Erin and I picked up the paint for our apartment from Grandpa today. The colors are excellent. I'm really excited to see it all done! At this point I'm not sure exactly when we're going to be able to get into the apartment. There's a lot of work our new landlord wants to do and the old tenants don't move out till tomorrow.
My direct boss, Reid, is finally in Chicago. This is looooong overdue, and I'm glad he's finally here. I worked pretty much all day yesterday to get in front of a project that I've had to rethink a few times. So lets recap the weekend. I worked while Nat, Ben, Robby, and Steph played. That sucks (for me). I wish I was there.
Like I mentioned, there's been a lot of storms lately. Erin and I got into the garage today to check on some of our things. Not good. My Lazy Boy recliner is moldy as well as my Berkenstocks. You can see how bad some of the mold has gotten from the picture to the right. Work has also been kinda nuts lately. I worked Friday night and have been working on and off today as well. I'm really disappointed that we may lose a lot of the furniture that we labored to transport from St. Louis.
Today didn't start all that bad. I mean, I'm missing Aspen, so that sucks. I realized the true scope of my current project last night, so I've realized I'll be working this weekend as well. At about 3 o'clock this afternoon, a storm front rolled into Chicago what crippled the city. It hit the northern 'burbs first, trailing across downtown. I didn't even think about leaving the office early (I had actually planned on staying late). The winds blew patio furniture onto Lake Shore Drive, felled trees, and the water completely flooded the Wilmette streets, so that you couldn't even see the top of the curb.
Dad drove Erin and I home around 7:30. We didn't get home till 8:45 cause we stopped by the outlet of the North Branch River to see it flooding. Normal river height is about -1. The top of the flood wall at the locks is +5. The North Branch had risen to +7 and had flooded the gate house. It was quite a sight to see. Dad talked with the Chief Electrician, who gave him the run down. Basically, the gate never made it more than a foot open, and the channel flooded.
The Elite National Criterium Championships were today. It was raining from the start, yuck. I didn't last too long in the race, but it was exciting to watch. Josh finished second. Bitter sweet he said.
Today was an eventful day. After wasting away our morning, Erin and I drove into the city to Roy's Furniture, where we bought a couch and loveseat. They're a dark-khaki matching set in a contemporary design. I insisted on microsuede so that we could keep it clean.
Later we had Grandpa's 87th birthday. Let me say that he is doing great for 87. Go Grandpa!
Last night Erin and I went out to celebrate Tom's birthday and see he and his band, Cobalt, play. The show was at Betty's Blue Star Lounge, which, I later learned, used to be quite the dive bar, but has been remodeled and come into vogue. The show was really, really good. Tom and Cobalt have come so far since they formed a couple years ago. I applaud thee. Erin and I took the Metra down to the show to avoid any chance of DD on the way home. Glad we did. :)
While this may be one of the biggest money races in the country, it's also the stupidest. Stupid, stupid, stupid. The course is an "L" shape, flat, and without any type of natural selector. This means that no breakaway stays away and the race is boring. What a waste of sponsor money.
As may have become apparent, I've somewhat changed directions. Cycling is no longer what I spend much of my energy on. I felt like the blog should reflect that change. The gray-scale colors will remain until I pick a replacement theme, but think of it like a transition.
I know this may be getting old at this point, but I have yet another Flex application to share. When you mouse over the photos on the right, they pop out. What' s cool about all this is that it's fast. Like, real fast, no lag time. Try it for a sec. Actually, if you only have a second, try this demo that is way cooler.
I fell back asleep after breakfast this morning...
I won't be racing today.
Now for more Flex. I'm sure you've seen some sort of application like this. It's a image browser where the images pop when you mouse over.
Okay, if you're going to get a cold, you should get it when it's cold outside, not when it's hot at the height of summer. I know that the two aren't connected, having a cold and it being cold outside, but come on, they should only happen at the same time. From the shoulders up, I feel wretched. I hope I feel better tomorrow morning. Vitamin C and sleep for me tonight.
New find: build your own Flex . You can use this app to explore the different styles and settings of Flex. Try it.
On another note, I'm beginning to feel ill. Sore throat, runny nose. Yuck.
