The forecast all week was that it was going to be rainy and storming all weekend. So, after playing on the soggy playground on Saturday morning, we were really excited to see the sun in the afternoon.
We took the "L" to Chinatown for the afternoon. Elijah loves to ride the train. We walked around and saw lots of fun stuff, including live eels, lots of things with dragons on them and we had some smoothies with boba (that's tapioca - which sounds gross but is actually awesome). Elijah got a school bus at one of the stores, very Asian. When I put him to bed that night he said "I pway 'chool bus". That was $4 well-spent.
Sunday was hot and sunny. We planned to go to the zoo but the bus was rerouted for some marathon downtown and we ended up checking it out. We went for a walk by the river, which Elijah still recalls had the "green water" from St. Patty's day. We walked down Michigan Ave. and then, then we went to Baskin Robins. Elijah and Micah "shared" some cinnamin "red hot" ice cream that was bright red. I tried to share my peanut butter cup ice cream but Elijah just wanted "red i'e cream". I'm pretty sure he ate as much, if not more than Micah. After ice cream we went to the Lego store which had tables of legos for Elijah to play with and crazy huge displays made out of legos. Lots of excitement wore our little guy out and he fell asleep on the "l" on the way home.
It was great to be outside and enjoy the sunshine and warm weather. It's not quite as warm today, but hopefully more days like those are on the horizon. I wish I had thought to take the camera with us, but oh well.
Showing posts with label life. Show all posts
Showing posts with label life. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Mathmatical equations and Weird questions
After doing some calculations, I have discovered that in the last 16 months, I have been unemployed for 9 months. And if you count the last 20 months, I have not been working 12 of those months (because 3 months I was on maternity leave). Ugh, that is depressing. Last time I was unemployeed I kept track of all the jobs I applied for because I was afraid unemployment might track me down and force me to prove I had been trying to get a job. Last week my husband asked me if I had been doing that this time and I said no. He said I should and keep a running tally on Facebook or Twitter or something, which did not sound like something that would boost my confidence. But, I had to take a break from sending out resumes, so I counted it out.
Last time around I applied for 53 jobs and had 16 interviews before landing a job. So far, this time around, I have applied to 49 jobs and have had 14 interviews. While it's a little disheartening to think that I have sent my resume out for 102 jobs in the last year and a half, the fact that I have had 30 interviews makes me feel pretty good about my return. Thirty percent is a pretty respectable percentage, I feel. Now the return on interviews seems less than excellent but I can now say that I have 2 out of 30 (which is 6%) because I now have a job!!! A temporary job, but it is a job that pays real money. And if you are like most people that live on the planet earth, you know that money is pretty essential to living.
Of all of my interviews, I had the weirdest one ever this week (not for the job I just got) and that is saying a lot coming from the interview queen here. This was described to me in an email as a "phone screen", which usually means, let us confirm you are not a crazy and that you didn't just make up all the stuff on your resume. I prepare by looking over the job description and jotting down some notes about some areas they might ask me about. I might as well have used one of Elijah's drawings for this one. This is how the interview started:
"Hi, is this Emily?"
"Yes"
"Is this still a good time to talk?" (it is the scheduled phone interview time)
"Yes"
"Ok. Tell me something you learned this week."
"(pause)....That's a great question...(pause)...(insert lame answer)"
"Tell me something you're curious about."
"(pause)...Wow, there are a lot of things I'm curious about...(pause)...(insert another lame answer)"
Nothing about the job or my work background. Nothing. She actually asked what book I was currently reading. And there was no conversational chit-chat with this woman, it was just one questions after another. And the weird thing is, this isn't even the supervisor in the department, this is the "talent manager" or some other ridiculously titled HR person. And it's not like it's some podunk nonprofit either, it is a university. What the what, right?
Needless to say this interview really rattled me as well as pissing me off. She said I would get an email by the end of next week that would offer me an in person interview or one that says, and I am quoting, "Thanks, but no thanks." I think it was a test to see if I could think on my feet and I would have to say that from my long silences during that phone conversation, I failed.
