Gingerich Reunion, Country Style

Today, I had brunch with the lovely Gingerich sisters, Emily and Hannah. My lack of wheels allowed me to be entirely dependent on them. I wonder if this is what life will be like when I am older and cannot drive or walk. Back to the matter at hand... So Emily and Hannah arrived in their cute little Honda right here in Kidron to pick me up at approximately 10:30 am and we departed on our way to Wooster, OH on the NEW US ROUTE 30, which was the much anticipated ride. However, as this route is fairly new and uncharted by both sisters, we had to get on and off several times to end up at the correct destination. No worries, it was a fun little trip. After a quick gas stop, we arrived at Bob Evans, a hometown favorite, to have our lunch. I decided to go all the way and get their big Homestead Breakfast which came with 2 eggs, 2 sausage patties, home fries, two biscuits, and sausage gravy. Yummy delicious! It took a while to finish as you can see below:

I thought it necessary to show off Emily's amazing new hair style. Look at the bounce in that wave. She loves her wavy auburn hair :)

After brunch they drove me home and dropped me off with the fam with whom I am sitting now, with not much to do.

Christmas Bells are ringing, Christmas Bells are singing, on TV @ Saks.

Christmas with the TAYLOR CLAN. A joyous, loud, stressful fun annual tradition. I flew to Ohio on the last AA flight from ORD to Cleveland on Christmas Eve night and arrived in Kidron, Ohio (population 1000, maybe) at around 1:30 am Christmas morning. After rushing off to bed I was rudely awakened by my cell phone alarm, which was an unfamiliar chant to me as I had never used it before. I mustered the strength to get ready for Church and failed to have breakfast:(. We went to Sonnenburg Mennonite, My aunt and uncle's church and suprisingly everyone from our extended Taylor family in the area was there. We took up two large Church pews, in the back of course. The service was interesting. We sang hymns, but not many good ones, and they were all accompanied by musical aid, so sadly there was no awesome 4 part harmony. After Church, my immediate family gathered to have lunch and open presents. Lunch was amazing! We had Belizean rice and beans, white rice, stewed beans, ham, turkey, stuffing, and gravy. It was great. Check out the food photo here:

So we continued on to open gifts. The joyous tradition of ripping off nicely wrapped paper to uncover something that you have been eagerly awaiting. Ahh.. the commercialization of Christmas. oops.. I mean the Holiday Season. Here I am thrilled over something holidayish!


One of the highlight gifts this year was a Furby that my 3 year old niece received from her parents or possibly Santa. "Me Furby, you friend" "aaahhhhhhhhhh" (in a friendly mechanical voice)

A few hours after our immediate family gathering, the entire clan got together in the garage (the only space large enough to hold all of us) to have a delicious dinner and exchange gifts as well as get gifts from Grandma and Grandpa. This year for the gift exchange we had to buy a gift for someone of the same gender as ourselves that begins with the letter of our name. I bought a daily calendar with quotes from the "Duh Awards". My lucky cousin Scott was the one who received it. I happened to receive another gift that began with a "D"... a devotional...yay! The gift from my Grandparents was pretty cool. A old fashioned desk clock that chimes. I am actually quite excited about this one and can't wait to try it out. They also gave me the batteries to use it. JACKPOT. Check it out below.

Merry Christmakwanzikah and a happy...

How we gonna pay, how we gonna pay, how we gonna pay...last yeaaaaars rent? rent rent rent rent rent rent rent rent rent rent rent rent rent rent rent rent rent rent rent rent rent rent rent rent rent rent rent rent rent... and so on. On a more serious holiday note, the big day has come and gone with no major problems or stressful situations. Gifts were fairly decent and exciting.. That's all!

"Love is a Force of Nature"

Today, Philip and I went to see Brokeback Mountain at one of the two cinemas showing it in Chicago. This weekend is the opening in Chicago and many other cities, but the film will not be released everywhere until sometime in January. With its limited release in 75 theaters it still was # 8 for the entire weekend and had the highest number of visitors per cinema, averaging 34,000 which was the highest for any movie in 2005. The film was a cinematic masterpiece. The film portrayed the cowboys as cowboys from the rugged sheep herding to their lives and struggles at home. Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal played out their parts amazingly as did Michelle Williams. The film was happy, exciting, and sad. I definitely recommend that everyone who loves movies should see it. Not only is the message beautiful, but the acting and film are as well. Go watch it now.

Suggestions...

