Poetry nerd...

A couple months ago, when I was talking about the movie Aladdin, and about wishes and choices, I posted a Robert Frost poem. Rick then proceeded to label me a "poetry nerd." So if you're not nerdy like I am, you may want to skip the rest of this. :)

I just found this poem (although it's really more prose than poem, so maybe it won't scare off the anti-poetry crowd :)) by Khalil Gibran. It was one of those times when I read something and it just sort of "spoke" to me. Yeah, okay, so I AM a poetry nerd, and poetry "speaks" to me sometimes. But hey, this is better than what I was considering posting earlier, which was John Keats' Ode to a Nightingale. THAT poem is heavy and melancholy and rather long... so you guys lucked out. Today, anyway... you're welcome.

Joy and Sorrow

Your joy is your sorrow unmasked.

And the selfsame well from which your laughter rises was oftentimes filled with your tears.

And how else can it be?

The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain.

Is not the cup that hold your wine the very cup that was burned in the potter's oven?

And is not the lute that soothes your spirit, the very wood that was hollowed with knives?

When you are joyous, look deep into your heart and you shall find it is only that which has given you sorrow that is giving you joy.

When you are sorrowful look again in your heart, and you shall see that in truth you are weeping for that which has been your delight.

Some of you say, "Joy is greater than sorrow," and others say, "Nay, sorrow is the greater."

But I say unto you, they are inseparable.

Together they come, and when one sits alone with you at your board, remember that the other is asleep upon your bed.

Verily you are suspended like scales between your sorrow and your joy.

Only when you are empty are you at standstill and balanced.

When the treasure-keeper lifts you to weigh his gold and his silver, needs must your joy or your sorrow rise or fall. 

-Khalil Gibran 

A little preview...

We should be closing on our new condo on April 15th (and then spending a couple months rehabbing a few things before we move in), but in the meantime, here's a picture of what our new view will be like:

We'll have a great view of the Hancock building, and a nice slice of the lake...

And THIS is our next-door neighbor:

That would be the 98-story Trump tower... our new condo building is only 50 stories, so it seems small in comparison... :) We could've bought a nice, cozy 800-square-foot condo in the Trump building for the low, low price of $1.2 million. But for some reason we decided against that.

Okay, I'm off to NOT watch the Oscars... there's gotta be SOMEthing else on, right??

Photo Project 3...

A photo that makes you happy.

I'm cheating with this one and posting more than one picture, because I couldn't decide which one to choose:

Dad, cooperating with the police and creating a diversion... this picture always makes me smile.

This picture makes me happy because it reminds me that Eric used to be cute (just kidding! But it DOES remind me that Eric used to have hair...).

The sole reason this picture makes me happy is that I was in Istanbul when it was taken.

Baseball is starting soon! And this is a picture of Derek Jeter! Happiness on both counts.

Aliens obviously landed at Area 51 and then named this road in Nevada... cool.

And, one of my favorite pictures from a vacation EVER... the stuffed animal (Badger? Woodchuck??) just makes the whole photo (well, that, and the fact that Nick popped up in the background...).

I could probably find a few more pictures if I keep looking, so I'd better stop looking... :)

Photo Project 2...

A photo of yourself a year ago.

I had to post this soon, since February is drawing to a close rather quickly -- this picture was taken in February last year when Rick and I went to Las Vegas. We were eating in a restaurant on Valentine's Day, and I guess they decided that there's nothing people like more on Valentine's Day than to be interrupted in the middle of dinner so someone can snap a photo. I was sure I'd hate the final product, so I was just posing for this to be nice. But surprisingly, I ended up liking the pictures, so we bought a few of them. I especially like the "80s-Glamour-Shots"-style fuzzy filter they used... yes, anyone can achieve flawless skin through the magic of cheating...

This is a picture of a picture, by the way... which is why the quality isn't great...

I'm off to clean a bit before mom and dad arrive this afternoon. Just in case they want to come over and expect my condo to NOT be dusty... :)

A few random updates...

