Went to Lowes looking at ideas of future home projects

While I'm not in a financial situation to even work on home improvement projects, I looked around Lowes at what they sell to give me ideas on future home projects.  So far, my main focus has been on a dream kitchen.  I looked at different cabinets.  I don't know what I might consider in the color & style of cabinets.  I did see some cabinets that would fit for a "Country Kitchen".  I believe the wood was cherry.  I don't remember, other than the finish was dark.  All I know is that I want something that looks like something that fits with todays' styles, but since I expect to live in a late 1800's to early 1900's house, I want something that'll keep some of the historic charm as well.  That would be a challenge.  

I already have my appliances chosen if I had my own house today.  Stainless steel finish will be what I want.  So far, the appliances will be from Whirlpool and be under the Whirlpool name.  The reason I want Whirlpool for the kitchen has to do with reliability.  While everything made today doesn't last as long as it did 20+ years ago, but Whirlpool still makes kitchen appliances that last.  The refrigerator will be a side by side with ince & water dispensers.  I want the conquest version of the Whirlpool because the ice maker is in a smaller space, & the bucket is in the door.  That way, it gives more shelf space.  Then there's the dishwaser.  While I don't like the idea that dishwasers have nearly eliminated the mechanical dial on them, & instead gone with all buttons & more circuit boards that wasn't as extensive in older models.  However, I like one feature that's exclusive to Whirlpool.  That is the silverware basket on the door.  Their Kitchenaid, Jenn-Air, & Maytag brands (yes, Whirlpool now owns Maytag) don't have that feature.  Kitchenaid has similar looks to Whirlpool, but their interior design is that from the days when the Hobart Corporation made Kitchenaid, before it was sold to Whirlpool in 1984.  Anyway, since most Whirlpool dishwashers have the silverware basket on the door, it gives a little extra room on the bottom rack for more dishes.  I'm still debating on whether to go with the traditional range, or what I really want, are double wall ovens & separate cooktop.  The traditional range fits in most kitchens & costs less.  Separate cooktops & wall ovens cost more than a range, but they offer some flexibility.  Wall ovens come in single & double ovens (I want double oven).  Wall ovens are usually electric (a few are gas, but much smaller & only single oven), which is unfortunate, but I prefer to have a wall oven if space allows it in my future kitchen.  Cooking separate food in both ovens at different tempuratures is an advantage that you have with a wall oven.  Some ranges offer the option to bake in separate ovens if it's a double oven, but you might not necessarily be able to bake a different tempuratures.  Cooktops come indifferent sizes too, but at least you have the option of going with gas, or electric.  I haven't decided if the model I want for a cooktop will offer a grill or leave that option out.  The microwave will also act as an overhead exhaust fan, & be a convection microwave.  But if my floor plan allows for a gas cooktop &  double wall oven, then I'll go that route, with the wall oven being a convection oven.  As I said, all appliances will bt Whirlpool.  If this would have happened in the early 90's, I would have gone with GE since they were reliable back then.  Unfortunately out of all manufacturers, GE's reliability is the worst.

Now onto countertops, I'm thinking about going with granite, but don't know what color I would get.  I don't know how much the color of the countertop matters when it comes to matching it up with the color of the appliances.  The appliances will have a stainless steel finish.  The main sink will be a double bowl stainless steel sink that goes under the countertop.  I'll have a garbage disposer on that sink.  There will also be a single sink that will be used just for rinsing off fruits & vegetables.

The tiles for the backsplash will also go with the countertop, unless that's supposed to be a different color.  If there's room for an island, I want to have an island in the kitchen, and if possible, allow seating on one or 2 sides of the island.  

As for the cabinets near the dining room, I want the kitchen to open up to the dining room, but the cabinet & countertop separating the 2 spaces.  I also would like to have seating up by the countertop between the dining room & kitchen.  The floor will either be hardwood or hard tiles.  I refuse to have linoleum in my future kitchen because it doesn't last when it comes to the abuse floors take. 

I have a basic idea of what kind of kitchen I want, but it doesn't mean I'll be able to follow my dream kitchen in its entirity.  That depends on the house I get, the floor layout, & costs.  

I normally wouldn't be thinking about this stuff, but for some reason, I sense that I'm gonna enter a new chapter in my life that might involve some of this.  I will say that I don't know shit when it actually comes to style.  I don't know the differnce between Contemporary, Modern, Traditional, Vintage, and any other style that's out there.  If there was a US version of the HGTV Canada show (now cancelled) called Design U (airs on Ion Life), I'd be guaranteed to get an "F" because I know nothing about style.  I don't really know how to blend in colors for the main color & texture.  Also, I wouldn't even know how to integrate fabrics into the colors on the wall.  So I would have to have an interior designer help me with that.  I never lived in a home with any real style.  Our family has always been poor that we were lucky to have a home and furniture to sleep on.  So style was never a priority.  That will probably change when I move out.  All I know is that this is just a dream, but could be reality.  My next blog will be on the bathroom.  I have a few ideas for that as well.

People who are in relationships with large age gaps

I saw this topic on another site about the daddy/son relationships.  Now don't try to turn this into a pedophile topic.  This is about young men of at least 18 years old who get involved with guys who are at 15 years older than himself, but could be as old as his own biological, step, or adopted dad.  While I'm primarily focussing on the gay male relationship of the daddy/son relationship, some of this could apply to the lesbian mama/daughter relationship, or the straight relationships of the mama/son or daddy/daughter relationships.

I always wanted to know what people think of these type of relationships.  Do some people think they're wrong?  Do some people do this for a sexual fetish?  How about the simple attraction to the maturity to older men?  How about maybe those young men who might not have had a relationship with his own dad, & seeking out someone who they think might resemble the ideal dad.  What makes people seek these type of relationships?  I can tell you that not one person will have the same answer to that one.  There might be similarities as to why young men & older men seek these relationships of some sort.  Does a daddy/son relationship even have to involve being lovers & sex partners?  I don't know the answer to that one.

You have some who seek the sexual side of this.  You also have the type where someone is drawn to another with a large age gap.  Maybe someone (whether it's the much younger guy, the older guy, or both) has had problems relating to people in their own age group.  Maybe a young man who had no relationship at all, or a poor relationship with his own dad might seek out a guy who could be old enough to be his own dad (or just look old enough) for a bonding relationship. 

What would actually make someone be drawn to someone much older or much younger than himself?  I would still like to know that one myself, as each answer will be different.  I can say that for those guys who might be considered a daddy (just because of age, but doesn't necessarily think of himself as one), some probably don't normally think of himself as one, because maybe he doesn't act like one.  He might still at heart be young.  Maybe the few that wouldn't normally pursue someone who could be old enough to be his son is because he might think the young guy might not be attracted to him, and would be surprised if he is.

