‘CTA’ Category

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30 August 2009

Some strongly worded letters

By: Jessica B.
Tagged: CTA, Chicago, Random, television

Happy Sunday! Wooo! Well last Sunday was my big birthday and rather than bore you with tales of week-after birthday shopping all day Saturday with TC (who is a major enabler), it’s letter-time.

I had several bees in my bonnet this week that I’d like to put out there on the interwebs. So here we go!

Chicago Transit Authority bus riders -

Please shower. Seriously, I’m tired of sitting next to people  in the morning who don’t bathe regularly. I don’t want that stink on me! It makes my commute to work just awful because I have to breathe through my mouth. I know the commute sucks and I hate getting up earlier but trust me, even a two minute shower is going to feel great!

Or if you have a regular state cigarettes or whiskey scent on you, please, Febreeze before you go. I promise to say thank you.

Love, Fellow bus rider who DOES shower daily

—————————————

Chicago women -

I know it’s cool for the end of August, but when it’s still 60-70 degrees outside, there is NO reason to wear Uggs. Save them for when we really need it, when it’s 30 degrees or below.

Don’t worry, that time is sadly coming faster than we want.

Love, A practical Uggs fan

—————————————

Banana Republic -

I still love you and give you lots of money (hello were you there on Saturday? I was!) but your new return/exchange/rewards points policies suck a**.

If you’re going to make changes like that, please give notice to cardmembers in their statements so we know ahead of time. B*tches.

Love, Disgruntled Luxe card member

—————————————

Emily Blunt -

First, you’re gorgeous. Seriously, I would LOVE to have a figure and flawless skin like yours. And I know I should say I’m happy for you that you’re marrying the man of my dreams, who is my soulmate and who I love/lust after regularly, but the news of your engagement to John K did make me very sad.

Way to kill my Friday. But to quote my buddy Maris, half of all marriages end in divorce anyhow, so I’ll make a suitable wife #2.

Don’t judge me, first Michael Buble and now John K? Come on girl, save some dreams for the rest of us!

Love, Anonymous ;)

—————————————

The month of August and upcoming September -

Get your sh*t together.

Seriously. I don’t want sweltering heat but 60 degrees as a high during the day? WTF? I’m not ready to bring out the fall clothes yet. I still have cute summer things I would like to wear!

Love, Me and the Midwest

—————————————

Jordin Sparks -

I’m totally addicted to your song, Battlefield. And I became addicted to it because my friend TC has gotten me into watching VH-1 in the mornings and I saw your video and now that’s all I can listen to.

Thanks for burning your catchy, Pat Benetar-inspired (but not really at all like) song into my head.

Love, A girl who needs to stop playing that song 10x a day

—————————————

Kate Gosselin -

Please for the sweet love of god, don’t do any more media interviews. I’m tired of you appearing on the covers of my favorite magazines, like People and Us Weekly giving “exclusive” interviews.

I don’t want to read about your drama anymore!!! But thanks for the heads up about you appearing on The View, I will make sure not to watch.

Love, Me and hopefully a lot of other people

—————————————

Geniuses at MadMenYourself.com -

Seriously, you guys deserve kudos for creating this. It not only killed an hour on my Sunday, but it also helped me get more excited about the new season starting.

And you let me look super curvy and cute in 1950s garb and pose with Don Draper. Meow. Thank you!

Love, A big Mad Men fan

Um here is my image, I know, I had some issues with the hair and nose but that dress and clutch, HELLO!:

Well those are my letters for this weekend, as you can see, I had a lot on my mind!

How was everyone else’s weekend? Do you agree with my letters or have some celebrity or issue you would like to write a strongly worded letter about?

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21 Comments

16 March 2009

Public transportation pet peeves

By: Jessica B.
Tagged: CTA, Chicago, pet peeve

The CTA (Chicago Transit Authority) is my main source of transportation in the city. Now that I’ve been car-less for four years and try to use cabs only when absolutely necessary, there is a certain amount of adjusting that happens when you rely on public transport.

