I went back to work today. But it was a pretty good day.
So I landed a gig as the hip hop writer for Consequence of Sound. So that's kind of cool. Apparently they get between six and eight thousand hits a day. I'm currently working on my first article. It is a record review of Tha Carter 3. In it I plan to define a subgenre of rap. Lil Wayne is a "post-gangsta" artist, as are most of the rappers currently getting mainstream airtime.
Lots of wedding stuff seems to be going on around here.
Monday, June 30, 2008
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Day 35
So my first day home. What do I do? I jump back in the car at 9 AM and go to Michigan. I had other things I considered doing today like going to church, going to a barbecue, or seeing Stevie Wonder at Taste of Chicago. But I have not seen my grandparents in quite a while and the next few weekends are packed so I decided it would be a good time to go.
The real story was that Dzia Dzia wanted to go out on the boat with the Coast Guard. Yes, my 76-year-old grandfather is the one keeping the coasts of Michigan safe from an Illinois invasion. And Babcia can't stay alone, what with the dementia and all. So I was going to spend the day with her so that he could do the whole Coast Guard thing.
I actually picked Babcia up at Krissy's house in Kalamazoo. We went and got some food at Olga's. Of course anywhere with Babcia is an ordeal. Everything is about money. "We can't do that. It costs money. Don't waste your money on me. I don't have any money to give you. Gas!"
And then we sat for a while. We took another ride. We sat. Babcia talked about eggs. Etc.
I stayed at Krissy's house. She wasn't there. So I had the place to myself. That was nice.
The real story was that Dzia Dzia wanted to go out on the boat with the Coast Guard. Yes, my 76-year-old grandfather is the one keeping the coasts of Michigan safe from an Illinois invasion. And Babcia can't stay alone, what with the dementia and all. So I was going to spend the day with her so that he could do the whole Coast Guard thing.
I actually picked Babcia up at Krissy's house in Kalamazoo. We went and got some food at Olga's. Of course anywhere with Babcia is an ordeal. Everything is about money. "We can't do that. It costs money. Don't waste your money on me. I don't have any money to give you. Gas!"
And then we sat for a while. We took another ride. We sat. Babcia talked about eggs. Etc.
I stayed at Krissy's house. She wasn't there. So I had the place to myself. That was nice.
Day 34
So Friday was spent driving home. Nothing too eventful. Sat in a traffic jam outside of Columbus because the lake flooded the road. That was about it. So here is where I choose to end the narrative of my trip.
Instead I think I am going to summarize the trip a little. Here is a list of the top five memorable moments of the week (in no particular order):
1) Horatio Sanz seeking me out to give me the Cubs score.
2) Ken Griffey's home run.
3) Tie between being the last ones admitted into Seinfeld's club and being the last ones admitted to Asssscat.
4) QUACK! QUACK! QUACK! QUACK!
5) Sitting on the balcony at Growler's with Isaac.
Instead I think I am going to summarize the trip a little. Here is a list of the top five memorable moments of the week (in no particular order):
1) Horatio Sanz seeking me out to give me the Cubs score.
2) Ken Griffey's home run.
3) Tie between being the last ones admitted into Seinfeld's club and being the last ones admitted to Asssscat.
4) QUACK! QUACK! QUACK! QUACK!
5) Sitting on the balcony at Growler's with Isaac.
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Day 33
So it turned out that my dad was in Washington for some reason. So he canceled his plane ticket home and I canceled my train and we decided to drive his rental car home. This worked because it meant I did not have to wake up at 6 AM to drive to NY to return my rental car and then sit on a nineteen hour train ride. So that’s good. The less I have to deal with those Amtrak bastards the better.
But I still had a full afternoon to haul luggage around. My dad was about three hours away from D.C. and would not be able to pick me up until seven. I had to drop my car off at National (I refuse to call it Reagan) Airport by noon. This gave me seven hours with my luggage and not a whole lot to do in Washington, D.C. I took the Metro to D.C.’s gallery stop.
So what to do…it was a few minutes before one and I decided I might as well check out another movie. I was worried that they wouldn’t let me in with all my luggage but they did not seem to mind. So I went all the way to the top of the theatre where there is a lot of leg room in the corner, put my luggage down, and watched Hulk. It was great. Much better than the first one. Especially the ending.
So then it was three. And I only had four hours left. I decided to go for a walk. This was probably a bad decision but I also probably lost about ten pounds carrying my backpack all over the city in the ninety-degree heat. I was sort of half-heartedly looking for a sports bar that would be showing the Cubs game. I didn’t see anything of the sort. But I did find a library. I went inside for about 45 minutes, checked my e-mail, the score (not good news), and paid some bills. I also used the bathroom. And goodness sakes…I think there was some kind of homeless convention going on up in there. There were like eight of them in there, brushing their teeth, shaving, washing their underarms, etc. They probably saw me with my suitcase and thought I was a new recruit. “No recession my ass.”
And then I started walking again. I went to Chipotle and got myself a good meal and some cold water. Then I decided I might as well go see another movie. I decided to see Get Smart. And it was about what you would expect. Won’t win any awards but it was pretty funny.
My dad picked me up on the corner in front of the theatre at about seven. We drove up to BWI to exchange rental cars. By the time we got out of there it was about 8:30. We stopped in Frederick at a Cracker Barrel. This was nice because we used to live in Frederick. Then we drove until about two in the morning and spent the night in Morgantown. And that is all.
But I still had a full afternoon to haul luggage around. My dad was about three hours away from D.C. and would not be able to pick me up until seven. I had to drop my car off at National (I refuse to call it Reagan) Airport by noon. This gave me seven hours with my luggage and not a whole lot to do in Washington, D.C. I took the Metro to D.C.’s gallery stop.
So what to do…it was a few minutes before one and I decided I might as well check out another movie. I was worried that they wouldn’t let me in with all my luggage but they did not seem to mind. So I went all the way to the top of the theatre where there is a lot of leg room in the corner, put my luggage down, and watched Hulk. It was great. Much better than the first one. Especially the ending.
So then it was three. And I only had four hours left. I decided to go for a walk. This was probably a bad decision but I also probably lost about ten pounds carrying my backpack all over the city in the ninety-degree heat. I was sort of half-heartedly looking for a sports bar that would be showing the Cubs game. I didn’t see anything of the sort. But I did find a library. I went inside for about 45 minutes, checked my e-mail, the score (not good news), and paid some bills. I also used the bathroom. And goodness sakes…I think there was some kind of homeless convention going on up in there. There were like eight of them in there, brushing their teeth, shaving, washing their underarms, etc. They probably saw me with my suitcase and thought I was a new recruit. “No recession my ass.”
And then I started walking again. I went to Chipotle and got myself a good meal and some cold water. Then I decided I might as well go see another movie. I decided to see Get Smart. And it was about what you would expect. Won’t win any awards but it was pretty funny.
My dad picked me up on the corner in front of the theatre at about seven. We drove up to BWI to exchange rental cars. By the time we got out of there it was about 8:30. We stopped in Frederick at a Cracker Barrel. This was nice because we used to live in Frederick. Then we drove until about two in the morning and spent the night in Morgantown. And that is all.
Friday, June 27, 2008
Day 32
Ok...now I'm way behind. Still I think I am only going to do one tonight. Never fear. I plan to be caught up by Sunday.
Wednesday.
So after several days of having fun with friends, this was my first day of the trip (aside from Friday) that was spent mostly in solitude. It was also the first day of the trip with very few solid plans. I really had no idea what I was going to do. I just knew I was going to go to Washington.
I ended up sleeping till about ten. I called John because we had talked about getting some lunch. He was unable to make it because he was swamped at work. It happens when you work for the government.
I didn't end up leaving Isaac and Lauren's place (they live in the suburb of Gaithersville) until after eleven. I went to the Shady Grove Metro station and boarded a train. I ended up getting to D.C. a little after noon.
So what did I do? Not a whole lot. I saved money. I have done mostly every site in Washington before so I did not feel too stressed out about seeing a lot. I mostly just walked. And walked. And snapped pictures of buildings and monuments. I sat for a while at the World War II Memorial, which is very nicely done. Thank you Tom Hanks. There were a lot of old WWII vets checking it out. Of course none of them cry because WWII vets are real men. They know how to keep their emotions bottled up inside. Also, a lot of them were wearing shirts that said, "If you can read this thank a teacher. If you can read this in English thank a vet."
I also spent some time at the Lincoln Memorial. I think this may be my favorite place in Washington, D.C. When I was little and we went to Washington for the fireworks we would always sit out on the big stone at the base of the memorial starting at about 3:00. It was a perfect spot, looking out of the reflecting pool and the Washington Monument. It also feels very cool in the shade of the memorial which is nice. And I went around back where there was nobody else and looked out over the Potomac. It was all very peaceful.
There was also something called the Folklife Fair put on by the Smithsonian. The themes were Bhutan, Texas, and Space. Manatees. It was okay. But it was hot and not very interesting.
So after several hours of this I was hot, tired, hungry, and extremely thirsty. I wandered off the mall and into downtown D.C. searching for some food. (There is of course absolutely nothing of interest to eat on the mall.) I finally stumbled upon a Chipotle. And right next door was a movie theatre. A sign across the street told me it was 91 degrees out. I literally said, "Fuck it. I'm going to eat some Chipotle and watch a movie."
So now I know my limit. Four days of walking around hot cities looking at buildings and then I hit the wall. I had a great lunch. I filled my Mr. Pibb three times. And I saw Iron Man. I loved it. Especially the ending.
I caught the Metro back to Gaithersburg at about 6:45. I ended up getting back to Isaac's place at about eight. Isaac, and Lauren, and I headed across the street to Isaac's local brew pub. It is called Growler's and Wednesday nights are $2.50 draft nights. Lauren stayed and had supper with us. Then Isaac and I went out onto the balcony and hung out for a few hours enjoying the night. It was a great time...maybe the best time of the trip, albeit the most relaxed.
Wednesday.
So after several days of having fun with friends, this was my first day of the trip (aside from Friday) that was spent mostly in solitude. It was also the first day of the trip with very few solid plans. I really had no idea what I was going to do. I just knew I was going to go to Washington.
I ended up sleeping till about ten. I called John because we had talked about getting some lunch. He was unable to make it because he was swamped at work. It happens when you work for the government.
I didn't end up leaving Isaac and Lauren's place (they live in the suburb of Gaithersville) until after eleven. I went to the Shady Grove Metro station and boarded a train. I ended up getting to D.C. a little after noon.
So what did I do? Not a whole lot. I saved money. I have done mostly every site in Washington before so I did not feel too stressed out about seeing a lot. I mostly just walked. And walked. And snapped pictures of buildings and monuments. I sat for a while at the World War II Memorial, which is very nicely done. Thank you Tom Hanks. There were a lot of old WWII vets checking it out. Of course none of them cry because WWII vets are real men. They know how to keep their emotions bottled up inside. Also, a lot of them were wearing shirts that said, "If you can read this thank a teacher. If you can read this in English thank a vet."
I also spent some time at the Lincoln Memorial. I think this may be my favorite place in Washington, D.C. When I was little and we went to Washington for the fireworks we would always sit out on the big stone at the base of the memorial starting at about 3:00. It was a perfect spot, looking out of the reflecting pool and the Washington Monument. It also feels very cool in the shade of the memorial which is nice. And I went around back where there was nobody else and looked out over the Potomac. It was all very peaceful.
There was also something called the Folklife Fair put on by the Smithsonian. The themes were Bhutan, Texas, and Space. Manatees. It was okay. But it was hot and not very interesting.
So after several hours of this I was hot, tired, hungry, and extremely thirsty. I wandered off the mall and into downtown D.C. searching for some food. (There is of course absolutely nothing of interest to eat on the mall.) I finally stumbled upon a Chipotle. And right next door was a movie theatre. A sign across the street told me it was 91 degrees out. I literally said, "Fuck it. I'm going to eat some Chipotle and watch a movie."
So now I know my limit. Four days of walking around hot cities looking at buildings and then I hit the wall. I had a great lunch. I filled my Mr. Pibb three times. And I saw Iron Man. I loved it. Especially the ending.
I caught the Metro back to Gaithersburg at about 6:45. I ended up getting back to Isaac's place at about eight. Isaac, and Lauren, and I headed across the street to Isaac's local brew pub. It is called Growler's and Wednesday nights are $2.50 draft nights. Lauren stayed and had supper with us. Then Isaac and I went out onto the balcony and hung out for a few hours enjoying the night. It was a great time...maybe the best time of the trip, albeit the most relaxed.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Day 31
Okay. I'm going to do this now. I probably should wait til morning but I'm already a day behind. So don't blame me if there are a bunch of typos or if I forget some key points from yesterday. After all. It is yesterday.
I don't know if I mentioned this yesterday but I decided to rent a car and drive to Washington. Once I made the decision to rent the car I was torn between Boston and Washington. Since I was unable to get a Red Sox ticket and the sites in Washington are more centrally located I went with D.C. The kicker came when I talked on the phone Monday night with my friend Isaac (who lives in D.C. and was in NY for the weekend with us.) It just so happens he landed four free tickets to Tuesday night's Nationals game. So that settled it.
I slept late on Tuesday. Jose left early in the morning, leaving me as the last one left in New York. I packed my stuff up, called a cab, and checked out about 11:15.
My taxi ended up costing 42 bucks. Another fee I can thank Amtrak for. It took me to the Avis in Midtown Manhattan. And this is where I experienced driving in Manhattan for the first time. That was a blast. Now I drive in Chicago all the time and have no problem. Now granted that may have something to do with the fact I know the city much better. But in New York the general rule seems to be just don't hit anyone or anything. Other than that it is a free-for-all. Luckily I didn't hit anyone and continued on my way.
I exited the island through the Lincoln Tunnel. I was in New Jersey. And the first thing I did in New Jersey was blow through the EZ Pass on the turnpike. You aren't supposed to do this in New Jersey. And thus I did not have a ticket for the turnpike. Regardless, my drive through Jersey was very pleasant. People like to bitch about New Jersey but it didn't seem so bad to me. Of course, when I got to the border they charged me full fare for the toll road, but it turned out to only be $6.70 so I can live with that.
An interesting thing about this drive was that I had no way of plugging in my iPod. So I was stuck listening to the radio for five hours. Now I listen to the radio for time to time to keep up on what is being played, but I can't remember the last time I listened to the radio for such an extended period of time. Pretty much I heard about three songs over and over. It was that new Usher song, that "she's my little hood thing" song, and "Lollipop". Now I don't really hate any of these songs but the fact that I heard each one over five times in this time span is proof that the radio is a dead art. It is ClearChannel's fault. Every station is exactly the same. Oh well.
Delaware was quick. And seven dollars. Amtrak.
I ended up getting to my destination, the Shady Grove Metro station, at about 5PM. I got on the Metro into Washington and arrived at the Nationals Stadium at about 5:30. I was ridiculously hungry and thirsty by this time. And I wasn't meeting Isaac and Lauren, who had the tickets, until 6:45. So I planned on finding a restaurant or bar to hang out in for a little while. Well guess what...there are none. There are lots of signs for restaurants and bars that are going to open in 2009. That doesn't help me much. I walked all the way around the stadium. Finally I found a lady with a cart. She sold me a Dr. Pepper and a bag of Doritos for two bucks. That worked for the moment.
Isaac and Lauren showed up right on cue. The fourth ticket went to my friend John Gagnon who I had not seen in quite some time. So basically it was a great group of old friends for this game, which was great. With such good company I even decided not to keep score. Which was a little bit ironic considering this was the first park I have ever been to that provided free score cards to all the guests.
What I will say about Nationals Park is that it is magnificent. They pulled out all the stops in this ballpark. Absolutely beautiful. Apparently if you go upstairs you can see all kinds of monuments and such. Which makes sense. I was too tired to go up there though.
My favorite thing at Nationals Park was that it was the first ballpark I have ever been to that sold a veggie hot dog. Of course I had to buy one. It was 5.25 and it looked like crap. But you must understand...in all my years of going to double digit baseball games every year I have never had the privilege of eating a hot dog at a ballgame. That all changed Monday night. It wasn't bad. Not great. But I enjoyed it anyway.
I also ate some cheese fries.
The game was terrible. The Angels scored six times in the top of the first inning, so it was never even remotely close. But we all had some good conversation and a few drinks and had a great time.
The trip is coming to a close. Just a little while longer. But a little more fun. And there is lots of fun stuff coming up this summer. So rock on.
I don't know if I mentioned this yesterday but I decided to rent a car and drive to Washington. Once I made the decision to rent the car I was torn between Boston and Washington. Since I was unable to get a Red Sox ticket and the sites in Washington are more centrally located I went with D.C. The kicker came when I talked on the phone Monday night with my friend Isaac (who lives in D.C. and was in NY for the weekend with us.) It just so happens he landed four free tickets to Tuesday night's Nationals game. So that settled it.
I slept late on Tuesday. Jose left early in the morning, leaving me as the last one left in New York. I packed my stuff up, called a cab, and checked out about 11:15.
My taxi ended up costing 42 bucks. Another fee I can thank Amtrak for. It took me to the Avis in Midtown Manhattan. And this is where I experienced driving in Manhattan for the first time. That was a blast. Now I drive in Chicago all the time and have no problem. Now granted that may have something to do with the fact I know the city much better. But in New York the general rule seems to be just don't hit anyone or anything. Other than that it is a free-for-all. Luckily I didn't hit anyone and continued on my way.
I exited the island through the Lincoln Tunnel. I was in New Jersey. And the first thing I did in New Jersey was blow through the EZ Pass on the turnpike. You aren't supposed to do this in New Jersey. And thus I did not have a ticket for the turnpike. Regardless, my drive through Jersey was very pleasant. People like to bitch about New Jersey but it didn't seem so bad to me. Of course, when I got to the border they charged me full fare for the toll road, but it turned out to only be $6.70 so I can live with that.
An interesting thing about this drive was that I had no way of plugging in my iPod. So I was stuck listening to the radio for five hours. Now I listen to the radio for time to time to keep up on what is being played, but I can't remember the last time I listened to the radio for such an extended period of time. Pretty much I heard about three songs over and over. It was that new Usher song, that "she's my little hood thing" song, and "Lollipop". Now I don't really hate any of these songs but the fact that I heard each one over five times in this time span is proof that the radio is a dead art. It is ClearChannel's fault. Every station is exactly the same. Oh well.
Delaware was quick. And seven dollars. Amtrak.
