the lost art of map reading

Newly licensed Mac, was telling The Hubby and I about some of her driving experiences last night.

She doesn't have Tony's gift of direction and got pretty lost the other night.

"Maybe you should just take my GPS" I suggested.

"Maybe you should just keep a map in your car." The Hubby said.

"A map!?" Mac laughed "Nobody uses a map anymore! Reading a map is a lost art form."

The Hubby and I looked at each other with the "is this kid serious?" look on our faces.

"Besides," she continues "I don't even know which direction to point one of those things!"

I'm pretty sure I know where she got her sense of direction...

have a great day!

figuring out the "L" in Chicago

Sometimes I feel like such an idiot.

I had my friends Pam and Lori here at the condo in Chicago for my birthday.

We were trying to decide what to do.

It can be so overwhelming. So many choices, so little time....

My goals when I'm in the city is always to learn and see something new.

As I've said before, I'm not very fond of shopping. I get pretty tired of visiting the same old restaurants and "touristy" places.

Lori heard of a festival being held in one of the northern suburbs of Chicago. They had food, drinks, a very eclectic assortments of bands playing for the day.

I thought this might be a great oportunity to try out the "L".

I've never riden the "L" before so I went on line to try and figure it out.
Is it just me or do they try and make public transportation stuff confusing?

The festival website that we looked at said "take the red line".

What "red line". I thought that's what they called one of lines on the bus system. I thought last time Pam and I got all lost in Chicago we ended up on the "blue line". How do you know when they are talking about the bus or the "L"?

And then the site talks about the subway (not the "L"). I specifically remember a conversation with my hubby (because he made fun of me) saying that Chicago doesn't have a subway.

Also, I thought the "L" only made a loop around a small area of the city, we need to go to a suburb that is up past Wrigleyville.

I am so confused.

So what do we do? We decided to walk down and see what we can find.

We'll call it an adventure....yeah, that's what we'll call it.

So we start walking, and talking, and walking, and talking, and pretty soon it seems like we have walked a long time. The website didn't make it look like that far.

I get out my map. And we look at it but it doesn't seem to help much.

We decide to keep walking with the thought that maybe we'll see something, eventually.

Then we see a store called "Marbles". Pam and Lori know that I love games so we decide to go in (since we are in no big hurry on our adventure). The guy that works there, named Ryan, is super nice, so I start asking him to explain the "L" to me.

He says that the "L" is the elevated train (which I knew) but that it has areas in the city where it goes underground (ahhh) and that it has an entrance just one block up. And it goes a lot farther north and south than I realized.

So we head out feeling a little more confident.

I don't know if this how it normally is but it seemed "under construction" to me. And look! A payphone! Pretty soon I think there will be a generation that doesn't know what those are.

looks like a subway to me.

smelled like one too and was really HOT!
We had some nice musical entertainment while we waited from 3 lovely men....and Pam joined in. Pam has a beautiful voice and they wanted to know where she sings professionally (She said the shower).

This was actually on the way home. On the way out there it was packed and we had to stand most of the ride (there was no way I could balance (the "L" is very jerky) take a pic and guard my purse with my life all at once).

At one point, Pam had a guy reach for the pole in front of her and get a little too cozy. She tried to ask him to move but I don't think he understood English. She handled it nicely and just grabbed his arm and moved it herself.

Have I told you Pam rocks?

Anywho. It was a nice evening. I think I'm comfortable enough now with the "L" to ride it anywhere.

I'd like to try "L roulette". Get on the "L" and ride it to different areas of the city and get off randomly to find places you've never seen before (of course you need to be careful and it would be best to do this during the day).

sorry it's blurry!

don't stop believin'

I just spent the last 3 hours in the car with Mac driving her to the beach to meet up with friends from Michigan.

Thank goodness I had another hour drive over to Kalamazoo so I could roll down my windows, blare some good music and flush out all that garbage she listens to from my ears. YUCK!

We did have one song that we both liked. She made a CD with Journey's "Don't Stop Believin" on it. The CD is just that one song, repeated over and over. That's part of the problem I have with her "Top 20" stuff. It gets played over and over to the point where I can't take it anymore. I want to pull out my hair. Now her generation is going to ruin a perfectly good 80's song.

We argue about who's song it is. They think just because it was played on "The Hills" and sung by Lauren, it's their song now.

No way. I can prove it. I know the lyrics WAY better than she does. So neener...neener....neener!


I also had a good chuckle at her directional abilities. Being that I'm directionally challenged as I have blog about before, it doesn't surprise me that one of my offspring struggle with it too (not like the two other freaks that I lovingly call my children).

