Peters Digest

After a week of haggling over the price of our potential new condo we have come to an agreement.  I’ve signed my life away and they are starting to take my money, so I assume that is a pretty good sign the place is ours, right?

I know I am supposed to be excited about all this, and I am, it’s just a little scary at the same time.  Last night, Charlie and I walked past the building and I started having major buyers remorse.  What if only old people live in the building?  Don’t get me wrong, I love old people but we are hoping to meet some younger folks to hang out with.  What if they have really stringent rules, like not being able to vacuum after 10pm?  What if Charlie isn’t openly accepted like he is in our current building?  What if it wasn’t the best financial decision?  We really wanted a balcony and won’t have one, will that be OK?  And so on, and so on…

Then Charlie and I got back after our long walk and I am reminded of all the reasons why we want to move.  Independence from our parents (Ben’s parents own our current place).  We want a place to call our own.  We need to make the investment sometime, so why not now.  We can hear everything our neighbors do, everything.  The nightly string of freight trains and the screeching Amtrak totally impedes my Sunday night TV watching ability.  And most of all, we will finally have an elevator that works!  The elevator was broken last night, just in time for me to be hauling up a load from Costco-including 2 gallons of milk and a massive dog bed.

I am sure it will be great.  Hopefully around 6.15 I will be reporting that we are officially homeowners.

Here is the place.

A couple weeks ago I got an email from my BFF, Charlotte, asking if Ben and I would like to join her and her husband camping and rock climbing in southern Illinois.  We didn’t really think about the camping side of it, rather, it was an opportunity to see them so we immediately said yes.  They live in Boston so we don’t get to see them very often.

If you know me well, you know that the thought of bugs, dirt, mud, no showers, and going to the bathroom in the woods is not something I cherish but, like I said before, it was an opportunity to see Mike and Char and we weren’t about to pass that up.  We are also always up for trying something new and love adventures so we were excited.

We quickly realized we have NOTHING when it comes to camping gear or rock climbing equipment.  We’ve done both before but have always mooched off of people… so why not continue to mooch.  I called up my wild wilderness dad and asked if we could raid his stash.  He frequents Alaska for hunting trips so I knew he would have some pretty hardcore stuff.  He gave us a tent (an awesome tent), sleeping bags, thermarests, campfire gear, camo leatherman tool, and a slew of other exciting things. 

We then realized we needed rock climbing gear since the last time we tried to mooch that we ended up completelty obliterating a pair of rock climbing shoes.  Ben and I went on the search for the cheapest pair of rock climbing shoes in history.  In the process of buying Ben’s shoes we met one of Charlotte and Mike’s climbing friends who would be joining us on the trip.  He actually sold us the shoes.  Did I mention that Char and Mike live in Boston and we are in Chicago?  Random.

Anyway, we had our gear and were mentally prepared and ready to go.  Then I got the call from Charlotte telling me the hellish travel issues they had getting to Chicago.  We were suppose to arrive in SoIL early am on Saturday but didn’t actually get there until 4pm (it’s a 5-6 hour drive for us).

Upon arrival, we immedialty jumped out of the car and found the nearest rock to climb.  Ben and I have climbed exactly 4 times in our life and we were with a group who do it pretty much 4 times a week…we were pretty funny looking.

Anyway here are some highlights from the trip:

I never knew there was such beautiful scenery in southern IL!  I felt like I was in a mysterious lost wilderness somewhere and couldn’t possibly be in the land of flat lands and corn fields.

Charlie went with us and was the happiest dog in the world.  We almost lost him in a waterfall, though…my heart stopped as I saw him sliding on the water soaked rocks about 5 feet from a 20ft drop off…all I could do was scream BEN!! BEN!!  Charlie was able to get a grip and saved himself.  Both Ben and I were ready to plow into the water and over the cliff to save him.

We set up camp in the pitch dark.  Ben is quite the tent-putter-upper.  He managed to do it by himself without one of the fancy headlights that everyone else had.  Charlotte failed to add it to our list of things to bring and to mention that to be a cool camper you need a head lamp.  We survived with our MagLight and mini LED flashlight.

