Well, I think that I have found a way to combine two of the greatest places on Earth...and I only need about $1,000,000 dollars to do it. Do I have any takers? But it would be a great investment!!! Here's my thoughts...

When it comes to Chipotle restaurants, I'm a nut for it. I mean, I am CrAzY about it! I work four days a week at my job and at least two of the days consists of lunch at Chipotle. It has all of the attributes that I look for in a restaurant...which include...

• Consistency: There is nothing that I love more than going to your favorite restaurant, getting your favorite meal, and having it taste just as good EVERY SINGLE TIME!
• Healthiness: Chipotle has all the ingredients that I need. It has meat, it has mild salsa (the veggies), rice, beans, the works.
• Affordability: The meal that I get from Chipotle costs $7.65 at the Orland Park restaurant, and $7.37 at the Merrillville restaurant. I can eat an entire burrito bowl and have it get me through the whole day!
• Location: Fortunately for me, I worked right by the Chipotle in Orland Park. They just recently opened a restaurant in Merrillville, but I still have to drive 15-20 minutes to go there. That one is the closest to my house.

Below, I have provided what I prefer for MY burrito bowl at Chipotle...

• Rice
• 1/2 Black Beans, 1/2 Pinto Beans
• Steak (the more the better)
• Mild Salsa
• Sour Cream
• Cheese
• Guacamole

So anyways, back to the Chipotle / Baskin Robbins idea...

After eating Chipotle, my sweet tooth usually kicks in. Don't get me wrong, if you have never had a burrito bowl from Chipotle, you probably will not be able to finish your first one in one sitting and I am usually very full afterwards...but there is always room for ice cream! Most of the people that I go to Chipotle with tend to need a little bit of sugar afterwards, perhaps to counteract the salt intake of the burrito bowl. So my solution is this...make The Chipotle / Baskin Robbins combo.

I know some of you are reading this and you probably think I'm nuts, and if you know me already, then thinking that wouldn't necessarily be wrong. Corporate America is constantly looking for ways to increase profit and reduce costs. It is just the nature or the beast. Many fast food chains have combined their restaurants in an attempt to save on the overhead costs of wages and infrastructure. So far, I have seen combos of  TacoBell / PizzaHut,   Long John Silvers / A&W,   Kentucky Fried Chicken / A&W,  and  Donkin Donuts / Baskin Robbins.   I have also seen Starbucks, Pizza Hut, and Subway stores inside of  big box retailers, such as Target and Walmart.

My hope is that someday I have the winning Powerball, or MegaMillions ticket to win the gold and start my own chain of Chipotle / Baskin Robbins restaurants. But of course, you can't win without buying a lottery ticket...

It was yet another soggy morning today in Northwest Indiana. I woke up a little earlier than usual today because I needed to stop by the BMV to get my new plate sticker. It was pouring down rain outside and I was soaked just from running out to the garage. After I pulled out of the garage, I started driving down the alley to get to the street. As I was driving, all of the backyards and the entire pavement of the alley was covered in water. As I got to the end of the road, the alley takes a dip towards the street, and that was where all the water was collecting. I creeped the nose of my car into the water far enough to be able to look for oncoming traffic and while doing that, I realized that the water was about 18 inches high and might flood out my car if I try to drive through it! Well, like a dummy, I went for it. I needed my plate sticker and had to get to work. So I waited....and waited...until an opportunity came for me to dart out. I had to back up my car about 15 feet and then stomp on the gas to make it through. After I got through the mini lake that developed, I was on unflooded ground. My car started sputtering a little bit and I was nervous that it would be flooded out, but thankfully it wasn't.

So I began my trip into work, which is about a 30 mile drive. Of course the expressway was backed up and for those of you who are familiar with I-80/94 and I-294 on the south side, you know that traffic there sucks...even on a dry day! So it took a good hour to get to work.

It's about 5:00pm now and the rain has let up, but now the worries of flooding is making my stomach churn. As I sit at work, I keep checking my local newspapers webpage learning about all the flooding that is going on around my house. Apparently, 6 houses have collapsed!!! The water on the basement walls was too much and the basements of many houses are caving in all together! I've pasted the report from the National Weater Service below...

* AT SOME LOCATIONS AROUND HIGHLAND AND GARY INDIANA THE WATER WAS WAIST DEEP ON MOST PEOPLE. ALONG HART DITCH AT MUNSTER THE RIVER HAS CRESTED AND WILL BEGIN TO FALL. THE LITTLE CALUMET RIVER AT MUNSTER INDIANA WILL CREST AT 15.5 FEET BY MIDNIGHT. SEE THE RIVER WARNING PRODUCT FOR THE LITTLE CALUMET RIVER.

SOME UNOFFICIAL SCHOOL RAIN REPORTS WERE...HIGHLAND HIGH SCHOOL HAD 5.40 INCHES OF RAIN...AND GARY HIGH SCHOOL HAD 3.81 INCHES OF RAIN. THESE WERE SINCE MIDNIGHT WEDNESDAY MORNING.

Below is part of an article posted by NWI Times on 9/13

The downpours that blasted Northwest Indiana this morning left much of northern Lake County under water, stranded motorists and even caused numerous basement walls to collapse.

Highland appeared to be the hardest hit, with firefighters and utility crews called out to numerous addresses where basement walls were giving way and gas leaks were reported. Many of the addresses reported appeared to be within a block or two of Grace Street, both north and south of Ridge Road.  

Well hopefully, my house wont flood or cave in..especially since my entire room and everything I own is in the basement!

KINDA SCARY!!!

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jlaxsalinas@robertmorris.edu