What are you smiling about? Pt. V (20 at once)

03/10/2012

0 Comments

 
Update: Sunday (March 11)

Man, I'm totally behind on doing these weekly blogs but still determined to do them. Even if I'm the only one that reads them (not true considering I see my web visits per day, thanks for visiting!), it's therapeutic to think of things that make me smile. There have just been so many high and low moments in the past month so some will be from February and others from March.

1) Talking to my godfather, Elvin: I spent two hours on the phone with him today. There is 100% chance I'm going to hear some great stories, laugh more often than not and then we'll go into deep conversations about society and probably touch on finances. I can talk to him about anything, and he'll give me the raw, uncut version. Crazy about him (and his southern accent when he says "Monnie").

2) Watching Hugh Laurie on the deaf teen episode for music vibrations: The "House" scene was to find out if the guy who had a hearing impairment could somehow feel better with music. Now normally people would think House would come in with classical music or maybe some random pop tune. Nope, he comes in with his cane, a big boombox and is dancing to Public Enemy's "Fight the Power." I died. I loved that scene so much that I rewound it to watch it again and again.
Add Comment
 

Why pay for a car wash when rain is free?

09/04/2011

0 Comments

 
I've been plotting on pulling this off for two weeks. My grandfather and mother laughed hysterically this winter when they found out I dug my car out of the parking lot with a bucket. I didn't (and still don't) own a shovel and nobody was around to borrow one during the second largest Chicago winter. My bucket looked all right to me, and it worked, but man those two got a good long laugh at that one when I told them later.

This time around I decided I'm done paying for car washes. I used to get my car washed for free at the dealership I bought it from, but they sold off their Suzukis to another location and now the service sucks since they don't service Suzuki. The other location is way too far away to bounce into every couple of weeks, and I take pride in my car looking so clean. But why should I pay for washes when rain is free? It's constantly raining in Chicago, and I just refuse to shell out $10 every time my car is dirty or get those mediocre drive-thru washes only for it to rain the next day. Only problem is rain water doesn't always "clean" your car; it just rinses the car off kinda like rinsing dishes. So I plotted on a time when I could wash my car for free.

Here's how it went down:
Step 1: Get an umbrella, car wash liquid, a sponge and gym shoes.
Step 2: Run outside and soap up car.
Step 3: Run back into the house before I get to the car because I realize it's raining too hard and I can't keep the umbrella from flipping up.
Step 4: Stare out of window to see when the rain calms down.
Step 5: Run back outside fully equipped and speed through soaping up car. Make sure to get the bottom.
Step 6: Hold umbrella under my neck so I can use both hands.
Step 7: Soap car again for any missed spots. Run full speed back into apartment.
Step 8: Take photo attached.
Add Comment
 

Five things I'm digging right now

06/19/2011

2 Comments

 
Picture
Update 9/4/2011: Don't get me wrong. I love writing. I still "live to write" like my third tattoo used to say, but this is ridiculous. After less than three months of having my fifth tattoo (same spot), "Write" is starting to peek through the bottom set of leaves. Oh my gawd, seriously, this damn tattoo just will not go away. The book left. The "live to" left, but "Write" didn't disappear any of the four times I got laser surgery, and even though it temporarily disappeared when I got the fifth tattoo, it's back again. This time around, I'm not touching it. It'll just be there. I'm going to own up to this one. No matter what job I take (copyediting, web editing, print editing, transcribing), I always circle back around to write something so maybe I should just take this as meant to be because clearly my body is not letting that small piece of ink on a very big tattoo go.

Original June 18th entry below:
Picture
1. Real Men Cook for Father's Day: I mentioned how much I like the festival in a recent Ten @ 10 Stew blog, but I also completed previous interviews about how RMC got started and talked to the owners. I love this event. Click here for Kofi Moyo's interview or here for Yvette Moyo's interview.

2. My tattoo artist Bobby Sox at the Tattoo Factory: I know some folks (including my mother) think I've lost my mind for getting a fifth tattoo on the same arm, but after four laser surgeries, $1200 gone, four more to go, being told I'd have to use skin lightener to get the ink to remove quicker, a Tribune op/ed piece on the trials of tattoos and hiding my arm for two years while I thought about it, I was fed up. The tattoo looked like a glob. I kept hiding my arm even when I wasn't at work, and it's too hot outside for all that. I can't spend the rest of my life hiding my arm, so I shopped around with four tattoo artists before I finally found one I was comfortable with (price wise and quality wise). Out of the three I've gotten tattoos from, Bobby Sox is hands-down the best. I love my new tattoo, and I have no desire to ever remove it again. If I tried it, my arm would probably fall off anyway.
2 Comments