"Charles Douglas is that dog food you're eating?!"..."yeah"
Yup, as soon as I heard that, I thought 'that'll be the title for my blog'. Heh. I'll explain later.
Since Wed I've been in St. Louis and Chicago. I drove a total of 2500 miles. Got home this evening.
The original purpose of the trip was that my friend Sarah was getting married in Chicago. At first, I was just planning on flying in and just doing the wedding/reception. Then I started thinking about it, and you know, people don't really have time to visit and socialize at their own wedding. I figured I'd just see her for a few minutes. So, I decided to make it more of a St. Louis trip to see my old college friends, and then I'd drive to Chicago for the wedding and drive back. It turned out better that I actually just drove up for the reception. Here's my trip:
Wed: 13 hour drive to St. Louis. Stopped twice. It was overcast, so it wasn't too hot in the car. I was getting 36 miles to the gallon! I love my little car. I brought about 70 homemade CDs on a spindle and just listened to one right after another - 80s, oldies, and alternative. I have also become newly hooked on a band - AFI. I love love love their new CD decemberunderground. I bought a few of their older CDs and while I like one that came out recently, their really old stuff is too punk for me.
I stayed with my friend Kim that I met at the Marriott where I worked senior year. We've kept in touch, and although she moved several times since I graduated, she is now back in St. Louis.
Thurs: Hung out with Kim. I extended my vacation an extra day to spend more time with her. She's only 30 but she's been diagnosed with lymphatic cancer. She's doing radiation treatment, and I think the prognosis is good. Unfortunately, she's living her life like she's dying soon, which is disheartening. She's having sex with four different guys, smoking 5-7 packs of cigarettes a week, and drinking 5-10 drinks a night (these are her estimates). She's always been a big drinker, but it's really getting out of hand now. I guess she figures better enjoy life while she can. I tried talking to her about it, but she didn't want to get into it. Thursday night we went out to dinner and she called Mo, who we also used to work with at the Marriott. I hadn't seen him in years, so that was great. He works for a brokerage firm doing their computer stuff. After dinner we went to Houlihans, which is like an Applebee's. I guess Kim and her friends go there almost everynight. They all work at California Pizza Kitchen, and all the restaurant people know each other. The bartender knows her well, and he hooked us all up with cheap drinks. I did have one drink. Some people think I don't drink....let me qualify that: I'm cheap and think alcohol is a waste of money and I don't like the taste of alcohol (even in cooking). But there is ONE drink I like - Absolute Citron and Lemonade. And since drinks were only $2, I had one. But, really I don't usually drink. Here's a pic of us at dinner. (will add pic later...blogger doesn't want to do it right now)
Fri: had breakfast with Kim, and then bummed around StL on my own for awhile. Went to see the old Wash U campus, and it's really changed. The library got a facelift and it's so beautiful. The dorm area is completely different. It looks so posh now. Spoiled college kids! The dorms that I stayed in are gone now. Friday night I met up with my old B-school friends - Vicky, Cheryl, and Kim (different Kim) at Fitz's on the Loop. I went home with Vicky that night.
