Last night George and I went to Rock Bottom Brewery after our day of statistics (except for a nice online chat with yogaswirl).  I decided to be wild and crazy and try one of their beer samplers, as it always looks so enticing when ever someone else orders it.  It was 6.79 for 32 oz of beer, with 8 different kinds (each being 4 oz.).  Yay math!  They were really good and I enjoyed it!  Then I split a burger with George and hated it....so he ate most of it.  I hate when things are really grilled.  Blah.  We had a good time though, although it got really chilly when we were there on the patio-- everyone was wearing sweatshirts and I believe it got down to 55 degrees last night.  Chilly for August but I didn't mind.

Today I'm hoping to finish my stats paper, proof-read the one that is due today, and spend the rest of the day watching the Olympics.  We don't get very good reception, but it's as good as it will get and I'll have to suck it up.  Last night we watched a little men's gymnastics, women's beach volleyball, and some swimming.  I spent half the night thinking Keri Walsh (volleyball) had a tattoo of an octopus on her shoulder, but it turns out that it was some tape that helps with circulation and pain.  Curious.  Anyway, after watching an hour or so of the Olympics, I felt very uncoordinated and out of shape.....

Why do the weekends go so damn fast?

After fighting with statistics all day, George and I had a drink and went out to dinner.  When we were walking home, we saw a woman with a pink towel walking around the MSOE campus.  This obviously caught our attention, so we went over to see what she was doing.  It turns out that she was from the Humane Society, and she had gotten a call about a little baby sea gull that had fallen from the roof top and the caller was worried the gull was going to get hit by a car downtown.  After we questioned her credibility and credentials (let's face it...there ARE some crazies downtown), she asked George and I to help.  We cornered this adorable gray sea gull that was clearly not happy we were trying to catch him.  Once covered in the towel, the woman (Patti) said she was going to bring him to a grassy area and lightly toss him to see if he was capable of flying.  Of course hindsight is 20/20 and it wasn't until later that we realized how truly amusing it was that we had to "test" if the bird could fly.  After all, with three humans chasing after the bird, if the sucker could fly....he would have tried it!  Duh. 

Anyway, the gull couldn't fly and started running again.  He ran across State Street and into the soccer field of MSOE.  After once again trapping the bird (the poor thing was not very happy), she covered him up again.  During this time, she talked to someone at the Humane Society and the person advised her to take the bird near where he was found, hold him up, and "present him" to the parents.  At this point, George and I decided to walk away because the less humans around, the better off the bird would be.  So, we don't ever know what happened to the cute little baby sea gull, but what an interesting evening it turned out to be!  Did I mention how cute he was?  He kept doing this "squawk, squawk, squawk" and biting the lady.  So adorable.  I felt bad for him though.  I hope he found mom and dad!  The irony though...how many humans should have their kids held up to them to say, "hey you...pay attention!"  Ah, life.

What a week it has been!  I've been so stuck in my panicky stats world, I haven't had a chance to write!  The beginning of this class has totally thrown me for a loop, and I was so down Tuesday night, I cried and contemplated dropping the course.  Fortunately, I finished the first major (horrible) assignment and felt a little better.  I went home with a migraine on Wednesday, and it had been going on for 3 days, but I hit a wall on Wednesday.  Saturday work got canceled which helped my spirits big time.

Saturday, George and I tackled the next chapter and assignment (due next Sunday).  It took all day and many conversations being bounced back and forth, but we got it by about 4:30pm.  Time for cocktails!  Today we're going to start working on a future assignment, because it is always better to be ahead (especially with the difficulty of this class).  Plus, yogaswirl is coming to visit at the end of my class, and I want to be finished so we can spend time together and I don't have to panic!

Other than that, not much else new here.  Bastille days ends today and I'm looking forward to it.  It is SO loud and bright at night.  There's been this spotlight thingy that has been going around and around, making it difficult to sleep well.  I still haven't gotten my pants that I said I needed weeks ago.  I just hate the mall and clothes shopping.  What can I say?

I hope to get some nice rest today, as I have had this weird thing going on with my calf for the last month.  Remember when I went on that crazy tour of Milwaukee about a month ago with George?  Two days after that, I began getting muscle spasms, cramping, and pain in my left calf.  It sort of felt like a charlie horse, and I thought it would go away.  I tried massages and tiger balm, but it just didn't help.  Now, it has begun making this click noise when I have my foot as flexed in walking as possible.  When I point my toe, no pain.  When I flex my foot, ouch.  I don't get it.  George thinks it is some kind of repetitive movement injury with my tendon, but I don't know.  I don't feel like going to the doctor for this because it isn't painful all the time.  Any ideas PT Martha?

I just love these two.  They are adorable.  I want to squeeze them. 

