We ended up getting quoted something like $75-80 for a one day rental, which seemed way high. So we pulled out my iPad, got onto the airport WiFi, and looked around on Expedia. We found a good rate for a compact car through Enterprise… so we got in line.

At the counter, the girl we spoke with gave us a higher quote on a car. When I asked about the online price, she said they couldn’t match online prices. I asked if I could book online myself, then hop back into line; she was fine with that.

The newer rate from online was about $39. Kudos to Expedia, as I was able to confirm my reservation without having to sign in or enter CC info. I just did it “as a guest,” used an email address, and it was done in seconds.

In line, I gave the girl my card (it was a debit card). She then asked if we had just flown in to Florida. When I confirmed this, she said she needed to see a copy of our return flight info. We ended up stepping aside to track this info down.

Liz booked the tickets, but had problems getting in to her hotmail account to get the details we needed. We tried a few things for what seemed like 10 minutes without success. I finally went back to the girl and asked if it was absolutely necessary for her to see our return info, and she said it was a requirement for debit cards.

I paused, and then asked if I could just use a credit card instead. Apparently I could, and this did not require any return flight info. Not sure why she didn’t think to let us know this other option, as she could see we were struggling… but oh well. A few minutes later, we were off to the garage to pick up our car.

There, we met a nice guy who walked us to a newer Chevy Impala. He asked if this was ok, and we got a nice upgrade for free! I think there was a big backup prior to us arriving, as they guy thanked us for our patience. Liz was wondering later if the guy had been walking behind us, and overheard us talking about the girl at the counter.

Whatever the reasons we found out the guy was one of the bosses there, and he gave us this nicer car: leather interior, way more buttons than I’m used to in a vehicle, and way better than a compact.

As we were driving to our hotel (I think we circled the airport at least once trying to get out), the middle interior light would not shut off. We tried everything, and even went so far as to pull over to the side of the road near a toll booth. Eventually we gave up and drove the rest of the way to the hotel, lit from within.

After checking in at the front desk, we walked back to the car to see… the interior light was still on, after 10+ minutes. Having it on while driving was one thing, having it on while parked would have the battery dead by morning. We drove to the parking lot, parked, then called roadside assistance.

After several failed attempts (and being hung up on after waiting on hold), we got to talk with someone. She was looking through the owner’s manual, but every suggestion she offered we had already tried: turn the car off, lock the doors, shut all the doors, etc.

Eventually she advised us to just take out the lights manually. While we were parked, I tried holding the buttons in… but this ended up causing the buttons to go *into* the ceiling and kind of popped the light out a bit. Due to this, Liz was able to get at the light bulbs, and she essentially pulled out the wire feeding power to the lights.

This seemed to do the trick. But I guess we’ll see for sure, once we walk back out to the car this morning.

But hey – what vacation is fun without a little adventure?

Right now it’s 8:51AM Florida time. I’ve been up since 7, and browsing around for things to do in the area. I’m sitting in bed, Liz is asleep next to me, and I can hear the other rooms on our floor slowly waking to the day.

There is a pool here. There is also a bar a the pool that is here. This is one of the options I may present to my wife, when she wakes. Although if we end up doing this… it makes me question why we got a car in the first place.

I found a few destinations we can look at, over breakfast. Maybe we can save that pool bar for tomorrow.

Times like this, I feel like I should have a guest blogger take over.

I’m going to shoot for one post a day, but it’ll likely be brief. Next post will be from down south!

Julie, shooting video and sending it via her new Android phone. Posted for posterity!

Bob and Julie are currently en route to Florida in my car, which we loaned them thinking it would be more comfortable than Bob’s truck. They’re visiting family along the way, but Liz and I are headed to Florida soon to meet up with them.

I guess these questions aren’t limited to things that actually happened in classrooms. Let’s say that anything that happened during that timeframe, either in or out of school, is fair game.

1. What’s something that happened to you in elementary school?
2. What’s something that happened to you in middle school?
3. What’s something that happened to you in high school?

———

What’s something that happened to you in elementary school?
I had a terrible crush on a girl named Kim Gustafson. I think this was around 4th grade (at Spring Mill Elementary), though I can’t recall a specific teacher or classroom setting. I do remember that we used to sit close to one another at one point (her last name was Gustafson, my last name was Jung).

