Walking Along Lake Michigan + Plans for Tomorrow

I went walking along Lake Michigan today with some friends and then went to dinner at a Thai restaurant.

The walk made me realize how much I have missed jogging and exerting myself physically. It felt great to move! So, I'm hoping to take advantage of the path along the water (we walked about 2 miles) and get some exercise while I'm here. It's along a well-traveled road and fairly open. I plan to go during daylight. (So, don't worry Mom!)

Tomorrow I have plans to do volunteer work, see if I can get a temporary library card, possibly get an actual bed (a friend is letting me borrow a queen size bed if we can just find a truck to borrow) and maybe wander around town just a bit.

Until then!

More Greenery

Here are a few more pictures from the plant store that I visited today.

There were so many neat plants, some familiar, some new to me. I was especially excited to see a goldfish plant blooming. I bought one of those a few years ago and it never bloomed and eventually died. So to finally see what the blooms looked like was neat.

A Healthy Lunch Outside

Today, Antonio and I ate lunch at Bread and Bean, a small restaurant in the quaint town of Sheboygan Falls.

Since the weather was so nice, we ate outside. I had a Roma panini, which was filled with lettuce, tomato and mozzarella along with some pesto. It was pretty tasty!

From the Office Parking Lot Today

Today around noon was absolutely gorgeous! This evening though, it started to rain and has been rather cool and windy.

My Addiction

So, I am ready to admit that I have a problem. An addiction. A vice.

It’s this:

Plants.

I’ve been pseudo-stalking a plant shop for the past few days and today I made it inside.

It feels strange to pay money for plants that I could grow myself. And I thought that the cyclamen that I bought a few days ago would be enough. I thought that I would feel relieved to not have to care for all the plants that I have back at home. But, I missed the greenery.

So, I ended up with these:

 

I’ll probably end up donating them to the office or various friends when I leave. I can’t imagine trying to take them as carry-on. (Although on a trip home from Florida a few months back, I took a small hoya and lime, lemon and orange trees on the plane. The security guard looked at me like I was crazy. But, it worked! They are all doing fine now.

Better to be addicted to plants than weed, right? :)

Tired.

I can't remember the last time I was this tired. (Oh wait, yes I can. It was my previous trip to Sheboygan a few weeks ago.) I don't know if it's the time difference or recovering from traveling, but I've been here for 5 days and I am still exhausted.

It doesn’t help that one of my neighbors has people coming in and out until the wee hours of the morning. I woke up to someone banging on his door at around 1am this morning. Never mind that the street I live on is pretty active as well. People drive by with their car radios blaring at least twice a night.

Early this morning, I apparently started ‘sleep cleaning.’ I remember having a dream that some friends were coming over and in my dream I was hurrying to tidy up. But I guess not all of it was a dream. When I woke up this morning, I had tidied up the apartment a bit but I don’t really remember doing it. I wonder if I could try ‘sleep dish washing’ next time?

I'm excited for the weekend though. I'm looking forward to wandering around and taking pictures as well as visiting with some friends. And sleeping.

Regarding the picture: It was a bit windy yesterday. The tree I’m standing in front of kind of looks like a crown, doesn’t it? That was totally unintentional!

Cellularly Disconnected

My personal cell phone has stopped working. If you need to get in touch with me by phone or text, please try my Google Voice number: (253) 234-4721.

Email is a better form of communication though.

And I'm pretty sure 'cellularly' isn't a word. But, I'm coining it now.

Note: For coworkers, my work cell is still valid.

Update: April 30, 2010 3:45pm

My phone is working again. (I tried that whole ‘turn it off and turn it back on’ fancy technique and yay! it worked.) But, the Google Voice number is probably more reliable.

Lunch at The Funky Bean

Antonio and I ate lunch at The Funky Bean, which is on my list of favorite places. Free wifi, good coffee and decent breakfast and lunches.

Up for discussion today: balancing technology with outdoor activities, which we both struggle with.

Seems like most of my recent posts are about food. I’d better start doing something more interesting than eating. I should get some good blogging content this weekend. I plan to do a little more exploring.

Breakfast at Field to Fork

This morning I had breakfast with my boss, Antonio, and our Senior Vice President, Marvin, at Field to Fork.

They both chose healthy options (granola and yogurt, oatmeal and fruit), but I enjoyed the special of the day: egg, local cheese, ham, savory pancake, yam hash browns, tomato garnish and some fruit (raspberries, apple, blood orange). It was wonderful!

The neat thing about Field to Fork is that they use locally sourced meat and food. This shortens the distance between the ‘field’ and ‘fork’, hence the name.

Antonio just informed me that they have free wifi. So, it’s basically become my favorite spot.

OregON vs. OregEN

Here in Wisconsin, they pronounce Oregon as OregON. Like “Turn the light ON.”

I was talking to someone about this and was telling him how we say it.

His reply: “It’s not spelled ‘Oregen’. There’s an ‘o’! It’s Oregon.”

He does have a point about the spelling. But, I claim geographic familiarity. :)

Settling In With the Help of Friends

Paul and Debra stopped by last night to drop off “a few” items for my apartment. I couldn’t believe all the things they brought over! It definitely made my temporary apartment feel more homey.

