Transcending History

Been a Long time coming for me to write this post, but it has finally happened, Barack Obama has been elected president. Vindication is assuredly resounding around the country for this great American. I absolutely have faith in the American people and couldn't love this country anymore than I do right now. all those tireless efforts, all those blatantly racist and hateful attacks by Republicans, and Obama still came out victorious.


I have to say, that i am not surprised, I think any Democrat would've won this year, but I think it is even more meaningful and special that we have elected our first African American. I even shed a tear the other day just thinking about the historical and generational impacts this nomination means to a country that is so torn apart by divisiveness and differences of opinion. I cant wait to be apart of a country where helping ones neighbor, and community service is, again, at the top of peoples priorities. I feel so at peace with the world right now, that people finally look past color and actually on a persons character.

I participated in a Service Learning trip fro the first time in my life the other week. I visited Bed Stuy, Brooklyn, New York and helped St john the Baptist parish and community in so many ways. Tutoring 3,4,5,th graders, helping the soup kitchen , meeting so many people in the community and just being blown away by God's purpose for putting me at Aquinas


Probably the most striking moment of my entire trip was in this photo. the man I was talking to was an amazing human being. As you can see, everyone else was working on cleaning up the grounds of St Johns and I decided I would go ahead and catch up with some other people. As, I walked down the sidewalk, I stopped to compliment this man on the hat he was wearing, from then on, I truly was just in awe of what he had to say. We started a dialogue discussing how 'his people' as he refereed to them, are tearing each other apart, and fighting each other for the things in life that matter most. However, he was hopeful and understood Gods message of love and talked about peacefulness and resolving some of these issues because love was the most important thing to him. ....now, you don't have tho think too hard to see that this man probably doesn't have a home to go to or a family to love, (he told me he was from Jamaica), so he is living purely on the word of God...As the conversation came to a close, I returned to the group in awe of what I had just went through. As I resumed my cleaning duties, right in the middle of the sidewalk was a brick, foreign to the area we had been cleaning and not similar at all to the brick that made up the church. I was struck, then and there that the brick, much life the man, was an out of place..maybe not out of place, but a sign that there are people and even bricks that are like a diamond in the rough, and that God has made these 2 paths cross for a reason that is bigger than mine or this mans being. It was truly an unrealistic moment and I will never forget it


Beyond the spirituality that I experienced from the trip, I was a tourist for several days. I got to see the statue of liberty, be on the today show, visit time square, go to a knicks game, and meet some AMAZING people from AQ that otherwise would have never met. It was truly an amazing experience.



Thus far, the school year has been the most chaotic semester in my life. With taking all new sustainable business classes and trying to finish up my accounting major, I am torn between responsibilities with the Student Senate, retention committee, and trying to earn some money. I haven't found that balance that allows em to calm down, but i think its a good thing because once i take my foot off the accelerator, I tend to enjoy it a little too much.

Well, i have a trip to Chicago for Model UN in the works and a CYBIAC retreat coming up in several weeks. So, in my coming weeks, I will be very busy and fruitful in terms of new experiences in a journey that I am going on. I hope to talk to all of you soon and that God may cross our paths again

5th and final round

lets see how being a senior for the 2nd time works out

been busy with student senate and classes, trying to learn this whole sustainable business thing is pretty sweet, i have some amazing profs this semester and definitely see myself getting along with all of them



tomorrow, were off to our annual cabinet retreat with the other senate comittee members, i wish i had gotten involved alot sooner than senior year with the senate but its better late than never



not much new going on , so give me a ring and keep an ear open for the west side story on 1590 am WAQU or on the WAQU website, comments? questions? email me kokxste@aquinas.edu

summer....ugh

Wow, it has been too long since i addressed my blog

what to write about? well school is here in less than a week, I am doing OL again! for the 3rd year in a row and cant wait to meet a ton of new people

I am living at home... probably for at least a semester. I recently have become obsessed with reading, I bought bill oreilys book :culture warrior and read 100 pages in less than 2 hours, (quite an interesting perspective on America) I cant say I agree with everything that he says but it is still worth my time to see the other side of how things are viewed from someones else's perspective

