Pineapple Express

It's the end to another weekend and that really stinks. I still have a ton of work to do and all I want to do is just watch tv, relax, and take a nap. I think I might take a nap and try to work around all my homework. Too tired.
Plus, I am tired and I hate weekdays. I hate going to school and I hate getting up early everyday and catching a stupid train. I want a king size bed that is soft and fluffy. Also, I want something to help me relax and somebody to keep me warm. Ahh contentment and sometimes being lazy is fun.
Brian wants to go to Toronto. It sounds great but I want to be careful with how money is spent. With my mother losing her job, it is forcing me to make sure I can stand on my own two feet financially, while I am still in school. Trying to do everything myself is what put me behind in school. However, I am older now. I do need to travel though, I hate staying in one place. I bet Toronto is nice. He wants to have dinner in the CN Tower and stay in a hotel near by so that we can see the skyline. It does sound like a very nice time and I may have a hippie heart but that does not mean I don't like luxury. There is nothing like a large bed, big screen tv, a blu-ray player, big pillows, fluffy blanket, strawberries, and knowing that you can just lie there and not get up...

I must go back to the other house and check on the dogs and do some homework while I watch tv. I want to see the Natalee Hollaway Story but I think I might take a nap before I do homework. I'll catch the movie on a repeat.

San Francisco!

Brian and I spent Spring Break in San Francisco. I have fallen in love with the city and I am so meant to live there. It is absolutely beautiful! I had the best time there and I REALLY want to move to California next year. We'll see but hey, it is always good to have goals.
We left the 23rd from O'Hare and it was a very bumpy ride. Well, bumpy until we got closer to the Sierra Mountain Range and then it smoothed out. It was almost a five hour flight and by the time we could see California from the airplane window, I was more than ready to walk on land. San Francisco was chilly when we got there, but it was still warmer than the weather I left behind. One interesting note is my ipod touch fell out of my bag in the Super Shuttle van that took us to our hotel. I was freaking out and tossing everything on our sleep number bed because that is a $400 item..well, I called Super Shuttle and they put me through to the guy and he told me he found the ipod and would drop it off at the front desk the next morning. HONESTLY! I have NEVER seen that in all my 23 years here in Chicago. Seriously. If I left my ipod in a shuttle can here, it can be very safe to say that it would be gone forever.
The hotel we stayed at was the Radisson at Fisherman's Wharf. What the hotel lacks in outside appeal, makes up for it in the courtesy of the staff and it is a convenient location for all the happenings on the wharf and pier. The hotel room was comfortable, although it lacked closet space. The bed was cozy and I enjoyed being able to adjust my side to be very soft. I loath hard mattresses because I can always feel it in my back the next morning.
We did the Alcatraz tour and the ferry provided terrific views of the bay. The prison was very interesting and actually has a tie to the "windy city." I'll give a cookie to whoever can tell me what that tie is.
We went on a vintage car tour of the city and it was spectacular. I went up close and personal with the Golden Gate Bridge and saw many parts of the city that I could not have otherwise. I even saw the Mrs. Doubtfire house!
Muir Woods was the next day and let me tell you, those are the most beautiful trees I have ever seen in my life! They are huge! There is nothing like touching something that has seen so much change in the world. I mean, those trees probably saw creatures that no longer exist and if they could talk, I would love to listen to them tell the events we all wish we could have seen. Sausalito was next and if you want to visit a nice little Italian cafe, I can tell you just where to go.
Haight Ashbury was my favorite. I am a huge hippie and it was like going to Mecca. I visited the head shops and did some shopping. I bought some organic food and pictured all the hippies partying back in the summer of love.
We then walked to Golden Gate Park where let's put it this way, it is Rasta friendly. I'm not complaining at all...
We did some major shopping on Pier 39 but it was worth it! I now understand the song and phrase "I Left my Heart in San Francisco." LOL, I got Brian to ride the carousel with me.
One great place to eat on the pier is North Beach Pizza. For less than $12 you get an unlimited pizza, soup, salad, and pasta bar. VERY reasonable if you are on a budget!

The last night in San Francisco, we met with Brian's friends from when he lived in Colorado, Leigh and her husband Bryon. They were very nice and they picked a wonderful Italian restaurant on Mission Street.They gave us tips on where to buy real estate and how nice it is to live out on the west coast.

I was so sad to leave San Francisco. Brian and I both were. I also am a big believer in signs and our miserable flight home is a big flashing neon sign that screams we do NOT belong in Chicago. Brian and I seriously did not think that we were going to land safely. It got pretty scary when the flight attendants were told to sit. I hate flying I might add and Brian is worse than I am about being in the air. Luckily, there are little white pills called Xanax in existence....
You know, I could go on and on about SF. I love the cable cars! I love how easy it is to get around the city and how dog friendly it is. I am a huge animal person and my animals should be pampered and treated like royalty.
In fact, I went to a few of the pet boutiques that are all over the city. Oliver, my year old and 20 pound Maine Coon got a new collar with the peace signs all over. He was so proud to wear it, he pranced all over the house like he was the best. He also enjoyed the organic catnip and I had to hide it because the little catnip head is a druggie..hooked on cat nip, poor guy. He needs his fix and is still trying to master opening the drawer where it is at.
The other two cats like it and I think there might be a feline coup d'etat in my future..
Any who, I want to go back to SF and I seriously hope it is where I will be living in a year or so. I know the cost of living is quite higher but even so, it is still better than living here. I think Oliver would enjoy it too...

Work Up the Wazoo

This time of year is decent. It is still pretty chilly here in Crap-a-cago but Buckingham Fountain is on and today was up near 70 (two weeks ago it was snowing..) Chicago is famous for the odd weather. Spring is a time of blossoming flowers, rain showers, bunnies and other baby animals, and end of the semester torture. I have too many papers and projects. For Libs 201, I am writing a research paper on the social justice theme in Bob Dylan's music. In WGS 304, I have to write a paper about an article we had to read on incest. My HIST 326 class is probably the worst because I have two major projects for that class and another precis to write. My two projects are on Clara Barton and the White Star Line Steampship Company.I had higher hopes for the class on the 1893 World's fair but there are only a few weeks left. HIST 111, I think might include me writing something about the Black Death and I also have a paper due on Monday, although I have no clue what the topic is. I probably should look that up.....Econ really sucks because that entails a major project and it looks like I am going to have to enlist Brian's help to complete the stupid thing.
I hate having so much work to do but I know that when it is all over, it will be summer...and then I will be happy...

I'm Half of a Blog Virgin

My name is Amber and I like to think of myself as someone who hates monotony and likes the finer things in life. I am a pretty easy going person because most of the time, I don't care about anything except for what makes me happy. (I can get pretty pissed off too though and I do stand up for myself, well lately I have anyway.) I am a student at Roosevelt University in Chicago and am looking very forward to getting done so that I can have my teaching certificate in history and I can attempt to live somewhere like California. I am thinking positive in hopes of not spending my whole life where I was born.
Besides from the old blog I had years ago on Myspace.com, I have never really blogged. However, how hard can it be? I am not one to put my private feelings and such in a public forum because some things should always be kept private. However, I will hopefully update this blog with the achievements and adventures I have experienced in the past couple of years.
I am a very busy woman but we'll see how this blog thing works out.