I Call It Fishing

Tomorrow I camp…real camping...the kind where you sleep in a tent and bathe in the lake, and eat bugs to keep full. Okay that last part was a joke, and I’m sort of hoping the bathing in the lake thing was a joke too but unfortunately, I don’t know much about this camp ground we are going to except that it is secluded, small, and there is no running water…so I think that answers my bathing problem. I did buy a solar heated bag shower just in case. I’ll try “roughing” it in the outdoors, but at least let me be clean while I’m doing it!

I also went and got my first fishing license last night so that this weekend, I can attempt to fish. I bought a ten dollar fishing pole with a button to help me cast and some pink Barbie bobbers that I just had to have. I’m not really into fishing in terms of hooks and worms and fish and all that nonsense, but I LOVE going out on the boat, getting some sun, and throwing a fishing line in the water. Some would call that sun bathing, but I like to call it fishing. Plus, there is something really exciting about seeing the end of your fishing pole suddenly bend towards the water as the attached fish (or occasional chunk of seaweed) struggles to free itself from the sharp hook. I’ll throw my book down, anxiously reel in the fish, and then scream like a girl when I realize the fish attached is slimy and wiggly and yucky. And then, the fun of fishing is gone when I’m forced to stabilize a disgusting lake creature, rip a hook out of its poor mouth, throw it back in the water, grab a disgusting worm and re-bait my hook. It makes the hair on my arms stand up…I hate doing it. But after all that, my pole goes back in the water, and the peace that is fishing resumes and I’m happy again. I can’t wait!

Push and Pull

I found an apartment last night that I can’t stop thinking about. It’s on the East Side of Milwaukee on a tree lined street around cute condos and within walking distance to many of my favorite downtown places…including the lake. It has a cute front porch big enough for a comfy chair and a table and a living room with a fireplace, yes a fireplace. The kitchen is bright, big, and sunny and the attached bedroom will easily house my double bed, dresser and nightstand. The bathroom is small, which is probably the only downfall but it’s a small price to pay for a truly adorable apartment.

But I’m not sure I can afford it. Actually I can afford it, but it doesn’t leave much expendable income afterwards; in fact, very little…closer to none. I may not be able to eat very often. Is an adorable apartment in the exact area I want to be worth the extra financial hassle? I don’t know!

The smart decision is probably no. I should be saving money for a house, I should be saving money for a new car, I should be saving money to eat. I should, I should, I should.

But it’s so cute. And I’m not exactly smart with money…ever. But I really should suck it up, learn my lesson, and stop using the “that’s just how I am” excuse huh?

*sigh*

I know, you’re all right. It’s just so damn hard to tame the immediate satisfaction urge within me!!!

I wish that growing up, and moving out of your parent’s house could be handled in the same way as a divorce is. In a situation when one’s financial stability severely overrides that of the other party, it is generally deemed necessary by the courts that the more well-off party continue providing a monetary compensation in order to provide the other with the same status of living as they are now accustomed to living. I think this agreement should apply to broke children moving on with their lives. Then I could have my cute East Side apartment…and maybe an Audi.

And now, I’m whining like a spoiled kid would and yet, I wouldn’t give up my independence for anything, no matter how much I pretend I’d like to. The burden of financial struggle although it sucks, is a great feeling to know that I’m doing it…all by myself. And so, I’ll probably sign this lease, because I can, and I’ll complain about being so broke that I’ve resorted to tearing out magazine perfume samples to make myself smell good. Don’t doubt me, I’ll do it.

Or maybe I won’t…because I never can make a big decision.

Debt Sucks

You know what the most frustrating thing in the world is?

For the past year I have been forking out $680 dollars every month for my student loans. For 12 months at $680 I have given Sallie Mae $8000 for my ridiculously high interest student loan, and the ass raping that accompanies it. Excuse my language. With every humungous check that I write I silently breathe a tiny sigh of relief as I think, that’s one less check I’ll ever have to write them, and I’m that much closer to getting this thing paid off.

And then I looked at my outstanding principal balance today, as I do every month.

And it hasn’t moved.

Not in a year.

In fact, I think it may have even gone up.

