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Wednesday, December 4, 2003
|
The Happenings
Ordinary (Wednes) Day
Just a day, just an ordinary day, trying to get by; just a boy, just an
ordinary boy, and he was looking into the computer background of a Director's
Office computer. For it was just the day before Thanksgiving was had, and
as a boy, a nice ordinary boy, worked so most others did not. It was a very
slow day before the holiday, and I took the opportunity to catch up on life.
(That means catch up on personal paperwork.)
Well, If You Want Me To Go
Well, it was Wednesday, and it was dinner time, and I was on my way to downtown
Champaign so I could catch the train back to Chicago. And I did, and it was,
well, it. Nothing out of the ordinary, although there was more people around -
that whole Thanksgiving traveling thing. No one had to resort to "Standing
Room Only" thankfully. And then I arrived at home and dinner was had, at a
fine ten in the evening.
Thanksgiving I
Round one of Thanksgiving brought the family to O'Hare Airport, where we
picked up my sister who went to visit some friends in Philadelphia for a
few days. After an hour or so of rest, and learning that instead of going
to "the Cash Station", people over there "tap the mac" or "hit up the mac",
we went to a cousin's house in Addison for holiday festivities. In
conjunction with my aunt's birthday, turkey and sweet and sour chicken was
had, along with plentifuls of rice krispy treats! And, then I realized it
happened. That gum sure didn't like that...
Infinite Wisdom
Back in the day, like, in the way-back machine - I guess a year and a half
ago, my dentist told me my wisdom teeth are coming in. Paraphrasing, of course:
Dentist: "Your wisdom teeth are coming in."
Me: "Um, okay."
Dentist: "They're impacted."
Me: "Okay."
Dentist: "Do they hurt?"
Me: "Nope."
Dentist: "Do you want them taken out?"
Me: "Whatever."
Dentist: "Well, if they hurt, we'll take them out."
Me: "Okay."
Dentist: "If they don't hurt, then, whatever."
Me: "Whatever?"
Dentist: "Doesn't matter... of course, until they hurt."
Dentist: "Then we revert to taking them out."
Me: "Okay."
Dentist: "Whatever?"
Me: "Whatever."
Alas, I decided to retain my teeth I haven't received as of yet. But what
happened, apparently, was that my first wisdom tooth finally burst through
the gum Thursday morning, so eating on it was not very comfortable, and, of
course, the that area was very sensitive at the time. Oh, well, what to do
than to suck it up and take it for the team!
Thanksgiving II
Oh, Friday, that day after Thanksgiving madness, or, as my dad puts it,
"Everybody's Birthday" - and as per tradition, shopping was had. The family
went to Woodfield Mall, then Yorktown, and then the Oak Brook area. Woodfield
was crammed full as expected - I didn't buy anything, but I did take the
opportunity to have an Egg Nog milkshake from McDonalds and put it on my credit
card. It was weird - hadn't been in Woodfield in a while. But, unless I was
stupid, there was no Hallmark store. The Imaginarium store up on the third
floor was closing, where one could by an inflatible Monopoly board travel thing.
I didn't indulge. Virtually next door was a neat store loaded with bar stuff:
coolers, coasters, and neon signs! It was the best, but, of course, I didn't
have billions of dollars to spare. And that's why a trip to Yorktown was
necessary - to buy some holiday cards. The night concluded with the immediate
family Thanksgiving dinner at Bennigans. Mmmm, mashed potatoes!
Thanksgiving III
And then it was Saturday, and so it was time for another Thanksgiving dinner!
My aunt in Oak Park was host to another gathering for my Mom's side, and, by
this point, I was coping with my inability to fully enjoy the meals that were
prepared for thee. And, oddly enough, while turkey and ham presented
themselves, there was no mashed potatoey goodness to be had. Hmm.. I don't
know why I'm on a mashed potatoes kick - oh, maybe it's that tooth. Silly
tooth.
Whoa, Look At That
In my random channel surfing experiences of the week, I noted that one of the
professors in "Legally Blonde" is Jack from "Alias", and that, in "The
Negotiator", one of the head police dudes "Frost" is Sloane from "Alias" as
well. Wacky.
Ordinary (Sun) Day
Just a day, just an ordinary day, and I went to church and I had Arbys and I
packed and I returned to Urbana by car. It wasn't too terribly exciting.
On the Simpsons, they did a little "King of the Hill" homage, and E! did
feature the "E! True Hollywood Story" on one of my favorite shows from back
in the day, "Saved by the Bell." But, as a whole, it was mellow and quiet.
I took the late evening opportunity to cash in on ninety-nine cent double
cheeseburgers and $2.39 talking Simpsons watches, though, besides sit around
on the good old internet.
Another One
And Monday continued with the slow goings - you know, worked a bit, ate some
food, and yeah, that was about it!
Give Them Something To Read About
Now that Tuesday has come around, there was Tuesday trivia to look forward to.
But before then, I worked a lunchtime lobby performance by a really cool group,
Professor John and His Band - so much so that I was actually inspired to buy
a CD of theirs, which I subsequently had signed. He gave us another CD because
we were cool, too. It was absolutely delightful, until I ate a BBQ Sandwich
for lunch and had some of it spill onto one of my dress shirts. Oh well.
