People who change your life

Do you ever have someone touch your life in a completely unexpected way?  Perhaps years later you still remember what should have been a casual encounter.  For me, one of those people is a blind man I saw on the street several weeks ago.  I was behind him when a crazy homeless woman started yelling and harassing him.  I didn't say anything or help him, and I fear the guilt will stick with me for the rest of my life.  I was on the phone and distracted with the day, but still, I'm sure he was scared and I didn't help.  That event sometimes keeps me up at night.

I also met a person in Chicago who will stick with me forever, but in a good way.  His name is Fred, and he is the doorman at our old apartment.  I don't even know his last name, but his beautiful energy, friendliness and love for life will stick with me forever.  I'll be honest that during the move to our new apartment this week, I've been telling Mike how much I already miss Fred.

When I first moved to Chicago one year ago, I came to the city expecting people to be rude and trying to steal my purse.  I put up a wall just to protect myself.  I didn't say "hi" to anyone, make eye contact or smile...all of the things I used to do in Wyoming.  I thought in a busy city it would put me at risk.

Then I met Fred.  He was immediately sweet as can be.  He said "Hello" or "Good morning" to me everyday with a friendly smile.  When the winds were intense, he'd jump up from his desk and hold the door open for me.  He met my parents.  He wished Mike and I a cheerful congratulations when we passed by his desk with bags packed, on our way to get married.  Eventually our pleasantries included names, so it was "Good morning Jeannie!" and I replied, "Good morning Fred!"  Along with a cup of coffee, he became my favorite part of the morning.

This week, Fred and I said our goodbyes.  We hugged.  He then asked, "Is Mr. Michael here?"  When I said no, he look disappointed and said, "Well you tell that Mike...," then he did two hand gestures.  One was a thumbs up, and the other was touching his heart.  Come to find out, he and Mike always gave each other thumbs up when they saw each other.  I nearly lost it.

So Fred, thank you for changing my mind about a big city and big city people.  You brightened my days, and helped me feel like I was still in Wyoming.  I may not know your last name, but I can tell you--you'll always be in my heart.

The true test of any marriage

I know I've been a little AWOL lately, and I apologize.  We are officially in our new apartment, but it's taken blood, sweat and tears to get here.  How is that possible?  We moved from a 660-square foot apartment, not a 4-bedroom house, so how can we have SO MUCH crap?

Before moving to Chicago, I lived in a 2-story townhouse, so moving to a small living space with another person required some, well, adjustment.  That's a nice way of saying yelling.  And let me tell you, when you live in a one-bedroom apartment, there isn't anywhere to go when you fight except a little place I like to call Margaritaville.

Our closet now...and we haven't totally unpacked

When we moved in, I was so excited that all my stuff fit (barely) in the 3 closets available.  That's when Mike politely said, "Um, where's my stuff going to go?"  Oh yeah, we hadn't moved his stuff in yet.  Oops.

Fast forward to October of 2010.  We find an apartment that has almost everything we want...more square footage, a dishwasher, in-unit laundry, a balcony and a parking spot.  But...brace yourself....there's only one closet.  Okay, technically two, but the front coat closet was apparently built for Paris Hilton's Chihuahua, because the only thing fitting in there are fur vests made for a 4-pound canine.

So this means our marriage is being put to a new test....sharing one closet space.  Mike's prediction?  That I'll buy more and more clothes, and slowly push him out.  He says eventually he won't have any space.  My compromise?  I've put all my summer and spring clothes in every nook and cranny in this house.  I'm even storing stuff in a kitchen cupboard.  Yikes.  I can see it now...we'll have friends over for dinner, and I'll accidentally give them my underwear instead of a napkin.

The Windy City living up to its name

Bad hair day

The Windy City is certainly living up to its name today.  Yowsers!  WGN's Tom Skilling says our winds our comparable to a category 3 hurricane.  It's so windy, I just found a leaf in my bra after being outside.  No joke!  I couldn't figure out why I was so itchy.

Forecasters were calling for this to be the worst storm in a decade.  Then they upped it to 70 years.  It's bad, but it doesn't seem earth-shattering.  In preparation for this storm, Chicagoans were asked to take everything off of their balconies.  Since we're short on space, many people's balconies become essentially a storage area.  You'll see suitcases, kids toys, all types of furniture, and of course, grills.  Forecasters were worried about these objects becoming flying debris.  Scary!

Next Door Neighbors

I've said before I have an irrational fear of getting hit by something falling from a building.  This fear was increased when a girlfriend's glass-top table went flying over her 47th story balcony.  Yikes!  On the news this morning, they showed video of a bad storm in 2002.  Window washing equipment plunged 40-feet off of the Hancock building, killing 3 women in cars below.  That incident is what prompted today's warning of getting everything off of balconies, and construction companies were told to put away all their equipment.

