so much to say

i have so much to catch up on, i just have no idea how i’m ever going to remember everything.

so life in chicago is good. been decently busy with work lately and it’s only going to get more busy as the year progresses. we’re about to enter planning season for the account at the end of this month, perfect time to rack up some overtime. work is really great though. even though the pay completely sucks, i’m enjoying it very much. i have to say that it’s great to be able to say that i love what i do, i choose the right career. plus i get to go to some great things, which makes it even better than as great as it already is. i got to see madonna in concert when she was in town. about a month ago i went to a cubs game courtesy of ESPN. towards the middle of august one of our magazine sales reps is taking me along to a wine tasting class with her. i got two free 3-day passes to Lollapalooza courtesy of one of the agency’s clients. not a bad job at all.

the weather, for the most part, is quite great. it’s been a bit warmer lately, but i hear that it will past shortly and it will start cooling off before i know it. crazy winter, here i come!

other than that i’ve just been hanging out and experiencing the city.

i’ve discovered i live in the ghetto. a couple of weeks ago i was walking down the street, coming home from the train stop, and some little girl is riding her bike towards me. she doesn’t change trajectory so i move out of the way. of course she moves too so she’s coming straight for me again. bam! she runs right over my foot and falls to the ground. at this point i’m standing there stunned. do i pretend nothing happened and walk away or do i try to lend a helping hand? of course i’m the only white person probably within two blocks and everyone is just staring at me. so i help her up and she goes off on me. i’d repeat what she said but she had such a foul mouth for such a little kid.

and to further support my ghetto theory: someone was shot in the building across the street this past weekend and nobody seems to care. everyone just continues on like it’s business as usual. although, it’s strange because so do i. perhaps i have already been desensitized to the neighborhood.

so yeah, the living arrangement isn’t horrible but it’s not the most ideal situation. i’m fine living out the rest of my lease. although i’m looking forward to trying to find something a little bit closer to work. currently, it’s about a 30-40 minute train ride from my place to downtown. it’s not all bad though because it gives me some free time for reading and listening to the iPod.

i was in austin last month on a business trip. i was there for 48 hours and they were gone before i knew it. spent a lot of time working and pretty much didn’t have time for anything else.

i was supposed to go to michigan this past weekend/early part of this week with some friends but sickness got the best of me. i ended up catching a cold last week and had to take some time off so i didn’t want to take time off last week and then again this week. it would have been fun to have gotten to go to michigan though. oh well, there’s always next year.

i have to admit there is one thing i can’t stand about illinois: the sun is out so much of the damn day. the sun seriously starts to rise at 5am and doesn’t set until nearly 9pm. i’m just hoping that during the winter it’s the other way around and it’s dark most of the day.

that’s really the only bad thing i’ve experienced with the move to chicago. everything else has been great. it’s strange because it’s like i’m a new person. i’m a much more social person, although i think the fact that i actually only have one job and have free time has a great deal to do with that. i’ve got my circle of friends and i’ve had a great time hanging out with them. i think i might have done more social activities since i’ve gotten to chicago than i did all of college. it’s like a whole other world. it’s so nice having time to do whatever i want. no more going to school and working two jobs.

things are good for me here.

okay i should probably get some rest. i promise more updates in the near future.

until later.

.ryan