For example, you “plan” your trips so you can maximize your time out and about. If I go out for the ATM, I also swing by the store and grab a paper too or only got to the ATM when I’m leaving for dinner. If I want to go somewhere on public transportation, I plan on it taking about 30 minutes because, well most trips anywhere in the city take at least that.
But along with these more minor changes, there are certain other things you have to allow for, like the unusual things you notice on the bus, which inevitably begin to irritate you, such as:
  • Cuddlers – If you really cannot stand to be physically separated, I recommend going back to bed. Then you won’t tickle my gag reflex
  • Loud talkers – This includes personal conversations and people on cell phones. One woman was speaking so loud on her cell phone that I could hear her over my iPod, which was IN my ears. Indoor voices!
  • Mistaking the bus for home - It drives me insane when people feel the need to stretch out the morning newspaper on a packed bus. I also enjoy stretching out with the newspaper…at my home. I don’t need half of the Times’ Business section stretched over me, thanks
  • Excessive PDA - Much like cuddling, I don’t need to watch you swap spit and feel each other up. I have Cinemax for that :)
  • Space hogs – I am guilty of this too, but it’s an unspoken rule that when the bus fills up, you move your bag from the seat next to you so others can sit down. Yes, it’s not as much fun, but it’s necessary. People who don’t do that are rude
  • Bumper cars - Eek, another thing I’m guilty of, but I really try to avoid this. This includes having people collide into you with their oversize purses or bags. If I had a nickel for every time I was hit in the shoulder or head by a purse, I could pay off my student loan. And one time, after a chick hit me multiple times in the head with her Puma bag, I pulled out a pen and made a mark on the white leather portion of the bag. Burning in hell, I know
  • Personal space issue – I don’t really have an issue with this, but after having some guy caress my butt on a packed bus once, I get very nervous when I’m packed in. Especially if the person sandwiched next to or behind me hasn’t showered or reeks of cigarettes. That is the worst!
Well those are the top things that irritate me. I may complain, but the CTA still provides me with transportation and provides me with lots of fun stories :)
What are your public transportation pet peeves? Or do you have any great CTA/public transportation stories to share?
Oh and feel free to let me know how glad you are that you don’t have to take public transportation because you have a car. I miss my car and I love driving when I go home, but my stories are never quite as interesting as in the city.

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19 January 2009

Key Learnings and hot man bus fail

By: Jessica B.
Tagged: CTA, Chicago, Food, Relationships, music, television

Since I’m one of the few people I know without HBO, I couldn’t watch the Obama We are One concert today (sniff sniff) so I’m relaxing after a nice dinner with friends and preparing for work tomorrow (even though our office is closed.) Oh and I need to bring out my Obama buttons for Tuesday too!

So to help delay me from doing something productive, let’s bask in some key learnings together.
Key Learnings:
  • Friday fish fries are the perfect way to close a long week
  • Tequila served out of a plastic test tube will make you feel like throwing up
  • Beer tastes good but can give you a wicked headache the next day (not good)
  • When smuggling in candy to a movie theater, avoid food that makes too much noise when opening it so you don’t draw attention to yourself
  • There are some ugly fur coats on Michigan Avenue
  • Grocery shopping when hungry is a bad idea
  • Don’t sit next to the man rocking back and forth in his seat on the bus, you never know what he’ll do next
  • Even if a guy says, “This may not come out right but I mean it as a compliment,” whatever he says next will be mean
  • Telling a woman she’s wearing a “grandma sweater” is not a good conversation starter, same with telling her friend that she looks like a lesbian cartoon character
  • Beer + good 80s music = dance party in public. I love 80s music
  • On bitter cold days, CTA bus tracker (which calculates when bus routes will be at your stop) is a godsend
  • Friday Night Lights on NBC is one of the best shows on TV. Everyone should watch it and bask in the hotness of Coach Taylor. Meow

Hot man/bus fail
It has been a long time since I saw a guy who was so attractive that I literally couldn’t look away. Sure, there are celebs that I think are very attractive, but not in a sense that when you see them, you can’t help but stare at them (in a non-creepy way.) The last time I had that feeling was with a guy in Minnesota…which was….several years ago.
I found myself in a “non-creepy stare” situation on Saturday while I was on my way to see Slumdog Millionaire (great movie). I was sitting on the bus, listening to my iPod, when I looked over and saw a guy, maybe around my age, standing near the back exit. And I have to say, he was the most attractive man I’ve seen in a while. Like, I could not take my eyes off of him because seeing him sparked a little flutter in my chest. Now I wasn’t staring at him like a piece of raw meat, but I dare to say, he was semi-tall, dark and handsome.
And in true me fashion, I didn’t take a picture (don’t have a camera on my work BB) and while trying to tweet/stare at him, he suddenly jumped off the bus near Tiffany’s (is that a sign?) and disappeared in the crowd. I actually thought for a moment that I made him up.
So while it was disappointing and a half-fail that I didn’t get to wave or say something to him, I have to say that the reminder that a guy can cause the long-thought-dead flutter in my chest to reappear, is a start. And right now, I’ll take what I can get.
Photo Sunday:
En route to the movie, I saw the biggest icicle that I’ve ever seen and, of course, was compelled to take a picture of it. Enjoy!
How was everyone else’s weekend. See any good movies or did everyone hibernate because it’s “warmer” but not actually warm?

