Day 2
Second day of work complete! I'm glad to say that I got assigned my old school and also a charter school one day a week. Charter schools are a little of a mystery to me and this one didn't download any of their caseload information onto the school-wide system that we access, so I have no clue what my caseload there looks like. I think I'm just going to show up tomorrow and see what's what. It was good to be at the old school again today, though, see some familiar faces and scrape the cobb webs off of my materials.
Yesterday was an all day meeting for SLPs which was pretty laid back, but sadly was located in the Southside of Chicago (I believe the Bronzeville area, or at least close to it) so I took the main highway, 90/94, to get to it and that experience so blew. It took me over an hour to get there because of congestion and construction and all of that. Blech.
Today I took the main highway again to head south to pick up my shiny new laptop for work. I assumed picking it up would be a breeze since all of the specialized services people (OTs, Psychologists, Social workers and SLPs) were assigned windows within which to show up, check in the old laptop, and then tote off the new one. How much time could it take? Ah, silly me. Three different lines were involved and two hours of waiting all together. The SLP behind me was getting more and more pissed off and was getting ready to maul anyone she suspected of cutting. She was getting ready to blow. It would have been funny if I didn't have to wait in the first line for over an hour. The new laptop is pretty neat, though, so I suppose it was worth it.
Afterwards I had to zoom (or, "zoom," since the highway was crawling with traffic again--at 2:35pm!) all the way to the north to get to my dentist appointment. Seeing as scheduling with my dentist involves a month's notice, I was desperate to get there in time since I needed to get these two cavities taken care of. I got there ten minutes late and ended up having to wait another 20 minutes, but I realized I was so tense from trying to get there in time I had to stretch out, take some deep breaths, and decompress with a couple of quality People Magazines. But, bottom line is that cavities are filled (hurrah!), it didn't cost me hardly anything, and I no longer fear that my teeth are going to fall out from neglect.
Tonight is supper club (Moody's Burgers with the best beer garden ever!) and then tomorrow Todd and I hit the road to head to Lake of the Ozarks to visit his parents at their lakehouse and do some boating and whatnot. It's only for two days, but I'll suck the marrow out of those 48 hours as needed.
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Why does this crack me up so much?So lol-cats tend to be kind of lame, and this is kind of lame too, but I seriously crack up every single time I see this picture. I was trying to figure out what it is, and I think it's the walrus tongue and the walrus expression and the absurdity of it all.
Seriously, every single time I see it, I start laughing.
Monday, August 27, 2007
Betting and Racing
So, I've got two more days till work starts. It's kind of surreal, but as Sarah described in her blog, the first week should be pretty laid back what with meetings and setting up rooms and stuff and it's only three days long! And then next week is only four days long!
This past Saturday I accompanied Todd to his company's party at the horse races. I'd never been and I found it amazingly large with manicured lawns and a huge track. I also learned that jockeys are extraordinarily tiny: besides being of smaller stature they are slender as young beanstalks. We went to look at the horses closeup along with the jockeys and I gawked. Besides the free food, cocktails, and guidebooks, the company also allotted each couple with $20 to gamble. That was good because girlfriend is too cheap to be betting her own money, and good thing too since we ended up losing about $10 of those dollars on $2 bets (and coming out $10 ahead since we got the rest in cash). We did end up winning a couple of times and once we won 10 cents. 10 cents! Others we talked to came out with $40 in winnings and then we talked to someone who had lost $400 of their own money.
The rest of the weekend was fun with a surprise birthday party on Friday night, a Life and Times show on Saturday night, and then the Bucktown Arts Festival on Sunday with a trip to the best bar in the world, The Map Room, afterward. The weather was amazing all weekend, especially after the monsoons that descended this past week.
And that's all I've got!
So, I've got two more days till work starts. It's kind of surreal, but as Sarah described in her blog, the first week should be pretty laid back what with meetings and setting up rooms and stuff and it's only three days long! And then next week is only four days long!
This past Saturday I accompanied Todd to his company's party at the horse races. I'd never been and I found it amazingly large with manicured lawns and a huge track. I also learned that jockeys are extraordinarily tiny: besides being of smaller stature they are slender as young beanstalks. We went to look at the horses closeup along with the jockeys and I gawked. Besides the free food, cocktails, and guidebooks, the company also allotted each couple with $20 to gamble. That was good because girlfriend is too cheap to be betting her own money, and good thing too since we ended up losing about $10 of those dollars on $2 bets (and coming out $10 ahead since we got the rest in cash). We did end up winning a couple of times and once we won 10 cents. 10 cents! Others we talked to came out with $40 in winnings and then we talked to someone who had lost $400 of their own money.
