[personal] Thursday/Friday, Sunday.
Friday Night Special
+ 2 oz. citron vodka
+ 1 tsp. Canadian whiskey
+ 1 dash lemon juice
Shake the vodka with ice. Pour the whiskey into a chilled martini glass, followed by the vodka. Add lemon juice, garnish, and serve.
I should note that a) Megan cooked a great meal; b) Katy made wonderful party favors, and c) Ruth made good on her promise many times over. Thanks to all, and if you want further details about Sunday's party, you'll have to ask one of them.
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Early Friday morning (around 1:00 am), I was mugged coming home from Crerar. As I walked along 54th St., between Woodlawn and Kimbark, listening to my iPod, a man with a gun stepped into my path. He showed me the gun, motioned to the iPod, and demanded I turn out my pockets. He took my wallet and cellphone, thought about taking my backpack but then decided I could keep it.
He also wanted to know the PIN number for my credit cards. My ignorance (I don't use my Discover or Mastercard for cash advances) didn't please him, so I gave him my ATM card number. I was told to turn around and walk back towards Woodlawn, and when I turned back, he was gone.
Heading back to Crerar seemed the best option--I needed to call the police, then look up credit card info, and I don't have Internet access at my sublet. However, when I finally placed the call, the dispatcher told me to stay on the line, then asked for a description of the mugger. It turns out a plainclothes University policemen was nearby at the time of the incident. He didn't see me, but did see the guy jump in a getaway car and peel out. So he radioed in the license plate, and Chicago police stopped him at Cottage Grove. They saw the gun (illegal without a permit), and had just reported in when I called to report a mugging.
So the University policeman picked me up and drove me down to the CPD Prairie District station, where I answered a bunch of questions about what happened, and described the iPod ("um, it's got medieval music by a guy named Palestrina"). My offenders (two: mugger and driver) had robbed another guy just before me--a Giordano's waiter also walking home from work-- and after searching the offenders and their car the police recovered all of our stuff.
The police eventually took us to the Municipal Court at 51st/Wentworth, where we retold our stories for detectives, had to pick the mugger out of a lineup, and waited around until the state's attorney decided what charges to press. By the time we got back to Hyde Park it was close to 8:00am. I crashed for an hour, then got up to go shopping (Urszula's birthday was on Friday) and run other errands.
I was incredibly lucky--"blessed," as one officer put it: I didn't get hurt, the mugger got caught, all my property was recovered, and he didn't take my backpack. (Losing my wallet is bad news, but losing my backpack--with my sublet keys, library keys, and other irreplacable items--would have truly sucked.) The only sour notes were feeling zonked throughout Friday, feeling pressed for cash, and not having any ID since my wallet remains in police custody as evidence. Certain readers may appreciate that my "ID" over the weekend was my Illinois Firearms Owner's Identification Card, obtained last year when there were plans for Ex Libris Field Sports. Thankfully I didn't need to drive anywhere over the weekend.
Today I visited my safe deposit box (passport, yay) and went downtown for a replacement license. More news on Friday, when I report back to the courthouse for pre-trial motions, and hopefully reclaim my stuff.
+ 2 oz. citron vodka
+ 1 tsp. Canadian whiskey
+ 1 dash lemon juice
Shake the vodka with ice. Pour the whiskey into a chilled martini glass, followed by the vodka. Add lemon juice, garnish, and serve.
I should note that a) Megan cooked a great meal; b) Katy made wonderful party favors, and c) Ruth made good on her promise many times over. Thanks to all, and if you want further details about Sunday's party, you'll have to ask one of them.
====
Early Friday morning (around 1:00 am), I was mugged coming home from Crerar. As I walked along 54th St., between Woodlawn and Kimbark, listening to my iPod, a man with a gun stepped into my path. He showed me the gun, motioned to the iPod, and demanded I turn out my pockets. He took my wallet and cellphone, thought about taking my backpack but then decided I could keep it.
He also wanted to know the PIN number for my credit cards. My ignorance (I don't use my Discover or Mastercard for cash advances) didn't please him, so I gave him my ATM card number. I was told to turn around and walk back towards Woodlawn, and when I turned back, he was gone.
Heading back to Crerar seemed the best option--I needed to call the police, then look up credit card info, and I don't have Internet access at my sublet. However, when I finally placed the call, the dispatcher told me to stay on the line, then asked for a description of the mugger. It turns out a plainclothes University policemen was nearby at the time of the incident. He didn't see me, but did see the guy jump in a getaway car and peel out. So he radioed in the license plate, and Chicago police stopped him at Cottage Grove. They saw the gun (illegal without a permit), and had just reported in when I called to report a mugging.
So the University policeman picked me up and drove me down to the CPD Prairie District station, where I answered a bunch of questions about what happened, and described the iPod ("um, it's got medieval music by a guy named Palestrina"). My offenders (two: mugger and driver) had robbed another guy just before me--a Giordano's waiter also walking home from work-- and after searching the offenders and their car the police recovered all of our stuff.
The police eventually took us to the Municipal Court at 51st/Wentworth, where we retold our stories for detectives, had to pick the mugger out of a lineup, and waited around until the state's attorney decided what charges to press. By the time we got back to Hyde Park it was close to 8:00am. I crashed for an hour, then got up to go shopping (Urszula's birthday was on Friday) and run other errands.
I was incredibly lucky--"blessed," as one officer put it: I didn't get hurt, the mugger got caught, all my property was recovered, and he didn't take my backpack. (Losing my wallet is bad news, but losing my backpack--with my sublet keys, library keys, and other irreplacable items--would have truly sucked.) The only sour notes were feeling zonked throughout Friday, feeling pressed for cash, and not having any ID since my wallet remains in police custody as evidence. Certain readers may appreciate that my "ID" over the weekend was my Illinois Firearms Owner's Identification Card, obtained last year when there were plans for Ex Libris Field Sports. Thankfully I didn't need to drive anywhere over the weekend.
Today I visited my safe deposit box (passport, yay) and went downtown for a replacement license. More news on Friday, when I report back to the courthouse for pre-trial motions, and hopefully reclaim my stuff.