Chicago: Totally hands-free!!!

I think I'm going to bring in some really strong scented candles to fight the smell. Maybe I'll have to find the most offensive smelling ones that I can still stand. Patchouli maybe?

No reason you should suffer. Vanilla is nice.

Bring in a box of Nag Champa.

CINNAMON PUMPKIN APPLE SPICE WITH VANILLA

Have someone kidnap her and take her in a Yankee Candle store and not let her run back out for a good 5 minutes.

Gah. I think that bringing in scented candles only escalates the battle of the scents.

Well yeah, I want to be immature and petulant and fight fire with fire. Semi-literally, in this case. I just wish it wasn't such a social no-no to be able to ask someone to tone down the body scents a little bit.

In other news, I'm officially addicted to Heroes. When it first came out I thought it looked really stupid and the whole "save the cheerleader, save the world" advertising thing annoyed me. But this show is right up my alley, my inner comic book geek approves.

1. Yes I did go to the Container Store and it was all I could have hoped for and more. I got an AMAZING (to me, anyway) modular desk set-up. I've been wanting a really super super narrow desk that is really tall. I found a way to make it happen with the Elfa Freestanding Shelving Solutiona;dsklfjdsa;lkfj.

I don't know why I numbered that.

xposts I remember when I used to burn incense at home. Like, the room would be full of smoke from one or another substance, so to combat that, you light up another thing that smokes. What a weird thing to do.

It's sort of like this,

http://images.containerstore.com/MEDIA/ProductCatalog/96685/elfaBillPayArea_l.jpg

but freestanding, not white, and with much nicer shelves. It's only 2 feet wide! I plan on adding another 2 feet to the width around Christmastime when all Elfa shelving is 30% off.

It's 83" tall!

wait what is the container store? my room is a mess!

2. I got offered a job that I really thought about taking. It was a position as the Executive Director of the new restaurant organizing group that is coming to Chicago. It would have been a jewel on my resume and a big pay increase, but I don't really want to be an organizer, the hours would have been MADNESS (60+), and would have fucked with my plans to finish school.

3. I got an offer to marry someone whose visa ran out. No pay.

http://www.containerstore.com/index.jhtml

Heroes is pretty sweet.

I used to work with two separate people, a guy and a girl, who both wore ridiculous amounts of smell-spray. I and pretty much everyone I worked with told them straight-up that it was too much, and it didn't really change their spraying habits.

STRAIGHT-UP NOW TELL ME
ARE YOU GONNA SMELL LIKE THAT FOREVER

Hahahahaha

Okay that alone almost made the whole situation worth it.

Let's talk more about the Container Store!! Sarah? Evan?

can't you just go on and on about how weird it is that your allergies are acting up at this time of year, for a few days, and eventually say something like 'while i love the way your perfume smells, it seems like i'm allergic to it, darn it! any chance you could wear a little less?'

i LOVE the container store. but it seems really expensive to me.

In 2006, the Chicago-Naperville-Joliet metropolitan statistical area, which includes Cook, DeKalb, DuPage, Grundy, Kane, Kendall, McHenry and Will counties, had more “high-cost” mortgages than any other metropolitan area in the country

It is pretty expensive. Which reminds me--I got my shelves for 50% off because they were from a display unit and (very) slightly marred--no more than I will do to them in about 1 week of use.

Have any of you ever been to Whiting, IN? My sister is telling me that she watched some home design show last night where the couple was from Chicago and could only afford to spend $200k... and ended up buying there. It is 20 minutes out of town supposedly, but I'm sure that doesn't include traffic.

Apparently they have an annual pierogi fest.
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1081/959592846_7b6d66ea9b.jpg?v=0

oh dear god. this woman in my office is trying to describe 'across the universe' to her friend by describing 'moulin rouge' but doesn't remember what it's called or who's in it, and is also comparing it to 'the lion king on broadway'. she thinks it'll be so fun and trippy that she wants to get a big group to go and DRINK during it.

this is not convincing me to go see 'across the universe'

jesse, do you want to come over and organize my closet? this may involve unpacking at least 3 boxes which i've procrastinated for the last 3 months or so...

You know, I'd MUCH rather organize your closet than my own.

My house is currently not a place I enjoy being. It's a fucking wreck and it affects my sense of well-being. But I am such a fucking busy person!!

Once I get it to the point where I don't have to blindfold anyone who enters it I am calling Jenny and Jeff's cleaning lady.

I made fun of the container store a helluva lot when I first heard about it, because it reminded me of something out of UHF. Then I was annoyed at it for trying to capitalize on my desire for zen. Then I gave into it and bought a bunch of containers.

Weren't they named one of the best employers a while back?

Before they changed their name to The Container Store. They were One-of-the-Best-Employers Store.

when i was a kid, i used to go visit my grandparents in dallas and my grandma would take me to the container store and just wander around. i loved it.

i haven't bought much from there recently, though. we got a big airtight bin for the 50lb bag of flour we got from costco (we make a lot of bread), but nothing more exciting than that.

just looking at the website was a bit overwhelming

Look, I'm just going to say it ... the Container Store is DUMB.

they sell boxes

yeah

It is so not dumb.

You have to go there. The website is overwhelming, but going and touching all the containers gives one the sense of boundless optimism.

They sell Cleverness.

they just fucking sell boxes

Have any of you ever been to Whiting, IN?

This is where that huge BP oil refinery is that's been in the news lately because they wanted to expand and pollute even more into Lake Michigan than they're already doing. Never been there, but I've driven on the Skyway often enough to know that that area isn't all that attractive.

The Container Store is not dumb.

Jesse you should get a Container Store tattoo.

The Container Store is going to be the issue that will finally tear CHILX (and possibly my marriage) apart.

I was going to say that Nick's response is a typically guy response, but I don't even think that. I am pretty sure that Jeff is into it as well.

and is also comparing it to 'the lion king on broadway'.

Well, this isn't so weird since they're both directed by Julie Taymor. I'm kind of interested in it insofar as I'm a sucker for high-concept films, but I can also see myself completely hating it. I disliked Moulin Rouge, for instance.

And Kenan.

Never been there, but I've driven on the Skyway often enough to know that that area isn't all that attractive.

we should ALL pollute there!

I haven't been to the Container Store in years! It seems pretty cool, though.

the thing is, i NEED boxes

I
I was at The Container Store
You were there
Two worlds collided
And they could never tear us apart