No soup for you!

So I found one of the best stories I've seen on CNN in ages... a listing of the top 100 TV catchprases of all time! Starting on December 11, TV Land will air its countdown special (a la VH1) to reveal the number 1 phrase of all time.

What is it? "Aaay" of Fonzarelli fame.

Most of the phrases to make the list I either have seen (even repeated) personally or have at least heard through pop culture references. Some of the older shows, like The Honeymooners or Jackie Gleason, I wasn't familiar with but could see how they might have had an impact.

I was shocked, however, to see a few newer series (Boston Legal, Nip/Tuck) included on the list with completely unfamiliar phrases. Does "Suit up" from How I Met Your Mother really deserve to be on the same list as "Whatchoo talkin' 'bout, Willis?" I'd love to see their criteria in compiling the list.

My own personal favorite? Rick James knows the answer...

Goodbye, Washington

Goodbye, Washington.

Goodbye, monuments and museums. Goodbye tourists and cherry blossoms and softball games played out in greatness in the shadows of great men.

Goodbye, clean, wide streets and happy hours filled with passionate political debate. Goodbye republicans and democrats and devious stories of political machinations.

Goodbye, crazy drivers, sitting in traffic, stuck in an endless loop of belt. Cursing at your neighbors and edging up, bumper to bumper, to assert your claim to the line.

Goodbye, metro riders, half asleep and crammed crankily together like so many sardines. Goodbye, angry commuters and grouchy bus riders, aggressive walkers stomping up Connecticut to your droning destination.

Goodbye, fireworks show on the bank of the Potomac. Goodbye, showers of sparks raining down over the city like thousands of twinkling, colorful stars, seen from rooftops and balconies around the region.

Goodbye, quaint neighborhoods with your distinct personalities. Goodbye to the market and the circle and the Hill. Goodbye ghettos and burbs; goodbye shops and bars and streets lined with trees and people and life that carries on around you without your knowledge.

Goodbye, friends, comrades in the fight to grow up and yet stay young forever. Goodbye to the family that evolved for a girl so far from home, who loved her and dried her tears and held her hand and told her to be brave.

Goodbye, love, the waves that wore different faces with different smiles and yet wove similar tales that ended in both heartbreak and strength.

Goodbye, my heart, the dream of a life that never quite fit but gave me warmth and a brief flicker of true happiness.

Goodbye, embrace, that held me strong and cheered me on and told me I could do anything my heart desired. That pushed me in the direction I needed to go but could not admit. That ultimately loved me more than I ever knew.

Goodbye, Washington. Goodbye to the city that was a sanctuary, a place of respite. A shelter from my fears of both failure and success. You’ve taught me not to hide from either.

Goodbye, home. Though I can no longer tie my heart to you, you will always have a place there.

From the files of "Why do I try?"

More reasons why I hate dating. No, correct that, this, this isn't even dating, this is an attempt to communicate like a human being instead of a machine. And still I manage to come across looking like an ass.

Here's the setup: there is this guy in one of my classes who is totally adorable. From the very beginning, I've had an innocent little crush on him. When I found out we were interviewing for the same company, it fueled my interest even more. I made a promise to myself that I would use this knowledge to speak to him in class.

I'm such a chicken shit that I couldn't do it.

So last week, at an event, I found out from an alumna that the cute boy was also invited down for second round interviews at the aforementioned company. This was my in!! Surely I could talk to him now about it.

But no, I still couldn't. He even sat one seat down from me in class and I found myself hopelessly mute.

Finally on the trip, I decided I had to make some conversation. Waiting for the plane on Tuesday, I chit-chatted with him briefly. It wasn't like there were sparks flying, but it was nice, introductory conversation. He recognized me from the class, we talked about how much work we have to do, he told me about his last trip to Louisville (our destination).

The rest of the trip, we were in separate groups, so I didn't have other chances to talk to him. Last night, I briefly tried to talk to him, but he was engaged with one of the executives and I didn't want to intrude. So I said nothing.

At the end of the night, once we all arrived back in Chicago, we piled into two limos. Standard--I was in a different limo. But his gift bag from the company somehow ended up in MY limo. Since I have class with him, I (shamelessly) offered to return it to him.

