updates and things

goodbye Friendster, indeed.  All future updates will now be located at: http://hrhmax.blogspot.com/

Thanks, guys!

XOXO

When in the Chicagoland area, change-free is not the way to go.  I found myself driving to Schaumburg on Wednesday when some loco rocos in a hoopty Lexus almost ran me over the road.  I resisted the urge to flip them off but that didn’t make things better.  I missed the I-290 interchange anyway.  So, I hauled ass to the next exit and found out that the town of Barrington requires one to pay a toll to exit the freeway.  My purse got emptied of pennies and dimes and the green light indicated I could move forward.  A quick turnaround and I was once again eastbound only to find that I needed another thirty cents in order to exit.  Luckily, a man was emptying the change out of the machine.  I asked him if he had change for a dollar.  He gave me the pink slip (aka Missed Toll Form) and said, "Read this, you will need to pay the toll online within 7 days."  And so today, I went online and paid a whopping $0.30 to the Illinois Tollway. 

I spent part of the afternoon at Woodfield Mall while waiting for L&F to come out for dinner.  She had suggested Maggiano’s so there was no point in me going back to the city since the place was out in the ‘burbs.  We talked of Prague, Budapest and Germany over braised beef cannelloni.  Family updates and future travel plans over tiramisu and creme brulee.

My drive back to the city was side tracked when I got a call from Judie Pie.  It was his birthday and he was out with friends.  Northalsted it is, then! This time around we were off to Spin for $1 drinks.  It was the perfect amuse bouche evening for this out about town FagHag!

It feels good to be back. Tsu-man always said he felt like it was home for me.  He was right.

The first thing I did was to take a trip down memory lane.  I turned off of Bessie Coleman Drive and onto Mannheim Road, the bane of my pre-freeway driving existence.  Brought about by my last minute realization that I would need change for the tollways I would need to take in order to get downtown, I veered off my Mapquest plotted course and took the Eisenhower in.  I am not complaining now though, it allowed me the opportunity to stop at my old alma mater.  I decided against taking Congress Pkwy as my grand re-entrance into the Windy City. It feels a lot older than I remember.  I saw more cracks on it’s sidewalks, more grime on it’s buildings. But it was 80+ degrees hot and I was determined to enjoy my first afternoon back.

First order of business, see Millenium Park. I had a picnic by the auditorium and then made my way up the Golden Mile.  I found a couple old haunts and a lot of new discoveries. I even accidentally discovered the parent company’s building! With just enough time to soak my feet and freshen up, Jude came by and picked me up from the ‘It’s All Valet At The Hyatt, Miss’ hotel. We had fab sushi at Meiji on the West Loop area.  (It was good but not as good as Tojo’s) We had some warm edamame and a few rolls - Dynamite with avocado and CC roll, Spicy tuna with avocado and salmon and tuna draped on top and Toro and Ahi tuna with daikon radish wrapped in cucumber in a rice wine and sugar dressing.

What better way to finish off the evening than chat away while everyone else was singing along to Cabaret?  It was Show Tunes night at Boys’ Town and Liza was back in her prime. Yeah, yeah, there were a few Miss Saigon lines that I was tempted to mouth…But my fabulous companions had no problems acting it out for me.

Today, I was reminded of how crazy the drivers are here in Chicago. I hope to not bring it back to the "Ham but boy, the road rage is back in full force.  Flipping, honking, cussing, the works.  WTF were they thinking when they gave me a PT Cruiser for a rental?  Another sucky, slow, hard to maneuver car.  Oh d’uh.  For a moment I forgot that it is a domestic.

Ex-tomboy Karen came by and picked me up tonight for a little din-din and a lot of dishing.  A nightcap at the John Hancock signature lounge (the fog made my camera dead weight) was another perfect end.

Now, I’m off to the land of sheep counting. I haven’t quite gotten used to the time zone change.

I resisted for the longest time but my curiousity eventually got the best of me.  I needed something to entertain me during this period of absolute (but oh so glorious) inactivity, as I wait for the grass to dry and the start of outdoor vball season. So I looked at my list of shows to play catch up on and found Nip/Tuck.

Sidenote: I’ve never given plastic surgery any serious thought.  But I am relieved that such a profession exists, it’s a great fall-back plan in the event of accidental disfigurement.  Needless to say, I found out five minutes into the pilot that it was going to be much more than just surgical procedures.

I am hooked. Obsessively addicted, actually. I have spent the last week running straight home after work, like a good little girl, and indulging in episode after scandalously, gory episode.  I did find myself looking away as they cut around a nipple to fix this man’s moobies (man boobies, y’all) so that he could get accepted into a by invitation only, swingers party.  But the graphic display of blood isn’t what got me.  It’s a stylized depiction of giving in to vanity, fear, death, lies and the ensuing ruckus that follows.  I would be amiss if I didn’t mention that the show hints of sex in the weirdest depravity imaginable. Just a hint. It’s not pornographic after all.

Some people thrive only when there is drama in their lives.  (Now I’m beginning to understand why the ex-bffs are the way they are.)  I definitely prefer for it to stay within the confines of the tube.  With lives as crazy as these characters, I certainly hope it is art imitating (or more like exaggerating) life and not the other way around. 

So, if you don’t hear from me for a while, forgive me. I do have three more seasons to go.

Today is the 20th anniversary of our parent company being traded in the stock market.  So, it is free coffee & food day again here at work.  I came in to a line of about 50 people in the lobby, waiting for two baristas to make their coffees for them.  It so happens, I am following this fattish, older lady (seriously, she’s even got a female baldness thing going on.) who just got her coffee and scone.  She presses the button to summon the elevator. Then takes a step back. And another. And another? And another! And another! Here I am following suit so she wouldn’t run into me.  It would have been impossible for her not to see me as she was standing in front of semi-reflective glass.  Finally she stops.  This one guy in line sees me throw my hands in the air while mouthing, "What the fuck?"  He calls my name and starts going, "Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Maxie, don’t get run over!"   

