the everyday adventures of sabrina

am back from my annual spring expedition to ohio for the ohio soapers gathering, which is pretty much just what it sounds like, except for oddballs who are not actually from ohio but show up anyways, such as yours truly. i was v. v. good and bought almost nothing, hardly anything really, from anyone there (despite the selection being particularly good this year). and besides, i NEEDED those fragrance oils. these soaps don’t scent themselves, you know.

i am really thrilled because this year, i had sent out a note to the list beforehand asking if anyone had any styrofoam peanuts they wanted to get rid of, and folks came through for me. so, i came home with one huge black trash bag of peanuts, one kitchen trash bag of peanuts, two shopping bags of bubble wrap, and some assorted foam padding and a few boxes. recycling yay! am v. pleased about that.

on friday, on my trip out there, my movers returned my message, to talk about a ballpark quote. not surprisingly, the cost of moving has gone up; last time i paid about $1200 or so for moving from printer’s square to wicker park; this time, i am likely to have to pay $1300 or $1400 to move back (or more — they quoted 7 hours with a $180/hour 3-man crew, but of course weather conditions will affect the timing, and that doesn’t include the tip or buying bottled drinks for them (which i always do (and you would too, if your stepmother was a mover))).

oh, and the skinny, for those what demanded it (i am looking at you, pxr5 :) : 1br, 900 sq ft, 30th floor, all my requirements met, 2 blocks to red line, ~7 blocks to work, and 1.5 blocks to my favorite yarn store. :) i am taking the place as of 1 May, so i will be moving basically just as soon as i can shove all this shit in boxes. needless to say, i expect to have no free time for the next few weeks.

sadly, after spending $540 on an oil change with tune-up last week, i am sorry to report that i think i have to give up on my dream of fixing the mileage situation. i have tried everything i can think of, over the past few years, and i just cannot get 33 mpg at 75 mph anymore. today on the way home i tried to draft behind semis as much as possible, which helped, but even with that and only driving between 65-75 most of the time, with cruise (which i hate, so using cruise control is a MAJOR concession to the gods of miles per gallon), i averaged about 30. bummer. :( i think i had a headwind at times, and definitely had hard crosswinds at times, but still; i used to get 31-32 even in bad conditions. so, i guess the answer is just that blue is not as young as she used to be, and i should shut up and be grateful for 30 mpg because that’s a lot more than some other people get, and also if i don’t eat my vegetables i’m going to bed without dessert.

so, that is about it for the weekend. i should probably go throw shit in boxes now. :) SOON I WILL HAVE MY VERY OWN WASHER AND DRYER!!! COULDN’T YOU JUST **DIE**!?!?!?!!! *squeeeee*

$apartment->next: found!

next: just the nightmare of actually moving! blah.

you have to love the odd shopping trip every here and there where the stars align — the in-store sale, the coupon you got in your email, the frequent shopper’s card discount, the just-earned bonus for shopping frequently with your frequent shopper’s card… — and you walk out of there with a whole massive pile of things that smell delicious and promise to make your skin the most fragrantly moisturized skin known to mankind. (plus it’s nice to get home and realize that the one thing you thought about getting but didn’t because you couldn’t quite remember but you thought you might already have had some… you did already have. total save.) 61.9% total savings, baby! i am a ninja of shopping at the body shop!

it sort of eases the pain of realizing that the apartment you’ve come to see about possibly renting has not actually been cleaned since 1983 (CLOSET SHELF VISIBLE GRIME EW EW EW), was designed by a band of methamphetamine-crazed monkeys, and is apparently managed by people who are quite serious about the fine art of hostile slackerdom but not so much the art of not having water-damaged ceilings. (but on the bright side, i could have waved at bingo and whirl’s house from my windows.)

Trib:

Tremors from a moderate earthquake centered in Downstate Illinois rattled people awake across the Chicago area Friday morning, … The earthquake, which measured 5.2 on the Richter Scale, struck at 4:36 a.m. near the town of West Salem, Ill., about 60 miles northwest of Evansville, Ind., according to the U.S. Geological Survey. An intitial estimate of the magnitude put it at 5.4, which would have matched the strongest earthquake recorded in the region.

i’ve always wondered what an earthquake feels like. now i know: it feels like being woken up and shaking and thinking, “dude, am i dreaming about an earthquake? wtf?”