Last time around I applied for 53 jobs and had 16 interviews before landing a job. So far, this time around, I have applied to 49 jobs and have had 14 interviews. While it's a little disheartening to think that I have sent my resume out for 102 jobs in the last year and a half, the fact that I have had 30 interviews makes me feel pretty good about my return. Thirty percent is a pretty respectable percentage, I feel. Now the return on interviews seems less than excellent but I can now say that I have 2 out of 30 (which is 6%) because I now have a job!!! A temporary job, but it is a job that pays real money. And if you are like most people that live on the planet earth, you know that money is pretty essential to living.
Of all of my interviews, I had the weirdest one ever this week (not for the job I just got) and that is saying a lot coming from the interview queen here. This was described to me in an email as a "phone screen", which usually means, let us confirm you are not a crazy and that you didn't just make up all the stuff on your resume. I prepare by looking over the job description and jotting down some notes about some areas they might ask me about. I might as well have used one of Elijah's drawings for this one. This is how the interview started:
"Hi, is this Emily?"
"Yes"
"Is this still a good time to talk?" (it is the scheduled phone interview time)
"Yes"
"Ok. Tell me something you learned this week."
"(pause)....That's a great question...(pause)...(insert lame answer)"
"Tell me something you're curious about."
"(pause)...Wow, there are a lot of things I'm curious about...(pause)...(insert another lame answer)"
Nothing about the job or my work background. Nothing. She actually asked what book I was currently reading. And there was no conversational chit-chat with this woman, it was just one questions after another. And the weird thing is, this isn't even the supervisor in the department, this is the "talent manager" or some other ridiculously titled HR person. And it's not like it's some podunk nonprofit either, it is a university. What the what, right?
Needless to say this interview really rattled me as well as pissing me off. She said I would get an email by the end of next week that would offer me an in person interview or one that says, and I am quoting, "Thanks, but no thanks." I think it was a test to see if I could think on my feet and I would have to say that from my long silences during that phone conversation, I failed.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Dude, where's my car?
I'm including a guest post from my lovely husband. He took the time to write it out and send it to his friends, so no need for me to start from scratch, right? I have taken the liberty of editing it a little because he can be long winded verbose.
Had an adventure and felt like sharing...keep in mind I'm a verbose writer with a very limited understanding of grammar and proper punctuation.
On Monday, I had the fun of taking the American Pediatric Boards at a hotel by O'Hare. For those of you that don't know, it is a 335 question test divided into two 3.5 hour installments designed to test my knowledge of pediatric medicine that took place in one of the least accessible areas of Chicago. The test costs over $2000 (not covered by work) and despite the price tag utilizes very high tech scantron sheet and #2 pencils (of which I had to provide myself!). It is a grueling test of minutia and details that have little to do with the true, day to day grind of managing sick kids. I've done a poll and nobody I've ever worked with has seen Kaiser-Fleischer rings first hand, yet they always appear on standardized exams. Needless to say, it was quite painful. In graphic terms, it felt like a non-sedated colonoscopy minus the lubricant that lasted 7 hours to the tune of two grand that my medical insurance refused to cover because the only point of the test was to prove I was indeed full of crap.
Luckily, the exam took place at a hotel which meant a bar was nearby. As soon as I had bubbled in my last answer, I ran to enjoy a frosty pint of cold beer. In a matter of minutes the bar was full of pediatricians lamenting over the horrors of the highly expensive test. Afterwards, I suffered through rush hour traffic to a friend's apartment for more libations and pizza and the most excellent in crap cable TV, "Blade:Trinity". After a very strong margarita, I passed out to Wesley Snipes sword fighting Dracula with Chemical Brothers playing in the background (it was most awesome). I awoke at 4am in a daze and felt the need to get up and drive home. I stepped out in the bitter cold and looked across the street to a vacant spot which should have contained my car - a 1996 Acura Integra with a nice sized, rusted dent in the front driver side panel. It wasn't there. I walked up and down the street hoping I had simply misplaced it. I was still in a sleepy daze with added bewildered at my missing car. After calling the local impound to see if it got towed, I was told that I needed to know the liscence plate number for that. Umm...I'll have to wait until I get home. I was locked out of my friends condo building and decided to take the "L" back to my place. Half way back to my place, I realized the closest stop to my apartment was the 47th and MLK stop - not exactly the best place to be at 5am on a Tuesday morning. I figured with my car probably stolen, the karmic odds of me getting mugged should be fairly low. That didn't stop me from speed walking the half mile between the 47th stop and my apartment. I would have run, but I didn't want to draw too much attention to myself.