WHAT?! UP?!

For an entire year, I have been paying nothing but interest. Sure there are the rare occurrences that I can actually afford to put money towards the principal, but those are few and far between. Instead, I have simply been hurting my checking account simply to keep my student loans in good standing with the credit bureau. My loan remains 5 digits long and painfully expensive and I think it laughs each month as I try desperately to make it disappear.

There is no end in sight.

I want to cry.

Paris Hilton Went To Jail and All I Got Was This Lame Blog Entry

I don’t feel like I have much to write about. It was a nice weekend: Tara graduated with her MBA, Nicky turned 23, and Paris Hilton went to jail. Oh, and I bought season one of The Girls Next Door on DVD, I’m pretty excited about that. Other than that, I had your standard two days off topped off by your standard early Monday morning alarm clock. It’s foggy and dreary outside which tends to make Monday mornings a bit more intolerable but the temperature remains above 60 degrees which can never be a bad thing in my book.

And that’s all I have.

Much Funnier than The Bird

Every now and then my dad will bust out the “now, now” finger wave while driving. It’s sort of his ridiculously composed way of releasing road rage. I’ll always make fun of him whenever I see him shaking a finger at someone that just cut him off because honestly, who does that anymore…besides maybe my grandmother, but I like to think even she is too cool for that.

Today however, in the always heated morning commute to work, a woman looked me straight in the eye, and shook her finger at me the ENTIRE way through the very large intersection that we were stopped at…well, that I was stopped at. She apparently felt that regardless of who’s turn it REALLY was to cross through the intersection, she had made her complete stop sign stop (even though I know there’s no way she got one one thousand out before she was half way through the intersection) and that entitled her to go. I quickly threw on my brakes and let her pass in front of me but honestly began to laugh uncontrollably as I watched her shake her finger at me and spout something out through her mouth (although it’s very possible she was singing). I literally barely moved my tires before I realized she was going to make it HER turn and yet she truly felt the need to reprimand me, as if while braking I was spreading boogers on my five year old best friend or something. I hope she feels better now.

So there you have it, there are two people in the world that use the “now, now” finger wave…my dad, and the woman I will call Monique, because she looked like a Monique. I’ve decided that my grandmother IS too cool for the finger, so she is not counted. If you see either of them on the road, tell them I say hi.

What? I Know What I Want!

And I wonder why I can’t find an apartment…

Wanted: 1 bedroom sunny apartment on lower Eastside or Eastside of Milwaukee. I would like to pay somewhere in the range of $550 - $600 and would be thrilled if parking would be included. I’d like a place to do my laundry, so coin-operated laundry on-site is essential and I’d prefer a porch of some sorts for me to sit on and enjoy the sounds of the city. I don’t have a pet at the moment, but it’d be nice to have the option at a later date and close to the lake would be ideal so I can take my beloved walks along the water. I’m not picky about kitchen appliances, as I don’t do a lot of cooking but I would love a dinning room or eat in kitchen with lots of windows for me to put a little bar table and two chairs. Hard wood floors are preferred, but I’d settle for carpeting and if I could find an old early century claw foot tub I’d be in heaven. Oh, and please have outward facing windows so that I may open them and both see and hear the busy city traffic. There is nothing worse to me than waking up and seeing another building staring me straight in the face. Square footage is not a priority, but complete separation between my living quarters and my sleeping quarters is essential. Please note: I am not willing to move to the suburbs, as I realize this sort of apartment is readily available there. I am not ready for children, mini-vans, and large yards. I remain a city girl for at least a few more years. Downtown apartments need only apply.

