Monday, May 31, 2021
Long Weekend
For some reason, I had envisioned this weekend as being restful, involving catching up on magazines while lying in the sun and drinking various alcoholic beverages. I was way off.
As an initial matter, the temperature was in the 50s for a not-insignificant portion of the weekend, so laying out was not exactly an option if I continued to value my extremities. Even sitting out on our friends' roof deck wearing a jacket and basking in the glow of a fire table turned out to be somewhat of a stretch. I can't really complain about this, though, as I'm nearly twenty years into a Chicago residency -- cold-induced misery is part of what I signed up for.
I also can't complain about my two visits with my niece and nephew, although they did exhaust me. At forty-three, I am probably still too young to be saying that I'm too old to get down on the floor to closely monitor Lego play, but I do at times have visions of being unable to get back to my feet. Also, is it fair for me to point out that children's stories often don't seem to go anywhere? Rising action and falling action, guys, come on!
There was also a trip to the Art Institute with my mother. I won't complain about that because I really enjoy going, but I do prefer my art without other people's heads in front of it. Come to think of it, social distancing was actually kind of my dream.
I also went running a lot. I worry about people who say they love running, as it is sheer torture. I do want to be thin, though. People are willing to forgive a lot more from the truly thin.
Monday, May 24, 2021
Picture Pages
What could be lazier than doing a post that is just vacation pictures? Well, we’re not going to find out.
We did a group photo, which I like to think looks like the opening credits photo for Vanderpump Rules, but less desperate.
This is the front of our house. And my finger, I just now noticed,
Here’s the pool with the “party lights” setting. As opposed to the “involuntary manslaughter” setting.
We went up a mountain on a tram! Then I started getting all sorts of news alerts about tram accidents. True story.
Speaking of Vanderpump, she is nestled sweetly outside the Cold Stone Creamery.
There was a fire pit at the house, too. We contemplated s’mores, but logistics...
We put on real clothes one night and went to dinner! And maybe witnessed a murder, but that’s another story.
The pool and the casitas. I’m trying to make the word casitas more of a thing.
The airstream trailer that came with the house, and which we never used.
Saturday, May 15, 2021
Palming Off
We took a big leap and went to Palm Springs for Ian’s birthday. We actually planned it months ago, but we weren’t sure if we were actually going to be vaccinated and able to go. As it turned out, America got its shit together and not only were we vaccinated (with laminated cards no less!), but a dozen of Ian’s friends had also been inoculated into an unexpected love of Microsoft products. So we were able to spend five days in sunny, 90 degree weather (but it’s a dry heat), lounging by a pool and discovering the endless array of alcoholic seltzers.
It was a bit weird doing so much after doing so little for so long, but it was fun. The house we rented was roughly a million times nicer than our real house, so we got to sleep in an Alaskan King and choose between a giant rainforest shower and a sheltered outdoor soaking tub. It even had a vintage airstream trailer out back, which was super cute but frankly a bathroom nightmare, so no one opted to sleep there. Oh, and a pool house! So very OC.
We spent most of our time outdoors, to make the CDC happy. We took a tram up the mountain, which was so terrifying there was a middle aged woman gently weeping next to us for the duration of the trip, and hiked through the woods up there. And by hiked, I mean we took a bunch of pictures, realized we were wearing deeply inadequate shoes, and headed back to the tram. We also went to some of the Desert X installations, tapping into America’s love affair with expensive and inscrutable public art. The art was a commentary on modern society, if you can believe it.
We even had dinner at a restaurant (outside) one night, for which we were badly unprepared. There was mass consumption of red wine and related sobbing, an intensely awkward bathroom line experience, the ordering of steak diane, and even the specter of a murder mystery. So yeah, America is back, baby. And better than ever?
