Todd P Paul

Welcome

It has been sometime since I put up an update, so I wanted to post a few notes. The land of broad shoulders, stockyards, and the blue collar is well. We are getting settled in, comfortable, and offend too busy. Chicago has been great through the summer and we are now enjoying fall/ bracing for winter. This website/blog has more or less become a hub. I really want to keep up with you and stay in touch. That said, I would encourage you to interact with me on LinkedIn, Facebook, or Flickr. I use these site far more and post pictures all the time. If you are in the area, I would love to get a meal or coffee with you, so please don't hesitate to email me at tpetriep[at]hotmail.com.

Maine

I just posted some of the pictures up on Flickr of our Maine trip last week.
We finally got home on Tuesday, after missing our Monday night flight. It was nice to have an extra day of vacation, subsidized by Southwest.

Maine, New Hampshire, and Airports

Vacation is that time of year (hopefully more often than yearly) where life changes pace and energy is revived. For the last week, I have been lounging around New England and loving it. This trip makes my first time to the area and my heart is in love. The ocean and the nature around Maine and New Hampshire is amazing. These two things come in second only to the food, which I have eaten more than I care to admit. We had the great pleasure of reuniting with some Lexington friends for the week of exploring. Vacation time has now come to an end and life in Chicago starts bright and early in the morning. Hopefully that is, we missed our first flight out of Manchester, so we are waiting on standby for a 8:25 flight. We are crossing our fingers! I took almost 500 pictures of the last 9 days, which will appear on Flickr in the next day or two. Enjoy what is left of your Labor Day Weekend.

Recycling the Financial Times

On of my chores around here, is to load up the Burley Trailer and take the recycling to Uptown Recycling Center. I was over there sorting out my colored glass from my newspapers the other day and another couple drove up to drop off their recycling as well. The lady and I were both at the newspaper/ magazine recycling bin when she said, "I didn't know people who read the Financial Times recycled." I laughed to myself and responded, "Yea, we're a strange breed." She proceeded to comment on my other newspaper recycling, the Wall Street Journal, with, "I hope you don't read the editorials." I was a little thrown off by the whole conversation I was having with this total stranger. Your recycling is a personal thing and here this lady was giving me a running commentary on my reading habits. I respond, "Yea, I generally do everyday, mostly online. I think it's important to be well-rounded." She didn't respond for a while, so I finished up at that station and moved over to the cardboard bin. I was about halfway through putting my cardboard products in the bin when she came over with hers. Her husband/ boyfriend/ life partner joined her to help her finish up. I was throwing stuff in the bin right and left, when I came to a condom box. So, I threw it in the bin and said, "Yea, readers of the Financial Times and Wall Street Journal also have a lot of sex." Her husband/ boyfriend/ life partner laughed and she turned about 4 shades of red in about 2 seconds. Nobody responded and they quickly finished up and left in their car. It was all a rather surreal experience compared to my usual conversations at the recycling center with the men working there about bicycles and the Cubs. Stereotypes are fun things sometimes.

Fun With Facebook

Will turned me on to this thing called Facebook yesterday, apparently it is all the rage. So, I ventured over to see what it is all about and next thing you know I have a Profile. So, if you are on this thing, stop by and say hello (I am not sure how you do that, but you are smart). It seems like the adult version of Myspace, which is a pain in the ass. This is my take after less than 24 hours.

Technorati Tags: Facebook, Profile, Todd Paul

Running as Savior

I have never been a big runner. I have always run off and on, and run in a few races each year. But sense moving to Chi-town I have been a running machine. It has been my savior on many levels. It is one of the highlights on my day when I can get out - without Blackberry, phone, laptop, and watches - and run until I get too tired. Some days that is 1 mile, others its 6 miles. This has been very liberating to get out and just run for joy, fun, and stress relief.
So on that note, Sam and I are out for a run before I have to head downtown for an evening with the University of Chicago. Fun, fun!

Technorati Tags: running

How to spend $1000 at 4:30 am and not enjoy it

3:30 am
I wake up to noise in the living room. It sounds like Sam, my dog, wrestling around. We have a new mouse friend, so I think she must be playing chase with (and hopefully killing) Mr. Mouse. Go back to sleep.

4:15 am
Wake up to Jen yelling at me about something. I slumber out of bed to find Sam down for the count on the kitchen floor and ALL her body functions spread around the living room. She is alive, but barely. She can't hold her head up or steady. She is drooling all over herself and she can't stand up.

4:30 am
Trip down a half a flight of stairs carrying a 67 pound dog. Lucky, I am met by a fire extigisher box. Sam is really pissed now. I get to the street to wait for the cab to the hospital.
The cab comes - going the wrong way, down a one-way street - and the driver yells at me to watch his new seat as I try to get my half dead dog into the back of the cab. At this point, I bit my tongue and refrain myself from killing the cab driver.

