Chapter 2: The 'Station'

-The 'Station'-

Home already and its like I never left. No seriously I'm back home from our windy city road trip. Albeit brief, it was well worth it. For as much time I had on my hands I'm not surprised at the amount of posts that I managed to provide. After I started driving time was limited, and well, its a bit dangerous to blog and drive. Plus there was a hiccup with the amount of phone chargers (3) vs. the amount of phones (4+) while in the car. I'll stick with what I said though and keep the scheme in regards to the Windy City Road Trip.

Driving over the skyway and through the city lights of the Chi was a pretty exhilirating feeling. Byrd took some pics but the combined light from the flash against  the windows show more dead flies then cityscapes and bright lights. [Go figure]. Once we finally got to the 'Rock' I was bouncing around like I was kid waiting on the "ok" from Mom/Dad to go into the living room and see the toys Santa brought. [There were some christmas's where mom would enact this "rule" so she could get some sleep. Prolly had something to do with the 4am 'wake up call' of "MOM SANTA CAME" from the year before] . We checked in, kicked it for a minute, met up with some family and before you know it were back out in the streets. The first stop...The 'Station.'

The 'Station' isn't the full name, but if you ever lived in the 'Rock' or the neighboring counties, you know where I'm talking about. Now, the 'Station', is definitely not what it use to be. The last time I was in there, I was following my grandmother around while she worked, or eating pickles at the bar (while my grandmother worked). Ok now before you go thinking on your own, the 'Station', was the bar my grandmother worked at longggg before I was born. She was one of the best bartenders in the 'Rock' and everyone knew her, so therefore in turn...everyone knew about me and my cousins (she loved talking about us). But like I said, its not what it use to be. Back when we were kids, and we went (of course we were only allowed with her), it had white marquis lights all around the building with the full logo lit up in pink and blue lights [I think they were pink and blue, maybe orange and red? Hmm..thats a question for Mom]. To look at it when it was at its best, you'd think it belonged in Vegas somewhere. The upstairs was the office area and seating and the bar and more tables was downstairs. When grandma wasn't working, she was still there hanging out and keeping and eye on things. She had her own seat and was a Cubs (and Bears) fanatic! Loved Ryne Sandberg and Mark Grace!

There was no question I was going to go and check it out when I returned back to the 'Rock,' whenever that was. Boy was I suprised to learn that the 'Station' had evolved from the bar where everyone knows your name, to the bar where everyones throwing ones. Thats right, the 'Station' is a strip club now. Well, not exactly a strip club per say, the 'Rock' does have its stipulations, so it was more exotic dancing in skimpy lingerie rather than exotic dancing and taking it off. But yea, it shocked the shit out of me but by no means did it stop us from checking it out, lol. Place looked alot different, but I guess poles, neon lights, "VIP lounges", females in 8-10 inch heels, and a rapsy voiced DJ introducing "Candy" on stage 1, "Cinnamon" on stage 2, and "Cupcake" on stage 3 will do that to you.

Of course it didn't take long to make friends (thats how they get their tips, by being friendly) and since "you can tell from the way I walk, I ain't from around here" [<--"Life" quote] it wasn't long before walking in that indeed we had some new friends.Of course there were some ladies in it for the money, but there were actually a few who were there to talk first work second. So.. talk we did. We talked to the girls working the poles, we talked to the girls working the bar, we even talked to the bouncers and by the end of the night, they were buying us drinks. In fact, thanks to those who purchased us drinks, felt good to be welcomed back. Always friendly folk in the 'Rock'.

I still can't believe they turned my grandma's former place of employment into something resemebling a strip club though. I'm not sure how'd she feel about it. Part of me thinks she'd be against it, but then again, my grandma was no dummy. She knew things would eventually change with the times. And as long as none of her grand babies were working in there. I'm not exactly sure if she'd care too much. I mean afterall, its not like they were in their stripping. She'd prolly just laugh to tell you the truth. Hmm...I guess I'll always wonder.

Now, for those that think anything ill of our lil trip to the 'Station'. Don't go jumping off the boat before checking the waters for sharks. We threw a couple ones, had a couple drinks, and partook in some conversation. No harm, no foul. The 'Station' was like home then, and every now and then, you gotta check in on home.

