• General Information

    101 Posts

    I missed it at the time but “Poli-ticked Off” was post number 100. I can’t believe I’ve been doing this for so long- or that I’ve managed to stay on this one blog the whole time. It’s very amusing, and somewhat depressing, to read my old posts. I’m not really sure how far I’ve come, but it is kind of nice to have a record of the path. So happy 101. Thanks for reading! In other news I dropped my fall class today. Work continues to be very busy; our CIO has big plans which sadly seem to require large amounts of work from my unit. Doing school work, and…

  • Opinion

    Poli-ticked-off

    It’s politics season. Once every four years my favorite time of year (yeah, fall!) is marred by the Battle for the White House. Ok, “marred” might be too strong a term. I think it’s wonderful that we have a chance to select our leaders, locally and nationally. Even though the people I vote for almost always lose I recognize that this is an important process and take my vote very seriously. I always investigate my options and make my voting decisions based on the canidates records and their plans for the future. But I do think that your political opinions should be just that: opinions. If you want to share…

  • Updates

    Giddy with Technology

    Not all of you starved-for-entertainment readers know me that well, but I’m a little high-strung. I stay busy anyway and if you’ve been reading you know the last 10-11 months or so have been extra crazy. So the vacation was a blissful break and I honestly didn’t realize how stressed I’d been until I got back.The last week or two post-vacation has also been somewhat dreamy. Sure, it’s been busy but it also feels like time has slowed down. I can’t believe, for example, that I have only been back for two weeks. It feels like a month!So for the first week and a half or so I was able…

  • General Information

    10 Things I Learned on Vacation

    Wisconsin is huge. Contrary to popular belief, one can go two whole weeks without a phone, email, web browsing, TV, etc. It’s true. Cheezees (aka: Cheesy Poofs, Cheetos, etc.) are the perfect vacation food (unless you’re 4 and get queasy while riding up a twisty mountain road…) I do not sleep well in the car. The water in Canada is cold, but it really does feel good when you get in. Honest! Chicago has traffic jams. At 2:30. AM. On Sunday morning. Apparently I can spend 17 days with my family and not want to kill them. Mosquito’s suck. A LOT. Strawberry muffins are fabulous (at least those from the…

  • Updates

    Bag blogger!

    Yes, I am a bad blogger. School’s out- for summer this time. Was going to take a summer class but since I haven’t officially completed all assignments for my spring class (taking an incomplete) and work is not slowing down that seems a bad idea. Cuzin Yorii is due in less than a week and is completely ready to pop. I have to review my “to do” list and maybe reread a few chapters of the baby book to get myself psyched up. I’m missing mom’s day and my dad’s birthday at home this weekend, just in case she goes early but all signs seem to be pointing to ‘Junior’…

  • Updates

    Will You Like to Play?

    My never-ending workload recently caused my boss to nominate me for an award at work and, I’m pretty happy to say, I won! The reward was some time off, which I don’t have time to take, and $250. I decided to use that money to reward myself and so (after a lot of hunting; these things are hard to find!) I bought myself a Wii. Let me stop you quickly– I am not a video game person. Aside from the occasional arcade Galaga fun I have never spent a lot of time playing video games. We had a Nintendo in my house for about 5 minutes when I was growing…

  • News & Events

    Baby News (no, not mine)

    I’ve mentioned in passing that my cousin, Yorii (not her real name– I know, a shock) is pregnant. She reached a certain age and, still single, decided she would take matters into her own hands. One donor and some hilarious and heart-breaking antics later, she’s seven months along. In her exceptional wisdom she has decided that it is I that she wants as a coach, supporter and cheerleader in this process. So my duties will include helping her through labor, driving to the hospital (that is going to S-U-C-K), fighting for her wishes in the delivery room, keeping the ice water (no ice chips!) coming, cutting the umbilical cord (squishy!)…

  • News & Events

    More for Me!

    I have been mocked pretty mercilessly for the whole “year of Jen” thing (can you believe my co-workers actually read this thing? Joke’s on you!) but I’m stickin’ to it. I realized today after a completely meaningless interaction with a waitress that I have gotten better and stating my point-of-view, even when I don’t want the confrontation. I’d like to think I’ve also gotten better at knowing when to say nothing, but that may just be an excuse for all the times I say nothing. My latest year-of-jen extravagance is that I’ve bought myself a new bedroom set (check out the picture)! My brother put up crown molding, I painted…

  • General Information

    The Year of Me

    So what came to me when I was writing my last blog entry – the idea of ‘the year of me’ – I think it’s a great idea and I’m really embracing it. I went out and got my nails done and went shopping on New Years day. I left work early (only 30 minutes but it’s the principal of the thing) and went to a movie on the 2nd. Didn’t do anything super special today, but I can neither afford the cost nor the indulgence of goofing off EVERY day. I haven’t worked on this plan a lot but I think the main goal is just to think about…

  • Storytime

    I had a wonderful day!

    I had a wonderful day! I woke up still feeling sick but got progressively better as the day went on. I had a nice, leisurely lunch with a good friend. I got lots done at work, far more than I expected. I went to a hockey which we won in OT after an incredible come-from-behind two goals in the final two minutes. And I got to play with my adorable one-year-old nephew (his birthday was Saturday!) and chat with old friends, new friends and lots of family. Oh, and I found out I got an ‘A’ in my class this semester (phew!). This is what life is all about. It’s…