...do you know what really sucks? a wedgie that just won't go away no matter how you wiggle and fidget...shit...these pants are going to give me some serious medical problems if i don't get up and do a little bootyshake every 5 minutes...what's up with that, eh? oh well...that's what i get for $12.99 @ old navy...the perpetual wedgie pantsters...



...so back to vacation ideas...i emailed my best friend josh today to see if he & lielle will want to do an east coast vacation around the 1st week of july since i'll be out thataways for caleb's wedding...i have no concept of distance when it comes to the east coast, but i'm thinking about driving up to vermont or something and working our way down...don't they have mountains up there? and ben & jerry's? at any rate, josh better still be in CT then cuz i intend on staying with him for the wedding...



...guess what i'm doing tonight? LAUNDRY! WOO HOO! there's nothing i like better than clean socks and marginally clean underwear...speaking of which, did i mention i bought a SHOWER CAP on saturday? this was at teddy's suggestion...i told him i don't like showering in the winter cuz my hair gets so damn wet & heavy, and in weather like today's, it would freeze and just break right off like so many slivers of black icicles...he told me if i wear a shower cap, i could still take a shower without having to get my hair wet...like why didn't i think of this before? so i went out and bought me a shower cap with pink flowers on it and everything...i'd been getting pretty bad about showering...i'm sure none of you want to hear this, but i mean it got to the point where my little side braids were serving the purpose of keeping my hair in place while i slept so that i wouldn't even have to brush my hair, let alone shower...your scalp eventually gets used to being oily and stops itching after the first couple of days...



'nuff 'bout my personal hygeine (or lack thereof)...



been listening to--

nobody knows this is everywhere--764-HERO

you are free--catpower

measure--matt pond pa

loveless--my bloody valentine

dollar movie--goner

one time bells--the french kicks

greetings from michigan--sufjan stevens

the world won't end--pernice brothers

...first day back at work in 2004...a 12 hour blearyeyed headache...stuff inevitably falls through the cracks of my brain during holidays which to me lasts from thanksgiving to presidents day which HAPPENS to be the busiest two months for my job...although i'm beginning to think with the more recent reallocation of duties, i'm actually busier at other times of the year...historically, however, this is my busiest time...i'm not gonna complain though cuz i'm just grateful to merely have a job...



so i've got 15 vacation days this year...what shall i do? where shall i go? last year i used most of them to spend time with teddy since he's off on weekdays and works weekends...but now i've got this schedule thing that gives me two weekdays off a month, as long as i continue to do my 12 hour days once a week...so i think i can actually use my vacation days for VACATIONS...and luckily, i get the friday before & the monday after july 4th off as official company holidays, which means even if i decide to do an extended vacation for caleb's wedding out in CT, i'll only have to take a couple days off...maybe another seattle trip in the summer...hopefully when ian's around...



...you know where i really want to go? besides seattle...i ALWAYS want to go to seattle...i would really like to go to joshua tree nat'l park in california...i spent a few days there several springs ago, and it was one of the most beautiful places i've ever been to...especially with all the wild desert flora waking up for spring...you'd be amazed at the diversity of life in the desert...and the rocks...the rocks...oh the rocks...



...well, i'm getting ahead of myself...before i explore options for vacationing, i need to find a place to live come the end of march...



been listening to--

a thousand leaves--sonic youth

yours, mine and ours--pernice brothers

s/t--dressy bessy

castaways and cutouts--the decemberists

ghosts of the great highway--sun kil moon

celebratory arm gesture--summer hymns

greatest hits--wesley willis

the legend of blind joe death--john fahey

folklore--16 horsepower

hoarse--16 horsepower

where shall you take me?--damien jurado

...ok, everyone...it is now officially winter in chicago...we got our first big snow today, and although it's nothing like the blizzard of '79 which was what greeted my family our first winter in the u.s. of a., we still got a respectable amount of accumulation out there...and of course, since i was too lazy yesterday to go pick up my hard drive which i had purchased online from compUSA, i had to trudge out into the blinding wet whiteness this afternoon...i had to take 2 trains, the blue & red lines, to get to the store on chicago ave., and i had the worst train karma today...missed all my trains by seconds, pretty much doubling my commute time...i was pretty soggy by the time i got home...