But Mac has a whole other "directional disability" that I'm not sure where it comes from.

Here's a sample of Mac giving me directions to her friends cottage.
Mac: "ok turn left here where I once walked barefoot through this broken glass that was all over the road."
Mac: "now we need to watch for the big rock that I talked to Joe on for like ever the last time I was here!"
Mac: "we need to watch for this place where we took pictures cuz then I'll know I need to turn soon."

All I can say is Thank God for GPS!
We ended up driving by the house twice but I had a nice trip down HER memory lane.

And I also got to see this creation of her and her friends.


I don't care, it's still MY song.

Things my teens can do but I can't

Our second world traveler came home last night (well maybe I should say U.S.A. traveler).

Bud, my 18 y/o son, flew into O'Hare at midnight after being gone for 3 weeks.

He was returning from his first big adventure away from home.

these three yahoos.....that's my yahoo, Bud, on the right....

drove this little car....without incident....

from Tennessee to Vancouver Island, British Columbia (they actually picked Bud up in Chicago)....so they could drop yahoo #1 (Caleb, on left) off at college.

And they did it with very little planning. They decided they would drive until they got tired and then camp.

I think this might be the route they took.

I'm just kidding, I just wanted to play with Google and Photoshop....I know, not my most impressive work. I still need help with my computer skills.

Right now you're probably amazed that I would let my high school senior go on a trip like this. Actually, I'm pretty amazed too. I never claimed this was a "how to" blog on teen parenting....it's just where I make fun of them. Helps me to regains some pride after all the eye rolling, ect. ect.

Maybe it's because I'm getting lenient in my old age.

Maybe it's because he's my second (and compared to letting Nae go to Sudan for 3 weeks it was a piece of cake).

Maybe because dear Hubby and I are feeling really guilty for making him move his senior year.

Yeah, that's probably it....

Now he's home safe and sound. Bud came home with stories of sleeping on rocks and floors. Of getting lost and trying to figure out the public transportation system in Vancouver (I'm so proud...sniff, sniff).

But what struck with me most from his stories are the things they did while lost or trying to figure things out. Things that, if I were doing them, my kids would NEVER let me forget. If they were with me, they would curl up and die from embarrassment right there on the spot.

Here's an example. Bud and Caleb go to the grocery store in British Columbia. The check out lady asks if they would like to buy grocery bags. They assume she means those heavy duty recyclable bags so they say 'no thanks'. So she rings up their items and leaves all the stuff they just bought laying there. And they all just stand there looking at each other and the food and each other and the food. And then it dawns on them that you have to purchase the plastic bags to put the food in. So they look around and in a corner a few feet away, is a pile of garbage. They go over there and rifle through it and pull out some old, grubby banana boxes, walk back over and put their groceries in them.

Never! I would NEVER get away with that if my teenagers were with me. But Bud tells the story like they are geniuses for solving a complex problem.

I will just have to wait for them to have teens of their own...then I can laugh at them too....

I think I hear my Dad laughing right now.

I got this whole Chicago transportation thing down!

My oldest daughter, Nae, finally came home yesterday from her internship in Colorado.

Just like always with her, it was a whirl wind experience....that girl is always go. go. go.

I was hoping she would get here around 2 or 3 pm. But I got a call in the afternoon that she had missed her exit and would I look on a map....this is very unusual for her. She is another one of my children who talk in "east/west/north/south" terms. She not freakish about her directional abilities like Tony, but she is very good (her freakish thing is birthdays---she can remember the birthday of anyone she has ever met--it's really bizarre!) so anyways...the minute she asks me to do that my heart beats a little crazy because, as you know, I'm directionally challenged. Let's just say I got her here in a "round about way"....I kinda forgot that Colorado was out west (duhhh!!!), I'm so used to bringing in people from Michigan....you're judging me right now aren't you? I can feel it.

Nae and her friend, Jake got here at 6pm. Which was really lousy because I had to leave at 6:10 for one of those "beginning of the season, meet the coach, I'm just gonna stand here and read the handout I gave you" parent meetings. Ugghh! And they were supposed to catch the 6:29 train into Chicago for dinner with Jake's brother and then be gone for the rest of the evening. So I had 10 minutes to give them directions to the train station and information on which bus to take (cuz I'm the expert now...HA!).

