note to self

things i've learned tonight:

1. when up late at night in a dark house with most of the lights turned out, do not - in a search for comfort noise - turn on history channel documentaries about bigfoot, UFOs and
especially not anything demon related.

2. UFOs are sometimes called USOs because apparently they are swimming in the ocean now.

3. don't eat a whole 4th meal cobbled together from bits of olive garden leftovers so late at night. heartburn is calling my name. oh wait. i didn't just learn that. i already knew that from EVERY OTHER NIGHT WHEN I STUFF MY FACE AND THEN WONDER WHY MY GULLET IS ON FIRE.

"this toy for ages 5 and up"....is 27 ok?

i love coming home to see my family. a lot of the people i grew up with who moved seem to have done so in an attempt to escape the semi-small town of springfield. but for some reason i like coming back to see friends and family.

today (or should i say yesterday since i'm writing this at 2:30 in the morning) was christmas. my birthday. i turned 27 today. i probably shouldn't put this much information about me on the web, but i figure, hey, i'm sure if somebody was hell bent on stealing my identity, a birthday from a blog won't make much of a difference.

i got a bunch of gifts from family that i'm very grateful for. some clothes. digital camera. a sentimental stone from my great grandfather's house in germany. oddly enough, my favorite gift that i got and was the most excited about was a joke gift. my parents got me a small remote controlled helicopter. i think i spent the better part of the day perfecting the skills required to navigate around my parents house.

anyway, i hope everyone had a nice christmas. i know i did.

nick

commute

the wind rushed through the tunnels and all around me with an urgency not unlike the fevered pitch of the people that crowded the passageway. as the train sped away and i climbed out of the underground catacombs known as the red line Grand Ave. stop, i couldn't help but think, "wow, here i am again". i lived and worked in Chicago for about three years. it was a love/hate relationship with a city i dearly loved, but suffered in for so long.

i took that same train every day for three years. if you're familiar with chicago, you may know that from this stop i have two choices to get to work. Lower Michigan Ave. goes underneath Michigan and cuts across to Ohio St. with almost no traffic. no waiting to cross the busy street. plus, in the cold weather being underneath minimizes the bite of the wind on your face. short and sweet. the other is to actually cut across Upper Michigan - to experience the lights and hustle and bustle of a beautiful city.

on this new day, although things felt familiar, i know that i am a different person that i was back then. life isn't about avoiding hardships and minimizing pain. it's not about just getting from point A to point B. life is experiencing the wonders that are around us in everyday life. it's about seeing the positive and not dwelling on the negative. it's about staying focused and finding out who you are among the cacophony of voices going in different directions.

i took Upper Michigan