Chapter 1: The schedule WE keep

-The schedule WE keep-

Before I begin I'd like to preface this by saying. We are 1 funny family. Wrote a song about it, like to hear it, here it go.

(Ok so its more of a story that your gonna read. But you knew where I was goin with that. Right? Hopefully lol)

In case you havent been paying attention in the last uptine years. There is an actual difference in timing based on race, altho we're all succeptible to it. Now its not a actual timezone based on region, you can't set the clock hanging on the wall to it, or check reminder check box on you PC to "notify me when the clock changes". I have no idea where it orignated. Some would contend to say "here" others would say "there". Me, I dont know I'm not the descriminatory type. Regardless...at times we can easily drift into it . Its called 'CP Time' or "CPT" for short.  Here I'll attempt to explain the CPT concept by example.

So yea the original "Plan", (we'll call it "Plan A") that was 'cleaverly' conspired by Byrd, tU.D, and myself was to fly.... Yea annnd we're driving.

So "Plan B" was to roll out at like midnight last night. Byrd didnt leave her spot til late *Ding* and thus the departure time changed to eh, 4am.  So I'm thinking "Ok so cool leave at 4am, 14 hr ride, split in 3 shifts. 5, 5, 4 with me and tU.D taking the 5hr shifts, boom be there by mmm, 6pm". And then I remembered the timzone change so its "a 13 hr ride, split by 3, 4.5, 4.5, 4 boom be there by 7pm." Byrd walked in the door at 4am while *Ding* I, was already on the couch, passed out. *Ding*  Somehow I call tU.D at 530a and hang up on him. I didnt remember doing this until later, so clearly I did this in my sleep. *Ding* 3 text messages then hit my phone from from tU.D between 6 and 7am *Ding*. No, he did not call Byrd *Ding* who was also, sleep by now. Lol. *Ding*. At 730 I finally heard the call [i was sleeping good] to which tU.D acted like he was ready to go and said he was on the way. So Byrd and I get up and we're ready by 745.....at 845 tU.D walks in *Ding Ding Ding*. And we have to go by his crib!  *Ding Ding* We finally got on the highway at 930am and should arrive by 9pm Central Standard Time.

So yea our schedule took roughly a 5 hour "CPT" hit. The *dings* are the contributing factors to how we we took a "cleverly" planned schedule and followed it to a T...eh, U?... or a V?..ok definitely a Y. But at least we're on the road. LOL

And now...the alphabet game using foods...ready go "A...hmm...Aregano" LMAO 'Byrd did he really just say that?'. 

I love my family,  we may run on CP time, but they're always on time when I need them.

More to come...

A Windy City Road Trip

(The Prologue)

Ok so anyone who has travelled knows that its better to have relatively planned, than to not have planned at all. At this point, I think members of my family didnt get the memo. Oh sure leading up to the trip, things were planned, well organized and we even had a walk through. But as far as following through....nope. Not even close. Gotta love family. Lol.

I'm changing the scheme up again but dont get used to it. This is strictly in honor of my return to Chi-town and the hilariousness [is that a word?] that will ensue, and with any luck the 'drama' that won't. But then again this is a family outing in which more family will be visited so you never know. That, on top of a wedding with an open bar...hmmm...yea, I suppose its only a matter of time. Lol. But hey, it wouldn't be a family outing without some drama. So until then, its gonna be mostly comedy.

I'm going to write and post frequently, but the frequency of my frequent posting has yet to be determined [Yall like that huh? Lol]. Also since I am posting from my phone the page presentation prolly wont be as neat. I'll fix it later. I dont have time for that now and I also want to conserve battery (eventho I have 2 and my chargers.) Plus its just "rude to be on the phone all the time" [thanks Mom]. Lol

With any luck, and if i'm awake. Pics will be posted as we go. I'm extremely excited about this trip. Its been a long time (15+ years) since I've been home so I plan on taking advantage of the few days I'll be there. I'd like to apologize now to those I dont get to see, but you know how it is, can't squeeze everyone in, there's only so much of me that can go around. Lol. I'm kidding of course. But real talk, I apologize [I seem to be doing alot of that lately...different story].