The rest of the weekend was fun with a surprise birthday party on Friday night, a Life and Times show on Saturday night, and then the Bucktown Arts Festival on Sunday with a trip to the best bar in the world, The Map Room, afterward. The weather was amazing all weekend, especially after the monsoons that descended this past week.
And that's all I've got!
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Fatty!
Neatorama posted about the Michelin Baby Syndrome.
The blog also links to an article about the syndrome of which I was too lazy to muddle, but you can find it here.
The picture came from here originally.
Thursday, August 09, 2007
Wednesday, August 08, 2007
Wow.
David Simon, writer of Homicide, the man behind the eponymous tv series, also "The Wire" is a hero of mine, and apparently he's very salty.
There's an interview of Simon by Nick Hornby (TWO of my favorite authors in one enclosed piece) in The Believer Magazine, and here's the first part.
David Simon, writer of Homicide, the man behind the eponymous tv series, also "The Wire" is a hero of mine, and apparently he's very salty.
There's an interview of Simon by Nick Hornby (TWO of my favorite authors in one enclosed piece) in The Believer Magazine, and here's the first part.
NICK HORNBY: Every time I think, Man, I’d love to write for The Wire, I quickly realize that I wouldn’t know my True dats from my narcos. Did you know all that before you started? Do you get input from those who might be more familiar with the idiom?
DAVID SIMON: My standard for verisimilitude is simple and I came to it when I started to write prose narrative: fuck the average reader. I was always told to write for the average reader in my newspaper life. The average reader, as they meant it, was some suburban white subscriber with two-point-whatever kids and three-point-whatever cars and a dog and a cat and lawn furniture. He knows nothing and he needs everything explained to him right away, so that exposition becomes this incredible, story-killing burden. Fuck him. Fuck him to hell.
I found this from this link. And I've never heard of The Believer, but I see that it's a branch of McSweeneys. Now girlfriend needs a subscription (gift idea for those who don't know what to do!)
The Life of Leisure
So it appears that the temping gig that I was set up for to start today fell through. To be specific, the contact person for the company never returned my temping guy's calls, according to him. I found that out yesterday afternoon. The plan now is to go for a week and a half long gig in the week before I start my regular job again.
So my vacation is extended again, which makes me half happy (more free time!) and half sad (dipping into money in the bank that I thought I could leave alone). My last paycheck of deferred pay from my regular job comes Friday: dunh dunh DUNH. Basically, I'm trying not to spend money that I don't need to in the meantime, which means LOTS of reading of books from the library, playing on the Internets, lolling in front of bad TV, and working out.
Oh, and there's ever standing talk of a Chicago Teachers Union strike in case the next contract doesn't get settled. If there's a strike that means no pay for those days, so...yeah, got to be conservative with the monies. [Actually, I'm pretty confident that they'll work it out, since the other unions--like the ones for the janitors, custodians, food service workers--settled with the Board of Education earlier this week. And I doubt that Mayor Daley wants all of these kids running around unoccupied and the bad rap the city might receive when Chicago is vying to be an Olympic host]. We'll see how it turns out.
I just checked out a book from the library called An Incomplete Education: 3,684 Things You Should Have Learned But Probably Didn't. This is important, because while a lot of things were passed onto to me throughout my education, the amount that has actually *stuck* with me is pretty pathetic. I'm going to try to post a new fact that I've learned every day while I have this book, so get ready, people. Because daytime TV is definitely not keeping me sharp.
Speaking of books, we had another book club meeting last night and it was a funny one since NONE of us who attended had read the book (or even looked at a copy). Only four of us attended, and we were all ones who work in the schools and have been home all day. I guess we couldn't find it in us to track down the book, but it was still a good time.
So it appears that the temping gig that I was set up for to start today fell through. To be specific, the contact person for the company never returned my temping guy's calls, according to him. I found that out yesterday afternoon. The plan now is to go for a week and a half long gig in the week before I start my regular job again.