Schedule Uncertainty
In the fullness of the weekend, fun with the family was had. And nothing
progressed with planning for the winter break. But Miami didn't lose. Which
was what I was hoping for. That they lose, that is. So, that kinda sucked,
but whatever. I debated going to the Bulls/Wizards game on January 2, and
then didn't do much with that. So, as far as yeah and yeah, well, yeah, so
nothing, so yeah. Eh.
The Trivia
In this installment of Tuesday trivia, good times were had as always, but it
was getting hard to focus later on the evening as but a few miles away, the
Illinois Men's basketball team was putting a whooping on North Carolina. But
fun was still had.
SOM Ticketing Challenge
Week 13 is all said and done, and there are only 10 events left. As expected,
since nothing happened last week, nothing has changed since then. Who would
have thunk, eh?
While 66 people can't be wrong, only 48 can finish ranked, and only 15 can be
number one at the end!
More information is available at the website at
brian.sweetgoodness.org/som/.
Actually Watched a Movie
actually, I didn't
"the list"
empty (no activity)
mdate Scheduling
next week
The weather outside is fan-freakin cold, and blah blah delightful. And, while
the temps are way down low, there's no snow; there's no snow; there's no snow.
I may be ill, too, and that surely hasn't been scheduled in.
Here's how it looks as of print-time:
- Tuesday Night Dinner and Trivia at Buffalo Wild Wings
- Wednesday Lunch at the Illini Union
- Wednesday, December 4: *Floor Supervisor - Kathleen Battle (evening)
- Friday, December 6: "Tuesday Night" Dinner and Trivia at Buffalo Wild Wings
- Saturday, December 7: *Floor Supervisor - Epigraph for a Condemned Book (evening)
- Sunday, December 8: *Floor Supervisor - entire day's activity
- Monday, December 9: Patron Services Holiday Party (evening)
- Tuesday Night Dinner and Trivia at Buffalo Wild Wings
- Wednesday Lunch at the Illini Union
Work is indicated with a star...
The most recent weekly schedule updated can be found
here.
after that
What better way to spend a day but to go to Chicago and back for a basketball
game... but who knows... it does look like Washington, DC will happen some
time, though.
BC Financial Press
Sunday, November 24, 2002 - Saturday, November 30, 2002
Brian General Indicator: +108.17
+--------------------------+-------------------------+-------------------------+
| Category Summary |
+--------------------------+-------------------------+-------------------------+
| Symbol Change notes | Symbol Change notes | Symbol Change notes |
| ====== ========= ===== | ====== ========= ===== | ====== ========= ===== |
| A FDRV 60.76- | J STDP .00- | Q CTBN .00- |
| B FDGR .00- | K IVST .00- | R RNDM .00- |
| C CLTH .00- | L COMM .43- | S INCM 497.26+ |
| D TRNS .00- | M SPLY .00- | T DDCT 29.67- |
| E LDGN .00- | N UTLT 52.56- | U EVNT .09- |
| F ACTV 13.00- | O EDUC 204.47- | V GRUP .00- |
| G ACTR .00- | P GRAT 4.78- | W LNFD .00- |
| H STKP 23.33- | | |
+--------------------------+-------------------------+-------------------------+
| Transfer Summary |
+--------------------------+-------------------------+-------------------------+
| Symbol Change notes | Symbol Change notes | Symbol Change notes |
| ====== ========= ===== | ====== ========= ===== | ====== ========= ===== |
| X XSHR 32.50+ | Y XOVR 25.00- | Z XTFR .00- |
+--------------------------+-------------------------+-------------------------+
|
|
Wednesday, December 11, 2002
|
The Happenings
Hot, Fresh, Just For You
It's Wednesday, and, on a normal Wednesday, I would have Wednesday lunch in
the Illini Union. But, this day was special. I had advance knowledge that
there would be burgers as one of the specials at Intermezzo. What's a me to
do? Eat two meals? Leave one out in the cold? Well, as I walked into the
building, and as I got out of the elevator, I was told that they were saving
an order for me! How loved did I feel? Well, I still wanted to go to
Wednesday lunch, so I did! Two lunches. Hot, fresh, and just for me... and
oddly enough, none of them were McDonald's. And then there was house managing
for Kathleen Battle that night... why didn't she want to open until 7:50ish,
anyways?
Good Beginnings
Thursday, if you're not really doing much, and someone says "hey, I'm going
to the airport", what are you supposed to do than to respond with "can I go?"
So, went I did, with Cornie to Willard Airport, where we waited for no one to
arrive. But, well, it was a brief change of scenery. The night finished with
an evening of TV and sausage pizza.
Battle of the Everything
Just a day, just an ordinary Friday, at least until the evening. Yes, it's
amazing when there's a show on Friday and I'm not working it. In celebration,
there was a trivia event scheduled - much like the one two weeks prior. A
Friday night trivia extravaganza including five hours of trivia where no game
was repeated! Oh, the good times! Most people, as in everyone but Kari and
I left after hour four when the live band started getting the best of
everyone. But the two of us sucked it up, and took it for the team, and were
joined by Jack and Carolyn for the conclusion, and fun surely was had!
