.

I'mmmmmmmmm baaaaaaack!

2007-11-29T17:13:00.000-06:00

After...oh....FOREVER of not blogging, I decided it was time for a comeback tour. Not sure how long I will hold out, but we'll see. Kind of a quick synopsis of the last however many months and months I haven't blogged as well as what's kept me so busy as to not be blogging...

Got married...kinda a HUGE time consuming venture
Went on a honeymoon to the US Virgin Islands...friggin amazing!
Been working like a crazy man
Still have no free weekends, always on the go somewhere, typically for family stuff...oi
When I have a free second to catch my breath I typically use it to do so, not blog

Anyways, work is good, the new wife is good, life in general is good and I'm pretty damn happy about it all. I doubt any of my old friends check this anymore seeing how I kinda dropped from the lime light, but definately hit me up with a comment if you do find yourself stumbling across this! Alright, well off to the train station to pick up Kristin...run run run, that's all I do!

My Whirlwind Life

2007-08-09T06:17:00.000-05:00

Sorry all for being a HUGE slacker and not taking the time to get on and at the LEAST type a sentence or two so you'd know I was still alive. Things have been rather hectic in the life of Nick. Wedding stuff is getting squared away left and right, we got our cake picked out (only $500...CHRIST IT'S FLOUR AND SUGAR!)...got our transportation to the reception squared away (oh yea, a $500 limbusine...basically a charter bus that's been pimped out to the max...sa-weet!)...got invitations stuffed, blah blah blah...the list goes on. Work has been pretty hectic as well, there is just tons and tons going on with it. I can't even begin to tell you how busy it is there, but lets just say that I am officially booked into mid september already...every day, all day. It's nice to be busy though, never a dull moment!!! Anyways, that's about all I got for now since I have to put some clothes on and get ready to drive to central IL for work since God hates me and made it rain almost 3 inches last night where I was planning on doing a stream survey today...kinda hard to do a stream survey when it's a RAGING RIVER! *sigh*

The Dismal Road to Insanity

2007-07-19T20:32:00.001-05:00

Imagine if you will, laying down to sleep at night...a swift breeze rattles the leaves of a tree just outside your bedroom window. Lying there in the darkness sliding back and forth between dreams and reality, nuzzled inbetween your bedsheets, you smell sewage. Thick and viscous it clings to the air like fog on a cold dark night. It's not hell you're in, but apartment 108 in building number 12. Oh yes, sewage in the apartment, it's a wonderful little aminity that wasn't listed alongside "tennis court, free heat, pools, workout center, etc." So we're moving this weekend on Saturday. Just across the pond, to a different apartment complex under the same ownership. On the plus side, our new place is going to be REDICULOUSLY nicer than our current residence. So basically dealing with lots of crazyness and having no free time has hindered my updating process on here, but I'll try to be better about letting you all know the 411 on my life these days! Gotta run!

Knuckles

2007-06-30T17:59:00.000-05:00

I guess it was time...it had been so long already and it was bound to happen anyways. Sheer dumb luck was the culprit and my knuckles the unsuspecting victim. Excuse me, victims. Seered by the flame, my knuckle hair trimmed by the fire, I sat there grilling on the most perfect summer day. Grilling out is by definition the gauge of a man, it's a life long quest in which we, as men, better one singular skill. Becoming a grillmaster is not simply a title that is given without cause or prevocation, but a significant turning point in which a man becomes more than a man, when we as men graduate past the pursuit of perfection and transcend unto the next level. At the top of the pyramid lies a select few, time tested, mouth approved. Dawning nothing more than an apron and a spatula we find our place in battle, unequivically placed in front of a grill, waiting for when the time is right to strike. Guided only by sheer wit and instinct, we grill. We grill not for fun or for recreation, but to maintain the lineage of men before us who have passed down to us the responsibility to grill...the responsibility to be men.

Becoming Old

2007-06-24T16:02:00.000-05:00

Before moving here to take this job I currently have, I would say that most would rate me at somewhere near an alcoholic. I was not an alcoholic, however I was a benge drinking college-aged young pup. In my prime I could drink a fifth of vodka or pound a case in an evenings time...or as occasion called, two and a half hours. Now-a-days however, I must admit that the tolerance I had spent so many countless nights/mornings working on building up is slowly but surely disappearing. Last night some friends came over and we sat up playing a game of asshole, and granted I was pounding down bass, but after six games or so I was starting to feel a buzz. WTF is that? I'm certainly getting old. Tomorrow is Monday....back to the grind. Being a responsible adult is a pain!

Salt Creek Cleanup

2007-06-17T23:14:00.000-05:00

I truly wish I had a picture to post on here of this past Saturdays events, but alas all I have is a nice little aerial photograph which is nothing to write home about. This past Saturday my firm sponsored the annual Salt Creek Cleanup day. Me and a bunch of people from our office showed up to help pick up trash, etc. in order to help protect and enhance the Salt Creek cooridor. We picked up a lot of trash, but our main objective for the day was to work on a log jam which was holding up the stream. We didn't make much headway on the log jam, but you should see all the crazy ass trash floating around. Lets just say used hypodermic needles, rakes, propane cylinders, tires, more styrofoam than you can even imagine and all sorts of insane odds and ends that you have to stop and think..."how in the hell did this get here?" Oh, did I mention that during all this I was precariously perched atop this pile of logs, thick rubber waders on, baking in the 95 degree sun with a deep hole of water underneath me? Yea...it was terribly fun.

Cicadas!

2007-06-14T21:56:00.000-05:00

I don't know if many of you have had the distinct pleasure of meeting a cicada, or a trillion cicadas, but let me tell you that it is certainly an experience which is nothing less than unforgettable! Today had to have been the worst day in-so-far as cicadas are concerned. The site we were working on doing a wetland delineation at was swarming with locusts. There were so many and they were so loud that my ears rang for the whole afternoon. It was like I had been to a rock concert it was THAT loud! The video I attached doesn't even do them justice. Worse yet is that there is just so many that they are literally impossible to avoid, they're flying into you, they're all around you, and no matter where you look you see some...up, down, left, right...they're there! Truly an amazing bug that is only found in North America, and even more amazing is the fact that they live for 17 years, the majority of which is spent underground in waiting. How they all know to come out at the same time is a crazy mystery, but despite they're uglyness and horendous noise, I tend to like the little buggers.

The Pool...A Hotspot of Diversity

2007-06-12T18:48:00.000-05:00

To me, the pool is the ultimate embodyment of summer. Since I was young I've made countless pilgrimages to the pool, it was almost a right-of-passage. You'd get on your bike and you'd ride to the rotary pool, the only public pool in town and do your best to make it to "the deep end." Now-a-days, it's more of an escape from the heat and chance to lounge that keeps me coming back time and time again...and the chance to sneak a peek at hotties in bikinis is certainly a given on the "reasons to go" list!! Alright, so anyways, I'm down at the pool the other day and there is not a single white person to be seen. Not that I'm racist, but I come from an area of the world where there is ONLY caucasians. I've not been predisposed to other cultures, etc....so needless to say I wasn't going to be mingling. Besides, it's a little hard to mingle when you can't understand a word that's being spoken, nor speak in the language being spoken. In my short jaunt to the pool though, a little boy decided to pee from the edge of the pool into the water, his parents all the while letting this happen, and then not disciplining him afterwards. Then I'm pretty sure some young middle school aged boy in front of us was masterbating with help from the water jet along the side of the pool. Yeaaaaaa....sooo...ummm...that was interesting. Two good reasons not to be jumping in anytime in the near future. We soooooo need to move to a nicer part of suburbia.

TGIF

2007-06-08T23:52:00.000-05:00

The weekend is officially here, and let me just say that it's about friggin time! The week actually went by really quickly, and I only have work to thank for that as it's been getting crazy busy there and working to keep your head above water seems to make the days go by quick! My buddy Brian who helped in getting me the job I have is quitting to take a job down in Springfield, IL. His last day is this coming Thursday, and I'm sad to see him go...not only just because that's one less person I know up here to hang out with, but work is going to be that much crazier in his absense.

Me and Kristin decided to go to the pool for the first time this year. I think we could have waited another week or two to go...that water was so cold my nipples could have certainly cut through some glass. Tomorrow is me and Brians man day...deer brats on the grill, gin and tonics (tanqueray of course), cigars possibly?, and then we're headed up to Elmhurst for Elmfest since we have a buddy working the beer tent. Hopefully that translates into free beer for us! I'm sure I have tons of other useless blabber I could add in, but it's midnight and I'm getting tired. Leave me some comments already people! Do I even have people still? I dunno...haha...well if you stumble in here, just know I used to be popular! lol

Friday

2007-05-31T22:05:00.000-05:00

SA-Weet! Today is Friday, and the week is almost over! Today is going to be pretty monotonous I think, maybe not so much monotonous as just plain out mundane. I'm dressing up today for work. Friday is the "casual" day, but nobody ever gets to see me look nice, since I'm always out in the field, and hence wearing field clothes, so today I'm gonna look schnazzy! Work is really starting to pick up, and now one of our people is leaving, which makes it all the more daunting to think that the workload that four of us "wetland biologists" could barely carry now is on the shoulders of three...AND we're getting busier by the day! Too much to do, way too little time! Speaking of which, my morning is draining away and I still need to get ready, pack my lunch and a thousand other things...oi...it begins, the hurried shuffle of getting out the door and to work. I'm not sure it's a "rat race" but it sure is a hectic scramble!

Memorial Day Weekend

2007-05-27T21:19:00.000-05:00

This weekend feels like the first real time me and Kristin have had to just sit back, relax and for once just enjoy the nice weather, have nowhere to go, no place to be, and no thoughts about making it here or there on time. Today we went and bought a set of patio furniture, pots, potting soil, and flowers. Definately felt a little more grown up after beautifying our little outdoor patio. We spent the afternoon enjoying the fruits of our labor, me laying about in the shade reading a book, Kristin taking in the sun in a swimsuit! Oddly enough, today was the first time I've ever seen her in a swimsuit. Another relationship first. You'd think after 1 year, 5 months and 15 days of dating that wouldn't be the case.

I feel bad wanting to do nothing this weekend, when Kristin is really wanting to do stuff, but we are always on the go and for once it just feels good to stop running around like chickens with their heads cut off and slowwwww down long enough to smell the flowers instead of just seeing blurs of color as we drive by them at 80mph rushing to get here, there, and everywhere. So yea...I'm content to be a bumb. I have earned it! I did however manage to sneak in 4 hours of work this morning as I needed to collect a water sample up by Wisconsin for work since it rained more than a half an inch overnight. Damn I'm devoted!!

In other news, I've been starting to delve into honeymoon planning. I think we're committed to going either somewhere tropical and laying on a beach with alcoholic drinks for a week or taking a roadtrip and seeing some sights. I think it may come down to a roadtrip simply because this could be the last year you can afford to drive long distances since gas will at the rate it's going be over $5 next summer. WTF!!??!! I bought gas "cheap" today up by Wisconsin for $3.45. After spending the last week working with a crew of guys from Exxon Mobil who seem to have the skinny on the fatty gas prices, it sounds to me like we're all getting screwed up the pooper on this one. According to my new found "construction equipment friends," most of what you pay at the pump is profit for big oil. Not much to do about it other than pay it and complain. I seem to be good at both.

Bags

2007-05-21T06:16:00.000-05:00

This weekend was freaking beautiful and relaxing as hell! We traveled down to Charleston, IL, my hometown, to meet up with some friends for a cookout and a bags tourney. I realize that a good portion of the world refers to this game by "cornhole" but when in central IL, likely someone would think you were talking about your ass as opposed to a fun game. Anyways, we didn't place in the top three for the bags tourney, despite having a few good runs, spent a while on a tractor mowing my parents gi-normous yard before they bot back from their trip to Wyoming, picked up the house which my brother had left in shambles, spent some time playing cards with my gma, had Chinese at the Magic Wok (mmmmm), and met up with my parents inbetween here and home for dinner. All-in-all it was a great weekend. But seriously, I had creepy dreams last night! Still wierded out!!

A Day at Montrose Beach

2007-05-14T23:22:00.000-05:00

Summer is here, temperatures are rising and what better way to spend a day than out amidst the beach-goers at Montrose Beach. Today we moved some state endangered plants from the Illinois Tollway to Montrose Beach. A person would think that this would be the absolute best sort of work adventure, however it was far short of fun. Turns out that lugging giant masses of soil 100+ pounds across sandy terrain is completely and utterly exhausting. Add in the wind coming off of Lake Michigan and the subsequent sand blowing in your eyes, nose, ears, mouth and it made it all the more pleasant. All the while there was not one smoking bikini-clad hotty in sight...what did I get instead you might ask? Some old dude in a thong chillaxin' in our project area. What a day!

So me and Kristin got our engagement pictures taken this weekend, and they just went up online tonight for viewing. They actually turned out quite good for the most part and we were both very pleased. Engagement pictures were just a small part of our whirlwind weekend. We babysat her little sister, did laundry, went to two family cookouts, spent a morning out doing a wetland screening since I had a project in Bloomington for work, and what seems to be a thousand other things. The weekend was good though, despite the hecticness of it all!

Sold my truck on ebay and got what I wanted out of it...the guy came in all the way from NW Montana to get it...still can't believe that...moreover the fact that he drove it ALL the way back! Only 1700 miles....!!! He brought cash when he picked it up, I felt like I was doing a drug deal in the Naperville parking lot counting...one thousand....two thousand...three thousand...etc...threw the money in the car and left shortly after...oh well, one thing to check off of the "to do list."

