my random ramblingsan infrequent (and these days, mostly Mira related…) blog

omelete at iHop, then first jump of the day – a 2 way with Mike. did my first rollover off of the railing next, which was very cool but a little scary. followed it up with a 3 way with Mike and Paul, my second rollover and an awesome jump – but unfortunately my video didn’t turn out. Derrick busted his ankle on his next one attempting to land on the other side of the river, so i climbed down the far wall of the canyon to hang out with him until the paramedics and search & rescue showed up. few more hours and a ropes team later, and he was finally off of the cliff. stopped by the hospital then hung out at the room for the rest of the night.

up early and on a plane to Twin Falls to do a little BASE. had to hang out in the SLC rental parking lot for an hour to take a call for work, then drove about 4 hours to the bridge. got there to see Mike jump from the bridge supports, then did one myself from the top with Mike’s buddy Derrick. was his first time and he was a little rattled, but psyched. night got a little crazy, but as to be expected.

looks like it’s a go, and we’ll be closing sometime in mid-February. time to start thinking about furniture…

up early to finish some work, then took Лена to the studio. went back to the prospective new apartment for one last look, and wrote up a final offer. just needs signatures on the contract and it’s ours – exciting! nice place, in a great building, cool views of the city from the 42nd floor, and right on Millennium Park. picked Лена up, then came back to our place and celebrated the new year via Skype in Russia, Ukraine, Georgia, and the UK. too much champagne… finally made our way to SushiSamba Rio for dinner and our own little celebration. a really, really good year…

took the day off for Лена’s birthday. looked at a bunch more apartments and narrowed the list to 2 that we both really liked. did a little shopping at the market for some traditional Russian foods to prepare for the holiday weekend. quick stop at Dave & Buster’s, then dinner at the Signature Room on the 95th floor of the John Hancock Center. nice meal with incredible views looking south across the downtown skyline.

early afternoon brunch at Smith & Wollensky, then back home for most of the day. difficult finding a place open during the evening, but we eventually got lucky.

picked Лена up from class and headed to the beach. walked around for a bit and took another cold water plunge before heading home. a little shopping on State Street before all of the stores closed up early for the holiday then dinner on Michigan Ave. back home for a movie.

home this week and training in the north ‘burbs. evening at Dave & Buster’s, and looks like we now have another family member…

met Nazar at the beach for a tough workout, then took a plunge in the lake. brrr, cold! picked up Лена and grabbed lunch at Dick’s Last Resort. hung out back at the apartment for a bit, then went to the Lincoln Park Zoo for the holiday ZooLights viewing. probably spent more time trying to park compared to walking around, although it was nice. strangely, found ourselves at Hooters for dinner.

late afternoon visit to the acquarium. lots of cool things to see, and managed to get into the jellyfish exhibit which was small but impressive. left as it closed and enjoyed the great views looking northwest back toward the city. shot a bunch of photos…