Supermarket Sweep
Following Tuesday Trivia Friday, I went to County Market with Jack and Carolyn
for some shopping. Actually, I had to buy some stuff for a gift exchange,
which I did. But here are more of my noteworthy purchases: mistletoe (for
the gifts and master plan), pop tarts (one box out of 25 has a CD - I didn't
choose correctly), Close Up toothpaste (I had a Max card I hadn't used in
six years or so. The "discount with card" price was more than the shelf
price. I was charged the higher price, pointed it out, and got it free.),
some Disney cereal with Buzz Lightyear on it (comes with free CD), and some
Nestle Toll House cookie chips (to snack on, in-store coupon available).
Last Minute Gifts
Well, I guess Saturday is last minute if I'm buying for a Monday gift exchange!
I made my way to Market Place Mall to get a little something something, and
let's not forget some SpongeBob SquarePants! It was fun and all, and I got
my obligatory "2 Chesse and Cherry Lemonade" combo from Hot Dog on a Stick.
The cashier randomly remembered me from my infrequent drop-bys earlier in the
semester, so that was cool. A spent a little something something at K-B Toy
Store and Spencers before heading on my way back to Krannert to do a 7:30 and
an 8:00 performance. Double Duty - because I'm awesome! And, even semi
exciting was that I went along with some Kran-people to ISR after the show to
help them cash out their dorm meals for the week... ah, free food, and it
wasn't bad, either.
Who Da Man?
Sunday was an all day affair for Kellie and myself. I was the solitary house
manager for the day, beginning with an afternoon Carol Concert, moving through
an evening lobby tree lighting ceremony, and concluding with a jazz performance
that night. It was non-stop action fun, and, after being with over 2,000
people, settling some merchandising and a random TV news crew, and the other
random "ness" that appears, all was great. I truly felt like I accomplised
something that night, after working magic with staffing and all, and dealing
with every little thing that came up. It was nice... I kinda wouldn't mind
doing it again! I didn't get around to eating a real meal, though, until it
was all said and done - so the late night trip to Merry Ann's Diner with Vince
was quite delightful indeed.
Jay and Silent Bob
I slept in on Monday. I got my rest. But, oh did I feel tired anyways.
I didn't do much in the way of productivity that day, but, that night was
the Front of House Holiday Party. We were to gather in the Studio Theatre
to have some food, exchange some gifts, and watch a movie - "Jay and Silent
Bob Strike Back". So, in my infinite wisdom, I made performance information
sheets and made a sign for the theatre calling the event "Jay and Silent Bob
Keep Kids From Failing". (Jim sent an email to the staff reminding everyone
to show up and eat all the candy, so he wouldn't have to take it home to
his kids, who would eat it all and flunk out of school. Anyways... the
required picture of food on a table in the theatre in front of the "No Food
or Beverage Allowed in Theatre" sign was taken, and, of course, good times
were had by all!
Schedule Uncertainty
Really, now, what more do you want me to say! I know nothing! Well, except
that I will be working at Krannert on New Year's Eve through lunch so people
can get their paychecks. And then, "question mark".
The Trivia
In this installment of Tuesday trivia, good times were had as always, but it
was getting hard to focus later on the evening as but a few miles away, the
Illinois Men's basketball team was putting a whooping on Eastern Illinois
University. We didn't win, but fun was still had. Piotr and Dyanna were
absent, but the laughter came in when Zach was freaking out (but not really)
when he saw there was a "ZACH2" logged on "taking away from his good name".
When our party shrunk down and we had a few extra trivia things, we logged
on as "IRISHx" where x is an integer from two to five. I couldn't stop
laughing at what we had done!
SOM Ticketing Challenge
Week 14 is all said and done, and there are only 3 events left. After the
wack-crazines has settled, we had seven different event winners and a few
lead changes! This is it; don't get scared now...
While 66 people can't be wrong, only 39 can finish ranked, and only one of
three can be number one at the end!
More information is available at the website at
brian.sweetgoodness.org/som/.
Actually Watched a Movie
"Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back" (2001): I'd actually seen this once before,
at my cousin's house up in Addison, back when I was sleepy. Still not having
seen the whole Clerks/Mallrats/Chasing Amy thing previously, well, at least
in a paying attention kind of way, I suppose I couldn't truly appreciate it.
But it was an enjoyable experience anyways. I'd say if I knew two of the
stars, they might be listworthy, but, alas, I know no one. Of course. Eh.
"the list"
empty (no evidence)
mdate Scheduling
next week
I've finally worked out the kinks in the schedule for this Saturday in
Chicago... and then the semester is on its way to being over!
Here's how it looks as of print-time:
- Wednesday Lunch at the Illini Union
- Friday, December 13: *Floor Supervisor - UI Symphony Orchestra (evening)
- Friday, December 13: FOH Supervisor Gift Exchange (night)
- Saturday, December 14: Illinois Basketball at the United Center (afternoon)
- Sunday, December 15: *Floor Supervisor - Nutcracker (afternoon)
- Tuesday Night Dinner and Trivia at Buffalo Wild Wings
- Wednesday Lunch at the Illini Union
- Wednesday, December 18: Krannert Center Holiday Party (afternoon)
Work is indicated with a star...
