For those interested, the new Apple Store is supposed to be opening in the same space as the old Sharper Image location which is located at 120 W. Jefferson in Naperville, IL (across from Anderson’s Bookshop).

Apple has already started posting for job openings and walking by the other day, construction is well under way (and no I didn’t have my phone / camera to take pics).

I, for one, am looking for a closer place to go spend my hard-earned money.  Looking forward to this location opening up! :)

They tend to have a good rotation of authors come in for readings and book signings. I was very surprised when I discovered that Cory Doctorow would be in town to do a reading and signing of his newest book, Little Brother (and yes that link will take you to the full version to download for free ~ and yes it’s legal ~ you can buy it or download it).

For those not familiar (and what the hell is wrong with you), Cory is one of my favorite authors and is famous for his activism in the areas or Digital Rights Management and Copyrights (hence being able to download his books for your use) and also co-editing one of the most popular blogs around: BoingBoing.net.

It was nice to meet someone that you’ve read for years and shake their hand. There was a nice sized crowd tonight and Cory made sure to take time to talk to everyone who came to see him. Kinda fun that this all happened less than 5 minutes from my house.

And who said cool things don’t happen in the suburbs? :)

It’s a long story that starts out at the local Home Depot.  Since I don’t own a major set of power tools (or a large vehicle to bring home long pieces of lumber), I was waiting in line to have some wood cut up into sizable pieces to bring home for some repairs to our back door.  As I was waiting in line, this couple behind me started up a conversation.  As we were talking, the guy said something to me along the lines of “don’t take this the wrong way, but you should volunteer at the local haunted house”.  I naturally questioned how scary I was (or am) in real life and we were all laughing.

Without him saying it, he implied that most of the younger adults in the area are kind of “stuffy” and that they could really use some people in town who would want to have some fun working the Halloween event.  Turns out that they are regular volunteers and that sign-ups were coming up.  I thought about it for a while and thought it did sound like something fun but wasn’t sure.  At some point after my Home Depot encounter we were at the local bookstore and I saw a poster that was advertising their need for volunteers and thought that I should check things out.

Later that week when sign-ups were going on I decided to stop by and see what things were all about.  I met with some of the organizers (none of which were the people I had met at Home Depot ~ unfortunately names escape me and I don’t think they were costumed volunteers ~ or they had REALLY GOOD costumes and I never recognized them!) and things really sounded like they would be fun to participate in.  A few days later I got an email saying that they would like me to be an Underworld Zombie/Jump-Out.  Now that sounded like fun!  Hiding out in the shadows and being able to scare the bejesus out of people?  DONE!  :)

So last weekend was the actual event and I have to say that it was honestly one of the most fun things I may have ever done.  There were a ton of cool people who worked the event and even though we had an amazing amount of rain on the Friday night, you would not believe how many people came through.  Without a doubt, I will be volunteering again next year. 

I do have to say that there were a handful of things that I walked away with from volunteering at the All Hallows Eve event that I need to remember for next year: 

1.)  If you are in your 30′s (or older) and are supposed to be hiding behind things/jumping out at people walking through the haunted mansion, it makes a lot of sense to take some tylenol for preventative measures…  :) 

 

2.)  If you are in a girl scout/brownie troop, a junior high school girl or a middle aged women you will all be targeted in a crowd…  Sorry, but it’s like shooting fish in a barrel!  :)

 

3.)  Don’t let the goth/witchy chicks (who I’m guessing didn’t have to do too much for their costume) do “just some touch-ups” to your make-up.  There was about a day of major scrubbing required to remove all traces of black from around my eyelids.  The good news is that I somehow ended up with the eyeliner they used in my bag if I plan on attending a goth club in the near future…  :)

 

Like I said, I had such a great time and was really glad that I followed through with helping out.  I was on the fence and was thinking about changing my mind.  I’m really glad I didn’t!  See you all next year!  :)

P.S. I still haven’t run into the people I talked to at Home Depot. Either they tricked me into this or they were working the ticket booth or like I said, had amazing costumes that prevented me from recognizing them!