I ended up getting to my destination, the Shady Grove Metro station, at about 5PM. I got on the Metro into Washington and arrived at the Nationals Stadium at about 5:30. I was ridiculously hungry and thirsty by this time. And I wasn't meeting Isaac and Lauren, who had the tickets, until 6:45. So I planned on finding a restaurant or bar to hang out in for a little while. Well guess what...there are none. There are lots of signs for restaurants and bars that are going to open in 2009. That doesn't help me much. I walked all the way around the stadium. Finally I found a lady with a cart. She sold me a Dr. Pepper and a bag of Doritos for two bucks. That worked for the moment.
Isaac and Lauren showed up right on cue. The fourth ticket went to my friend John Gagnon who I had not seen in quite some time. So basically it was a great group of old friends for this game, which was great. With such good company I even decided not to keep score. Which was a little bit ironic considering this was the first park I have ever been to that provided free score cards to all the guests.
What I will say about Nationals Park is that it is magnificent. They pulled out all the stops in this ballpark. Absolutely beautiful. Apparently if you go upstairs you can see all kinds of monuments and such. Which makes sense. I was too tired to go up there though.
My favorite thing at Nationals Park was that it was the first ballpark I have ever been to that sold a veggie hot dog. Of course I had to buy one. It was 5.25 and it looked like crap. But you must understand...in all my years of going to double digit baseball games every year I have never had the privilege of eating a hot dog at a ballgame. That all changed Monday night. It wasn't bad. Not great. But I enjoyed it anyway.
I also ate some cheese fries.
The game was terrible. The Angels scored six times in the top of the first inning, so it was never even remotely close. But we all had some good conversation and a few drinks and had a great time.
The trip is coming to a close. Just a little while longer. But a little more fun. And there is lots of fun stuff coming up this summer. So rock on.
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Day 30
Monday...
Gotta tell you guys. I'm getting a little tired of writing these. It's mostly just because I have been so tired by the time I actually get to work on them. But I am already behind so I need to just keep cranking away at them. So here we go.
Monday. Monday was easily the most relaxed day of the trip so far. Isaac left last night and Jeff woke up at the crack of dawn to catch his flight. That left Jose and me. And we had sort of plans to get up early but that didn't pan out of course. We ended up sleeping till after ten and didn't leave the hotel till about 11:30. Sure is a good thing we got a hotel with free breakfast, seeing as we missed it just about every day.
The best thing about today is that the 7 line running into Manhattan was open. It was closed all weekend and this was one of the key sources of all our travel difficulty. But now it is open. We got on the 7 and in about ten minutes we were in midtown Manhattan. It was that easy.
We didn't have a whole lot on the agenda. It was mostly just walking around and seeing what we saw. But first we were hungry. We stopped at a place called the Great American Health Bar or something along those lines. Don't let the name throw you. It was really good. I had some sort of pasta with sundried tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, mushrooms, etc. And some great falafel. And a real fruit smoothie!
Next we walked through Central Park. I am actually quite blown away by the sheer magnitude of Central Park. And the fact that it is a sanctuary set in the middle of one of the busiest hubs of humanity in the world is astounding. We only touched the tip of the iceberg in the park, sticking to the southeastern corner. They had a cool little carnival for the kiddies set up on the ice skating rink so that was cool. It is nice that a parent living in a surrounding neighborhood can just up and walk their kids down to the carnival in Central Park. And I bought a map and a postcard from a homeless guy who asked me to take him back to Chicago to take Michael Jordan's place or something of the sort.
Then we walked some more and some more. We passed Radio City Music Hall and came to Rockefeller Plaza. We decided to drop the twenty bucks and take the ride to the top of the Rock. At this point I realized how little I know about John D. Rockefeller (aside from the fact that he died, thus ending his chapter, and that THIS is the guy Sean Carter chose to name his company after.) There was a very small exhibit on his life and the history of the building. He seems like a fascinating individual. I think I am going to read a biography before the summer is over.
The elevator to the top was fun. We got up there in just a few seconds and there was some kind of sensory show on the ceiling of the elevator. And the roof was great. It is open air and it is literally the roof of the building. Unfortunately it was a little hazy out and we couldn't see all that far. But it really put the city in perspective. It also made the park look even more incredible. You can really tell the size of it from up there. It is stunning.
Afterwards we went into the NBC shop. I got to talking to the host. Actually, he got to talking to me. He saw my Cubs shirt and that got him going. He lives in Brooklyn and he showed me on the map. We talked about the Cubs, the Bears, the Bulls, Yankee Stadium, the Coney Island Cyclone, food, WBBM, sporting goods, and on and on like that. It was kind of funny. He was just this kind-of old retired guy who I'm sure does this all the time. At one point in the middle of all this a big black guy in a suit (presumably the manager) walked by and touched him on the arm and he snapped back into work mode, so I'm assuming this is what no out of the usual. His name was Donald. Remember.
Now we were ready to eat again. We ate pizza. It was yummy.
And the 7 was working. So we made it to Shea in about twenty minutes. The subway was sort of crowded with people, including a group of young people from New Zealand. One of the guys was a scary looking fellow with all kind of tattoos and piercings and he kept taking deep sniffs of a newspaper and staring people down on the train. Then we got to talking to them and it turned out they are a Christian rock band. This floored me. Then they got really defensive about how Christian rock is not a genre and Jose got really excited because he tells me that all the time and I don't understand what he is talking about and I still don't. Genres are useless anyway, but Christian rock fits the description of a genre as much as anything. But they were very nice. They were called The Parachute Band.
I found Shea Stadium incredibly relaxing. After the hustle and bustle and stress of Yankee Stadium it was nice to just sit back and enjoy a game with a sparse crowd, leg room, and no lines at the concession stands. And I don't think it is a terrible looking ballpark. It's not that interesting. There is nothing that really makes it stand out. It is the definition of a cookie-cutter park. But there is nothing terrible about it either. I found it a delightful place to watch a ballgame.
The game wasn't terribly exciting. Felix Hernandez, the Mariners' pitcher, hit a grand slam and that was the most eventful thing. Then he got injured, which annoyed me because he is on my fantasy team. The Mariners ended up winning 5-2, but the Mets made it interesting, bringing the tying run to the plate in the bottom of the ninth. So we got the chance to hear the Mets fans make a little noise.
We sat with a father and son who seem to specialize in sports themed vacations. They live on Long Island and are Mets fans. The father seems to have been to practically every stadium in existence. He gave me a few tips on the Washington Nationals' stadium (where I will be tomorrow.) He also says that he will not cry to see Shea go at the end of the year. They were fun, probably among the most enjoyable company I have had at ballgames.
After the game we caught the 7 back. We made it in no time and walked to the hotel. Another day is over. I am going to Washington next.
Gotta tell you guys. I'm getting a little tired of writing these. It's mostly just because I have been so tired by the time I actually get to work on them. But I am already behind so I need to just keep cranking away at them. So here we go.
Monday. Monday was easily the most relaxed day of the trip so far. Isaac left last night and Jeff woke up at the crack of dawn to catch his flight. That left Jose and me. And we had sort of plans to get up early but that didn't pan out of course. We ended up sleeping till after ten and didn't leave the hotel till about 11:30. Sure is a good thing we got a hotel with free breakfast, seeing as we missed it just about every day.
The best thing about today is that the 7 line running into Manhattan was open. It was closed all weekend and this was one of the key sources of all our travel difficulty. But now it is open. We got on the 7 and in about ten minutes we were in midtown Manhattan. It was that easy.
We didn't have a whole lot on the agenda. It was mostly just walking around and seeing what we saw. But first we were hungry. We stopped at a place called the Great American Health Bar or something along those lines. Don't let the name throw you. It was really good. I had some sort of pasta with sundried tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, mushrooms, etc. And some great falafel. And a real fruit smoothie!
Next we walked through Central Park. I am actually quite blown away by the sheer magnitude of Central Park. And the fact that it is a sanctuary set in the middle of one of the busiest hubs of humanity in the world is astounding. We only touched the tip of the iceberg in the park, sticking to the southeastern corner. They had a cool little carnival for the kiddies set up on the ice skating rink so that was cool. It is nice that a parent living in a surrounding neighborhood can just up and walk their kids down to the carnival in Central Park. And I bought a map and a postcard from a homeless guy who asked me to take him back to Chicago to take Michael Jordan's place or something of the sort.
Then we walked some more and some more. We passed Radio City Music Hall and came to Rockefeller Plaza. We decided to drop the twenty bucks and take the ride to the top of the Rock. At this point I realized how little I know about John D. Rockefeller (aside from the fact that he died, thus ending his chapter, and that THIS is the guy Sean Carter chose to name his company after.) There was a very small exhibit on his life and the history of the building. He seems like a fascinating individual. I think I am going to read a biography before the summer is over.
The elevator to the top was fun. We got up there in just a few seconds and there was some kind of sensory show on the ceiling of the elevator. And the roof was great. It is open air and it is literally the roof of the building. Unfortunately it was a little hazy out and we couldn't see all that far. But it really put the city in perspective. It also made the park look even more incredible. You can really tell the size of it from up there. It is stunning.
Afterwards we went into the NBC shop. I got to talking to the host. Actually, he got to talking to me. He saw my Cubs shirt and that got him going. He lives in Brooklyn and he showed me on the map. We talked about the Cubs, the Bears, the Bulls, Yankee Stadium, the Coney Island Cyclone, food, WBBM, sporting goods, and on and on like that. It was kind of funny. He was just this kind-of old retired guy who I'm sure does this all the time. At one point in the middle of all this a big black guy in a suit (presumably the manager) walked by and touched him on the arm and he snapped back into work mode, so I'm assuming this is what no out of the usual. His name was Donald. Remember.
Now we were ready to eat again. We ate pizza. It was yummy.
And the 7 was working. So we made it to Shea in about twenty minutes. The subway was sort of crowded with people, including a group of young people from New Zealand. One of the guys was a scary looking fellow with all kind of tattoos and piercings and he kept taking deep sniffs of a newspaper and staring people down on the train. Then we got to talking to them and it turned out they are a Christian rock band. This floored me. Then they got really defensive about how Christian rock is not a genre and Jose got really excited because he tells me that all the time and I don't understand what he is talking about and I still don't. Genres are useless anyway, but Christian rock fits the description of a genre as much as anything. But they were very nice. They were called The Parachute Band.
I found Shea Stadium incredibly relaxing. After the hustle and bustle and stress of Yankee Stadium it was nice to just sit back and enjoy a game with a sparse crowd, leg room, and no lines at the concession stands. And I don't think it is a terrible looking ballpark. It's not that interesting. There is nothing that really makes it stand out. It is the definition of a cookie-cutter park. But there is nothing terrible about it either. I found it a delightful place to watch a ballgame.
The game wasn't terribly exciting. Felix Hernandez, the Mariners' pitcher, hit a grand slam and that was the most eventful thing. Then he got injured, which annoyed me because he is on my fantasy team. The Mariners ended up winning 5-2, but the Mets made it interesting, bringing the tying run to the plate in the bottom of the ninth. So we got the chance to hear the Mets fans make a little noise.
We sat with a father and son who seem to specialize in sports themed vacations. They live on Long Island and are Mets fans. The father seems to have been to practically every stadium in existence. He gave me a few tips on the Washington Nationals' stadium (where I will be tomorrow.) He also says that he will not cry to see Shea go at the end of the year. They were fun, probably among the most enjoyable company I have had at ballgames.
After the game we caught the 7 back. We made it in no time and walked to the hotel. Another day is over. I am going to Washington next.
Monday, June 23, 2008
Day 29
Sunday...
Today was the centerpiece of the trip. When we decided to come to New York it was to see Yankee Stadium before it is demolished. And today was the Yankees game. We bought the tickets before the season started for thirty bucks on Stubhub. Sunday morning I checked Stubhub and tickets to today's game, in our section, were going for $120. So it sounds like everyone wants to see the Stadium one last time. Or first time in our case.
Jose flew in this morning. He was kind enough to send me a text message and let me know he was getting on his flight at 5:30. I had been sleeping about an hour and a half. And I went back to bed. Then he called from the airport at ninish and woke us all up again. And I went back to bed. I ended up getting up a little before ten when Jose got in and we all started getting ready for the game. Kind of grumpily because we were all up so late the last two nights and were all so sleepy. But we got out the door a little after eleven and started walking to the train. That's when Isaac started bitching about being hungry but we didn't stop and eat because we wanted to get to the game.
We had no significant subway problems and we arrived at Yankee Stadium at about 12:15, approximately 45 minutes before game time. We stopped at a pizza joint across the street and Isaac was happy. The area outside Yankee Stadium is quite unique. I didn't even realize that the building I was looking at was the stadium. It just sort of looks like a big metallic wall. There are some bars across the street but nothing like Wrigleyville. And of course lots of people selling stuff.
The first minor annoyance of the day was that Isaac was not permitted to bring his backpack into the park. Something about...you got it...9/11. Furthermore, for whatever reason the park has no bag check. So some of the local bars saw a market and began offering bag check. So we crossed the street and Isaac checked his bag for five bucks. This was actually a pretty interesting bar because it was also a bowling alley, not exactly what I had expected. We went into the stadium (and found that we had to all show our phones at the gate...something about 9/11.)
Our seats were all the way the hell at the top of the ballpark. They were right behind home plate though and I kind of liked this. It was nice to have a broad view of the whole place. And the projects too, for that matter.
So my impressions. Once I sat down I started to feel the ghosts in the building. Just taking a moment to reflect on all the baseball history that has taken place in this building was overwhelming. That said, I can understand why they are replacing this park. Anybody who has ever complained about the hallways at Wrigley Field should take a trip to Yankee Stadium and compare notes. I think the hallways in my house may be wider. The seats are ridiculously far away from the field. Most aspects about the park are dingy and old, but unlike Wrigley (and presumably Fenway) there just do not seem to be enough redeeming elements to justify staying. But it is still a fantastic park that has housed a lot of historic moments and I am sure many Yankee fans will shed a tear on its last day.
The Yankees ended up winning this game, 4-1. Andy Pettitte pitched very well. But the highlight was definitely seeing Ken Griffey hit a solo home run. I was very impressed with the Yankee fans reaction to this. Most of the stadium gave him a standing ovation. In this, and in other circumstances, Yankee fans proved themselves to be one of the classiest crowds I have witnessed. They are very loud...when they are supposed to be, not when the scoreboard tells them to be. They are knowledgeable of the game and the players. So kudos to you, New York.
We also had a rain delay during the game. In fact, we had a very impressive thunderstorm. There was all kind of crazy lighting and it was raining cats and dogs (I can't remember the last time I used that phrase.) Luckily, our cheap seats worked in our favor and we did not get wet. Also, the Yanks have one of the most ghetto tarps I have ever seen. Makes sense I guess. It was just like a sheet of white plastic that didn't even have a logo on it. They held it down with a bunch of wooden planks.
Isaac had to leave after the eighth inning to catch his bus. So Jeff and Jose and myself left after the game and caught the subway into Manhattan. We had our typical troubles with the system but finally found Times Square and the Heartland Brew Pub. Unfortunately there was not a whole lot for me to eat there as a vegetarian. I got some chips and dip and a couple drinks and I was happy. Then Jose bit into a staple or something in his food and they gave us the meal for free. So good things keep happening!
After dinner we took a taxi down a few blocks to Chelsea and the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre for a show called Asssscat. This is a sketch comedy/improv show started by Horatio Sanz and Amy Poehler. The show was at 9:30. It was free. We got in line at about 8:00 behind a load of other people. At about 8:45 the word drifted back that this was the standby line and there was very little chance we were getting in. At this point the friend we made, an aging hipster who claimed he saw us at Coney Island and dropped one of the greatest one liners I've ever heard about breasts on us, decided to leave. But our stretch of good luck continued and we somehow made it in.
And it was awesome. Amy Poehler was not there but Horatio Sanz was, along with four people I had never heard of. A couple of them were not very funny but the rest of them carried the show. Basically the concept is that one of the audience members shouts out a word (in our case it was "fire house dog") and the comedians go into sketch comedies involving this word. Then they sort of shoot off from this into other topics. It's pretty great and the best part is that it is all off the cuff so you know you will get a new show every night.
So we were among the last people in the theatre and we were kind of sitting off to the side, on the floor, next to a curtain. Not an ideal spot by any means. Now I was wearing my Cubs hat and Jeff his Sox hat, since the teams were playing each other tonight. All of a sudden, about halfway through the show, Horatio Sanz burst through the curtain right next to us and goes, "Hey guys", and I thought he was going to tell us that we weren't allowed to sit there. But instead he said, "The Cubs are up 6-1." So that was great. Not only were the Cubs winning but Horatio Sanz became the most famous person ever to seek me out to let me know that. Thanks Horatio!
We got out of the show a little after eleven. Since we saw a free show and ate a free dinner we decided to reward ourselves on all this saved money by taking a taxi back to the hotel. It didn't cost too much and it was so nice to get back at a reasonable hour. We watched a little tv, I wrote Saturday's blog (still a day behind), and headed to sleep.
Another great day...
Today was the centerpiece of the trip. When we decided to come to New York it was to see Yankee Stadium before it is demolished. And today was the Yankees game. We bought the tickets before the season started for thirty bucks on Stubhub. Sunday morning I checked Stubhub and tickets to today's game, in our section, were going for $120. So it sounds like everyone wants to see the Stadium one last time. Or first time in our case.
Jose flew in this morning. He was kind enough to send me a text message and let me know he was getting on his flight at 5:30. I had been sleeping about an hour and a half. And I went back to bed. Then he called from the airport at ninish and woke us all up again. And I went back to bed. I ended up getting up a little before ten when Jose got in and we all started getting ready for the game. Kind of grumpily because we were all up so late the last two nights and were all so sleepy. But we got out the door a little after eleven and started walking to the train. That's when Isaac started bitching about being hungry but we didn't stop and eat because we wanted to get to the game.
We had no significant subway problems and we arrived at Yankee Stadium at about 12:15, approximately 45 minutes before game time. We stopped at a pizza joint across the street and Isaac was happy. The area outside Yankee Stadium is quite unique. I didn't even realize that the building I was looking at was the stadium. It just sort of looks like a big metallic wall. There are some bars across the street but nothing like Wrigleyville. And of course lots of people selling stuff.
