And Life 2 Go

"If you would not be forgotten as soon as you are dead, either write things worth reading or do things worth writing" - Benjamin Franklin

Thursday, December 22, 2005

A to Z

... I saw this on another blog (don't know if they want recognition), and it's slow here at work... so here goes..

[A is for age:] 33
[B is for booze of choice:] Beer... stuff like Sam Adams, Heineken...
[C is for career:] "Systems Engineer", according to the company
[D is for your dog's name:] Kopper! A very cool shiba inu.
[E is for essential items you use everyday] How about soap? Hopefully most of you use it, too.
[F is for favorite song at the moment:] "Fix You" by Coldplay.. although stupid radio is starting to overplay it..
[G is for favorite game:] ..computer game? Zuma. It's addicting.
[H is for hometown:] Lisle
[I is for instruments you play] Guitar for 15 years. Trumpet for 8 (actually, coronet if you want to get technical). Currently learning piano.
[J is for jam or jelly you like:] If I had to, I'd go with raspberry.
[K is for kids?] A stepdaughter.
[L is for last kiss] Last night.
[M is for mom's job:] Social worker for drug and alcohol addicts.
[N is for name of your crush:] My wife.
[O is for overnight hospital stays] Yes. It's a long story and for a very bad reason.
[P is for phobias:] I still hate most horror movies and refuse to watch them.
[Q is for quotes you like:] "We don't stop playing because we grow old; We grow old because we stop playing" - George Bernard Shaw
[R is your relationship that lasted the longest]: My wife.. over 7 years and counting..
[S is for sexual preference:] Is this like position or gender?! Females, please.
[T is for time you wake up:] Usually by 6:30. Gotta start getting up earlier.
[U is for underwear:] Boxers only. If you wear tighty whities, you seriously have a problem. Seriously. Seek help.
[V is for vegetables you love] Almost all of them except cauliflower (looks like a brain), and typical yucky stuff like brussel sprouts..
[W is for worst habit:] The way I itch my nose...
[X is for x-rays you've had] Besides dental, I had an "Upper GI" to check for ulcers...
[Y is for yummy food you make] I'm fairly good at the grill, but that's about it so far. I can make decent eggs, too.
[Z is for zodiac sign:] Capricorn

... and there ya have it. A good way to kill 20 or so minutes...


Tuesday, December 20, 2005

Shortest Day of the Year but a Long Post

... that's right folks, today is the shortest day of the year in the US. After today, things only get better until June 21st, where we celebrate the longest day.

This past weekend was.. interesting. Now before I write this, let me disclaim that I am very happy with my in-laws and love them, they've helped us out alot. But sometimes, my mother-in-law gets a little... crazy.

Saturday night we were supposed to go downtown and eat at Wildfire, where my brother-in-law, who lives in the city, made reservations. My wife and arrive downtown and meet at the hotel, where the MIL (mother-in-law) decides she doesn't want to goto Wildfire, that she just wants Chicago style pizza. On a Saturday night. In downtown Chicago. On the busiest shopping night of the year. With no reservations.

First stop was Due's. 90 minute wait at the minimum. Next stop was Uno's. Same. Note that we are walking to all these places in, I'd say about 1 degree F. weather, with a nice breeze that probably knocked it down to around -15 F. Finally we end up at Giordano's. They claim a one hour wait, so we put our name down and weaved our way to the tiny bar. After about an hour, we check on our status, and they claim about another 20 minutes. The MIL, who was tired of waiting, decides that she's not eating dinner, that she's going shopping, and she promptly leaves the restaurant. So after about 30 minutes of walking, and an hour of waiting, because she's the one who wanted pizza, she leaves. We could have eaten at Wildfire all along.

About 30 minutes later, we finally get our seat and eat what I'd consider mediocre Chicago style pizza at best.

After that debacle, I was ready for some beers. Luckily Steve, who also lives downtown, was already at Matilda's, so we promptly cabbed it to the bar and enjoyed a few drinks. It was pretty packed and loud, so after a while we decided we wanted something a little more laid back, and boy did we find it. Steve knew of this little place called Joe's on Broadway, and it was the perfect place. The smallest Chicago bar I've ever been in, with just a few locals there when we arrived. We drank there for at least an hour, and the lone bartender said our tab was only $35, well below the amount we actually drank. A nice ending to what started out to be a quite stressful Saturday night.

Sunday morning we headed over to Angelina's for brunch, a nice little place, ironically almost right next to the Joe's place we went the night before. My wife once again yelled at me for dousing my eggs and potatoes in Tobasco. What's up with that?

And of course, on Sunday we watched the Bears trounce the Falcons. Is it time yet to dust off my 1985 VHS copy of Super Bowl Shuffle?

Friday, December 09, 2005

Chicago's first snow...

...and this happens. Damn.


Plane slides off of Midway's runway

Incase you haven't heard, a plane slipped off of Midway Airport's runway last night onto busy intersection. While the passengers were fine, unfortunately the cars it ran over weren't. A young boy died who was in one of the cars.

I was actually enjoying my ride home last night. I ended up working late, so I missed most of the rush hour traffic. The 4x4 Jeep Wrangler I have doesn't hurt, either. I love it when it snows around here. I say if it's going to be below 32 degrees, might as well have some snow and brighten the place up a bit.

So I was listening to a talk radio show, whose host was telling listeners to call in and talk about their traffic nightmares due to the snow. Most were calling in just to complain how long they've been stuck on the highway, etc. But then one caller called in and said, "Uh yea, I'm at Central and 55th street intersection, and a plane just went through a red light."

At first the host thought it was a joke, but as the listener described the situation you could tell he couldn't make something like this up. In addition, this person had called the radio station as it happened, so no news sources had even known it happened yet. Not even the police or firefighters had gotten there yet. It was pretty weird knowing what had happened before anyone else did.

I've flown Southwest out of Midway several times, and I am always amazed how the planes can land in such a small area. If you can see Midway Airport as you're approaching, you can't help but think to yourself, we're going to land there?

Anyways, besides that crazy and sad story, I did enjoy our first snowfall. Even though I have a snowblower, I opted to use the shovel last night to clear the driveway. With our outdoor white Christmas lights lit, the clean crisp air, and the blanket of snow absorbing all the sounds, it was quite relaxing. The hot chocolate with Bailey's afterwards helped cap off the first snowfall.

Here's hoping to many more! (without anymore plane accidents, please).