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11 November 2008

The fall transition phase

By: Jessica B.
Tagged: CTA, Chicago, Food

I love fall and I’ve posted before what I love about it. In Chicago, the fall transition is full-on right now and with all the good, comes some fall drawbacks. 

I am between two phases right now in the fall transition: 1) Seasonal adjustment and 2) Working on my “second winter coat” for the upcoming snowy season.
Seasonal adjustment starts around daylight savings time when I love gaining an hour, but that means it’s dark at 2 p.m. Sun becomes a myth and waking up to darkness and leaving in darkness are tough things to adjust to after a lovely summer season. 
This phase leads right into working on my “second winter coat,” thanks to the availability of Halloween candy and holiday treats. Whoppers, M&Ms, caramels, oh my! Once the vendor gifts start rolling in our office, all bets are off. That’s when I end up over-indulging in candy and have a hard time resisting any treats. I love the change in seasons but sometimes the adjustment takes some time.
Lately, thanks to these phases, I’ve been having a little issue keeping to my diet and exercise regimen. I can’t help being a little generous in the soup portion or grabbing the largest baguette and hibernating from the cold wind and chill in the air. Getting to the gym lately has been a chore, not a source of relief. 
And to make the “winter coat” phase worse, being squished on the bus with a puffer jacket, especially between two “festively plump” ladies with down coats, just makes me fussy and squirmy, like a child.

This is similar to how I feel during this fall transition time
Does anyone else go through this? It’s definitely not a bad feeling in spring when the sun returns and the weather starts to warm, but it seems the fall transition is always the toughest, even if the cuter clothes begin to come out.
Reader Note: Thanks everyone for your feedback on the Kate Spade purse post yesterday. Dad just confirmed that the purse arrived from Nordstrom’s today! I really liked Alexa’s comment about splurging on two bags a year. I think that’s a great policy. I’m 90 percent sure that I’ll keep it, but I’ll know for sure when I see her again. Pretty things like that should be worn and enjoyed :) And I’m an enabler too so people telling me to keep it is just what I wanted to hear.

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28 Comments

30 October 2008

Attracting crazy people

By: Jessica B.
Tagged: CTA, Chicago, Random

I am a freak magnet. If there is a crazy or wildly insane person with a certain radius, they find me and somehow lose their sh*t at me. This point has been agreed up on by several of my friends. The phrase, “that only happens to you” is said to me a lot.

I have zero idea what I wear or do that attracts these people to me. Perhaps it’s some sort of sick pheromone that brings them in my direction, without me knowing it.
For example, over a year ago, a woman bumped into me on the sidewalk across from a CVS. I told her to watch where she was going (she didn’t even fake apologize) and the woman promptly turned and started s-c-r-e-a-m-i-n-g at me. She used words I can’t even say on this blog. Yes, my comment might have antagonized her a bit but she got so out of control that my friend Ryan had to physically hold her back from attacking me.  
Then, last January, I went grocery shopping with my dad and an elderly woman at the Jewel began screaming swear words at me when I moved my cart around hers and dinged her cart by accident. I did apologize after it happened but that didn’t stop the woman from tearing into me. Dad looked horrified but I just sighed, as it did not surprise me in the least.
Yesterday even, I was sitting on the bus, en route to work, and a woman behind me grabbed or petted my hair as I was getting ready to leave. To be fair, there is a 50 percent chance my hair was grabbed by accident in the crush to exit the bus, but there was a definite grab and hold before my hair was relinquished. Maybe the Bumble & Bumble shampoo I use does smell that good. People are apparently compelled to hold it.
See, I bring out freakish behavior! Watch out if you’re ever around me because I can’t guarantee what will happen. You’ve been warned. 
FYI: Happy Halloween everyone! I’m not a costume person so I will be dressing up as a young-professional-woman-dressed-for-casual-Friday. I hope no one steals that idea.
Big Halloween weekend plans for anyone else? Costume choices or ideas? I’m always open to hearing people’s creative choices. One year a friend made a costume out of an old moving box and went as “box of wine” with Franzia painted on the side Genius.
Reader note: Thank you SO much everyone for your kind comments on my rockin’ legwarmers. Everyone’s sweet comments really made my day :) I’m glad you also enjoyed the 80s TV flashback, but I did forget “Saved by the Bell,” which was a horrible oversight. I will post a link on Sunday to the pattern for the legwarmers in case you want to make them yourself. It might be tough to knock out in a weekend but definitely in two weeks, depending how tall you want them to be. You guys are awesome!

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