DavidGervino.com

Busse Woods

I went to Busse Woods this past Sunday.  It is an 8-mile trail that people jog, roller-blade and ride bikes on.  It also is surrounded by water, so many people fish and bring their boats.  I try to go and walk/jog the trail once a week when the weather is nice.  Click here to see pictures I took from the trail.

Thanks for dinner!

I went to dinner yesterday at T.G.I. Friday's.  Although I rarely drink, I like to sit at the bar because I think you get better & faster service there.  The bar was packed but there was one open seat so I took it.  It turned out that just about everyone else in the bar area were employees of Frito Lay.  I guess they had stopped by to have a few drinks after work.  So I ordered my steak and beverage and made some small talk with the people sitting next to me.  The next thing I knew, I asked for my bill and the bartender said, "Oh, your company paid for it."

Since I had been sitting with and talking with the guys from Frito Lay, the bartender just figured I worked there and put my meal on their bar tab! The person who had paid the tab on their corporate card had already left and they said they couldn't issue a refund without that person and her card.  The people who were still in the restaurant from Frito Lay told me not to worry about it.  Thanks for the free dinner, guys!!!

Fathers Day

Today is Father's Day.  I am thankful for all the sacrifices my parents made and the example they set for me.  No matter what happens in life, it's great to know that I have a family that is always there for me.

Batman Begins

I went and saw Batman Begins last night.  I was never really into comic books or anything but I thought the movie was great.  Of the Batman movies I've seen, I like this one the best. 

Peanut Butter & Jelly

I was talking to someone the other day who told me that he has eaten a peanut butter & jelly sandwich every day for the past 30 years.  Can you imagine that!? So with all his peanut butter & jelly-eating experience, he has a become quite an expert.  So here is his tip to keep the bread from getting soggy if you're bring a pb&j sandwich to work:  Put peanut butter on BOTH slices of bread before putting the jelly on.  This keeps the jelly from coming into direct contact with the bread and will, in turn, keep the bread from getting soggy.  How brilliant is that!?

Cinderella Man

I went and saw Cinderella Man over the weekend.  It was a good movie -- One of those movies that puts things into perspective.  For more details on the movie, check out Amy's Post . 

Almost as interesting as the movie, though not quite, was something that happened while I was watching it.  I'm always overly considerate when I go to a movie.  If there is enough room, I try not to sit directly in front of someone else so I don't block their view.  And I'm always careful not to kick the seat in front of me.  So you can imagine my surprise when a guy sitting behind me, one seat over, put his BARE FEET up on the seat next to me! BARE FEET!!! You know, it's bad enough to put your feet up when no one is sitting next to them and you have shoes on.  But putting your bare feet up on a seat right next to where someone is sitting!??? Who does that????

So anyway....  I'm sitting there trying to decide if this is worth me taking the time and effort to say something to this guy.  About the time I decide that it is, someone else sitting behind me (Who was not with the barefoot guy) tells him he needs to put his feet down because they are right next to my head.  How cool was that!? It's always nice to see people stand up for a random stranger.  It lets you know that there are still some cool people in the world.

That situation reminded me of when I was going home from work on the CTA Red Line during rush hour.  In case you're not already aware, CTA Trains (Especially the Red Line) are packed with people during rush hour.  You don't even have to worry about holding on to anything because so many people are jammed into each train car so tight, there is not enough room for you to fall if the train makes a sudden stop. 

So I'm on the train when all of a sudden a scrawny teenager says to a much bigger, thuggish-looking guy, "Hey, you just took that lady's wallet!" The thug (Since at this point in the story he had taken a wallet, I can aptly call him a thug now, rather than "Thuggish-looking") started talking trash to the scrawny kid, dropped the wallet on the ground and ran off the train at the next stop. 

That situation exemplified the quote "All it takes for evil to prosper is good men to do nothing." Of course, the scrawny kid on the underground Red Line had to use a bit more courage confronting the wallet-stealing thug than the guy at the movie theater who asked the guy next to him to move his feet.  But nevertheless, their attitude and concern for others was the same.

Comcast

I FINALLY got hooked up with Comcast Digital Cable & HighSpeed Internet service. Their Internet service is much faster and more reliable than DSL and I think their Digital Video Recorder (DVR) is much better than TiVo.  Now that I have a reliable ISP, I plan to be posting more often.

Meijer

One of the best things about living in Bloomingdale is the new Meijer.  Meijer is a huge store that sells just about everything.  They have groceries, cleaning products and even a haircut place inside.  It is just like a Super Wal~Mart except it is even bigger and cleaner.  And the prices are unbelievable.  I love this place!!!

New Church

I found a great new church.  St. Isidore Parish is just around the corner from my new place.  It is a HUGE church, with six Masses on Sunday. 

Moving to Bloomingdale

After much consideration I decided to move to Bloomingdale, Illinois.  Living in Chicago is great but spending over two hours commuting each day and hundreds of dollars in gas and tolls each month began to get to me.

Bloomingdale is a great city.  It is 30 minutes west of Downtown Chicago, and halfway between Schaumburg and Naperville.  Best of all, my commute to work is now less than ten minutes.