Missing That $100

I finally settled on the design of JKS. I had to play with that template a bit more...but I didn't have a whole lotta time this week.

Jack has lived with me for a whole 7 days and both of us are living to tell of it! Our house, back up on the market since Unethical Buyer fell through, has had several viewings but no second offers. Jack's job situation is great, as he has two strong opportunities percolating. So there is hope on both accounts.

Otherwise, the re-integration of Jack and Dorrie has been going well so far. We feel a bit stiff with each other, as we get reacquainted, but we're quickly relearning each other's patterns, preferences, and weekday schedules. In all, the year, month, and eight days seems to have only strengthened our marriage.

So as our first official "date night" being back together, we went on a Mob Tour downtown last night. The "Blood, Guns, and Valentine's Tour," billed by the History Channel as "fantastic," It was interesting and the guide certainly knew his stuff, but I wouldn't call it "fantastic." We rode around downtown on a very inconspicuous maroon and yellow short bus...a bus that didn't have air-conditioning on a 91 degree evening in the Chi.

Yes, it was refreshing (sense my tone!). As we got on and off the bus at reported mob hot spots around the city, our group of 16 resembled a school tour from yesteryear. I forgot my permission slip! Are sack lunches allowed?!

The part that bummed us out the most was that the actual "hot spots" are no longer in existence. For instance, we visited the place of the St. Valentine's Day murders (where Al Capone took a machine gun to several guys lined up against a wall); the Sausage Factory (where a guy killed his wife, dumped her body into the sausage vat, and well, you know); and the Congress Plaza Hotel (where this guy used to lure young, rich women to the Chi and torture them AND take their money). Except for the Hotel, which is eerily representative of the 1890's, nothing else is standing. So the tour took us to empty lots, parking garages, and other new high-rise condos where the hot spots used to exist.

Nonetheless, we met some interesting people on the tour and I definitively learned that I can never, ever participate in a guided tour on a large scale. The whole time we were riding around in the bus (the wheels on the bus go round and round!), I kept gazing out at the city, making note of interesting bistros, restaurants, theatres, and bars I wouldn't mind trying. In fact, by the end of the tour, I couldn't wait to leave the group and explore on my own! The tour severely limited my creativity and I just couldn't handle it. The heat and stuffiness of the bus probably didn't help, but I was so happy when we finished and Jack and I departed for the nearest restaurant...At which we dined out on the sidewalk, relishing the 88 degree Chicago evening. It was a gorgeous night to be in town and we relaxed out there until after midnight. But I'll never get that $100 back that we wasted on the Mob tour! If you're tempted to go on one, just read The Outfit instead!

We tossed around the idea of going back downtown today, for the filming of "Transformers 3." The Mag Mile is closed and we spotted a marquee saying all the explosion and car roll-over scenes were being filmed today (Saturday). Normally, I'd be all over this, but at a high of 93 degrees with blazing sun, we opted to stay home in the A/C. We figured we wouldn't be able to get close enough to catch any movie spoilers or anything fun like that!

Plus, Jack discovered a tiny, hole-in-the-wall shop that sells homemade Polish pierogi. We're going to fry those babies up and enjoy our Polish heritage. Hey, that's AT LEAST as cool as Transformers 3!