Ab-solute torture

This morning I got up god awful early, for me, to go to an ab-solution class at Crunch and work out before breakfast. Excellent plan except for after the class, my stomach was in no mood to eat anything. Fortunately I can still get coffee down, or I would have a headache on top of the body ache.

If you dont' like Chicago weather, wait a minute

Two days before I took this picture (1.19) it was so nice out. I was walking around with just a sweater, sport coat, and scarf.

The next night, it snowed about 4", and then just got cold.

The day I took the picture, the sun was out and it was getting warmer. Of course, this meant that the snow began to melt, leaving slushy puddles of dirty water everywhere. Then, when the sun went down, it all promptly re-froze to ensure that walking and driving was as hazardous as possible.

I want to buy a car!

According to CNBC, the Aston Martin from "Goldfinger" is going to be auctioned off. It would be so exciting to bid for that car, can you imagine how much it will fetch? If I was a rich man, I know what I'd want in my driveway tomorrow!

Experts expect it to go for between 2-2.5 million dollars! If you were delaying getting my Birthday gift because you didn't know what to get me, here it is!

School Starts Again

The quarter has started again after winter break. It's nice to have something to do again. Hopefully, I'll be done again in less then a year, and begin getting paid an MBA salary!

Tech Bra

Yesterday I saw a report on tv about something called the Tech Bra. It's basically a lo-jack for females. It monitors their heart rate, and if it speeds up due to fear, it automatically starts broadcasting.

Shoulder Surfer

This may look like a very affectionate dog. However, this is in fact a guard dog, protecting me and my lap from my cat! Just a few seconds after taking this picture, Cricket barked loudly in my ear, flew off the couch, and chased Jules the cat all over the apartment.

Still, dog looks very comfortable in this picture.

Jason vs Carrie

My 13 year old stepbrother is over tonight, and we are watching one of the Friday the 13th movies on Spike. I'm not sure which one it is, but Jason is Jason and the girl this time is a telekinetic nerd. Not sure why she allowed all the people to be killed before she started using her powers, but of course they were, and of course she always assumed Jason was dead w/o making sure. The decomposing body of her dead father had to drag Jason into the lake at the end.

Taking him to see King Kong tomorrow. Trying to firm up the old family ties, and stop making my Dad's new wife so uncomfortable whenever I'm around.

Building on Superior

This is a picture of one of my favorite bldgs, or at least the parts you can see. Not surprisingly, some greedy developers are building on each side, leaving it to settle into a permanent twilight during the day. It kind of suits the bldg though, kind of like an Addams Family in the city type of thing. I hope they never sell and it crouches there all ugly and old forever.

Jasper the Noise Maker

Sorry for the blurry picture, but I was trying to take this discretely with my cell phone. This guy says his name is Jasper, and he specializes in making music with his body. He called it something else, but I never got close enough to catch exactly what it was, since he also kept asking for money from all those who listened.
He reminded me of the guy from the Police Academy movies, if you've seen them you know exactly who I mean.

Bentley on Fire

Last night my GF and I were walking to tea, and we noticed a huge cloud of smoke pouring out into the street. A few seconds later we heard a fire truck heading our way. It was quite a sight, outside of a Bentley dealership here downtown, a Bentley was on FIRE! Valet parking attendants were running around, people were taking tons of pics, and the firemen were blocking off traffic to hook up their hose.

I don't know who owned the car. It was still there when we finished our tea at the store across the street, thought the hood had been pried open by the fire fighters, and to top it off a ticket, since it caught fire in a no parking zone! I also think it was just a coincidence that it was parked outside of a Bentley dealership, though I bet they towed it asap, imagine the message that would send about the brand!

Obligatory New Years Day post

Last night the plan was to spend NYE in with the sweetie, drinking bubbly, and nibbling on crab cakes and quail eggs. Well she fell asleep on the couch, and since I have absolutely no idea how to make crab cakes and quail eggs, I decided to let her sleep. I did wake her before midnight for some bubbly and a kiss. Brunch today was delicious, mimosas, toasted bagels with salmon, eggs, bacon, crab cakes, and quail eggs!
I watched the various channels cover the parties throughout the city, and couldn't help feel just a little smug about the weak crowd at the Pier. I know they'll spin it like it was a blast, but it looked weak. A bunch of suburbanites wearing their A&F best (including jeans!), bouncing around with their Marlboro Lights, desperately trying to look like they are having the fun they suspect everyone else is having....sad.
We did go see Memoirs of a Geisha yesterday. I enjoyed most of the film, but was very disappointed with the ending. It didn't seem true to the spirit of the rest of the film. It was very stereotypical ending, the kind that my "ironic" generation was supposed to be too cool to make anymore.