Last night, G and I went to County Clare for dinner and had root soup and a yummy Irish smoked salmon sandwich.  We watched the SYTYCD vote off, and I was satisfied with the decision.  We stayed up for the lakefront fireworks because...well...living here, you can't really get away from them.  I was underwhelmed this year, as they decided to launch from four different areas.  That's ok...can't complain about that--we watch from our apartment! 

My class is up online now, and it is all screwy.  I think they're having technical difficulties because half of it is one class, half is another.  It is frustrating because I wanted to get a good jump on it so there's less stress during the week.  So much for that idea....

Again, I had "one of those days" at work.  From the moment I walked in, people were just being dumb.  I even got asked if I was pregnant.  Gotta love that!  I responded, "no, that's just flab...."  So, to turn my frown upside down, I played on you tube to pass the time before my favorite SYTYCD!  I stumbled upon this video, and it just makes me giggle.  This is what I imagine little Latino kids on crack would look like.  Enjoy. 

I've decided that it takes a special person to be a supervisor because there are days that people just flat out yell at you.  Today was one of those days.  Moody, crabby, cranky people.  Glad to be home.

And on a particularly random note Martha: BUNNY BUNNY TO YOU!

Wow...haven't been on LJ in a long time!  The week was so insane, I had absolutely no energy to do anything but work.  It involved shipping 42 EXTRA loads along with our normal shipments, therefore, I was torn in so many different directions.  My boss was gone part of the week due to a death in the family, so I was really flying all over the place.

I donated blood on Thursday because the Blood Center of WI came to JCPenney (they do that a couple times a year).  I had only donated blood once in my life (about 10 years ago), when Coate Hall was having some blood drive in college.  It resulted in me getting super sick, so I have avoided it like the plague.  But, since I'm feeling more and more adventurous each day, I thought, what the heck.  The overall experience was fine, although, I have a huge ugly bruise on my arm that makes me look like I have a serious drug habit.  Oh well, it should clear up soon.

Saturday, George and I finally had some "get out of town" fun and went to Madison for the day.  He volunteered to drive which was super nice, as I typically drive most places when we are together.  I brought my iPod and watched part of "Good Will Hunting" on it there and back!  When we got to Madison, we went right for the tattoo place, as we wanted to make sure we fit that in.


It was kind of amusing because we both changed our tattoo design at the last minute, and George even changed his tattoo location too!  He said he wanted to experience the same kind of pain as I did.  Granted, parts of it were uncomfortable and painful, but it didn't last too long.

After our tattoo glow, we tried an African restaurant, Buraka.  It was really tasty.  Most of the food was Ethiopian.  I even tried my first Ethiopian beer. 


After that, we hung out by Lake Mendota and cruised around State Street.  There was a small storm that came through, so we took a coffee break inside until it passed.

When we got home, we went out to eat, but after appetizers, I felt nauseous.  We had to leave because I was feeling really crappy, and we came home and watched "The Bucket List."  Okay movie....sort of predictable.  Later on George ALSO got a stomach ache, so it must have been something we both ate.  Perhaps our adventures with African food or the raw oysters?  Not sure.

This morning we decided to try a brunch, because dinner did work out so well last night, and this is our last free weekend before school starts.  We tried Harbor 550, which is basically the old Pieces of Eight.  It was seriously the best brunch I have ever been to.  They had everything you could ever imagine eating and more!  The weather was nice, and we just watched the lake and overlooked the art museum.

Today, I really should go get some new work pants because my other ones are getting holes in them, but I really don't feel like going to the mall.  I hate malls.  I think I can get another week out of them......  Perhaps later when I am past the full belly fatigue.

George and I went to Buckley's last night to celebrate our anniversary.  When we got there, we were seated at a table in a really good location.  We waited for a while, and no one came to serve us or take a drink order.  We must have waited a good 10 minutes before anyone came over.  A woman finally came over and took our drink order, and we waited some more.  Nothing.  We were sitting near the bar, and the bartender was working on some other drink.  After awhile, the waitress told the bartender what we wanted.  I was relieved.  I thought, good, we're finally going to get drinks.  The bartender then began making different drinks.  At this point, we were getting annoyed, and after reviewing the menu, we were realizing that the high prices were definitely not worth the service we were getting.  I saw the waitress, called her over, and said, "Excuse me.  We've had a change of plans.  I can see that the drinks have not been made yet, so we're just going to get going."  George continued with the fact that it was taking a really long time for any kind of service.  So, we got up and left.  It was really unimpressive and I have to demonstrate patience and understanding in my job all week, I shouldn't have to pay for it when I'm trying to go out and have fun.  I left the waitress stunned, but I never insulted her, I told her very calmly that we were going to go somewhere else, and she thanked me.

