Man, I have all but forgotten about this Vox thingie. What's happened since I posted about my Japan travel?

I've been in a wedding as a ring bearer
I've been asked to be a bridesmaid at a wedding this fall
Been asked to be maid of honor at a wedding next year
Gotten further towards my goal of graduating from DePaul before I die of old age
Our department and division website has finally gone live
I've made some progress on my City of Villains character so I can try the new Villain Epic Archetypes
I think I've lost some weight, through no serious action of my own
I've been writing more in my Livejournal
Been writing less fiction over all
Have focused on school work for a change instead of being a slacker

Phew... not much else is going on with me, what about you Vox neighbors?

Show us something (or someone) old and beautiful. 
Submitted by falcon.kmc.

What do you think your pets would act like if they were people? Do you think you'd get along with them? 
Submitted by Melissa.

Genki would a be mellow guy, very laid back probably a Zen Bhuddist. We'd drink tea, watch movies and be best buds.

Neko is like a strung out addict some days. Other he's really, really hyper like an over-exuberant child. Very cute, we'd be friends but not close because his hyperness would annoy me to no end.

Anti cta icon

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-070524cta-cuts,1,360959.story?coll=chi-news-hed

CTA presents doomsday scenario

By Jon Hilkevitch
Tribune transportation reporter

May 24, 2007, 11:54 AM CDT

The CTA would eliminate 63 bus routes and two rail lines, and raise fares to as much as $3.25 a ride on trains if no new state funding is provided, CTA President Ron Huberman said today.

The CTA also would institute separate--and higher--fare structures for rush hours.

The combination of fare hikes and service cuts would begin in mid-September, and would result in a loss of 260,000 rides each weekday, according to the CTA's projection. CTA buses and trains now provide 1.6 million rides each day.

The CTA says it needs an extra $97.5 million in state money.

Under the plan, only bus routes that currently operate on Sundays would be retained. Those 91 routes would continue to operate at current levels.

Purple Line/Evanston Express service would be eliminated as would rail service on the Yellow Line, which runs between Dempster Street in Skokie and the Howard Red Line terminal, Huberman said.

The Purple Line would continue to operate between Howard Street and downtown Evanston to Wilmette.

The cuts would be needed to bridge a $97.5 million gap in the CTA's 2007 budget, Huberman said.

Also included in the contingency plan is the transfer of $56.9 million in capital improvement funds to operations and $5.6 million in new administrative cuts, he said. Those administrative cuts are in addition to the $12.5 million in cuts announced two weeks ago.

About 840 CTA employees would be laid off, he said.

Huberman said the agency's plan was not an attempt to pressure state lawmakers to come up with more funding.

"If we made no changes, the CTA would be out of service in October," he said, adding that the agency would be unable to meet payroll.

Among several options studied, the combination of service cuts and fare increases is "the least burdensome" on riders, he said.

Under some of those other options, fares would increase as much as $7, he said.

Fare increases would range from 25 cents to $1.25 per ride depending on the time of day and mode of travel, he said. Higher fares would be charged during rush periods, with $2.75 a ride on buses and $3.25 on trains.

The agency's goal would be to shift more riders to off-peak hours. Under the plan, the CTA would run 422 fewer buses and 68 fewer trains during peak travel times each day, Huberman said.

In non-peak periods, fares would go to $2.25 for buses and $2.50 for trains.

The current cash fare during peak and off-peak periods is $2 a ride. There are no transfers.

Prices for unlimited-ride passes would increase an average of 63 percent.

Cost of the 30-day pass, the agency's most popular, would increase from $75 to $122.

Copyright © 2007, Chicago Tribune

I'm definitely off to the land of the Rising Sun again!

I'll be going with the winter intercession group thats going in November.. I can't wait!

Nihon ni ikimashyo!

We shall not cease from exploration, and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started, and know the place for the first time. - T.S. Eliot...

One cannot always be a hero, but one can always be a human. - Goethe...

Let go of the past! Let go of the future! Let go of the present and cross over to the farther shore of existence. With your mind wholly liberated, you shall come no more to birth and death. - Buddha...

For anyone who may want some free Fango chocolates...

Until May 31st, they are doing a in-store survey and for your troubles, you get a free 1 lb box of Frango Mints.

There are several kiosks around the store and there was even a queue in some spots.

Enjoy!

And not one fucking smart remark about the ghetto, or that part of town...or people will be hurt. Its not far from where I grew up and I went to that school. Damn, this saddens me.

1 student killed, 4 hurt in CTA bus shooting
    
By Angela Rozas and Emma Graves Fitzsimmons
Tribune staff reporters

May 10, 2007, 10:28 PM CDT

A young man who boarded a CTA bus in Chicago's Roseland neighborhood opened fire Thursday afternoon, killing one student and injuring four others, officials said.

The man got on an eastbound 103rd Street bus at Halsted Street and pulled a gun as the bus neared Lowe Avenue about 3:15 p.m., police said. He opened fire, wounding three girls and two boys, between the ages of 16 and 18, who were students at nearby Percy L. Julian High School. <--- shit, thats where I went to high school!

The bus driver pulled over, and the gunman got off the bus and ran southbound, police said. Three of the wounded students were taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where one boy, Blair Holt, who had been shot in the chest, died Thursday night, hospital officials said. Two girls were in fair condition.

