Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween! We don't have any candy this year because no little kid ever ventures to our door. Maybe its too scary. Anyways, its nice and warm out today, in the 60's and overcast. Thats how it usually is, but a little cooler.

In the picture, thats Bobby as Batman, Romy and the drunken Superman, and me, as Superwoman. We were at Jerene's annual Halloween party. We spent most of the time watching the White Sox play their first game of the World Series.

Then yesterday, it was Nicole's last day in Chicago with us, so we went downtown because it was sooo nice out.
We parked in Lincoln Park, and walked to the Hancock in hopes of getting a coffee at the lounge on the 96th floor. No luck, the bastards don't let you sit there unless you're 21 years old.
So, the bimbo waitress said, "So sorry. . ." and began taking away the napkins she layed down on our table. We got a better view of Chicago in the bathroom anyway. But the guys didn't!

Whatever. . . So we moved on to the beach, and finally to a park that is hidden away near the Lincoln Park Zoo and the Peggy Notebaert Museum. It looks Frank Lloyd Wright-ish. Anyway, we plan on making s'mores there next time, and some brats.

Stylin' Comfy-Semi-Pants

This weekend, Nicole brought me some stylin' comfy-semi-pants that she sewed. She got some fabric at her super walmart store, and sewed me three pairs, and one for herself too. Later, she'll make Romy a pair also (they should be pretty stylin' as well!!).

My first pair has all goldfish fabric. The second has 3 peices of Diet Coke, and one teapot design. The third is all crazy with teapots, a fishy-scene, and goldfish all in one pair of comfy pants! She did the majority of the sewing last weekend, and then finished up on Monday, when her school was canceled because of Hurricane Wilma!!

We decided to go to Caribou Coffee Thursday night in our stylin' pants, but Marcel chickened out on wearing his Gucci sweatpants with us! What a party pooper!

After Caribou, we stopped in Trader Joes to get some Exstra, Staropramen, and some orange sorbet from France that you eat out of actual oranges shelled out! It was kinda cool!

The 54th/Cermak Nightmare!!

It always happens at UIC, that on the way home, you'll always miss the Forest Park L-train because of the 54th/Cermak nightmare.













It happens like this:
3:50pm Class gets out.
Hurry, gotta rush, power walk to the train station.
Wait, I have to go pee kinda, I'll just stop in the bathroom.
2 minutes later, out of the bathroom.
Power walking to the train, oh no, I hope I didn't miss it.
The paranoia is starting.
3:56pm Nearing the expressway.
And just as you get a sight of the tracks, there comes the Forest Park train, right under your feet! Damn!
Punch in my card ::Bleep::
Walk down the steps to the platform,
Wait at the platform for AT LEAST 20 minutes, UHHHHHGGG!!!

Or, it happens like this:
3:50pm Class gets out.
Hurry, gotta rush, power walk to the train station.
Wait, I have to go pee kinda, but I can't stop in the bathroom or I'll miss the train.
Power walking to the train, oh no, I hope I don't miss it, or pee in my pants!
The paranoia is starting.
3:54pm Nearing the expressway.
And just as you get to the tracks, everything thing looks good, no train yet.
Punch in my card ::Bleep::
Walk down the steps to the platform.
Hang head over the tracks to look down and see if the train lights are shining out of its tunnel.
Wait, I see lights! Which train is it?
Blurry light of the sign, coming closer. . . uhhhh is it more blue-ish, or white-ish!?
Oh no, I think its more white-ish.
Damn it is. . . .
It's the freakin 54th/Cermak NIGHTMARE!!!!!!!!!!!

Weird News from Discover Magazine

This morning, I opened up the brand new issue of Discover magazine. While I was eating breakfast, I came across these little snipets of info:

Some parasitic hair worm can actually brain-wash grasshopppers by introducing a protein which will drive it to water, where the grasshopper drowns and the worms reproduce. That's crazy!
Did you know you emit light!? I wonder if it works by going into a pitch dark room, and sticking out your palm!
The sea anemone wars must be funny to watch! I imagine something like lord of the rings in slow-mo!!! I wonder what the "scout" anemones look like when they're on the hunt!

Yesterday, I met my new student. I am tutoring her for AP Calculus. She goes to OPRF high school in Oak Park. We were originally gonna go to the library, but they were closing too early, so we sat down in the smallest Caribou in the world! It only had three small tables. The whole place was practically taken up by the bar and cash register thing.

Oh yeah, check this out, I am starting to lose weight! Finally my efforts are paying off:
125.8 lb.
25.5% body fat

Snake eats Gator!

This was discovered in the Everglades one week ago: A 13 ft. Burmese python, dead with it's stomach busted open, with an American alligator's tail and rear legs sticking out of it! The snake swallowed the 6 ft. gator whole, and both died in the process. The snake is not native to the Everglades, and was likely an abandoned pet. Romy's mom gave me this Chicago Tribune newspaper clipping today.

It looks really gross! The Tribune says that the snake was the attacker. Pythons have first been spotted in the Everglades since the 1980s.

127.0 lb.
26.5% body fat

I tried making Chai Tea Latte

Yesterday night, I made some chai tea latte. Romy's mom brought us some tea bags.

So, since I ran out of Vanilla tea to make, I tried it out. First I brewed up 1/2 gal of the tea using 5 tea bags. Then I let it seep for about 20 minutes. I poured it over with about a cup of whole milk, and mixed in some sugar (6 packets of Splenda). Then I put it in the fridge overnight.
I tried it this morning, and what it looks like is a milky tea, with spices mixed around in it, kind of like horchata (the mexican rice milk), but it tastes spicier. It is something different, thats for sure! I kind of like it.

128.0 lb
26.0% body fat