Airbus 380 or Boeing 787?

Two of the newest models of airplanes, one by each competing company, both magnificent in their own ways, yet both so different. Which is better? Which do you prefer. I have always been obsessed with airline models since I can remember my first flight on Tan Sasha and/or TACA airlines. I do not remember which was first. Back then, the stewardess (as they were called) brought me real warm face towels after the somewhat tasty lunch entree. No, this was not a 6, 7,12 hour Transatlantic or Pacific flight, but solely a 2 hour flight from Belize City to Miami or Houston. Tan Sasha no longer serves passengers and hasn't for sometime. I think groupo TACA bought them out years ago. Anyway... since then airplanes have got bigger and better. I have never been on a 747-200 or 747-200. My largest flight has been the Boeing 777, which I love dearly, mainly because of the comfortability and two side seats that allow myself and travelling partner privacy from strangers.
The Airbus 380 which is currently in production is the largest passenger built to date... so large that airports are required to accomodate the length and width of their runways to land her. It has a wingspan of 261.8 feet (79.8 meters), a length of 239.5 feet (73 meters) and a maximum take-off weight of more than 1.2 million pounds (540,000 kg).


The A380's two passenger decks could be outfitted in a single-class configuration to take on up to 840 passengers. However, Airbus isn't focusing on that option, instead designing a three-class configuration for 555 passengers. That's still a marked increase over the 416 passengers that can fit into a Boeing 747-400, the current leader in passenger capacity.1





On the other side of the world, Boeing is focusing on the 787 Dreamliner, a super efficient airplane, which "will carry 210 - 250 passengers on routes of 7,650 to 8,200 nautical miles (14,200 to 15,200 kilometers), while the 787-9 Dreamliner will carry 250 - 290 passengers on routes of 8,000 to 8,500 nautical miles (14,800 to 15,750 km). A third 787 family member, the 787-3 Dreamliner, will accommodate 290 - 330 passengers and be optimized for routes of 2,500 to 3,050 nautical miles (4,600 to 5,650 km). In addition to bringing big-jet ranges to mid-size airplanes, the 787 will provide airlines with unmatched fuel efficiency, resulting in exceptional environmental performance. The airplane will use 20 percent less fuel for comparable missions than today's similarly sized airplane. It will also travel at speeds similar to today's fastest wide bodies, Mach 0.85. Airlines will enjoy more cargo revenue capacity.
Passengers will also see improvements with the new airplane, from an interior environment with higher humidity to increased comfort and convenience.2






So, I think that both are amazing and I would love to fly on either however I do have a thing for big planes with lots of seats so I think the Airbus 380 would be my first choice if I had a choice between both of them. But one time on that plane may be enough, because I cannot imagine how long it would take to board and deplane at the airport. The Boeing 787 sounds like it would be amazing on any long flight because of the seat sizes and spaciousness. So, I guess I'm in love with both of them just a little.

Climate Change

This week, the IPCC report on climate change was released at a meeting in Paris, France where it "concluded that it is very likely (90% certain) that the build up of heat-trapping GHG emissions is responsible for irreversible global warming. Temperatures will continue to rise by 3.2 to 7.2 degrees Fahrenheit by the end of the century, which will cause sea level rises of 7 to 23 inches – or 21 feet, if Greenland’s ice sheets melt – and more intense tropical storms and hurricanes. Other predictions include hotter days, warmer nights and extended droughts. Climate change is expected to create hundreds of millions of permanently displaced refugees".
After the IPCC report’s release on Friday, French President Jacques Chirac called for a new world environmental body to co-ordinate efforts to mitigate climate change through binding agreements to reduce GHG emissions, among other methods. He also suggested that the agreements should be enforced and violators punished.
Although the US approved the document in the end, the Bush administration criticized the IPCC report on the grounds that it “tends to overstate or focus on the negative effects of climate change.” The US lobbied hard for the language of the report to be watered down to minimize the role of GHG emissions in climate change and the role of global warming in changes such as the intensification of hurricanes. The US also objects to the IPCC’s position that one of the fundamental weaknesses of the 1997 Kyoto Protocol has been its non-ratification by major GHG emitters such as the US. The Bush administration withdrew from Kyoto in 2001, citing the lack of limits for developing economies such as China and India, also major GHG polluters.
On Friday, the Bush administration played down the status of the US as the world’s No. 1 polluter, responsible for 25% of all GHG emissions. “We are a small contributor when you look at the rest of the world,” said US Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman. He confirmed that President Bush remains opposed to capping emissions in the US."1

