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Lake Michigan views

2005-05-04T15:10:51Z

I work on the 37th floor of a building in downtown Chicago (aka the loop). I have a pretty good view of Lake Michigan that I almost never appreciate. The view is beautiful today. The day is sunny and a bit windy, a combination that makes the lake sparkle.

When I first moved into this office, I was thrilled by the view. I thought that the lake view would have a calming effect on my day. Looking out at the big lake reminded me of being on vacation. Do you know how you feel on the first day of a vacation on the ocean? It doesn't actually work out that way, because I am not on vacation. I'm at work.

William's current vocabulary

2005-04-05T21:05:39Z

Words that he speaks correctly (in approximate order of frequency spoken):
no, mommy, uh oh (his first correctly spoken word, means please pick up the thing that I have dropped), go, bagle (his favorite food; was boggle until recently), Addy (our first dog), down, out, up, juice, daddy, Bob (the tomato in Veggie Tales), apple, baby, boom, bubbles (actually means soap or water), Greta (his cousin)

Words that are almost correct:
mooe (movie), tiggle (tickles or that's funny), boo (blue), boo boo (blueberry), banan (banana), dereal (cereal), mil (milk), down down (downstairs), peese (please, often followed by mooe), tink oo (thank you), Breeze (Fritz, our second dog), Eeyum (William), titsy (kitty)

Words with uncertain origin but consistent usage:
teeko (yogurt), e-o-e-o (car, may be imitating a siren)

Phrases:
um um (according to our Polish babysitter, this is how Polish babies indicate that they are hungry)

Chicago Bulls 102, Cleveland Caveliers 90

2005-04-02T02:40:13Z

I went to the Bulls game last night with a few co-workers. The game was exciting and we had a good time.

I was surprised at how quiet the stadium crowd remained for most of the game. The only time that the crowd got really loud was when the three cartoon Dunkin' Donuts raced each other on the big screen to determine which lucky fans would win a free donut.

To be fair, the pregame "let's get ready to rumble" ceremony was pretty impressive.

Brief bio

2005-03-29T23:24:25Z

I am 39 and Cheri is 33. We have been married for 11 years and I think that we have gotten closer as the years have passed. We're both overeducated. Somehow we managed to accumulate 7 college degrees between the two of us. I joke that it is my turn to return to school. I have moved from science to business and would love to top it off with an MFA in photography.

We live in a Chicago-style brick bungalow (built in 1926) in River Forest. We love River Forest. It is in the suburbs but feels close to the city. Prior to William's birth, we would find a reason to go downtown almost every weekend. Since his birth, we often find it difficult to get out of River Forest/Oak Park on the weekends. Last weekend was an exception though. We spent time checking out galleries in the west loop on Saturday.

Cheri is a graphic designer and loves her work. I have a finance-related job downtown. It pays well but I don't love it. I am basically a teacher at heart. I used to be a teacher, and I hope to return to education at some point in the future.

Introduction

2005-03-29T02:16:06Z

I have been trying to figure out what to do with this journal for some time now. Let me start with a brief introduction. My name is Steve. My wife's name is Cheri. We have a son, William, who is almost 18 months old. Two weeks from today, we are scheduled to have our second son.