Greetings from Chicago

The general lack of updation hasn't been huge, I suppose, but noticeable to me. Man, I haven't hardly been on the internet at all. It feels oddly liberating. Hah, not really, but whatever. My brother Paul and his wife have generously taken me in for however long during Christmas break, so I've been living it up here in the northern suburbs of Chicago.

Departure

The drive up was pretty cool. My nephew Ethan asked if he could ride with me. I thought it was kinda cute

Ethan: Hey Patrick, can I ride with you?
Me: Well sure, if it's alright with your mom and dad.
Ethan: He says yes!

Paul ended up taking the skyway and I followed him. I think it's my first time ever actually driving through that part of Chicago--all other times I had just been riding. It wasn't terribly crazy. The roads were nice enough that I was able to snap a few (blurry) pictures of the Chicago skyline.

Onan the Eccentric

Tuesday was quite action packed. As Paul and I and the boys went out to Woodman's in Wisconsin, we passed by a Ford dealer. I noticed there was a Ford GT. So Paul turned around and we stopped and looked at it. So there you go--a Ford GT being sold right in humble Antioch.
We then drove by some property owned by an apparently eccentric man who has a sum of money. He built himself this giant pyramid. If I recall correctly, his name is Onan. That's a good creepy Egyptian name to go with a big pyramid in his yard.



Of course, as we drove past Six Flags Great America, we had to stop and see the roller coasters. Ethan loves roller coasters. He seriously knows about as much as I know about them, if not more, and he's three years old.
Finally we made it to our intended destination to pick up some groceries.

Beer Can Chicken

or Chicken on a Throne

Wednesday, I got to see Paul's creative cooking go into full-swing. He told me once that he figures we gotta eat, so we may as well have fun with it. That's how he explains cooking fun meals, and preparing them in your own kitchen a little spicier or different from how we might normally, even though it's a little more work. So anyway, the main dish for lunch was Beer Can Chicken, or chicken on a throne. It's somewhat humorous to see, if not a little blasphemous to the carcass of the chicken.



Later that day I wanted to go to Gurnee Mills to pick up a video game since the local Wal-Mart didn't have it. Ethan heard this and wanted to come along because close to Gurnee is--dun dun dun--SIX FLAGS! He came along with me so we could go see the roller coasters at Six Flags

Then we had a good Ikea

Thursday, everyone went to Schaumburg west of Chicago. Known for its limitless array of strip malls. We all went to Ikea while Amy was looking at bridesmaid dresses with some friends of hers. I was thinking maybe we'd have to come up with somewhere to go after Ikea because I really wasn't all that sure how exciting it would be. But man, I'm sorry I ever doubted. Ikea is absolutely awesome. They specialize in furniture and home furnishings. Sounds boring, yeah, except these are swooby furnishings. And everything is at great prices. You could easily furnish a whole apartment for under $800 and have it look like a million bucks. I'm definitely going back before my life is over.
Later that night, I had some engaging and thought-provoking conversation/debate with Paul into the wee hours of the morning. We were mostly trying to settle some 400+ year old theological squabbles. While neither of us exactly won, some won more than others, I suppose, and I learned a lot about my own personal position on many things as well as how good that position is.

It's a Cop Thing

The intended destination this time was an Indian grocery store. But we had to turn around because Paul forgot some bills that he needed to stop by a bank and pay for. Then we realized we needed gas. And after that, Amy remembered that two items she put on hold were in the library, so we also swung by there to get those. Then we could head towards the Indian grocery store. But alas! First we passed by Six Flags, meaning Ethan wanted us to stop and look at the roller coasters. Then we picked up some samosas, looked at roller coasters, paid a bill, and looked at roller coasters some more. We were listening to Beverly Hills by Weezer pretty much the whole time because Ethan loves that song. That album was one of the items picked up at the library--because Ethan likes it.
The other item picked up at the library was Die Hard. I had never seen it, so I was naturally intrigued. It's really a pretty awesome movie, especially when compared to The Brothers Grimm. I just can't imagine they had one, nay, two (maybe more?) sequels for it. I mean, all that terrorist stuff and fighting them off is pretty much a once-in-a-lifetime thing, Bruce.

Ringing in the New Year

Today my services as a child sitter were employed so Paul and Amy could go out and have themselves lunch together. They got back and after a while, Paul and I started messing around with the guitar, experimenting a bit with beats and whatnot. Then Amy made some appetizers--fondue, crab rangoon, and the samosas, and we all sat and watched Napoleon Dynamite. Well, most of us sat. Ethan and Adrian were all over the place. Mostly Ethan though. And now here I am, ringing in the new year by blogging. If you read through all this, congratulations! You have shown me that I am vain enough to believe that people actually care about events that happen in my day.

Here are some pictures as a reward for reading all that.