A Chicago Thanksgiving!

Last night Jessica and I went to go see Kid Sister and Flosstradamus at the Metro. Did you know that they are all Chicago natives?! The show was so awesome! Afterwards we went downstairs to the Smartbar and danced to some more djs until 2am. Then we headed towards home and stopped at my favorite place Picante to get some late night tacos. I think I'm addicted to pork tacos, because I eat them at least twice a week...



Now on to the feast. Jessica and I prepared a ridiculous meal for just the two of us. We made a large 5.5lb turkey breast (basically a turkey with no legs or wings)with gravy, herbed stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potato pie, Brussels sprouts, maple-glazed carrots and cranberry sauce. It was completely out of control!

The Turkey Breast

The full spread

My Apple Galette

In other news: Homer is scared of the heater and has found a safe spot on top of my lunch bag, on top of the microwave, which is on top of the refrigerator. What a weirdo!

To keep up with my lame cat pictures, Here is a photo of Homer and me from today. We are taking a break from cooking and waiting for the turkey to pop.

An update on the job front:

I've been doing a little bit of freelance work (wedding album design and retouching) from home for the last few weeks. The Photographer is Brad Baskin and he owns LifeTime Weddings. It is kinda nice to work from home and the money is really good.
Also, last week I started assisting for David Ditzler. He is really talented and he shoots a variety of things. I've been helping him sort and edit some real estate photos for a company that leases properties in strip malls. He is also a web designer, so I've been learning a bunch of graphic design stuff.
On top of that, I've picked up a few jobs restoring some old photographs. I'm so excited that I've finally got some work to keep me busy! Hooray for employment!

A crazy week!

The craziness began last Friday, Halloween. I got a call from GSP Thursday afternoon to go into work on Friday. The flowers for the FTD shoot were arriving and they needed to be prepped for next week. I spent the day filling buckets of water, cutting flowers and painting backgrounds. Overall it was a great day of work, I really like being the flower girl.

That night I was invited to attend a couple Halloween parties with my friend Kate. I left work and began my search for a Halloween costume. I don't usually wait until the last minute to figure out my costume but this year I was feeling somewhat uninspired. Kate was going to be a maggot, so I thought that I could compliment her and dress as a fly. It was not a very complicated costume so I assumed my shopping trip would be easy. I just need some small white wings and antenna to go with my all black outfit. After visiting about five stores, I gave up on my fly costume and bought bat wings. It actually worked out to be a cute costume but unfortunately I don't have any photos of me and Kate.

The parties were really fun and kind of crazy. The first party was at Kate's high school friend Joey's house. This girl must be pretty wealthy because her condo was unbelievable. The apartment had three bedrooms, three bathrooms, a large open style kitchen/living room/dining room area, and a huge deck. The kitchen had granite counter tops and stainless steel appliances, the floors were all tile and the bathrooms were marble. To top it off, Joey had decorated the whole apartment beautifully. The food was fantastic and we drank punch served from a cauldron in beakers. I was pretty impressed and that says a lot because as you probably know, the Sofarelli women are quite the party hostesses.

The second party was at this guy John's house. It was not as good as the first party, but it was still pretty fun. Phil came and met up with us after he got off work. We ended up staying at John's house until almost 5am, and there was still a ton of people there when we left. Chicago people party late! Well, I'm not one to talk because on Saturday night I didn't head out until almost 1am! Well I pretty much slept all day Saturday and because of the time change, bars were going to be open until 4am on Saturday night! Needless to say, my sleep schedule was all screwed up, and it was especially hard to get out of bed on Monday morning.

