Day 20 (Saturday, July 1)

Today was hot!!!!

Wow!

It was my day off. So it wasn't that big of a deal. I woke up relatively late. Went out for a jog and got back just in time before the heat got worse. I then relaxed with Diego, my roommate, and watched the Portugal vs. England World Cup soccer game. It was a pretty good game that went down to the penalty kicks. We were supposed to watch the Brazil vs. France game, but I decided to go run some errands in between games and I didn't get back til the last 10 minutes of the match.

We were watching the game as I browsed through the Chicago Sun-Times that I bought at the corner store on my way home. I browsed and watched the game. That's when I opened the newspaper to the Sports section where I saw that my photos from yesterday's news conference at Northwestern were on the newspaper.

I was pretty surprised because the Chicago Sun-Times had a photographer at the same event. That photographer saw the same things I saw and took photos of the same things I did. So when I saw that the newspaper used my photos instead, I was pretty thrilled and proud. In a way I felt bad for the photographer from the Sun-Times because they used my photos instead of his. That's pretty bad for him. For me, however, it's a great thing. I guess my photos were better. Or maybe I just got lucky. Whatever the reason, I still got my first photos published in the Chicago area.

The rest of the day involved doing some chores around the house. I cleaned my room and sorted through my camera gear. I finally got that waste pack for my equipment that I can wear when I go on assignment. It feels good to finally have one. That means no more backpack for me when I go on assignment. I'll look a little more professional and I'll have easier access to my equipment.

The evening was really relaxed. I took a drive through downtown and saw all the people coming and going to the Taste of Chicago, a large cultural events where a majority of restaurants bring out their special dishes to Grant Park and Millennium Park to share w/ the city. It's a pretty big event. As big as the Texas State Fair that is held in Dallas in October.

I didn't go to the Taste of Chicago because I wanted to do that on Sunday. So, I went to do some grocery shopping. I came home and got the grill ready. I cooked me some burgers and listened to the Southern California Jazz station on the laptop. It was a relaxing evening.

Yesterday - Main - Tomorrow