This morning, feeling bold (and with some prompting from OtherGus, I might add), I decided to e-mail him to let him know the bag's whereabouts. I thought it would be fun to be sassy and flirty. This is what I sent:

Subject: Hostage situation

Hi, [Cute Boy]--

Your bag turned up in the second limo... I'm holding it hostage. It's safe (for now) but in exchange for safe delivery back to you I may have to make a ransom demand.

So what's it worth to you??

Sarah

After some hesitation on whether I was being too bold, I sent it off into the Internets. Perhaps I had reason to debate. Only a few hours later came his response:

Re: Hostage situation

Sarah... thank you so much..... I realized as I got out of my Limo.

I'm away interviewing again today... I could pick it up on Monday.... do you wanna bring it to class on Monday night? Else I could walk over to Medill and pick it up?

thanks!

Oy.

I can interpret this response in one of three ways:

1. He thinks I'm an idiot.
2. He's dense and had no idea I was flirting with him.
3. He has a girlfriend.

Frankly I'm not sure I like any of those options. And regardless of what he thinks, I DO feel like an idiot. I'm tempted to leave his bag on his seat on Monday and hide in the back of the classroom...

Of course, there is also the fourth possibility that he just isn't interested and was trying to express that in a nice way. But my ego prefers to pretend that simply isn't an option. I mean, who doesn't think tense negotiations are cute??

Isn't being single fun??

Para what?

I took a walk today along the lake, and I saw the weirdest thing. At first, I just saw it above the treeline, and I didn't think much of it. But as I kept walking, it hit me that the colorful fabric billowing in the wind ahead was an open sail--kind of like one you'd see attached to someone parasailing.

Parasailing? On Lake Michigan? In NOVEMBER?

As I got closer, I realized it wasn't a parasailor but a parasurfer. The waves were pretty choppy--not good by typical surfer standards (it is a lake, after all), but strong enough to give him something to work with. The wind was strong and gusty, and he was cruising right along, first in toward the shore and then back out again to deeper water. At one point, he lost control of his sail and in he went, head under the water.

I can't possibly imagine how cold that must be.

I mean, I'm sure he was wearing a wetsuit and plenty of clothing that would keep him warm. But the air temperature was a balmy 40 degrees when I left the house for my walk--and I'm 8 blocks in from the water, protected slightly from the harsh Chicago wind.

As for the water, I looked it up. It's right around the 47 degree neighborhood. I'm pretty sure that's not a temperature I would ever want to swim in, wet suit or no. If there is a chance my head is going under, I can guarantee I am not going in. No polar bear swimmers here.

But this guy seemed absolutely unfazed. In fact, it was almost hypnotic to watch him steer slowly toward the shore, pulling tightly on the cords to the sail dancing above, come about and then steer out again, working against the waves. There must be something calming about the sound of air rushing around you, gliding on top of the water and buoyed by the wind.

Then again, it certainly wouldn't be calming to fall into a bucket of ice water. Maybe that risk is part of the draw? Either way, it takes a little crazy to head out to the water in this kind of weather.

The IMC Girls Take Chicago

It's time to play the music
It's time to dim the lights
It's time to see the fashion at the 80s prom tonight.

Get out your jelly bracelets
Crimp all your hair up right
It's time to don some leggings for the 80s prom tonight.

Why are the 80s back now
Cowl necks, pink polo shirts
I’ll never wear legwarmers
But I bought a bubble skirt

And now we’ll get outfitted
Why don't you get outfitted
It's time to get outfitted
For the most sensational inspirational celebrational fashion-platable
See you at The Keg for 80s prom!

Magic shoes

"Are you a stepper?"

Standing in front of the ticket dispensing machine, I turned my head to the left just slightly enough to see past the tip of my nose. At 7:30 in the morning, it takes extra effort to be social and I had to see who it was first. It was the CTA attendant, out of his booth to help customers, clad in full CTA regalia (including winter hat with furry ear flaps). He smiled eagerly. I tried decide if I was alert enough to be perky and friendly.

"No," I laughed. "Do I look like a stepper?"

"Yeah... yeah you do! Those shoes are sweet."

I laughed again as I tried to jam my money into the machine so that I could pass through the gates to make my way up the train. The machine wasn't having it. It kept spitting my wrinkled dollar back out, almost as if it were a child wagging its tongue at me.