Registering

2007-05-06T15:59:00.000-05:00

As is the case with almost every weekend we have, there isn't much rest that comes along with, it seems as though every day of our lives is planned out in some way or another. This weekend was spent in almost its entirety getting our wedding registry squared away. I thought that this would be an easy process...they give you the little scanner gun, you run throught the store and wallah you're done. Not-so-much. There's a lot of work involved, especially when you're trying to "color coordinate" and make sure you get the stuff you REALLY want. Items I'm excited about include: special glasses for alcohol, deep fryer, ...umm I guess there's just two. Only 159 days until we get married according to our wedding webpage counter thing. If you aren't expecting to get an invitation but would like to buy us something, just hit me up and I'll be sure to send you the links to our registries! haha...Leave me some comments people! I'm not feelin the love!

The Humanity of it All

2007-05-02T18:32:00.000-05:00

Just so you all know, I'm not dead, I've just

been a tad bit overwhelmed with day to day life these days. I get up at 6am-ish, get out the door with my hot smokin fiance around 7ish, drop her off at the train station and arrive at work around 7:30 on the money, work till 3 or 5 depending on mood, then pick her up at the train station, drive us back home, get home around 6 or 6:15, make dinner, eat...and by the time we get to this point we have enough time to watch a show or something and then it's lights out.

I attached a picture of Chicago in 1929, which I can only imagine as a crazy sea of humanity, however in a way different way than todays Chicago. People would be scrambling around trying to get through day to day life, with much lower standards of everything than today.

Blah, blah, blah...anyways...let me summarize my newest "epiphanys" since moving to the "big city."

I now become an asshole when in my car.
I have discovered how to correctly use my horn in the city...just honk every two minutes, whether or not you have reason to...everyone else does, why not be a conformist.
"Tailgating" is non-existant, it's called "making room for everyone else stuck in traffic."
Plan on being poor forever, even with me and Kristins combined incomes it's still a drop in the bucket up here, we'll be lucky to be able to afford a townhouse with the price of housing here!
If you want to go out to eat, be there before 6pm or have reservations.
Boulevards are not for trucks, it's a $175.00 fine if you drive on one with a truck.
Fifth Third Bank sucks ass...took us a month and a half to get checks...excuse me, correct checks.

Spring has Sprung

2007-04-21T10:01:00.000-05:00

Sitting here this morning with the patio door open, the sounds of ducks flying onto the pond outside the apartment, and mourning doves cooing it's struck me that it's now officially spring! Me and Kristin walked up to the bank this morning rather than driving so we could get some exercise and enjoy the beautiful weather. To think that not very long ago I was painfully trudging through the bitter winter in Northern Indiana with negative twenty something days where I was outside laboring away, and now I'm here and so much happier. It's funny how things work out, and I'm very very glad that they have! I was beginning to worry! Now if I could only get my other apartment subleted because spending that extra thousand dollars every month is really beginning to blow! Especially when you think that I could be saving that money or using it in a thousand other ways!!! OI! In other news I'm selling my big ol' truck. We've decided that we don't really need to have two vehicles since Kristin is commuting into the city on the train every morning. I just drop her off since the train station is on my way into work and then I pick her up of an evening. Right now it's working out pretty well, but if for some reason I couldn't make it to pick her up then the bus picks up at the train station as soon as she gets off the train and drops off at our apartment building. I put my truck on ebay, and the auction is over tomorrow, so I'm anxiously awaiting to see what happens with that! Right now I have 34 people watching my auction, so I'm anticipating a big biddy frenzy tomorrow hopefully! With the truck gone, we'll have that much extra money sitting around to do things with since I won't have any payments on it or anything! Well I guess I should get back to checking my damn ebay auction every five minutes! Jeesh...I'm addicted!

2007-04-15T19:18:00.000-05:00

The City Life

2007-04-13T18:52:00.001-05:00

Downtown Chicago is friggin insanely huge. I've been doing some work downtown over the past week and I must say that being the county boy I am I'm very much in awe of all that is Chicago. Eight million people hustling and bustling around, a constant buzz of activity and everything just a stones throw away. More stuff going on than you can even hope to begin to think about getting to. Museums, restaurants, culture out the ears! It's awesome living up here, and PLEASE leave me some comments people, knowing people actually read this and care is half the reason I continue to write! I'll try to sit down and type out a more lengthy post this weekend!

Getting Settled

2007-03-31T08:05:00.000-05:00

So I do believe that I'm finally getting settled and used to "city living" now. At first it was total crazyness trying to get used to the traffic and the busy hustle and bustle that is suburbia. With a small town background it certainly is a shock to the system to be thrown into the mix. It is extremely nice however to actually have friends here and there around the area. People were over the other day and we cooked out and played drinking games, and had a really good time. One of the most beautiful things about living amidst eight million other people though, has to be the profusion of things to do. Literally EVERYTHING is within a couple miles of our place. There is a big ol' mall opening up just a hop and skip away, grocery shopping is down the road a few blocks in whatever direction you want to go, fifteen or twenty different restaurants, all within a minute or two's drive, a massive IKEA which I literally got lost in and only went on 1 of the 2 floors, and the list goes on and on. I just need to trade off my massive truck now, because it's just NOT a city vehicle at all!

First Week at Work

2007-03-24T07:58:00.000-05:00

Holy ba-jesus it's been a crazy arse first week! I thought that this week would be pretty low key, but I had projects due on Monday afternoon already! Totally insane! I've been here there and everywhere already training on this and that, and even had a day long training class down at Joliet Comm. College. I like the crazyness however, it's very refreshing to be in such a fast pace, client driven, science based environment. It's great. At least, that's what I'm saying right now!

Last night we went out with my friend Brian and his wife Megan for dinner and drinks at a little brew pub which is just like a hop and skip from his place. It was pretty damn good! The beer was awesome and the company was great, what more can ya ask for? Anyways, it was a nice change of pace to get out of the apartment and do something with REAL people!

In other news, I went to IKEA for the first time ever. That place is wicked cool, I'm still in disbelief, and it's enormous! I seriously got turned around and lost trying to figure out where in the hell we were at. If you haven't been there, it's definately worth a trip!!!

Effen Rediculous

2007-03-18T15:05:00.000-05:00

OH the joy of moving. Let me just prefix this whole entry by stating that I officially hate moving now. So yesterday was the big moving day, moving from Indiana and a job that wasn't taking me anywhere other than nowhere, to a new job with prospects of advancement, doing ACTUAL science and improving my quality of life. Nothing seems to come easy in my life, something good just can't happen without having some sort of hoop to jump through. Needless to say, I'm trying my best to jump however, I'm one tired guy.

So anyways let me tell you about yesterdays rediculous drama. We got our entire apartment loaded in the giant ass UHAUL I rented and get ready to get on the road to take it to the new place and the UHAUL won't move...the parking brake will not disengage. Me and Kristin can't stay though since we were due at the new place to sign the lease before 3pm, and as it was already like 12:45 and it's an hour and a half drive to get here we had to leave. Meanwhile as I'm driving I'm trying to get someone to come take care of the broken down UHAUL, which let me tell you was above and beyond rediculous. I talked to nearly fifteen different people trying to relay where it was we were at since UHAUL people cannot read maps, understand directions or even comprehend the english language. Finally at days end the god damn piece of crap UHAUL truck had to be towed by a huge arse semi to my front door here at the new place. How janky is that? Just picture what this looks like, a 24' moving truck being towed by a semi. *sigh* We got everything moved in though, and most everything is put away now, though there still needs to be some work done. This sucks. Tomorrow however is my first day of work in the big city, I'll let you all know how that goes!

Moving

2007-03-11T09:18:00.000-05:00

The stage is set, now I just have to get all the pieces in motion, the moving extravaganza is now underway!!! This Saturday, the 17th me and Kristin are officially moving to Chicago. Well, I guess not "Chicago" proper, but Woodridge which is located in the never-ending suburbia that surrounds Chicago. Wait...I guess I need to work on my Chicagoan accent, it's not "Chicago"...it's "CHI-cago." Anyways, I've rented a Uhaul and am working on all the other stuff this week that goes into moving; getting electric set up, internet, phone, cable, closing bank accounts, opening bank accounts, packing, unpacking, stressing out about EVERYTHING...yea, this is my life. Not that I'm overly worried about anything, but I certainly have a lot on my plate in-so-far as this move and what not is concerned.

In other news, I'm in central Illinois right now. Kristin has been not taking the whole being in the apartment all the time thing to well, so when I came home from work yesterday I told her we were going home for the weekend so she could get some fresh air. I took Monday off since I worked my ass off yesterday (yes, Saturday) and so I'll be back in Indiana come Monday night.

I've also been doing some thinking about this whole needing to find someone to sublease thing, and I'm really, REALLY hoping that works out, but if I'm still paying for that apartment come this summer I'm going to become snooty and refer to it as my "summer home" so I can sound all spiffy. Paying for two apartments...SUCKS! My new employer however has offered to pay for next months rent if I haven't found someone to move in by the then which is pretty cool considering that that is about a grand right there! Anyways, theres my friggin update, leave me some comments!!!!!!!!!!!

BIG News

2007-03-03T15:19:00.000-06:00

BIG NEWS!! So I've been hinting around about something that was going on behind the scenes, but haven't been able to officially put it out there yet. Well, now I can and I can tell you all about the crazyness that has been ensueing ever since in my life. A couple weeks ago I guess it was, I went in for an interview at an environmental consulting firm in Chicago, and just a few days ago they offered me a position. Hells yea, right? I have to give props to my buddy Brian for even turning me onto this, so if you read this...thanks fella! Anyways, turns out I can't get out of my lease here in Indiana, which isn't up until the end of October. I've decided it's some kind of Indiana apartment nazi thing or something. Where this gets crazy and ultimately very stressful is that the job in Chicago will not let me take the position unless I live in Illinois. So basically I've put in my two weeks notice, am frantically searching for a place in the Chicagoland area, trying to find someone to sublet my place here to, and all the while trying to juggle all this and stay hopeful that as my mom puts it "everything will work out." Yea, that's another thing...my mom is the biggest worry-wort in the world and she's not at all worried about my current situation, and thinks I'm stressing out too much. Well...umm...YEA I'M STRESSING OUT! Jeez! Anyways, that's only the tip of the iceburg when it comes to me having a full plate at the moment. Me and Kristin just got home from apartment shopping in suburbia and put in an application for a place, so hopefully all goes well. Wish us luck, we're gonna need it!!!

2am Shivers

2007-02-25T16:57:00.000-06:00

Last night after eating dinner, I started hearing a clinking noise outside. Peering out from my patio door, I noticed it was raining and sleeting. On top of that fun nastyness, the wind was howling like a mofo. Not many people appreciate how intense something has to be in order to be described with terminology like "mofo" but, it was hardcore.

I fell to sleep to the sounds of "chink-cha-chink-CHINK-CHINK-CHINK." It was wonderful. Me and Kristin awoke at about 2am realizing it was quite cold, so the power had probably been off as early as like eleven or so. I guess I've never experienced a whole day of no power, but having now had that experience, I'm fully satisfied that I can speak expertly on the subject and say that in retrospect, IT SUCKS! We decided to venture into Michigan City in hopes they had power and the taco bell would be open, and they did and it was...so we sought refuge there for awhile before heading to Meijer for a random shopping spree to escape our boredom. Turns out a couple of power poles snapped inbetween here and Michigan City in all the ice and wind, but thanks to the linemen of NIPSCO (the power company here) we have been rescued from the dark ages and plunged back into civilized life. Hells yea! I like being able to feel my body again!

IRS, IRA, AI, 411

2007-02-21T21:20:00.000-06:00

So I have finally recieved my last W2 in the mail, so I can see about taking all my tax information down to my parents tax guy to figure for me. Personally I like doing my taxes myself, however this year is just going to be too much. I have income from two states, part of which from each state is untaxed and subsequently requires special forms. I have IRA's, student loan interest, "business expenses" since I technically owned my own business (my contractual stuff with the state), and savings bond stuff. I guess I am officially grown up now-a-days.

In other news, American Idol is now in full gear and yes, for those of you who don't know, I watch it like a religion! Friggin' love the ba-jesus out of that show! I don't love it enough to know peoples names yet...but I definately voted for guy 09, Chris something or other who has a kick ass sound goin on and then tonight I voted for girl 11...Gina maybe? Anyways, she's from the Chi so I have to represent! Illinois rocks! I realize I do live in Indiana...but NW Indiana might as well be Chicago, which basically means that by default I'm still a corn fed Illinois boy! I certainly do not claim any sort of Hoosier loyalty! Anyways...that's all I got. Later days ya'll.

One...Two...Twenty-two!!

2007-02-19T07:10:00.000-06:00

Me and Kristin decided to head down to the homeland this weekend, through weather which was anything but good for driving in. The trip started off fine, but the central Illinois wind slowly but surely made driving a huge pain in the ass. Snow drifts, ice, and accidents were the theme, but we made it to and from without any sort of trouble thankfully. As we drove from her parents to my parents on Saturday we counted twenty-two cars that were off in the ditch, a good number of which had just happened only minutes before our arrival on the scene. A lot of people just drive like idiots when conditions are not good at all. Topping things off we were in her car so that wasn't the best for getting around in, had we had my truck...oooo buddy, there wouldn't have been any sort of issue!

Highlights from this weekend: Kristins dad throwing a shovel full of snow down the back of our necks, hanging out with Kristins fam, hanging out with my fam, my brothers 23rd bday yesterday, seeing my brother in a big sombraro at the mexican restaurant we went to (totally hilarious), my moms cooking (oh how I missed it!!), Magic Wok, Friends & Co. (only the BEST bar in existence), seeing my buddy Dirty, and just basically being back in my hometown.