the only problem with trying to decide whether or not to move is in assigning weights to various requirements, and deciding which ones are less important. i thought i would go out and start looking at some places and maybe that would help me decide, using the time-tested technique of “if i find someplace i really like, i will move; otherwise, i will stay/keep looking.” but this backfires somewhat when i (a) come back home to my apartment and the damn furnace kicks on while i am trying to watch “Hell’s Kitchen,” and (b) then i can’t decide which things i should be flexible about.

f’rinstance: i saw a place after work yesterday that was nearly ideal but a little small (like, potentially have to get rid of my elliptical-small — which is less important given that they have a fitness room in the building, but i like having my own private elliptical; that’s why i got it), and a little farther than ‘easy walking distance to work.’ but how important are those relative to the heated assigned garage parking, the in-unit washer/dryer, the incredible amount of closet/cabinet storage space, and the cute-as-all-get-out cat flap in the closet door for clever hiding of the catbox, and the nice landlady? it’s a tough call. i really don’t understand why i have such problems making decisions. i’m pretty sure if i were still seeing my shrink she’d shrug and advise me to break out my strategic problem-solving magic phrase: “fuck it!”

(also, i still am resisting the idea that i have to pay $1500 to live in the south loop. stupid trendy neighborhood massive condo buildouts. i was there first! whine, whine, whine. although, i must admit, if i do the math — the difference between the aggregated costs of living here, with high utilities and paying for the laundry fairies, etc., and the aggregated costs of living there (imagine! a $30 gas bill! in winter! gosh, that caulk must be great stuff. i wish i had me some of that.), actually works out to about $150 more; less if i walked/biked and gave up my $75/mo 30-day transit pass. … man, i just *had* to do the numbers this morning, didn’t i. great. like i wasn’t already on the fence enough.)

excerpted from an email i just sent to a mailing list:

> > Anyone else (try to) take the Blue Line to work today?
> Rumor has it that it’s not working. Like. At all.

Well, it certainly wasn’t at the time!

> As for their use of the word ‘delay’, I can’t help but quote Inigo Montoya:
> “You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.”

I was just telling John that I’m astounded by the number of just plain dumb Blue Line riders. I was stuck at Division on a train to nowhere, and eventually everyone gave up and went upstairs. So, at that intersection, you have your choice of:

1. Division bus, east to the Red Line
2. 9 or X9 bus, south to the Pink/Green lines
3. 56 Milwaukee bus southeast to the Loop
4. Fabled, mythological Blue Line Shuttle bus that shows up completely packed with customers already
5. Queue up at the Cab Stand in the line that wraps around the entire fountain park
6. Walk 4 blocks to North Ave and catch a #72 eastbound to the Red Line
7. Say “screw it, I’m walking” — it’s only 3 miles to downtown

So by the time I gave up (and granted, I stuck it out a long time — secretly, I wanted to ride a train on the opposite-side tracks, which they PROMISED they were going to do, until the track switches turned out to be broken too), basically an hour’s worth of Division stop riders had accumulated, minus a few hardy folks who saw which way the wind was blowing and bugged out before the situation got nuts. All at this one intersection. Which of the 7 perfectly good options were they mostly opting for?

8. Walk a little bit upstream of the cab stand and try to “sneak in” (hint: cab drivers are bastards, but they’re not THAT bastardish. They usually drive past the weasels that do this, at this intersection
when the Blue Line explodes, in my experience, which, come to think of it, it’s sort of sad that I have experience in this area.)
4. Bitch about the Mythological Shuttle Busses.
3. Complain that the 56s are all full, whine, bitch moan.

This worked out great for me, because it meant I hopped on the first X9 (conveniently waiting, with room on board!), zipped on down the road to Lake/Ashland, hopped on a Pink Line that was pulling in just as I got there, and was at work 20 minutes after leaving the Division blue line platform.

There are probably still people queued at that cab stand, though.

