Ronan’s Party - Round 1

Thanks again, Ronan for the invite to the party last weekend and this weekend...


Taking shots


Megan and Ronan talking over the finer details of the Oscar the Grouch shirt.


Frances and Noah










More Frances, more Noah


Me and Francy


Somehow, this became my shot glass.


Me and my prize from the White Elephant gift exchange


Angelic Noah and his Homer Simpson prize


Frances' toe sock prize!


Noah and Frances struggling down North Ave. after the ice storm. Oh, how many times did we fall down? Then the traumatic experience of missing the bus stop with the racist guy bothering you...

It was good seeing everyone last night.

xoxo,
Mike

I Don’t Have Time For Instant Gratification

Saw the Simpson's at the Logan Theater twice today for $3. Best deal in the best town. It was a decent movie. Not too different from watching it on TV, but better than most of the movies out there...


Brent, Nick, and his hamburger patty (?) getting ready for another wednesday BBQ!


Cliff cooking up some good stuff and making the rest of the party look lazy with their meager brats...


Frances and Noah at Irazu for some Costa Rican food.


Alice, Frances, and the twins (Andrea & Andrika) at some place on Milwaukee called Timmy McGitty's or Max MacCarty's or some Irish-esque name. Basically, it was a coffee internet, bakery bar...


Whiskey a-go-go at Evan's with Frances and Noah. Alex and Megan were there too, but I have no pictures of them and it was the first time I've met them. Nice people...


Evan is known for his fire safety. That is why he is using a starter log, lighter fluid, and turpintine to get this blaze a goin.'

WELCOME TO THE NEIGHBORHOOD NOAH & FRANCES!!!

First of, welcome Noah and Frances to Chicago! For those that don't know, Noah and Frances are some of my closest and best friends from Muskegon, Michigan. I use to live with them when I lived in Grand Rapids and played "Jesus Jesus" (drunken dominoes). For those who haven't met them yet, I'm sure you will soon.

Also, not too much to report over the last week as most of my time was spent with the toilet because of the flu.

Also, I signed up for a "Martial Arts" class through the Chicago Park District. It is an Aikido (sp?) class and I've already learned how to properly sommersault and throw a man to the ground. Next week, I will be flying through the air and kicking a man through his chest. The class is $20 for two and a half months.

I officially announce my hatred of all that is X-mas. These decorations at work were put up two weeks ago and I've grown to loath them with the 80+ degree weather we've been having. This isn't about Jesus, this is about insanity.


Talking about insanity, look at this line that I had to deal with at work. I have no idea why people would be up this early on a Saturday if they weren't paid for it. I mean, I'm paid to be up and I still have to decide whether or not it is worth it each week.


Andrew, Nate, Mike, and Nick at Angela, Brent, and Evan's Housewarming Party on Saturday. They have an awesome two story apartment.


Megan, Librarian Girl, SME, and Karli at the Housewarming Party.


Noah and Frances' new apartment. I have no name for it yet. Although, I've been thinking "yellow house." Seems fitting...


Frances and Noah's mom unloading lots of stuff!


My lazy legs up on the stuff.


My lazy body down on the couch.

That's about it. FRANCES AND NOAH!!!

The Psychodelic Hot Dog

Hey All,

It's been a while... My iMac from 1999 is having some difficulty understanding the internet these days. So much has changed. Unfortunately, that makes it difficult to check email and all. I don't really care to spend $1000 to screw around on the internet. So, if anyone has any bright ideas, I'm all ears...

A part of an exhibit at the Cultural Center.


My lady brought me out to see "high culture." Here's the Chicago Dance Festival at Millennium Park. This is some local company that was very good.


More dancing!


Abbi (sp?) at Annie Zipper's going away party. Goodbye Annie Zipper. Keep in touch.


Megan moved into her new apartment last weekend with the help of Lil Sammy Mover.


This is Megan's new apartment; "The Hobbit House." Why is this the Hobbit House, you ask? First, notice the rounded off edges on the doors and all. Nice touch. Also, the ceilings are only 6' 2". So, no basketball players allowed. It's a great place though. Especially for a 2 bedroom for $600!


This chaise is crazy. It is so well-built and solid, we had to destoy it. It was so big, heavy, and awkward that we could not get it down the stairs. How it got up the stairs baffles me too. It's a shame that such a nice piece of furniture was ruined...


Talking about nice furniture, here's Lynn Nummerdor's latest creation! The psychodelic hot dog is really becoming her trademark!


Who doesn't love a hot dog who knows he's delicious?


