Vida

I just renewed my current lease for the fifth time.  Yes, I know this is crazy (especially in Chicago).  I moved in October 2010 and I've been there ever since. My landlord is great. The rent was pretty low for the area when I moved in and he hasn't increased it once. Did I mention my landlord is great? He probably realizes I'm a pretty low-key tenant who pays my bills on time so he'll keep me around.  We've reached the point where I renew my lease in an email.  I don't even sign anything.  (This is very nice.)  This year in our annual renewal email he mentioned the cost of ownership has gone up substantially this year and more increases are projected for next year. And added, "This will not affect you at this time."  So, yes, I think next year he will increase my rent.  But at this point, seeing similar apartments around me for $500 more a month than me.  I think it's fair for there to be an increase. Here I am, spending si...

I remember when I first started working and received all my 403b information and started contributing like 0.5% of my salary.  I mean it may have been 1%, but you get the idea.  I was making such a small amount of money, I couldn't imagine paying my bills and contributing any more than that. Second job, I switched over to a 401k and maybe contributed 3%. Fast forward to a few weeks ago.  We had a lunch and learn at work and someone from our 401k company came in to provide new information and guide us through their new website.  My current company matches an almost unprecedented 7% so when I started work I knew I needed to take advantage and try to make up for lost time.  I'm also making more now than I have at my previous jobs.  I like to think this means I can , but really I should have made myself contribute more all along.   So here I am now contributing 12%.   12%!   And I did their will you be ready to retire quiz and I g...

The basics of Oktoberfest is it traditionally starts in the third weekend in September and ends the first Sunday of October.  The first  Oktoberfest was started in Munich and was a royal wedding celebration in 1810.   Horse races in the presence of the royal family marked the close of the event that was celebrated as a festival for the whole of Bavaria. The decision to repeat the horse races in subsequest years gave rise to the tradition of Oktoberfest.  The festival continued to evolve and included beer for the first time in 1818.  As the horse races became less popular, fairgrounds developed and the number of beer stands swelled until they became beer tents and halls in 1896. ( via ) I remember in Nuremburg they were starting to set-up for Oktoberfest as we were leaving and they had posters up advertising when the traveling festival would be in town and I fell in love. The last two years I went to an Oktoberfest street festival in Chicago an...

How many times have you purchased an entertainment ticket online and the service fees to purchase said ticket surprise you?  Me: so many!  It feels like a rip off. A few weeks ago I went to an event with some girlfriends at Bang Bang Pie in Logan Square.  The tickets were $10 for treats from Bang Bang Pie, Big Gay Ice Cream, and 3 Floyds Brewing.   I was not surprised to see a $2 service charge for the ticket.  I was surprised to see it went to charity. They set-up the event on Brown Paper Tickets , which doesn't charge service fees to use their service and includes the option to donate to charity instead.   If you're setting up an event with tickets soon, I think Brown Paper Tickets may be the way to go.  It's win win!

Just as it seemed our roster was being restored with players returning to the team from the DL, not one, not two, but three players go down. Yadi at the Cubs game in Chicago he made a sweep to tag the runner out at home.  He did.  And in the process partly tore his thumb tendon.  They said he'd be out for a week.  A week later, they say the rest of the regular season (which ends Oct. 4). So basically who knows? Martinez  at the Brewers game last Friday, he pitched 7 pitches before he was removed from the game.  Reporters were saying he would be our ace of the post season.  He's out for the rest of this year. Maarrtttiinnneeezzzzzz! Piscotty rewind to two weeks ago at the Cards/Cubs game.  The Cubs fan in front of us turned around to ask some questions about Piscotty.  She said he's her least favorite Cards player because he's so good.  He's a rookie who the Cardinals brought up in July and he's been on fire.  Last nig...

One of the best (brief) descriptions I've read on how to approach running for the first time. Do you have any words of advice for people who would love to incorporate running into their lives but (like me) have trouble making it more than a few blocks at a time? Yes! I do. (A full run-down is here !) My advice is to start with just those few blocks at a time and nothing more. Do that every day for a couple of weeks until you can do ten blocks at a time. And then fifteen, and then twenty! Running is really, really hard when you’re out of practice and if you push yourself to the point where it’s completely miserable you won’t go back and do it again the next day. So go easy on yourself — and make consistency your only priority. As long as you’re getting out there and sticking with a routine the distance and speed will come eventually. ( via ) Honestly, I've essentially taken a break from running this year.  I am going to run a very unofficial, low-key half marathon in a few we...

This week brought the first day of fall.  I really don't mind fall, but thoughts of the next season scare me...a lot. Summer I will miss you. I worked on an endless project this week.  It was so time consuming and somehow I needed to manage it on top of my current responsibilities.  Needless to say this week was not my favorite.  (Last week was the same deal.)  Although, this week the co-worker I covered for while she was on vacation last week was back on Tuesday.  So there's that! Here's to Friday and the weekend. Anyone celebrating Oktoberfest? This song reminds me of a Friday in early spring when it was still freezing.  I went to lunch with some of my co-workers for ramen and this song played.  And it was so much fun.