"Let's get e coli together..."

John Handcock and Castaways...ahh summertime Chi!

Spent a beautiful afternoon at the beach with Miss Jade and that was just one of the many horrible pick up lines we heard. Usually, Jade and I spend at least a few hours each weekend at North Ave. beach but since it has been crappy weather this was the first time this summer :( I love how we have a beach in the middle of the city...makes the summers sooo much better!

Looking north on our walk along the water

View to the south, toward downtown

Happy 4th!

Wishing everyone a Happy Independence Day! One of the commentor's on the Capitol Fax had this to say the other day and wanted to share it:

Have you ever wondered what happened to the 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence?

Five signers were captured by the British as traitors, and tortured before they died.

Twelve had their homes ransacked and burned. Two lost their sons serving in the Revolutionary Army; another had two sons captured.

Nine of the 56 fought and died from wounds or hardships of the Revolutionary War. They signed and they pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor.

What kind of men were they?

Twenty-four were lawyers and jurists. Eleven were merchants, nine were farmers and large plantation owners; men of means, well educated, but they signed the Declaration of Independence knowing full well that the penalty would be death if they were captured.

Carter Braxton of Virginia, a wealthy planter and trader, saw his ships swept from the seas by the British Navy. He sold his home and properties to pay his debts, and died in rags.

Thomas McKeam was so hounded by the British that he was forced to move his family almost constantly. He served in the Congress without pay, and his family was kept in hiding. His possessions were taken from him, and poverty was his reward.

Vandals or soldiers looted the properties of Dillery, Hall, Clymer, Walton, Gwinnett, Heyward, Ruttledge, and Middleton.

At the battle of Yorktown, Thomas Nelson, Jr., noted that the British General Cornwallis had taken over the Nelson home for his headquarters. He quietly urged General George Washington to open fire. The home was destroyed, and Nelson died bankrupt.

Francis Lewis had his home and properties destroyed. The enemy jailed his wife, and she died within a few months.

John Hart was driven from his wife’s bedside as she was dying. Their 13 children fled for their lives. His fields and his gristmill were laid to waste. For more than a year he lived in forests and caves, returning home to find his wife dead and his children vanished.

So, take a few minutes while enjoying your 4th of July holiday and silently thank these patriots. It’s not much to ask for the price they paid.

Remember: freedom is never free!

Guest Post!

Tomorrow I'm guest posting on my friend MG's blog, With Grace and Style. I've known her since my freshman year at RC and she quickly became one of my good friends. Since visiting is out of the question for the moment, I'll have to settle for being a guest poster :) Check it out!

Message from the past

So I just started re-reading my favorite book "On the Road" and realized there was an inscription on the front page. I bought this copy at a used book store and guess never realized it was "autographed" by a previous owner. Anyway here is the inscription:

"3/17/99

Jenn-

Here is hoping everything is well with you + yours. Man, I sound like a card writer! Anyway, I read this + really liked it (not to mention that it's a classic and you can feel intellectually superior to everyone who hasn't read it!). If you haven't read it I hope you like it - but if you have, then I guess you have a nice new copy to keep!

It tends to touch that part of the soul that likes to wander. (for some reason I like wandering?!) But at the same time, it shows what needs to be given up when wandering is taken to the extreme (this is why I liked it - Todd the moderate).

I hope you have a great day. First and foremost Happy Birthday, second and obvious to all, Happy St. Paty's day.

Take care of you,

Todd"

Now I don't know who wrote this, where he was, what he was going through or how he knew Jenn, but something about this just speaks to me. I think it's fitting that someone I got THIS copy, the one where some unknown fellow wanderer wanted to pass along some part of himself to someone he obviously cared about. Sometimes I think karma/fate works in funny ways, and I like to think that it's a sign to keep wandering and keep questioning.

Anyway, if you haven't read this book, do it! It might just change your outlook on life...

Sunday Funday!

Yesterday I went up to RibFest in North Center and met up with P, W, and dear brother. Although the ribs were wicked expensive, they were amaze! After P and I got some superman icecream (oh fond Sunny Salem memories...), we all headed to the south stage and caughtSomeone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin. The boys didn't like them so they went into this cute little bar, but P and I had a blast! All in all, it was a great way to end a beautiful weekend.

Sunset as seen from the Irving Park Brown Line

Rice Crispies! Yummmm

Last night I had my friend JMak over and we cooked some dins, had a few beers, had a great chat AND make rice cripsy treats! I haven't made these since high school...they were delish. Except I had an tummy ache due to JMak and I splitting the whole batch. Ops!

Felt like Betty Crocker - view of the treats with my houseplant

meh.

Summer usually draws me out of the funks I get into...not this year. I just feel unsettled, or it could be that I am settled, and that means it's time to leave.  Not really leave here..or maybe it does mean that? I'm ready for the next adventure and next phase of my life. Where can I go? What can I do? Who can I be? 

I love the friends I have, those people know who they are and know that no distance will keep us from staying in touch. But at the same time...I think I'm missing something. I want to belong but at the same time I want to sit back and observe. That's why most of last summer was so amaze, I was a part of this fun group of people, but I could also do my own thing. Somewhere toward the end of summer the group dynamic changed and it hasn't been the same since. I hadn't been that involved in a group of people since I was young. Every day was a party and it was never the same...but you get to a certain point and it gets old. 

I have no desire to drink away my 20s, as most of the people I know do, and I want to fully enjoy everything life has to offer but I'm not sure how. As I said...meh. 

I'll leave you with a quote from the song currently playing on my iTunes...fitting actually.

"Any minute now my ship is coming in

I'll keep checking the horizon

And I'll stand at the bow

And feel the waves come crashing

Come crashing down, down, down on me...

I'm waiting for my real life to begin."