The Day After V Day

2007-02-15T21:33:00.001-06:00

After all my hub-bub yesterday, "hub-bub" referring to that thing that I'm not talking about on my blog...but the thing that you have no idea about kinda kept me preoccupied so me and Kristin's Valentines Day wasn't as super-fantastic-awesome as I'd have liked it to be. Tonight I've had the place all to myself for a change so I've taken advantage of the fact that the fiance is at work tonight and I've been busy. When she comes home, over one hundred candles will be burning, some in the shape of a heart surrounding a box of chocolates, which just so happens to be heart shaped...go fig...a hot bubble bath of lavender awaits her after her hard day at work, a nice bottle of wine, oh and a lottery ticket! lol...random, I know!

Aside from that, I caught CSI Las Vegas (the ONLY CSI worth watching since all the others are knock-offs) which was awesome as usual, and I managed to steal a good amount of music off the net. God bless America for illegal music downloading! Seriously, I love it. I can't really remember when the last time I bought a cd was...

Seeing White

2007-02-12T21:48:00.000-06:00

Will the snow ever go away? The answer is yes, however, not for a good long while it looks like! Just when I thought warm temperatures were on their way (warm being above freezing) mother nature slaps me in the face with more snow! The forecast sais that we should get 1 to 2 inches tonight, followed up by another 4 to 5 inches tomorrow during the day, then yet another 2 to 4 inches tomorrow night. So basically I'm going to be seeing white for awhile.

Some New Excitement

2007-02-08T21:35:00.000-06:00

So I have something pretty exciting going on and for the first time ever, I can't disclose it on my blog. It's simply insane that I can't, and I wish I could...however I have to tread lightly. Over the course of the past year and a half, many of you have found your way here to this platform of which I throw out the intimate details of my daily affairs in print. Unfortunately I can't regulate who can and who cannot view this, and though my concern only applies to a very very small group of people, I am however confronted by the fact that this is the 21st century and just about anyone who can type my name in a Google search box can find their way here.

Anyways, now that I've thoroughly taunted that I know something you don't know, lemme tell you something that is readily disclosable...it's frigging cold as hell outside! I should know, I'm out in the crap all day long! Today while walking around I clumsily hit a limb with my head and the whole pile of snow that lay atop it quickly fell down the back of my neck sending me into "oh my F***ing GOD mode"...I thought I couldn't possibly get any colder...I was wrong.

Tomorrow is Friday...I miss the days when Friday was the beginning of something instead of the end of something.

Construction Woes & FRIDAY EXCITEMENT!

2007-01-31T21:23:00.000-06:00

So apparently a water main burst in MY apartment building. There are like 15 or more of these really nice, new buildings and mine has all the problems. It started yesterday apparently, as I exited my place on the way to work and was welcomed by four guys in the hallway with a jackhammer. I came home last night to random holes in the concrete floor of the hallway, and no internet connection anymore. This morning when I left for work, there were the four guys again with not only a jackhammer but a concrete saw to boot. Tonight I came home from work and could no longer walk down the hall because it did not exist anymore. Being the lazy ass I am, rather than climb the stairs and come out on the other side I opted to walk through the snow around the building. But, alas my internet works again so all is well!

Today work started out at a brisk negative ten with the windchill. I was riding a four wheeler all day hauling brush out of a savannah restoration I'm working on for the federally endangered Karner Blue Butterfly...anyways, if it's negative ten before hopping on a four wheeler I can only imagine what it was riding around on that thing.

FRIDAY KRISTIN MOVES IN WITH ME! WOAH! A live in female type person...likely I'm going to have to start being more domestically inclined than before. She's moved most of her stuff in now...it's crazy...when I get home from work now, it smells girly! I'm sure this new chapter of my life will spur plenty of interesting blog entries!

The Fiver

2007-01-30T17:30:00.000-06:00

So, inspired by a fellow blogger, I'm posting five things you don't know about me. Then I'm gonna up the ante a little and post five things I want to do this year. And just when you thought, this can't get any better, well folks it can...I'm gonna throw in five things, count em' five, that I've learned so far in 2007 as a bonus to you, free of charge!

FIVE THINGS YOU DON'T KNOW ABOUT ME...cue drumroll...

I can't swim to save my life.
Ironically however I'm swimming in a sea of debt...it's an old school club called "I went to college and will forever be haunted by student loans to pay for alcohol...not school!"
I'm addicted to American Idol and Greys Anatomy.
I own house slippers and wear them.
I have a growler collection from local brew-pubs. Don't know what a growler is? Look it up.

FIVE THINGS I WANT TO DO THIS YEAR...

Get married...duh...lol
Possibly start a photography business.
Learn to swim.
Finish a few more manuscripts so I can pubish some more of the research I have done, but put on the backburner.
Do some random and crazy act of lewdness.

FIVE THINGS I'VE LEARNED IN 2007 SO FAR...

Don't bite off more than you can chew...is more than a saying, it's a real life piece of advice that should be taken for more than face value.
Marriage really does take a year to plan for...who knew? Yea, yea...you told me so babe!
Being able to run fast is a good thing when cutting down trees all day...occasionally they fall the opposite way you had hoped!!! This is when you hear me yell "Holy Shit!...ahhh...ahhh..ahhh..."
An Idle Air Control valve for a 2001 F250, V10 costs $60 and is a huge pain in the ass to install, and once you replace it...it doesn't change anything. Quite annoying.
It really can snow EVERY SINGLE FUCKING DAY...thank you lake effect snows.

Can You Say "Lake Effect?"

2007-01-29T18:27:00.000-06:00

I couldn't find a picture I really liked to fully let you all appreciate the "lake effect" snows that I've been experiencing up here, but this cold chilly and choppy look across Lake Michigan toward Chicago seems to do the trick. I went to work today and it was a nipply negative eight with the windchill, not exactly the picture perfect day for working OUTSIDE! Don't get me wrong, I like my job and all, but I'm going on a month and a half about now of spending every single day outdoors and wielding a chainsaw and not only does every part of my body hurt, but I think I may be getting carpel tunnel. Something about using the chainsaw as much as I do I think is why my wrists are hurting so bad...none-the-less I'm convinced it's not a good hurt. I wouldn't be quite so snippy about the subject, but I would simply love to break up the redundancy of my day to day routine as of late...

I got Kristin all moved up this weekend. I think all she has left is a carload of clothes and stuff that she couldn't live without for the 4 days she's back in central IL this week. I'm pretty excited about having her up here with me!! Companionship is definately NOT overrated. I miss the hell out of that girl!

In other news, as of this past Friday I now have our photographer for the wedding booked. I'm pretty excited about the whole photos thing. Which is I'm sure rediculous being that I'm of the male persuasion, however I'm stoked, so there! Anyways, the girl taking the pictures is just getting started, but seems to be really good. Not only that, she's around our age so I think she'll be fun and spontaneous with the photos, and she's cheaper by far than anyone else I've priced, so hells yea!

Sunset Again

2007-01-20T19:44:00.002-06:00

I remember when viewing a sunset was this awe inspiring event, a moment stuck in time that transcended the mundane everyday happenings and for a brief few minutes gave me pause. In my new grown up version of life sunset signifies the end of a long, exasperating work day; an evening alone; and the start of a restless night due to noisy nearby neighbors in my apartment complex.

I've had a bad day. Kristin is down in Charleston tonight going out at all the places I used to frequent. She had dinner with my family and hung out for awhile with them. I'm pretty jealous of that since I haven't seen them in so long. Which is not by intention or design, it just hasn't happened that I've had an opportunity to go visit, as I'm usually wrapped up in doing something or other. This weekend I could have gone down...but Kristin was going down and having a "girls night"...so naturally I wasn't invited. I cleaned my apartment, mopped, vacuumed, did dishes, wiped down the stove, microwave counters, toilets...pretty much you name it, I did it cleaning-wise. I also spent a significant amount of time looking around at wedding photographers...blah. I'm beginning to hate that arduous task. But it needs to get done, and soon. Meals today consisted of week old grilled out hamburger and three day old chicken something or other I fixed...turns out the chickens not even cooked thoroughly...I still ate it anyways. This weekend is depressing, I used to relish in free time, and now I loath it. Funny how life works.

Head in the Sand

2007-01-18T21:59:00.000-06:00

This past weekend my brother drove up to hang out, and I decided that the best way for him to experience this part of Indiana was to go out in the cold and climb a sand dune! Driving the very short ways out of Michigan City we arrived at Mt. Baldy and surprisingly made the climb of 120 feet in the sand to the top. Last time I attempted I was beat back by blowing sand off the top which found it's way into my nose,mouth, ears...you name it. Climbing to the top, the view was awesome as Lake Michigan greeted us in all it's glory. Even knowing it's on the other side of the dune, I always find it hard to believe that there's a huge ass lake there.

We ended up partying like feinds, and my friends Becky and Jen drove in from Chicago to help get the party goin. We all drank like fish and before the night was over my brother was jumping in the pond out back, freezing as it was, puking on my floor and blacking out like nobodys business. Wow...

Wedding planning is coming along swell I guess. I think I spend most of my night tonight looking over stuff and feel like I've gotten nowhere. Yes, welcome to my life. I'm hopefully going to have a photographer booked come this next Friday. I'm taking a train to Chicago on Thursday evening, then hopefully finding a bus that will take me to Union Station where I need to find my tickets and my train. All this happens in 30 minutes time, so I'm a little nervous in that I have no friggin clue what the hell I'm doin. More on that as the week progresses.

Other than that I don't know that much is new...just a blur of nothin for the most part. I should note that I'm particularly happy about gas prices. Today I saw it for $1.91. HELLS YEA!

Soooo Loooong

2007-01-10T19:12:00.000-06:00

Oh how the hours do NOT fly by for me during the evening. Times slow and viscous progression seems all but to stand still every night as I sit watching the clock. Night for me begins when work ends as by the time I make it home, I have just enough time to catch the last fleeting glimpse of sunlight disappear beneath a sea of cloud. I know the hours of the night better than the back of my hand...every minute, every slow, droning, monotonous second hanging on for what would seem to be an enternity. This solitary existence I lead is extremely hard to get used to. I haven't even become an alcoholic yet, or picked up any bad habits, I simply just exist. Outside of work, I am only an empty shell, hoping at some point to be rejuvenated by life once again...as for right now, I am void of any sort of titilating excitement to warrant jubilation. I find it somewhat disheartening that of all my friends, only one has come to visit me at my new home. I've been here almost three months now. What I wouldn't do to have a life again...

Police, Minorities & Stun Guns

2007-01-09T19:14:00.000-06:00

Watching CNN this evening I caught a story on police, minorities and stun guns. Recently a Houston football player, a large muscular man, got stun gunned following a traffic violation in which he was pulled over and questioned for. Now, suddenly this becomes a big deal and a large amount of African Americans are in an uproar over the reported statistic that, in Houston, 63% of stun gun uses are directed toward minorities. A city council woman is even suggesting a moratorium on stun guns until further investigation can be done.

I sat watching this show, fairly perturbed about how the phrase "if he were white this wouldn't have happened," or "Caucasian" this or that...here's the cold hard fact of the matter. First and foremost, if I were a 6'4" white guy who looked like I could lift a car and got pulled over and acted like an ass, you better believe they'd probably stun gun me. Secondly when the statistic we're talking about represents only a fraction of arrests in the first place (that being a fraction of a percent where a stun gun is even used) what the frig is the big deal? Unfortunately we live in a time where the majority of people in our jails are minorities...subsequently a majority of the crimes committed are committed by minorities. Does it not seem as if that statistic is possibly even LOW that sixty-three percent of stun gun uses in Houston occur on minorities?

To take this one step further, I'm sure that parts of Houston are just like parts of Indiana that I'm familiar with, in particular Gary, IN. I work in an area that would most likely be deemed a "high crime area." I'm about 102% sure that there is a crack house across the street from this particular property I do work on. I see cops fairly often, however I more often see the police helicopter which never seems to leave the general vicinity of where I'm at. In my time working at this site I have run into all kinds of people and have made my own presumptions about the makeup of the community there. I'd say about 1% are Caucasian, 89% are African American and the rest are assorted minorities, but predominately Mexican. I'm sure that if stun guns were used when an officer felt in danger in this area, it would likely be quite hard for the ratio not to be skewed toward minorities. You sure as hell don't see high crime in suburbia!! My point in all this rambling is this, and when I make this point, I'm not being racist...moreover just keen on saying it how it is. Crimes in this country are certainly seen in higher proportions among minorities; in particular, areas with low income and high proportions of minorities. This is not to say there aren't plenty of us white people doing stupid crap and getting arrested, however the cold hard fact of the matter is that Americas jails are full of minorities and this isn't just a coincidence or police being selectively biased against certain groups of people. So there, I said it.

What I Miss the Most

2007-01-06T08:20:00.000-06:00

Being up here in Indiana is a definate change of pace, which has taken some getting used to but ultimately has been a great experience so far. I'm not sure when/if I'll ever find my way back to the wide-open nothingness of central Illinois that I call home, but I sure do miss everything about it.

Some people would probably find a person looney for being enamored by the vast expanses of nothing more than field after field after field that comprise the better part of central Illinois. Devoid of topography, scoured by the unbridled winter wind which charges across its plains full force, and dotted only by the occasional town or homestead, it remains very near to my heart. The people are friendlier, complete strangers wave hello as you drive down the road and more than likely you're bound to run into someone you know. A new neighbor could be over a mile away, and gossip is not just a past time, but a religion. Life seems simpler and worries appear smaller everytime I venture back into the black desert I call home.