ETA: Look, ma! We made the news! (“100 people”? Are you serious? A full 8-car rush-hour train loaded with standees can hold like 1000+ people. Methinks someone lost a zero.) Repeatedly!

so i’ve been thinking about moving for a while. not just the january carbon monoxide debacle, but, you know, … i miss printer’s row, and i wish my furnace wasn’t so damn LOUD. (i have to pause the tv if i’m trying to watch something and it kicks on. it gets old.) and it’s extremely drafty, and blah, blah, blah. it’d be a great apartment if it was (a) insulated, (b) had central air and heat from a furnace NOT in a closet in my living room, and (c) had a slightly larger living room, so i could have an actual couch, and not just a comfy chair and a giant beanbag (plus my elliptical machine). i wouldn’t turn down (d) had in-unit w/d either. but it’s not a really bad place to live, so it’s been hard to decide whether i should go or whether i should stay.

so there are some new rental buildings downtown that i emailed them to put myself on the waiting list for information when they got closer to opening for leases. one’s at, like, Fulton and Des Plaines, and one’s at 11th and Clark. (that latter one i was a little more interested in, because it’s a so-called green building, and i thought it might be nice to live in a place that, presumably, would be energy-efficient and, say, have caulked walls and other niceties.) then coincidentally, after months of being curious when the buildings were going to be finished, the leasing agents for both buildings got in touch on the same day — the AMLI900 (south loop) people emailed, and the K Station (north loop) people called.

now, keep in mind that just two years ago i was living in printer’s row, renting a 650 sq ft studio for about $800/mo, parking not included (an additional $125). i am now living in wicker park, renting a 850 sq ft one-br+office for $850, with street parking.

the K Station people: “The one bedroom apartments range in price from $1500 to $1965.”
the AMLI900 people: “One bedrooms from $1553 to $1807.”

these people want $1400 for a 636 sq ft studio like i used to rent TWO YEARS AGO for $800! almost twice what i paid TWENTY FIVE LOUSY MONTHS AGO? i’m sorry, including the utilities does not make up for the difference.

i don’t think i’m alone in thinking “hubbidda hubbidda say what?”

part of the problem is, i think, that everything is all new construction and they put in all sorts of niceties that one might put in one’s home if one was focused on having all the luxuries. except for the part that, guys, i don’t really care about marble countertops. i’m perfectly happy with formica that i don’t worry if i drop a coffee mug it’s going to break. and i don’t particularly need a garbage disposal in the sink — when i’ve had one, i’ve always been worried i’d drop a piece of silverware in there and not realize and turn on the machine and destroy it, so i hardly ever used it (and only with great suspicion). i pretty much just want an apartment with enough counter space to knead bread dough, preferably with nice quiet central air and forced heat, located where i can walk to the river east movie complex again. is that so much to ask?

inspired by kim:

Created by OnePlusYou

“This is 109% MORE than other websites who took this test.”

HOORAY!!!

a standard plea, one of a thousand, sent at a cranky moment in niqui’s life:

From: Howard Dean
Subject: Now more than ever

Dear sabrina,

Our nominee can’t build an organization to take on John McCain yet, but we canJohn McCain is raising money and campaigning across the country — he’s looking at the White House.

Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are also raising money and campaigning across the country — but they’re still looking at the nomination.

Hillary and Barack can’t build an organization to take on John McCain directly yet, but we can. And we have to — it’s our responsibility as Democrats to make sure we’re prepared.

I need you to make a contribution now so we can make sure John McCain doesn’t get a free ride — Americans everywhere need to know the truth, and we’re going to make sure they get it. … [Contribute Now! blah blah blah]

…

From: sabrina
To: Democratic National Committee donor feedback
Subject: Re: Now more than ever

Oh my God, are you serious? The Democratic candidates are acting like 7 year olds squabbling over the last cookie in the jar, and it’s MY problem to defeat McCain???

I’ll donate to the fund that reschedules the nominating convention for the middle of April so we can get this excruciating insanity over with, but until then, you’re on your own.

Don’t unsubscribe me from the mailing list. I’m still a Democrat, even if it pains me to be this completely inept. But I wanted to at least pretend someone was listening.

–sabrina

this was sent the day of the university of chicago’s rebuttal to the ciinton campaign’s “he wasn’t even a professor!!!! that liar!!!!” claims, which went along the lines of: “yes, he was.” i was a little tired of this bullshit. i heroically refrained from laying most of the blame for said bullshit at the clinton campaign’s door, in the hopes of having someone think “hey, disgusted voter!” instead of “oh, another disgusted cultist.”

From: DNCMemberServices
Subject: Re: Re: Now more than ever

Sabrina,

Thank you for your recent email. We value your thoughts. Your comments have been forwarded to the Chairman’s office.

Thank you again.

DNC Member Services
Democratic National Committee
(202) 863-8000
DNCMemberServices@dnc.org

i’m shocked to have gotten a response. of course, i’d be more shocked if this ridiculous situation resolved itself somehow. i’m not holding my breath.