So my vacation is extended again, which makes me half happy (more free time!) and half sad (dipping into money in the bank that I thought I could leave alone). My last paycheck of deferred pay from my regular job comes Friday: dunh dunh DUNH. Basically, I'm trying not to spend money that I don't need to in the meantime, which means LOTS of reading of books from the library, playing on the Internets, lolling in front of bad TV, and working out.
Oh, and there's ever standing talk of a Chicago Teachers Union strike in case the next contract doesn't get settled. If there's a strike that means no pay for those days, so...yeah, got to be conservative with the monies. [Actually, I'm pretty confident that they'll work it out, since the other unions--like the ones for the janitors, custodians, food service workers--settled with the Board of Education earlier this week. And I doubt that Mayor Daley wants all of these kids running around unoccupied and the bad rap the city might receive when Chicago is vying to be an Olympic host]. We'll see how it turns out.
I just checked out a book from the library called An Incomplete Education: 3,684 Things You Should Have Learned But Probably Didn't. This is important, because while a lot of things were passed onto to me throughout my education, the amount that has actually *stuck* with me is pretty pathetic. I'm going to try to post a new fact that I've learned every day while I have this book, so get ready, people. Because daytime TV is definitely not keeping me sharp.
Speaking of books, we had another book club meeting last night and it was a funny one since NONE of us who attended had read the book (or even looked at a copy). Only four of us attended, and we were all ones who work in the schools and have been home all day. I guess we couldn't find it in us to track down the book, but it was still a good time.
Monday, August 06, 2007
I Have Never Seen So Many Hot DogsSo, on Saturday Todd and I decided to tag along with Rich when he went on the first official Hot Dog Crawl that was organized by the guy who owns Sick Room Records (which sponsors, or whatever record labels do, Bear Claw). The guy, Ryan, decided that it would be fun to visit hot dog places all around the city and pay homage to the Chicago hot dog by eating a hot dog at each place. He planned an itinerary, he rented a 15-passenger van, he named a starting point and it was all set.
I wanted to go because watching people perform acts of gluttony for kicks cracks me up. Plus, it was a fun little tour of various points of the city since Ryan planned it so each part of the city represented. And this is not something someone sees every day.
We arrived at Hot Doug's at 10:20 (10 minutes before opening time), got into the line that had already formed and met up with the rest of the group. Thus began our day, and it ended around 7pm after visiting nine other places. Curious about the places we stopped by? Here's the list:
1. Hot Doug's: Really, the best. I temporarily departed from the SBD to have a sausage here. Don't worry, I'm back on the wagon.
2. Super Dawg: Todd and I had visited this place before and while it was kitschy with the giant male and female sausages on the roof, it's kind of expensive. Others in the group really seemed to like the hot dogs, though.
3. Wolfies: This place had a giant fork spearing a hot dog outside. You can't miss it.
4. Hueys: This was in Andersonville. I actually ran into Jenny on the street while we were at this stop. Small world, indeed.
5. Byron's: This was a small stand in Irving Park. It was also where I got pooped on by birds TWICE. I couldn't see it since both shots were on my back, but Todd helped me clean it up and since I couldn't see it, I didn't get too caught up in it. Plus, it's supposed to be lucky, right? I did have crusted bird poop on me the rest of the day, though.
6. Weiner Circle: This is a popular place in Lincoln Park where drunken people and a cranky staff come together late in the evening to yell at eachother. There was only mild yelling on this visit since it was about 4pm. Rich picked up someone else's hot dog, though, and was chastised for being rude. People seemed to really like these hot dogs.
7. Jim's Original Hot Dog Stand: This is a huge, cheap stand and I think it was the lone southside representation, close to Univ. of IL-Chicago. There was a another huge hot dog stand right next door, but I think that Jim's was there first. It should be noted that Gold Coast Dogs was supposed to be number seven, but we wandered up and down Clark to realize that the shop that the Internet said was around no longer existed.
8. Duk's: I don't know where this falls in terms of geographic location, but it had character. And by "character," I mean scary painted Donald Ducks on the wall, hot and dark quarters, and ladies working who work hard for their money. Rich said that the hot dogs tasted like they were cooked in dishwater which seriously still makes me want to vomit just a little.
9. Jimmy's Red Hots: This was on the West side of the city. This place also had a lot of "character." The hot dogs and fries were thrown into a big mass of waxed paper. Others in the group reported that the fries offered here are some of the best.