Tuesday was crazy all day at work because everyone was very tense about the election. I didn't have to worry about voting because I did an absentee ballet for Maine. After work I headed home to watch the coverage on TV with Jessica. Phil came by around 9:30pm and the three of us went over to Cleo's. Just as we walked in the door they announced that Obama had been elected. The bar was going crazy, everyone was cheering and ordering drinks. It was a fun night. I do wish that I went down to Grant park, but I honestly didn't think that they would announce who won so early. My friends Ashley, Emily and a bunch of my co-workers were at Grant park. Well at least I can say that I was in Chicago, and only about 2 miles away from Grant Park.

The rest of the week went well, I worked about 50 hours! Yay for money! Plus I took home a ton of floral arrangements.

So far this week, I've been just hanging around the house and watching lots of Gossip Girl. My back has been killing me, I think I might have over done it with the buckets of water last week. I'm not working, which totally sucks. Tonight I'm going to see some comedy with my friend Ashley. Tomorrow I have an interview with a photographer for some office/assistant type work. So, I'll just have to wait and see how things go...but I hate waiting around! Oh well...

You know you love me, XOXO (I couldn't resist a Gossip Girl joke)

An Update...

I haven't written much because there hasn't been really anything exciting going on, but here's an update:

I'm still not working this week so far, but I did get booked all next week for the FTD flower shoot. Yay! Thank god.

I've been working on updating my website, because I really need a more professional looking website with links to my resume and also examples of my wedding albums. It is a very tedious process, but it will be all worth it in the end. I'll post the link when I'm done.

I baked an apple pie the other night. I figured since I had so much free time, that I should take advantage and use some of my many cooking appliances/gadgets. It was the first time I used my pampered chef pie plate, a gift from my sister Jackie. It worked great!


Also, I got my hair cut again. I was kinda annoyed with the last cut because it was so straight across the bottom. Plus I have very thick hair so my hair was laying weird. I answered a Craig's list ad for a free haircut. The stylist wanted to work on her graduated bob cuts, so it worked out perfectly and it was free! I'm very happy with the cut, it isn't any shorter but it's more textured and graduated in the back. You can kinda see the cut in this photo of me serving apple pie.


On Friday night Jessica and I went to my friend, Phil's gallery opening and then out to dinner at a restaurant/pub called Cleo's. We sat at the bar to eat dinner and the very friendly bartender kept buying us shots! I guess Jessica and I must have made quite an impression, because our bill was way less than it should have been. Could we have found our new DTL?

You can check out Phil's photography here.

Later that night we ended up at the Rainbo Club. The Rainbo club is like a hipster hub, you wouldn't believe the amount of single speed bikes locked up out front! I have wanted to go to the Rainbo since we moved here because it is a well-known hangout of John Cusack. No, John Cusack was not there that night but there was plenty of good people watching to be had. It is also rumored that Johnny Depp hangs out there when he's in town!

Last night I went with Phil to Kuma's Corner. I was really excited to eat there because I watched a review of the restaurant on Chicago public TV about a month ago. Kuma's is known for their gourmet burgers, which are named after heavy metal bands, and their "make your own" mac n cheese. We split the Iron Maiden burger and mac n cheese with mushrooms and bacon. Talk about a heart attack! It was so good though. I will defiantly go there again.

Ok, here is a few pics of Homer and me from the week: Did I mention that I love my cat? Ok, maybe I have a problem...

Another long weekend

I'm off work for an undetermined amount of time, and it sucks. I only worked a few half days last week and now I'm not sure when I'm going back. I called the studio today and there is still no work, so I just have to wait. In the mean time I've been applying to jobs online and cold calling other studios to see if they need an assistant this week. This is the part of freelancing that sucks. Why can't I just find a real job? I'm just really frustrated at the moment.

Anyway, I had a pretty good weekend. I went to an artist party on Saturday night with my friend Kate. It reminded me of a MECA party. There were lots of artist and hippie types and even some people wearing bunny costumes. haha. We went out the the GoldStar after the party and stayed there until close (which is 3am on Saturday nights!). Kate's friend Mark bar tends there, so we got free drinks. Overall it was a good night.

