Kristabella: Full of Snark Since 1977

Posted By Kristabella on April 14, 2011

Hey internet, do you like my new sunglasses?

Oh, and I got my hair done on Saturday, it looks nice, no? (This is a very unflattering photo.)

Anyway, back to the sunglasses, you like?

I hope you do. I had to buy them in a bit of a hurry at Navy Pier Sunday at one of those kiosks. Because it was sunny out and I cannot stand not having sunglasses when it is sunny. (Apparently I have very sensitive retinas, so says my eye doctor.)

Oh and because the ones I had previously in the day had suffered an untimely demise.

I FLUSHED THEM DOWN THE TOILET.

No. Really.

As I mentioned, I hung out at Navy Pier on Sunday with my sister, my niece and my nephew. Actually it was my third day in a row at Navy Pier, because I was working an Expo there Friday and Saturday. Let’s just say that’s probably the most time I’ve spent at Navy Pier in my entire life.

Anyway, after we got to the Pier, I had to pee. So I went to the bathroom while my sister waited in line for Jamba Juice. I went about my business and as I stood up from my position of hovering over the toilet (no liners and I won’t sit on toilet seats in high-traffic areas), my sunglasses started slipping from my head.

At this point, I still had my pants around my ankles and I chose to do pants first, reach for glasses second. I mean, come on, what are the odds the sunglasses would fall in the toilet anyway?

ONE HUNDRED PERCENT, those are the odds!

So the glasses fell in the toilet, into my pee. And well, they weren’t expensive sunglasses. I mean, I liked them and I got them for cheap at a mall kiosk in Arizona, but really, was it worth reaching in a disgusting pee-filled toilet for them? I mean it was sunny out and I was going to need them later in the day. What to do?

Well, in the time that it took for me to consider this, my decision was taken away from me as the AUTOMATIC FLUSHER went off.

It took me about five seconds to realize that my sunglasses were currently going down the toilet bowl. And yet, I was paralyzed with fear or amazement. Something. Because I didn’t even reach for them. (I think part of me wanted to see if they would go all the way down.)

Well they did. They were sucked into the sewer system of Navy Pier and probably out into Lake Michigan. And all I could do was laugh and run over to my sister to tell her the news.

Category: A Dash of the Crazy, A Day in the Life of Me, All in the Family, Chi-town, Laffs | 11 Comments »
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Posted By Kristabella on April 11, 2011

On Sunday, my sister, my nephew and my niece came down to the city. My sister is a nanny and two of the girls she watches were competing in a cheerleading competition at Navy Pier. So I decided I would meet them down there and spend the afternoon with them and get plenty of Auntie time in with Tommy and Maddie!

The plan was that my sister was going to take the train down and we’d meet at Navy Pier around lunch time. Well, they missed the train, so she ended up driving to my house and we all took the bus and the train downtown together.

My sister is not much of a city person. She loves the country. She’s the exact opposite of me. So she doesn’t take public transportation much. But it was fun to take all of them on the CTA with me. Maddie enjoyed being on the bus, for sure!

It was a perfect day – the weather was beautiful, in the upper 80s and sunny! It was the first warm day since probably last summer! I mean, shit, it was 40 on Friday! We took our time and just enjoyed being together. It was exactly what I needed.

At the cheer competition, I got to meet the family my sister nannies for. They are really nice people and the kids are adorable. The dad was really nice and just like me and talks to everyone. At one point I was giving my sister a break and watching Maddie crawl around on the cement floor and he said to me “wow, you can see how much she loves her auntie.” Then he asked if I had kids of my own, yada, yada, and then I had to chase her away from picking up a crumb on the ground and eating it.

This man had never met me before, but he’ll never realize how much that comment meant to me. I mean, I do love my nieces and nephews so, so much, and they know it. And I want them to love me just as much. But it makes me happy to have others see it. I’m sure it’s an ego thing, but since I currently have no kids of my own, it’s important to me to be a part of their lives.

Every time I mention to people that I previously lived in Arizona and California, 99% of them will always follow that up with “why on Earth did you move back?” And I explain that it was to be closer to my family. It is probably what a lot of people say, but I mean it. I moved back to Chicago for my nephews (this was pre-nieces). I do not regret it for one day because Tommy, Noah, Skyler and Maddie KNOW their Auntie and they love their Auntie and they get excited to see me! THAT is why I moved back. Seeing them only a few times a year wasn’t going to work for me.

That one sentence from a person I didn’t even know made me realize that this is what life is about. It’s not about material goods, or work or how much money you have in your bank account. Family is what it is about. And as long as you have that, you’re good to go.

And this is what I need to remember.

