The Becoming Project - An Online Portfolio

It is the perfect time for a nice weekend of relaxation. Lately I have been so incredibly busy with everything that I really haven’t taken the time to enjoy this time of year (normally my favorite). So this weekend I am sitting back in my chair and enjoying what is around me. I am spending half of this nice long weekend in my hometown city of Chicago and the second half in my getaway on Goose Lake in Wisconsin. I hope to do nothing more that enjoy some laughs and to take some photos.

I just registered for a photo class at the Chicago Photography Center! It is part of my efforts to do somethings for myself. Lately I have been really enjoying shooting film and now I will have a place to process it.

Well I hope everyone enjoys their weekend! Be safe!

Well I am back in Chicago and finally over the flu that I picked up as I was leaving San Francisco. The weather here today was in the 80s!!! I thought 60s in San Francisco was beautiful compared to the 40s we were plagued with before I left., but today was  great.  Joellen and I went to North Ave beach for a nice walk. Anyone who is visiting Chicago should pay a visit to this place.

Seeing as it is now cold again, I decide to post some photos of a weekend Joellen and I spend in Wisconsin a month or two ago. It was very cold and it was just a few days after they got a ton of snow. It was a brief trip, but I still had time to mess around with a new toy.

On Friday I turned 24 years old, which was quite an experience that seemed to mess with my head a bit. I realized that I am no longer a kid and it has been a few years since I could call myself a teenager. At the same time, I work in an office where I am pretty young in comparison. One of the guys who works on the same floor as me found out it was my birthday and asked me how it felt to be 13. It is a strange feeling older than the way of life you are used to and still be a “newbie” in your professional career. Is it not something new. I have felt like this for the last 3 years or so, but the birthday brought it to the front of my thoughts. It is just the gray part of life I guess.

Friday night I went out to Pappadeux with my family which was a lot of fun. I think since I was 12 every major accomplishment has resulted in a dinner at Pappdeux. There is something about the place that makes it always feels like we are really celebrating when we go there.

On Saturday my girlfriend and I experienced the world of relaxation with a couples Swedish massage. I was the first time either of us had a professional massage. Truly wonderful.

Afterwards, we saw Blades of Glory which was the funniest movie I have seen in a long time. Will Farrell was awesome in this movie. It had some of the best quotes. It is a movie I definitely recommend.

Sunday morning we had the opportunity to celebrate the only sun that was available. It was great! We also got cross several things off of our to-do list which always feels great.

Now if I could only get the song Old Man by Neil Young out of my head…

I forgot how much I love this movie…

After speaking with my co-worker about apartments and Housing Maps I started looking for myself and my girlfriend. Last weekend we found a great place in Lincoln Park and we decided to go for it. We are both really excited about it. It is a far better place than any apartment we have lived in.

We are moving tomorrow and the we weather forecast is currently a wet one. Hopefully I can keep my furniture dry.

It is official. I am going to O’Reilly’s Web 2.0 Expo 2007!! This is the first time I will be in San Francisco so I am extremely excited. In fact, I have never been further west than South Dakota.

San Francisco here I come!

To my surprise, when I walked out for lunch in my hat, hoodie-sweatshirt, and winter jacket the first strong gust of wind was not freezing cold, but rather nice an warm. It is nice to get a break from the freeze Chicago winter. The entire feeling in the city seemed to change after that. Now I find myself thinking about what I could do outdoors, which led me to a site that lists all outdoor beer gardens in Chicago.

Chicago beer gardens

Sweet home Chicago!

Lately, I have been discussing with a coworker on how to find a great apartment. Seeing as we are in the city of Chicago, there are a lot of options on how to find the best place to live. Initially, we discussed the great resource known as Craigslist. Which is still by far the best directory for apartment searching on the internet. But there was one thing different about what he was looking for. He knew exactly which neighborhood he wanted to live in.

I am not sure if any of you have tried search for a location on Craigslist, but it is a multiple step process. First you have to search for the area, then click the link, then read the description, then click the map link only to find that it is located about 20 miles from the area you were looking for. It can make the process a bit daunting. This brings me to the great resource I found recently called Housing Maps.

http://www.housingmaps.com/

The site allows you use Google Maps to pull data from Craigslist on the available apartments in the given area. It lets you specify a price range and see photos if they are available. It is definitely a great resource for some who is looking.

Today I came across a song Metallica recorded in 2002 with Ja Rule called “We Did it Again” and I nearly fell over when I heard it. Apparently the two artist wanted to ruin their careers on a compilation album called Swizz Beatz Presents G.H.E.T.T.O. Stories. If you are curious you should check it out.

I am warning you though… it will be the worst 4:43 minutes of your musical life!