Wicked Awesome!!!

Tornado warnings flashed on my TV and it suddenly went an eerie dark in my apartment. I jumped up onto the windowsill of my huge windows and pulled up the blinds… A dark, ominous cloud fiercely rolled above me toward the city. I grabbed my camera and ran up to the roof. It was still muggy from the afternoons heat and it was windy as all hell. I stood atop the picnic bench and snapped these pictures and more that you will eventually be able to see on my Photography link on the side of this page. God I LOVE storms!!! It was incredible. I’ve never seen a storm like that in the city limits. You could tell it was raining hard out in the burbs but it hadn’t hit here yet. I am so happy about my roof access. I would have never been able to see the storm like that from my old place.

Just pop by City Hall and pick one up. Yeah sure!

So I know that EVERYONE has problems when dealing with City Hall but I would like to bitch for a moment…

So I have received 4 parking tickets in the last 5 days because I’m too lazy and annoyed by the whole system to purchase a residential zoned parking sticker. I went to City Hall yesterday to purchase said ticket and it was so freaking frustrating. The first time I waited in line I was told I needed to go to another office (which of course was in the basement, where else would it be?) to retrieve my current city sticker number because although it is possible to look that information up it is not something her computer is at liberty to do. So I wandered around trying to find this subterranean office that has computers that are at liberty to search for this number. After a few minutes I walked back upstairs and asked the information desk lady where the office may be. She gives me really detailed directions and just as soon as I am satisfied that I could find said office she says “…however that office closed 45 minutes ago.” Now I work in customer service so those who know I don’t really have patience for people should know that I do try to be an agreeable customer but please do not confuse that with me not getting frustrated. So I calmly explain that I have already received 4 parking tickets and am concerned that my car will either be towed or booted and if there is something that I can do to prevent myself from that or getting even more tickets until I return tomorrow with the proper information it would be much appreciated. She tells me to go back to the office I started in and tell them that because I most definitely will be towed if I don’t do something before 6pm that night. Okay, so I’m back in line at the original counter when the person sends another patron to the closed office and I politely yet firmly announce that said office closed now about an hour ago. I must have had that look of combined frustration and desperation because one of the girls, who had been leaning against the cube the whole time I had been there, asked me if I had purchased a city sticker last year. Yes, yes I had. She then sends me to a window out in the hallway and says to get that number and that should suffice. I walk over to the heavily barred window and ask just that. Well I just moved you see so my city sticker from last year was registered at my old address where I did not need a residential zoned parking permit. You can just imagine the chaos that started. So I again politely explained my current parking ticket status and she typed something up on her little computer and then magically I had a city sticker number that could get me a zoned parking permit. I was then back in line at the original counter satisfied that I was going home with my permit. Not so. So my drivers license has a suburban address on it and despite the fact that I could prove that I had a city address apparently a pay stub just doesn’t cut it. So I was told there was nothing I could do. I stood there and took a deep breath and said that there must be something I could do because I imagine that putting a sign in my windshield that read “Please do not give me another ticket. I am trying to purchase a permit however the process described on the internet is apparently not accurate and therefore despite my best efforts I was unsuccessful in trying to obtain the proper permit.” I don’t really know how that worked but she then said “Let me ask my supervisor what I can do for you.” Now I’m still not entirely sure there was a supervisor behind that wall but she came back and said that I could purchase the temporary guest passes for the time being to prevent me from getting anymore tickets. So at least I have a temporary solution but jesus did that really have to be that difficult!?!

Dodging traffic is fun!!!

So if you don’t know already, I went to a police auction on the south side Saturday and picked myself up a sweet ride. Practically brand new green Magna Equator (I don’t really know what that means) for $65! I took my new ride out for a test drive today and I had a blast! I wasn’t nearly as timid about riding amongst the cars as I thought that I would be. Isn’t my helmet the cutest!?! It’s power blue with pink lady bugs on it!!! I was so excited that I could fit into a kids helmet. Actually when I tried the adult helmet on it slid down over my eyes so I didn’t have much of a choice. I’m really excited about this whole bike riding thing. A few fellow bikers chatted with me while I was chaining my bike up- it was totally like I’m now part of this super secret club. Sweet! I’m sure my body is going to ache super bad tomorrow considering I haven’t been on a bike since the summer after I graduated college but I don’t care, I had fun.

Sometimes an acoustic guitar solo can be better than sex...

And Thursday night was one of those times. I headed over to the Northerly Island Amphitheatre with my favorite hippie and saw Trey Anastasio (guitarist from Phish) and Mike Gordon (bassist from Phish) with the Benevento/Russo Duo. The show was simply orgasmic! Whether you are a fan of that type of music or not you simply can not deny the amazing talent those two musicians have. The night was peaceful and warm with a slight breeze off the lake. I was standing there on what once was an airport runway eyes closed just… moving. I love to dance and not that hoochie mamma grind up on me hip hop kind of dancing but that who cares if you make an ass out of yourself move where the music takes you kind of dancing. I was in heaven. Sometimes you just need to feel the music beat in your chest to feel whole again and Thursday I felt it. Good times.

Side note: Trey threw out the first pitch at the Cubs games against the Astros.

Under the stars...