My Taylor side of the family gets together every Christmas in the small town of Kidron, OH. Our family now around 27 strong has a fun little gift exchange. This year we are to buy a gift that starts with the first letter of our name for someone of our gender. So I need to buy a cheap gift for a guy that starts with D and is under ten dollars. I have been struggling to come up with an idea for a gift. Any Ideas?

Baby Jesus WAS in the house tonight...

Tonight Philip, Greta, Vanny, and I went to Ross' Church, Broadway United Methodist Church, for "The 2005 Broadway Christmas Celebration" of which Ross was singing in the choir. We arrived 15 minutes early to an almost packed house of church attenders and friends of the performers. The church body is quite interesting and special as it is made up of a diverse group of people reflecting the neighborhood where it is located, East Lakeview. The prelude holiday music led us into the entrance of the choir, all decked out in Christmas Red tops and Black pants and there was Ross, right in the middle with his brand new Merino Wool Red Sweater with Argyle down the sleeves. He may have been one of the trendier dressers in the crowd. The music begins with Alleluliahs and Alleluliahs. The choir was really into it singing as loud as they could. One woman on the side closest to us could barely control herself as she sang and moved to the rhythm. The crowd got into it more and more with louder applauds after each song and some standing ovations. There was even a readers theatrical performance (interesting!) and a good liturgical dance, however their blue outfits clashed somewhat with the excellent red of the choir. Nevermind, their performance was good. The only real negative aspect was that the church was quite warm, and we all know that I don't really love the heat. Afterwards we chatted and snacked with Jordan and Marco and Marco's mom and then Phil, Ross, Vanny, Greta and I walked home and stopped at Starbucks on the way to keep ourselves warm. Such a good holiday evening!

Wrapping Paper

Wrapping gifts might just be one of the most exciting parts of Holiday time... well it depends on your wrapping abilities. Do not fear, if you are not highly qualified in the gift wrapping ability there is hope. I was once the person with the gifts with overlapping paper and crooked ends, but after a few easy steps and many wrapping sessions at the Barn, I have mastered (in my terms) gift wrapping. So, choosing wrapping paper is very exciting also. The Container Store has an amazing array of wrapping paper to choose from which I became accustomed to last Holiday Season and have been waiting to buy more paper since the rolls debuted in their store this year. This past Saturday, Phil and I were at Target looking for Christmas gifts and he spotted the paper and suggested that we get it there. I jumped at the opportunity to talk up the Container Store's paper supply and say that we had to get it from there. After a small argument we moved on and did not buy any paper at Target. So, this coming Wednesday we will go to the Container Store and buy some great Holiday Paper much to my excitement.

The holidays are here.. or near

I bought my airline ticket to go to Ohio for the Taylor family Christmas gathering tonight! I've given in to the higher powers at work and "agreed" to work Christmas eve :(, which means that I will be on the last flight at 9:39 pm from O'Hare to Cleveland. Hopefully nothing goes wrong and the weather is good, or I might miss Christmas (well, in Ohio that is). Interestingly enough, I am flying out on American Airlines and returning on United. Expedia.com's best deal... Now that my Holiday plans are set, I must begin buying all those Christmas gifts for friends and family. May the Holidays begin!

recipecreation

I created a new recipe today for lunch and thought I'd share it for all those who are brave enough to try it.

Cook enough spaghetti noodles for one person broken in three sections.
After draining, add 2 tablespoons of butter and mix in over very low heat with noodles and two small beef bouillon cubes. Add 1/4 cup of milk or coconut milk (my favorite) and stir in 2 tablespoons of goat cheese. Make sure everything is is dissolved and stirred properly. Your end product should be lightly coated noodles with no excess liquid. Eat Hot.

It was so yummy!

84 degrees

I am sitting in my apartment watching Channel 5 news and the ridiculously cheesy Chicago advertisements while baking away. A few more hours and I'll be roasted perfectly for a 5 course meal. We have Radiant heating that comes through the floor..."free" heat in Chicago is great...Heat rises, that's right from the floor to the ceiling where the apartment above ours has heat in the floor also. It is HOT. Today it was in the upper 50's outside, but nobody adjusted our heat, so we are being baked as if it was 30 degrees outside. I love winter, I love the cold (well only really when it's snowing), but I hate the heat. Well, atleast I'm not Bailey with a full coat of fur.

