Illinoir

holy crap we got a lot of snow last night. and i mean a lot. and it’s still snowing out there. i mention my glee at having an inside parking space once again. the car is safe and toasty warm (well, relatively) and certainly not covered in snow and ice right now like the rest of the world is….

not that i’m bragging or nothing. i’m just saying…. indoor parking is where it’s at.

i don’t know if this picture (taken from our 3rd floor apartment) really captures the feel of the snowy quiet…. though since the wind is still whipping around and the snow is still stinging the faces of all who dare venture outside, i’m not sure we’ve reached the point of snowy quiet yet. but there’s no way i’m going out there.

On my quest today to find Katamari Damacy which is apparently sold out everywhere in the area, because, as one EBGames employee put it “word of mouth on this game is so great it’s selling like mad,” which I believe because that’s the reason I was going out to buy it, I decided to get a car wash.

Ten minutes later it started snowing like mad. By the time I got home, roads were slick enough to spin out on. Goodness gracious.

At the same time, the president was being resworn in (the “Reoathening” as they called it on the Daily Show.) I don’t understand why they do a reinauguration for two-term presidents. Lots of talk about it on the John Williams (I think) show on WGN radio. A woman on the show said how she really loves watching it because it’s great that we have the transfer of power without anyone getting stabbed, shot or killed….. But it wasn’t a transfer of power. No power was transferred. It’s the same guy. Maybe it was wishful thinking on her part — maybe she thinks Kerry won.

Whatever — I think it’s like signing a lease for an apartment. The first time you sign the lease, yeah, there’s some ceremony, some packing, some moving, maybe even a parade or a party or two. When you renew your lease, it’s not nearly as interesting a time. I think that’s just about how re-elected presidents should do it.

again, trolling the old blogs, found this from 6 November 2000 and it struck a chord..

everyone is either dead
or damaged
or married
or me.

sleeping and dreaming
or tossing,
turning
in fear.

it’s simple to think
these thoughts
have never
been thunk.

but i try, i’m trying.
eyes burning,
body floating,
never knowing.

Appropos of nothing:

There are three switches (actually there are six but let’s just focus on the three) in the kitchen. One turns on the lights in the hallway that goes back to the bedrooms, one turns on the kitchen lights and another turns on the single spotlight that’s aimed at the wall and is on a dimmer.

I don’t know what this light was originally intended for, but I imagine there must have been some beautiful artwork on the wall in that spot. Here is ours:

so reggae night tuesdays are no longer at morseland which is a good and a bad thing — bad in that it was a really big night…good in that it seemed like a rougher crowd…. who knows….i’m excited for the openness it gives to the schedule though. tonight, Leddie Garcia, former drummer of Poi Dog Pondering played — live percussion over some Latin music. Very cool.

I hung out with Sean & Jake and that’s always a good time, guaranteed.

As they said on the Clerks cartoon series (twice) “it’s Hoth cold…” Holy smokes. My mission today was to take pictures of various locations on NU campus where we might put up posters and whatnot for Morseland shows…. Walking from car through Foster Walker to Rebecca Crown Center to Alison Hall to Norris Center my hands got so cold, I was having trouble taking pictures, keeping sane, holding things, staying alive. The rest of me, however, was toasty. Go figure.

So as not to make any of my photos feel left out, here’s a collage of bite-sized pictures.

Chia-Jung made this with a Morseland t-shirt, a pair of scissors and a $10 frame from Target. Not bad…. A few more square inches of wall space soon to be covered. And another reminder of the place where I spend all my time…..wha ha!

We got a gift card from my dad and stepmom. Gift cards are great but I’m always paralyzed by the amount of choices. And it’s bad enough when it’s a Best Buy card or a Blockbuster card — you feel you have to maximize the potential of the card and use it for good and not for evil…. But this is one of those open-ended cards that you could use anywhere. Should we go out for dinner? Should we buy something for the house? Too many choices. And ultimately, I’ll feel like no matter how we use it, we could have used it better somehow. Such is the pressure. Oy yoy yoy.

when it rains, it pours — totally forgot to take pictures the last couple days….. dangit. ah well — 13 days straight isn’t so bad…. and there was nothing interesting saturday or sunday, so I did you all a favor.

pictures resume today.

Dunno what it is, but I do like taking pictures of and from train stations. I must like the lines…or the distance…or the bleakness…or the choo-choos!

Probably the choo-choos!

looking south from Morse Ave.

It was nearly 60 degrees today and I got to spend my time driving back and forth from Kinko’s….again. But, they finally got it all together (and of course there’s changes that still need to be made…etc.etc.etc.)

But, the warm air brings a thunderstorm and this apartment is just fantastic for thunderstorms. The front room is 180 degrees of windows so when there’s a big lightning flash you get it from all angles. It’s pretty fantastic. If I had a better camera and some insanely great timing, I’d get a picture of it, but until then, here’s some rain…