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Tuesday, 19 June 2007

Wooo hooo my sister Cori got engaged on Father's Day. The proposal was awesome! After the father's day dinner, Dad said "let's play a game" and Cori's boy whips out Travel Scrabble which Cori obsessively plays all the time. Cori was like "awesome" and opens it up. Letters were already put on the board that spelled "Will you marry me". Awwww! Lots of extra loud screaming and hugging followed - hope we didn't disturb the neighbors.
Two engagements and a baby on the way all within the same year - what more could a parent want!

Friday, 08 June 2007

Oh Cool! The Ocean premiere in Chicago took place at the movie theatre in my sister's old condo downtown. Awww man, too bad they don't still live there!!
City swims with 'Ocean's' stars

By Terry Armour
Published June 8, 2007

Please excuse us, Messrs. Clooney, Damon and Cheadle. We're not really used to this kind of stuff. So when we stand outside in the scorching heat for more than two hours then scream our heads off, non-stop, for almost an hour, please understand that it's because we're not New York or Los Angeles.

Yes, even members of the cast of "Ocean's 13" were pleasantly surprised by the greeting Thursday when they arrived at the AMC River East theater complex for the red-carpet treatment before a special screening of the film, which opens nationwide on Friday.

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Ocean's 13 stars shine in Chicago

While tickets to the show and an afterparty at Room 21 in the South Loop cost a reported $1,500, the stargazing was free. Hundreds of fans who packed nearby rooftops and wedged themselves into bleachers set up on Illinois Street got their own thrill.

"The fact that they came out in the heat like this is pretty amazing," said George Clooney, who mingled with the crowd alongside Matt Damon, Don Cheadle, Bernie Mac, Ellen Barkin and surprise guest Bruce Willis. "It's always nice when people show up. You don't always know if anybody is going to show up."

And those who showed up with deep pockets helped raise funds for Not on Our Watch, which the actors and "Ocean's 13" producer Jerry Weintraub organized to aid relief efforts in Sudan's Darfur region.

Before the premiere, the group announced a donation of $2.75 million to the International Rescue Committee to support aid to Darfur.

Between quips about his castmates, Cheadle said that's what the evening was really about. "Hopefully, we're able to parlay this into an opportunity to talk about something that's very important," the actor said.

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Wednesday, 06 June 2007

What! Who's heard of a $3.25 train fare - doesn't that mean $6.50 round trip! That's like paying for 2 gallons of gas for each train ride. So much for saving money by taking public transportation...
Possible CTA cuts met with dismay
South Side residents say prices, routes would hit them hard

By Mary Owen
Tribune staff reporter
Published June 6, 2007
CTA riders expressed anger and frustration Tuesday night during a public hearing on Chicago's South Side about possible fare increases and service cuts that officials said they might need to eliminate a $110 million deficit.

The proposed changes, which CTA officials said would go into effect if the agency does not get more money from the state, include boosting fares to as much as $3.25 on trains during peak travel hours and suspending service on 63 bus routes and on the Yellow and Purple Line/Evanston Express rail lines.

Theresa Simpson told the Chicago Transit Authority board that her mother would have to walk 35 blocks to her job at a nursing home on the North Side if the No. 93 California/Dodge bus route is eliminated.

"My mother will not be able to go to work," said Simpson, who was one of about 300 people packed into Sherman Park Fieldhouse in the Back of the Yards neighborhood. "There is no other option."

CTA officials said the changes could come as early as mid-September. Public hearings on fare and service changes must be held before the CTA can implement them. Tuesday's hearing was the first of four meetings.

CTA President Ron Huberman, who took office May 1, opened the hearing by saying that he hopes state lawmakers come through with extra funding so the changes won't have to be made.

"We don't want to raise fares by a penny," he told the group. "We don't want to cut one single bus route."

Simpson was emotional when she echoed the sentiments of many at the meeting that the fare increases would especially hurt the working poor. The proposed fare increases for individual rides would range from 25 cents to $1.25, and the cost of a transfer would double to 50 cents.

