Random Thoughts That Don't Deserve Their Own Thread Go Here

[21C]

Being a confirmed loner, I don't have very much self-confidence and self-esteem these days. For those reasons, I never felt comfortable talking about my trip to Chicago - until now (I've been here a week and have one more week to go).

I came to Chicago to see the opening games of the Cubs (didn't get to the restroom-challenged Sunday opener) and White Sox. I'm even going to Milwaukee for a day to see the Brewers.

[Barkeep49]

Hope you've been enjoying Chicago. It's a great place to watch baseball and do a bunch of other things.

[sabotai]

I loved Chicago when I went a few years ago. Not even a baseball fan but still went to Wrigley to check the stadium out.

[timmae]

Hey 21! Hope you enjoy chi town! I have been here 10 years and spent the previous 10 in Milwaukee. Let me know if you need any pointers!

[timmae]

Wrigley is great... Except for the troughs.

[21C]

I'm staying in the middle of Wicker Park so there is plenty around here. I really enjoyed the Art Institute yesterday. Had some trouble finding the Polish neighborhood (I have Polish heritage) but found a church at Easter with mass in Polish (haven't done that in years) and a nearby Polish restaurant (Staropolska) which I have been back to for a repeat visit.

Anything not in the guide books worth checking out?

[timmae]

Yes, staropolska!! I live 2 miles north! Been there a few times. There is a very cool restaurant in a former bank basement at Ashland and Division, The Bedford. Cool place to eat. Into soccer? There is the globe pub on Irving park. Best BBQ in the city is smoque on Pulaski. Any live music at schubas on Belmont is awesome. Also beat kitchen on Belmont. Chicago history museum on Clark st downtown is awesome. Go to the fine arts building and take the hand operated elevators to the 10th floor. Walk the lake from the was end of Monroe south to the sheds aquarium and then around the aquarium. Awesome vistas. Irwin Reis cigar shop is a step back in time... Tell chuck (gray haired owner) or Kevin (chucks son) that Architect Tim sent you. What are you interested in?

[timmae]

Oops... East end of Monroe. Around the shedd aquarium.

[21C]

Thanks for all of that. Apart from the baseball, I like going to art galleries - went to the Contemporary Art one which was only OK. Not much for the nightlife (see earlier post ). I did a similar trip to NYC two years ago and spent the days in galleries and nights at ball games.

[timmae]

I haven't been to it bit the Pritzker family has a War Museum around 100 s Michigan ave. Might be worth checking out. River North neighborhood has a few art galleries. The district is near Franklin St and Huron St. Walking around there may be fun if you like art and design. There are also art galleries in the Fulton Market district on Fulton. Not sure when they are open normally but I have done art crawls there a few years ago. Pilsen on the south side also has some local galleries... Around 16th and Halsted maybe. Oh, I think there is a new Greek museum that opened up last year on Halsted St near Jackson St. That area is greektown.

[timmae]

Oh, the great hall at Union Station is kinda cool to see. Our version of Kings Cross or Penn Station I guess. Unfortunately it is little used currently. A shame really...

[timmae]

For architecture check out the rookery building and the monadnock downtown. They started the highrise trend. Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation has a self guided house tour in oak park which is fun if you like architecture. Ok, I will stop now.

[Easy Mac]

5 year old soccer can be fun, unless the other team has Ronaldo playing for them. Not that we keep score, but it was 7-3, with one kid scoring all their goals and taking all their shots. When he wasn't on the field, we won 3-0. We also played 4 on 5 most of the game, as two of my kids were too nervous to play in front of people. I tried to coax them out, but left their spot open if they wanted to come out.

[21C]

Originally Posted by timmae

For architecture check out the rookery building and the monadnock downtown. They started the highrise trend. Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation has a self guided house tour in oak park which is fun if you like architecture. Ok, I will stop now.

Thanks. I'll definitely check some of them out.

[britrock88]

Yes, you're in a great town for architecture. Just wandering around downtown should avail you of some great structures.

[NobodyHere]

I just realized that thanks to shows like Rifftrax and MST3k that I've watched movies like 'Plan 9 From Outer Space' more times than classics such as 'Citizen Kane', 'Casablanca' and other such classics combined.

[Barkeep49]

I would back-up the Smoque recommendation for good BBQ.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Nearly, what, 20 years on the board now? Today was as close as I've come in that time to being a headline in your news tomorrow.

I love dining out, truly I do.

[timmae]

And the headline would have read...

[stevew]

Most likely, Man makes reasonable request for pretty overpriced food order, employees, who are probably unemployable people,look at it, ignore it almost altogether, and then smugly don't give a fuck.

Man gets angry cause there is no justice in this world.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by timmae

And the headline would have read...

Angry diner murders restaurant manager in cold blood

[Vince, Pt. II]

My initial read of that post anthropomorphized a restaurant, so that's cool.

Edit: I have this tendency to read threads backwards, and my imagination builds up what might possibly have led to the last post. I was totally going with a new manager who was running a classic diner into the ground, and the sign hanging over the door fell on his head as he walked in one day.