So we made an offer on that downtown condo we really liked. We filled out paperwork with our realtor in the pizza place in the lobby, because we figured we should try out a few of the amenities... and the amenities -- the pizza amenities, at least -- were quite good. (There's also a McDonald's in the lobby, which doesn't impress me all that much -- I'm not a big McDonald's fan. But I suppose it could come in handy for the occasional coffee emergency. McDonald's has surprisingly good coffee...) Since our original offer was purposely on the low side, the owners countered with something higher, and now we're waiting to hear if they'll accept our NEW offer. I'm guessing they'll counter again... but as long as they don't just tell us to get lost, I think we'll probably go with whatever they come back with next. IF we can get this place, we're hoping to close quickly, because there are a few improvements we'd like to make to the condo before we move into it...

Eric is smack dab in the middle of Illinois Bar Exam Day Number Two. Apparently Day One was quite difficult, but I think Eric is one of those people who underestimates himself. And I do know that he buried himself in studying for a couple months... he was a crazy studying fool... he did everything he possibly could to prepare himself for this, so all he can do is give it his best shot and see what happens. I considered showing up at the test location with a squad of cheerleaders and a bossy drill sergeant with a bullhorn, but then I thought better of it... not everyone appreciates in-your-face encouragement with loud, demanding overtones...

I'm starting to get used to the "laundry in the basement" thing... which is good, because if we get the new place, I'll still have to leave my condo to visit the laundry room. I limit my laundry days to weekday mornings, since most people are at work and probably save laundry for the weekends. So I was surprised when I hauled my basket downstairs on Monday morning and discovered a limited number of free washers and dryers. And then I remembered that Monday was President's Day... this would also explain why, when Rick and I attempted to grab a quick lunch at RJ Grunt's, the restaurant was packed and the wait was too long for us to stick around. Note to self: do not do laundry on weekends OR holidays...

Mom and dad are flying up on Friday... I hope they remember to pack coats, because Austin has been around 80 degrees lately. We haven't QUITE hit 80 degrees yet this year... so mom and dad, don't forget to bring a couple sweaters... maybe a light jacket... you know, just in case it's a bit chilly... :)

And speaking of laundry, I have some in the dryer downstairs right now, and it should be about finished baking by now... so I'm off to rescue my clothing from the confines of the basement...

A picture is worth a thousand words...

So this post so should count for about 1,300...

I recently found something called the "Photo Project" on another blog out there in cyberspace. The concept is simple: post a different photo every day for 28 days. And since I have quite a few random photos lying around (and since sometimes I just have nothing interesting to say), I thought I'd give it a shot. Some of these will be easy to find and post... and others (like number 22) will be more difficult. Also, I'm not sure I'll post these for 28 days in a row... maybe I'll save them for days when I'm at a loss for words... :)

But number 1 -- my Facebook profile photo -- is an easy one:

This was the last time I was at Yankee Stadium. And if you're wondering, as my friend Cindy was, whether I'm wearing anything other than a hat in this picture -- YES, I am. I don't think they let naked people into Yankee Stadium. Although I've never tried to get in without clothing, so who knows... But I WAS wearing a really cool Yankee tank top that I bought specifically to go to this game. (I actually never realized that you couldn't see my top in this picture until Cindy mentioned it... it never even crossed my mind...) So yeah, my Facebook profile picture is me, possibly naked (but not really), at a Yankee game...

Here's the whole list:

1. your Facebook profile photo 

2. a photo of yourself a year ago 

3. a photo that makes you happy 

4. a photo of the last place you went on vacation

5. a photo of you in a car

6. a photo that makes you laugh 

7. a photo of someone you love 

8. a photo of your favorite band/musician 

9. a photo of your family 

10. a photo of you as a baby 

11. a photo of your favorite film(s) 

12. a photo of you 

13. a photo of one of your favorite family members 

14. a photo of you and someone you love

15. a photo of you at the last party you went to

16. a photo of your favorite book

17. a photo of you on a trip

18. a photo of something you enjoy doing 

19. a photo of you standing up 

20. a photo of your town 

22. a photo of a friend

22. a photo of you that your hair looks nice in 

23. a photo of a night you loved

24. a photo of your favorite weekend

25. a photo of last summer

26. a photo of what you ate today

27. a photo of someone you find attractive

28. a photo of you when you were happy 

I'm off to make hot chocolate... (why is "a photo of hot chocolate" not on this list??)

Hooray for Chicago weather!

