The Windy City- June 5-6

A couple of weeks ago, I went to Chicago for a few days for my job. I hadn't been there in 10 years, and really had never seen much of it. A couple of things I observed...

1) Chicago rush hour traffic makes Dallas traffic feel like a breeze. It took me an hour and a half to get from O'Hare to downtown. I now understand why so many people were walking downtown and don't even own a car. They take the train everywhere. Next time, i will ditch the car. It again made me thankful I work from my house most of the time in Tulsa and don't have to sit in traffic half my life. So much less stress!

2) Another thing I determined...if I were to move to Chicago, I would live in the Old Lincoln Park area. For those who have seen "Return to Me", its the same neighborhood they filmed the movie. Lots of huge trees and long streets of brownstones with lots of character. I've heard prices start at a very affordable $1.5 mil. I walked down Sedgwick St. and saw in some of these cool homes. They are like 3 or 4 stories tall, and reminded me of the Cosby home. Anyway, I actually ate dinner at the Twin Anchors Restaurant in that area. It was featured as the Italian-Irish restaurant in "Return to Me."

As soon as I walked in, I recognized it from the movie. There was the bar, and I even saw the booth where the "water lady" annoyed David Duchovny. The place is so famous- Frank Sinatra came a ton in the 40's, and Conan O'Brien had just visited a few weeks before I came. The bartender was really nice, and told me about the tons of celebrities who frequent the place, as well as showed me the pic of him and Conan.

It was a really fun, albeit short trip. I want to make it back to Chicago and spend more time in this historic city.

Shades of Brown

I live about 1 block from this incredibly cool coffee shop called Shades of Brown in the Brookside area of Tulsa (pictures to follow). It reminds me alot of Common Grounds from my Baylor years. Very eclectic- they often have live music on the weekends. I love walking to it about 4 times a week. Its been really nice weather wise for the past month, and its become a routine of mine to workout, go home, and later in the night go to Shades of Brown for a vanilla latte. Its served in a big homeade ceramic mug (see left). On top of the latte, the barista always makes the most interesting designs in the foam, like a leaf or other unique things. I love these local coffee places so much better than Starbucks. Ironically, I walk past the local Starbucks each time I go.

The place is so warm and inviting. It also seems to be a refuge for hippie children and college students home for the summer. People are usually smoking pipes/cigars out front. It also has the coolest artwork that they put out each month on the walls by local artists. There is also a cool community board that offers all sorts of classes and events. The only thing that makes me feel out of place is that I am not using a Mac, just a regular black thinkpad.

By the way, I've decided that I love living close to everything I need. In Grapevine, it took about 20 minutes to go to the grocery, church, work, etc. Now, I am about a 5 minute walk from just about anything. I have a Wild Oats grocery, Quick Trip, tons of places to eat, and the fitness center all within a very easy walk.

New Years 2008

In late December, I went with several of my Baylor BRH friends over to Great Britian and Ireland for New Years. It seems like forever ago....so much has happened since then. The trip was a blast. I have traveled over there several times by myself, which is also cool, but being with people you know can't be beat. We all got along great, all had the same mindset of what we wanted to do, and got to experience some incredible sights in England, Ireland and Scotland. I think about working at the IBM building in London and how neat that would be to do for a couple of years.

First Post

This is a first post for me in the blogging world. I have become somewhat of a blog stalker over the past few months. For some reason i love reading other people's life stories, so I thought I would start my own, even if no one reads it. My goal is to have a way of sharing experiences and pics throughout life's journeys. I have been fortunate to get to travel a lot, and hope to post these pics as I go forth.
I moved to Tulsa in early March, so this has been an interesting transition in my life. I grew up in Irving, and this is the first time I have been away from my family, friends, and church that I deeply love. So far, its been interesting. I love the area I live in. Its so close to all these cool places to eat and hang out. It reminds me of a cross between Deep Ellum and the M-Streets in Dallas. I can walk anywhere- to the store, coffee shop, lots of cool places to eat, etc. And I have become an avid fan of Quick Trip---they have ice like Sonic, and the stores have everything you could want. So clean too. I have to go there at least once a day for a 49 cent coke....just go in an get a coke if your thirsty (Guffman reference). Alright, well my first post is complete. I hope to stay active in doing this daily, and adding some pics as well. This first pic is me and some of my best friends from Baylor. I have stayed close with most of these guys, went on ski trips, and lots of fun memories. Me, Guinn, Alfredo, Greg and Davi at the Baylor BB game last year.