I still don't know everything about these relationships, but I can tell you from my own experience.  Most of it has been for sex.  I have usually preferred to be involved with guys much older than myself because from years past, guys closer to my own age have usually avoided me & usually sought out guys much older than myself.  Most of those guys have been in their 40's & 50's.  At my age of 36, I'm slowly being considered a daddy myself, though I don't feel like I look like one, nor do I act like one.  Those older than myself have have actually been there for me more than those closer to my own age.  Many younger than myself have usually never liked me.  That's I'm usually hesitant to be involved with someone younger than myself, though I won't rule it out.  I also could say that I've sought father figure guys because I didn't have much of a relationship with my own dad.  The primary reason I didn't have much of a relationship with my own dad was because he was an over the road Truck Driver.  So he was gone during the week and some weekends as well.  I have encountered a guy who was hesitant I wasn't interested in him because of his age.  Despite that he's in his 50's, in my mind, he was still a handsone looking guy.  I can say though that as long as both guys are adult age, that it isn't necessarily wrong to be in these type of relationships.  You just have to know what you're looking for.

Will I pursue a long-term relationship with a daddy?  That's hard to say if I'll be involved in a daddy/son relationship.  I do believe that the next guy I'm with will be older than myself.  If he is of the daddy type, that I don't want to have him always expecting me to call him daddy.  That's just kinky.  I would just pursue him for the maturity and experience, and for love (not an easy word for me to use since I don't seem to feel it most of the time).  Now this is just me, but if he has children, then I would have to take a pass on pursuing him.  Why must you ask?  I first of all don't want any children of my own & don't want to be involved with someone who has any.  I don't want his own children to be look at me as their own dad.  Also, any children he has, I'm worried that either his own son or myself (maybe both of us) might make a move on each other.  That is something I don't want to risk.  Most gay men I've encountered who have children have had gay children.  I consider it worse if his son is closer to my own age, and if his own son shows interest in me.  So I don't want to be involved with a parent on a relationship level.  In a case like that, a gay parent should be involved with someone closer to his own age to prevent his own son from possibly showing interest in his dad's lover.  I'm not a person who would make a parent sacrifice his own adult children to be with me (like some guys might want).  If a guy that's considered a daddy in the form of maturity & is a parent, I'm the one who will sacrifice to make sure that the guy stays involved with his own children.  Children always come first for parents.  While I don't know what I'm exactly looking for in a potential mate, but a guy who is a parent is out of the question.  It's my problem if he is one, but I do know I'm not looking for guys who are parents.  I'll only pursue them for booty calls and just friendships (not lovers).  But I still won't rule out being in a daddy/son relationship if it happens, just as long as he isn't a parent.  

The internet helps those of us who like the large age difference to meet up with them.  I don't know all the websites out there, but I do know of daddyhunt being one of those sites that caters to daddy/son relationships & daddy/son booty calls.

That's all for now.  If there's anything I left out, please make a comment on it.  I don't fully understand this topic.

Note to Law Enforcement:  This blog has nothing to do with pedophilia.  I don't condone pedophilia.  I'm not into minors and that IS NOT WHAT THIS BLOG IS ABOUT!  It is about guys who are at least 18 years old who desire to be with guys much older than himself. 

A Problem with a user on Lifeout

I was recently on the Lifeout.com website and I came across this user named JPARADOX.  I was in the inb the Daddy/Son forum under the topic: Fuck or Pass.  JPARADOX would intentionally look for me and say pass.  I think he got irritated with me commenting Pass as well.  I know this is only fantasy since Lifeout is a gay male only sexually oriented social networking site.  It's setup similar to myspace.  Anyway, he has the nerve to think that I wanted him.  HELL NO I DON'T WANT HIM!  For one, I don't really care too much for getting involved with guys barely legal age.  Since JPARADOX lives in Texas, he has to worry about the sodomy laws.  While it can't be enforced in the privacy of a person's home, it's still illegal to be gay in public.  He wants to speak bad about me.  Fine!  Let him speak bad about me.  He's barely legal age and has no clue about the GLBT community.  He has a lot to learn, and has to worry about breaking the law for being gay in Texas.  Afterall, that's what the sodomy law is setup for.  It really means that it's illegal to be gay.  I just have to worry about being beat up for being gay.  I don't have to worry about being charged with sodomy as long as I don't go to: Michigan (though they haven't enforced their law on it yet), Idaho, Utah, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida (haven't heard of this state enforcing their law), North & South Carolina, & Virginia (biggest offender to the sodomy law as they refuse to acknowledge the federal law that forbids the state from prosecuting people for sodomy in their homes).  I should add another thing that JPARADOX looks hideous in my opinion.  I just wonder if he brags about his so called big dick.  That's another thing I tend to not like about people like him.  He fits the skinny twink category, though I don't think he's pretty or handsome (whatever term you want to use). I highly doubt he goes for daddies.  I know he doesn't go for bears and any stocky built guy that doesn't look like a pretty boy.  That's perfectly fine because he's far from my type.  I don't want young that borders on pedophilia (he's gonna be 19 & I'll be 37 this year and he's half my age).  He claims to be hispanic, but he very much looks like he's black.  Black people overall have nappy hair and that's what this guy has.  So if he is hispanic & black, then he's blaxican.  Puerto Rican guys are very much handsome.  I will add that he's gonna be dealt a cold reality of what the GLBT community is like when he really gets out into the community.  As far as I'm concerned, he can stay with the twink community.  He obviously wants to be a part of that group, but he'll lose his looks early on, while I won't lose my looks as easily.  I maybe out of shape (won't lie about it), but I was never a pretty boy, but an average looking guy and the bear community usually bonds together on a long-term bases more than the twink community does.  Unless a twink can hold onto his looks for a long time, they tend to get frowned on once he gets up there in age and isn't as good looking.  Unless a bear goes for a has been twink, the has been twink will really be left out in the cold.  Lastly, JPARADOX is a Gemini while I'm a Scorpio.  I have found out of all signs that Geminis are the worst people to have sex with.  They are the least capable of concentrating on having sex with 1 person.  Scorpio can very well concentrate on having sex with 1 person & Scorpios like passion.  Leo & Taurus are the other 2 signs that like passion.  Geminis have no passion and want a lot of intellect.  At least most Libras (the only air sign that seems capable to handling passionate sex) can handle it.  .

So JPARADOX on Lifeout; don't let the GLBT hit you hard when you really learn what our community thinks of people like you.

Last week in general

Last week I called up Elwood Staffing to see if they had any work available.  While the job that popped up was  for a company that will need people soon, it wasn't actually a job available at this time.  Elwood needs to get some people ready for a distributor of homegoods products.  I won't mention the name of the company, but it's located in Portage Indiana and is a local company, with corporate office in Lynwood Illinois.  The pay won't be as good since it's for only $8.00 a hour, but there's a possibility of overtime with this job.  My last job was $8.50 a hour and was forced into a pay freeze last year, and learned if I were still at Ashland, that I would have gone a 2nd year without a pay increase.  I would either work in the shipping/receiving area, or work as an order picker/packer.  At least this job is near I-94 and will deal with few traffic lights.  I believe if I get this job, that it won't be permanent.  I believe something else will come my way that will be better than this job.  It's a wait & see.  Even though I don't have this job yet, Elwood has me on a waiting list, and I'm to keep calling back every week.  Anytime Elwood gets a call from this distribution center for a certain number of people, the people who called in earlier in the week that get called will have first shot at the place.  I made sure I gave them my cellphone number & carry it with me at all times.  I will still get around to getting an application in with Labor Ready in Griffith.  I wouldn't mind getting a little work with them.  Main reason is that they pay workers daily & I would make a little money so I would have gas money, in case Elwood calls me for the distribution job.  Maybe if Labor Ready has a job that lasts a while, then I'll have to make a few trips to the bank to deposit cash, since Labor Ready does payroll the minute you turn in your timecard, gives you your payroll notice, then go to their ATM to enter in a code# on the notice to get your money.  With Elwood, they're like most other employment agencies with doing payroll weekly, and they're following many of them on how they pay.  Most agencies no longer issue checks.  If you want your money in your account, then you have to have direct deposit.  Otherwise, you get either a Visa or Mastercard debit card. 

