“Everything works out in the end.” I have lived the most recent part of my life by this statement. In the past I had been a very stress-filled person. I worried about the little things and tried to change the past. I learned that worrying about the stuff I had no control of only made me feel strained. So I began living life by doing what I could to make situations better and letting go of the parts of life I had no control over.
A few of my friends and I took a trip to Chicago this past winter. It was a couple’s date. Juan and Jordan, Steff and Ryne and Emmagizer and I, went to the Shedd Aquarium. We stood in line outside in the cold for almost an hour before we made it though the doors of the aquatic museum. After purchasing our tickets the three couples explored the grounds of the Shedd.
We were having a hoot as we walked around the aquarium. We were like children on a fieldtrip as the six of us learned about fish, turtles, sharks, dolphins, whales, stingrays, and my personal favorite, the otters.
Before the gang left the museum, we visited the gift shop, not to purchase anything but to take ridiculous pictures of the toys, hats and clothing the Shedd Aquarium offers.
As we all left the museum, two of the members of our entourage were worried that they would not make it to the train before it left Chicago. Which would cause the four people who took the train two extra hours to get home.
I was leading the group through the streets of Chicago and I may have made one or two wrong turns in the process. However I remained confident that everything would be okay and the train would be there when the four group members got to the train station.
My optimism was not shared with the rest of the group. Jordan yelled at me to “stop pooping rainbows because everything was not going to be okay.” Emmagizer and Juan agreed that it would all be all right, but as we walked, we hit a dead-end. I had the feeling in my stomach that we were lost but in the distance I saw a police car. The other members of the group were all afraid to approach the car but I said that the officer would know how to get to the train station. I asked the policeman if he could give my friends a ride to the train station and he agreed.
There was only enough room in the squad car for four people so Emmagizer and I walked back to Michigan Ave. The two ladies who were frustrated that they would be late to catch their train suddenly seemed to feel bad that Emmagizer and I were going to walk to the Magnificent Mile alone.
The night ended up quite well. Emmagizer and I had a wonderful dinner at California Pizza Kitchen and when I texted the group to see if they made on the train they said they did, with three minutes to spare. It just goes to show you that it’s sometimes okay to poop rainbows because everything has a way of working itself out.
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Chuck, Let’s Get Kicked Outta Applebee’s
In the movie Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, Will Ferrell character Ricky Bobby makes the comment, “let’s go get kicked outta Applebee’s” referencing a previous scene where his family get’s kicked out of an Applebee’s.
In real life, my good friend Phil and I decided to take a trip of our own to Applebee’s. As we walked through the doors of the restaurant in Joliet, I said, “let’s go get kicked outta Applebee’s” not knowing how true this statement would soon be.
Phil and I sat at our table drinking a bucket of Bud Light having a peaceful evening together. Phil began to get a little tipsy and decided to crush a piece of ice in-between two bottle caps. As quickly as the thought “crushing the ice is not a good thing to do” passed through my head: the ice cube shot out of the two bottle caps like a bullet.
From the table behind me I heard a lady, and I use that term loosely, screamed, “Are you f@#king serious?” I turned around out of curiosity to find two heifers, disguised as women, and a man, who must have been the herdsman. Needless to say, it was a rather large table.
The piece of ice landed on one of the cows plates and she looked at Phil and me and said, “do you think this is funny, my meal is ruined.” I quickly apologized and said it was an accident. She mooed back with, “I don’t care, and my meal is ruined!”
Now I’ve been known to instigate situations on occasion. In this instance, I noticed that she had eaten her entire meal with the exception of a few vegetables, go figure. So I said to the angry livestock, “Your meal is only ruined because you ate the whole thing, stop trying to get a free meal.”
