Tuesday, June 28, 2005
God damn it (or God darn it if you prefer)
I'm on hold right now figuring out a charge for FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS on my cell phone bill that came out of completely [word edited for parental offense] NOWHERE. Wish me luck and good wishes and if everything goes completely wrong, send me money because there's no way I can pay this.
Sunday, June 26, 2005
When urban planning and indie rock collide...
First of all, it was not just great but supergreat to see Sean and Erin and some other new folks associated with Sean and Erin in Chicago last night. The bar we went to did not have my first two choices of brews, however, and I'm not much of a drinker to really get all fancy, so that was odd. But I'm glad I got to meet up with them, and as an added bonus, I did not have to wait for more than a few minutes to catch my busses back west to get home. That late sometimes they run only every half hour. The benefits of living where I live? 1)cheaper rents and 2) actual places to park your car. Not much of a nightlife around, although until I get settled into the urban lifestyle I'd rather live in a neighborhood a little less crazy and congested.
Anyway, real quick, there was an awesome convergence of two seemingly unrelated professional / personal interests when I received an e-mail from the Planning student listserv at UIC from a person calling for volunteers for the Intonation Music Festival. Apparently a lady who is part of the nerdy planning program is also an organizer for a totally awesome indie rock festival, with about a handful of bands I'm interested in seeing playing within two days in the same place. If I help out for one shift I can get my 2-day pass for free (a 22-dollar value), and get some t-shirts, and maybe some free snacks in a possibly air-conditioned tent??? That last one was I guess, but you never know.
The key is I've been looking for groups of people that have two common characteristics with me. It's nice to meet a bunch of Jewish people, but if they are political news junkies, that's a bonus characteristic that indicates some shared commonality beyond a general identity. So a Jewish / Planning Student, Indie Rock / Planning Student, Jewish / Indie Rock, and whatever coupling makes my socializing a little less random and more focused. The burden on my shoulders is to create and nurture more interested and activities that will allow me to come across these "identity combos" if you will, and I'm still working on that. But if there's an indication that in the world of planning students there exist volunteers for a music festival, that's a cool correalation.
So anything else going on with you guys? don't have to answer just wanted to finish the post that way.
Anyway, real quick, there was an awesome convergence of two seemingly unrelated professional / personal interests when I received an e-mail from the Planning student listserv at UIC from a person calling for volunteers for the Intonation Music Festival. Apparently a lady who is part of the nerdy planning program is also an organizer for a totally awesome indie rock festival, with about a handful of bands I'm interested in seeing playing within two days in the same place. If I help out for one shift I can get my 2-day pass for free (a 22-dollar value), and get some t-shirts, and maybe some free snacks in a possibly air-conditioned tent??? That last one was I guess, but you never know.
The key is I've been looking for groups of people that have two common characteristics with me. It's nice to meet a bunch of Jewish people, but if they are political news junkies, that's a bonus characteristic that indicates some shared commonality beyond a general identity. So a Jewish / Planning Student, Indie Rock / Planning Student, Jewish / Indie Rock, and whatever coupling makes my socializing a little less random and more focused. The burden on my shoulders is to create and nurture more interested and activities that will allow me to come across these "identity combos" if you will, and I'm still working on that. But if there's an indication that in the world of planning students there exist volunteers for a music festival, that's a cool correalation.
So anything else going on with you guys? don't have to answer just wanted to finish the post that way.