...ok...i have a confession to make...i totally smell like garlic right now...you see, i went to a manduh making party @ miss mia's...manduh is a traditional korean new year's dish...it's basically dumplings...we made veggie ones with lots of tofu and apparently LOTS of garlic...i must have gotten some of the juice from the dumpling filling on my body somewhere, but i have no idea where...and ergo i smell like garlic...i don't mind too much but teddy doesn't seem to be taking to my new fragrance to well...i suppose it doesn't help that we were also munching on kimchee in addition to the dumplings...it was quite a riot making manduh with miss mia & her kickass korean chicas...i met a bunch of really cool fellow korean gals, including janet of wanamaker whom i'd seen open up for life at sea last month...none of us was what i'd call an expert on actually MAKING the manduh, but with a little collaboration and some creative uses of normal kitchen accessories, it actually came out quite yummy...yup, with a bit of some korean homecooking we're well on our way to world domination...



alrighty...would anybody like to install my new hard drive?







been listening to--

rooty--basement jaxx

only with laughter can you win--rosie thomas

...i am going to break from my usual resistance to making new years resolutions because i am strangely fond of the numeral 2004...it's so...EVEN...normally, i don't make resolutions cuz i have an extreme fear of failure, and everybody knows the easiest way to avoid failure is by not having any goals at all...but this year i will make an exception because the numeral '2004' somehow makes me feel bold and courageous...or maybe it's cuz i saw the entire lord of the rings series over christmas break...i mean, who can resist the flaring nostrils of the elfman legolas? they make me wanna learn archery and horseback riding and maybe clean my apartment...



anyways, so here are a few resolute thoughts that have been floating around in my head:



1. i will find a new apartment...well, i guess i don't really have a choice with this one, my lease expiring in march and all...but it's always nice to start a list with something you know you'll absolutely have to do...

2. i will find homes for all my stray cds...i'm gonna give myself until 2006 for this one...

3. i will donate at least 1/4 of my wardrobe to the salvation army...

4. i will not buy any new cds until i've listened to the ones i've already bought...

5. i will install a new internal hard drive on my home desktop...the first step has been done already: i purchased a new 80gig harddrive 2 hours ago and it's awaiting pickup @ CompUSA...

6. i will unite all my photos onto one computer from the 3 desktops and 3 laptops they currently occupy...

7. i will prepare 10 photos to be displayed in the public somewhere...

8. i will attempt snowboarding at least twice before the winter is over...

9. i will read at least 2 books a month...

10. i will vote...



i think 10's a good number for now...if i come up with anything else, i'll keep it to myself...



yesterday, teddy & i had a rare day off together...we attempted to grab brunch @ sweet maple on taylor street, but there was a line out the door...so we thought we'd give the new chili's a try downtown...but we couldn't find parking...so we made do with going back to wicker park and ate at earwax cafe...we bought a dart board that afternoon cuz teddy's been itching for one and we took it back to his apartment...lauren & doug & jason were all there, and lore & i did origami while doug & ted put up the dart board...we played a game of 301, which is really hard if you play by the rules, and then we all went out for mexican on chicago ave...lore & doug went to see the blue man group after dinner...jay, teddy & i were all pretty tired & we just stayed in and played darts and listened to the radio...



...tonight, teddy & i & maybe dave & ellen are going to see theater oobleck's 'spirits to enforce' which is the sequel to shakespeare's 'the tempest' but not written by shakespeare...at least i hope we're gonna see it...i called in reservations and as long as no one calls me back, i'm in...for those of you not familiar w/ the genius that is theater oobleck, if you live in the chicago area, i suggest you get acquainted...not that i'm all that familiar myself...my one encounter with this theater was their 2000 production of 'the golden election by marilyn quayle & her sister and theater oobleck' that my friend john roberts was in...it was outrageous and prophetic, as the results of that election proved it to be...ever since that performance, i have been waiting for another chance at witnessing a theater oobleck production, and tonight may be my lucky night...

happy 2004!!!! today we and a bunch of other chicagoans who are either early risers or allnight partyers congregated at the lakefront by the planeterium to welcome the first sunrise of 2004...i can never get enough of sunrises over lake michigan...and then to see the first morning light hit our beautiful skyline...that is a sight that always takes my breath away...



another year...hopefully i'll be a wiser sarah this year...but you know what i'm finding as i live out my story here on planet earth? the older i get, the less wise i feel because i realize every day how little i really know and understand...the journey seems to stir more questions than it answers...that's okay with me though...i'm getting more and more comfortable with the unknown and unanswered questions...



...there are a few things though that are certain, and these are what mean the most to me...love, faith and hope...paul had it right...these three are what remain, and the greatest of these is definitely love...