We began walking downtown towards Water St. trying to figure out what to do.  We remembered seeing an interesting and new looking restaurant  from our apartment window called "Kincaid's," so I did a 411 on my cell phone for the number.  I called and set up reservations for 10-15 minutes later, as it was quite a walk (on Old World 3rd St).  When we got there, we both knew that this was definitely more what we wanted and expected.  The restaurant was right on the river, and there was not a bad seat in the entire restaurant.  It was decorated in a contemporary style, and it featured seafood, sandwiches, and steaks.  After splitting Hepatitis on the half shell, aka raw oysters, I ordered a petite fillet mignon, and George ordered wild salmon.  The food was fabulous, and we didn't mind the prices because the service warranted it.  We had a really great time, and decided that this restaurant was probably the best overall restaurant in downtown Milwaukee.  I swear I should moonlight as a restaurant critic.....

When we got home, we watched an episode of our new ER (the incident with Dr. Romano getting his arm hacked off by the chopper), and the storm blew in.  Phew....we made it in time. 

While George and I were pretty bummed that we had to cancel our plans to go to La Crosse this weekend, we still tried to make the most of this weekend.  Friday night, we went to Sake tumi for a nice sushi dinner.  It was of course, fabulous as always.  When we got up on Saturday, the day couldn't have looked more perfect.  So, after a cup of coffee and an ER rerun to wake us up, we decided to walk to Alterra- (well, George ran, I walked).  When we got there, we had a bagel and just sat out and soaked up some of the gorgeous weather.  Now, as you know, there are very few "perfect" weather days in Wisconsin, but this was one of them.  Not too humid, not too hot, sunny, and about 80 degrees).  After our bagels, we strolled down the lakefront, climbed up the hill to Brady Street, and walked down Brady, which is just so cute.  We made a stop at Glorioso's, as every time I go there, I feel that I walked into Italy.  I never really buy anything, but it's fun to look. 

When we got home from our stroll, we relaxed a bit (as that was the most exercise I've gotten in a long time, sad to say).  I started a new novel called "The Quickie," by James Patterson, because I can finally have a break from school books!  After lounging for a short time, we showered, and got ready for our next adventure. 

We caught the free Trolley that goes all over Milwaukee on the corner by our apartment and decided to ride it to the 3rd ward.  George pulled the cord to stop the trolley and it made the loudest DING in the world.  The driver (who had a great sense of humor) took his hands off the steering wheel and covered his ears.  George said (b/c everyone was looking at us), "Gosh, I didn't mean to make such a big deal out of it..." and of course everyone on the trolley laughed.  We got off the trolley and as it passed, everyone (including the driver) waved to us.  Hilarious. 

After wandering around the area, we decided on having lunch at Palms, as we had never been there, and they had wonderful outdoor seating.  We did the typical "I don't have to study today so I'll have a beer with my lunch" thing of course- George having a Guiness and I settled on a skunky Corona with a lime.  I guess I just felt like it!  During lunch, all the umbrellas from the tables outside starting flying into the air and knocking things over, which was an amusing sight.  Most everyone had to take their umbrella down at the table, because they were turning into torpedos! 

After lunch, we wandered around in the 3rd ward a little more, and then visited the Milwaukee Public Market.  We bought some coffee to counter act the mid-day beer, and just checked out what the market had to offer.  From there, we strolled home, and at this point, I was totally pooped.  When we got home, we watched a movie and relaxed, as it was about 3pm and we had been walking all day.  As with most of the summer, a storm came through, so we canceled our dinner plans, and stayed in.  George was bummed out, because he is not used to this temperamental weather still. 

Today, we're going to try to see Sex and the City at the Oriental Theatre.  Other than that, we'll just do piddly stuff around the apartment today.  George already has laundry going, and I am going to do some grocery shopping later.  My niece and nephew are sleeping over at my parents house tonight, as Joe and Christine think they are going to go camping at Devil's Lake tonight.  Good luck with that!  Maybe I'll stop by and squeeze those two little cuties.  I hope to talk to yogaswirl later! 

We are being blasted with MORE storms.  The tornado sirens went off about an hour ago and apparently, there are storms all the way backed up from Kansas City toward our direction.  I'm so annoyed.  Again, parts of I-94 are closed (near Johnson's Creek) because there is literally water on the highway. 

George and I are seriously contemplating canceling our La Crosse plans, but, we REALLY want to go.  We still have another half day before we lose the money, but I don't know if it's worth the risk.  After the horrible winter we had, this is really discouraging.  I feel trapped.  Damn global warming. 

I feel really weird today.  I woke up and my eyes looked like little slits.  They are sort of swollen and sting a little bit.  I don't know if it is that I'm utterly exhausted or some other reason. 