"The European Union describes the report as the starkest warning yet, and Britain says climate change threatens world peace and prosperity.
The United States, which produces about a quarter of the world's greenhouse gases, has described the report as valuable. However, the White House has again expressed its opposition to compulsory caps on greenhouse gas emissions."2

Climate changes have already been linked to dying Polar Bear populations as Sea Ice is melting more rapidly, which they use for migratory hunting patterns. Polar Bears have been found dead from lack of food and some have even drown from having to swim too far where there is a lack of ice. Environmental change is so important right now, today. Hopefully in the future we will see more of this:

and less of this:


To learn more about Climate change go here or here.

back in the day

My first best friend Melissa from Belize who now resides in Miami sent me an old photo she found at her parents' house from when we were in grade school. I cannot firgure out exactly where this photo was taken or what was going on, but I imagine that it was some sort of party since there is a clown behind us. I'm the first boy in the circle with the red striped shirt, then there is Natalie, Melissa, Kristen, and two little British Girls who I don't know. The little boy standing outside of the circle is Shawn, my friend Claire's little brother. I wonder where Claire is?

What kind of Gay Man am I?

You scored as A MetroHomoSexual. Straight or really, really gay? Metro to the core, but it’s your outward appearance that’s most important. Narcissist? Hell no, you just want to look better and more expensive than everyone else. A MetroHomoSexual 55% Normal, Boring and Gay 50% A Jock 50% An AberHollisterAE Gay or Fratmo 35% A Closet Case 25% What Kind of Gay Man Are You? created with QuizFarm.com

Belizean Puppies

I just received an email from one of my best friends, Melissa, who is at home in Belize right now with the most adorable puppies born from one of their dogs, Gibnut who is a tiny little dog of some sort, possibly Chihuahua mix. Anyway, these puppies are the most adorable things I've seen in a while... ENJOY!

not so urban is it

After the new year, I made a trip to rural Ohio to visit my parents, before their departure back to Belize, and other family who live in the area. Joyous times spent with my siblings, cousin, parents and my favorite niece and nephew revolved around eating and sitting in the apartment living room. The two days were constantly filled with a journey somewhere like the Cleveland Clinic, the Mennonite resale shop, or driving around somewhere. On one trip out to lunch with my parents, younger brother, grandparents, and uncle I realized truly that I was in the country. We ate at the Golden Corral Buffet Restaurant... mmm healthy! Anyway, as I was sitting in my seat deciding on the millions of choices, I noticed a hair do that was oh so rural... check it out below.

"you have tight quads"

So, with our new Gym Membership at the Sweat Shop, Philip and I have been attending occasional Spinning and Yoga classes. So... yoga is not easy... or not easy for me. My Yoga instructor informed me in both classes that I have tight quads and that my positions are "good for me" because I am tall and have tight quads. I'm glad she is so nice!
My first Spinning Class was hard, for one climb, then the rest was good.. so I thought to myself that I can totally do this. Yesterday, I went to my second class, but this time with JD... and not the female instructor who I had the first time. He was FIT and has an obsession with climbing and with not sitting in your seat. I must have sweat away like 20 lbs alone in that hour. But atleast the view was good!

Happy Hour

Not the drinking kind, but the new TV show on Fox. This is actually only the second time that I've seen it, but on tonight's show there have been several cameos from Pottery Barn Merchandise. The show is set in Chicago, but I doubt they actually shoot here, so they probably are not shopping at one of the local stores :(. Anyway, within the first 5 minutes of the show I've spotted 1. one red wool jacquard pillow, 2. two red quilted pillows, 3. two taylor silk stripe pillows, 4. one silk stripe lamp shade, 5. one lg rustic pillar holder w/amber river rocks and a 4x8 unscented pillar, 6. I'll be on the lookout for more next time...

In other news, I actually did some work on my thesis proposal today. Who would think?

Funniness. Period.

Check out this hilariousness...

shitjob.gay.mennonite.ephrata,pa.

Rocking it out

Yesterday, Apple announced the release of its new iPods and iTunes. Check out www.apple.com to check them out.
Sadly, my generation three iPod and my generation one shuffle do not stand up to the great quality of these new ones. How clever these Appleites are in constantly releasing these new beautiful things...grrrr!

