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Road Trip From Chicago to Seattle - October 2003View album, vol. 1 (55 photos)View album, vol. 2 (44 photos) Lucretia and I made the big move out to Seattle in October 2003. With the help from our dear friends Margaret and Elliott, we stuffed everything we owned and trucked our way across the country for over 2000 miles. We did it at a pace of about 8 to 10 hours of driving a day, with only planning to stop at Yellowstone National Park. It was a wonderful trip -- something I had been wanting to do for a while. We didn't want to camp with the 15-foot truck and our cats, so we wimped out at a motel each night. (Even then BobSugar made sure to make an adventure out of it by wedging himself in the tiniest nooks and crannies available in the room.) Perhaps the trip would have yielded more interesting stories and pictures had we veered off I-90 a bit more. But it was still a moving (sorry, no pun intended) experience for me to see the varying landscapes of each state, and to see such an amazing display of nature in Yellowstone -- all the while coming to grips with the fact that we were leaving the familiar surroundings of Chicago, and trying to relish the last (in a while, anyway) moments together with two of our best friends. |
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Farewell Party at Quenchers - September 2003View Album (22 photos)We gathered at our favorite bar in Chicago, Quenchers Saloon , to say good-bye to everybody and hang out for the one last time. It was a lot of fun, and our only regret is that we couldn't hang out longer. We miss everyone in Chicago! |
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Minoru's Jumping PicturesView Album (15 photos)Lucretia always told me I look the happiest when I'm jumping. Here's a collection of photos of me jumping taken in various places. (Most of these photos date back to before 2003, but I put the collection together in 2003, so that's why it's listed here.) |
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Minoru's First Pots - July 2003View Album (9 photos)I took a clay class at Kids and Clay -- a business owned by a woman named Andy. Lucretia has been taking pottery with her since she was 9 years old. Lucretia, needless to say, is very experienced at pottery, and she brings home all kinds of cool pots -- almost too many pots, that's why we have to get rid of them sometimes. (See the pictures from the pot party below.) When I decided to take the class, I knew it would be a challenge. I always felt that I just don't have the kind of patience needed to work with such a sensitive material. To my surprise, working with clay required a lot of hard pushing and pulling, as well as subtle massaging. It was much more physical than I anticipated, and Lucretia is happy to hear me say that I enjoyed it more than expected! That's not to say that it wasn't challenging .... after seeing these pictures that will become obvious. |
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My Ride Home on the L Train - June 2003View Album (23 photos)One night after my German class in downtown, I took pictures all along the Brown Line route with the phone camera. Come take a ride with me on Chicago's L! |
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Memorial Day weekend 2003View Album (35 photos)We took advantage of our unemployed status to start our Memorial Day weekend early, so we could also come back early to avoid messy traffic. We left for Washington Island on Thursday, spent Friday on the island, then headed to Milwaukee on Saturday to check out the museum and a Brewer's game. For me, the game was the most anticipated part of the weekend, because Hideo Nomo was slated to pitch for the Dodgers. He delivered an undisappointing performance (a two-hitter shutout) to close out our trip on a very high note. |
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Lucretia's Pot Party - April 2003View Album (26 photos)We recently had a little open house so people could see how tiny apartment was, and they could help us out by taking home some of the pottery pieces that Lucretia has accumulated over the years. |
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Seattle Trip - March 2003View Album (33 photos)Lucretia and I took a mini vacation to Seattle with our friends. It was a big U of I reunion -- hoooray! The real reason for the trip was to watch a Japan vs. US soccer match -- but thanks to the war, Japan canceled. As a result, the US played Venezuela instead (the game went on without any security crisis, of course). Anyhoo, that meant more time for us to hang out and check out more of the city we hope to soon call our residence. |
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Seattle Trip (with phone camera) - March 2003View Album (25 photos)These are from the same Seattle trip -- just taken with a different camera. They were taken using our phone camera at 320 x 240, and shown here untouched and uncropped -- wholly as they come! I'm only sorry that I didn't get more (or any) pictures of the Seattle folks with this one. |
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Indoor soccer pictures - March 2003View Album (39 photos)I have been playing soccer with the Billy Fish for over a year now. The team name is ripped off from a British comic book about a floating fish with a mullet and an incredible talent for soccer. None of us could ever be as good as Billy, and not one person on our team even has a mullet. But I love playing with this team, because everybody on the team is just so damn nice and fun. The photos are from our playoff game in March 2003, when we finally recorded the first post-season victory in the team history. They were taken by our faithful fan, Lucretia. |