three days. 30 some hours of sleep.
i don't know how to start; i don't feel like i can do any justice to the randomass mumble jumble i scribbled down on the train for the eight hours i spent on it this trip. i had never been to chicago before this, nor had i ever been on a train. for some reason i had some sort of warped concept of what the train would be like, believing it traveled at warp speeds and that it wouldn't at all be boring and loud. it's not that it's loud, exactly, it's more comparable to taking a test in a class where one kid has a horrible stuffed up nose or cough. yeah, it's like that. and for some reason picking the right seat was pretty much like picking a grocery line; the most seemingly logical choice turned out to be tragically annoying. why does speaking another language constitute talking at a ridiculous decibel? we get it; you speak another langauge, but i'm pretty confident your ear drums have the same basic structure. six inch voices, fuckers.
it wasn't really that horrible; it's just easier to bitch than praise. if it weren't for my ipod i surely would have lost my mind, or started blatantly yelling at people, like i do in the movie theatre. dogs are not fashion statements; do not attempt to make them one. if she was in to you, she would be asking questions instead of just answering yours with single words; don't give her your number; she's never going to call you. do not talk on your cell phone for an entire four hour train ride; everyone else can hear you, and i guarentee not one of us gives a shit if you get your black bike or not. and where in the world was the snack card they advertised on the amtrak website? i never once caught a glimpse of one, and i really could have used it. by the time i reached grand rapids i felt like an malnutritioned ethiopian child.
i realized a few things about myself in the past few days. for one, i have completely irrational fears. i never once glimpsed at the emergency instructions on the train because the fear of derailing and plumeting to my death never crossed my mind. instead, i was more terrified of my ipod battery running out and actually having to listen to the "civilization" going on around me. i also have a gigantic fear of homeless people and midgets, but sitting on top of a ledge, dangling my feet above rusty fences and broken glass, doesn't scare me the slightest bit. i had no idea cows could run until i looked out the window and saw them frolicking about together. chalk one up for cows; even i don't run.
after having my sassy pants on for the majority of this trip, i'm sure it became extremely evident to my significant other that i have my opinions set in stone and i don't stray away from them often. i'm not close-minded, though. i give lots of crappy things a chance. however, you can put sarah jessica parker, homeless people and ranch dressing in my "no-thank-you helping".
chicago has cuter girls than muskegon, i think. they all have the "i don't give a shit, and in return, i look beautiful" attitude to them; i dig that. this prompts me to believe people may be cooler all around down there. or maybe i've just become far too accustomed to the same bitches. either way, my shoes are still cooler than everyone else's.
being bored to tears on the train will lead to extreme text messaging. beware.
it's late and not a lot is making sense. i s'pose i'll give up now.
i didn't take many pictures, mainly because i kept forgetting. i also slept at least half of my trip away. sure, it may have been a big interesting city, but it was also the first time i've had time off work in a long while. i apparently had some sleeping to catch up on. here's the few i did take, though they're not great.
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it started like this:
it was 7am and kendra and i had no idea where the train station was. for some reason, these very evident railroad tracks didn't quite tip us off.
she was pretty amped about being up that early; it's quite obvious.
doug's apartment.
we walked and stuff.
we finally decided this was a church.
favorite place in the city i've discovered thus far: sitting on the railing on the back porch of doug's apartment.
best hot dogs ever.
yeah, that's all.