Hayward

I think it's good to see that spot filled in, but the cladding overall on the hotel is cheap as you can possibly get. EIFS is just one step above in price than doing painted cinder block. Being that the hotel is relatively modular, too bad they couldn't just use precast concrete panels faced in brick. Problem is that exterior of the hotel will collect a lot of grime, and many hotel chains aren't exactly quick to repaint or wash.

I don't like office lingo either. It's sounds too soft, fluffy, and overly polite. I say: Update me on what you are doing. When will you finish? Are you busy? They seem to result in more absolute responses. Maybe because they sound more direct. Our conference rooms are named after the view they face. "Chicago River Conference Room" BTW, I also hate "swing by" when someone is coming over. What do you mean by this "swinging" Tends to be said by someone coming over by car. At least say "roll up" or something that alludes to an approach by vehicle. Or how about "grab a bite to eat." No, just say Let's get lunch. I don't want my food grabbed or do I want just a bite.

Even better is the folgers container is from 2007. I haven't opened it since 2009 since I drink coffee at work or go to a coffee shop, usually Intelligentsia or Corner Bakery. I didn't drink Folgers but I saw it on sale dirt cheap at Meijer way back. I remember my mom was pissed since she had just shipped me a batch from here: http://www.frankenmuthcoffeeroasters.com/origin-coffees.htm Really great stuff. It's okay MTS, I'm the dark spot on Oak Street

I don't mind throwing parties and pretending like I'm in college once and awhile, but don't drink beer from kegs anymore, and our must have liquor is not 5 o'clock. - cringe - Remembers those days of drinking Bacardi 151 no chaser. But as rob mentioned, it's weird seeing people stuck in time. But there's one thing I haven't stopped doing since college and that's eating out. I used to prepare some food at home, and gradually I stopped buying groceries entirely except for milk, orange juice and beer. I usually just pick up some fruit from a stand or walgreens to eat on the way to work. I'll get a bowl of oat meal, scone, or muffin at Corner Bakery Cafe in the morning. Lunch could be anywhere, but lunch is my biggest meal of the day, so I always make sure to get some side, and I go to healthier places. Thankfully Chicago has organic fast food restaurants. Dinner is something light. I might stop and eat at Whole Foods or a local grocery store that has alot of healthy prepared food and seating. Or else I'll go to a bar since dinner at bars on weekdays is dirt cheap, of course the food isn't always the healthiest. Once and awhile, I make a huge grocery run to Meijer. I start scooping groceries off shelves like a natural disaster is about to strike. I opt for Meijer in the burbs since buying grocieries here in downtown Chicago is expensive. The smallest cereal boxes run about $5.90. With milk and orange juice included, that balanced breakfast costs $2.50

Is it okay for me to think that friends posting on facebook that they are excited for college freshman welcome week is...wrong...when they are 27 and 28 years old? That was nearly a decade ago for me. College was the best time of my life, but damn you gotta move on at some point, move away from campus eventually, actually graduate for real, and get a job............that's not on campus.

I have the suction cup mechanism that should work okay. I bought it awhile back since I live in a highrise and need to lift the glass out and into the apartment for cleaning.

Anyone ever upgraded components before? I have 4 year apple care and would like to upgrade the hard drive in my imac, but I'm not certain if opening my imac will void my warranty despite that it's relatively easy to open up and swap parts.

Why is that some people will follow the actions of a complete stranger nearby them. For example, If Person 1 runs across the crosswalk before the light changes because they see a clearing in traffic, why do person 2 & 3 assume it's safe to cross and step right out in front of a car.

That's very true, and though my salary is fairly average for a two years out of grad school position, I feel I can splurge more often and the bank account just replenishes itself because there is no car to worry about...no gas, no insurance, no repairs. I'm really impressed with the attention Chicago's leaders are giving towards bikes. More and more bike lanes pop up every month, and now they are building over 100 miles of cycle tracks.

When they filmed transformers 3 outside my office building, the debris from nearby structures was so convincing and beautifully modeled, you could put the foam mockups next to the real thing and the difference was indistinguishable. What's even more sad, is that our movie sets look more real than the disney-esque buildings we see everyday on our lives.

