Poor Melissa! She left to catch her flight, and as it turns out – they canceled it. They scheduled her for a flight the next morning – and so she came back to crash for another night. While she was gone, I accidentally met up with my friend Mike – who was helping me get the AC up and running…
The one nice thing about "New Chinatown" is the statues depicting the various animals of the Chinese Zodiac. These things are fantastic, and were a blast to photograph. I’ve tried to take a picture of each sign, along with its description. The only "extra" picture in here is a close-up of a wasp’s nest, tucked into the bull’s horns (which…
Most of the stores in Chinatown are geared towards tourists. They sell crap, and a lot of it is kitsch. But I guess that’s what makes it so fun. This store had a "Cash Only" policy. I wanted to buy this for Justin’s birthday, whatever it was! But no such luck, as I only had plastic. :( Poetry. It’s in…
Dim Sum (I forget what the actual translation is) is a really cool meal. My family used to travel up to Chicago from Indianapolis on occasion, and we’d eat at a place called The Three Happiness. For Dim Sum, there’s not any one main course; it’s composed of a TON of little dishes, a combination of fried/steamed pastries. And when…
I decided to take the day off of work. Called in sick around 6 AM, and played hooky. Even though there was a good chance of rain, Melissa and I headed down to Chinatown to have lunch and to take pictures. A quick shot of Chinatown, from the main entrance on Cermak. Bamboo plants are considered very lucky. I’m…
Melissa showed up, and we talked well into the night. It was a good conversation, and I felt my stress fall away as we chatted more and more. To top it off, she got me this: What a fantastic gift! And to think, I was getting antsy and nervous before her arrival! And she brings this kind of present! Amazing!
Melissa’s going to crash here one more night, before her flight back to California tomorrow. In fact, she should be calling at any minute. I can feel myself getting a bit tense, and I really hope I’m not jerky when we’re hanging out. I think it’ll be good, though – once we start talking. Maybe we should rent a movie…
Signs No Left Turn Pretty
When I talk to Shari, she’s decided on having an early dinner. Her flight leaves at 7, so we’re going to meet at 4 at Leona’s, in Rogers Park. I plod around the house for a while, and end up at Leona’s a bit early. After waiting a good long while (I was worried that I had the wrong place),…
Earlier today, on our way to breakfast, Alex asked if I was agoraphobic. It’s an interesting question. I don’t tend to be someone who accepts "social" type diseases. Alex mentioned medication, but that thought is so far from my mind it’s not even funny. If I’m uncomfortable in public, I figure it’s something I just need to deal with, buck…
I get a call from Justin this morning around 11 AM. He invites me to breakfast, and I pick up Alex and Elissa en route. Everyone else was up until 4 or 5, I think… and Justin is surprisingly perky. Everyone is talking about going to the beach, white dunes in Indiana or something like that. I’ve never been, and…
I’ve got this weird thing about walking around at night. I don’t like doing it. I’m not sure where this comes from, but it’s been with me as long as I can remember. Maybe the movies have leached themselves too heavily into my subconscious. Maybe it has something to do with living in Indiana and Columbus, where random people would…
After living together for a long, long time.. Dave and Justin are getting their own places. Tonight is the big, BIG final farewell party. I’m planning on making it until breakfast. I’m not usually one to stay late, but I’m gonna try and break out of my hiding mode. It’s a dance party which is unfortunate… as I hate to…
Dave showed up here right at 8 AM, and we went to work. I’ve been trying to put shelves on my walls for some time, but seem to only make this rather large gouges into the wall. Dave is here to help, in exchange for me helping code his Flash site for him. Bartering is the only way to go….
Dave also needed to go to the Museum of Contemporary Art today, to pick up a mobile for his kid. Like me, Dave is practical and strives to be as efficient as possible. He asked if I wanted to go with, and MaryAnn and I tagged along for the ride. We went to the store, poked around (awesome stuff there),…