I deserve the criticism.
If you wish to be a successful blogger, you have to keep plugging at it, day in and day out. If nothing gets published, nothing gets read. Ads do not get viewed, Amazon affiliate referrals do not get made and readers lose interest.
Oh f*cking well.
I apologize for the F-bomb, but I read the word about a thousand times in the last few days in Mark Manson's awesome book, The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck.
It is one of about seven books that I am currently in the middle of. All of them are interesting in their own ways, including the book that I was given last Thursday evening while attending the Harold J. Washington Literary Award dinner at Union League Chicago. That book is Angel of History by Rabih Alameddine.
Another book that I am in the middle of reading is a very depressing yet highly enlightening one called Our Parents' Lives by Neil M. Cowan and Ruth Schwartz Cowan. Their book details the migration and subsequent Americanization of Eastern European Jews. It basically tells the story of how my ancestors and I became Americans instead of victims of pogroms by Russians and the Polish.
I quickly read through two books by David Sedaris, who has become my favorite writer of late, and that's saying a lot. I find his brand of self-deprecating humor awesome. Although I am not a gay man (But there's not anything wrong with that), I even enjoy his quips about early and awkward gay encounters and when he writes about his boyfriend. I had never considered having a boyfriend who is manlier than I am or more fastidious or whatever. Anyway, his writing is awesome and I plowed through two of his books a week ago.
My blog really should be book-related, perhaps even titled "Book Related." Without divulging my true identity, it would make sense if you know me. I am about as much of a book lover as any Jewish guy could be, having been surrounded by a small library's worth while being raised by two English teachers and authors. Consider me more of a book mensch than money mensch for now, as I seem to have more books than money these days depending on your perspective although we get by on my salary as a highly professional and driven municipal economic development official.
While spending numerous hours contemplating how to make a few extra bucks while working, and then a significant amount of income once I scale back or stop working a day job altogether, doing something with books often rises to the top of the list. Writing my own, which I will self-publish at a respectable clip. Perhaps editing and trying to improve the work of others' books and reviewing them (favorably of course) for a fee.
As my late father often said, "We shall see."
The one night of the week so far when I could have spent an hour or two working on a post, I opted to read for a few hours and binge-watch my new favorite show.
Bingeing on Bourdain
I spent a freakin' awesome week in NOLA with my son in March for his college spring break. On the way there, I brought about five of the dozen or so magazines that I subscribe to for reading on the airplane.
One of the magazines that I read in flight was Money magazine with Anthony Bourdain on the cover.
The article was not really money-related per se, but like my blog, I do not want or expect every article in Money, Kiplinger's, Fortune, Barron's and the others that I read to be about the topic.
In the article, Anthony Bourdain expounded upon his ideas of how to explore new places off the beaten path. He said that visiting the Eiffel Tower in Paris or the Buckingham Palace in London is trite, boring and played out. Bourdain provided tips on how to find great out-of-the-way places favored by locals. I found it interesting, and it rekindled my travel itch even as I was traveling to my favorite city in the U.S. with my son.
When Kate Spade committed suicide, I read the articles with a passing and partially morbid fascination. Having heard of her handbags for years and having seen them held by upwardly mobile women wealthier than my wife and I are, I did not really give another thought to it. Oh well, some famous people commit suicide.
When Bourdain offed himself a few days later, it interested me to a far greater degree. I had watched one of his shows once and found it interesting, but never went out of my way to view it again.
A day or two after his passing, I watched an episode of Parts Unknown where he traveled to Egypt, met with locals and ate his way through the country. I was totally hooked.
Including this past weekend, I must have watched eight episodes and will most likely end up watching all of them. Since I never have traveled to Japan, Vietnam, or any European or Middle East nations and my prospects are not too great to do so, I enjoy learning about their countries and their food vicariously through the late Bourdain.