Sat: Drove 6 hours to Chicago. It's normally thought to be a 4 hour drive, but with the location of Vicky's house and the location of the reception, it was a full 6 hours. I'm really glad I hadn't planned on making the wedding. I would've completely missed it. There was a three hour gap between the wedding and reception and I made it just in time for the reception. Sarah knew that's what I was doing, so it was all fine. The reception was really laid back. It was at a forest perserve and everyone changed into shorts and t-shirts. She had slushy machines and cotton candy too. Awesome. I got there while they were setting up and I heard someone say 'Oh, here's comes the truck with the Lutheran water'. I was intrigued. I didn't realize Lutherans had special water. I went over to where they were unloading, and looked, but it looked like regular bottled water to me. I asked someone what the 'Lutheran water' is, and she replied 'Oh, that's beer. We Lutherans love beer'. ! Cracked me up. They had two kegs and everyone was calling it 'Lutheran water'. Learn something new everyday! (will add pic later...blogger doesn't want to do it right now)
Sun: Vicky had a barbeque for all the families. Vicky has a 2-yr old, Cheryl has a 1-yr old, and Kamila and Kim came too. Vicky's son Charlie is really cute. He look just like a young football player - very stocky, no neck, and very tall. He was a handful - getting into things he shouldn't have (like the dog food -see title). Vicky and Cheryl both just found out they're pregnant again, so a large part of the conversation was about that. They were commiserating with each other on the differences in these pregancies compared to their first ones (yeah, that was a riveting conversation), and Cheryl mentioned that she's been craving Big Macs but her husband won't get her any. That kinda ticked me off cause I'm a big believer that the husband should get his pregnant wife whatever she asks for. Then they started talking about body pillows, cause I guess when you get big, you can't sleep on your back cause it'll cut off the artery that feeds blood to the fetus. So, you have to sleep on your side, and body pillows help cushion you so you don't roll where you shouldn't. At this point, Cheryl's husband starts complaining about the pillows. I told him he could sleep his ass on the sofa. That really ticked me off too. I don't know him that well, but he seemed serious to me. You know, your wife already gave you one son and you were lucky enough to have a chance at another, and you're bitching about pillows? Women have to go through 9 months of pain, discomfort, and general unpleasantness, plus there's a real chance of death, and he can't get his wife a Big Mac when she asks for one? Get your non-pregnant ass in the car and go get one! Argh. Vicky's husband on the other hand gets her whatever she wants. He's a real sweetie. They've been together since college and are so cute.
Mon: Drove back. 110 degrees in Oklahoma! Geez. Luckily my car handled the heat just fine and I was able to run the A/C the whole time.
Since Wed I've been in St. Louis and Chicago. I drove a total of 2500 miles. Got home this evening.
The original purpose of the trip was that my friend Sarah was getting married in Chicago. At first, I was just planning on flying in and just doing the wedding/reception. Then I started thinking about it, and you know, people don't really have time to visit and socialize at their own wedding. I figured I'd just see her for a few minutes. So, I decided to make it more of a St. Louis trip to see my old college friends, and then I'd drive to Chicago for the wedding and drive back. It turned out better that I actually just drove up for the reception. Here's my trip:
Wed: 13 hour drive to St. Louis. Stopped twice. It was overcast, so it wasn't too hot in the car. I was getting 36 miles to the gallon! I love my little car. I brought about 70 homemade CDs on a spindle and just listened to one right after another - 80s, oldies, and alternative. I have also become newly hooked on a band - AFI. I love love love their new CD decemberunderground. I bought a few of their older CDs and while I like one that came out recently, their really old stuff is too punk for me.
I stayed with my friend Kim that I met at the Marriott where I worked senior year. We've kept in touch, and although she moved several times since I graduated, she is now back in St. Louis.
Thurs: Hung out with Kim. I extended my vacation an extra day to spend more time with her. She's only 30 but she's been diagnosed with lymphatic cancer. She's doing radiation treatment, and I think the prognosis is good. Unfortunately, she's living her life like she's dying soon, which is disheartening. She's having sex with four different guys, smoking 5-7 packs of cigarettes a week, and drinking 5-10 drinks a night (these are her estimates). She's always been a big drinker, but it's really getting out of hand now. I guess she figures better enjoy life while she can. I tried talking to her about it, but she didn't want to get into it. Thursday night we went out to dinner and she called Mo, who we also used to work with at the Marriott. I hadn't seen him in years, so that was great. He works for a brokerage firm doing their computer stuff. After dinner we went to Houlihans, which is like an Applebee's. I guess Kim and her friends go there almost everynight. They all work at California Pizza Kitchen, and all the restaurant people know each other. The bartender knows her well, and he hooked us all up with cheap drinks. I did have one drink. Some people think I don't drink....let me qualify that: I'm cheap and think alcohol is a waste of money and I don't like the taste of alcohol (even in cooking). But there is ONE drink I like - Absolute Citron and Lemonade. And since drinks were only $2, I had one. But, really I don't usually drink. Here's a pic of us at dinner. (will add pic later...blogger doesn't want to do it right now)
Fri: had breakfast with Kim, and then bummed around StL on my own for awhile. Went to see the old Wash U campus, and it's really changed. The library got a facelift and it's so beautiful. The dorm area is completely different. It looks so posh now. Spoiled college kids! The dorms that I stayed in are gone now. Friday night I met up with my old B-school friends - Vicky, Cheryl, and Kim (different Kim) at Fitz's on the Loop. I went home with Vicky that night.