Gentrification can more easily be regulated through very harsh and stringent historic preservation guidelines. If it's your goal to preserve all the older historic buildings, you can essentially ban any new construction and encourage renovation and restoration of existing building stock. Certainly there will still be a gentrification movement as people update older buildings, but not at previous levels Chicago has seen where entire rows of older buildings are leveled for some banal 4 story brick townhomes. The heart of Lincoln Square is located where Milwaukee Ave intersects with Western and Lawrence Avenues. Like Wicker Park, it has a very intense and definitive commercial district

This really sucks, but I expected this to happen. There's no people to fill those buildings. There is no economy that they can be tasked with.

^ It's actually been very quiet. No new construction lately, and building conversions haven't quite happened. There's a few buildings that I assumed going residential but have just remained and continue to operate as businesses. Seems like it's a different story on the West side though. I think the attention is great. Lincoln Square has gotten alot of real estate hype lately, and even Humboldt Park. Though Humboldt Park is a very large neighborhood, it's currently experience a crisis of overcrowding. With the neighborhood built out, there's nowhere to go but up, yet there's been some pushback toward gentrification, and this recent article speaks of the concern of new development: http://www.chicagonow.com/chicago-muckrakers/2011/08/residents-concerned-skeptical-about-the-future-of-neighborhood-park/

ColDay and his casino buffets. Every trip to Detroit the food court at the MGM is a must.

Some days I really hate apartment living. I've never had maintenance issues rather privacy ones. 2004. My dorm room was used for marketing residence life to prospective students. While I stepped down the hall to visit a couple of my friends, I left the door ajar (my fault I guess) According to the guy across the room, the tour guide had peaked in and found it clean and therefore presentable to a group of 12. I had not seen this happen rather I was told. Otherwise I would have had no clue. 2007. My apartment was entered nearly 12 times to show it to potential tenants without 24 hours notice...rather a quick call when they had arrived to see if I was home. When I didn't answer (because I was in class) they entered anyway. 2008. 5 of us rented a house. The home went into foreclosure. We changed the electronic keycodes. The maintenance guy (who was good friends with owner) was staying in the house without our knowledge when all 5 of us were away from the summer. We were using the house for storage, and it appeared our cooking utensils were being used, as well as XBox and games. He also had a dog, which could have made us responsible for paying damages. With permission from the bank, we destroyed all the electronic locks and the new property management installed new locks. After discovering, entry was still happening through windows, we called the city and cut utilities. Because the management company was in control of deposits, not the owner, we still got our deposit back. 2009. Maintenance came in at random twice, but was accidental. Maintenance was always scheduled with notice 48 hours in advance 2010. A pipe chased needed access, I was notified as it was happening, but not in advance, despite that the plumbing maintenance was scheduled work. 2011. I was called as my unit was about to be shown in the next 20 minutes. When I didn't respond (since I was in a meeting) they showed it anyway. Obviously there are plenty of state and local regulations on this, but it would seem to me, no one ever follows it. With the exception of the house in 2008, it hasn't been an issue. But still, unannounced guests are annoying.

A good article with renderings of new developments in hoods that don't get talked about much http://archpaper.com/news/articles.asp?id=5582 To be honest, I hope the slump will continue to hold off more development in Cabrini Green for now. This area could have quite a bit of potential to be a great neighborhood if developed properly. There was alot of excellent new housing in the late 90's, but the recent stuff has been kind of bland. I'd want some pent up demand to prompt more towers and decent lowrise stuff in this hood. I'm beyond pleased with the SoNo project. Nearby, the New City project with its monster parking deck has me a bit concerned though.

I'm just blown away by how busy their downtown was. What the heck are all these people doing...shopping...and walking around here? This is a MIDWEST city, your supposed to be dead and decaying!!! Overall, I liked it. I just don't care for those 6 lane wide streets.....which fortunately they are already narrowing.

Though, one thing that's nice about coming in very early is there's no one there to distract you. You do complete a lot work, but if I ever came in at 6, I'd be out the door at 3 lol.

^ I just don't seem them changing. It's absolutely insane how you can tell a business is fading out by walking into their stores. Whether it's the unhelpfulness of staff, a dated interior, poorly displayed merchandise. Refresh yourselves, improve your advertising, improve your image. Even with all the competition out there, many department stores are doing well just keeping current. Talk about a shell of what they once were spinning off Allstate, Discover, and General Growth. Additionally alot of the real estate where they once were. Some of it occupied by someone else or left standing empty.