So to all those people whose balconies were not cleaned off (ex: most of my neighbors)...just remember, we are a sue-happy country.  If your BBQ grill falls on me?  If I live, I'm totally taking you to the cleaners.

Oops, I did it again!

Oops, I did it again!  I'm talking about moving, and it really never sucks any less.  If you read this blog often, you know that Mike and I moved to Old Town, (just north of the city) so we could have a bigger place and a more neighborhood-y feel.

When you live in a city, you really pare down and only have the basics.  I don't keep old Christmas cards or wedding invitations, because frankly, we don't have the room.  Heck, in our old place, we didn't even have the space for a dining room table.

As I looked around this morning at our hurricane of an apartment, I had to laugh about what not only made the move, but what has also been unpacked.  Take a look..

Our 8 x 10 glossy photo of Indianapolis' favorite news anchor, Dave Barras. (Read all about this pic.)  The wait time to get this treasure is normally 8 years, but thankfully Mike and I moved up the list when we got married, and only had to wait 4 1/2 years.  We bubble wrapped it and made a special trip to our new apartment with only this to make sure it didn't get damaged.  We even blew through red lights so we didn't risk getting car-jacked and having this stolen.  Don't worry Dave, we'll put you in a good place.

I had to laugh when I unpacked these gems.  Yep, you're seeing right, these are New Kids on the Block trading cards.  Even though I was truly in love with Joe from NKOTB in the 5th grade, these cards are actually Mike's. (He was more of a Jordan fan.)  Seriously don't know how these made the cut, but Mike has such few guilty pleasures, I can hardly tell him to ditch these.

I might not be able to find my underwear, but thank god we found our Aerosmith guitar for Wii's guitar hero!  Mike works hard, so in his down time, he likes to play with his Wii.  (Yes I chuckle every time I say that.)


All-in-all, I started counting and realized my 10-year old dog has lived in 10 homes, and my 5-year old dog has lived in 5.  Think it's an exaggeration? Take a look..
1) 2000- Bailey started her life in the Tri-Delta sorority house in Laramie, Wyoming.  (Sorry to my house mom Kathy, because this totally was against the rules.)
2) 2000- My house mom Kathy discovered Bailey, so I got kicked out.  We then moved to a stinky little apartment in Laramie.
3) 2001- I got my first job in TV, so we moved back home to Cheyenne, Wyoming.  Somehow making $14,000 a year doesn't really pay for rent (or anything else for that matter.)
4) 2002- I then got a news job in Grand, Junction, Colorado, so we moved to another apartment.  I got paid $565 twice a month, and my rent was $575, so I took a night job as a janitor to make ends meet.  (BTW-cleaning a urinal may be the grossest thing...ever.  Men, how can you have such bad aim?)
5) 2003- I then got a news job in Fort Myers, Florida, so we moved into a cute apartment we could barely afford.  Living in a tropical climate was such a culture shock, and I never got used to finding Gecko's in my closet.
6) 2004- I reported on how interest rates were so low, so I decided to buy a condo in Fort Myers.  Yep, that's all the thought I put into it.  We moved in and shortly after, got Buckeye.  I just started dating Mike, so I made him paint the entire place.  It was a test.  He passed.
7) 2006- I got a job in Indianapolis, so we bought a darling townhome in Fishers, Indiana.
8) 2009- The recession hit, so I lost my Indianapolis job and moved back home to Cheyenne, Wyoming
9) 2009- I decided after 4 1/2 years living apart, Mike and I should live in the same zip code.  I packed up my saddle, and rode on in to Chicago.  We chose to live in a Chicago high-rise downtown.
10) 2010- Now, here we are in Old Town, trying to figure out how to share one closet.  Yikes.  I when I say share, I mean I get it, and he's putting his clothes in the tiny coat closet.

We gonna find you!

In my days as a reporter, I certainly interviewed a lot of interesting characters, but there was never an Antoine Dodson. For 90% of you reading this, that name probably conjures up these expressions, "You are so dumb!" or "Hide your kids and hide your wife!"

The Alabama man (who actually grew up in Chicago) became an internet sensation after he was interviewed by a Huntsville, Alabama television station regarding the attempted rape of his sister. His passionate and flamboyant interview looking right at the camera is classic. Watch here. You really can't make this up.

The interview hit Youtube, and pretty soon people in office's across America were watching and sharing it with their co-workers, families and friends. Then the interview got spoofed into a rap and a ring tone which is hilarious! Watch here. (Warning: This song will be in your head ALL day.)

http://www.bedintrudercostume.com/

Millions of people have watched the bed intruder rap, in fact, it drew so much attention, Antoine got asked to be on the Today Show, he gained his own Wikipedia page and now has a Facebook fan page. I'm now his 233,785th fan. Can you believe it?? And if you haven't found a Halloween costume yet, never fear! You can be Antoine Dodson.