Thanksgiving Weekend Passing

So, the big old day of Turkey and fillings has passed, with no major issues to worry about. This was Philip and my first Thanksgiving Dinner together, so I wanted to have a grand feast. We made a 12lb Fresh Baked Turkey seasoned with sage and apple, Chestnut and Cranberry Stuffing made with fresh baked chestnuts, Cranberry and Persimmon relish, Mashed Potatoes, Diced Yams in Maple Syrup, Butternut Squash Soup garnished with chestnuts, Corn Casserole, and Creme Brulie made by Josh and Jason. Our fun little group was made up of Greta, Philip, myself, Alison, Vanny, Jason and Josh. We dined, wined, desserted and wined a little more. The turkey knocked me out very rapidly and everyone seemed a bit tired. It was a great grown-up Thanksgiving Dinner. Every year must be top the prior, so we will have to plan early to make it a success.

525,600 minutes

So many minutes? Whatever for? Well, I don't know. Actually I know very little about this movie that is getting so much hype in the media and with people everywhere. Rent is opening Nationwide on Wednesday November 23rd and I have tickets for it already. Thanks to Movietickets.com and Ross' Movie Watcher membership, I bought tickets today for the show because I am sure that it will sell out. I've been listening to the soundtrack from the musical because Philip informs me that to be able to truly appreciate the movie, I must be familiar with the songs beforehand. Nevertheless, it will be an exciting evening to kick of the Thanksgiving and holiday season.

full day's work

Today was my day off, so I woke up late and made blueberry filled crepes for breakfast. yum yum. Then, Ross and I decided to make the journey to Aurora... out in the far far far western suburbs. After nearly an hour in the car, we arrive at the "Premium Outlet Mall". The idea of origin for this trip was because Ross received a coupon for the Polo Ralph Lauren Factory store so we went there and looked around a bit. We hit up many stores and I bought a sweater from Banana, a scarf from the Gap, and some cool candle beads from the Farberware store! We dined in the totally 'awesome' foodcourt; Japanese was my choice again, and we wondered around a little more. After leaving the mall, we went to Costco in Naperville where I bought a 12 pound Bird for Thanksgiving, then on to Meijer for more groceries, and finally Target where Ross bought a 6ft faux tree for $16.99. I know, crazy isn't it? So 5 hrs later, we decided to head home just in time to get stuck in rush hour traffic on I-88 and I-290. I don't know how people do that every day!

Winter is near

It is snowy outside, 25 degrees, and a wind chill of 13! Oh joyous winter is near. So, wearing three thick layers this morning to work was not fashionably acceptable, but this is Chicago baby and it gets mighty cold. This little taste of winter weather is a great welcome as we finish our Holiday 2 floorset and prepare to be visited by the big wigs tomorrow. Tonight is also my last night of class, which is great. Time for food, drinks, and hopefully just a little discussion. Soon it will be time to relax!

10 hours

3:30 am :beep, beep, beep, beep... snooze... beep, beep, beep, beep. shower, too early for breakfast, 4:30 kim picks me up, 4:45 Starbucks box of Jo to Go. Bad employee takes forever.. 5:00 am @ work. 10 and a half hrs later i get to go home. This was the longest and most tiring day of my life. Floor Set is killing me softly.
I held back this evening from buying a new coat. Baby, its cold outside, but my wool will have to do for now :( Sonoma had some great buys: Butternut Squash puree to make some yummy Tgiving soup. Another paper accomplished tonight. goodbye.

bedtime

yes, it is.. bedtime. 10:29 pm, early indeed, but not for me. i got up at 4 frickin 30 this morning to be at work at 6 am for the wonderful tabletop floorset at the barn, which was my former department before I moved to the more gloriously decorated HA. i just proof read and edited my 25 pg paper that is due on wednesday and have two more 5 pagers to go sometime this week and I have to get up at 3:30 am tomorrow to be at work at 5 for floorset. What's with these crazy hours. Tired I am. gotta go to bed...

12:43 pm

Many hours I've slaved away at this massive paper. Now I have 20 pages. Now I must proof read it and rewrite some parts. Now I must go to bed...

Accomplished?

Nothing much has been sadly. I am still on pg 8 out of 25 on my final paper. Writer's block? No, probably laziness:) I miss those days when you could totally BS your way through school. Why am I in grad school? It is cold here today, infact so cold that I had to wear my winter coat this morning on the walk to the train. I'm starting to remember why I hate winter. I need a new coat. Yes I do. Maybe Tasara could pick up a really cool British one for me and send it down to Chicago? Probably not.... later...

last class...