So we went out with Eric tonight, with the intention to eat at Twin Anchors -- a ribs/chicken place that was apparently frequented by Frank Sinatra years and years ago. That fact alone makes it cool, but they also have really good food... so we were all looking forward to dinner. The weather tonight, however, was not shaping up to be decent strolling weather -- normally, a walk to Twin Anchors would be a pretty simple endeavor (especially after last week's journey to the Hancock building)... but today was cold and rainy. Cold enough to be COLD, but not cold enough to produce snow. So we decided to drive to the restaurant at 5:30, which we assumed would be earlier than most people would bother to show up, especially on a Sunday. We assumed wrong, of course...

Since Twin Anchors was packed (and as I mentioned yesterday, Eric's time is consumed by bar exam studies at the moment and he didn't want to wait), we went with plan b, which was to have dinner at a place a couple blocks from our condo. There was no place to park, so Rick dropped off Eric and me and just took the car back to our parking garage, then he walked back to the restaurant. That way, we didn't have to pay for parking, and after dinner we could just walk the few blocks back to our respective homes...

Well, after dinner (and a quick stop at Caribou Coffee), we began the easy trek back home. Within a couple minutes, the rain started falling harder, and the wind picked up. And, since I hadn't been planning to walk anywhere (I thought we'd just be driving to Twin Anchors and back home), I didn't have a hat, gloves or scarf to provide additional warmth. By the time we rounded the corner to our street, all three of us were lamenting the fact that we were walking in the freezing, driving rain. My legs were numb, my head was so cold it hurt, and when I switched my coffee from one hand to the other so I could warm up my previously exposed hand in my pocket, I discovered the pocket was soaking wet and useless.

But once we finally ("finally" being about three minutes later) returned to our warm, dry condo, all I could do was laugh at how funny the whole thing had been. And, of course, snap a picture:

Yeah, THAT is some awesome hair... :)

All kinds o' random...

Happy weekend, everyone -- hope you're all having a good day. It's back to feeling like winter here in Chicago, after a week of 40- and 50-degree temperatures that had me almost convinced that spring was here. But no, not quite... spring continues to be quite coy and elusive. I was just telling Rick that I'm really looking forward to spring, which at first he took to mean, "I'm so tired of winter." But that's not what I meant -- in fact, I have LOVED the winter here this year, and still quite enjoy walking outside in the brisk weather and then wrapping my numb fingers around a cup of hot cocoa. It's one of those simple pleasures in life that I rarely had a chance to experience in Austin. But one of the reasons I was looking forward to moving here was the fact that all FOUR seasons make an appearance at one point or another. And now that we've had a good dose of one particular season, I'm looking forward to moving on to the next one. Winter in Chicago was pretty cool (no pun intended), so I can't wait to see what spring in Chicago is like... 

We saw a few more condos this morning, and I think we may have found The One. I'm not a big believer in love at first sight when it comes to people (honestly, how can you LOVE someone as soon as you SEE them? Not even possible...), however, when it comes to accommodations, I think love at first sight is a distinct possibility. As soon as I walked in and saw the light streaming through the windows and the amazing view of the Hancock building from the living room, the condo immediately jumped to the top of my list of properties to consider. It's actually two one-bedroom condos that were combined into one unit, so the kitchen area of one condo was converted into a huge closet for the master bedroom, and the living area is twice as big as a regular unit. It's also in a great area close to all kinds of shops/restaurants/transportation/etc., and there's a pizza place and a small grocery store in the lobby. AND the price is pretty decent -- we might even save enough to make a couple small upgrades (the stove and fridge were a bit old and could be replaced, for instance). We'll see what happens...

I made the mistake of buying and consuming some almond milk last week. As I mentioned in this post back in 2009, I've suspected for a while that I have some sort of sensitivity to almonds and/or walnuts, since, when I first started my job and was eating them for a snack every day, my skin would NOT stop breaking out. Actually, I think stress may be a contributing factor as well. And stress + nuts = horrible, horrible things. I started pouring that almond milk on my morning cereal last week, and within a few days, I was afflicted with a blemish from Dante's seventh circle of hell. (By the way, as Dante envisioned it, the seventh circle is for those who are violent and murderers... I could've gone with the fifth circle, which is "anger" -- and I'm sure we've all heard of someone describing an "angry blemish." However, I honestly believe that this thing is trying to kill me...) In order to leave my condo, I've been forced to visit Home Depot and several craft supply stores to fashion a rubber latex Star Wars costume, which I explain to people by convincing them there's a sci-fi convention in town. Before they can ask where, I announce in a panicked voice that I accidentally left my deluxe DVD boxed set of all four seasons of Battlestar Galactica on the bus, and then I rush off, yelling "live long and prosper!" The whole scenario is so confusing that no one even notices this crazy thing that's been attempting to eat my face...

