gregorydowell.com- Beavers and Ducks


Today Was a Clusterfck! 10.23.2007 10:07PM So I had to commute downtown this morning (you've heard about that if you listened to the traffic podcast) and I thought the hour drive in would be the worst part of my day. Boy was I wrong. And while today was for the most part a huge clusterfck, there were a few bright spots to at least temper the worst part. I had to go to the north side to document as built/existing conditions of the project I'm working on. And per usual the drawings didn't match the existing. But it wasn't as bad as it could have been and I only had to measure and sketch about 50% of what I thought I was going to. So I made my field notes and snapped my photos in a little under 3 hours. And with the new Threadless store within walking distance of the site, I made a little trip to check it out. Its a cool little shop with the newest debuted shirts along with last week's new shirts being sold. Everything else has to be ordered like old times from the website. I picked up Playground Joust from last week's debuts. I must say I look good in yellow. The second floor is a small art gallery with graffiti/stencil mash-ups of the different shirts. Apparently the olds ones are to be sold. Some are pretty cool. After the short visit I headed back to my car and the office. And that's when shit hit the fan. I was heading to the expressway, when the "check battery" light flashed briefly, before all the dash indicators went apeshit. Then as I was idling at a stoplight the car went kaput. I knew it was the battery. So I flicked the blinkers on and popped the hood, as a stream of cars behind me honked. What was I to do? Though after only a few minutes two gentlemen helped me push the car out of the way. At that point I called Mom, and then Dad to figure out a course of action. I was in the middle of downtown Chicago with a broken down car, and I had no idea where an auto garage was located. After a few phone calls from Mom to AAA and Dad to me, I arranged for a tow truck dispatch. About two hours after the car died, I was at a repair shop and the owner was telling me the alternator and battery would need to be replaced. I gave the go ahead and he told me he'd have it ready before they closed shop at 5:30. Since I hadn't eaten and it was 3PM I walked down a block to Fast Track. There was another bright spot. I ordered a tasty Philly cheese steak and fresh cut French fries. Man was that tasty. Then back at the garage, the owner offered me a piece of cake (it was his birthday) after he told me the first price he gave me was a little off and it would cost a little more. What was I to do? Eat cake of course. Though he only charged me one hour of labor even though they clearly worked on it for two hours. So the car was fixed at 5PM as he said it would...just in time to head back home with the evening commuters. Talk about a clusterfck! 'Tis Better to Give 10.16.2007 7:30PM With that in mind I present my 2007 Christmas/Birthday List. Its nice having a birthday less than a month after Christmas, since all the Christmas gifts I don't get become the Birthday list. So here we go: MSRP included so you know if you're getting a deal when you purchase my gift. 1. "Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock" Bundle (game and wireless guitar) for Wii- $90 2. R.E.M. Live 1DVD/2CD Set- $25 3. Total Access: A Journey to the Center of the NFL Universe by Rich Eisen- $25 4. Raiders hoodie (I'll pick this up in Oakland) 5. Wii Zapper with Link's Crossbow Training- $20 6. "Adultery" Threadless Shirt 7. Illinois/Arizona basketball ticket (I'll get his as I'm sure a group of us will be going to this December 8th game)- $30 8. Whatever else I add between now and Christmas. October Love 10.13.2007 6:46PM October, there's no other month like it and no other month better than it. October marks the transition from summer to autumn, so the weather is a hodgepodge of warm afternoons and cool evenings, with a fine crispness in the air. And besides the weather its a sports lovers paradise. The baseball playoffs are in full swing, so on any day of the week you can catch an exciting game. Then every Saturday there's the smorgasboard that is college football. From noon until well past sunset you can watch just about any conference from the college landscape. That's all capped off with the NFL on Sunday. And then for fans of the other sports, the NHL and NBA both get things underway. What's not to love about October? The month even closes out with what could be the coolest holiday on the calendar. It's just about time to pick up a costume and a pumpkin for carving. Neither of which I will ever grow too old for. And now the leaves are starting to change all shades of color, so that must mean October is in full swing. Enjoy it while it lasts, because we all know whats next, the February of the back end of the calendar.	Gregory 'Jesus' Dowell Chicagoland - I'm a 2007 graduate of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, with a Bachelor of Science in Architectural Studies. I start my graduate studies in January at Ball State University after a 7 month internship with RRJ. The internship has taken me from coast (Bethany Beach, DE) to coast (San Diego, CA), while showing me the ropes. Resume Portfolio Greg's Calendar Oct. 27-28 Champaign Nov. 21-25 Louisville Dec. 15-17 Oakland Important Wii Release Dates Oct. 28 Guitar Hero III Nov. 12 Super Mario Galaxy Feb. 10 Super Smash Bros. Brawl Q1 2008 Mario Kart Wii Other Wii Games To Watch For Oct. 31 Manhunt 2 Nov. 6 Mario & Sonic at the Olympics Nov. 13 Medal of Honor Heroes 2 Dec. 4 Nitrobike January 2008 Wii Fit The Latest Podcast Last Month at Beavers and Ducks Links Bloomington or Bust Smelkem Spargel Lives of Wander Theresa's Freelance Site