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one month left In the early morning hours at work, I had a long conversation with Nicole's fiance. From what he told me she had a very bad Tuesday at home. Once again her son made a complete mess of their living room and she couldn't take it anymore. He said that when she woke him she went from screaming to crying, because she was so upset. Hearing him tell the story surprised me a little and then I thought about it some more and it made sense to me. He must be the more stable of the two in the relationship and knows how to take things in stride. His having two children from a previous marriage helps as well. If both of them had the same attitude as her, the whole house would be in chaos. What I mean to say is that he comes across as being stiff, but what I should say is that he is unflappable when it comes to their son. He know what a toddler can and will do. We both agreed that she is afraid to just take a break and she needs one. I have yet to hear her version of the story, but I imagine that I will when I see her on Thursday night. Of course in past conversations, she's complained that he is too laidback when it comes to their son. ... The neighbor boy who likes to skateboard finished moving today. Somehow I don't think that I will miss the unique sound of plastic on metal through the afternoon hours. Maybe he'll have more room for his sport wherever his mom and him moved. I'll never know. ... Rain against my window woke me just as the weather forecast had predicted that it would. When I had fallen asleep the sun was out in full force free of clouds, but that was supposed to end early in the afternoon and give way to thunderstorms. The rain only lasted for an hour or two and then revealed a red sunrise beneath a disappearing shelf of clouds. ... Someone at work mentioned that two days isn't enough to see a city the size of the ones that I'll be visiting in Europe, but sacrifices have to be made here and there. We also agreed that a person could easily spend a week exploring Milwaukee. Yes, we may not be New York or Los Angeles, but we have things that neither of them can offer. One of the most obvious attractions would be the fact that Milwaukee has a great shoreline along one of the largest bodies of fresh water in the world. In my opinion Chicago is located at the polluted end of said body of water, so what we have to offer is definitely better. Besides Lake Michigan itself, one can ride along the Milwaukee river through the performing arts district which is quite large. Milwaukee does have some class to it despite its somewhat unfair image as blue collar town. I should also mention that the latest addition to the art museum has gotten great reviews nationwide. Moving inland there are the botanical gardens and the newly built baseball stadium. Not far from those attractions, Milwaukee still has one major brewery left and a rather successful Native American owned and operated casino. The zoo from what I understand is still one of the more impressive ones in the nation. Then there is the architecture of the city itself in areas such as the historic third ward. I'm tired so I am probably forgetting other points of interest, but Milwaukee does draw a fair amount of tourists so people must like to visit here. Besides the scenery and attractions, I would also have to say that the city itself is clean and relatively safe. ... Oh, after doing some online research I learned that I could be seeing much more of the charming Justine Sharpiro, if I had cable television. The program that I saw is a variation of something that she has been doing on Lonely Planet, which I think airs on the Discovery Channel. I am seriously impressed by what she has done in her life and am making some steps to change mine to match hers if I can.
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