Ode to Goshen

Philip, Ross, Allison, and I jumped into Ross' Mazda 3 last Saturday morning and made the 2.5 hr journey to the land of Goshen. The very land where I went to college for two years and then got sucked into working at the college for two more years, the very land where Ross and I became great friends and the land where Philip and I met. Allison had no connection to this land until she recently began dating a boy from there. The journey was short and very fun full of gossip, talking, and laughter.

We attended our first wedding of the weekend: Luke and Christian... great times, almost tears, and delish food... yet no wedding cake. These Millers!

Ross, Philip and I made our way to Rubber House, where I used to live and where my friend Hannah now lives. Something was terribly wrong as we entered. The place was clean, clean, clean. I've never seen the place so clean. It was unbelievable. Hannah chatted it up with us and then took us on a tour of Goshen's new Apartment Buildings into random people's units to check them out.

Philip and I stayed at one of his old Music Professor's house which I thoroughly enjoyed simply because they had 1 dog and 2 cats that kept me entertained and allowed Philip more "real time" with a dog that he could fall in love with.

That evening Allison, Philip, and I walked to downtown Goshen to try out the new hip bar in town, "Constant Spring". It was... nice for Goshen... clean, and fun, but nothing entirely exciting. The night got better when the students began to arrive, many of whom we knew and hadn't seen for years!

Sunday started off nicely with a yummy breakfast and a powerful Hymn Sing at Assembly Mennonite Church. However, it would not be complete without a potluck lunch free of charge! Oh the memories that flowed in of the days when we were students. The weekend ended nicely with another wedding and for me to get to see old co-workers from the college. Ross, Philip, and I trekked home in Ross' car... Ross driving, Philip sleeping in the back, and me trying so hard to not fall asleep. Good times!

two faced kitty

A two faced kitten was born this week and is currently alive, but may not make it. So weird. It literally has two faces. Four eyes, four ears, two noses, and two mouths.. but only one kitten body. I can't find the pic of it, but will keep looking. STOP the inbreeding. GAWSH.

Air conditioner

Happiness has arrived. She arrived this past Sunday, all 9950 BTU's of her, thanks to Philip's parents who generously brought us an air conditioner. I installed it this past Wednesday just in time as a small heat wave hits Chicago for the next few days. I can only hope that the A.C. at work is working well enough to keep us all cooled. Now all I need is a portable air conditioner to keep me cool on my walk to the train :)

Silk dupioni

Such a struggle it has been these past few weeks. Philip and I have finally decided on what drapes we wanted for all three rooms. We successfully bought white sheers (below pictured in stem)

for the Dining Room windows and found a deal of a deal with some Stem colored Silk Dupioni Drapes (pictured in saffron)

for our bedroom, all from West Elm. They now gracefully hang on Bronze colored drapery rods in each room. Sadly we were trying to be budget conscious when we bought these drapes and decided to wait on our living room drapes for another time. So, when we decided to dig deep into our pockets for the most beautiful Saffron colored silk drapes from West Elm, we were excited... however they were out of stock. THEN, like an act of God they appeared to be available again. 4 in stock said the associate on the phone as well as my computer at work... the exact number we needed. We went for it and ordered them and a bunch of rod thingys, but when our order was processed they contacted us, by email, and said the drapes were permanently out of stock. Tears and sadness overcame the Taylor Kendall Household. As we sit in our living room now without those drapes I wonder, What would our lives be like with them?

it's like 90 degrees

As of late the mercury has been on the rise, as is normal for Chicago summertime weather, however even though this is somewhat the norm, I am not taking it with ease. If you ask any of my friends they will tell you that I am not a fan of warm/hot weather. Odd indeed, one may think since I grew up in Belize where during the coolest months of the year the high temperatures often linger in the mid 80's and much warmer in the summer. However, I have adapted to the north Midwestern climate where it is too cold in the winter and too hot in the summer. So what's my point here? I'm not sure. I fear that each and every day I spend in our heat haven apartment will be one of discomfort and annoyance. I am trying to convince Phil that an air conditioner, even a small one for our bedroom is a great investment. Oh yeah... and the first day of summer has not even arrived yet.