We're going out with Eric and Rachel tonight to try a new Mexican place that just opened across the street. I was quite surprised when Rick decided that Q was an acceptable barbecue restaurant in Chicago (I never thought he'd find one he liked north of Dallas... :)), so I'll be interested if he can find an acceptable Tex-Mex place. I'm just happy that we're getting Eric out of the house for a couple hours, as the poor guy has been buried under study materials in preparation for the Illinois Bar Exam. He's pretty much been in hibernation for the last few weeks, emerging from his dark den of legalese only long enough for an occasional coffee break or quick dinner. (Just a few more days, Eric!! :))

Okay, I'm off to walk on the treadmill and to ready my Star Wars costume for our night out...     

As American as...

Random comment before I move on: I just thought of something else I don't know -- I don't know how to whistle. Isn't that strange? I think it's strange...

I'm watching House Hunters International -- apparently this show (and the original U.S.A.-based House Hunters) has been on for years, and I've just now discovered it. The premise of the show is pretty self-explanatory -- people hunt for houses they want to buy. If I'm to believe the show, they are shown only three places, and then they must choose one to buy. (Which seems a little unrealistic to me -- they must see more than three places... they probably just narrow it down to the three front-runners for the show.) I like the "international" version more than the U.S. version, because I already KNOW what houses in this country are like -- I've lived in quite an assortment myself. But the international show allows a glimpse into the style and architecture available in countries around the world. And I love any show that can teach me something (even minutiae like what sorts of appliances are common in kitchens or what front doors look like) about another country...

I'm sure I've talked about it before, but my favorite class when I was in sixth grade was a world cultures class. In addition to studying maps and flags (which I still do just for the fun of it), every Friday was "show and tell" day. The kids in my class had relatives and ancestors from all over the world -- some of them had even visited these places, and brought back clothing and objects to be passed around the room. I would listen and observe, completely fascinated, curious about the lives that were lived across the ocean... were the kids in Japan just as curious about where I lived? Or, as my sixth-grade self suspected, was I brought up in the most boring country in the world? To me, other countries were colorful fabrics and spicy curries and meticulously created frescoes, and America was a beige sack filled with toast points and paint-by-numbers...

Of course, I've discovered amazing things about my own country since then... we're not all blue jeans and McDonald's, although everyone does tend to wear jeans quite often, and far too many people make far too many trips to McDonald's. But we also have mountains and canyons and oceans and volcanoes... we have famous city skylines with cool architecture... Americans created ice cream cones and peanut butter and barbecue and, apparently, apple pie (which, as my brother will tell you, is pretty much the most important food EVER)... and, while the majority of countries on earth have a soccer team (or "football," depending on where you're from), WE have baseball... oh, and, uh, football... but not the one that's actually played with feet. Because we're America, and HERE, things don't have to mean what they sound like they mean...

But that sixth grade class was the catalyst for a lifelong curiosity about what ELSE is out there. When I lived in New Jersey, I once met a woman who'd never been out of the state. Not even across a bridge into New York. And New Jersey is a pretty small state, so it's not like it would be a major inconvenience to cross the border. But somehow, this person was so content with her little corner of existence that she had no desire to peek around the corner and see what was on the other side. But the way I see it is this: there's an entire WORLD out there, and I've been blessed with a place upon it... how can I not pull back the curtain and see what it has to offer? It would be like living in a mansion but never leaving the bathroom...

Speaking of which, if I go by this particular episode of "House Hunters International," Americans are pretty good with bathrooms, too...

I don't know...

