Chicago: Totally hands-free!!!

that is what's so great about football season!

I'm doing stretches now. That's productive.

I have been fairly productive today!

-tidied up a little bit

-pulled out winter clothes

-used oven cleaner on toaster oven, saving myself some moola

-went to Container Store and investigated some SOLUTIONS to a certain PROBLEM I've been having

-went to gym--3.5 miles @ 5.5 mph on treadmill, other stuff

-went to a friends house to watch the end of the game (Bear down, y'all). Drank a couple bloody marys, ate a vicodan, got locked out of friend's house, got lifted through window feet-first just as the vicodan was really hitting. Re-attached bars back on windows.

-Was rewarded with another pill. Delivered by throwing across room into my mouth.

I have lots of bumps and scraped places from the entry through the window. I'll worry about feeling those tomorrow.

OK, but I want to see yours too!

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1382/1394915504_a248de7e0e_o.jpg

Oh shit, wrong fucking thread.

My pecs look saggy there.

We watched both Friday the 13th and Friday the 13th Part II last night.

Conclusion?

Teenagers are dumb.

Maybe you should juice them, Jesse.

Fuck me.

This is going to kill me. I already spend four plus hours a day sitting in my car, I can't even imagine how bad this is going to make things. Fuck Chicago.

has anyone been to any of the world music festival events? i really wanted to see allá -- i like what i heard on their myspace page but did not make it to the show on friday. i also had planned on seeing haale for free at the uptown borders on saturday but some fire drills at truman sapped me of the energy to wait 2 hours after class to see the performance.

anyway, another year is here and i am lamely not going to any of these events. but if allá ever has a show in chicago (they're based here, i think?) i would like to go.

Road construction is better than never getting any road construction. Easy for me to say, I don't have to drive.

I want vicodin. Where do people come across such magical pharmaceuticals?

Well, I get 100 e-mails a week offering Vicodin that I could forward...

heh. No I want ACTUAL Vicodin, not made-up stuff.

Road construction is fine if its planned in some logical manner rather than piling one half-finished, half-assed mess on top of another. The Edens is already backed up inbound nights because of the Dan Ryan, they need to at least finish that project first. I suddenly fucking hate this city.

My options right now:
A) Suck it up and slog through a four-five hour nightly commute
B) Sleep in my car Sunday-Thursday nights in the parking lot
C) Start taking the train and risk losing my job for not being available to drive to job meetings
D) Quit and find a new job
E) Start whoring myself out to finance hotel living Sunday-Thursday nights

D!

You forgot:
F) Move close to work.

None of those like good options, but you also sound pretty frustrated. Maybe not thinking of ALL the options yet?

May God grant you the serenity to accept the things you cannot change (road construction), the courage to change the things you can (where you live, where you work), and the wisdom to know the difference.

I would love another option, but I can't think of one. Qutting really isn't an option at this point, and I do really like my job. Why did I ever move to this fucking city? Let's eliminate public transportation as we make it impossible to drive anywhere! Yay! Fuck you Chicago.

Things that are encouraging and making me feel content today:

1) I has a good night's sleep!
2) I has a freshly installed computer.
3) With that, rediscovering previously forgotten corners of iTunes library.
4) OJ: going to jail finally.
5) Lookin' kinda fly.

D

pretty fly, for a white guy?

Where do your co-workers live, Jon?

Also if C is really the way it is that's some fucked up repugnant shit.

Could you tell your bosses that you need them to lease a company car for you to use to get to the meetings so that you don't have to spend 10 hours commuting every day?

It would be temporary until the construction is done, and then the lease will be up, no harm done?

Yeah, having your own car is only a job requirement for pizza delivery drivers. If it's that important to your employer, explain your situation and hope for the best. But that would be the first step, I think.

Its a pretty small company, no one has company cars not even the partners. So I doubt that option would fly, but I'm going to try to talk to one of them about my options later this week. Unfortunately it was in my job description to have a license and a vehicle to attend project meetings, visit with clients, site visits, etc. I would so love to just be able to take the train and be done with it all, but obviously not.

The only semi-reasonable idea I've had so far is driving in on Monday morning and leaving my car there all week while I take the train back and forth. But, since my fiancee needs the car sometimes during the week nights, this may not fly either.

why don't you get them to sign up to zipcar or one of the other fleets, which you could use for meetings (and company then gets bonus points for being more eco friendly?)

Ah. Part of your job description tangles things a bit. I retract my earlier statement. :(

If you relocate, we will have a Thirsty Thursday sometime out at Bennigan's in Northfield.

Thats a great idea colette, but I don't know if there are very many locations out here in the northern burbs that would make that program worthwhile for us.

Anyway, sorry to hog thie thread this morning. I'm just a little freaked out about what I'm going to do. I hate that I'm in a position where I need to make this kind of decision about just getting to/from work every day!

Oh... what kenan said.

How about a different route to work?

I've been trying alternate routes over the past year or so, but theres just really no good, quick way to get from the city to the North suburbs. All the side roads get so snarled up with the traffic lights every quarter mile.

Green Bay Road?

I was thinking more like taking Irving Park or something west to 294 and then coming in from that side. (assuming jvc works somewhere between there and the Edens)

Yeah I do Dan, that might be an idea. But 294 is under construction right now too.

Green Bay is really, really slow... but it will probably be a little quicker that what the Edens will be once they shut down lanes.

I'm listening to something that seems to be the French version of Cypress Hill: "Passe Passe Le Oinj"

A manager at my work got transferred to Naperville. She lives in Wrigleyvill and has no car, so she takes the Red to the Brown to the Metra. Since she gets off work after the last train departs she will stay with friends, family, and co-workers for 3 or 4 days.

I don't think I would do it.

looks like I-GO goes further north than zipcar. not being stupid, but does your office have lots of parking? seriously, both car clubs are advertising for new locations. i would call them and ask if your company could offer a spot or two for cars. you'd get priority maybe, and other people in the area could use them as well. i wouldn't be surprised if the construction could mean a big opportunity for people in the same situation...

i really wanted to see allá -- i like what i heard on their myspace page but did not make it to the show on friday.

Allá is really great. I saw them at South Union Arts last summer. Sort of psychedelic orchestral pop with beautiful female vocals. They've been working on their album for something like five or six years, though, it's ridiculous. I heard some demos in 2003, after they went to Sweden to record a string section.

Tell me more about Alla. Where are they from?

I mean, what kind of "world music" do they play?

Amanda said they were from Chicago.

Hmmm, I think I'll bring that up with our building manager Colette. Thats a good idea, if I can get it to go anywhere.

xp - whoa. es tiempo indeed. i knew you would like them!

they play sort of stereolab-ish, os mutantes-y orchestrated psychedelic pop from what i can tell. i like!

1. amputate your arms and legs
2. call bosses and tell them you are physically unable to drive in to work and you need to work from home
3. if they fire you, sue them for discrimination

people, don't be afraid of the "world music" festival -- it's not a bunch of old bald white men in dashikis sitting around playing bongos. it's music from around the world!