I've already got funny stories but this prologue is taking longer than expected. Plus I had to check on the difference between a 'preface,' a 'prologue,' and a 'preamble'. [One of these is nothing like the others, I later found out, thanks Byrd lol] Not to mention I'm something like a big deal (lol) [Clipse reference-shout to VA] so I have emails from the Neurotic 1 (also known as "N1" she's gonna love I shouted her out.lol) to answer about upcoming events (we're booming right now) as well as the various text messages from the hooligans [ie my friends] checking on ya boy. Which is also known as "killing time at work", lol, yall aint slick get back to work...or dont, I dont care. Lol

I doubt the next couple days of posts will be this defined and long, but then again I didnt think this would take long and here it is at 11:50a, and I started at 10:30a. Which was only 1 hour into the trip that was planned to start at...4am. Lol. Told ya, lack of follow through lol [thats something else that seems to be a constant lately as well]. More on that later.

Lastly the acknowledgements to those who helped in this and future 'Windy Cindy Road Trip' post. Hmm, well there are going to be way too many to mention but please believe if I do, the names will be changed in the interest of privacy. My hooligans  will probably be able to decipher the codes though, most of them anyway. Lol For now, Byrd, the Ugly Dude (aka "tUD") and I are on the move. Enjoy and remember, these are my words, not yours and I solemnly swear I'm up to no good.

PS-those interested in 'Part 2 (of 3)' its coming real soon.

Part 1 (of 3)

I opened my eyes and reached for the phone just as one of the quarters was falling off the bedside table. I was quite comfortable and in one of those well deserved "yesterday was exhausting and frustrating but I came home to the person laying next to me and everything just made sense" kind of sleeps. Ya know, the sleep thats so good you acutally feel rested in the morning mostly because of the warmth supplied by the naked person beside you? Yea, thats the type of sleep I was getting. Complete with my naked sleeping beauty beside me.

The vibrations from the phone had caused the stack of quarters on the table, to topple. By the time I reached the phone and silenced the vibrating alarm roughly a dollar seventy five in change had fallen to the floor. It was 7:15am, I had already pressed 'snooze' twice.

The room was still dark thanks to the drawn curtains but the sunlight was starting to peak through the open seams. I rolled over, sat up, carefully got out of bed, then walked towards the bathroom while stretching in the process. Quietly closing the door and without turning on the light, I relieved myself. Kinda funny how long you can pee in the mornings. lol. After the shake, came the flush, and since I slept naked, there was nothing else left to do but turn on the light and hop in the shower. I splashed some water on my face, washed up, rinsed off and got out. I then brushed my teeth, put on some deordorant, lotioned up, and clipped my fingernails. In leaving the bathroom I turned off the light before opening the door, quietly. The wall clock showed 7:35am. Back on schedule.

As I steped out of the bathroom I noticed that the slim figure in the bed has shifted and is now taking up more than half the bed. The sheets hide all of her body except a portion of her knee cap and her ankle with the tattoo. I move quickly into the closet to figure out exactly what I want to wear...hmm...as I pull garments from the various shelves I think to myself...'lets see, the brand new black jeans I "never wear" , the thermal with 'Love' scripted in blotted ink across the front, and the black/red/white lowtop jordans plus my black/gray knit hat, and...its supposed to be cold today so the official thick collar P coat {thats what I call it}'....'hmm, yea I'll go with this later, she likes it when I wear that shirt. For now though, the nike sweats, white socks, long sleeve under armor shirt, SU basketball shirt, blue yankee hat, the all white zip up hoody and the new pair of blue and white Kobe's [yea I actually found a pair in my size wthout ordering them offline]. I set the "evening outfit" on the shelf and got dressed. As I stepped out the closet I notice that once again, the figure in the bed has shifted, nothing is exposed now, all parts under the cover. I hear a murmur coming from the head region but its muffled and doesn't make sense, she's talkin in her sleep again.
Curiosity is getting the best of me, so as I put on my watch [displaying 750am] and phone clip, I lean in a bit and try to hear what she's saying, but it still muffled. I return to my side of the bed to retrieve my phone from the charger on the bed table and to clean up the the fallen change.

In picking up the last quarter [it actually did total $1.75], once again she shifts in the bed, this time a full roll so now she is facing her side of the bed as opposed to the middle. Again, she says something which this time I hear... 'damnit Mike, stop running it and throw'.  I start laughing but catch myself before it wakes her. I think she's reliving last weeks football game, I'll ask her about it later. Back to the bathroom I go to dispose of some trash and for 1 last check in the mirror. Definitely getting a shape up today, big plans for this weekend.