I feel slightly guilty not having watched and appreciated this show while Bourdain was alive. Then again, I barely watch any TV shows and I am sure that there are many others that millions of people have felt compelled to watch and I have never viewed one episode. I have never watched Grey's Anatomy, the Walking Dead, Game of Thrones etc. etc. Of the twenty most popular shows from last year as ranked by Insider, the only two that I have watched are The Big Bang Theory and a few episodes of Stranger Things as my wife watched them.
I cannot wait to see the Cajun Mardi Gras episode that will be airing this Sunday. However, my wife's brother and his wife as well as one of their friends who I do not know will be spending this Sunday, which happens to be Father's Day, at our home. It was not quite expected but we are gracious and it is family and we have not seen my wife's brother and his wife for three or four years at this point. I will therefore watch that episode On Demand.
Eating
I have been eating better than my middle class status should allow me to.
I could tell you about all the great restaurant meals that I have enjoyed and the seafood buffet that I hit up yesterday at a ribbon cutting ceremony, but that is not as interesting as what my son has made.
My wife decided that our son should learn to cook some things for himself, and he has taken it several steps further than that.
He does not make pizzas, sloppy joes or chili, things that my family eats and likes and there is nothing wrong with them.
He has decided to make Food Network worthy meals a few times per week, combining dozens of ingredients to make some of the best sauces that I have had. This past week alone, he made both an Indian-style chicken dish and an Asian-inspired chicken dish last night.
When I say he "made" them, I actually serve as his sous chef, chopping the garlic, onions, ginger, peppers and what not. I also draw the menial task of plucking and chopping leaves of basil, cilantro, rosemary or whatever herb is needed. Oh, and I also end up chopping up the raw chicken most of the time and making the rice or noodles or whatever our son's creation goes on.
Oh well, it is a small price to pay beyond the actual price of his ingredients. It allows me to turn my hyperactive brain off for a while, play the music that I like: New Orleans-style jazz or the "[my name] in the kitchen" Pandora station on our Sonos speaker, and get truly into what I am doing.
We have been telling our son that if the music thing does not pan out, he could always go to culinary school although don't get me started on the high risk involved with opening your own restaurant. I could tell you stories about that until the cows come home based upon my eighteen years as an economic development professional.
And speaking of being an ED'er...
Economic Developing a Town
A year ago, I probably would have written about how difficult and stressful the week that I just made it through was.
And while it is true that my week was busy and stressful, I have come to think of it in a different way. Truth be told, some of it has to do with me buying into Manson's philosophies on happiness as detailed in what has become my current favorite book, the aforementioned Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck.
After all, even though you are reading this, you do not really care about whether or not I am happy and fulfilled (except for one regular reader and you know who you are). I do not really care how happy and fulfilled you are, again with the exception of a handful of female readers whose blogs I follow and I am happy to see posts showing when they are happy with their families...
Anyway, I digress.
My employer pays me fairly well, over fifty bucks an hour (although I think that I should make ten times that much based on my ability) to represent its best interests in the economic development of the community.
Instead of lamenting how much I would be making at a different job or in a different profession or if thousands of people viewed my posts and clicked on ads, I found myself wanting to give it my all this week while at the same time not giving much of a f*ck how my projects panned out. I came to realize that it was but one short week within a career of over thirty years. Thirty-three years, or a third of a century, to be more precise, if I cease working for an IMRF employer at the end of 2025 as planned.
I had a crazy week, like I said, working forty-four hours (twelve on Monday and eight the other four days) and barely had an extra hour or two to surf the web.
To wit, a few of the things that I did in pursuit of improving my community's economy included, but were not limited to:
Spending
If you wish to be a successful blogger, you have to keep plugging at it, day in and day out. If nothing gets published, nothing gets read. Ads do not get viewed, Amazon affiliate referrals do not get made and readers lose interest.
Oh f*cking well.
I apologize for the F-bomb, but I read the word about a thousand times in the last few days in Mark Manson's awesome book, The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck.