I succeeded in achieving one of my main goals in life, which is to eat s’mores each and every time I am near a campfire.

I managed to get up a MASSIVE wall with the assistance of Benjamin.  It was the hardest thing I have ever climbed but it was pretty amazing.  I fell a few times so I definitley didn’t master it but I made it to the top.  Charlotte did it after me and said it was really hard, which made me feel great.  It didn’t change the fact that my forearms were throbbing for the next couple day, though.

Ben found his traditional Man-Stick.

We slept in a tent and survived.  I still had myself freaked out pretty much the entire night, though.  At one point I thought we were going to be run over by a car.  Then there was a wild animal sniffing the perimeter of our tent, which I later found out was a dog.  My feet almost froze off but thanks to Charlie laying on top of me the majority of the night I stayed warm enough.  I also managed to have myself convinced that I was covered in ticks and would probably die of Lyme disease soon.

We pulled 5 ticks off of Charlie on the ride home and three once we got home…we also pulled three off of me!  Eww!

We saw some of the most amazing stars I have ever seen in my life.

And finally, we got to spend some quality time with some of our best friends who always manage to take us on our favorite adventures.

A man, his dog, and his Man-Stick 

Spider Lady: That’s me!

The land of corn fields?

A happy, happy Charles

The End.

So it has been a while.  I can really only blame it on the fact that I haven’t sustained my normal level of boredom.  The last couple weeks have been crazy with travel and much of my spare time is taken up with looking for a new place to live. 

About a year and a half ago, Ben and I decided to buy a pre-construction condo in Printers Row.  Good investment decision right?  Wrong.  About the second the ink dried on my signature the real estate market crashed as did much of the economy.  I was pretty much freaking out from then on out.  I also was flipping out about the fact that somehow I needed to come up with a massive down payment and still live in one of the more expensive cities in the country.  Oh yeah, and get married.  I was basically a stress case and it wasn’t fun.

Also, through the whole process of securing a mortgage we decided that we may have bitten off more than we can chew.  We could afford the place but we would have eaten ramen every night so we could still go out once in a while.  Not our idea of fun.  Note to future pre-construction homeowners…be sure you include taxes and property insurance in overall monthly payments…no one told us about that stuff.

Anyway, last Monday I got a call from our developer saying that due to some recent financial trouble, the building will no longer be sold as condos but as rental apartments.  Meaning, we are out of the contract AND we are getting all our money back, plus interest.  Hallelujah!  Best day ever.

Now, Ben and I are on a mad search for a new, much cheaper place.  Thankfully, like the rest of the US, the Chicago real estate market has tanked and we can afford much more in a condo than we could a year and a half ago.  Thank goodness we are just buying a place and not selling one.

Now, all we do is look on the MLS, search random websites for pricing information, talk about a certain place we found, how much it would cost to fix it up, what to update, what not to update, about looking at other places, about looking into looking at other places, comparing other places to the one we found, about whether or not we should we make an offer, and my favorite, discussing why don’t we talk more about the place we’ve already talked to death.  Apparently, I am not talking about this enough and Ben is calling me out on it.  Mr. Talkative, welcome to my world :) 

Good times.

I made a quick trip to Nashville this week and am currently sitting in the airport waiting for my flight.

I took a quick survey of the waiting room and this is what I see:

A lady sitting across from me holding her purse.  The purse is a lovely black nylon with red crosses and pictures of praying hands all over it…ALL OVER IT.  Pretty.

A man to my left reading ”Four Wheelers” the magazine. 

An older gentleman wearing his WW II veteran hat and an American flag belt (he’s quite cute).

And to top it off…a man just handed me a sticker with an American Flag on it.  As he handed it to me he said, “God Bless America.”

Gotta love airports.

The alarm went off at 4:07am this morning and somehow I was able to convince myself that it was a fluke and that I didn’t actually need to get up.  I did this until 4:32am when I realized, Oh S%$#! I do need to get up, I have to travel this morning!  I skipped the shower (I showered last night) woke Ben up and we booked it to the airport.