I went to Ravinia to see Steve Miller Band last night. First let me just say that I had a fabulous time. I love outdoor concerts. There is just something about listening to music under the stars, especially in a venue where picnicking is encouraged. It’s just so relaxing and peaceful. However I was with a friend whose ADD was in overdrive and surrounded by girls in itty bitty skirts/dresses that cared more about what they looked like than the music. Did I miss something? I mean since when is jeans and a tee shirt overdressing? I’m not sure when humans lost the capacity to be quiet and not just speak for the sake of filling up space but for the first couple hours into the evening my friend rambled on about nothing. He was visibly uncomfortable when there was silence between us. I just don’t understand that. Despite what people may believe about my own personal capacity to shut up I do really enjoy the quiet. I just sat quietly in my chair, feet up on the cooler, looked up at the stars, and enjoyed myself. Now that’s my idea of fun.

I've had this song in my head for days...

Oh, would you please get out from under my skin?
'Cause I can't begin this yet
And I don't know what my intentions are
They're speaking in a different tongue
And, deep inside, I'm not as tough as I seem
But I won't let you know
Until it's right, I'm gonna stay my distance, and you should go
Oh, would you please get out
I'm not as strong as I seem, but I won't let you know
-Rachael Yamagata "Under My Skin"

Clarification

So I’ve had a number of questions regarding that last post. The whole “what’s my type” thought process stems from a co-workers constant inquiries as to why I don’t want to date so-and-so and who am I attracted to. He has continually asked me what type of guy I am attracted to and despite my best efforts at the time I really could find no consistency between guys I have dated, been attracted to, or totally crushed over. Not that I have really yet but what made me really stop and think about it was a rather frisky dream I had about my grad school admissions rep. who is cute sure, but has been referred to as having no personality repeatedly around the office. So I started to wonder why my subconscious was hinting that I wanted to play tonsil hockey with this guy. The conclusion I came to was based on an interaction I had with him last week regarding my application… The students were on break and we were wrapping up the fiscal year so I had the doors to the store closed. He and I were chatting in the hallway and it was all business and to the point conversation. I had more questions than I originally thought I would so I invited him inside and I watched him transform right before my eyes from a rather quiet, stiff professional to a chatty, witty, person. I was so curious about this transformation that I secretly wished that I had curtains to see how he would transform if he was completely separated from everyone else. He confessed to me how much he disliked his coworkers (and I can attest to the fact that the majority of them are less than pleasant) and how he just comes in, does his work, and goes home, which got me wondering what he was like outside of work. Hence the attraction to what I describe as the “secret self”. The notion that I had a glimpse of a part of him that no one here had seen excited me. It made me want to know more. Which is why I presume I had that dream.

I also mentioned something that could have been misconstrued as me saying that I had not dated anyone I had truly crushed over- not true. For any of those who remember Chris from my freshman year of college know that my fierce crush on him turned into reality for a brief period of time. I was completely obsessed with him and his piercing blue eyes. He definitely possessed this “secret self” as he was a wonderfully sweet, romantic, attentive, and affectionate person when we were in private and possessed a rather arrogant, withdrawn, and aggressive persona in public. However he even kept secrets from me which is evident now that he’s come out of the closet. And that little fact sure explains a lot about the demise of the relationship…

My "type" (as a co-worker keeps inquiring about)

I was walking home last night, dodging air conditioner runoff and recounting the conversations of that evening when I realized something about myself… I am attracted to men that are fiercely intelligent (because really is there anything more sexy!?!), quirky, a little hard to figure out, a little out there, shy, intense- an artist in the truest form. Out of the handful of boys that I have truly crushed over, none of which I have ever dated mind you, they all seem to possess one abstract thing in common- a secret. It is as if they have some secret self that I so longingly want to possess and keep hidden from the rest of the world but stand in a crowded room with them and know I am the only one who knows, who truly sees them. There was this one boy who no one understood my obsessive-like attraction to and we would have spur of the moment coffee “dates” and deep conversations and we’d finish each others sentences while really not speaking at all, and I always felt as though I was in some other dimension with him, like being a part of some separate reality. Everyone thought he was weird, I thought he was magnificent. I eventually accepted that he was never going to fall in love with me, because lets face it, I’m normal. Boring, dull, non-mysterious Kelli. We drifted, as people tend to do and one night he happened to text me while I was at a nearby bar so I decided to meet up with him. He kissed me that night. Confessed that he was shy but felt I was the only person who truly ever got him. I had a bad cold and wasn’t feeling particularly sexy that night but I had wanted his embrace since I was in grade school so I did the best I could at fulfilling some childhood into adulthood fantasy. He has disappeared since that night in that way the artist ones do. I miss him and his friendship immensely. He was my private friend. We would hang out mostly just the two of us and just be who we were without any hang-ups. Maybe that’s what I miss the most, someone I shared my secret self with and who shared their secret self with me and that feeling I had when we’d walk down the sidewalk together like we were on some separate plane from everyone else.

An Introduction

“Finding Solid Ground” has been the working title of the novel I have been writing for the last 6 years. It appears as the title to this webpage in either an act of failure for this is no novel or an accomplishment as it has in fact been written down for others to read. That can be for you to decide. I have had an interesting life so far. Not as interesting as some but more so than some others. I will not pretend that anyone will find me truly entertaining or thought provoking in this vast place, I will only write for my own self discovery. And that is all I can promise.