I don’t have a clear memory of her before 4th grade, or after that. Maybe this was around in 5th grade, but I can’t be sure. I do know that once middle school kicked in (when a lot of kids split off to different schools), I lost track of her. I never saw her again, even when the area kids met up again in high school.

Kim had brown hair, bangs, and was missing her two front teeth (I think) during the fourth grade. The memories I have of her are very specific… nothing beyond a single year or two in elementary school. I always wondered what had happened to her, and how she just kind of “disappeared” from my memory. I’m guessing her family simply moved away from Indianapolis at some point, but looking back it feels like she was there… and then suddenly was gone.

Years later, while I was getting my MFA in Creative Writing, I found myself thinking back and wondering what ever happened to her. I tried to write a poem about her – it was something mostly dealing with memory and time, but scrapped it after several failed attempts.

What’s something that happened to you in middle school?
There was this thing called Lincoln Essays that many of us got to participate in. I think I was working on this during 7th 8th grade (thanks, Jukka), while attending Westlane Middle School in Mr. Crumley’s Social Studies class. At the time, a few of us got to go to a separate room during his class time to… I’m not sure what. Work on our essays. Do research. Something like that. Whatever it was, we got to go to a separate location and were on our own for the duration of the class period.

My friend Craig Thompson and I used part of that time to roam the halls and got into various bits of mischief. Our walks always took us by the school bookstore (which was a glorified closet with a half-door). The bookstore itself was fairly modest and sold basic school supplies: notebooks and folders, that kind of thing. On the countertop, there were always an assortment of pencils and pens sitting out.

I think it was Henry Karlson who was always working at the bookstore, when Craig and I came by. It’s shameful to admit this, but… Craig and I would ask Henry about prices for things on the shelves and then steal items while his back was turned. We stole a fair amount.

I think somebody caught wind to what was happening, because after a while… the bookstore stopped placing items on the countertop.

I feel badly about this, and don’t know whether Henry got into trouble on our account. I’ve never talked to him about this, but feel like I owe him an apology. I’m not friends with Henry on Facebook, but perhaps I should seek him out.

During that time we were supposed to be working on our Lincoln Essays, I also took a screwdriver and popped off the Girls Locker Room sign near the gym. I kept this hidden for a long while, and eventually brought it to someone’s birthday party. I was a little embarrassed and ended up giving the sign away to someone else at the party. That person eventually paraded it around and took credit for what I had done (which bummed me out, since I didn’t have the balls to claim my own work).

Eventually, Craig and I got caught while we were out and about, roaming the hallways. It was Mr. Crumley, actually, who caught us. The words I recall him saying to me and Craig were: I am so pissed. This was an incredibly disturbing thing to experience – being in 8th grade and having a grown man curse at you.

I was alone at the time, and was ordered to find Craig and rerun to class immediately. There, we sat under the chalkboard, our backs to the wall, facing the rest of the kids. I remember feeling a profound sense of shame. We were then ordered to write a 1,000 or 1,500 word essay explaining what in the heck we were doing with our time. I don’t recall what I wrote down, but I’m sure it was an essay with about 1,499 words full of BS. I would absolutely love to be able to read that essay, today.

// Edit: As a side note – I wrote a poem called Social Studies, based on another experience in Mr. Crumley’s, that I have yet to share. Something I should post up some day here.

What’s something that happened to you in high school?
There was a tradition (which I hope is still active) at North Central High School called Senior Skip Day. This was close to the end of the school year, and a day when Seniors would kind of have their way about the school. It was a day where Seniors might show up early to set up pranks – release crickets, put vaseline on doorknobs, that kind of thing. Usually, the Seniors would hang around for the first hour or so, but then basically ditch out en masse on the rest of the day.

For my Senior year, I recall actually putting on a dress and pretending to be pregnant. Surprisingly, this whole event is kind of hazy to me… and I really wish I had some photos to share, documenting what happened. If memory serves I had a Cabbage Patch Kid stuffed into my dress, and kind of wandered around the main atrium area (near the entrance) at the start of the day.

This area was pretty large – it was in front of the school’s auditorium, and also had a balcony area on the second floor. So if you can imagine it, the space was a really open one. I had a friend with me (but can’t remember exactly who this was), and we had some kind of signal worked out. At a set time, I walked out to the center of the area and yelled something about my water breaking.