It is one of about seven books that I am currently in the middle of. All of them are interesting in their own ways, including the book that I was given last Thursday evening while attending the Harold J. Washington Literary Award dinner at Union League Chicago. That book is Angel of History by Rabih Alameddine.
 |
| The crowd at the HJW Literary Award dinner on June 7th. |
 |
| 7 books that I have been reading lately. |
While spending numerous hours contemplating how to make a few extra bucks while working, and then a significant amount of income once I scale back or stop working a day job altogether, doing something with books often rises to the top of the list. Writing my own, which I will self-publish at a respectable clip. Perhaps editing and trying to improve the work of others' books and reviewing them (favorably of course) for a fee.
As my late father often said, "We shall see."
The one night of the week so far when I could have spent an hour or two working on a post, I opted to read for a few hours and binge-watch my new favorite show.
Bingeing on Bourdain
I spent a freakin' awesome week in NOLA with my son in March for his college spring break. On the way there, I brought about five of the dozen or so magazines that I subscribe to for reading on the airplane.
One of the magazines that I read in flight was Money magazine with Anthony Bourdain on the cover.
The article was not really money-related per se, but like my blog, I do not want or expect every article in Money, Kiplinger's, Fortune, Barron's and the others that I read to be about the topic.
In the article, Anthony Bourdain expounded upon his ideas of how to explore new places off the beaten path. He said that visiting the Eiffel Tower in Paris or the Buckingham Palace in London is trite, boring and played out. Bourdain provided tips on how to find great out-of-the-way places favored by locals. I found it interesting, and it rekindled my travel itch even as I was traveling to my favorite city in the U.S. with my son.
When Kate Spade committed suicide, I read the articles with a passing and partially morbid fascination. Having heard of her handbags for years and having seen them held by upwardly mobile women wealthier than my wife and I are, I did not really give another thought to it. Oh well, some famous people commit suicide.
When Bourdain offed himself a few days later, it interested me to a far greater degree. I had watched one of his shows once and found it interesting, but never went out of my way to view it again.
A day or two after his passing, I watched an episode of Parts Unknown where he traveled to Egypt, met with locals and ate his way through the country. I was totally hooked.
Including this past weekend, I must have watched eight episodes and will most likely end up watching all of them. Since I never have traveled to Japan, Vietnam, or any European or Middle East nations and my prospects are not too great to do so, I enjoy learning about their countries and their food vicariously through the late Bourdain.
I feel slightly guilty not having watched and appreciated this show while Bourdain was alive. Then again, I barely watch any TV shows and I am sure that there are many others that millions of people have felt compelled to watch and I have never viewed one episode. I have never watched Grey's Anatomy, the Walking Dead, Game of Thrones etc. etc. Of the twenty most popular shows from last year as ranked by Insider, the only two that I have watched are The Big Bang Theory and a few episodes of Stranger Things as my wife watched them.
I cannot wait to see the Cajun Mardi Gras episode that will be airing this Sunday. However, my wife's brother and his wife as well as one of their friends who I do not know will be spending this Sunday, which happens to be Father's Day, at our home. It was not quite expected but we are gracious and it is family and we have not seen my wife's brother and his wife for three or four years at this point. I will therefore watch that episode On Demand.
Eating
I have been eating better than my middle class status should allow me to.
I could tell you about all the great restaurant meals that I have enjoyed and the seafood buffet that I hit up yesterday at a ribbon cutting ceremony, but that is not as interesting as what my son has made.
My wife decided that our son should learn to cook some things for himself, and he has taken it several steps further than that.
He does not make pizzas, sloppy joes or chili, things that my family eats and likes and there is nothing wrong with them.
He has decided to make Food Network worthy meals a few times per week, combining dozens of ingredients to make some of the best sauces that I have had. This past week alone, he made both an Indian-style chicken dish and an Asian-inspired chicken dish last night.
 |
| Last night's Asian-inspired chicken (there were seconds) |
 |
| Tuesday night's Indian-style chicken. |
Oh well, it is a small price to pay beyond the actual price of his ingredients. It allows me to turn my hyperactive brain off for a while, play the music that I like: New Orleans-style jazz or the "[my name] in the kitchen" Pandora station on our Sonos speaker, and get truly into what I am doing.