10. Sam's Red Hots: This tiny shack is very close to Todd's place and we have passed by countless times. Apparently, it's a neighborhood favorite. The lady who worked the counter was really nice ("Too bad you didn't come here first because then you didn't need to go to the other places"). Reports on the dogs were so-so.
It should be noted that while others skipped stops or shared dogs, Rich and Ryan had a hot dog at every single stop. They looked like they were struggling a little at stop number 10. I think that Rich stretched out his stomach from all this, though, because he ate ice cream later that evening and then polished off an entire french toast meal at the Bongo Room the next day.
Interestingly, one of the places was serving their food in Burger King bags. This was the same place where this dude with a blue tooth headset was manning a whole store of bootleg dvds on the counter of the place.
The entire trip was a lot of fun, mainly because the other people on the crawl (a slightly changing group of about 8-15) were hilarious and down for a good time. I also want to note that my Chicago screen print poster hero, Jay Ryan, was there for the first three stops and he was super nice and gracious even when I gushed to him about how I have plastered my apartment walls with his works. So, I got to meet one of my Chicago idols. I even heard that he's going to design a t-shirt for next year's crawl.
So, I don't want to be near hot dogs anytime soon, but it was worth it.
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
I'm Baaack
Briefly, I just got back into Chicago after another uneventful 12 hour drive. This time I listened to this really awful audio book of the crime novel genre. It was terrible, but I was in no room to choose since radio choices were lacking so I faithfully listened to 12 of 14 hours of this crap.
But I had to blog one of the actual lines from the book before I forget. I heard it, and my eyes started rolling uncontrollably so much that the car may have swerved on Rte. 90 East. Are you ready for it? I may paraphrase here, but this is 98% it:
She was like Miss Marple, except with a great set of breasts.
I'm so not even kidding you.
Briefly, I just got back into Chicago after another uneventful 12 hour drive. This time I listened to this really awful audio book of the crime novel genre. It was terrible, but I was in no room to choose since radio choices were lacking so I faithfully listened to 12 of 14 hours of this crap.
But I had to blog one of the actual lines from the book before I forget. I heard it, and my eyes started rolling uncontrollably so much that the car may have swerved on Rte. 90 East. Are you ready for it? I may paraphrase here, but this is 98% it:
She was like Miss Marple, except with a great set of breasts.
I'm so not even kidding you.
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Visitin'
I road tripped yesterday and it was a fun, little package of a day. First, I drove a couple of hours to the rolling green hills of Charlottesville to visit Madeline. Madeline, having finished up her residency at UVA, is getting ready to pack up and move herself to Chapel Hill. It was great to see her and we spent a couple of hours catching up in person and munching on pumpkin seeds. I also learned a lesson about Yahoo Maps: don't trust them completely. Madeline owns a little townhouse in a relatively new development and while Yahoo Maps purported to recognizing the address, they left out a few relevant details in terms of getting there.
Then I climbed back into my wee Civic and zoomed along 64 to Richmond to visit Emily. Emily is my old roommate, a compadre from my college job at Baskin Robbins (the 3rd busiest in the nation, people!), and one of my dearest and most erstwhile friends. I hadn't seen her in over two and half years and we picked up as if we hadn't seen each other for a few minutes. Except we had a lot more to catch up on. She and her husband bought the sweetest little fixer upper in Richmond's Southside, and from the look of their almost finished kitchen and their totally finished pantry, by the time they get done with everything I'm totally packing my bags and moving in. She even started a little vegetable garden in the backyard complete with her own baby pumpkins and fledgling green peppers. It was great to re-connect and I left feeling sated and with mental resolutions to stay in more regular touch.
I've also managed to see DC-area friends too and it's been wonderful. Dinner and a DC-monuments walk with Annie, brunch with Des and Bryan, and dinner with Anne and Nate (who I finally met, and it every bit as great as I've heard).
I also climbed on the scale at Em's house after eating a big salad for lunch and it read a number down three and half pounds since last Wednesday! Hooray! I needed that reinforcement since I was tempted many times this past week (especially walking into Lost Dog Cafe with Anne and managing not to grab one of their fresh baked pizzas or sandwiches and cramming it into my gaping maw).
