7/31/09: Chicago, IL

Getting back to life. Here is a brief rundown of what I have been doing since I got to Chicago.

Task 1: Check on our car that was in storage
When a car sits for 8 months with the battery still connected it probably needs some work. I knew this going in. I had planned on getting the car towed to a shop and having a oil change, fluid check...basic full car check up.

I had a picture of the car in my mind with spider webs, flat tires, and a layer of dust. What I DIDN'T picture was the mold that had grown. It wasn't everywhere...just where people had touched. The steering wheel looked like it had algae hanging off of it. The shifter and arm rest were gross. It was so bad that the auto shop wouldn't work on it until it was cleaned out...and they didn't tell me this until late the day after I had dropped it off. If they had told me in the morning I could have easily gone down and cleaned it. But I found out around the same time I was heading to our storage unit to get some stuff.

I cleaned it, but it was gross. When they looked at it they said we needed new brakes and tires...which was true. All in all they charged us $1400 and said we should really get it detailed to get the mold out of the carpet and vents.

So, I took it to a detail place and that was another $210. But NOW we have a shiny car!

Task 2: Find our sublet
We subletted an apartment while we're in between ships. It is farther north than where we were by just a little bit, but much farther north than where are car was. From here I rode the Red Line train or the 36 bus wayyyyy more times a day than I cared for just going to storage or mechanics or whatever.

Task 3: Storage
I am still trying to find our ironing board and iron, but I found the xbox!

That ends the tasks. The rest of the time has been spent seeing friends and playing xbox.

Now you're all caught up!

Oh...and if you need headshots...