What I miss the most...nothing...the whole lot of nothing that comprises that small area of the world I call home.

Christmas & the 10K

2006-12-28T21:45:00.000-06:00

I'm already tired of seeing all the Christmas hoopla still up and out everywhere. Twas the season for the past month... now, the season is over! Jeesh... at any rate I realized I've been slackin' on the ol' blog so I thought I'd update you all. You all being those who are interested enough to keep coming back to see what's shakin' in my lil world. And yes, I know you keep coming back because I have a page counter which has now told me that since August of 05' my page has been viewed over ten thousand times now! Sweet ass!

Christmas was pretty good this year, or rather as good as can be expected being such as my grandma on my dads side suddenly passed away unexpectedly. However, as a family, collectively we sucked it up and soldiered on. Tonight for dinner I made "green pepper steak," a recipe my grandma had just given me. Honestly, I feel bad that I haven't sat down and had a good cry or moped through an entire day. I guess I'm wired different than everyone else...I remember when I was young having my dad tell me that he was proud of me for not crying when my uncle died. This was reallllll young...I think had I actually been vividly aware of what was going on I'd have been inclined to be more emotional. For better or worse, I'm convinced that one line from my dad has molded me into the rock I am today. So, I was strong for my family, but moreover strong for my dad who naturally took it really hard when my grandma passed.

Christmas on my other side of the family was wierd since me and Kristin opened gifts two days early since neither her nor I would be able to actually stay for all my family to get in and such. Next year being married is gonna be insane since we'll have to figure out what we're going to do with the whole where to go thing. I have 3 places I typically am for Christmas...Christmas eve on my dads side, Christmas morning at my folks and then on my moms side around lunch time. Kristin however, has about 8 places she goes between the two days and I can't even begin to fathom how we're going to work that out.

Surprisingly no coal this year...

Only 63% of Americans...

2006-12-20T20:45:00.000-06:00

Only sixty-three percent of Americans have a Christmas tree in their homes. Real trees were by far fewer than artificial trees, but I was certainly shocked to think that thirty-seven percent of American households lack the quintessential Christmas decor. Tis the season, and no time is it more abundantly obvious than right now. Less than a week remains of the countdown until Christmas. For me, that countdown is not really about presents anymore, but moreover a chance to spend quality time with the ones I love. Granted a large portion of my anxiousness revolves around the good food that will be had in great portions by myself in particular, but it will be nice to see all my family again whom sheer geography

has kept from frequent visits. I'll try and post again after all my holiday hoopla, but for now from me to you...Merry Christmas!!

An Empty, Barren Expanse

2006-12-17T13:04:00.000-06:00

When confronted with the resounding emptyness of my life here in Indiana, it amazes me to look back even a year ago and compare my life then to my life now. I had a very myopic existence. That perpetuated "college-like" state was to me, perfectly fine since it typically blurred out the cold hard fact that I was single, still living with my parents and lacked a "real" job.

Todays Nick is much different, benge drinking seems to be a thing of the past, I'm engaged, and currently aside from the whole Kristin thing I seem to lead a very singular existence. I may eventually find myself reverting back to youthful endeavors as I meet people up here and start my new life in the real world. I have a feeling that won't entirely happen until Kristin moves up though. We'll see. I'm on my way out the door after I finish another sentence or two to go watch the Steelers and drink some beer with a new aquaintance...maybe there's hope for me yet! lol!! Let me know what you all think of the new page!

A New Look

2006-12-16T14:47:00.000-06:00

I spent the better part of this morning toiling over changing my blog to a new, more wintery look. Hopefully you all will dig the new page. I'm still tweeking things, but for now, this is it!

Last night ended up being pretty good with the whole going out with real people thing. I guess I have fallen out of the limelight a bit since moving here. A side effect of getting older no doubt. In-part I attribute my not being overly eager to get out and about to the fact that Kristin isn't up here to enjoy things with. But that didn't stop me last night, and I had a great time. I think that next time she's up here we may even try to go on a double date with Laura the girl that worked at the front desk here until a week or two ago and her fiance who turns out I got along with pretty well. Fun stuff.

This weekend is the first time I've had the whole weekend to myself, or rather am not going down to visit Kristin, or having her up to visit me. I've so far been able to keep busy with little odds and ends, but I have a feeling that tomorrow is going to be very boring. On a happy note however, Christmas is coming up in like no-time and that is going to be a very very busy time for me!!

Holiday Party

2006-12-14T21:59:00.000-06:00

I started off this week with only one small glimmer of excitement in the immediate future, a light at the end of a very mundane, very unexciting tunnel. That glimmer of excitement was the holiday party my apartment complex was putting on tonight. A chance to actually meet some real live people...and get out of my place for a change. Since moving up here it's been much more difficult than originally anticipated to meet cool people to hang out with. Oh well...so anyways, I went and actually had a pretty ok time! In fact, I now have plans for my Friday night! I guess I'm picking up this guy Nick who lives here and who I met tonight and meeting up with a bunch of other people from here at this brewery and hanging out. Should be pretty cool!

Me and Kristin are getting about neck deep in wedding planning stuff...oi...lots of crazyness, but in the end it's about making this day special for the most special person in my life. Well worth all the crazyness if you ask me! Hopefully we'll have all the specifics nailed down in the not-too-distant future!

PS...if anyone knows a good way to relieve pain in your hands, hit me up...from holding onto and running a 20lb. chainsaw all day cutting down trees...cutting stuff above my head, and on the ground my hands in the morning and evening are stiff and sore and I need to figure out how to make them not hurt! The obvious thing would be to not do the whole chainsaw thing...but that's not exactly an option, so...brainstorm for me!

Nick Owens, Lumberjack

2006-12-09T16:12:00.000-06:00

My life these days seems to be dominated by cutting down trees at work. Most people find that to be quite ironic that I spend so much tme cutting down trees, yet I am employed as someone who is by definition, a "environmentalist." Funny how biology works though, in this particular case I am thinning out even-aged oak trees to create more of a savanna-like habitat. I probably have sufficiently bored even the most tepid reader. None-the-less, I have deamed myself a lumberjack as-of-late since that's all I do and since I'm getting pretty damn good at it.

In other news, I continue to smell like chainsaw exhaust and sawdust, a combo which I have found drives the ladies WILD! Kristin is down for the weekend, currently I have the place to myself (like I'm not sued to that already) as they are out shopping, "they" being her, her mom and her step sister. Her mom and step sister are gonna stay the night tonight and hang out, so it should be a good time. I'm making dinner for everyone here afterbit...barbequed chicken, cheesy augrotten potatoes and I dunno...some other side or something. Which will likely end up being whatever I can scrounge up from my cabinet! I thought about taking a trip to the grocery store earlier, but I just couldn't do it...I always end up being there for the better part of forever looking around (rather going around in endless circles) looking for something that was right under my nose to start with. I swear that as a guy I just don't have what it takes to grocery shop. I'm anxious for Kristin to get up here and take care of that for me. I certainly can't handle too many more trips to Meijer!!! Well...time to shower. Hit me up wiht some comments!!!

Who's That Grabbing My Man Boob?

2006-12-04T08:05:00.000-06:00

So that past couple days have been slowly but surely getting better. I'm not a big fan of expressing emotion in any way, shape or form; however I've been pretty knotted up on the inside with a whole slurry of thoughts and feelings. But, my girl came down Saturday afternoon and seeing her and spending time with her definately lifted my spirits!

Saturday evening I took her and my brother out to Monicals which is a pizza place that we all enjoy after an afternoon sitting over at my grandpas with family. Sitting there in the restaurant impatiently waiting on our meal which was taking longer than everyone elses who came in long after us, I suddenly had someone come up from behind me and grab my chest. I couldn't see who it was but I quickly recognized several of my friends who are in the grad program at EIU. Come to find out it was my buddy Mark who was up from Missouri finishing up some thesis stuff. It was quite the shocker! A little later on we met up at Lefty's Hollar for a couple of drinks but were quickly annoyed by all the barcrawls that kept coming in, so we opted to go over to another friends and hang out there. We all ended up watching the movie "Accepted" which I highly recommend, it was pretty funny and definately worth watching again perhaps even!

Alright, that's all I got...thanks to all of you who have called, emailed, texted and what-not over the past couple days. It was much appreciated.

A Sad Day

2006-12-01T19:33:00.000-06:00

I woke up this morning expecting a day of dealing with inclimate weather, working outside and really in sum just kinda glum about the whole idea of trudging through the day. My phone rang shortly after waking, it was my dad with news, my grandma passed away. She had just had surgery this past monday and everything had gone ok, it was outpatient and she was back home in no time, however there must have been some complications. It has come as a huge shock to me and my family. I took leave from work and came back to central Illinois through the treacherous weather so that I could be with my family. Your thoughts and prayers are appreciated.

Dreadful

2006-11-30T21:05:00.000-06:00

Tomorrow sure seems to me to be a sleep in sorta day. In fact, nothing would be better than if I could sleep in tomorrow, it would be like the most fantastic thing of my life. However, work becons like a glaring light piercing through the fog from a frieght train barreling toward me. Fifty mile per hour wind gusts, a nice blanket of ice on the road, topped off with a good 6 to 12 inches of snow. What a great way to start December off!

Bridge Builder Extraordinaire! 250!!

2006-11-28T20:58:00.000-06:00

This post marks my 250th post ever! I thought that I'd be clever and find something that had 250 in it, and I must say I did a pretty good job! Only the best truck you'll ever find, the Ford F250! Perhaps a little bit of a biased opinion there considering I drive one.

I built a bridge today at work. After a lot of labor hauling lumber into the heart of a 197 acre piece of "flatwoods" that the land trust I work for owns, something finally took shape. I wish I had a picture to post showing it, but alas I don't. If you're that interested, come up and see me and I'll take you out to the site and you can gaze in aw at its splendor! It's not actually THAT great, but considering how much effort went into it, it sure the hell seems to be damn nice in my eyes!

I paid my first apartment related bill today...$5.44. OUCH! haha...that was for gas and electric for the last week of October when I moved in. I'm hoping that trend continues...$20-$30/month would be friggin' sweet ass if you ask me. I however know that when Kristin moves in she won't much care for me cheap ways...currently the heat never really runs aside from one time in the morning and one time at night and my electricity usage is at a minimum...but it should be noted that it's been fairly mild as of late and I'm really not here aside from the evenings. So...yea.

BIG BIG SUPER HUGE NEWS!

2006-11-26T08:40:00.000-06:00

I'M ENGAGED!

THE DETAILS: I WAS PLANNING ON WAITING UNTIL OUR ANNIVERSARY WHICH WAS DEC. 12TH, BUT BEING AS IMPATIENT AS I AM DECIDED I HAD TO DO IT THIS WEEKEND. I PICKED HER UP AFTER SHE GOT OFF WORK LAST NIGHT AND HAD MADE RESERVATIONS AT BIAGGI'S WHICH IS A NICE, SEMI-FANCY ITALIAN RESTAURANT WE LIKE. THEY HAD A SPECIAL "PRIVATE" TABLE FOR US, PRIVATE IN SO FAR AS IT WAS IN A CORNER...LOL...WE HAD A NICE DINNER, WITH A NICE BOTTLE OF WINE AND WENT OUT TO MY TRUCK. ONCE AT MY TRUCK, IN A VERY SERIOUS TONE I CONFESSED THAT I JUST COULDN'T DO "THIS" ANY LONGER; KRISTIN NATURALLY WAS LIKE WHAT!?! AT THAT POINT I GOT DOWN ON ONE KNEE AND PROPOSED, AND OF COURSE THE ANSWER WAS YES. ACTUALLY IT WAS "OH GOD...YES!...OH GOD...OH GOD...YES...OH GOD...YES YES YES...OH...OH GOD!"

An Update...JEESH...I know!

2006-11-25T10:04:00.000-06:00

So let me start off by sending out my sincere apologies for it taking so God damn long to update my blog. It seems that if I'm not working my arse off or driving somewhere to do something 3 or 4 or yes, at times even 5 hours away (traffic...fucking traffic) then my spare time is spent making and drinking long islands. Which I have now perfected and LOVE!

I guess the question that is probably resonating through most peoples minds is..."how the hell are ya?" I am good, really crazy busy at present, but good. For whatever reason I've been finding myself favoring a 9pm bedtime which is both disturbing and pathetic. However, I still have yet to encounter anyone that I'd like to hang out with so my solitary existence up in Indiana is fine for the time-being. That is of course, so long as the long islands hold out!

Day-to-day life stumbles on just as it always has, not much new to report there. I'm still enjoying the new job and Kristin is still this amazing bright point in my life. She's looking fervently for a job up in the area and I'm hoping she can quickly find something and join me up at my new place...or rather, our new place.

Thanksgiving was as usual, a rather bloating and subsequently miserable holiday. You'd think that a person could keep themselves from going back for a second plate of my grandmas good cooking, but I caved. Between the overpowering sweet aroma and the knowledge that a feast of this proportion only comes along a very few times a year (Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter) I succumbed to the overwhelmingly delicious food. I spent the afternoon in a turkey induced coma with spurts of conciousness brought on by my little cousins pummeling me and big plays on the football game. What a great holiday, food, football, and family; what makes it even better is that it is entirely an American holiday, unique and special to us. God bless the USA!!!

At any rate, I'm sure there is lots of other stuff to report, but that's the quick and dirty, I'll try and be better and setting aside time to keep everyone up on my day-to-day goings on! Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving!