One student was taken to Little Company of Mary Hospital in Evergreen Park and another to Roseland Community Hospital, a Chicago Fire Department spokeswoman said. Their injuries were not believed to be life threatening, police said.

Police said they did not believe it was a random shooting and were reviewing footage from a camera inside the bus.

"We have very good information, and we're confident we'll be able to identify him," Assistant Deputy Police Supt. Eugene Williams said Thursday evening.

Police said officers would fan out across the South Side neighborhood on Friday, and school officials planned to have additional security and counseling staff at Julian

A man heading home from work said he was driving near 103rd and Lowe as the passengers fled the bus.

"I saw a bunch of kids leaving the bus . . . they looked scared," said Oscar Hamon. "Everyone jumped off the bus running scared and crying. I knew something was wrong."

CTA officials were working with police in the investigation, including providing the camera footage. Each bus has at least four cameras on board, said CTA spokeswoman Sheila Gregory.

"The security cameras have proven very helpful in the past when we've investigated incidents," she said.

News of the shooting spread during a student fashion show Thursday night at Julian, which is about a mile from the site of the shooting.

School Principal William Harris said he was receiving calls from parents, but would not comment because he did not have confirmed information about the shooting. He did emphasize that the shooting did not happen at the school.

Many Julian students take the 103rd Street bus home, said sophomore Marissa Brown.

"Everybody takes the bus home," she said. "They were just going home after school."

Speculation swirled about the cause of the shooting among students and neighborhood residents. Some students said there was a fight at the school on Wednesday. Others lamented what they said was an ongoing gang feud in the school, while others said it was in the neighborhood.

Sophomore Dimico Galloway said one of the victims is a friend and he saw her shortly before her last class ended before 3 p.m. He said the high school was safe, and that fights can happen at any school.

Mary Hayes received a call Thursday afternoon from her cousin, who was seated on the bus next to one of the victims. Her cousin, a freshman at Julian, said her friend had been shot, and Hayes said she heard screaming and chaos in the background. She went to the scene, looking for her cousin.

There are ongoing feuds at the high school and general violence in the neighborhood, she said.

"It's just really sad," said Hayes, 20. "You can't even come home from school. Every day it's really upsetting. There is just so much violence."

arozas@tribune.com

efitzsimmons@tribune.com

Copyright © 2007, Chicago Tribune

My new$boss is a cultural anthropologist with a specialization in the art of Ghana and Zimbabwe. He is currently in San Diego for the opening of an exhibit at the Museum of Man

Artists Speak:
Contemporary Art from Ghana and Zimbabwe  Exhibit Opening Saturday, May 12, 2007
An exciting new exhibit, Artists Speak: Contemporary Art from Ghana and Zimbabwe

Anyone who has access to the San Diego area should check it out. :)

THINGS I MUST NOT DO AT HOGWARTS:

• I must not take out a life insurance policy on Harry Potter.

• Making rumors about Harry and Draco's secret love life is not funny and it will stop soon.

• I must not bring a Magic-8 ball to Divination class.

• I must not make fun of Prof. Lupin's 'time of the month'.

• I must not set up an underground dueling arena.

• I must not ask for advice from Peeves on how to wreak havoc.

• I must not convince First Years that the new password to Gryffinndor tower is "Petrificus Totalus" and must be recited with their wands pointed at themselves.

• I must not pay First Years a galleon to pee in Mad-Eye Moody's hip flask.

• I must not use the Invisibility Cloak to sneak into the girl's dorm.

• I must not ask Prof. Trewlawny where she laid her eggs.

• I must not leave shampoo on Prof. Snape's desk with instructions on how to properly wash his hair.

• I must not point to the Dark Mark in the sky and shout "To the Batmobile, Robin!"

• I must not put a paper sign on Firenze's back saying "Pony Rides: 3 Sickles".

• Seamus Finnegan is not "After Me Lucky Charms"

• I will not buy Professor Lupin a flea collar.

• There is no such thing as an 'Invisibility Thong'.

• I must not ask Harry Potter who died and made him the boss.

• I must not point to Harry Potter's scar and ask if his Voldy senses are tingling.

• I will not sing "We're off to see the Wizard" when sent to the Headmaster's office.

• I will not attempt to magically animate my marshmallow peeps.

• I will not tell the first years to build a treehouse over the Whomping Willow.

• I will not lock the Gryffindors and Slytherins in a room and take bets on who will come out alive.

• I will not say the phrase "Dude, get a life" to Voldemort.

• Starting a betting pool on the fate of this year's DADA teacher is tasteless and tacky, and not a clever money-making concept.

• If the thought of a spell makes me giggle for longer than 15 seconds, I am to assume that I am not allowed to do it.

• I will not tell the first years that Professor Snape is the voice of God.

• Putting a snitch in Malfoy's pants really isn't all that funny. Even if it does make him scream like a girl.

• I am not to tell Nearly Headless Nick that he'd forget his head if it wasn't attached--thats just cruel.

• I should not confess to crimes that happened before I was born, even if I have access to a time turner.

• I will not jump up, yelling "VOLDEMORT, RUN!" in the middle of an Order or DA meeting.

• I will not tell Snape he needs to go to his "happy place".

• "Swish and flick" is only a wand movement.