So I'm feeling pretty cool with a little "hey maybe I'm gettin this whole Chicago transportation thing" attitude. I'm looking at my map and telling Jake he's gotta take the blue line in...and Jake is on the phone with his brother....they need the brown line to get to him....and Jake is relaying between us trying to figure it all out. Finally, he says "my brother wants to talk to you". I get on the phone and Jake's brother says "the blue line?" and I say "yeah" and he says "I'm talking buses are you talking trains?" I suddenly feel like the biggest idiot! All I can say in my defense is that the Metra map I was looking at for the Union Pacific West Line is blue....wow I'm a ninny! Good first impression Tori!

He finally says "can you just tell them how to get to a blue line station? I can get him here from there". "Um, sure..." I say. I'm not sure I can do anything involving the Chicago transportation system anymore. I showed him how I "thought" you got there....all the while pretending that I knew exactly what I was talking about...cuz...I'm good at that. And hey, they are both brilliant...they can figure it out if I'm wrong. I spent the rest of the evening second guessing myself and only lost a little sleep....

I'm assuming all is well. I heard them come in sometime after 1 am. Jake is crashed in Bud's room for the night. They are still sleeping...they are on Mountain Daylight Time, after all. I can't wait to hear how it went for them and if I made it even worse with my directional advice. And if they got lost.....I'll just pretend that he misunderstood my flawless directions.

Cavalia! and two ADD girls in the big city (part three)

I know it doesn't seem like it from my first post on Cavalia, but I did put some time and thought into planning our trip into the city....

I really wanted Pam to have an unforgettable time.

When we originally talked about our trip, we decided to eat out afterward....so I did some Chicago magazine reading and googling and Internet surfing to find a unique restaurant....and by golly! the place I picked was "unique"....and "unforgettable"....


just a note here....I am going to change the name of the place that I am going to talk about for my personal safety....seriously....or maybe not, but I'm not taking any chances....see what you think....


After Cavalia ended, Pam and I hopped into a taxi cab. "Celandia's restaurant please" I said. "Where?" the cab driver said. I repeated myself a little louder. "Never heard of it" he said.


**note to self....next time you ask a cab driver to take you somewhere and he's never heard of it, this is NOT a good sign!!!**


So I gave the cabbie the address. Pretty soon we are pulling up to the restaurant but I hardly notice it because the the big pink and purple neon sign next door promoting certain suggestive paraphernalia.

**second note to self....pink and purple neon signs never sell ANYTHING good and I should probably not go any where near them**


Pam and I exit the cab (and the cabbie, I'm sure, now thinks he knows what kind of girls we are....). We notice two very large Greek looking men standing outside the door. But they seemed to be very polite, very large, Greek looking men because they opened the door for us and greeted us with grunts.


The inside of this place was amazingly beautiful. The Internet said that it was inspired by a 13th century fortress in Granada, Spain. Hand laid mosaics, stone carvings, brilliantly colored silks, huge glass chandeliers...it was a lot for our ADD minds to take in.


A very pretty hostess greeted us in the lobby behind a huge innately carved sideboard. She explained there was "entertainment" upstairs and downstairs and we could choose where we wanted to be seated. Pam and I were still a little freaked out by the "surrounding neighborhood" and the big burly grunters out front....so, we decided on the very noncommittal bar area.


We decided to people watch for a while....and we noticed a certain "trend" in the people were we "observing". Let's just say that a lot of older gentlemen seemed to be taking their "nieces" out for dinner and drinks.


**third note to self....when the ratio of beautiful young women exceeds the ratio of balding, homely, old men by 4 to 1 it's time to leave the premises**

Pam and I ordered some food and drinks and settled in to take in everything around us. The next thing that we noticed were the numerous, muscular, Greek looking men in three piece suits with ear pieces.

**fourth note to self....when the ratio of muscular, Greek looking men in three piece suits with ear pieces exceeds the ratio of visible customers....something else is probably going on in this establishment besides dinner and drinks.**

While we waited for our food and drinks, Pam and I debated....maybe we should go upstairs and check out the "entertainment" (yes, we were really that clueless at that point...). I walked back over to the hostess to ask if we could be seated upstairs. She informs me to go upstairs there is an extra "cover charge" of $10 per person. This is the moment when I'm just not feeling comfortable....Yes! I know! Just call us SLOW! or CLUELESS! or whatever.....

I go back over to Pam and we start noticing even more "peculiarities"....

.....the muscular, Greek looking guy, with the ear piece guarding the elevator....

.....the many hidden alcoves....

.....the grandeur of the place...within this "neighborhood"....supported by the sale of just food and drink?...

Needless to say, we would have liked to leave at that point, but decided to stay in the bar area and finish our food. Everything was delicious.