Meanwhile, Emily had gotten up at 5 am and couldn't fall back asleep. She decided to see if Micah had come home or slept at his friend's house (which is does occansionally when he goes out for drinks with him). No Micah but there was a voicemail on Emily's phone, which is weird because normally he would have just left a text. After listening to the voicemail explaining the allegedly stolen car, she figured there was no point in trying to go back to sleep.
Once I got to my apartment, we called the police and confirmed there was no record of the car being towed. We made a quick inventory of items in the car: Elijah's car seat, my mp3 player, my phone charger, my work bag, etc. Nothing of serious importance...except what was in my work bag. Just some snacks and a bottle of water to keep me hydrated during the exam...oh, and my US passport. I'm headed to a conference tomorrow in Vancouver and you can't come back into the grand US of A without a passport. Mine was in my work bag, in my car, that was just stolen. Great. I immediately being freaking out that my trip to Vancouver has just been cancelled... As it turns out, you can get same-day passport service in Chicago! You just need to fill out several forms, get passport photos taken, and hand over a sizable sum of money. The best part was the waiting room in the federal building; before entering you are required to turn off (not airplane mode, but completely turn off) your phone. The only source of entertainment was a flat screen TV with the weather channel on mute. I submitted the paperwork, we went to a pub for lunch and several beers, and three hours later I had my new passport. I was actually quite impressed - a government institution came through in a pinch and got something done in less than 24 hours.
As for my car, I've filled a report with the police and informed my insurance. If the reports on the nightly news are true, it's most likely in pieces scattered about in some chop shop. She was taken out before her time - a casualty of immorality and economic hard times. She will be missed! (Cue montage of photos of me cruising down the road in my Acura...)
Micah
Had an adventure and felt like sharing...keep in mind I'm a verbose writer with a very limited understanding of grammar and proper punctuation.
On Monday, I had the fun of taking the American Pediatric Boards at a hotel by O'Hare. For those of you that don't know, it is a 335 question test divided into two 3.5 hour installments designed to test my knowledge of pediatric medicine that took place in one of the least accessible areas of Chicago. The test costs over $2000 (not covered by work) and despite the price tag utilizes very high tech scantron sheet and #2 pencils (of which I had to provide myself!). It is a grueling test of minutia and details that have little to do with the true, day to day grind of managing sick kids. I've done a poll and nobody I've ever worked with has seen Kaiser-Fleischer rings first hand, yet they always appear on standardized exams. Needless to say, it was quite painful. In graphic terms, it felt like a non-sedated colonoscopy minus the lubricant that lasted 7 hours to the tune of two grand that my medical insurance refused to cover because the only point of the test was to prove I was indeed full of crap.
