Here We Go Again...

Hey, I hope everyone had a Merry X-Mas. I had a half-and-half x-mas. Some parts good, some parts making me love the fact I live in Chicago. Anyway, here is the evidence...

Mike Nummerdor at Murder House with the "x-mas tree."


Andrew, Matt, Nick and Tyler at Murder House.


This is the Renzo Piano expansion of the Art Institute. It should be finished sometime around 2009.


At Marine Tap Room with... Um... Everyone I've ever met.


Kevin and Jed over a "Muskegon Mug."


Brian!

 
Kevin, Jed, and Mike


Matt


Kate

 
Nice face, Nate.


At Andrea's house for a party. Adam is amazed!


Still at Andrea's


A fine looking group.


Mike Nummerdor and Jacob Dykema


Nate tweeking the light nipple.

Downtown Muskegon. This is the second urban renewal, which is really trying to fix the mess of the 1960-70s rebuilding of downtown...


My dad's new place.


Is that the frog from the WB?


Old Muskegon Train Depot.

That's it as far a x-mas goes. I'm not sure what's going on for NYE either. So, arg... Mike

My Half-Hour Story...

It's Monday and that means three things 1) laundry day 2) shaving day 3) blog posting day. It has come to my attention that some of you don't think I write enough. I'll work on that...

Mike Nummerdor and I went to funny named bar on Fullerton the other night and tested out there assortment of fine $2 beers. America beer won my vote for taste and presentation.
The best thing about this bar was that it is a jazz club. There's no cover and there's cheap drinks. Oh yeah, we were the only customers as well. It's a great place to become a regular.
Here's the experimental jazz band.
Ronan, a fine Irishman, is going back to Ireland for x-mas. So, we went to this Polish bar on Division. I would tell you the name, but it has three of them. It's either 1) Monica's Lounge 2) Theresa's Place, or 3) Something in Polish. Either way, it was another great dive bar where a bar fight broke out among "the regulars." Good times!
This is all nice and sweet, but I don't trust that gnome for a second...
Heading home from work on the Damen Blue Line stop.
Another holiday display near Amanda Talmadge's apartment. They seem to be on speed or ex or something...
The evil Santa Clause.
This is Amanda's cat Niko (or Neeko, Neco, Nico, or something). Nice cat, but watch the claws.
Frances meets up with Mr. Carpet on the way to Goldie's on Lincoln. Man, that bar is way awesome. The beer and liquor is cheap, they let you bring in or have food delivered to the bar and provide you with menus, no douchebags, video games on a big screen, and a relaxed atmosphere.
Frances and Amanda on the way to the California Clipper to meet up with the rest of the gang.
Frances in her "Virgin Mary" pose.
Frances at the California Clipper.
Some honky tonk band at the Clipper.

I't should be a really good week. Tuesday, I'm not getting anything done at work because I have a breakfast meeting as soon as I get there, a departmental holiday party soon after, and then the company party at 5pm at some architecture firm in the West Loop. Wednesday will be much the same, but recovering from the hangover and getting ready for vacation. Then, I have the next week off. I'll be heading back home at some point and look to have a good time with my friends. Hope to see you all soon!

xoxo,

Mike

"Honestly, It Doesn't Look That Good. I'd Take the Salad..."

Here's from my recent images.

Artsy-Farty Limes spilled near oil drum on North Ave. None of this should be here...

They must have run out of tag names or something...

While on my mini-vacation to Schaumburg I saw something in the distance. Something that looks glorious. I could view it from my hotel room. But, what could it be? Sweet Lord, it's Medieval Times!

Welcome to MySpace Megan. May I suggest this as your profile pic?

The last place on earth I should be is the Woodfield Mall two weeks before x-mas. Although, Totally Weddings is a pretty great site. But, I've come to the conclusion that the suburbs are the worst place ever. People move out there to escape reality and responsibility. This means they escape society. This leads to a loss of etiquette for social interaction. Add to that x-mas greed and you'd be safer living in a shark tank.

Screaming babies waiting to see Santa...

Photo Op with Santa.

Heathen masses!

Megan and I finished out trip to Schaumburg with a wine tasting. As many of you know, I'm not a fan of wine. But, there were a couple that I didn't mind. They were the dry white, Franc Cabernet , and Cherry. The only way I'm able to be taken seriously in a place like this is hanging out with Megan since she has enough class for the both of us.

Well, that's about it for now. Just making some loose plans for x-mas and trying to finish up my next 'zine (which is what I should be working on now). Hmmmm....

xoxo,

Mike

"It's Exactly What You'd Expect; Old Men With Cigarettes..."

Welcome one; welcome all!

Seems we've made some national headlines for "snow" in Chicago. Not sure why. It didn't seem like a big deal to me. We were even on Nightline for snow. Chicago got snow. Why is that news? Do they put Florida on the news for thunderstorms or Nevada in the news for dry weather? Anyway, it must have been a slow news day or something. It's not like there's a failing war or anything going on...

This is when snow is the best. It's fresh snow. No one has walked in it. It's not melting. It just looks like a postcard.


Outside my apartment.


On the way to work down Richmond facing North Ave.


A fence with a tangle of trees


Blue Line Damen stop looking south down Damen.


Arlington facing west.


Some church group was passing this out at the train station the morning after our first big snow of the year. I thought Tropicana was passing out samples. Some church passed these out with stickers that said "Jesus said to feed the poor, instead we have fed ourselves." Okay... Then why are you feeding people who are commuting to their good jobs in the city?


I'm not a fan of advertising, but I have to admire Cartoon Network's campaign.


German Christmas Village at Daley Plaza!


Look at all of these nutcases!


EAT MORE BRATS, KRAUTS!


This x-mas tree is actually constructed out of hundreds of x-mas trees. Each branch is a tree. It's crazy to see them install it.


I never ask for much, but I'm really hoping for this coat for x-mas! 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! USA!

That's it from Chicago.

xoxo,

Mike