I'm getting married!! :)

I had an amazing weekend in Ripon!!

Here's the story...

So I thought my parents and sister were visiting me in Ripon so we could celebrate my dad's birthday as a family. Well, I was completely wrong. We stood outside in the wind and cold to see Bruce finish the half-marathon with his parents and a lot of our friends (I thought it was really nice that a lot of our friends came down to support Bruce). Zac and Bruce finally finished the race(after beating my time by 14 minutes). I ran over to give Bruce his sweatshirt. He grabbed my shoulders and asked me if I remembered what we had talked about. I shook my head no. He then started to dig through one of the pockets in his camelback. He said, "we talked about when the time was right..." He pulled out a black box and got down on one knee. By this time, everyone had formed a large circle around us. He looked up at me and said, "Eliza Nora Cherry, I love you. Will you marry me?" I said, "yes!" The people behind me didn't hear and someone yelled, "so what's her answer?" I looked at the crowd of people and said, "Yes!" Since my parents, his parents, and our friends knew about this, there were a lot of pictures taken (I'll hopefully get more sent to me soon).

I am the luckiest and happiest girl in the world!! This weekend was absolutely perfect! I was able to see a lot of people, hear Bruce sing with the men's quartet, and see his jazz concert on Friday. Saturday we got engaged and then hung out with our families and friends. Sunday we went to brunch in the commons. Unfortunately, I had to say goodbye, but I really have nothing to be sad about. I will be back in Ripon in just two weeks!

Earth Day

The Cubs are playing the Brewers next Tuesday at Wrigley Field and guess who will be there?! Me!! I am so excited to go to a baseball game in Chicago!

Today was a good day. The weather was beautiful and class was good. We were in Uptown at the Chicago Committee on Worker Issues. We were at the Center for Neighborhood Technology in Wicker Park for Precept. Since it's Earth Day, we took a tour of this building because it is a "green" building. We were able to learn about some programs that are being created to help people "go green." After Precept, we all went to Cold Stone for ice cream. What a great end to a day of class! Heidi and I did laundry tonight...the last time we'll do laundry together. :( I am going to try to get some of my work done so that I don't have to worry about it this weekend while I'm in Ripon!

Baseball!

I am really nervous for a presentation I have to give on Thursday! I'm sure it will be fine, but I'm still worried. I went to my internship today. One of my reading students is doing so well! I am still trying to get tickets for the Cubs game (against the Brewers) next Tuesday. I will be going with Chris Zahn (for all you Ripon people). I'm really excited and determined to get those tickets. I ordered tickets online today, but my order was cancelled due to the high demand for tickets. I called the customer service rep and he found me two more tickets (slightly higher priced, but still in my price range). I hope to receive a confirmation e-mail soon! I really want to see Wrigley Field (and not just from the red line) and eat a hot dog at a baseball game. I'm not sure I care much about the game itself, although this should be a really good game.

I am finally starting to enjoy my time in the city- the weather is great and I am realizing just how much I've learned this semester, not only academically, but personally. I think that I will be sad to leave when the time comes. It will be especially difficult to leave my internship. I've built such good relationships there in such a short time. It will, of course, be great to be back in Ripon with my friends.

Beautiful Weekend

I really enjoyed core course on Friday. We went on a "Toxic Tour" in Little Village (South Lawndale) and then to the Garfield Park Conservatory (see pictures above). What a beautiful place! I went out to eat with my uncles and aunt Friday evening. Saturday morning I went to the Maurice Lenell cookie factory with my uncle and then out to lunch with Amanda. After lunch we went shopping in Logan Square. I bought a pretty new dress from the Gap Outlet...yay for cheap clothes! I was pretty bored last night, but that's okay. Heidi and I went shopping in Wicker Park this afternoon. I'm really glad I had the opportunity to enjoy the beautiful weather this weekend!

Busy, busy, busy

A lot has happened over the last two days, so I'll start from the beginning.