They gave me a microwave, dishes, cups, grocery items (including tea and honey), a table/chairs, placemats, table cloth, garbage cans for the kitchen and bathroom, towels, cleaning supplies, a radio and a few other things.

This is in addition to the handmade quilt and pillow she gave me a few days ago.

How sweet!

She also told me that whenever I’m feeling lonely, I can just come over. They’ve also included me in some of their planned outings. (So don’t worry Mom. I’m being well taken care of.)

Above: Paul, after unpacking. They brought some beers over too!

 

Above: Debra filled my cupboards with seasonings, cups and dishes.

Greenery

If you know me at all, you probably know that I love plants. I have them scattered around my office in Seattle and my home. So, the following won’t surprise you.

 

This is a cyclamen, one of my favorite plants. Isn’t the coloring beautiful? I have a solid magenta one at home that was a housewarming gift from a friend 3 years ago and it’s still doing great. It is a cheerful indoor-blooming plant that is pretty easy to care for.

I found this at the Piggly Wiggly, of course.

Sneak Peek at My Apartment

I took this video of my apartment before I had a table or chairs, inflatable mattress and all the other fancy stuff that has made this studio more homey.

I’m not sure if you can get a good idea of how unique the building itself is. But I’ll be posting more on that soon!

Lunch at Field to Fork: Yum!

I had lunch with my boss today at Field to Fork. It was delicious!

I had a cup of soup and a salad. The soup was a mix of root vegetables, ground chicken, beans and a few other things. I’m not usually a soup person, but it was wonderful.

Antonio had chicken enchiladas, which looked appetizing too.

 

We had an enjoyable time discussing Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution (which we are both fans of), travel and upcoming company initiatives.

Monitor Arrival = Happiness

My large flat screen monitor just arrived! Now I can be more productive. (Seriously, the second monitor makes a huge difference and I was missing it since my move to the Sheboygan office.)

A Cozy Evening

Spent the evening with some friends, had a yummy homemade dinner, ate popcorn and enjoyed each others company.

Got home. Read a little poetry. Washed dishes. Went to bed.

I now have a pillow and quilt (thanks to Debra), some silverware and a nice, warm apartment. Tonight will be a more cozy night than last night, I'm sure.

I'm going to try to get up and go jogging tomorrow. It's been far too long!

Goodnight.

 

Update

Totally didn’t make it jogging this morning. :(

Cows: I Know I'm in Wisconsin

Somebody just opened the back office door (where I am sequestered) and the smell of cows wafted in.

Ah, Wisconsin.

(Actually, I don't mind the smell. It makes me think of the fair.)

Cheese Curds: I Know I’m in Wisconsin

There was a whole section for this at the grocery store:

I bought some. Yum!  (Although these didn’t squeak on my teeth as much as I remember the other ones doing that I ate before.) I haven’t tried the ‘string cheese whips.’ They look a little too much like licorice.

Heat...yay!

I just figured out how to get the heat on (and the oven too).

Nothing like a 3am bathroom trip to make you realize: holy crud it's cold in here!

I win!

Side note: I just had to open the breaker box and switch the appropriate toggles to on. I wish I would have done that earlier!

Back to sleep.

I Have Arrived

Good things

• Mini vac
• Piggly Wiggly
• Clean fridge
• Ate cheese curds for dinner

 

Not-So-Good Things

• Can't figure out how to get the heater running
• Oven isn't plugged in (?)

 

Summary

So, I'm here in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, laying on an air mattress and trying to keep warm (also feeling rather dumb since I can't figure out the heater... I'll check with them tomorrow).

I slept the entire flight, except for a few hazy moments of waking up and realizing my neck was killing me.

My first stop was Wal-Mart, so that I could pick up a few essentials (cleaner, mini vac, air mattress, towels).

Then I headed to the apartment, did a quick cleaning, met a nice neighbor and set out in search of a grocery store. My GPS led me astray (to a store closed for construction), so I just drove around until I found a Piggly Wiggly (possibly the funniest named store I've ever been to. Isn't it fun to say?)

It'll be a while since I can post pictures (or take any for that matter), since I left my camera battery at home. But, sooner or later I'll get to share some photos of my surroundings.

All for now.

Update (4.26.2010)

I found a much closer grocery store while driving into work today.

I'm Packed.

Bags packed.
Apartment cleaned.
Notes written.
Clothes set out.
I'm pretty much ready to go.

Box Delay

Turns out my box won’t arrive until Wednesday. I arrive on Sunday.

Hmm.

My Life (in a Box)

Last night I packed up items that I might need during my two month stay in Sheboygan, Wisconsin.

I included sheets, blankets, a few pots and pans, silverware, 3 books I’ve been meaning to read, a pillow, supplies for a craft project I need to finish while I’m there and a few other items.

As a bonus, the box can be reused as a nightstand once I get there. Yay for eco-chic furniture!

The only problem is that I waited a bit too long to send it. So, I won’t have sheets until my second night there. Oh well.

I’m moving into a small studio apartment. Despite the lack of furniture, I’m actually looking forward to living in a rather spartan space.

All that remains is to pack the remaining items that I’ll take with me (clothes, toiletries, two laptops and one digital camera), finish up the work week and write down instructions for my mom on how to care for my plants and fish.

My to-do list is getting smaller and smaller.