A month or two back I received a phone call from a number that I didn’t recognize. For some reason I decided to pick up the call. As it turns out, it was Details Magazine and they had gotten my number from my friend, Kris Smith. They were doing research for an article they were writing about “cool people who live in the suburbs” and found Kris’s website (and obviously not MINE!). Kris gave them my information and I was interviewed about what made us move from the city, how has “suburban” life been to us, etc.

I think the author was really trying to dig some scandalous dirt about how I threw away all of my indie music, moved to the burbs, bought a McMansion and am now sporting dual Hummers in the driveway. Obviously, if you know me, that is nowhere near the case. We’ve recently moved closer to downtown Naperville to get back to walking everywhere and traded in our first house for a cozy 50′s ranch (that will not be torn down ~ a rarity in the Ville). I think the only things that are really “suburban” about us are Liz’s Volvo and our zip code (well, and the fact that we do live on a cul de sac now). :)

Anyways, the article that I was interviewed for is finally up on the Details Magazine website and should be on newstands any day now. No, there is no photo of me in front of the Naperville Riverwalk, showing off a yellow ribbon magnet on my car or anything fun like that, but it actually is a somewhat interesting read.

I thought that this was a pretty cool view on the ongoing City vs. Suburbs debate…

The model of the city as patchwork, which so many urban dwellers see as a point of pride, is quickly becoming a relic of the past. “When you have Crate & Barrel and Whole Foods on every other corner, you don’t have the same sense of place, the sense that this block is distinct from that block, the way you did even 20 years ago,” Kotkin says. “The real diversity now is in suburban strip malls, where those who aren’t super-wealthy have been displaced and where you now find an East Indian barber next to a Persian grocer next to a young guy from a good East Coast college who’s selling earth-friendly furniture. And all that is next to the coolest Hindu temple you’ve ever seen.”

You can read the article that I was interviewed for on the Details Magazine website.

More information is available over at Croncast.com and you can order tickets directly from Eventbrite…

As I have mentioned to Kris in the past, I will be turning the show into a mini Grateful Dead-like event by bootlegging my own recording with a 17 foot tall mic-stand in the back of the venue and selling soggy grilled cheese sandwiches after the show in the parking lot. :)

With all of that said, the article was finally released/published and has a couple of quotes by yours truly. I am kind of bummed since they were supposed to run a picture or two that I had taken during our little party. It’s not that I really am bummed that the picture(s) weren’t included, I was just looking forward to having Rick publically humiliated.

Oh well, I’ll take things into my own hands with this post! :)

You can check out the article over at the Reuters website…

Besides having so much fun, I can’t help but gloat that I won the trophy for Wii Bowling with my scores of 203 and 205 (even after an attempt to throw off my game by being “forced” to do a tequila shot from Betsy)… :)

I don’t think I ever won a trophy before.

And as everyone can attest, Mr. Smith figured something out and cannot be beat.

Evidence of a great time can be found here (and I have video that I need to figure out what to do with). We have to do this more often… :)

My Wii procurement strategy is Meijer (at midnight) -> Target (crack o’ dawn) -> Costco… I better get a console with this much dedication. Will I be camping out? No. Will it be close to camping out? Uh, that’s an embarrassing question to answer for a 32 year old with a family… :)

All I can say is wish me luck… This really/unfortunately has been my biggest plan of the week.

I’ve never been a fan of the train (well I guess commuting in general for that matter)… I’ve had bad experiences in the past (which were lucky enough to be documented through previous podcasts) and this ties things for “worst commute ever“…

Oh well, I’m home now and while I missed out on an evening with family, the only good news is that Sufjan Stevens was on Austin City Limits tonight (thank you Tivo for your season pass pulling through ~ though, don’t get me wrong, Sufjan is no match for quality time with family).

Thanks go out to Liz, Kris, Rick and Evan (hope you made it home finally) for your support and encouragement through my hellish ride home. :)