We have been telling our son that if the music thing does not pan out, he could always go to culinary school although don't get me started on the high risk involved with opening your own restaurant. I could tell you stories about that until the cows come home based upon my eighteen years as an economic development professional.
And speaking of being an ED'er...
Economic Developing a Town
A year ago, I probably would have written about how difficult and stressful the week that I just made it through was.
And while it is true that my week was busy and stressful, I have come to think of it in a different way. Truth be told, some of it has to do with me buying into Manson's philosophies on happiness as detailed in what has become my current favorite book, the aforementioned Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck.
After all, even though you are reading this, you do not really care about whether or not I am happy and fulfilled (except for one regular reader and you know who you are). I do not really care how happy and fulfilled you are, again with the exception of a handful of female readers whose blogs I follow and I am happy to see posts showing when they are happy with their families...
Anyway, I digress.
My employer pays me fairly well, over fifty bucks an hour (although I think that I should make ten times that much based on my ability) to represent its best interests in the economic development of the community.
Instead of lamenting how much I would be making at a different job or in a different profession or if thousands of people viewed my posts and clicked on ads, I found myself wanting to give it my all this week while at the same time not giving much of a f*ck how my projects panned out. I came to realize that it was but one short week within a career of over thirty years. Thirty-three years, or a third of a century, to be more precise, if I cease working for an IMRF employer at the end of 2025 as planned.
I had a crazy week, like I said, working forty-four hours (twelve on Monday and eight the other four days) and barely had an extra hour or two to surf the web.
To wit, a few of the things that I did in pursuit of improving my community's economy included, but were not limited to:
- Began the week with a conference call recapping our community's efforts and takeaways from last month's RECon show in Vegas with six other local communities.
- Met for the third time with a hotel ownership and development group to discuss their concept for two hotels, a conference center, two office buildings, a restaurant and an apartment building on land owned by my community and being offered for sale.
- Speaking of potential hotels, I hired a consultant to conduct a hotel feasibility study this week at a cost of $15,000. His firm will begin working on it next week and gave us a thirty day estimate to complete it. Most new hotel projects require one of these at this point in time, mostly to satisfy lenders and investors that the project is likely to succeed.
- Told a major developer of large Chicago area apartment complexes that we were looking to move in another direction on the above community-owned property despite their pursuit of the land for two months and solid offer to purchase it.
- Had another discussion with above apartment developer about possible development of the same project, two 100-unit apartment buildings separated by a club house/fitness center, on the property directly west of the community owned property.
- Met with a small ethnic grocery store that wants to add hot food service to its offerings and if the Village would issue a financial incentive from our new program (we will).
- Met with a young Indian dude who will be opening our community's first Indian restaurant in conjunction with a small financial incentive in the $25,000 to $30,000 range.
- Staffed our community's Economic Development Committee meeting Monday night until 8:30 PM, after having arrived at work at 8:30 AM the same day. Afterwards, I picked our kids up after their concert rehearsal at 9:00ish. It was a long day!
- Met with recent purchaser of a foreclosed restaurant property and potential operators of what was described as a bar and grill specializing in barbecue fare and expanding a small outdoor dining area into a cool beer patio. Of course, with a financial incentive from the Village.
- A prominent law firm called and inquired about expanding with a financial incentive. I said "F*ck NO!" but in a nice way.
- A local commercial brokerage called after I ignored two emails pitching their services to "help our community" identify and recruit desirable retail and restaurant uses. I told them "F*ck NO!" too but in a nice way and said that they could help us in that manner by bringing a great business to our town. I doubt that I'll hear back.