Then on Wednesday & the rest of the week, I did a lot of resting, playing pchgames.com, & taking walks to try & lose enough weight to get back into my big ass pants.  I need to lose a bit of weight since I put on weight after being out of work for nearly 8 months now.  It's been difficult to stay optimistic, but I'm trying to not be negative about this.  I'll eventually get back to work somehow.  If certain dreams I've been having lately are what my future is holding, then this job is just a small bridge to what will be happening sometime this summer.  I'll believe it when I see it.  For now, I just want to be back to work.  I forgot to mention that the distribution job will either be a 1st or 2nd shift job.  First shift would be 7am - 3:30pm & I believe second shift will be 3:30pm - 12am.  It's a wait & see for that, but I was told that I would most likely be on first shift..

I've also watched a lot of TV as well, including watching on PBS (WTTW & WTTW Prime) a show called POV (Point Of View).  POV was airing the movie documentary called Food, Inc.  The TV version showed some of the stuff big name food companies don't want people to know about the food we eat.  What I saw all showed me reasons as to why we're having a lot of contaminated food.  Animals grazed the old fashioned way are a lot healthier than the manufactured shit we get from the so-called experts who run these big corporations.  I have yet to watch all of it, but I did watch what was aired on WTTW & WTTW Prime.  The extra content is available on the PBS.org website & it's also available on DVD & Blu-Ray that didn't air on TV.  Once I'm back to work, I intend to buy Food, Inc. on DVD.  I also want to get the DVD called, The End of Suburbia As We Know It (have to look up actual title).  When I didn't watch TV, I was watching my Family Guy DVD's.  I plan to get Family Guy Volume 8 once I'm back to work and released (tentative release June 15th, 2010).  While I don't watch cable or satellite, I've done alright watching over the air TV, which is making a comeback, because people are complaining that the cost of cable & satellite going up too much, and little can be done to control the costs.  So I'm like many people who are now using a broadband connection to watch select episodes of shows online.  So I can watch what I will actually watch.  I probably won't go back to satellite anytime soon, and Comcast for cable service is shitty in my neighborhood, since it goes out a lot, & when it works, digital cable is as bad as satellite.  Internet thru the cable is slow too when it works, but tends to be out more than on.  I just need to get a couple of new antennas and especially need a separate UHF only antenna pointed toward Cedar Lake for WYIN to get a steady signal of that station.  All other Chicago area stations are on the Sears Tower & John Hancock & I have 1 antenna pointed toward Chicago for those stations. 

I'll keep you all updated on my job search.

An overall update since my last blog

Sad to say that I'm still unemployed.  I've been out of work for 6 months now (longer than any other period of time for me).  Elwood Staffing has had any work that qualify for.  One job that they would send me to is one I was on previously, and that job didn't work out with another agency (it resulted in me being wrongfully fired) that I can't be sent to a place called Roll & Hold.  It's a place that handles wrapping up steel coils (from the steel mils) in either cardboard or plastic.  I just don't like handling those heavy oily coils.  Not only that, you work in the elements.  This place has no heat or air conditioning, nor any fans.  With all that is why it didn't work out for me.  Davis Staffing had me fired over the place releasing me from the assignment, but it worked against them when they eventually lost the contract to the place.  Elwood now has it and sounds more like they're being upfront what the job is about.  But I had to tell them even if I wanted to work there again, I couldn't because of how Cyndi Sanchez who used to work at Davis lied to get me to take the job and caused Davis to lose Roll & Hold's business.  I also am going thru Spartan Staffing (in Indiana, they used to be PMI Staffing & before that, Star Staffing Services) hoping that I'll get some work with them.  Spartan Staffing primarily deals with Ashland Hardware at the moment (my former employer) and won't be working there again.  I even talked with Kelly Services in Merrillville Indiana.  I asked them about how the Frankfort Illinois office denied me employment, claiming my attendance at Ashland was why they wouldn't help me out.  It had nothing to do with Ashland.  It had to do with an asshole named Russ Conte remembering me from Hidden Valley and had not liked me being on assignment at Hidden Valley, and didn't want me working on any assignments he had this time around.  Anyway, one of the ladies at the Merrillville Kelly office looked in the computer, she noticed my application was incomplete.  So basically, Russ thought he was smart by making my info incomplete to keep me from working for Kelly Services, but another office (the Merrillville office) asked for me to finish it up online.  They're gonna see if they can find me work.  They however will have a difficult time due to my ineligibility to be sent to Ashland Hardware (worked there previously under Star/PMI Staffing & eventually being employed with Ashland, but employment ended on bad terms) & Dawn Foods (supposedly Dawn Foods has a no rehire policy) because I worked there briefly.  So they'll have a challenge.  Had I been able to get work at the Frankfort Illinois Kelly Services office, I would have been back to work in October.  Since I live in Indiana, my residency has made it nearly impossible to get work on the Illinois side.  I blame Indiana for not willing to work with Illinois to work out the reciprocal income tax agreement.  I also blame most of Chicagoland for refusing to make their own taxes affordable that some people either move to Wisconsin or Indiana (wherever people live closest to their jobs) to live somewhere more affordable.  Nothing against those who live in Chicagoland, but I can barely afford to live where I do now due to the jobs I get.  I also haven't been able to get help with any temporary residency that I'm stuck living with my mother who refuses to move out of Gary Indiana.  So I'm stuck.

Now since I've been out of work, I've been watching a lot more TV than I usually do.  I only have OTA (over the air) TV; so I'm limited in what I can watch.  I however have watched some Livewell HD on WLS-TV 7.2, WTTW Prime PSIP 11.2 (24 hour primetime PBS programming), Create on WTTW PSIP 11.3 (a crafts, cooking, travel, and home repair channel, similar to cable channels DIY & HGTV), MeTV 23.1/26.2 (24 hour classic comedy shows, similar to TV Land) & Ion Life 38.3.  I should also mention that my TV viewing comes from Chicago.  PBS is what I watch the most.  I'm either watching This Old House Hour (This Old House & Ask This Old House)on WTTW Prime, This Old house on WYCC & WYIN & Ask This Old House on WYCC.  This Old House is renovating old homes while Ask This Old House focuses on small home repairs (regardless of age of house).  I also watch Hometime, which another home renovation show.  That show focuses mostly on newer homes, but they did work on a much older home once.  My mom watches a lot of Simply Ming (a chinese cooking show), Cooks Country (her favorite and I watch it occasionally).  I watch Rick Steves Europe.  Rick Steves tends to focus more on less visited parts of Europe instead of focusing on all the tourist areas that most people visit.  His visits to the lesser known parts of Europe help people see areas that most people wouldn't normally visit, & eating at restaurant where locals eat help people save money.  Also on PBS, I've watched a lot of Nature & Nova if there's something that interests me.  Nova has shown an episode on solar energy.  Nature has shown episodes on orangutans, lions, tigers, polar bears & grizzly bears.  I like the nature shows.  On Livewell HD, I watch Motion (a show about hiking the wilderness and other outdoor areas) & Advice For Life (an advice show on various subjects of life) I should mention that unless your cable company carries Livewell HD, it's currently only available OTA on ABC owned & operated TV station subchannels (usually XX.2  XX=whatever the channel ABC is on).  Livewell HD has a website that has had visitors from all around the workd.  Their website is livewellhd.com . 

