work is crazy quiet today.
it is as though everyone decided to take today off and i didn't get the memo so  here i sit in the quiet of our offices, only peppered with the sound of my coworker giggling at youtube videos.

i am so glad it is friday, and a beautiful friday at that.
i want my weekend to be full of fall things.

last night, jessica and i went to eat thai food and then see "once" at the good ol logan theatre.
i have seen the movie before but it was worth it to see it again... as the movie ended and we both sat there wiping our eyes.
what a coupla saps! but seriously, the movie is so believable and beautiful.
that cheesy music that glen hansard sings about kills me.
if you have not seen it, you might want to do so. i imagine it will be on dvd soon if it is not already.

in completely unrelated news, i read this the other day online and it made me laugh. ashley oslen and lance armstrong are rumored to be dating. on the  ny magazine website they constructed a fake conversation that might have been had between the two on their date. it reads as follows:

Lance: You know, I've been a fan of yours since Full House.
Ashley: Aw, thanks. That's so sweet. I was so fat then!
Lance: I thought you were adorable. I watch the reruns with my kids. You really pulled off all of those matching baby jumpers! I never dreamed I'd get to actually make out with you.
Ashley: I get that a lot. I really admire what you did with, you know, your ball cancer. You took lemons and made them into lemonade.
Lance: Oh, thanks. I did it all for moments like this. Except now I only have one ball, which is tricky.
Ashley: That's okay, I'm very small. I don't need a lot of balls.
Lance: Really?
Ashley: I dated Scott Sartiano. So, you know, I've faced some hardship, too.
Lance: I thought you had everything going for you. You are beautiful, rich, successful, and you're only 17!
Ashley: I'm 21.
Lance: Really? Oh, well, that's okay. Don't worry about it.
Ashley: But I've still had my trials and tribulations. I had to deal with the failure of New York Minute, for example. And then there was the time when I tried to grow up entirely without the use of nutrients.
Lance: Wow, that must have taken so much determination.
Ashley: It mostly just took semi-legal substances. But I guess determination was involved, too.
Lance: Man, we're two peas in a pod.
Ashley: Let's make out.

happy friday!

dude
rss feeds
are changing my life
i realized i have about 30 or so blogs i check regularly
some are updated daily
some hourly
some once a week
but i check them all
i bounce around through my bookmarks and read to see what is happening
but my friend reminded me of rss feeds the other day and i have spent the last few days compiling all of my blogs into one neat little reader!
tres chic!
i feel like a new man
but somehow unsatisfied that i don't have to click on the page, but rather can just sit and wait as they stream in
of course i am working tooo. :D
mm hmm

last night was odd
i was supposed to be at one place
but because i don't always pay attention to the details of my life
i was sitting at another
only to realize i was at the wrong place
and then i had to hurry over to the other place only to get to see people for a short period of time
only to be out of cash
and walk the three miles home
because i was too impatient to wait for the bus and i was having a nice phone conversation while i walked
so, all was not lost.
there is candy everywhere today
i
can't
stop
eating
it

happy halloween!

...about google maps, streetview?

it is freakin' me out.

for instance, this is the intersection where i work.

you can literally stand in the center of the intersection and look around, up and down.
insane!
you can't see my home address yet though, so at least i can still remain somethwhat hidden in the world.
ha.

the weekend was a blast.
blast i say.
friday night i attended a benefit which was big and fun and with people i love.
saturday was a day of laziness and errands and searching for halloween costume stuff. i ended up not being a bicycle accident. i honestly just bought $3 halloween makeup at walgreens and wanted to play with it, so i was kind of a zombie dead guy. it actually worked out well because no one asked me "what i was". i think i just looked halloween?
christina was the orbit girl.
she was a real hit.
so yes, we went to this gallery exquisite corpse thing.
then a party
then dancing
and then i was so tired and all i wanted to do was sleep, but i have to wash the pounds of face paint off of my face.
even after i did my best i still woke up with dark dark eyes that wouldn't really wash away. oh well.
sunday i sang and then two more gatherings... only to go home and absolutely crash.
such fun things, but a boy needs to sit still sometimes, so that is what i did yesterday evening.
somehow managing to watch dancing with the stars?
why is that show on tv?
and why do i watch it?
these are the things i don't understand.

