Change Part 1: Goodbye Chicago

Well a lot has happened since my last post.  I have left Chicago.  We really wanted to live closer to family and so we just packed up and left.  Since there were so many things in Chicago that I didn't get to document, I'd figure I'd dedicate this post to the Windy City.  So in no particular order I present you my memories of Chi-town and tourist faves:




                                                           My apartment

                                           IIT Campus Student Center and CTA rail

                                         IIT's Crown Hall by Mies Van der Rohe

                                                                 SNOW

                                       Crown Fountain designed by Jaume Plensa

                         My office, my desk is the one in the right hand corner of the photo

                                           Lake Michigan and the city skyline

                                    Alicia and Me in May wearing winter gear.  Brrr.

                             Our Stupid apartment elevator.  Damn thing rarely worked.

                                                        My neighborhood at night

                                          Neighborhood patisserie. Miss it already.

                       Last visit to Millenium Park.  Love the woman reading the paper :)

                                                 Justin under the theatre lights.

                         Transit!  Oh how I miss thee.  Train or bus?  Wish I had that problem now.

     Oak Park, Illinois.  Frank Lloyd Wright's Unity Temple.  Can you believe this is from 1905?

                                                    A funny street sign.

                            Spin Beer Garden.  A gay club which backs up to a church.

                                                     My Neighborhood.

                                                     My Neighborhood

                                  Wang's on Broadway. Best Lychee Martini in the U.S.

           Wang's on Broadway.  Watch out for the Penis photos all over the bathroom walls.

                                                   My neighborhood during the day.

 Nettlehorst school playground.  This school was the gem of our neighborhood.  Love this school.

                                                    Nettlehorst School Public Art

 Nettlehorst Grass Giraffe entry. What kid wouldn't love to be greeted by giant giraffes everyday?

                            Church that affirms same sex marriage.  Awesomeness!

                     Spin nightclub a day before the pride parade.  I'd say they are proud.

                                                       Our toes on the sidewalk!

                       Inside of the bus.  I need Alicia to give me the photo of inside of train.  

                                              The Rookery.  AKA batman's hangout.

See you later Chicago.

Cold Weather Realizations

First snow December 2009

Since this is my second winter in Chicago, I thought I would share my cold weather realizations with my friends from the south. Some of these I really didn't know until I moved here.

1) The only thing worse than a slow person walking in front of you in 7 degree weather, is 2 slow people walking in front of you in 7 degree weather.

2) In case I haven't mentioned it here before, I realized when I moved here that boogers and eye mucous CAN freeze.

3) How does a vegan live in a cold climate? All the warm stuff includes: down, wool, angora, leather. I guess they fleece it up. I have never seen a dressy fleece though....

4) Chicagoans think that setting their thermostat to 65-68 in the winter and the summer is ok. Totally NOT ok.

5) Snow really does glisten :)

6) My dog has excellent slush vision. I will see snow and step on it only to find out its a layer of snow covering a puddle of water. Mona however does not have this problem. She can tell it's slush from 20 feet away. If I could only bring Mona to work in the mornings. Of course slush won't be here again until April or May, as its completely turned to ice now.

7) Shoveling snow is a daily activity here for anyone who owns a house or car. If they miss a day, you will surely hear about it. People have to keep a shovel in their car. And I hear that if you shovel out a parking space then there is a rule about placing a piece of furniture there to hold the space until you return. If you shovel it, its yours. I, of course, do not have this problem as I own nothing except the items in my apartment.

8) It is possible for your car to be ice enclosed, leaving you stranded without a car.

9) Main roadways are completely snow free, but still white in the winter due to the salt. And salt ruins shoes and pant hems. Alley ways are full of snow and look like Narnia. I prefer them!

10) It gets A LOT colder after it snows

11) No matter how many days in a row you see snow falling, its always beautiful.

Knit and Gnat

Knit, being the knitwear on the trees over by my place. I came across this blog awhile ago http://microfibermilitia.blogspot.com/ but didn't realize there were pieces by my place. Pretty fun huh?

Gnat, being the chatty dude that stopped me while taking this photo to ask "Why are you taking a picture of that tree?" I shouldn't call him a gnat, that's mean, but it rhymed so what the hell. But it was annoying. Non-natives of Chicago will find that these instances occur more often than you like.

I explained to him the reason for the photo, he shrugged his shoulders and said "Huh! Tree sweaters!"

You see that white haze in the background of the photo? Why is my new camera doing this to me? Anyone know why or how to fix it? Alicia?

10 days left of April and...

There is snow in the forecast...

http://weather.weatherbug.com/IL/Chicago-weather/local-forecast/detailed-forecast.html?zcode=z6286

The SNOW of Freaking March 2009

Its almost April and I woke up to this. This is the view from my bedroom window. Typically you see downtown Chicago, but no there is a blizzard today. I would have taken a picture outside, but I fear my camera cannot handle it. I really don't believe that summer, much less spring will ever happen again. :(