i'm working full time at ryerson tull inc's headquarters on the west side of chicago (read: in the middle of the ghetto). we're the biggest supplier of steel in north america or some such nonsense.

it sounds exciting, doesn't it? well, i can assure you that it's not.

it's a very typical office job. i sit at my desk and stare at the discolorations in the grey, canvas-lined walls of my cubicle. i drink tons of water so i can go to the bathroom (currently boring a hole through a recently changed urinal cake) and degauss my monitor every few minutes. and of course, i do document revisions, file said documents, make flowcharts, etc etc...

i leave the house at 7am, get home at 6pm and up until last week, consistently spent (with much suffering) all 11 glorious hours of my wonderful day with my ex girlfriend who worked there with me. sure, she was in a different dept., but the powers that be saw fit to have her cubicle conveniently located across the aisle from mine. needless to say, i saw her a lot and it was just a few ticks short of thrilling.

on the bright side, i get paid pretty well and i've been able to make a few nice investments (zoom lense and finally got a CD burner). i've also successfully switched majors from business-marketing to photography/film so i'm pretty excited about that.

what about you guys?
posted by ivan at 1:07 PM

ivan, where have you been? what are you doing this summer? haven't heard from you in a while...
posted by jylo at 10:03 AM

didn't feel anything but it seems like everyone else i know did. they said there was shaking (obviously) and that it sounded like a low-flying jet.
posted by ivan at 11:04 PM

One of my co-workers said it woke him up, but I slept through it too.
posted by Larry at 1:53 PM

no... i'm too heavy a sleeper. apparently, i can sleep through earthquakes even.
posted by jylo at 11:51 AM

http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/Midwest/06/28/chicago.quake.ap/index.html

Ivan & Justin, either of you feel the earthquake last night too?
posted by yodaslap at 12:45 PM

*yawn*
posted by yodaslap at 1:45 PM

yeah, but most people can only dream of paying as little as you ;) if my rent was that low, i wouldnt have nearly as much incentive to buy.

well, that and if i didnt live at home.
posted by yodaslap at 3:21 PM

I'm still renting, so.

Anyway, sounds exciting to have your own place.
posted by asiliat at 12:43 PM

quick update from me, in case anyone's curious...

closing on the condo has been pushed back to early july, which is fine by me i suppose. im not really in a specific hurry to move out at the moment. theres been some mild complications with the loan (nothing serious), otherwise i wouldve closed a week ago. oh well, what can i do.
posted by yodaslap at 10:54 AM

Stop, madness!
posted by Larry at 11:58 PM

somebody stop the madness!
posted by yodaslap at 3:26 PM

Did you hear about Ray Charles? Too bad. But he seemed to have had a good life. RIP Mr. Charles.

Lawrence, it's probably not too weird to ask her out, but have you chatted at all? Made sure she's not a psycho? :-)
posted by Roberta at 4:12 PM

Duh, I was only in town a short while. I'm back in Madison and enjoying not having a roommate for the summer.

Hope Canada was a lot of fun for you guys.

In other news, I came this || close to asking out a total stranger. She was a cashier at the local Asian market. Not great looking or anything, buy very pleasant. I might go back next week and do it... hm, what do you guys think. Too weird?
posted by Larry at 10:00 AM

...while getting yelled at by me (at least twice) has been your low lights, I'll warrant.
posted by asiliat at 1:33 AM

posting from woodridge. sucks.
posted by yodaslap at 1:23 AM

posting from canada. nothing special. i'm getting very good at watching tv. taking the subway has been the highlight of my trip so far...
posted by jylo at 9:32 PM

argh. due to the recent shuffling of pda's and cell phones i just realized i dont have any up to date contact info for you, Lawrence. all i had was a "home" phone number (madison) that i called and it turned out to be to two people i dont know, and i have no cell number of yours (although i understand you rarely ever had/have it on). oh well, in the unlikely even youre still in town, give me a call then.
posted by yodaslap at 1:17 PM

Lawrence are you still in town? im guessing chances are you wont see this before you leave so ill try calling or something.

weddings are much tougher when youre actually involved in it to some extent or another. one time i was the groomsman, [part-time] video guy, and limo driver all in one... and that was after pulling an all-nighter before the 5-hour car ride down to st louis. never again...

come to think of it, in recent years ive only been to just one wedding as a guest and nothing else. boy was it relaxing.
posted by yodaslap at 1:47 PM