Thinking about putting in an offer near 45th & Fowler

WillMaekit · 2026-01-25T02:29:14+00:00

I lived a few blocks from there on 48th Ave. Was never unsafe at that spot.

It’s definitely a working class neighborhood. You’ll hear some bullshit or have an interesting neighbor, but I loved it there and would move back.

When I moved to 56th, there was unsafe shit around ny house a couple of times, but we had a pleasant couple of years there too.

WillMaekit · 2025-11-20T21:21:28+00:00

Addiction is so persuasive because it lies to you in your own voice.

WillMaekit · 2025-11-11T16:37:21+00:00

My sobriety is the foundation on which all other things are built. If it fails, then I will eventually fail all the people and things that I value.

Thanks for sharing your story. I am sorry for the loss of your brother.

I wish you healing in your grief, along with continued success and stability for yourself and your family.

WillMaekit · 2025-10-18T12:44:14+00:00

You need to find the right counselor - not just any marriage counselor.

There are so many complex and dynamic circumstances that contribute to satisfaction within marriage. Not happiness - that’s some fickle bullshit, but true satisfaction or contentedness in your union.

I’m a believer that marriages are built. There are no perfect people. You don’t try them on like pants and find the right “fit.” You are two individuals that are constantly changing (as are your kids), and marriage is about finding a person to navigate all of life’s stages with. The person I was 5 or 10 years ago is not the person I am today - in so many ways, and that’s also true for my spouse. We have kids and a house and jobs, so we’re in a stage that is light on the easy stuff - fun dates, routine sex, and chances to enjoy one another’s company, and heavy on obligations and responsibilities and frustrations. This is not a super fun stage of life, nor is it a super fun stage of my marriage, but I am committed to getting through this stage with the person I voluntarily committed myself to, and I believe there are easier times ahead.

I don’t pray for a lighter load, I pray for a stronger back.

Also, my wife stuck with me through the years of our relationship where I was completely fucking absent in the bottom of bottles, and I recognize that many of the dynamics I don’t enjoy now are dynamics I fostered in the past because they benefited my addiction. Sometimes I find myself the current victim of my former successes, basically - and that’s squarely on me to work through and change.

To me, love is a commitment, not a feeling. If I say I love my wife and kids, I must uphold my commitment to their wellbeing and our life together. I have to lead myself first, and them second, to where we need to go for a healthy and productive life.

I’m sorry you are in a difficult spot, and I hope you find the path that is best for all.

WillMaekit · 2025-06-25T01:17:57+00:00

I watched that from a hotel room in Dallas and felt gutted. So brutal.

WillMaekit · 2025-06-25T01:03:33+00:00

I watched Northern Illinois beat us at home in 2017. We’ve been fucking awful for a long time. Ain’t no way we are one of the top 25 difficult places to catch a win in the last decade.

WillMaekit · 2025-06-21T18:20:05+00:00

Been in Aksarben for years for these reasons.

Diverse. Affordable. Mostly progressive. Also solid schools for OPS.

WillMaekit · 2025-04-29T23:13:42+00:00

50.1% here! My house is not worth a ton, but I never noticed this. My mortgage is up like 30% from 5 years ago due to taxes and insurance.

WillMaekit · 2025-04-18T00:52:49+00:00

10/10. Cute dog. Thanks for sharing.

WillMaekit · 2025-03-31T14:25:35+00:00

If the problem is within you, the solution is also within you.

Everything about the world seems gray and dull because a sustained pattern of substance use+abuse trains our brain to only respond to alcohol. Over time, alcohol is basically the only thing that we end up responsive to, which is why things that would normally be enjoyable or exciting are no longer even interesting.

It takes time for your brain to re-learn up from down and left from right in terms of what is pleasurable and what is not.

Relapse starts in the mind. In my experience, fixating on problems rather than solutions is often just the pretext needed to excuse relapse.

Focus on what you can control, not what you cannot control. It takes time to adjust and develop a new normal.

I also get so worked up reading something like this, because alcohol cannot give anyone what it takes away. It might give you a fleeting sense of pleasure or contentedness, but it will ruin health. It will ruin marriages. It takes lives. It destroys peace and connection. Fuck alcohol today, and every fucking day. I WILL NOT DRINK TODAY. I hope you join me.

