The Weather! (November in Chicago?!?)

Double fortune?

The fortune cookie that came with my lunch had 2 fortunes inside. I wonder if that means I'm going to be particularly lucky? Both of them sound pretty good to me--I could definitely live with a promotion at work, and it would be even better if I could leave work right now to go read a book or spend time with a friend.

Retail Madness

I always scoffed at those who got up at 4 in the morning to go shopping on the day after Thanksgiving. I have become one of them. This is the second year that we got up to find some good deals on electronics. We scored big time, too. We got 1GB memory cards for $3, a 250GB external hard drive for $50, and more things that will remain unmentioned here, just in case one of those gift recipients happens to be reading this. We got there half an hour before stores opened, and the line was all the way around the strip mall...in the freezing cold. But no matter, our trip was worth it. Too bad I didn't have the $700 to buy the 42" plasma TV that was on sale!! Not that our little living room could accommodate something that big. But it would be fun to own one.

Now the question is, should I go back to sleep for a couple hours, and potentially feel awful when I wake up, or just stay awake and crash around mid-day? Hmm. I don't care--at least I'm not at work today!

You know it's winter in Chicago when...

I'm totally stealing this idea from my friend Missy, who lives overseas and often sends funny "top 5" lists about various things.

You know it's winter in Chicago when...

1. The menu boards and cups at Starbucks change to red
2. It gets dark at 4:30 and feels like the middle of the night by the time you get home from work
3. The lunch line at the soup place is longer than the line at Subway
4. You figure out how many buildings you can cut through to get to your destination rather than walk outdoors
   
5. You turn a corner downtown and are nearly knocked over by an icy blast of wind and...
6. You completely stop caring about what your hair looks like--you need that hat.

Free coffee

It's nice that my Starbucks is across the street from the Starbucks regional corporate office...if they screw up your order (or make you wait forever, as happened to me today), they take it very seriously and give you a coupon for a free drink of your choice. So next time I'm going to order a venti-something-very-complicated with my coupon. Fun. Though it takes away my opportunity to rant about the poor state of customer service in America today.

Weird Heckler

I've had some passersby make some odd (or sometimes, inappropriate) comments before--after all, this is a large city with its share of strange people--but this latest incident takes the cake. I was crossing the street from the train station, and a guy on a bike, wearing some type of uniform, road past. He looked directly at me, grinned, and said, in a loud voice, "DING DING DING DING DING!!!"

Blacksmith emergency?

While on the train, I looked out the window and saw a large box truck with "Emergency Blacksmith Services" on the side. I've never had an emergency that would require the assistance of a blacksmith, and I hope I never do. A quick Google search didn't turn up the company/agency, but I did find a few other bloggers who've seen it. Anyway, it gave me a laugh.