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...
So, when Josh got back to the table, I asked him where he had gotten the shirt. It turns out that Crown Point, IN, has a place called The Conservative Cafe. ("Coffee served RIGHT.")
Happy Birthday to Barry! 
So, last week, Lee made a recipe that is one of his family's favorites. They call it Judy's Recipe (after their aunt Judy). It is super cheap to make and ends up being really tasty. However, I'm not sure that it is good for those watching their carbs... 
Last weekend, Lee & I made the trek over to Elk Grove Village to watch Jon Camp marry his girlfriend (fiance) Jessica. 
Somehow I didn't get a good picture of Jon & Jessica together, so here is a pic of Jon & the boys. 
And here is a pic of Jessica (w/ Jon in the background & Monica). The meal was good, the bar was open (top shelf, sweet) and the bride & groom were a little toasted before the reception started (Jon was carrying around a bottle of vodka). It was great to see quite a few ex-co-workers, especially Neema, Jake, Brandon W & Brandon S. 
I couldn't get a real good pic of the dj's, but they were a sight to see. They had choreographed dances to most the songs and often times a costume to go with it. It was slightly entertaining, slightly annoying, but 100% I-can't-stop-watching-it's-like-a-car-wreck... At one point they played the song "Play that funky music white boy" while wearing huge afro wigs and disco clothing. Wow. 
