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A three part series on some of the typically unnoticed details from Blue Line Platform I stand on nearly every weekday...
Naveen's Cuisine, a small catering / cooking school right up the street from our home, has been hit repeatedly with tagging on the west facade of their studio in the last 4 weeks. I anticipate that this space will be a paint based tug of war in the coming months...
As I walked down North Ave., a teen-aged neer-do-well cruised back and forth on a mountain bike. As he passed me three times in the span of just a few minutes, he peaked my interest in his activities. In the bright afternoon light, he brazenly tagged several locations with this illegible (at least to me) design. I'm all for street art, if it is creative and / or interesting. This is just rubbish...
My Blue Line train stops at the Clark & Lake Station, which sits underneath the Thompson Center in Chicago's Loop. Somewhat of a gaudy abomination of glass and colored metal, I walk through this building often, but rarely stop to look up. Today, I did. It was dazzling and a touch nauseating at the same time...
Ahh, the majestic view from the conference room at the Holiday Inn Express in Fremont, Nebraska, just outside of Omaha. It was a stunning fall day.... Mighty fine havin' land...
On Tuesday, I traveled on the afternoon flight to Omaha, Nebraska, to take a deposition occurring on Wednesday morning. The flight was quick and easy, about one and a quarter hours, take off to landing. I spent the flight preparing for the deposition and staring out the window...
Months ago, I snapped a photo of this same tree... The berries looked more plump and were a vivid orange. Now they have shriveled in the Autumn air, but have turned a bright burning red...
Today has been filled with football watching and eating. A Bears win today was chased by taco night tonight. A perfect Sunday...
This Saturday, back in Chicago, Lauren I attended the nuptials of Lauren's friends Sarah and Shawn. At the Modern Wing of the Art Institute, there was an impressive array of cup sized cakes in lieu of wedding sized cakes. Also, Lauren survived a drink spillage episode with hilarity and grace... Standard wedding stuff as usual...
Today, I flew in and out of Philadelphia, PA, to participate in a deposition for work. While I didn't have much time to see the sights, I was fortunate to have time to meet my friend Adam for lunch at the Reading Terminal Market, a massive bazaar of places to eat and purchase fresh produce and meat. I've never seen anything like it before. It was quite possibly the world's best food court. No Sabarro or Boardwalk Fries to be found here...
Adam took me to Tommy DiNic's where we attacked Italian pulled pork sandwiches with sharp provolone, hot peppers, spinach and broccoli rabe. A Philly classic. It was a fine lunch, and one of the best sandwiches I've ever tasted. Next time, I hope to stay longer and get the Philly Cheese Steak experience. For a one day trip, however, this was just fine...
Three months into living at our new place, and we're still rounding the home decor into form... Today two of my father's photographs went up on wall in the living room area. Now we have six of his pieces hanging in our home. We're lucky to have such wonderfully unique pieces of art in our home, from such a wonderfully unique artist, and a wonderfully unique father. He's with us every day...
Boxes and boxes of documents like this fill a conference room near my office. 176 of 'em. I am responsible for reviewing all of the documents in these boxes and determining what records are relevant to a class action lawsuit my firm is defending. It is semi-interesting work at best... but it is good to be busy and billing hours... I'm very thankful for that.
It is that time of year... so we got ourselves a punkin...
Here is our replacement rental vehicle. It has been a long time since I've driven a non-SUV. Kinda nice...
On Saturday morning, in a house full of friends, I was the first to get up (as usual). I brushed my teeth and made some coffee. As I was about to pour some milk into my mug, a most horrible cacophony of noise filled the house. It was the unmistakable chorus of clashing metal and skidding tires. I ran from the kitchen, through the living room, and out on to the front porch. Much to my dismay, our Jeep was up on the sidewalk in front of Josh's home. A hundred yards west of the Jeep rest the car of St. Louis resident Michael J. Johnson, facing west, in the eastbound parking lane of Arsenal Street.
Apparently, Mr. Johnson suffered from several preexisting medical conditions, was feeling ill in the car, and became distracted. The Jeep was the sacrifice of his inattention. I never interacted with Mr. Johnson directly, as the neighbors seemed to have him covered. His Kia sedan was totally wrecked and he must have been cooking along well above the speed limit to move our Jeep at least 15 feet forward and up onto the sidewalk. Mr. Johnson refused transport to the hospital, so other than a shock and a totaled vehicle, I think he is okay.
The Jeep rests at a St. Louis auto body shop, and her fate rests in the good hands of the people at Allstate (Mr. Johnson's insurers). I don't know if I will ever see the Jeep again. I've driven it with regularity ever since my father passed away. I've logged over a hundred thousand miles with this vehicle. It will be dearly missed, but these things happen and it is a blessing that no one was hurt...
Today, a group of friends traveled from Chicago to St. Louis to attend a wedding reception BBQ (on Saturday) for our friends Rosey and Robyn (who were recently married in Seattle). We stayed at the house of Josh and Kara Bowlin. When you stay at the Casa de Bowlin, you can count on two things. PBR and late night ping pong.
While I was at hockey tonight, Lauren prepared an Italian chicken and sausage dish in which she used a little chianti. It is always nice to have a meal ready after hockey, and Lauren usually comes through with something great if she is around... Another thumbs up for Laurenzo. I'm a lucky guy.
When the Cubs are winning (rare), half the city is happy. When the Sox are winning, half the city is happy. But when the Bears are winning (and they are unexpectedly undefeated), the city's sports fans are truly unified in their joyous fandom. This is the logic behind the thoughtful ad campaign that has been spotted around Chicago on billboards and in the El trains. One city. One team. Let's keep it going fellas.
