Well, I have returned from my brief Chicago trip. I went up there with my dad and my sister. At first it was cause my dad had business, but that got changed, but we still went up cause we had plane tickets and hotel reservations and all. And my dad and my sister wanted to look for a prom dress, as her prom is steadily approaching. Chicago was pretty fun, but I didn't really get to do everything I really wanted. We went up to the top of the John Hancock Building, which is almost as tall as the Sears building, but not as crowded and all. Apparently the John Hancock Building is the most recognized building in the world. *shrug* I had never heard of it. But it was kinda cool looking out over the big sky scrapers. Umm lessee what else did we do. Oh yeah, we went to the Adler Planetarium, which was really cool. It had a big dome movie screen that they showed a movie about Mars on. That was very cool. We ate at an old German Restaurant called Bergoffs. It's incredibly old, and it was also the first establishment to receive a liquor license in Chicago after Prohibition ended. Damn good beer, even though I could only sneak one sip. And the last night we were there, my dad and I went to the Second City ETC. comedy club. Apparently Second City is a famous comedy club where lots of comedians got there start. Chris Farley, Dan Aykrod, James Belushi, and tons of others. The show was hilarious, and if anyone is ever in Chicago, I highly recommend going, just call and get tix before hand. The only other thing of interest we did was drive by the Playboy Enterprises Headquarters building on the way to the airport. *shrug* Oh yeah, and the Chicago Tribune building was incredible. There's a whole story about pieces of famous works of architecture from around the world being a part of that building. Apparently news correspondents stole pieces of stuff and brought it back, I'm not exactly sure of the places, but I've heard the Vatican, the Coliseum, and basically anything you shouldn't take a piece of. :) Well, not much else to report from Chicago. *shrug* This past weekend was Easter, no biggie for me. My mom still insisted on hiding eggs and giving Easter baskets. The jelly beans made me sick after awhile, but luckily we used a lot of them in the first annual “Get Points For Hitting Street Signs With Jelly Beans From A Moving Vehicle." I think the name says everything and by the way, Steve beat Kent. This past weekend, April 11th to be exact, was the one year anniversary of my experience in the realms of LSD. In a few weeks it will also be the one year anniversary of me getting sent away. I'm still not completely concrete in how I feel about this, but it has been in my mind a lot lately. I don't regret taking LSD, but I do regret my reaction to it later, and my reaction to things going on at that point in my life. Maybe I shouldn't have skipped so much school, I should have been a bit more conscientious towards my friends and family, and dammit, I shouldn’t have let the dog shit in my parent’s bedroom. :) But then again, everything has worked out well. I graduated High School early, got home in December, had a brief exposure to the corporate world (never again),and now I'm planning a road trip which I've wanted to do for years. I've also been accepted to all four of the colleges I applied to (Wake Forest, Denison, NC State, and the University of Denver). I've used the past few months to reflect on my life and the direction I want to take it in. I've decided that I refuse to fall into the organized, typical, corporate version of life in society. I will not have the wife and2.5 kids. Or maybe I will, but it will not be because that's what I’m supposed to do. I do not have to put on the suit and tie in order to be successful. I do not need to drive a Lexus or a BMW or hell, even own a car. I'm not exactly sure what I _do_ want to do with my life yet, but then again, I will not know for sure if I have truly done everything I want until that last moment before Death. Right now, I am studying some psychology and may end up majoring in that in college. I have a great deal of first-hand experience with it, so that will help. Now I'm not talking about the normal marriage counselor. I'm thinking more along the lines of trying to tap into the depths of subconscious, and the mental quirks that make people who they are. Like I said in another Update, I've been reading a book called Storming Heaven by Jay Stevens, which is a great book chronicling the study of psychedelic drugs. I finally got my own copy (from Books on Ninth in Durham, NC) and can return the copy I checked out of Wake which is way overdue. Reading this book makes me think, and I love it. Part of me wants to start writing essays on my thoughts and whatnot, but there's always the wall of motivation one must climb, and so far I can't find the rope I need. Speaking of Storming Heaven, I'm gonna go read some, as I don't think I have much else to report here now. Live life because it only comes once, and there isn't enough time to observe the casual courtesies that serve no other purpose than to grease the wheels of society.