On queue, my friend (was it Craig? Kevin?) yelled out to everyone: He’s going in to labor! He’s going to have a baby!. I think I may have been sitting down on the ground at this point, because the next thing I know… several other friends are shouting similar things, and I was suddenly group-lifted onto a nearby table or platform.

More people had gathered due to the noise, both on the ground floor and along the balcony, looking down. Somehow, everyone seemed to understand that: hey, look, that asian guy with long hair is delivering a baby. A thudding chant of Push! Push! filled the air, coming from the onlookers from both floors and this seemed to go on for a solid minute.

Finally, someone pulled the baby from under my dress and held it up to the crowd, a move that would pre-date The Lion King by a full two years. There was thunderous applause and much cheering, from what felt like the entire student body.

Man, what I wouldn’t give for some photos of that day.

So… any stories you’d like to share? No need to ramble on as long as mine, I just kind of got into a groove there. Curious to hear about other people’s school days!

[CC photo via Leo Reynolds]

Funny thing – we both remembered the website being yellow. I did a little digging, and found the name of the movie: 32 Hours, 7 Minutes.

// Side note: I also tracked down my original blog post from back in 2004 (in a time before YouTube existed). Craziness.

The documentary’s name is the US transcontinental speed record set in 1983 during the US Express, a secretive race from New York to LA. A successor to the famous Cannonball Run, drivers were essentially breaking the law nonstop, driving as fast as they could across the United States.

Think about this for a second: the race is across the US, and the drivers don’t stop for anything. Maybe gas, definitely not cops. Most cars have scanners that are tuned to police frequencies, and if cops catch wind of them… the drivers either evade the police, or try to outrun them.

Mike identified the money quote from the movie trailer:

A totally crazy and random thing I missed the first time around: legendary video game creator Will Wright (SimCity, The Sims) not only participated in the race in 1980… but he freaking won.

Check out him talking about his win, and also showing off his gear.

The one bummer is that despite me hearing about this film back in 2004… it’s still not done. The site’s been updated to use WordPress, and I see some fairly recent comments/replies. So I guess that’s a positive sign. Hard to know whether that “coming soon” note in the site masthead is for real, or whether it’s been there for a few years.

There’s a Facebook page that has had a lot of recent activity… so maybe there’s hope to be had yet.

Funny that a documentary focusing on so much on speed has taken this long to get made. For now, all us fans are doing what all the drivers were doing so many years ago – squirming in our seats, quietly muttering: Come ON, come ON.

Related:
Warrior Dash: Mike And Phil To Sign Up
Journey To The End Of The Night – 2011
Death Race: 24 Hour Challenge Involving Tree Stumps, Memorization And Legos

Every story can be broken down
into elements of timing and space:
man goes on a trip, man comes to town.

Odysseus sailed his way around
the world while Penelope was chaste.
Every story can be broken down.

Orpheus, hearing nothing but the sound
of footsteps, turned around to face
Eurydice, and walked back to town

alone. Oedipus lost his eyes and crown
soon after he felt his mother’s embrace.
Every story can be broken down

into its smaller parts of lost and found
and lost again, each king replaced
by another from another town

nearby. Adam, crafted from the ground
in Eden, eventually fell from grace.
Every story can be broken down:
man goes on a trip, man comes to town.

———

Related:
Flash Experiment: One Fiction

The Sitting Room

I know that Renny and Nate were getting the studio and had opened their doors a while ago… but had heard her website was still under construction. I know Chris was working on helping to build things out, and I found out today that the website is officially up!

To get a sense of her work, you can look through several galleries on the site. Although be warned: a few photos are a touch NSFW.

It’s beautifully illustrated, and quite amazing in its ability to pull you so quickly (and often) from the present to the past. I found another site that posted this, and this version may be easier to read.

One odd thing I’ll mention. Maybe it’s my monitor, maybe it’s these posted images. But everything looks fine in the comic save for the last page, where the ink and colors seem to get a little… blurry.

Excuse me.

[via MetaFilter]

Related:
Nothing is Forgotten

We arrived a little early as we were able to slip inside to take photos, prior to the crowds arriving. It’s funny to think that the first time we were here… I was the only one taking pictures. Now, both Liz and I have cameras in our hands – and we’re both taking photos for our respective websites.