While I'm on the subject of TV, I just looked at my outdoor antenna and I may have to replace it soon.  I noticed that the UHF portion of the antenna is slowly bending downward.  I have a suburban/rural VHF/UHF antenna that I bought in 2002, and the UHF portion has no support to hold up the weight of the back of the antenna.  The VHF portion is in 2 pieces in a V shape.  The top portion has one set of VHF elements & the bottom portion has another set of VHF elements.  That portion isn't affected, but the UHF portion eventually breaking off will make the antenna useless.  So once I'm back to work, I'll be in the market to buy a new antenna or 2, maybe 3.  I haven't decided whether I'll get another VHF/UHF combination for Chicago & a separate UHF for WYIN, which transmits out of Cedar Lake Indiana (where their transmitter is located at).  The other combination would be separate VHF & UHF antennas.  If I go that route, I would need 2 UHF antennas & 1 VHF antenna.  Chicago has 2 VHF stations (WLS-TV on channel 7, but rumor has it that they're vacating the channel in June and staying on channel 44 fulltime, which they're also broadcasting on; & WBBM-TV on channel 12).  All other Chicago stations are on the UHF.  So if I go this route, I'll have 1 VHF antenna & 2 UHF antennas since WYIN transmits southwest of me while Chicago stations are to the northwest.  This a VHF/UHF antenna I'm considering from Winegard.  Here's another VHF/UHF antenna I'm considering from Antennacraft.  Here's a UHF antenna from Eagle Aspen I'm planning to get to use for WYIN TV, since I don't need a big UHF antenna to get their station.  For a VHF only antenna, I'm either an antenna from Antennacraft.  For a UHF only antenna, I'm debating on this Channelmaster antenna or this Antennacraft antenna.  I'm even thinking about this Winegard UHF antenna.  Whichever antenna combination I go with, I will need a signal combiner.  I already have this signal combiner if I go with separate VHF/UHF antennas from Antennas Direct.  If I go with the separate VHF/UHF antennas, I still need this signal combiner regardless from Wingard.  If I go with the VHF/UHF combo antenna for Chicago & UHF only antenna for WYIN, then the Winegard signal combiner will be the only combiner I'll need.  If I go with a separate VHF & separate UHF antenna for Chicago & a UHF only antenna for WYIN, then the Winegard combiner will be for the UHF antennas while the sole VHF antenna would hook directly into the VHF/UHF signal combiner.

While the antenna part of my blog sounds boring & pointless, I still wanted to include it.  Most people who know me will really want to know about the status of my job hunt, as I've been out of work for 6 months.  I really want to be back to work as I hate being home all day with my mom.

People requesting to be added to my Facebook friends list

While I created my facebook account back in 2008, it was only around April or May of last year that I decided to reactivate my facebook account. It was primarily to get back in contact with Rick & Bryan since they left myspace. Since that time, I have added 7 other people to my friends list, including a guy named Jeremy from Kenosha Wisconsin (some I've had contact with on a couple of radio messageboards), & a double profile under Cattle Call & Call Bar (same establishment). I even added myself to many fanpages (and probably not done adding those). Now since I rejoined facebook, I've been super cautious about who I let onto my friends list. Since facebook mandates our real name to be displayed, I'm not allowing just anyone to be added. Most of the requests I get are from people who use the mutual friend option. So far, 1 has been referred from Carl & the rest have been from Cattle Call/Call Bar. While I'm not totally against this; I don't know any of the people who are asking to be added to my friends list. So please don't be offended if I don't accept the friends request. I'm more inclined on myspace since I don't have my real name displayed, and isn't required. I also have my myspace profile mostly public. My facebook profile however will be private with a couple of areas of my profile only open to people I actually know, and want that info. That would be how to contact me outside of facebook. I don't make my friends list public or any other information.

So for those who request me to add you would require for me to meet you in person first (in most cases). The exception to that is if the profile is to a business or organization. That would be places like a restaurant that I might consider patronizing, a bar (did that with Cattle Call/Call Bar, though the other way around), an organization (did that with Polonia Milwaukee (though I actually made the request, & while I'm not Polish, I do show interest in Polish people, food, & culture), & may consider a local TV or radio celebrity who has a regular profile & not a fan page. Family members are severely restricted to my friends list as I'm already considered controversial to some family members. That means my sister, niece, my sister's soon-to-be ex-boyfriend, uncles, aunts, & cousins aren't easily being added. I've got a number of Chicago celebrities I dislike so much & former co-workers on my block list (not mentioning any names on this one). So those users can not view my profile at all or find me in a search on facebook when logged into their accounts. I also have it set to keep my profile from being found through the popular search engines, such as Google & Yahoo.

This has already been posted to my facebook profile and is private there, but it's public here.

WTTW Prime & PBS World

I had always been curious about the difference between PBS World & WTTW Prime.  Most PBS stations around the country carry PBS World on one of their subchannels.  Out of the Top 5 TV Markets, only Chicago doesn't carry PBS World.  Out of 3 PBS stations in the Chicago market, most people would think that WTTW would have carried PBS World.  Instead, WTTW decided to program their own 24 hour primetime channel called WTTW Prime.  Both WTTW Prime & PBS World are channels that carry documentaries, News, Drama, Science Fiction, and public affair programs. 

I noticed that both channels carry programs such as (not all listed):

• Charlie Rose
• Nova
• Frontline
• PBS Newshour
• Nightly Business Report
• World Focus

WTTW Prime takes it further, and makes it looks more appealing than PBS World.  Here are some of the programs that air on WTTW Prime, along with WTTW when they can fit it in the WTTW schedule:

• Lidia's Italy
• Ask This Old House Hour
• Americas Test Kitchen
• Globe Trekker
• Mexico, One Plate at a Time (with Rick Bayless)
• Check Please (A WTTW produced restaurant review show)
• Antiques Roadshow (both in widescreen & standard screen)
• Masterpiece Mystery
• MI-5
• Chicago Tonight (a WTTW produced news show)
• Tavis Smiley

As with both channels, not all shows are listed.  PBS World is a national feed.  I don't know where PBS is broadcasted from, but it's a partnership between WGBH Boston, MA & WNET Newark, NJ (New York market).  PBS World is on  a PBS subchannel, and typically in SD 480i.  Most stations that have an HD channel has the main channel in either 720p (which allows up to 4 additional subchannels in 480i SD or 1 additional 720p HD channel & 1 subchannel in 480i SD) or 1080i (allows up to 2 additional subchannels in 480i SD).  WTTW programs their primetime channel to carry programming that in some cases no longer fits into the WTTW program schedule, or re-air programs from a previous night that aired on WTTW.  WTTW is very much committed to kids programming during the day Monday - Friday, and at least 3 hours on Saturdays & Sundays.  So that makes WTTW Prime a needed channel.

