One Year Later

At approximately 10:30 (ok, it was an Anglican service, so let's say 11) on Sunday, September 27th, M and I will have been married for one year. ONLY one year. A WHOLE year. It's weird how it seems so much longer than that (in a very good way) and yet also so much shorter than that (in a very good way). We've had lots of changes...uh, hello, Chicago?...but I think we would both attest to the fact that we're stronger, more faithful, more loving people today thanks to the faithfulness of the Big Guy in the Sky. That's a technical, Biblical name, by the way. It's F3jfhfa in Hebrew. Wait, is that sacreligious?

M has planned a surprise get away weekend (surprise in that I don't know where we're going) for us and I'm REALLY looking forward to enjoying one another and a new adventure somewhere within driving-distance of Chicago. I'm also supposed to find out about a particular job (details, should I get it) on Monday or Tuesday, so it's nice to have something else to keep me, um, engaged pretty fully for the next few days.

Get your mind out of the gutter.

And anyways, we're married. It's legal.

Oh gosh, I hope my mom isn't reading this...

More gratuitous pictures of Hyde Park

I still sort of walk around in awe. The weather has been perfect since we moved in, so many afternoons this week we've just taken in the beauty all around us. It's pretty amazing.
Someone left their office window open. How do I get that office?

This has some technical name. I call it "the gate." Sounds reasonable enough.

Uh. Does this freak anyone else out just a little? Whose anatomy are they trying to receive? What does that even mean?! Are they going to...

Just think about the pretty buildings and flowers...ahhhh. Bliss.

Possibly the greatest invention. Ever.

Not the champagne bottle (though it's definitely Top Five)-- the thing on TOP of the champagne bottle.

Friends. Romans. Countrymen. THIS LITTLE DO-HICKY WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE. Mark my words.

Always wanted to come home and have a glass of champagne after a long day? (Am I the only one raising my hand?) Liked the idea of a glass for dessert? (...uh...guys?....) This, my friends, is your ticket. The champagne stopper/preserver thing. That's the technical name at least.

Right before we left DC, M and I went on a "gift cards from the wedding that we really need to spend" shopping spree. I've always loved champagne, but M isn't quite as in love with it as I am. That means that I either 1) had to drink a whole bottle (uh...not that I ever did that...) or 2) throw away anything I didn't drink or, 3) not drink champagne (horrific, I know.) Until we came across this little guy. I know I've seen these before. It just never registered in my brain that I could own one of my own. Once you've had your fill, you simply pull the side metal things up, then press the little thing down on the bottle, closing the arms around it. Air-tight seal. Preservation of bubbles. No more waste!!

This is my testimony: my life has forever been changed. No longer do I feel guilty buying a bottle of champagne. I can buy it and drink it over approximately four days (I've never saved enough to keep it past then, though I would bet the little seal thingy would work longer) and- I know, I'm probably going crazy here- the champagne is BETTER the second or third day. Bubbles galore. Great, crisp taste. True bliss, really.

This, apparently, is the life of a Hyde Park Hero.

"We Don't Have Any Paper"

This week, I had another interview with an organization that gets me really excited. I'm trying not to get my hopes up (they've crashed and burned more times than I can count) but, needless to say, I really, really hope that I get this job.

The night before the interview, I wanted to print my resume, cover letter and the job description in order to have them on hand at the interview. Since we don't have a printer, I knew I would have to find some sort of store where I could log in to my email (I also lost my USB thingy majigger) and quickly and easily print.

First stop: Office Depot. I walked over to the oh-so-professional looking "Copy Center," waited a few minutes in line and then asked where I could log in to my email in order to make a few copies of a document. I was briskly told that I would not be able to log in to any of their computers, as they're not for private use. "Right, I understand that, but I'm just retrieving two documents to then pay you to print for me."

"We don't do that."

Ok, cool. On to the next store.

So I looped back to 53rd Street, where I had just passed one of those UPS printing/copying/shipping stores. I went in to one of the two computers sitting in the storefront, logged into my email and pulled up the documents. I turned around at that point to get a little help from the guy at the desk.

Me: "Hi, can you help me print something?"

Man: Stare.

Me: "Is that possible?"

Man: "We don't have any paper."

Me: (looking up at the printing/copying sign) "What do you mean?"

Man: "We don't have any paper."