I road tripped yesterday and it was a fun, little package of a day. First, I drove a couple of hours to the rolling green hills of Charlottesville to visit Madeline. Madeline, having finished up her residency at UVA, is getting ready to pack up and move herself to Chapel Hill. It was great to see her and we spent a couple of hours catching up in person and munching on pumpkin seeds. I also learned a lesson about Yahoo Maps: don't trust them completely. Madeline owns a little townhouse in a relatively new development and while Yahoo Maps purported to recognizing the address, they left out a few relevant details in terms of getting there.
Then I climbed back into my wee Civic and zoomed along 64 to Richmond to visit Emily. Emily is my old roommate, a compadre from my college job at Baskin Robbins (the 3rd busiest in the nation, people!), and one of my dearest and most erstwhile friends. I hadn't seen her in over two and half years and we picked up as if we hadn't seen each other for a few minutes. Except we had a lot more to catch up on. She and her husband bought the sweetest little fixer upper in Richmond's Southside, and from the look of their almost finished kitchen and their totally finished pantry, by the time they get done with everything I'm totally packing my bags and moving in. She even started a little vegetable garden in the backyard complete with her own baby pumpkins and fledgling green peppers. It was great to re-connect and I left feeling sated and with mental resolutions to stay in more regular touch.
I've also managed to see DC-area friends too and it's been wonderful. Dinner and a DC-monuments walk with Annie, brunch with Des and Bryan, and dinner with Anne and Nate (who I finally met, and it every bit as great as I've heard).
I also climbed on the scale at Em's house after eating a big salad for lunch and it read a number down three and half pounds since last Wednesday! Hooray! I needed that reinforcement since I was tempted many times this past week (especially walking into Lost Dog Cafe with Anne and managing not to grab one of their fresh baked pizzas or sandwiches and cramming it into my gaping maw).
Sunday, July 22, 2007
The Little Brother Can Cook
So, my baby brother cooked tonight and he made lamb chops served along side a red pepper sauce as well as a fresh mint sauce. In addition, he served fresh stuffed tomatoes overflowing with parmesan cheese and garlic. It was pretty awesome. So good in fact, that it warrants its own blogpost.
So, my baby brother cooked tonight and he made lamb chops served along side a red pepper sauce as well as a fresh mint sauce. In addition, he served fresh stuffed tomatoes overflowing with parmesan cheese and garlic. It was pretty awesome. So good in fact, that it warrants its own blogpost.
This cracks me up
Todd wrote me this today describing a crazy guy that he and his friends met when he ate at a neighborhood place we'd always passed by:
Hey! Oh man, what a story. The crazy dude, whose name is king david, walked up to us saying "I'm gonna go get my .38 and kill all those motherfuckers! Some guy hit my car and i told them (pointing to police station) and they do nothing! Man, it was a hummer, just crashed into me then took off!" So we told him that it was a bad idea to kill all of them with his .38, and he was easily convinced, because jesus wouldn"t do it either. Luckily, all he really needed to get was a "couple of bucks" for the bus so Mark gave him about a buck in change and he was our best friend for a couple minutes before he took off. Here are some things he has on the hopper:
- He can get us guns and knives if we need them.
- He's the head of the latin kings, and if we need any protection, we just need to ask him.
- He's going to start up a new restaurant on Milwaukee and Kedzie that is cheaper than Pancho.
- He can hook our car up with hydraulics if we want
- He can build condos.
- He's going to start up a football team, and on the back of the helmet will be a big JC for Jesus Christ.
- His mom named him King David.
Then he took off, just after asking us again if he should kill them all, and saying "oh yeah, I shouldn't, because of Jesus. Thanks guys!" It was a pretty weird scene, with the backdrop of those neon palm trees outside Pancho and all.
Todd wrote me this today describing a crazy guy that he and his friends met when he ate at a neighborhood place we'd always passed by:
Hey! Oh man, what a story. The crazy dude, whose name is king david, walked up to us saying "I'm gonna go get my .38 and kill all those motherfuckers! Some guy hit my car and i told them (pointing to police station) and they do nothing! Man, it was a hummer, just crashed into me then took off!" So we told him that it was a bad idea to kill all of them with his .38, and he was easily convinced, because jesus wouldn"t do it either. Luckily, all he really needed to get was a "couple of bucks" for the bus so Mark gave him about a buck in change and he was our best friend for a couple minutes before he took off. Here are some things he has on the hopper:
- He can get us guns and knives if we need them.
