Smoke and Rain

It was supposed to rain early this morning, and boy did it ever. It was a hot day yesterday with highs in the 90s and high humidity with dewpoints in the 70s. I spent most of the day inside working on an upcoming work project, even though I'm still on vacation. I thought about trying to get some sun, but spent most of the afternoon at the computer.

The cold front finally arrived early this morning. I drifted off to sleep around 1 am, only to be awoken at around 2 by the smell of smoke of the sound of thunder. It was raining very heavy, and I swore the house was filling with smoke. I woke up quickly, in a panic thinking that the house had been struck by lightning. I'm not sure why I thought there was smoke in the air, but everything was fine, and I sat up and enjoyed the rain for the next hour. We ended up getting 2.90 inches in just over an hour, wow that was a heavy rain. We sure needed it!

But, while sitting here typing this message, watching Driving Miss Daisy on TV, I heard a drip in the living room. Sure enough, there was water dripping from the archway in our dining room. It's directly below our chimney flue, so I'm guessing because the rain was so heavy that some rain got in and dripped down between the wall. I peered up into the attic but couldn't find anythings, and there aren't any stains in the dryway or ceiling, so it seems to be between the wall. Ugh.

Traveling Home

We stopped by the Amana Colonies in Iowa on our way home to shop a bit. We had a nice lunch at a local German restaurant, then had an uneventful trip home. We picked up our dogs at the vet, and enjoyed a BBQ Chicken pizza from Papa Johns.

Chicago Day Two

Museum of Science and Industry
Top of the John Hancock Building
Navy Pier
Lodging along the banks of the Mississippi River in the Quad Cities.

Chicago Frustrations

The main reason for visiting Chicago was my wife was meeting several of her Internet chat board members for the weekend. They've been chatting on their cross stitch discussion board for months and decided to meet in a central location for a fun weekend. Thus, the plan for today was that she'd be busy with her friends at the hotel, and myself and my daughter would head out on the town to do a little sight seeing.

After a complimentary breakfast buffet (part of our hotel package), we got in the car and started to drive. I studied the city map quite a bit last night, and thought I had an overall feel of where we were and where we intended to go. We left the hotel around 930 am, and immediately encountered the most horrible traffic I've ever been in. We were well in the suburbs, and downtown Chicago was at least 30 miles away, if not more. Basically, it was bumper to bumper the whole way, driving at 15 to 30 mph as we inched past Ohare Airport. I really thought the traffic wouldn't be that bad for a weekend, but that was a very bad assumption. It was a nightmare.

We did finally arrive downtown and drove along Lakeshore Drive, next to Lake Michigan. It was a beautiful lake, and a gorgeous day. We really enjoyed that. The speed limit along the highway there was 35 to 45 mph, but people weren't happy unless I was driving 15 to 20 mph over. I really just wanted to drive the speed limit and take in the sights, but everyone kept honking at me. It quickly became apparent that Chicago is one the most impatient cities I've ever been in.

After driving for awhile, we arrived in South Chicago. It definitely didn't seem to be the best neighborhood, and we quickly decided to turn around. We were severely short on gas, with about 400 miles on the tank thus far and the needle flirting with empty. But, I really didn't want to stop at either of the 2 gas stations that we did see as it seemed very unsafe to do so.

We then headed back north up Lakeshore Drive. I thought it would be fun to visit the Lincoln Park Zoo. While it was an OK zoo, it definitely doesn't rival the Henry Doorly Zoo here in Omaha, but it was a great way to pass the lunch hour. After leaving the zoo, we decided to head back to the hotel to rest. My daughter was furiously reading the new Harry Potter book that we purchased earlier in the morning, and just wanted to vedge. I was OK with that. However, we got stuck in downtown traffic (not intentionally) and a real panic began to set in. It was just as it appears on TV, bumper to bumper traffic, cabs driving like lunatics, everyone honking their horns as soon as lights would turn green, and thousands of people on the sidewalks. It was at that moment that the low fuel light came on in the car. I became very nervous. I thought we'd chug out in the middle of the chaos and would never get out. I usually don't pray a lot, but I did at that moment, quietly asking for a gas station. After a couple of turns, the situation became worse as we got stuck behind a construction project with cement trucks blocking the path. After pulling in front of a couple of lanes of traffic, I turned the corner, and low and behold, a gas station loomed in the next block. What dumb luck to find the only gas station in the middle of downtown Chicago. Needless to say, I was relieved beyond words.