How ironic that this company actually has the words health and management in its name and yet a tour of the building would yield a large majority of its occupants not practicing said words? Ok. I’ll stop. I know I am being mean.

One more thing, the Chicago trip has been moved to May 14th.  My schedule has gone awry and I really don’t even want to think about it anymore.

When I was a kid, I did not dream of being a video ho.  Especially not for propaganda use!  Dare I elaborate?  What the hell!  If I’m going to push the envelope, I might as well see how far I can go before getting reprimanded.

I was walking back to work with my one and only sane co-worker today, when a group of trainees stopped me to say jokingly, "Can I get your autograph?" I told them I had no idea what they were talking about.  The leader of the pack said in his southern drawl, "We saw y’all on tv today!  You were the star of the video!" Huh???  Then it dawned on me.  He was talking about the Rah-Rah video the company recorded earlier this year to document their prized Culture of Excellence dogma.  I mustered a fake laugh and said my goodbyes.  For a moment I wondered if I could get away with getting into my car and running them over like bowling pins.  Isn’t that what real celebrities do?  But, I put my gargantuan Michael Kors glasses back on (because we all know I am really a drag queen at heart!) and continued the trek uphill instead. 

This is just great.  I get to be the face those people remember three months from now, when they realize their commission-only job sucks ass and they finally get why insurance agents are not thought of fondly.  Business development, indeed!

Friday night started out great with the chicas and I meeting up at the Bellwether for wine and appes.  We made summer plans.  We shed off the week’s craziness. Potato wrapped shrimp. Then we got told by the owner we were too rowdy.  Umm… I’m only on my second glass of pinot grigio, Sir.  I know for a fact dancing on tables don’t occur until after the Jager shots come out!  Well anyway, we huffed and puffed for our check and left the pretentious watering hole to meet up with the guys for some down home, pulled pork sandwiches.  The evening kinda fizzled out due to long wait times at the bowling alley.

8.11.2007 will be the pRon star (after the shot, not the professionals) reunion weekend.  Parents, do not bring your children to Leavenworth that weekend! I must try to not lose my voice this time around.  Although.. with inner tubing down the river, wine tasting, the Ducks & Drakes, breaking into the hot tub and all the other crazy ideas that Bianca, Shanaynay and the gang can think of lined up.. that might be a challenge.

Saturday was chill.  Slept in. Casino Royale. (Oh, James indeed!) Afternoon nap. Wii at Rupinder’s. Vball. Mexican. 3 Ibuprofens.

Mark and I played tennis, for about three hours yesterday, while the Tsu-man was off to a motor swap. An LS-VTEC upgrade for a friend’s Acura Integra. Meanwhile, Nektario & Nancy were crazy enough to do the Sun Run this year.  So to celebrate, the five of us went to Spiros. "We will eat. We will leave. But we’re not going to pay." Well, that was my Greek lesson of the day, but I’ve forgotten it already.  I’m still stuck at "Yassou!"

Nektario’s fam makes the best Greek food.  No menu needed.  We had the crazy Greek order for us. Kalamaria, Tarama, Tiropita, Spanakopita, Dolmathes, perfectly cooked lamb medallions, Pita with Tzatziki & Hummus.  Creme caramel and Baklava to finish.  I was nursing a food baby past the overtime period of Game 3 of the Canucks versus Stars faceoff.  (Incidentally, them Orca boys better come up with a different strategy besides scraping by with the skin of their teeth!)

Hijo De Puta. I’ve got Frozen Toe Syndrome! I should have known better than to wear my silver jacquard silk, 4-inch open toe slides, with the rhinestone buckles today. It’s another wet and windy Friday in the Pacific Northwest, folks! You’d think after six years, I’d know how to dress for the climate.  It’s not that I don’t.  I just refuse to! The wool socks and northface jacket crowd will not be adding my name to their list of victims, oh no.

My preferred woe du jour are sunburns and an empty drink glass.  It is 82F in Salvador da Bahia today.  I wonder if they need auditors there?  I’m even willing to take a paycut in exchange for a beachfront cabin, 4 hour workdays and an on call personal masseur. 

For the record, I don’t think I’m the type of person who does well with taking a break from things. This is the second week without league vball, dance or anything other than Law & Order reruns lined up for my evenings.  Blech. The Queen of Afternoon Naps is officially couch-weary and in need of stimulation.  I think I have to admit it. I am bored. So if y’all have any groundbreaking things to do indoors, hit me up.  Oh, why does it have to be so rainy and cold here? 

When: 4/23/07 - 4/27/07

Where: Downtown, where else?

Who: Boardroom Lisa, Judie Pie, Kasia and the old XDP Crew!

The Veep’s admin, or Dracula’s Bride as I like to call her (since her makeup is so flawlessly…goth), has outdone herself this time around.  She got me hotel reservations at a posh hotel on Wacker Drive! So.. here’s what I had in mind:

Revisit old haunts with the XDP crew.  Have fab tacos al pastor at the Mexican cantina off of Harlem and Roosevelt. See Centennial Park.  Shop Michigan. A wine tasting or two!  And by special request from the Tsu-man, hit up Giordano’s. Anyone have any other suggestions?

Now if the weather will just cooperate. Damn April snow storms in the midwest.

Ahay, Judie Pie, ngaa subong ka pa imo nagpuli sa Pilipinas, man? Bay-i lang, mabalik pa ko liwat sa July, a.