The first minor annoyance of the day was that Isaac was not permitted to bring his backpack into the park. Something about...you got it...9/11. Furthermore, for whatever reason the park has no bag check. So some of the local bars saw a market and began offering bag check. So we crossed the street and Isaac checked his bag for five bucks. This was actually a pretty interesting bar because it was also a bowling alley, not exactly what I had expected. We went into the stadium (and found that we had to all show our phones at the gate...something about 9/11.)
Our seats were all the way the hell at the top of the ballpark. They were right behind home plate though and I kind of liked this. It was nice to have a broad view of the whole place. And the projects too, for that matter.
So my impressions. Once I sat down I started to feel the ghosts in the building. Just taking a moment to reflect on all the baseball history that has taken place in this building was overwhelming. That said, I can understand why they are replacing this park. Anybody who has ever complained about the hallways at Wrigley Field should take a trip to Yankee Stadium and compare notes. I think the hallways in my house may be wider. The seats are ridiculously far away from the field. Most aspects about the park are dingy and old, but unlike Wrigley (and presumably Fenway) there just do not seem to be enough redeeming elements to justify staying. But it is still a fantastic park that has housed a lot of historic moments and I am sure many Yankee fans will shed a tear on its last day.
The Yankees ended up winning this game, 4-1. Andy Pettitte pitched very well. But the highlight was definitely seeing Ken Griffey hit a solo home run. I was very impressed with the Yankee fans reaction to this. Most of the stadium gave him a standing ovation. In this, and in other circumstances, Yankee fans proved themselves to be one of the classiest crowds I have witnessed. They are very loud...when they are supposed to be, not when the scoreboard tells them to be. They are knowledgeable of the game and the players. So kudos to you, New York.
We also had a rain delay during the game. In fact, we had a very impressive thunderstorm. There was all kind of crazy lighting and it was raining cats and dogs (I can't remember the last time I used that phrase.) Luckily, our cheap seats worked in our favor and we did not get wet. Also, the Yanks have one of the most ghetto tarps I have ever seen. Makes sense I guess. It was just like a sheet of white plastic that didn't even have a logo on it. They held it down with a bunch of wooden planks.
Isaac had to leave after the eighth inning to catch his bus. So Jeff and Jose and myself left after the game and caught the subway into Manhattan. We had our typical troubles with the system but finally found Times Square and the Heartland Brew Pub. Unfortunately there was not a whole lot for me to eat there as a vegetarian. I got some chips and dip and a couple drinks and I was happy. Then Jose bit into a staple or something in his food and they gave us the meal for free. So good things keep happening!
After dinner we took a taxi down a few blocks to Chelsea and the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre for a show called Asssscat. This is a sketch comedy/improv show started by Horatio Sanz and Amy Poehler. The show was at 9:30. It was free. We got in line at about 8:00 behind a load of other people. At about 8:45 the word drifted back that this was the standby line and there was very little chance we were getting in. At this point the friend we made, an aging hipster who claimed he saw us at Coney Island and dropped one of the greatest one liners I've ever heard about breasts on us, decided to leave. But our stretch of good luck continued and we somehow made it in.
And it was awesome. Amy Poehler was not there but Horatio Sanz was, along with four people I had never heard of. A couple of them were not very funny but the rest of them carried the show. Basically the concept is that one of the audience members shouts out a word (in our case it was "fire house dog") and the comedians go into sketch comedies involving this word. Then they sort of shoot off from this into other topics. It's pretty great and the best part is that it is all off the cuff so you know you will get a new show every night.
So we were among the last people in the theatre and we were kind of sitting off to the side, on the floor, next to a curtain. Not an ideal spot by any means. Now I was wearing my Cubs hat and Jeff his Sox hat, since the teams were playing each other tonight. All of a sudden, about halfway through the show, Horatio Sanz burst through the curtain right next to us and goes, "Hey guys", and I thought he was going to tell us that we weren't allowed to sit there. But instead he said, "The Cubs are up 6-1." So that was great. Not only were the Cubs winning but Horatio Sanz became the most famous person ever to seek me out to let me know that. Thanks Horatio!
We got out of the show a little after eleven. Since we saw a free show and ate a free dinner we decided to reward ourselves on all this saved money by taking a taxi back to the hotel. It didn't cost too much and it was so nice to get back at a reasonable hour. We watched a little tv, I wrote Saturday's blog (still a day behind), and headed to sleep.
Another great day...
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Day 28
I realize I am running late. But I've been going like crazy. This is Saturday's entry. I will try and get caught up by tomorrow night.
OK. So I put the Amtrak stuff completely out of my mind and set out to have a great Saturday in New York City. We were up until after three on Friday and so we slept a little longer than we anticipated. But we were up by nine and dining at the hotel’s free breakfast. It was pretty lousy. But free. And free.
Out the door by10:15. And on our first trip to the subway we had our first problem with the subway. The train we needed to take into Manhattan was not running. So we had to take the train east instead, and then transfer to another line, which added confusion to our lives. But we finally made it to Manhattan and our first stop of the day.
And that stop was….Ground Zero! And it was one of the most awkward tourist experiences of my life. Hundreds of tourists with camera all hyped up with absolutely nothing to see. Which should not surprise anyone…after all, the whole point of this site is what is missing. But mostly the masses were just kind of standing around not sure exactly what they should be doing. So they took pictures of the hole in the ground. And so did I, but only because they were. I can’t picture myself ever looking back through my pictures and thinking, “Oh yeah! We saw this hole in the ground and not the World Trade Center!” Also, the whole time I was standing with this crowd of people watching construction workers dig in this hole in the ground (seriously, if anyone has any idea what exactly they are doing down there I would be really interested) I kept picturing Peyton Manning in the crowd yelling encouragement.
And of course there were the vendors, hawking their wares for the crowd. 9/11 necklaces. 9/11 snow globes (how fucking sick is that?) 9/11 postcards. Yes…they have postcards that are just pictures of the buildings crumbling. What do you do with these postcards? Do you send them to your friends saying, “Greetings from New York!”? Do you frame them? Who buys this shit? Apparently someone cause these guys are all over the place.
9/11.
Anyway, we got out of there and walked southwards. We snapped a few pictures of the bull at Wall Street. He has huge testicles. Then we stopped and got some great pizza. There was a party of 9-year-old kids watching the Yankees game in the restaurant and just going nuts about it. They kept making comments like, “Jorge Posada is only hitting .294 but he is hitting .321 with runners in scoring position and less than two out on Saturday afternoons.” Damn, I loved those kids. And then some kid saw my Cubs hat and announced to me that he used to live in Oak Park. So that was cool. And there was also a kid in a Sonic Youth shirt. Damn, New York breeds their hipsters at a young age. We finished our food and moved on, despite the birthday boy’s father’s insistence that we stay for the forthcoming birthday cake.
So we headed for the Staten Island Ferry. This is a ferry that takes you to Staten Island for free. There is nothing all that exciting about Staten Island but the ferry is known for having some of the best views of the city. And it did! The south skyline, the Statue of Liberty, and Ellis Island were the highlights. And the Brooklyn Bridge. Great photo opportunities of sites that we didn’t feel like paying for.
And then we were in Staten Island. We sat for a while because we were tired of all the standing and such that we had been doing. And it was so beautiful out. Then we devised a plan of how we could get to Coney Island quickly and painlessly. It was about a twelve step plan. The first step was taking the Staten Island Railroad (no, New York does not respect Staten Island enough to run the subway down there) a few stops down. And so we saw a bit of Staten Island. What did I take away from this experience? Shaolin sucks ass. That Wu-Tang Clan is full of shit. I saw nothing interesting the whole time I was there. I certainly did not see any cool Wu-Tang sword style shit. In fact, the best thing about Staten Island is that it has some good spots to view the other boroughs.
So the train took us to a bus that took us to Brooklyn, New York City (where they paint murals of Biggie.) We got off the bus and onto a train to Coney Island. Except we went the wrong way. So we turned around and went the right way. It was an ordeal. But we eventually got to Coney Island right around the time the annual Mermaid Parade was ending. So the Mermaid Parade is basically just an excuse for people to dress up in ridiculous costumes and act bizarre. And it was perfect.
Coney Island was perfect too. It was filthy and hot and beautiful and kitschy. It was as big a slice of Americana as I could have imagined it would be. Though some traditionalist is sure to disagree with me here. Our goal was to ride the Cyclone but we didn’t care to stand in line so we didn’t. Instead we just walked the boardwalk, had a drink, and watched people. And people are so fucking weird! Coney Island had close to the perfect mix of hipster brats and blue collar folks who must have been absolutely baffled by some of these hipsters and freaks. But everyone seemed to be having a great time with it! Isaac and me struck up a great conversation with a really friendly guy with a live boa constrictor around his neck and two teardrops tattoos. But he was so nice and he was enjoying Coney Island with his family!
Anyway, we eventually left Coney Island and headed up to Brooklyn Heights. After the noise and chaos of Coney Island, Brooklyn Heights was an excellent break. It was incredibly quiet and peaceful. We ate at this restaurant with all-natural and organic everything. It got to the point where we prefaced everything with all-natural. Can you pass the all-natural mustard please? You get the picture. They even had organic beer. Which tasted a lot like regular beer. This leads me to believe that somebody got the brilliant idea of slapping the word organic on their beer and marketing it to hippies. Hooray capitalism!
After dinner we went up to the bluff at Brooklyn Heights and watched the sun set over Manhattan. It was gorgeous. The lights came on all over the city. New York is a truly incredible town. It is just so enormous. There is so much to see and so much going on. So we headed back out and tried to see more of it.
Our next stop was Times Square. I think we had a few more subway troubles at this point. But then we got there and stepped out into the bright lights of the square. It is a sensory explosion to be sure. People everywhere. As bright as daytime. So many things to watch. And I don’t know what could be more American than this. Millions of people come here every year to look at advertisements. This is a complete tourist site built around the act of tourists being told what to buy. And it’s not that people are too stupid to realize this. I think they realize it completely. It is that they don’t care. It is fun and why should we have to think about it? The lights are pretty.
So while walking Times Square a fellow approached us with some passes to Jerry Seinfeld’s comedy club. They were ten dollars apiece. It reeked of a scam but he told us that Charlie Murphy was performing and so was one of the girls from The Office so we took him up on it. We took the subway up a few stops and found the club. And the line. And the announcement that we probably wouldn’t be able to get in, regardless of the fact that we paid for tickets. We also found out that Charlie Murphy was not schedule to perform, nor was the chick from The Office, nor was there any evidence that they were ever planning to. Then it looked like we would get in after all. Then a bunch of attractive ladies showed up and it looked like we wouldn’t. Then the manager pulled some strings, rearranged some chairs, and told us to enjoy the show.
And the show was great. Despite the fact that there was no Charlie Murphy, we got put through a runaround outside, and the two drink minimum drinks were eleven dollars, we were all very happy that we chose to attend this. One of the comedians, Jay something, was being taped for Comedy Central and he was just hilarious. I literally cried a couple times. And my sides hurt. Maybe I will talk about it later. Most of the other comedians were pretty funny as well, but the last guy was just horrible. All in all, despite the ridiculously overpriced drinks and the scam, this was an excellent way to end a very eventful day.
Except the day wasn’t over. We still had to have one of the worst train experiences of all time. All kinds of different routes were closed. I can’t give precise details because I still don’t really get it, but the bottom line is that it took us well over two hours to get back to the hotel. We were all fairly grumpy by the time we got back, at about 3:15.
Of course, I snapped out of it pretty easily once I got my shoes off, took a shower, and sat down at the computer for a few minutes. I mean…it was just an awesome day. Why let some train difficulties ruin it? Tomorrow is another one. And then more.
There is so much left to be done!
OK. So I put the Amtrak stuff completely out of my mind and set out to have a great Saturday in New York City. We were up until after three on Friday and so we slept a little longer than we anticipated. But we were up by nine and dining at the hotel’s free breakfast. It was pretty lousy. But free. And free.
Out the door by10:15. And on our first trip to the subway we had our first problem with the subway. The train we needed to take into Manhattan was not running. So we had to take the train east instead, and then transfer to another line, which added confusion to our lives. But we finally made it to Manhattan and our first stop of the day.
And that stop was….Ground Zero! And it was one of the most awkward tourist experiences of my life. Hundreds of tourists with camera all hyped up with absolutely nothing to see. Which should not surprise anyone…after all, the whole point of this site is what is missing. But mostly the masses were just kind of standing around not sure exactly what they should be doing. So they took pictures of the hole in the ground. And so did I, but only because they were. I can’t picture myself ever looking back through my pictures and thinking, “Oh yeah! We saw this hole in the ground and not the World Trade Center!” Also, the whole time I was standing with this crowd of people watching construction workers dig in this hole in the ground (seriously, if anyone has any idea what exactly they are doing down there I would be really interested) I kept picturing Peyton Manning in the crowd yelling encouragement.
And of course there were the vendors, hawking their wares for the crowd. 9/11 necklaces. 9/11 snow globes (how fucking sick is that?) 9/11 postcards. Yes…they have postcards that are just pictures of the buildings crumbling. What do you do with these postcards? Do you send them to your friends saying, “Greetings from New York!”? Do you frame them? Who buys this shit? Apparently someone cause these guys are all over the place.
9/11.
Anyway, we got out of there and walked southwards. We snapped a few pictures of the bull at Wall Street. He has huge testicles. Then we stopped and got some great pizza. There was a party of 9-year-old kids watching the Yankees game in the restaurant and just going nuts about it. They kept making comments like, “Jorge Posada is only hitting .294 but he is hitting .321 with runners in scoring position and less than two out on Saturday afternoons.” Damn, I loved those kids. And then some kid saw my Cubs hat and announced to me that he used to live in Oak Park. So that was cool. And there was also a kid in a Sonic Youth shirt. Damn, New York breeds their hipsters at a young age. We finished our food and moved on, despite the birthday boy’s father’s insistence that we stay for the forthcoming birthday cake.
So we headed for the Staten Island Ferry. This is a ferry that takes you to Staten Island for free. There is nothing all that exciting about Staten Island but the ferry is known for having some of the best views of the city. And it did! The south skyline, the Statue of Liberty, and Ellis Island were the highlights. And the Brooklyn Bridge. Great photo opportunities of sites that we didn’t feel like paying for.
And then we were in Staten Island. We sat for a while because we were tired of all the standing and such that we had been doing. And it was so beautiful out. Then we devised a plan of how we could get to Coney Island quickly and painlessly. It was about a twelve step plan. The first step was taking the Staten Island Railroad (no, New York does not respect Staten Island enough to run the subway down there) a few stops down. And so we saw a bit of Staten Island. What did I take away from this experience? Shaolin sucks ass. That Wu-Tang Clan is full of shit. I saw nothing interesting the whole time I was there. I certainly did not see any cool Wu-Tang sword style shit. In fact, the best thing about Staten Island is that it has some good spots to view the other boroughs.
So the train took us to a bus that took us to Brooklyn, New York City (where they paint murals of Biggie.) We got off the bus and onto a train to Coney Island. Except we went the wrong way. So we turned around and went the right way. It was an ordeal. But we eventually got to Coney Island right around the time the annual Mermaid Parade was ending. So the Mermaid Parade is basically just an excuse for people to dress up in ridiculous costumes and act bizarre. And it was perfect.
Coney Island was perfect too. It was filthy and hot and beautiful and kitschy. It was as big a slice of Americana as I could have imagined it would be. Though some traditionalist is sure to disagree with me here. Our goal was to ride the Cyclone but we didn’t care to stand in line so we didn’t. Instead we just walked the boardwalk, had a drink, and watched people. And people are so fucking weird! Coney Island had close to the perfect mix of hipster brats and blue collar folks who must have been absolutely baffled by some of these hipsters and freaks. But everyone seemed to be having a great time with it! Isaac and me struck up a great conversation with a really friendly guy with a live boa constrictor around his neck and two teardrops tattoos. But he was so nice and he was enjoying Coney Island with his family!
Anyway, we eventually left Coney Island and headed up to Brooklyn Heights. After the noise and chaos of Coney Island, Brooklyn Heights was an excellent break. It was incredibly quiet and peaceful. We ate at this restaurant with all-natural and organic everything. It got to the point where we prefaced everything with all-natural. Can you pass the all-natural mustard please? You get the picture. They even had organic beer. Which tasted a lot like regular beer. This leads me to believe that somebody got the brilliant idea of slapping the word organic on their beer and marketing it to hippies. Hooray capitalism!
After dinner we went up to the bluff at Brooklyn Heights and watched the sun set over Manhattan. It was gorgeous. The lights came on all over the city. New York is a truly incredible town. It is just so enormous. There is so much to see and so much going on. So we headed back out and tried to see more of it.
Our next stop was Times Square. I think we had a few more subway troubles at this point. But then we got there and stepped out into the bright lights of the square. It is a sensory explosion to be sure. People everywhere. As bright as daytime. So many things to watch. And I don’t know what could be more American than this. Millions of people come here every year to look at advertisements. This is a complete tourist site built around the act of tourists being told what to buy. And it’s not that people are too stupid to realize this. I think they realize it completely. It is that they don’t care. It is fun and why should we have to think about it? The lights are pretty.
So while walking Times Square a fellow approached us with some passes to Jerry Seinfeld’s comedy club. They were ten dollars apiece. It reeked of a scam but he told us that Charlie Murphy was performing and so was one of the girls from The Office so we took him up on it. We took the subway up a few stops and found the club. And the line. And the announcement that we probably wouldn’t be able to get in, regardless of the fact that we paid for tickets. We also found out that Charlie Murphy was not schedule to perform, nor was the chick from The Office, nor was there any evidence that they were ever planning to. Then it looked like we would get in after all. Then a bunch of attractive ladies showed up and it looked like we wouldn’t. Then the manager pulled some strings, rearranged some chairs, and told us to enjoy the show.
And the show was great. Despite the fact that there was no Charlie Murphy, we got put through a runaround outside, and the two drink minimum drinks were eleven dollars, we were all very happy that we chose to attend this. One of the comedians, Jay something, was being taped for Comedy Central and he was just hilarious. I literally cried a couple times. And my sides hurt. Maybe I will talk about it later. Most of the other comedians were pretty funny as well, but the last guy was just horrible. All in all, despite the ridiculously overpriced drinks and the scam, this was an excellent way to end a very eventful day.
Except the day wasn’t over. We still had to have one of the worst train experiences of all time. All kinds of different routes were closed. I can’t give precise details because I still don’t really get it, but the bottom line is that it took us well over two hours to get back to the hotel. We were all fairly grumpy by the time we got back, at about 3:15.
