Happy Birthday

Tomorrow, October 1, is the three year anniversary of the opening of my dance studio, visceral dance center.

Let's all take a moment.

A Pleasant Surprise!

So I get a notification that a complete and total random stranger is following me on Twitter.  I feared it was a creep or someone following a mass amount of individuals.  However, upon a closer look, it appeared to be a normal person.  So why did he decide to follow me?  Here is what I saw:

@JaimeTSikora Your tweet has been featured athttp://heardattheoffice.com


Woohoo!!!
This looks like a website worth checking out....

Tonight's Dinner

Tuna Steak & Rice.

Yes, I did pair seafood with red wine.

Yes, that's steam rising off the rice.

Yes, that's a caramel apple candle.  And nail polish.

Sex and the City Quote of the Day

“When men attempt bold gestures, generally it's considered romantic. When women do it, it's often considered desperate or psychotic.” - Carrie

I TOTALLY agree. 

Overheard in the Office

"I'm about to send you an email."

I hear this about 8 times a day.  Not always directed at me - I overhear it constantly in others' conversations as well.  

Not that there's anything wrong with it.  But is this REALLY something that requires a heads up?   Ooh, thanks, now I'll go mentally prepare to click read!  Is there a particular reason we're giving people a heads up before we email them?  Is a warning necessary?

Back to one of my Favorite Subjects

Facebook.

I thoroughly enjoy that new feature that allows users to like other user's comments in response to someone's status.   Not because I necessarily wanted to 'like' others' comments, but because others - strangers - are now liking my comments! (!!!!)  It makes me feel so clever and witty.   It's the equivalent of a (non-mary kay) stranger stopping to pay a compliment - I must have been REALLY good!!  That, and I also feel like it's a nice segue into making new friends, which I feel is secretly the mission of facebook - the free, platonic version of matchdotcom - like is the new wink.  Maybe I'm reading too much into a small gesture.  Maybe I'm moving too fast.  Sigh, this was presumptuous on my part.

Anyhow.

To this date, I can recall being 'liked' by a stranger three times.  Once was in a spirited debate about religion (I won't go there), once was a Friends quote, once was a Seinfeld quote.  I think this shows my diversity nicely.

Just Cause.

Snoopy on a flowerpot.

Do You Care?

So I heard some quote about our generation is a very self-centered - something to the extent of we are very absorbed in what we're doing and seem to think everyone else cares about what is going on in our lives (updating our twitter, our facebook statuses, etc.).

I, personally, am not doing anything to disprove this by having this blog and constantly updating my facebook.

I guess this begs the question - do people care?  Are we moreso a nosy generation?  I enjoy reading the facebook status updates and various blogs where people talk about what is going on in their lives.   In thinking people care, are we self-centered, or are we right?

I am off to update my facebook.

For No Reason In Particular....

Saturn.

Silly Bandz....

They're ok if you're 12 or under.  

I see violations of the above rule DAILY.  

I am not Typically Much of a Movie Person

http://www.thesocialnetwork-movie.com/?hs308=TSN6187

....but I REALLY want to see this movie.

Is It Just Me?

Is anyone else having trouble with his/her gmail snippets?

Mine is showing the first part of the conversation, not the most recent.

Is it just me?  Did Google decide to pick on me?

How can I fix this?

Please advise.

Psychological Help....

What's the going rate for a therapist?  I need to catch up on my billing.  

So I Read This Book.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

Ok.  

I was a bit underwhelmed.   Maybe it was that expectation was high.  Everyone is reading it; everyone thinks it's SOOOO good.  It wasn't bad.  It was 'kind of good' in my book.  It was slightly disturbing.  I know this is one of three in a series - I definitely felt there were some loose ends not fully tied up.  I am not sure if I want to commit to reading the other two books (but I probably will because a coworker already lent me the second book).  

Granted it was a (not lighthearted) mystery.  I won't spoil it, but it was kind of predictable in the sense that the person who wasn't a suspect was the shocking twist culprit, with all kinds of red herrings along the way. What I found most interesting was this author and his perception of men and women.  I know he is dead - I am curious his views and what he was really trying to say with this book.

That being said - and I realize I am about to get a lot of backlash on this - I don't think he is THAT great of a writer.  Stieg Larsson.  It was good.  He COULD be a great writer - but I'm not sure this book showed it.  But I don't think this book could have only been written by some writer of genius caliber - as most people seem to think.  I seem to remember after the DaVinci Code was released and made it big - everyone was all like 'this book is sooo great, omg' - then came a wave of 'Dan Brown is overrated'.    I forsee the 'Stieg Larsson is overrated' movement coming through soon.

I will also say this - on a side-by-side comparison of two books, I personally (gasp!) liked the DaVinci Code better.  

Your thoughts?

Tear.

My Boys was canceled.

