Chicago Pride 2010...

Sunday, as you may know, was Pride.  At least...in my neck of the woods it was.  Robb and I got up at the crack of 7 AM to get ready to leave, since we drove to Midway and took the Orange Line in.  It's proven to be the most reliable, and we swore off the Blue Line after being stuck two years in a row for almost an hour, which made us late to the parade.  But I digress.

You probably came to see photos.  I've got photos. 

(This is the part where I upload and hope they finish and give me enough time to do it before 9:30 when I have to start getting ready for work...*crosses fingers*)

Okay...I've got only a few minutes to do this, so...PRIDE MARATHON!




We got there, and it was POURING!  So, Robb bought an umbrella.  Immediately thereafter, it stopped.  So, yes, we are single-handedly responsible for stopping the rain, in case you were wondering.

We waited for an hour and a half for the parade to start.  Yeah...we got there early and there was already a big crowd.  Shortly thereafter, Dan (danlang) and Tyler showed up.  And shortly THEREafter, Jeremy (upandoutward) and Nick showed up.



The parade started, and the grand marshal was Chely Wright!  How's that for cultural relevance!



That was kind of fun.



The boys of ROTC.  Always a favorite.



We actually ended up dancing next to this angel guy later in the night at Roscoe's.  I had no idea I'd seen him before until I looked at my pictures.



Is that Marc Giangreco?  I think it might be...



Chipotle was back this year!  We got a BOGO coupon from them and a tiny little stuffed burrito.  How cute!



This was the saddest thing I saw all day, and that includes the fifty year old drag queens.  Her sign said "Two sons in love.  Only one can marry." 



The Windy City Cowboys?  Yes please!!!

We watched this apartment nearby with a keen interest.  They were having breakfast and getting ready to go out, getting dressed, wearing towels, etc.



You can see why.



Yum.



Floats and floats...



The Miller Lite float always has some nice men.



There's my favorite bar's float.  Why's it my favorite?  It's the only bar in town I go to.  If you know me, that's a big statement.  I don't do bars, mostly.



I loved this guy's tattoo.  It's the Hyrulian Crest from Zelda. 



The Red Queen was there.  Down with the bloody big head!



Dan and I decided that the Corona guy was gorgeous.



And these boys?  They were...just...yum.  They were across from us in Minibar the whole time.  So...we watched them a lot.  I think I might have even gotten a video of that.  They switched out boys every half hour or so...it was like a buffet!

The parade was three hours long, and I have 450 pictures.  So...you know...I left out a few things.  Jeremy and Nick split about 45 minutes from the end, and Tyler got us a table at Nookies right behind us just before the parade ended.  What a sweetie!



They're adorable.

We ate a meal that wasn't Nookie's best, which was kind of disappointing, but understandable, since they were SWWWWAAAAMMMMPPPEEEDDDD!!!  So...meh.  We wandered around and shopped.  We showed Dan and Tyler some of our favorite shops and just some stuff around...it was laid back and fun.  Then they split and Jeremy came back to town.  We wandered around a little and ended up at The Center on Halsted.  There's a beautiful view of the skyline.



Gorgeous!

And then?  After a hassle involving a bag and a Papa Bear and Roscoe's staff, we were inside, people watching and having a good time! 



It was...pretty much friggin' amazing, as you can tell from Jeremy's face. 

All in all?  Good pride.  It was a different feeling form other years...a little less rowdy and a little more fun, honestly.  I think the rain scared some of the crazies away.  Either way, it was a blast, and I'm happy to have been able to finally meet Jeremy and Dan and their respective boyfriends.  How fun!

Out

Pride was amazing! I got to meet my bloggy-type friends Dan and Jeremy and their respective boyfriends, and we all hit the town up right! Time for bed...

Seriously, I'm in a novelty/porn store in Boystown and they're playing Jars of Clay. Err...what?

Chicagowelcomingchurches.com just a reminder...

What Tornado Sirens? I Just Need A Roll Of Quarters!

As many of you know, it was TERRIBLE here yesterday. Like, tornado siren bad! And where was I while the emergency broadcast system was repeating its mantra of "stay away from windows" and "get to a safe place" amidst the blaring of emergency sirens?

At work.

In front of a giant wall of windows.