Of course, I snapped out of it pretty easily once I got my shoes off, took a shower, and sat down at the computer for a few minutes. I mean…it was just an awesome day. Why let some train difficulties ruin it? Tomorrow is another one. And then more.
There is so much left to be done!
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Day 27
This one picks up with the end of Day 26.
So after I blogged last night I headed to the Metra station in Hinsdale. I bought one of those big cans of Foster’s at the wine store across the street and got on the train. It was just a beautiful ride into the city. The sun was going down and I listened to Feed the Animals for the second time. This album is amazing. Greg Glllis mixed the best rapper alive with the best rock band alive; “Roc Boys” over “Paranoid Android”. It is just amazing. The Metra ride felt too short. But then I was at Union Station.
Oh yeah…the other thing that happened in Hinsdale…before getting on the train I got a message from Amtrak. It seems my train from New York to Boston, and my train from Boston to New York, have been cancelled. So that’s a pain in the ass. Now I have to call them sometime tomorrow and reschedule. So when I went to get my ticket to New York the lady seemed really confused by all this. I told her that I’m going to try and get on another train and she still seemed confused. But she gave me my ticket and that was that.
And then I went to the bar. I checked the Cubs score when I was on the train and they were up 3-1 in the seventh inning. This seemed good. I figured Marmol in the eighth, Kerry in the ninth, go home. But when I got to the bar it was 8-3 Devil Rays in the eighth. What the fuck? That was the final too. So that was no good. The Cubs continue to be not so good on the road.
Anyway…I went and got on the train and it departed at ten o’clock sharp. As soon as we got moving I headed over to the lounge car. It was only open forty minutes so I had to take advantage while I could. I had a couple Coronas and got to talking with a few guys about this and that. Then they closed the bar and everyone started bitching untl this one dude said he had some vodka. So he went over to the bar, asked for four cups of ice, and then went back to his seat and came back with the bottle. We all filled our cups, he made a toast to Nancy Reagan (sarcasm) or some shit like that, and we ended up hanging out there for probably another hour and a half. Turns out the dude works on an oil rig in Louisiana. So he talked about that and he made mention of something called the 3 F’s: Fur, Flesh, and Fluid. I can’t remember what the hell he was talking about but it had something to do with drug tests (hence the Nancy Reagan toast.) One of the other guys there is in the military and going to Syracuse to visit his buddy from Afghanistan. He kept talking about how the Afghanistanis (Afghans? Afghanis?) are “just like us.” Never quite figured out what that meant. But it was a nice time.
So finally I said goodbye to them and retreated to my seat. I popped in a Six Feet Under and ate some of the food my mom gave me for the trip. She packed a bunch of stuff for me because she did not want me to spend any money. Which is good but I am going to spend money anyway. And the bag broke so now the food is annoying me.
And then I typed this. Tomorrow evening I will type more and it will all be part of one big blog entry. You’ll see.
So sleeping on the train was not as pleasant as I had hoped it would be. I think it would have been better with the window seat. That way I would have had something to lean against. But as it was it was very fitful. I woke up many a time. Before I knew it the sun was coming up, which is never a great thing. I think we were somewhere around Cleveland when there was a full-blown sunrise. I just remember being stopped right next to the Cleveland Browns’ stadium for what seemed like an hour and not being able to sleep. But then after we took off I was actually able to get some of my most productive sleep of the night. I probably could have continued sleeping if some Homeland Security douche hadn’t woken me up to ask me if I were a US citizen. I still have no idea what the fuck that was all about but he methodically woke every single person on the train up to ask them the same question. We were in Erie, Pennsylvania I think. So I was kind of hungry so I decided I may as well get up and get some breakfast.
I went to the dining car at around 8:30. I ran into the military kid from last night and sat down with him. He was wearing an Afghani Freedom shirt just to make sure everyone knew that he did, indeed, fight in Afghanistan. I thought he should have written something on the back of it about them being just like us. I kid. He was actually a really nice guy. He bought me breakfast. I ate scrambled eggs and hash browns. And there were vineyards and Lake Erie everywhere we looked. It was very scenic.
After sitting in the dining car for awhile I decided to try and get a little sleep. When we got to Buffalo my seatmate got off the train, which allowed me to spread out and lean up against the window. I was able to sleep for a couple hours. It was very restful and nice. I woke up in Rochester.
The rest of the day was more of the same. Some nice scenery. I did not really do as much reading as I had planned. I was a little too enamored with the scenery. The train cruised alongside the Erie Canal for quite a while and ducked through some forests. I made a trip to the lounge when I needed to plug in my computer. Then we got to Albany.
In Albany I found out about something called “slack time.” This is when the train has been making such good time that you actually have to wait for an extended amount of time at a stop. In this case we waited for an hour and a half in Albany. This was good and bad. It definitely beats running behind. It was kind of annoying for me because I had just plugged in my computer and my phone and they shut off the power in the train. On the other hand, it was a nice opportunity to get out of the train for a little while and walk around the station. Not much to see there but I bought a much needed Dr. Pepper and stretched my legs. I also used a real bathroom which was nice.
I am writing this en route from Albany to New York. So far I can say that this has easily been the nicest stretch of the trip. The train track winds alongside the Hudson River and there are mountains to our west. I sat at my seat for a little while watching Six Feet Under but then my computer ran out of power again so I came back to the lounge where I am now. And I decided I may as well get caught up on my blogging. Also, I followed the Cubs/Sox game on my phone. Aramis Ramirez hit a walk-off homer for a 4-3 Cubs win. Rock.
So I arrived at Penn Station right on time. And I was a little confused about what to do and where to go. But I went outside and found the taxi stand. My driver wasn’t sure exactly where the Holiday Inn Express was so I had to call the place up and get directions. I was so sure that she was going to run up my fee. But she didn’t. We got there and it was only eighteen bucks so I gave her a big tip.
So here is where I experienced the worst part of my day. I mentioned the whole rescheduling my train to Boston thing earlier. Well once I got to the hotel I called Amtrak. After sitting and waiting for half an hour I finally got an agent. It turns out every train to Boston is completely booked. So I tried to reroute and go to Washington instead. I can get a train to D.C but I can’t get one from D.C. to Chicago. So that option is out. So basically there is nothing Amtrak can do for me. It’s just, “Hey. We messed up. Sorry, now your vacation is ruined.” I don’t know how they get by on this kind of customer service. So now I have no idea what I’m going to do from Tuesday on. But I’m not going to let it spoil my week.
So I took a shower. It was a great shower. But I broke the soap holding thing. I put my foot up on there to wash my leg and the whole fucking thing fell down. And then the toilet was all clogged up but that wasn’t really my fault. It was that way when I got here.
Isaac and Jeff arrived within two minutes of each other. Isaac was supposed to get here at the same time as me but his bus was oversold. Jeff’s flight was delayed. So they both got here after eleven. And we went out. What else were we gonna do?
Long Island City had no idea what was about to hit it. The first spot we hit was some blue collar bar that reminded me about the bar Isaac and me went to in Dodge City. But people were friendly. We were actually just looking for some food and they didn’t have any so we kept walking.
After walking several blocks we found a little hole-in-the-wall Mexican restaurant where nobody spoke English. I bought some rice and beans for three dollars. And a Corona for a dollar seventy-five. There was a three dollar disco ball for some reason and a song that went, “QUACK! QUACK! QUACK!” And the waitresses laughed at Isaac and me when we were bobbing our head to the QUACK music. FUN!
And then we headed next door to the Irish pub. It was a very nice little pub. They had something called Brooklyn Lager. Or something. We each had one. And talked about good times and prepared for more to come.
We got back to the hotel a little while ago. It is 3:05. We are watching American Beauty and having all kinds of difficulties plunging the toilet. SUMMER!
More tomorrow…
So after I blogged last night I headed to the Metra station in Hinsdale. I bought one of those big cans of Foster’s at the wine store across the street and got on the train. It was just a beautiful ride into the city. The sun was going down and I listened to Feed the Animals for the second time. This album is amazing. Greg Glllis mixed the best rapper alive with the best rock band alive; “Roc Boys” over “Paranoid Android”. It is just amazing. The Metra ride felt too short. But then I was at Union Station.
Oh yeah…the other thing that happened in Hinsdale…before getting on the train I got a message from Amtrak. It seems my train from New York to Boston, and my train from Boston to New York, have been cancelled. So that’s a pain in the ass. Now I have to call them sometime tomorrow and reschedule. So when I went to get my ticket to New York the lady seemed really confused by all this. I told her that I’m going to try and get on another train and she still seemed confused. But she gave me my ticket and that was that.
And then I went to the bar. I checked the Cubs score when I was on the train and they were up 3-1 in the seventh inning. This seemed good. I figured Marmol in the eighth, Kerry in the ninth, go home. But when I got to the bar it was 8-3 Devil Rays in the eighth. What the fuck? That was the final too. So that was no good. The Cubs continue to be not so good on the road.
Anyway…I went and got on the train and it departed at ten o’clock sharp. As soon as we got moving I headed over to the lounge car. It was only open forty minutes so I had to take advantage while I could. I had a couple Coronas and got to talking with a few guys about this and that. Then they closed the bar and everyone started bitching untl this one dude said he had some vodka. So he went over to the bar, asked for four cups of ice, and then went back to his seat and came back with the bottle. We all filled our cups, he made a toast to Nancy Reagan (sarcasm) or some shit like that, and we ended up hanging out there for probably another hour and a half. Turns out the dude works on an oil rig in Louisiana. So he talked about that and he made mention of something called the 3 F’s: Fur, Flesh, and Fluid. I can’t remember what the hell he was talking about but it had something to do with drug tests (hence the Nancy Reagan toast.) One of the other guys there is in the military and going to Syracuse to visit his buddy from Afghanistan. He kept talking about how the Afghanistanis (Afghans? Afghanis?) are “just like us.” Never quite figured out what that meant. But it was a nice time.
So finally I said goodbye to them and retreated to my seat. I popped in a Six Feet Under and ate some of the food my mom gave me for the trip. She packed a bunch of stuff for me because she did not want me to spend any money. Which is good but I am going to spend money anyway. And the bag broke so now the food is annoying me.
And then I typed this. Tomorrow evening I will type more and it will all be part of one big blog entry. You’ll see.
So sleeping on the train was not as pleasant as I had hoped it would be. I think it would have been better with the window seat. That way I would have had something to lean against. But as it was it was very fitful. I woke up many a time. Before I knew it the sun was coming up, which is never a great thing. I think we were somewhere around Cleveland when there was a full-blown sunrise. I just remember being stopped right next to the Cleveland Browns’ stadium for what seemed like an hour and not being able to sleep. But then after we took off I was actually able to get some of my most productive sleep of the night. I probably could have continued sleeping if some Homeland Security douche hadn’t woken me up to ask me if I were a US citizen. I still have no idea what the fuck that was all about but he methodically woke every single person on the train up to ask them the same question. We were in Erie, Pennsylvania I think. So I was kind of hungry so I decided I may as well get up and get some breakfast.
I went to the dining car at around 8:30. I ran into the military kid from last night and sat down with him. He was wearing an Afghani Freedom shirt just to make sure everyone knew that he did, indeed, fight in Afghanistan. I thought he should have written something on the back of it about them being just like us. I kid. He was actually a really nice guy. He bought me breakfast. I ate scrambled eggs and hash browns. And there were vineyards and Lake Erie everywhere we looked. It was very scenic.
After sitting in the dining car for awhile I decided to try and get a little sleep. When we got to Buffalo my seatmate got off the train, which allowed me to spread out and lean up against the window. I was able to sleep for a couple hours. It was very restful and nice. I woke up in Rochester.
The rest of the day was more of the same. Some nice scenery. I did not really do as much reading as I had planned. I was a little too enamored with the scenery. The train cruised alongside the Erie Canal for quite a while and ducked through some forests. I made a trip to the lounge when I needed to plug in my computer. Then we got to Albany.
In Albany I found out about something called “slack time.” This is when the train has been making such good time that you actually have to wait for an extended amount of time at a stop. In this case we waited for an hour and a half in Albany. This was good and bad. It definitely beats running behind. It was kind of annoying for me because I had just plugged in my computer and my phone and they shut off the power in the train. On the other hand, it was a nice opportunity to get out of the train for a little while and walk around the station. Not much to see there but I bought a much needed Dr. Pepper and stretched my legs. I also used a real bathroom which was nice.
I am writing this en route from Albany to New York. So far I can say that this has easily been the nicest stretch of the trip. The train track winds alongside the Hudson River and there are mountains to our west. I sat at my seat for a little while watching Six Feet Under but then my computer ran out of power again so I came back to the lounge where I am now. And I decided I may as well get caught up on my blogging. Also, I followed the Cubs/Sox game on my phone. Aramis Ramirez hit a walk-off homer for a 4-3 Cubs win. Rock.
So I arrived at Penn Station right on time. And I was a little confused about what to do and where to go. But I went outside and found the taxi stand. My driver wasn’t sure exactly where the Holiday Inn Express was so I had to call the place up and get directions. I was so sure that she was going to run up my fee. But she didn’t. We got there and it was only eighteen bucks so I gave her a big tip.
So here is where I experienced the worst part of my day. I mentioned the whole rescheduling my train to Boston thing earlier. Well once I got to the hotel I called Amtrak. After sitting and waiting for half an hour I finally got an agent. It turns out every train to Boston is completely booked. So I tried to reroute and go to Washington instead. I can get a train to D.C but I can’t get one from D.C. to Chicago. So that option is out. So basically there is nothing Amtrak can do for me. It’s just, “Hey. We messed up. Sorry, now your vacation is ruined.” I don’t know how they get by on this kind of customer service. So now I have no idea what I’m going to do from Tuesday on. But I’m not going to let it spoil my week.
So I took a shower. It was a great shower. But I broke the soap holding thing. I put my foot up on there to wash my leg and the whole fucking thing fell down. And then the toilet was all clogged up but that wasn’t really my fault. It was that way when I got here.
Isaac and Jeff arrived within two minutes of each other. Isaac was supposed to get here at the same time as me but his bus was oversold. Jeff’s flight was delayed. So they both got here after eleven. And we went out. What else were we gonna do?
Long Island City had no idea what was about to hit it. The first spot we hit was some blue collar bar that reminded me about the bar Isaac and me went to in Dodge City. But people were friendly. We were actually just looking for some food and they didn’t have any so we kept walking.
After walking several blocks we found a little hole-in-the-wall Mexican restaurant where nobody spoke English. I bought some rice and beans for three dollars. And a Corona for a dollar seventy-five. There was a three dollar disco ball for some reason and a song that went, “QUACK! QUACK! QUACK!” And the waitresses laughed at Isaac and me when we were bobbing our head to the QUACK music. FUN!
And then we headed next door to the Irish pub. It was a very nice little pub. They had something called Brooklyn Lager. Or something. We each had one. And talked about good times and prepared for more to come.
We got back to the hotel a little while ago. It is 3:05. We are watching American Beauty and having all kinds of difficulties plunging the toilet. SUMMER!
More tomorrow…
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Day 26
Here we go...
I spent most of today getting ready for the train. I went to the bank and got some cash. Went to the library and got Idlewild on DVD for the trip. I also got another disc of Six Feet Under. I think I have six hours worth of that show so that will help. I do have 48 hours in trains over the next week. And I went to Best Buy. I was looking for four albums. The Hold Steady (which may not be out yet), Silver Jews, King Khan and the Shrines, and Wolf Parade. They had none of those. So I bought the first K'naan album. I've never listened to him before but he is the first act that I plan on catching at Lollapalooza at 11:30 Friday morning, and seeing as he is one of the few rap acts at the festival I'm going to try and get into him.
And then I just kind of packed and sat around and such. Oh yeah...the new Girl Talk album was released today on his record label's site and it is free. Unless you are a sucker and you pay for it. So I downloaded it and listened while I ran errands. It is awesome. Very similar to the first one (or the first one people actually have.) There is a great Weezy/Sinead mash-up near the beginning.
Anyway, now I am just chilling, listening to Broken Social Scene (who is incidentally playing a Lollapalooza after-show with Yeasayer the Saturday of the festival), and being generally happy. I'm a little anxious about the whole getting on the train ordeal. And a little more anxious about the finding my hotel ordeal. But mostly I'm excited.
Also, my telephone rang about six times before nine o'clock this morning. Apparently somebody who doesn't realize that nobody in my house goes to sleep before 2 AM really wanted to talk. So that was cool. But I finally did fall back asleep and slept till quarter to eleven. Which was good. I got eight or nine hours each of the last two nights to help catch me up from about ten straight days of six or less. And it's probably a good thing cause I'm not sure how well I will sleep on the train. And I don't want to be TOO tired to begin my vacation.
Ah well, either way, I'll shake it off like a rock star!
And that's it. Tomorrow night I will have a full report on my 21-hour train ride. It should be good reading.
I spent most of today getting ready for the train. I went to the bank and got some cash. Went to the library and got Idlewild on DVD for the trip. I also got another disc of Six Feet Under. I think I have six hours worth of that show so that will help. I do have 48 hours in trains over the next week. And I went to Best Buy. I was looking for four albums. The Hold Steady (which may not be out yet), Silver Jews, King Khan and the Shrines, and Wolf Parade. They had none of those. So I bought the first K'naan album. I've never listened to him before but he is the first act that I plan on catching at Lollapalooza at 11:30 Friday morning, and seeing as he is one of the few rap acts at the festival I'm going to try and get into him.
And then I just kind of packed and sat around and such. Oh yeah...the new Girl Talk album was released today on his record label's site and it is free. Unless you are a sucker and you pay for it. So I downloaded it and listened while I ran errands. It is awesome. Very similar to the first one (or the first one people actually have.) There is a great Weezy/Sinead mash-up near the beginning.
Anyway, now I am just chilling, listening to Broken Social Scene (who is incidentally playing a Lollapalooza after-show with Yeasayer the Saturday of the festival), and being generally happy. I'm a little anxious about the whole getting on the train ordeal. And a little more anxious about the finding my hotel ordeal. But mostly I'm excited.
Also, my telephone rang about six times before nine o'clock this morning. Apparently somebody who doesn't realize that nobody in my house goes to sleep before 2 AM really wanted to talk. So that was cool. But I finally did fall back asleep and slept till quarter to eleven. Which was good. I got eight or nine hours each of the last two nights to help catch me up from about ten straight days of six or less. And it's probably a good thing cause I'm not sure how well I will sleep on the train. And I don't want to be TOO tired to begin my vacation.
