Prairie Landing
Transit follies
On the way to work today I got stuck in a jam-packed car next to 2 high school kids. For the 20-minute ride, the boy was telling the story of how he invited a bunch of friends over and they paid another friend $5 to drink an entire bottle of laxative. If $5 seems too low, let me say that said friend didn't know he was drinking laxative. He thought they were paying him $5 to drink a Diet Coke.
The girl insisted that she would've thought it was hilarious if she had done it, as long as it wasn't at her own house (as in this situation). Not wanting to seem like a downer, she finally conceded, "Well, as long as you had more than one bathroom."
At one point I saw one of the passengers involuntarily twitch backwards and mutter, "Oh Lord." That was before the conversation wandered off onto how morning-after pills make your uterus explode. Also how the kid wished he had given his friend laxatives plus Viagra.
On the way home, on another crowded train, there was a baby crying. No, laughing. No, SCREAMING. It was creepy as could be. The kid would laugh, normal at first then harder and harder going into hysteria, transition into screaming which then turned into crying. The cry would devolve into a kind of sobbing, choking and then we were right back where we started.
I couldn't actually see it so I couldn't verify the transitions, but it sounded a hell of a lot more like "The Exorcist" than a regular baby. I think it was actually worse than the Ex-Lax couple.
Valentine's: Test of willpower
Within 1 block I encountered the following on my way to work:
West side of Michigan Ave: A besuited reindeer with feathered angel wings, handing out fistfuls of Hershey's kisses.
East side, Michigan Ave: A red-sweatshirted radio promotions street team, handing out even more chocolate.
In the lobby of my building: A wall of women, one per security gate, in red blouses handing out giant shortbread hearts, with nothing to indicate who was sponsoring them or why. (
Go Red for Women!)
Between my office and the water cooler: 2 dozen Dunkin' Donuts.
Between me and the donuts: 2 boxes of Munchkins.
I would like to say I resisted these things. Or even one of these things. Yes, I would.
Our Fortress of Solitude
Last Saturday at 9 a.m., Darling Angel moved out to her very own, very nice condo. She stayed with us for 5 months. Keep in mind Colliculus and I had only lived in this place alone for 3, so it's kinda weird. In fact I feel kind of like . . . snif . . . the nest is empty.
Also she bakes cookies whenever she needs to relax, which is at least every week or two, so now we're missing out on some o' that action.
Overall, though, it's damn good to have the house to ourselves.
Would-be Chicago travelers, book your trip ASAP! We've already got 3 weddings, the beach trip, a trip to Philly and 3 weekends of visitors booked for the season and it's only February! Savvy visitors will be sure to consider Chicago's oft-overlooked shoulder season happening RIGHT NOW.
The WTF of air travel
I was in a cab today, thinking, "That's funny, there are two cars with Maryland plates," and then I remembered it wasn't funny because I was in Manhattan. Lately I go there all the time and I still can't get over the weirdness of spending the day there just like it was a longer-than-usual commute. I mean, I left home at 6:30 and got home at 9:30, but that's only a couple hours longer than my regular workday.
Call me naive, but WTF.