Ive been working for my dad this summer at the new bridge water condos being built downtown and have grown to appreciate blue collar hard working Americans who earn every dollar they make. I never have worked construction before but have a completely new understanding of the middle class of America

which brings me to this years election...obama 08! all the way, im sure bill oreilly doesn't like obama s progressive agenda but i do..he wants to help the poor of this country and has a great message, look for my latest posting on www.aqsaint.com in a couple of weeks when school starts, il have an article for obama in the newspaper

so much to talk about so little space, o well, tennis, work, and anticipation of school have ensconced my summer and school is finally here, one more go-round and im done, then off to who knows

1)the epa in Washington
2) political lobbyist for the green corp
3) radio talk show host covering broad agendas
4) accounting firm (bad idea)

i cant wait for my sustainable business classes and am looking forward to the next step in my life, wherever God takes me

see you all soon!

this is the end, my only friend

finally, chicago semester is coming to an end, and i am planning on this being my last post

I am actually quite excited to get back to Gr, but as of right now, there are no plans for doing anything in Gr,...no job, living at home, and no big vacation really planned, i guess i want to get back because thats what i know best and that is where my friends and family are. I keep talking with people from Aq and seems like I am missing out on so much, but I do not regret coming to chicago at all....

back in GR I am going to try to get involved with some community organizations and try something different than where ive worked in the past...the past 3-4 summers ive worked at gr popcorn and vereecke , simescu and associates CPAs...i think i am done with those jobs as well as the Westsider Cafe, because I need to move on with my life and distance myself from those people and get more opportunities in my life

Overall, in chicago I have learned more about myself, experience things that others never will, and what I think my lifes purpose is. I have so many plans and ideas that I can branch off of in a way that I think can help so many others. The experience has been invaluable and I will always treasure it, I cannot put into words what all the damn poetry readings, crammmed Red Line trips, waiting for buses in the cold, and the other things I thought i'd hate, mean to me. ..those are the things that i will never forget about my time here (o yeah, and my roomate Marcus) props to you for living with me and having a great time CHEERS....,also to matt, for keeping the faith when edwards dropped out, and to all of those other great people ive met here from those small towns in iowa and the midwest

but.. I stilll feel that i havent experenced the entire city, and I probably never will....but i could defenitly see myself living here someday , just as long as I have some friends to see evry once in a while and that my job's goal in coincidental with my lifes goal as well. There are some job openings currently that would allow for me to stay here this summer, but i'll take care of them and see where god sends me. I truly have learned that my life IS in his hands

what else....?...not sure, really...wish i coudl live here this summer because it is such a nicer plaace to live with such great weather, but i Do miss Gr and the rent free liviing is also nice,...have been getting back into tennis lately and absolutly miss playing it...going to a chicago fire game this saturday and hopefully a white sox game in the near future...if not, i can catch the sox when they come up to Comerica when me an Ken stop by for a game. I am sure I will take the AMtrak back down for the summer at some point or anoher, i really cant stay away from this place for tooo long. lolapolooza, taste of chicago, and a navy pier trip seem to be in the plan for this summer, the Trifecta that is Chi-town

It has been an interesting experience keeping this blog, as i do not even know the Webster defentition of what a blog is...but at times I've probbaly allowed you into my deeper thoguhts and feelings a little too much, but I have found that my writing style in inclined to doing that. I guesss next time blogging should be kept to experiences, and almost and advertsing style about it. sometimes, it feels like this is a diary and to me, a diary should be kept personal, so , pretty soon i think im going to delete this blog, as it has done the job that ive wanted it to....'a place to write down my experiences as i transition through a stage of my life living on my own in chicago that i can look back on in 15 years and realize where i was in life at that time'

until next time, may god bless you and guide you in the direction that he sees fit , if that plan happends to involve me, then all the better, and lets make the best of it..thank you one and all, good night

Steve

free writing

i have no motivation to write in this today, but find that my time between my morning class and going into work for the day, is a pretty lame time period so i feel obligated to fill you in a little bit

went to the cubs game yesterday with jon and my dad, great game, good time, but very cold, not cold necessarily but the wind was riduculous and made it worse, anyway, went to the hancock center and was impressed with the view

going home to GR next weekend, i find myself wanting to go back more, for a job interview in greenville, last interview i had went amazing, or so i thought, but i didnt get it. anyway, im realizing that the more i go back to Gr the more i missing out in chicago. i really could see myself iving here some day, especially in rogers park, where sutainability and community development is a top priority of the residence there. i think in order for me to like the city more, i just need some more time here because there is soooo many things to do an so much opporunity to get involved in anything and i mean anything you want.

