So much has been going on in the past week, I hardly know where to start.

Dana and Mo came to visit for the weekend. They arrived Thursday night and I took two days off work in order to show them around. We went to a bar down the street and had some drinks on Thursday. When we got home my throat was very scratchy and I thought I might have been bothered by the smokey air in the bar. I went to sleep and woke up at 4am with the worst sore throat of my life. My throat was so swollen, I was gagging everytime I swollowed. I had never felt anything this bad since I had mono, and I had a bad feeling something was wrong, so I told Todd and he suggested I go to the hospital. I went to the hospital. I didn't have strep throat. In fact, they didn't even know what it was, so they told me to get some cough drops and call them if I got a fever. God-damnit! I felt terrible!

In case you didn't notice, I lived but I think I might have the bird flu.

My symptoms have changed, now I have the most congested head ever. I came home early from work today because I was feeling so rotten. When I had mono, I didn't miss a day of work, and yet this cold is bringing me to my knees.

I had a fabulous time with my house guests! We went thrifting all day on Friday and on Saturday we went to the Underground Railroad Freedom Center, which was fabulous museum. We played two rousing games of Scrabble on Saturday night (aren't we wild) in which Todd proved victorius both times.

I thought it might be strange to have weekend long guests and I was worried that I wouldn't know how to entertain them properly, but there was never a dull moment. It was so nice to be able to spend such a long time with people who come from the same place you came from and understand everything you went through. I don't know what I would do if I didn't have any siblings to relate to. Even when we were just watching movies and playing scrabble, it was fun.

Today I got my first Postcrossing post card in the mail from Finland. It was so exciting to be suprised with a postcard from a random person around the world. So far I have sent out 10 postcards and 5 have been received. If all goes according to plan, I should get one for ever one I send out. Nobody understands my excitement.

This is me and Todd at the Underground Railroad Freedom Center Museum.















Here are the sisters in front of one of the many bridges to Kentucky















Here we are again on my roof. it is very sunny out, and difficult to keep our eyes open.














Ohio's first President! William Henry Harrison who died in office after 30 days. Such is the legacy of Ohio.

















This is the "World Friendship Bell" located in Newport, Kentucky. Somehow, it doesn't seem like the friendliest place in the world when you see cars like....













This one parked right across the street from the World Friendship bell. I guess it has smiley faces on it.

I was chatting with another secretary today and I casually mentioned that I had just finished up my undergraduate degree this year. Then she said, "Oh, you must be really young, then. How old are you, like 25?"

I don't know how to take this? Does this mean that I look like I am over 25 and she was surprised to hear of my youth? I know that I present myself as very mature and professional, and I want to look older, but do I really want to look THAT old?

AND...who takes 7-8 years to finish college? Well, I guess some people might, but if somebody told me they just finished school I would assume that they were 22 or 23.

Dear Corporate America,

"Aspirational" is not a word. Please stop making me type it. My spell check is very angry with me.

Love,
Kim

Although I did nothing worthy of writing about yesterday or today, Todd insisted that I update and not dissapoint any of my fans. So here it goes:
1) Yesterday I worked at the shoe store. I sold over $1,000 worth of merchandise which translates to a nice, fat commission check.
2) Todd and I went to a haunted house in the evening. I nearly lost my voice from shreiking so much.
3) I woke up with the annoying church bells this morning...again. Todd suggests that we write a letter to the church to tell them that their annoying bells wake us up on our only morning to sleep in...but I told him that was the point of the church bells.
4) We went couch shopping today and we have decided on the couch we want to buy. I convinced Todd that eggplant would look great in our apartment. (yay!!!) We are going in on Wednesday to place the order. Keep your fingers crossed that the couch fits up our stairwell!
5) Then we went to the mall to buy Todd some clothes. He has the damnedest time finding pants to fit his skinny little legs. If anybody ever sees a mens size 29-32 out there, let me know. I suggested that we start shopping in the boys department...he was no amused.
6) Despite my protests of being embarassed, Todd talked me into going into a jewlery store...just to try things on. (And by things I mean diamond rings)
7) I finally found a tan colored v-neck sweater at J.Crew. I paid full price for it; I don't think I have ever spent that much money on a shirt. I have to keep telling myself that it is very versatile, and I will get a lot of wear out of it to keep from returning it on principle alone. I'm wearing it tomorrow, and it will look great.
8) My apartment is very cold. The weather changed from 83 degrees on Wednesday to 53 degrees on Friday. Todd and I have set our thermosdat at 75 right now, but it says that it is only 64 degrees in the apartment. (It feels colder) I can't figure out why our heater isn't working, and my nose is cold to the touch.