When I was reading about Socrates a couple nights ago (the Night of the Lost Blog Post), I read an interesting quote. Actually, since Socrates never wrote anything down (why? could he not a find a pen?), we can only go by what other people, like Plato, managed to write about him. And according to Plato, Socrates said something akin to, "the only thing I know is that I know nothing." I'm guessing the idea here is that there's always room to learn and grow, so we should never presume to be "know-it-alls"... Of course, there are certain things that I DO know for sure -- like the fact that "comfortability" is not a real word... and the fact that my skyline view is awesome... and the fact that chocolate is delicious... and possibly therapeutic.

But really, Socrates was right on target. I mean, there is so much more that I DON'T know than I do know. In fact, half the time, I wander through life completely uncertain of what's going on... what am I doing? What is my purpose? Am I on the right path? And why are those rubber "Crocs" shoes so popular???

Some other examples of things I don't know:

I don't know enough about what's going on in Egypt... I tend to avoid news and politics because it's generally all quite depressing and angry -- but at the same time, I hate to be ignorant about the world...

I don't know where our third Crate and Barrel lamp is. But I hope it's somewhere in our storage unit.

I don't know how to get my hair to look good for more than five minutes at a time. It usually looks pretty decent when I first finish washing/drying/spraying random hair products into it/etc. And then I'll glance into a mirror a few minutes later and I'll look like I've been napping out in the wind-blown alley on a pile of static-charged blankets...

I don't know how to dance when anyone is watching, which means I can never dance like no one is watching... unless no one is watching....

I don't know how to grow plants. I always end up killing them, no matter what I do. Which is why the only leafy greens in my condo are made of plastic...

I don't know exactly what color my eyes are. Seriously. Are they green? Are they hazel? Are they part green, part hazel, part brown? I always put hazel on my driver's license, but maybe I'm a big liar, who knows...

I don't know why Lady Gaga showed up to the Grammy awards in a weird giant egg. I just... don't.

I don't know how to speak more than one language fluently, and I'd really like to...

And I don't know why I'm still working on this blog post when I should be working out... so I guess I should go work out...

This is my "going out" look... I TOLD you my hair never looks good...

Walking weekend...

Our excursion to the Hancock building yesterday was quite a success. Actually, the walk was so easy that we were kicking ourselves for not tackling it sooner. It took about a half hour to reach the downtown area -- at one point, I realized we'd reached a restaurant that we've visited several times, usually by cab. And it had been so easy to get there on foot that I was giddily planning my next visit by checking the time to see how long it had taken (okay, we left about 25 minutes ago, so next time we come here, we'll just leave our condo about a half hour early and walk... no problem!). Once we reached downtown, we stopped into Argo Tea for a break, where we met a guy from the neighborhood who chatted with Rick about iPhones and computers for a while. One thing I love about Chicago is that the Midwestern friendliness of many of its residents has not been completely erased by the cold, hard city. (Not that I, personally, go around chatting with strangers... so people probably assume I am cold and hard, anyway... ah, the joys of introversion... I'm NICE, darn it!! ;))

On the way home, we took a small detour to check out the neighborhood around a condo we're considering, and then walked along Lake Shore Drive until we were back in Lincoln Park. When the whole thing was said and done, we'd covered about five miles... which, I think, would totally justify a visit to Ghirardelli at some point in the future (it's right across the street from the Argo Tea... it took all my willpower to ignore its existence when I was standing on the street corner yesterday...).

Now that we've walked downtown and back, it almost seems silly to ever travel around the city by any other means. (Although I will say this -- when the temperature drops below 20, please give me a car. Even if I'm heading three blocks away. Car. With heated seats, if possible. Thank you.) Today, for instance, we had an appointment to view a condo about a mile away. Well, no way could we drive, after yesterday. Especially since we were blessed with a mini heat wave today -- it was about 45 degrees and sunny. We also needed to pick up a few things at Home Depot, which was about another mile and a half away from the condo we looked at... so we added a few more steps to our pedometers. (Actually, that's a lie -- I forgot my pedometer. And Rick likes to tell me that steps taken without a pedometer don't really count... but it sure FEELS like they count...)

Needless to say, we've collected quite a few steps this weekend (pedometer-recorded or not). And as the weather warms up, I hope we'll be out more often.

And I WILL be walking to Ghirardelli eventually...

