Ammunition > Heroics

Must... do... blog... post.

Now, excuse me while I flip open my notebook and grab a topic.


Ah, yes, here we are. Illinois.
Today... we will be talking about Illinois.

Now, I suppose I should put an explanation here for those of you who are tagged in it... OK, well, actually, that would be nobody. This is just on my blog right now. However, whenever Facebook decides to import it this, I will likely be tagging people.
This is because I figured you might want to read it.
...Of course, you should already be reading my blog on a regular basis, because it's highly educational. Be sure to tell Mom and Dad.

But every once in a while there are posts that may interest specific people, and this is one of them. So I will tag people.
Some of you are from Iowa, and have asked before what Illinois is like. You have probably gotten the short answer (which usually consists of, and is often limited to, "the water is pretty nasty.") before, but now I will give the lmited edition never-before-seen long answer. Yes, you heard correctly. For a limited time only, you can call within the next five seconds and receive this lovely set of Ginsu knives absolutely free of cha....oh. Wait. That has nothing to do with anything.
Where was I? Oh. Yes.
Hopefully this will serve as a better explanation.

Now, some of you are from Illinois.
I must have "mentioned" you for one of two reasons:
1. I thought you might like to hear about your state from the perspective of someone who has not been here as long.
2. I thought it would be entertaining to have you watch me make fun of your home until you cry.

OK, so it probably wasn't that second reason. But it's funny to think about.
...Or maybe I just have a weird sense of humor. But we already knew that, so let's move on.



(If you got bored of the explanation above because it didn't really apply to you, this is where you can start reading again. I know, aren't I so nice?)


So we will start with the GOOD things about Illinois.


1. Chicago.
This is probably the biggest one, I suppose.
It's got a lot going for it. There are nifty museums, interesting stores (not that I "shop"; I just buy; meaning I always know what I'm getting and then I leave), good places to eat, enormous skyscrapers, giant metallic beans, gang shootings...
Oh, wait. That last one isn't a good thing. And I really am not sure whether the weird bean thing actually serves a purpose. Don't try to explain it to me, you will be wasting your time. Not because I won't listen, but because it simply is not possible. I suppose you could prove me wrong, but I doubt it, and just to warn you; if you try and fail you owe me a nickel.
Anyway. I have always liked big cities... I wouldn't like to live in one, but they're interesting. I think Chicago is my favorite, although I must admit I have been there more times than any other large city, so maybe that's why... I dunno. I still feel like I have not seen enough of it, though. I could spend unhealthy amounts of time there... it's very fascinating.
There's so much diversity; there are clean, shiny places right next to old, filthy places. And the people are like that too; all very different.
Because of that it's very photogenic.

2. Food.
Although I don't really eat out very often, I have already eaten at several different places in Illinois that had very good food. There are just way more good places to eat here.
Not much more to say about that, really.

3. Things are here.
There's no better way to explain it... stuff... is here. It happens... here. It seems like it's just a little bit more alive than a lot of other places. A lot of different companies are based out of Illinois. A lot of famous people were born / lived here. Interesting stuff happened / happens here.
It's a very subtle difference, but it's there.

4. Casimir Pulaski Day.
I really only have the vaguest knowledge of what this holiday is supposed to celebrate ("some guy named Casimir Pulaski fought in a war or something"), and I'm not sure what people do to celebrate it (or if anyone does anything at all). But that doesn't really matter.
It's just inherently amazing.
It's a lot like the Hawley-Smoot Tariff Act, actually.


...Yeah, sorry. Only four good things.
Maybe there are more, but either I didn't think of them or I haven't discovered them yet.


Now we will talk about... [insert ominous music]
The BAD things.
There are more of these, I'm afraid, and they're sort of bigger things (in my opinion, anyway).


1. Traffic.
Traffic is awful. People on the road have no consideration for other people.
The speed limit is completely ignored, which is annoying for people who would like to follow it: Basically, you either break the law, or you die.
I could complain about this for a long time, but there's no reason to go into any details... it pretty much explains itself. I'll just say I really dislike it and leave it at that.

2. Things are expensive, and people are to financially focused.
Where I live, sales tax is very high, and I don't think it's all that much better in very many places elsewhere in the state. Gas is also more expensive here.
In addition to this, things that should be free cost money.
It costs money to get certain things out of a library.
It costs money to join homeschool support group things.
VBS at our church was free. Apparently this is extremely rare.
...That's just plain stupid.

3. The air and water are awful.
You'd be surprised how fast you get used to breathing bad air. I guess I got used to it before I even registered that it was so nasty.
All I know is that whenever I go back to Iowa I feel like I'm breathing properly for the first time in months.
And the water, well... it obviously depends on the city, because different cities will treat it differently. But I have not yet been anywhere with good water. I don't even think I've had anything that borders decency. Yeah, I know. It's bearable. In fact, I hardly notice it anymore because I'm used to it.
But that doesn't mean it isn't bad. The city I used to live in had amazing water. Many other cities in Iowa had very good water as well.
Water is supposed to be totally flavorless, right? So why does the stuff here... taste like something? It's just not right. It means it isn't clean, really. I'm sure it's not like there are awful germs or something that are going to kill me. But it does taste bad, and that irritates me.

4. People are generally not as considerate.
I mentioned this in the traffic area already but... Generally it seems like the basic line of thinking here is "you stay out of my life and I'll stay out of yours." Not so in Iowa. It's not that everyone was amazing and kind and perfect. But it seems like there were a lot more polite people there.
Here, everyone just seems to ignore each other.
I don't know anyone who lives on our street except my aunt and uncle, and they live upstairs in the same house.
But honsetly, if they weren't relatives and were just random strangers up there... Well, I don't think I would be able to say I knew them either.
Of course, this may be partially my problem. But it's sort of a stifling atmosphere... people just aren't like that here.

5. Crime and corruption are pretty bad.
I haven't heard about a lot of crime since being here, but... I think that's just because it happens. It's almost like it's commonplace, I guess.
But anyway, from reading in the newspapers, corruption is pretty bad, too. There's just really stupid stuff that government and law enforcement people are doing. I can think of a few examples, but I really don't want to take the time to list them; I think you get my point.
I find the corruption generally more disturbing than the crime.

6. Homeschooling is weird/shunned.
It's like everyone in the state is two years old. Homeschoolers are thought of as being pretty weird, generally, and they don't participate in stuff with people who go to public schools. Dual-enrollment just doesn't happen.
And the homeschooling people just stick together, like some kind of cult. It's hard to say whether it's the homeschooled people or the public schools who are the source of all the strife. All I know is, both are contributing to the problem, so we're quite independent and are not involved in any sort of homeschool group because it's just too hard to do that. Also, like I said, it usually costs money.


...You know, I think I could go on and on, but... I guess I'm done.

At any rate.
I'm sure if I had lived here all my life I would like it much better.
But I haven't.

It's not all that bad. But I certainly don't like it as much as Iowa.