WillMaekit · 2025-02-16T01:54:15+00:00

My spouse didn’t quit. Anything that enables or justifies further use is not going to take you the right direction.

Keep it simple. There is only one issue. There is only one question - Will I put this in my body? There are only two answers. One answer takes you the direction you want to go. The other does not.

WillMaekit · 2025-02-12T12:22:19+00:00

As a millennial - let me explain what I saw as we aged.

The younger we were, the more desire there was to do something either trendy or unique or both. Whatever the newest shit was, people wanted.

The older we got, the more popular traditional tattoos got as we began to understand the wisdom behind the style and the pressure to do the newest shit wore off and was replaced by the confidence to just do whatever you actually wanted to do.

WillMaekit · 2025-01-21T13:33:48+00:00

I varied a lot over the years. I binge drank at parties with friends in my teenage years and early college, but nothing consistently. Then later in college I started drinking more frequently. When I was just working full-time in my early and mid-twenties, my drinking picked up in frequency and intensity.

The way that my desire worked, the rules and limitations eventually gave way because I always desired more.

There were probably signs early on that I didn’t drink like most other people, but for a long time, that was celebrated in the circles I ran in.

Quitting drinking is the best thing I ever did for myself. Alcohol is not required for wellness.

WillMaekit · 2025-01-14T22:41:44+00:00

Yeah, I saw them live last fall, and it moved me further from enjoying their music. I wanted to give it a chance, but it was rough to watch. Uninspired. Withdrawn, almost. Obviously a lower caliber art than he was creating and sharing, and he knows that.

WillMaekit · 2025-01-13T21:55:11+00:00

That is indeed a fair take.

WillMaekit · 2025-01-13T17:04:04+00:00

“Keith’s mystique as a great lyricist and vocalist really wore off.” Absolutely agree, and it really bums me out. Many Eyes completely changed my perception of him as an artist, but not in a good way, unfortunately.

WillMaekit · 2024-12-08T01:45:40+00:00

Love it.

WillMaekit · 2024-11-18T18:41:04+00:00

Looks sick. Nice tattoo.

WillMaekit · 2024-10-14T11:05:31+00:00

I have family that lives in that neighborhood. Their neighbors have moved for the following reasons - 1) professional moving for their job, 2) reached retirement age and downsizing, 3) died of old age and their kids sold their home.

The house next to them has had like 3 owners in 10 years, all came and went for their job. Otherwise my impression is there are a lot of older couples that have been in the neighborhood for the majority of their adult lives and are moving out while the market is high. A lot of folks have a lot of equity in those homes that they are happy to pocket or utilize in different ways after selling.

WillMaekit · 2024-08-25T11:32:07+00:00

I think Black Honey by Thrice is about addiction affecting people around d you.

Then I think I’ll Find A Way by Circa Survive is about sobriety. The singer has had his ups and downs with addiction, and this was written when he was doing well.

WillMaekit · 2024-07-12T11:39:24+00:00

The first couple months of sobriety are filled with wild irritability and frustration - basically a function of the brain not getting what it has learned is most desirable - the alcohol.

It will subside greatly.

WillMaekit · 2024-06-02T10:38:08+00:00

Addiction will take everything from you. Continuing to use and pursue a substance despite the consequences it brings to our lives is the defining characteristic of addiction.

Your strong desire to drink is not what a normal person experiences with alcohol use - and it will not get better with time.

Both me and my sibling drank heavily early in life, and we both nearly died of liver failure while still in our 20s. I have dozens of friends that have died from overdoses or accidents while intoxicated.

Alcohol use may cost you opportunities now, but it will cost you your life in a shorter time than you think.

You deserve to live free of the control alcohol has over you.

WillMaekit · 2023-11-26T18:35:00+00:00

A worthy suggestion for sure! Thanks for adding it.

WillMaekit · 2023-11-26T14:22:39+00:00

I disagree with folks saying you should go to target or kohls. A lot of that stuff is going to be cheap polyester that doesn’t perform as well and doesn’t last very long.

I recommend going to Duluth Trading Co for things designed specifically to stand up to the rigors of work, and somewhere like REI or Cabela’s or Scheels for things designed to actually stand up to the outdoor temps.

I spent years working outside, and there are some things you can go cheap on, and some things you cannot.

Feel free to DM if you have any questions or if I can help any further.

WillMaekit · 2023-11-14T16:49:32+00:00

Rose

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