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Saturday, June 25, 2016

Save Ferris

On Tuesday we went to see Ferris Bueller's Day Off in Millennium Park. Now, if you are at all familiar with my neuroses, this probably does not seem like something I would do. And in fact, it was not my idea -- our friend wanted to do it for her birthday. But it was not in fact an idea that panned out particularly well for me. It was an absolute mob scene. We went over there right after work and the entire lawn was already covered with people. We got a tiny space on the very edge of it and claimed a little bit of sidewalk as well. Then about ten feet worth of people claimed the rest of the sidewalk. I barely had room to enjoy my burrito bowl in peace. And as far as watching the movie goes, that was pretty much out of the question. They started it well before dark so it was barely visible, and people did not hesitate to talk over all of the dialogue. Then, shit really got real.

I decided to step out to tell my sister and her family not to come, since there would be nowhere for them to go unless they happened to be in possession of some Ant Man suits. When I got back, I found that they had closed the gate to the lawn and were refusing to let anyone through. And there were some very sizable and sassy ladies enforcing that decision, ladies who were apparently impervious to my faux folksy charms. Nor did they seem particularly interested in Ian's pleas from the other side of the fence. So we left less than halfway through the movie, which of course we hadn't particularly been watching in the first place. Mainly I was sad to miss out on the pie someone had brought.

Anyway, the lesson I've learned is that going places is difficult and seldom worth it. Better to stay home and rewatch Murder, She Wrotes for the tenth time.

Monday, June 20, 2016

The Longest Day

Apparently the longest day of the year is a day earlier this year because of leap year? I didn't realize that could happen, and yet this information comes from my mother, who is almost as reputable a source as Google. The longest day of the year is important to us, because darkness makes us cry unexpectedly and eat uncontrollably. And so each year we try to commemorate the occasion somehow, even if some years it's just taken the form of me heading up to my roof for five minutes after getting out of work at 10:30.

This year we went to a rooftop bar in Old Town, my past and future home. (The neighborhood, not the bar. I don't think they'll let me move in there.) It was insanely hot out, but we were in the shade, so we did not die. In fact, I didn't even sweat through my shirt. My mother had a single glass of prosecco and I had let's just say more than a single glass of rose. It was a bit of a scene, but I could tell I was not the only person there with a parent. The fact that the waitresses kept offering to take our picture suggested that this was not their first time experiencing this arrangement.

It was a nice night. And now the days start getting shorter again. Stupid passage of time. Personally, I am against it.


Thursday, June 16, 2016

Back to the Future

Did I mention that I have my 20th high school reunion coming up in a few weeks? I'm looking forward to it, even though it comes at pretty much the worst time for me, the day before a good friend's wedding, two days before the Fourth of July, and six days before we close on the new place. So I will be making a surgical strike on Quincy, basically reuniting and running within a matter of two days.

It's definitely going to be interesting, though. Since my dad passed away and my mom spends a good chunk of her time up here now, I don't get back to Quincy very often. And when I do, it's not like I'm trolling the bars for contact with my former classmates. (Although it does happen: Wal-Mart is basically the center of the universe.) So there are a lot of people I haven't seen in a long time. Hopefully they haven't gotten weird, and won't think that I've gotten weird. What counts as weird these days anyway?

As far as events go, it should be pretty casual. We're having a barbeque, a tour of the high school, and a night at a bar. And Quincy has basically no public transit, so I probably won't even be able to get wasted. Though there is the promise of a retro soundtrack to look forward to. I don't care what people say, to me Hootie IS America.


Tuesday, June 14, 2016

Adventures in Babysitting

My mom and I babysat my nephew pretty much all day on Saturday. It went pretty well, although it was completely exhausting. He legitimately never stops moving, at least when he's awake. And he only slept for ten minutes while we were there, and that was when he just passed out face down on the rug in the middle of a game we were playing. My sister said he slept like ten hours straight after we left; I'm genuinely not being sarcastic when I say I'm glad he saved it for them.

He's a very cheerful guy and a lot of fun. Right now his favorite pastimes are dumping blocks all over the place and trying to hurt himself by falling into the storage ottoman. He also likes it when I give him high speed turbulent thrill rides by picking him up and running him around the room. He laughs a lot and vomits only a little. He's actually probably a bit lower maintenance than the dog right now. Which to be fair isn't saying much, since she basically never wants us to leave the house for any reason.

The only real problem was that they've decided they don't want people swearing around him any more so he won't accidentally repeat something at daycare. This really cramps my babysitting style, obviously. But I'll make the best of it, because self sacrifice is really what I'm known for.


Friday, June 10, 2016

Amazing Things I Have Found While Preparing for My Move

Turns out you can accumulate a lot of junk in ten years. Particularly if you have a storage locker and a lot of underbed boxes you rarely revisit. Here are just some of the great things I've found:


This is a nativity scene angel I made out of construction paper in college. Legitimately, I saved it. It was taped to the wall of our college apartment. That used to be a trumpet he or she is holding, not an e cigarette.


