Jerzei Collie's journal

I made some Reuben sandwiches over the weekend. I used up all of my corned beef but still have plenty of the other ingredients. I got some sliced turkey today to make a turkey Reuben, also called a Rachel.

Note to self: Don't play online games during the first 30 minutes of Doggy Radio. I sometimes forget I'm recording the start of the show for someone. I listened to my recording later; there doesn't appear to be game audio playing over any part of it.

More paving work is scheduled on my street Wednesday and Thursday. I received a memo saying residents could park at a church down the street if the guest spaces by the pool are all taken. I signed up to do a catering delivery and other deliveries in Denver on Wednesday.

I saw my new doctor about trying a different medication. She recommended switching to Paxil. I had taken Paxil in my mid to late-20s, but I don't remember how effective it was. I wish there was a pill that could increase my salary! That would definitely get rid of most of my depression.

Note to self: An egg a day keeps some of the hunger at bay. I bought a new carton of eggs with a few other groceries today. I will do my best to make more dishes with the eggs before they expire.

This weekend will likely be the last one I work in person (for now) at KRCC. The station was originally planning to switch to fully-automated weekends this week, but the program director confirmed I needed to come in tomorrow. I went ahead and created a "coronavirus" tag for this journal.

Note to self: Cinnamon apples are a great dessert! Also, someone on Telegram posted about "Texas Twinkies," bacon and brisket-wrapped jalapeño poppers.

I took a nap earlier. I thought the time was later than it was when I woke up around 6:50 PM. The sun was still up, though it was beginning to set.

 Note to self: Mix corn with Lipton onion soup mix. This was the recommendation from KuddlePup years ago I kept trying to remember.

It's starting to snow again. I have enough food for this week. I'll need to shop for next week on Wednesday or Thursday since I have to fill in at KRCC on Friday instead of having dinner with Dad. Tonight's OA meeting was cancelled due to people being unable to attend.

THURSDAY
My flight to Chicago left about three hours later than scheduled due to thunderstorms in Chicago. During the delay, I got a breakfast burrito, then went to the United Club lounge since it was near the gate. My flight left the gate at DIA at 11:15 and landed at O'Hare at 2:40 PM. Since air traffic was backed up due to the delays, my flight had to wait on the tarmac for 40-45 minutes until the arrival gate was available.

I missed a lunch meetup at Gino's East since I didn't get to the hotel until after 4 PM. I met the cruise reunion group later for dinner at Howl At The Moon. While walking back to the hotel, I bought some water and cereal at a nearby 7-Eleven.

FRIDAY
I accidentally left the hotel with part of our group which was headed to a river boat tour. Thankfully, the rooftop bar crawl I planned to attend was a short distance away, so I didn't have to walk all the way back to the hotel again. My cruiser's name bead necklace came untied while I was walking and spilled the beads all over the sidewalk. Thankfully, people nearby helped me locate all of them. I may transfer the beads to a metal necklace to make it easier to add beads without constantly tying and untying the shoelace-style necklace.

The group went to Cindy's rooftop bar first, then to O'Brien's restaurant for lunch, followed by the London House. It was over 90 degrees when we got to London House. About half of the group ate and drank at the bar one floor down on the inside. I had dinner with a few group members at Bar Louie.

The evening ended with a trolley tour of the city. The group filled three trolleys and had an excellent time partying on the trolleys while visiting sites like Cloud Gate (the "mirrored bean" sculpture in Millennium Park ) and Buckingham Fountain (The fountain shown in the opening credits for Married...with Children.)

SATURDAY
The day started with brunch at Bub City. I ordered a red chili scrambler with cheesy grits, plus coffee and a mimosa. Another group member shared a brisket mac-n-cheese appetizer with the table.

A couple of my toes had been bleeding because I forgot to clip my toenails before the trip. I got a nail clipper at the hotel and trimmed my nails before the next event.

The group had reserved a large area at Caffe Oliva, located on the Olive Street Beach. Service was a bit slow at times, but that's because the location was more crowded than usual. The group had dinner at Rock Bottom Brewery that night. I skipped a couple of the later events so I could get enough sleep before my flight.

SUNDAY
I checked out of the hotel around 9:20 and took a shuttle to O'Hare at 9:55. My flight was only delayed by 22 minutes this time since it was raining. I spent an hour or so in the United Club lounge before the flight.

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If I stay at the Courtyard Marriott Chicago/River North again, I need to remember the rooms have mini-fridges. This wasn't mentioned on the hotel's website. I initially planned to bring my EZCoolDown vest to keep myself cool during the 80-plus-degree days.

One issue I worked on was pacing myself when eating and/or drinking. During the bar crawl, I made sure to use the restroom at least once an hour and didn't have too much food. The hot weather allowed me to sweat out some of the excess water as well.

I gained 6.5 pounds on this vacation. I was actually expecting to gain much more due to Chicago's reputation for having great food.

I drank three glasses of water during FoxTrot, but I definitely should have had at least three more. During the night, I had a couple of margaritas, then drank some water and partial-suited for about 20 minutes. I managed to get around 2.5 hours of sleep at home afterward. I woke up with a light hangover and dry-heaved for a few minutes before drinking some more water.

NOTE TO SELF: Only accept a maximum of two DoorDash deliveries at a time. I actually got four deliveries in a short time while I was in Castle Rock Sunday night. While I made a healthy amount of money for them, I was fairly stressed and most of the food was not delivered on schedule. I should really get a good rest after Doggy Radio later.

Over the weekend, my dad said he would put $500 in my account to get new tires for my car. He had previously said each family member would get a bit extra this Christmas due to my mom's passing.

I wasn't able to pick up a DoorDash catering bag today because the person who was supposed to be at the meetup point hadn't shown up. I just ordered a bag from the online store. I can't find the black bag I use for UberEats, so I ordered a new one off eBay. That bag's zipper is broken, so I needed to get a new one anyway.

Note to self: Your health is way more important than making money. Eat a full meal at least an hour before your delivery shifts.

The Psychedelegates played Saturday night at Benny's Lounge. I almost always order the lounge's bacon jalapeno poppers when I'm there. I think the cook forgot to remove all of the seeds from the jalapenos this time since the poppers were much spicier.

Note to self: possible DoorDash times for Wednesday: Centennial/Parker 7-10 AM, Cherry Creek 11 AM-1 PM, Downtown/Highlands 5-9 PM.

I picked up a package of cinnamon bun cookie mix last week and made a batch of cookies yesterday. I found the new non-stick cookie sheet I got for Christmas did a better job of baking the cookies (and they were easier to remove!)

Note to self: Bring drinks and cups to next Toastmasters potluck (unless asked to bring a main dish.) Plenty of people bring snack items like chips and cookies.

I'll do my best to get more sleep tonight since FoxTrot is tomorrow night, and I will work an extra hour or two on Sunday.