Gals' Guide

Quarter-Life-Crisis in the Windy City

My hair isn’t long enough. My body isn’t skinny enough. My GPA in college was too low, in fact, I probably should have gone to a different college, or perhaps chosen a different major all together, or done different internships, or not have moved to Europe, or Chicago. Maybe I should’ve taken up acting. Maybe I should have gone to grad school in neuroscience. Maybe I would have gotten a better job if I’d gone blond. Maybe, I should have finished learning Spanish before moving onto French. How will I ever buy a condo? With what money? Am I ever going to set a date and get married, and how will I even afford kids? Why couldn’t I just snag a rich man? And, why don’t I have a car? And, how did all my girlfriends make it through high school and college avoiding pregnancies and now are all of a sudden ‘accidentally’ getting pregnant? And, even if I were to accidentally get pregnant, I’d need to move to Canada to get a job to allow me a year off. I cannot believe so-and-so is not staying at home with her daughter. 

Fatburgers is Coming to Chicago! Thank You, Kanye West!

Chicago's Hip Hop King, Kanye West, is bringing 10 Fatburgers to the Chicago area. If you don't know what Fatburgers is, it's a west coast chain with tasty, finger licking good hamburgers.   The first one opens in Orland Park, with a Beverly (remember my article on Beverly?) location coming soon. Now that's some nice South Side love:).

Who knew he was starting a food empire as well?

Thanks, Kanye!

China's Opening Ceremonies Tell Girls: You Need to Be Cute to Perform

This kind of thing is unfortunate and would will most likely never happen in the U.S. - a young girl being swapped out of singing a song because of her buck teeth.

The cute girl you saw in the red dress at opening ceremonies did NOT sing the song - she lip synced. The real singer is the cute girl on the right side of the photo - she was replaced because her teeth weren't up to Chinese standards and she didn't represent the country well enough to sing live.  The real singer also WON a national search to find the singer - it was an honor to have been chose. Yes, the girl on the right is JUST as cute and I think her 'buck teeth' make her more cute and real.

No offense to the girl on the left, your only 9. This type of behavior is so upsetting and overall sad. I respect the Olympics and its athletes and support them 100%, but China's latest admittance of more fake opening ceremonies tactics is disturbing. Meanwhile, the fake singer's become a celebrity nationwide.

What kind of 'progressive'  message are you sending to the girls of China with this replacement?

Cook County Jury Duty Breakdown A Gal’s Guide to Serving in Chicago

A few weeks back I received what’s called a ‘Standby Jury’ notice.  This means that you may or may not be serving on a jury. I also learned that getting picked to even come in is like the lottery. My new last name starts with a ‘B’, the old last name started with an ‘S’.  Just my luck, Cook County sent the summons under my old last name, which put me in the lottery of jury folks between letters G and T to show up. I thought about calling and postponing my time a few months, but figured, I was called to perform my citizen’s duty, so let’s just do it.

Jury Duty Day 1

Hi Ladies,

It's the 11th and I'm off to report in to the jury duty summons I received awhile back. As always, I'll be writing about my experiences, but you can get updates in real time via Twitter.

When You Say It's for a Wedding The Price Tends to Go UP

Watch this hilarious BBC sketch about an engaged couple that goes cake shopping. I've witnessed this in my wedding planning days - when you tell someone you are buying something for a 'wedding', the prices magically go up.

A Gal Remembers Bernie Mac Another Comedic Great is Gone

Somehow, I managed to get invited to sit in the Tribune's Cubs seats. It was playoff time and chilly. I wasn't in too much of a baseball mood that night. Shop talk was going on around me and I didn't feel like schmoozing.

Then Bernie Mac walked to his seat.

He waved, smiled and gingerly took  his seat with his family. I just stared. I stared and recounted some of his stand-up bits and started to laugh out loud. To myself. The boredom I had at the game quickly disappeared because my imagination rolled in.  I decided I had to thank Bernie for the laughs.

How do you interrupt someone's time with their family and baseball viewing? How do you not act like some silly fan? Before I could think of a reason NOT to, I leaned forward in my seat, got his attention and said, 'There are few like you to have the courage to make us laugh the way you do. Thank you.' Bernie Mac's face softened and he thanked me with the sort of wholehearted demeanor that would come from anyone who worked their butt off to get to where they are at that moment - keeping their senses along the way.

We will all miss you Bernie Mac, but I consider myself lucky to have shared a brief moment with you.
 

Rallying the Gals!Vote for Our SXSW Panel

Hi Ladies,

...and here is your weekly dose of Blagica 'geeking out'. Many of you met Laura, fellow GG Reader and my fellow web dork :).  Laura submitted a panel idea for the upcoming SXSW Festival in Austin. SXSW is the best conference, hands down for people in the music, media and interactive worlds.  Hundreds of people across the country submit ideas for panel chats and a portion of those are chosen for mass vote.

This is where we need your support.

Laura's suggested a panel and I was flattered to hear that she thought of me as one of the panelists! If you have a second, please vote! Here is the name and description of the idea:

"Are Women Taken More Seriously On The Web?"
Women used to have to get our foot in the door THEN prove that we deserved to be there. With blogging and social networking, we're now able to portray a more cohesive picture of our views, interests, and skills. Have blogging and social networking changed the way that women are viewed and treated?

You can vote here