Off goes the light and I'm back in the bedroom heading towards the french doors, but before leaving I stop, and instead make my way back  towards the bed side where my sleeping beauty is. Surprisingly, she is still mumbling to herself from under the pillows and sheets.  Knowing that sitting on the bed will definitely wake her, I kneel by her side and lean towards her head. Before getting any closer she speaks again, 'baby we scored a touch goal'...hmm? I paused again, trying to contain my laughter and whisper 'you mean down, a touchdown'...'silly girl'. Checking my watch I see its 757,  time to go, I lean in and kiss her forehead. This triggers an immediate reaction of my sleeping beauty throwing her arms around me and attempting to pull me back into bed as if it was a well set trap. My body telling me to stay, but my mind telling me to go, I allow myself to fall into the bed. After a minute I whisper "you know I can lay in bed with you all day"...'then come back to bed' is her reply without opening an eye or making anouther move. I pause and say "We talked about this last night, I've got some errands to run, while you and the girls go do your girl things, I'll be back at 4". A few seconds go by as if she has fallen back asleep, I say "ok?" and she replies 'ok, but where are we going?', again without any other movement. I wait and before replying I kiss her on the forhead and say "its a secret, now go back to sleep". Before she replies I roll out of the bed while replacing my "place" with the full sized life like teddy bear that was purchased for situations like this (as well as for also keeping an eye my sleeping beauty). She's curls up to the bear (effectively named 'Rudy') and pulls it close, seconds go by without a word, oh yea she's back asleep. I leave the room.

I reach the bottom of the stairs and immediately cross the dinning room and into the kitchen. 1 filter and 2 scoops into the coffee maker, the timer set for 8:45 am, pepsi out the fridge, double check to make sure the alarm is set, actually set the alarm this time and I'm heading out the door. Only took 10 minutes, (I'm getting better at this). Its 8:15, running a little late.

Spades over Hearts...

Greetings all, I've been M.I.A for a few days yes I know. I had to go and celebrate with a bachelor party and eventhough I said I was going to post something prior to my depareture. Want to know about the bachelor party??? HA too bad. Any I got busy and didn't get the chance to post it. Yea I have the phone app and could've did it from the car but I decided not too. Deal with it. Anyway, I started to work on something after I finished "Eyes Meet" and it pretty much finished itself after I glanced over it last night.

 

Oh and its not like this is going to turn into my own lil "poetry slam"....just changed the scheme for a lil bit. I'll do that every now and then. Deal with it :)

 

Last night...

 

We spoke for a just few minutes.

It felt like hours by the way

We chatted abt some random things.

Then you told me 'bout your day.....

 

You said your tired of the bull,

And how ya man is 'lazy as shit'

Only time he puts in real effort,

Is the time he's tryin to hit.

 

Or when 'he's making up for something',

Trying to bring some new light.

But his "bads" overshadow his "goods"

So his light really isn't that bright.

 

You ask me for advice about it.

And me, I try to do what I can.

All while watching my delivery,

Cause I'm ya friend, and not ya man.

 

'If it were me' I say to you,

That 'you wouldn't  need to worry'

But since thats not the case, (and I'm just a friend)

So...'my visions kinda blurry'

 

Moving on, brings up the topic,

About how 'what if it were true?'

Meaning what if u were here with me,

Or I was there with u?

 

You and I together girl,

Imagine starting something new?

Having lil pet names, for each other

Like "baby", "babe" or "boo"

 

You and me together girl,

Admit it, sounds good. right?

I'd keep you smiling all day long.

And satisfied at night.

 

I could show you how I get it girl

You'd like how I do my thing.

I'm no "rookie" to this game dollface

I play varsity, starting team.

 

Now, your prolly sitting, reading this

Biting your lips,  sayin 'wow'

Boy shorts on with a small tank tee

Imagining us together, now.

 

Are u wishing for a change?

Starting to regret the past?

Cause you see you and him,

But u know its not gon last

 

Saying all these things to me

About what you'd like to do.

You wondering if I feel the same?

Could be false, could be true

 

But sadly we cant go that way.

Its not showing in the cards

Spades is what we're playing now

And I got a hand full of hearts