Luckily, the exam took place at a hotel which meant a bar was nearby. As soon as I had bubbled in my last answer, I ran to enjoy a frosty pint of cold beer. In a matter of minutes the bar was full of pediatricians lamenting over the horrors of the highly expensive test. Afterwards, I suffered through rush hour traffic to a friend's apartment for more libations and pizza and the most excellent in crap cable TV, "Blade:Trinity". After a very strong margarita, I passed out to Wesley Snipes sword fighting Dracula with Chemical Brothers playing in the background (it was most awesome). I awoke at 4am in a daze and felt the need to get up and drive home. I stepped out in the bitter cold and looked across the street to a vacant spot which should have contained my car - a 1996 Acura Integra with a nice sized, rusted dent in the front driver side panel. It wasn't there. I walked up and down the street hoping I had simply misplaced it. I was still in a sleepy daze with added bewildered at my missing car. After calling the local impound to see if it got towed, I was told that I needed to know the liscence plate number for that. Umm...I'll have to wait until I get home. I was locked out of my friends condo building and decided to take the "L" back to my place. Half way back to my place, I realized the closest stop to my apartment was the 47th and MLK stop - not exactly the best place to be at 5am on a Tuesday morning. I figured with my car probably stolen, the karmic odds of me getting mugged should be fairly low. That didn't stop me from speed walking the half mile between the 47th stop and my apartment. I would have run, but I didn't want to draw too much attention to myself.
Meanwhile, Emily had gotten up at 5 am and couldn't fall back asleep. She decided to see if Micah had come home or slept at his friend's house (which is does occansionally when he goes out for drinks with him). No Micah but there was a voicemail on Emily's phone, which is weird because normally he would have just left a text. After listening to the voicemail explaining the allegedly stolen car, she figured there was no point in trying to go back to sleep.
Once I got to my apartment, we called the police and confirmed there was no record of the car being towed. We made a quick inventory of items in the car: Elijah's car seat, my mp3 player, my phone charger, my work bag, etc. Nothing of serious importance...except what was in my work bag. Just some snacks and a bottle of water to keep me hydrated during the exam...oh, and my US passport. I'm headed to a conference tomorrow in Vancouver and you can't come back into the grand US of A without a passport. Mine was in my work bag, in my car, that was just stolen. Great. I immediately being freaking out that my trip to Vancouver has just been cancelled... As it turns out, you can get same-day passport service in Chicago! You just need to fill out several forms, get passport photos taken, and hand over a sizable sum of money. The best part was the waiting room in the federal building; before entering you are required to turn off (not airplane mode, but completely turn off) your phone. The only source of entertainment was a flat screen TV with the weather channel on mute. I submitted the paperwork, we went to a pub for lunch and several beers, and three hours later I had my new passport. I was actually quite impressed - a government institution came through in a pinch and got something done in less than 24 hours.
As for my car, I've filled a report with the police and informed my insurance. If the reports on the nightly news are true, it's most likely in pieces scattered about in some chop shop. She was taken out before her time - a casualty of immorality and economic hard times. She will be missed! (Cue montage of photos of me cruising down the road in my Acura...)
Micah
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Oh Fall, How I've Missed You
Yesterday we went to the Pumpkin Patch through the Park District at Nicols Park. They had pony rides, petting zoo and of course a pumpkin patch. Elijah loved to watch the ponies but said a definate "No" when I asked if he wanted to ride one. But he had fun on the slide.
Today we went to the Garfield Conservatory and spent some time enjoying nature. Ah, I hope these 70 degree fall days stick around!
Friday, September 10, 2010
Before 9 am
Elijah slept until 8am this morning! Normally, he starts making noise between 7:15 and 7:30 while I'm taking a shower. I finally went in to his room, you know to make sure he was still breathing. He was waking up and as soon as I got him out of bed, he wanted me to read him books. Then I was changing his diaper and he was throwing away the wet diaper before I put his dry diaper on, which was dumb on my part. Yep, you guessed it, pee all over the floor (but you gotta love the hardwood floor). The walk to daycare was full of talking (about what I don't know). As soon as we get to daycare he kisses me and says b-bye before I even take off his jacket. I kind of like being able to take our time in the morning and not feeling rushed, but if you are thinking about having kids, this is what a morning looks like.
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
These are the Days
Thursday, March 18, 2010
One year and one day
Here's the little man all grown up. A couple nights ago I was getting him ready for bed. We usually read a story in the rocking chair and then I sing him a song and put him in his crib. I finished reading him his story and I started singing and he reached his arms for the crib and goes "ehhh". So I put him in his bed and he laid down. I guess he is now too big for bedtime songs too, or my voice is really as bad as I have always suspected it is.