In a building made at least 50% of glass.

And do you know why? Because of y'all! Well, not really you, my readers, but more like "you," the general "you." The public. The masses. The IDIOTS! Seriously!

I'm sorry, but if you have to shout over the sound of tornado sirens for me to hear you in the drive thru at the bank, you probably shouldn't be at the bank. Stay with me now, because this is a crazy, novel thought, but SHOULDN'T YOU BE AT HOME IN YOUR BASEMENT OR IN A CENTER ROOM?!

And more importantly, shouldn't you be NOT endangering MY safety by being AT THE BANK DURING A TORNADO?!

A FUCKING TORNADO! Like, "There goes another cow!" kind of shit! Seriously! Oh. My. GOD!

So while the radio is telling ME to seek safety, your stupid ass needs to get a roll of quarters. A ROLL OF QUARTERS! Seriously? Laundry, gumballs, and video games shouldn't be your highest priority when the tornado sirens are so loud I can't hear you!

And were we allowed to shut down the bank and get to safety? No. You know why? Because OUR CUSTOMERS NEVER STOPPED COMING! It may have even gotten busier while the siren was going. Seriously! I can't make this shit up!

I was so So SO angry! Like, kick-you-in-the-throat angry! Like, rage-filled!

And on top of that, I was hurt. Honestly. I felt like not only was I not taken care of as an employee in an emergency situation, but also not even considered human enough to deserve the decency of shelter in a storm...like some kind of soulless automaton. And it hurt!

It really did.

Out

Shut Up, Brain!

No, seriously. Shut up. Night after night I have been dreaming nonstop. And they're not even good dreams. Two nights ago I had tornado nightmares all night. Seriously ALL NIGHT. I can count at least four different nightmares from that night that I remember. Last night I dreamt about selling a checking account to a customer at work. It felt good, but I was worried about getting a referral onto the system before the guy got to my manager's office. I had several other dreams last night, although they're mostly fuzzy now.

But really...the whole night I'm having these vivid dreams that just go on and on and on. I wake up tired...especially if I'm dreaming about WORK. Ugh. Then I have that ten minute window where I go, "Wait...did that really happen yesterday or did I dream that last night?"

My routine hasn't changed. Maybe I'm just stressed...

Out

Pride...

It's coming!!!

Out

Restrictions...

Apparently my MacBook bliss has a few strings attached. Dang.

I have to be an employee of the bank for 60 days before I'm eligible. That makes sense, I guess. So, what did I do after I found that out? I got out my trusty calendar and I counted starting from May 11th, just to be safe (I started on the 10th). So...on July 9th I'll be eligible. I added an extra day to be safe...so, really, I guess I could order my new computer as early as the 12th of July, since I have to tell them what I want and wait for them to deposit the money into my account. They tell me that's pretty much immediate. And then? I order it from Apple and wait...

Free 24 hour shipping, though? Sweet.

It's currently thundering...so I think I should probably go. Is it safe to shower during a lightning storm?

Out

Father's Day...

Not celebrating.

Chastity Bono was a lesbian. Now he's Chaz. Does that mean he's straight?

SUSHI!

It's like a taste sensation...like a trip around the world in first class with people you love the most! It's like...oh my gosh. It's so friggin' good!

The texture made me want to just keep eating them over and over. Eww...that just grossed me out. I meant one right after the next. It's like...the perfect firmness and the perfect give, a little crunch, and a ton of flavor.

I got spicy crunchy tuna rolls, and our friends got snow crab rolls. Both were absolutely divine. The spicy mayo on our sushi was the perfect amount of spice, and the wasabi? Oh man...I could just EAT that stuff. Yum.

Needless to say, I was a happy camper. Happiest. Camper. EVER.

Out

Snip...

I got my hair cut yesterday on my lunch break. At work I had to wear it differently because I didn't have a comb or my own gel. I got so many compliments! A female stranger said my hair was "very precise". It is. I wouldn't have it any other way. Makes me wonder what I'm doing wrong every other day.

Marbles Kitty continuously cracks me up. When I sit up in the morning, he blobs out on my pillow, annexing it into his domain. Then, when I sit up, he moves down to take my side of the bed. This is how he gets me out of bed in the morning so he can more effectively bitch at me to feed him. Fatty kitty...