ok!

off i go.

it is beautiful and fall and i had physical therapy this morning so i'm feeling extra mobile.

the one who spilled his coffee on the bus this morning.
i don't even want to ride the bus.
i want to ride my bicycle, but i'm pretty much going to be stuck on the bus for the remainder of the fall and winter, so one thinks that one should enjoy such unpleasent happenings by bringing along a hot brew and nice magazine to pass the time.
so in the midst of reading the mag, i dropped the brew.
as far as coffee spills on public transit go, this was mild and near the end of my trip, so i kind of just snuck off one stop early so i wouldn't have to sit with people staring at me.

i've had an active week.
i feel like i've been making up for the couple of weeks i was laid up, so now i am hypersocializing for a wee bit.
on tuesday i spent some time with a friend from HS that i don't see nearly often enough. wednesday i went to this fashion charity blah blah, which was fun because it was in a new space that i hadn't been in. i had really amazing food afterwards at avec, where everyone has always told me to go to but i hadn't until now... so i will say to you who read this. GO! it was really delicious. annnnd last night i started lessons with another voice student (which i find to be really pleasing and rewarding) then on my way to meet another friend for a drink i popped my head into this gallery down the street from me that had an opening.

tonight i'm off to a benefit.
tomorrow i think we will be celebrating halloween?
oh!
and i know what my costume will be this year.
i've decided
it is perfect and true to life
my life

i will be...  a bicycle accident.

thank you
thank you

i waited for three hours this morning for people's gas to come to my house and do an inspection. apparently they have to do these periodically? which just seems ridiculous, but i setup the time for between 7:30-9:30am. i got up at 7 and sat there and waited
and waited
and waited
until 10:30

i called

they said they came and i wasn't there
and i'm thinking
where was i?
because i've just been sitting here watching oprah and no door bell rang, no phone call, no nothing.
so that was frustrating.

it's a beautiful day here.
colder than expected.

i've been thinking about the fires.
it seems really strange.
even more hard for me to comprehend than a flood.
no matter who you are on the spectrum of wealthy or poor you can fall victim to natural disasters.

oh, so what i meant by the contact law thing is that in order to get new contacts, i have to have an exam.
which i got last night
and walked out with these new contacts that are supposed to breathe better
but also cost me a lot of unexpected $$

oh
well
its just $
why would i want it.

apparently my right ear hole is too large, according to ipod earbuds.
my left one is fine, but the right one is tooooo big to hold in that white sound device.
i am frustrated because i have these amazing shure headphones that are broken and so i've gone back to the earbud, but it just repeatedly falls out. so, unless i am sitting completely still they are of no use to me and i somehow feel inadequate in the whole process.

i was so slow moving yesterday.
i made it to physical therapy in the morning where i had to ride a bike for my upper body. i just sat there pedaling my arms for quite some time until she came back and asked me if it hurt.
actually, i like my physical therapist very much. she is new to chicago from manhattan and i like telling her fun things to do because at the moment i think she is thinking "why did i come here?"
it is funny though because in talking to her, i don't trust that other people know as fun of things to do as i do.
so when she told me she went to this irish pub on friday, i immediately thought they had probably taken her to a lame one, when *I* would have taken her to one that was fun.
ha.
the truth is i probably go to the lame pubs, but as long as i don't know any better i'd prefer you not tell me.

this weekend was tres tres bon. the weather was beautiful, the activities were many and the relaxation also was included. friday night i attended the grace art exhibit at three walls gallery, which if you had the chance, i would recommend checking out. it is conceptual art about making peace.

saturday i spent toooo much time just working in my pj's. it was really great cause i had the window open and it was sunny and warm and i could jsut be productive and smell the remnants of summer that we were given for just a final day or two.