When we were ready to leave the big burly grunters were very kind and got us a cab....there was never a time I felt unsafe....just a little weirded out.

Pam and I had a great time recalling the experience in the morning over coffee and debating what the place was all about...really....

Maybe I don't need to change the name of the place....

Maybe everything we did witness was just all a bunch of coincidences....

Maybe Pam and I were making too many assumptions....

but I'm not taking any chances....I don't want any of those guys in the three piece suits with ear pieces coming after me....

I have to remember that things are different around here....and I'm definitely not in Kalamazoo anymore.....

Cavalia! and two ADD girls in the big city

Yesterday my friend, Pam came from kzoo so we could go into the city and see Cavalia.

I was really excited for a few reasons.....#1, I love Pam.....#2, this is the first time I would be using the Metra to get into the city.....and #3, we were gonna see Cavalia!

Most of you probably never heard of Cavalia. I probably never would have if I didn't drive by all the huge billboards advertising it on the Chicago bypasses.

It's a little hard to explain....the producers call it a "poem written in the language of sound" to "pay homage to the poignant history and fascinating bond between human beings and horses".....it was written by one of those artsy Cirque du Soleil guys....so you get the picture.

I'm not a huge horse person but I do appreciate their power and beauty and Pam breeds and sells some of the most beautiful horses I've ever seen (that's her website there--check it out--its breath taking).

But I feel like I'm getting ahead of myself...

I need to begin with our train ride.

Because this was my first time using the Metra to get into the city I was a little nervous. I didn't want to screw it up... or get us lost.... or end up in Wisconsin....

We only had like 5 hours till the show....I wanted to spend the day before "practicing" riding the Metra....my husband said that was just silly....and I guess it was...but that's just the way I am.

We found our way to the station (through a construction detour-otherwise it's only a little under 2 miles from my house). We parked our car and talked to a couple people about the pay system for the parking lot and then we were ready to board.

The ride in was pretty uneventful except for the 10 college students sitting across from us who were on their way to a Sox's game. A few of them brought these coolers filled with beer and whiskey and proceeded to use the 45 minute trip in to get as drunk as they could-as fast as they could....

We ended up at the Olgivie Transportation Center....ok, the hubby was right, it wasn't rocket science....and exited our train with the deluge of people.

Deluges of people and big transportation centers are not a good mix for 2 girls with ADD. Pam and I were swept along in the current of fast moving passengers, all the while our heads spinning to try to take in everything....."oh look a haircut place!"...."a shoe store?"...."pedicures!"....."Thai food"....."oooo escalators!"

Pretty soon we where outside on the sidewalk surrounded by tall buildings and we realized....we have no idea where we are, or more importantly, what we are going to do. We were so focused on the Metra and parking and chit-chatting and making fun of the drunk guys on the train that we never really discussed what we wanted to do when we got in the city.

So Pam pulls out a map....lets figure out where we are first....I can't even tell which direction Lake Michigan is with all the tall buildings....and that's kinda how I usually get oriented in Chicago.....big lake here....magnificent mile there....I'm good to go!

We look at the map for a good 5 minutes and we can't even find the street we are on (do you realize how embarrassing this is to write in my blog for all to see?)

So the next thing I know Pam is grabbing this innocent guy walking by. I'm not ready to ask for directions and admit defeat....not to mention the fact we still haven't figured out where we even want to go! "Excuse me, where are we?" Pam asks sweetly. The guy looks at us and smiles "Chicago" he says with a little laugh. We both giggle awkwardly. "Where do you want to go?" he asks. Pam and I look at each other...."ummm, we aren't sure" Pam says. Right at that moment I don't think I can feel any more stupid....(but I'm pretty sure I do right now sharing this story with everyone). "You can probably tell we aren't from around here" Pam says jokingly..... So there's another awkward set of giggles....and a perplexed look on the guys face and I'm sure that he is thinking we are a set of fruitcakes. Pam says "well, how about you just tell us where the magnificent mile is and the west loop." With big arm gestures he says "the mile is that way" and then swinging his arm in opposite direction "and the loop that way". "Is it too far too walk?" asks Pam. And the guy starts in on a spiel about "grabbing the Blue Line". As he's talking, Pam and I have both used our ADD superpowers to tune him out. Then I notice Pam turning her head and looking up in the air. I realize what she is thinking (us ADD people think a lot alike)...."Pam, he's talking about a bus" I say. "Ohhh" she says "I thought he was talking about that "L" thing".

Now I can see that this guy just wants to get away from us....."Ok. yeah. we'll grab the blue line thanks for all your help" I say taking Pam's arm walking....to where, I don't even know.....just away from this guy and our humiliation.