I had to be at work yesterday at 4:30am, which to me, is criminal on a Saturday.  I made it though, and only had to work for 7 hours, which is not too bad.  I busted my butt for those 7 hours and had to have another cup of coffee and mini-cat nap to survive. 

It's really interesting how much the weather has changed in the past year.  We had a very wet winter with a lot of serious snow storms.  Now that we've hit June, we have had a lot of serious storms, but instead of snow, it's obviously rain.  I drove home on Friday and as soon as I got in the apartment, the tornado sirens went off.  I (thanks to you Martha) decided to watch out the window to see the storm instead of taking shelter on the lower level of the apartment building.  About 20 minutes later, the tornado sirens went off again, and George called on his cell, as he was driving home on the freeway.  Fortunately, two minutes later, the storm moved just south of the airport and over Lake Michigan.

Yesterday, the same thing happened.  After finishing my homework, George and I sat and had a martini.  As we were chatting, the tornado sirens went off again.  My mom called us all concerned to make sure we were taking cover and we assured her that we were not...but instead were watching from the window....again.  The storm caused lots of flooding, and it was quite wild, with baseball sized hail being reported in Waukesha.

Today, the same thing is going on again!  The rain is coming down sideways right now, and I'm sure it will be only minutes before the sirens go off again.  Ahh!  I better go....I'm getting nervous.

I was coming home from work today and saw that there were a whole bunch of cops outside our building (never a good sign).  Apparently, a resident in our building on the 14th floor jumped.  Holy shit.

There are still cops everywhere, including horses.  George saw the body still laying in the street (covered) when he got home...I'm glad I didn't see that. 

And now, I'm supposed to focus and write a paper?  Yeah right.

Yesterday, I was all in a panic because I had a paper due this Sunday and hadn't even started it.  So, being the nerd that I am, I hit the books very early and finished it by 3pm....12 pages later (not too lengthy, luckily).  I was brain-dead, stress-free, and relaxed.  I decided that since it wasn't due until Sunday (today), I would once again proof-read it in the morning (so my eyes wouldn't play tricks on me) and then do any last minute fixing, then submit it.  I just finished that and went to post it in the courseroom.  And then I see it:

Paper is due Sunday, JUNE 1.  June 1?  I'm a week ahead!  That NEVER happens.  :)  And, to add a nice big exclamation point....it's supposed to be about 75 degrees and sunny today (my ideal temp and the warmest it's been all year)!  Now, granted, the weatherman are not entirely reliable, but, I'm optimistic.

Last night George and I ventured to a place we haven't eaten in awhile....County Clare.  Sometimes you just crave that "meat and potatoes" kind of meal.  It is such a cute little Irish place, it is just so welcoming and friendly.  George and I decided to each get a cup of root soup (puree of sweet potatoes, carrots, and leeks...mmm) and we decided to split Seafood Stew.  Oh my goodness....it was fabulous. 

My morning started out as any other- went to work around 5am, taking an alternate route as the M-change is still in progress.  When I arrived at work, I got stuck behind a semi for about 10 minutes on the east drive.  The east drive is a narrow driveway that you can take instead of going around the entire 2.2 million square feet building.  Today, unfortunately was a day I got stopped and had to wait for the trailer to check in with the guard.  While I was sitting in my car waiting, I glanced down at my dash and did a double take.  Something struck me as odd, and when I looked again, the temperature gauge on my car was all the way to H for HOT!  Uh oh!  I pulled into the parking lot after the trailer left and turned the car off.

I immediate start freaking out in my "car stress" panic.  I decided to let my car cool down for awhile and then asked a guy I supervise (very knowledgeable about cars) to come out and take a look.  After checking things, it turns out all my coolant was GONE!  Bone dry.  So....my first bit of luck was that I didn't blow my engine on the freeway.  Phew.  Luckily again, he had coolant in his car and filled mine up.  Give that man a raise!  :)  He then looked at my radiator and told me that my radiator was all corroded and that is probably why it was bone dry. 

I had to think fast, as my car repair place was downtown, and I didn't want to risk driving it all the way back.  The closest possible place by work was Midas (which, expensive, but I had a lack of options).  I took it to Midas and my boss picked me up.  To make a long story short, Midas was able to fit me in, and my associate was right...radiator was corroded and I needed a new thermostat.  There were some other "suggestions" but when we're talking hundreds of dollars on a 17 year old car....come on.  Seven hundred dollars later, my car was fixed by the time I completed my very long work day, and my boss drove me once again to go get my car.  I made it home OK, and now I can try to chill out.  While I get very stressed out about car stuff, I am trying to focus on all the positives that happened today, as I could be shopping for a new car right now. 

And...Saturday work is canceled.  Sweet.