sunday i attended a wonderful piano recital in a loft space in the west loop. my friend spencer, from college, was the performing artist and he was just amazing. four chopin ballades in one sitting. it was a piece of wonderful.

today i'm getting my eye balls measured for new contacts.
i HATE that the law requires you to get a new prescription every two years.
what if i don't need a new prescription?
thank god for vision insurance.

off i go.

dude
the weather is weird.
i feel like we might get swept away today
i never know whether to wear a coat or my swim trunks, but today it seemed swimming weather with sun and all, but now the sky is dark and wind gusts strong. you just gotta go with it... and i know i'm paranoid, but you gotta think mr. gore's advice be heeded. stat.

i feel semi productive in my crippled state.
i am able to type now and that makes all the difference honestly.

last night was full.
i went to an open house for this degree program i may be applying to here at depaul. it feels really weird and good to be in that setting. school seems so distant, but i somehow feel ready for it again.
eek.
don't hold me to that.
more details later, maybe.

then off to see a screening of a delightful and surprising movie called "wrist  cutters: a love story". it was a really sweet yet odd storyline about persons who have committed suicide, which sounds dark, but it really was quite humorous and entertaining. it also included tom waits in the cast and that a number of other characters from various indie films. two thumbs up from me.

then to the hideout to hear my friend james play.

i have essay to write today.
i wish my bionic arm made such tasks easier.

woot
woot
woot

i got my cast off yesterday.
yes, a mear 2.5 weeks after crashing into the pavement with elbow of the right arm i had it cut away with some scissors that i thought might cut through my actual arm at any moment, but alas, just the cast.
seriously, i was like "omg take it off take it off" and they did and then i saw my little skinny bicep that looked like that of kate moss and i almost said "put it back put it back"
it was humorous. my upper arm is so disproportionate now, and only in two weeks major atrophe, but apparently it will come back with a little physical therapy. so now i wear a removable splint which i can in fact remove and do things like shower etc.
woot.
but it is still a challenge.
i think i thought it was gonna be easy as pie once i was mobile, but i'm not mobile. my arm wont exactly bend and to try to bend it feels somewhat excrutiating.. like a rubber band that would snap at any moment. so slow and steady she goes.
four weeks of physical therapy twice a week, with Dina who just moved here from NYC and seems to be all sorts of sweet.

i tried to shave this morning for the first time since i broke this thing and wow... that was a mistake. i have a big bald patch at the edge of my beard.
i look a mess, but it is jus the way it is going to be for now.
a hot mess
emphasis on the hot

talked to momma yesterday to brag about my cast removal.
she wanted me to know she had fun here in chicago, which was good to hear.
my father relayed that i need to learn to "walk slower"
apparently i wore her knee out. i have loooong legs.
i tried. i really tried, and she was keeping up, so i didn't know.

ok, so i have a busy and fun week.
last night i did laundry so that i could not worry about things at home for the remainder of the week.
i'm feeling good about things.
shooting for responsible rather than reactive
trying to keep moving as fall approaches and the days get shorter.

munnnnnday.
updates in armville.
much better! i'm feeling fairly good about the 'ol broken elbow. it doesn't hurt so much right now and i'm able to do quite a bit more than i have been. i'm trying not to push it, but i really want to keep it active so i don't lose all strength in my arm. i was looking at my upper arm yesterday and i can only imagine how pathetic my muscleless arm is going to look once the cast comes off.
not that there was much muscle to begin with, but this will be sad i know.
it will motivate me to hit the gym i hope.

friday i went to a fashion show with tina and jeffrey
we had fun and gawked at people.
then tina and i hit the violet hour, which i think is a great new spot in the city.

