My Last Month in Minneapolis

I've got 31 days left in Minneapolis. Wow. It still sorta seems surreal that I'm moving to Chicago in a month. At the same time, I am so excited. I've been stuck in a horrible rut for way too long. I just need some kind of change. I am really hoping that I can locate my creativity, too. It's been lost for a couple of months. I cannot even recall the last time I sat down to work on my screenplay. It's not like I haven't thought about it, but I haven't made the time to sit down and work on it. Grrr...

The last time I made a major move I was 18 years old. I came to Minneapolis for college at the U and I haven't left. Well, I did go home to Wisconsin for breaks, but that was it. I really think this move is well overdue. I recall when I graduated from college, I really wanted to move somewhere new. I didn't care where, really. I just wanted an adventure. I was far too practical and instead I ventured into corporate America. I totally should've listened to the voice inside of me and moved somewhere and worked as a barista (which is the job I thought was cool when I was 22).

I am really excited to be able to spend more time with my relatives. My Aunt was happy when I told about my move. She said she always knew that I'd move back to Chicago. I will be able to walk from work to her house. I can baby-sit for my cousin's kid. My Dad will only be two hours away. I can actually go to a Packers game with him. I can see his 3,000 Daffodils. At the same time, it is an adventure. A fresh start. It's finally starting to sink in. I cannot wait to move. Don't get me wrong, I will miss Minneapolis and my friends, but a new start is so appealing. It's just what I need.

Randomness

Tomorrow (it's not the next day til I go to bed) is my seventh day consecutive day of work. I think I've lost my brain somewhere on day four. I think the only thing that will help me get out of bed and go to work is that Chipotle is FINALLY opening a store in the MOA and they are giving away free burritos tomorrow. Woo-hoo. I am so there. I heart Chipotle.

Tonight while driving home from work, I heard "Bohemian Rhapsody" on the radio. Apparently, some of the lyrics are too edgy and not family friendly. The line: "put a gun against his head.." was changed to "put a ________ against his head. Seriously. Why is that bad? I think everyone can figure that out. In fact, you can use context clues with the next part, "pulled the trigger, now he's dead." Noooo.... people won't be able to figure out it's a gun. Gotta love the FCC. Why is 'gun' a bad word? I just don't get it. Maybe they shouldn't play the song at all, if they're going to be that lame. I bet Disney is somehow behind this.

Craigslist is my New BFF

I don't know what people did before Craigslist. It has made my Furniture Liquidation Sale so much easier. With my crazy work schedule, I need something that is easy. And something that I can do at random times during the day. So far, I've sold my dresser and coffee table. I've got people coming for my desk and love seat. What I like the best is you don't have to put forth a lot of effort. It takes about ten minutes to get something posted and then you just sit back and wait for the e-mails to roll in. I was shocked at the responses I've gotten for my IKEA/ Target treasures. I actually had a bidding war for my dresser, which is so nuts. Not complaining, though.

Fun with Technology

Tonight I spent close to forty minutes on the phone with my Dad, troubleshooting a printer problem . Last night he was printing something on his computer and his printer wouldn't stop printing. He turned his computer off last night and thought that would solve the problem. It didn't. Tonight he turned his computer on and the printer fired up again. I would like to mention that his printer is over 10 years old. After walking him through several options, it finally stopped printing and I had a headache. I really don't mind helping my Dad with stuff like this, because he's not very computer savvy, but I always end up annoyed. My Dad has no patience with his computer and is not a very good listener with stuff like this ( I think this is payback for me never listening when he helped me with math). It also never helps that I am giving directions over the phone, instead of in person. What always amazes me with my Dad's lack of computer ability, is he's a smart guy. Super smart. He can fix things and has a degree in Engineering but he can't solve a computer problem. I can't do math and science to save my life, but I do know how to fix computer problems.

We did make some headway tonight: I convinced my Dad he should get a new computer AND a printer. I offered to help him shop for them the next time I was home.

My Dad did tell me that I am more helpful than the IT guy at work. I explain things in layman's terms and am patient. Woo-hoo. Score one for the girl with a Liberal Arts degree.

SOLD!

I am having awesome luck with my Furniture Liquidation Madness Sale on Craigslist. I already have 50% percent of what I posted sold or spoken for. The best part: I posted less than 24 hours ago. Wow. I've had a huge response, too. Who would've thought Target and IKEA stuff is in that high of demand. My dresser is being picked up on Weds. I am not sure what I am going to do with all of my clothes, though. I am thinking suitcases and storage bins. I would rather sell it now, than drag it to the curb or move it to Chicago. I'm holding off on posting my bed until it gets closer. I really don't want to sleep on an air mattress that deflates while you sleep on it for over a month.