The Void and a Dune

2006-11-12T17:45:00.000-06:00

As is not uncommon with most evenings of my so-called life these days, I'm sitting around with very little going on. I currently have this "void" if you will in my life that seems to go unchallenged and unfilled. After three weeks of trying to acclimate to my new surroundings I can't say that I've done much of a good job of it. Considering everything though, I'd say I'm doing quite well in my new fairly sedentary lifestyle. Work all day, slack all night.

In other news, me and Kristin did a little exploring this weekend. The picture attached is of Mt. Baldy, one of the dunes classified as "high dunes" which are among some of the largest inland dunes in the world. Me and Kristin attempted to climb up it just as you see the fellow in the picture doing, but found ourselves worn out and unable to find firm footing as we neared the top, so we turned around and took the stairs. It's crazy how much of a workout you can get simply walking in sand!!! For more information about the Dunes and how these incredible freaking things were formed, go here.

It's For Medicinal Purposes!!!

2006-11-09T21:51:00.000-06:00

Sorry I've been so lax as of late in getting around to posting, but it seems like once I get home from work I fall into this vegetative state where I just kinda inhabit my couch for the evening, thus not allowing me to do much on the computer. I'm trying to change that, so bear with me!

For those of you who have been asking how things are going up here, the answer is good. I'm finally starting to settle in and get used to my surroundings. It's still a little strange being somewhere other than Charleston, but it's certainly a change for the better. My apartment is awesome and the people I work with are kick ass! My biggest challenge seems to be mastering cooking for 1. Leftovers enough for 4 days after a meal get unappealing after the second time around. So I'm still working on that one, but I've managed to lose 7 or 8 pounds as of a week ago since I moved. No doubt due to the rather intense work schedule I maintain, which is certainly more demanding than any I've been used to in the past, but it's a very rewarding job in that I feel like I'm a part of something that is working in a positive direction.

Anyways, on to the point of my whole post...So, my back was killing me after work today. We've been doing prescribed burns the past two days and carrying a giant pack of water on my back as well as loading and unloading heavy equipment from trucks has taken it's toll in the ol' back. I had decided to go get some advil after work since I have no real medication of any type in my place that I know of yet, though there could certainly be some in a random drawer somewhere. So I make it over to Meijer and I ended up walking out with the following:

Vodka
Gin
Triple Sec
Rum
Tequila
Sour Mix
Coke
Manilla folders
Cheese
Red Bull (for Becky's Yaeger Bombs this weekend)

If you looke closely at that list then you know my intention. Long Islands baby! So I made myself one tonight while I vacuumed and such in preparation for Kristin coming tomorrow night, and Becky on Saturday. Tomorrow begins the weekend! woo-hoo!!!

Burn Baby Burn!

2006-11-08T07:34:00.000-06:00

Just a quick note before I head out the door for work this morning to burn part of a nature preserve up here called Cressmoor Prairie: FIRE IS COOL!

I Remember YOU!!!!

2006-11-04T23:02:00.000-06:00

My constant friend and companion, alcohol entered my life again during the past few days. God bless you alcohol. My days are filled with renewed vigor, a new thirst for life and a youthful glimmer. The wonders of alcohol cease to amaze me.

A Not So Good Welcome Home

2006-10-28T10:00:00.000-05:00

Leaving work yesterday, I was tepid with anticipation to be back in central Illinois. Back to the place that I call home, back to a sense of normalacy and comfortable surroundings. Leaving from work and getting onto the interstate choked with Friday evening traffic, I was confronted with what seemed to be unrelenting miles of stop-and-go driving. One moment I'd be stagnantly awaiting some sign of movement in traffic, the next I'd be doing a wopping thirty miles an hour just to stop yet again less than an eight of a mile from where I started. This went on for longer than I care to recall. I have resolved that after this trip I will never again drive on 80/94 if I don't have to.

Finally finding myself in the middle of nowhere on my way to Kristins place, driving down roads and highways completely devoid of traffic I knew I was back in central Illinois. Within about ten minutes of reaching my destination all of a sudden a horrible noise arose from my engine...or was it my transmission? I couldn't exactly pinpoint it but I knew it certainly wasn't good and I needed to pull over and shut off my truck rather than make whatever it was worse by continuing any further. It was dark and obviously I wasn't going to get it towed or anything last night so I resolved to have Kristins mom come pick me up and deal with the issue this morning. My parents, God bless thier souls, drove the two hours up to come and help me figure out what to do with it and what was wrong with it. Turns out that I blew a spark plug. Personally I didn't know that that was a possibility, not that I'm enept in vehicular knowledge, but I simply didn't know that a spark plug could physically blow out like that. Knowing that it wasn't anything to keep me from getting from point A to B, I drove it with it's horrible knocking noise to a nearby dealership to have it worked on. I estimate that it will likely set me back $400 to have the spark plug hole rebored and the like. But, it certainly could have been a lot worse I guess, so we'll just be glad that that was it.

In other news, the Cardinals worked it out last night which ultimately means that Kristin and a good majority of my other friends, Dirty and Cassandra in particular have to be walking around with huge smiles on thier faces today. So, for all you St.Louis fans out there, GO CARDS!!!!

New Place...New Life...New Everything...

2006-10-24T18:04:00.000-05:00

Well, I have to admit that adjusting to this sudden shift in my day to day life and trying my hardest to act like an adult is certainly a change from the ordinary and I'm not entirely sure I'm used to it yet. I'm kinda marooned up here by myself away from everything and everyone and honestly I haven't a clue as to how to go about making new friends since I a) don't see anyone aside from those people I work with. b) have literally no contact with anyone else as it's cold as a mofo up here most days and it's not like people are just outside chillin' with a beer. and c) yes there is a lot of "stuff" up here, but not really much to do...no good bars from what I gather, no good anything really...just Chicago which is however far away. So I'm certainly gonna have to acclimate from my "college-ish" lifestyle which I have grown accustomed to over the past few years. Growing up is a bitch! At any rate, I'm certain this would be a lot more tolerable if Kristin were here with me. I only have to wait a few months for that...so hopefully this next little bit will just fly by.

Enough about that however, you all want to know about the move and the new place no doubt! Well the move went super fine, no big problems like FLAT TIRES ON TRAILERS...lol...but we got up here and got it all moved in and all. I certainly have to say though that my family is about as good as you get. If it weren't for my parents and grandparents I don't know what I'd do. Seriously...amazing people. I ganked all these pictures below from Kristin, but it'll give you an idea of what the new place looks like! Enjoy!

Alright...so the picture thing is not gonna work...if you want to see them, go to Kristin's blog!

Give em' to ME!

2006-10-18T19:07:00.000-05:00

So on average I have about tweny to thirty of you out there surfing in to check out my daily happenings here on my blog. In a weeks time I average about four hundred page loads and yet despite it all I find myself getting like totally no comments on any of my posts as of late. Which, might I add have been action-packed...enough so that even I find myself tepid with excitement. That being said, in an effort to get some friggin' comments from you people I propose the following: leave me a comment.

Virginia and Back: A Travelers Tale

2006-10-17T20:08:00.000-05:00

I'm home....HOME! HOME! HOME! Friggin' awesome four letter word. So I finally made it back from my trip to Virginia Beach to pick up my new truck. It was so much more than I had anticipated, planned for or even contemplated could possibly be.

As with any good plan, things went anything but as planned, aside from the making it to point A, and then making it to point B. I dunno what I was thinking honestly, but regardless I can look back and say, well that's just another story for my "book of life." The picture I've attached to this post is the typical window scenery through the entire drive in Virginia and West Virginia on Tuesday afternoon. It was absolutely amazing! However, when towing a vehicle through the same local this morning at about 2 or 3am and the combination of darkness, pouring rain, thick fog, sharp sudden curves and a 5300 pound vehicle in tow it was very stressful. In fact, everything about the trip was stressful. I literally slept like none...drove from 3am Monday morning to 6:30pm this evening (Tuesday). I'm like running on nothing here. To top off everything, one of the trailor tires fell apart in West Virginia...then...another one did the same thing today just on the other side of Indy. F-ing trailor tires! So had that not happened, I'd have been home much much earlier today. But such is life, so no big thing yenno.

The long and the short of it is that I saw some cool stuff, I even went through a tunnel that lies beneath the Chesapeake Bay! I'd never been there before, so that was cool. Seeing the Piedmont region of appalachia in fall was spectacular on like fifteen different levels, I learned some valuable road skills out and about with my grandpa on this trip. He used to be a truck driver after retiring from farming so he was a huge help, and it was nice to have someone along to give me a break from driving every once in awhile.

NO WAY!

2006-10-16T02:30:00.000-05:00

It's 2:24am, I just came inside from making the final preparations for my trip to Virginia Beach to pick up the new truck. What a stressful evening!!! Turns out the trailor that my friend Gary is letting be borrow is just a touch too narrow to get the truck on, which I found out about this evening when I went to pick it up. My dad decided we could make it work by building some ramps to drive it on to get it up over the wheel wells since we're only short by an inch or so on each side. However, I can't find anything of my dads and so I had to wait for him to get home and by the time it was all said and done, I did a lot of stressing and 3 hours later we're "supposably" good to go. I'm a little leary about it, but perhaps I'm just being a big pussy. But I really have to thank my good friend Gary, who seriously is about as good of a friend as a guy could have. Who else would let you borrow their truck and trailor to drive to Virginia? I'm pretty lucky to have people like that around! I'm leaving here as soon as my grandpa shows up to drive out with me...we're driving the 14 or so hours out, and then hoofin' it straight back. I think I'm borderline insane for undertaking a trip like that in that kind of time frame. I'll be back Tuesday afternoon with some photos maybe and the skinny on my trip out and back.

Bar Crawl

2006-10-14T15:14:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was yet another day of crazyness, and at it's end I just decided to hell with it I'm not gonna succumb to the stress of my day to day life now-a-days and I'm going to go out and have some fun. So, I pitched my idea of not going on the barcrawl so I could pack and stuff and I just went and did the whole thing. It was a lot of fun, the theme was "Intoxicology: The only science graduate students understand." So, yet another bar crawl shirt to add to my collection.

I'm finally getting a lot of my packing done, though there is still more, but I'm definately making some headway on getting stuff all boxed up! Packing to me has over time become second nature with all the moving I've had to do growing up as we built house after house, never moving from the same town however moving EVERYWHERE imaginable within it. So packing isn't too big of a hassel, just moreover one more stressful thing to worry about this last week I'm in town.

New Truck!!

2006-10-11T21:57:00.000-05:00

It's official...I am the new owner of a 2001 F250 located currently in Virginia Beach, VA. I got it off of ebay, so now I have to just drive the thirteen hours out there, haul it back and get the clutch fixed, then ride around in my new truck with all 10 cylinders firing going, ooooooooooo yea!!!!

A Day of Crazyness

2006-10-08T19:17:00.000-05:00

Me and Kristin got up at the butt crack of dawn yesterday and got started out on the road up to Michigan City, Indiana where my new job is located. After four hours of driving we finally made it up there and started looking around for apartments and such. Well, we drove all over Michigan City and only found one set of apartments that didn't seem too janky, and decided to check out some surrounding towns. We made our way down to a town called Valparaiso which is home to Valparaiso University and looked around and once again, found one or two places that seemed worthwhile, but as it was a Saturday everywhere that seemed nice seemed to be closed. However in all this driving on the way to Valparaiso we saw a set of apartments that looked to be still being built and decided to stop in anyways. Well, we hit pay dirt because we now have found a place to call home. A new set of apartments are going up called University Pointe which is driectly across the road from North Central Purdue University. The setup is kick ass, and I'm totally stoked. Even better yet, no rent until January!!! It's kinda an incentive to get people to move there, and sure enough...it worked! I've inserted a picture of the floorplan just because I'm crazy like that.

So after all that crazyness, we made it down to Champaign and met my mom and dad for dinner, then headed over to K's Merchandise b/c we heard they were going out of business and there was some good sales going on. So we were in the market for a table for the dining room, but there ended up being this kick ass bedroom suite that was on sale that we liked, it was only $1500...so we decided to get it. Well, almost through with getting it and come to find out that it didn't come with the dresser...the dresser was going to be another $500 on top of the $1500. So we left and went to Pennys to look around and found another one we liked there...but shipping and handling was going to be $250 so we passed and went back to look around at K's. Well...we found another bedroom set we liked that was very contemporary looking and it included the dresser and all for $1500...so we bought it. We later went to walmart and bought a table and chairs, so I had an expensive day. But it appears as though I'm getting all my ducks in a row, so it's all good! I'm pretty pumped about this move!

New Job...New Plans...New Everything

2006-10-06T13:48:00.000-05:00

It's official now so I thought that I'd publish it for all the world to see, but I have taken a job with the Shirley Heinze Land Trust in Michigan City, Indiana (click here). As of this afternoon, I accepted the offer for employment and have already begun plans to move up to the Michigan City area by the end of the month.

I honestly have no idea what in the heck I'm doing, as I've never done an out-of-state move before, I certainly haven't been thinking about moving like this. I have been putting myself out there with interviews and such, but I guess I never really thought it all out. It's a big step. But, I'm very excited about it and I certainly can't wait to see what this new opportunity has to offer.

In so far as what the job entails, it's an entry-level ecological restoration professional position working to assist the land trusts Stewardship Program Manager with implementing their land stewardship program. In sum, it's a hands on management position that not only will be doing extensive work with a wide range of natural communities in the northern Indiana region, but it will also entail some work with getting a volunteer group up and going in that area.

