PERSONAL Beware The Ides Of March... Again
It seems like every year I say the same thing, but this year is different. This year, I really do have to be wary of the middle of March. At the end of March, I'll be moving out of my home for the past two and a half years--and into Chelsey's apartment. The move makes financial sense and emotional sense... and I'm not really having problems with it mentally. What I'm having trouble with is packing stuff up and moving it. Chelsey and I are still basically using my apartment as our home... and so it's difficult to pack things up while we're still using them. I've been practically freaking out all month, trying to figure out what I can take to Chelsey's... and how I was going to get everything moved--with Chelsey working so much--basically by myself. As such, things like blogging have been put to the wayside as I focus my time and energy on packing things and throwing stuff away, etc. After two and a half years (the longest I've ever lived by myself), things build up... and there are all sorts of things that are hidden or tucked away in my apartment which I now have to go through. Two and a half years... as long as I've been in this city... this has been my home. Beyond the difficulty of packing, the realization that I'm moving someplace new in this city is the hardest part for me. Probably because I didn't think I'd live here that long... in all honesty, I thought I'd try this--fail--and have to figure something else out within a year (two tops). But I'm here, in Chicago... and this is home.
PERSONAL Two Years
Monday, March 13, marked the two year anniversary of my site meter. Two years and over eighteen thousand hits later... and I'm still bitching about life. And someone out there is still bored enough to read it. Or still cares enough to read it. And that is truly humbling. Thank you. Thank you all.
PERSONAL Let's Go Red Wings!
About two months ago, Chelsey and I were looking online at Blackhawks tickets. I have never been to an NHL game before and, with the Blackhawks tickets now only $10 for nose-bleed seats, I figured this year was the time to do it. So I mentioned it to Chelsey and we started looking at tickets online. We saw that the Hawks were playing my beloved Wings in Mid-March... so we looked for tickets. The first thing I did was look at the "best available" seats, just because it lets you. When I looked at "best available," there were two tickets available in the 108 section, on one of the corners. The seats were very near the ice. Like, oh I don't know, ROW 6!!! I didn't want to put up the money for it... but Chelsey asked how many times we thought we'd be going to hockey games and, for a once a year kind of thing, it would be worth it. So we did it! The game was this past Sunday night. Chelsey and I went to the Hawks/Wings game via the CTA... which was actually pretty amazing. On Hawks or Bulls game nights, the 19 bus is the United Center express. It goes from downtown's El stops directly to the United Center... and was a nice, clean bus. But enough about mass transit, it was an amazing game! Detroit won 5-3--Datsyuk and Schneider each with a goal and two assists. Detroit scored two minutes into the game and had scored three goals by seven minutes in... so Chelsey and I thought it was going to be a blow-out! But the Hawks pulled Khabibulin after the third goal and, down 3-0 with the backup goalie in the game, the Blackhawks calmed down. Chelsey and I were lucky because our section of the crowd seemed to be only Wings fans. The "Let's Go Red Wings" chant was actually louder than "Let's Go Blackhawks." The Chicago fans, ever classy, ended up pulling out "Detroit still sucks" in the second period (which they stole from Packers fans who chant "Bears still suck" whenever they play, and the Bears win). Regardless, the game was an awesome experience... and Chelsey and I loved every second of it (especially the part when I yelled "Nice shot Shanny" to Brendan Shanahan and then pretended he had heard me. What do you mean pretended? He heard me... please?).
PERSONAL I'm A Terrible Person... WEEE!!!!
Tuesday afternoon, when I was walking back from lunch with Chelsey, a random girl tried to stop me. Here is the conversation.
Random Girl: "Hey, how's it going?"
Me: "Hey."
RG: "Can I talk to you for a second?"
Me: "Nope."
I noticed that she had the same wind breaker that someone else on the corner was wearing. That person's jacket said something like "Save the Starving Children from a horrible death in the third world you Middle-Class Heartless bastard." Something like that... I think it was more succinct on the jackets, though. Regardless, even if she had identified herself as someone from the "Give money to Children" fund, I wouldn't have listened to her pitch. I don't care who you are or what you're doing... when I'm on the streets of Chicago, do NOT try to stop me to talk to me. I, frankly, don't care. When I'm walking through the downtown, on a weekday at lunch, there are much more important (richer) looking people you should be hitting up for money. What about my baseball hat and "Qudoba" cup says to you, "Hey, this guy must have enough money to help children?" or whatever. Monday night, actually, I was saying good-bye to Katy and her family and some black man came up to all of us, but said "Excuse me, sir?" Why ask me? Because he figured by asking me in front of women I wouldn't want to loose face and would, in fact, give him money. What he didn't take into account is that: 1) I don't have a job and don't have money and; 2) I wasn't trying to impress any of those women. The guy actually said "excuse me, sir" about five times... before I crossed the street and left him. I thought he was going to keep following me until I acknowledged him... but that would have just made me mad. As I've gone longer and longer without a job... I become more angry towards people asking me for money. Is it because I'm white... is that why you think I've got money? Is it because I'm a balding white male... so I must be a certain age, with extra cash on me and job security? That prejudice makes me angry... so, no... I don't care what you're asking me money for (which is the only reason people stop you on the street) I don't have money for you, so get the phuk away from me. (Angry! hooray!)