The most recent weekly schedule updated can be found
here.
after that
More details are being hammered out for Washington... but what about New
Year's?
BC Financial Press
Sunday, December 1, 2002 - Saturday, December 7, 2002
Brian General Indicator: -182.08
+--------------------------+-------------------------+-------------------------+
| Category Summary |
+--------------------------+-------------------------+-------------------------+
| Symbol Change notes | Symbol Change notes | Symbol Change notes |
| ====== ========= ===== | ====== ========= ===== | ====== ========= ===== |
| A FDRV 68.68- | J STDP .00- | Q CTBN 46.00- |
| B FDGR 19.21- | K IVST .00- | R RNDM .00- |
| C CLTH .00- | L COMM .00- | S INCM .00- |
| D TRNS 6.20- | M SPLY .00- | T DDCT 11.68- |
| E LDGN .00- | N UTLT .00- | U EVNT 19.90+ |
| F ACTV .00- | O EDUC .00- | V GRUP .00- |
| G ACTR .00- | P GRAT .00- | W LNFD .00- |
| H STKP 50.21- | | |
+--------------------------+-------------------------+-------------------------+
| Transfer Summary |
+--------------------------+-------------------------+-------------------------+
| Symbol Change notes | Symbol Change notes | Symbol Change notes |
| ====== ========= ===== | ====== ========= ===== | ====== ========= ===== |
| X XSHR 21.00- | Y XOVR .00- | Z XTFR .00- |
+--------------------------+-------------------------+-------------------------+
|
|
Wednesday, December 18, 2002
|
The Happenings
Ordinary (Wednes) Day
Just a day, just an ordinary day... until 3pm when I crashed the University
Chorus party. It was like a little reunion of sorts. For years, I was there
over in the Choral Rehearsal Room at 3pm Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. And,
for a good portion of it, it was I in charge of attendance records. While
the director changed every year, it was kinda my and Jack and Theresa's group.
It was one of those little things we always looked forward to - the little
family that formed from the "lowest" choir, even though everyone was quite
talented. The group for everyone, I suppose. I "retired" just before last
year, handing my duties to Jack. After last year, Theresa moved on, leaving
the music librarian spot vacant. And, so, since then, things have changed.
It was nice to see the random very few faces that still remember who I am.
I don't know... being there was just a very remember-y experience. It made
me kinda miss it but not really. But anyways, moving along, the rest of the
day was just there... I mean, if I'm not working, what am I supposed to do
with my time, anyways? So, I hung out at Kran and ran the results of that
evening's ticketing challenge, went home, and watched some TV. And thus
ended another fine day, number 8503 in a series.
Suck It Up
In random preparation for the end of "the" contest, I was setting up the
last two spreadsheets I'd need for the game. And I printed out the guess
sheet for Thursday's show, made Friday's sheet, and quit. And, once again,
Excel was having issues. Two event from being over and one of the documents
just did not want to open, forcing me to "unexpectedly" quit. At the end of
the day, I ended up "grading" the guesses by hand. Oh well.
Don't You Work?
Yes, it's true... another performance night and I didn't work. Dinner was
had with Autumn at the Courier, and, for those keeping track, the mystery
milkshake was a bit of chocolate, nuts (almond?), raisins, and cinnamon!
Another delightful randomly prepared milkshake of mystery. And, get this-
I went to the Steel Band performance as a normal paying ticket holding
patron! Wild crazy, and a great show, even! While I was there, I thought
to myself how cool it would be if, whenever I were to get married (not that
I ever would, but...), it would be really cool to have some steel drums
pounding out some Canon in D!
Required Listening
Friday, I made my way to the Illinois Terminal (perhaps one of the best
inventions ever) to pay for my shuttle ticket for Saturday morning and
decided that perhaps I should go up to the mall. And so I did. Actually,
I went to Meijer first, because I needed some cash. I've grown tired of
paying ATM fees, so, if I were to lose $1.50, I'd might as well get
something for it. So, I got a bag of Twizlers for $1.61 and got fifty
dollars back! Yay! Anyways, moving on, I had my almost required stop-by
of Muscle Beach Lemonade, and then thought about how I wanted to have a
holiday CD. I made my way to Sam Goody and looked around... actually, I
also looked around at Meijer, but nothing suited what I required. I wanted
a collection that wasn't, like, fifty Barry Manilow songs, and I wanted
original songs by the original artists. Then, I thought I wanted to feel
like I was watching VH1, like, right before Christmas, like the good old
days of the 90's when they played all sorts of 80's stuff. So, I revised
my requirement to be "must have Band Aid's 'Do They Know It's Christmas'".
So, I went home with my first "Now" CD, "Now That's What I Call Christmas!"
Oh, that wacky collection of mine.
Krantastic Evening
It was time for the first "real" "obligation" of the day: the occasional
house manager meeting, which was all fine and dandy. Issues were discussed,
progress progressed. There was a little break, and then it was time for
the last School of Music performance of the semester. That, too, was a
normal ordinary night. So, where does the fun and exciting stuff come in?
