Living on a budget

You realize that you’re living on a budget when you forget your CTA pass at home, and you decide to walk it instead of paying two dollars for a 5 minute journey by bus. 

This is what happened to me today.  It was very hot, and I was so pissed off at myself, for forgetting the CTA pass (which costs $86, and is valid for 30 days).  Notwithstanding the heat, I decided that bussing it was not worth the money.  The walk was a very good opportunity for me to reflect on the whole scope of this journey of mine in the US. 

The sculptural elements on the way, probably aided my reflections...

Sometimes I ask myself, why am I doing this?  Why did I decide to leave all the comforts of home?  Sometimes I think I was in a bout of craziness when I took the decision.  Back home, I had all I needed, and I could enjoy everything I wanted.  Having a job, made spending not an issue and I never really budgeted.  I must admit my life was too comfortable, perhaps too unchallenging. 

Not being pampered gives a new dimension to life.  I’m becoming to realise that all in all, this is a necessary experience, which I had to undergo to really understand, what’s going on in the world, to get in touch with reality. 

Being forced to select the cheaper options is not nice, but it is helping me understand what most of the people in the world experience in their life.  Those are the real life decisions that some people in the world have to consider.  Some can’t even consider these options, because they need to think about more urgent decisions to be made, such as whether they will have any food to eat, or a place where to stay for the night. 

Someone this week, described Malta as a paradise, and asked why would someone decide to leave paradise?  It reminded me of someone else who we as christians believe did the same.  

I'm not comparing myself to Jesus, but I believe the answers shouldn't be that different.  Sometimes we do things which we don't really understand, but of  one thing I'm sure:  This step was necessary & wonderful.

P.S. Mind you, before you start thinking I'm living like a tibetan monk, I must tell you that I'm still very backwards in the journey of detachment from worldly pleasures, and I'm not sure if I ever will.... I have just opted for a pair of branded sun glasses, when I could have gone for a much cheaper kind.  It was probably a moment of sheer bliss, when I wasn't conscious of what I was doing (or how much I was spending...)

They’re doing it before me

One of my plans here in the US, was to travel across the continent from the eastern coast to the western coast.  I thought I could document it somehow, and maybe get a sponsorship of some sort.  Well someone thought about that before myself, and is doing it right now.  If you follow the link below you can see what these guys are up to.

One of the protagonists of this adventure is Beppe Severgnini, who I met last week at the Italian Cultural Institute.  He is an Italian journalist of international repute.  I remember watching him on TV, when I was back home.  Listening to him speaking, it was no wonder why he is such a famous author, because he has an easygoing and enjoyable style.  I also managed to speak to him for a while and he comes across as a very nice man and very down to earth.  I was curious to know how come not being an English citizen; he received an OBE from the Queen.  He explained that it was in recognition for his work for bringing together the two cultures: Britain and Italy.  He also did a funny autograph for me. 

Anyway, he was at the cultural institute particularly to talk about this journey, he and his team are doing.  They are crossing the United States by train: Amtrak.  It is also an adventure because, it is widely known that American passenger trains are not the best in the world.  The private car has taken over most of transportation here.  (Trains on the other hand are used a lot for goods transportation.  Some goods trains are kilometers long apparently....)  However traveling by Amtrak can be also quite an interesting experience as these guys show us.  

I suggest you do look at their videos, they’re quite fun to watch.  I’ve been told that they are also planning to go to Malta.  Yes Malta, but the one in the United States.  Actually there are plenty of Maltas in the United States.  They will be visiting the one in Montana.  I’m looking forward to what they will have to say about it.

http://video.corriere.it/giro-ciclistico-obamaland/74cb07a2-b497-11e1-8aac-289273c95a39

Moral of the story: my idea was not so original after all, but that is proof that it is doable, thus now I’m more enthusiastic about doing it. 

Chicago Blues Festival

As I told you in a previous post, as summer kicks in, Chicago is becoming the place to be, with events all over the place.  Last weekend there was the Chicago Blues Festival at Grant Park (also known as Millennium Park).  Blues is quite a big thing in Chicago, especially when you consider that the city has its own blues style known all over the world.  Thus being here, attending one of the concerts being held as part of this three day event was a must, and I didn’t regret it.  There was a nice atmosphere, with people enjoying the music and dancing away to the tunes.  Apart from the band on the main stage, there were other smaller stages spread around the park.  It was a truly enjoyable evening. 

This guy seemed very popular with the photographers, I didn't get his name though.  Any suggestions?

After the concert ended, we walked towards Buckingham fountain, in the same park.  This fountain is nothing out of the ordinary, except for its huge size, and the power of its water jets.  At one point the central jet of water rose to what to me seemed about 60m high.  That was quite impressive, and we all got a bit wet, when this happened.  As the water in the fountain was lit with red, white and blue lights, patriotic American tunes started playing.  It was nice, but I’m still immune to American patriotism.   