I Want A Dog

I love animals very much. I love dogs and really want one. I even used to want to be a vet so I could play with animals all day. Right now, I have a cat whom I share with my partner Philip whom we both like very much. I really want to get a puppy... I mean I can't get one right now because supposedly our building doesn't allow it. I say supposedly because on many occasions I have seen the same dog leaving the same apartment in our courtyard and NO, I do not think he is visiting. Nonetheless, I am operating on the idea that we can't have one here. I still want a puppy and as of late, I have been torturing myself with images of the cutest little puppies in the world, or at least the cutest ones I can find on google images. Here are a few of the cutest:


Puggle Puppy


Two young Pugs


French Bulldog Puppy



Puggle Puppy


Puggle Puppy


French Bulldog Puppies



English Bulldog Puppies


French Bulldog Puppy


Pug Puppies

cleaning mania

Tonight phil and I were rushed to do last minute cleaning to prep the apartment for our little party tomorrow night. mopping the kitchen, cleaning the bathroom, hanging last minute photo frames, and vacuuming the rug...3 times. You see, the joy of having a wool shag rug

is balanced out and maybe weighed down by the maintanence. Everytime we vacuum this beautiful rug our little vacuum is worn out and stuffed full of wool time and time again. One good friend of ours suggested collecting all the wool and having it spun into yarn. That was a great idea, however I am not sure that I would be down with wearing a wool/cat hair sweater, so for now that idea is on the back burner. Back to cleaning!

urban bunnies?

As I was walking east on Brompton Avenue today among the grass lined streets I saw the cutest little wild bunny just like this one

hopping through the low lying bushes. And then I began to wonder (in a totally Sex and the City kind of way) where does this cute little creature live and why isn't he/she in one of our beautiful parks. My moment of pondering came to an end as he/she disappeared from my site and I decided I didn't really give. But seriously, I have seen numerous wild rabbits in the city since moving here...big ones, tiny babies, and medium rabbits always hopping in someone's yard or along the sidewalk petrified at human sight. Where do they come from and who suckered them out of migrating to the burbs or Michigan?

free snacks

I arrived at work today at 1:00 pm for the closing shift (not my favorite) and went down to my department to start my shift. Soon after I noticed a plastic shopping bag stuffed into the cabinet space under our register. I leant down to pick it up and throw it away rather annoyed that someone had left their trash for me to deal with. But to my surprise, the bag was not filled with trash but three mini bags of snacks. Two of the bags had animal crackers and the other had mini peanut butter crackers. I was overjoyed and excited that I now had my own stash of treats to get me through the afternoon. All thanks to some young Lincoln Park child now without his or her treat :)

Pink is my new obsession...

On June 25th the CTA introduces its new Pink Line route which connects the will be former 54th/Cermak branch of the blue line directly into the green line route which feeds into the loop track system. The Pink Line shall be an exciting new addition to Chicago's transit system, yet we are all still waiting for faster service and maybe more rail lines that connect other parts of the city.

Pink Line Route.


CTA 'EL' Train Route Map.

We are excited to see what new things the CTA will produce in the coming years. Possibly new train cars and buses and hopefully more transit routes. I has always felt positive about our public transportation until visiting Berlin this past Spring which has an amazing transit system, far more advanced and reliable than the CTA and yes, Berlin is about the same population as the City of Chicago.

Berlin Train Transit Map.

an inconvenient truth

Philip and I went to see an inconvenient truth yesterday at Landmark Century Cinema on Clark St. and it was so good. So good, infact that it was saddening, depressing, and amazing. It is amazing that something that is so scientifically stated which has been proven over and over again is able to be ignored by so many people, not just people but governments filled with red tape and ulterior motives. Why is it that our country which is one of the most powerful in the world and the one which might be to blame the most for global warming is ignoring the facts and pretending that nothing is happening. In our own generation we are seeing and will continue to see that negative effects of global warming on our earth. Is it that we think that as the intelligent beings on this planet we have the right to live as we see fit, when infact, our intelligence only goes so far.


Go see the movie . It will hopefully inspire you.

an urge

a sudden urge came over me tonight while watching SNL. an idea from Philip's blog conversation earlier in the week. an urge to start anew and refresh everything. blogging david is back, well... i think he is. bedtime is now, but stay tuned.

School's out for a week (to the tune of school's out for the summer) of course!

