I have to apologize, the last like 132984 posts on my blog have been technical. I hear the cries of those who just want to read musings, and so I will try my hardest to muse more.
Keep checking back!
Archive for the 'Uncategorized' Category
Due to a huge wave of spam comments and little to none of any good comments, you will no longer be able to comment on my site. Sorry for the inconvenience.
In California, you have warm weather offset by earthquakes and mud slides. Florida also has nice beaches with sun and warm weather, but again, offset by hurricanes. Boston has beautiful falls, but torrential amounts of snow and rain. Seattle has beautiful mountains and forests, but then don’t see blue sky a ton. It seems that every place in the country has some wonderful natural feature offset by something that could kill you.
Except Illinois, we only have stuff that will kill us: bitter cold, humid and scorching summers, not to mention high winds and tornadoes. The last week of weather here in Urbana Champaign has certainly been full of most of those, save the scorching heat. One day it was a -26 wind chill, the next day was a tornado warning, it rained torrentially for a day, and then today I awoke to a -15 windchill. I think that most weathermen in Chicago probably don’t very much fun trying to predict the weather.
OK, I don’t give Illinois enough credit. Yesterday I went to dinner off campus, and as we were driving along the cornfields, I must say the sunset I saw was quite beautiful. And contrary to popular belief, Illinois does have some beautiful places. Check out state parks such as Matthiessen State Park or Illinois Beach State Park. You won’t believe that you are in Illinois.
Do any others of you wonder why you live where you are?
For the first time in my life, I voted. It was really cool. And it wasn’t that I just voted just to vote. I did my research, evaluated the issues that were important to me, watched the debates, talked to others, kept my mind open, and then today I walked through the pouring rain to bubble in a candidate I think will make the best President of the United States. It wasn’t about parties or stereotypes, it was about who would be able to lead our country the best. And I must say, I am glad I live in a country that allows me to make a difference.
How about you all?
Two new sets of Chicago pictures are posted on the Photos page. They include trips to the Shedd Aquarium and to Pizzero Uno, both with dear Leslie.
No, I am not lost. But, I have been really getting into LOST.
I am usually not one to like TV, since I never had it growing up as a child. But now, I feel myself being rather intrigued and entertained by two shows: the Office, and then LOST. Now this being said, I would definitely say that I am not an avid TV watcher. In fact, I don’t even watch those two shows on TV, I watch them on DVD or from iTunes.
Why do I like LOST? I have to blame my cousins for that one. They were all watching LOST and talking about how great it was, so I watched the first two episodes and then asked Leslie, “hey, do you want to watch the first two episodes of LOST?” She agreed and after the first one, which was kind of creepy, we were like, “well, we have the second episode downloaded, let’s just watch it.” Again, it was kind of creepy, and we didn’t think we would continue watching them. But lo and behold, the next day, we both admitted to each other that we kind of wanted to know what happened. So we rented Season 1 disc 1 and 2, and then watched episodes 3-5, each time a little creeped out, but then still wanting to continue following the characters and the story. Now, I would say we both want to finish watching all of the seasons. It’s a good show, with an interesting premise, and it’s rather entertaining.
I would usually categorize TV as an unnecessary waste of time, and I still do believe that most of it still falls in that category. However, ever so often a rare show will appear and I will find myself getting into it like a really good book or movie.
Do you all like LOST?
So yesterday I got braces. I needed them, considering I had a gap in between my teeth for which I could fit like a quarter and a dime in. My orthodontist is Dr. Allen in Wheaton, and he and his staff are quite nice. The braces went on smoothly, and for the first few hours, I was like: “This isn’t so bad. It doesn’t hurt at all!” That was until my Advil wore off. Now they just, well, ache. But eventually that will go away.After getting them off, I went immediately to Jewel to buy some ice cream. Yummmy! My dinner consisted of soup. Well, all of you who have had braces know the drill. You’ve paid your dues, and now it is my turn. 8 months to go!
In my opinion, today was first day of Fall. The fact that I had to wear my North Face fleece to class marks the beginning of the season. Yay for Fall.
Just as there is only one kind of acceptable ginger ale (Vernor’s), there is only one kind of notepad. OK, there are other kinds, but there is only one kind I will use for my work. The notepad the 25-404 from the manufacturer Ampad. I first discovered it during my summer internship at Apple. My manager Matt gave me a notebook and at first, I’ll admit, I didn’t think it looked like much. The notepad is made from 100% recycled paper, so it’s cover looks like a tan piece of cardboard. The inside is complete with 80 pages of a kind-of off-green-yellow paper (which makes it easier on your eyes). It wasn’t until I started using it with my Sharpies that I realized how cool this notebook really is. There is just something about it that makes me feel like I am getting a lot done, and what I am doing is actually of some worth. In addition, it looks really good with multiple colored Sharpies.There is only one downside, however, to the notebook, and that is that it is only available from online Staples. That is honestly the only place exists: just Google “Ampad 25-404″ and that will affirm that it is rare, but its rarity makes it all the more unique.