I can't say I'm shocked.  This season wasn't as exciting as the past ones.  Maybe it's because of the relationships.  Like the Steph/Kenny tension was gone; the PJ/Bobby tension was gone.  Kind of like the Office dragged when Jim and Pam finally got together.  Some might blame the lack of Jim Gaffigan (PJ's brother, and probably the most well-known prior to the show), but his character never did anything for me really.  I know he's a somewhat successful stand-up comic (I'm not familiar with his work), but I don't know that he was really some shining star.   I think another part of the problem is the little 'seasons' were so few and far between - people got too used to living without it; it wasn't as 'needed' as it should have been.

Oh well.  Sigh.  I must say, by my non-expert standards - this was definitely TBS's most successful self-created show.  I think my favorite part was when Bobby got laid off from the Trib.  Sigh.  The memories and DVDs will last a lifetime.

Do People Change? Revisited.

So, earlier, when this blog had more life to it, I asked the question 'do people change'?

More specifically - here is what I have been wondering for a while:  if a person changes, was he or she always destined to make that change?  If someone betrays another - was it always destined to happen?  Was it a weakness that was lurking beneath the surface that would eventually inevitably come to?  Did we just not know him or her that well to begin with?  Or, is it that some life experience altered him or her for the worst (or maybe for the better).

I used to think more of the former - that people don't really change.  The old expression goes 'we become more of who we are'.  However, now I am starting to think we, as people, are more fragile than we realize. There have been a couple of people I have lost for various reasons - some their fault, some mine.  There are some people in my life with whom the relationship will not ever really be the same because of something that has happened to cause a rift.  In my mind, for as much as I want to blame them and their weaknesses as people, I blame circumstance.  Even though it might seem that this part of him or her would have come out eventually at some point, I often think 'if only this one thing hadn't happened this way, everything would be still be the way it was....'   Whenever I mull over this point in my mind - despite its flaws, I keep finding it to be true.  That, and even though it's easy to look at the weakness/problems in the person, that doesn't always take away from missing the person (even if that person that I cared about doesn't really seem to be there any more).   I often find if I blame the person and his or her weaknesses, I could, ultimately end up hurt by and blaming everyone I have ever and will ever encounter in life.

That, and then I wonder, is everyone and everything we love 'subject to change'?  We might care for a person for who he or she is right now - what if that doesn't last?   Does everyone have a weakness that can, in some way, hurt us in the end?  Is there anything we can do to prevent it?  I write off every past failed (not necessarily romantic) relationship based on either a) I didn't know the person as well as I thought or 2) the person changed.  When will we know someone well enough or when will we reach a point that the person is done changing?   Anyone?   Your thoughts?

Bah.  This post is probably too emotional/random/self-reflective.  I am sorry.  It seems to have all been fluff for a while, so I decided to try to go to a deeper place.  For better or for worse.  Sigh.  The worst  truth of it all is that is that THIS BLOG is probably what has changed.  Sigh.

Look What I Found...

It doesn't have a date on it.

Who out there offers student discounts?!?!

Catch Up on My Life

So I had a paid furlough this week.  It was sweet and reminiscent of last year's furlough, but nicer because it was paid.

I had a chance, for the first time in a long time, to give my apartment a very thorough cleaning.  It needed it.  I feel better about my surroundings.  The 'feng shui' is right.

However, this took my ENTIRE week.  I could use a second week to explore Chicago as a tourist.  I wouldn't mind doing the Shedd, etc.   There were just too many things that needed to be accomplished.  Sigh.  All those weekends going to the beach this summer got the better of me.  Oh well.

I am sure this is one of the most thrilling, exciting posts that my readers have read.  Sorry.

Sneak Peek - Kat's Wedding

While We're on the Subject of Vices....

Forget Coach....

....the newest design from the aforementioned wine store.

Wine and Deep Thoughts

So there's a lovely little wine store in Lakeview that I frequent.  It has nice quality products, a good selection, cute tchotchkes, and decent prices. 

However, I have a certain gripe about them.  The staff.  They are TOO nice.  Too much.  Too over the top.  They try TOO hard.

Really?  You ask.  How so?  They repeatedly excessively use your name when talking to you.

Now, don't get me wrong - I know this is a 'how to win friends and influence people' technique.   Literally, I believe it's from that book.  And sure, it makes me feel special and important that someone noted my name.  However, there's a fine line between nice and 'too much'.

How do I know said line was crossed?

Well, I'll tell you.  One time, when I was there, approximately halfway through my visit - the person waiting on me switched to "Julie".  I decided against correcting him because a) who cares? I'd be out of there in 5-10 minutes and 2) I figured it would only evoke an equally over the top apology which I didn't have the energy to listen to.

However, I decided to take count - he then proceeded to call me Julie 8 times!  It reached a point where I was thinking of changing horses and correcting him, but, well, cue for the Friends reference of Chandler Bing getting called 'Toby' - why had I let it go on thus far?

Anyhow.  I am curious - from this tidbit alone, does anyone know where I'm talking about?  Can anyone immediately identify 'the lakeview wine store where they overuse your name'?

I Guess I Got Stuck on a Color Theme

A Day in the Life of a Blogger....

Ok, I have to be brutally honest....

I'm struggling for material. 

Dear readers - what do you like hearing about?