Tonight was my official last class of Feminist Theories although we are meeting next week to eat together and have final discussion. So as I'm relieved about that I remember that I have to turn in my 20-25 pg paper on this coming Wednesday. I have 7 pages so far.. so at least I've begun, unlike some of my classmates. I also have 2 smaller papers due for my independent study class that I constantly forget about:( So much work to do and I just want to go to sleep. In other news, sadness as Philip must return to Goshen this weekend for 3 weeks to do his senior seminar. We are happy to be able to spend Thanksgiving together, but it will be different not having him so close in Chicago:(

Leaves a fallin'

As I sat at the bus stop at 51st and Lake Park for an extraordinarily long time waiting for the #6 Jackson Park Express bus, I became aware of the odd weather around me. I remember earlier when the channel 5 newsman warned me not to go walking tonight because of thunderstorms and that I might get struck by lighting. Odd, indeed. So as the winds blew up slowly and then subsided, the clouds moved around, and the sky lit up and roared, I wondered indeed if channel 5 was correct, that on this erie night something odd might happen. As I sat alone for quite awhile I looked into the sky and saw, what I now believe to be the moon, a vague light disappear. Suddenly images from "Wars of the World" came into my mind. As I sat alone, I quickly called Phil to take my mind off of my absurdity and share it with him. Finally the bus came. 35 minutes later as I walked from the red line stop to my home, I noticed the leaves falling left and right as they had been windstruck earlier in the evening. I noticed that Fall is indeed here and that sadly it will be frigid soon.

potluck

we had a good new fashioned mennonite potluck. why was it new? Well, instead of the usual scene of all the older and not so old mennonite women sweating over a stove in the oven and heating up in the microwave, meat, potatoes, and casserole, we had an array of delicious ethnic dishes brought in by men and women from the church congregation. It is nice to see the variance between this congregation and those that we knew long ago. Looking forward into the future perhaps? :)

....

Orland Park

So this Thursday and Friday I made my way to the suburbs with a small troupe from our Lincoln Park store to help out with the opening of the Orland Park store at the Orland Square mall in Orland Park, yes... the suburbs. I have been one to say that it takes a might good reason for me to trek out to the suburbs, after all I do not own a car and the city has way more interesting things to do anyway...in short "I don't do the suburbs".

DAY 1
So after a 40 minute ride full of PB gossip and drama, many wondrous moments of "where the heck are we", and one dead dear on the roadside, with Claire and Robbie in Claire's car we arrive at the mall and make our way to the new store. It is beautiful! New wood, clean floors... well, clean everything and completely empty. It was like being in an art museum, with no art. We have a group meeting (the first of many to come) and find out that we will only be working till one pm because the truck in fact was a day late. Boo on you UPS! So we spent the next 5 hrs doing a lot of nothing, but labeling shelves and having pep meetings. Oh joy oh bliss. The day was topped off at end with a great lunch meal with my Lincoln Park crew in the food court... yes a real live mall food court. Robbie Claire and I return to the great city in the car full of more gossip and drama, but this time about all the crazies we met that day.

DAY 2
Another early morning meeting at Starbucks for Robbie, Claire and I. The ride was great this time as we did not need to concentrate on our route as Claire had mastered it well the day before. So, we spent our time reminiscing on the insanity of the day before. We arrive again at the store, have a round up meeting and get to work. I was given the job of scanning the truck with another guy (who was new, and a little annoying..to say the least) We scanned a 50 ft truck with around 576 pieces total, of which most were rods, rugs, and heavy coffee tables. The truck took about only 2 hours or so to finish scanning an unloading. I won the unofficial contest of who scanned the most pieces by a mere 10 pieces! (I pretended to not want to scan more or have any interest in it, but basked in my glorious win over mr. crazy whom I had to work with. Time for lunch and a shopping trip to Williams Sonoma, where I bought a beautiful awesome waffle iron.
The second truck had 2500 pieces in a 50 ft semi also. I had to scan this time also and the same guy on the other side. We had a team of 3 persons moving boxes for us at first and by the end about 6 people each. I secretly gloated inside when the GM took scanning duty away from the other guy and passed it on to someone who new the product better. I loved it. This time I won the unofficial race again. I scanned 1476 pieces and the others scanned just over 1000. yes oh yes. What a joy.
Claire, Robbie, and I couldn't wait to get out of there at 5pm. We got caught in rush hour traffic but used our extra time wisely to talk about people we could not stand form the day. Are we mean? well.. probably a little, but come on... if you had to work with some of the crazies, you would be too!