It's not everyday that Lamborghinis (sp?) are spotted in Humboldt Park. So, I was going to talk about how these might be to replace the one Lance Briggs, Linebacker for the Chicago Bears recently crashed with only 400 miles on it. But, on my way to the office, I saw these and a couple other Lamborghinis just north of the Merchandise Mart with cop cars marked GPD for Gothem Police Department. So, you'll probably see Christine Bale driving these around downtown Chicago when Batman: The Dark Knight comes out in the next year or so...

That's it. Hope all is well with everyone!

xoxo,

Mike

"That Was Awful." "What Are You Looking At Me For? You Said It." "I know. It's Still Awful."

The festivities continue. In fact, I might have to help others in finding festivies. A lot of people have been sending me e-mails acknowledging their lameness and wanting help. So, I think I am going to start a "What To Do In Muskegon" website. It will have parties, bars, concerts, shows, and other events. So, start sending all public welcome events to me and I will see what I can do...

This is GH pier right before it rained.

Hasan and I planned a huge party last night. Look at all the people. People refused the invitation by phone, so we ended up going out because people cannot refuse by force. The Beast From the Middle East knows that all too well...

Ahhh... Friends Forever...

Here are our recruits for Hasan's party just as everyone was to head home. Notice the guilty looks and body postures on everyone. By the time 5:30 am rolled around, I think everyone had something to regret...

Not sure what I am doing today. Andrea's birthday is at midnight and she becomes legal. I don't want to be out too late since I have to work tomorrow morning and have to catch up on some sleep. Especially since Monday is going to be my Day of Wreckoning...

Animals For Your Viewing Pleasure!

Hey all,

Just a little bit of something to get out of the way here. I'm coming home to Muskegon for T-Day and was wondering what is going on? Who's back? Who's still there? Who's up for hanging out? Keep me posted...

Megan and I. I really owe a lot to this little lady. She brings me on trips all over the place. She doesn't fight, nag, or guilt trip me. She's so relaxed and fun to be around. But most of all, she doesn't mind the scruff or beard.


You know the drill: USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA!


I don't know which cat this is at my apartment. I will give the credit to Lloyd.


The King Tut exhibit. Megan and I got VIP passes and saw an awesome show. Unfortunately, I couldn't take pictures in there. There were all these cool coffins, jewelry, furniture, jars, daggars, and stuff in there. I highly recommend it, but try to see it during the week if you can.


Megan: Queen of the Erie Canal. I'm glad that I buttered her up earlier because she'll hate this. In fact, she said "I hate you" when I took this. Nothing that a game of Rock, Paper, Scissors can't fix...


Sue, the T-Rex


Welcome to Jurassic Park.


This is one of my favorite exhibits. I believe it was titled "Things you wouldn't have without soil."


I don't know if this is a raptor or what...


Look how big this Brontosaurus is.


An Allosaur, I think. I'm trying to recall my dino-obsession from third grade.


It's hard to imagine anything this big just roaming around. It's about the size of a dump truck.


This seems to be part bird/part dog or something.


This prehistoric sloth stands about 10-15 feet tall.


This prehistoric sloth wants to dance.


An ancient deer or something.




A Mammoth!


A Mastodon!


Ah, to be back home in Michigan!


It looks like some women shopping on the Magnificient Mile


Kentucky Fried Chicken


A Red Panda


Either a Grizzly or Brown Bear. You would think I know since I lived with one for a year...


A Meercat. Has anyone ever seen Meercat Manor on Animal Planet? It's like the OC, only with animals. Way more interesting than the OC too.


A lion with her cubs.


I think this is the rabbit from Alice In Wonderland.


A Malabar Giant Squirrel.


Just your normal squirrel from the Midwest. Man, I have these things all around my apartment. There's a family of black squirrels that are real timid because they have youngins.' The brown squirrels (pictured above) just go through all of our stuff looking for food.


A beaver


another beaver?


Isn't this the guy from Neverending Story? Kind of a creepy fella.


This is an Aye-Aye. Probably named by a pirate. Why are pirates so trendy these days? I'd rather be like Mad Max than some silly Johnny Depp pirate.


I should put this in my livingroom.


African animals!


I forgot what this is called. I know they have them at the Lincoln Park Zoo. Which reminds me that this is a good time of year to go to the LPZ because the tourists are back in their cages in the suburbs.


This guy needs a monicle, a top hat, and a martini.


A Detroit Tiger. Known for being the 2006 American League Champion. I think this one's named Kenny Rogers.


This is my habitat in the Humboldt Park neighborhood of Chicago.

That's about it. I have to put up an educational blog every-so-often so I can pretend to be an intellect. I'm planning on taking a vacation this winter. At this point, I'm looking at going to Rio de Janeiro, Vienna, or somewhere in southern Europe. Anyone have any advice? I have about a month of vacation time and some cash to burn. So...

xoxo,

Mike