At the entrance, I happened to look down at the email signup form and noticed a QR code! I made a note to myself to follow up with Libby and Katherine, to find out why they decided to go the QR route… and whether it’s been a help or a hindrance. Will be curious to see whether they’re tracking the QR code interactions, or if they get a lot of questions from folks who don’t know what it is.

The event this time spanned two floors, and so Liz and I made are way up to the 6th floor. I walked past the event area and checked out a little nearby corridor. Looking out the window, there was a nice view of nearby rooftops and the Chicago skyline in the distance.

One of many placards, adorning the walls throughout the Dank Haus. Thanks to WIkipedia, I now know that Mecklenburg-Vorpommern is a federal state in nothern Germany, and that this image is part of the official coat of arms.

The sixth floor, a large open area with bakery items and several vendors.

Looking back towards the entrance. The sunlight coming in through the windows was pretty amazing, as the whole area had a very warm feel to it.

I hate to say it, but I ended up staying on the 5th floor for the remainder of the event. I was planning on coming back up to check out the vendors, but never did.

Entrance to the 5th floor.

A quick scan of the room, as vendors are setting up.

I talked about this the last time we were here, but the space itself is amazing. I’m not sure if it was here in 2010, but… disco ball!

Another food area, with pastries from Puffs of Doom and Antique Taco.

A photo area, set up by Smilebooth.

Light coming in from the eastern windows, illuminating the side room near the entrance.

A few folks from artefacto, setting up some signage.

Liz, taking some photos for her site.

I’ve taken photos of this doorway before, but it warrants another. Such a cool, cool space.

Close to noon, I ventured back downstairs to check out the folks lining up outside.

Gift bags (complete with coupons) were available to the first 100 people.

Folks at the entrance, getting ready to open the doors.

I spotted another QR code, different from the one used on the email form. This one led to a map of the vendors, which I thought was a pretty nice touch.

Jerome, from Apartment 528. Earlier, he had tried to get out of the way of a photo I was taking… and told me he assumed I didn’t want a shot of him and his boxes. He was wrong.

Also, thanks to this photo, I learned that the 5th floor area is called the Marunde Grand Ballroom, named after Emil Marunde. I wasn’t able to find much on the guy in my quick searches, beyond this photo of him.

I didn’t see any signs nearby, but it was readily apparent to me that this stuff belonged to Manly Vintage. A few moments later, Morgan came up to say hello. I think we had both forgotten one another’s name, but remembered meeting at the Holiday Bazaar a few months ago.

Dig the Einstein bust in the top right corner! Totally missed that when I was there.

Not sure why I fixated on this, but I’m assuming this was a bayonet.

As I turned around, I happened to see an assortment of colorful lampshades.

An old Old Chicago can. See what I did there?

In hindsight, I should have gotten this skull. It seems like it would be a nice piece to set on a desk, sort of like a paperweight memento mori.

Just outside the booth, a 1965 Gibson GA-45 RVT amp.

Nearby, at Houndstooth Vintage, I spotted a few old buttons (with photographs). The white button has a small name at the bottom: Photomaton, which led me to this great tumblr blog.

A check printer from artefacto. Seeing this, I couldn’t help but think of Frank Abagnale. For the briefest of moments, I imagined myself purchasing this item, printing fake checks in a hotel room somewhere.

I only had $40 on me, and would have had to ask Liz for the extra five bucks. And would have also had to explain my plans in greater detail. I decided to pass.

An old Super 8 projector. Also thinking that in hindsight, I should have bought this. Old projectors make me want to go back and digitize all the old film my parents have, just so it’s preserved in another format.

A beautiful old Corona typewriter, complete with case.

A closer shot, because I know you wanted to see it closer.

A patron, looking through some of the prints available from fine art pro.

Another patron looking over a large assortment of smaller items at FoundRe:.

Looking up, I spotted a memory jug. I don’t know that I’ve ever seen one of these before in person, but recall seeing a few mentioned on Antiques Roadshow.

A closeup of some of the items adorning the jug.

A set of descriptive glasses over at Apartment 528.

The unfortunate “One for the Road” glass.

I spoke with Jerome briefly about these glasses, and learned they were from 1962.

A few other items from the booth. The couch/cushions had recently been re-upholstered, and apparently sold a few minutes after the event began.

Can I give you a hand with that?

I was surprised to see them selling film for $1, but realized quickly that the canisters were empty. Seeing them though, gave me a momentary desire to want to purchase found film.