Today is sushi day. I've never had. I'm going with my awesome coworkers, one of which is relatively new to sushi, and one of which is a sushi guru. She is going to be Virgil to my Dante, ushering me through this strange new world of taste.

I pulled my groin. Do you know how often you use that muscle? Yesterday I limped around for half the day, and then I felt better. Robb and I took a walk, and everything was fine. This morning I wake up and try to roll over and there's a shooting pain in my groin. Awesome. Today it hurts even worse than it did yesterday. I think it's going to be a sitting kind of day today...yikes.

And currently, I'm having these odd chest pains. Woohoo.

Out

Don't Get Around Much Anymore...

Work is eating my face...but in a totally good way!

I have an interview on Wednesday for the full time position in a different branch. It's sort of a bummer, because I love my coworkers and I'd hate to leave them. But I NEEEED the benefits. And I worked with a guy on Friday who works at the full time branch, and he was fun! So at least I'd know SOMEONE there. It would be weird not having a drive-up, though.

Anywho...

I've been at work, and when I haven't been at work Robb has been home. So we hang out and play games and whatnot, and I don't make time to blog. Or we go out and see a movie and I am not home to blog...

Speaking of...

We saw Prince of Persia on Wednesday. Or...Thursday? I don't know...anyway, we saw it. I have always been a fan of the games, so I knew I had to go see the movie. I also knew it would suck. So...I wasn't disappointed. Don't waste your time or money. It's not a good game adaptation (surprise), and it's not really that good of an action movie. It's about 45 minutes too long. And the biggest shame? Jake Gyllenhall is shirtless in exactly 2% of the movie. Yeah...not even much at all. I figured it would be at least worth it to see him running around half-naked for two hours...but...they couldn't even pull that off.

And Saturday night we went to see Shrek 4. I didn't have high expectations for this one, either, but it was actually way better than I expected it would be. I liked it, believe it or not! The storyline is forced, but it's pretty funny. Rumplestiltskin makes a pretty good (and creeeeepy) bad guy. He's no Fairy Godmother, but he's pretty good. It's nice to see a little bit of what might have been had the first Shrek not gone according to plan. But yeah...not genius or anything, and definitely the least good of the four movies. But it wasn't terrible.

So...there. An update, of sorts.

Out

Crisis averted. Apparently the power was out at our apartment for several hours. I'm glad I wasn't there!

It's about to storm like hell, and I'm in a building that's half glass...

Met...

And I'm not talking about this guy:



I'm talking about how Father Dave and I met and he asked me to be a board member for United Campus Ministries.  He said he values my opinion as a person with a student's perspective of the ministry, as a younger person than the other board members, but most importantly, as myself.

That meant a lot to me.  I don't think very highly of myself most of the time.  I'm clinically humble.  The humblest person ever!  EVER!  Or...not...

But honestly, I am not my own cheering section.  So to hear someone else tell me they value my input, my ideas, and my outlook is flattering.  So I told him I'd accept, tentatively.

I'm going to tell him that yes, definitely, I'd like to do this.  But I haven't yet.

Out

I just saw Prince of Persia. For fans of the games, skip it. For fans of action movies, skip it. For fans of hilariously bad accents and mediocre plot...go!

Meeting...

Today I have a meeting with the pastor of St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Sycamore. I don't know what it's about, but he says it has something to do with United Campus Ministries and it's good.

So...I'm nervous. Terrified would be a better word, honestly. I hate walking into situations I'm not sure of...or not prepared for. If he asks me to speak in public, I'd almost rather die. If he asks me to write something, I'd be thrilled.

It may be neither of those things. It may be both. I dunno...it's just scary. I'm going to be nervous all day about this.

Out

A check that came through the bank today had a memo that read,"Grossery's". I threw up in my mouth.

Excerpt: "Peach moonshine is like a liquid finger down your throat."

Excerpts from tonight's party: "Jess, your pineapple squirted all over my arm!"

I'm on my way to work, and I just saw a truck that said, "Independent Laser Resale" on the back door. Is there really much call for stuff like that?

Sunburned, headachey, a little queasy, but so happy we went! Shivering Timbers is a great coaster!