The Evil Bean...

We sure drink a lot of coffee when we're in America; a lot more than we drink in Basel. Why? I'm not really sure. Maybe it's the jet lag. Or... maybe it's the fact that it's so damn cheap.

Example:

We usually get lungo and grande Americanos at Starbucks. In Basel, it costs the equivalent of about $12 or $13. In Chicago, it cost something like $5.50. Plus, in Chicago, I order them, and I have them in my hand in about 30 seconds. In Basel? It usually takes at least five minutes.

What's up with that?

It's 8:30 a.m., and...

...I've already been awake for FIVE HOURS!!!

Yes, I woke up at 3:30 a.m. I realized that falling back to sleep was futile, so I just read until Jo Mama got up.

Isn't jet lag a wonderful thing?

The flight over The Pond went well. I'm happy to report that I was not seated next to a completely insane person like I have been on past trips. We arrived in Chicago exactly on time, I was not hassled by immigration, and my checked bag (empty suitcase for bringing stuff back) made it too.

Nothing too exciting yet. Last night: a nice Reuben sandwich for dinner. This morning: a free cup of coffee at Starbucks (coupon in yesterday's paper), and a quick stop at Dunkin' Donuts for a box of 50 Munchkins for the nieces and nephew so that they'd all go to school completely jacked-up on sugar.

Later this morning, after picking up my rental car, I'll be going to the post office to mail our tax returns - one day late. I guess I didn't feel like standing in line at the post office yesterday afternoon with all the last minute filers. Actually, the return is not late since we have an extension until October 15th. However, the extra taxes we have to pay (a little over $100) were supposed to be paid by yesterday.

Dear Uncle Sam: Let me know if you want me to pay the interest on the amount we owe. What would that come out to? Something like...oh...2 cents?

I Can Read, Me...

The Economist
February 23rd - 29th 2008

From the article: The End Draws Nigh

Mr. Obama held onto his core constituencies (blacks, young people and affluent liberals) but made striking advances into Mrs Clinton's. He beat her among the Dunkin' Donuts crowd - people who earn less than $50,000 a year and lack a college education [boldface mine].

Wha' da????

I've never been so insulted in my whole life!

Early Morning Cuppa...

I woke up this morning at 4:50 a.m. (as I usually do my first morning in Chicago), and I heard Jo Mama (the mom-in-law) flush the toilet. Since I felt like I didn't need more sleep, I got up, sat down with Jo Mama, drank a couple of cups of coffee, and we watched the morning news.

Why is there a local Chicago newscast at 5:00 a.m.? Just wondering...

Since Jo leaves for the senior center at 6:30 a.m., I asked her if she would drop me off at the Dunkin' Donuts in town so that I could get a buttermilk donut (HEAVEN!) and big-ass cup of coffee (best damn coffee in the world!) with cream and one Sweet 'N Low. Then, I figured I'd just walk to my sister's house which is about a mile away.

"What??? Are you crazy???" Jo asked. "You can't walk there...IT'S TOO FAR!!!" I assured her that it was only about a mile, and that it would only take me about fifteen minutes.

Jo Mama: "No! You can't do it!"

TBF: "Why not?"

Jo Mama: "You...you just...CAN'T!"

TBF: "I can, and I will. Thanks for the ride."

She was still in mid-sentence when I shut the car door, so I'm not really sure what she said. I just walked into Dunk and didn't look back. A couple of minutes later, after wolfing down my buttermilk donut, I was walking down the street to my sister's house.

I was surprised to find that there were sidewalks down the main street all the way to my sister's subdivision. But apparently I wasn't as surprised about the sidewalks as the commuters were to see a man walking down the street at 6:40 a.m. with a big-ass Dunkin' Donuts coffee. At 6:55 a.m. I walked up my sister's driveway. It had taken about fifteen minutes, and I'm estimating that it was about a mile.

See, Jo? I told you!

And thus endeth my Chicagoland walking for this trip. I'll pick up my rental car at noon today.

A fifteen minute mile is pretty good...isn't it?

Going Back To Where It All Began...

The main reason for my recent trip to Chicago was so that my sister and I could drive up together to my parents' home in Sudbury, Ontario. It's about 665 miles one-way, and it usually takes around 12-13 hours.