4:45 am
Arrive at the Animal Emergency Room. They work her over, give her some valium (breakfast of champions!) and give her some charcoal (yea, like the little brick you put in your grill - minus the chemicals).

5:45 am
Doc is not sure what happen, but guesses she ate some poison on our late night walk in the park. She puts Sam on an IV and more medicine.

7:30 am
ER says I have to take Sam to the local Vet, because they close at 8 am. They make all the arrangements for the transfer and hand me a bill for $955. (Holy Shit!) If Sam was not the best dog in the world and one of my best friends, she would have been in trouble at this point. At least for the $955 they called a cab for me.

7:45 am
I carry Sam, her IV bag, my bag, and a emergency first aid kit to Cab #2. The driver is walking to the car in front of me and does not even bother to open the door for me. Already livid at his profession, I politely (okay, there may have been an F-bomb in my request) ask him to get the door. He just looks at me while I put Sam on the trunk to get the door open. The whole way to the other Vet, steam is rolling out my ears. I think to myself, " When we arrive, I should put his money in the top of the door jam and shut the door so he has to get out and open the door to get it." I refrain from this action, against my better judgement, for Sam's sake.

8:00 am
Arrive at Uptown Animal Clinic, the neighborhood vet, with Sam. She is a little further from death's door at this point, but not as much as one would think after $955 and 3 1/2 hours. I go over the morning's events with the new Vet and they say she needs to stay there for the day and eat some more charcoal. She is on the Vet table and I am having to hold her head up. She is in ruff shape, black charcoal all around her mouth, her eyes wobbling around in her head, and an IV hanging out her paw. The Vet tells me they will watch her for the day and let me know if anything changes. They get her squared away in the back and I head home.

12:00 p.m.
I call the Vet to get an update. They say she is a little better and is making good progress. They say call back around 4:30 p.m.

My best guess is she ate something while I was not looking in the park last night. I can not imagine what, but it worked her over really good and very quickly. I hope she will be able to come home tonight and will not have to go back to the ER for after hours care. If 3 hours cost that much, I don't want to think about what an overnighter would cost me.

Wish Sam luck over the next few days. She is going to need it. Hopefully she will be better in a few days. She better, because we are putting her out on the street corner to make some money back.

What do you hope people say about you?

This week has been full of historical events. The passing of Jerry Falwell, the resignation of Wolfowitz, and the resignation of Tony Blair. With all of these events, there has been a cloud of speculation around how history will judge these people. While I have varying opinions about each, I am sympathetic to each of their plights. I am also reminded of two quotes, "Power tends to corrupt; absolute power corrupts absolutely" (Lord Acton) and "With great power comes great responsibility." (Superman).  Each of these individuals have done great things and less than great things, but what has me thinking is how will history remember them? Which leads to the same question about myself.
As I was watching Tony Blair's speak yesterday in the rose garden of the White House. I could see his conviction, character, and courage. I was also able to remember some of his great accomplishments, also some failures. Jerry Falwell - which Will wrote a good piece on - has a similar story. Although, I am less inclined too appreciate his good accomplishments, I still recognizes some value added. But how will these stories be recreated over time? Will Blair be able to raise above the Iraq war? Will Falwell be able to rise above his comments after 9/11 (among others!)? Only time will tell with these individuals but it is not too late for the one individual I have the most control over - me. So my question to you is how do you hope to be spoken of?
I will post my response over the weekend. I am still struggling with some perception/reality problems. I would love to hear so of your thoughts.

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As I thought about this more over the last few days, I came up with a list. This list is more what I hope to live myself into, because I am well aware I have and continue to fail in quite a few of these (okay, all).

Direct

Hopeful

Caring

Loyal

Straight Forward

On the Road again....

I am traveling the southeast over the next few days. I am working on some rental property in the DEEP south, so communication will be light.

On my trip down, I saw this sign. I thought some of you may be interested in becoming a Ninja, so I took a picture so you could have the 800 number. Enjoy you Ninja pursuits over the next few days!

A day at the office

I thought I would share a little about my day. It has been amazing in Chicagoland the last few days and this afternoon I decided to get out and enjoy it a little. I worked from home this morning, but it was too nice to be inside. After lunch I decided to head to the park to work from there. I was behind on a little reading and needed to do some thought work. What better place than the park down the street. Sam and I decided that this is the way to spend a work day.
She surveys the park and I work on the Blackberry. Despite my love/ hate relationship with the device, it is pretty nice to be able to work from anywhere. I worked out two real estate deals setting right there. Not bad.
Best of all, I got to walk home (in under an hour), open the refrig and enjoy a nice beverage. Yesterday, I brought a 30 pack of beer for under $13. Yes, that is .43 cent a beer. I was snobishly sticking to the PBR bottles, but in light of this new discovery I may be a convert.
All in all, not a bad way to spend a work day. I just wish I could figure out some way to make everyday like today.