my parents came on saturday.
i suggested they come because i think they felt a little left out of the whole ordeal, and frankly i needed a little help this weekend so it was good to have them.
saturday we did some grocery shopping, and then my father went back to michigan and mama stayed with me for the rest of the night and part of sunday.
it was really cute actually to have her by herself in the city.
its all very overwhelming to her, but we had a nice time and had good sandwiches at jerry's sandwiches on division, then bon bon's at coco rouge, which i must say i thought were impressive.
sunday i sang and then we had a diner lunch and then a walk around millenium park.. then off to the train.
i walked her right onto the train and then asked the girl sitting next to her to make sure she got off at the right stop.
she later told me the girl didn't shutup the whole way.
oops.
we were quite the pair, she and i. she has a bad knee.
i have a broken elbow.
we just looked funny walking around.

anyway, i feel hopeful that this will be a good week.
a good fall, even.
i have good things going.
parties and events and projects and stuff.
now to just get this arm out of a cast.

i overdid it with my arm yesterday and i'm paying the price today
ow ow ow
i'm getting so antsy because i feel disabled or something so last night i cleaned out all of these drawers and organized mail and all of this stuff i REALLY don't need to do, but it did make me feel like i can at least accomplish something
i had this idea that i would download some tv shows via itunes to watch since i have been given an itunes gift card, but believe it or not i could not find a single show i wanted to pay to watch. i don't know why hbo doesn't sell through itunes?
anyway, i just ended up cleaning the best i could

so al gore won the nobel peace prize
what an unlikely hero
who would have  thought that during his time as vice president, his future would look like this
i applaud him
i'm wearing a gigantic green sweater today in honor of him
haha
actually it is just the only sweater i could get over my cast

i assume all of you know you can download the new radiohead album at whatever price you want to pay? i just did and it is great. http://www.inrainbows.com/

also, i have a silver ipod shuffle i would like to sell if anyone is interested.
it is 1gig and holds like 260 some songs
it is brand new. i only opened it to see how it charges, but it has never been used.
it is 79.99 at the mac store but i'd like to sell it for 50 if you're interested
let me know!

ok
happy friday
i think the rents are coming this weekend
i hope they will take me grocery shopping and lift my soy milk for me cause i would have a hard time doing it
:D

what would we do without tyra?


its the end of the video that gets really amazing.

dear friends
i would tell you that given the opportunity to unbreak my limb, i would do so
this has been a real challenge, from the pain of the break, to the reoup from the surgery.. and now to the havoc the pain meds have reeked on my body..
but it is all ok
it reminds me what persons with disabilities go through
one point of fryustration is that none of my clothes will fit over my cast
causing me to once again curse the skinny clthes trend

so, really its another week lost
it is good though to force me to stop
if this would have happened a few weeks earlier i would have been screwed with all of the upcoming engagements, but these fall days are welcomely slow.
i think what frustrates me most is all this time at home and not accomplishing home tasks, but they will wait.

anyway, i'm trying to be patient, but i'm ready to get back to normal
i think that will be quite a while

so, monday was my accident
tuesday i met with the surgeon
thursday i had the surgery
and i've pretty much done nothing sense
i feel like i am in some time warp that involves all sorts of pain killers and tv i don't care about
it is still really hard for me to type
plus it was 90 degrees yesterday
everything feels off and i have so much to do
the surgery went well
it was such an ordeal and i remember very little
i have to go back in about a week to get checked on and then it will be weeks of physical therapy
which i fear is going to be rough
i feel it healing now and moving it is pretty much excruciating
but i am trying to be positive

friends have been very kind
i am thankful for all the help and sweets i have been given

more soon

surgery tomorrow sometime.
they call today and tell me when.
dr seems great
recovery will be quick
lots of physical therapy
frustrating cause one handed typing with left hand sucks
weird week
good friends
parents are funny
back at work today, but useless

dear friends
i broke my elbow yesterday.
i'm fine, but i have a cast from my fingers to my shoulder.
i can barely type so this will be brief and have typos :)
long stpry short
riding bike to work
car turns right in front of me
stop quickly
flip over bars
smash elbow
walk home
linsey took me to hosp
elbow looks like grapefruit
dr: "you need surgery"
temp cast
going to surgeon today
not much pain just huge incobnvenience
least not my head?

have good friends who take care of me

more soon!