January 2006 was the last time the CTA raised fares. Cash fares jumped to $2 from $1.75, and 25-cent cash transfers were eliminated, which meant each cash fare cost $2. Users of the Chicago Card and Chicago Card Plus were not hit with a fare increase.

"I would like them to not increase the fares," Simpson said. "It's a struggle to pay for it as it is."

Several speakers used the forum to make general complaints about service such as dirty trains and late buses. They added that they shouldn't have to pay more for the same shoddy service.

Some people challenged the board to pressure state lawmakers.

"We need to go to Springfield and tell these people about it," said Jerry Thurman, who is unemployed and will have to limit his job prospects if the changes are made. "It's not the CTA. This is a political thing."

Ald. Pat Dowell (3rd) told the CTA board that she would help rally her community around efforts to sway state lawmakers to increase CTA funding.

"We need to do more to get money from the state so we don't have to deal with these service cuts and fare increases," she said.

Several people said it appeared that a disproportionate number of the proposed route eliminations would affect the South Side, despite Huberman's comments during the hearing that the cuts would affect the city equally.

"Most of these cuts are in minority communities," said Adrian Wright, who lives in Washington Park, where she said six routes are targeted.

Linda Lamb, a real estate agent who lives in Englewood, said reduced public transportation in the neighborhood would hinder property values.

"That's really a selling point in selling a house," she said.

Under the CTA contingency plan, ridership would plummet by an estimated 260,000 rides a day. The proposed plan includes $20 million in fare increases, $15 million in service cuts, deferring $56.9 million in bus and train renovations and cutting $18.1 million in administration and other areas to address a $110 million budget gap.
The CTA cut service by 10 percent in 1997 to save $25 million a year, prompting a public outcry. Since then, some service, including express bus routes, has been added, resulting in more riders but no permanent state funding to support the expenditure.

Tuesday, 17 April 2007

Hi Ya'll,
Yes, the news is out - Alan and I are engaged =)

Northwestern Beach where the proposal occurred

Yes, it was a Cold Day, but Fun

Celebration dinner at Va Pensiero, Evanston

Ah, the Ring

Monday, 26 March 2007

Shamrock Shuffle 8K- the kick-off to the running season in Chicago! 30,000 runners.
Dana, it was fun running with you!

Heh, "C" for Cece

Although I was definitely under the weather yesterday and for the past few days and had queasy stomach the whole time i was running! Today I woke up with a sore throat and continued stomach problems so i'm gonna go to the doctor. What the heck - did i just run my 8K with stomach problems! what was I thinking! UPDATE: just went to the doctor, he said i have the intestinal flu which he said usually just passes through the system on its own with rest and drinking lotsa water. (yay!)
On another note, this year, I decided I want to run for a good cause. Therefore, I'm going to run the Soldier Field 10mile in May and fundraise for the American Cancer Society. (in memory of Uncle CJ =( )
Also, what training program should I do for the Chicago Marathon in October? God just threw me a curve ball - I had already signed up for Team-In-Training which is probably one of the the largest running programs out there and fundraises a lot for Leukemia & Lymphonia research.
But then yesterday I visited Stacey and her church in the city - I was browsing through their church bulletin and "coincidentally" they also had a Chicago marathon Training program that partners with WorldVision (Christian relief organization that helps impoverished kids and their families).
Later that night i went online to WorldVision's website and it turns out the only marathon training program in my geographic area was sponsored by the very church i had happened to visit that day while visiting Stacey. And, this specific team is fundraising specifically for the Border Project in Tijuana to help impoverished Mexican kids and their families! -which corresponds with my past experience in short term missions to Tijuana orphanages with ETCers! "Coincidence"!
Anywayz, I still have to find more details about their program v.s. Team-In-Training but it's cool that God can use even hobbies and interests to further his kingdom and do missions!

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chlee1

- Name: Cece
- Country: United States
- State: Illinois
- Birthday: 11/19/1980
- Gender: Female
- Member Since: 9/9/2003

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Thanks for droppin in on Babble-onian Bonanza! I got really bored after having a really productive day (ironic, eh) so I decided to create this site. I don't care if anyone reads it but seeing you're reading this means you also had nothing better to do. =) have fun being unproductively productive or vice versa.