hopefully i will get the greenville job but if not, i have been trying to get a job here in the sustainability industry being a finacnal analyst in a company. i cant find any pleasure when it comes to acounting work becauae it doens treally serve the communnity i live in, yes i can get involved witht he community outside of work, but i think my calling in life is to get involved and help others better themselves. maybe a career in politics is in the fold, and i have been debating that seriously lately, what better way to get people involved and help the place you live than being a piltical voice and voicing other peoples concerns. my regard for piliticiana has increased greatly lately.

if the greenville job doesnt work out, i might move to boston and try to work with marcus in a way at his car dealership, this probbaly isnt going to happen but it is a possibility. also, im trying to look into jobs in texas and/or arizona, awesome climate and tons of jobs are a huge draw for me.

i wish life were easy, but it isnt, im in such a transitional phase right now that i dont know exactly where i am headed. i am probaly one the most complex but simple persons you will ever know..possibly one of reasons why i really specialize what i get into, and relationships as well. it takes me a while to get close with people, but when i do i really chereish those friendships and try to be as loyal as possible

anyway, i have about 4 papers to write and 3 presentations to prepare for, so i have to get going and get ready for work. thanks for reading and talk to you soon

Steve

just realized this post is a scatterbrain post and my thoguhts are all over the place, hope that its readable but ill leave that up to you

easy like sunday morning

not much new here, just enjoying the opening day of baseball. Nationals and the braves are going at it, 2-1 washington right now. dont have much to say, so i figured id fill the void with some pictures from my phone

my wonderful cubicle, i am becoming more like peter from office space every day
possibly my favorite picture so far, a little blurred, but i took this when i went to the polish part of town and the blue line was packed and only going 10 mph, ugh!!



cant wait to go to the game this week thursday april 3rd, watch for me on tv
st pattys day after the water was turned green
awesome view of the city












check out http://www.t-mobilepictures.com/aquinasteve/ps/ALBUM/VIEWWEBSITE?foneblog=1206929883928 for more of my pictures

hasta entonces

Happy easter

Hey everyone, saturday afternoon in mid march and Grand Rapids has about 4 inches of snow on the ground. i have never had an easter with any amount of snow and this year looks like it will be a very white one.

so, i am back in the 616 AGAIN. st patricks day was awesome, and by awesome i mean it was alright. Yeah the green water was cool and the parade was nice, but i think the celebration has become so commercialized to young adults who decide to drink 72 hours straight that it doesnt have much meaning anymore. I would really like to learn more about St Patrick and why we celebrate it instead of buying green beer for 4 dollars a cup. but if i decided to expand my mind by learning about St Patrick, I might be the only kid in America between the ages of 18-24 that would want to do so. all in all, it was a great experience and i would like to go to it again someday, but maybe when i am older and have kids of my own so i can show them the cool green water and tell them the story about st patrick.....instead of binge drinking from friday until monday. WOW, i really think i have the mindset of a 40 year old right now, kind of scary...P.S. I absolutely hate division street and the type of people that go to those bars. Drinking until 5 am and waking up at 8am just doesn't appeal to me anymore and am very agitated that we have to live next to this tourist trap.

well, as i said it is saturday afternoon, so last night i went to putts again with somerdyke, marksoki, preston, ashely, alene etc. etc. etc. and had a great time, its always nice to get back in town and catch up with those people who you can call friends. i think we got back around 2 and from what i hear, we were pretty loud. anyway, we all just got back from the westsider cafe about an hour ago. Christine (my sister) was working and my family , me , grooms, mike and joe all went and had a nice breakfast.

well, to recap, chicago has been going well as of late. went to see the play Wicked, which was absolutely amazing. and i think that plays and theatres are way better than movies on the big screen...and when i go back next week we all go to a dance exhibit in millenium park also, I just had my midterm evaluation and got an A-, so i was pretty excited. Life is good right now. I am debating alot of questions and realities as of right now, i have several options for what to do with myself this summer. I have an interview with Gordon foods and maybe an interview with united solar out of greenville. Things are happening for me right now and I am very excited to be where i am at with life.