Unless if you’re family who shares my shoebox-sized condo with me for months at a time. Then all bets are off.

Category: A Day in the Life of Me, All in the Family, Feeeelings | 9 Comments »
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Posted By Kristabella on April 5, 2011

So I got a new job, didya hear?

I wanted to share a glimpse into my life and why sometimes I think that either a) I should have my own TV show or b) why I should be kept inside at all times.

At a meeting last week at work, the following conversation occurred:

Me: I’m Kristin, nice to meet you!

Him: Kristi?

Me: No, Kristin.

Him: Christian.

Me: No. Kristin. CHRIS-tin.

Him: No, my name is Christian.

/scene

And then I may have crawled under the conference table until the meeting ended.

At least I’ll never forget his name!

Category: A Dash of the Crazy, A Day in the Life of Me, Laffs, Land of Random, Worky Work | 10 Comments »
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Posted By Kristabella on April 3, 2011

I have survived a whole week at my new job! And, I haven’t quit, nor have I wanted to quit. Let’s just say, I’m super excited about it, even more so than I was before I started. Finally, after years of searching for the right job, I think I have found it. I’m pretty sure the fact that I could look for a job while I already had a job was reason for this. I was allowed to find the right thing and not take the first thing offered to me! Yay!

Other than that, I can’t share much. I would love to share everything about the job with you, but well, I learned that lesson once. But just know it’s awesome!

The biggest challenge with this job so far is the time I have to get up in the morning. See, at my old job I didn’t have to be in until 9. And it only took me about 30 minutes to get to the office. So I had perfected getting up at 8 and then leaving the house at 8:30. So when last Monday rolled around and I had to get up at like 6 AM, it was like a punch in the face.

But, did you know that when you like your job, it’s a lot easier to get up before the sun? WHO KNEW? I even did it for a whole week, no complaints!

The unfortunate thing about last week was that it coincided with the week before my monthly visitor, Aunt Flo, was coming to town. And it took me until Friday to realize that the tiredness I was experiencing last week wasn’t all due to the earlier wake-up time, but because of said visitor. You would think that since I’m seen Aunt Flo many, many times over my life, I would learn her patterns.

But I really missed commuting and taking public transit to work. So even though, it takes longer to get to work, I just get to sit there and not worry about traffic or anything and read my Kindle, check Twitter on my phone or play a game or three of Words With Friends. Plus, with the money I’m saving on not buying gas for my car every week, I feel totally justified in my $2 cup of Dunkin Donuts coffee every morning! That coffee will get even a lazy ass like me out of bed!

Every time you leave a job, whether forced to or not, I always wonder if the next job is going to be the right job. I mean, that’s the case with every major decision you make in your life. If it has a big investment on your end, you want to make sure it is perfect. I have to admit, that for the first time in a long time, I didn’t second guess this decision once. Yes, it was hard to leave my old co-workers who became friends. And yes, the comraderie on the last day made me wonder for a hot second if it was the right choice. But on my first morning at my new job, I knew it was right. I was so excited! And it just felt right. It was like a scene out of Annie:

I think I’m gonna like it here!

Category: A Day in the Life of Me, Worky Work | 13 Comments »
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Posted By Kristabella on March 21, 2011

If you don’t follow me on Twitter, then you probably aren’t aware of my news. Well, here you go – today was the last Monday I will work at my current job.

That’s right, kids, I GOT A NEW JOB!

/smattering of applause

If you know me outside this blog at all, you know this is really huge! And also very awesome! And I’m super excited! I’ve been looking forward to this for a long time.

That’s all I’m going to tell you. Because that’s all you need to know. But just know I’m really excited about the opportunity and I’m happy to be working downtown again and to be able to take public transportation to work!

In preparation of my new gig, I have already purchased a new lunch tote. I also bought a new purse. And I have wrapped up a lot of my projects at work. And now I’m a little bored, but know this is temporary.

This is only the second time in my life that I have quit a job. Seeing as this will be my sixth job since college (and fifth since starting this blog), that goes to show I get laid off quite frequently (three times!). And while I don’t prefer being laid off, I have to say, it is much easier on the nerves and stomach. Because giving notice is not fun. Even if you know you’re making the right move, or you hate your job/boss/co-workers, it isn’t fun to drop that bomb on anyone.

Add to that the fact that I am the world’s biggest people pleaser, and you can see why my stomach was in knots about just the THOUGHT of doing this. Once I had to actually do it, I almost vomited all over myself and my keyboard.

But I put on my Big Girl Panties and got it over with. And it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be (it never is). So now I just have to finish out this week and I will be on to bigger and better things.

YAY!

Category: A Day in the Life of Me, Job Search, Worky Work | 26 Comments »
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