Well, post-performance, los house managers and supervisors gathered for
a little gift exchange and some chillage, I suppose. Scored some sweets
and played some Taboo with everyone else... although apparently there was
some shady scoring going on. And, at the end of the evening, we enjoyed
a storyteller experience as Stefanie read out of one of the "adult" books
for the crowd. Well, well. Nate did an excellent job as a voice actor that
evening as well.
Take It For The Team
Back in the day, where, by, the day, I mean last Tuesday, I was in search
of a friend. One that would enjoy the experience of chillin' at the United
Center in Chicago for some Illini Basketball. That task wasn't as easy as
one would think, with people having academic obligations or other some such
and all (well, it was to be Reading Day, after all...). But it was settled
and plans were in the works to transport myself to Chicago and back Saturday
morning and evening once the friend-mystery was solved. Only I would travel
to meet Anna in Chicago for the experience. And, that was when the interesting
experience revealed itself. The delay in scheduling yielded only Sleeper Rooms
and no coach seats available for the Saturday morning Amtrak train to Chicago.
Greyhound did not begin its first run to Chicago until it would be too late,
so, alternative arrangements had to be made. In my brilliance, I discovered
a Champaign to Chicago area airport shuttle, which I opted to use. It did
mean leaving at 5:00am, which, in essence, meant no sleep the night prior.
I did laundry to keep myself occupied and watched a movie, and then walked
over to the pick up point at a quite eerie quiet time of night (morning!),
barely making it by three minutes. Who needs sleep, anyways?
Long Journey
About half an hour into the trip Northbound on Interstate 57, the charter
shuttle broke down. The driver, other passenger, and I ended up stranded
and sitting around in relatively cool temeratures for about 45 minutes before
a second shuttle came by to swap vehicles out. There goes uninterrupted
rest, and, sleep. So, let me register my disappointment and displeasure with
Bluebird Charter for not maintaining their "ness". The driver was very
apologetic, and we (the passengers) understood, but it was not very settling.
I understand that their schedules are guidelines and aren't guaranteed, because
freak traffic blahs can influence travel time, but I don't think this was
cool. Or, rather, it was. It was not a warm overnight environment the night
previous. Arrival at Midway Airport was about twenty minutes late, which,
while I particularly didn't mind, concerned the other passenger who had a
flight to catch and all.
That Hollywood Town
Just before attending the Illinois versus Temple men's basketball game,
breakfast was had at the Rock and Roll McDonald's over in downtownish Chicago.
Yummy, filling, and credit-card paid, the meal brightened my day. And, at
the game, the seats were quite excellent in section 107 that, if you slow-mo
through the game, you could see me for a good three frames occuring over the
course of a split second somewhere in the second half, but whatever. The team
won its game. At Halftime, the crowd was entertained by a duo called "Quick
Change" where, well, two people quickly change into different outfits in
the blink of an eye. It was messed up, and by messed up, I mean crazy. The
second game featured an Illinois loss by the women's team to Mississippi
State which was oh so close until the last, oh, thirty seconds. With a big
portion of the crowd leaving between games, Anna and I moved down to, like,
row 5-ish right off the court, where we sat in amazement in watching the
exact same Halftime show for the second game. Eh. The evening inluded
a walk through downtown, including a stop by the block once occupied by Skate
on State and a visual pass of the Marshall Field's holiday window display
featuring Paddington Bear! Over at the Millennium Park (that thing that's
above the parking garage off Michigan Avenue, just North of the Art Institute),
we gazed at the action-packed super-filled skating ring and this air-filled
(um, duh?) bubble like those winter golf bubble dome things that had a
light show of sorts flashed on it from the inside. We went in, checked out
the festivities, and made some ornaments for the tree that was inside a
human-sized snow-dome paperweighty thing. Good times, good times. I slept
for a brief moment at Union Station before getting dinner and hopping on the
8pm Southbound train back to Champaign. I walked to Krannert to swap out
time cards, went back to the apartment, and, well, slept. And slept. And
slept.
Would It Not Be Exciting If
In constructing the staff schedule for finals week, I didn't require anyone
to work unless they volunteered for the shift. That having been said, we
were semi-short on people for the Sunday afternoon matinee of the Nutcracker -
that show I returned from Chicago to work. Well, I had planned on working it,
but anyways. So, with a smaller handful of hosts to go around, and two extra
house managers, I ended up working at Coat Check. It's not that I don't like
it, I just hadn't done it in a while. I was talking with Christina and said
something like "Wouldn't it be interesting if we had a tornado or medical
emergency today?" Well, as I sat around during thet first half adding up
hours on timecards, I heard a call on the radio. "This is backstage to front
of house. Can we have the EMT's sent to the Green Room?" Emily looks up at
me through the doorway and I say to her "tell her they're not here, but we'll
be happy to send an ambulance in. find out what's wrong and call 911."
Not that these were my prayers being answered, but at least I maintained the
cool and that we, as a front of house staff, handled the situation well.
Karen and I handled random administrata as the performance went on without
the whole world knowing any different.
Whoomp! There It Is!
Karen, was it everything you had hoped for... and more?
One Moment In Time
After doing a quick run-down, I realized I needed more cards from Hallmark.