In the past 24 hours I have heard the song "Looking for some hot stuff bay-be this evening, looking for some hot stuff bay-be tonight..." I think the entire city of Cincinnati might secretly be gay.

I almost died last night. Okay, so perhaps I am being a bit melodramatic, but I had a bit of a scare. I had just come from Avondale, where I picked up some eggs and Chinese food. Don't let the name Avondale fool you, it is not a pleasant, happy place. It is a terrifyingly frightening place. It has the highest murder rate in all of Cincinnati. (Eat your heart out Over-the Rhine!) I went to a little store called Aldi to get the eggs. I don't know if anybody has ever been in an Aldi, but it is the most GHETTO store ever...and I say that in the kindest way possible. It was a grocery store with no shelves. There were boxes of off-brand food sitting on the ground. Perhaps this wasn't the best place to buy eggs.

In any case, on my way back home it started to POUR rain. I couldn't even see the lines on the street, and being the first time I drove to "Dragon City" I was not in a very comfortable state of mind. It was still raining when I parked my car near my apartment. I hadn't even turned the car off when I heard somebody knocking on the passengers window. I turned my head and it was a scary hobo with no front teeth. He was motioning for me to roll down the window. Uhhh, no. I don't roll down my window for scary hobos, when it is pouring rain at night and I am alone. So I sat there and shook my head, no. He finally walked away when I was about to drive around the block. I watched him cross the street and turn the corner. After waiting a few minutes, I turned the car off, got out and began to walk to my apartment. The same scary hobo was waiting for me around the corner and cut me off and grabbed my hand. He said "I didn't mean to scare you, ma'am. I just came here from Atlanta and I have been sleeping on the steps of the courthouse for the past 9 nights. I'm hungry and KFC has a special for $3.99. Can you give me that money, I'm very hungry. I don't drink and I don't use drugs." (He still has my hand, he wouldn't let go!) What was I supposed to do? It was pouring rain and I had Chinese food and eggs in my hand! If I had food besides my dinner on me, I would have given it to him, and I didn't want to give him money. Since he still had my hand, I decided that I wasn't going to open up my wallet to get money, but I had a dollar in my pocket. He was mad when I gave it to him; he said he needed more! I pulled my hand away and ran across to my apartment.

Anybody like to get postcards? I do!

I just joined Post Crossing and I am soon going to be getting postcards from all over the world. In fact, today I just mailed out 5 to Austria, Finland, Germany and Taiwan.

www.postcrossing.com

Keep in mind, you have to send one in order to get one.

AHHH! It's the colorful ice cream truck. This truck can be found just about anywhere that I go. They give out free ice cream in order to raise awareness/money for the arts in Cincinnati. I don't know how free ice cream = money for the arts, but I know that it is yummy!





Here is a lovely view of Main street on a sweltering autumn day. Seriously, it was 82 degrees today. It's not funny anymore.








Another view of Main Street; I love this building.












What's that beautiful building looming above all the others?












Why, it's my apartment! Look, there are my blinds, and my roof deck. Hello pretty apartment!

Here is a kind-of racist nightclub.











And next to it is the REALLY racist nightclub.









Oh Jekyll & Hydes. You are sooo racist...and goth.

This is the building that I am currently working in. Okay, so it's not exactly, but it is connected to this building, and it is the same company, so close enough.




Cincinnati is a real building with skyscrapers and everything!

And like a real city, it has really crappy abstract/modern artwork in random places.

Hmm, this hotel looks a little bit on the scary side. I think I would need to be convinced that this is a good place to stay....

This is the WORST advertisement ever.