Also, fall has finally come to Chicago. The leaves have changed and the temperature is now in the mid-50's. It's a big change, because last weekend when Ajay was here we were still having an "Indian summer". It was in the high 70's for all of Columbus day weekend. I had to put my storm windows down yesterday. Winter is officially on it's way. :(

Columbus Day Weekend

Wow, I've been busy! Here is what I've been up to:

Ajay arrived Thursday night, Jessica and I picked him up at Midway around 10:30pm. I had an interview with a wedding photographer Friday afternoon so Ajay and I killed time walking around wicker park on Friday morning. The interview went well, but it is only for freelance wedding album designs. I think he just wants someone to call when he has work, but that is fine for now.
Friday evening Ajay and I made the trek up to Devon Street. Devon Street is part of Roger's Park and has a huge Indian and Pakistani population. The whole street is lined with Indian restaurants and traditional Indian clothing stores. We ate at a restaurant called Tiffin, it was kinda upscale but still reasonable and yummy Indian food. We ordered way too much and took home some leftovers.
Saturday, Ajay and I went to brunch with Ashley. We ate at a place named Milk and Honey and they had delicious huevos rancheros and a variety of paninis. After brunch Ajay and I headed out to Lincoln Park to go to the Zoo and the Conservatory. I've been to the zoo before but I've only seen the Conservatory from a distance. The Conservatory is a huge greenhouse built in the late 1800's. The main room is called the Palm Room and it is filled with various types of palm trees and tropical plants. There was also an orchid room, which I was really excited about. The best part about the Zoo and Conservatory is that admission is free! I love Chicago parks!
Ajay and I went out Friday, Saturday and Sunday night. Friday was Old Oak Tap and Tuman's (both neighborhood bars), Saturday was Lava and People (Wicker Park bars) and Sunday was an Imax movie at the Navy Pier and then drinks at the Signature lounge on the 96th story of the Hancock building. It was quite a weekend! We even visited Humbolt Park and fed the geese.
Yesterday I dropped Ajay off at the airport. I drove Jess's car in the city all by myself! Anyway, after I returned from the airport, I went to meet Ashley downtown at AMC theaters. She had gotten tickets to another movie screening. The movie was Role Models starring Seann William Scott and Paul Rudd. The movie was really funny and the Paul Rudd was at the screening to answer questions afterward. It's really awesome that Ashley can get tickets to free screenings. I can't wait to see what movie is next!

Here are some photos from the weekend:

Me at the Conservatory


Lady Slipper Orchids


Giraffs at the Lincoln Park Zoo


Geese at Humbolt Park


View from the Hancock building (not my photo)

A dinner party experiment and awesome pizza!

Last night I went to an experimental dinner party at my co-worker Kate's house. The idea was that everyone had to bring one ingredient and it couldn't cost over 5 dollars. I brought broccoli and chocolate chocolate chip cookies because I was unsure about what to bring. I got there fairly late, due to my lack of travel time calculations. It took me almost an hour to get to Kate's house by bus and train. That is pretty typical travel time to anywhere across the city when you use public transportation because Chicago is gigantic! Anyway, there were a ton of people there and the food turned out awesome. We had chicken and veggie stir-fry, spicy coleslaw, spinach salad and guacamole with chips. I missed the appetizers but I heard they were really good, something about stuffed peppers and bacon...
After everyone was finished eating we headed back down to Wicker Park and went to this bar called Danny's. I think I might have had a bit too much to drink because I ended up making a run to Underdog for cheese burgers and chili cheese dogs with my co-worker Jon. Jon walked me home around 1am. It was very tough getting up this morning, but I made it through the day and I plan on getting to bed early tonight.

Over the weekend, Jess and I ordered pizza from Pizza Metro in wicker park. We got a half potato-rosemary and half grilled vegetable. It was sooooo good! The grilled vegetable had grilled zucchini, fresh tomatoes and a sweet red sauce. I am very excited to find an awesome pizza place that delivers to us. Also it's pretty close to our house, so I could just pop in for a slice.