That, and it was about time I restocked myself with those binders I use oh
so much - you know - the monthly historical binders! So, anyway, to the
mall I went with my newly improved Santa Hat. It's improved in that I took
the second (duplicate) ornament I made in Chicago, hooked it onto the top of
the hat, and tacked on some of that legendary mistletoe of December 6th fame.
Since I was at the mall, and I was hungry, I got me some cheese and lemonade,
using the gift certificates I bought on my last visit just a few days earlier.
(I had the brilliant idea of buying gift certificates for myself to get the
"free junk with gift certificate purchase" if I knew I was going to be there
later anyway... plus, if I use them on a non-pay-week, it helps my overall
net fund change for the week!) It was at that time that I met up with Jon and
Sean, or rather, they met up with me. They saw the hat as they were walking
by and thought, "who else would it be..." So, in unison, we went throughout
the mall. I was compelled to buy the board game "Sorry" as a tribute to the
fun times I had with roommate Michelle last school year, so I did. At Kay
Bee, they apparently have this club card thing, where, if you make four $25
purchases, you get a percentage discount on your fifth visit. I bought the
game, which ended up being around $17, and I said "I already got one of those
cards... what if I told you I spent at least $8 last time I was here... can
I get a stamp?" I was told "no, you need to spend $25 at one time." I
remarked with a "Yeah, I know. It's not like I have fifty billion dollars or
something." And so I paid, and was on my merry way, and the cashier stopped
me and stamped my card twice, saying "I remember the last time you were here"
with a smile. I said "Thanks... happy holidays!" Ah, the loving, caring
spirit of the season. [Random Encounter That Took Place Next Described In
Next Story... moving on...] Jon and Sean dropped me off at Staples, where I
purchased my binders and some new permanent markers to replace my aging set.
I walked over to Burger King, picking up the last talking Simpsons watch I
didn't have, and ran to catch the bus back to campus. It was on that ride
back that I realized the mistletoe and ornament fell off my hat in my quick
jog, thus ending the moment where the hat attachments had their time to shine.
I leave with a tribute.
Yells From Afar
While walking through the mall with Jon and Sean, path dictated we walk by
the Cingular Wireless kiosk en route to our final destination. And, as the
walking festivities continued...
Random (kinda cute) Girl Working At Cingular: "Hey!"
Me: "Yeah?"
(same) Random Girl Working At Cingular: "Is that mistletoe on your hat?"
Me: "Um... yeah."
Me: "It hasn't worked yet, though."
Random Girl Working At Cingular: "Oh."
Random Girl Working At Cingular: "Too bad I'm working."
Of course, now I am prepared to receive the requisette mocking for not doing
a single thing about such a precarious circumstance.
Schedule Uncertainty
Monday night came around, and Abby came over to indulge in missed television.
Last week's Dawson's Creek was watched, containing a quite awesome Christmas
Dinner prayer by Dawson's movie directing friend - it was quite the experience.
But, as far as the topic at hand is concerned, and following the multiple
presentations I have made in the last two weeks or so, a contingent and I
will be at the fine residence of Chris, where Martin Luther King weekend will
be had... and good times will be had by all. New Year's... now that's another
story.
Reinvention
Tuesday, the Santa hat was reinvented and transformed back to the glory days
of but a day prior. I purchased some holographic paper from Promenade, and,
with the new markers I bought and the lamination adhesive stuff I have on
supply in the box full of wonder in my room, I recreated an ornament for the
hat... and, in my infinite wisdom, I purchased an extra thing of mistletoe of
December 6th fame (you never know when you'll need mistletoe, I guess), so all
was right in the world once more.
The Trivia
In this installment of Tuesday trivia, good times were had as always, but it
was kinda cool in that there were a few visitors that weren't quite regular
making an appearance. Jack and Carolyn came by again, and, with it being
finals week and all, the regular Tuesday academic conflict Vince usually had
was not there, as he made an appearance as well! It was at this fateful last
Trivia Tuesday of the calendar year where the final counts were made on the
Washington/January journey. And, now, off to a fine holiday season...
SOM Ticketing Challenge
It's official. After fifteen weeks of competition, Dawson pulls it out in
the end. The last two events were quite the wild cards, as very few guessed
the over 400 needed to be close for the Steel Band, and art and guest
appearances at the UI Symphony made for an intersting X-factor last event.
Oh well... wait til next year!
More information is available at the website at
brian.sweetgoodness.org/som/.
Actually Watched a Movie
"The Brady Bunch in the White House" (2002): Alas, FOX churned out another
interesting made-for-TV movie over the Thanksgiving break. With the usual
cheese of the Brady Bunch and new kids playing the kids, as opposed to the
kids that aren't kids anymore that were in the semi-recent movies, seeing
a Brady Bunch administration, was, well, yeah, whatever. Big plot line:
how would someone get them out of office? (Yes, them!) If you're ever
seeing this and paying attention, the White House girl playing Veronica
(the one the oldest son kinda has issues for) is played by the same person
who played Amber on MTV's TV movie "Jailbait".
"the list"
one at four (corrected per list definition)
mdate Scheduling
next week
The things surely have died down, with the big event of graduation still
looming just a few days away. And then, random bouncing around locations!