For those of you who don't know...

I was born in Sudbury, Ontario, but my parents and I moved to Chicago when I was just over one year old. When my parents retired in 1993, they returned to Sudbury.

We've found that the best way to do the drive is to leave Chicago VERY early in the morning. So, that's what we did. We woke up at about 3:00 a.m. and were on the road at just before 4:00 a.m. Of course, we had to make one stop before we left: the Barrington, IL Dunkin' Donuts. Here we were at 3:49 a.m. with our XL coffees. My sister takes hers black (yuck!), and I like mine with cream and two Sweet 'n' Lows (yum!). Ever wonder what kind of people go to a Dunkin' Donuts between three and four in the morning? Ummm....us!

We used to make the Chicago-Sudbury drive every summer to visit relatives. Sure, the drive is long, but it's actually pretty enjoyable because it brings back memories of many, MANY childhood vacations. We made it through Milwaukee by 5:30 a.m. (avoiding rush hour), and Green Bay by 7:20 a.m. After Green Bay, we headed on up through the U.P. (upper peninsula of Michigan) where this picture was taken during a moment of boredom while driving through Hiawatha National Forest.

We crossed the border into Canada at Sault Ste. Marie, and then we stopped for a quick and greasy KFC lunch. From S.S.M., it's 3.5 hours through Ontario to my parents' house; no maps, no GPS. As a matter of fact, we could pretty much do the drive in our sleep, which is a good thing because my sister actually drove slightly off the road at one point in Ontario while falling asleep at the wheel with a belly full o'chicken! I was taking a nap at the same time. YIKES!! That woke both of us up...in a hurry!

We arrived in Sudbury on Friday evening, and we left around mid-day on Monday because my sister didn't want to inflict more torture on my brother-in-law by having to have him take care of their four kids alone for more than a long weekend. After the long drive up there, we pretty much just wanted to take things easy and spend time with the folks and some of the relatives. I'm happy to report that my mom is doing really well after returning home from the hospital. As a matter of fact, to look at her you wouldn't even be able to tell that she was sick at all. While we were there, we all realized that it was the first time in about twenty years that just the four of us (without spouses/kids) had slept together under the same roof. Here we were, just the four of us, driving in the car together for the first time since the late 80s.

After a nice BBQ steak dinner (Canadian beef from Costco rules!!) on Saturday night, my sister and I went for a walk to try to burn off some calories. We wound around the area where my parents live, and at one point I snapped this picture of the Inco Superstack back-lit by the setting sun. In case you don't know, Sudbury is a mining town. I wouldn't call it ugly (it's much nicer looking than it was thirty years ago), but it's also not the prettiest city I've ever seen.

It's amazing how a nice sunset can even make a smelting operation look good.

Achtung, Baby! I Have An Announcement To Make...

Berlin is a pretty cool city. I'd recommend it, AND I'd go back. Es tut mir leid for last week's lack of excitement for Berlin (and Germany in general). I'm blaming a "...general malaise that only the genius possess and the insane lament."

We stayed at the Hotel Adlon which is right by the Brandenburg Gate. Not only did we receive an upgrade to a Junior Suite (I'm tellin' ya, ya gotta ask!) with a view of the rather futuristic courtyard (lifetime employment for the window cleaner!), but I also found out that Mariah Carey had stayed at the hotel. Just in case she stayed in our room (unlikely), I touched every single surface. I also touched every surface in the lobby AND every elevator button. Wait a second...what am I thinking? Doesn't Mariah have a designated elevator button pusher in her entourage? Ummm....thought so. Dammit!

After waiting a good twenty minutes for our bags to be brought up to our room (I'll bet that Mariah didn't have to wait that long!), we quickly unpacked our bags and then set out to explore Berlin. We stopped for a quick chat with the concierge, he gave us a map, and we walked out into Pariser Platz. So much to see, and so little time. What should we see first? Should we explore East Berlin? West Berlin? Potsdamer Platz? Checkpoint Charlie? The Wall?

Hey...is THAT a...? Could it be???? DUNKIN' DONUTS!!!!!!!