FTD Flowers, Birthdays and My NEW Do!

This week I worked on FTD flowers Monday through Thursday. My duties included moving flowers in and out of the cooler, filling containers with water, cutting flowers and de-pollening the Lilies. I also helped out some of the Photographers. It was a really busy week, but it was pretty fun. The best part was that we weren't allowed to leave for lunch so we got catered lunch and snacks everyday! Yum! Next week I'm going to be kinda of a floater, so I'm not really sure what I'll be working on. I'm just happy to be working!

Wednesday was Jessica's birthday. We went out to dinner at the Old Oak Tap. It is only a few blocks from our house, but it was our first time there. It was a nice night, so we ate outside on the patio. We ordered three tapas, Fat Boy Pie, tempura fried green beans, and the baked goat cheese. It was sooooo good, but three dishes was way too much food! I have a feeling that we will be going back there on a regular basis, maybe it's the new Norm's!

Also this week was Ajay's birthday on Friday. I sent him an awesome, extremely flashy card. I totally should have taken a picture of it, maybe he'll send me one...

Today I got my haircut! I went to Big Hair in Roscoe Village because my co-worker recommended it. I love my new haircut and it was only $25! What a deal! Check it out:

The LG shine, Hipsters and random street fairs...

I got a new phone, the LG Shine! So far I love the phone, but my AT&T reception has had some serious issues. I couldn't get reception in my house for the first few days of owning this phone, but I've been having crappy reception in the apartment since I moved here. I called AT&T multiple times to complain about my bad reception, and it seemed to get me no where, so I was planning on switching service providers. I visited Verizon, because Jessica has Verizon and she gets pretty good reception in the house. I talked to the sales guy at Verizon and was all set to switch over my service. Then my past came back to haunt me. I could not get a plan with Verizon because back in 1999/2000 I had co-signed a phone plan for my then-boyfriend Todd and he had screwed me over by not paying his bills after we broke up. I had completely forgotten about this whole situation. It is amazing how a stupid choice that I made 8 years ago is affecting my life now! Well, the moral of the story is: Never co-sign anything for a boyfriend or girlfriend ever!

After I arrived home from the Verizon store, my AT&T phone worked in the house. Did AT&T hear my pleas for service or was it just a strange coincidence? I have no idea, but I'm gonna see how my phone acts this weekend and if I have any problems I'll be heading straight over to T-Mobile. I'm getting pretty sick of all this cell phone drama!


This week I found an interesting article about Hipsters. What is a hipster? The exact definition is unknown but there are about 3,000 definitions on the Urban Dictionary's site, check it out. Jessica and I have concluded that we are not hipsters, but you can decide for yourself by reading this article: Hipster: the Dead End of Western Civilization.

Last night I was walking home from a co-workers house and I came upon a street fair. There are so many street fairs and festivals in Chicago, that it is impossible to keep track of them all! It was only a block from my house and I had no idea that it was even going on! Here is a picture I took with my new phone of the Ferris wheel:


Also here is a photo I took of my two favorite buildings in Chicago. The Marina Towers, aka the Corncob Buildings.


And a better photo of them from their condo association's website:


Can you imagine living there?

Wow! It is Rainy!

Check out this news story. I knew we were getting a lot of rain, but I had no idea.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/weather/09/14/chicago.rainfall/index.html?eref=rss_topstories

Rainy Weekend

This weekend has been so rainy. I'm really bummed because I wanted to go to the Renegrade Craft Fair in Wicker Park. It is going on rain or shine, but I can't imagine it being too much fun in this weather. Also I'm missing the farmers market this morning. The one good thing about staying in all weekend is that I actually have a wedding album to create for Focus Photography back in Portland. So at least I'm busy and I'm making money.