We spent the part of the afternoon at Panera Bread. We enjoyed a nice snack, and just relaxed. Hannah read her book and I surfed the Internet. We then headed back to the hotel and enjoyed a mid afternoon swim. For dinner, I really wanted some Chicago style pizza. I looked in the yellow pages and found a nearby restaurant that sounded awesome and quite delicious. However, after driving there, I then realized that it was only a takeout place. After failing to find the mall (which I thought might have some food options), we drove upon another local pizza place and had a great dinner after all. After dinner, we headed to the movie Ratatouie, which was absolutely great. All the while, my wife really enjoyed her day with her Internet cross stitch friends, so all in all, we all had an OK day with lots of adventure.

I must say though, I guess I'm not too fond of Chicago after our first day. The traffic is just overwhelming (for a Saturday, geesh), and the impatient people are really just too much to put up with. I know, perhaps I have a closed mind, but that's what we mostly experienced.

Chicago, A New Experience

Our daughter came home from summer camp today. In fact, she didn't get dehydrated like we thought, and had a great time. It was very hot both Tuesday and Wednesday with highs in the mid to upper 90s, but when the cold front came in late Wednesday night, they had a pleasant day Thursday. She got home about 1pm, and we headed out the door for Chicago around 2 pm. After a pleasant 7 hour drive, we arrived at the Marriott Northwest hotel here in Northwest Chicago. I've never been to the windy city, and am somewhat nervous about the traffic. We traveled Interstate nearly the entire way, crusing steadily around 80 mph without seeing any police. We didn't really like the tollway, but that seems to be the norm.

First Day of Vacation

To celebrate my first day of vacation, we lounged around the house and enjoyed a mid afternoon movie at the dollar theatre. We watched Spiderman 3. While it was an OK movie, we thought the plot bounced around too much, and that the producers tried to squeeze too much into it. It was also a little long, between 2 and 2 1/2 hours, and I found myself peeking at my watch halfway through. Thus, it was OK, but definitely not as good as the movie we saw earlier this week.

Sweet Rain at Last

Well, the rain finally came. We had such a wet May, but since the beginning of June, it's been very dry. In fact, we're now several inches below normal for the summer, despite being above normal for the year. I ended up working late, which I didn't mind, and then enjoyed a nice rain through the remainder of the night. We ended up with 0.93 inches, which really hit the spot. It was especially timely, as I hung up my rain gauge just yesterday, which I discovered buried in a box in the garage.

As a side note, I'm now officially on vacation for the next 8 days. Woohoo! I'm so excited, I definitely needed some time off. We're heading to Chicago tomorrow, and will be back in town early next week.

Great Movie

After we dropped our daughter off at Camp, we headed out to a movie, Live Free or Die Hard, the next installment in the Die Hard series. It's been several years since the latest Die Hard movie had been released, and we were excited about getting out on the town. The movie was great, and was definitely better than both the 2nd and 3rd movie in the series. It had a nice plot, relevant to the 21st century, and had enough action to keep us interested for the 2 hour duration.

Unpleasant Necessities

I had to visit the dentist today for my bi-annual cleaning. I don't really enjoy going to the dentist, although I'm not sure anyone really enjoys this necessity of life. The anxiety leading up to the visit, the visit itself, then the guilt that you feel for not brushing well enough. And, to make matters worse, I have a cavity. I never get cavities. I think I've had like 5 in my whole life. Ugh. That put me into a really rotten mood, nevermind that it's supposed to be 95 today, and near 100 both tomorrow and Wednesday.

Speaking of the heat, our daughter is heading off to summer camp tonight. Last year, she attended camp during the absolutely hottest week of the year. On Thursday last year (1 day before the camp was over), she got sick with dehydration because she wasn't drinking enough water. This year, we've had a couple of hot spells, but unfortunately, it's setting up to be one of the hottest weeks of the summer, again! I remember my camp days attending Boy Scout camp, way back when. I don't remember the heat bothering me too much, but let's just say that sitting in sweltering heat, with no air conditioning at all doesn't sound like much fun at this point in my life. Maybe I've just gotten old and spoiled, but that's the absolute last thing I'd want to do. Oh well, hopefully she'll make it through this time, but I'm betting even money that we get a call later this week that she's sick with dehydration. We'll see.

Dinner, Drinks, and Dancing

We headed out for a night on the town with some college friends yesterday evening. In fact, this was my old college roommate. It's funny how life's travels take you from one place to another, and after many years, we've ended up in the same town.