Buckingham Fountain at Grant Park

Walking away from the park, I came across a strange scene, hundreds of naked people riding a bike through the city streets.  I thought that they might be protesting against something, but apparently this is something that is quite common, here.  Well as we say back home, everyone needs a hobby….. Unfortunately I didn't have my camera ready, that would have been a good opportunity to increase the viewership to my blog :P

The Euro Economic Saga

Many of you, know that I’ve been following closely what is happening with the Euro, because it is greatly affecting my traveling plans.  I came across this article which looks at it through the lens of the ancient greeks.  I found it very interesting and it would be worth some of your time.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-18255039

To assume or not to assume

I do a lot of assumptions.  I assume constantly in various instances or contexts, and in the recent years I have been doing it also as part of my work.  Being an architect, I have to make a lot of assumptions.  Assumptions on the people who will be using the space I’m designing, assumptions regarding values of land and property, assumptions regarding structures, and so on.  When I meet people, I immediately assume a number of things about them, (some may call these prejudices), but since I don’t judge people according to my assumptions, I’d rather refer to them as assumptions.  Anyway having such a good experience I consider myself a pro (professional – Americans say pro :P) in assuming.

This skill of mine however came to a big test this week, when I was invited to join some friends at a bar a couple of blocks away from my house.  For some reason I assumed that this bar was the same place I had already been with these friends, a couple of weeks before in the same street.  So I headed out for this bar.  

When I thought I was almost there, I phoned my friends, and asked for the door number.  Surprise surprise it was 1400, and I was at 2500.  I questioned the person on the other end, and I told her, but I’m sure that last time we’ve been here we passed by through all these different landmarks, and I kept insisting.  Finally I decided to walk back to 1400, sure that when I reach 1400, I will have to go back to where I was.

The more I walked, the closer I was to home, so the stranger the situation looked.  When I arrived at 1400, I found out that there was actually a bar, but it wasn’t the bar I thought my friends were at.  Suddenly it dawned on me, that my friends never told me that I had already been to this bar with them.  I had just assumed that, and I never checked with them, I just headed out.

This made me think of all the assumptions we do in life, and how erroneous sometimes we can be.  This experience didn’t change my view that assumptions are a necessary tool in life, but reminded me of some basic rules, which need to be followed. 

Firstly, always state all you assumptions, and communicate them with all involved.  Look for other information that substantiates your assumptions.  When there are clear indications that your assumptions might be wrong, don’t be stubborn, do not persist in believing these as the solid truth.  Remember that all in all, these are just assumptions.

Mistakes are providential, because they remind us, no matter how pro we believe we are, we are still prone to failure.

So assuming that this little bit of street wisdom, would be appreciated by you, I decided to share it with you.  I have much more to tell you about what I’ve been doing, so probably I’ll be updating my blog several times this week.  

Keep checking it for updates!!

Clouds with silver lining

This week we had some wintry weather, with heavy rain and a lot of clouds.  However the clouds I'm speaking of in the title of this post, aren't physical ones, but life experiences, such as the one I had this Tuesday.  

I had planned to go to the Istituto Italiano di Cultura to watch a film.  I left my house at around half five, but it took the train about quarter of an hour to arrive.  This should have already made me suspicious, but when it arrived I boarded.  The train was really slow, and kept stopping.  Then the driver started announcing something about emergency and Belmont.  At first I didn’t understand what was happening but when he repeated the message a couple more times, I understood that there was a fire somewhere next to the red line, and thus the red line was stopping at Belmont and resuming at North & Clyborn. 

The film was starting at 6pm.  I was already late, and far from my final red line destination – Grand.  So when I arrived at Belmont at around 6.15pm, I had two options either to turn back or to continue my journey.  I opted for the latter.  I know it doesn’t make sense, but going back home seemed so dull.  At Belmont I tried to fit in a shuttle bus but it was full up, so I had to wait for the next.  The next bus arrived after a few more minutes and departed immediately.  Still the traffic was jammed.  A mile away from the station, I decided to ask the driver to open the door for me, which he did reluctantly (as it is against the rules) and decided to walk towards the station.  When I arrived, I realised that getting into the station here was close to impossible, with all the people trying to go in.  Besides those who were coming up from the underground looked as if they had been to hell, and looked exasperated.  By now it was almost 7pm.

A visit to the apple store just outside the station gave me the possibility to check my position on google maps, and plan an alternative way of arriving to my final destination.  The option which seemed to make the most sense was to walk to the next station at Clarke and Division.  It was a nice walk, and I got to see some more of Chicago.  The area looks quite nice, and I might consider looking for a place here.  So finally boarded the red line, arriving at Grand in a few minutes. 

I arrived at 7.50pm.  Almost two hours late.  Needles to say I didn’t go in, but walked on towards the river for a nice evening stroll.  Here I walked along Michigan Avenue, enjoying the nice summer atmosphere.

Despite the misadventure, I must admit that I enjoyed most of it, especially the long walks.  (Probably because I’m on holiday at the moment, so I afford wasting time)  Still, sometimes just wondering around can be really very relaxing.  This made me think a lot on the way we react to unexpected things that happen to us.  We can either become angry at the world for all the negative consequences such an event brings, or we can accept the situation and enjoy the positive outcomes that such an event brings with it.  Leading a slower life definitely helps in selecting the second option.  I want to make sure to take life with a positive attitude, because this experience taught me that it is my attitude which makes the difference!!  I suggest you do the same.