I am really hoping that I am not jinxing my luck with Craigslist by posting about it. Cross your fingers.

Going, Going, Gone!

Yesterday I researched moving companies and I discovered that they are way too expensive. I figured they'd be more because of the price of gas, but not what I found. My stuff isn't even worth what they are charging. The cheapest was a little over a 1000 and the most expensive was 2700. I don't even have that much stuff. Especially furniture wise. I would hate to see what it would cost for a family to move. Yikes. After brainstorming with my practical, wise dad, I decided that I am selling most of my furniture. It's cheaper to just start from scratch in Chicago. The exceptions are my kitchen table, which was my parents when they first got married. And it still looks cool. I have two end tables that are probably from the 50's that were my grandpa's. I am only keeping the items that could be on "Antique Roadshow." Everything else will be part of my Liquidation Sale. Let me know if you or anyone you know is in need of following items:

• A double bed.
• Two desks- one desk is huge and nothing special. The other one, is adorable. It's shaped like a yellow jellybean and has cute white legs. I am super sad to part with that.
• An IKEA black cube bookshelf.
• A kitchen island.
• A love seat .
• A dresser.

My prices will be fair. I promise. I'm pretty savvy at pricing things. Especially since most of my stuff is from Target and IKEA. It's not like it's Italian furniture. The bed is from JCP and the loveseat is from HOM.

Today I'm taking pictures of my stuff and posting it on Craigslist. I figure with back to school for college kids, I should have no problem unloading my stuff.

Facebook Rocks!

I never thought I'd be writing this, but Facebook is pretty cool. I admit at first, I was a bit skeptical. I thought it would be lame like Myspace and I'd have tons of freaks wanting to be my friend. I've had just the opposite experience. I've reconnected with my childhood BFF and close friends from high school and college. I have had no freaks wanting to be my friend, only people I actually know. I heart Facebook. At least for now. I am sure at some point the novelty will wear off.

BIG NEWS

This is where I'll be living as of September 1st. No, I'm not moving into the Bean, I'm moving to Chicago! I am so excited. I have been thinking of this for quite a while (almost a year) and I'm finally doing it. I've just been so restless and in need of a big change. I'll be much closer ( two hours away) to my Dad and I have relatives that live in Chicago. It'll be nice to be able to spend time with them. I really feel that Chicago is where I finally will become a writer. And where I will finally find myself the magical adult career (my Dad is still harping away on that).

In the meantime, I am drinking as much Summit EPA as I can (they don't have it in Chicago) and trying to downsize my crap. I'm going to sell a lot of my furniture on Craigslist and sell my movies, cds and books at Half Price Books. I will also have a trunk full of goodies for Goodwill.

Flakes

I'm really sick of people being such flakes lately. I just don't get it. I have never been a flake. I don't know what goes on in their heads, but it stinks. The past couple of weeks have been flake fest '08. I am over it. I don't want to get too into the details and expose the flakes (maybe I should, though), but the worst example of flakiness was a friend who was in town. We made plans to get together and she never showed up (we were meeting at my house). After waiting for 40 minutes, I called her and left her a message. I never heard back from her. At first, I was really angry and upset. I quickly got over it, though. I really just don't comprehend how someone who is supposed to be one of my closest friends can just blow me off like that. It was her idea when we got together, too. And to not call me back. At all. In the Age of Technology there are so many ways to get a hold of someone when you really don't want to talk to them. My favorite is texting. The same week my friend flaked out on me, I had a woman flake out on me for a business meeting. Yes, a professional meeting. I waited for fifteen minutes before I called her and left a message. Guess what? She never called back. That one I think was worse. It's business related. That my friends, is low. People really have no excuses, except for their own general lameness. Oh, and a lack of manners or common courtesy. OK. Done venting. No more.

Getting Old

It's official: I'm old. The trends that I wore in high school are back with a vengeance. That my friends, is when you know you're old. I was looking at the Delia's catalogue (I have no idea how I ended up on the mailing list) when I saw a model wearing Doc Marten boots. I lived in my Docs in high school and college. I turned a couple more pages and another model was wearing those Minnetonka Moccasin boots that lace up and have fringe at the top. My childhood, bff, Jenny rocked those boots when no one else would wear them. I know that these trends never ever really go away, but seeing them in a catalogue targeted towards teens really made me feel old.