Last weekend I went home for Labor Day, and because it was when Leslie and I were going to celebrate my birthday (even though it is today). She told, “Kevin, just come to my house at 2:30 on Sunday, because I have a surprise for you.” So I showed up at 2:30, and she had a picnic blanket, portable chairs, and cooler ready to load into my family’s Passat. By 3:00, we were on the road. Now one of the wonderful things about this is that I had no idea where we were going, even though I was driving. Les would just tell me, “OK, next turn is 88 West” or what not. And the whole time I am guessing, “We are going to Matthiessen State Park… wait, no, we are going to Millenium Park… what, no, we are to Illinois Beach State Park, wait…”I did not know where we were going until we got off at Lake Cook Road from 294 N, and I was asking myself, “what is here?”, I saw a sign for Ravinia. Ravinia is a big music festival arena, basically, and is an extremely popular place for outdoor venues. The next question was, “who are we going to see?” Thanks to Leslie’s dad telling us a great place to park before we left, we were able to park pretty close. We then hopped on a shuttle bus that would take us to the actual event. As we were on the shuttle bus, the only other people on their was a couple. We started talking a little bit about the weather and how nice it was, and then, I found out the big secret Leslie had been holding for the past two months. The lady remarked on the weather and stated, “Oh, I know! And Diana Krall is also just so good.” Diana Krall! Diana Krall! For those of you who don’t know, Diana Krall is one of the all time great jazz artists and arrangers currently alive in the whole world. She is an excellent pianist, and her band and orchestra are usually on Broadway or in Europe at fancy theatres stockaded with multi-millionaires and their women dressed in Leopard furs and wearing diamonds the size of brussel-sprouts. But tonight, she was at Ravinia, and we going to go see her.Ravinia is split into two parts. The first is the pavilion, and it houses a few hundred people right by the stage in an amphitheater type arrangement. The farthest back row of seats is at ground-level, and then they slope down below ground-level to the stage, which rests about 2 stories deep. The second part of Ravinia is the lawn. After the last row of seats, the lawn begins, and stretches back to an area about 10 times the size of the pavilion. The people who seat in the pavilion are the rich and fur wearers, those who can afford $95 a ticket. The lawn is only $20, and as a consequence of the price and the way the pavilion is arranged, you cannot actually see the stage. The lawn is the home of families and friends who bring tables, blankets, chairs, wine, cheeses, home-made dinners, card games, coolers, and candles. Of course, those on the lawn have to get there 3 hours early so we get a seat. To be honest, I loved the lawn, and I’ll tell you why.Les and I got there and set up our little spot on the lawn, consisting of a blanket, two chairs, and our cooler. We started our 3 hour wait till the 7 o’clock show with our favorite card game Flinch. Then we read Shel Silverstein’s book “Runny Babbit” which Les gave to me as a gift in addition to the splendid surprise. Eventually the mosquitos got hungry so we lit a citronella candle to keep them away before realizing that we ourselves were hungry. Leslie had dinner ready to go, and we enjoyed BLT Roast Beef sandwiches (which we dubbed RBBLT sandwiches), veggies, and basil chips. Our dinner was fresh raspberries and Dove Milk Chocolate. We started another game of Flinch about the time that the show started, which began with trumpeter Chris Botti opening.Chris was excellent. A fine trumpet player and certainly a good entertainer. His band (pianist, drummer, bass player) were phenomenal. He played a variety of music, from modern jazz to Miles Davis. To see a little taste of his music, check out this video on YouTube.After Chris Botti was, of course, Diana Krall and her band (Jeff Hamilton on drums, Anthony Wilson on guitar, and usually John Clayton on bass, but a different bassist was playing). To say the least, and not just being biased because she is one of my all time favorite artists, she was simply amazing. Even knowing 95% of everything she played because I know it from her CD’s, it was awesome hearing live. Maybe that’s because I was with one my favorite people Leslie Bretsen, we sitting on a picnic blanket with a citronella candle, outside under some oak trees at night listening to one of my favorite jazz artists. She played some of my favorite songs:
- Deed I Do (from All of You)
- S’Wonderful (from The Look of Love)
- I Don’t Know Enough About You (from Love Scenes)
- Devil May Care (from When I Look In Your Eyes)
- Let’s Fall In Love (from When I Look In Your Eyes)
- I’ve Got You Under My Skin (from When I Look In Your Eyes)
- I’ll String Along With You (from When I Look In Your Eyes)
- I Love Being Here With You (from Live in Paris)
This is most of them. I loved the evening I had with Leslie. It was so special, and so thoughtful of her. I loved the music, and I just want you all to know that I have the best girlfriend in the world.