Sat: Drove 6 hours to Chicago. It's normally thought to be a 4 hour drive, but with the location of Vicky's house and the location of the reception, it was a full 6 hours. I'm really glad I hadn't planned on making the wedding. I would've completely missed it. There was a three hour gap between the wedding and reception and I made it just in time for the reception. Sarah knew that's what I was doing, so it was all fine. The reception was really laid back. It was at a forest perserve and everyone changed into shorts and t-shirts. She had slushy machines and cotton candy too. Awesome. I got there while they were setting up and I heard someone say 'Oh, here's comes the truck with the Lutheran water'. I was intrigued. I didn't realize Lutherans had special water. I went over to where they were unloading, and looked, but it looked like regular bottled water to me. I asked someone what the 'Lutheran water' is, and she replied 'Oh, that's beer. We Lutherans love beer'. ! Cracked me up. They had two kegs and everyone was calling it 'Lutheran water'. Learn something new everyday! (will add pic later...blogger doesn't want to do it right now)
Sun: Vicky had a barbeque for all the families. Vicky has a 2-yr old, Cheryl has a 1-yr old, and Kamila and Kim came too. Vicky's son Charlie is really cute. He look just like a young football player - very stocky, no neck, and very tall. He was a handful - getting into things he shouldn't have (like the dog food -see title). Vicky and Cheryl both just found out they're pregnant again, so a large part of the conversation was about that. They were commiserating with each other on the differences in these pregancies compared to their first ones (yeah, that was a riveting conversation), and Cheryl mentioned that she's been craving Big Macs but her husband won't get her any. That kinda ticked me off cause I'm a big believer that the husband should get his pregnant wife whatever she asks for. Then they started talking about body pillows, cause I guess when you get big, you can't sleep on your back cause it'll cut off the artery that feeds blood to the fetus. So, you have to sleep on your side, and body pillows help cushion you so you don't roll where you shouldn't. At this point, Cheryl's husband starts complaining about the pillows. I told him he could sleep his ass on the sofa. That really ticked me off too. I don't know him that well, but he seemed serious to me. You know, your wife already gave you one son and you were lucky enough to have a chance at another, and you're bitching about pillows? Women have to go through 9 months of pain, discomfort, and general unpleasantness, plus there's a real chance of death, and he can't get his wife a Big Mac when she asks for one? Get your non-pregnant ass in the car and go get one! Argh. Vicky's husband on the other hand gets her whatever she wants. He's a real sweetie. They've been together since college and are so cute.
Mon: Drove back. 110 degrees in Oklahoma! Geez. Luckily my car handled the heat just fine and I was able to run the A/C the whole time.
posted by Speck at
11:13 PM
1 Comments:
Oh my gosh I'm so shocked to hear that Kim has cancer. I know we only met once or twice, but she made a big impression on me and I like her. I really hope she gets better.
Did you take any pictures of the changes at WashU? I have so many fond memories of the place and not sure if I want to overlay them with new images, but I'm too curious not to know what's changed.
By
inertbat, at 9:58 AM, July 25, 2006
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