On Friday I found out that I will be working full time for the next two weeks! Next week I'll be helping the Senior Photographer Todd gather together old equipment to sell on eBay on Mon-Tues and then I'll be covering for an another assistant for the rest of the week. The week after that I'll be assisting the Floral Stylist with the FTD shoot. I'm gonna be prepping flowers for arrangements, which sounds kinda fun.

Also, for those of you who know about my cell phone drama, I have yet to receive my new phone. It is supposed to be here tomorrow but I'm not counting on it. So if you need to get in touch with me probably e-mail will be your best bet.

A week of Otto shoes

It's Wednesday night and the end of the week cannot get here fast enough. My work is boring, boring, boring!!! The days really drag and there is nothing I can do about it. They say that this is a slow time, so I hope it gets busier soon. Also I hope I'm working next week because I could really use the money.

We have been shooting Otto all week so far and we will be finished by Friday evening. My team has been shooting mostly shoes and bags. The art directors wanted a "water type feel" to the shots, so we have a large pool of water in the background. One of my main jobs is to make waves in the pool to create water ripples in the background, how exciting! That was sarcasm in case you didn't catch that...

Anyway check out Otto's website, but beware it is mostly in Japanese.

Today during lunch I checked out the Joel Peter Witkin show at the Catherine Endelman gallery. I've never seen any of his work in person and I was really impressed with his prints. Check out his work here, but be advised that some images might be disturbing and contain adult content.

A cool thing about my work is that it is located in River North. The area houses multiple galleries, photo and design studios and lots of cool artsy type places. Jess went to a bunch of gallery openings on Friday night, like Portland Chicago also has a first Friday art walk. There are a lot of photography shows up right now and it is so refreshing to see something other than lighthouse paintings!

26 Things Tag

My sister Jackie tagged me in this blogging game...

1. If you are tagged, you are responsible for taking a picture of an item that begins with your letter. Be creative! Anything goes.

2. Post the picture on your blog.
3. Tag someone new with the next letter of the alphabet.
4. Since there are 26 letters, someone may be tagged multiple times. That is perfectly fine, but try to spread the love if you can.
5. If someone doesn't want to play, they should pass and someone else should be tagged.

I was given the letter "L":


L is for Lamp shade. I got this new lampshade on my Ikea adventure. The lamp used to belong to my sister Jackie. The lamp matches my bed frame and mirror.

I don't really know too many bloggers, so I'm gonna tag my nephew Jacob from the Jacob & Friends & Penguins & ME blog. Your letter is "M". Good Luck Jacob!

On to week two

I made it through my first week at GPS! Even though it was somewhat boring there isn't really much to complain about. All my co-workers are really nice and many of them are around my age. We really do shoot a variety of products, like garden statues, pet accessories, toy cars, wicker furniture, Pilate's equipment, and tons of other things.

Next week I'm going to be working on the second floor with a different photographer shooting the Otto shoe catalog. Otto shoes is a Japanese company and they do not even sell their products in the US. It is weird that they shoot their catalog in Chicago. Anyway, It should be interesting. We will be also shooting some purses, jewelry and other accessories for Otto.

As for my personal life, I haven't been up to too much. I've been cooking at home pretty much every night and watching bad tv such as Gossip Girl and the new 90210. Also I've been reading a lot before bed.

Last night I went to the movies with Ashley, we saw Tropic Thunder. It was so funny, but very stupid. Tonight Jessica and I are planning to go see Sammy Bananas at the Smartbar. Sammy Bananas is an awesome dj and he is in one of our favorite bands Miss Fairchild. We have seen Sammy and Miss Fairchild multiple times in Portland, but it will be cool to see him at a big city venue. Now I'm gonna cross my fingers and hope that Jessica gets done with her homework in time to go...