Please forward your listing at earliest convenience. In the mean time, I’ll be sitting here pulling my hair out as my hatred for apartment hunting deepens

Dinner Conversations with the Andersons

Meet my family:

Mom: What is it that they say determines your porn star name?
Dad: First name and….
Mikey: No first pet and first street name
Christi: I’d be Merby…mom what was our first street in Burlington?
Mom: Meadows
Christi: Oh yeah, Merby Meadows. That’s hot
Mikey: I’d be Chocolate Karyl no wait, Keisha Karyl
Christi: Are you a drag queen?
Mom: I’d be Tippy Lions
All: complete laughter.
Christi: Seriously, that’s awesome

Christi: I seriously can’t help picturing a pregnant woman having sex because it’s just absolutely 100% certain that at SOME TIME she had sex!
Mom: Christi, who thinks about that stuff.
Christi: I also think about famous people pooping
Mom: Gross Christi
Christi: What like you honestly don’t think of Brad Pitt sitting on the toilet.
Mom: I don’t care what he does!
Mikey: YEAH! Like Britney Spears pooping. She does! It’s gross!
Christi: Seriously mom. You’re weird.

And End to my Birthday Week

I wish I could turn 25 every day! After a weekend like I just had, it makes waking up on a non-eventful Monday morning a harder-than-normal task. The weekend began with a 12:05am text message Friday morning, reminding me that for the last 5 minutes, I had been 25 years old. 25! I thought maybe it would affect me a bit more that I was no longer in my early twenties, but to be perfectly honest, I’m thrilled to be 25. I’ve made it through a quarter of a century of living. That’s pretty awesome considering about 200 years ago, I would be considered lucky if I lived to see my mid-twenties!

The rest of my Friday was followed by a number of phone calls (my favorite being the tearful conversation on my way to work), Facebook and Myspace messages, text messages, and flowers and presents at work. For lunch one of my managers treated me to Hectors, a Mexican favorite of mine, in honor of my birthday and that brought up the evening where I met my mom for a few hours of shopping at Mayfair Mall. I arrived home close to 8:00 where my dad had opened up a 25 year old bottle of wine and was waiting to toast in celebration. We toasted, sipped, and made sour faces as we realized you CAN over-age your red wine, but it was cool to be drinking a bottle of wine that was as old as me anyways! After a glass of wine, and some singing around my ice cream cake, I retreated to my room as I was exhausted after both a hard week at work, and an emotionally draining few days. I called it an early night, opting for a quiet night in and fell asleep around 10:00.

I awoke on Saturday bright and early and spent the morning hours running errands around Burlington and eagerly awaiting the arrival of 4:00 when I could begin getting ready for my birthday bash that evening. By 6:00 I was on my way to Milwaukee to meet Katie D. for some pre-party drinks at Kenadees.

My parents were the first of the guests to arrive with my friend Schiller following close behind. The five of us had a few drinks downstairs at the bar, then made our way to the upstairs loft that I had rented out for the evening. Within the next few hours the remainder of my dear friends trickled in and thanks to our private room we all had an opportunity to relax, drink outside of the crowd, and catch up.

After a few drinks us ladies got up and danced a little bit and then the party began winding down around midnight. Those still up for a little bit more headed to Buckhead Saloon for some end of the evening dancing and the night was laid to rest around 2:00 the next morning. I tucked in two very drunk Katie’s into their King sized Pfister hotel bed and drove my birthday butt home for some much needed sleep.

And that was it. Sunday brought about the end of my birthday week and I spent it hung over and tired. I don’t feel any older, but I can definitely tell that I’m getting older as my body takes much longer these days to recoup after a night of drinking.

But it was well worth it. I’d turn 25 again any day!

See the rest of the pictures HERE.

Should Have Been Spiderman FREE

Last night, brought my total number of movies I have walked out on in the theatre up to three:

1.) Magnolia
2.) Cats and Dogs

And as of last night

3.) Spiderman 3

You guys, it’s awful. So terrible in fact I couldn’t stand to sit in the movie theatre anymore. I’m not going to go into detail because I know this is one of those movies that you will see anyways, and I don’t want to ruin it for you. But know that you were warned by this blog.

Smells Are The Way to My Heart

I have a perfume obsession. I’m not sure why, but I do. It probably all stems back to my lack of commitment ability which inhibits me from even committing to a certain smell; which would explain my 34 bottles of perfume, and my 45 different boyfriends/girlfriends. Okay just kidding on that last part. On second thought, kidding on all of it. I don’t have commitment issues, I just like change…and perfume.