Now I do wonder if either WTIN-DT or WYCC might decide to carry PBS World in the future.  I would like to see if that channel is actually worth it.  Based on the programming schedule from PBS World, it looks like it lacks lots of shows.  The nearest TV market that carries PBS World on a PBS station is WMVT RF 35.3 (PSIP 36.3), a station owned by the Milwaukee Area Technical College.  So if a Chicago area PBS station decided to carry PBS World, WYCC has an open subchannel, as PSIP 20.2 (RF 21.2) is a simulcast of WYCC on RF 21.1 (PSIP 20.1), & WYIN-DT has 3 subchannels open: RF 17.2-17.4 (PSIP 56.2 - 56.4).  WYIN-DT used to carry Create until WTTW took over carrying it, leaving WYIN-DT with open channels.

I would like to see PBS World once or twice to get an idea how good the channel is, but I would like to see WYCC to get rid of the simulcast on 20.2 & WYIN-DT to get rid of their 3 simulcasts.  So far, WTTW Prime has the better programming.  Maybe I typed up a pointless blog, but I don't care.

My 2009 in Review

This is my 3 year of doing an overall year in review on what's happened in my life (1st year on Blogger). I am highlighting some of what happened in some of my bloggs first, and what wasn't blogged about toward the end of this blog.

I made my first resolution list for what I'd like to do in 2009. I never got that bike that I wanted to get. So I never accomplished that one. I did visit my Maternal Grandma a bit more this year than I did in 2008. She just celebrated her 86th Birthday on Christmas Day. I did make some of my own meals later in the year. While I didn't lose any weight. At least I didn't gain any weight either. I also felt more full on my own meals than my mom's meals. I did stay away from drag shows until early July, and went to 2 shows this year. I will cover that part later in my blog.

I blogged about losing my favorite pizza buffet, Cici's Pizza. I got a comment from someone who bought the Cici's location in Portage Indiana. This owner is also planning to open a second location, and this one will be in Schererville Indiana. This one will be closer to my home. The only clue I have is that the second location will somewhere around US 30 & US 41. For now, I'm just glad that Cici's is back in business in Portage Indiana. That location wouldn't have closed had Jamison Burrick not been running his drug operations within the restaurant. I believe that was why Ruben left before. He's managing the location again.

I copied this from another site about the rules of the baths. I won't go too much into detail, but you can checkout this blog from my myspace page at this link.

On January 26th, Ashland Hardware switched everone over to 8 hour shifts. That didn't affect me, as I was already on 8 hour shifts. Richard was constantly bitching that he wasn't getting overtime. I was bitching too, but I was thankful at the time I did have a job. I also wasn't happy that corporate, Newell Rubbermaid froze our wages. So I got stuck staying at $8.50 an hour, instead of going up to $8.76 an hour. Business eventually did pickup, due to production was slowed down too much, that production had to be run at full capacity. So overtime returned for us. In March, Chris Hayes got fired, due to continuously showing up to work drunk. It was unfortunate that it happened, but he refused to get help. I only hope he has gotten help by now. So when his position opened up, I put in for it, though I originally wasn't goona put in for it. I really wanted the same job I had on afternoons on days. That wasn't gonna happen, since the ladies that work in shipping on days aren't leaving anytime soon. I put in for it partially because it was a day job. I also put in for it because Dick Pedersen always bitched at us (me, Richard, Bryce, & Joe) for not receiving shipments in properly. For everyone who put in for the receiving clerk job, I was the only one not interviewed for the job, and he gave it to me. The only reason I got the job was because he didn't like the people from production who put in for it, and Don, the temp, took a pass on the job. He decided to focus on getting back into truck driving once his CDL endorsements were reinstated.

I started in early May on days, and it initially went well. However, I was already having problems trying to work with Delfina Alvarado. I had the impression that she didn't want me knowing her job, since Chris was trying to get her fired, so he could take over her job. That didn't work out for him. I wasn't interested in taking her job, as I wasn't looking at being at Ashland Hardware long-term, like she has. I only wanted to learn her job just as a backup, and not to actually be Chris. I personally think Delfina was threatened by my presence in the job. I also believe that she had a problem with me being gay. People usually don't have a problem if a woman is a lesbian, but if a man is gay, then it's not ok. I hate the double standard. Not learning the entire job, Dick overworking me with other jobs that had nothing to do with receiving or shipping, and worse yet, I was still expected at times to work afternoons. All that, and eventually, my desk was trashed to the point that I didn't feel that it was worth keeping the job. If I stayed, I wanted back on afternoons. Dick allowed me to go back to afternoons, but he was pissed off at me for it. He never gave any reasons as to why I should stay on afternoons. I thought it was for the best. Besides, Delfina & I had some problems working with each other, I didn't get along with Gina Robison's husband, Greg Robison (arrogant stuckup ASSHOLE), Tony Peronis's FAT ASS with sitting on his FAT ASS in front of a pc, and not physically working, and if there were other problems, I would be so stressed out that I snap at people. I originally thought that Donald Ford trashed my desk, but I really believe that Steve Castady trashed my desk. He was nothing, but trouble. He never listened to anything that people told him to do, or how to do, came & went as he pleased (along with lying on his time card about his hours), and Dick refusing to do shit about troublemakers. Dick even signed off on forged timecards. He has the nerve to think that I'm nothing but a whiner. He may know how to do shipping, but he doesn't know shit about management. He is that bad of a manager that people can get away with anything. He doesn't fire people. Had Dick been at work the day that Chris got sent home, and later fired, Chris would still be there today. Dick would have made sure Chris still had a job. I eventually had to walk away from the job since Dick created too much trouble for me. He hated me for going back to afternoons, and was looking for a way to have me leave. He got his wish, and now, his department is suffering. He never replaced me, which has put a lot of stress on Richard, Bryce, & Joe, that they work a lot of overtime (sometimes until 6am). That pushed Joe over the edge too, that on December 22nd, he went back into retirement. He retired back in 2002, but the person who took over his job was in a car accident, and he was asked to return to work. He came back, and worked part-time. He went full-time in January, but only wanted to work 40 hours a week. That happened until around the time I went to days. Then he stayed over. That continued even after I returned to afternoons. He stayed even longer after I was gone. Since he'll be turning 70 in April, he decided that the job wasn't worth it anymore. So he's now in retirement again. I don't believe Dick will replace him either, since Dick doesn't consider Joe's job of handling boxes a priority. He doesn't have Terri handling the boxes from production on 3rd shift either. So he's leaving it to Arnold Patrick to handle on days. Dick better not blame this one on me. He did this to himself. When I'm done with this blog, I plan to e-mail the HR manager as to why I'm not working there anymore. I had hoped to transfer to another Newell Rubbermaid company (particularly Shurline in St. Francis, WI, a Milwaukee suburb). Now, I don't care if I never work for any Newell Rubbermaid company again.