I also have been thinking about why I am an accounting major. Well, until recently, i planned on becoming a CPA and working at a firm for the next 30 years of my life. But after talking with Erin and some other close friends, i have made myself more knowledgeable and think i would be better serving the community i live in in a way that helps people in every way imaginable (for a synopsis, refer to my facebook profile)

well, not much has changed since the last post, just trudging along right now and trying to get through this program until may. Also, on sunday, april 20th, i may have tickets to a cubs game, 10 dollars only, let me know if you want in

Hasta la vista

-Stephen charles

again, sorry for all the grammatical errors, i really dont spell check this at all, i hope its somewhat readible

Jefferson Platform

So, another friday morning and another weekly blog entry

St Patricks Day is tomroow. What better place to celebrate being Irish than in chicago? I cant wait to wake up tomorow morning and go down and see the River dyed green. Lots of green clothing, beer, and friends will be present so it is sure to be a great time

Last weekend, we (me, marcus, freddy, kira, chrisy, janna, catrina) went up to wrigleyville area and went to an awesome improv show. I cant remmeber the name of the place (maybe it was called celebration, not to sure, cant remember) but they were great and it was BYOB. Ive never been to a place in GR that has that and i thoguht it was hilarious. then afterwards we stopped by the Cubby Bear Bar. Where I will never go Again! first off, 7 dollar cover, which i talked him down to 5, horrible service, and just bad music. There was a cover band that was just a joke. All image and no orgingality. then, to top it off, I decided to order a rum and coke, after kira had just ordered one and received a 16 oz cup, i ended up paying 6 dollars for an 8oz cup. Not very happy about that place. anyway, it was an amazing night and we had to go all the way to the loop just to transfer to the red line in order to get back up to clark and division. one of those great nights were you just think "what the hell were we thinking?"


The weather has been getting very warm lately. Today, it is already 50 degrees out. Its hard to not get out and enjoy the city when the sun is out, so ive been running down the beach almost every day. I ran all the way to Navy Pier the other day, which is about 3 miles round-trip. Im starting to take care of myself more lateley, I havent had a cigarette in about 3 months, and just recently quit chewing tobacco. So i think being in the city has given me an entire different perspective on life. I cant wait to go back to GR for easter and pick up my tennis raquet and see what kind of competition there is down here at the public parks. I think im also going to get a bike. Marucs found one for 5 dollars, so if i do a little searching im sure i can find one for pretty cheap, if not, i know Navy Pier rents them out

Now to the "Jefferson Platform" . For one of my class assignments, we are supposed to pick a genre of art that is present in the city. I decided on choosing music. The three areas I am covering are concerts/shows in a music hall (which ive already seen at the blue man group) public music (homeless man i interviewed at the Jefferon stop) and park music (public and free concerts usually at millenium park). so the other day I was coming home from work and this guy was playing Oasis "whatever" and being a fan of Oasis, i already knew the lyrics. I decided to join up with him and sing along until the train came. It was an awesome experience and actually got to keep a dollar out of the ordeal. the guy was really cool and I wont forget that experience.

One more thing , The book Corporation Nation, by Charles Derber is a must read. Now, i know those consevative capitalists will argue that corporations are just a part of private business and America. but Derber gives an entirely opposite perspective and blames big business for alot of Americas downfalls. I agree with him on some of his points , but he is a bit contradictary..I am begnning to read alot more and realizing that I must make the most of my time here, and that just because I worked a long 8 hour day, I still have to do something after work so that I am greatful for everyday.

