Saturday, June 24, 2017

Weekend to Chicago

Went up to Chicago with Jason and David to see The Copyrights.  We left STL about 7:30 on Thursday and drove up to Dwight.

We got a room at a hotel, and it was really stuffy, so we cranked to AC and passed out.  I woke up a few hours later, absolutely freezing! I was also completely stuck to Jason for warmth. I remember saying, "Jason, I'm cold!". It's humorous that I was clinging to Jason because usually we do not touch when we sleep.

The next morning, all of us commented on how cold we all were, yet no one got up to turn it off.  I didn't want to get out from under the covers, and David thought that maybe we liked it that cold!

We got breakfast and headed to Chicago. We drove straight to Logan Square to do some shopping. My, how the neighborhood has changed, and not necessarily for the better. When I lived there, most of the advertisements were in Spanish, and there were definitely not mom's in yoga pants pushing strollers down the street.

The book store we were wanting to checkout had moved, so we walked 1.5 miles north to the new location, then we walked another mile to a record store. It was hot as balls out, and I was wearing pants.

We were going to stay at Ben's house, but he had already left for work and we didn't have a key, so we just chilled on the porch.  Luckily, Vic came home early and let us in. We chilled at the house for a bit, then took an Uber to Boiler Room for pizza and beers before the show. I had one slice of cheese and two margarita, and two PBRs.  Jason and David each had two slices and two beers. Our bill was $71. But it was good and a special occasion out of town doing something new.

After pizza, we walked to Logan hardware to play some arcade games. Jason and I of course, played Jurassic Park. Only spent $5, but didn't beat the level. It is still one of my favorites.

David played this Japanese game where you beat your hands on a table and then flip it over.  We didn't know how to play it, because the whole thing was in Japanese. It was by far the most popular game in there, so we watched some other people play it to try to figure it out.

After arcade, we went to Quenchers for the show. It was packed. All four bands were solid, but I was mainly there for brokedowns and copyrights.

Carl and Lee were there with other friends, and I saw a lot of people I knew.  We stood near the back and had plenty of room to sing and dance.

Allegedly, this was the first time the copyrights had played together since like February. I was aware of a few mess ups, but nothing major. And it was still a fun time.

I might have seen Guiseppe, I'm not sure.  The person I saw that might have been him had shoulder length hair now, and a black tattoo on his right arm. Way different than when I knew him right years ago. I can't believe it's been that long ago already. I'm definitely in a great place now, and I wasn't phased by seeing this person at all. :)

After the show, Jason and I went to the mutiny with Carl and Lee for a beer and to let Jason see the huge urinal.






















Ben drove us home. We ordered pizza and passed out.

Got sultan's on the way out of town. It was still pretty good, as I remember.

I was smiling in the car the whole way back. It was a fun, quick get away. Jason had a great time, too.  This was hist first time up there for a show and to see the neighborhood stuff and not just downtown.  We will definitely go back! :)


Sunday, June 18, 2017

Father's Day weekend recap

I've still been feeling a little blah all weekend, which seems to go by way too fast. I can't believe tomorrow is already Monday.

I worked all day on Friday for Dr. S since Heather was on vacation. Then we all met up with my folks for dinner before Jason and I went to a trivia event for Dennis​' family.  The event was packed, and we won one of the raffle items...I free furnace maintenance appointment. We also really need it, since the furnace went out a few times last winter.

On Saturday, Scott went to work with me for an hour while I got my guides off the printer. Then we went to Castlewood.  I took Scott to the same trail Fred took me and dad last December.  It was about three miles.  90 minutes on the trail. It was lovely. A variety of flat ground along the river, then into the woods along some railroad tracks, then up the bluff for great views.  We saw three deer and a bunch of cardinals, and a dog riding on the front of a speed boat. The dog looked so happy, and it's ears were blowing in the wind. It made us both laugh.

We all went to the gym on Saturday night before Jason made dinner for us.

Today we went to mom and dad's house. We took puppy wuppy, too.  Me, dad, and Scott went to the driving range. I hit my irons, but not too solidly. We were on the grass and not the AstroTurf, which is something I am not used to, but I need to get better.


Saturday, June 10, 2017

Summer blues

I've been feeling blah lately. I've noticed this feeling around this time previous summers.  I really want to travel and go on adventures. I see other people out on summer vacations, and I wish I was doing that, too.

I get sad when I think about going to work.  I'm fine once I get there, and it's not even my specific job, just that time is ticking away.

I have been working in the yard a lot. Even bought more flowers this week, because I have a problem.  Gladiolas just opened...yellow ones. Cones have just started to open. Lobelia, petunias, celosia and dianthus are doing well. Morning Glory vines have sprouted. Salvia and verbena have bounced back. Milkweed and lantana are growing. Balloon flowers are huge. Hollyhock has three stalks on it, and the Columbine is growing, too.

It's too hot out during the day for me to work in the yard, so I go out in the early morning and then again after dinner.

I don't even know what I'm complaining about. It's just been a long lonely day a home and I'm doing some deep thinking.