"Grrrr." I tried another dollar, to the same result.

"Won't it take it?" he asked. "Here, I'll help." He gently took the dollar from my hand and tried again. It still didn't work.

"Oh well," I said. "I have enough to get down into the city at least." I pressed the button to get my card back.

"Yeah, you can get one way," he said. "And those are some sweet steppin' shoes. Those are NICE."

I lauged again. "I hope they're luck shoes," I said, smiling.

"What, you goin to an interview?" he asked, handing me my dollar and card back.

"Yup," I said, trying to shove the money back into my wallet.

"Well, you've already GOT the job. Just go in there just like that and you've GOT it." Before I realized what was happening, he was swiping his CTA card over the machine to let me pass through. I pushed my way through the turnstile, laughing.

"I sure hope so!" I said, turning back to him as I headed toward the stairs.

"That smile, right there, that smile is all you need and you've already got it! You'll come back when you're done and tell me you got it."

I laughed again and waved, heading for the platform to wait for the train. Secretly, I was wishing that life really could be that simple. That all you need is a smile. And maybe a pair of magic shoes.

Interviews are FUN

So I've been an interviewing fiend lately. Fortunately, it's one of those things for which practice truly does help make perfect. The more you sit in the hot seat, the better you get at really sounding polished. After a while, you start to hear the same questions over and over again...

Tell me about a team environment where you faced conflict. How did you handle it? What role did you play?

What kind of a leader are you?

What are your career goals?

I would love to sit in on one of those interviews that is so off the wall, so random, that you leave scratching your head thinking, "what was that about?"

My SVP this summer says he likes to give his interviewees legos. He tells them to build something and then explain what they built and why.

A friend of mine went into an interview and was asked if she was nervous. When she said no, the interviewer (a senior exec with the company) told her she must not want the job.

Another interview situation I heard of in which all the candidates knew each other, the interviewer asked each one which of their co-interviewees should be hired.

Of course, I know these are tame compared to some of the random questions out there. Here's a sample of some strange ones I found online:

* Imagine I am blind. Describe blue to me.
* What is the temperature when it’s twice as cold as zero degrees?
* How many times a day do a clock’s hands overlap?
* How many piano tuners are there in the United States?
* A lily pad doubles in size every day. If on the 60th day the pond is totally covered with the lily pad, on what day is the pond half covered?
* How can, say, five people, who do not necessarily trust each other divide a pie so that everyone receives an equal share?
* I have a lawn mowing business that I want to sell to your client. How would you advise your client about how to value the business for purchase?
* How would Donald Trump avoid being disturbed at night by a wrong number? How can you use that information to design a solution accessible to consumers without such resources?
* Design a spice rack for a blind person.

Personally, I like the "blue" question, though I think that one would trip me up the most. I'd probably yammer on about describing it in terms of sensation rather than visuals (i.e., cool, refreshing). Is there a right way to do it?

Anyone else have fun interview questions they've experienced or had themselves?

Geometric print optional

Two of the girls in our program decided a few weeks ago that they should throw an 80s prom--a tribute to the glam fashion, horrific hairdos and plastic jewelry of all kinds. This immediately set off a flashback frenzy of looking for THE PERFECT prom dress.

Remember what that was like? How important it was to get the right color, the right fit... something no one else has. (I have to laugh here, because my junior year, my best friend and I--who shopped independently--showed up in the same dress. Different colors, but same dress. It was awesome. But I digress.)

Even though all my proms took place in the 90s, I feel pretty confident that at least one or two of my homecoming or prom dresses would have passed at this party without a problem. Still I decided that in true prom spirit, I couldn't go with a recycled option--at least not something I personally had already worn. Well, that and I think it would send me into a deep depression to see how poorly those gowns fit my now 29-year-old body.

Looking for inspiration, several of us immediately hit up eBay, the place where you can find IT. And find it I did. Check this baby out.



Whadya think? Pretty hot, right?

The bad news is I think they are moving the date of the prom to the Friday that I will be in DC. But fear not, one of the activities planned for my sojourn to our nation's capital is a performance by the Legwarmers--an 80s tribute band. Costumes not optional. So it will be worn regardless.

Hell, I may even wear it to meet boys here in Evanston. Wouldn't you?!?