We headed to Granite City for dinner, which is a small brewpub here in Omaha, although it appears to be a national chain as there are locations in several states. I had a barbecue chicken pizza which was delicious. I also had a couple of their light ales, and it was good too, although I'm not much into weird and chewy beers at all.

After dinner, we headed over to another bar in town, the Seven Monkeys. We joked about going to another bar for drinks and dancing after that, something we haven't done in many, many years. The band playing that night supposedly was known for its 80s repertoire, something that would really appeal to us. However, we never made it out of Monkeys as we sat there the remainder of the night and enjoyed many, many cocktails. My wife ended up drinking a Jungle Juice martini (wtf, never heard of it), then several more double chocolate martinis. I have to admit, they were tasty, even the one that she nearly spilled all over my arm.

After a few hours, we decided to call it a night. However, as we drove out of the parking lot, I joked about heading to the next bar where the band was playing. Even though my wife was already off her rocks, we ended up at the Arena Sports Bar to listen to a few songs. After a couple more chocolate martinis and a couple more Bud Lights, we headed for home.

We had a great time, although I think my wife is having second thoughts this morning. She didn't feel too well most of the day, but seems to be back to her old self this afternoon. Ah, we're not as young as we used to be. We commented that back in college, we could do this 2 or 3 times a week, get home at 2 am, and be up and ready to go to work the next morning at 7 or 8 without thinking twice. Now, it seems it takes nearly a day to recover from a drinking binge, and several more days just to catch up on sleep. Alas, to be young again.

A Visit to the New Waterpark

A new waterpark opened up in nearby Fremont, Nebraska this past week. Usually we drive to Mahoney State Park to visit the waterpark, which has a wave pool, a regular pool, and two slides. Fremont has been trying to build a waterpark for years, and the voters approved it this last year. I must say, the Splash Station Water Park was OK, but I was a little disappointed. We're used to the huge waves (3 to 6 feet) that can be found at Mahoney, but the waves at Fremont were very gentle, only 1 or 2 feet. The slides were fun though, and the Fremont water park did have a rope ladder/lilly pad area for the kids which seemed great. Plus, the tubes were free at Fremont, (versus $3 at Mahoney) and the admission was cheaper ($9.50 for 1 adult and 1 child versus $13 at Mahoney). So, overall, it was a nice waterpark, and I'd say we'd definitely go back. They did have about 5 huge umbrellas too (about 30 feet in diameter), which allowed for ample shade opportunities (which Mahoney doesn't have). So, given all that I've mentioned, I'd give the Fremont Water park an 8 out of 10.

On the Diet Yo Yo Again

Well, the day after the fourth of July was an eye opener for me. I woke up, and was about 2 pounds shy of my all-time highest weight. My clothes were getting tighter, and I just wasn't happy. So, I started a diet again. Sigh, it's a never-ending battle. In the past, I've had great success with a modified Atkins plan, although I can't really be as strict as that plan allows, and I can't really do it for a lengthy period. So, over the last week, I've cut out the carbs, limiting my intake to about 30g per day. The plan works, and 1 week later, I'm down 8 1/2 pounds. Granted, there isn't really any change in my overall size, except I've flushed out a lot of extra fat. The clothes fit just a bit better, and overall, I look better too. But, that's about enough. I now plan to ease back to a normal diet, watch the sweets, and eat balanced meals. We'll see what happens.

I've Got the Blues

Yesterday evening, I attended a live blues concert at a local bar. One of my coworkers supposedly loves jazzy blues (unbeknownst to me) and one of his favorite groups was making a stop here in Omaha. I've never really been much for blues-type music as I've always attributed it to a much slower beat that I normally desire. But, I must say, this was an awesome group, with mostly up-tempo songs (120 to 160 beats per minute) that really got my foot tapping. It was a fun evening, and I stayed for both sets, which lasted almost 3 hours (with a half hour break in between). I even danced to one of their songs. The group was the Candye Kayne Band. While the music was just a touch too loud, I suppose that's to be expected considering we were in a local bar, but otherwise, it was a great night to get out and enjoy something that I don't normally do.

