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wSep 25, 2006 | |
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Chicago. 'Set Condition 2 throughout the ship.' So, this was the weekend that I went to Chicago. I kind of suck at recapping vacations, so please try to ignore that, :) I overslept Saturday morning, but still somehow got ready in time. I don't want to bore you with the details, but overall the trip was pretty awesome. Chad and I split up the driving, partly so that neither of us had to drive the entire way, and partly so that I didn't have to drive in Chicago. We picked Kristy up at this train station right next to the Magnificent Mile. The place we stayed at this weekend was the house of a couple who are friends with Kristy's grandma, and also happen to be the nicest people ever. They live in a suberb, so when we went into the city, we took a train that only cost $5 for the entire weekend. So, on Saturday, after getting Kristy, we stopped at the house we were staying at. The people we were staying with were Jim and Nancy, and Chad, Antoine, and I went downstairs to view Jim's impressive miniature train set. It literally takes up the entire basement - multiple rooms, multiple levels of track on which the trains can ride, all through miniature towns and scenery. It was really cool! We took the train back into the city and ate pizza for lunch. Antoine and I split a stuffed pizza containing an absolutely disgusting amount of cheese. After that, we split off into pairs. Antoine and I went to the Art Institute, which was pretty awesome, as it always is. After that, we got caught in a torrential downpour out on the sidewalk, with no awnings or structural overhangs in sight. We just kind of stood still under the umbrella. The bottom half of my jeans, my socks, and my shoes were soaking wet for the rest of the night. My shirt dried relatively quickly, though, so I guess that's good. We did some shopping, and then met up with my friend Eric (yes, the one who lived next door to me) and his girlfriend Jamie, which was nice, as I hadn't seen Eric since he moved to Rockford. After waiting around for a while, we met Jeremy, who we went to high school with, who took us to a very nice Mexican restaurant for dinner. After that, we said good-bye to Jeremy, Eric, and Jamie, and tried to catch the commuter train that left at 10:30 to get back to the house. We missed the train, and the next train did not leave until 12:30. We killed time in the train station. I was not very perturbed at having missed the train, but I think I was the only one of the 4 who felt this way, :) Sunday morning, Nancy (the woman whose house we were staying in) took the four of us out for a really good breakfast - feta cheese omelette, OMF. On Sunday, we parked my car downtown (found $8 parking!) and basically just walked around in some parks. We saw the most elaborate fountain I've ever seen, and I did concede that if I should happen to die, it will be permissable to erect such a fountain in my memory. The lawn at Millenium Park was very warm and inviting, and Antoine and I laid down there and slept for an hour. Aren't cities awesome like that? We were probably 30 feet from the street and the traffic and the stores, but all I could feel was the sun. Pwn. We then ate some food at Panera, because we obviously needed to eat more food, and then dropped Kristy off at her train station (early, so she wouldn't miss it!). Our car was loaded with food - I had brought a box of Goldfish crackers for the rides, Chad had brought a bag of trips for Kristy that she didn't want to take back on the train, Nancy had given us a large box of gourmet cookies (that tasted absolutely delicious), and a box of some muffins as well. I felt absolutely disgusting all weekend from having eaten so much food. Seriously, wow. For this week, I vow to still eat good food, but to drink obscene amounts of water to get rid of the weekend's gluttonous activities. All in all, it was a nice weekend. I got to see friends I hadn't seen for a while. I got to spend a lot of time with Antoine, which is obviously pretty awesome. Oh! I'm not even finished yet - about halfway through our ride home, I decided to call my sister's house and see what was up. Everyone I talked to on the phone (Kevin, Julie, two of their children) wanted to know whether or not I was driving, and what the sleeping arrangements were at this house. Dylan was in bed with a fever, so I didn't get to talk to him. Olivia wanted to know where I was sitting in the car, and who my boyfriend was. Olivia soon became disinterested with the conversation and passed the phone off to Amelia. "Jackie, do you have a boyfriend?" "Yes." "Who is its name?" "...Its name is Antoine." (Repeat the 'who is its name' and my answer three more times, for reasons known only to Amelia and God.) "Is your boyfriend a boy, or a girl?" "He's a boy. If he was a girl, then he wouldn't be my boyfriend. He would be my girlfriend." "Oh. Does he hold your hand?" "Sometimes." Oh, children. Why are you so cute? I didn't spend very much money this weekend (aside from the money spent on food!). I found a Boba Fett keychain that I couldn't walk past without purchasing for a very gleeful/thankful Louise. I got lip balm that should last me 2 years, according to Kristy. I purchased a small little book thing with blank pages on it that I can write on. But, my best purchase by far was the stuffed animal I got at the Sanrio store. It's name is Cinnamoroll and it looks like a cross between a rabbit and a puppy. He makes me very gleeful. I guess that's about it for Chicago. On the whole, it was badass. (I've decided I use the word 'badass' too much. It is a wonderful adjective, but seriously. Seriously.) In other news, Ryan finally illuminated the workings behind his various "conditions" regarding school work in his blog. They are modeled after the military conditions used in Battlestar Galactica, and I feel that they are very appropriate for life-structuring, :) So, since I have 3 exams and a small paper due at the beginning of next week, I will currently experiment in setting myself at "Condition 2," and see what happens. Apparently, this involves "Preparing for Hell." I must limit my Internet time (my biggest homework-prohibitor by far) and not listen to music while doing homework. Ryan says it's still okay to attend Social Events while placed under Condition 2, which is good, as I have to copy-edit tonight at the Cardinal. So, this week will hopefully be highly productive in preparation for all of the crap I have due. This weekend will be relatively normal, and hopefully still productive. I will then have a week of pure Hell, and after that I'll go home for a weekend to watch the Battlestar Galactica premiere with Ryan and spend time with my family. Wheee! Current Music: Something Dark is Coming - Battlestar Galactica OST (how appropriate!)scribbled mystickeeper at 9:29 AM  
7 comments 7 Comments:
ZOMG, your niece is soooo cute! "is your boyfriend a boy or a girl?" Ahhh, cutest thing EVER.
By
So let me get this straight:
By
The puppybunny's name is definitely Cinnamoroll. You can ask Kristy, Chad, or Antoine. We had extensive conversations about this. I'll even show you the tag next time you come over.
By And also, Gretchen: I know, I totally thought that was really cool that Mia asked me if my boyfriend was a boy or a girl. I don't know if it's just because she's 3 and doesn't understand what the word 'boyfriend' means or not, but I can totally see my sister having told her children that sometimes, women fall in love with women, and men fall in love with men. I'll have to ask her!
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I would imagine her question is probably just because she doesn't understand words but, regardless, I definitely think it's a step in the right direction.
By
It's name is Buckingham Fountain! I love that gigantic thing too. It's pwebly.
By I realy just fidgeted awkwardly, like I do whenever I'm talked about in the third person.
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