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.  

March 31, 1998: Subleasing & New Apartment

It was a hard day for me today, as I was so nervous about finding someone to sublease my apartment.    I paid the management of Dearborn Plaza $200 to help me find a tenant.  It was a cute apartment, but only 325 sq. feet.  I wanted to have a roommate to hang out with.     I learned so many lessons with making this decision to move.     I was worried about coming up with $1100 on the new apartment up near Wrigleyville.  I know that God didn't give me more than I could handle.   
I put in ads in the Chicago Reader and newspaper.   A guy named Matt Peters came to look at my apartment to sublease and said it would be perfect.   I was so relieved.

After work, I went to my old apartment on Dearborn to pick up some things to move to my new apartment at 905 W. Cornelia, Apt. E.   It was just 1 block south of the Addison 'El' stop.   My roommate was Katy Kiech, whom I met in my bible study. 

March 14, 1998: Metra & St. Partrics Day Parade

Deyoung took us around Arlington Heights, Elk Grove Village, and Schaumburg.   We stopped at this Japanese grocery store in Arlington Heights.    I never realized the books in Japanese opened up on the left side and you read from the back pages.    Then, we drove around the forest preserve and got to see where AC Nielsen was located. They were a competitor of Information Resources.  We stopped at a Dominicks store. It was beautiful inside.  It had a Starbucks with a fireplace and couches.    It wasn't your typical grocery store.

Took the Metra back to Union Station in Chicago.     On my walk home down Dearborn St, I got to see a good portion of the St. Patrick's Day Parade.   They dyed the Chicago River green, which was a tradition for St. Patrick's Day.  

Nina Ganesh invited me to her friend Betty's engagement party.    I took the El up to the Granville stop and walked over to Sheridan.  Betty lived at 6121 Sheridan Rd, Apt. 2E.    Betty had bought her fiance a 32 inch TV for an engagement present so all of their friends from Northwestern University were playing video games on it.   Betty and her fiance Steve dated for 6 years before becoming engaged.  I took the bus home at 1 a.m. There were some strange people on it.    I was nervous walking alone home that late.