- He's the head of the latin kings, and if we need any protection, we just need to ask him.
- He's going to start up a new restaurant on Milwaukee and Kedzie that is cheaper than Pancho.
- He can hook our car up with hydraulics if we want
- He can build condos.
- He's going to start up a football team, and on the back of the helmet will be a big JC for Jesus Christ.
- His mom named him King David.
Then he took off, just after asking us again if he should kill them all, and saying "oh yeah, I shouldn't, because of Jesus. Thanks guys!" It was a pretty weird scene, with the backdrop of those neon palm trees outside Pancho and all.
Friday, July 20, 2007
SBD Update
One week down! One more week of Phase I to go! It's been challenging at points and continues to be. But, at last check I'm down four pounds and my pants by which I measure progress fit *an iota* better. Progress is progress, and I'll take it.
My observations that I end up saving money on this diet because I don't drink when I go out and I can't partake in some (delicious) tortilla-chip and cheese laden appetizer. So that's cool, and that money went to my tolls coming home yesterday.
The diet isn't very fun, though. I mean, I like the foods that I make but they can be time-consuming to prepare and I no longer just dig in and have that handful of chips that tastes like heaven and is such a fast snack. I saw Kevin the other night and he held up a quesadilla in one hand and a beer in the other and was like: "So, you don't eat these?" And I fixed my saddened, bovine eyes on him and and shook my head no. And then I sipped my ice water.
So, sticking with it and feeling good. I no longer feel uncomfortably full, which is nice. I'm about to head to the grocery store to stock up on food for my parents' place.
One week down! One more week of Phase I to go! It's been challenging at points and continues to be. But, at last check I'm down four pounds and my pants by which I measure progress fit *an iota* better. Progress is progress, and I'll take it.
My observations that I end up saving money on this diet because I don't drink when I go out and I can't partake in some (delicious) tortilla-chip and cheese laden appetizer. So that's cool, and that money went to my tolls coming home yesterday.
The diet isn't very fun, though. I mean, I like the foods that I make but they can be time-consuming to prepare and I no longer just dig in and have that handful of chips that tastes like heaven and is such a fast snack. I saw Kevin the other night and he held up a quesadilla in one hand and a beer in the other and was like: "So, you don't eat these?" And I fixed my saddened, bovine eyes on him and and shook my head no. And then I sipped my ice water.
So, sticking with it and feeling good. I no longer feel uncomfortably full, which is nice. I'm about to head to the grocery store to stock up on food for my parents' place.
Reading Report
I discovered the graphic novel area of the nice regional library near me and it was all over. I cleaned that place out. I really, really, really love graphic novels and if I had lots of cash I would stock my library full. In the meantime, the library is a nice option. And while graphic novels bring me absolute joy, it's a little bittersweet because more often than not, one goes through them very quickly.
So since Wednesday, I've read three (I got like seven). Here's the run-down:
I discovered the graphic novel area of the nice regional library near me and it was all over. I cleaned that place out. I really, really, really love graphic novels and if I had lots of cash I would stock my library full. In the meantime, the library is a nice option. And while graphic novels bring me absolute joy, it's a little bittersweet because more often than not, one goes through them very quickly.
So since Wednesday, I've read three (I got like seven). Here's the run-down:
- Pyongyang: A Journey in North Korea by Guy Delisle. Delisle worked as an animator in North Korea for three months in early 2001 and drew an account of his experiences there. It's all charcoal and observant and funny and really goddamn great. In comparison to someone like Joe Sacco, though, Delisle is less about trying to get find out the true story (less of a journalist) and more about quick observations and impressions. Still, really good and highly recommended. He wrote one about working on Shenzhen and I totally want to read it!
- Mom's Cancer by Briend Fies. When his mother was diagnosed with lung cancer, he started a comic strip about it and this little book is the finished product. It's fast, but honest and powerful. And the ending is kind of happy.
- Embroideries by Marjane Satrapi. It's a quick little read about an afternoon tea among her family of Iranian women where conversation is funny, juicy, and pretty progressive. A totally fun book.