After a record breaking trip I managed to jinx us by saying “wow, that was fast!” and then the traffic hit.  I managed to get into the airport on time, I checked my bags and then got in line for the Premier security line.  I had to stand there and wait for about 10 men to go in front of me because no one would let me through.  I had the pleasure of watching as half of them got rejected from the special person line.  That’s what they get for being rude to a lady!

I looked to my left and reminded myself that…Oh! That’s the Corner Bakery that was robbed this weekend!

I then went through security and continued my weekly thoughts on why it takes men so long to to get through the line.  They aren’t supposed to be the prissy ones…I am (or at least my gender is).  Seriously, most men I see take 3 bins plus their carry on plus their computer case.  I take two and get through in about .3 seconds.  It’s quite funny to watch them with all their plastic bags and toiletries all while still trying to look manly.

Then I walked the 12 miles to the F Concourse…F12 to be exact…the farthest possible gate, which can only mean I will be on an itty bitty plane today.  I sit down next to a lady who is easily taking up three seats.  She turns to me and says, “What time is it?” Not, “Excuse me” or “Do you have the time” just a blunt “What time is it?”  I fish out my phone and tell her it is 6:07am and hear “Guhhhh, uh! almost there!”  What?  Then she says, ”Now I know why I never travel.”  Right lady, because YOU had to wake up early and YOU have to sit in an airport, you have it so much worse than the rest of us.  I wanted to tell her that she sounds like a fool for telling me that because she has to wake up early it is reason enough not to travel.  Have fun in podunk USA for the rest of your life.  Okay that was mean but it’s early.

Then she started rocking out to her pink Shuffle with matching pink ear phones.  She is also wearing pink pajamas and is probably close to 40.

Now I am on the itty bitty plane next to a not so itty bitty person.  At least it isn’t Mr. BO that was next to me in the boarding line.  Good thing it’s early and I am going to pass out.

It has been over a week since I posted last and I am blaming it on the fact that for some reason I feel guilty writing about anything other than Ringo.  So, in order for me to move on, I’ve decided to write an ode to my little orange friend who is no longer with us.  You may think it strange to write about a cat and think what you may, but he was with me for 17 years so it is hard not to get attached.

Here goes the story of Ringo…the coolest cat in town.

My grandma (Mimi) found Ringo when he was a kitten outside the school she was working at.  He was starving and had a ring of tar around his tail where it appeared that someone either ran over it or dipped it in the black gooey substance.  Hence, the name Ringo.  His tail was fine, just a little stubby.  Mimi fed him his first meal of zucchini bread and milk and that it when the love affair with Ringo began.

Mimi took care of Ringo for the first year of his life but on one of my visits to her house Ringo and I developed a bond that would never break (cheesy right?)  Mimi soon passed over ownership to me (much to my parents disappointment).  Ringo was a bit of a butt head in his early years and maintained a steady level of orneriness until the end.  One minute he would be asleep around my neck the next he would be circling me ready to pounce.  Nonetheless, at the end of the day he was always by my side.

Ringo had the best of all worlds.  He had a wonderful life inside the house but he also got to go outside to roam the neighborhood.  He was notorious among our neighbors for “killing the Easter Bunny.”  That’s right, the morning of Easter my dad was in the backyard trying his hardest to get Ringo to let go of a baby rabbit.  I’ll save the details but the Easter Bunny didn’t make it back to his home that day.  Ringo is also the only cat I know that could climb trees…that’s right…he climbed trees with no front claws.

Ringo also managed to have a 90 lb black lab terrified of him and averted the advances of our chocolate lab.  You see, Ringo was the king of the castle, period.  When we brought Joe, our black lab puppy home, Ringo was sure to maintain the King status, even when Joe surpassed him size.  When Annie, our full grown chocolate lab came home she was not aware of the ”King” status and only saw a big fluffy toy that liked to run away.  Ringo managed to survive without much trouble.