Ah well, either way, I'll shake it off like a rock star!
And that's it. Tomorrow night I will have a full report on my 21-hour train ride. It should be good reading.
Day 25
Another half-ass blog entry for Day 25.
One quarter of the way through. But now it's going to start getting more interesting. My train leaves tomorrow night at 10 PM. I think I will try and post before then.
Meanwhile, didn't do a whole lot today. I worked and I watched the Cubs game and I ate Chipotle. That's about it.
So sorry...
One quarter of the way through. But now it's going to start getting more interesting. My train leaves tomorrow night at 10 PM. I think I will try and post before then.
Meanwhile, didn't do a whole lot today. I worked and I watched the Cubs game and I ate Chipotle. That's about it.
So sorry...
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Day 24
Once again posting in the morning. Not ideal, not ideal.
I finished two classes yesterday. Now I am done with everything. I did two presentations and the professors seemed to LOVE them. So that was cool. In the morning I did my presentation on the assessments I did. I wasn't sure how I was going to do in this class since I did on of my assessments, well, the day before. But I'm pretty sure I nailed the presentation at least. Then in the afternoon I did an impromptu presentation revolving around Dead Prez' "They Schools" which set off a huge class discussion...so that's always a good thing. My point was that whether we agree with individual bits of the song, or the language they use, the point is that they are representing the views of a sizable population that deserves to be listened to, which made the teacher happy. And she even talked about the importance of rap for awhile after that and pointed out to the class that there is lots of great philosophical writing about rap music (which always amazes me that people are amazed by this.)
Anyway...I think it went well. I finally got my first grade back. It was a "B". My first one. But that's okay because it was the class that I thought I did terribly in.
I came directly home after class and just chilled. Watched the Cubs, read for awhile, not much. Now it is off to work just four hours today, then get ready for the trip!
I finished two classes yesterday. Now I am done with everything. I did two presentations and the professors seemed to LOVE them. So that was cool. In the morning I did my presentation on the assessments I did. I wasn't sure how I was going to do in this class since I did on of my assessments, well, the day before. But I'm pretty sure I nailed the presentation at least. Then in the afternoon I did an impromptu presentation revolving around Dead Prez' "They Schools" which set off a huge class discussion...so that's always a good thing. My point was that whether we agree with individual bits of the song, or the language they use, the point is that they are representing the views of a sizable population that deserves to be listened to, which made the teacher happy. And she even talked about the importance of rap for awhile after that and pointed out to the class that there is lots of great philosophical writing about rap music (which always amazes me that people are amazed by this.)
Anyway...I think it went well. I finally got my first grade back. It was a "B". My first one. But that's okay because it was the class that I thought I did terribly in.
I came directly home after class and just chilled. Watched the Cubs, read for awhile, not much. Now it is off to work just four hours today, then get ready for the trip!
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Day 23
You may have noticed that I did not post this yesterday and it is now actually 4:30 on Day 24. I have been busy. But now I am DONE!
So yesterday I worked ten hours on top of all the homework I had to finish. But it turned out to be a pretty good ten hours. It didn't get off to a good start. I left my house late, not because I was sleeping but because I was trying to do too many things. Then it turned out my first student's mom had to take his sister somewhere so I had to HAUL to their house and still got there late. But it got better. I had good sessions with all three kids. And I went to Wendy's with one of them. So...food. And while we were there I gave him an assessment on addition and subtraction for a class. So it was productive and ice cream at the same time!
And then I got a birthday card from one family with fifty bucks and more awesomely a raise! Yay summer!
So then, at the time I am typically going home on Monday I instead had a team meeting for one of my kids. But that is okay because meetings aren't too bad. Basically we just sat around the table and talked for a couple hours. And of course ate Gardetto's.
But the down side was that I didn't get home till after 8 and I still had quite a bit to do. And then when I got home I ended up screwing around on the internets for a while. And then I got to work and finished remarkably quickly. I triple checked to make sure I had actually done everything. And I had. So now I'm done.
I was going to type this up last night. But I watched Six Feet Under. Then went to bed. So here we are. And here we'll be later tonight for Day 24.
So yesterday I worked ten hours on top of all the homework I had to finish. But it turned out to be a pretty good ten hours. It didn't get off to a good start. I left my house late, not because I was sleeping but because I was trying to do too many things. Then it turned out my first student's mom had to take his sister somewhere so I had to HAUL to their house and still got there late. But it got better. I had good sessions with all three kids. And I went to Wendy's with one of them. So...food. And while we were there I gave him an assessment on addition and subtraction for a class. So it was productive and ice cream at the same time!
And then I got a birthday card from one family with fifty bucks and more awesomely a raise! Yay summer!
So then, at the time I am typically going home on Monday I instead had a team meeting for one of my kids. But that is okay because meetings aren't too bad. Basically we just sat around the table and talked for a couple hours. And of course ate Gardetto's.
But the down side was that I didn't get home till after 8 and I still had quite a bit to do. And then when I got home I ended up screwing around on the internets for a while. And then I got to work and finished remarkably quickly. I triple checked to make sure I had actually done everything. And I had. So now I'm done.
I was going to type this up last night. But I watched Six Feet Under. Then went to bed. So here we are. And here we'll be later tonight for Day 24.
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Day 22
Today was my most productive day in almost three weeks. I got a lot done but I still have quite a bit more to do. And I work ten hours tomorrow so it is going to be a long night for me. But I will be so happy on Tuesday evening.
So since I spent most of the day doing homework I don't have all that much exciting stuff to say about today. Except that I watched Malibu's Most Wanted while studying. I believe this was the first time I've ever watched it straight through. And it is a terrible movie. That said, I think there are a lot of interesting things in play here. For all the bad acting, cheesy dialogue, ridiculous plotlines, etc. it actually makes some pretty good points on the phenomenon of rich kids who wish they lived in the hood. I kind of doubt they did this intentionally but they kind of nailed it, albeit in a ridiculous manner. The film also pokes fun at the typical campaign that aims at stopping gang violence using useless methods. Of course, it's still a terrible, terrible movie. And they really don't touch on these issues beyond a really skin deep glance that only someone like me who watches for that kind of shit would pick up on. So basically, it was a pretty good idea for a movie, it just needed different personnel. And for God sakes...give it an R rating next time. I'm not sure there is anything cheesier than PG-13 gangsta movies.
So I guess Obama gave a Father's Day sermon today. I don't really see what the big deal was but I was watching Newsroom and Rick Sanchez was trying to make it out like there is going to be some big controversy because Obama is catering to white voters by saying black men need to be more responsible fathers. If someone gets what this means at all feel free to leave a comment explaining it to me. Then he compared Obama to Bill Cosby which just made me cringe. He says that Obama can expect the same backlash that Cosby received after he called out hip hop. Huh?
Well, I guess I should get some sleep. Almost time for NYC.
So since I spent most of the day doing homework I don't have all that much exciting stuff to say about today. Except that I watched Malibu's Most Wanted while studying. I believe this was the first time I've ever watched it straight through. And it is a terrible movie. That said, I think there are a lot of interesting things in play here. For all the bad acting, cheesy dialogue, ridiculous plotlines, etc. it actually makes some pretty good points on the phenomenon of rich kids who wish they lived in the hood. I kind of doubt they did this intentionally but they kind of nailed it, albeit in a ridiculous manner. The film also pokes fun at the typical campaign that aims at stopping gang violence using useless methods. Of course, it's still a terrible, terrible movie. And they really don't touch on these issues beyond a really skin deep glance that only someone like me who watches for that kind of shit would pick up on. So basically, it was a pretty good idea for a movie, it just needed different personnel. And for God sakes...give it an R rating next time. I'm not sure there is anything cheesier than PG-13 gangsta movies.
So I guess Obama gave a Father's Day sermon today. I don't really see what the big deal was but I was watching Newsroom and Rick Sanchez was trying to make it out like there is going to be some big controversy because Obama is catering to white voters by saying black men need to be more responsible fathers. If someone gets what this means at all feel free to leave a comment explaining it to me. Then he compared Obama to Bill Cosby which just made me cringe. He says that Obama can expect the same backlash that Cosby received after he called out hip hop. Huh?
Well, I guess I should get some sleep. Almost time for NYC.
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Day 21
So I just finished spending a ridiculous amount of time playing Dolphin Olympics. Most addictive game ever. And part of another productive evening.
My new church is the Lakeview Seventh-day Adventist Church. I like it very much more than my old church. I think it is just a good group of people. Today we had a picnic at Horner Park after church. Ate lots and lots of food and then sat and chatted with the people. And threw the frisbee around. (Sheesh...frisbee doesn't pass the spell check.) I think what I like is the diversity of the congregation. Racially, age-wise, idealistically, everything. There aren't very many people there and they all get along well. You know...it is much more liberal than most churches, but it is not an arrogant liberalism. People may come to church not too dressed up but they aren't doing it to make a point. Furthermore, the liberal faction of the church does not feel like they need to be secretive about their differing ideals or hide them from the more conservative members. And there are some very conservative members. What I'm saying is that the church works well. I may expand on this another day. That's all I have right now.
Anyway...it turned out to be HOT out today. Pushing 90. And I think there was some kind of Puerto Rican fun day or something because they were all out all along Western Avenue waving flags and honking car horns and such. So it was nice to see them having such a good time.
Just beautiful outside.
After I fed the cats tonight I just drove around. It was about sunset and I listened to the Wrens and Band of Horses, two of my favorite sunset bands.
I think that is actually all I'm going to say about today. It was actually a very nice day. And the picnic was lots of fun and I could say more. But I'm not going to because I want to watch Six Feet Under before I go to bed and I have a marathon day of homework tomorrow.
It's about to get crazy....NEW YORK!
My new church is the Lakeview Seventh-day Adventist Church. I like it very much more than my old church. I think it is just a good group of people. Today we had a picnic at Horner Park after church. Ate lots and lots of food and then sat and chatted with the people. And threw the frisbee around. (Sheesh...frisbee doesn't pass the spell check.) I think what I like is the diversity of the congregation. Racially, age-wise, idealistically, everything. There aren't very many people there and they all get along well. You know...it is much more liberal than most churches, but it is not an arrogant liberalism. People may come to church not too dressed up but they aren't doing it to make a point. Furthermore, the liberal faction of the church does not feel like they need to be secretive about their differing ideals or hide them from the more conservative members. And there are some very conservative members. What I'm saying is that the church works well. I may expand on this another day. That's all I have right now.
Anyway...it turned out to be HOT out today. Pushing 90. And I think there was some kind of Puerto Rican fun day or something because they were all out all along Western Avenue waving flags and honking car horns and such. So it was nice to see them having such a good time.
Just beautiful outside.
After I fed the cats tonight I just drove around. It was about sunset and I listened to the Wrens and Band of Horses, two of my favorite sunset bands.
I think that is actually all I'm going to say about today. It was actually a very nice day. And the picnic was lots of fun and I could say more. But I'm not going to because I want to watch Six Feet Under before I go to bed and I have a marathon day of homework tomorrow.
It's about to get crazy....NEW YORK!
Friday, June 13, 2008
Day 20
Breaking News: I was back at the gas station tonight. Guess who was there asking people for cash? So there you have it.
This brings up a world of questions. One of which...how is it that these people managed to make it 24 hours without getting kicked out of the parking lot? So I am now under the assumption that this family is homeless. Which is sad. But what I don't understand is why dude would make up a story about needing gas money to get home. You would think he would just say, "Shit man...I'm broke and living in my car...can you help me out?"
Of course, the more I think about it the more I don't blame him. The out-of-gas story probably makes a lot of people say, "Oh man, that's rough, he was out on a nice trip with his family and he just ran out of gas. I'll help him out." But I think there is a scarily high percentage of the population that believes that homeless people must be homeless because they are lazy and will refuse to give them a dime. And in many cases this may be true. But what point are we trying to prove when we don't give them money? Are we trying to teach them a lesson about the values of hard work and sobriety? Is it for their own good? Dude may be lazy and strung out but he still needs cash.
So that was that. I hope I see him again. Or I don't because I hope he makes it home. If only for the kid's sake.
The cats were frisky today. And I also saw a whole family of ducks in the backyard just bobbing around. It's like a friggin' forest preserve over at that house. Every day it is some new kind of wildlife up in there. I can't wait to see what is next.
Mostly though it was another slow day. I went to work for a while and did some assessments on one of my kids for a class I am trying to finish up for Tuesday. These last few days have been a little slow and quiet, but very pleasant. And it is nice to rest up because the wild, fun days are coming real soon. And then I'll have lots to talk about before bedtime.
So I rattled on about the Tha Carter 3 the other day, and for good cause because it is truly spectacular. But the other two albums I bought on Tuesday are also incredible. This has been a slow year for music IMO but I really feel like the three I bought on that one day could be the best three of the year so far. The Cool Kids EP just makes me ridiculously happy. I've heard over half the songs before but it is nice to actually own it in album format and be able to blast them in my car. And that new Spiritualized album is just gorgeous.
Which brings me to the part of the post where I talk about a weekend I am REALLY excited about. It isn't New York, Krissy's wedding, or Lollapalooza, though all of those are going to be just as great. It is Pitchfork/Rock the Bells weekend. Friday of Pitchfork will feature Public Enemy performing It Takes a Nation of Millions. Saturday I will be skipping PoFo in favor of Rock the Bells...one of the sickest hip hop lineups I have ever seen and I will be in the pit, face to face with a who's who of the greatest of all time. So yeah...I should be pretty exhausted after those two days. BUT WAIT! Because Sunday, the day I keep forgetting about after all the other awesomeness, has just a ridiculous lineup back at the Pitchfork Fest. Including the aforementioned Spiritualized, Ghostface/Raekwon, M. Ward, Les Savy Fav, Dino Jr, Spoon, Apples in Stereo, AND MORE! Man, I love this summer.
Sorry to brag. But there is nothing quite like being alive in the summertime in Chicago. Nothing quite like it.
This brings up a world of questions. One of which...how is it that these people managed to make it 24 hours without getting kicked out of the parking lot? So I am now under the assumption that this family is homeless. Which is sad. But what I don't understand is why dude would make up a story about needing gas money to get home. You would think he would just say, "Shit man...I'm broke and living in my car...can you help me out?"
Of course, the more I think about it the more I don't blame him. The out-of-gas story probably makes a lot of people say, "Oh man, that's rough, he was out on a nice trip with his family and he just ran out of gas. I'll help him out." But I think there is a scarily high percentage of the population that believes that homeless people must be homeless because they are lazy and will refuse to give them a dime. And in many cases this may be true. But what point are we trying to prove when we don't give them money? Are we trying to teach them a lesson about the values of hard work and sobriety? Is it for their own good? Dude may be lazy and strung out but he still needs cash.
So that was that. I hope I see him again. Or I don't because I hope he makes it home. If only for the kid's sake.
The cats were frisky today. And I also saw a whole family of ducks in the backyard just bobbing around. It's like a friggin' forest preserve over at that house. Every day it is some new kind of wildlife up in there. I can't wait to see what is next.
Mostly though it was another slow day. I went to work for a while and did some assessments on one of my kids for a class I am trying to finish up for Tuesday. These last few days have been a little slow and quiet, but very pleasant. And it is nice to rest up because the wild, fun days are coming real soon. And then I'll have lots to talk about before bedtime.
So I rattled on about the Tha Carter 3 the other day, and for good cause because it is truly spectacular. But the other two albums I bought on Tuesday are also incredible. This has been a slow year for music IMO but I really feel like the three I bought on that one day could be the best three of the year so far. The Cool Kids EP just makes me ridiculously happy. I've heard over half the songs before but it is nice to actually own it in album format and be able to blast them in my car. And that new Spiritualized album is just gorgeous.
Which brings me to the part of the post where I talk about a weekend I am REALLY excited about. It isn't New York, Krissy's wedding, or Lollapalooza, though all of those are going to be just as great. It is Pitchfork/Rock the Bells weekend. Friday of Pitchfork will feature Public Enemy performing It Takes a Nation of Millions. Saturday I will be skipping PoFo in favor of Rock the Bells...one of the sickest hip hop lineups I have ever seen and I will be in the pit, face to face with a who's who of the greatest of all time. So yeah...I should be pretty exhausted after those two days. BUT WAIT! Because Sunday, the day I keep forgetting about after all the other awesomeness, has just a ridiculous lineup back at the Pitchfork Fest. Including the aforementioned Spiritualized, Ghostface/Raekwon, M. Ward, Les Savy Fav, Dino Jr, Spoon, Apples in Stereo, AND MORE! Man, I love this summer.
Sorry to brag. But there is nothing quite like being alive in the summertime in Chicago. Nothing quite like it.
Day 19
So this is yesterday's entry. Something happened that kept me from blogging last night. And that something was...
A BLACKOUT! Yes, the power went out between the hours of 8 PM and Midnight. That's four hours of no power. So I was unable to blog. Then the power came back on at midnight but I didn't feel like blogging.
The down side of the power being out was that I was unable to finish the things I needed to accomplish. Well, actually I really could have done them anyway. The Bishop cranked up the generator and that was enough to power the lights in the family room and the tv and the refrigerator and freezer and stuff. But, you know, once the tv was on we decided to watch The Office on demand. And eat pie. And freeze pops. So yeah...thanks to the power outage I didn't do any homework last night.
What I did do is play some basketball. I started shooting around and all of a sudden there were about twenty little kids in my driveway shouting PASS IT PASS IT OVER HERE OVER HERE! So I did. I don't even know who all these kids were. There was a kid name Qati who kept slapping everyone on the ass and making obscene gestures. Have to keep an eye on that kid.
Right before the power went out I was at the gas station and a dude asked me for some cash and I gave him ten bucks. Apparently he was stranded with this wife and son (and I did see them in the car.) They ran out of gas and were just trying to get home. Or maybe he was a panhandler. But I took his word for it. I figure even if it is all just a ruse to get some cash he could probably use the money.
So that is what I do now. I give money to strangers when they ask. And I don't say this because I want everyone to pat me on the back or anything. It's just what I've decided I should do and this blog is where I am voicing this type of thing lately so here is where I mention it. Maybe I am too fast to give money away but I think most people are too slow. Giving money to people on the street is one of the few altruistic actions that people actually get PISSED at you about. It produces all kinds of glares and tongue lashings about, "He's just going to buy drugs" or "Now he's always going to be hanging around here", like he's a fucking duck or something. But in all honesty, if he runs off to find his dealer, so be it. Dude said he needed money and I took his word for it. If he is lying, that's on him, but I did my part.