Day 1 at GSP Marketing

First of all, the studio is gigantic, three floors and multiple rooms. The two studios I worked in were all setup for shooting LTD Commodities. There was a kitchen, a laundry room, a bathroom, a living room and various other setups. The products that LTD sells are so cheesy and the outdoor shots are all completely fake! It was kind of funny to see all the different rooms and outdoor setups. Plus they have a crew and a whole workshop just for constructing and painting sets. It's a huge production.
So, we shot some car mattes, wicker furniture, and a dog harness today. I worked from 8am until 3:30pm, but usually I'll be working until 5pm. The photographer I was working with had to leave early today. The atmosphere is pretty relaxed. It is rather slow at the moment, which is a good time for me to learn. However, it is kinda boring so I hope I'll have more to do tomorrow.
Also I'm not sure if I'm even working next week! I hate freelance! I guess they post next week's schedule on Thursday. Another thing that sucks is that I won't be getting my first pay check for at least six weeks! They said that the pay period was based on their billing cycle which does make sense, but six weeks! Grrrr...
Well I applied for another job today that sounds perfect so maybe that will work out...

Ok, I'm gonna make dinner then watch the season premier of 90210!!!

Things turning up Liz!

Yesterday I got a call from GSP Marketing. I thought they were calling to schedule a trial work day, but instead they want me to work all week (Tues-Fri)! I'm very excited to have something to do and of course make some money! I'm still going to apply for other jobs but at least this is a start in the right direction.

Also I got my Illinois state ID yesterday. I'm officially a Chicago, Illinois resident. I live in the mid-west, that's crazy!

Tonight I'm going with Jessica to meet up with an old friend Emily Looser, who just moved to Chicago too. We're going to see Whirled News tonight an improv show at the iO theater. Then we are probably going to get a drink or two afterwards. Should be fun!

My first Chicago Interview

Yes, you read it correctly. I had my first Chicago interview today. It was for a freelance photography assistant at a commercial studio. The place is called GSP marketing, check it out! It's a marketing firm that does in house photography, design and printing. I think my interview went well. The Senior Photographer, Todd seemed impressed with my past experience at Macomber Inc. Todd is supposed to call me tomorrow to schedule a time for me to go back and work a trial day. So, I'm just gonna see what happens. In the mean time I'm still applying for other jobs and hopefully I'll start getting more interviews. I really want a full time position with benefits, but that can be hard to find in the photo industry. Booooo!

Here is a picture of me in my big-girl interview clothes.

Also I've posted some of my re-touching portfolio online. Check it out at www.elizabethsofarelli.com. It's nothing fancy, just a simple Photoshop photo gallery. I'll update it and get a better layout eventually.

Well, that is all for now. Here is another funny picture of Homer:

Towelhead

Last night Ashley and I went to see a free screening of the movie Towelhead. At first we didn't think we were going to get in, but we waited and were able to take some seats in the first row. It was so good, probably one of the best movies that I've seen in a while. After the movie, the writer/director Alan Ball was there to answer questions, and Ashley asked a very smart question. Alan Ball has also written American Beauty and Six Feet Under. Check out the Towelhead trailer and website here.

So that's all for now. I'm continuing my job search, but I have nothing to report yet. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

The Chicago heat and my job search

Okay, so I haven't blogged in a few days because I haven't really been doing anything too exciting. By request of my oldest sister (the blogging queen, haha), here is what I've been up to:

First of all, It's so hot in Chicago! For the past 4 days it's been in the mid to upper 80's and super muggy. Yuck! The mythical lake breeze, which has no comparison to an ocean breeze, does not reach our apartment. Also we have no AC, so I'm writing this with two fans blowing on me. There has been occasional thunderstorms but those don't seem to relieve the mugginess. To deal with the heat Jessica and I have been eating a lot of Gelato from a place around the corner from our house. Yummy!