[Lathum]

I hate that new Klondike commercial where the candy and ice cream make sweet love.

Not because the commercial, but because the guy is some fat schlep with a molester mustache and his wife is smoking hot.

[booradley]

Originally Posted by Lathum

I hate that new Klondike commercial where the candy and ice cream make sweet love.

Not because the commercial, but because the guy is some fat schlep with a molester mustache and his wife is smoking hot.

That's funny - this is my current fave commercial simply because this is the tack I'm gonna take whenever someone asks me "Where did this come from?"

[Radii]

My last class out in Chapel Hill was tonight. I had talked briefly with a rather cute woman in the class each of the last couple weeks and asked her out at the end of class tonight. She is already seeing someone (or said that to be nice, but whatever, that's ok), a little disappointing, but I was really only at a point where I felt there was a little spark and a desire to get to know her better, no worries.

Anyway, point is, I haven't actually asked someone out face to face since college (online escapades/online dating in my 20s), and HOLY SHIT ITS SO HARD TO DO. Was it this difficult when I was young and really stupid? I'm so fucking happy that I followed through.

Also... I have had zero interest in dating since I got divorced, that has been a really long time. I haven't been actively avoiding the idea, just have not found the idea appealing, so I guess that's changing now. Ugh. Not giving a shit about any of this was a lot easier and nice while it lasted

[path12]

Yeah, it's tougher the older you get. I was around 40 when I met my wife and that period of dating before then was a time where I learned an awful lot about myself.

So it's hard, but good that you followed through. It is worth it.

[albionmoonlight]

Don't have it in me to start a 2016 election thread . . . but I think that Rubio has a real shot at the GOP nomination. Using my conservative facebook friends as a barometer, I have seen no real enthusiasm for any other the other GOP hopefuls who officially or unofficially announced (Jeb, Paul, Christie, Cruz). Nothing negative about them. Just silence.

But they are all about how much they love Rubio right now. He seems to be the guy they've been waiting for.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by albionmoonlight

But they are all about how much they love Rubio right now. He seems to be the guy they've been waiting for.

I've done my first round of basic positions review, I'm a fair bit away from saying "he's the guy" ... but I'll give him credit for being closer than most (if not all) thus far.

[molson]

I'm going to Japan next week and did a random search here to see if anyone's ever posted a Japan travel thread. Nope - just thread after thread of massive earthquake and radiation posts. I forgot how ridiculous 2011 was there - 6 over 7.0 and the big one at 9.0.

[oykib]

Originally Posted by molson

I'm going to Japan next week and did a random search here to see if anyone's ever posted a Japan travel thread. Nope - just thread after thread of massive earthquake and radiation posts. I forgot how ridiculous 2011 was there - 6 over 7.0 and the big one at 9.0.

Where in Japan are you headed? I've only been to Tokyo a few times. But I lived in in the Kinki area of Kansai (Kobe - Osaka - Kyoto) for nine years. One piece of advice, although it may be too late if you're leaving next week, is to pick up the seishun 19 kippu (the youth 18 ticket). It allows you to ride all the Japan rail trains for a single low price. It used to be about $300. That's about the price of one round trip on the bullet train from Osaka to Tokyo. It can easily pay for itself in a weekend.

[Izulde]

Anybody else arguing about Cheryl's birthday?

[molson]

Originally Posted by oykib

Where in Japan are you headed? I've only been to Tokyo a few times. But I lived in in the Kinki area of Kansai (Kobe - Osaka - Kyoto) for nine years. One piece of advice, although it may be too late if you're leaving next week, is to pick up the seishun 19 kippu (the youth 18 ticket). It allows you to ride all the Japan rail trains for a single low price. It used to be about $300. That's about the price of one round trip on the bullet train from Osaka to Tokyo. It can easily pay for itself in a weekend.

I'm staying somewhere near the Yokosuka naval base for about a week (probably going into Tokyo most days from there), then we're doing 3 days in Osaka. My girlfriend's best friend married a navy guy that's now stationed there and we're staying with them on the front end of the trip.

I would have loved to get the rail pass but the trip has been complicated by trying to follow the itinerary of my girlfriend's friend and her husband, who I'm getting incomplete information from. She booked herself and her husband on the faster bullet train line that isn't covered by the rail pass, and we have to go with them, it's a whole thing. I can't complain, it's amazing that they're putting us up in such an expensive part of the word, but trying to organize all this with 3 different people who have different travel philosophies than me is a very different experience than my solo trip to the Balkans last year.

The other fun challenge is that most of this trip will fall in the middle of Golden Week. I don't know exactly what that is, but I know everything will be crowded.

So if you have any must-sees for Osaka (or Kyoto), I'd love to hear them!

[britrock88]

Originally Posted by Izulde

Anybody else arguing about Cheryl's birthday?

There's an argument? I figure either you get it or you don't.

[Eaglesfan27]

On a business trip in a limo, we rear end a car on the Schuykill Expressway and our driver says, "this happened on my last trip." I am thinking it is time for him to consider a new career.

[Eaglesfan27]

Dola... This was after 3 close calls in the last 3 hours of riding.