Last night my aunt provided me with perfume bottle number 35, Juicy Couture, to add to my already ridiculously large perfume collection. It’s a bit more floral-y than I normally wear (I’m a musk girl) but it smells clean and expensive. I like it! It’s quickly becoming one of my favorites. She also got me a really nice smelling candle (notice the trend here) and my aunt got me a nice card with my most favorite item…money =)

And why all the fuss do you ask? Why would all of these people go out of there way to get me some of my most favorite things on the planet?

Why because it’s my birthday week of course!!!! =) (Just in case you forgot)

The rest of the week isn’t as exciting. My mom and I are going apartment hunting tonight which I know is just going to stress me out more than anything and then we’ll possibly do dinner, which is sure to make any stress diminish almost immediately. I am very thankful that I have the ability to release stress and sadness through other therapeutic options outside of food because I feel as though I would be the “eater of my pain” if I didn’t. Food makes me feel so much better. Thankfully exercise and music makes me feel best =)

And now that this post is completely all over the place, I’m out!

It's My Birthday...Week

This week is my birthday week. Yes you heard me right, I said week. I’ll be 25!!! That’s a big deal!!! Birthdays have always been a big deal in my family, especially the milestones, and I hope it’s a tradition that I’ll carry forward on to my own kids someday! When I turned 5 I took all my friends (and my kindergarten teacher) to Showbiz pizza in Iowa for a big bash and for my 16th birthday I threw my first boy/girl party of my life (I know, I was a late bloomer). For my 18th (and my golden birthday) I rented out a hall and got a DJ for me and all of my friends. I spent my 21st in Las Vegas with my best friend Erin and my family and now the big 25 is roaring up behind me, and you better believe I plan on having a memorable quarter of a (personal) century birthday.

I am a firm believer, in the birthday week, as opposed to just birthDAY. Actually, I believe in the EVENT week. Weddings, graduations, bat mitzvah’s…whatever it is in your life that you look forward to at any particular moment, you should get a week to enjoy it…and make other people as well: a week of people being nicer to you, a week of talking about your special day as many times throughout that week as you feel is necessary, a week of presents (although we know that would never happen), but most importantly a week of celebration! Otherwise, it passes entirely too quickly if we don’t allow more time to enjoy it.

I have a number of different plans throughout the week: dinner tonight, birthday on Friday, and party on Saturday (even if I’m not exactly in the mood for such excitement). I also know for a fact that I’m annoying the ones around me as I say “Be nice, it’s my birthday week” or “I shouldn’t have to go to work because it’s my birthday week”. Yes, I am still a four year old when it comes to birthdays. No matter how much older I get, I still get super excited about turning one more year older and one more year closer to something exciting and absolutely unknown to me yet. I hope birthdays never lose their excitement and that no matter what happens in my life, I will continue to enjoy each and every moment that passes by me and appreciate, instead of dreading, the idea of turning one more year older.

Happy Birthday to me =)

A Not So Green Moment

Okay so I lied. I thought maybe I wouldn’t feel like posting for a while but the truth of the matter is, I’m a closed person the way it is. If I don’t at least blog about something, how will I release anything at all?!

I don’t have much to write about I guess.

I’m annoyed at the man this morning that I watched chuck his donut out his car window after taking one single bite out of it. I’m not kidding when I tell you that I almost got out of my car and chucked it back inside at him. But then I remembered where I work, and what neighborhood I was driving in…and who knows if he had a gun. So I quietly cursed him, gave him my “I hate you” dirty look and Tara’s imfamous “What the Fuck” hand, then drove away satisfied that I just ruined his day by making him feel aweful. But we all know none of my tactics affected him in any way. In fact, he probably went home and threw his soda can on the front lawn. But I like to think he went home and recycled.

On Hiatus

I am entirely too sad at the moment

Please don't be mad if I don't blog for a little while.

The End

Dirty Dancing, 20 Years Later

Just in case some of you weren’t aware, today is the 20th anniversary of the GREATEST movie ever made.

DIRTY DANCING!!!

In select theatres on May 1 and May 2 you can see this unforgettable movie on the big screen!! Oh yeah, you better believe a girl’s adventure to the theatre is in the works. Anyone want to go with us?

I am so flippin’ excited!!!