- I was invited to be one of three economic development practitioners to speak on a panel at a big upcoming conference. I said "F*ck YEAH!" and detailed what it is that I will be speaking about. There will be about three hundred attendees so far and I wish that you could see and hear me when I do that one week from this coming Monday on the 25th.
- I was totally put on the spot late Thursday morning on a conference call with three representatives of the State's economic development agency, a site selection consultant and a hyper-aggressive CEO of a company pitting sites in three states against one another. Worthy of a post on its own, I managed to offend nearly everybody on the call but was in the right all the way. Again, the dispute came over the amount of incentives our Village would or would not give. Funny thing is, the building that the guy was looking at just went under contract today, so F*ck HIM even though he, his consultant, and the State DCEO reps are all eagerly waiting for my answer. Even though we will be filling the building without issuing one red cent of incentives, I must give the State reps the courtesy of letting them know next week. A guy like me always has to be in good with the State, even though I F*cking hate them.
- Spoke with an attorney who I like and am almost friends with about his new clients, the owners of a prominent commercial strip center in our town, who are essentially absentee slumlords, about the multiple code-related violations at the property, the least of which is their failure to pick up piles of garbage in the back of three restaurants.
- Caught the call of a broker representing a mosque who wants to locate in close proximity to our community. Asked me if our community would object, as we have the right to do. I later found out that we will adopt the "live and let live" philosophy and not interfere, which is the right move both legally and ethically, in my opinion. I could write a long post about RLUIPA laws, but that is not the point here, is it?
- Spoke with a crusty-sounding old lady who called me to ask questions about "that senior living facility that you're working on." I went on the defensive, describing how nice it would be and the effort that the Village would make to require a separation from the neighborhood directly west of it. When I asked her if she lives in one of the houses abutting the proposed development (most of the calls I get about it are from neighbors who object to it), she told me that her daughter lives in that neighborhood and she wants to move into it now that her husband has passed away. This mensch felt more like a schmuck. I did some more research today and called her back to tell her that the application has not yet been officially submitted but that she should call me every four to six weeks to gauge its status. She thanked me profusely and called me a nice young man, which made me feel good. I do give a F*ck about her and now even give a F*ck about the senior living facility project.
- One other thing to mention where I ate great was at a ribbon-cutting ceremony late yesterday afternoon. The food was great and the hundreds of attendees were each given an awesome bottle of wine as a parting gift. The funny thing about it is that the Mayor cut the ribbon with the company CEO, who thanked him and said that they would not be in town if it were not for him. Here I'll share a secret with you, but it will be in smaller font..the only thing that the Mayor had to do with the project was to vote "Yes" when the site plan was on the Board agenda after two years of working on the project.
Is it really news any more that my family and I have been spending a lot?
That we ate out about ten times this week between meals for the four of us, with exception for the nights that our son prepared dinner is not really news.
The fact that I gave our daughter $100 in cash earlier this week to go clothes shopping (parents do purchase nice clothes for their kids, you know) and another $50 for her trip to Six Flags Great America, where she spent today before staying over at a Hampton Inn with her BFF and BFF's mother tonight is not big news. Of course, $150 does not grow on trees.
The fact that our son went to the dentist today is not really newsworthy.
Nor is the fact that I paid about $250 for insurance on my old minivan today and about $800 to my Chase Visa card to pay off the balance.
My wife went grocery shopping, as she often does, and we all went to the local Farmer's Market last Friday as I took my eighth vacation day of the year, and she went again today. Our Farmer's Market is F*ing expensive. I mean the cheese that we buy is $8 a chunk and we buy some home-made salsa for about the same amount. Never mind the organic vegetables. My wife cannot make it out of there without dropping around $40.
Did I mention that we went to Brookfield Zoo last Friday and purchased the family plus membership for $142? We did have a super great time, well worth the money.
Did I mention that we saw the new Star Wars movie at a drive-in theater in West Chicago last Saturday night? Not the west side of Chicago, mind you. We would not drive there on a Saturday night for a thousand bucks.