[oykib]

Originally Posted by molson

I'm staying somewhere near the Yokosuka naval base for about a week (probably going into Tokyo most days from there), then we're doing 3 days in Osaka. My girlfriend's best friend married a navy guy that's now stationed there and we're staying with them on the front end of the trip.

I would have loved to get the rail pass but the trip has been complicated by trying to follow the itinerary of my girlfriend's friend and her husband, who I'm getting incomplete information from. She booked herself and her husband on the faster bullet train line that isn't covered by the rail pass, and we have to go with them, it's a whole thing. I can't complain, it's amazing that they're putting us up in such an expensive part of the word, but trying to organize all this with 3 different people who have different travel philosophies than me is a very different experience than my solo trip to the Balkans last year.

The other fun challenge is that most of this trip will fall in the middle of Golden Week. I don't know exactly what that is, but I know everything will be crowded.

So if you have any must-sees for Osaka (or Kyoto), I'd love to hear them!

It depends on what you like to do. The number one tourist attractions are Kiyomizu and Kinkakuji in Kyoto. They'll both be somewhat crowded even on normal days. Kinkakuji is a more spacious, placid environment and you'll notice the crowd less there.

Osaka has a good night life. I recommend the area in the southern part, around Amerikamura. There are a lot of bars, restaurants and clubs. Everything is pretty close together. Plus, you can take the standard pictures in front of Glico man. He's positioned above the Dotonburi, the river/canal that Hanshin Tiger fans used to jump into whenever they won the pennant.

Kobe is probably not worth the time to visit if you are only in the area for three days.

If you're with some Japanese friends, it's probably worth it to spend some time at karaoke. They have private boxes that always have a fair selection of English songs. Karaoke boxes are fairly cheap and are all-you-can-drink. They're all over the place. They make a good stop if you're out past the last train at other night spots.

A lot of the nicer hotels have an all you can eat lunch buffet that has a pretty good price. You might want to look up the ones near the area you're staying. I remember the one in Namba, where I used to work, I think it was the Swissotel, was famous for its desert selection. They always employed one famous pâtissier or another to maintain their reputation. Other hotels have similar claims to fame in various cuisines or particular dishes.

Those are the general suggestions.

Osaka is famous for octopus balls and kushikatsu.

Kyoto has a lot of restaurants famous for traditional Japanese cuisine.

If you are into games, anime and the like, you can spend a bit of time in Akihabara in Tokyo or Nipponbashi in Osaka.

I'd have to know more about your interests to be more helpful.

[JonInMiddleGA]

For you long time FOFC regulars, here's a quick public service announcement destined to make you feel old:

My son turns 17 today.

[Pumpy Tudors]

Random thoughts:

1. Once somebody unfriends me on Facebook, they're basically dead to me and I don't speak to them again unless I'm paid to do it. It does actually happen that I am paid to speak to these zombies.

2. Speaking of Facebook, I'm surprised that a couple of my former clients stay friends with me on Facebook after some of the shit I post. They had only known me professionally, and now they know... everything else.

[stevew]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

For you long time FOFC regulars, here's a quick public service announcement destined to make you feel old:

My son turns 17 today.

Were you begging the wife to have him on your B-Day? Was a narrow miss

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by stevew

Were you begging the wife to have him on your B-Day? Was a narrow miss

Nah, didn't want to have to compete with THAT (he was a first grandchild on her side)

We were just happy to avoid sticking him with a Tax Day bday, missed that by less than 2 hours.

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

For you long time FOFC regulars, here's a quick public service announcement destined to make you feel old:

My son turns 17 today.

Shit. I better go buy my cemetary plot lol.

[Kodos]

Originally Posted by Chief Rum

Shit. I better go buy my cemetary plot lol.

Better hurry.

Baby Boom Will Lead to Shortage of Cemetery Space - NYTimes.com

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by Kodos

Better hurry.

Baby Boom Will Lead to Shortage of Cemetery Space - NYTimes.com

Fuck it, I'll get cremated.

[rowech]

Remove old fence, put new fence in exact same spot, have BP tell you that you can't put a fence there because of a pipeline. What absolute nonsense. Can't replace a fence with a fence? How did the first one get approved?

[Grover]

Originally Posted by rowech

Remove old fence, put new fence in exact same spot, have BP tell you that you can't put a fence there because of a pipeline. What absolute nonsense. Can't replace a fence with a fence? How did the first one get approved?

I think you should....



Picket.

[NobodyHere]

Picket good.

[Kodos]

That's of-fence-ive.

[stevew]

The goal of fencing is to parry your opponent's advance.

[Lathum]

It doesn't matter what alcoholic beverage I am drinking I love the sound of ice clinking against a rocks glass.

[rowech]

Originally Posted by Lathum

It doesn't matter what alcoholic beverage I am drinking I love the sound of ice clinking against a rocks glass.

Arguably my least favorite sound in the world. As soon as I hear it, it reminds me of my dad's alcoholism and all the stuff that came with it when I was growing up and all the baggage I carry today because of it.