well almost

I'm back... well almost. It's been quite the busy past two weeks. Yes, I am still behind in school. Sometimes I forget that I have an independent study. :( sadness. Three more papers to do for that class with about three weeks to do it. Not bad. Feminist Theories has been kicking my butkuss. I mean seriously. I have to co lead discussion tomorrow night and just finished reading all 11 articles and summarized them. Work has been crazy lately also. 6am three days in a row this week and then two days in the suburbs at a new store. Good night. I do have the wierdest trips to the 'burbs. Otherwise life has been decent. I can't wait till Thanksgiving. Then I will be done with classes for this quarter and can relax a bit. I must go to bed. My weariness is setting in. Hopefully more to come soon...

Congrats to Christa and Scott

Hey Chris,
Congrats...congrats...congrats. I can't wait to meet the lucky guy at Christmas. I'm sure the Taylor family will treat him just right:) loves, hugs, and kisses for both of you.

Tofu jerky

This one is for my dear friend Emily Gingerich. (Hi also Alyssa.. I do remember you!) Philip was in Chinatown the other day and picked up a yummy bag of treats for us. We used the today in our makeshift wannabe spring rolls. I couldn't help but think that my friend Emily, and her entire Gingerich clan might enjoy a years supply of deliciously seasoned tofu jerky from Taiwan. Let me know, Em and I'll send some to you :)

tis the season?

As I walked to Joy's Noodles and Rice for dinner with Phil and Ross down Broadway Ave, I couldn't help but notice that many of the shops were loaded with holiday decor and products. I wonder if I have become oblivious to the season that is upon us. This year at the barn, we as a company decided to hold back on full frontal exposure of holiday decor till the beginning of November, whereas last year it was out the last week of September. Over the past few weeks,even, I have become more and more excited to begin to decorate for the holidays. But, it is only October. Where does one begin? We have Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years. We can't forget about the wonderful Jewish Holiday Season either. Do I have to pick and choose which ones, so that my decorating budget does not deplete? (not that I have one) I feel as if Christmas is the one to shoot for. Ross has laid down the law that we cannot have a live tree this year. I am filled with sadness, however I saw a fake 6ft tree at Walgreen's (yes...walgreens..and no.. we better not buy that cheap tree) that motivated me into a full acceptance of "the fake tree". What is a boy to do in this wonderful season that is upon us?

shout out #2

Tasara? how are you? send me some fish and chips, please?

shout out!

hi inga, how is louisville?

Saturday night out...

This Saturday was a long long day. I had to work at the barn till around 4 pm and after that all the fun began. Philip met me at work and as we headed to Express down the street we saw JeNeva in her GC car driving down North Avenue. She was to have met us at the barn and was running late. We dashed towards her as traffic was stalled and jumped in her car. We headed to Cafe BaBaReeba, a hot spot Tapas restaurant in Lincoln Park for dinner. Between the three of us we ordered nine tapas entrees to share of which some of the best were: Salmon and Scallop Ceviche, Goat Cheese in tomato sauce, Skewered Chicken and Chorizo, Chicken with goat cheese and Braised Salmon. We also got mini tapas desserts of flan, rice pudding, and tres leches chocolate cake. The meal was incredible and great fun. We headed back to my apartment and hung out with JeNeva till around 9:30 pm. After JeNeva left, Philip's housemates and visitors from Goshen began arriving. We kicked off the evening at Bar on Buena down the street from my building and then walked 10 blocks south to go to Berlin so that the crowd could get their fulfillment of late night dancing. Darrin and Hector from work met us there and we all had a great time. Most of the Hyde Park crew left at around 2:15. Hector, Darrin, Phil, and I left a little later and headed north in search of food, mainly at my request. For some reason we went into Nookies, a late night diner and sat down. We realized that we really did not want to be there so we got up and left. We told the waiter, but I think he felt bad:( We ended up at some taco joint and got some yummy late night snacks. Darrin and Hector went their own ways and Philip and I caught a cab home. I don't know what time it was, but it was very late.

