Chicago was a sweet adventure. Our hotel was a little, ahem, out of town, so lets just say it took a plethora of public transportation to get us where we wanted to go, but in the end all was sweet. Our hotel, "The Purple Hotel" was extremely craptacular, but luckily the token jack-of-all-trades hotel employee Andy, was lots of help.

We did all the fun stuff: Navy Pier, MARSHALL FIELDS STATE STREET, Chicago Museum of Art, Shedds, Michigan Avenue, plus we went to the Indian part of town, which was basically India in America and quiet enjoyable. I didn't spend any money the entire time until I bought the Salaam Namaste DVD, three sweet remix CDs, three bottles of LIMCA (you have no idea that I almost cried when I saw this), and some Brittania Cookies (sigh- YEAH!). This street was a little slice of heaven. I even have henna which only costed $5 to get done, holla! I also got a "how to speak Hindi" book, so just be prepared for my annoying habit of inserting Hindi words into conversation, you are fairly warned!

The rest of this week I am on vay-cay which is basically the best thing in my life! YES!

My name - Mere nam MISSY
childhood ambition - to be a dancing and singing diva or maybe an ice skater
fondest memory - lots- times in india, friends @ gustavus, silly and unpredictable moments
soundtrack - indian music of some persuasion ie bhangra or hindi-pop music, classical, anything that looks/sounds like coldplay, imogen heap/frou frou, broadway musicals (jazz hands!!)
wildest dream - tour the world with a backpack, passport and ambition with someone of significant importance
proudest moment - post besties: live and besties: live reloaded (ie my voice recitals with claire)
biggest challenge - being assertive to change the things i need to change, and leaving the rest the hell alone!
alarm clock - sadly enough, KDWB, but i really loathe radio in the morning, but my alarm clock is slightly dated
perfect day - river or lake or ocean, a boat, a barbecue, swimming, bonfire/smores (in another country)
first job - jack of all trades at Maplewood Bakery
indulgence - peanut butter, candy, regular dr pepper (although this one doesnt happen often)
last purchase - Ave Maria (Schubert) sheet music for piano and medium voice
favorite movie - love actually, kal ho naa ho, clue, pippi longstocking
inspiration - small steps make a noticable difference, one person can have a huge impact on people that need it the most!!!

Typical, so typical

When it all comes down to it, we all realize that we spend more time with our co-workers than our family or friends. This face is both (a) sad, and (b) ridiculous, but hey, what gives?

The fact that I've survived 8 months in corporate America is pretty amazing, but it is even more amazing when I think of some of my immediate coworkers! Let's not get me wrong here, I really enjoy most people that work at good old MF, however it just makes you realize that a little patience and understanding go a long way. This is such an after school special, but I think most people know I am not the uber-love-you-right-away type, so maybe there is something to this phenomena known as "the real world". There's my lesson for the day.

I am going to Chi-town in a mere 2 days, holla! I am so excited for vacation!

I got a new CD this week, The Fray, "How to Save A Life". So good, so good! I don't want to be a major music pusher, but just know I reccomend it. The Fray sounds a little like Coldplay but with more piano. If you really know me, you know that I will like anything that sounds just a little like Coldplay!

So Tuesday night was my first stint with the MN Chorale slash the Mississippi River Valley Choir/Orchestra. All of a sudden four years of choir memory came flooding back in a mere matter of minutes! The conductor is about 5'6'', male, large square glasses, and maybe 45 years old. He basically cracked me up the entire time. You could tell he was one of those flaming heteros, which I really appreciate, knowing my full affinity for seemingly-gay men who are actually straight or vice versa! Anyways we are singing Beethoven's "Ode to Joy" (9th symphony) in German. Unfortunatley, I am out of practice sight-reading German with a pretissimo tempo. I guess those skills are somewhat like riding bike, but I think I will have to put temporary training wheels on until I get that stuff down again!

Looking for an idea of where the TA I should live in DC! If anyone knows some sweet secret, let me know!

You Belong in London

A little old fashioned, and a little modern. A little traditional, and a little bit punk rock.A unique woman like you needs a city that offers everything.No wonder you and London will get along so well.

What City Do You Belong In?

Top Reasons I think I am secretly 40!

These past few weeks, although scary as it may sound, I am slightly convinced that I may be a circa 40-year-old stuck in the body of a 23-year-old. Here is proof:

1. I meticulously plan out my finances at all times and must make sure my checkbook balances to a "T" each time. None of this "just check the online balance" stuff!
2. Not to mention the fact that I bank at a craptacular local bank with no online capabilities. Gross.
3. I spend a good ten minutes of the work day today deciding what types of products a 40-50 year old may buy in some different demographics. My buyer mentioned I really had a knack for this. Great.
4. The biggest reasons that I purchased my car were because it a) gets great gas mileage b)has front and side-impact airbags and c) will look relatively clean even when it is dirty
5. I purchased an item of clothing from Field Gear!!!!
6. My upcoming vacation is to the all exotic destination, Chicago.
7. The last CD I put on my iPod was classified as "easy listening" (Amos Lee), eek 102.9 here I come! Sick!
8. Dave Ryan and Corey Foley of KDWB annoy the hell out of me.
9. I complain about gas or purposly drive to a destination where I know it will be cheaper.
10. WW- need I say more?
11. Ancillary relationships are seemingly becoming worthless. I pretty much know who my friends are.
12. There was some large turkey-looking bird in the backyard and I actually referenced my mom's bird booklet to see what it was (gosh I can't believe I admitted that!).
13. I like stuff clean. Clean Clean Clean!
14. I have the Rice Krispy Bars (baaaaaars) recipe memorized. And I buy the generic rice crispies.

I better stop, this keeps getting worse and worse! Oh well, I can probably name off things that make me feel young, but these are just kind of funny!

I better go focus on being young again!

I am going to school in Washington DC next year. I am pretty sure most of you probably already know that, seeing as it was a mini-drama in my life trying to figure out where to go. I realize I seriously cannot make decisions, no, really, I seriously am bad at it! Oh well, maybe the inherent ability to committ to a decision will come later in life (puhhhlease?).

At least all my classes are in the evening so I will be able to have some hopefully sweet job during the day. That is my master plan, after all! I am glad I am doing this now because it is probably the ONLY time in my life where I will be able to move where I want and go to grad school. I am just not ready to be held down by other committments, whatever they may be. Regardless, I will be ridiculously busy the next two years, but I think it will be good. I am ready to move out into my own apartment, with my own stuff. Strange!

As much as I can't believe it, I will miss good ol' MF when I leave, especially my sweet bonus I am passing up, but whatever. It has been a good year, and I can honestly say I have learned a lot and feel like a valued employee with some lots of responsibility.

New goal: Have lots and lots of fun before August!