photodump time so you will all sit and wait painfully for my journal to load

Did I mention Ashley and I broke up? Not on the blog, I guess. We did, about a week ago, but it's all good because we're super awesome buddies anyway. I usually try not to mention sensitive topics like this on the Interwebnet but I thought it necessary before I write the following.

To sum up what's been happening this week, I met the cashier at The Beehive on Friday night who gave me a note recognizing my interest in coffee and suggesting that we indulge in such a bitter brew together. I thought it was a smooth pickup line--anyone who enjoys a cup of joe and decent conversation is cool in my book. Went to hang out with her yesterday but she was working again, so we only got to talk occasionally. Hoping to arrange a more relaxed rendevous sometime when, god help me, I'm not busy.

In other news, I've been having an absolute fucking blast at work, giving some love to otherwise ugly plate presentation:





I have also, of course, been at this "Beehive Coffeehouse", the men's room of which is pictured in the previous post. I have been riding the T:

Exploring the city I live in:

Rocking the local political scene and staying alert on the issues with my good friend the Post-Gazette:


Today I am fairly bored. I went on a psychadelic fun photography adventure for something to do. First I went to Point State Park to take the obligatory autumn leaf-changing photos, as well as some city skyline/Ohio river valley stuff.






See? I told you it's awesome. Once I'd seen all there is to see at the Point, I headed to the North Side to take some cityscape photos and take a daytime look at the place I'm hopefully moving into in late November.






I arrived at the future snack shack as soon as my camera batteries died. Check it out:
Okay, so it's not the Ritz-Carlton, but it's a decent neighborhood with a nice big park and a grocery store. And the house has windows, something that will probably not cease to amaze me for weeks and weeks and weeks if we land this deal.

Bored. 25 minutes before work and nothing to do. Wasted as much time at starbucks as possible. The reason I've got so much free time? Purchasing agent certification test at 1:30 took me about 20 minutes.

This weekend should be nice though. I'm closing tonight, but like last night, I'm working with one of the new guys so I don't have to go it alone anymore. Tomorrow I get off early, and there might be some interesting nightlife. Might go to the southside tonight, since the Beehive, my new favorite hangout, is open til 2, and to be honest, I want to make some new friends who have some interests/perspectives in common with mine own. This weekend, Prana is having its halloween party with something like 35 bands. Promises to be much better than Hiphop night. Also, Ariadne auf Naxos is playing at the Benedum and I want to see it.

Me, John, Jenn, and Jess, my hopefully future roommates, are making progress on obtaining our new pad. According to the financial aid department, they only pay rent directly to a few places/organizations, but if we want to use our loans to pay for our place, we can get refund checks for our dorm rent (and probably the meal plan, because it sucks and I'm probably going to quit eating at the school). The thing is, the woman who spoke to use from the school was being kind of an asshole, so we're not really sure if they'll pay for it or not. Either way, we know we can get it done, whether we use our loans directly or indirectly (refund checks or through PCI). If we don't get refund checks in time, I make enough money to pay rent for awhile. I went to the place we're looking at the other night. It's not in a bad neighborhood, it's near lots of bus stops and it's by a grocery store. And it's big. And if we get it, I'm calling it the Food Shack because we're all cooks.

I caught your eye but I was studying wine

At left: bathroom at The Beehive coffeehouse on the South Side. At right: Converse All-Stars. Oh yeah.








~she's cute
in a stainless steel sort of way.

Library right now. A third of the class is taking the cooking practical--you have to make veloute, espagnole, hollandaise and rice pilaf--a third is deep-cleaning the kitchen (I did that yesterday), and my third is off until noon. Woo.

I might be renting a three-story house with three of my good buddies, just across the bridge on the north side. My tuition would cover the rent, about 350 a month, which is less than the dorm. Plus, there won't be anyone to check my bags every fucking time I walk in, we've got our own washer and dryer, I have my own room, and the stove is gas. It's actually a really good thing I didn't sign the new lease for the dorm--I might be outta there by the end of November.

And now I'm going to go rock out at Starbucks where there is a fireplace.

less than 50% peanuts

Hip hop nights at Prana are no good. I'm too pasty to even be allowed in. I like it when there's no one there but the weird employees at 1 AM.

Awesome day today at work. Me and both the new guys had the kitchen tonight, and it was pretty dead until around nine. We had a reserved party of 15 coming in, and we weren't sure if they were getting dinner or not, so of course, they did. I had four steaks and seven filet mignon on the grill at the same time. It sounds pretty crazy, but we were so well coordinated on all the dishes we had the foot-long ticket sent out in 17 minutes. I learned tonight that when we get slammed with orders it doesn't have to be absolute chaos, with yelling and anger and needing to hire new people.

Your Personality Is

Artisan (SP) You are both grounded and flexible. You adapt well to new situations. You are playful and free spirited - but you are also dependable and never flaky. You don't do well in conservative, stuffy situations. It's probably very hard for you to keep a normal job or stay in school. You are always up for fun and adventure. Most people are too boring for you. You take risks and bend the rules. And if things don't work out, you chock it up to life experience. In love, you tend to take things quickly - but you have a huge problem with commitment. At work, you need to make your own rules. You're best suited to be an entrepreneur. With others, you are animated and physical. You prefer doing something with friends to just hanging out. As far as your looks go, you tend to be buff and in good shape. Your spend more time on your body than your clothes. On weekends, you need to keep active. From cooking up a storm to running a 5K, you wear yourself out.

The Three Question Personality Test

You Are Internal - Skeptic - Powerful

You feel your life is controlled internally. If you want something, you make it happen. You don't wait around for things to go your way. You value your independence and don't like others to have control. You are a total skeptic when it comes to luck. You believe that people use luck as a crutch to avoid responsibility. You control your own destiny. The universe has nothing to do with it. You believe everything can be explained - and you tend to over analyze situations. When it comes to who's in charge, it's you. Life is a kingdom, and you're the grand ruler. You don't care much about what others think. But they better care what you think!

The Three Dimension Luck and Power Test