I didn't actually wear these sneakers on my walk... it's just a pair of sneakers. Because sometimes a pair of sneakers is just a pair of sneakers...

Quick random thoughts...

So last night around midnight, I was reading about Socrates and Plato (yeah, don't ask me why I was reading philosophy at midnight... although I will say this: pretentious observations make more sense after midnight....). And I wrote an entire blog post revolving around my own philosophies (read: pretentious observations) that resulted from reading about the philosophies of Socrates. And then I accidentally deleted the entire thing. I cried. Seriously. (I will also say this: everything is more dramatic after midnight...)

Now that our house in Austin has sold, Rick and I have begun our search for a permanent Chicago residence. Although I LOVE the view in my current condo, it's a bit small (we have so much stuff in storage that we've had to borrow some space in Eric's storage unit), and the condo itself could use some work. But since we're renting, we can't really change anything. So we're just making do with the chipped paint and the chipped tiles in the kitchen and the warped, water-damaged hardwood floors in the living room. No big deal, but if we OWNED this place, we'd be fixing it up a lot. So I'm hoping we can find a place with a little more space, but still with lots of light and hopefully a great view... we'll see.

It's 35 degrees today, which, after a week of single-digit temperatures, feels downright warm. I think Rick and I are planning a really long walk today -- we're aiming for the Hancock building... when I look out my window, it seems pretty close. Like it would take about ten minutes to just skip past all these other buildings and walk across Michigan Avenue to the North Face store on the ground floor. But I'm pretty sure it's farther away than I think it is...

I've noticed recently that I don't have to think about turning on lights in my place until a little after 5 o'clock. Back in December, the lights were on by 4:30... the days are getting longer -- I guess spring is coming? That would explain our balmy 35-degree weather...

Okay, I need to go get ready for our marathon walk... hope everyone has a good weekend! 

Don't leave!!

It's still me! I'm experimenting with new templates, obviously. Trying to find something that allows larger picture sizes. And just "refreshing" the whole look, in general. I don't know if I'll stick with this one, so if you come to my site and see something new over the next few days, don't be surprised... I'll try to make up my mind as quickly as possible... :)

Are you sick of the skyline?

If you answered no, you're in luck -- because I have more pictures! :) (And if you answered yes, well, I guess you'll have to go visit another website... maybe that one with all the funny cat pictures... I love that website...)

Anyway, yes, I have more pictures -- I just happened to realize, as I gazed out the window this afternoon, that it was a remarkably clear day... and, therefore, quite conducive to skyline photography. And it was starting to get dark. So before it was too late, I decided to break out the camera:

Eventually, I'll have to get sick of this view, right?

But obviously not tonight... :)

Super Bowl randomness...

Our Super Bowl eats tonight: twice-baked potatoes and Brussels sprouts. (What? You don't eat Brussels sprouts during the Super Bowl?? Wings, chips and salsa, pizza and Brussels sprouts -- yes? No?) Hey, look, I had a bunch of Brussels sprouts that I bought last week, and I didn't want them to go bad before we actually ate them. And since there's a possibility we may be going out to eat tomorrow night, I wanted to use them up tonight. Hence, Lisa's World Famous Super Bowl Brussels Sprouts. (That's a total lie -- this is the first time I've ever roasted up Brussels sprouts during the Super Bowl... and there's really nothing world-famous about them...)

Anyway, right now I'm rooting for Pittsburgh, but only because they're behind... if Green Bay falls behind, then I'll start rooting for them. That's basically my cheering strategy tonight -- I'm pulling for whoever needs to score more points. This, of course, means that I will be disappointed at the end of the game, because I'll be rooting for whoever loses... Darn it...

In non-Super-Bowl news -- Rick and I took a nice three and a half or four mile walk this afternoon around Lincoln Park. The weather was great -- about 31 degrees and lightly snowing, which, believe it or not, is quite pleasant (at least when it's not too windy). The streets are a little bit icky right now, what with puddles of dirty, slushy snow at every intersection... but if you can get past that fact, a three-mile walk is quite lovely when fresh snow is falling. I could've walked around Chicago all day and been content...