I went to my internship on Wednesday. I had a really good lesson with one of my reading studetns. He is really catching on and I am so excited for him! TGRO was fun, too. I got to play outside in the park with my student and another tutor and his student because they got their homework done. It was so much fun to just hang out with my student. I got pizza from a little pizza place on the corner near my internship for dinner. It was so good...and really cheap. I chaired the last meeting of the Planning Committee. Not a very good turn-out, but that happens. I just home someone decides to take over leadership. I've put so much work into the committee over the semester, I don't want to see it fall apart.

I didn't go to my internship until 11:30 today, so I had some time to get some work done this morning...I am feeling much less stressed about homework now. My supervisor and I went to parent-teacher conferences...boy, was that fun. I ended up having an interview with a woman from Beyondmedia in Rogers Park after work for my issue project. I had such a wonderful time talking with this woman. She shared her personal story with me and then shared information about her former position at the Chicago Legal Advocacy for Incarcerated Mothers and her current position. She was such an inspiration to me. After the interview she even invited me to Beyondmedia's open house. Sadly, it won't be until mid-May, so I won't be here.

I got a letter from Bruce today, which always makes me happy. I also found out that I will be living in West Scott with Alicia next year! I am so excited about that.

The weather has been really great here. Tomorrow we are going on a "toxic tour" for core course and then to the Garfield Park Conservatory. I am really excited about it. Saturday I am going to visit my uncle and Sunday will be a homework day, unfortunately. I am also very excited to go to Ripon next weekend!

P.S. I will add more pictures this weekend.

Another adventure on the CTA

I had a really relaxing morning...until we left for class. Jessica, Katie, and I left at 8:20 to walk to the blue line to go to Hyde Park for seminar. We actually saw the (dreadful) Fullerton bus, but decided to take the train because we were sure we knew how to get to class that way. We caught an earlier train than we expected and were commenting on how early we were going to be for class. Well, we should not have been so sure of ourselves...once again, the CTA wins. The train stopped on the tracks, but we weren't worried- I mean, the trains stop all the time. This time, though, we heard a new message come over the loud speaker..."we are having equipment trouble." Oh no, I thought, this is not good. The conductor came on the speaker and told us what was happening- a blue line train was stuck in the subway at Clark and Lake with equipment problems. He assured us that there was a supervisor there and crews were trying to work on a single- track re-route. I began feeling a bit claustrophobic at this point. The train was packed and we could not get out. I did some deep breathing and calmed myself down. The conductor came back on the speaker and told us that the train would stop at Grand and there would be a shuttle bus between Grand and LaSalle- right past the stop we needed. Well, we would just take the shuttle bus, of course. No big deal. The train never made it to Grand...we were evacuated at Damen (good thing we weren't in the subway!). Great- now what? We managed to push through the crowd of stranded passengers on the platform and make our way to the street. People were everywhere! We decided to walk a few blocks on Damen to get back to Fullerton to get to the brown/red line station. We managed to get on the Fullerton bus (Amanda and Dana were already on it) and successfully arrived at the train. After we boarded the red line, everything was fine. We somehow managed to get to class only 10 minutes late!

The picture of the Damen stop was exactly where I was this morning. Read the full story here.
http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/local&id=6081958

This morning's adventure really made me realize how much I know about the city and public transportation. I am able to problem solve and stay calm.

After seminar, we took the bus back downtown and ate lunch. I wanted to eat at Jimmy John's, but I have so much trouble actually finding one. I ate at a Potbelly Sandwich Works with Jessica instead. Actually, we got our food and ate at the park near the Art Institute. It was so beautiful out today!

Jessica did something really amazing today. A man came by to ask if we had any money so he could get something to eat. We both said no. The man kept walking. As we were leaving, Jessica looked at me and said, "I'm going to get that man something to eat." Before I even realized what she said, she had dashed off to catch the man. She took him to a Subway across the street and bought him lunch. I really admire what she did today. It was really thoughtful and really helped someone. I am inspired by her actions. I know that I can't help everyone, but even if I can help one person, it will do some good in this world.

