Out of Normal: Helluva City

August 11, 2003

Helluva City

I spent my day in Chicago yesterday, and that is one helluva city. I forget how beautiful it is, and each time I visit there, I get a hankerin' to move my butt up there.

Bloomington/Normal is a wonderful place to live, if you want to raise a family in a microcosm that is isolated from the rest of the world. Until the past two years it was believed that this town was recession proof, and that with several major employers in town, layoff proof. Layoffs are happening all over town, salaries are dismal, and people are leaving the area in droves. It is still a wonderful area to raise a family, as it has wonderful schools, good jobs are still to be found, and it is a VERY conservative atmosphere. I don't exactly know if I would like to raise a family here though, as it is so shut off from the rest of the world. I have friends that have either never seen the ocean, never been outside of the midwest, or never left the country. Folks, that is SAD.

I hope that everone is having a great week, I am much more in a mood to write this week, so you'll be hearing more from me.

Posted by Broch at August 11, 2003 01:01 PM

Comments

btown is recession proof, especially compared to chicago or god-forbid, indianapolis. my only beef with btown is there's nothing to do, culturally. best there is on the weekend are a few dozen bars, but that gets old. if someone got a clue and turned the pub crawl back to blues/jazz only, now there'd be some culture. that town is just screaming for someone to do something different. regarding leaving the country...the rest of the world is a 3rd rate cesspool and you can't deny that. there isn't a complelling arguement you can make otherwise. now, never leaving the midwest...that IS sad. there's so much to see and do in THIS country. 2 things i really want to do in this country, camp in the shadows ouf mount rushmore with my family and hunt elk in alaska.

Posted by: nose at August 11, 2003 01:30 PM

Nose, I am going to have to disagree on your views of the rest of the world. I will freely say that we have it the best here due to our freedom. I would also like to say that what we do have here is all new. This giant blue marble that we are all on has so much more to see, and I want to see a lot of it. We do have some great things right here in the good ol' US of A, but I want to see more.

Posted by: Broch at August 11, 2003 02:02 PM

yeah, so; the rest of the world is older. why does it's age lay some sort of intrinsic value on it? listen, the leaning tower of piza is great an all, but it's because they did a shoddy job of engineering and it continues to this day in their half-hearted attempts to stabilize it. people laud over the eifel tower...come on people it's a fucking TV antenna that was built as a radio antenna...how is this worth looking at? the great pyramids? come on...the only reason they're still standing is because they build them where it's fucking dry; had they not, erosion due to hydraulic cracking would have turned them back to dust in a few hundred years...they're not great works; they're lucky. the best any other country could offer would be some interesting natural geology and we've got plenty of that here. i'm not an isolationist (unless we're talking france), but there's tons to do and see within the states.

Posted by: nose at August 12, 2003 11:59 AM

Got something against Canada, buddy? You can wave that damn American flag all you want. I am not pro-American. I am not anti-American, either. I just happened to have been born here, and do appreciate our military efforts at times, just like I would if I lived under the shadows of the Matterhorn under the guard of another force. Even the bravest gun-toting American soldier likes to vacation overseas, too, I bet. And for a reason. But I don't know that reason, for everyone is different. I think you should still give it (traveling outside the USA) a try sometime, you'll like it :), for there is a whole world out there for your perspectives and opinions to unravel and open upon - and the USA, though we are spoiled here no doubt, will have a welcome like no other.

Posted by: wendel at August 12, 2003 12:28 PM

been out side the states before; not saying I won't do it again, I'm just saying there's a ton here to do that people disregard. yeah, and Canada sucks. their recent laws against sportsmen are heavy handed, misdirected, and hurting their rural economies. no, you didn't just happen to have been born here; you were LUCKY to be born here. my whole point in the travel is that we disregard our local for the foreign without good reason.

Posted by: nose at August 13, 2003 08:03 AM

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August 11, 2003

Helluva City

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