Here's how it looks as of print-time:
- Wednesday Lunch at the Illini Union
- Wednesday, December 18: Krannert Center Holiday Party (afternoon)
- Thursday, December 19: "Tuesday Dinner and Trivia" Thursday Lunch
- Friday, December 20: Beth's Holiday Party (night)
- Sunday, December 22: *Floor Supervisor - three commencement ceremonies
- Monday, December 23: Amtrak back to Chicago for Christmas
- Tuesday, December 24: Last minute shopping!
- Wednesday, December 25: Christmas with the family(s)
Work is indicated with a star...
The most recent weekly schedule updated can be found
here.
after that
A new year with a celebration at a location still to be determined. And then,
it will be the annual Illinois High School Theatre Festival! Nothing more
exciting than three thousand high schoolers hanging out on a three day field
trip!
BC Financial Press
Sunday, December 8, 2002 - Saturday, December 14, 2002
Brian General Indicator: +10.04
+--------------------------+-------------------------+-------------------------+
| Category Summary |
+--------------------------+-------------------------+-------------------------+
| Symbol Change notes | Symbol Change notes | Symbol Change notes |
| ====== ========= ===== | ====== ========= ===== | ====== ========= ===== |
| A FDRV 63.36- | J STDP .00- | Q CTBN .00- |
| B FDGR 1.61- | K IVST .00- | R RNDM .00- |
| C CLTH .00- | L COMM 13.19- | S INCM 409.10+ |
| D TRNS 61.15- | M SPLY .00- | T DDCT 8.74- |
| E LDGN .00- | N UTLT .00- | U EVNT 20.10- |
| F ACTV 2.00- | O EDUC 211.68- | V GRUP .00- |
| G ACTR .00- | P GRAT 4.06- | W LNFD .00- |
| H STKP 13.17- | | |
+--------------------------+-------------------------+-------------------------+
| Transfer Summary |
+--------------------------+-------------------------+-------------------------+
| Symbol Change notes | Symbol Change notes | Symbol Change notes |
| ====== ========= ===== | ====== ========= ===== | ====== ========= ===== |
| X XSHR 94.42- | Y XOVR .00- | Z XTFR .00- |
+--------------------------+-------------------------+-------------------------+
|
|
Wednesday, December 25, 2002
|
The Happenings
Band Aid
Do they know it's Christmas time at all?
Sweet Home Chicago
Last Wednesday, it was time for the annual Krannert Holiday Party. This year,
the theme was Blue Brother-y, and, to celebrate (and, as a tribute), we were
all treated to a fine performance by the Blues Brothers (also known as Stephen
and Jim). The food was, as usual, delicious, and good times were had. One of
the annual highlights of the festivities includes the white elephant gift
exchange. For yet another year, I made it my goal to try to "win" the gift
that keeps on giving, and keeps on coming back, the naked lady ashtray. The
gift I ended up bringing in was a box of old programs, straws, and snacks -
that is, in case you were wondering. I positioned myself such that I would be
the last one in line, so I could choose from any of the gifts, but, as luck
would have it, the line was shifted, and I ended up in the middle. Very
disappointing, I know. Instead, I had to hope that no one after me would want
it, which is, of course, very unlikely. The first half of the line went with
the gift opening festivities, and the legendary gift had not made an appearance.
And then it was my turn, and, lo and behold, I selected properly and held the
gift high. Others continued with their gifts, not wanting to steal it away
from me... up until just before the very end. And, in an instant, the naked
lady ashtray found an alternative home for the next year. Oh well. I ended
up with a pen and notepad. How fitting?
And Then There Was A Million
After the party, I hung out and worked on news, as, at the time, I was
recovering from being very behind. Anyways, I spent some time chilling in
the ticket office as well, and, eventually, I made my way to Abby's to watch
the grand two hour finale to the Amazing Race III, where Flo and Zach walked
away as the winners. Now, if only I had $500,000 at 23. I just might have
to watch the next race whenever it's on. You know, I could make a great game
show host. Anyways...
Late Night Inspiration
Late Wednesday night, I couldn't sleep. I thought to myself, would it not
be cool to say you've walked from Saint Louis to Chicago? I realized how,
well, besides silly, possible it would be, especially if you got a large
enough group of people? I mean, collectively, we'd know people all over the
state, and, imagine what would happen if you got corporate sponsorships? If
you went about twenty miles a day, it could be done in three weeks! Eh,
exciting? Yes, but, now that I've had a few days to think about it, maybe not.
The Trivia on Thursday?
It was finals week, and there really wasn't much going on. So, a small
gathering convened at BW3 for lunch on Thursday - if only to capitalize on
those seventy-five cent chicket tenders. It was fun - different, yes, but
fun none-the-less. I think it just might be the first time people actually
had lunch at BW3 during the week, well, with me, at least. (Flashbacks of
my solitary trips to BW3, then to a Thursday afternoon movie flash through
my head.) Kari brought along the boy (first appearance), Megan and Zach and
benjam were there as well! Afterwards, I met up with the brother and sister
as we continued where our mini-discussion of last night left off - with a
little Christmas shopping.
The Spirit of Eating
Megan Mc and I met at Perkins for breakfast that fine, cool Friday. I was
updated on the random goings-on of the Holiday Inn as we caught up on what
just another semester (and my first full one without working at the hotel).
