Welcome to the 21st century, Sassmaster

This has been one cra-azy week for me: DSL and my first cell phone, all in one day! I won't deny that it's been rough living without the Internet. Attempts to procure e-mail checking and Net surfing took Scott and I to such exotic locales as Starbucks, Northwestern, and the Chicago Public Library, where we had to wait for two hours while some of the other clientele took their sweet time looking at porn, and I was yelled at by another patron because of the sound my shoes make. (That's why they're called flip-flops, lady!) Expect much more frequent posting now that I have the luxury of Internet at home.

I finally interviewed for a job that I think I'd really dig, but I think the Magic 8-Ball would tell me, "outlook not so good". One of the requirements is a knowledge of Spanish, which I had approximately three years ago. Since then, I've completely muddled it with German and destroyed many brain cells, so I definitely need a refresher. They seemed cool with my mediocre abilities, as long as I was "willing to try", and they asked me to translate a letter and then speak on the phone with a native speaker. I think the letter turned out ok, but the phone call was, well, muy malo. Here's my interpretation of selected excerpts from the conversation.

Sra. Ochoa: My kids take private lessons and history classes, but they tell me that they think history is very boring and they don't like to take it.
Me: History. Yes, how good! Uhhh...I think history is very important.

Sra. Ochoa: How many kids do you have?
Me: I want to work at Merit because I think every child should study music, and I think their programs are excellent!

Sra. Ochoa: Do you even understand a freaking word I'm saying, you gringo? Jesus!
Me: Could you speak more slowly, please?

You get the gist. Sra Ochoa was very patient and seemed really nice, but I'm not sure that my first-grade Spanish made enough of an impression for me to get the job. To prevent this from happening again, help me practice my espanol and post your favorite Spanish phrase in the Comments section! I'll start: Voy a beber demasiado cerveza esta noche! Ay, dios mio!

- posted by Trudes @ 6:33 PM

 
Chi-CAAA-go, we love it...

Guten Tag, East Coast-ers! I'm posting to quell your worries that I may have been injured in transit, but fear not! The Sassmaster is here in the Windy City, all in one sexy piece.

My first day in Chicago consisted of more action than I've seen in the rest of the summer combined. Yesterday's menu consisted of the following:

* Lugging heavy-ass bags across the city to pick up the keys to our apartment
* Getting to our apartment, which is pretty darn sweet
* Running into someone I know from HC on the way to lunch!
* Mmm...burritos
* Trying to get parking passes for the trailer that holds all our shit
* Purchase of a futon from a funky little store
* Mmm...hummus and fresh-squeezed juice
* MMMM...GELATO! Scott and I found an amazing ice cream shop that sells the best damn smack I've ever tasted. Expect me to gain about 50 pounds in the next two weeks as I try all the flavors.
* Trying to soldier on into late-night territory, as we caught a movie that we proceeded to fall asleep throughout. (I'd still recommend it if you like things from the "disturbing" milieu - it's called Capturing the Friedmans.)
* Zzzz on the hardwood floors. Blah.

There you have the riveting summary of my activities thus far. So, fearless readers, who wants to come visit?
- posted by Trudes @ 12:19 PM