May 29-31, 1998: Retreat

Today I had a half day of work.    I took my overnight bag, sleeping bag, and pillow on the 'El' to the Chicago Ave stop.     It was such a pain carrying all of that on the subway and up and down the steps.    Went to Ashley Hall's condo at 77 W. Huron.      I rode with Ashley and Palma to the Napier exit near St. Joseph, Michigan.    We were going for a bible study retreat at the cabin that Tammy rented every summer.  

On Saturday, we woke up at 9 a.m. and went down to Lake Michigan. We sat on the dock and had a bible study.  Ashley announced that she was resigning as the leader of our group, as she had some personal issues to deal with in her life.    I got to sit in the hammock which was so nice.   Talked with Sonja, who reminded me of me.   She didn't date much and didn't drink until she was 30.  Well, I did go out drinking with my friends and co-workers.    I taught Ashley how to play 'Kings in the Corner'.   We ate very well this weekend. We had shrimp kabobs, spaghetti, chocolate chip cookies, chocolate covered strawberries, fruit pie, etc.    Tammy told us some stories about growing up in West Virginia.   She said cousins would marry cousins and produce triangle shaped people. We all died laughing.   

We also took a pontoon boat on Magician lake.  Theresa gave us each necklaces that said 'Faith'.  

My hardest part about living in Chicago was being around people who acted so fake and didn't talk much. You would take the bus or the El and no one would talk.    I was not used to the fact that everyone seemed to keep to themselves.    I suppose they did that in the big city, as you never knew who was going to rob you.    I was always comparing myself to the people there who had good jobs and dressed very well.    I had a decent job, but didn't make the big incomes like so many of the people in the city.

May 22-25, 1998: Memorial Day weekend

We had alot of Safeway restatement problems at work today.   We were able to leave at 3 p.m., but I was going to take Amtrak home, so decided to work until 4:30.    There were two girls kissing each other on the train which grossed me out.

On Saturday, I visited Sue and Ashley.    I twirled Ashley around, as I knew she liked that.   I also visited with Mrs. Kulikowski, who lived across from us on Lawnel.   She had seen my grandparents at the Holland Tulip Festival.   

We drove up to Mount Pleasant to see Kara Filius.    She wanted to get her master's degree in forestry.   She showed us around the 22.5 million dollar music building.  She showed us her $5200 cello which was gorgeous.   We all stopped at the Soaring Eagle Casino. I came out $10 ahead so quit.     Then, we drove to the outlet mall in West Branch, Michigan.    I got a cute computer bag from Liz Claiborne.   It was too late by the time we got back to Mount Pleasant, so we ate back at the buffet at the casino.  

On Sunday, we took Grandma Gonyo by her old house at 1845 Manz. The neighborhood was starting to go down hill.  Thank goodness she had moved out of there.   She was now living in Maple Grove Apartments on the first floor in Roosevelt Park.   We planned to eat at Nickerson's Inn in Pentwater, but it was closed, so we had a lovely lunch at Gibb's Restaurant in Ludington.    We drove down US 10 East and saw this bar called Johnnys, which was where my dad and uncle George used to go to dances at when they were young.   We stopped at Peggy Katt's store in Baldwin.   Also, we stopped at the nursing home to see Pauline.  She was 89 yrs old.  We took a drive up to the cabin and it looked awful.  The new owners had old vehicles up in the woods and a wooden outhouse with a Reddog beer sign on the front.    I think it was sad for Grandma to see the cabin looking like that.  

We took back roads home.  We took 5 mile/Felch Rd and then Weisher Rd over to M-20.  Pauline used to have a gorgeous home on Baldwin St (off of M20).   Went by the house where Grandpa Gonyo grew up (near the Gerber factory) on Stone St.   It was a small white house on the left side.    Then, we stopped at the cemetery where my dad and grandpa's stone was.   

Then, I went to Grandma's apartment and played cards with her.   

On Monday, my mom dropped me off in Holland so I could take Amtrak back to Chicago.   When I got back to Chicago, the "El" wasn't in service, which really made me mad.   That was why I wanted to move out of the city.  