A delight it was, followed with a bit of work, and then a detour to KFC for
my second tasting of mashed potatoes with a supersized individualsized popcorn
chicken, before proceeding to Schnucks to obtain Dawson's Almond Joy prize
and continuing to Beth D's place for a ticket office holiday gathering. More
good times were had, capped off with a board game requiring people to sing
songs with appropriate lyrics to fulfill a category or word requirement. It
was fun, and got particularly mean, and my having the sniffles didn't help.
And when all was sung and done, it was an agreed upon tie.
Ordinary (Satur) Day
Just a day, just an ordinary day, and I basically spent the day catching up
with being me. I picked up some pictures, caught up on paperwork, had a little
meal by myself, made some travel arrangements... yeah, good old normal
day-to-day operations.
Pomp and Circumstance
Sunday was the fall graduation day for all those mid-year end-of-calendar-year
graduates, and Krannert played host to three such ceremonies back to back to
back. I made my way in early, ensuring everything that needed to be in place
was taken care of, and I started my day without much of a voice at all. As
the day progressed, I started getting my voice back, just as house manager
Nate was losing his and becoming ill. In all reality, the day went just fine,
just about without incident. The only intersting thing that happened to me
was that my graduating friend, Sam, called me to see if I could do anything if
her parents left the graduation tickets at home (a good two hours away). Well,
since I personally knew her, arrangements were made, and all was good in the
world. Enough so, that I got to go along with her family for a dinner at
Biaggi's that evening. Her family was very patient in waiting for me, as I
had timecards and paperwork I had to do that night, since the work schedule
was slightly altered due to the holidays and subsequent building closures.
Touch-Ups
A lot of Monday and Tuesday was tying up all those loose ends before Christmas.
You know, making sure all the business is taken care of and the like. I made
my way back to Chicago Monday evening, and spent Tuesday afternoon making those
last minute purchases for the holiday. And, to close the night (and news week),
My brother, sister, and I went to our church's Christmas Eve candlelight
service. Sleep in heavenly peace, y'all.
Actually Watched a Movie
"Rat Race" (2001): You know, after having seen the Amazing Race, this movie
was semi-interesting. No missions or designated paths to follow, just a bunch
of wacky happenings as those in the game were in persuit of their two million
dollar prize. Of course, those movie commercials advertising this from back
in the day didn't exactly explain where this money came from and why, so, at
least that was vaguely interesting, if only to find out. Interesting note:
the "leading" pair from Road Trip get matched up again in this film.
"Spy Kids" (2001): What better way to spend Christmas Eve than to watch
these two films back to back? This was better than expected, but, by no means
does it mean I'm going to go buy it on video right away. It was like a little
unexpected present, keeping me entertained through one in the morning. I mean,
really, why would you air this geared-for-family film at 11 at night? Whatever.
But I had a good time. It wasn't too basic for me to totally not care about.
"the list"
one at four (no activity)
mdate Scheduling
next week
I decided it Saturday evening. I would return to Chicago for the year's
rollover after spending a mere 3 days in Urbana. And then, 6 days later,
I'd go back to Urbana. Well, I suppose I should spend time North of
Interstate 80 if given the chance.
Here's how it looks as of print-time:
- Wednesday, December 25: Christmas with the family(s)
- Thursday, December 26: Day after Christmas Madness
- Saturday, December 28: Amtrak back to Urbana to work a few hours on Tuesday
- Tuesday, December 31: *Director's Office (morning)
- Tuesday, December 31: Amtrak back to Chicago for New Year's
- Wednesday, January 1, 2003: Happy New Year!
Work is indicated with a star...
The most recent weekly schedule updated can be found
here.
after that
And just like that, I'll make a triumphant return to Urbana to hang out with
high school kids. And then, a road trip in January?
BC Financial Press
Sunday, December 15, 2002 - Saturday, December 21, 2002
Brian General Indicator: -389.12
+--------------------------+-------------------------+-------------------------+
| Category Summary |
+--------------------------+-------------------------+-------------------------+
| Symbol Change notes | Symbol Change notes | Symbol Change notes |
| ====== ========= ===== | ====== ========= ===== | ====== ========= ===== |
| A FDRV 46.52- | J STDP .00- | Q CTBN .00- |
| B FDGR 5.05- | K IVST .09- | R RNDM .00- |
| C CLTH .00- | L COMM 68.68- | S INCM .03+ |
| D TRNS 22.20- | M SPLY 28.62- | T DDCT 30.87- |
| E LDGN .00- | N UTLT 41.47- | U EVNT .10- |
| F ACTV 20.00+ | O EDUC .00- | V GRUP .00- |
| G ACTR .00- | P GRAT 3.06- | W LNFD .00- |
| H STKP 162.55- | | |
+--------------------------+-------------------------+-------------------------+
| Transfer Summary |
+--------------------------+-------------------------+-------------------------+
| Symbol Change notes | Symbol Change notes | Symbol Change notes |
| ====== ========= ===== | ====== ========= ===== | ====== ========= ===== |
| X XSHR 106.38+ | Y XOVR 125.03- | Z XTFR .00- |
+--------------------------+-------------------------+-------------------------+
|
|
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