smear portion of the exam. That is now the easy part. Sure it's uncomfortable as hell but it's easier than having blood drawn. Goodness! The things we women have to go through. On a positive note, my doctor has given me a clean bill of health.

Having grown up in Boston, I remember well all those years when the New England Patriots just couldn't get it together. And oh, how could I forget Super Bowl XX. Ironic that I now live in Chicago who has a sucky team. In any event, those were some sad days. So here's wishing the the Patriots well in the Super Bowl. Let me also say that it makes me proud to know that a Michigan graduate (Tom Brady) has the chance to lead the team to their 2nd Super Bowl victory in 3 years.

Btw, was supposed to be going to a party, but decided to stay home. I feel a sore throat coming and I really don't feel like being around people. So while I watch the game/commercials from bed, I'll also be playing scrabble online. I started playing earlier today and now I'm so addicted it's not even funny! If nothing else, it's a great way to hone my skills for the next time I play with friends.

Update 9:40pm: Mega congrats to the Patriots organization. That was a much deserved win!

I woke up this morning after a vivid dream about having an argument with my husband. In that I don't have a husband or boyfriend for that matter, and that's something that's missing from my life, I decided to finally fill out a profile on Match.com. I even went so far as to complete the personality and physical attraction test. As the results from my personality test were so dead on, thought I'd share. So here goes:

Who You Are

You're adored, and for good reasons
You're a woman with a very balanced personality and lifestyle. You believe in making room in life to relax, think, and have fun. You refuse to settle long-term for a boring job or doing something just because it's expected of you. Love is the same way. You know what real love feels like and you'll accept no imitations! You pride yourself on not being the "typical woman." You're more honest and straightforward than most women. But just because you don't "wear your heart on your sleeve" doesn't mean you lack deep feelings. In fact, you're deeply committed to your loved ones and the causes you believe in. Women as truly balanced as you are very rare.

What's dating all about to you?
Falling in love is a spiritual experience for you. A truly loving relationship helps bring meaning to your life. You try hard to make your date feel comfortable and have a good time. You're good at anticipating what other people need and giving it to them. But inside, you're usually on an emotional roller coaster. You don't want to reject nice men, but also take it very personally if you're the one rejected. You're constantly trying to find the "rules" for successful dating but often find they don't work.

Although having a vision of what you want can be helpful, the risk is that your high standards and rush to find the perfect man can get in the way of loving a real-life imperfect man. It won't come naturally to you, but you're more likely to find what you want if you can sit back, "go with the flow," and see where dating leads you.