The most tragic thing has happened. I came home from work on Saturday (which is tragic enough) only to find a big sign on the front door of Coopers (the bar next door with the fabulous calzones) saying that they were going out of business. OH NOOOOO! It was always so cool to say that I was going next-door for a drink, and now I can't do/say that anymore. Todd and I just ate there last week and nobody said a word to us about closing down. I feel so cheated, like an old friend moved away and never told me.

Today I went to the Cincinnati NOW executive board meeting (they call it something else, but I am still living in my Women's Council fantasyland). At the last regular meeting, they asked me to write something for the newsletter and come to this special meeting. I think it was all a set up because when I got there they began to talk about elections and conveniently had the position of Vice President open. Then as they were saying, "now who can we get to run for that position...." everybody looked up at me and said, "Kim?" Ahhhhrg! I was totally set up! I am honored, though, and I will run for the position. I suppose it is pretty impressive that I have only been to three meetings and they want me to run for a leadership position. Then again, Women's Council was always looking for fresh blood. I see right through their sneaky tricks...I invented those tricks.

The temp job is going well. It is very tiring to adjust to working 48 hours a week after being unemployed for 2 months. (I am working all day Saturday at the shoe store as well.) I pretty much learned today that I wouldn't be a candidate for the specific job I am doing right now, but they want me to apply for another Administrative Assistant job. I'll do it, but I'm not happy about it. I finally met my boss character. He is a decent enough guy, and when he learned about my degree he said straight out, well, this isn't what you want to do with the rest of your life, is it? Oh course it isn't douche-bag. Who dreams of being a temporary secretary when they grow up? He did take the time to sit down and find out more about me, and I wonder if he would be kind enough to keep his eyes peeled for positions I might be qualified for. Probably not. I think I impressed him, though. So, until I am abruptly asked to leave, I will enjoy earning $12.50 and hour doing easy work.

I went out to dinner and a movie with some of the women in my bookclub this evening. Dinner was wonderful, and we chose Elizabethtown as the movie choice of the evening. Being opening weekend, the movie was sold out and so we were all crammed in next to some of the most obnoxious people in the universe. I generally only see rated "R" movies, so it is so foreign to me to be next to kids who have their moms pick them up after the movie is over. I knew these girls were going to be trouble. We sat down and there were about 5 girls already who glared at us and said, "those seats are taken!" We shifted down until we were out of the "taken seat zone." These girls reserved 14 seats! Automatically, I don't like anybody who goes to the movie in a group of 14.

These girls were holding conversations a good 20 minutes into the start of the movie. Like full-on, "ohmygod, WHAT did he say? And then she did that? I can't believe she did that?" Every phrase out of their mouths was ended with their voices inflecting up, as though they were asking a question.

These girls started SHRIEKING when they saw sights from Kentucky. (The movie is set in Kentucky.) It was like they were small children seeing themselves on TV for the first time at the camcorder display at Best Buy.

When Orlando Bloom leaned in to kiss Kirsten Dunst, she started to yell at the screen, like she was stealing their boyfriend or something. Okay little girls, you are 14, idiotic, and live in Kentucky. Orlando Bloom is NEVER going to want to kiss you. Ever.

All the while, they were TEXT MESSAGING people through the entire movie. You are here with 14 people, how many more people do you know? I don't think I even called 14 different people the entire time I was in high school!

I wonder if this is what my sister Nicole must act like when she goes out into public. These girls were infuriating, like they were such hot shit. They were so inconsiderate of all the people around them. People should have to take a maturity test before going to the movies. Groups of more than 4 should be split up. One of the women with me whispered to me and said, "I think I might make front page news tomorrow with what I am about to do to these girls."

Today I *voluntarily* listened to Yanni.

Now before you form an angry mob to run me out of town, let me explain. I was stuffing MORE folders at work today and the deafening silence was driving me batty, so I decided to try out the CD player in my supervisors office. (She was out of the office) The only CD was Yanni. I debated back and forth, but I couldn't handle the silence, so I put it on.

Oh my god. I working for corporate America and listening to Yanni. My 15-year-old self would have been so disappointed.