I turned in my final paper yesterday for my LGBT Politics class making an official end to my last concrete graduate school class. Nevermind, I still have a huge thesis project to do which will probably take until the end of this year, but no more deadlines or class sessions to attend!
Currently I am sitting in my friend's condo at Birchwood and Seeley. Yes, that is in Roger's Park way way way up north, only a block from the Evanston city limits. I must not forget to mention why Philip and I are living here for a week. 2 dogs: 1 crazy, 1 lazy. Lucy the almost 2 yr old chocolate lab who requires constant attention and Missy the 11 yr old overweight beagle mix who just kinda hang around. It's been good so far, except for one event. One night I left the living room for about 10 or less minutes and when I returned, I found my cell phone on the floor and almost devoured by Lucy. Apparently, she was lonely or mad or something and she took it out on my phone. The end result: my screen on the front doesn't work, the inside screen only half works and has cracks, the vibrate function does not work, and there are about 20 holes... deep holes throughout the phone!
Do I still want a dog someday?

What a day

Today was my day off from work and I had this big list of activities to get done. This was my plan:
1. Wake up
2. Eat yummy cereal while watching a little TV
3. Write my paper which is due tonight
4. Watch a little Martha
5. Eat Lunch
6. Work a little on my thesis proposal
7. Shower
8. Get haircut
9. Go to DePaul Library and get journal articles
10. Drop off paper in professor's office

So, what did I do... Well, I am still sitting in my living room in my shorts and a t-shirt. I did work a little on my thesis and write my paper, but instead of being organized and getting tons done, I dilly dallied around and baked, made dinner, watched TV and randomly walked around in search of snacks of which we had none. I think it is time to go grocery shopping. Anyway. Sadly, my day wasted away which seems to happen quite often on my days off. I wonder how I will ever focus enough to write my thesis.

Super Bowl?

So apparently, this is Super Bowl week. The week leading up to many many football fans most important day of the year: The super Bowl. I am so excited and thrilled to have the day off from work when it is one of the most requested off days of the new year. My manager called me and made a comment about requesting Super Bowl Sunday off and I was like, "Oh, I didn't know it was the super bowl..blah blah blah blah blah" and she made it sound like it would be hard to get off. At one point I asked her, jokingly who was more important, and she said "people who would enjoy the super bowl" Well geez louise pete and grandma. I kinda laughed, but was then kind of annoyed. I get the day off regardless, so all is well. Apparently we (non super bowl fanatics) are supposed to work on days like that so we can have Pride day off. Pa pa pa lease.
Now don't get me wrong. I don't hate the SuperBowl, I just kind of hate football. I mean it is simply an organization that is built on male power, masculinity, and testosterone, and overpaid players and those things never lead to anything good. I do however enjoy watching the commercials, solely because everyone talks about them and I feel the need to be up on the latest hype, so here we go marching into super bowl Sunday, and I really couldn't give an umpph.

Long overdue

It's been forever since my last post. I have been busy working at the barn and with my class schedule. I have begun working on my Thesis proposal, and by begun I mean that I've only come up with the title and started doing a little research. I keep emailing my program advisor to find out exactly what I need to do to choose my panel and so on, but yet am waiting for his reply. I may soon have to take matters into my own hand. Things are same at work. Working lots and being tired a lot. Thursdays are the worst when I work all day then go to class till 9 pm. My class is also filled with 99% undergraduate students. Normally for a gender studies class that works out well, because they are talkative and have tons of knowledge to share. My class is full of many still under 21 :( and many who are political science majors. Nonetheless the class is not all I thought it was going to be. However, it's my last class before my thesis and the information is useful, so I'll ride it out. Everyone is friendly, but we are so far from each other in many ways. Such is life. Philip and I are having fun planning for our ceremony. Last night we registered at Target in the South Loop and today we registered at Crate & Barrel and Pottery Barn. Oh what fun those scanners are! Ok.. off to other things.

HOT gifts

When the Holiday Season comes near the end of the year, so too come various gifts. Have you been good all year, cause if you haven't you may get a crappy gift. WELL, I must have been a very good boy cause I got 'wunderbar' gifts. As I have not the time to talk about all my great gifts in detail I will highlight some of the exciting ones. I got a TIVO from Phil, creme brulee cups from Greta, Good ole cash from my parents, a paper shredder from my sister and family, and a cool manicure kit from my lil brother.
But out of all the gifts, I wanted to share Ross' gift with everyone. Ross gave out themed gifts and my themed gift was HOT. I got hot sauce, hot popcorn, hot salsa, hot peanuts, and cool pasta. All are pictured below:

but also, something that I've wanted for a long time...a microwave egg poacher!!!


Now, most importantly you must notice the names of the hot sauces. HOT STUFF!

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...