We went to the Cascade Drive-In in the City of West Chicago, about a forty minute drive from our home. This will be the topic of another post: "I'm Done With Drive-In Theaters." Stay tuned for that one. It will be short.
My wife and I took our darling daughter and her BFF. Our son took a pass. Tickets were ten bucks a pop and I gave the girls another twenty spot for popcorn and pop.
I Paid Myself First, a mere $100 to each of the two funds comprising my Roth IRA, last Friday.
I could detail further spending, but suffice it to say that about two grand flew out of our account since me taking off Friday one week ago.
Really just an average week.
Final Notes
My final notes on this post are musical notes that were played by our two children.
If you want to know what the happiest and most fulfilling part of my week was, it was definitely attending a summer concert put on by the college that our son attends this past Wednesday evening.
It just so happens that our lovely daughter is the only high school student member of this band, and she can hold her own with this group of about fifty college students and adults. She's that good!
So we heard a collection of songs including the required John Philip Sousa march and other songs that I liked far better. We recorded a few of them and will post them to our family's YouTube channel.
Both of our kids had a list of criticisms for the performance of the band and one of the guest conductors, but if you would have seen me and my wife on folding chairs this past Wednesday, both doused with bug spray and sunscreen and drinking our cold water bottles, you would have seen a mensch without one money-related thought in his mind for a few hours and his lovely wife of twenty-two years as of next Friday.
The fact that I gave our daughter $100 in cash earlier this week to go clothes shopping (parents do purchase nice clothes for their kids, you know) and another $50 for her trip to Six Flags Great America, where she spent today before staying over at a Hampton Inn with her BFF and BFF's mother tonight is not big news. Of course, $150 does not grow on trees.
The fact that our son went to the dentist today is not really newsworthy.
Nor is the fact that I paid about $250 for insurance on my old minivan today and about $800 to my Chase Visa card to pay off the balance.
My wife went grocery shopping, as she often does, and we all went to the local Farmer's Market last Friday as I took my eighth vacation day of the year, and she went again today. Our Farmer's Market is F*ing expensive. I mean the cheese that we buy is $8 a chunk and we buy some home-made salsa for about the same amount. Never mind the organic vegetables. My wife cannot make it out of there without dropping around $40.
Did I mention that we went to Brookfield Zoo last Friday and purchased the family plus membership for $142? We did have a super great time, well worth the money.
 |
| The Cascade Drive In about a half hour before movie time last Saturday night. |
We went to the Cascade Drive-In in the City of West Chicago, about a forty minute drive from our home. This will be the topic of another post: "I'm Done With Drive-In Theaters." Stay tuned for that one. It will be short.
My wife and I took our darling daughter and her BFF. Our son took a pass. Tickets were ten bucks a pop and I gave the girls another twenty spot for popcorn and pop.
I Paid Myself First, a mere $100 to each of the two funds comprising my Roth IRA, last Friday.
I could detail further spending, but suffice it to say that about two grand flew out of our account since me taking off Friday one week ago.
Really just an average week.
Final Notes
My final notes on this post are musical notes that were played by our two children.
If you want to know what the happiest and most fulfilling part of my week was, it was definitely attending a summer concert put on by the college that our son attends this past Wednesday evening.
It just so happens that our lovely daughter is the only high school student member of this band, and she can hold her own with this group of about fifty college students and adults. She's that good!
So we heard a collection of songs including the required John Philip Sousa march and other songs that I liked far better. We recorded a few of them and will post them to our family's YouTube channel.
Both of our kids had a list of criticisms for the performance of the band and one of the guest conductors, but if you would have seen me and my wife on folding chairs this past Wednesday, both doused with bug spray and sunscreen and drinking our cold water bottles, you would have seen a mensch without one money-related thought in his mind for a few hours and his lovely wife of twenty-two years as of next Friday.
And of course we went to DQ for a treat afterwards.
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