I am, however, pleasantly exhausted. I am so happy to be back to work, even if it is only temporary.

Unexpectedly, I obtained a temp job yesterday and started the job today. My flakey temp agency representative has been less than impressive in securing me some temporary employment, so I was very skeptical that this position would actually pull through. I was instructed to be in the lobby of the building at 8:30 am to meet my employer. After 45 minutes of waiting I was cursing Janelle from Adecco because I assumed that she flaked out once again. Finally I was escorted up to my office where I was given my assignment for the next two days, stuff fliers into 600 folders. (I went to college for this? But I suppose for $12.50 an hour I would have LICKED envelopes for 8 hours.) Thankfully I have plenty of folder stuffing experience and I finished it all in 3 hours. My supervisor was thoroughly impressed and kept telling everybody what a wonderful and efficient job I had done. She had been quite cold with me when I first arrived in the morning and by the afternoon she was asking me if I would consider applying for this job. No, I want to be a temp my whole life. It's amazing what kind of fuck-tards they must get in there if stuffing folders efficiently is enough to get you hired.

I have my very own cubicle on the Folgers Coffee floor, which is a good floor to be on since they give employees all the free coffee you can drink. I will be working with some people on the Tide floor. Technically, I work for the Tide division. I wish I had a desk up there because it smells very good. When I was talking to Heather Ricketts about working for Tide she joked that it would smell good, and I was very surprised when it did! The Folgers floor smells like a dentist office.

It is weird to be in such a corporate environment. Everybody had bottles of detergent sitting on their desks, for like, inspiration or something. They are planning a big "fabric care" marketing meeting on friday and they are using phrases like "pride and passion for fabric care." HAHAHA! I mean, I like clean clothes as much as the next person, but this is bizarre. I wonder if I do get hired to work there, am I going to start buying this corporate lingo? It's deathly silent in the office, which kind of creeps me out since all the other offices I have worked in have been rather bustly. I think it will be fine, and they pay is great for right now, I just hate that it's temporary and I will be asked to leave at any time. Grrrr. I suppose I can't get everything at once.

I can't figure out if I should be upset about this or now. My mom and sister drove down to Cincinnati to visit me the weekend before my birthday. We went out to eat, went to the art museum, I made dinner one night, went to see a movie, etc. They left on Sunday (my birthday was the next day) and I have not heard from her since then. I assumed that she would call to say she got back to Michigan, and if not Sunday night, then definately on my birthday. Well, she didn't call then and she hasn't called me in over 2 weeks. I can't figure out if she is mad at me, or if she is just seriously absent minded and too busy to think about her daughter out of state. I'm leaning towards the latter.

The other thing that bothers me is that she bought me a birthday present, but I already had what she bought for me. She told me that she would return it and mail me a check; that was two weeks ago. She knows I need money, so why has she not mailed the check yet?

At long last, I became sick of everybody in Cincinnati asking if I have tried their god-damned chili already. I woke up and said, "Today's the day."

Cincinnati has two main Chili joints, "Skyline" and "Gold Star." These can be found all over the city of Cincinnati, as well as the surrounding vicinity. To keep this in perspective, there are ZERO McDonalds within walking distance of my apartment. There are 5 Skyline Chilis and 4 Gold Star Chilis. This is an absurd amount of chili.

Also keep in mind that this is not Chili like we regular folks think of Chili, oh no, this is Cincinnati style chili. I don't know how to describe it, but they use Cinnamon and nutmeg in it and do not use Jalapenos. (This is the reason I have put off trying this mythical "Chili.")

We went to Skyline, since it is often touted as the classier of the two. The menu consists of five items: Chili on hot dogs topped with a mound of cheese, Chili on spaghetti noodles topped with a mound of cheese, Chili on french fried topped with a mound of cheese, salad, and Black Bean Burrito. (Seriously, that is it!) I tried to get the most out of our experience, and went with the classic, which was the chili on the spaghetti noodles. Todd got the hot dogs. We took pictures to document the experience. In case you were wondering, yes it was pretty gross, and I would only go back if I was really drunk. I do, however, have to try Gold Star now, because everybody says that it is very different.