Reliving Chicago Through My Nose

Does anybody else find that their nose is a pathway to the past? That certain smells just flood you with memories? My nose is very sensitive and just as music, a smell can transport me any place at any time. This morning, as I was getting ready for work, I sprayed myself with one of my 32 different perfumes and I was instantly brought back to my tiny little apartment on LaSalle St. in downtown Chicago. It was where I first discovered Ralph Lauren Romance, as I was browsing the fragrance section of the Marshal Field’s store, and to smell it to this day still brings me back to that first year and a half.

I remembered the way my apartment smelled just after I would spray it and how it would still remain in the air long after I returned home from work. I was reminded of 6:00am bedtimes and walks home with Monkey at 3:00 in the morning. It reminded me of a duck shower curtain, and a bathroom so small I had to leave the door open to comb my hair. I remembered a futon for a couch and an open window that filled my tiny apartment with the sounds of sirens and taxi horns and a distant subway train in the background. I heard my very last land line phone ringing with sales calls and the noise my wrought iron bed would make as I first crawled into heaven.

I saw my tiny vintage mid-rise apartment and the doorman whose name I’ll never forget. I saw my rooftop observation deck and the way Lake Michigan looked from 14 stories in the air. I saw hardwood floors, and stark white walls, and a 3 month long roommate sleeping in the living room. I saw a year’s worth of heartache, a new best friend being made, and four walls that we’d laugh at and say “If only they could talk”.

Awww, I miss that city. Thank you Ralph Lauren!

I Will Call Him Eernie, and he Will Be Mine

I want a bulldog please. A fat, slobbery, lazy, wrinkly but cuddly and adorable in that oh so ugly way, bulldog. And I’m going to name him Eernie (I haven’t quite figured out how I’d like to spell his name yet). Oh, and I stole that name. I totally didn’t come up with it. But it’s cute right?! I mean tough, because bulldogs are tough, not cute.

But mine will be cute.

Unfortunatley Eernie is going to cost me about $3000, and my current financial situation just doesn’t leave much room for that kind of expense. BUT, my 25th birthday is coming up and that’s a pretty big milestone! So I think all of my friends and family should get together and pitch in, and buy me Eernie.

Thank you.

A Nothing Post

My gosh do I have a hard time keeping up with this stupid blog. What is one supposed to write about when absolutely NOTHING out of the ordinary happens to them? I suppose at that point I could begin analyzing the everyday mundane: wake up, go to work, eat breakfast…but I’m not good at that. The mundane in my life is just that, mundane. I don’t have that unique talent of making even the most boring of task seem interesting and funny. I suppose you could consider it the “non-writer” in me. Or that I’m just not funny. That could be it too.

Seriously though (as if I made a joke), not much has been going on. In all honesty the thing I look forward to most these days is my weekly trip to New Berlin where I get to prance around in high heels and shake my goodies to a metal chair while laughing at how not sexy I can make a stripper move look. I think it’s the lankiness of my body stature. It doesn’t fit well on a chair. I think I’m more cut out for the pole. I’ll have to try that next.

Oh yeah, and keeping with the fitness theme, I did manage to bust out a 2 mile run and a 5 mile walk last week, that was fun! I wish the 5 miles had been a run, but I’ll work on that. I figured a 5 mile walk was pretty darn good considering the only exercise I have consistently managed to participate in since the marathon in 2004 is the walk up and down the stairs to my bedroom every morning. Someday I’ll be able to run 26.2 miles again. My knee may not agree with that statement, but to that I say “shush knee, who asked you”.

This weekend I have some fun wedding stuff to attend to, and then hopefully a night in Chicago with my friend Katie, so maybe at the end of it all I’ll have something interesting to post about. If not, maybe I’ll come back anyways to let you all know what I had for breakfast and maybe turn it into some elaborate story about how my Corn Pops somehow altered my course of life! Don’t count on it though. We all know only Lucky Charms has the ability to that =)

I'm a Social Outcast

I hate coming to work the day after American Idol. In fact, I hate any social interaction anywhere the day after American Idol. Actually, I hate the day after Grays Anatomy as well. Why? Because I don’t watch these shows and as a result, I am left out of many conversations! It’s irritating when the first thing out of many people’s mouth’s when you enter the office is: “Did you watch Gray’s last night?” or “Aren’t you annoyed that Sanjaya is STILL on Idol?!” My response to both of these questions is always, “no” and I have to laugh at the looks of horror I receive when people realize what I freak I am. Yes, that’s right people, last night I chose to do some work, converse with Tara, and eat some food instead of watching American Idol…banish me now.