OVerall, St Pattys Day, visiting Rogers Park , Reading, Exercising, playing music in public and Easter coming up, I have been having an awesome experience these pas two weeks and am looking forward to the upcoming months and still metting new people in the CS program

Happy St Pattys Day

SCK

tis the season

finally, the weather in chicago is beginning to change. this past week it went from 10 to around 40, pretty funny how us Midwestern'ers think that anything above 35 is warm, but is has been very sunny and less windy in the 312. making it easier to get out and do things that i would have no part of a month ago.

this week we finally went to rogers park, the northernmost stop on the red line (el train for you out of towners). we went to the "heartland" cafe and i have to say i was very impressed. lots of cool decoration , great "sweet potato fries" and placed in a very nostalgic part of rogers park.. i felt very comfortable there. We tried to go to the beach , but it was simply too cold and icy , so we had to re-schedule that for another day. rogers Park is one of the most diverse parts of chicago. i mean that in every way imaginable. ranging from high to low income citizens, families who own homes and single-renters, gays and straights, blacks, white, african, and latino, rogers park literally has it all. i am grateful that we took the tour in a van, and didnt have to walk in the blustery 20 degrees

Well, another week has passed and thus, another fine arts events has passed as well. I am sittin at the C S office right now, about to head to work, and i cant get over the Art Museum last night. There was a special exhibit "Hopper and homer" two great artists who had very distinct styles. Hopper was a new yorker from greenwich village who painted my favorite "nighthawks" and other social scenes from an urban setting where people were the main focus, while homer focused on water colors with naturistic sunsets and sunrises. i throughly enjoyed the two styles and would reccomend the art museum to anyone in chicago. I also stopped by some other exhibits that showed some vintage peices of furniture and artifacts from the past 100 years of "American art" I also saw "american gothic" the famous painting of the iowa couple with a pitchfork in the foreground. another one of my favorite paintings. which lead to a very interesting conversation we had in class today about what art is...is it simply a deisgn that can reflect ones thoughts and feelings, is it self expression, is it artifacts and/or collectibles from years gone by, is it my personal style that i have on each and every blog i write?.?.?..whatever art is, i am beginning to like it more and more

tonight, we go to the chicago blackhawks game at the united center, i cant wait to get out and go to some sporting events. as i am a huge sports guy..but im just not sure hockey is my thing...anyway it should be fun doing seomthing other than art. hoepefully ill get out of work in time to go to happy hour long enough to get me ready for the night. also, the bulls play at the united center too, i really hope they make the playoffs but as a no. 8 seed, that way i can see them play the celtics (best team in the league) and witness some great basketball for a decently moderate price) another sportm, my favorite sport, baseball is upon us. April 3rd, thursday, my dad and brother are coming down for a Cubs Game and i cant wait to see a game at the ancient "wrigley field" ..start praying for a cubs world series, because if they do , i am defenitly coming back for the home games

Well, i think i am developing carpal tunnel with so much typing i do in these blogs
keep in touch and if your in chicago visit me at 1220 n state, ask for Steve, they'll know who your talking about

hasta la vista!

Steve-O

Spring Break

Well, most of you at this time are probably in florida, Georgia, or somewhere at least, where it is warmer than GR. thats right, i am in GR. and everyone decides to leave!!, jk, We at the CS got Monday (Pulaksi Days for the fellow chicagoans reading) off from work so i decided to come home to GR to catch up on all the gossip. My Amtrak train left union station at 8:30, heading to kalamazoo , this was the first time i ever took the amtrak, and i have to say that i was impressed with it, good service and environmentally-friendly travel. i was in KZOO until 4:00 o clock!! the bus from detroit was an hour late, and we had to wait for some of their passengers to transfer. I can still recall the bus driver, when responding to one of my fellow pasengers' complaints..."do you want some cheese with that wine?"" lol , i dont think ill ever forget that line

I recently just got a call from Gordon Food Service and am doing a phone interview with them this week. If you dont know, GFS is the largest private owned food distribution company in North america. Ive been dealing with GFs for about 4 years in one way of another, it it be through my emoployers having a connection or me individually communicating with the company, so i really have my fingers crossed for being their summer accounting intern. I also just had another job interview the other day with a smaller company, so things are happening for this summer... before i go back to Aq for the 'victory lap' (super senior status). right now, I am not sure if chicago is the right place for me. but if i were to get a job there at some point, it would be hard to turn the company down. i am though, pretty sure that GR is not where i want to be, i need to be somewhere that is more involved than west michigan, but not as involved as chicago is, i guess it is more of a comfort level with me.