Feminist Theories

Tonight was my 4th week of my Feminist Theories class. This week I actually did about 85% of the required readings, which is a lot considering the amount we have to read each week. Naturally, I felt confident going into class ready to discuss the methodologies I had spent forever reading. So, after being drenched by the mad afternoon downpour and sitting in class, I find out that we aren't going to discuss this week's readings on methodologies but infact will be getting into groups to discuss some of last weeks readings on epistemology. Everyone in the class is dumbfounded and very quiet. My groups reading was from a book that we didn't even bring this week because we weren't assigned anything from it. We manage to get a book, but no one in my group remembers the readings. MASS STRESS. We fumble through the chapter an manage to come up with some mumbo jumbo to talk about. It was a tense tense 3 hours for everyone. Don't you hate being tested?

Happy Birthday Dawn!

Today is my sister's 26th Birthday. Happy happy birthday to you... and many more.

love ya always.. david

weekend fun

It's been a while since I've posted on here. Life has been crazy. School started a few weeks back and I am still working full time at the barn. Between balancing work, papers and reading, class and my social life I'm just about all pooped out. This weekend was a glorious time. Friday night, Philip and I along with two of his Urban life buddies went to Sophie's birthday party on the mid west side of the city. I had to work on Saturday, but in the evening Philip and I with his housemate Alison went to House of Sushi and Noodles for their Maki roll buffet. For only 11.95 a person, and following their rules, you can stuff yourself with as many maki rolls as you can handle. After sushi, Alison departed and Philip and I returned to his apartment in Hyde Park to hang out with some of his housemates. After a gargantous bottle of Guiness Extra Stout and a little bit of "Garden State", that was about it for the evening. This morning we graced Chicago Community Mennonite Church to see friends and their wonderful new pastor, Megan. This afternoon we treated ourselves to yummy tacos and gorditas after which we immediately fell asleep for 3 hours. What a great little weekend. Now, as Monday approaches, return to the craziness that is my life.

...

time for sushi...yeah...

and then...

Lastnight after work, Phil met me outside of Pottery Barn and we began walking to California Pizza Kitchen for dinner. Right away this woman approached us. The first thing she said was, "I'm not asking for money" so to be nice I thought I'd listen to her. She said that she was 5 months pregnant and bleeding so she needed money to get to Mercy Hospital. As soon as I heard this I remembered the exact story that one of my managers told me about this woman approaching her like two weeks ago, so I grabbed Phil's arm and told the woman no and started walking. Philip had no idea about her scam and really thought she was telling the truth, so he was like, "can we call an ambulance to get you" and she insisted upon a taxi to go to Mercy hospital because the ambulance would not take her to that one. At this point I was getting annoyed and kept trying to get us going. The woman could tell that I wasn't buying it and then... she did the unthinkable. She was like, "you dont believe me? look" and then she lifted her shirt pulled out her breast and squirted milk from her nipple. I was mortified, disgusted, and incredibly pissed. I got Phil and we statrted walking to CPK. This woman was crazy and yelling and pretending to cry. I explained the entire thing to Phil as we were followed the entire way to CPK while she was yelling and crying. C R A Z Y. Today as I told the story, I found out that she's done this to about 6 other people at work also. Next time, we're calling the cops. People are so C R A Z Y.

Heath and Jake

Two well known male actors, Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal star in the upcoming film Brokeback Mountain, set in the 1960's about two cowboys who fall in love with each other. The trailer promises a touching movie with love, passion, sadness, and heartbreak. Watch out for its release in December. There is no official trailer yet, but if you search hard enough you can find one.

Finally

Today officially makes Chicago my home for 14 months. That is 14 months where Philip and I were not living in the same city. Philip is finally here. He moved into the Urban Life apartments in Hyde Park yesterday and is being subjected to the rigorous orientation for the program. We are both excited to start another new chapter together being closer and finally being able to start planning for our ceremony and the rest of our lives. Excitement!

my baby is back

yes indeed. I haven't been on here for quite some time. my faithful laptop was admitted to the Apple hospital and worked on by one of their geniuses. thank goodness for purchasing that wonderful warranty plan with my laptop. this is the second time my baby has had to be admitted. I've been saddened by its frequent illnesses: first it's hard drive punked out and this time, they had to install a new logic board and reset the aiport card. A cost of over $800, but zero for me! Don't be cheap...ALWAYS buy the warranty.

pierce me

I had the day off today with much to do: visit an apartment for a friend who lives out of town, visit church which is a potential for Philip and my ceremony, and meet with my proffessor about an independent study class. Things went by smoothly, however the apartment was a hole in the wall tiny ass weird apartment which did not receive my stamp of approval. The church was an interesting place. It is this small cute 100 yr old building nestled between many new condo proerties in a hot area on the north side of Chicago. Elizabeth, the administrator was very helpful answering questions and such, as I imagined this as a potential place for Philip and I to celebrate ourselves. So much to think about and so much planning to do. yikes! Here are some photos of the church building.



