Beautiful Day in The Neighborhood

Today I'm one year wiser, and to continue my productive non-productive week, I thought I'd take a stroll around the block to capture my neighborhood - and some of Chicago prettiest - and most famous houses. Can you guess which one is the Playboy mansion?

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Kobey: Tall, Dark and Handsome

Today, on the first day of my annual Birthday week stay-cation, after being incredibly productive this morning, I traveled up to Wrigleyville to meet the newest recruit to the Chicago crew - Kobey - my friend's adopted greyhound dog. This was a scheduled play date that I set a week before Joanna even got the dog - as I was sending her Petsmart coupons. Needless to say, I was excited to meet him. And he was definitely excited to meet me... or was overwhelmed by the smell of my cat. Either way... we hit it off.

I also have learned a lot more about greyhounds that I never knew. Things like...

• They have a second eyelid. Don't be fooled if they are laying down and looking at you. They could still be sleeping.
• They dream about the race track, and you're not supposed to wake them up during these. If you have to, you're supposed to yell out their name... as opposed to touching them.
• The soles of their feet are sensitive... that's why you might see them in booties walking around the streets of Chi-town.
• While at the race track they are caged for 22 hours a days, so they are actually good city dogs. Take that pug-lovers.
• Although city-friendly, they aren't sidewalk-trained, and therefor are required to be on a leash at all times... because they can run up to 40 miles an hour and were trained to run after bunnies - which in a greyhound mind is anything small, quick and furry.
• They don't wear sweaters in the winter for fashion; they need them to keep warm. Their coat is very thin and fragile.

Joanna adopted Kobey after the announcement that Dairyland Greyhound Park in Kinosha was closing at the end of the month. He was one of the 400 that were in need of a loving home. I'm sure there are still dozens more. If you are considering getting a furry friend, you should consider one of Kobey's crew. Here's the latest Tribune story on the track closing, "Love on long legs."

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2010 Anthem: Good Life

Tonight, as I was playing who-can-stay-on-the-treadmill-longer game with the worker-outer next to me, I stumbled upon "Good Life" by OneRepublic on my Ipod... and instantly decided this must be my 2010 Anthem.

Listen to it and tell me you're not inspired.

So I'm vowing, today on December 27th at 9:01 p.m. CST to see my life as it is - the Good Life- in 2010. And that means, no matter what these next 365 days bring me, I'm going to try, above everything else, to look at it in a positive light. Even if I have to move to a smaller apartment because I can't get a raise, or if my dating life takes an even more drastic turn for the worse and converts me into an a-sexual human being... I vow to see the silver lining in these clouds. And more importantly, enjoy the sunshine.

Because as long as I have my health, my friends and my family... and as long as I can live in this fabulous city... I'll be living the Good Life.

"Sometimes there are airplanes I can't jump out. Sometimes there's bullshit that don't work now. We are god of stories but please tell me. What there is to complain about....When you're happy like a fool let it take you over. When everything is out, you gotta take it in."

Other great songs from that album:

"All This Time"

"Waking Up"

"Secrets"

What's your song of 2010??

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Driving with a Cat Under the Influence

Because this was such an experience, I feel that it needs to be documented. And, I promise, in 2010 I'll cut back on my cat posts. As much as I'm sure they entertain everyone. Also, as a caveot, I would've captured this adventure in pictures as well... but I felt that this made the trip even more hazardous to my health... and am just happy to have pulled into 405 E. Fairlawn Blvd unscathed.

So the Best of Driving 6 hours with a Cat Under the Influence (CUI) of tranquilizers:

• Administering the drugs. Apparently cats are smarter than dogs. She ate around the pill in her food... leading me to have to pin her down and force her to swallow them. Great way to start off the trip.
• Shoving her into her carrier. This is a three-armed job.... and unfortunately, I have only two arms. But I repeated the montra: "I'm stronger than a cat, I'm stronger than a cat"... and alas, finally got her into the carrier.
• An hour and a half of her crying and shedding before I started to think... "Is this tranquilizer actually working??"
• Pulled to a rest stop and administered the 2nd tranquilizer.
• Letting her out of her carrier... which led to....
• Her hitting the window down button in the back seat and almost making a break for it on the Dan Ryan... Child lock inacted.
• Her sitting on my lap 1/2 of the ride... with drugged-induced eyes... but refusing to fall asleep.
• Her acting as if the front seats were pieces of jungle gym equipment and climbing onto the head rests. Particularly mine. That was really the moment where I thought... "Was this a good idea?"

But I have to say, she's maybe having the time of her life in my parent's house. This is the first time she's had access to more than three rooms at a time... and first floor windows where she can look at birds and squirrels all day. I think it will work out just fine... until the ride home...

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The Night I Drugged My Cat

I have to admit. I'm a sucker for animals. They are at the softest of my soft spot. There's something about those big eyes looking right at you... saying play with me... feed me... love me. They can make you laugh after a bad day... and calm you down after hours of stressful work. They are your favorite roommates even if they wake you up at all hours of the night. They are completely dependent on your care and love to keep them alive, happy and in good spirits.

Which is exactly why I drugged my cat tonight.

In an effort to not leave my cat in Chicago for Christmas... and to share all 13 pounds of her with my entire extended family, I'm taking drastic measures.

You see, Moxie, like many felines, does not take well to sitting shotgun for 20 minutes when heading to the vet, let alone six hours en-route to Ohio. There's a lot of crying... and a lot more shedding. I'm talking extreme hair-all-over-the-place shedding. This is no laughing matter.