Yesterday, we went downtown and bought a couple things at Macy's -- Rick, in particular, needed some new gloves and a scarf. All this time in Chicago and he didn't have a scarf. And when he finally bought one, he was like, "uh, now how do I do this, exactly?"  (Do what??) "What do I do with the scarf? I've never owned a scarf..." Never owned a scarf?? But then I realized -- Rick was born in Alabama, and, except for a couple years in New Jersey (when he never invested in "proper" winter gear), the rest of his life has been spent in Texas. He's never NEEDED a scarf. As a kid, he was never stuffed into a puffy snowsuit and wrapped in a scarf like a mummy and set free into the powdery drifts to create an imaginary city of snow forts and igloos. (He was obviously deprived... :)) Not much use for a scarf when you live in a city where a half inch of snow is cause for the local weather forecaster to interrupt your regularly scheduled TV programming for an "emergency" update...

And to interrupt my regularly scheduled (or sporadically scheduled) blog post -- I believe it's time for some Super Bowl Hot Chocolate... which may or may not be world famous...

Saturday randomness...

I'm watching "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus," which was the last movie Heath Ledger made. This is a bizarre film... I'm not even quite sure what's going on, exactly. And it's interesting that Heath Ledger's final movie should happen to be so strange as to make the idea of four actors playing the same part seem totally in line with the eerie atmosphere of the movie...

Tomorrow is the Super Bowl -- is everyone excited? Or maybe I should say, "is ANYone excited??" (I guess if you're from either Green Bay or Pittsburgh, you might be excited... otherwise, I'm not sure anyone cares... :)) It's always fun to check out the commercials, of course, so I'll probably tune in for that reason, at least...

Rick and I have met up with Eric and Faisal a couple times this week for dinner, and for some reason, the conversation has tended to take a turn for "disturbing." There has been discussion of drowning, plane crashes, and, inexplicably, biting homeless people and running naked in sub-freezing weather. Don't even ask. (I'm so glad my friends and family aren't boring... :))

And speaking of dinner -- the place we ate last night had new menus. And instead of desserts, they had "deserts." That's kind of a major typo for a menu... I'm surprised no one noticed it before it was printed. Then again, I'm probably the only person in the world who actually WOULD notice it. (It's just a menu, Lisa... literary perfection is not required... it just needs to get the general point across...) And now, no doubt, someone will discover a typo somewhere in this blog post...

Well, my mind is quite devoid of interesting information at the moment, so that's about it for now. Have a good weekend, everyone!

Adventures at the DMV...

Rick and I are now in possession of Illinois State driver's licenses (which has made this whole "move to Chicago" thing seem even more real. I'm starting to actually feel like I LIVE in Chicago, as opposed to just feeling like I'm temporarily hanging out here...). I was, of course, less than thrilled when Rick cheerily informed me that we'd be taking a fun little field trip to the DMV yesterday morning. On my "things I hate doing" scale, going to the DMV probably ranks somewhere between going to the dentist and scrubbing toilets... actually, I'd probably rather do both of those things than go to the DMV...

Surprisingly, however, yesterday's trip was relatively painless. We decided it might be a good day to go, seeing as many people are still digging out from under this week's blizzard, and our decision proved to be a good one -- there were hardly any people in the waiting area when we arrived. At first, we had our doubts that things would go smoothly -- we had a slight setback when we were informed that our lease agreement was only ONE of TWO documents we needed to prove our residency. But before we gave up and dragged ourselves back home, the man at the information counter informed us that there was an internet cafe across the hall. If we paid any bills online (and we do) we could just print out a statement and use that. Okay, so our wait was about ten minutes longer than it COULD have been if we had been totally prepared... but at least the crisis was averted...

Once we had our two documents in hand, we went back to the information counter, where we encountered slight setback #2: apparently, since all of our online bills are in Rick's name, they weren't good enough to vouch for ME. Also apparently, I am the only married girl in Chicago who doesn't have a million bills in my name. (I believe I do have at least one credit card in my name; however, it's not paid online and I'm not sure a statement has been mailed to my current address yet... so it was no help whatsoever.) The information guy told us that Rick would have to take care of HIS license first, and then he could sign something that said "yes, this crazy girl lives here," and then I'd have to go through the whole license thing myself. Nice and complicated.