So far, my visit back to GR has been very fulfilling. I seen and/or talked to both my grandmas and hung out with alot of my close friends. Went to breakfast with erin (my eternal Orientation partner) and dinner with pilz and tim. i dont remember the last time i went to chili's and left full. went to happy hour at billys on friday (over in the nuclear explosion-survived eastown), and putt putts last night with carol ann, my mom, dad, and other close firends. it was, to say the least, a refreshing night to reminesce about the past couple years.

Other than all that, i still found time to get a haircut and buy some new shoes. Being in chicago, you see the diferent style that everyone has, from trench coats, pea coats, fidoras, puma shoes, boots,and skin tight jeans, you tend to develop a sense of uniqueness to your own style. so i went and bought some diesel camel skin kicks and am pretty pleased with 'em. anyway, ehough about fashion lets talk about whats in store for the future

im heading back to chi-town monday afternoon and should be there around 9 or 10, tuesday, my practicum group heads up to rogers Park, the northernmost neighborhood in chicago's 77 different "neighborhoods" . i cant wait to go and see yet another part of the city. so far ive been to Logan Square, Gold coast, Hyde Park, Wrigleyville, Loop Area, and some others that i cant remember right now. Should be a really interesting place to visit as it is undergoing a huge gentrification process right now. (god i couldnt wait to use that word in a sentence) Also, Edward Hopper, the Edward Hopper, is on display at the Art Museum. he is my favorite painter and the artist to my favorite painting "nighthawks" i cant wait to go on thursday and see what other paintings are there. Yeah, im no art-buff, but I do enjoy some of the finer things in life

Alright, I know I probably write wayyyy too much in these blogs, but there is a lot on my mind and i want to share them with you and so that i can look back on my time in chicago and remember what i did and how i felt. So, to everyone whos been keeping in touch, its always good to hear from you, and feel free to visit whenever you want...St Pattys Day is coming up, Get your drinking boots on!!!

Hasta Luego

Steve

PS, sorry about the horrendous spelling errrors ive made, i dont bother to spell check (pretty bad from a guy who won 'sacred heart elementary's' spelling bee back in '99...man i am getting old

breakfast at 7am?!?!?

wow, i cant remmeber the time i last woke up this early. unfortunately i am getting used to and and slowly but surely becoming a morning person, i might as well get used to it because when i get a real job in the "real world" there will be little time for sleep

anyway, not much new this week. i am trying to keep several weeks between my blog entries, but sometimes i find that i have nothing to do for about 20 mintues and decide to fill you in on whats happenin in the 312

went to a modern dance performance last night about the bronte sisters, authors who struggled with self identity and using pseudonyms to get their works published. i found the show to be very confusing and have to admit that i am not an artsy person by ANY means. i dont think i will go to another modern dance show again, but all the more power to those who understand it because this Polak just doenst get it, plain and simple "not my cup of tea"

this weekend should be interesting, today after work i plan on going to fin mccools, a local pub on division street (about 100 feet from my apt) for happy hour with some of the other CS-ers. should be a good night. tomroow, im thinking of going to Hyde Park or Rogers Park. The latter is the neighborhood that my "Metro Seminar" class will be studying for the remainder of the semester, while the former is where Obama resided over his stay in Chicago. Both of these places seem to be very interesting neighborhgoods and cant wait to be a little more exposed to the varying areas of chicago. me and marcus are also hosting the main course during the CS dinner tomrow, i have no clue what were making but knowing my cooking skills, it will be amazing. Sunday, I plan on going to St Stanislaus parish, a polish church located in the NW area of town. I really enjoy attending different masses here and look forward to seeing what the nighborhood is like and how the locals celebrate mass

well, i havent heard from many of you all in GR, and i hope that your checking up on this because i just want you to know that it is totally different down here and hope that you can come visit some time. have fun with your last semester at AQ and i will make it back for graduation, but just as a spectator