As we walk we quickly decide to just go to where Cavalia is playing. We'll check it out and then find a restaurant. I've looked at the location for Cavalia on a map at home.... now we just need to find a bus stop and figure out where to get on the blue line. We walk just down the block to one of the glass bus booths and go in to look at the map. The problem is that it's been in the sun for so long that all the colors are faded. There are three lines that look the same bluish-green. Pam and I are standing there debating color hues when this girl comes up and takes pity on us. "Where do you want to go?" she asks. "Racine and W. Jackson" I say as a bus is pulling up. "I'll help you, but you need to get on this bus right now" she says as she is walking towards the opening bus doors. Pam and I look at each other and nod as we head toward the bus. It's all happening so fast...."how much does the bus cost?" I say...."two dollars" the girl answers.....Pam and I are stepping inside while fumbling through our purses.....We look at the money taking machine thingie....I see all I have is a $20....Pam asks at the same time as the bus doors close and we start moving, "can we get change?"......the big black woman driving the bus says in a stern voice "don't make no change on the buses"......I'm thinking 'how do we get out of here'.....we are driving down the street and having a hard time keeping our balance while continuing to dig through our purses....I look up at a bus full of people and reconsider my earilier conclusion that I couldn't feel any more stupid....we sit down so we can find some cash....Pam finds a five dollar bill and I stagger up and slide it into the machine.

Pam and I sit there for a moment. My head is spinning again. The girl starts talking about which way we go when we get off the bus....she also waves her arms around in big gesture while telling us which way to walk....that must be a Chicago thing I think. Then Pam asks "but how will we know when to get off the bus?" The girl smiles and says I'll let you know....and I think to myself 'I will not blog about this'....

We get off at the same stop as the girl who helped us and we thank her profusely. We find our way to the Cavalia location and find a little restaurant and have dinner. It feels good to sit and relax.....

I think that this blog is long enough and embarrassing enough for today....I will continue tomorrow with my tales of Cavalia and the place we went to afterwards (which that story could be a couple more blogs in itself).

the directionally challenged

I had my first "ahh haa directional moment" here in our new town the other day.

If you've ever moved to a new city, you know what I mean....where suddenly all those crazy twisty streets make sense and you finally figure out where you are....and how it all connects (and you feel a little proud of yourself).

Or maybe not everyone has those....maybe it's just me and my directionally challenged self....

...anyways!....my ahh haa moment occurred because of my not so directionally challenged son, Tony. Actually, if someone could be considered "gifted" in the area, that would be Tony. Tony is 13 and has been showing off his abilities since he started talking. He would be sitting in his little car seat and say in his little baby voice "why you goin this way mom? If you take 12th street it will be much faster". I'm not kidding....it was a little freakish....if a mom is allowed to call her kid a freak.

Last week, I went to Battle Creek to pick Tony up from a friends mom's house (Tony has been there maybe 4 times). Tony texted me the address and I map quested it. I ended up getting lost and called Tony (the mom was out grocery shopping). I hate getting lost and now I'm kicking myself for not talking to an adult before I left. I'm also on a time schedule so now I'm gonna be late to an appointment....another huge pet peeve! "You must have given me the wrong address" I accuse him. I decide right then and there that I've put too much trust in my little "directional Einstein".....I will never trust him again! Then Tony starts asking where I am....I tell him which highway I just got off.....he asks if I'm going east or west.....EAST OR WEST? how am I supposed to know? I'm lost, it's high noon, I don't even know which way the highway runs that I just got off and my 13 year old is talking in stinking east/west terms? I'm getting ready to hang up on his little directionally superior self when he asks me "do you see a Meijer"..."yes" then you need to turn around and go west" he says in a sweet little patient voice. He ended up getting me there.

Back to my ahh haa moment.....Tony figured out our new town completely in the first few days he was here. So when we go out somewhere, Tony will start in on his "why you goin that way mom?" routine again....which I've gotten really good at ignoring....I'm concentrating for goodness sakes!! I don't need distractions! I just wanna get where I'm going, the way I know, I'm not ready for anything fancy yet!!! But lately he's been more persistent "If you'd just listen to me....it will be a lot faster...I won't let you get lost....just try it for me....please" and then he gets that cute little "I'm the baby of the family and I know I have you wrapped around my finger" look on his face and gosh! he's so darn cute!

So I take "his way" and wa-la! there we are...... just where he said we'd be..... and suddenly.... it all makes sense! ahh haa!