Sweet Home Chicago

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Last weekend Lee, T and I made the trek back up to Chicago to visit with the Reuter family. I am amazed at how much that city has changed since I left 3 years ago. I guess a lot has changed in our two families as well. We went from two couples of newlyweds to new parents to now, the proud parents of (gulp) toddlers. The last time that the girls met neither was even able to crawl, so this was really the first time they were going to get to PLAY!

When we got there Sam was taking a nap. Taryn was amazed at all the toys lying around. I think she was thinking Michelle and Andy were awfully nice to stock their apartment for her visit. She was pleasantly surprised when Sam woke up. Sam was a little drowsy still. Meanwhile, Taryn tried to break the ice by offering Sam some crackers.
Sam let Taryn try on her new cowboy boots. Taryn couldn't walk in them though. She looked like the tin man.

We took the girls over to the park nearby with some brewski's in the cooler. The park was awesome and I was so impressed with how many kids their age were there. Down here it seems most the kids at the parks are quite a bit older than T and Sam. While I think some of the parents might have questioned our not-so-well-disguised beer cans, I did hear one mom say "Now that's my kind of play group." Awesome!

Andy tested the durability of some of the playground equipment. It survived. On the way back, we nearly got arrested for having open containers... Ok, not really. A cop just looked at us for a long time. I think he was trying to decide whether they were in fact open containers or not. In the long run, I think he figured 5 adults with 2 strollers probably wasn't that much of a threat.

Sam gave Taryn quite a few hugs... Which turned into more of a tackle. Which usually ended up with Taryn falling on Sam. The hug part was adorable though.

Taryn and Sam spent a good 10 minutes comparing bellies. They're both awfully adorable and round.

Sam was a wonderful hostess, as were her parents. It is always nice visiting a house that is already stocked with all the baby necessities!!

Sam even shared her books and her rocking chair with Taryn. And lots of laughs.

They even shared... Whatever this is that they are doing here. It involved wearing random pairs of shoes and hats... And blankets. Goofy little girls!

Thank you to the Reuter's for being such hospitable guests! And thanks to Fubar for drinking with us at the playground!! I'm still cracking up at his phone call with Kari, "I'm here tailgating at the park..."

We had a great time and hope we all can hang out very soon!

Happy Pulaski Day!

I just said that to Lee and he said: What is Pulaski Day? (click on the link to find out) aka, a reason for Chicago Public Schools to have yet another Monday off. In case MLK Day and Presidents' Day wasn't enough...

This makes me think of an old story from WAY back when I was an intern. The scene was 7 years ago. It was me, Josh Flowers, Sean Everett and Brian Kowalski. We had just arrived at the Philly airport and a car was supposed to be waiting for us under Brian's name.

Josh to Brian: What's your last name? Pulaski?
Brian: No. It's Kowalski.
Josh: Oh, I knew it started with a P.

My own Top 5...

After commuting to downtown Chicago for 5 years from various locations in the city and now in Indiana, I have come to really question the intelligence of most the population. And really, have come to dislike random people that I encounter on the streets during my commute. Here I have broken down my top 5 pet peaves while commuting in the city.

5. BIKES - I know bikes are all eco-friendly and crap, but I hate them in the city. The worst thing about them is that they want the benefits of being a car AND the benefits of being a pedestrian. They want to use the road when convenient, then hop over to the sidewalk. They never want to obey the stop lights/signs OR the walk/don't walk signs. Plus, they run people over all the time or come close to it. I have been hit by a bike before and I wanted to beat the crap out of the biker.

4. UMBRELLAS - The only thing that keeps umbrellas from being higher on the list is that it doesn't rain on a daily basis. But, as soon as it starts sprinkling, people put their umbrellas up and turn into morons. It's like they don't realize that they now need to allow for a larger radius of space so that the umbrella doesn't smack people in the head. Not to mention, those nice little pokey things on the umbrellas that are right at eye level for a 5'6" girl. Then, when you add wind, you have umbrellas flying around, hitting people even more. And just generally slowing the flow of traffic down. It has to really be pouring to see me using an umbrella. I wish more people would follow my lead.

3. THE AISLE SEAT HOG - Oh, just thinking about these people gets me fired up. These are the people on the train that sit on the aisle seat with their bag taking up the window seat. ARE YOU F-ING KIDDING ME? Look around. The train is full. What makes YOU so special that your bag needs a seat. And I should stand for a 1/2 hour so your bag can kick up its feet and relax? Then, when you ask to sit down in their bag's seat, they act like you just asked for a kidney. This was one thing on the El where many people are only on the train for 10 minutes or so. On the South Shore, once you get on downtown, the first stop isn't for 30 long minutes. I think the driving equivalent of these people are those jerks who will pass a WHOLE LINE of people in the shoulder of the road and then cut back into the traffic. Because wherever they are going is so much more important than where the other 5 million of us are going.

