Payoff
I can't describe how perfectly perfect the weather in Chicago has been over the last two weekends. So perfectly perfect, I have serious troubles finding the words to communicate this. Suffice it to say, it's been sunny, clear, blue, warm and downright lovely after six months of snow and gray.

How has the perfectly perfect weather been enjoyed?
-Walking extensively throughout Lincoln Square and Ravenswood
-Walking extensively throughout Logan Square and Humboldt Park
-Walking extensively and doing some imitation of jogging along the lakefront (blue, blue, blue)
-Soaking up the sun in Welles Park and gobbling up a novel.

*sigh*

Random Bits
--The other weekend Todd and I spent a couple of hours visiting Bear Claw, who was recording at Steve Albini's studio. On a sidenote, the studio is close to my workplace, and I drive past it daily. So close that the little coffee shop I go to sometimes has a quickly scrawled sign that mentions that Iggy Pop had come in and commented on the place's "coolness." Iggy Pop and the Stooges recorded at the studios at some point in the past year, I guess. I had never been in a recording studio before, and this was the real deal. We sat there and watched Steve Albini wolf down some tamales and then a few days later we saw him play with Shellac at a packed benefit show at Subterranean.

--Tonight was meeting three of Jenny's and my monthly supper club (goal: to conquer every unknown eatery in Chicago). So far, we've done Ethiopian, Mexican (after the Costa Rican place of choice was closed down unexpectedly and temporarily), and tonight was pizza in a liquor store called Marie's Pizza and Liquors. You walk through the liquor store to get to the restaurant, which is complete with plastic wood paneling and a glassy, bronzey Chicago skyline. Inside the liquor store, there's even a little "vineyard" area where you can eat. The neighborhood it's in is very diverse and I've never ventured into it before. On the way there, Todd and I spotted some woman who was walking and pulling her pants up from her thighs to her waist. Yeah, I don't know either.

--Last week we were watching "Cheaters" and after watching a particularly sad case of a gracious middle aged woman being cuckolded by her rude husband I sighed--SANS IRONY--"At least she called 'Cheaters.'"