StAndrean's Xanga

Saturday, September 24, 2005

Sat, 24 Sep 2005 20:56:53 GMT

so, mom and dad dropped in for a surprise visit last night - down here car shopping - and we had a good visit, sat outside in the crisp september air and ate thai noodles as the world browsed by in all its disinterested glory... i noticed things i'd never noticed before only a block from my house, like the decorative "1885" jutting up from the top of a nearby building commemorating the year of its construction, to the multivaried styles of the of the neighborhood hipsters... although that one's hard to miss. all in all, a very pleasant evening. they crashed at my place for the night, and with the weather turning the corner to fall it made for great sleep, with the breeze flowing easily in one side of the apartment out the other.

i've never really noticed any late night noise here. occasionally you get the fratters drunkenly wandering through a 3am on their way home from the bars, but nothing serious. figures on the night that my parents are here, we have a couple bum/gangbanger/drunk/druggies having it out just outside my bedroom window. I'm on the first floor, so there's a good 7-8 feet down to the alley, but not all that much. so anyway, they're down there, using language that would make the proverbial sailor blush, seemingly thinking that because everything else was quiet they had to make up for all the noise the 99% of the sleeping population wasn't making, all the while sounding really agitated, probably drunk, high, stoned, and anything else you can think of. down comes a nearby neighbor of mine (who I don't know) wearing boxers and a white t-shirt, accessorized with a handgun. one of them runs off, the other gets taken down, spreadeagled on the pavement (all this in full view of my awoken parents, mind you) and told in no uncertain terms not to show his face around here again, all the while holding a pistol to the guys head.

anyway, remember how when you were watching TV or a movie as a kid your folks had this sixth sense to show up EXACTLY ON CUE when the most profane/violent/sexual moment of the film came on the TV? yeah, see, it doesn't stop when you move away. dang you, irony of life!! dang you!!

Tuesday, September 20, 2005

Tue, 20 Sep 2005 03:25:11 GMT

wow, has it really been a month and a half since I've posted? wow... a lot has happened in that time. i turned twenty-six - yes, the long, downhill slide to thirty is now in play. makes one think. though i try not to too much. life is nice and busy - it's going to have to calm down here soon... course, i've been saying that for a couple months now, and nothing's happened... work is being, well, kind of insane. i'm suddenly working sixty hours a week without realizing it... 'course, that's mostly this last month when i've had a big backlog of work. let's hope it doesn't stay like that.

i have to say, though, i'm still very much enjoying living life downtown. i've had a great time getting to know a lot of new people, staying really busy, and hey i'm not bored anymore. =) between work and church and random socializing, i am, definitely, not bored.

anyway, for anyone reading this, sorry it's been so long. i'm way too incommunicado... anyway, gotta get to bed - thanks all, catch you soon.

ryan

Sunday, August 07, 2005

Sun, 07 Aug 2005 15:35:28 GMT

hrm... well, judging from the piteous state of my "blog," its been way too long since I've posted...

mom, dad and aaron were here for the last couple days - aaron had just flown in from Panama and so they were already here in the "big city" and kindly stuck around for a couple days to visit moi and get their city fix. it was an all around good time... and it was nice to have the family spend some time here - makes the place seem a little more like home, if you know what i mean. we did the architecture tour downtown, which was fun - got a guided tour of the chicago downtown from a boat on the river with a crusty old tour guide who totally knew her stuff and talked for a solid 90 minutes about the buildings and the city history without hardly drawing a breath. she definitely knew her stuff. soo, that was a good time. and then just kind of hung out, ate food, walked the downtown, slept late, that sort of thing. it was nice. although i came down with a wicked summer cold on friday... still fighting the stupid thing. blew enough green crusties out of my collective nostrils this morning to resurface an entire adobe building. not that one would want to do that, but, you know, it would have been possible. see if i can hit up the adobe masons guild with the idea, maybe i'll have a side income.

well, enough grossness for now - off to do something productive... not sure what...

Monday, August 01, 2005

Mon, 01 Aug 2005 03:30:05 GMT

Thursday, July 21, 2005

Thu, 21 Jul 2005 18:43:53 GMT

I need a vacation... badly... between moving twice in the last two months, flying all over god knows where for work, working long hours getting accustomed to the new job, beastly commutes, socializing extensively with all the new people i've met in the city (ok, that one's my fault. =), trying to furnish an apartment, etc etc etc scarcely ever been this mentally/physically exhausted...