For the past three days, I've been working on finding a job. When Ajay was here he helped me update and re-design my resume, and let me say it looks pretty awesome. I went down to Kinkos and printed out about 30 copies, but I need to get a lot more. I wrote a fantastic cold call type cover letter and now I'm working on sending them all out.
I did google searches for Chicago portrait photography studios, commercial photography studios and photo labs. I checked out each studio/lab's website and wrote down the places that I liked. There are no shortage of photography studios in Chicago! I'm sending resumes and personalized cover letters to 20 portrait studios, 18 commercial studios and 5 photo labs!
On top of that I've been doing job searches on Craigslist, Comm Arts, the Chicago Reader and various other job search sites. I've applied to about 10 jobs from those sites since I've been here. Whew! Now I just have to cross my fingers and send some follow up e-mails in a week or so.

Today is Jessica's orientation at Columbia College, I've been teasing her about her first day of school all week. Yesterday we went to Staples to get her school supplies and I needed ink for my printer. Jackie was right about all the ridiculous and unnessisary school supplies at Staples. Who needs all of that crap?

Anyway, I think I'm gonna walk up to Wicker park and go to the farmer's market and then come back and package up more resumes. Tonight Jessica and I are going to see DJ A-trak at Subterranean. It should be awesome! Ajay is super jealous...

Trader Joe's, Ikea and Jeff Koons

On Sunday Jessica and I went to Trader Joe's. This was my first time shopping at a Trader Joe's, and I had big expectations. The store was fairly small but the selection was decent. The best thing about Trader Joe's is that all of the products and produce are organic and super cheap!!! Tonight we are enjoying some burgundy pepper marinaded lamb with organic mashed potatoes and organic Brussels sprouts. Yum!

Yesterday we ventured out to the suburb of Schaumburg, IL to go to Ikea. I have been to an Ikea before so I knew what to expect, but it was still over-whelming. We got multiple types of shelving, curtain rods and closet organizers. Here is a few photos of my favorite purchases:

Bathroom shelves

Hanging rack for pots and pans

Hanging Rail

Today we went downtown to the Museum of Contemporary Art to see the Jeff Koons exhibit. There is free admission at the MCA on Tuesdays, yay! The show was a kind of retrospective of Koons' work from the late 80's until today. My favorite pieces were the giant balloon dog and the sculpture of Michael Jackson and his Chimpanzee Bubbles. It was a crazy exhibit but I'm glad that I went to see it. Here are my favorite pieces:


Also here is a funny picture of Homer in a tiny box. Silly cat!

Sunday Morning in the Ukrainian Village

The weather has been absolutely gorgeous since we got here. Sunny and warm every day, a big change from the rainy weather we left back in New England. Perfect weather for the airshow!
Sunday morning in the Ukrainian Village is pretty quiet except for the occasional church bells. We are surrounded by multiple Catholic churches, and all offer masses in Ukrainian, English and Spanish. Jessica has been thinking about attending mass in order to get friendly with some elderly Ukrainians so she can photograph their homes. Ajay and I suggested that she should attend Thursday night bingo, but Jessica pointed out that it would probably be all in Ukrainian. Anyway, You can check out Jessica's photography here.

Tomorrow Jessica and I are planning to go out to Ikea and we're very excited. We need shelves, lots and lots of shelves. Our Chicago apartment is a little smaller than our Portland apartment and we need more storage. Besides the lack of storage, the new apartment has many amendities that our old apartment was lacking.
First of all, we have a dishwasher! I know that probably sounds crazy but this is my first apartment with a dishwasher, can you believe it? We also have a small back porch with a screen door off of our kitchen. It really cools off the apartment and the cats love looking out the door.

One more thing...My sister Jackie asked me how to make photo slideshows. I use an image hosting site called Photobucket. You just upload your photos to thier site and they generate the html codes so then you can post your photos on your blog, myspace, facebook, etc. Very handy.