At this point the muscular herder stepped between his herd and said, “you know, we came here for a nice meal and you two assholes ruined it.” At this point Phil kept hiding his chuckles behind his napkin and was no use to me in verbally combating these animals. I also couldn’t get passed the idea that although Applebee’s has decent food, it wasn’t as outstanding as the cow farmer was making it seem. So I said to the herdsman, “really? You wanted a nice meal and you came to Applebee’s?”
This wrangler was not appreciating my humor and the cows were getting increasing angrier, I assumed because they hadn’t eaten in roughly ten minutes. At this point the manager of Applebee’s had moseyed over to our two tables to try and calm the situation. Before anything got out of hand Phil and I agreed to move to a different location of the restaurant.
The rest of our evening was uneventful until the cattle driver and his cattle decided to head off into the sunset. As they left the gaucho carried a glass of water, walked up to Phil and as he dumped it on Phil’s lap he said, “take that!” Phil through the cup at the rancho’s back but he kept walking. Good thing too because he couldn’t have beaten us pretty badly. I joked with Phil about how I liked that the farmhand said, “take that” as he left. We joked about how the guy had so much time to come up with a cheeky quote and landed with, “take that.” Honestly saying, “enjoy your bath,” “cool off,” or even “here’s your ice back” would have been so much better.
The whole experience was is a story Phil and I continue to tell. I’m mostly just glad it didn’t end with me getting my ass kicked in my Converse shoes.
In real life, my good friend Phil and I decided to take a trip of our own to Applebee’s. As we walked through the doors of the restaurant in Joliet, I said, “let’s go get kicked outta Applebee’s” not knowing how true this statement would soon be.
Phil and I sat at our table drinking a bucket of Bud Light having a peaceful evening together. Phil began to get a little tipsy and decided to crush a piece of ice in-between two bottle caps. As quickly as the thought “crushing the ice is not a good thing to do” passed through my head: the ice cube shot out of the two bottle caps like a bullet.
From the table behind me I heard a lady, and I use that term loosely, screamed, “Are you f@#king serious?” I turned around out of curiosity to find two heifers, disguised as women, and a man, who must have been the herdsman. Needless to say, it was a rather large table.
The piece of ice landed on one of the cows plates and she looked at Phil and me and said, “do you think this is funny, my meal is ruined.” I quickly apologized and said it was an accident. She mooed back with, “I don’t care, and my meal is ruined!”
Now I’ve been known to instigate situations on occasion. In this instance, I noticed that she had eaten her entire meal with the exception of a few vegetables, go figure. So I said to the angry livestock, “Your meal is only ruined because you ate the whole thing, stop trying to get a free meal.”
At this point the muscular herder stepped between his herd and said, “you know, we came here for a nice meal and you two assholes ruined it.” At this point Phil kept hiding his chuckles behind his napkin and was no use to me in verbally combating these animals. I also couldn’t get passed the idea that although Applebee’s has decent food, it wasn’t as outstanding as the cow farmer was making it seem. So I said to the herdsman, “really? You wanted a nice meal and you came to Applebee’s?”
This wrangler was not appreciating my humor and the cows were getting increasing angrier, I assumed because they hadn’t eaten in roughly ten minutes. At this point the manager of Applebee’s had moseyed over to our two tables to try and calm the situation. Before anything got out of hand Phil and I agreed to move to a different location of the restaurant.
The rest of our evening was uneventful until the cattle driver and his cattle decided to head off into the sunset. As they left the gaucho carried a glass of water, walked up to Phil and as he dumped it on Phil’s lap he said, “take that!” Phil through the cup at the rancho’s back but he kept walking. Good thing too because he couldn’t have beaten us pretty badly. I joked with Phil about how I liked that the farmhand said, “take that” as he left. We joked about how the guy had so much time to come up with a cheeky quote and landed with, “take that.” Honestly saying, “enjoy your bath,” “cool off,” or even “here’s your ice back” would have been so much better.
The whole experience was is a story Phil and I continue to tell. I’m mostly just glad it didn’t end with me getting my ass kicked in my Converse shoes.
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