Thirty is Here

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My countdown to thirty has finally ended! Woo-hoo. I survived my twenties. Barely. Bring on my thirties. I don't feel any older or wiser. I always thought it was funny when I was little and an adult would always ask me on my birthday if I felt any older. Um... no. I would always spend a couple hours wondering what it felt like to feel older, though.

Yesterday Christine and I went on a quest to locate a McDonald's that had a Ronald Mc Donald statue. She decided it would be fun for me to kick Ronald in the crotch. Something everyone needs to do before they turn thirty. We failed. Miserably. Apparently, Mc Donald's took Ronald out of the stores. That just seems wrong. There has to be an old school Mc Donald's somewhere in Minneapolis.

I am off to enjoy my birthday and the beautiful weather. And possibly a nap this afternoon, so I am well-rested for bowling tonight. Ahhh... I must be getting old if I need a nap.

Happy Belated Birthday, America!

Last night in honor of our nation's birthday, my neighborhood was out of control with amateur pyrotechnic displays. I seriously thought I was living in a war zone. They went on until three in the morning. Isn't that a little excessive? And sort of lame. I could see until midnight, but that's the cutoff. I am not against people having fun, but I draw the line at moronic fun. These fireworks were not part of the pack that Target sells, these were full-on, last time I checked, illegal fireworks. Needless to say, I did not get a good night sleep. I went to bed at midnight and I got up again at one because there was no way I was going to fall asleep. I ended up watching television until 2 and went back to bed. Ugh. I'm sort of tired and cranky today.

Minneapolis and St. Paul both put on really good fireworks displays. Our tax dollars probably fund them. Why wouldn't you just go watch those instead of putting on home displays that might risk injury or a setting your house on fire? I just don't get it. I guess I can see sparklers, but not professional pyrotechnics.

The Last Retainer Post- I Promise!

I can eat cereal again! Woo-hoo! Ok, ok. I promise this will be the last post about my retainer and being able to eat again...but it is just too exciting! For a week, I had to eat cereal on one side of my mouth. It was horrible. You wouldn't think it would be that big of a deal, but it is. Anyways, no more on my retainer.

As a side note, two days until I leave my 20's behind me. Woo-hoo. So excited.

Back to Normal

I finally got my retainer fixed today. Woo-hoo! The best part is I can eat like a normal person again. It seriously hurt to eat cereal. I was down to two meals a day and no snacks. I was drinking a lot of Naked juices because they didn't require chewing and are full of good things. Bananas and yogurt worked well, too. I really do not need to lose any amount of weight. It is also nice to talk without having a wire poke me in the tongue.

The Best Birthday Ever

Growing up, I always had such fun birthday parties. They really were nothing special. My parents were quite frugal and at the same time kept things pretty simple. I always had my birthday parties in the backyard with games and cake. That was it. But, when you're five or six that is really all that you need. I never had a fancy birthday party at Mc Donald's with Ronald Mc Donald doing tricks and Grimmace serving up cake. I don't think I ever wanted anything like that, either. I was content with pin-the-tail on the donkey, Simon says, a pinata, and tag. Looking back, my parents were brill ant. They never had to deal with the mess in the house; it was always in the backyard. All they would need is a hose and a garbage bag. The best birthday ever was the year I had a pinata. The thing was constructed so well that my Dad had to get out the wooden baseball bat to break it. He also managed to crush all the candy with his strength. My Mom made the best birthday cakes ever. I always had a white cake with white frosting and strawberry filling on the inside. Yum. It is always amazing how the simplest of things made me so happy. I am sure my memory of my birthday parties is different than my parents. I am sure someone threw up or hit someone or some kid was very annoying. But, even now, 24 years later it still seems like the perfect birthday.

Figuring My Life Out

I think I'm ready for some kind of huge change. Not just a small change like changing my hair color, something big. The past couple of weeks have been bad from a restless standpoint. I just feel like I'm tired of my day to day life. I want to mix things up. I mainly want to find a way to be a serious writer. This is totally different than one of my four Quarter Life Crises. I am determined to make some sort of change, not just angst filled Michelle who hates her life. Ahhhh.. good old angst filled Michelle. She makes me chuckle. Mainly, because my so-called angst was very trivial. One of my co-workers and I were discussing our angst filled high school years and neither of us really had a reason to be all angst-filled. My angst stemmed from growing up in a wealthy suburb.

Anyways, my current situation is different. I am not going to rush into anything. I just need to think things through. I have a possible idea, I just need to work the logistics out. Just having some sort of idea, helps me with my restlessness.

As a random note (well, this whole post has been out there), I am still living life with my retainer wire poking me in the tongue. Grr.... tomorrow I will finally get that taken care of. It is seriously annoying.