April 12, 1998: Easter

It was sad to be away from family on Easter.   This was my first year that I hadn't celebrated with them.     I went to church and then to the brunch at Helen Kaminski's house on Waveland/Wilton.   It was only a 2 block walk from my apartment.    I met some nice people at the brunch which was really nice.  One was a flight attendant for United Airlines.   I stayed at the party from 1:30 to 5 p.m.

April 11, 1998: Adenike

My friend, Adenike, whom I met in my photography class at Harold Washington Community College, came over to my apartment.    We went to the movie 'City of Angels'.    She was planning to go to the University of Illinois in Champaign in the fall. I would be sad to see her go, as she was my movie buddy.    She's from Africa and had been here about 7 years. 

April 10, 1998: Good Friday

I got out of work at 3:30 p.m.   I couldn't find a bus so started walking towards Fullerton/Clark.   It was about a 12 block walk and took me about 35 minutes.   I sat next to Abby Heche, her husband, Joe, Linda, and Janelle.  After the service, we went to a couples loft on Ravenswood/Lincoln.  It was a gorgeous loft that overlooked the city.   Saw Helen Kaminski from church there. Peter Schumacher said she reminded him of me.     She went to the University of Michigan and was an attorney.    Helen invited me to her house for Easter.

April 6, 1998: Driving around the Suburbs

Mom and I went to get our car at the Elm St. garage. It cost me $15 to park it for 10 hours.    I wanted to drive around downtown and show my mom where the Oprah show was filmed. Then, we drove by Lane Technical, which was one of the largest high schools in Chicago. I had never seen anything so big in my life.    We drove through Mount Prospect, Arlington Heights, Palatine, and Schaumburg.    We went shopping at Woodfield mall.    We had pizza at Bertucci's which was delicious.  

Then, we drove around Downers Grove, Naperville, Lisle, Lockport, Tinley Park, Oak Forest, and then back to Michigan.   Neither of us cared for the suburbs as we didn't feel they had a focal point.   We had a nice conversation on the way home.   I decided I needed to stay at IRI to gain more work experience.  IRI was a great company to work for, but it was very specialized.      I knew that in the future, I would have to get some other experience.

April 5, 1998: Glenn Brian

Glenn Brian, who worked at Information Resources, helped me with most of my moves around Chicago.     He charged me $220.  His mom lived in Michigan, so he came to Muskegon to bring some of my things back to Chicago.       I had bought a TV from Jennifer Lee, whose condo was in Printers Row (Wells & Harrison).    It was on the edge of a decent neighborhood and a shady one.   I left my mom in the car to get the TV.  I probably shouldn't have done that, but I didn't want the car towed.     My mom and I went back to my apartment on Dearborn to get more things to move. She couldn't believe how much stuff I had.       We got to the new apartment on Cornelia and unloaded.   We couldn't find a parking spot so ended up driving back to the Elm St. parking garage and parking it there.    By then, it was 12:30 a.m.   We hadn't eaten dinner. We ended up getting donuts at Dunkin Donuts, as that was the only place open.   Then, we took the 'El' back to my apartment.  We saw so many weirdos on the 'El'.     I never liked walking out at night around the city.    Both my mom and I were glad to get back to my apartment.