Enough is Enough

Ok, it's July 5th and the Independence Day holiday is over. Will you please stop shooting fireworks? Over the last few nights, it's sounded (and occasionally felt) like a new world war had begun in our neighborhood and across the city as folks continuously shot off box after box of fireworks. I understand the need to celebrate, and I myself indulged in some pyrotechnics on Tuesday evening at my wife's sister husband's parents (did you get that) house. Each night, since about last Friday, the boom, boom, boom sound has sent our two dogs into a near violent fit each night. That's understandable, they are small dogs, at 7 and 12 lbs. They get scared when thunderstorms develop. Trying to get them to go the bathroom outside has been a near impossible feat. Even late into the night, the fireworks continued. On July 3rd, fireworks lasted until almost 1 am. Last night, they were going well past midnight. Well, tonight, they are still going. I tried to take the dogs outside around 930 pm, thinking we'd be safe, but sure enough, about 2 minutes later, boom, pop, bang, there they go again. Now I'm not a prude by any stretch of the means, but enough is enough. We've all wasted more than enough money on the fireworks, let's let the holiday go, and wait until next year.

A Quivering Pile Of Goo

Well, it's that time of year when we celebrate our independence by trying to blow up everything in site. It seems that there are more and more fireworks every year. I myself am looking forward to attending a friend's potluck party with an incredible amount of shells, canons, rockets, and whatnot. Everyone brings a sack full, and when combined, it fills an entire pickup truck. It's a non-stop barrage for a couple of hours at least. Unfortunately, our two dogs don't enjoy the excitement. In fact, they usually end up as quivering piles of goo each night that the fireworks are exploding. Poor dogs. For some reason, the same thing happens with thunderstorms, which usually results in a period of hyper ventilation, along with extreme anxiety. At least it's only for a week, but it seems we all might celebrate the independence holiday just a little too much?

Minor Pet Peeves

I'm sure that everyone has something (or someone) that just bugs them to no end. I have several, probably too numerous to mention in this post, but here goes:

I hate the wind. Living in Nebraska, we experience the wind on most any given day, and often, the wind is just too much for enjoyment. But, that's part of the sacrifice of living on the plains. Ha. But, the last couple of days, while I've been lying in the back yard soaking up a few sun rays, there hasn't been much wind. In fact, not even enough wind to blow the flys and mosquitoes away. So, while lying there baking in the sun, sweating profusely, I think every fly and nat within a 1 square mile area was attracted to me. Had the wind been blowing even a little, the breeze would not only helped cool me off, but also blow those pesky bugs away. So, it seems we have the wind when we don't want it, and don't have any wind when we need it the most.

You may recall, a few months ago, I got a new Ipod Nano. It's a great toy, and I use it almost every day. I have hundreds of my favorite songs on it, and I enjoy it very much. However, the earbuds really suck. They are the second-generation ear Ipod ear phones, and don't fit my ear very well. In fact, they fall out on a near-constant basis. Ugh. I hate that.

Have you ever wondered why they call it iced tea? Well, I think that means there is supposed to be ice in it. Well, duh. When driving through drive through for fast food, I often order an iced tea instead of soda. Especially when it's hot, the soda is often too sweet and just makes me feel crappy. But, more often than not, what I get is not a glass of iced tea, but a cup of luke-warm, brown colored liquid. Most of the iced tea is brewed, and is kept at room temperature (or warmer). With the paltry amount of ice that the fast food joints put in the cup (trying to give us more beverage for our buck), the tea melts the ice right away. Yuck. Fill the damn cup up with ice, then add the tea. It makes for a very refreshing drink. Thus, in this instance, I think I'd be better off walking in to do it myself. Ugh.

It seems that many modern stop lights have sensors embedded into the pavement to signal when the lights should turn. However, have you noticed that often, the sensors are buried in the "middle" of the lane, in between your tires? Thus, when you pull up to a light, more often than not, your tires straddle the sensor, but never trigger it. Then, you sit there for what seems like an eternity, waiting for the light to change, but it doesn't know that you're sitting there because you haven't triggered the sensor. Then, when you try to back up to hit it again, invariably, there is some yahoo right behind you. I definitely prefer more-modern stop lights that have cameras to sense when to change the lights.

And finally, hair cuts are something that everyone (well, just about) must endure. But, why do hair stylists feel the need to make small talk while cutting your hair? I'm perfectly content sitting in the chair staring into space letting them do their thing. I don't want to distract them and end up with a bad haircut. Plus, sometimes, I just don't want to chat. And then, when the hair cut is done, it seems that many times, I end up with uneven sideburns. Why is that? I mean, they measure on each side before trimming, but one always ends up longer than the other. Do I have a lopsided head? I don't think so, but I may have to have that checked.

By the way, my family (wife and daughter) are leaving me this week. They're heading to Kentucky to visit friends. Unfortunately, they're coming back. Ha. :)