The Jason Pettus Instant Locator

Family reunion!

Greetings from St. Francois county, in the southeast corner of Missouri, where I am just finishing up a family reunion for my mom's side of the family, as well as my great aunt's 80th birthday. Full report coming Monday!

Ladies and gentlemen, the Ambassadors of Swing

Greetings from St. Charles, Missouri, where I am spending the holiday with my parents and attending a family reunion this weekend. And, why, look at what I'm at right now - a concert by the Ambassadors of Swing, a community big band that my dad plays with regularly. (That's him on the front row right, playing the bari sax.) Lots more JPIL updates over the next five days; subscribe to the RSS feed to see them all!

Hanging at the lakefront path

I'm at the lakefront bike and running path, right at Buena Ave (4200N), waiting for a friend of mine biking through here soon, who left her jacket at my place the other night. This path you're looking at, by the way, unbelievably enough runs an uninterrupted 35 miles here; it's what my out-of-town friend is using, for example, to commute from Adler Planetarium (where she's doing a research project) all the way to Andersonville, where she's staying. But, more on that at my main journal on Monday.

Party at Dollop

It's an almost perfect evening here in Chicago, cool but not cold, clear and sunny, which has apparently inspired the entire city to be out. Here I am outside Dollop Coffeehouse, for example, hanging out with a group of friends that's much larger than normal.

New camera, same JPIL (hopefully)

Okay, I've got a new cellphone finally - a Palm Treo 650, with a better camera from before, and a better way to get photos to the expansion card for sending to the website via mo:Blog. Setting things up now, using a photo I just snapped at Dollop Coffeehouse; if you're seeing it, you know that things finally went right.

Punk rock bicycle!

Hard to believe, but the weather here in Chicago finally blossomed to a wonderful 65 today (18 C); I took advantage of it to finally get down to Barnes & Noble in Lincoln Park, to spend a gift certificate I got for my birthday a month ago. Here's something I spotted along the way - a bicycle outside Reckless Records, near Belmont and Broadway, featuring a basket partially made out of an old vinyl record. Rock and roll will nevah dye!

Bloody mimosas with Kate

Earlier today my friend Kate took me out to brunch, at Holiday Uptown just a few blocks from where I live; we started with a round of bloody marys, then quickly switched to mimosas. And now I'm feeling a little loopy!

It's a little wet in Chicago right now

I'm over at Dollop Coffeehouse today, in the Uptown neighborhood where I live, getting in a little face-time with my fellow humans because I've been spending too much time online these days. I just snapped this photo on the walk over, in fact; can you tell that Chicago's seeing a little more rain these days than what we're used to?

Taking a break from Second Life

Down at a hotdog stand in the Uptown neighborhood where I live, taking a needed break from the alternative-reality videogame Second Life and getting some food. Man, that game is addictive! Full report (with lots of photos) coming Monday, as expected.

It's your birthday, it's your birthday

Taking it easy today, recovering from the drunken birthday party my friend Tom threw me last night. Thought I'd go ahead and throw a photo up from the proceedings, to go along wih the sound files from last night that I posted at the main site today as a sneak preview. You can click here and here to check them out yourself.

I'm on my way to Rogers Park

So here I am, on a cold and lonely Sheridan el platform, making my way to Loyola; I'm doing a favor, dogsitting overnight at her place, while she's away on an unexpected business trip. More photos soon, I'm sure.

I'm at Dollop, but just for a little while

I'm at Dollop Coffeehouse in the Uptown neighborhood, but just for another half-hour or so; then it's up to Rogers Park to visit my friend Jude. Exciting news about my arts center tomorrow - I finally get to publicly announce its name! Tune in then for more.

Can you hear this?

If I did this correctly, there should be a real-time audio player showing above, for any computer or mobile device with Flash Player. It links directly to my latest three-minute podcast episode, for those who would simply like to listen to it now, instead of download it to their iPod. Don't worry - full download version, also free, coming tomorrow. (And those reading through a feed, of course, I don't think are going to see anything, besides maybe a bunch of random crap code.)

I'm at...gasp...Starbucks

Greetings from enemy territory - the Starbucks at Sheridan and Broadway, that is, where I am using up this giftcard I received the other day for sitting around this Yahoo Personals event that never happened. GTD notebook now updated...cigarettes smoked...caffeine ingested...cute girls in tasteful outfits flirted with...yep, I'm good to go!

Ooh, what a nasty day we're having

Uck, what a horrible day we're having here in Chicago; gray, pouring down rain, just warm enough to keep it liquid but freezing out nonetheless. Here's a shot I just took of myself at the Loyola red-line stop, finally done walking my friend's dog for her and ready to head home for the rest of the night.