Also of interest, I recently decided that I wanted to get my ear pierced. So I decided that today was the day. I went to the local piercing and tattoo parlor only to find out that they do not offer gun piercing and that it would cost over $100 to pierce my ear. I was like, um.. goodbye now. So, my friend Darrin and I decided to go to Old Orchard Mall in the suburbs to get my ear pierced at Claire's. Yes, the suburbs! If you know anything about me, you know that I don't really like the suburbs. The people are crazy. that'a all. (yes, I'm sure that's what they think of me and my citymates also, but whatever) Anyway, so I walk into Claire's and the next minute I'm pierced. Oh the pain!

fill it up!

Thank goodness I don't own a car. Today, as I was leaving work and walking to the North/Clybourn Subway station I caught a glimpse of the neigbourhood gas station. I thought for a secoond that I was dreaming, then after a second glimpse I realized what I never expected to see. Gas prices over $3.00. Yeah, that's right. Regular $3.09, Plus $3.18, and Premium $3.27. No need for a double take, it's all real. Sheesh... thank goodness I don't own a car.

8:21 / stress...

It's 8:21 pm and I only have 40 minutes till the New Real World comes on at 9:00 pm. I didn't even remember it, until Greta reminded me at the wonderful dinner that she made. Oh yeah, in this 40 minutes I need to write 2 more pages for my stupid last paper for this Leadership course. Easy, right? Umm, not so much. I am blanker than blank could be right now. grrr...

computer farts?

I seem to be having all the problems with electronics these days. First, I must say that I adore Apple and I love my Ibook G4 dearly. But of late, I have not been in the best mood with my baby. 2 months back, my hard drive crashed.. yes crashed as I was writing a major final paper for my Qualitative Methods Sociology Class. Thanks goodness my professor believed me and let me turn the paper in as soon as I could. Who knew people were this flexible in grad school? Then this past week, as I opened my laptop it started farting! I was overcome with fear, madness, and sheer panic as I had no idea what was happening. 45 minutes on the phone with one of the least talented technicians from Apple Service got me nowhere. He thought it might be the fan. Fan Schman. grrrr.... I decided to try to ignore this obtrusive noise and squeeze it to make it stop when I could. I have just learnt the trick of putting a headphone in the jack to make it stop. Sure, Mr. Apple man it must be my fan...stupido! Oh, that's not all... my faithful airport card is not functioning so well. Yes it, picks up a wireless signal, but not over in that corner or down there. Is it out of range? NO! Everyone else's airport card works fine. Sheesh! Thank goodness for buying Apple Care. Now if only they could send someone to me so that I didn't have to part with my computer for how many days? weeks? what? On a happier note look at Humph:)

Dance Madness

So I think my new reality show that will take over my life is, "So you think you can dance?" At first, when I heard about this show, I was like, " whatever.. trash!" But after seeing tonight I have, all of a sudden become taken over by the drama, hot moves, and cute bodies. Sadness. It's so hard to be a good Mennonite boy.

More pics from our extended stay at the museum.

Here I am before taking flight...

Mid flight...

Cruising on flight 727..

Baby chicks hatching before our very eyes...

Philip and I lost (not really) in a mirror maze...

Bodyworlds

Yesterday, Philip and I trekked to the Museum of Science and Industry in Hyde Park. After over and hour on the CTA we arrived at the museum. As we entered this new world I couldn't help but notice all the tourists among us. Then it hit me: Why in the world am I going to a museum on a Saturday in the middle of summer. I suddenly began to stress out inside and become annoyed at the out-of towners. We keep walking to get to the ticket line and then as it comes into view, BAM... wtf? the line is immensely huge. I mean like a major security line in the airport where everyone is receivng the wand treatment. Annoyance hits me again. Thirty minutes later halfway through the line an announcement is broadcasted, "welcome to the Museum of Science and Industry. The next entrance to the Body Worlds exhibit is at 4:15" R u kidding me? It is only 12:45 at the moment and I have to wait till when? Grrr.. I look around at the hundreds of tourists and annoyance hits me once again. Why am I at this museum on a Saturday? Ok, so after some stressing out which Philip helped calm down, we decided on spending the majority of our day at the museum and then seeing the Body World exhibit at 4:15. After an overpriced lunch, much walking, watching baby chicks hatch, taking a flight, going through a toy factory, and seeing preserved fetuses 4:15 arrives. We get into line for Body Worlds for about 15 minutes and then we think we are in, but it is only another line. 15 minutes later we get in. The exhibit is made up of over 200 bodies or parts of bodies that have been plastinized at different stages in order to show their parts. It's basically like looking at the inside of dead hardened humans, without all the nasty juices and stuff. In some sense, it is incredible art. Here is one picture below. You can also check it out at http://www.bodyworlds.com/en/pages/home.asp It is quite the experience!