Me: "Well, sir, I'm just printing three pieces of paper. You have three pieces of paper here, right? I mean this is a printing/copying store."

Man: "We don't have any paper."

Me: (angry at this point) "I'm sorry sir, but that's a load of sh*t. It's your RESPONSIBILITY AS A PRINTING COMPANY TO HAVE PAPER."

Man: "Yeah, we don't have any."

Me: "Ok. Fine. I'll go home, get my OWN paper, and then come back and print my three pieces of paper."

Man: "We close in five minutes."

Me: "You close at 6 pm?? So what do you suggest I do?"

(pause)

Man: "You should go to FedEx Kinkos."

With pleasure.

Hyde Park 101

I know. I'm shameless when it comes to beautiful stuff like this. But yes, this is where we live.

We don't literally live IN these buildings, they're just scattered around the the neighborhood. And I don't really know their names. Whatever. Pretty Building works for me!

A little more than one week into it, we've finally finished setting up the apartment, have explored the city (or at least our little corner of it) and are starting to settle in. I started my part-time bakery job today...and just a note. Working in a bakery is MUCH HARDER than sitting at a computer all day! Don't get me wrong, it's awesome. It's just...you have to constantly be with-it and smiling and remember a million different things. It's hard!! So next time someone helps you at the local bakery or coffee place or whatever, be nice to them!! Anyway...

Here's my new favorite restaurant: Medici. Medici first opened in the 1960s, first as a coffee and art shop, now as a full-blown (and full on fabulous) restaurant. It's probably most famous for some of its favorite patrons (not me. Or at least not yet): the Obamas. We enjoyed a pizza and salad outside, as the weather has been phenomenally wonderful the last few days.

Next on our tour: our apartment! As of yesterday, it's FINALLY set up. Below is a picture of our living room and then a picture of the outside (sorry, no pictures of the bedroom, bathroom or kitchen, mostly because they're slightly messy). It's on the third floor of a walk-up, with two beautiful trees outside of the window, great hardwood floors and new windows! Apparently a guy who lived in the apartment across the way had to tape his windows shut before so his cat wouldn't fall out. Thanks for the new windows UChicago!

And finally, here's our street: E Hyde Park Blvd. I took this picture through the windshield, so it doesn't completely capture its beauty. But man, it's beautiful. Tree-lined, wide, with beautiful buildings on both sides of the street. It's also a main bus line (again, thank God for the new windows that block out the noise) making it very easy to get to the University and around the town.

So it's finally starting to feel like we actually live here. M walks to math camp each morning, I head out to the bakery, then spend the afternoons looking for jobs. On the weekends we wander down to the lake, wander into the city or just laze around. We're finally starting to make friends and I'm getting plugged in to the children's stuff at the church we're attending. Life is good. It's different. It's not DC. But Hyde Park has its own little charm, its own quirks, its own crazy people that I'm starting to love as well.

Guess The State

Even though I feel like I could write a book about the things that have happened in the last five days, I'm going to go with something else for this blog post.

Yes, that's right.

It's the game you've all been waiting for.

Below are three pictures taken on our journey to Chicago (yes, I was taking pictures while driving with this very game in mind.) Your job is to guess what state these pictures were taken in. Your options are: Washington, DC, Maryland, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois. Should be easy, right? Right...

Picture one. Yes, those are huge windmill thingys. Got it? Now here's picture number two. Yep, it's a totally different state.

Ready for the last one? While this is what I stared at across all states, where do you think this particular picture was taken.

Why people make fun of the Midwest, I have no idea.....

We've Arrived

As of 2 pm on Monday, August 31st, we officially became Hyde Park Heroes.

The trip was incredibly smooth and easy (minus a little mishap in which the rental truck keys were locked in the rental truck as it was running. Thankfully my aunt has AAA!), and we only got lost once. Unfortunately for us, it was in Gary, Indiana. Not the brightest spot in the area.

I'll write more later, including a fun game of "Guess the State" from a selection of pictures taken on the journey. But for now I'll leave you with this: we love our new apartment, we love our new little neighborhood, and Mason almost sort of loves math camp. No, seriously. And avocados at the local produce store cost 69 cents each. YES I SAID 69 CENTS. And a red pepper? Oh, it's only $1.50 a POUND. A POUND!!!! That's practically free.

Stay tuned. More to come later today or tomorrow.