As Ringo got older he didn’t change one bit.  Most people that met him were shocked that he was as old as he was…even the vet.  The only noticeable change was that he was completely and utterly carefree.  As long as someone was petting him, rubbing him, holding him, touching him, or heck, even looking at him he was a happy little man.  We coined the “Yesss” position where as soon as you started rubbing his chest he would stretch both front legs out, close his eyes, and roll to his side or back…whichever was most convenient.   His favorite position is what we called “Mama Lovin” where I would throw him over my shoulder, snuggle him into my neck, and proceed to carry him around the house as I carried on. He was an expert spooner and always kept me warm during naps.  His carefree nature even extended to his 91lb yellow lab brother, Charlie.  Ringo would allow Charlie to lick him and nudge him until Charlie got sick of it. 

His favorite pastimes consisted of kung foo fighting with Kitty, getting high on “kitty pot” aka catnip, playing with Q-tips, helping me fold laundry, watching the street below from our balcony and many others.  He also liked to help me work on the days I worked from home.  He loved to lay on my mouse pad as I worked on the computer…mind you he could care less if my hand was on the mouse or if there were papers all over his “space.”  This drove me to purchase a wireless mouse so I could accommodate him.  His all time favorite thing to do was to knock things off of Ben’s desk or our kitchen table…phones, pens, Ben’s ID, sunglasses, anything of substance really.  You could just see it in his eyes…if it was in his way it was a matter of seconds before it was swept off with a quick flick of his paw. 

Ringo had a slew of names…here are the ones that are coming to mind: Bing Bong, Bing Bong Kitty, Bing Bong Bitch (Ben’s name for him when he started meowing at 2am) Ring-a-ding, orange hairy beast (the description we used at the veterinarian) and Ringy.

Ringo was seriously the coolest cat in the world.  He started off his life as a starving barn cat with tar all over his tail and ended it getting loving whenever he wanted, sleeping on whatever he wanted, and completely enamoring any human that came in contact with him (except those allergic to him of course).

We laid Ringo to rest in a little park under a blanket of trees.  Ben wrapped him in his favorite blanket (a gift from Ben to me a couple years ago…we always said one side of it felt like Ringo). Through my tears, I had to laugh because we almost got arrested doing it.  I’m not kidding.  I had to explain to a police officer what we were doing because we were caught in the act.  I was absolutely sobbing telling the officer what was going on and that we are 100% aware that it is illegal…he said he was sorry and to go ahead.  I just know Ringo was smiling at us then.

Our little family isn’t quite the same anymore.  Part of us is definitely missing every time we come home and don’t get greeted by Ringo.  Naps aren’t the same without him, mornings aren’t the same, TV/Movie time isn’t the same, and most of all our critter family is missing it’s patriarch.  Ben and I will forever be telling stories about our Bing Bong Kitty and we will miss him dearly.

I changed my mind…this is the worst kind of call. 

Ben called this afternoon to tell me my/our 18 year old cat passed away.  I am currently in Florida on business which could be the hardest part of it all.  I can’t wait to go home…I’ve never needed a hug so badly in my life.

The good news is that he didn’t suffer.  He went out in true Ringo style…chillin in one of his favorite spots just after knocking everything off our kitchen table…his favorite past-time.

We’ll miss you Bing Bong.

I have tried my hardest not to be one of those weather complainers.  This year though, I fell into the trap.  It has been miserable and very emotional if I must say.  At one point it was sunny and 50 and the next day it is snowing and below 30.  It’s very confusing.

I am happy to say that today it is sunny, above 50, and very nice to be outside.  As pathetic as it is…even our dog notices.  I’m serious.  Normally he goes outside and does his business and only really gets excited when he sees his ball in my hand or gets to play with other dogs.  Today we went for a walk sans ball and other dogs and I swear he was smiling.  We also went for a run along the lake and again, he was smiling and running ahead of me when normally he runs beside me with his ears down just waiting for the torture to be over.

I am happy to say that Spring is almost, kinda, sorta, here to stay.

This post is much different than my usual ramblings about life, traveling, and wedding plans. I am posting this only because I am absolutely blown away at its content and how something like this becomes a chain email. The most disappointing thing about the whole situation is that it came from a very, very, very close family friend.

This is what showed up in my inbox yesterday…NONE of which are my words (let’s make that very clear).