ANYWAY...the rest of the day was fairly uneventful. Ate at Chipotle. Watched the Cubs game. Considered my homework. Went to class. Brought a sub home. Fed the cats. All the usual.
I'll be back later tonight with today.
A BLACKOUT! Yes, the power went out between the hours of 8 PM and Midnight. That's four hours of no power. So I was unable to blog. Then the power came back on at midnight but I didn't feel like blogging.
The down side of the power being out was that I was unable to finish the things I needed to accomplish. Well, actually I really could have done them anyway. The Bishop cranked up the generator and that was enough to power the lights in the family room and the tv and the refrigerator and freezer and stuff. But, you know, once the tv was on we decided to watch The Office on demand. And eat pie. And freeze pops. So yeah...thanks to the power outage I didn't do any homework last night.
What I did do is play some basketball. I started shooting around and all of a sudden there were about twenty little kids in my driveway shouting PASS IT PASS IT OVER HERE OVER HERE! So I did. I don't even know who all these kids were. There was a kid name Qati who kept slapping everyone on the ass and making obscene gestures. Have to keep an eye on that kid.
Right before the power went out I was at the gas station and a dude asked me for some cash and I gave him ten bucks. Apparently he was stranded with this wife and son (and I did see them in the car.) They ran out of gas and were just trying to get home. Or maybe he was a panhandler. But I took his word for it. I figure even if it is all just a ruse to get some cash he could probably use the money.
So that is what I do now. I give money to strangers when they ask. And I don't say this because I want everyone to pat me on the back or anything. It's just what I've decided I should do and this blog is where I am voicing this type of thing lately so here is where I mention it. Maybe I am too fast to give money away but I think most people are too slow. Giving money to people on the street is one of the few altruistic actions that people actually get PISSED at you about. It produces all kinds of glares and tongue lashings about, "He's just going to buy drugs" or "Now he's always going to be hanging around here", like he's a fucking duck or something. But in all honesty, if he runs off to find his dealer, so be it. Dude said he needed money and I took his word for it. If he is lying, that's on him, but I did my part.
ANYWAY...the rest of the day was fairly uneventful. Ate at Chipotle. Watched the Cubs game. Considered my homework. Went to class. Brought a sub home. Fed the cats. All the usual.
I'll be back later tonight with today.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Day 18
Well I didn't see the mouse today. I don't know if the cats ate it or what. I do know that the cats seemed dead tired today. Usually they come running to meet me when I get there. Today I had to go find them. So I'm guessing that doesn't bode well for mouse's fate.
My summer Wednesday's are LONG. And today I was missing a kid so they will be even LONGer. Also, one of my kids called me a "fucking idiot" today. Then he apologized and said, "I meant freaking idiot." That was fun.
I wrote a paper tonight. It sucks.
I also designed a roller coaster in my head when I was at work. Check it out. There is no track. Everybody stands on the platform in rows but they are not in a train like normal. They put on these jackets that are connected to a remote control. And then, as a collective group, they go through the typical maneuvers of a roller coaster. So basically they are just flying through the air. In freaking sane.
I am extremely tired and I need to get up in five and a half hours so I don't have much to say tonight.
OHHHHH...but I listened to Tha Carter 3 today. And it is just batshit crazy. I think this first dawned on me towards the end of "Dr. Carter", a song where Lil Wayne embodies some sort of hip hop doctor who fixes up whack MC's or something. Then that song ended and it went right into a song that began with the line, "I am not like you. I am a martian." Not only is this a funny first line....it is actually what the song is about. I think that Lil Wayne is turning into a mainstream Dr. Octagon. And no joke...the last song of the album fades into about a 7 minute outro where a stoned-off-his-ass Weezy explains why he does not respect Al Sharpton or anyone like him. YES! Weezy vs. Sharpton is the new BIG vs. Pac!
More later...
My summer Wednesday's are LONG. And today I was missing a kid so they will be even LONGer. Also, one of my kids called me a "fucking idiot" today. Then he apologized and said, "I meant freaking idiot." That was fun.
I wrote a paper tonight. It sucks.
I also designed a roller coaster in my head when I was at work. Check it out. There is no track. Everybody stands on the platform in rows but they are not in a train like normal. They put on these jackets that are connected to a remote control. And then, as a collective group, they go through the typical maneuvers of a roller coaster. So basically they are just flying through the air. In freaking sane.
I am extremely tired and I need to get up in five and a half hours so I don't have much to say tonight.
OHHHHH...but I listened to Tha Carter 3 today. And it is just batshit crazy. I think this first dawned on me towards the end of "Dr. Carter", a song where Lil Wayne embodies some sort of hip hop doctor who fixes up whack MC's or something. Then that song ended and it went right into a song that began with the line, "I am not like you. I am a martian." Not only is this a funny first line....it is actually what the song is about. I think that Lil Wayne is turning into a mainstream Dr. Octagon. And no joke...the last song of the album fades into about a 7 minute outro where a stoned-off-his-ass Weezy explains why he does not respect Al Sharpton or anyone like him. YES! Weezy vs. Sharpton is the new BIG vs. Pac!
More later...
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Day 17
So a couple hours ago I went over to feed the cats. I fed them and the fish. Then I sat down to watch the last inning of the Cubs game. And then I heard a bunch of curious meowing in the kitchen. Not terribly odd since there are three cats in the house. So I look over and all three of them are congregated together...something I don't think I've ever seen before. And then I realized what it was...
A MOUSE!!!
EEEEEEK!!!
It scurried across the floor and the cats chased it around. And I jumped up onto the wall that divides the family room and the kitchen. Now this may seem funny and all but I had a pretty good reason for this and that is that mice are fucking scary when they are inside. Not when they are outside. If I see a mouse outside I don't think anything of it. Because they belong outside. But a mouse that is inside is out of its element. It is on human (or cat) turf. Everything is kind of twisted with the world when the mouse is inside. It's like frogs. If you see one outside you will probably pick it up and lick it or something. But if you are at the breakfast table and you see a frog on the table you might scream or something.
ANYWAY...the mouse ran under the fridge and I took the opportunity to get down. The cats kept batting at the mouse and I left while they were all occupied. I'm not sure what happens now. Do the cats eat the mouse when they catch him? Or do they just torture him? If Itchy and Scratchy are to be believed it isn't going to be a pretty sight. I sure hope they eat him so there isn't a dead mouse to worry about tomorrow.
So it was a pretty good day. And it has a story. And I went cd shopping after class. I bought three!
Cool Kids - The Bake Sale
Lil Wayne - Tha Carter 3
Spiritualized - Songs in A&E
Also found out that Isaac is DEFINITELY in for New York so that rocks. And I think I made the decision that I am going to take a taxi to my hotel from the train station. I am not terribly interested in walking the four blocks from the subway to the hotel at night with all my possessions, including my computer. How the hell would I blog every night if my lappy got jacked? And I found a fare finder dealie on the interwebs that said it would cost about sixteen bucks for a cab. I can live with that for the peace of mind.
And I had Noodles and Company for lunch! Wisconsin Mac and Cheese with some tofu in it.
And the Cubs won. Not bad, not bad. Long day of work tomorrow.
I'm Mikey. I Rock.
A MOUSE!!!
EEEEEEK!!!
It scurried across the floor and the cats chased it around. And I jumped up onto the wall that divides the family room and the kitchen. Now this may seem funny and all but I had a pretty good reason for this and that is that mice are fucking scary when they are inside. Not when they are outside. If I see a mouse outside I don't think anything of it. Because they belong outside. But a mouse that is inside is out of its element. It is on human (or cat) turf. Everything is kind of twisted with the world when the mouse is inside. It's like frogs. If you see one outside you will probably pick it up and lick it or something. But if you are at the breakfast table and you see a frog on the table you might scream or something.
ANYWAY...the mouse ran under the fridge and I took the opportunity to get down. The cats kept batting at the mouse and I left while they were all occupied. I'm not sure what happens now. Do the cats eat the mouse when they catch him? Or do they just torture him? If Itchy and Scratchy are to be believed it isn't going to be a pretty sight. I sure hope they eat him so there isn't a dead mouse to worry about tomorrow.
So it was a pretty good day. And it has a story. And I went cd shopping after class. I bought three!
Cool Kids - The Bake Sale
Lil Wayne - Tha Carter 3
Spiritualized - Songs in A&E
Also found out that Isaac is DEFINITELY in for New York so that rocks. And I think I made the decision that I am going to take a taxi to my hotel from the train station. I am not terribly interested in walking the four blocks from the subway to the hotel at night with all my possessions, including my computer. How the hell would I blog every night if my lappy got jacked? And I found a fare finder dealie on the interwebs that said it would cost about sixteen bucks for a cab. I can live with that for the peace of mind.
And I had Noodles and Company for lunch! Wisconsin Mac and Cheese with some tofu in it.
And the Cubs won. Not bad, not bad. Long day of work tomorrow.
I'm Mikey. I Rock.
Monday, June 9, 2008
Day 16
So the first thing that happened today was that I couldn't find the fish that I am fish-sitting. I thought maybe he was dead but it seemed like he would be floating if he were dead and he was not floating. So I dropped some food in and he still didn't come out. And he didn't seem to be under the rocks. So I was kind of worried about that. But when I stopped by on my way back from work, there he was, swimming away. So false alarm that. And all the cats seem to be alive as well. So good day over there.
What else?
Not much. I started summer hours with my kids today. And one of them was missing. Which was kind of cool because I had a little extra time for homework and I also had a chance to read more of Sudhir Venkatesh's book. It just gets better and better. Seriously...go buy this book. You will not regret it.
Hmmm...I had an extremely difficult time sleeping last night. Must have had a lot on my mind. And I have been practically shooting caffeine into my bloodstream the past few weeks. So I'm a little jittery. I should probably cut that shit out.
New York seems to be falling into place nicely. Sadly, my old friend Michael is not going to be able to make the trip. But Isaac may which would be nice. Ten days from right now I will be on an Amtrak train for the first time in my life.
I think that is it for now. I am tired tonight. And I have to get up early. I am mulling over attempts to go to the Cubs game either tomorrow night or Thursday afternoon. If I don't I probably will not get to a game until July. But it probably would be best to save my money for New York.
Peace...
What else?
Not much. I started summer hours with my kids today. And one of them was missing. Which was kind of cool because I had a little extra time for homework and I also had a chance to read more of Sudhir Venkatesh's book. It just gets better and better. Seriously...go buy this book. You will not regret it.
Hmmm...I had an extremely difficult time sleeping last night. Must have had a lot on my mind. And I have been practically shooting caffeine into my bloodstream the past few weeks. So I'm a little jittery. I should probably cut that shit out.
New York seems to be falling into place nicely. Sadly, my old friend Michael is not going to be able to make the trip. But Isaac may which would be nice. Ten days from right now I will be on an Amtrak train for the first time in my life.
I think that is it for now. I am tired tonight. And I have to get up early. I am mulling over attempts to go to the Cubs game either tomorrow night or Thursday afternoon. If I don't I probably will not get to a game until July. But it probably would be best to save my money for New York.
Peace...
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Day 15
Today was pretty great...
I saw a branch blow off a tree AND it was Blues Fest...all in one day!
So it has kind of been storming off and on here for about a week. And it's pretty cool because when it isn't storming it is actually pretty nice out. So it is either warm and sunny or there is a kick ass storm happening. Well one of these quick bursts of thunderstorm hit early this afternoon. And I was watching it from my window and I remember thinking, "Goodness sake, I think a branch is going to blow off that tree." And guess what happened! A branch blew off that tree! It almost hit my car. But it didn't, so that is good news too.
I also wrote a paper today. I was productive! I might post it here later in the week. But after I finished I went down to Blues Fest. I was going to do a little more work first but then I decided, hell, why waste all this productivity on one day? Let's ration it out a little! And I took the green line down to Grant Park.
So I got to the festival at about 4:15. The first thing I found that caught my eye was a panel discussion on the future of the blues. This was pretty interesting but it kind of just turned into a bitch session among the panelists about why the kids aren't listening to the blues anymore. I was very tempted to take the mic and set them straight.
Here's the thing. The kids aren't listening to the blues because the blues is over. That's not to say that there aren't young blues bands that can really wail, or that the old classics are irrelevant, but blues as a dynamic art form is finished. And this is exemplified by the fact that these old codgers are sitting around crying about it. You know the surest symptom that a music genre has died? A bunch of old men sitting around trying to figure out why the kids aren't listening.
What they don't seem to get is that this is not a bad thing. It is just what happens with popular music. Yes, there are still FORMS of the blues that are very popular, and there will continue to be. But what these men are pining for is a very specific, rootsy form of the genre that cannot POSSIBLY exist again. They already happened. Music is about moving forward, not constantly reliving the past. Sure, there are throwback retro artists in every genre, and new and exciting things can be done with each genre's sound, but it is just silly to think that any one genre will ever be able to recapture the magic of its early years. That's why all the steps that these guys are suggesting (like more Blues in the Schools programs, for goodness sake) are self-defeating. Well, I shouldn't say that. I think teaching kids about the blues is a great idea...it is history. But to think everyone should stop pushing music forward and just regurgitate Muddy Waters songs? You are showing your age, gentlemen.
So, on to the music. I checked out some of the smaller stages. I found a great band from Louisiana. They were jamming and I decided I need to get back to New Orleans any way possible. And I am even, once again, considering getting a job down there when I finish school. Just for a little while. Maybe I could teach Blues in the Schools!
And then there was a little girl playing in a giant mud puddle during the set. She was awesome and so was the mud. She was doing literal somersaults in the puddle. She was just covered head to toe in mud. But she was having so much fun!
And the mud was everywhere. My clothes and my buddy were pretty damn muddy by the time I left. I headed over to Petrillo for Magic Slim and the Teardrops and ran into my friend Greg. So we hung out for a bit and listened to Magic Slim. They were pretty good. But here is where I level with you and admit that I don't know shit about blues (other than it is over.) Well, I know a little. I just can't differentiate a lot of it from a lot else of it. So I can go to blues festivals and blues clubs and really feel the music, but I can't tell you that much about what I heard or the musician playing it.
ANYWAY...then I found Jason and Becky and some other people before B.B. King went on stage. Now this is where I piss everyone off and say what (I believe) everyone else is thinking: B.B. King's set was kind of disappointing. Don't get me wrong, I don't hold it against him AT ALL. He's a diabetic 82-year-old...just the fact that he got up on the stage is commendable. But I honestly had a real hard time feeling the music. He only played about forty minutes or so and the set seemed kind of sloppy, with lots of breaks. When he left the stage I actually felt kind of relieved that it was almost time to sit down.
That said...I have the utmost respect for Mr. King as an artist and a legend. And I am willing to buy the fact that the trouble mostly had to do with the fact that the sound was a little too low, and I was far away, and everyone around me wouldn't shut up. So B.B. King, keep doin' what you do.
On the way back to the train we stopped at Millennium Park to walk in the fountain. Good way to cool off and get some of the mud off our feet. After the train, the drive, and feeding the cats it was about 11:30 when I got home. I took a LONG shower, ate some Flav-or-ices, and watched an episode of Six Feet Under. Now I am typing this and I am about to go to bed.
A very Happy Panda am I...
I saw a branch blow off a tree AND it was Blues Fest...all in one day!
So it has kind of been storming off and on here for about a week. And it's pretty cool because when it isn't storming it is actually pretty nice out. So it is either warm and sunny or there is a kick ass storm happening. Well one of these quick bursts of thunderstorm hit early this afternoon. And I was watching it from my window and I remember thinking, "Goodness sake, I think a branch is going to blow off that tree." And guess what happened! A branch blew off that tree! It almost hit my car. But it didn't, so that is good news too.
I also wrote a paper today. I was productive! I might post it here later in the week. But after I finished I went down to Blues Fest. I was going to do a little more work first but then I decided, hell, why waste all this productivity on one day? Let's ration it out a little! And I took the green line down to Grant Park.
So I got to the festival at about 4:15. The first thing I found that caught my eye was a panel discussion on the future of the blues. This was pretty interesting but it kind of just turned into a bitch session among the panelists about why the kids aren't listening to the blues anymore. I was very tempted to take the mic and set them straight.
Here's the thing. The kids aren't listening to the blues because the blues is over. That's not to say that there aren't young blues bands that can really wail, or that the old classics are irrelevant, but blues as a dynamic art form is finished. And this is exemplified by the fact that these old codgers are sitting around crying about it. You know the surest symptom that a music genre has died? A bunch of old men sitting around trying to figure out why the kids aren't listening.
What they don't seem to get is that this is not a bad thing. It is just what happens with popular music. Yes, there are still FORMS of the blues that are very popular, and there will continue to be. But what these men are pining for is a very specific, rootsy form of the genre that cannot POSSIBLY exist again. They already happened. Music is about moving forward, not constantly reliving the past. Sure, there are throwback retro artists in every genre, and new and exciting things can be done with each genre's sound, but it is just silly to think that any one genre will ever be able to recapture the magic of its early years. That's why all the steps that these guys are suggesting (like more Blues in the Schools programs, for goodness sake) are self-defeating. Well, I shouldn't say that. I think teaching kids about the blues is a great idea...it is history. But to think everyone should stop pushing music forward and just regurgitate Muddy Waters songs? You are showing your age, gentlemen.
So, on to the music. I checked out some of the smaller stages. I found a great band from Louisiana. They were jamming and I decided I need to get back to New Orleans any way possible. And I am even, once again, considering getting a job down there when I finish school. Just for a little while. Maybe I could teach Blues in the Schools!
And then there was a little girl playing in a giant mud puddle during the set. She was awesome and so was the mud. She was doing literal somersaults in the puddle. She was just covered head to toe in mud. But she was having so much fun!
And the mud was everywhere. My clothes and my buddy were pretty damn muddy by the time I left. I headed over to Petrillo for Magic Slim and the Teardrops and ran into my friend Greg. So we hung out for a bit and listened to Magic Slim. They were pretty good. But here is where I level with you and admit that I don't know shit about blues (other than it is over.) Well, I know a little. I just can't differentiate a lot of it from a lot else of it. So I can go to blues festivals and blues clubs and really feel the music, but I can't tell you that much about what I heard or the musician playing it.