2. THE ZIG-ZAG WALKERS & ABRUPT STOPPERS - These people make it pretty high on the list because they are so prevalent. As a 5'6" girl, you would not think that I would walk faster than most the commuters on the streets, but somehow, they just walk that slow. Maybe they aren't anxious to get to work, and who can blame them. I'm anxious to get to work so I can leave work. That is my thinking! I can't imagine how many people someone like Clint (who is 6'9") has to deal with passing. The zig-zag walkers are those slow-moving people that you come up behind and try to pass, but you can't because they can't walk in a remotely straight line. You try to pass on the left, they zag left. You try to pass on the right, they zig right. If they weren't so oblivious, you would think they were doing it on purpose. The abrupt stoppers are the ones that you're walking behind and then they just throw on the brakes. UM, there's a flow of pedestrian traffic behind you. It's like throwing on the brakes in the middle of the interstate for no reason. You're going to get rear-ended. I wish these people would just do the most simple of things. Move to the edge of the sidewalk, THEN stop.

1. THE 5-WIDE SIDEWALK WALKERS - This is also a pretty prevalent group of annoying people. What makes this number 1 is that it takes multiple oblivious people. How do they find each other and come together? These are the groups of people (sometimes groups of 2, 3 or more) that walk in a straight line that takes up the whole sidewalk. And then, when traffic comes from the other direction, THEY DON'T MOVE. Now, there is no reason that your group of 6 can't walk in 3 lines of 2. You're going to have your whole lunch hour to talk about how drunk Joe was at happy hour on Friday. When walking to lunch, just deal with the fact that you might have to walk 2 feet behind the person so that you aren't a big stupid sidewalk clog. And if the sidewalks are empty, fine. Walk 5-wide. But, if there are people coming, let them by. Don't force them to pass you out on the streets.

What posessed me to write this? Yesterday I encountered #'s 1, 2, 3 & 5 on my commute. Yeah, it was an annoying day to say the least! At least it wasn't raining...

Worst... Commute... Ever!

I thought that my day was going to be a good one when it started. When I got my Jimmy Dean breakfast sandwich out of the freezer, it had an extra piece of sausage! That has to be a sign of a good day starting! But then... The commute started!

Apparently almost every road in NW Indiana is closed right now due to flooding. This includes 80/94 and I-65. I did see a lot of standing water during my drive and the rivers & streams are all almost touching the bottom of the bridges. It is pretty crazy!

Here is a rundown of my commute this morning:

5:45am - Leave my house. Head to I-65.
5:55am - Hmmm. The ramp to I-65 North is closed. WTF? I pull a U-turn and head back to 231 North.
6:10am - Get up to SR2. I hit a stop sign and every direction except for the one I came from is closed. Not good. I drive past one of the signs.
6:15am - There's a truck blocking the road. I guess they mean business. Otherwise I would totally be one of those people that tries to cross the high water and gets swept away in their car. I ask the dude standing there if there is anyway to get to Chicago. He tells me to take a detour over to 41 North.
6:30am - I decide to take 55 North to Crown Point.
6:50am - 55 is treating me well. I'll continue on until Merrillville.
7:05am - Get to Merrillville. Take 30 West. At this point, I am planning to take 30 over to 394 North.
7:10am - Radio says that people are getting directed onto 394 South. Ruh Roh.
7:15am - Decide to take 41 north.
7:16am - 8am - STANDSTILL TRAFFIC ON 41 NORTH. Apparently since all the roads in Indiana are closed, everyone has to take either 90 West or 41 North into the city. Not good.
8:03am - Get to the exit for 80/94 West. It appears to be open... I'm going for it!!
8:05am - WOW. There is no one on this road. It is kind of creepy. I'm flying! I see a sign that says 45 minutes to get to the Loop. Ugh!
8:20am - We hit the traffic from 90 West. Ouch.
8:45 - Finally, I get to the parking lot.
9am - I'm at my desk. And it only took me 3.25 hours to get here. OUCH!

I am praying that the trip home is not this bad!!!

Update: The ride home was WORSE. I left work at 5:15 and didn't get home until 8:45pm. Worst day ever! If the roads aren't open Thursday, there is no way I'm going in to the office.

Some Pissed Off Bikers

We're going to have some pissed off bikers this afternoon on Franklin street. For a few weeks now, these motorcycles (and scooters) have been parking on the side of the road right next to Ploth & Stacia's building across from the Chipotle. I walked by and thought, "Wow, that is nice. They get great gas mileage and get to park RIGHT next to work FOR FREE!" It seemed too good to be true. Apparently the City of Chicago thought the same thing. (I'm sure they're just mad that they aren't somehow making money off of it.) Today when I got back from getting my lunch, the cops had a big trailer out there and they are lifting each bike onto it. There are probably a good 12 bikes out there. So, when the owners get done with work and come out to hop on their motorcycles and head off to celebrate their 4th of July... They are in for a rude awakening. That totally sucks!!

Speaking of sucks, sorry the picture sucks. It was taken with my phone AND I was too lazy to walk across the road and actually get a closer pic.