Roditys in Chicago, I'm convinced, has the best gyros in the city. Crispy, juicy, and flavorful, you can tell they make it themselves and with an experienced expert's touch. My family has been dining there for years, and now Lauren and I have made it our own go to spot for Greek delights. Classic Greektown at its finest. If you haven't been... go there... now! 
A three part series on some of the typically unnoticed details from Blue Line Platform I stand on nearly every weekday...
Naveen's Cuisine, a small catering / cooking school right up the street from our home, has been hit repeatedly with tagging on the west facade of their studio in the last 4 weeks. I anticipate that this space will be a paint based tug of war in the coming months...
As I walked down North Ave., a teen-aged neer-do-well cruised back and forth on a mountain bike. As he passed me three times in the span of just a few minutes, he peaked my interest in his activities. In the bright afternoon light, he brazenly tagged several locations with this illegible (at least to me) design. I'm all for street art, if it is creative and / or interesting. This is just rubbish... 
My Blue Line train stops at the Clark & Lake Station, which sits underneath the Thompson Center in Chicago's Loop. Somewhat of a gaudy abomination of glass and colored metal, I walk through this building often, but rarely stop to look up. Today, I did. It was dazzling and a touch nauseating at the same time...
Thursday brought a return to the Bucktown Pub for trivia night with friends Doug and Tommy. We saddled up, had a few beers, named our team The Staten Island Dump, and tested our knowledge of current events and miscellany against a bar full of area hipsters, geeks, and drunks. As usual, we placed high in the standings, but not quite good enough to crack the top three and earn free drinks. Oh well, there is always next Thursday...
Ahh, the majestic view from the conference room at the Holiday Inn Express in Fremont, Nebraska, just outside of Omaha. It was a stunning fall day.... Mighty fine havin' land...
On Tuesday, I traveled on the afternoon flight to Omaha, Nebraska, to take a deposition occurring on Wednesday morning. The flight was quick and easy, about one and a quarter hours, take off to landing. I spent the flight preparing for the deposition and staring out the window...
Months ago, I snapped a photo of this same tree... The berries looked more plump and were a vivid orange. Now they have shriveled in the Autumn air, but have turned a bright burning red...
Today has been filled with football watching and eating. A Bears win today was chased by taco night tonight. A perfect Sunday...
This Saturday, back in Chicago, Lauren I attended the nuptials of Lauren's friends Sarah and Shawn. At the Modern Wing of the Art Institute, there was an impressive array of cup sized cakes in lieu of wedding sized cakes. Also, Lauren survived a drink spillage episode with hilarity and grace... Standard wedding stuff as usual...
Today, I flew in and out of Philadelphia, PA, to participate in a deposition for work. While I didn't have much time to see the sights, I was fortunate to have time to meet my friend Adam for lunch at the Reading Terminal Market, a massive bazaar of places to eat and purchase fresh produce and meat. I've never seen anything like it before. It was quite possibly the world's best food court. No Sabarro or Boardwalk Fries to be found here...
Three months into living at our new place, and we're still rounding the home decor into form... Today two of my father's photographs went up on wall in the living room area. Now we have six of his pieces hanging in our home. We're lucky to have such wonderfully unique pieces of art in our home, from such a wonderfully unique artist, and a wonderfully unique father. He's with us every day...
Boxes and boxes of documents like this fill a conference room near my office. 176 of 'em. I am responsible for reviewing all of the documents in these boxes and determining what records are relevant to a class action lawsuit my firm is defending. It is semi-interesting work at best... but it is good to be busy and billing hours... I'm very thankful for that. 
Here is our replacement rental vehicle. It has been a long time since I've driven a non-SUV. Kinda nice...
The wedding celebration BBQ for Rosey and Robyn was on Saturday afternoon, and after all of the morning fiasco with the Jeep, we made it pretty much on time. A wonderful time was had by all, and we enjoyed celebrating the wedded bliss of our friends Rosey and Robyn. It was great to catch up with them, our other friends who were in town, and our friends' children; Paige Vander Weit, Norah Holzmacher, and Charlie Holzmacher. Three way tie for the cutest kiddos at the party...
On Saturday morning, in a house full of friends, I was the first to get up (as usual). I brushed my teeth and made some coffee. As I was about to pour some milk into my mug, a most horrible cacophony of noise filled the house. It was the unmistakable chorus of clashing metal and skidding tires. I ran from the kitchen, through the living room, and out on to the front porch. Much to my dismay, our Jeep was up on the sidewalk in front of Josh's home. A hundred yards west of the Jeep rest the car of St. Louis resident Michael J. Johnson, facing west, in the eastbound parking lane of Arsenal Street. 
Today, a group of friends traveled from Chicago to St. Louis to attend a wedding reception BBQ (on Saturday) for our friends Rosey and Robyn (who were recently married in Seattle). We stayed at the house of Josh and Kara Bowlin. When you stay at the Casa de Bowlin, you can count on two things. PBR and late night ping pong.
GAYNGS @ Metro on Thursday night did not disappoint. The diverse and eclectic collective grooved through the tracks on their one and only LP and finished the show with an Alan Parsons cover. That's right. Alan Parsons. 
While I was at hockey tonight, Lauren prepared an Italian chicken and sausage dish in which she used a little chianti. It is always nice to have a meal ready after hockey, and Lauren usually comes through with something great if she is around... Another thumbs up for Laurenzo. I'm a lucky guy. 
When the Cubs are winning (rare), half the city is happy. When the Sox are winning, half the city is happy. But when the Bears are winning (and they are unexpectedly undefeated), the city's sports fans are truly unified in their joyous fandom. This is the logic behind the thoughtful ad campaign that has been spotted around Chicago on billboards and in the El trains. One city. One team. Let's keep it going fellas. 
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