What an exciting day! After our Skyline Chili excursion, and grocery shopping, we arrived back in Over the Rhine just in time to see a building go up in flames! This is an apartment about three blocks away, as seen from our roof.

Da da da da! Help arrives! See the fireman climbing the ladder?

Now his friends have come to join him!

Todd and I officially have no food in our apartment. Since Sunday is our grocery shopping day, we had to go out to eat last night. After parousing the dining guide, we decided on Hamburger Mary's, which is described as: "Hamburger Mary parties like no place else! Mary serves great food, drinks and music in the city's most unique atmosphere." (Todd and has dad have been there before and his dad wouldn't stop raving about the hamburgers) We walked about 6 blocks to get there and were greeted by the strangest host I've ever met. He was about 40, balding, and wearing white face paint, red lipstick and giant black rimmed glasses. As a watched all the waiters busting about, I began to pick up on a theme, "Gay." I'm really quite suprised that this place exists in Cincinnati, which doesn't seem to have the friendliest of attitudes towards those who are anything but hetero. After being seated under a giant poster of Bert and Ernie, we selected our dinner and ate. It was good, but I wouldn't rave for days about the food. Word of advice, don't order the spicy fries. Todd tried to warn me, and I should have listened, but they tasted like they had been coated in barbeque chip flavoring. Bleh. I'm going to have to go again on a Thursday night, because they have won best Karaoke two years in a row. I bet a crowd like that would be very warm to my selections of Dionne Warwick or Abba.

I have been wanting Ice cream for a long time now, so I convinced Todd to go with me to "Scary Kroger" to buy some ice cream. We returned a video to "The-worst-Blockbuster-ever" and picked up a new one. I wouldn't have gotten a video, except we had a free rental coupon. After walking through, and declaring loudly that I couldn't even find a video I would want to rent for free, we decided upon a stand-up comedy act by Margaret Cho. Todd wouldn't let me get "Blind Date Uncensored." DAMN HIM! We also contemplated "Black Knight" starring Martin Lawrence, because I have not yet seen this work of true comic genius. For those of you who know, this is a film I have been obsessed with since I saw this review in the State News 4 years ago. http://www.statenews.com/section.phtml?date=1006837200&sec_id=msandu&sec_num=8 If you get a chance, read the review!

So we went to scary Kroger after Blockbuster, and boy was that a mistake. There is a reason that everytime we leave scary Kroger, we say that we are never going back. Aside from a collection of the scariest people you have ever seen, scary Kroger smells like rotting meat, and has a terrible ice cream selection. Basically, all the ice cream cartons are covered in ice and snow so thick that it is difficult to read the labels. Sometimes, you have to just pick one, go home and dethaw it before you even know what flavor you bought. There was also a package of frozen chili covered in ice mixed in with the ice cream. I wondered how long it had been there... I am never going to scary Kroger again!

I have entered into a gift exchange with strangers I have met on an internet message board, and I am super excited about spending money on don't have on somebody I don't know.

Todd and I went to KY to see a show by the New Pornographers. I hate the venue, and I am convinced that Todd tricked me into going by telling me it was at a different place. My feet hurt now and I can't breathe because of all the smoke and lack of ventilation. When did I turn 47 years old?

I received an e-mail today from the Insurance Company I interviewed with and they said:
Recently, you attended an interview with American Income to explore the possibility of a new rewarding job opportunity. We are sorry to learn you are not interested at this time. We believe that among the several potential applicants you were an outstanding match. If you should change your mind or find your options have changed, please feel free to contact us again in the future.

Insurance is probably one of only two fields in which I would not consider a career in at this point. (The other one is Wal-Mart.) However, it's good to know that if I do decide to compromise my integrity, I would be an excellent match. It makes me feel all warm and cozy inside.

Today was a bad day. You know you have reached a low point in your life when the Thursday night TV lineup is the high point of your day. (On second thought, make that week.)