ANYWAY...then I found Jason and Becky and some other people before B.B. King went on stage. Now this is where I piss everyone off and say what (I believe) everyone else is thinking: B.B. King's set was kind of disappointing. Don't get me wrong, I don't hold it against him AT ALL. He's a diabetic 82-year-old...just the fact that he got up on the stage is commendable. But I honestly had a real hard time feeling the music. He only played about forty minutes or so and the set seemed kind of sloppy, with lots of breaks. When he left the stage I actually felt kind of relieved that it was almost time to sit down.
That said...I have the utmost respect for Mr. King as an artist and a legend. And I am willing to buy the fact that the trouble mostly had to do with the fact that the sound was a little too low, and I was far away, and everyone around me wouldn't shut up. So B.B. King, keep doin' what you do.
On the way back to the train we stopped at Millennium Park to walk in the fountain. Good way to cool off and get some of the mud off our feet. After the train, the drive, and feeding the cats it was about 11:30 when I got home. I took a LONG shower, ate some Flav-or-ices, and watched an episode of Six Feet Under. Now I am typing this and I am about to go to bed.
A very Happy Panda am I...
Day 14
YAWWWWWN!
What a lazy Saturday...
I don't have many regrets. But today I regret not spending more time outside. It was kind of rainy outside this afternoon but it was warm. I could have at least sat on the porch. Oh well.
I went to church. It was rather boring. It seems like there was one notable thing that happened at church but now I can't remember what it was.
Ate lunch at Qdoba. I had Mexican Gumbo...MY FAVORITE! It was better than church.
And I spent a good chunk of my afternoon preparing for my trip to New York. I am compiling a list of sites to see, places to eat, etc. I found out about some pretty cool stuff today. For one, there is something called ASSSSCAT! or something of the sort. It is an improv comedy thing at 9:30 on Sunday night featuring Horatio Sanz and Amy Poehler. And it is FREE! So I think that is definitely a go.
And Isaac might come!
Got a smidgen of homework done tonight. But mostly not.
So yeah. That was my day. Not terribly exciting.
But tomorrow is B.B. King. YES!
What a lazy Saturday...
I don't have many regrets. But today I regret not spending more time outside. It was kind of rainy outside this afternoon but it was warm. I could have at least sat on the porch. Oh well.
I went to church. It was rather boring. It seems like there was one notable thing that happened at church but now I can't remember what it was.
Ate lunch at Qdoba. I had Mexican Gumbo...MY FAVORITE! It was better than church.
And I spent a good chunk of my afternoon preparing for my trip to New York. I am compiling a list of sites to see, places to eat, etc. I found out about some pretty cool stuff today. For one, there is something called ASSSSCAT! or something of the sort. It is an improv comedy thing at 9:30 on Sunday night featuring Horatio Sanz and Amy Poehler. And it is FREE! So I think that is definitely a go.
And Isaac might come!
Got a smidgen of homework done tonight. But mostly not.
So yeah. That was my day. Not terribly exciting.
But tomorrow is B.B. King. YES!
Friday, June 6, 2008
Day 13
So I had this idea about an hour ago that going to Seattle for Bumbershoot would be an excellent way to spend Days 99, 100, and 101 of my summer. The lineup right now is not jaw-droppingly spectacular but the tickets are cheap and I have a place to stay. There are enough good bands on the lineup to fill the days, including T.I. and Beck, both highlights for me. Then I looked at airfare and realized there is nothing for under $400 and that kind of put an end to my fanciful thinking.
Still, if they add Prince like the rumors say...I would have to think long and hard. The thought of wrapping up the best summer ever by dancing in the Purple Rain is almost too much to bear.
Now...on to real life stuff. I didn't wake up till about eleven today. And then it was already time to get ready to go to my three hours of work. And when I came back I mowed the lawn and trimmed the hedges and so much for doing much of anything else today. Not that I would have anyway. Jus' sayin' is all.
I am feeding cats for the next ten days. That is fun. After I fed them tonight I went to the 7-11 and got me a watermelon fruit punch. Very tasty and sweet. And I opened the sunroof and listened to Band of Horses. They must be in my top ten favorite bands to listen to on summer evenings. At least their first album.
What else...I sat out on the porch eating Chile Rellenos and talking about pre-destination with my dad. And it was dark out but all the little kids were running around playing a game called "Dead Man." I think it is kind of like Marco Polo without water or something like that. But I could be wrong.
Mostly I just can't believe how little really happened today. I don't really feel like the day even began. I am so used to eventful things happening. But today was ok anyway.
Anyway...tomorrow I may try to make it to Blues Fest. I may not. I really should stay home and do a little homework since I will be in the city all day on Sunday. But how likely is that?
Peace...
Still, if they add Prince like the rumors say...I would have to think long and hard. The thought of wrapping up the best summer ever by dancing in the Purple Rain is almost too much to bear.
Now...on to real life stuff. I didn't wake up till about eleven today. And then it was already time to get ready to go to my three hours of work. And when I came back I mowed the lawn and trimmed the hedges and so much for doing much of anything else today. Not that I would have anyway. Jus' sayin' is all.
I am feeding cats for the next ten days. That is fun. After I fed them tonight I went to the 7-11 and got me a watermelon fruit punch. Very tasty and sweet. And I opened the sunroof and listened to Band of Horses. They must be in my top ten favorite bands to listen to on summer evenings. At least their first album.
What else...I sat out on the porch eating Chile Rellenos and talking about pre-destination with my dad. And it was dark out but all the little kids were running around playing a game called "Dead Man." I think it is kind of like Marco Polo without water or something like that. But I could be wrong.
Mostly I just can't believe how little really happened today. I don't really feel like the day even began. I am so used to eventful things happening. But today was ok anyway.
Anyway...tomorrow I may try to make it to Blues Fest. I may not. I really should stay home and do a little homework since I will be in the city all day on Sunday. But how likely is that?
Peace...
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Day 12
OK...
So yesterday's post felt a little forced. Which is bound to happen when I am forcing myself to blog every day. But it is not ideal. Every day there are things that happen that are interesting and worth noting. In fact, even yesterday when I struggled to come up with things at the end of the day I actually had several things happen over the course of the day that were certainly blog worthy. I just was blanking on them when it came down to it. Perhaps I need to start taking notes throughout the day.
For the moment I will tell one thing that happened on Day 11 that I wish I had noted yesterday. I got my first mosquito bite of the summer. I realize that this is not exactly a cause for celebration but it means that summer is in full swing so that's cool. Also, I told my mom and she panicked about West Nile Virus. She says that what with the wedding next month and all she can't handle me dying right now. That seemed like one of the weirdest overreactions anyone could possibly have when matter-of-factedly about a a mosquito bite. It's always an adventure...
And for today I will talk about one other thing that I do not enjoy per se but it always puts me in a good mood. Every year there are these little fluffy things floating in the air in the beginning of June. They make me sneeze, which sucks, but they always come with warm weather so there is that association in my mind. And today it was 87 degrees out so there is that too.
Today I just had my morning class and it was actually very enjoyable. We talked about politics and schools and Thomas Jefferson and James Madison and Ronald Reagan (ugh) and stuff like that. And racism. Lots of racism. And then it was 11:30 and time to go home already and no work today. Good day. So I stopped at the Citgo/Subway on the way home to get a Dr. Pepper/Sub and there was a lady yelling at the gas station attendant all crazy like, "WHY YOU UP IN MY KOOL-AID!?!?!? Like really lettin' dude have it. And she was with another lady and a guy and a little kid and they just looked kind of embarrassed. But she was just screaming at the guy and he didn't even seem like he knew what she was talking about. Then when I was driving away I passed them walking on the road and she was still screaming about her Kool-Aid. Hooray Entertainment!
So I had big plans to get a lot of work done today since I didn't have to go to work. Yeah, that worked about as well as you would imagine. I came home and ate my sub and watched Weeds. Then, of course, I watched two more episodes of Weeds. Then since I wasn't getting anything done anyway I went to Borders and spent a bunch of money on the new Nick Cave album, a book (which I'll discuss in a moment), and a frozen coffee (87 degrees out.)
After supper I actually did get a little bit done on a paper I was supposed to turn in two days ago. I worked outside which made it enjoyable. But then I came inside to watch the Cubs game and made the mistake of picking up the new book I bought. It is called Gang Leader For a Day and it is amazing. It's by this Indian-American guy named Sudhir Venkatesh. He was a grad student at the University of Chicago in the late '80s and he just decided he wanted to learn more about race and poverty and such and so he just showed up in the 'jects and started hanging out with the Black Kings. I can't put it down. I read until the Cubs game was over. (They won.) I will certainly have plenty to say on this book later.
So then it was 12:30. I certainly would not call it a wasted day. It was a glorious day. But I didn't get much done in the way of homework. Which kind of sucks because I was hoping to get a lot done so I can go to Blues Fest this weekend. But never fear...I have devised an in depth plan of how everything will work out. It goes like this: I just go to Blues Fest anyway.
Oh yeah...after the game and the reading were done I watched the first episode of Six Feet Under. I think I got me another show to watch on top of everything else.
Party like a...
So yesterday's post felt a little forced. Which is bound to happen when I am forcing myself to blog every day. But it is not ideal. Every day there are things that happen that are interesting and worth noting. In fact, even yesterday when I struggled to come up with things at the end of the day I actually had several things happen over the course of the day that were certainly blog worthy. I just was blanking on them when it came down to it. Perhaps I need to start taking notes throughout the day.
For the moment I will tell one thing that happened on Day 11 that I wish I had noted yesterday. I got my first mosquito bite of the summer. I realize that this is not exactly a cause for celebration but it means that summer is in full swing so that's cool. Also, I told my mom and she panicked about West Nile Virus. She says that what with the wedding next month and all she can't handle me dying right now. That seemed like one of the weirdest overreactions anyone could possibly have when matter-of-factedly about a a mosquito bite. It's always an adventure...
And for today I will talk about one other thing that I do not enjoy per se but it always puts me in a good mood. Every year there are these little fluffy things floating in the air in the beginning of June. They make me sneeze, which sucks, but they always come with warm weather so there is that association in my mind. And today it was 87 degrees out so there is that too.
Today I just had my morning class and it was actually very enjoyable. We talked about politics and schools and Thomas Jefferson and James Madison and Ronald Reagan (ugh) and stuff like that. And racism. Lots of racism. And then it was 11:30 and time to go home already and no work today. Good day. So I stopped at the Citgo/Subway on the way home to get a Dr. Pepper/Sub and there was a lady yelling at the gas station attendant all crazy like, "WHY YOU UP IN MY KOOL-AID!?!?!? Like really lettin' dude have it. And she was with another lady and a guy and a little kid and they just looked kind of embarrassed. But she was just screaming at the guy and he didn't even seem like he knew what she was talking about. Then when I was driving away I passed them walking on the road and she was still screaming about her Kool-Aid. Hooray Entertainment!
So I had big plans to get a lot of work done today since I didn't have to go to work. Yeah, that worked about as well as you would imagine. I came home and ate my sub and watched Weeds. Then, of course, I watched two more episodes of Weeds. Then since I wasn't getting anything done anyway I went to Borders and spent a bunch of money on the new Nick Cave album, a book (which I'll discuss in a moment), and a frozen coffee (87 degrees out.)
After supper I actually did get a little bit done on a paper I was supposed to turn in two days ago. I worked outside which made it enjoyable. But then I came inside to watch the Cubs game and made the mistake of picking up the new book I bought. It is called Gang Leader For a Day and it is amazing. It's by this Indian-American guy named Sudhir Venkatesh. He was a grad student at the University of Chicago in the late '80s and he just decided he wanted to learn more about race and poverty and such and so he just showed up in the 'jects and started hanging out with the Black Kings. I can't put it down. I read until the Cubs game was over. (They won.) I will certainly have plenty to say on this book later.
So then it was 12:30. I certainly would not call it a wasted day. It was a glorious day. But I didn't get much done in the way of homework. Which kind of sucks because I was hoping to get a lot done so I can go to Blues Fest this weekend. But never fear...I have devised an in depth plan of how everything will work out. It goes like this: I just go to Blues Fest anyway.
Oh yeah...after the game and the reading were done I watched the first episode of Six Feet Under. I think I got me another show to watch on top of everything else.
Party like a...
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Day 11
Should I be sad that summer is 1/10 of the way over?
My theory is "NO". There is 9/10 of the summer remaining. And furthermore, even when it does end I never feel quite as sad about it as I thought I would be. I think this is because it is usually still warm into October, the Cubs may be in the pennant race, and before you know it it is Christmas time. There is always something...
But first things first. Lots of summer fun to go.
Today was the day after birthday day. I got up and took my dad to the airport. Then I pretty much just lazed around much of the day. I made myself some of those Morningstar Farms tomato basil burgers which are actually pretty good. Better than the Pizza Burger at least. I cut up some guacamole and tomatoes to put on them. And sliced up some strawberries and ate them with sugar. For dessert...FlavorIce!
So I was going to do some homework before work but instead I watched the final two hours of When the Levees Broke. Kind of a downer. But I would definitely recommend it. Just prepare to be depressed and angry.
And then I went to work. Worked four hours. Went on two bike rides. The second one was splendid. It was about twenty minutes before sunset and just splendid outside. We went to the pond. There were ducks.
Now I am watching Weeds.
Good night.
My theory is "NO". There is 9/10 of the summer remaining. And furthermore, even when it does end I never feel quite as sad about it as I thought I would be. I think this is because it is usually still warm into October, the Cubs may be in the pennant race, and before you know it it is Christmas time. There is always something...
But first things first. Lots of summer fun to go.
Today was the day after birthday day. I got up and took my dad to the airport. Then I pretty much just lazed around much of the day. I made myself some of those Morningstar Farms tomato basil burgers which are actually pretty good. Better than the Pizza Burger at least. I cut up some guacamole and tomatoes to put on them. And sliced up some strawberries and ate them with sugar. For dessert...FlavorIce!
So I was going to do some homework before work but instead I watched the final two hours of When the Levees Broke. Kind of a downer. But I would definitely recommend it. Just prepare to be depressed and angry.
And then I went to work. Worked four hours. Went on two bike rides. The second one was splendid. It was about twenty minutes before sunset and just splendid outside. We went to the pond. There were ducks.
Now I am watching Weeds.
Good night.
Day 10
Birthday Day!
I am 28-years-old now. Most people don't think I am that old. I guess this is considered a compliment when you are older and an insult when you are younger. I am kind of in between so it is just kind of the way it is. For what it's worth, I don't think it really matters one way or the other. I could be 28 on my way to 103 or I could be 19 on my way to 37. It's not about how many years you have been here, it is about how many years you have left. And that hardly matters either. But I have to imagine I have quite a ways to go in that department. Yes, there will be many more years of fun for me.
Now...as far as birthdays go this was a pretty damn good one. I had class all day which tried with all its might to be a hindrance to my enjoyment. Back-to-back, EXTREMELY boring classes. So I broke it up by going to Ruby Tuesday's with classmates for lunch. But still...by the time that second class ended...my golly.
I stopped at Borders on my way home because they sent me a nice little 25% off birthday coupon. I was going to get that new Spiritualized album (one of the bands I will see this summer!) but they did not have it. I was going to get something else but I could not decide what. So I didn't. I will go back later in the weekend. Now you know.
So the birthday evening had two rounds. The first one was with family. They gave me all manner of gifts. Mostly a bunch of clothes...which is good news because I need clothes but I hate spending my money on clothes when there is fun to be had. And now I have Pumas. I also have a ticket to Neil Diamond. I was going to go with my parents but now they seem not to be going. So we'll see what happens with that. Then we went to Sweet Tomatoes for supper and ate a lot.
Round 2 of birthday evening was at Buffalo Wild Wings where a small gathering of friends and family got together to watch the Cubs game. And some of them brought me gifts, which I was not expecting but YAY! It was a fun time talking with friends who were not all friends with each other, but all seemed to get along just fine. And the Cubs won.
I'm not an attention hog at all in real life (though I am on the web.) But it is nice to have a birthday every year to be the center of real life attention. It seems fair...everyone gets ONE a year. There may be nothing as fair and balanced in all of American middle class society than the concept of "BIRTHDAY". And that's all I'm going to say about that right now.
I need to stop doing these the day after. It is much harder to collect my thoughts on something that happened yesterday and it defeats the purpose of ending every day with a reflection on the day. But I was too tired last night. I should be on with Day 11 late tonight.
Also...before I go...
OBAMA!!!!
I am 28-years-old now. Most people don't think I am that old. I guess this is considered a compliment when you are older and an insult when you are younger. I am kind of in between so it is just kind of the way it is. For what it's worth, I don't think it really matters one way or the other. I could be 28 on my way to 103 or I could be 19 on my way to 37. It's not about how many years you have been here, it is about how many years you have left. And that hardly matters either. But I have to imagine I have quite a ways to go in that department. Yes, there will be many more years of fun for me.
Now...as far as birthdays go this was a pretty damn good one. I had class all day which tried with all its might to be a hindrance to my enjoyment. Back-to-back, EXTREMELY boring classes. So I broke it up by going to Ruby Tuesday's with classmates for lunch. But still...by the time that second class ended...my golly.
I stopped at Borders on my way home because they sent me a nice little 25% off birthday coupon. I was going to get that new Spiritualized album (one of the bands I will see this summer!) but they did not have it. I was going to get something else but I could not decide what. So I didn't. I will go back later in the weekend. Now you know.
So the birthday evening had two rounds. The first one was with family. They gave me all manner of gifts. Mostly a bunch of clothes...which is good news because I need clothes but I hate spending my money on clothes when there is fun to be had. And now I have Pumas. I also have a ticket to Neil Diamond. I was going to go with my parents but now they seem not to be going. So we'll see what happens with that. Then we went to Sweet Tomatoes for supper and ate a lot.
Round 2 of birthday evening was at Buffalo Wild Wings where a small gathering of friends and family got together to watch the Cubs game. And some of them brought me gifts, which I was not expecting but YAY! It was a fun time talking with friends who were not all friends with each other, but all seemed to get along just fine. And the Cubs won.
I'm not an attention hog at all in real life (though I am on the web.) But it is nice to have a birthday every year to be the center of real life attention. It seems fair...everyone gets ONE a year. There may be nothing as fair and balanced in all of American middle class society than the concept of "BIRTHDAY". And that's all I'm going to say about that right now.
