over the road block, on the move

The time for me has come, once again, to pack up the bags and get on the road.

The destination: Mountains (any will do)
The objective(s): Stay alive (almost always a primary objective). Not get Hepatitis B or C
The reason: I have an issue with staying in one place for too long
The result of leaving: More stories from the mountainsides

So this coming weekend, I leave for Denver, Colorado. I finish my job here in Chicago on Friday, and start my job in Denver on Monday. Some people might wonder why I always have to be going somewhere, and some might even venture to guess that I am running from something, maybe my own shadow. But I assure you, there is no running. I'm going at a slow jog. No, I'm going at a relaxed walk, with my sandals on (my broken sandals that I got for 1 sol at the beach of Mollendo in Peru). You see, I'm a person of experience and stories. I enjoy meeting new people, exploring new areas, and gaining insight from the perspectives of people that live in different places. I know the Chicago mind-set, and although I like it and have adopted it as my own, I want to know others and experience those.

Ok fine, that's all a bunch of crap. I'm going because the flatlands of the midwest are slowly killing my eyesight. In order to correct my vision, I need some up and down on the terrain so that my depth perception can be enhanced and my eyes live on.

I will definately miss some things about being in Chicago and working at Forming America. I will miss a few of the mexicans that I work closely with every day and the smile that they bring to my face when I see that they spell "Josh" as "Yaz" on their cell phone because that's how they pronounce it in the Mexican alphabet (very different than the Spanish alphabet). I will miss having Andre teach me "Mexican slang", and lie to me about the meaning, so that when I use the word every Mexican within hearing distance can't stop laughing. By the way, do not call a Mexican Bajiado (sp?). I'm still not quite sure of the exact meaning of that word, but Andre told me to tell Samuel that he was Bajiado, and Samuel got offended, and Andre laughed his guts out for the next hour, maybe longer. I will miss stopping by my mom's house whenever I feel like it. And I will especially miss pissing off my great sister who has let me use her basement for the past few months. Don't worry Christie, the OWNER of the REMOTE CONTROL will soon be gone. Just remember who's stronger. Mom always told you as a kid we boys would be bigger some day, and you would have to pay the consequences. Consider it paid...

So expect this blog to come back to life with pictures and thoughts, now that I am leaving this eye-killing place that I refer to as the "MidWest".

-Go Cubbies
-Go Bears
-Go Bulls
-BOOOOOOOOOO White Sox
-BOOOOOOOOOO Green Bay
-BOOO every other sporting team outside of Chicago
-Mixed emotions to Rockies and Broncos

Hell on Earth, Intolerance, Heaven on Earth

The days have been brutal. Hot, sticky, humid, rainy, and freakin hot. You name it and Chicago has had it in the last few weeks. I've been running on the fumes from the heat of the day, half-heartedly hoping that it will break, and at times loving every degree and what it does to my soul. It's difficult to begin to describe the hell on earth that I've experienced, and the fact that I partially and secretly enjoyed it.

I have a friend who hates infestations beyond almost anything else. On Thursday, Friday, and Saturday of last week I worked in East Dundee on moving almost 100,000 pounds of concrete forms back to West Chicago, each form weighing nearly 100 lbs. I was excited, hard work means more pay and time goes faster the more you do and the harder you work . The problem became the unbelievable amount of bees. Millions of bees had made there homes in the forms, and when we started moving forms, they got pissed. They were EVERYWHERE. Every minute of the 12 hour days were spent with 100 bees in my face, and a good 15 bees on my body, at the minimum. It was impossible to look 5 feet in front of you without seeing hundreds of bees, and millions in the background. This is not an exageration. I have bee stings everywhere, and it just became part of my day to get stung and try to ignore the bees in front of my eyes. I HATE BEES, and could not ignore them. Along with the 100 degree heat, it quickly became what I describe as Hell on Earth.

I've realized more and more lately that I am a very intolerant person. I cannot handle bad drivers, red lights, and workers who endanger me by not knowing how to best do something. I drive our trucks around, and have to deal with these drivers who just can't drive....and I get agitated. Then I get a red light and along comes more agitation and more of the realization that I am super intolerant to the basic everyday happenings. And then I come across the guy that can't use the bobcat forks to load my truck up. Just let me do it, so I can get back on the road, get angry at the red lights, and more agitated at the drivers that can't make the right move. That way I can get back to the yard quicker, drop off the load, pick up another load, and get back on the road . I want to do it quickly, as if the agitation will be less if it happens quicker. It's really a beautiful system in my head, except it doesn't work out on the practical side because I just end up spending more time on the road, and meet more people with the inability to load a truck. But I can't slow down because I'm intolerant. What a terrible attribute to have developed in the past few weeks.

Now I'm hanging out with my brother, Nickie, Mikey Krone, Hannah, and Kristen in Cincinnati, and I have tolerance again. Everything is relaxed, everything is fun, everything is just perfect. These are the times I enjoy, and people that I love. I got to see the Wende family from Bolivia yesterday up in Dayton, OH. We talked, and I played with the kids. Dasha sat on my lap and told me stories and secrets, while Ian and Michael tried to shoot me with their BB gun. Now I can't tell what are bee stings and what are the BB shots. They run together and now I smile as I look down at my legs and think of them. This is Heaven on Earth. People make this place beautiful, the very same people who I have the audacity to get angry at every day. Reality and the people that bring me to this clarity is my Heaven on Earth.