yeah….I should be working on my outline for my Ethics and Law Research paper…..I guess that’s not happening any time soon 
it seems like many of my classmates are taking a break from our academic workloads, one way or another……I was good on Saturday, finished most of my reading and most of my re-write (grrrrrr……you have to re-write your stories if you recieve a B- or less….grrrr…………ok ok, I know it’s a learning experience - but honestly, I spend quite a few HOURS getting through a draft and editing it).
i worked out this morning.
i went to Chinatown for dim sum and some Chinese New Year ambiance…..didn’t see much of the parade and I ate like a pig when it came to all those yummy yummy dishes….Mark recomended the chicken feet….Chuck loved the jellyfish and now, so do I - it tasted like kimchi, to me.
Also went to church today…..when the choir director invited singers to join up, I felt a nudge in my heart. So, I joined up with choir and I will sing with the 5:00 mass next Sunday. neato.
ok….so….here’s my first shot at writing about my trip to Chicago. I left the bay area a a couple weeks before Xmas, so that I would have some time with my family before the trip. Mark took off for Buffalo, NY to hang out with his family. He flew back to Ontario and spent Xmas eve and Xmas day with me.
This was my first road trip across the country. Mark made a cross country trip a few years earlier, moving from Buffalo to Richmond California. For that trip, his family decided to take 80 - through northern region of the country. For our road trip last month - we took off from my Ninang’s place in Phillips Ranch and used the 60 - 15 - 40 - 44 - east. Away from my homestate. Away from my family. I left behind everything I grew up with and everything I had known. I lived in Southern California for the first part of my life. The Bay Area and Northern California was my home for the last seven years. I was born in Orange - 30 minutes away from Disneyland. I love California because my roots are planted deep in the cities where I skated, in the campus that molded me into adulthood, and in the people I love. My family is in California: my parents left their home country for the oppertunities in America, my brother would lay his life down on the line to protect this country, and my cousin will always open her heart to me and all my shortcomings. My friends are in California - people who have seen me at my worse and still welcome me, people who know they can count on me and I on them. Mark is in California and I miss him every day that goes by. I was excited and terrified of moving to a state where I don’t have family and to a new school, where I won’t see any familar faces.
In my dorm room, I have a picture of the Santa Monica Pier - tacked up over my bed. I can see Lake Michgan from my window. I’m learning about Evanston and Chicago. I’m meeting some really nice people in my program. But my heart is still in California - with the people I love.
We estimated that the trip from Southern California to Chicago, IL, would take 4 days. Mark kept checking with me about my driving endurance - how many hours could I stay behind the wheel with bathroom breaks and gas stops. I figured I could drive on aveage of 6 hours per day based on my experience driving down the 5 from San Francisco to LA on a regular basis. So - we stared at the maps in the Portable Deluxe Road Atlas put out by Mapquest. The last map outlines all the major highways in the United States and labels the roads with time estimates between major cities. We wanted enough time to explore some touristy kitch places along the way. We also wanted to give us enough time to navigate safely through any possible snow storms - in the mountains in Arizona and New Mexico - I had fun driving through the damn snow - my head haunched over the wheel and praying for no sudden turnouts.
When I took off from - I left my mother behind crying….my dad didn’t want to let go of me…..I tried to be strong. I told them I was Superwoman and that I’ll be back in a bit. My mom gave me a jade bracelet for luck and protection. Mark and I pulled out of the drive way in my new low-rider. My poor Toyota was loaded up with everything I thought I needed to make a home in Chicago. We had to take it easy for the dips and bumps in the road. I put more than 2200 miles on that car and she’s still running strong. I promised my Toyota a car wash when the weather clears up.
Our first bathroom break was at Barstow. This is also my Buckie’s break - Starbucks is always crowded here - but the coffee is good and it keeps me awake. 3 miles after Barstow - we veered off the 15 to 40. The week before - I took the 15 all the way to see my Ate’ Gigi in Vegas. Now, I took a new route. Well, my parents said we visited the Grand Canyon when I was a baby. I think they took highway 40.
For the next few hours - nothing. My co-workers gave me a dell dj digital jukebox when I left Haas…..wow! It was great for storing 12 albums of music. It’s 15 gigs and heck, that barely made a dent on the hard drive. It’s amazing how this little device has more space than my laptop. So, music was key - we needed a lot of music to make it through this trip.
For the rest of the trip - we saw signs for Route 66. Mark gave me this book for Xmas: “Traveling Route 66″ and it had some great tidbits on motoring history along this route…..the 40 and the 44 parallel Route 66…more or less…..So, we read about little history bits on the towns we drove through. We had to do it backwards because the book was for a trip from Chicago to LA. So yeah. As a matter of fact, a few days before, Mark and I visited the Will Rogers marker in Santa Monica - it marked the end of Route 66. So, this all kinda synched up with my little cross-country adventure.
At Needles, we saw some rock/hill/mountain formations that could pass for Needles. Ok. Neat. We crossed into Arizona before sunset. We used the northern route of Arizona and it was damn cold out there. By nightfall, we remembered Cal was playing Virgina Tech at the Insight Bowl in Phoenix. Neato. So we listend to most of the game through our Arizona leg - Cal kicked ass….but as usual, the Bears managed to screw around in the first quarter or so. We had to keep changing stations because we kept losing reception. But there were at three stations broadcasting the game. I’d like to think that traveling through Arizona sent down some Golden Bear luck to the team…..
We crossed into New Mexico and we were still listening to the game. We had planned on staying at a Super 8….but the book mentioned some Hollywood glamour at the El Rancho in Gallup - just off the New Mexico border. The price was right and we stayed at this adorable motel, all decked out with christmas lights, snow, and autographed photos of movie stars. Ok, I don’t think they planned on decorating the place with snow, it just happened, but it looked cute.
I’ll tell ya more about the El Rancho, in a bit….
back to the books….
thank you Jennie! She sent out some pix from Mark’s last visit to LA!!!!! YEAHHHHH!!!!
I didn’t realize Katie had such big paws…….
I’m still happy with my dorm in Evanston, though. I don’t have to pay for cable, Internet access, and utlities. Plus, Northwestern automatically takes it out of my loans. So, I don’t have to write out checks for this place :0
