3/31/09

LA trip

it was will's spring break last week, so we took a quick trip to LA. here's were the highlights:
  1. good food - i think we ate mostly japanese and mexican food the whole trip. but also some korean and froyo.
  2. seeing family - since we pretty much left LA right after getting married, it was good to reconnect and let people know that we are alive and enjoying marriage and chicago.
  3. seeing a few friends - very limited, since the time was so short, but much needed.
  4. seeing my old coworkers - i missed them a lot. after lunch, they dragged me into the office and made me sit in my old spot.
  5. the weather - it was like summer! sunshine the whole time.
i definitely did not enjoy the traffic - omg. it's amazing how quickly you get used to not having to deal with traffic. it was ever apparent how spread out LA is, how many cars there are, and how you have to drive to get anywhere. couldn't stand it. i felt like i was in the car the whole trip. here in chicago, a 20 minute drive is considered a bit far.

anyways, it was nice to find that by the end of the trip, we were ready to return home to chicago. i realized how quiet my life is here, and i like it. and in just 3 months, it really has become home.

3/19/09

big government

if there's one thing chicago is good at, it's big government.  

one thing that annoys me is the traffic directing people.  in LA, people direct traffic if a signal is not working, or if there is some big event.  here, there's someone directing traffic on every street corner in downtown.  and they direct traffic according to the light.  if the light turns green, they say go.  if it turns red, they say stop.

WHY???

3/18/09

partner's club

i went to my first partner's club event yesterday.  it's a club for spouses of students.  but of course, it was all women.

it was cool to be around people who are in the same boat.  we had a lot of common experiences.  it's sort of a unique thing, to be married and move, not for your own reasons, but for your husband's school/career, to a place where you know nobody, have no family, and no job.

something a lot of women experience is boredom.  what do you do while your husband is busy with school and recruiting, and you don't know where you'll be in 2 years?  discover the city, take classes, find work, raise the kids - these are some of the things i found that people do.

one interesting thing that came up was that it seems that there has been some tension between women students in the program, and the wives of students.  i think the whole "homemaker/motherhood/wife" choice versus "career first" pushes buttons for people on both sides, but at this stage, probably more so for the homemakers.

3/15/09

billboards

something i noticed about chicago - there are waaay less billboards here than there are in LA.

i like it.

3/11/09

3-0 party

i turned 30 yesterday.  i spent it with my two favorite boys - the hubbie, and the lil bro.  the bro happened to be in town this week.  the hubs cooked me mi-yuk-gook (seaweed soup), which is birthday food for koreans.  then we played some settlers and ate cake together.  

i couldn't think of a better way to enter my thirties.  

3/6/09

like a sore thumb

at work, i stick out like a sore thumb. and for this reason, for better or for worse, everyone knows who i am.

3/5/09

feast or famine

after having 2 months of not doing much, i now have a full-time job and 2 visitors coming in this weekend and next week!

the first 3 days of work were slow and then today, after telling my boss to feel free to "throw work at me", i am flooded!

i was pretty lonely during the first two months, and then just before i started working, i made friends and got connected with some networks.

3/2/09

first day

today was my first day of work. i realized tonight that will made me breakfast, packed my lunch, and had dinner ready when i got home. i was very touched.

he also walked me to the bus stop in the morning. i felt like a kid on the first day of school. :P