Navy Pier Ferris Wheel and the Weiners Circle

Yesterday Ajay and I went to the Navy Pier to ride the Ferris wheel. I have had a strange obsession with the Ferris wheel since reading Devil in the White City by Erik Larson. The Ferris wheel was invented specifically for the 1893 World's fair in Chicago. The original Ferris wheel had 36 cars that could each hold 60 riders! Here is a picture:



The new Ferris wheel isn't as big, each of the 40 cars can only hold six people. Ajay and I had our own car for the ride. Also the wheel never stops, you have to jump off while it is still moving! Not only was the Ferris wheel ride exciting but the Navy's Blue Angels were flying around the pier practicing for this weekends air show. The planes were practicing formations and zooming by the Ferris wheel! So awesome!

Here's a link to this weekend's air show. It looks good!



After our Ferris wheel ride we headed to Lincoln Park to eat at the Wiener's Circle. Ajay had heard about the Wieners Circle from multiple people, they all said it was the best Chicago dog experience in the whole city. It took us a while to find the place, but it was worth it. We each had two Chicago style dogs and shared some fries. For those of you who don't know what a Chicago style hot dog is: A Vienna Beef hot dog on a poppy seed roll topped with tomatoes, pickles, bright green relish, mustard, onions, hot peppers and sprinkled with celery salt. It's completely out of control!

Pictures from our adventure:

Photos

Finally! Photos of our street, apartment, Buckingham fountain and from the top of the Sears Tower!!! Enjoy!

2149 W Walton Street

Our Internet is now up and running properly! WoooHooo!

So now that we have been here a few days...I have to say that 2149 W Walton Street is the best place to live in Chicago! Our apartment is located right in heart of the Ukrainian Village and only a few blocks away from the trendy Wicker Park. We are within walking distance to a awesome brand new grocery store plus hundreds of restaurants and shops!


Check out this map:


View Larger Map

I am starting to find that I most likely won't be needing my car to get around. Buses run from most main streets, and we have access to a bunch of lines within blocks from our apartment. Including the Chicago and Division buses that run 24 hours! The buses also connect to the Red and Blue train lines, so it's super easy to get to the Loop. In case you don't know, the Loop is the main part of downtown Chicago, all the train lines meet in the loop.

Ok, so I should get going for the day. Ajay and I are planning on going to the Ferris wheel on the Navy Pier today. I'll post some pictures later.

The Big Move

It's official! We have arrived in Chicago!!!

This weekend was incredibly exhausting. The journey began on Saturday morning around 8am when picked up our bright yellow Penske truck. The movers showed up around 11am, a complete hour late! Jessica and I were very worried that all of our belongs would not fit into our 16 foot truck, but after all the boxes were loaded into the back it was clear that everything would fit. What a huge relief!
After cleaning the apartment, and stocking up on energy drinks and snacks we finally left Portland at 6pm. Ajay and I drove the big moving truck with my cat Homer and Jessica and her friend Allisa drove Jessica's car with her cats Baby and Molly. We drove through the night stopping at rest stops about every 3-4 hours.
The whole drive I was drugging my cat Homer with sedatives, which made him sleep a lot but occasionally he would wake up and cry for a while. Towards the end of the drive Ajay and I (who ever was not driving) would have Homer on our lap. This stopped his endless crying.
After endless hours of corn fields we arrived in Chicago around 12:30pm Sunday. We got stuck in traffic for about an hour and a half, but made it to the apartment safely. Jessica and Allisa went out to the suburbs to pick up our keys at our landlord's office. Surprisingly the four of us were wide awake and ready to move all of our stuff into the apartment. Let me say, thank god that our new apartment is on the first floor! By 8pm, after enjoying some local pizza, we were all in bed.
Monday morning we had the Gas guy and the cable guy come to set up our stove and Internet. Which at the moment our wireless isn't working so I'm writing this on Jessica's laptop plugged into an Ethernet cable. The cable doesn't reach to my computer. :(

Anyway, I should help Jessica unpack some boxes. I have much more to write and pictures to post so check back soon!!!