What my Jones soda said after confirming this with Nelson and work.
After Grandma died 10 years ago, I have never returned to the Midwest again. All my travel has been to Phoenix, Las Vegas, Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, Orlando or DC. There was a desire because I still have friends and family up North but I guess it wasn’t strong enough, the sirens of casino machines were just too powerful! Actually, weddings and coordinating Somara’s schedule to coincide with mine were the frequent impetus to those destinations. The years went by. Procrastination set in. Then I got an opportunity to really take advantage of the holiday shut-down period at work; Apple is like the deceased Nortel: from Christmas Eve to New Year’s Day, all the salaried employees get an additional week of vacation. In Nortel’s case, I was a glorified temp so I had to fill the salary void by working more hours at my part-time gig. With Apple, phone-support and retail people continue to work since customers need assistance, especially all of the ones who recently got a shiny new iPod or iPad as a gift. I can’t vouch for the retail people but my phone-support comrades get extra pay to compensate or if time off can be gained, a free vacation day.
Last year I was given the opportunity to take the whole period off…a couple days before it started. At first I thought this would be great and I enjoyed it: sleeping in, seeing a friend who visiting from Switzerland, videogames, writing, etc. As the days progressed I realized it would’ve been cooler if I was told much earlier, I could’ve traveled to another city catch up with an old friend. Las Vegas automatically was not considered, New Year’s is the busiest time of the year, same for NYC. This Fall I decided to get a jump on it. The boss said it was alright as long as the other two people at my level planned on working. Both want to be around so they received no objection from me.
Next was thinking of a place to go. My immediate first pick was Chicago to see my brother and his family. I sent an e-mail. We had some great correspondence. I was surprised to see his enthusiasm; we didn’t get along as kids-teens-young adults. Sadly, it fell through due to our parents’ plans. Nick and Anna are their only grandchildren which leaves Brian little choice in my opinion. The falling out I had with the ‘rents isn’t a big secret and there’s little indication it will ever smooth over. So I withdrew. I wanted to be a good guest, not a source of friction. Brian was cool about it. He hopes I will try another day and bring Somara along.
While I was going through the negotiations, I discussed it with my doctor and Nelson. Nelson lives farther south than Brian, practically Joliet from my understanding. He offered to be the ‘escape valve’ location. I thanked him yet said it wouldn’t fair to him. Thus, Chicago was scrapped.
I went back to the drawing board during a monthly budget meeting with Somara about our holiday plans: what to spend on cards, who gets cookies, how many children are we giving gifts, etc. Other locations were pitched as replacements: Nashville, Phoenix, DC, Houston and Dallas. They seemed nice, I just felt those friends would be pre-occupied with their families or work.
The deadline drew closer and gave Chicago another try with Nelson, only if he would be off from work too. He agreed. We discussed some things to do (see below). Most importantly, we got an accord with his wife Tammy; they have four kids, she wanted to make sure this wouldn’t be a week of her having to exclusively juggle them all. Seeing the children is a major component for me, thus it’s not a problem.
The time off from work was secured Sunday afternoon. Nelson gave me the green light on Sunday night. Then the evening’s synchronicity was nailed by my bottle of Jones Green Apple Soda! I have my plane ticket now. What remains? A trip to the airports. Some walking around money. A good cowboy hat, I have to live up to kids’ expectations for living in Texas.
Here’s my initial list of things to do and eat in Chicago, feel free to suggest:
- Chicago Wolves game, Blackhawks are too expensive if we’re taking the kids.
- White Castle!
- Real Chicago deep-dish pizza.
- A day-trip to Milwaukee to see what Marquette looks like now, pay my respects to Dr. Grams.
- Weasel some time to see my brother, niece and nephew.
- Maybe see Phil, another college buddy.