What this means for me is that I won't be drunk in Charleston as often as what I used to be, but hopefully I'll still be around the area once in awhile as my family still is here and a lot of my friends. Kristin is pretty excited about this as well and she will be moving in with me hopefully in early January when her current position with Country Companies is up. I have a crazy, very intense rest of my month left as I try to get things squared away for the move and my new residency in Indiana...yes...I'm going to be a Hoosier. *sigh* But I'd certainly love to see all my Illinois people before I go, and yes, you're definately all welcome to come and visit! I'm sure to have a good sized supply of liquor hangin out in my new pad!

All In

2006-10-04T09:33:00.000-05:00

Went and played poker last night, it was nothing short of a really good time. I made my money back too, so how can you go wrong with a night out, lots of fun and not costing you a dime? Actually though, it cost someone fifty dimes, because that's how I got paid from the "pot." Fifty, gosh darn dimes. Oh well.

Tonight I think I'm headed over to this new guy, Jeff's house to play horseshoes and cook steaks. So yea, that'll be nice as it's fall so the temperature rocks my face off outside, we're playing a fun outdoor game and we're cookin steak. What more could you ask for aside from a bus full of hawaian tropic girls to pull up asking you to rub lotion on them?

In other news, my thoughts of grad school at ISU are lessened by the recent news that the prof I'd like to work with is retiring. I'm now in correspondence with someone down at SIU Carbondale which sounds very promising. A lot of people think that when it comes to grad school, you just pick somewhere to go and that's it. It's much more involved than that, it's important that you know what you want to do and that you find someone whose research interests parallel your own. My future still seems very blurry, but who knows...we'll keep my fingers crossed and just go with the flow.

2006-10-03T10:04:00.000-05:00

What To Do...What To Do

2006-10-03T09:51:00.000-05:00

So this afternoon I'm going to get a phonecall from the place I interviewed this past Saturday, and they will either offer me a job or turn me down. I can't imagine getting turned down, however it's happened in the past. So what happens if they do...do I take it, move away from everything and everyone I know and try to start a life there, on what I would consider a meager salary or do I do something else. My "dream job" just opened up, the job that I've wanted since 1997. For those of you who may be numerically impaired, that's 9 years ago. I have a sneaking suspicion that the competition for that particular job is going to be relatively insane and so I'm not overly sure what my odds of employment in such a capacity are. I also sent off an email to a professor at ISU yesterday about starting on as a grad student in his lab. His research interests parallel mine, so who knows. If I had a crystal ball right now, I'm not sure it would do me any good, because I'm certainly clueless about how all this will play out. Wish me luck though, I certainly need it!

Enough about that however, last night I spent taking care of my two favorite ladies, Kristin and her little sister Claire who just turned two this past week. Kristin and I agreed to watch her tonight so that her dad and step mom could go out to celebrate their 6 year anniversary. Kristin however had a bad migraine and so I had my hands full, though it wasn't JUST me doing everything by any means. I have probably become a little more kid friendly over the past almost 10 months that I've been dating Kristin I think. But Kristin hates the fact that I'm her little sisters favorite. She of course won't admit it...but it's true! How could I not be her favorite afterall? haha...well that's all I got for the timebeing, later on.........

Sweat, Wood and Numb Arms

2006-09-30T18:34:00.000-05:00

So, I'm not entirely sure why I'm expending the energy to type as my arms are basically numb at this point, but here I am...typing. The reason for that being that I spent the first part of my day splitting logs. There's something I really enjoy about splitting wood in the fall. The brisk morning air rushing into your lungs as you raise the axe into the air getting ready to swing. As you exhale you see a cloud of steam rise and the sound of the splintering of wood as the axe head falls through the log echoes in your ears. It's a return to a bygone era, a time when things were simpler. I love it. I'm pretty sure if afforded the opportunity, I'd travel back and live in the early 1800's. Mostly I think I'd just enjoy seeing what this world that I know only as corn, soybeans and suburbia was before we cut, drained, plowed and altered it to be something it never was. How exciting it must have been to live in an era where "wild" really meant "wild." I ramble. At any rate, I spent awhile chopping wood today and it was a good time. I'll be gone for the rest of the weekend, as well as perhaps part of the beginning of the week but I'll try and get on and post a little more than I have been!

Fall is Comin'

2006-09-28T12:56:00.000-05:00

It won't be too long now and the world as we know it will be changing before our eyes. Vibrant reds, yellows and browns will paint the landscape in a short-lived burst of color. No matter how krazy with a "k" my life is, I'm sure I'll be taking extra measures to enjoy the hell out of this, my favorite time of the year.

You might also note the new and different background of my blog. Well, it was time for a change. After more than a year now, I thought it'd be nice to change things up a bit and so hopefully everyone will find this new blog to be even better than the old one which I recieved numerous comments on. Be sure to let me know what you think.

I need to go to Greenup this weekend and buy some apple cider...fall, apple cider, they go hand-in-hand. I suggest you go buy some as well.

Day to Day Confusion

2006-09-27T20:56:00.000-05:00

Today I kinda feel like this little funny looking freaky-deaky guy to the left. Perhaps if all this craziness had come a few years sooner, I could blame it for my thinning hair as I'm sure if I had hair right now I'd be pulling it out.

I got a notice today that my "dream job," the job that I've pined for since 1997 is coming open. My luck I won't get it, but there's a huge what if? What's perplexing about this whole situation is the gamble. What happens if I get a job offer from this place I interviewed the other day in Indiana? If I take it then I kinda forfeit any chance at this job I REALLY want...if I don't take it then I stand the chance of not getting the job. I'm gonna try and call in all the favors I can, but I have a feeling that regardless the ball falls in some court where favors don't particularly matter.

At any rate, things are crazy and that seems to be the norm any more, so whatev. My hands smell like peach. blah.

Long Days Make For Long Weeks

2006-09-25T15:25:00.000-05:00

My life I have decided is just incredibly full. It feels like every day is just chock-full of all sorts of things and ultimately I just lose track of days all-together. Monday blurs into Tuesday, Tuesday blurs into Wednesday and before you know it your the exact day becomes indescernable without some deep thought. Case-in-point, this weekend went by entirely too quickly and what I thought should have been Saturday was in fact, Sunday. Blah.

Enough pointless rambling though, this weekend I had my interview up in Indiana with a small non-profit organization called the "Shirley Heinze Land Trust." Out of alllll the interviews I've done and whatever, I left this one with probably the best feeling I'd had out of them all. So we'll see, but past experience dictates that I shouldn't set my hopes too high!

This weekend, after getting back from the interview in NW Indiana, which took me 4 hours to drive to, me and Kristin went to Springfield and partied it up with Dirty and his band of politic'n peeps. It was a good time and hopefully we can make it back up again to hang out in the not-too-distant future. Aside from that, there was a bday party for Kristins cousin Cam (?) who just turned 2 years old and found out that fire...is hot...lol And then there was also a good amount of hanging out with all Kristins fam and playing cards at her grandmas...alllllll a good time. All-in-all it was a fantabulous weekend!

Stylin' with a NEW Phone!

2006-09-22T18:51:00.000-05:00

It's not incredibly often that I decide to spend money on anything for me that's anywhere close to being relatively expensive, but I opted to just do it this month and get a new phone. After weighing all my options, I went with the new Razor phone that's out from Motorola since several of my friends have it and all have given me rave reviews. So far, so good...

Sorry it's taken me almost a whole week to update this thing, I got too busy doin nothing to really think about updating. That may sound like screwed up logic, but I'm seriously enjoying every free minute I have since I've been basically non-stop for the entire summer with little to no free time. It's like heaven.

Other awesome news is that I saw gas for $2.15 today, which rocked my face off...especially since I am driving all the way up to Michigan City Indiana for an interview tomorrow. Wish me luck, we'll see what happens. As for my more recent interview with the Lake County Forest Preserve District, they turned me down for employment. I was told though that more than likely it was a political appointment, so I won't be too hard on myself. Gettin my game face on though...tomorrow is go time! After the interview it's back down to Kristins to pick her up and then off to party harty with Dirty in downtown Springfield...should be a hella good time!

Paw Paws!!!

2006-09-18T15:00:00.000-05:00

So many of you might read the title of this post and think... "what the frig is that?" Well, for those of you who unfortunately have not had the pleasure of running across this fruit, the paw paw tree has the distinction of having the LARGEST native fruit in all of America. I won't bore you with facts, but if you're interested in knowing more, just go here. So anyways, one of my coworkers brought me in a few today, which was quite the treat considering I've spent the past 4 years trying to hunt down trees that actually bore fruit. See, it's no problem finding the actual tree...they're EVERYWHERE here in Illinois. But when it comes down to finding one that puts on fruit, it's a very difficult task. Mmmm...I can't wait to eat these!!!! Hells yea!

A Recap

2006-09-15T14:29:00.000-05:00

Yesterday & Today

Got stuck doing a monotonous project ALL day at work, and barely made it to work in the first place due to my current vehicular issues.
Decided "fuck it" and opted to try to make it to Kristins last night rather than driving for home...and barely made it.
Woke up at 2am feeling like somebody had knifed me in the stomach...food poisoning.
Wriled around in bed for 3 hours wishing for death to just take me already.
Woke up from my hour of sleep and realized my battery on my truck was dead.
Got a jump start from Kristin.
BARELY made it to work...but made it despite MAJOR truck issues.
Pondering the question...will I be able to start my truck afterbit & if I do get it started will it make it the hour back to home............I'll update later.

I Think I Can...I Think I Can...

2006-09-14T09:21:00.000-05:00

My ongoing truck saga continues... one part stands between me and being able to reliably drive to anywhere at anytime. Of all things that could go bad, and hinder a person from making it from point A to point B, you probably wouldn't think that a simple switch that operates your fuel tanks would do it...but alas it is killing me. Today, nearly all the way to Champaign, my truck starts acting up. I had to literally pull off the road and let traffic pass me up because I couldn't get it to maintain speed. Basically for those of you who have no clue what I'm talking about, the switch is bad and thus is not allowing gas to flow as it normally should from the tank to the engine. Needless to say, the trip to Kristins tonight should be interesting. Wish me luck on making it there!

Wild, Wild Weekend and an Interview!

2006-09-11T18:05:00.000-05:00

I don't really even know how to begin this tale of drunkeness from my weekend, but as with any good story of merit, it begins with a beer. It was just like any other Friday night a year and a half ago, as I sat down with a crowd of my fellow biology peeps from EIU. The venue was a little different but the cold chill of a frothy beer in my hand was oh so bittersweet. Gathered around in a spirit of comradory we sat, beers in hand gossiping about everything and anything that could possibly come to ones mind in an increasingly drunken state of consciousness.

Eventually like a herd of drunken college freshmen we moved on to yet another establishment offering fine spirits and a cozy atmosphere. Finding ourselves at none other than Friends & Co. of course! However, while in route we stopped by one of our favorite professors houses as he and his wife, along with several of our friends were drunkenly conversing on the front porch. At some point, as conversation turned to joking...a punch was thrown by a certain professors wife which was originally meant for my arm, however found its way to my jaw. Ouch.

The story goes on, but at 4am me and Mark decided it was time to call it a night so that we could have the ability to drink the next day, Saturday for the "real schindig." Saturday night came and I was not feeling the best ever...but, I sucked it up and was able to pollish off 25 beers during the course of my evening. An impressive count by anyone's standards! Crazyness insued immediately following that twenty-five beers...but we won't go into that, if you want the full scoop you can find your way to Kristins page and read more. Yikes!

Today I had my interview up in Libertyville for the Lake County Forest Preserve District, and for those of you out there interested in knowing how it went...I think quite well!! I'm definately very anxious to hear back from them, so keep your fingers crossed for me! It sounds like a great opportunity to do what I love, and honestly it would be a great chance to get my name out in the northern reaches of the state, pick up some good experience, AND move on to the next stage of my life...quite exciting! I must admit though, all the driving today SUCKED! 8 hours of driving, $8.00 in tolls, and all for 45 minutes at an interview. Wowza...

Mixed Emotions

2006-09-07T12:31:00.000-05:00

This is definately a very interesting point in my life...sitting here on the periphery of something? nothing? I dunno...all I know is that waiting for something to happen is annoyingly monotonous yet incredibly exciting. That comment makes hardly any sense, I know, but in a lot of ways it echoes a certain truth when applied to me and my current situation.

In other news, Kristin has taken a job which will hopefully get her foot in the door and name out to the world with Country. I'm incredibly excited for her and I hope that this job brings with it more of a sense of fulfillment that was lacking from her previous job with JC Pennys. At the same time however, any feelings of excitement I have are muffled out by this resounding voice in the back of my head saying..."what if you get a job somewhere?" Well, I guess we'll just deal with that...we've been doing the semi-long distance thing all summer. I'd hoped that that wouldn't continue, but if it has to it has to. Her new job comes with a three month committment from October through December. Thus, if I were to get this job I'm interviewing for on Monday and move...well...we'd be doing a little more driving than we currently do.

But at some level, I'm just like to hell with worrying...everything will work out and as long as the two of us are happy, who cares. CARPE DIEM! I'm just anxious to get out there and start doing something with my life. So, we'll see.

Let the Drinking Begin

2006-09-05T22:55:00.000-05:00

Officially, my buddy Mark is in town which basically means this weekend will be Krazy...note the spelling** That's just how intense this weekend is gonna be! There's been some talk of century club for sure and then a night of drunken crazyness...keys are being collected at the front door and from there on in, who the hell knows. It's gonna get rowdy no doubt! To top it all off, my girl will be here for the festivities!!! Lets do this thing!