I covered work in 2 paragraphs (even if I didn't type up proper paragraphs or proper English). Onto other stuff. I went t Touché on Valentine's Day for their dungeon master night, and their twisted romantic version of Valentine's day. He showed candles, oil, chocolates, Instead of massaging oil, there was a bottle of Wesson cooking oil for body rubs (more like light fires to the oil (OUCH). For chocolate, there was chocolate syrup for pouring into your mouth then swap spit with it (yuck). For candles, the candles for those into BDSM are letting melted wax be poured onto the slave. That was for the most part, all I did there was watch the demo. I'm not that cheap. If I want to be roamntic, I will spend the extra money for chocolate candies, massage oils that I find worth putting on me, and have a candlelight dinner (maybe let candlewax be poured onto me, or the other guy. That would be as far as I would go with that. Earlier in the day, I took my mom out for breakfast. Valentine's Day happens to be my mom's birthday, and she wanted to go to Old Country Buffet for breakfast. I wasn't gonna question it. She enjoyed herself.

Since I don't have cable TV or satellite TV, I receive my TV with an outdoor antenna. As we all know, people like me had to get prepared for the digital TV transition. For those with cable or satellite weren't affected at all. Since I can't afford a new TV set, I had to get a DTV box. I bought mine in 2008 when I got the coupons from the government. I got what was available at the time, which was the Magnavox DTV box, Model# TB100MW9. I wasn't able to get them hooked up until this year in April (June 11th for my mom, as she kept stalling me on hooking it up). When I worked lateone day in April, she left for the grocery store early, and I used that time (when I woke up) to hookup the outdoor antenna. I got my box hooked up, and scanned for channels. The pre-transition wasn't all that great, but I did get most stations. For Pre-transition, WBBM-DT was on channel 3 (the only DTV station on VHF), WGBO-DT was on 53, and WYCC was on 21, and all 3 of these stations were on the John Hancock. All other stations, except for WYIN-DT were on the Sears Tower. For pre-transition, the only channel that gave me problems was WLS-TV on channel 52. Most people complained that they couldn't get WBBM-DT on channel 3. For most people, they were either using rabbit ears, which are overall ineffective with DTV, or using an outdoor antenna that wasn't optimized for 2-6 (worse yet, most people I came across with outdoor antennas had UHF only antennas). I was one of a few who did get WBBM-DT on channel 3, and had little trouble with it. On June 12th, stations slowly started shutting off analog, and all hell broke loose for most stations. 4 stations were changing channels. WLS-TV had their digital channel on 52, and it was out of core, as the TV dial is now 2-51. They didn't put in for another channel early on, so they had to return to channel 7. That one went smooth for me. Other people complained that they couldn't get WLS-TV once they went to channel 7. Even after a power increase, most people couldn't get them. So they resorted to getting another channel, and they now use channel 44 for their main channel, but channel 7 is now a full market translator. WBBM-TV worked out a deal with WTTW to acquire their antenna that they used for analog, and use that for DTV. WTTW remained on channel 47, and WBBM-TV was gonna move to channel 11 after june 12th, but changed their mind after they learned that they wouldn't have been able to keep the original signal contour that WTTW originally had. That was due to WGVU in Grand Rapids Michigan & WLFI Lafayette Indiana also being on channel 11, and had to protect those stations. There was also WWTO LaSalle Illinois on channel 10, and they chose to stay on that channel. That resulted in that station reducing the coverage of the original channel 11. So when WISN in Milwaukee decided to vacate channel 12, and remain on channel 34, WBBM-TV took over channel 12, and kept their original coverage. It was cheaper for WBBM-TV to acquire WTTW's old antenna instead of spending money to put a new antenna on the John Hancock for channel 12. Not as many people are complaining that they can't receive WBBM-TV on channel 12. WXFT was on 59/60 & WGBO was on 53/66 (for WGBO & WXFT, digital channel first, then analog channel) had to turn in both licenses as both channel were out of core. So WGBO-DT acquired WCPX's old channel of 38, since WCPX stayed on 43, and WXFT acquired WPWR-TV's old channel of 50, since WPWR-TV stayed on channel 51. Everyone else stayed on their pre-transition channel. I have a full blog on the topic. WCIU 27(Ind), WMAQ-TV 29(NBC), WJYS 36 (Ind religious), WCPX 43(Ion), WSNS (Telemundo), WTTW (PBS), and WXFT 50 (Telefutura) were the stations that gave me problems on reception. All of these stations broadcast from the Sears Tower. WYIN-DT 17 was another station that's had problems too (continues to do so today), but they can't afford to relocate their transmitter to a Chicago skyscraper, but the channel spacing does allow it today than it did prior to digital. Their tower is in Cedar Lake Indiana, and the digital antenna is on the side of the tower, and not on top, like the old antenna is, which is optimized for 56, and the new antenna is optimized for channel 17. Despite operating on new channels in most cases, the FCC mandated for DTV with the ATSC standard (digital TV) that there be PSIP, which maps the actual channel to a channel that the system tells it to call itself. For WBBM-TV, they're physically broadcasting on channel 12, but PSIP tells it to call them channel 2.1. WLS-TV has been the only one that has been on the channel that the PSIP system tell it it is. WLS-TV is physical channel 7, and the PSIP tells it that it's channel 7.1. Since WLS-TV is also on channel 44, that also maps to 7.1. So for some TV's & converter boxes, there's 7.1, 7.2, & 7.3 twice.

I also went to a psychic fair in August. Since Melody Joy ended the J&M Enterprises Psychic Fair in June or July of 2008, I hadn't been to a psychic fair. melody Joy even stopped doing readings at Hunters Nightclub. Anyway, I found True Psychic Fair on the internet, and it's held every other month at the Best Western in Kenosha Wisconsin (usually the 3rd Sunday of every even number month). I saw a numerologist named Lily. It was the first numerologist since seeing Rosemary Fletcher in 2000. Lily asked me for my date of birth. All I will say is that I'm a Scorpio. She was saying that she's seeing another job coming up, but said that she sees a possible job transfer. I never thought it would be within Newell Rubbermaid, as the Shurline division gave me the impression that they wanted me to quit my job, and go thru a temp service they use before getting hired into their company. Since I'm no longer a Rubermaid employee, that's not the employer. I believe if anyone is getting a job transfer, I believe it's my sister. She wants to transfer departments within Purdue University West Lafayette. I don't know what my next job will be, but I believe it'll be something that'll last for a while. I don't see my next job being long-term. If this is a job that'll be long-term, then it has to be a job in the distant future. My number is a 4 calculated from my date of birth. I never asked about love, as it's not a priority. Even if I had asked, I would have been told that I would be with a blonde haired blue eyed person. I know that the person would be a Virgo and lives in Milwaukee Wisocnsin. I already have an idea of that person. I came across 3 Michael's online. One who went my mikegm68 on yahoo had the name, Mikhail Girgis. It turns out that it isn't him, though he has resided in Waukesha Wisconsin, and had numerous addresses in Illinois, included Zion, Crystal Lake, Rockford, & Roscoe Illinois (not Roscoe Village in Chicago). I then came across on facebook a guy named Michael McGavock from a school search of Waukesha South High School. He is listed as having to lived in Waukesha, Elm Grove, Oconomowoc, Milwaukee, and Dousman, Wisconsin. It's hard to say if this is the Michael I'm looking for. I hope not. I only know that he was born in September 1968. What has me concerned if this is the Michael I had previous contact with, is that this Michael is married to a woman named Yvonne McGavock. There is no way I want to be involved with anyone who's married, and worse, have children. I then came across another Michael by the name of Michael Mahoney. I found him in a listing on the Waukesha South High School website. He also was born in September 1968, and I know he's a Virgo. Michael McGavock might be a Virgo too. For Michael Mahoney, he's listed as living in Waukesha & current place, Milwaukee Wisconsin, but also lived in San Francisco, Berkley, & El Cerrito, California. I believe the California cities were probably for college. This Michael is single, and is blonde. I don't know about the other Michael. I will only say that regardless of which Michael, there's some issues I have with one of them. I don't know which Michael is the one I had contact with on match.com, but I didn't like it that he wanted someone who had a college degree before he would date that person. I don't know if he changed his mind on that one, but that was why I didn't contact him before. He also wants kids, but I don't, and would like it if I'm not involved with someone who has kids. He's insisting that the person already live with the Milwaukee area. That there is something I don't like, as I haven't had any help with relocation there. So if I ever Meet either one of those Michaels, I will throw that in his face.

