My God...finally, I'm better.

Got up this morning at 10am after being up pretty late last night, and went to take Kazak to get a bath and his nails clipped, etc. After we dropped him off at Petsmart and went to Quizno's for lunch, it felt like my head was going to explode...

I have never experienced a headache this bad, ever. I say never, because usually I pop two Advils, take a nap and it goes away. It didn't...I couldn't even doze off it hurt so bad. This was around noon...I just got up finally a little while ago. I still feel weird, but the pain is gone. Gonna pop a few more advils just to make sure and then probably take it easy this evening.

Mon Ami Gabi was delicious...and our food came out in about five minutes after we ordered. I had steak roquefort, which was quite tasty, along with frites. We had strawberries briand for dessert, and now I want to make it. So freakin' good. And only $65 for both of us...with a glass of wine each too.

At any rate, that is that...I'm gonna take it easy today, I think...but if I feel OK, maybe I'll visit my parents...I haven't seen them in a while.

Looked at two more condos yesterday...the first one was a shithole of a place about three blocks from Hopper's house...plus, the realtor didn't seem to know a damn thing about the place and seemed to be in a hurry. Screw him, we don't want it anyway...

The second place we saw was a place Gina looked at a few weeks ago in Edison Park. It needs work, and the asking price is ridiculous. It's been on the market several weeks now, so we feel more comfortable low-balling them. We'll have to replace the floors and paint the walls and eventually replace the appliances in the kitchen. The windows and balcony are older but in good shape. The bathrooms (2 full) are decorated in such a way that if any of you saw them, you'd probably gag. The wallpaper actually has elements of foil striping in it...it's so gross.

So the place does need work, and the realtor wasn't there to answer questions we had. So, barring any bad answers to those questions, we'll probably put a bid in on it. The place is quite spacious though, and has a nice layout too. Parking will be a snap, but about a 1/4 away, regardless, because it's on a major intersection. That said, the unit is at the back of the complex, so it's away from the streets. And it's within walking distance of downtown Edison Park and biking distance of downtown Park Ridge. It would be nice to have, no doubt about it.

Meanwhile, Gina and I finally made reservations at Mon Ami Gabi downtown for dinner tonight...thanks Crissy! Finally, I'm using the "Lettuce" gift certificate you got me for Christmas...it only took nine months or so. :) We'll enjoy it, I'm sure...I've never been to Mon Ami Gabi, but it looks interesting. So we'll see how that goes...ah well, I should do some work here today before we leave. :)

Guess I'll have to get an I-Pass now. Don't really know why I didn't get one for those three years that I lived in The Brook and commuted, but hey, whatever. :) Laz, you might reconsider moving here, especially to NW Indiana, or get an I-Pass the minute you get here. :)

Honestly, I think it's a pretty good idea...and anyone who thinks tolls won't go up in the next 10 years for everyone is fooling themselves. That's how it works...inflation and all. Besides, the I-355 expansion is badly needed...I know, since I used to drive down there all the time. It's about as nightmarish as city rush-hour driving sometimes.

Speaking of the city...how the HELL does this guy have a job and make more money than me (and many of the rest of us)? I hate the system...

Wow...I got a lot of response from just complaining about the service yesterday and making wild, unattributable statements about the obesity of Americans...maybe I should do that more often? :)

Today, lunch was far less eventful, although I found out the PFW guys will be appearing once a week on ESPN News for 10 minutes for the Fantasy Focus "show" they do...they appear from ESPN Zone Chicago, and then they answer questions for a couple hours on closed circuit TV from ESPN Zone patrons across the nation. That sucks (for me)...I would have loved to do that! Oh well...life is better here anyway OVERALL.

That's honestly about it though...not much else is new. Except that I bought my first Christmas present(s) yesterday, by far the earliest I've ever bought a Christmas gift...might as well spend some money now on it, ya know? Now, to store it somewhere until then...

I hate the language barrier...or just ignorance in foodservice workers. Today I went to "U Dawg U," a greasy-spoon joint nearby. Never been there before.

I order a 1/4 pound cheeseburger, mozzarella sticks and a medium drink. The lady charges me $10.86. I think nothing of it at first...then, while waiting for my order, I'm like, "wait a minute..." I did not have the receipt, because they don't give them, apparently...so I'm like, OK, let's see what I get.

Turns out, she gave me a DOUBLE cheeseburger, along with the sticks and drink. That explained it. Of course, that was then waaaaaaaaaayyyyy too much food, and I had to throw out half the sticks because I was too full.

This, my friends, is why America is obese...

In other news, we're sending to press today my first real issue with my first story in it! Hooray... :) Next issue, I get the cover story...on the company in Dallas. Double hooray... :)

And the condo search continues...

Ah well, we were outbid...ho hum. It sucks, but what can you do, ya know? So, back to the drawing board we go, even though we hadn't stepped very far away. And, hell, who knows, maybe the idiots who outbid us will have financial problems and the place will come crawling back, begging us to make a bid again? I won't hold my breath, but you never really know...

Well, we're supposed to be putting in a bid for a place out near Belmont and Oak Park today. We saw the place yesterday at an open house, and Gina went back with our realtor to check it out. He confirmed that it was worth putting a bid on, so we're supposed to do that today.

The place is a very good size...it's a first floor (ground floor), 2-bed, 2 FULL BATH that allows dogs and has a dining room area. It not only has a patio (like many condos), but the patio is about the size of (if not bigger than) my current back deck...it's enormous. There is an in-unit washer and dryer and no storage room, but the closets, my God the closets, are huge. The master bed closet is a walk-in that is so big it has a flourescent shop light on the ceiling to light it. The 2nd bed has a closet about the size of some of the storage rooms we saw in other condos. The kitchen appliances aren't new, but you can tell that they are newer, at least. The cabinets are good enough that we probably won't even have to change them, but who knows on that.

The negatives: It needs some work...and some before we move in. First off, the floors need replacing. Currently, everything but the kitchen and baths is carpeted in old, dirty-ish carpet. It must be replaced...we're actually going to look into getting hardwood installed. The kitchen tile is stick-on that is very, very worn also. The "public" bathtub needs to be refinished and the fixtures replaced. Another negative is that the price they're asking is quite high for what they're offering...so our realtor is going to work them. :) The place also needs a paint job, but that's easy enough.

The former tenant was a wheelchair-bound person, so the master bath is interesting, but it's "remodeling" can wait. Currently, it is set up with about 1/3 of the wall between the bath and bedroom acting as the "door"...i.e., open. You can see the sink from the window. We'll see what we might do with that, if we get the place and after we move in. There's definitely room to be creative with that.

It's in a complex that is on Belmont, but we're about a block north, at the "quiet" end, on a street that dead-ends into the parking lot. We get 1 parking spot, but parking seemed easily doable down the block a bit.

Basically, although this isn't Jefferson Park or Edison Park, I'm quite excited, and I'm hoping we get this place. It's got plenty of room to grow, particularly in value...and although it didn't show quite as well as many of the other places we'd seen (it was still pretty dirty overall), I'm glad we were able to see the potential. I'm crossing my fingers that it goes through.