This is a dinosaur head on a stick. It can be used for grasping distant things, I guess. I think I'm keeping it.


My friend sent me a Liberace postcard once. My friends know me so well.


This is netting that I apprehended from a bulletin board in one of the womens' dorms in college, obviously while drunk. The theme of the bulletin board was, "Fishin' for Success," or something like that.


This is a Post Fruity Pebbles branded toy of some sort. It is hypnotically enjoyable, for some reason.


Monday, June 06, 2016

The Heart of Dixie

Let me tell you a little bit about attending a Dixie Chicks concert with your mother in the south suburbs of Chicago. First, of all, arrive early, as it took us about forty-five minutes just to get a parking spot and another half hour to get through the interest line, which can probably be attributed to the fact that their crack security team appeared to consist of three surly teenagers holding metal detector wands listlessly. But you probably don’t need to worry about the wait because, second, you need to be prepared to wait. The concert started at seven, but the Chicks themselves did not take the stage until well nigh nine. But this is actually not the worst thing, because it gives you time to, third, analyze the fascinating array of humanity in attendance. There were ladies in short shorts and “Cowboy Take Me Away” t-shirts, bros in “Keep Calm and Carry Guns” t-shirts (who had apparently missed the Chicks’ well-publicized trip to the left), and even big fat party dudes in “I Like to Snatch Kisses and Vice Versa” t-shirts. Obviously you will  want to make a trip to the make-your-own-t-shirt store after your concert visit. Fourth, don’t expect an uninterrupted listening experience, because the CSO this ain’t. We were fortunate enough to have a group of very drunk rednecks standing right by us, loudly conversing about everything but the concert and occasionally even shouting incoherently at the performers. But don’t worry, because security was ON IT, walking by occasionally and utterly ignoring the apparent auditions for Party Down South taking place right in front of them. They were probably distracted by, fifth, the single longest bathroom lines I have ever seen. We’re talking, like, women’s room at the New Kids revival tour long. Bring your phone, because you will definitely be able to knock off a few levels of Candy Crush whilst you wait. But don’t drop it because, sixth, all porta-potties are disgusting. On the plus side, seventh, the Chicks pretty much kill it in all respects. Sick ass fiddling, non-cloying Prince tribute, amazing Beyonce cover, major hits without any semblance of phoning it in. That will all come in handy when, eighth, it starts to rain and you must huddle under your blanket because umbrellas are for some unknowable reason not allowed. It was a wet, uncomfortably neo-Confederate evening, but ultimately well worth the price of admission!

Sunday, June 05, 2016

Significant, Important Developments

I think it should just about sum up the quality of my weekend to tell you that last night I went to a barbecue where we drank Whispering Angel (allegedly the favored rose of the Hamptons) and watched Center Stage on a giant outdoor screen. Cooper Nielsen really pops when he's viewed in a dark backyard through the haze of alcohol. Jodi Sawyer remains very pretty, but not very turned out.

In truth, I did not get to stay for the entirety of the glamorous backyard premiere of Center Stage because I also had a friend's birthday party to go to. That involved a heavy smell of incense, a DJ playing lots of Beyoncé, and gift bags including tickets to some sort of boy band revue. And at this point I have to say how wonderful it is that we've reached a point where Blogger knows to automatically add the accent mark to Beyoncé.

We also did a ton of packing this weekend. It's actually kind of amazing to realize how many things we own that we can pack now, knowing that we're probably not going to need them any time in the next month. It's almost as though we just buy things for no reason in some insane, consumerist drive.

Tonight we're taking my mom to the Dixie Chicks! That's certain to end well.













Thursday, June 02, 2016

Helpful Moving Tip

When you're packing for a move, it may help to be intoxicated. For weeks now, I've been avoiding work on our storage locker, because I knew it was a complete mess and would take forever to go through. Also, I knew there were going to be a ton of hard choices to be made, since I hate to throw things away. But guess what? Turns out drinking makes all of that easier.

After a lovely afternoon of brunch and cocktails last Saturday, I came home and, after eating half a family sized bag of Doritos, decided it would be fun to work on the storage locker. I pulled everything out of there in a total frenzy and just started tossing random crap I had saved for literally no reason in the trash. Notes from my Constitutional Law class in law school? In the trash. (Well, recycling, but let's not get too literal here.) Briefs I'd saved from my first job? In the trash. A non-functioning TV/VCR combo I've had since college? In the trash. Decisionmaking is easy and fun!

Of course, I did manage to bang my ankle against something in the process, and only just today discovered I have a huge cut and ugly looking bruise there, but that's just the price you pay for success, I guess. I'm drinking for everything from now on.


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