I also got around to reviewing a polish buffet in Chicago by the name of Czerwone Jabłuszko (Red Apple), though I dined there on Memorial Day. I was so busy that I didn't put in my review sooner. For my first time eating polish food, it was good. I will one day get around to trying out other polish buffets, and as I get used to polish food, then I want to go to a polish restaurant and order from the menu. Here's the full review.


My last blog I did was Thanksgiving Day. I went to a church for a charity Thanksgiving dinner. While we weren't really hurting for money, I felt ashamed to be at the church for a charity dinner. Some of the people there were worse off than we were. At the table I ate at with my mom, one lady has to rely on various churches for survival. She lives in a housing project near Downtown Hammond. She got a ride to St James Church in Highland Indiana for their dinner. It was an all you can eat dinner. I just grabbed a plate, and people on the other side of the food scooped it out for people. I made 2 trips, and ate everything, while a black couple wasted food, and seemed unappreciative. The lady in the housing project was thankful for the meal, as she wouldn't have had dinner otherwise.



Now here's a few things I didn't get a chance to blog about. When I went to work on days, I thought I was gonna get a chance to see Fierce Cabaret at Spin Nightclub, hosted by then Lady Vera Parker. Everytime I thought I would have a chance to see the show, Dick mandated me to work on afternoons, and would work for 12-14 hours that night. By the time I would get off work, I was too tired to see the show. The one time I did get a chance to see the show on July 3rd, I find out that there was no show. There was supposed to be a show that night, but it turned out that Thomas Flanagan (a.k.a. Lady Vera Parker) was arrested for fraud. Only Chicago Pride & other gay media covered the story. I cna't understand why the regular media didn't cover it. Even ABC7 didn't cover it. Was it because they didn't want to admit that they were surprised by what happened, since ABC7 interviewed Lady Vera Parker. Who knows what's gonna happen with Lady Vera Parker, but I doubt I'll even trust the bitch again, after learning that she was charged with fraud in Massachusetts as well.


I got a chance to see Regina Upright perform on July 8th at the newest gay bar in the Andersonville neighborhood of Chicago, called Cattle Call (or as they're wanting to be called, The Call). It's a Country/Western bar, which indirectly competes with Charlies. I say indirectly, because they're not in the same neighborhood. Charlies is in Lakeview (a.k.a. Boystown), while Cattle Call is in Andersonville. Every Wednesday at 9:30pm, there a drag show hosted by Angelique Munrow, and there a regular cast, and a guest each week. Regina Upright is a featured guest, and is typically scheduled every other Wednesday. I like Ashley Morgan along with Angelique Munrow. That's all I'll say who I like for drag queens & tranny. It's a place I'd like to go to more often, but I'm not working at the moment, and would need money to go there. I would also need a day job to go back. I hope to go back there soon.


I decided to reactivate my facebook account (though I really didn't want to, as I don't like facebook) in order to be back in contact with Rick & Bryan of Wheaton Illinois. I have Rick & Bryan, Cattle Call, Chazonator, Red & Nater, & a Jeremy Andrews in my facebook friends list. I don't know who else I'll add, but my brother & sister are NOT allowed to be in my friends list. Neither are any of my former classmates from Calumet High School or Merrillville High School.


I never got around to finding time to blog about being pissed off with Russ Conte of Kelly Services. He didn't like before when he was the recruiter at Hidden Valley, but couldn't easily get rid of me, since Tammie Matthews wanted me to be there. My job was filled by someone off the street, and resulted in me being moved to manual packing line, but Star Staffing called me up for a job, and gave Russ his wish to be removed from the Hidden Valley job. He transferred to their office in Frankfort Illinois, and decided he wasn't gonna help me out at all. He held it against me on the Hidden Valley job that he didn't want to work with me this time around. Had I not been rejected, I would have been back to work in October. I still wish I could get out of the Chicago market, as too many employers want me to move out of Indiana, and live in the expensive communities that the jobs are located in. The jobs don't pay enough for me to live near the job sites, and my own mother refuses to move out of Gary Indiana. With that, I'm stuck where I'm at. While Kelly Services normally doesn't require a person to live in certain communities or a certain radius of the job site, I'm not happy that Kelly Services isn't willing to help out this time around. The office near my home deals more with office jobs, and for the 2 warehouse jobs they do have, they can't send me to either job. So if I wanna work for Kelly Services, I have to go thru another office, but the next nearest Kelly office has me on ineligible status, which pisses me off. I keep wishing to get out of Chicagoland, but for some reason, people don't want me to leave.


I visited my Grandma on Christmas Day, and she turned 86 on Christmas Day. Out of my family, I didn't see my Aunt Dawn, since she's always late for family gatherings. I was surprised that my Aunt Nancy gave me $50. I never got that much cash for my birthday, or Christmas. For being 36 years old, I'm surprised I'm still getting gifts from my Aunt Nancy.


With the new year being an hour away, I hope that sometime in January, I'll be back to work. I plan to let my former employer know how I feel about them, and don't care if I never work for Rubbermaid again.


Have a Happy New Year everyone.

My Thanksgiving Day

Thanksgiving Day has not been one of my best days this year (along with my birthday last month). I'm still unemployed, and felt ashamed that my mother & I went to a church for Thanksgiving dinner. While it was good, I feel that I wasn't that bad in shape, since we have a turkey breast (normally, my mother has a whole turkey), and some food. There are those who are very fortunate, but take advantage of these charity dinners. I don't know who all didn't really need to be at a free charity dinner, but I know there were some that in my opinion, should not have been there. These dinners are for those who have fallen on hard times (those who normally are well off) & those who receive some government assistance (in my opinion).