A few nearby projectors.

Some very large light bulbs on sale. I’m sure they were being sold as decorative pieces, but it made me wonder where they could possibly have come from.

A lot of artwork, posted along the wall of the Take 2 Vintage booth.

In particular, I liked this one a great deal – a warning/info poster, should London flood.

A view of the room, taken from the stage.

More old cameras and projectors!

An old Brownie Special from the ’30s.

A Polaroid 95 Land Camera, Circa 1948 – 53. Seemed like a steal to get everything (the case, the funky light bulbs) for $55.

There were a lot more than just camera at the jenstyle booth, but I ended up fixating on that stuff mostly.

Some used books at the booth run by Faythe Levine. I asked for her card, which has a variety of URLs on it. The one she circled was the one for Sky High Gallery.

A nearby sign on sale. I love the look on the train’s face (and the kid’s). As I was kneeling down to photograph this, a guy was literally picking it up to purchase the sign. He was kind enough to let me take a few photos before it became his.

Faythe with the patron who’s purchasing the sign. I snapped this photo because I wanted to note how many vendors seemed to have a Square Card Reader installed on their phones.

This reminded me of a TechCrunch article from last year, where I learned that Square is processing $11 Million a day in mobile payments. It’s kind of mind-boggling to think about that, but it’s what flashed in my head watching this transaction take place.

A man contemplates the world before him.

There were an assortment of odd items at the Open Door Studio booth that drew me in. A lot of odd items that just seemed to be abstractly neat.

Case in point these little test tubes with stuff inside them. I think they were maybe tiny buttons or clasps of some kind. They just looked kind of neat, but I’ve no idea what I would have done with them.

A strange flash marked #9.

A set of bound books. Again, they looked super old and for some reason… I just kind of wanted them.

I didn’t see a ton of them, but there were a few older slides available. I fought the impulse to purchase this stuff, mostly because it would be difficult for me to view. But these slides have the same draw as old photographs: they’re parts of a story that I will likely never know.

Part of the “III gang.” Holy Ghost Convent, Techny, ILL. SUN APR 24, 1955.

The Bummertown booth (though we didn’t get to catch Liz Rench).

Some clothing (along with a pretty awesome Lender’s Bagels’ bag).

After making the rounds, Liz and I settled in the food area for a quick snack. We had a few delicious pastries from Puffs of Doom.

Related:
Vintage Bazaar, Pilsen, 2011
Vintage Bazaar, Congress Theater, 2011
Vintage Bazaar, Holiday Pop-Up Shop, 2011
Vintage Bazaar, Congress Theater, 2010
Vintage Bazaar, Lincoln Square 2010

Looking down the hallway towards the kitchen.

Folks gathered near the front of the apartment. For the first half of the evening, most of us gathered near the kitchen area. Over time and as more folks arrived, the front rooms became the place to be.

I got into an interesting discussion with Nadine (who runs a silk screen printing business) about original works, attribution, and the challenges introduced by technology.

Rob shared a few sketches he was working on, for inclusion in an upcoming book: Chicago Stories.

And a preview copy of the book! Inside, it was cool to see a few of his drawings… and a few blank/placeholder pages, where future drawings would be placed.

A shot of the birthday cake. Elton John, eat your heart out.

// Edit: As an aside, looking back on this now, I’m reminded of my conversation with Nadine and am thinking about Clay Shirky’s video on SOPA.

During the evening, as Liz and I were chatting with folks in the living room… Rob stopped by to share the first issue of The Chicagoan, newly resurrected!

L to R it’s Liz, Marci, Jim and Jen. Though they’re around students who are very much plugged into Facebook, Jim and Jen have actively elected to keep their distance from social media. All of us got into some really interesting conversations about technology, social media, and photography.

I also got to talk with Aaron a bit more. I found out more about his role with The Interrupters, and was reminded that it’s airing on PBS/FRONTLINE on February 14th. I also learned that Aaron is currently working on editing a film about Muhammad Ali.

It was a fun night at Rob and Gretchen’s place. They have some incredibly interesting, smart and creative friends… and it was a blast chatting with everyone.

Related:
Rob’s Rookery Print, Spotted Downtown
Rob Funderburk Mural At Nomadic Studio, DePaul University Art Museum
Rob Funderburk, Third Coast Short Docs Challenge: Book Odds