Precept was downtown today. We met at the Federal Plaza and Jackson and Dearborn. There were people protesting how our tax dollars our being spent- mainly on the war. My teacher works for the American Friends Service Committee, and it was her organization who was a part of this protest. We chatted a bit with the protesters and then walked back to her office. We had a very informal discussion today, but it was interesting. We talked a lot about the school violence that has been so prevalent in Chicago (23 CPS students have been killed just this year). I really enjoyed our conversation today.

Heidi, Amanda, and I went to a movie tonight...for only $3!! We saw "Juno." I really enjoyed it. We had a really nice evening out tonight. I'm going to hopefully get some work done tonight because I have to work late tomorrow.

Overall, it was a beautiful day in the city!

A busy Saturday

It is still raining...gross! I had a good day today. (Wow! 2 in a row!) Amanda and I went to a panel discussion at the "Race, Sex, and Power" conference. It was held at the University of Illinois at Chicago. The panel was really interesting. Zeva sat in with us and after the conference she commented about how confident and independent I've become over the semester. I have noticed that in myself, too and I think it's a really good thing. I came back to my apartment by myself because Amanda wanted to stay for another session. I stopped at the Subway by the blue line on my way back to get a sub for dinner. I got the $5 footlong and saved half for lunch tomorrow (Yay for cheap food!). I got a start on my seminar paper and did a little work for my internship. I am hanging out with Heidi right now and plan to go to bed somewhat early so I can work on my projects most of the day tomorrow...I hope it's raining again so I feel like staying inside.

Oh, one more thing...I received a present in the mail from Bruce today! It's a really cute teddy bear in a duck costume. I LOVE it! It really made my day and I know it will make me smile, even on the bad days. :)

Chicago Jazz Ensemble

I had a better day yesterday. Actually, I had a good day yesterday. We had core course yesterday. It was actually somewhat fun. We had two teach-in presentations in the morning. We had a "surprise" activity in the afternoon, which we were all pretty nervous about. We ended up watching "12 Angry Men" and discussing it for a bit afterwards. Our teachers even made us popcorn. :)

After class, I went back to my apartment and got ready to go see the Chicago Jazz Ensemble. My cousin was one of the guest soloists last night. I had an AMAZING seat- row M on the main floor (thank you Terell!!). I was even able to attend the pre-concert talk with the director, Jon Faddis. Sometimes it really does pay to go early. The concert was really wonderful and it was really great to hear Terell play with the band. I've only heard him play at the Fox Note in Ripon with a small group. Since this was a "Triumph of Trumpets" concert, all of the guest soloists were trumpet players and they were all really amazing. Unfortunately, I didn't get to see Terell after the concert. I'm sure he was busy.

I am also proud of myself because I went to the concert all by myself last night. I never do that. It was really nice to go on my own. I had a lot of fun and now realize that I don't have to depend on other people just so that I can do things that I enjoy. Yay for independence! :)

P.S. 13 more days until I visit Ripon. :)

This bad dream isn't over yet...

I hate it here and I want to go home. There are no simpler words to say what I'm feeling right now. I thought today was going to be okay, but alas, it was just another horrible day in the city. I didn't have to be at my internship until 12, so I got up at 8 and worked on some homework. I ate breakfast and watched the news and then got ready to leave. Well, I missed the bus by one minute and decided that I could just wait for the next one...since it wasn't raining...yeah right. After about five minutes of waiting, it started to sprinkle and then downpour. I waited in the pouring rain for 20 minutes. Lovely. I really love to go to my internship. Sadly, I had to leave early today for class. Another walk in the rain to the Uptown apartment. The train was really slow on the way back tonight. Amanda and I stopped at the grocery store and I got a pizza for dinner- healthy, I know.

I broke down and cleaned the food (that has been there for over a week) out of our drain tonight- it was starting to smell. Oh, I also cleaned the stove and the countertop. I don't know who taught my roommates how to clean, but I am so thankful to my mom for teaching me things like that. Thanks, mom! (And I also now know how frustrated my mom felt when my sister and I wouldn't clean up after ourselves.)

I'm counting down the days until I can leave. I just can't wait to be back with my friends and family. I am ready to be done...this isn't fun anymore.