We went to St. James Church in Highland Indiana for their Thanksgiving dinner. Their dinner consisted of turkey (of course), mashed potatoes, yams, sweet potatoes, mixed vegetables, regular stuffing, cranberry stuffing, green bean casserole, potato salad (I learned the hard way about some potatoes), turkey gravy, pop, water, milk, & various desserts. Forgot dinner rolls & real butter, & cranberry sauce.

The only food I didn't have any helpings to were: sweet potatoes, yams, green bean casserole (might have been made with mushroom soup, yuck), or a second helping of potato salad.

As part of this charity dinner, people on the other side of the table scoop out the food, rather than people at the dinner (such as myself) getting the food. Only dinner rolls, jello, & the few desserts at the end of the hoot food buffet (as they called it) were people at the dinner allowed to help themselves. Desserts, pop, & milk were at another table, near the stage. Desserts consisted of: cookies, cranberry cake, pumpkin pie, cupcakes, and some other cakes. All I had in the way of desserts were cookies (one was m&m, and the other, snicker doodle) , pumpkin pie, & cranberry cake. I had 2 helpings of hot food (as I was told we can have all we want).

As for where we sat; we were assigned to a table, and had to wear a name tag. A black couple that sat next to me wasted food. I don't know how many rounds they made, but they got there at 12pm (when it started). We got there at 1:15pm, and left close to 2pm. The dinner ended at 3pm. My mom & I only took what we knew we'd eat. I believe that you should only take what you can eat. If you can't finish it, then they (the church) at least let you take it home (unlike buffets, where no food leaves the restaurant). These people wasted turkey, mashed potatoes, & stuffing.
There was another lady who looked like she was in her 50's. She looks like someone who needs these dinners to survive, based on how she dressed, where she lived (with the people she talked to), and that she goes to other churches for help as well. I don't know about the black couple, but they seemed unappreciative. A Mexican guy barely talked. Another Mexican guy is out of work, and had to go to one of these dinners this year. I don't know about my mom, but I felt out of place, as we typically haven't realy been poor. There were also a number of senior citizens there too. Senior citizens can sometimes end up in the poor house if they don't have a pension (like my maternal grandmother), rely on social security, or their health puts a strain on their finances, when their finances might otherwise be alright. I believe for some of the senior citizens there, some were there probably because their family isn't in town. I wonder if that might be for some other people too. This way, they spend Thanksgiving with some people, and not be lonely at home (even if it's just for a few hours).

I will say that after seeing a charity dinner like this, I will one day look at volunteering a little bit of time at a soup kitchen, or maybe some charity dinner that holds these dinners a certain number of times a year. If I ever eat at one of these events again (such as next year), then I will look at giving a donation, rather than take the food for free. I'm not that poor that I want to take a dinner from someone who really needs it. I might be poor at this moment (who am I kidding, I'm always poor), but I otherwise am not in the shape that others are in.

When it was time to leave, I thanked everyone that scooped out the food for me. My mom thanked a few people, but I thanked everyone that scooped out my food, as they're taking time out from their own dinners, & possibly families (if families weren't all at the church helping out), to help the less fortunate. So next year, I hope to be in better financial shape next year, that I'm actually the one helping out the less fortunate, and not being the one helped out. If I'm living at home next year, then I'll look at where dinners are being served, and help out there, while I wait for dinner to be made at home. If my luck does change, and am able to move out, then I will have to debate on whether to help out where I live at in the future, or go back home, & help out close to my current home.

I hope for everyone that reads this blog, that they had a Happy Thanksgiving. I hope you didn't get stuffed, lol ;) .

My Review of Czerwone Jabłuszko (Red Apple)

I've been busy for several months that I hadn't had time to do this review. My first time having Polish food was on Memorial Day May 25th, 2009. Czerwone Jabłuszko (Red Apple) has 2 locations: 3121 North Milwaukee Avenue in Chicago's Avondale neighborhood & 6474 North Milwaukee Avenue in Chicago's Forest Glen neighborhood. This review is for their original location at 3121 North Milwaukee Avenue in Chicago.


First off, Czerwone Jabłuszko (Red Apple) is a Polish buffet, and is open for lunch & dinner. Lunch price is $9.49 Monday - Friday, dinner is $9.99 Monday - Friday, & $10.95 on Saturday & Sunday.


They serve according to their ad 50-60 hot & cold dishes daily. Since most Polish dishes have been incorporated into American cuisine, some dishes were familiar to me, but not flavor though.


The day I went to Czerwone Jabłuszko (Red Apple) had on the buffet (not listing everything): baked chicken & breaded chicken, schnitzel (sounds German to me), roast beef & turkey, meatballs & gravy, cheese & potato pierogis, apple pancakes, potato pancakes, mashed potatoes, steamed green beans, steamed rice, carrot salad, potato salad, regular salad, fruit, & Polish style desserts.


When I arrived, I was asked how many were with me, and I was by myself. The waitress asked me what I wanted to drink, and asked what kind of soup I wanted. Soup is included in the meal, but isn't on the buffet. On Memorial Day, they were serving Chicken Noodle Soup & Tomato with Rice Soup. I chose Chicken Noodle Soup. Unlike American style Chicken Noodle Soup, Polish style Chicken Noodle Soup has little to no salt in it. Since I hadn't had Polish food before, I took smaller portions. I started with mashed potatoes, green beans, baked chicken. Then had potato pancakes, apple pancakes, breaded chicken, turkey, and some more green beans. I also had some pierogis too. I started to fill up quickly, and decided to have some fruit & desserts before I was too full to have that. I had some fresh pineapple, bananas, chocolate pudding (Polish Style), and chocolate cake (Polish Style). Ice Cream is supposedly included in the meal, but not on the buffet. The waitress forgot to ask if I wanted some ice cream.


On Memorial Day, they charged the weekend price of $10.95. Pop was $1.95. Subtotal came to $12.93. Chicago's sales tax of 10.25% came to $1.32, with a grand total of $14.22. That's the most I spent on any buffet. Doing business is expensive enough in Chicago. Czerwone Jabłuszko (Red Apple) makes their food from scratch, which is rare for any buffet.


While Czerwone Jabłuszko (Red Apple) is expensive, the food was good enough that I will consider going to their restaurant again in the future. I wanna go to Polish buffets, like Czerwone Jabłuszko (Red Apple) to try out various Polish food, and eventually be able to order from the menu at a regular Polish restaurant.


A word of warning: since this restaurant allows people to eat first, then pay at the end of the meal, make sure you only take what you'll eat. They have a note on the buffet that you can take what you want, but don't waste food. They charge for any waste. If they allow the extra food to be taken out, then you'll be charged $4.49 a pound. That's the rate charged for carryout, and yes, they do weigh the food in a styrofoam container.


Payments taken are cash & credit cards: Mastercard, Visa, & I believe Discover. If you have a ATM debit card, then it goes thru as a Visa or Mastercard transaction.


This is my own review, and is done the best of my knowledge. Their website is http://redapplebuffet.com . Any information you need is on the website. If you wanna read the website in Polish, there's a link in the upperhand corner that says wersja polska (Polish version).
This review was for the 3121 North Milwaukee Avenue location in Chicago's Avondale neighborhood, and is open from 11am - 9pm Sunday - Thursday & 11am - 9:30pm Friday & Saturday. I give Czerwone Jabłuszko (Red Apple) 3½ stars.