- Blankets by Craig Thompson. This one is more of a novel form (it's a brick!), but it's still a fast read. Thompson writes autobiographically about his childhood a teen years, his struggles to fit into his rural Wisconsin background, his inner debates regarding religion and finally his teenage first love. It's good and smart and honest, but Thompson's character was kind of a fox, let's be honest. Not sure if he meant to draw himself that way, but that's the way it turned out, so it's harder to really get that he was terrorized in high school. I had also read Ariel Shrag's illustrated novels about her high school years (one for each year) and her junior year novel is mainly about her first love. While she doesn't tackle as many issues at Thompson, I think that her description of a first love gone awry can't be beat.
Back to da East Coast
I drove back home yesterday to visit the family and see friends (and to meet a certain friend's BF). It was an almost 12 hour drive, and I didn't hit any traffic to speak off but I got home and I was wiped out. I ate dinner and then went to bed. At 9pm. Eastern time. It was worth it, though, because while it's good to be home, it's much better to be home when I have my own transportation.
The night before I left, I went to meet Todd downtown to see one of the free concerts held in the Pritker Pavillion (the crazy Gehry-designed bandshell that looks out onto the expansive green lawn in Grant Park). The city holds various free concerts over the summers in its parks. I had joined Jenny and Pam for one last year and I was so impressed: everyone is allowed to bring in picnics and wines and it's free. It's even more impressive to sit in the Pritzker Pavillion because you're looking up at all of the impressive Chicago architecture looming over you. Plus, the night we went last year, the weather was perfect, and we got to watch the free fireworks over Navy Pier. I really wanted to come again this year.
So we did. We came to see the Decemberists play with the Grant Park Orchestra. I had never heard them, but it sounded good to me. Me and about fifteen billion other people because that place was packed. Rich ended up coming with and then we ran into my grad school mate, Jennifer, and her sister, so we all walked over together. We found some free lawn outside the actual pavillion and kind of beside/behind the bandshell, but none of us really cared about getting all up in there. so we sat. I had brought a thin little sheet on which to sit, which was an outrageously poor decision since I didn't take into account that it had *poured* that morning so the ground was akin to a water-saturated sponge. Needless to say, our bottoms were all soaked within about 0.3 seconds of sitting. Then it started to sprinkle...and then full-out rain. We opened up umbrellas and sat talking while nibbling on crudites. I was proud of us because we stuck it through and waited out the rain, ears soaking in some escaping music from the Decemberists (the bandshell does a nice job of keeping the sound enclosed, and since we were outside that enclosure...it was a little muted).
We ended up leaving toward the end of the set in order to beat the el crowds (successfully!). Good thing too because as soon as we got home the sky cracked open and the full-fledged pouring commenced. Glad that we didn't end up waiting for the fireworks. I would definitely do it again, but will choose a less popular evening and will check the weather forecast.
I drove back home yesterday to visit the family and see friends (and to meet a certain friend's BF). It was an almost 12 hour drive, and I didn't hit any traffic to speak off but I got home and I was wiped out. I ate dinner and then went to bed. At 9pm. Eastern time. It was worth it, though, because while it's good to be home, it's much better to be home when I have my own transportation.
The night before I left, I went to meet Todd downtown to see one of the free concerts held in the Pritker Pavillion (the crazy Gehry-designed bandshell that looks out onto the expansive green lawn in Grant Park). The city holds various free concerts over the summers in its parks. I had joined Jenny and Pam for one last year and I was so impressed: everyone is allowed to bring in picnics and wines and it's free. It's even more impressive to sit in the Pritzker Pavillion because you're looking up at all of the impressive Chicago architecture looming over you. Plus, the night we went last year, the weather was perfect, and we got to watch the free fireworks over Navy Pier. I really wanted to come again this year.
So we did. We came to see the Decemberists play with the Grant Park Orchestra. I had never heard them, but it sounded good to me. Me and about fifteen billion other people because that place was packed. Rich ended up coming with and then we ran into my grad school mate, Jennifer, and her sister, so we all walked over together. We found some free lawn outside the actual pavillion and kind of beside/behind the bandshell, but none of us really cared about getting all up in there. so we sat. I had brought a thin little sheet on which to sit, which was an outrageously poor decision since I didn't take into account that it had *poured* that morning so the ground was akin to a water-saturated sponge. Needless to say, our bottoms were all soaked within about 0.3 seconds of sitting. Then it started to sprinkle...and then full-out rain. We opened up umbrellas and sat talking while nibbling on crudites. I was proud of us because we stuck it through and waited out the rain, ears soaking in some escaping music from the Decemberists (the bandshell does a nice job of keeping the sound enclosed, and since we were outside that enclosure...it was a little muted).