What I think is a really cool part of this story is according to US Weekly, Antoine used his fame to raise enough money for he and his family to move out of the projects. Good for you Antoine!

For those of you who question how someone can become famous without really doing much, i.e. Paris Hilton, I say that's the great thing about being in America. And I really hope my 15 minutes comes soon, homeboy.

I got trapped on an elevator!

I've never been a fan of the overused news cliche "Your worst nightmare," but today after being trapped in an elevator, I can honestly say it was.

This week, Mike and I are moving into our new apartment, so I decided to take a load of stuff over this morning.  I finished up, and parked in the parking garage near our current apartment.  When I got to the elevator, I thought, "I really should take the stairs," but decided not to because sometimes you encounter scary bums.  I got on and hit "G" for ground floor.  Pretty soon it felt like there was a small earthquake, because the elevator rocked back and forth, there was a loud thud, and then it felt like I hit the ground.

I waited for the door to open, but it didn't.  Yikes.



I hit the alarm button, but nothing.  I hit it again, and still nothing.  Then I hit the "call" button and told the woman on the other end that I was stuck, but she didn't seem too interested.  I then called Mike and told him what was going on.  I told him, "If I don't make it out, know that I love you."  Okay, I was totally kidding, but I thought it seemed funny. (Side note: I'm totally grateful my cell phone actually had service, because it doesn't in 99% of Chicago elevators/high rises/restaurants.)

Then I noticed it was getting really hot, (probably my mind playing tricks on me) so I went to unzip my sweatshirt, but of course, the zipper was broken.  My Abercrombie & Fitch sweatshirt that's been a staple of my wardrobe since college suddenly failed me.  I decide to shimmy shake my way out of the sweatshirt so all I had on was my sports bra.

Then I hit the "call" button again, and got a much nicer operator.  She asked me the color of the elevator, the cross streets I was near, and if there was an elevator number inside.  She said she was going to call security and the fire department.  Finally I could hear some commotion outside, which I knew was a good sign.  Then I saw a very nice (and strong!) gentleman slowly pull the doors open with all of his might.  He was so forceful, he actually fell.  (Sadly, I didn't get a picture of my rescue because I was busy throwing my sweatshirt back on.)  The elevator was only about 1/2 way down to the ground floor, so he helped me jump out the rest of the way.  The other security guard told me, "Thank goodness you didn't panic!"  All I could think was, "I can't wait to blog about this!"

Wow, what a scary experience!  I took these pictures with my cell phone.  I'm totally bummed that I didn't have make-up on or my hair done.  I'm sure Kim Kardashian would be much better prepared for this photo op.

At look at The Social Network

The first thing I do in the morning is check my Facebook page.  It's also the last thing I do at night before going to bed.  During the day, I have to limit myself to looking at it 5 times or less.  It's how I've shared exciting news...the night Mike asked me to marry him, I immediately changed my Facebook relationship status to "Engaged."  The night of our wedding, I was so excited to change that to "Married" and also add on my new last name.  Facebook is the way I've reconnected with former co-workers and friends.  It's the way I've found out who's getting married, having children, getting promoted at work, or just having a really bad day.  Facebook has forever changed my life, and I'm sure you can relate.

The new movie "The Social Network" (Click on this link to watch the trailer.  It's so well done!) is about the birth of this social media phenomenon, and truly one of the best movies I've ever seen.  It's amazing to watch how an argument with a girlfriend inspired Harvard sophomore Mark Zuckerberg to create what would eventually lead to "The Facebook."  The quick banter in the opening scene between Jesse Eisenberg and Rooney Mara (Zuckerberg's soon to be ex-girlfriend) is amazingly well-written and perfectly performed.  I'm guaranteeing this movie and Eisenberg are nominated for Oscar's.  Justin Timberlake, who so well plays the cocky and arrogant Sean Parker, the founder of Napster, will also likely get on Oscar nod.

The movie goes on to show how Zuckerberg is sued by his best friend and three other students who claim the idea for Facebook is theirs.  It shows two twin brothers, Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, coming to Zuckerberg with the idea for "Harvard Connect," which in the movie leads Zuckerberg to coming up with the idea for Facebook.  I was so impressed with the actors who played the Winklevoss twins, that I immediately googled them when I got home.  Come to find out, they're actually played by unrelated actors, Armie Hammer and Josh Pence.  Director David Fincher decided he would later replace Pence's face with Hammer's so they looked like twins.  Crazy, huh?  But it totally works!  I had no idea.

Finally, I have to say the music throughout this movie is unbelievable, and keeps the film flowing in a way that you're never bored or have the chance to think, "I really have to go to the bathroom."

All in all, this movie is amazing.  It's powerful to see what an idea, money and greed can lead to.  If you're like me, you'll also leave the theater ready to do something great and leave your mark on this world.