I realize I could probably invest in some Ti-Vo, record these beloved shows, and watch them when I have absolutely nothing better to do with my time, but then I would just be succumbing to peer pressure, and my 5th grade science teacher told me that was bad…and that I would die. Crazy nuns!

Plus, if any of you remember the episode where Rachel from F.R.I.E.N.D.S. takes up smoking simply so she can join in company gossip…nothing good comes from it. At least, I don’t think anything does, so I vow to stick to my guns, and not watch these shows. Maybe they should just bring back Pop Up Video and we can all watch that instead.

Lap Dancing - Class Number One

Let’s talk a little bit about lap dancing:

IT’S HARD!

Hmmm…okay let me go back and explain a little bit, before the play on words get a bit out of control here. On Thursday evening, my two good friends and I signed up for what we thought would be a fun excuse to get together and catch up once a week. It turned out to be one of the hardest workouts I’ve experienced in a very long time. In fact, as I’m typing this out…I’m STILL sore, and it’s four days after the fact!

When the idea of taking a lap dancing class was brought up, my thoughts instantly returned to the belly dancing classes I took about a year ago. Although the workout wasn’t exactly mind blowing, I did learn a few cool hip moves out of the deal, so all in all it wasn’t a total bust! I figured a lap dancing class would offer me much the same experience: not an amazing workout, but something to talk about none-the-less.

Fast forward to Thursday.

Jayne and I arrived to the Miss Pole studio in New Berlin within minutes of each other and soon after, a slightly flustered Erin arrived just as the class was about to begin. We quickly got our “good to see you” hugs in and took our place on the carpeted floor of the studio amidst 6 other soon to be strippers…and a few metal poles (for the pole dancing classes). Our instructor started us off with a few stretches and then the workout began: floor pulses, chair squats, leg lifts, stomach rolls! I have to admit it’s a little uncomfortable to perform sexy moves in front of a group of complete strangers, and it took us all a little while to get over our shyness with each other as we pulsed on the ground. For the first few minutes of the class there was a lot more giggling than actual working out. We warmed up to each other pretty quickly though and soon we were straddling our chairs like we’d been doing this for years. We learned a few routines on our chairs, practiced our “sexy walk” and by the end of the class we were feeling both unbelievably sore, yet pretty damn sexy.

I am so excited for next week’s class. It’s both awesome girl bonding and fat burning all combined into a perfect one hour session. I highly recommend this class. It’s a unique alternative to the typical workout routine, and what girl couldn’t use a few new sexy moves to spice things up every once in a while!

Spring Has Sprung

Today, officially marked the first day of spring...in the book of Christi anyways. The sun was shining brightly, and the warm breeze begged southeastern Wisconsin to come out and play. Along the roads, convertables flew by with their tops pulled down (including my own) and motorcycles rumbled by each other giving nods and waves of recognition at the comodarie that a motorcyle represents on the open road. On the sidewalks, children pedaled by dressed in their bathing suits while dog owners happily walked their "best friend" amidst the sound of what can only described as, the sound of Spring.

I think we're really lucky here in Wisconsin, although during the winter months, we may not be able to see that luck manifest itself. But without those cold, grueling winter months, we wouldn't enjoy these warm spring days as much as we would. They would become just one more thing in the world that gets completely taken for granted of: like walking, or blinking!

While I can't say I would complain if I suddenly were forced to move to San Diego and enjoy 75 degree days while sipping fruity drinks on the beach, I can say that for the time being I truly enjoy living where I do. With the seasons constantly changing, we constantly have something to look forward to. And thanks to the snow and the freezing cold we've endured lately, I couldn't be more excited for what this 80 degree Sunday has brought us.