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