This depends, but in general no. To be honest this is really awful advice. I know people who have tried this and have actually gotten in trouble (not at my company). They were doing work for free or else adding personal time to improve a project beyond what is expected. Yes, OT is sometimes required for an important deadline, but if people are doing it just to prove themselves, it's considered a LIABILITY. Companies will quickly squash that behavior if they find out. Furthermore, it may be a red flag that your productivity is on the decline. You become more tired during normal working hours, and the projects that deserve your attention may not receive the same benefits of other assignments you worked OT on. Maybe in some professions this logic applies, but in most others, it's considered anti-social and unhealthy. The people that prove themselves in the workplace are those that can: Lead Build excellent client relationships and network Properly manage their employees Can prove work can be completed efficiently...as in a 40 hour work week/ no OT

We have a pretty relaxed dress code. But there was a group of employees who decided to do "suit Tuesdays" for fun. Stop that b.s. I walk, bike, or skateboard into work and would prefer the administration not get any ideas. After they realized how it can get and expensive to dry clean they stopped Really? I love wearing a tie. Dress shirts aren't even required at my job but I choose to wear a tie every day because I love the look, and being able to choose a color to match my mood. That's cool if you want to show off your style. I just hate when a group of people decides to dedicate a day of the week to something stupid and then go "Derrrr you're lame for not participating..." I like dressing up when I'm meeting a client or networking or to go out to a nice restaurant afterwords. But other than that, it's jeans and a polo or casual button up for me. Occasionally a T-shirt if I'm doing site visits. I just feel nicer clothing can get too restrictive. I'm worried about dripping coffee and it's a lot easier to walk or bike to work in jeans.

People that try to sneak into events without paying. Seriously, I hear people talk about this crap like it's completely okay and normal. I heard that b.s. when I was at Coachella and even more for Lollapalooza here in Chicago. I was walking down Michigan Ave hearing some high school kids talk about how they planned to run across Lakeshore Drive to get into the event. Later that day I rode along the Lakefront trail and saw tons of kids sort of planning their attempt to jump several high fences. Tragically, 2 kids tried it yesterday and were very seriously injured.

I have that problem ALOT at bars outside of Illinois. I'm 27 but bouncers have thought I was 18. Usually it's not an issue in Chicago since it's impossible to forge the Illinois drivers license, and my photo looks identical to me. But I went back to Ann Arbor, MI once to visit and friends and young 20's age bouncer was like "yo dude this is a fake. You look way too young to be 27. I was offended not because this person thought I was too young, rather because I had gone off to grad school moved on to a different city and had a professional job for 2 years. You just feel grown and to go back to some college town and think your pulling the kind of shenanigans a freshman college student would is insulting. Anyway, I pulled out my passport since I was going to Canada the next day. He said he didn't want to look at it and that I was being difficult, and the he would have to hold onto my drivers license!! I couldn't just leave it there. He asked me to stand aside for a moment while other people got through. I then got my phone and dialed 311 and asked for the police non-emergency. The bouncer immediately said "Okay fine, you don't have to be a dick about it" and then gave me my ID back. When I got back, the bar/restaurant has an online comment form for complaints. The place got back with me and apologized, gave me a discount for free appetizers but said they couldn't take any corrective action on this issue since they had already fired the guy for something else!!

We have a pretty relaxed dress code. But there was a group of employees who decided to do "suit Tuesdays" for fun. Stop that b.s. I walk, bike, or skateboard into work and would prefer the administration not get any ideas. After they realized how it can get and expensive to dry clean they stopped

I've noticed my friends have shifts that vary across the boards. My friends in the medical field work afternoons to midnight, while my friends who are in construction work 7-4. Engineers seem to prefer early shifts too. My sister is a publicist and event manager in the film industry and works 10-7 shifts usually. Alot of architects I know are late risers as well and like 9-6 shifts. My company has flex time so shifts vary quite greatly. I like the traditional 8-5 but most of my coworkers come in much later. I still wake up at 7:30 though since I live right by my job. I buy cereal, milk and orange juice and keep it at work and eat breakfast while I check my emails.