Fire on the El

So around 5:00 this evening while working at the 'Barn', one of my co-workers notified me of the madness that was taking place on our street. Traffic was backed up slower than our normal delightful rush hour times, helicopters were flying around in the sky, and rumors started to flow about the train station up the street. At first, we thought that the Red Line at the North and Clybourn stop was affected. We looked outside down the street and there were police vehicles and officers all over. For a slight second, and only a slight second, the idea of trauma in the subway hit, but then we noticed the elevated brown line train stopped on the track. Word got around that there was "a fire on the El" tracks for the brown/purple line. A quick call to Ross Bay who had access to the internet confirmed the rumours. The tracks had caught fire from something, continually reignited after the flames were put out, and sparks were flying to the street below. Possibly overheated brakes? Who knows. Thankfully, the fire was safely put out just before 6:00pm and all returned to normal. Check our the pics below.

Stress me out!

So, I have this ten page paper due on Monday that i have to get done TODAY, because I work all week and have guests this weekend. No biggie, right? Well, let me tell you...writing a ten page paper analyzing the Strategic Planning process of some organization isn't quite that fun. Yes, yes, strategic planning is oh so important, but must I spend my day off painstakingly grobbling over some silly paper. When did graduate school become so fun? Thank goodness for wireless internet to continually distract me from the boring template of Microsoft Word. So, the excitement is rushing through my veins as I analyze All Hallows College Strategic plan. Why am I not at the beach?

Greenness and Guinness

Ok, so several weeks ago before Georgia and Colorado I found myself in the beautiful city of Dublin, Ireland. Besides the 7 hr days of class, Dublin offered quite the fun for me and my classmates. Things to know about Ireland... You cannot ride a sheep (because it's probably illegal), fannie is not your grandma and johnny probably would like to take a ride, always look right, duck on the second floor of the bus, and can you pass the salt? Dublin is beautiful...Ireland is beautiful. The city is old and booming and the country is green and rolling. There's so much to do there, that you're never bored... and if you do get bored, just go to the next pub you see and get a pint of guiness (double pour only). My 15 days in Ireland was the best short trip I've ever had and remember I was in class all day for ten days. Here are some pics from the great times there!

Grafton Street, City Centre, Dublin,Ireland
Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland
Dublin Castle, Dublin,Ireland
All Hallows College, Dublin, Ireland
Malahide Castle, Malahide, Ireland
Temple Bar, Dublin, Ireland
The beautiful perfectly poured pint a' Guinness
A 5600 year old grave, County Clare, Ireland
Ailiwee Cave, Ireland
Cliffs of Moher, Ireland
West Coast, Ireland

The rocky rocky hills...

So, after two great days with Emily and Philip I was off to Denver for my brother's wedding... and by Denver they really meant the suburb of Aurora, CO. For my first three days I was enlightened by the beautiful Colorado scenery... wide suburban roads,lots of shopping malls, Peace Mennonite Church, and well.. the Hampton Inn. How joyously lucky I was to be in Colorado and experience these things not found anywhere else! Ok, so I was there for my brother's wedding so it was all worth it. Here is my bro and hiw new wife on their big day.
Here are more photos from the grand event...


It wasn't all wedding madness. On the last day my fam and I made it our to Red Rocks park, which is an amazing array of Colorado beauty.

Southern Bound

So, here it's been done. My very first trip into the middle of nowhere southern Georgia. Americus, GA has tons of exciting things to do... like: drink sweet tea, look at pecan trees, eat boiled peanuts, and,oh yeah, visit Habitat for Humanity. What drove me to this tiny little town down where confederate flags can still be found? My dearest friend Emily aka Inga. Kudos to her for giving a year of her life to live in the south and give to humanity! Here are some photos from our journey.
Emily, Philip and I cooling off in the HOT Georgia sun.

If your not a good chicken, then you are a ...
Philip's magical fingers at work
Painstakingly concentrating on this mindabusing game