First Name Basis

Last evening I gave my brother a taste of all the near west side has to offer. After having dinner and drinks at the Old Angle, we headed east down Abbey and had a drink at the Duck Island Club and from there I decided to show him Tremont. I wanted him to get an impression of what Tremont was about so I took him to the Lava Lounge for something funky, then to the Tree House for that quintessential Tremont feel and then finally on to the Lincoln Park Pub to catch the San Antonio/Seattle game. He has been talking about moving over to the area so I decided to show him how much fun the near west can be.

While we were talking I told him I don’t have as much to write about now that I am in the “off-season.” He turned to me and said “be like Jerry—write a blog about nothing.” I don’t know when my brother and Jerry Seinfeld developed a relationship on a first-name basis but I think it is funny. My brother makes me laugh and I love hanging out with him.

The two of us have finally developed one of those mature (we will use that term loosely) brother/sister we are all grown up now relationships, where we talk about real things. We have always been close, as we are only 18 months apart, but I consider him to be one of my best friends not just my little brother anymore. When we were growing up we were inseparable but we grew apart in high school and while we went to the same college, I hardly ever saw him. After school we both went our separate ways and did our own thing and I had no idea how much I missed him during those times. I am so thankful to be able to hang out with him now like we do even though he always ends up wearing my clothes to work the next day after crashing at my place. I suppose that’s what big sisters are for.

I want to congratulate my best friend in the world for buying her first house last night. Not only did she buy her first house, she negotiated the deal herself and got the price she wanted. In the words of my mother who also happens to be a real estate agent, “Impressive.”