I don't really have a sense of humor about this whole unemployment thing anymore. If anybody asks about the job hunt, even in the kindest way possible, the tears start welling up. I went the my second NOW meeting, and one of the kindest old ladies asked about my employment situation (she remembered that I was looking). I started to get so teary eyed that I had to turn away and excuse myself. I think I must have an allergic reaction to the words, "Job," "Career," and "Employment" because even typing them is making me cry. I know people are trying to make me feel better by saying things like, "we've all been there, I was unemployed for a year and a half," but you know what, that doesn't make me feel better, that makes me scared, because I CAN'T be unemployed for a year and a half. If I turn 23 without a full time job and health benefits, I will kill myself. I will swallow 34 tylenol, I will slit my wrists the long way up my arm, and I will hang myself on the ceiling fan. I'll do it, I swear! So help me, when I finally get a job and I am talking to somebody who is looking for work, I will not tell them how long I was looking for work, because they only makes me feel more and more terrified.

Here is an interesting fact about people in Ohio, or at least people in Cincinnati. If you are talking to them and they can't understand what you are saying, they will say, "PLEASE?" really loudly. This sounds very rude to my ears because they will interrupt you to say "PLEASE?" In Michigan people would generally say, "Pardon me?" or "Excuse me?" or "Could you speak up?" or "I didn't understand what you said." At first I thought the only person who did this was was my weird, racist boss at the shoe store, but then I realized that it was everybody in Cincinnati. Todd, however, has not noticed it. I say that is because he is so articulate and speaks so powerfully.

As I mentioned earlier, I have been going to the Cincinnati NOW meetings, and I was invited to go to the planning meeting in two weeks. They asked me to write an article for the Cinci NOW Newsletter, and while I know they would accept anything that anybody was willing to write, I am very geeked about it. Since I don't know much about feminism or women's issues in Cincinnati, I was thinking of writing an article about what it is like to be a young feminist, and how feminism is viewed in my generation. I think that could be interesting for anybody to read, young or old. Perhaps I could persuade them to publish my resume if I bought some ad space.

The last weekend in October my sisters Dana (from MI) and Monique (From CA) are coming to visit me for three whole nights! I hope that my hostessing skills are up to par. I think I might order a cake for the occasion, mostly because I want to eat another cake from "Take the Cake," the bakery down the street.

In local news, the Cincinnati Bengals are surprisingly undefeated this season, and ranked first I believe. This is prompting locals to break out into chants of "WHO DEY" at any time. For those of you who are not blessed to be living in Cincinnati, "WHO DEY" is the Bengals signature chant, much like "GO GREEN! GO WHITE!" I, too, was perplexed when I first moved here, but quickly learned that "WHO DEY!" is short for "WHO DEY THINK GONNA BEAT DEM BENGALS?" It truly is, the stupidest chant I have ever heard, with "WHAT DO WE WANT?" "TITS!" "WHEN DO WE WANT THEM?" "NOW!" coming in a close second.

I know, these posts are cheap and easy. I should be able to use my mind to create a witty paragraph or two about my day, but suck it. I don't care.

You are a Social Liberal (65% permissive) and an... Economic Liberal (8% permissive) You are best described as a: Socialist Link: The Politics Test on Ok Cupid Also: The OkCupid Dating Persona Test

Here are some pictures to commemorate our evening at the Brown County Fair in Ohio. We headed an hour east, out to the hometown of Ulysses S. Grant to experience an old fashioned good time. We watched a horse show, the midwestern arm wrestling championship, and a tractor pull competition. Being the hometown of Ulysses S. Grant, there was an impressive presence by the Brown County Republican Party, and alas, no Democratic Party. To quote Todd, "There were some really scary people there." Going to his hometown makes me realize why U.S. Grant was one of the most worthless presidents ever; there is not a whole lot going on in Brown County besides Tattoo parlors and evangelical churches. However, a good time was had. We met up with some of Todd's work friends and gained some insight into po-dunk culture.

There were eight presidents from Ohio (That's a lot, I know!) and so far I have been the the hometown/birthplace of 4 of them. (Grant, Harrison, Taft and Hayes) It's my goal to see all of them, and oh what a goal that is. Amy Elliott, if you are reading this, are you with me?

Just to show that T-Mac and I are still happy as clams, here is a picture of us at the Brown County Fair.