WAAAHHH!! LISTEN TO ME WHINE!!!! LIFE IS HARD!!! WAAHH!

ok, i digress.

anyway... can't wait for this weekend... get a day or two with the fam in iowa, then off to NC for a day... not sticking around to sightsee, just didn't work out... but oh well. another time.

sorry, no energy to be funny today. existing on a steady diet of company sodas and nicking candy from the secretaries when they're not looking. whee.

laters,

hubbs

Tuesday, July 12, 2005

Tue, 12 Jul 2005 14:15:04 GMT

So... i've been taking the train to work but this morning i thought I'd drive, just for fun and also b'cause i slept late and missed the normal train... so anyway, good old chicago traffic, plus it rained last night, and man. rush hour makes you really dislike humanity... esp. all those people who go rushing to the front of the "exit only" lane and then jam their way back into traffic after skipping ten minutes of waiting in line... i always want one of them to try and cut in front of me so that i can honk and make... angry.. gestures... but none of them ever do. so sad. maybe they can sense the internal roilings beneath my quiet exterior and decide to stay away... hahahaha... anyway...

I'm getting furniture saturday!! domesticity, thy name is bliss. well, not really, i'm just ready to actually have somewhere to sit in my apartment. as of this weekend i will be officially "all moved in." finally.

soo, the real reason I live in the city can be derived from my calendar this week: tonight, movies in the park (Grant Park downtown) with some friends I met in the city, Thursday night, going out with some friends from church, friday night, a friend from college is coming to visit, sat. night, going to an outdoor concert, and sunday night, church and out to dinner with people from church. good times, man, good times. i don't know how i find time to work. =) sorry to brag, i just had to remind myself of the good parts of city life after my traffic debacle this morning. anywhoo.

Tuesday, July 05, 2005

Tue, 05 Jul 2005 18:54:44 GMT

so, in my purchasing of my aforementioned scandanavian furniture (see yesterday's post), i was thrilled to find out that i could, say, purchase a solid-wood kitchen cart, resplendent with casters, shelves, and a laminated solid hardwood top, for a mere $49.99. great deal, i thought; God bless the swedish, I thought; almost ready to forgive them for the unleashing of "ABBA" on the world. nattily attired in a flat, cardboard box which I could easily slide into the trunk/backseat of my compact german car, I drove back to my new home happy that my microwave would no longer have to sit in the middle of my kitchen floor like some goofy modern art exhibit. or like a redneck trailer kitchen. (take your pick.)

then the fun began. while the idea of having the "flat packaging" is brilliant, it of course leaves to you the fun of assembling the whole thing. nearly an hour into the process (who would have thought it could be so complicated?) i realized that I would have happily paid the hardworking laborers of china well over their hourly wage to assemble the stupid thing for me, or so I thought, as I sat there at 11pm at night in my not-yet-airconditioned apartment sweatily wrestling with some swedish piece of hardware that doubtless had a name like "Flarke" or "Malm" or "Bjornfiejordoaansaanschmeuller" yet didn't align properly over the psuedo-pre-drilled holes. curses, i thought, (and perhaps uttered aloud...)

While it's now assembled and looking keen there next to the fridge, I decided not to forgive the swedes for ABBA quite yet. that'll have to wait till after i try to assemble my wardrobe.

Sunday, July 03, 2005

Sun, 03 Jul 2005 19:04:43 GMT

Well, since I basically signed on so that I could read my sister's blog (and other family members) I haven't bothered to post anything. but, due to popular demand, here i am. 'tis a diabolical scheme by Xanga to make you sign up to read posts, then you have to post yourself. marketing genius, i tell you.

well, this weekend is another entry in adjusting to city life. i am in the process once again of moving boxes, throwing things away, and looking silly staggering up the stairs with something that i really should have waited till i had help before trying to move. but, no one else in our family has ever tried to move anything bigger than they should have (ahem, Dad? grand pianos anyone?) alas, my feats of strength were limited to a bookcase. But, anyway, i have loved my first month in the city; just a very different buzz of life here than in the suburbs (and no comments about this being the result of the secondhand smoke of some of the more "bohemian" residents of the neighborhood.) I love being able to hop on the el and be at the lake, art institute, michigan ave etc. in 15 minutes. it's great. plus, i'm going to a great church here downtown and have already met some really neat people. and, i have to tell you, getting moved in to my "final" apartment will be such a relief/joy/etc. it's soo much nicer than the other place - great view, ivy growing up the screens, nice redone bathroom, hardwood floors throughout, nice and bright... okay, who's coming to visit? do i have to go on? =) anyway, the only problem being is that i moved out of a communal apartment where i had very little furniture. so, i either have to pretend that the spartan conditions are part of some sort of ascetic/minimalist fashion statement, or i have to go buy some furniture. seeing as hardwood floors aren't very comfortable to sit on, i think it's off to buy some stuff time for me. =) methinks i'm going to go off to ikea this afternoon and purchase some inexpensive but functional scandinavian furniture. assembly is required but hey, i'm a handy dude.

sounds like a plan to me.

well thanks to all of you who posted comments on my non-existant/dormant blog; i don't have internet in the apartment but i do come down to the local coffee shop/wireless internet cafe and get online occasionally (and well, i guess i do surf at work occasionally... ssshh.)

i do enjoy keeping up with you guys on your blogs, and i'll try to be more timely with my updates.

cheers,

ryan