I call the vet and explain this situation and she prescribes a "light tranquilizer" to do the trick. But with it, she warns that this could also have the adverse effect... and that I should do a test run tonight.

The adverse of passed out Moxie can not be pretty. So I'm sitting here... creating a "calm environment" for my cat. And watching and waiting to see if all will be calm and bright this evening or if I will be dealing with the anti-Mox. Only time will tell.

This is what single, cat ladies do. Find entertainment in tranquilizers and furballs.

Anyone else taking drastic measures to be with your pets this holiday season? Tell on.

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Christmahanakwanza in Pictures

Christmahanakwanza weekend came and went... and here are some of the best pics from the festivities. Enjoy!

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Twas the Night Before...

Wednesday, December 16


In the past four and a half years, I've lived in five apartments, had a total of eight roommates, lived in three different area codes, made dozens of new friends and said goodbye to a handful.

The one thing that has stayed constant since I moved from Ohio to Chicago, is that Monday through Friday, I have arrived at 233 N. Michigan at 8:30 a.m. (give or take a few minutes), have been greeted by the same security guy, potentially picked up my grande non-fat chai and bagel at Cosi, turned on my computer and started working.

Tomorrow is our last day in our current office. Beginning Monday, the Merchandise Mart will be the new home of B-M Chicago. My boxes are packed. Dust has filled the air. And they've pretty much shut off the heat.

After almost four years of sitting in the cubicle area referred to as "The Weiner Circle," I've been told it's time for new digs; To leave behind my too-good-to-be-true cubicle and window view and move into a fresh location.


I may be dragging my feet a bit... but in the spirit of nostalgia, I thought I'd take a trip down "Weiner Circle" memory lane, and reflect on the best of 233. 14th floor. It's been a great ride. Like McFadden's after the boat Christmas party in 2006, I'm not sure the Merchandise Mart knows what they have in store for them. Ready or not... here we come!

The Best of 233 -

*For those without two hours to read this long-winded post, I've bolded the BEST of the BEST

• Ordered pizza to the Media Training Room while pulling an "all-nighter" before our intern presentation, "Winning With Wheat" in 2005... as one of our interns stormed out of the room with a dramatic, "I can't work like this... unlike YOU guys, I have to work here after this week." Oh the drama...
• Diane spending half of our internship going through hundreds of data entry cards and submitting them to a spreadsheet for Zone Perfect.
• The disappearance of Mystique Adams. If you don't know what I'm talking about... it won't be funny.
• When I managed a Hispanic marketing tour. That's all.
• The year more than 1/2 of Brand Marketing was pregnant or engaged. Given that I was only 23, that was a scary year.
• My first all-office reply-all error. And my then-boss' dry reply. Lesson learned.
• The disco cab that pulled up in front of the office to take three of us to our B-M Basher softball game at North Ave - and dropped us off at the field with disco glasses, afros and rocking out to the disco remix of Grease.
• Our orange Chicago Cares t-shirts. And the cab somewhere in Chicago that has mine.
• The death of the gnome creative writing project.
• Stalking the people of WhoopAssEnterprises to create new awards for good work. Harold Burson can now be found in the form of a bobblehead at three of our desks as a pilot, fireman or policeman.
• The launch of my former boss' blog. Complete with champagne, Bree and crackers.
• When Nick took a shot with the cleaning lady after our summer outing.
• Post-Thursday softball Friday lunch outings to Burrito Beach to get us through the rest of the day.
• Diane's month-long fight with office services after New York accidentally sent enough Similac product to fill an entire office.
• When Erin and Ali spent hours, no days, calling Sweden, China and other random countries to obtain prototypes of nursery items.
• When Sho Jo found out Jen Furey had the intention of demonstrating how to use a fryer during a brainstorm.
• Sneaking half-a-dozen bagpipe players into the Thinkery for Patti's retirement party.
• Fire drills... and the orange hat crew. Lauren, you always look so stylish!
• My continuous sneezing fits and winter eye infections... which I'm convinced were caused by the fact that the heating vents were never cleaned. Dust everywhere.
• The spastic heat/air conditioning issue in the Thinkery. And the implementation of Snuggies during team meetings.
• The dozens of conference calls participated in surrounding pallets, combines, seeds, greenhouses and wheat harvest for a solid year before the Urban Wheat Field event.
• The first annual Spelling Bee and celebrating National Punctuation Day in the Barsteller.
• Any brainstorm in the Thinkery with Andy Nebel.
• The "sick" room that, in the past four years, has had one or all of the following: Fold-out bed, nasty green chairs, occasional sleeping person, random clothing... and the worst, a crash-test dummy that always looked like a real person when walking past the doors.
• B-M Purge Week signage posted all over the doors of the bathroom. And only half of the office understanding the irony of those signs.
• Catching random naked or half-naked people in the Hyatt while writing press releases, in brainstorms, during client meetings. Whenever it happened, it was awkward... and usually involved a shriek or two.
• Hearing the food cart pull up to the East Coffee Bar - and casually walking by to get "water" to check and see if there's any good stuff, like cookies, to snack on.
• When Obama's campaign offices were just a few floors above us, and we could no longer do the "fake swipe" to get upstairs.
• Watching Black-Eyed Peas and the largest flash-mob dance from our desks
• The year we had a Brand Marketing Thanksgiving party... which involved Diane and I making turkeys in our apartments and then attempting to microwave them in the coffee bar.

What did I miss? Share your memories of 233!

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