May 15, 1998: North Beach Club

It was busy at work today, so going to the North Beach Club with my co-workers was a nice way to wind down.  We took a school bus to the club for the annual charity auction.  I hadn't been on a school bus in years.    It only cost us $3 to go to it. It included beer, soft drinks, and food.   Plus, we got full use of the miniature golf, volleyball court, and bowling alley.    Lilly and I played miniature golf.   Then, Lilly, Josh, Chris, Wayne, and I went bowling.  Chris bet Tony $3 that I would try some of Josh's chewing tobacco, so I tried a little. It stings.  Everyone was laughing.   I spit it in a cup.   Chris said I was a good sport.    Then, I went to the bar with Tony and Wayne.  Tony bought us drinks.  Tony and I talked about work for about a half hour.    Talked with Wayne's friend, Eric, too.    Wayne made sure I got a cab ride home. He was such a gentleman.   

May 8, 1998: Phantom of the Opera

It was sad to see my co-worker, Jennifer Lovato, leave IRI today.    After work, Lilly and I had dinner at this Mexican restaurant inside Presidential Towers. Then, we went to the Lyric Opera House for "Phantom of the Opera".    There were 5 floors of seating and all were full.   We sat in the 2nd balcony.  It was a wonderful show.    The ceiling and walls were brass. It was gorgeous.   Lilly and I really liked the play.    We had to wait in the cold for her boyfriend, Otis, to pick us up.

May 4, 1998: Food Marketing Institute Conference

Chris Blackwell, Yolanda Thomas, and I took a cab to the McCormick Place for the Food Marketing Institute conference.   We got tons of free food, magazines, etc.      I found out today that my co-worker, Ed Slivinskas, got a job at Trans Union, so he was going to be quitting IRI.    Jennifer Lovato got offered a job there for $37,000 so her last day was going to be this coming Friday.   

May 3, 1998: Ann Sathers

Went to the 11 a.m. church service at Park Community Church.  My mom met Abby Heche, Ashley Hall, and Jill Sumpter who were my friends from the bible study.     We had breakfast at Ann Sathers Restaurant on Belmont.   Their cinnamon rolls were out of this world.    My mom's co-worker, Mary Lou, had rode with them to Chicago, but she stayed with friends out in the suburbs.    Mary Lou got to see my apartment.   

Charlene dropped me off at Uncle Fun's Store, which I had always wanted to go to.  They had all kinds of neat toys and gadgets.      It was Steve's favorite stores to check out in Chicago.   

May 2, 1998: Bike Ride at the Beach

Charlene wanted to ride bikes with Brandon Carpenter along the lake and my mom didn't.    So, I had my mom walk along Broadway Ave. while Charlene and I went on the bike ride.      We met Brandon at his house at 3251 Clifton St.   We rode on the bike trail at Belmont and went down to Oak Street beach.    There weren't many people down there, so it was enjoyable.    Then, we went to the North Avenue pedestrian bridge and rode through the Lincoln Park zoo.    We had a bite to eat down by the paddle wheel boats.   Then, we rode our bikes back to Brandon's house.

My mom had an interesting adventure. She didn't realize that Broadway was full of gay bars and such.    She had coffee at Starbucks.        My aunt and roommate, Katy, watched the Kentucky Derby, while my mom and I walked down to Graceland Cemetery.  Graceland Cemetery is the most famous cemetery in Chicago.   Marshall Fields and Palmer were buried here.       It was peaceful here with tons of blooming trees and grass.    It was like a whole different city.  Once you left the cemetery, it was noisy again with the traffic and sounds of the big city.   

Then, we met Jenny, Eric, Brandon, and Brandon's girlfriend at PS Bangkok Restaurant on Clark/Roscoe.     The pad thai was delicious.      After dinner, Charlene, Mom, and I took a cab over to the Second City Comedy Club.   

May 1, 1998: Mom and Charlene's Visit

This week had been a rough week for me at work, so it was nice to know that my mom and Charlene were coming to visit me for the weekend. While I was at work, they went to a Cubs game.    I lived at 905 West Cornelia, Apt. 2E, which was only about 1 1/2 blocks away from Wrigley Field.    When they got to Chicago, they looked for the pink parking permits I had on my kitchen table for them.     All they saw were the free postcards I got at El Jardin Restaurant the night before that were in my bedroom, so they used one of them in their car window. We laughed so hard.

We took the 'El' from the Addison stop to the Fullerton stop and walked down Lincoln Ave to John Barleycorn's Restaurant.    We had an hour wait, so we walked around the block and talked.     The burgers and homemade chips at the restaurant were the best I ever had.  This restaurant was full of people my age, so my mom and aunt felt so old.    Then, we took the 'El' down to Chicago Ave and walked over to Navy Pier, as my mom wanted to ride the ferris wheel. Unfortunately, the ferris wheel didn't open until May 7th, so we just walked around the pier.  The cab ride home cost us $12.