Chicago: Totally hands-free!!!

Downloading is great but there's something to be said for old-fashioned release date anticipation.

I really wish I had a decent record store out here I could hit up at lunch. The local Borders is horrible about stalking non Top 40 new releases. They have a decent selection, but it usually takes a couple weeks for them to get the indie-type new stuff.

I did two and a half years as a biology undergrad until I discovered partying and organic chemistry 2 kicked my ass. So that's an option, but my work has led to more interest in the physical sciences or lord help me, engineering. I think if I went back to school for science I might just get another B.S.

there's something to be said for old-fashioned release date anticipation

I get leak-date anticipation. It's really the same difference.

what scientific discipline would you go to grad school for

Can I answer, too?

In an alternate dimension where I come into a lot of money and don't have to work, environmental science.

Although that's a little like saying I want to study Everything. With a big "E".

Ecology was my "focus" when I was a bio major.

I wish I were scientific.

I'm interested in the general concept of science but have no aptitude at all for those kinds of things. I always did worst at biology and chemistry in school, was so glad when I could take physics instead because it was basically math and I used to be good at math.

Chemistry can break a man's spirit, it's true. Man him feel like a low-down dog. I think there's a Mississippi John Hurt song.

MAKE him feel

I am not awake.

Thinking about how poorly I did in AP Chemistry II my junior year of high school makes me want to cry and cry. I was totally lost in the class (would have helped if I'd had Chemistry I! way to go, me, moving around so much). I loved Physics. I hated Biology because we had to disect things (and because my teach spit on my desk constantly).

Jesse, Did you go to the C0ntainer St0re? I didn't do much organizing after all. We watched The Audition and drank some wine. I did manage to throw out a bunch of old envelopes that probably would have killed me a la Seinfeld.

I'm wearing Courtney's sweater today.

What? Insufferable or not, that definition touches on most of those points except 5, and 3a-b are really close?

I just meant that Webster's uses "down to a science" as an example of science defined as systemized knowledge rather than as the scientific method.

So is there a good way to approach someone about wearing too much perfume/cologne? Our new admin assistant wears so much perfume that every morning when she walks in my eyes start to water and my nose itches beyond belief.

Not really? At least she doesn't sit near you.

Yeah, there isn't really a good way to go about this. Best would probably be to either leave a polite but anonymous note, or get one of the ladies in the office to take her aside. But those would probably still result in hurt feelings.

Try, "You smell like a cheap whore."

a polite but anonymous note
IMHO, this is a horrible idea. :-D

Maybe someone else will mention it to her soon?

How old is she? Maybe she can't smell.

Unfortunately theres only five of us in the office, so its really hard to do much of anything anonymously. The two other people I've talked to about it agree with me, but are afraid to say anything to her. Its really starting to aggravate my allergies though.

She's like 35, 36. Old enough to know better.

Sorry, you are fucked.

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...