I need to stop doing these the day after. It is much harder to collect my thoughts on something that happened yesterday and it defeats the purpose of ending every day with a reflection on the day. But I was too tired last night. I should be on with Day 11 late tonight.
Also...before I go...
OBAMA!!!!
Monday, June 2, 2008
Day 9
Today was pleasantly uneventful. It was also pleasantly warm. I worked about five hours this afternoon/evening. I was supposed to have a meeting for one of my kids. I showed up and the meeting had been canceled so I ended up working with him instead. And he was pissed about that. And I wasn't terribly thrilled. So with about 45 minutes left in our session I said, "Screw it, let's go to Burger King." And I bought him a shake. So I'm sure that left him nice and sugared up for his parents.
And my other kid was absolutely priceless today. He seemed especially autistic, bolting across the room every thirty seconds to rearrange toys and such. And he was working on a subtraction worksheet but was struggling to get through a problem without wandering off somewhere. So I would redirect him. And then one time I decided I wasn't going to redirect him. Here is what followed:
"Hi Mr. Mike! Hi Mr. Mike! Hi Mr. Mike! Hi Mr. Mike! Mr. Mike! (shaking arm) Hi Mr. Mike! Hi Mr. Mike! Lift up your mouth Mr. Mike! Hi Mr. Mike! Hi Mr. Mike! (tickling me) Hi Mr. Mike! Mr. Mike! Wah! (fake cry) (tickling) Hi Mr. Mike! Mr. Mike! Move your mouth Mr. Mike! (grabbing jaw) Talking Mr. Mike! Hi Mr. Mike! Hi Mr. Mike! Mr. Mike! Mr. Mike! Do some work Mr. Mike! Mr. Mike!"
And so forth, until I finally could not keep from laughing anymore. Then he won.
Then we rode bikes to the park and wouldn't you guess his horn fell off his bike. He seemed to be missing a piece and I couldn't get it back on. So he screamed the whole way home from the park.
So that was my day. I ate a lot of Flav-or-ices today too. Those may be one of my favorite parts of summer. I love how you can just keep eating them forever and never get full. And they are just so unbelievably refreshing.
And the Cubs have won eight in a row.
And tomorrow is my birthday. Yay me.
And my other kid was absolutely priceless today. He seemed especially autistic, bolting across the room every thirty seconds to rearrange toys and such. And he was working on a subtraction worksheet but was struggling to get through a problem without wandering off somewhere. So I would redirect him. And then one time I decided I wasn't going to redirect him. Here is what followed:
"Hi Mr. Mike! Hi Mr. Mike! Hi Mr. Mike! Hi Mr. Mike! Mr. Mike! (shaking arm) Hi Mr. Mike! Hi Mr. Mike! Lift up your mouth Mr. Mike! Hi Mr. Mike! Hi Mr. Mike! (tickling me) Hi Mr. Mike! Mr. Mike! Wah! (fake cry) (tickling) Hi Mr. Mike! Mr. Mike! Move your mouth Mr. Mike! (grabbing jaw) Talking Mr. Mike! Hi Mr. Mike! Hi Mr. Mike! Mr. Mike! Mr. Mike! Do some work Mr. Mike! Mr. Mike!"
And so forth, until I finally could not keep from laughing anymore. Then he won.
Then we rode bikes to the park and wouldn't you guess his horn fell off his bike. He seemed to be missing a piece and I couldn't get it back on. So he screamed the whole way home from the park.
So that was my day. I ate a lot of Flav-or-ices today too. Those may be one of my favorite parts of summer. I love how you can just keep eating them forever and never get full. And they are just so unbelievably refreshing.
And the Cubs have won eight in a row.
And tomorrow is my birthday. Yay me.
Day 8
Most of the group felt pretty rough on Sunday morning. I was not one of them. I think that the two hour rebound actually worked to my benefit because I woke up at about 11AM (7 hours of sleep!) feeling great. We straightened up the cabin a bit, doing things like boiling water to wash the dishes. And it did not smell too good in there. We took off a few minutes before 1:00.
A few miles down the road the whole caravan stopped at a place called Frosty Tip. It's just a little stand off the highway with some killer cheese curds. And of course ice cream. A weird thing that happened at the Frosty Tip is that we seem to have gotten kicked off our bench by a gang of elderly bikers. Didn't see that coming.
The drive back to Chicago was long and uneventful. Thankfully the timing worked out and I was able to listen to the Cubs game. Especially nice since Ellis and Seth pretty much passed out from the moment we got in the car. We dropped Ellis off at the Applebee's and arrived back at my house at about 7. Seth left soon thereafter.
All in all...a delightful weekend. The first of many summertime highlights. There are many more things I could say about the weekend, but I have to keep it pretty minimal when I am forced to do so many posts in a row. But this weekend was all about socialization and friendship. And that is really what life is about. So I certainly felt more alive this weekend than I have in a while.
I'll talk at ya tonight...
A few miles down the road the whole caravan stopped at a place called Frosty Tip. It's just a little stand off the highway with some killer cheese curds. And of course ice cream. A weird thing that happened at the Frosty Tip is that we seem to have gotten kicked off our bench by a gang of elderly bikers. Didn't see that coming.
The drive back to Chicago was long and uneventful. Thankfully the timing worked out and I was able to listen to the Cubs game. Especially nice since Ellis and Seth pretty much passed out from the moment we got in the car. We dropped Ellis off at the Applebee's and arrived back at my house at about 7. Seth left soon thereafter.
All in all...a delightful weekend. The first of many summertime highlights. There are many more things I could say about the weekend, but I have to keep it pretty minimal when I am forced to do so many posts in a row. But this weekend was all about socialization and friendship. And that is really what life is about. So I certainly felt more alive this weekend than I have in a while.
I'll talk at ya tonight...
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Day 7
Epic.
Rose at about 10:30 after a surprisingly restful night's sleep. I really do enjoy air mattresses.
And then it all just sort of runs together. Especially the day-time hours. Ate, drank, took a couple trips to the local gas station (which amazingly had Boca Burgers) etc. We also took a pontoon ride out on the lake. Mostly it was just a great time conversing with old friends and getting to know new ones.
Bill brought four bottles of Andre to the cabin. We drank the first couple of them during the daytime hours. We passed them around the circle and each person would tell some type of story involving Paul before taking a swig. It was an absolutely wonderful time of the weekend.
Then, around sunset, came Beer Pong, which seems to be about where most of the group started to lose it (and by "it" I mean their sobriety.) This was evidenced by the fact that the religion conversations started to break out. For some reason, within our group (and apparently the other group as well), drunkenness has always seemed to lead to discussion of spiritual matters. Before it could get too far, however, we decided that a good plan would be to head back out onto the lake and kill the third bottle of Andre. And that's what we did...more stories...and coldness.
We returned about twelve and a Texas Hold'em game broke out. I did not play. I passed out. The end of my day. Except...
EPIC REBOUND!!!
Yup...I slept for two hours and woke up with a gigantic headache to Bill's announcement that he was going outside to the fire with the last bottle of Andre and anyone who had anything left in them was welcome to join him. I didn't have it in me. But I gave in to peer pressure (particularly from Ellis who seemed to have taken up the role of pushy asshole by this point of the evening.) I bundled up in a blanket, popped some Tylenol, and joined in the fun.
Round about 3:00 somebody proposed that we go out on the boat one last time, mainly to look at the stars. Well, this seemed like an absolutely terrible idea to me. But once again I gave in and Bill, Ellis, and I closed out a long day on the lake. Shit, it's Summer of Fun. Summer is about the joy of life and the joy of life is about doing things like going out on a boat at 3AM to look at the stars. And it was fantastic. Best idea ever. And the moon was rising. A red moon. Everything was quiet and perfect with the world. Bill talked about experiencing God on a starry night on the lake being much more meaningful to him than experiencing Him inside a church. And I don't think anyone was in a position to disagree. Everything was just so big and small and real and beautiful. We spent an hour on the lake and then returned to fall into a very happy sleep.
Rose at about 10:30 after a surprisingly restful night's sleep. I really do enjoy air mattresses.
And then it all just sort of runs together. Especially the day-time hours. Ate, drank, took a couple trips to the local gas station (which amazingly had Boca Burgers) etc. We also took a pontoon ride out on the lake. Mostly it was just a great time conversing with old friends and getting to know new ones.
Bill brought four bottles of Andre to the cabin. We drank the first couple of them during the daytime hours. We passed them around the circle and each person would tell some type of story involving Paul before taking a swig. It was an absolutely wonderful time of the weekend.
Then, around sunset, came Beer Pong, which seems to be about where most of the group started to lose it (and by "it" I mean their sobriety.) This was evidenced by the fact that the religion conversations started to break out. For some reason, within our group (and apparently the other group as well), drunkenness has always seemed to lead to discussion of spiritual matters. Before it could get too far, however, we decided that a good plan would be to head back out onto the lake and kill the third bottle of Andre. And that's what we did...more stories...and coldness.
We returned about twelve and a Texas Hold'em game broke out. I did not play. I passed out. The end of my day. Except...
EPIC REBOUND!!!
Yup...I slept for two hours and woke up with a gigantic headache to Bill's announcement that he was going outside to the fire with the last bottle of Andre and anyone who had anything left in them was welcome to join him. I didn't have it in me. But I gave in to peer pressure (particularly from Ellis who seemed to have taken up the role of pushy asshole by this point of the evening.) I bundled up in a blanket, popped some Tylenol, and joined in the fun.
Round about 3:00 somebody proposed that we go out on the boat one last time, mainly to look at the stars. Well, this seemed like an absolutely terrible idea to me. But once again I gave in and Bill, Ellis, and I closed out a long day on the lake. Shit, it's Summer of Fun. Summer is about the joy of life and the joy of life is about doing things like going out on a boat at 3AM to look at the stars. And it was fantastic. Best idea ever. And the moon was rising. A red moon. Everything was quiet and perfect with the world. Bill talked about experiencing God on a starry night on the lake being much more meaningful to him than experiencing Him inside a church. And I don't think anyone was in a position to disagree. Everything was just so big and small and real and beautiful. We spent an hour on the lake and then returned to fall into a very happy sleep.
Day 6
Yeesh...I'm behind.
Friday.
I scrambled most of the day to get ready to go to Wisconsin. First I had to work this morning for three hours. Which was brutal considering my marathon paper writing on Thursday. But I pulled it off with a little help from my good friend Caffeine. After work I went home and did a bunch of menial little stuff to finish the assignment I spent Thursday working on. Then I went to the post office to mail it, the bank, and got my oil changed. I realize that these are all very exciting details of my life that everyone has pretty much been dying to find out. Now you know.
In between all of this I did catch a few peeks at the Cubs game. It started bad with the Cubs trailing 9-1. Then they put a bunch of subs into the game and just went ape shit and ended up winning the game. This, of course, slowed me down quite a bit in my packing for the weekend. When my good friend Seth arrived at about 4:00 (top of the 8th) I realized I still had more to do than I hoped.
Then came the LONG drive to Door County. Traffic is a bitch. Instead of taking 294 I just shot up Route 83. Down the road a ways I saw a sign for 294 and decided we were probably past the worst of the traffic so now would be a good time to get on the freeway. What followed was one of the oddest experiences in the history of travel:
I cannot do justice to the absurdity of this road...here is a picture of it. Even the map fails to really grasp the pointlessness of it. What happened was we turned right and found that each side of the road was split into two halves separated by a median. If you were in the right lane you could not move to the left one...and vice versa. Until we came to the stoplight. Then there were literally (Seth counted) twenty different options of things you could do. We elected to stay on the right side of the road since it was where we were already. Bad idea. After moving along parallel to the left side for a ways, the right side of the road inexplicably sloped upwards, took a sharp left turn, AND CROSSED OVER ALL THE OTHER LANES OF TRAFFIC! Then, another sharp left turn, AND BACK IN THE SAME WAY WE CAME! We ended up exactly where we started, heading in the exact opposite direction. We nicknamed it the Iraq War Memorial Parkway for this reason.
But what really gets me about this road is that there is absolutely no reason that anyone ever would consciously use this road. It is literally a road to nowhere. And to think taxpayer dollars actually went into building and maintaining this road just blows my mind. I blame George W. Bush.
Why do I blame Bush? Because I am a follower and it is very cool at the moment to blame George Bush for everything that ever happens anywhere. When I went to the Autism Walk I stopped at a BP near Soldier Field to use the bathroom, only to be alerted by the elderly, African-American security guard that the BP employees reserved the right to keep their restrooms off limits to the public. I was very disappointed but the security guard assured me that he didn't really blame the employees. This is what he said, "People go in there and boo boo on their hands and wipe it on the walls and then the employees have to clean it up. And now on top of that you have Bush in the White House fucking up the economy." Which was my favorite thing maybe all month...George W. Bush taking the blame for people "boo booing" on their hands and wiping it on the wall. BRILLIANT! What else can we blame him for?
ANYWAY...we finally just got back on 83 after what turned out to be about a 20 minute loop (it took this long because you can imagine how long a red light takes when there are twenty different options for drivers.) We finally did find a road that took us to the highway though and then we were cruising. And it turned out that we made it to Delafield, WI, where our friend Ellis manages an Applebee's, at the perfect time. We went to the grocery store and made purchases for the party, then over to the Applebee's for dinner, and finished up right about the time Ellis got off work. We stopped for gas and we were on the road to Door County by about 9:15.
This was a LONG trip but a pretty fun one with good company. Highlights included heat lightning and some meth heads at a gas station in Manitowoc. They looked like they were enjoying their evening! By the time we got lost in Door County, WI it was about 12:30. Go Mapquest! We crossed a bunch of roads with names like "Cemetery Lane" and "Dead End." It really felt like we were in the beginning of a horror movie. Luckily I don't believe in all those old legends! (sounded funnier in person)
These are the people who were at Bill's Cabin for Paul's bachelor party:
Paul
Bill
Dan
Mike
Jesse
Ellis
Steve
Jim
Seth
I think there was someone else inside the house.
So we stayed up and hung out around the fire until about 4:30. At one point, around 3 or so, Mike and Jesse up and left to go back to Green Bay because they both had plans in the morning. But the Andrews side of the party (Ellis, Seth, Paul, Me) kept the party raging, trying to pick the top ten comments people from our group made over the years. Then we crashed...
TO BE CONTINUED!!!
Friday.
I scrambled most of the day to get ready to go to Wisconsin. First I had to work this morning for three hours. Which was brutal considering my marathon paper writing on Thursday. But I pulled it off with a little help from my good friend Caffeine. After work I went home and did a bunch of menial little stuff to finish the assignment I spent Thursday working on. Then I went to the post office to mail it, the bank, and got my oil changed. I realize that these are all very exciting details of my life that everyone has pretty much been dying to find out. Now you know.
In between all of this I did catch a few peeks at the Cubs game. It started bad with the Cubs trailing 9-1. Then they put a bunch of subs into the game and just went ape shit and ended up winning the game. This, of course, slowed me down quite a bit in my packing for the weekend. When my good friend Seth arrived at about 4:00 (top of the 8th) I realized I still had more to do than I hoped.
Then came the LONG drive to Door County. Traffic is a bitch. Instead of taking 294 I just shot up Route 83. Down the road a ways I saw a sign for 294 and decided we were probably past the worst of the traffic so now would be a good time to get on the freeway. What followed was one of the oddest experiences in the history of travel:
I cannot do justice to the absurdity of this road...here is a picture of it. Even the map fails to really grasp the pointlessness of it. What happened was we turned right and found that each side of the road was split into two halves separated by a median. If you were in the right lane you could not move to the left one...and vice versa. Until we came to the stoplight. Then there were literally (Seth counted) twenty different options of things you could do. We elected to stay on the right side of the road since it was where we were already. Bad idea. After moving along parallel to the left side for a ways, the right side of the road inexplicably sloped upwards, took a sharp left turn, AND CROSSED OVER ALL THE OTHER LANES OF TRAFFIC! Then, another sharp left turn, AND BACK IN THE SAME WAY WE CAME! We ended up exactly where we started, heading in the exact opposite direction. We nicknamed it the Iraq War Memorial Parkway for this reason.
But what really gets me about this road is that there is absolutely no reason that anyone ever would consciously use this road. It is literally a road to nowhere. And to think taxpayer dollars actually went into building and maintaining this road just blows my mind. I blame George W. Bush.
Why do I blame Bush? Because I am a follower and it is very cool at the moment to blame George Bush for everything that ever happens anywhere. When I went to the Autism Walk I stopped at a BP near Soldier Field to use the bathroom, only to be alerted by the elderly, African-American security guard that the BP employees reserved the right to keep their restrooms off limits to the public. I was very disappointed but the security guard assured me that he didn't really blame the employees. This is what he said, "People go in there and boo boo on their hands and wipe it on the walls and then the employees have to clean it up. And now on top of that you have Bush in the White House fucking up the economy." Which was my favorite thing maybe all month...George W. Bush taking the blame for people "boo booing" on their hands and wiping it on the wall. BRILLIANT! What else can we blame him for?
ANYWAY...we finally just got back on 83 after what turned out to be about a 20 minute loop (it took this long because you can imagine how long a red light takes when there are twenty different options for drivers.) We finally did find a road that took us to the highway though and then we were cruising. And it turned out that we made it to Delafield, WI, where our friend Ellis manages an Applebee's, at the perfect time. We went to the grocery store and made purchases for the party, then over to the Applebee's for dinner, and finished up right about the time Ellis got off work. We stopped for gas and we were on the road to Door County by about 9:15.
This was a LONG trip but a pretty fun one with good company. Highlights included heat lightning and some meth heads at a gas station in Manitowoc. They looked like they were enjoying their evening! By the time we got lost in Door County, WI it was about 12:30. Go Mapquest! We crossed a bunch of roads with names like "Cemetery Lane" and "Dead End." It really felt like we were in the beginning of a horror movie. Luckily I don't believe in all those old legends! (sounded funnier in person)
These are the people who were at Bill's Cabin for Paul's bachelor party:
Paul
Bill
Dan
Mike
Jesse
Ellis
Steve
Jim
Seth
I think there was someone else inside the house.
So we stayed up and hung out around the fire until about 4:30. At one point, around 3 or so, Mike and Jesse up and left to go back to Green Bay because they both had plans in the morning. But the Andrews side of the party (Ellis, Seth, Paul, Me) kept the party raging, trying to pick the top ten comments people from our group made over the years. Then we crashed...
TO BE CONTINUED!!!
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