We ended up leaving toward the end of the set in order to beat the el crowds (successfully!). Good thing too because as soon as we got home the sky cracked open and the full-fledged pouring commenced. Glad that we didn't end up waiting for the fireworks. I would definitely do it again, but will choose a less popular evening and will check the weather forecast.
Monday, July 16, 2007
Days Blend
That's what happens when summer school ends and I'm on vacation of sorts. It's kind of great.
Friday brought in a slight relief from the heat and it made for perfect weather for going to the Pitchfork Festival that evening. We saw Slint and Sonic Youth play and it was cool and crisp and pretty goddamn awesome outside. Todd drove and I was happy because I cannot describe the lines of people we saw who were waiting to walk up the steps to the el platform. We only went on Friday this time, as compared to Sat and Sun last year. I had been struck by how orderly and peaceful the festival was for the past couple of years (no lines to the portapotties! no snaking queues for beer and food! water for $1! no crazy and obnoxious drunkenness!). It was still pretty orderly this year, but the lines were insane for the beer and food and I definitely observed some obnoxiousness in comparison to no obnoxiousness from last year. I thought that Todd was going to pop one of the dudes with popped collars who talked very loudly and raucously to one another during the entirety of Sonic Youth's set and who were standing directly in front of us. I'm no Nazi when it comes to talking during live music, but even I know that if you want to chat then don't stand there up front by the music.
Saturday was lazy and I seriously can't remember what I did.
Sunday we went to the Oldtown School of Music's Folk and Roots Festival which was in the park by my house. It was a super-duper cute festival teeming with fat toddlers waddling under your feet. We sat and watched the fiddling contest and I got a slight burn, but it was worth it.
SBD Update: I managed to avoid MAJOR temptation this weekend and I am immensely proud of myself. I was starving Friday night during Pitchfork and the almonds that I had brought along weren't doing a lot for me. I didn't buy the delicious looking flatbreads and spinach pies that were at the food stands, though and I am glad.
Yesterday at the Folk and Roots festival was tough too because: festival food smells good. I really, really wanted to get some of the seafood quesadillas on sale. I also really, really wanted some of the sangria that they had. I balked at both.
And I'm happy to say that my weigh in this morning reads a three pound loss since Thursday. I know it's water weight, but it's encouraging at least.
That's what happens when summer school ends and I'm on vacation of sorts. It's kind of great.
Friday brought in a slight relief from the heat and it made for perfect weather for going to the Pitchfork Festival that evening. We saw Slint and Sonic Youth play and it was cool and crisp and pretty goddamn awesome outside. Todd drove and I was happy because I cannot describe the lines of people we saw who were waiting to walk up the steps to the el platform. We only went on Friday this time, as compared to Sat and Sun last year. I had been struck by how orderly and peaceful the festival was for the past couple of years (no lines to the portapotties! no snaking queues for beer and food! water for $1! no crazy and obnoxious drunkenness!). It was still pretty orderly this year, but the lines were insane for the beer and food and I definitely observed some obnoxiousness in comparison to no obnoxiousness from last year. I thought that Todd was going to pop one of the dudes with popped collars who talked very loudly and raucously to one another during the entirety of Sonic Youth's set and who were standing directly in front of us. I'm no Nazi when it comes to talking during live music, but even I know that if you want to chat then don't stand there up front by the music.
Saturday was lazy and I seriously can't remember what I did.
Sunday we went to the Oldtown School of Music's Folk and Roots Festival which was in the park by my house. It was a super-duper cute festival teeming with fat toddlers waddling under your feet. We sat and watched the fiddling contest and I got a slight burn, but it was worth it.
SBD Update: I managed to avoid MAJOR temptation this weekend and I am immensely proud of myself. I was starving Friday night during Pitchfork and the almonds that I had brought along weren't doing a lot for me. I didn't buy the delicious looking flatbreads and spinach pies that were at the food stands, though and I am glad.
Yesterday at the Folk and Roots festival was tough too because: festival food smells good. I really, really wanted to get some of the seafood quesadillas on sale. I also really, really wanted some of the sangria that they had. I balked at both.
And I'm happy to say that my weigh in this morning reads a three pound loss since Thursday. I know it's water weight, but it's encouraging at least.
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