Sleep is for the weak, and I'm a weak man!

It was today that I took the opportunity to sleep in. Such a long awaited event my body requires but I never yielded to until today. I'm full of pep, I tell you.

Yesterday morning Sarah and I went to the cheesecake factory. I'm not sure if you know this or not, but they sell mostly cheesecake there. I'm happy to report that, although it contains a form of cheese, the oreo cheese cake slice I had didn't taste like Velveeta. I'm odd, but I prefer my cakes and cheeses to be a separate being.

We took these delectable items to the beach and watched the people tanning in the rare spots of sun that appeared, desperate to quit using the lotions that look so obviously fake and return to peeling layers of skin off. Afterward, the obligatory trip to a clothing store did happen, whereupon I spent a good half and hour decided if I needed to buy a hoodie. I didn't.

That night, Charlie and I exited our dorms to a DJ set, which was fantastic. It was, though, barren. But it comes with the territory of having it be 21+ only with the additional anchor of making it on a Wednesday. It was that day that I realized hump day is not party day, and is instead a day of staying home for further pursue of being a ninny.


But hey, the guy at Dunkin' Doughnuts happened to be a true bro and gave me three extra doughnuts. Not only that, but when Charlie forgot his camera, he rushed out to hand it to him with a smile on his face. A man among men indeed.

I'm indifferent to you, Spring.

Spring break is extremely close, and I can taste it thoroughly. I'm not tired of this school, but the pressure of getting more and more into a career. Rebooting, re-editing, reconfiguring, and reorganizing things makes it so I'm hardly ever on one path for as long as I'd like to be. It's not a bad thing, just work. There have been quite a few times I'll degrade into the sanctuary of my Dreamcast emulator, and I don't regret that either.

Before that, though, I must endure a visit from my parents for the weekend that actually delays me from coming back Friday as I wanted to. I'm grateful for the free food that may be provided, but I feel that being at my other home would be more filling.

Things I plan to do on my vacation:

-Visit ICC, both to see my friends in their current, temporary habitat and give myself another reminder as to why I should keep doing swell in school.
-Acquire my present from Amelia. I was told cookies and something that cost money, but you know women.
-Bring back tons of useless items I don't need, and make sure that my bag has no room for items I do.
-Pick up some CD's and cheap clothing.
-Eat Jeff.
-Bro night
-Visit my old job and pretend to work.
-Burn down at least one

Excited!

Columbia!

Columbia carries a different format than other schools, at least from what I can place currently. It's as if you can mold this to fit your will, treating the teachers as co-workers rather than beings of higher power. I'm not the only one who has found this cheat code, but we are a minority.

I'm a man of chaos in my classes. I am the student's choice for snaky, yet relevant potshots and questions that many don't hope to ask. If I'm spending $15,000 a semester, you can bet I'll wring this school of it's valuable time and effort while being as much of a dickhead as I care to be.

It's both redundant and necessary to mention: Plastic Beach: Gorillaz is an amazing album. For me, every track fits perfectly in line, and each get a equal amount of alone time with my ear. Lucky are they, since I haven't done such a thing since Bloc Party and Inkwell. Trash accordingly, but keep in mind I don't give a shit.

The progress on my magazine jumps from a staggering amount of work done within minutes, to days without even touching the virtual pen and paper. I still don't think I'm fully situated with my idea, much less have a layout for each page. The process of gathering data on how to creating something effect and semi-bearable to look at takes a precedence over slopping this all together. We will arrive at some point.

But in the immortal words of 3D Realms when they were/still are creating Duke Nukem: It will be released when it's done.

Bringing Down The Hotel: Part one

I could formulate this event into a news article, but I'm not sure I'm ready for that yet. Properly, at least.

Along the route to the bookstore, I noticed people holding a strike, circling the entrance with signs. Most passerby's didn't give notice to it, but why would they? How would a strike at a random hotel interest or pertain to them? My curiosity got the better of me, and while I was in the bookstore I picked up some paper and a pen to get information.

I walked up to one of the strikers and introduced myself as a journalist. He gave a surprised look, and I could tell the man wasn't normally talked to here by random people, much less about the strike. With this in mind, I assume he was mildly annoyed with me at first because he probably thought I was mocking him. It would have been easy to come to that conclusion since I don't know much about the situation, and when I heard one line I felt kinda bad that I hadn't known.

This strike has been going on for 6 years. After the hotel froze wages and slashed benefits, people took to the streets. A good portion of the people at this strike were people of family members. As I walked along the circling parade of strike signs and huddled people, Jose (the striker I approached) revealed more and more personal things. His voice lost the stiffness and I was trusted. He revealed they do this from 8-1 in the mornings, and then 4-9 at night. With the cold weather and blistering winds that Chicago proves, this is surely an admirable feat. I felt I was bothering after a bit, so I left to look up more and hopefully return to this cluster.

When I hit my dorm, I immediately searched this issue. Sure enough, they have their own website detailing all of the issues and links to others who feel the same way. In fact, without too much bias, their page suggest you look at people who've stayed at the hotel. Many don't like this place, and it begs the question: why the hell are they still in business if they've garnered so much hate? Are people that ignorant of these user reviews? When it comes to where I'm staying, I'd surely ask those who've stayed previous to me. There's more to this, I know, but first impressions of this place and reaction from those who've stated and don't know anything about the strike are not good.

This is still a boiling issue. It's not going anywhere for quite a while. Congress hardly makes moves to please the strikers. I'll return to the scene with better equipment and better foreknowledge.

Because using a map is for poor people.

I've come to the conclusion that by walking around aimlessly, you'll find the exact area you want. Now, I wasn't much of a believer before but now, after finding each and every spot that I wanted in Chicago by aimless wandering, I think GPS's should be thrown away. All of that was a lie: If it wasn't for the random people around me that I gained the courage to ask, I wouldn't have a clue where I was even standing. Chicago, you are a big man.

It's not to say that getting lost is a terrible thing, at least before the sun sets. Chicago is a city of sprawling buildings, and hopefully hidden opportunity. Enough about this boring stuff though, I saw hobo's!

And I fed those pigeons anyway, despite the sign above the bird and I saying not to. Take THAT City Laws!