TTYL

one week down

well, its 11:30 on friday and got out of class about an hour ago, and am heading to the RIC. i have finally discovered the joys of the CTA (Chicago transit authority)....waiting in the cold at 7:30 am for the bus to come, and the over-crowdedness of every poublic transportation vehicle in the city. Isnt chicago great?!?! but in all fairness, it is a nice amenity, the first couple of days i started work i walked, BAD idea!, almost a 35 minute walk, as opposed to taking the 32 and 66 buses to work, which is only about 25 minutes or so, and alot less walking, work is going pretty slow right now but its onyl my first week. I am starting to realize that accounting work and sitting in a cubicle is probably not what i want to be doing the rest of my life, but i figure i will make the most of my time at the RIC and see where it takes me. also, being a first time bus rider, i think i have conquered any fears or sterotypes of public transporation, i cant wait to get back to GR and take the bus everywhere i go, and walk everywhere. because chciago is so large, walking from place to place is required, as opposed to GR where i drove everywhere. plus, it gives me an excuse to listen to my ipod


last wekend, marcus, jessica and i went to the blue man group and last night the CS (chciago semester) gave us tickets to RENT. i learned my lesson that if your going to a play, have an idea about what the stroyline is before going in, the first act of the play was totally confusing, but at intermission i decided to open the playbill and could then understand what was going on, and It was an awesome experience. i think i am really changing my views on art and think seeing live plays is alot better than wathcing it on a big screen at the Imax. the Blue man group was pretty cool too, they incorporate almost everything is their performance and i really reccomend it. but i think they are promoting un-sustainable acts. at the end of the show, black lights come on and the audience is drenched in toilet paper. and at the end the crew just throws it all out. i was really put off by this and am planning on investigating how much paper they really waste. anyway, this weekend is the international auto show and i plan on attening that as well as going to Hyde Park and visiting the area where Barack Obama lives. I hear that it is an affluent nighborhood and seems to be right where I would fit in, within chicago

so, until next time, keep in touch and check out my youtube blog as well

hast luego- steve

Bienvenidos a Chicago

hola chicos y chicas, que tal?

ok ok, enough espanol, les get down to it. Today is thursday, february 7th 2008, and i am 4 days away from starting my internship in chicago. if you havent checked out my youtube site already, to fill you in, i am working at the rehabilitation institute of chicago doing financial work including interacting with insurance companies, using excel workbooks, and analyzing accounts as well as internal auditing. all of this sounds so much fun, right? well probably not, I guess it takes something different to like accounting work.

So before starting on monday, today, I decided to walk over to where my internship office is. The office is about two blocks south of the actual RIC, and almost one block south of Northwestern University. Pretty nice part of town if i do say so myself. even though my place of work is only 1 mile away, it is seriously a 30 minute walk just to navigate through the city. I had to walk down michigan avenue and by all the Louis Vuitton, Burberry, apple, and PUMA stores, possibly the most tempting place on Earth to spend a buck. on the way back to Canturberry(my apartment building) i stopped by the famous Holy Name Cathedral. I cant wait to attend mass there, as it is world famous and was referred to me by my grandma, and was actualy visited by Pope John Paul II in the 1980s....The point of this is, is that the city is enormous but I am slowly learning my way around the Loop and using the red/blue/green/ and pink lines. much more on that topic to come, as i am just beginning my journey in the windy city, which actually is not named the "windy City" because of the weather...if you want to know your going to have to check my blog next time

ouch! i think i just pulled my back. yesterday, me and my roomate marcus, went over to the moody bible institute's "Solheim Center" another 20 minute walk. we played raquetball for about two hours. i thought i could master the game fairly quickly because i am an avid tennis player, however, Marcus beat me quite handily but I am learning and I could sure use the workout. they also have a pool and a nice weight room. I think the last time I was this sore was after freshman year football practice


Well, the social scene here is ok. Ive met some people from Northwestern Iowa, Dordt, Calvin, and some other schools, but everyone seems to be kind of akward still. I guess everyone, and me, is so set in there ways that conformity is an antiquated notion. I do hope to meet alot of people here, but I truly want to gain an overall working experience in a big city, where a social life is secondary. But it doesnt hurt to make new friends right?

Anyway, ive gone on my rant long enough, i dont have work tomroow and didnt have work today, which means cnn and msnbc will be on for almost 18 hours per day. If you didnt already know, I am a political junkie, and a huge Obama supporter. before the general public knew who he was, (dont call me a bandwagon fan, like all the Tigers fan who came out of the woodwork the past couple years, i was aboard the Obama , and Tigers for that matter, wagon long ago)

well, the time has come to make some coffee and listen to my accounting practices podcasts, not taking an accounting class in over 2 months, had made my mind a little blurry. until next time, auf weidersehin!