Monthly Bills

2006-09-04T11:09:00.000-05:00

Some part of the whole monthly bill process seems to me almost like signing your life away, check after check after check. I remember, back in the day when I had one check to write for my ONE credit card which I never had more than a hundred or so bucks on. HA! Wow, how times have changed. I guess in accordance with semi-kinda growing up.

I just wrote my final check today for my summer travel expenses over the course of the past month. One thousand two hundred thirty-four dollars and four cents. Wow...that's a lot of money. In my pocket one day, gone the next. It's funny how that works out...

In other news, I have an interview next monday, 9/11 for a job up in the dreaded suburbia. However, this isn't so bad as it's NW Chicago burbs, in Libertyville Illinois. Home to not only a great italian restaurant as memory serves me, but a really great little brew-pub "Mickey Finns" which if I have a chance I will have to visit! This job is with the Lake County Forest Preserve District and I'm pretty hopeful in so far as my chances for employment at this place. So we'll see what happens. Keep your fingers crossed though!

That's about all I got though, I bought a new serpentine belt for my truck this morning so the squeeking has stopped thank GOD...and at some point this afternoon I'll be headed to Colfax to see my girl...pretty stoked. Tomorrow Mark shows back up in town wtih his wife Beth for the week, so things are gonna get crazy...hella good times to come. I imagine I'll have some good stories from this week/weekend!

Not Dear Abby, Dear Nick

2006-09-01T20:08:00.000-05:00

If you can't read it, just click on it...

NDS

2006-09-01T16:42:00.000-05:00

Yes, I have the NDS, STILL! NDS, being the good ol' Nasal Drip Syndrome. I think I've filled the trashcan here at work up halfway with just kleenexes and pieces of toilet paper. My nose is going to eventually fall off at this rate I think.

I have an interview for a job up in Lake County, the dreaded Chicago suburbia hell coming up on 9/11. I'm not being overly picky...well, to some degree but it's one of those "you have to start off somewhere" sorta things. This position sounds interesting so we'll see, I'd like to just find something and start working. A change of pace would be really nice right now!

SICK

2006-08-31T08:48:00.000-05:00

For the second time now this year I am sick. I didn't have too much to drink last night, I didn't eat too many sweets...I just somehow, picked up a good ol' case of the common cold. It started off as a sore throat, progressed to sore throat and feeling weak, and now is sore throat, feeling weak, cough, runny nose and congested head. Lovely. At least I don't have the much publicized and highly exaggerated BIRD FLU... ooo ... aaaa ... when talking about BIRD FLU you have to put it in all caps because lets face it, it's not like we're talking about chicken pox, we're talking about BIRD FLU ... ooo ... aaa ... !!!! Personally I don't forsee any large mass outbreaks of BIRD FLU anytime in the forseeable future.

In other news, I've only been sick a day and a half now and I'm ready for it to be done and over with...not only do I get to deal with being sick today, but my trusty, ever-ready truck's alternator went bad today as well...so it's currently up at Battery Specialists getting replaced, which will only cost me $65 or $110, all depending. *sigh* I had given serious thought to repainting it, but now that I'm spending $200 to fix it all up instead of the originally forecasted $100 I'm not too sure that I'll consider a fancy new coat of paint anytime in the not-too-distant future. But yes Dirty, it feels great to be back in the truck again. I actually did miss the stick shift. I'm gonna go lay down now and pass out in a drug induced coma.

Shake and Bake

2006-08-29T13:05:00.000-05:00

Life is finally starting to calm back down and take on some tiny bit of normalacy again. It's hard to adjust back to having some free time here and there to do the things I enjoy. Or rather, to do those things that have been sitting on the backburner being ignored for the past four months. Now that I've got my explorer sold, I'm driving around my truck again and it certainly seems like a blast from the past...afterall, me and him go back until 2000. In the whole process of transfering over everything vehicle related, I called up my insurance company to let them know of the change. It was no problem swapping insurance from one P.O.S. to another P.O.S. and come to find out there was no change what-so-ever, aside from documentation. I did however learn that since I'm officially a quarter of a century old my insurance is going to drop by $40, so now I'll only have to look forward to $191 disappearing from my wallet every
six months. Yippee...

On a tangent, I need to find a full time job somewhere sometime soon...I'm BEYOND ready to move on to bigger and better things.

Bingo Baby...Bingo!!!

2006-08-25T09:45:00.000-05:00

When you think of bingo, the image that might come to mind is of a room full of america's seniors cloaked in old lady perfume, slowly marking off the numbers on their bingo card as the announcer viscously calls them one...by one...by one. Scratch all that though because we do things differently here in Charleston. Bingo is by far one of the most exciting events of the week. If you're over 21 and have the free time, it's the average college students place to be on a Thursday night.

Held at the moose lodge bingo is almost it's own religion. You have sects of people who dawn their matching bingo shirts which are given away randomly in drawings held every Thursday, showing that they are bingo regulars. You have the old people that still come out despite all the drunken college kids. And then you have the crap-ton of people who are just there for the good drink specials. One dollar and twenty-five cents buys you a beer and two dollars will get you a mixed drink. They serve food for cheap as well. We even have our own sayings, which are uttered as a whole without anyone flinching an eye.

B-4...AND AFTER!
B-9...IT'S NOT A TUMOR!
O-69...OOOOOOOOOOO!
O-66...CLICKITY-CLICK, BOTTOMS UP!
lets not forget the best though, G-fiddy-five...wow, I just got goosebumps.

At any rate, bingo is by far and away a really good time, especially when you win $35...yea, that's right, my bingo cherry was popped and I came home a winner. I've been going to bingo for like forever now and never won a darn thing, so it was more than awesome last night when I was able to yell out...BINGO BABY...BINGO!!!!

Extra Extra

2006-08-21T14:09:00.000-05:00

Just a quick post while I'm still on the clock here
at work...I forgot to mention the other day that I had finally sold my explorer! I just need to be paid for it now and I'll be happy.

In other news, I was asked to PLEASE stay a while longer here at my job for CTAP. I said I would, however I think I may try and ask for a pay increase...never done that before so we'll see what happens. But, none-the-less, the job search continues so who knows where I'll end up. No matter what though, I'll be with my girl and well, she's super fine so how could I complain?

Over the Hill?

2006-08-19T14:52:00.000-05:00

So, twenty-five has finally snuck up on me. It seems to me to be some sort of mile-marker that warrants evaluation of ones life. At some level, I expected to be at a much different point that I am at now...if you had asked me where I'd be right now ten years ago, I'd likely have said, "married, with kids and a job that I love." Good God, NO! I could go for all of that though, just minus the whole prodginy thing. I'm certainly not ready to have kids, take care of kids or tolerate kids...of my own that is. Patience is certainly not a virtue I possess, and I'd really like to do a lot more in life before thinking about that. That being said, the last few years have definately been a blast and I hope twenty-five brings with it the same tenacity for life that the previous few years have had.

So the Nick-a-Palooza that was scheduled for yesterday evening/night was cancelled due to inclimate weather. So that sucked...but me and Kristin went out to dinner up in Champaign at Olive Garden with Julia and then came back here to Chucktonia and went out to Friends and then to the Towner...it was a good time! It was funny that when we went into the Towner, the guy carding people was like...I know you, come on in dude...I'd never seen the guy before in my life, and Kristin and Julia got carded...haha! I'm hoping to reschedule the Nick-a-palooza for another day when I can give people more advanced notice and all AND when it's not gonna be storming like a mofo outside!

Birthday on the Road

2006-08-14T21:42:00.000-05:00

So my expectations aren't too high for this years birthday. I'm turning 25 this wednesday, a quarter of a century old, which to me is kinda a big deal and I'm gonna be by myself, in a hotel room in Carbondale. Granted, I will be celebrating with my family the next day and then hopefully with friends the day after that (providing people show up) but it's certainly not gonna be a fun day on my actual bday. But at the least I'll get to go to the 17th St. Bar and Grill in Murphysboro, IL...it's pretty kick ass in-so-far as food and drinks go. I'll update and let you all know how stuff panned out.

What the F?

2006-08-11T17:07:00.000-05:00

I think chiggers like me a little too much, as you can see from the picture to the left...yea... So, this week at work was quite the challenge. A whole lot of walking around collecting plants doesn't sound like a lot of work, but I was busy as hell pressing stuff and such the other day! It was intense.

I'm actually at home now and it's wierd sitting here...I don't really know what to do with myself. But, Lee texted me earlier and people are drinking over at her place tonight and then going out, so I think that I may slip over there for a bit and chill. Laundry and sorting plants becons so I'll try to update again tomorrow.

Easy Come, Easy Go

2006-08-05T17:26:00.000-05:00

Today was the second and final day of the annual family garage sale. I filled my usual position of sherpa extraordinaire handling all of the heavy stuff that anyone bought. I rolled in the big bucks, making nearly $30. Oh yes, I nearly had the Brinks truck rolling in to haul off my take, but I decided to risk it and just carry my big cash off by myself. I carried it for about an hour and then spent it taking my brother and grandma out for dinner...lol...easy come, eas go!

I'm taking off tonight, a day ahead of when I planned to in order to suprise Kristin. She's been really down today, so I'm hoping that a surprise visit will cheer her up!

In other news, yesterday was Cassandra's last day of work, and so we all gathered around to drink beer to wish her well and send her on her way. I'm not sure what I'm gonna do without her being around to harass and be harassed by! Then sometime soon Clark will be done with CTAP as well, so I'll be all by myself. I'm gonna be the sole survivor...wow

Speaking of wow, The Goonies is on right now...I'm not sure whether to be like "what a great old movie" or to be like "what a cheesy 80's show!"

Sooooo Hot...Sooooo Sweaty

2006-08-03T21:28:00.000-05:00

APPLE RIVER CANYON STATE PARK

The forecast for this week started off as this "HEAT ADVISORY!!!!!" Some people asked, "Isn't there some other time you could do this...just push it back a couple days off or something?" But we endured and in the end persevered over the Illinois heat and humidity which I sadly have been becoming more and more accustomed to.

This weeks work took me to the far northwestern corner of Illinois, nearly a stones throw away from the Wisconsin border to some of the most craptacular grasslands you'll ever see in your life! It was hot...it was sweaty...and at one point I had picked off twenty-three ticks in an hour, but hey, it's work and it's what I love! In sum, I had some good beer, sweated my ass off, visited the far corner of the state, drove like a bazillion miles and felt like I got nowhere basically, and missed my girl.

On a side note, I don't know what the hell is up with Champaign gas prices...I saw one station that was $3.39...back home in Charleston and everywhere else I've been this week, gas averaged just under $3.00 per gallon, leading me to say "what the F...you suck Champaign!" Seems to me that gas stations there are competing to see who can have the HIGHEST gas in town...CONTACT YOUR CONGRESSMAN NO MATTER WHERE YOU ARE AND TELL THEM WE AS A NATION NEED TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT GASOLINE AND THAT WE NEED TO TAKE A STAND AGAINST GAS COMPANY EXECS LINING THEIR POCKETS AT OUR EXPENSE!!! Hold up while I get off my soapbox....ok, but seriously it's a blatant slap in the face to see the huge profits these gas companies are pulling in and how hard it's hitting us consumers. If you own a vehicle or even know how to spell the word "gas" you should be pissed off.

Depth Perception

2006-07-29T15:22:00.000-05:00

I was just looking through some black and white photos today and realized that I miss my old manual camera I used to have. I was short on cash at one point and sold it and I regret it to this day. I love taking pictures, and there was a time when I was incredibly good at it, nothing is more fantastic than finding the "perfect shot," and being able to take it beautifully. Perhaps in the not-too-distant future I will attempt to buy another camera like what I had and work on getting back into photography.

I decided to put this picture up because for one, it's just incredibly cool with the early morning fog hanging low and thick in the braches of a coniferous forest in Yosemite National Park. Unfortunately I cannot take credit for this great photo, but I'll try to put up some of my own photos from Yosemite when I make it back to Charleston next. This photo reminds me of my life right now however, in that you can make out clear those things that are right in front of you however just beyond that everything is shrouded in the fog. I dunno what's around the bend but if it's as awesome as the foreground I can't wait!

Long Days Make For Long Weeks

2006-07-27T18:03:00.000-05:00

The "daily grind" is finally starting to wear me down. My life, however hectic and unpredictable, is becoming very monotonous to me. There really seems to be three main components...sleep, driving and sweating my arse off. Yes, I did say "arse." I hardly have time to breathe, see my girlfriend or really do much of anything that I want to do. Perhaps I'm just being selfish, perhaps when I look around and see everyone else my age relaxing and having a blast every single night of the week while it's warm and nice out here I feel a little jealous. Sure I have free time every now and again, but typically it's spent doing laundry, figuring bills, driving to see my girlfriend whom I don't nearly have enough hours in the day to spend with. I dunno...at some point all this summer has seemed to be is me running around chasing my tail.

Alright, I'm not complaining...well, yes I am, but for as much complaining as I'm doing right now I've made the best of everything this summer and had a good time of it as well. But I am getting tired of all the driving, all the sweating and all the nights away from my girl. I figure however in a month or so something is gonna change and things are gonna be entirely different. I'll leave it at that.

Walking in the Prairie

2006-07-23T18:18:00.000-05:00

Today I woke up with a slight hangover from last nights birthday party for my Uncle who turned 40. Lots of beer and semi-drunken golf cart rides through the woods on tiny little trails. Good times! After I staggered out of my bed and downed some asperin I hit the road and headed down to a little town called Neoga. In Neoga is a little tract of prairie which I've been doing research on, basically collecting plants and recording what all species persist on the site.

