Things I've been up to

Makin' boudin balls. We were supposed to do them for the housewarming, but after that morning's flat tire we nixed a few of our plans (boudin balls, buttermilk biscuits, hushpuppies, etc). But I was perfectly happy to share with only one person instead of 40.


Enjoyed a free day at the Museum of Science & Industry, currently featuring a Jim Henson exhibit as well.


Went to a Jack Daniel's whiskey tasting at The Southern. There was a raffle and I won a bottle of Gentleman Jack.


Got a burger from J. Wellington's. It has a fried egg, bacon, bleu cheese, and sriracha mayo, and just further supports my theory that flavored mayos are underrated.

Housewarming

KellyMarie and I invited a few people over to celebrate our move. We made some great food and mixed some great drinks and I think people like us.





Boiled shrimp, corn, potatoes, and garlic


Last of the bacon wrapped shrimp


My pralines and KellyMarie's cookies


Two batches of Hurricanes went through the beverage dispenser (and we had Monsoons and Hand grenades available as well)


Family friend had brought gumbo...and it disappeared


Aftermath

BFF

My best friend Victoria came to town last weekend!

On Sunday we met up with friends at Ann Sather's. They're famous for cinnamon rolls. At least that's what Food Network told me.


NOW IT'S TIME FOR BILLY ELLIOT.


Victoria got us tickets, and we were in the orchestra section at the Oriental Theater. It's kinda pretty inside.

The show was fantastic and made us both want to sign up for dance classes.

The lobby of the Oriental Theater smells amazing, and it's because there's this gourmet popcorn shop, Garrett's, right next door. We were heading back to Millennium Park for a free symphony performance, so we picked up some caramel and cheese popcorn first so we could picnic.


We didn't get there early enough to get a seat that viewed the stage, so we just parked ourselves on some steps by the bean, since we could hear the music fine from there.


And I of course took bean pictures.






We peaced out before the crowd, and headed over to Giordano's to get ourselves some deep dish.

I'm sure it will disappoint everybody to hear that I don't think it's that exciting. I mean, if you really like pizza, you'll probably love it. It's a pile of cheese and sauce and whatever toppings you pick, so you can't go too wrong. But pizza has never really been that exciting of a thing for me, and I tend to prefer thin crust anyway. And after Italy, I pretty much want Italian style (which I should be able to get plenty of here, since Chicago is like a mini-Europe).

Baseball

I have not kept you updated on my life! I will try and bring you up to speed.

My roommate is a White Sox fan. We live next to Wrigley, which is Cubs territory. I, luckily have no opinion on the matter as I have never really been much of a baseball fan.

Last week I went to my first White Sox game. And my second White Sox game. The first time was not planned, but it was free and came with a parking pass and tickets into the Stadium Club (restaurant and bar area with windows over the field). It also included 2nd row seats.


They even had after-game fireworks.


Game 2 was planned, and it was a Tweetup event that KellyMarie signed up for that allowed us into the stadium before the game to witness White Sox batting practice. It also ended up a little chilly, and I got to have hot chocolate! Twice!

EMPLOYED I AM

I HAVE A JOB.

It's the contract position I interviewed for, with a large bank. It sounds pretty much a lot like what I did before, liaison between client and programmer. Not as much involvement with the development, since the program already exists, but presenting it to the clients, and working with the team to fix bugs, make enhancements, etc. Some marketing involved as well.

It's upposedly for only 3 months, but chances are it will last waaaay longer. And even if it doesn't (due to budgeting or whatever) I would likely have the opportunity to work elsewhere within the company, OR, at the very least, be able to put experience with a large banking corporation on my resume.

Better yet, I'll be making almost TWICE what I was making before. Being contract, the salary doesn't include any benefits, but I would be able to get benefits through the firm I'm contracted with, and could no doubt afford them. And I can of course go back to saving money, although likely not for a car this time.

JOBBY JOB JOB JOB.

My roommate is very impressed. She expected it to take at LEAST 2 months before I found anything. For the sake of full disclosure, I actually got this job because of my years of blogging. One of my readers knew I was moving to Chicago and hooked me up. Thank you internet.

Out and About

I interviewed for a contract job on Friday, so I'm hoping to hear something about that this week. It claims to be for only three months, but would likely be longer, and at the very least would allow me the networking advantage of getting something within the same company when the contract is over, or simply adding experience with a large scale corporation on my resume, which is not a bad thing. And the job pays well, which is also not a bad thing.

I ordered the Chicago Card Plus. It allows me to preload it with money to use on public transit. I can also get a 30 day unlimited plan, and should I acquire a job in the Loop, and find myself taking CTA everyday, I will go with that. My card came in the mail and it didn't work :( But no worries, I headed down to the CTA office, and they replaced my card, and we are now in business! Afterwards, I walked around and drooled a bit in the Merchandise Mart (high end home design showrooms, Victoria will love it).

Waiting for the green line






Window washers

Lobstahs!

My college roommate Christen came to visit, and she brought us some lobstahs from Maine! So we had a boil last night.





Frog's first lobster experience.


We started out on the roof deck, but moved down to the dining room when the wind picked up. We had lobster, corn & potatoes, stuffed clams (christen brought those as well), and wine. It was quite yum.