joys of fullerton

Alex and I are high school buddies. We go all the way back to awkward Freshman year. Now, we're attending the same college. It's ridiculous how close we are. Everyday, we see each other for at least an hour. If he's not in my dorm room, I'm in his (probably to the chagrin of his roommate). Our dream is to own a house in the area (mucho dinero!) and live together. We've even started calling each other husband and wife.* Our marriage is officially recognized on facebook.com.
Anyway, Alex and I caught a movie tonight, the Corpse Bride to be exact at the Three Penny Theatre. It's an...interesting place. The center focus was slightly askew which pissed me off, but other than that, it was a precious movie, not as good as Nightmare Before Christmas, but good enough. But this isn't a place for a movie review...
While walking home, it suddenly occurred to me that I lived in Chicago. My long-time dreams of being a metropolitan are finally true. I live in the heart of the city and I'm loving it. The bustle and noise of the streets flows through my veins and into my soul. I feel like I'm dreaming most of the time. "This can't be happening to me," is usually my thought. But it is happening to me. I really live in the greatest city in the WORLD!
During my first two weeks of school, my mother decided to tell people that I didn't go off to college, but rather, that I had gone to Heaven.
At first, I was slightly offended. How dare my mother let people assume that I had died, and my mother some creepy devout Christian.
But it really is heaven here, heaven in the form of college. How could I have gone anywhere else?
*Alex is gay.

Sudoku

An evil force has wormed its way into the heart of Chicagoland, an evil, addictive conspiracy, much like cigarettes and cocaine. This crazy fad I speak of is Sudoku, or Su Doku.
The concept is simple, and really doesn't require any mathematical skill, but the numbers are everywhere. It's like a crossword puzzle, but numbers. A newspaper or Sudoku book or Sudoku online will publish a box filled in with the occasional number. Your job is to "Fill in the grid so that every row, every column, and every 3x3 box contains the digits 1 through 9." (sudoku.com)
Simple enough, right? WRONG! It has to be one of the most frustrating one-person game I've ever played, but people are going crazy over this number game! My best friend Alex was the first person I knew who seemed really hooked. He's amazing at any inane game ever invented (Boggle, Scrabble, Set, Gauntlet, Worms). Now, he's so good he can complete an entire puzzle correctly in five minutes.
Every day I see at least one stranger playing Sudoku, and even more if I take mass transit of any kind.
Over the weekend I went to Borders and an entire table was devoted to Sudoku books.
But now that I've done some research, it's not just Chicago that has been affected. Earlier this year, newspapers in London started publishing Sudoku puzzles, and in the mid 80's the Japanese (who didn't create the game but gave it its name today which means "single number") devoured the 81 little boxes.
This week, according to USA Today, three Sudoku books made the top 50 best sellers list.
I'm not completely opposed to Sudoku, I just can't do it. I don't have the logic or the patience to fill out the puzzle.
Try it for yourself. The least it can do is drive you insane.

Purpose

I have decided that this blog will be dedicated to the people I meet and see while in Chicago. I already have a couple of stories about strange people here on the streets.

Starting over

I just deleted my long-time blog, toofrumpyforthem.blogspot.com, but I feel that I have grown out of it. No one wants to hear a whining teenager anymore.
And so, for the time being, there will be this one. A no pressure sort of blog, a blog that hasn't found its purpose yet.