At any rate, there amongst everything, I happened across a prairie cicada, pictured to the left. The prairie cicada is rare for the most part, but locally common in railroad prairies, which this little prairie at Neoga happens to be. This cicada is much larger than the ones seen and heard in town. You'll definately never mistake it for anything else and it's always quick to fly as you get close. I also saw a hummingbird moth which has to be one of the coolest insects you'll ever see. They are just friggin' awesome! One of those is pictured here as well.

Nobody knows just how many species of plants and insects were lost as the prairie that once
covered most of the heartland was turned over into agriculture. I'm guessing probably an astounding number which most would rather not even think about, but it's nice to know that at some select few places, reminders of what this land once was survive. Species you'll see nowhere else except this little ecological niche persist despite overwhelming destruction during the course of the last two hundred years.

Weathering the Storm

2006-07-20T18:35:00.000-05:00

Yesterday started off as any other normal day in the field would; breakfast at whatever little diner (greasy spoon) or chain restaurant happened to be in the vicinity of where we stayed the night previous, but the rest of the day played out much differently than I'd expected. With highs reaching into the triple digits thanks to this little thing called HUMIDITY that we're blessed with in central Illinois, working outdoors in the sun had little to no appeal. However, me and my boss, Jamie endured the heat and got our work done and then headed off to find a hotel, a much needed shower and some food. As we rolled into Edwardsville, home of SIU, all of a sudden the sky turned black and ominous and driving along we were awed by the spectacle. Soon after, we noticed a huge cloud of dust lifting up toward the sky, which at first we thought was a funnel cloud, as the wind started to pick up a little bit. It ended up being just some little straight line winds averaging 60-80mph...no biggie...HA! For those of you who don't know what I'm talking about, click here.

It was pretty intense to be out and about during a storm like this, but we really had nowhere to go and as signs flew across the road, trees fell into power lines, cars, houses and as power went out all over as we drove, tornado sirens blaring in the background I think we kinda got lucky. Where we were at wasn't even as bad as other cities near East St.Louis which we drove through today witnessing the chaos that ensued.

Last night was by far the worst though, I didn't think that the storm would affect us too much, but we couldn't stay in Edwardsville because of the lack of power, so we went down the interstate only to find that the next town was black as well, and watched as a truck nearly ran into live power lines that were sagging down head high across an intersection. Getting back on the interstate it was a scramble to find accomodations, as the next three hotels we went to were booked full from the storm, and the fourth one we went to barely had room to get us in. So we got lucky there!

After getting settled and my much needed shower, I went downstairs only to have a complete stranger give me a beer! GOD BLESS AMERICA! Continuing on with storm drama however, this morning driving around, all the gas stations were sold out of ice so we had to do a bit of driving to not only get ice, but find a gas station that was open. Power outages are affecting nearly 400,000 people in the St.Louis area...and as we finally found a gas station open for business the gas light came on in the truck, yet another close call.

For more on the crazy bad storms and power outages, click here.

Livin' Large and Sweatin' Gallons

2006-07-17T18:02:00.000-05:00

Vacation, it just rolls off the tongue so smoothly, and after spoken resonates for just a minute as you linger in thought about how friggin' awesome that word and all it implies is. This weekend me and Kristin took our little vacation, or moreover break from our non-stop lives to live it up a little bit and do some fun stuff! We left early Saturday morning with the hopes of making it to Six Flags about the time that the park opened, but after hours of driving, and hours more of deadlocked traffic due to construction, we arrived just in time for the heat of the day. Determined to not let a little thing like 105 degree heat detur us from a good time, we started riding rides. After the first few good roller coasters I had to take a break though, something about extreme heat coupled with the rides made for a not too happy stomach. But after we ate some dinner we headed back and finished up the night with another good bunch of rides which were a lot of fun. All in all, Six Flags was a super great time! My favorite ride had to be the Superman. Dropping you 23 stories and then coming to a screeching hault at the bottom. Wow was it intense!

On Sunday, the two of us met up with my Uncle and one of my Aunts good friends for a Cardinals game. They played the Dodgers, and it was a great first time for me never having been to a professional baseball game. That's of course aside from the stifeling heat and the losing 5 gallons of sweat through my pores as I sat baking in the ful sun, with the 105 degree heat index and complete lack of anything resembling a breeze. Yea...it was miserable! But after what seemed to be a non-stop beer drinking extravaganza, I'd like to think I kept
myself fairly hydrated! All-in-all, the weekend was great. Despite the heat, we had a friggin' awesome time and I can't wait for our next vacation!

Braving the Heat

2006-07-14T23:42:00.000-05:00

It takes a special person to wear a stolen hotel hand towel on their head for an entire day with "STUD" written across your forehead, but I am just that kind of special person. As a recent aquaintence pointed out..."I just met you, but it's clear to me that you have no future in politics!" Photos like this are likely to blame. But it was hotter than haites outside and with sunburn in tote, I had to do something to keep the sun off my already tender neck. Lucky for me my fellow coworker, Paul was there to complete the ensemble with the "STUD" that you see so proudly toted above. It was a hot week out, that's for sure, but thankfully it's over with!

Tonight, me and Kristin went to see the new Pirates of the Caribbean movie that's out, which was pretty good. Tomorrow we're off to Six Flags in St. Louis for the day, and then on Sunday we're meeting up with my aunt and uncle for a Cardinals game...hells yea! I'll update when I make it back!

Pictures From the Field

2006-07-10T15:46:00.000-05:00

Here are some pictures from last week out in the field. We started wetland botanical surveys last week, and sure enough, we found some wetlands with water in them. Contrary to popular belief, not all wetlands have water in the ALL year round. But as you can see, water was no issue here! On a side note, it's amazing how nobody ever looks very good in waders!

Pictured from top to bottom: Ludwigia in bloom, me in a wetland, and me and my boss, Jamie after sampling the LaRue Swamp Ecological Area in Union County (southern IL)

Fairbury Nights

2006-07-09T11:11:00.000-05:00

Leaning up against a fenced in building used by cows during the fair ... beer in hand ... japanese beetles buzzing around obnoxiously with the smell of a hundred grills going, and the sound of a racecars rumbling to life in the background, I had to be at Fairbury. The "big deal" was the ten-thousand dollar race which got underway as the evening was setting in. Droves of people flocked out from all over the countryside to see the race. Personally, I was more inspired to attend by the promise of drunkeness and hanging out with Kristins fam. It was a good time though, despite me still being a little clueless as to the appeal of racing, but I think I'm coming around!

Aside from going to the races, this weekend has been fairly non-exciting. I'm gonna try to get out today to evaluate some troubling rumors about a local natural area that supposably has been wrecked by ill-planned management activities, and then tomorrow is my big phone interview for the job in Arizona, so I'm starting to get a little excited about that. Wish me luck!

Post # 200

2006-07-06T22:24:00.000-05:00

I'm typically not one to spend too much energy writing any one post on here. However, when time doesn't permit and days pass by without me having a chance to update, alas, I find myself in an uncompromising position of needing to write more than some might want to read. This is also a mile marker in this blogging adventure I undertook now, almost a year ago. Two hundred posts. Wow. I'll try not to disappoint with this newest update...

July 4th

This was me and Kristin's first fourth of July together, and we spent it here with my family since it's not only our nations birthday, but my dear, sweet mothers birthday as well. We made pizza for her for lunch and then gave her cards and presents afterwards. We basically spent the rest of the day hanging out with family and then went to the fireworks, and got there early enough to get a good parking spot, which as luck would have it turned out to be the BEST idea ever. Part way through the fireworks show, the ominous clouds that had appeared on the horizon let loose a good downpour on us some tens of thousands of people conjured together for the fireworks show. Erupting in mass chaos as everyone ran to flee the rain, you could hear kids screaming "Mom?...Dad?", the shuffle of feet and "lets get the hell out of here!!" Making it to our up close parking spot, beer in tote, we quickly got loaded and started out on the trek to get back to the highway. Lights sprang forth as vehicle after vehicle turned on and quickly headed toward the exit, and the asshole driver mode kicked in as I worked my way through the torrents of rain, running/walking crowd and other asshole motorists.

LaRue Ecological Area

Totally awesome scenery this week at work, as we traveled WAY down to the Shawnee National Forest area to sample our first wetlands of the season. The pictures you see above came from the LaRue Ecological Area, a truly diverse and breath taking natural area. La Rue Swamp in combination with the adjacent Pine Hills is one of the richest, most biologically diverse areas in Illinois. The Pine Hills/La Rue Swamp area contains 43% of all the plant species known from Illinois. The preserve contains mesic floodplain forest, shrub swamp and pond communities once characteristic of the Mississippi River bottomlands of southern Illinois, but now nearly all cleared and drained. The primary source of the swamps' water is runoff from west - facing wooded slopes and bluffs of the adjacent Pine Hills and from springs along the base of the bluffs. Some of the rare, relic or unusual species that occur in the preserve are golden mouse, green water snake, bluehead shiner, and bantam sunfish.

Drive In Movies & Chiggers

2006-07-02T12:14:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was quite the day, and if I hadn't been too tired last night and had any time at all before passing out I'd have updated. But, alas, that wasn't the case. Last night, me and Kristin drove to Gibson City, a small somewhat rural town here in central Illinois to go to the drive in movies and watch Click starring Adam Sandler. It was really good, and in fact parts of it were a little sad, even leaving Kristin teary-eyed at one point in the course of the movie. It's rare that you get the opportunity to relive a great piece of americana by visiting an old drive in. Of the nearly 4500 drive-ins that existed today there are only about 400 remaining across the U.S. It was great though, and I couldn't imagine a better way to spend an evening. For the cost of what it would have been JUST to get into the show anywhere else, Kristin and I and her car got in with popcorn and drinks to boot! On top of that the weather was beautiful and sitting with the windows down, temperature in the mid seventies and a cool breeze blowing made it a friggin awesome night. Half way through the movie however, trouble loomed on the horizon.

As I sat there enjoying the movie, I noticed that my ankles had begun to itch. From countless experiences I knew exactly what was going on. I had found my way into chigger hell, from which there was no escape. I realize that most people are unfamiliar with chiggers and probably have no clue what I'm talking about, but let me enlighten you.

Chiggers are tiny bright red-colored mites found in second growth areas, blackberry patches, orchards, woodlands and in pine straw. They pass through four developmental stages: egg, larvae, nymph and adult. Eggs hatch in about a week into the six-legged larvae stage. This is the parasitic stage. The larvae crawl on the soil until they find a suitable vertebrate host (small mammals, domestic animals, reptiles, poultry, and birds). They attach themselves to the host and remain until they are fully engorged with fluids and blood. After feeding, they drop off the host and molt to the nymph stage and then into an adult. Nymphs and adults feed on insect eggs and small insects. The entire life cycle is about 60 days. Depending upon temperature, moisture and location, there may be as many as five generations.
Humans are accidental hosts. Chiggers that attach to humans are usually dislodged or die within hours.

Chiggers are very active in looking for a host and may spend a few hours crawling over the skin before beginning to feed. When its piercing mouthparts are inserted into the skin, a fluid is injected that dissolves the cells upon which it feeds. The chigger does not burrow under the skin. They feed by sucking up the liquefied tissues. The human immune reaction to a bite prevents the chigger from obtaining adequate nourishment; therefore they rarely survive long enough for a complete meal. On other vertebrates they may draw blood and fluids for several days until they become engorged and drop off.

The injected fluid causes a reddish welt that may last for two weeks, swelling, and itching three to six hours after exposure. These bites are annoying. Scratching can break the skin and invite secondary infection. A hot soapy bath as soon as they are noticed will kill and remove them. Chiggers prefer to attach themselves on parts of the body where clothing fits tightly; therefore, examine the waistline, ankles, knees, and armpits. An antiseptic should be applied to the welts. Nonprescription medications available from drug stores will give temporary relief from itching. Studies have shown that meat tenderizer rubbed into the welt will alleviate itching.

Windfall Hill Prairie: Part I

2006-07-01T10:27:00.000-05:00

Overlooking the only national scenic river in Illinois, the Middle Fork, Windfall Hill Prairie is holding it's ground as one of THE last remaining examples of glacial drift hill prairie in Illinois. Most people would probably walk right by without even thinking too much, but to the trained eye, what is left to us today of this unique ecotype is highly prized, which warrants this sites current status as a registered Illinois Nature Preserve protecting it in perpetuity. Currently I'm doing research on this site, documenting it's flora since as-to-date, there has been no good list compiled of what plants occur on the site. So I'm braving the 95 degree heat forecast for this afternoon to go stand on a hill for half the day collecting plants that I've not yet vouchered. I'll try to take my camera and get some pics to post later on tonight.

A Night of Drinking

2006-07-01T01:08:00.000-05:00

Yenno...I'm glad I didn't do laundry today, because tonights clothes definately smell like ass after a night out at the bar. I'm a little perturbed since I just called the g/f and she was asleep and hung up on me. Maybe I'm not quite all with it, but hanging up on someone, not exactly cool in my book. But aside from my brother standing me up and all, I had a good time *by myself* out at the bar. Friends & Co. is definately one of those rare places that I know enough people that I can never have a bad time...people were askin where my girl was...but I told them that she'd be down on Monday, but of course Friends won't even be open, so what's the point. After drinking I decided I needed some taco bell. Which pisses me off...here I am trying to lose weight and all I can think about is damn taco bell. So tonight I had 3 guinesses, 2 high lifes, and 2 corona's....NO long islands...kinda a sad story. I'm goin to bed though, and hopefully I can sleep in past 7 without my mental alarm clock going off...*sigh*...getting old...