Relaxing day

It is a bit rainy in Chicago today, but my day has gone well so far. Seminar this morning was interesting. We visited an organization called Mujeres Latinas en Accion. The woman who talked with us was very nice and gave us a good history of this organization. My friends and I took the blue line back to Logan Square, which allowed me to make a stop at the fruit market- it's wonderful to have some fresh produce!! I am trying to get some homework done this afternoon, but am having a difficult time concentrating. Tonight we are going to a blues club on Armitage. It should be interesting.

Long day at Family Matters

So it has indeed been a long day at Family Matters. I did a few random tasks this morning- making a game, cutting out shapes, etc. After lunch I tutored one of my reading students. I came back and worked a little longer before my second reading student arrived. I really love reading tutoring. It is so satisfying to know that I am helping students succeed. I am working 12 hours today. I am covering for my supervisor for evening tutoring. There are only three tutoring pairs here and right now I am sort of baby-sitting a really cute little girl while her mom is tutored in English.

I have seminar tomorrow morning at 9:30 and precept tomorrow night at 9:30. I'm excited for precept because we're going to a blues club! I just found at today that my cousin is going to be playing with the Chicago Jazz Ensemble Friday night...I'm hoping that I can still get a ticket. That would be a really fun Friday night.

I am still smiling about this weekend. It was so much fun to see a lot of my friends from Ripon, especially Bruce. After visiting Ripon this past weekend, I have a much better attitude about everything. I know that I will be fine...and so will Bruce. :)

Perfect Weekend

I had a perfect weekend. I had the opportunity to make a surprise visit to Ripon...and Bruce. I surprised Bruce at Culver's- he made quite the scene. :) It was also really nice to see everyone else. I knew I missed Ripon, but I guess I didn't know exactly how much. We went to Appleton with Missy on Saturday and spent the evening playing Mario Party, my favorite. Bruce had to run 9 miles this morning, so I rode his bike while he ran. It was so wonderful to breathe some clean air and be some encouragement for Bruce. After his run, we went to lunch at Subway. Kelsey had her composition recital today so I (finally) got to hear the men's quartet perform, which Bruce is a part of. It was so amazing! I ate dinner with everyone and then made the trip back to the city. This weekend was just what I needed. I would like to thank all of my wonderful friends at Ripon College for making this weekend so amazing and for all the encouragement they have given Bruce and me throughout this semester. You all are wonderful!

P.S. I love you, Bruce!

Exhausted

The show last night was amazing! The performers were great and the set was really awesome. I highly recommend "Jersey Boys" to anyone who loves musicals.

Today was another one of those exhausting and frustrating days. Since I got back so late last night, I was pretty tired. I got up late and then rushed to get ready (which I really hate). I made it out the door on time only to wait at the bus stop while 4, that's right, people- 4, buses drove right by because they were too full. It was getting late by the time the fourth bus drove on by so I decided to walk to the blue line. Luckily, I managed to catch the purple line express to Howard, which saved a lot of time. I ended up being right on time for my tutoring session. My internship was fine...I was tired, but I really enjoyed tutoring today. I left at about 4:30. When I got off the red line at Fullerton I had to run to catch my bus. Good thing I wore my running shoes today.

Heidi and I did laundry today and I regret to inform you all that I ate 2 donuts from Dunkin' Donuts tonight (I thought I deserved it today). Oh well, carrying my laundry probably got rid of those extra calories.

I am back at my apartment and plan to go to sleep early tonight. I am really looking forward to the weekend...for reasons that I will tell you all later. :)

Better than last week already

This week is going much better than last week already! I went to my internship yesterday and then had a group meeting. The weather was rainy and stormy, but at least it was warm(er). We had class at my apartment this morning, so I was able to sleep in a little. Bruce called me this morning, which I always love. My friend, Amanda, and I are going to see "Jersey Boys" tonight! I am so excited. We are leaving at about 6p.m and we are going to eat at Jimmy Johns (not too classy, but cheap). I plan to spend the rest of the afternoon working on my homework...as soon as I am done writing this. I have a really fun weekend planned and am looking forward to that.