April 2-9, 2000: Mexican Cruise

On April 2, I took a limousine from my apartment to O'hare airport which was really nice.  I flew to Los Angeles and met the rest of my family there.    We went on the Royal Caribbean Rhapsody of the Seas cruise ship.    

Our first port-of-call was in Cabo San Lucas where we took this boat over by these beautiful rock formations, surrounded by crystal blue water.   We had drinks at this neat restaurant overlooking the ocean.    Had lunch at this Shrimp Factory Restaurant.     We were going to go shopping, but Grandpa took off and we had no idea where he went.   We had someone page him on the ship to see if he was there.    We searched the stores and all, but no sign of him. When we got back on the ship, we were so mad at him for taking off.    He was mad at us for worrying about him.    We had a nice dinner and saw three of the Osmond Brothers perform.  

Tuesday, we went to Mazatlan, Mexico.  Charlene, Kelsey, Matt, and I went over to a nearby island and went kayaking and did some rock climbing.    Charlene and I were so funny on the kayaks as we couldn't get the boat to move very fast.   Everyone else was way ahead of us.   We were laughing so hard.   Then, Charlene wanted to see Old Mazatlan so we walked around.     Kelsey, Matt, and I walked to Senor Frogs Restaurant.    That was a fun restaurant.  The waiters made us all these funny balloon hats and we danced to several songs.     We danced on top of the platform. My balloon hat was so high that it kept hitting the ceiling.   We saw our head maitre'd there dancing with some girl.    We got some shots and the waiter shook our head several times in different directions.   

Wednesday, we went to Puerta Vallarta.  Charlene, Grandpa, Mom, and I rented a car. We got a car with a cracked windshield which made us so mad.    We got lost in Puerto Vallarta and ended up in a residential area where no one spoke English.  

I had a body massage on the ship which was relaxing.  Wish I wasn't so ticklish, though.  

On Sunday, we left the boat to fly home.    I flew from LA to Chicago.   Brandie and Josh picked me up at baggage claim.  We drove back to Josh's house on North Ave. in Elmhurst. I bought them pizza for dinner for helping me out.    This cruise was one of the most relaxing ones I went on.    

March 24-25, 2000: Mom's Visit to Downers Grove

Friday was my day off of work so I made an appointed to go to Robert Anthony's Salon on 55th St in La Grange.  Josh Bulak had his hair cut there and told me about it.    The girl did a great job on the hair color.     My mom was coming to visit.     We picked up Brandie from the Metra station.  Then, we went downtown to the Batons to see the female impersonator show.    

On Saturday, Mom and I drove to Gurnee Mills to go shopping.   We drove around the suburbs near there.     We had dinner at White Fence Farms, which had the best chicken dinners and fritters. It was in a southwest suburb of Chicago.   

March 19, 2000: Home & Garden Show

Brandie's parents came to visit us in Downers Grove. We lived at 6510 Woodward.     We had breakfast at Steven's restaurant on the corner of 63rd and Woodward in Downers Grove.    Then, we drove downtown to Navy Pier for the Home & Garden Show.    It cost us $11 to get in.   

February 24, 2000: Train Buddy, Dave Bradburn

My roommate, Brandie and I took the Metra train from Downer's Grove into the city every day for work. I really enjoyed taking the train.     We met Dave Bradburn on the Metra train at the beginning of the month.    He had gorgeous blue eyes. We talked to him everyday on the train.  We named him 'Train Buddy'.   He worked with cable connections at Point One Communications.  
Brandie made him a ham and cheese croissant meal, which he enjoyed.  He installed some programs on my computer. 

Dave gave me some rides into the city for work.  He drove about 110 mph down I-290 and weaved in and out of traffic.   The worse part of I-290 was by Hillside, which was nicknamed 'Hillside Strangler' as many highways came together at that point.   

February 11-12, 2000: Sold Ford Escort/Grandma Thomas

After work, I drove home for Valentine's weekend. I was so thrilled when my cousin Joy said she would buy my 1997 Ford Escort for $6,000.   I decided a few months ago to sell the car, as I got myself into credit card debt and wanted desperately to be out of debt in a year.

I visited with Grandma Thomas at the Agape home.   My Mom came to visit, too. She said she could tell that Grandma was happy I came to visit.   Little did I know that this would be the last time I got to see her before she passed away.   

On Saturday, I visited Mike Tabaczka at Glen Oaks apartments and brought him a chocolate rose that I had bought for him at Fannie Mae Candy in Downers Grove.    

January 2, 2000: Crystal Cathedral

Carol, Grandpa, Mom, and I drove over to Garden Grove, CA to attend a service at the Crystal Cathedral.   We sat in the balcony.   The service was very nice and it made me aware of how important this new century was to me and to not waste any more time with the Joe/Dawn situation and to concentrate on paying my bills.   

Then, we went to Krispy Kreme Donuts down the road.   The donuts were just baked and melted in your mouth.  These were Carol's favorite donuts.    

Then, we drove over to Diann's new house. It had alot of work to be done.    She had some delicious bread and tea for us.  Her kids were home schooled, so we got to see where she taught.   In their backyard, they had orange trees, so of course, my mom went crazy and wanted to take some home.  

We had to leave, as I had to fly back to Chicago.  Carol dropped me off at the airport. It was so sad to leave my family.       Carol had got us tickets to the Price Is Right, however, I couldn't take anymore time off of work due to the big Y2K scare.   Brandie picked me up from O'hare airport which was a big help.

January 1, 2000: New Years Day/Rose Bowl Floats

We were all tired this morning.  Eddy wasn't feeling well, so he went back to his house in Pasadena.  We took Aunt Elsie home.   Carol, Grandpa, my Mom, and I went to view the floats that were in the Rosebowl parade.   Each flower on the float had a vile of water in it.  After the parade and float viewing, the flowers were dried and used as potpourri.     It was pretty neat seeing all of the floats and seeing the Sierre Madre mountains in the background.   Eddy was still not feeling good, but he did drive us by where the Rosebowl football game was held. Then, he took us to his house in Pasadena.   I helped him set up his yahoo email account.    We went to dinner with Carol and then went home.