I love that he is growing up and he can kind of understand things. But I feel like now comes the hard part. For the first year, it is all about physical growth and accomplishments, for the most part. There's not a whole lot you have to do to teach him how to sit up, stand up, crawl, walk, they figure a lot of that out themselves and from watching others. Now comes the part where you teach him right and wrong and manners and how to be a good person. How do you even teach someone that stuff? Especially a toddler whose vocabulary consists of "uh-oh" and 5 or 6 ASL signs. It's a big step for him reaching 1 but I think it's not really going to get easier. It kind of freaks me out a bit. Then I think that I am in the same place I was one year ago, wondering what in the world to do with this little baby. We figured out how to get him this far so I guess we just do the same thing we've been doing for the last year; make it up as we go.
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Happy New Year!
I've been working on the "obligitory New Year post" for a week or so and I've decided it's just crap. All this reflecting on the year and making resolutions for the next year, I've never been a fan. This year has been both good and bad, just like every year is (although this year had more extremes). Good bye 2009 and don't let the door hit your a$$ on the way out! That's how I feel about it. But just to give you warm fuzzies, here's some good stuff from the year:
- Welcomed our healthy, beautiful baby boy
- Celebrated 5 years of marriage (and 10 years of togetherness) with my hubby
- Lost 35 pounds. Yeah, you can all give me dirty looks. 28 pounds of that was baby weight and the other 7 lbs, I have 2 explainations: 3rd floor walk-up and unemployment, neither of which I recommend
- Turned 30 years old and it was actually pretty awesome
- Got a job!!!
- We were able to travel and people traveled to us so that Elijah could meet almost all of his aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents and great-grandma (and great aunts and uncles and second cousins...)
- I read several books this year. For fun. And this was even before I lost my job. (Hurray Reading and Eating Ladies!)
Monday, August 24, 2009
since you've (or I've) been gone
It's been a little while since I blogged. The 3 people who read this blog probably know it is because I was recently laid off from my job. Now it makes sense that I would blog more since I would have more time on my hands, but it doesn't really work that way. I felt like something needed to be said about it, but I wasn't ready to say anything yet. I think I'm ready now. The worst part about being laid off from your job is telling people you got laid off from your job. Not because I'm embarrased that I lost my job, it wasn't my fault, it was some ambiguous group of people who apparently can't budget (I could go on about this, but I'm still waiting for my severance pay). The worst part is telling people because they don't know what to say and they feel like they have to say something. All you have to say is "I'm sorry to hear that" or "that's too bad" or "that sucks". But I have heard way too many "it's probably a good thing in the long run" or "now you have more time to spend with your son". How do you know it will be a good thing in the long run? Maybe it is the beginning of the end (no melodramatics here). Also, aparently no one has any idea how hard it is to get an infant into daycare because if I were to take him out while I'm looking for a job, I'd have to wait 6 months to get him back in. Plus has anyone ever tried looking for a job with a 5 month old at your feet? And they sort of look at you funny when you bring a baby to an interview.
Also, having to tell people you lost your job is kind of a downer and often a conversation killer. But you're supposed to tell everyone you know in case someone knows someone who knows someone who is looking for someone just like you! So I don't want this blog to be a downer because to be honest, I didn't like my job all that much anyway. I mean I liked what I did but, some office politics are worse than others. And I've had some interviews, so things are looking promising. So please, if you have friends that have been laid off, remember my post. We are still fun people!
Also, having to tell people you lost your job is kind of a downer and often a conversation killer. But you're supposed to tell everyone you know in case someone knows someone who knows someone who is looking for someone just like you! So I don't want this blog to be a downer because to be honest, I didn't like my job all that much anyway. I mean I liked what I did but, some office politics are worse than others. And I've had some interviews, so things are looking promising. So please, if you have friends that have been laid off, remember my post. We are still fun people!
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