My Kind of Town, Chicago is(n't)

I'm behind a day because of my lack of a reliable internet connection, so this is my second post today because the other one was for yesterday.

In Chicago I bought The Milepost which will be really helpful for the Canadian leg of my journey. It's got information similar to the research I've been doing anyways, but it's organized well and has a ton more info than I'd ever be able to gather.

While I was getting my oil changed at home, I was talking to one of the mechanics and another customer. The other customer told us that in some sort of article or something Mass was rated as having some of the best roads in the country. We all laughed in disbelief of course. Since this trip I'm starting to believe the claim. The roads in Chicago are horrible!! the pavement is really rough, poorly patched, potholed and full of trash EVERYWHERE! I realize it's right after winter, the worst time for roads, but you can tell these roads haven't seen fresh pavement in years. That was given away by the many crumbling patch jobs of different ages. I wonder what the flat tire prevalence is around here. It's probably astronomical.

I'm staying in Forest Park, IL, which is just outside of the city, so I've been doing a lot of cruising around the Chicago suburbs these past few days. Very interesting landscape. It's weird because you'll be in a really nice area and a block later you're in a horrible one. There seem to be pockets of wealth.

I've heard people say on many occasions that Boston is a comparatively rude city, hence the term Masshole. I'm going to have to officially disagree. I've been in Chicago for a few days and haven't come across many nice people. I consistently hold doors for people, say thank you and try to just be pleasant to strangers. I've found my pleasantness goes largely ignored. I've had more people ignore that I held the door for them, walk into a building in front of me and practically slam the door in my face, and ignore me when I say thank you (more than one person has just stared at me blankly when I said thank you, like I was nuts or something) than I ever have anywhere else. I don't get it. I'm going to assume that I've just come into contact with jerks while here by chance.

I realize this post makes it seem like I don't like Chicago, but I do. The lack of nice strangers and abundance of crappy roads isn't dictating the time I'm having here at all. Why should it?

I'm in Chicago!

4 energy drinks, 6 bathroom breaks, 4 gas ups and 16 hours later, I'm in Chicago. I left tuesday night at 9pm, so I've been here since yesterday afternoon. I was without internet yesterday, so I'm a little delayed.

I made good time, I like to think because of the nerd chart I made to avoid major cities during rush hour. I was traffic free (even in Chicago) minus some brief light traffic outside of Cleveland. It was just the truckers and me, which was nice. Having the road to yourself is awfully nice and made the driving really easy. Even if I didn't have the road to myself, I wasn't in Massachusetts at that point so people understood the concept of the highway which means I wasn't ever stuck behind any idiots in the passing lane. Despite the ease of owning the road the entire way, I have to admit that I was a little excited when I was driving around in downtown Chicago. You could say that I like a little challenge added to driving. This is why I like city and snow driving. I suppose the reason I didn't hurl myself off a bridge halfway through this too easy drive I had was because there was a challenge - to stay awake!

One of my favorite parts of the drive was a sign I saw about an animal testing area - the wording was strange and I was a little horrified. I understood once I saw a sign that said "ANIMAL PRESENT WHEN FLASHING," and of course it was flashing. Turned out Indiana is testing a new system which places sensors along the highway to warn drivers of animals in the road. The testing didn't seem to be going well. Out of maybe 15 signs (at varying increments anywhere from 1/2 mile to 2 miles apart), two were flashing and I saw Zero animals. Soon people will look at the flashing lights the same as they do those deer crossing signs. I bet the signs are cheaper. . . nevermind.

Bank of America put a hold on my account (fortunately right after I had made a purchase, and not before) due to unusual activity. Happy to see they're looking out for me, though. I had to call them and answer all sorts of questions. what amount was my last deposit, where did I buy my last coffee, what was my total at borders books etc etc. I mixed up most of my answers, giving totals slightly off on all counts. I'm good like that. I was in the ballpark, though. She asked me where I buy gas and I said, "well, let me think for a second. Last night I drove to Chicago from Boston, so I'm thinking I bought gas in MA, NY, Ohio and Indiana. She was instantly relieved because the gas buying was what tipped them off in the first place. Turns out buying gas in 4 states overnight isn't normal. She told me I should give them a call when I plan on doing anything like that in the future. I proceeded to tell her there will be plenty more gas purchases.

I'm planning on staying in Chicago with my friend for a few days. I didn't plan on staying so long because he's usually really busy, but he has some time off for a night out on friday, so I'm staying for that. Why not, right? The last time I was in Chicago I was a kid, so it's neat to see it through adult eyes.