Uh, yeah -- forget THAT. When Rick's number was called, I went up to the counter with him, making sure to be my usual sweet, smiley self. And lucky for us, the clerk we were working with was also very sweet and smiley -- which are two adjectives I've NEVER used to describe anyone working at the DMV. We explained the issue, and with a little "no problem" wave of her hand, she told us she'd take care of both of our licenses at the same time. She was actually friendly... she was joking around with us... she almost seemed like she liked her job -- or, at the very least, didn't HATE it. It was such a rare moment in the history of DMV World. Rick and I were so grateful about not having to get back in line and do everything over again that we grabbed a couple comment cards and gave our clerk rave reviews. That is the first time in my life that I've ever felt like a DMV employee deserved to be recognized for excellent service.

After that, it was just a matter of taking a quick, common-sense-question written test, posing for the ever-glamorous license picture, and waiting two minutes for the finished product. This is superior to Austin's system, where you're given a "temporary" license (a piece of paper with a stamp on it) and have to wait another two or three weeks for your actual license. I sort of look like a chipmunk in my new picture... but it's still better than my old Texas license -- when I last renewed it, I was able to do it by mail. Which meant they kept the same picture, and just updated the information. But for some reason, along with the updated info, my picture got darker -- my skin tone looked about five shades darker than normal. I sort of looked like the Mexican version of myself. Rick started calling me Consuela...

After driver's licenses, we got our license plates, and then Rick took care of procuring a parking sticker today (which Chicago requires you to have -- I think it's just a way for the city to make more money...), so we're all set!

We may now proceed to drive and park with abandon...

One more picture...

Because yes, I am obsessed with my city view... and lucky for me, it's back tonight. :)

The aftermath...

That. Was. Awesome.

What a crazy storm. It had tornado-like vortexes of snow... window-shuddering gusts of wind... thunder and lightning... flying cows (no, wait, that's Twister...). All in all, it was quite the experience for my first winter in Chicago. A pictorial recap of the last 24 hours:

 Last night...

And this morning... I actually thought our windows were covered with snow or ice when I woke up and walked out to the kitchen -- I saw nothing but white. But upon closer inspection, I realized I could make out a couple buildings close to us...

A little later in the day...

Riff checking out the falling snow...

Piva was curious, as well...

Snow in the alleyway between our building and the one next door (it actually looked a lot cooler in person...)

The parking lot by Eric's building this morning...

And this afternoon, as the clean-up commenced...

Plowed snow that we saw on our walk to Caribou Coffee (which was packed with people and must've been one of the only places open)...

It took all my willpower to not dive into one of these snowbanks headfirst...

Not sure what happened to this car's windshield wipers -- I'm assuming the driver didn't leave them that way (probably got blown up by the wind)...

Buried cars...

This is the side street where our parking garage exits -- at the moment, it's completely impassable to the right (that snowdrift directly ahead must've been about three feet high), and only slightly better off to the left... a 4-wheel drive might work...

 Hey Eric!

And tonight -- skyline totally restored. Whew. :)

Just to reiterate...

THIS is what my view normally looks like:

And THIS is my view right now:

Blizzard!!! It's about time we got some real snow here... it's Chicago, for goodness' sake. I was starting to think that all those stories about snow in Chicago were made up to scare people away from moving here. (Ha! You can't scare ME with your tales of frozen ice floes and ten-foot-high snow drifts!) I'll admit, though, that my perspective is skewed by the fact that neither Rick nor I have to go anywhere for the next few days, and we have no sidewalks or driveways to shovel. I feel bad for the people who are still out driving or walking in this...

We actually ventured out just as the storm was picking up steam to get some lunch and pick up a few groceries at the store (if we're going to be snowed in, I have to have plenty of milk for hot chocolate :)). The walk back was brutal -- and we only had to walk around the block. The wind whipping down Fullerton off the lake was pretty insane. And the wind carried with it snowflakes... which SOUND so soft and fluffy and innocent -- but THESE snowflakes, I presume, were composed of tiny little icepicks, machetes and daggers, which pelted my face with freezing ferocity. I had to keep my (gloved, of course) hand in front of my eyes to prevent some sort of accidental blinding incident... Needless to say, it was an interesting walk home. :)

Supposedly even Austin is going to be cold tonight -- so I hope everyone stays warm!