This is from Darlene Millican, wife of the pastor of Trinity Bapt. Church here in Sun City. I have felt for sometime now that Obama is the one person that ‘Frightens Me’. I believe the Bible has warned us that ‘A man will come from the East that will be charismatic in nature and have proposed solutions for all our problems and his rhetoric will attract many supporters!’ When will our pathetic nation quit turning their back on God and understand that this man is ‘A Muslim’….first, last and always….and we are AT WAR with the Muslim Nation, whether our bleeding-heart, secular, liberal friends believe it or not. This man fits every description from the Bible of the Anti-Christ’! I’m just glad to know that there are others that are frightened by this man! Who is Barack Obama? Very interesting and something that should be considered in your choice. If you do not ever forward anything else, please forward this to all your contacts…this is very scary to think of what lies ahead of us here in our own United States…better heed this and pray about it and share it. snopes.com confirms this is factual. Who is Barack Obama?

First of all, I don’t want this to turn into a political or religious debate because I will be the first to admit that I don’t know enough about either subject to debate it. However, I do have a brain and I went through plenty of school to know a couple things.

A. Because the lady that wrote this is a pastor’s wife MUST make her credible right? Right.

B. Pretty sure she mentions that the Bible says someone will “come from the East” and so on. Pretty sure Hawaii, where he was born is in the West and he has lived most of his adult life in Chicago and I am pretty certain that is in the Midwest.

C. Have the Muslims waged war on the western world? Umm, I’m pretty sure that no one, not even our current president knows why we are at war. First, it was to fight terrorism. Oh wait, it wasn’t them that attacked us. Then we were going after Saddam Hussein. Oh, what’s that? He didn’t have weapons of mass destruction? (I will not deny that Mr. Hussein was a bad man, he was, but it still isn’t a good enough reason for me to give the OK for war.) Now it is called “Mission: Iraqi Freedom” which actually seems to be working but I am still not sure why we are at war. I am positive I am not alone in that sentiment either.

For the record we are currently fighting in the third longest war in US history right behind the Vietnam War (15 years), the American Revolution (8 years), and World War II (6 years).

D. Pretty sure if Obama was a radical religious fanatic that this article is claiming and is ready to take over the universe…some group with a lot of initials would be on to him.

Enough of that.

Whether or not all the listed facts are correct is irrelevant. What is important is the fact that this information is being read and believed probably by thousands of people.

I am an Obama fan. He is the one candidate that has grabbed my attention enough to make me want to pay attention to what he is saying, and what his opponents are saying for that matter. He also makes me believe in him as cheesy as that is. Maybe it is because I read his book (and his second one is currently waiting on my nightstand to be read) or because he lives in Chicago, I don’t know and I don’t care. I think he truly can make the change that every candidate is touting.

I think he and his posse are responsible for getting this country riled up about this election. I also admire a man who truly did start at the bottom of the political spectrum and worked his way up instead of falling into it like other candidates. I gained a whole new level of respect for him when he had the ballscourage to stand up and talk to the nation about race. Not only did he just talk about it but he created the content. He didn’t have his team of speech writers tackle the subject, he wrote the speech. This, in an environment where everyone including our government tip toes around the ever scary subject of race. Go Obama.

I don’t think skin color, gender, or religion should matter in this election. The US is known for being a melting pot right? So why don’t we FINALLY accept someone outside the 50ish white male bible beater?

I’m just sayin…

If you’d like a little extra info on the subject, check this out.

I am so serious!  I really did.  If you Google him he gets about 10,000 hits (and they are all really him)!  Out of respect for him and Ben I won’t tell you who it was but he is a very BIG name in the medical community. 

This was how the dinner was prepped to me by Ben: “So do you want to have dinner with me and this dude? (and he really called him dude).  He made a reservation for 3 at Morton’s but I don’t really know what it’s about.  You wanna go?”

My response: “Is he paying?” and “sure!”

Low and behold the man has been all over the world, has more degrees and honorary degrees than I can count on two hands, has been involved in some crazy medical issues, was Editor in Chief of one of the largest medical journals in the world, is often on TV and is featured ALL over the Internet!

And the only prep I got was “You wanna go to dinner with this dude?”

And to top it all off he was SUPER cool!