what I miss about Chicago

1. Summer concerts at Ravinia. laying on the picnic blanket at dusk, full of wine and whatever we threw together for dinner, listening to classical music, watching the fireflies swirl in the sky above.

2. Fox & Obel. my almost perfect grocery store. Almost perfect because it was nowhere near where we lived post-grad school, when we actually had money to splurge on food now and again.

3. the El. best place and time to read a book and listen to the iPod is on the commute to and from work. on creaking wooden tracks, no less.

4. Lincoln Square. we should've just rented here for the duration of our sojourn in Chicago. Lincoln Square had it all - food, movie theater, grog, shops, awesome toy store, Brown Line stations, farmers' market, all kinds of street fairs and music fun. I can't write any more. It's too sad.

5. Lake Shore Drive. it is a pretty drive, even during the evil rush hour.

6. Julius Meinl. for meeting friends and feeling rather Euro.

7. Paper Source. ok, there are outposts in SF, but there is the glorious sort of semi-annual warehouse sale where I've scored way too many cool things.

8. all those parks.

9. our house. never shall we find a comparable abode here.

10. the people I left behind. all the cool moms, kids, friends, and co-workers. At least we'll always have Facebook.

just like home

The dust has settled from our near cross-country move. Camping out in an empty house for a week whilst waiting for your goods to show up was an experience. It wasn't horrible, but I have no desire to repeat it.

The kids are sharing a [very pink] room and have adjusted quite well. Better than I had hoped. They are stressed out, though. Naptimes are random and unpredictable, middle of the night awakenings more common than not, tantrums more explosive, appetites wane and wax. Despite the disruptions, they've been flexible and forgiving. It is wonderful to open the doors separating the master bedroom from the deck that leads directly to the backyard and have dinner there. The kids next door have taken a shine to my kiddos, and it's sweet to hear them playing together, albeit in our respective yards.

My happiness at being here is tempered by melancholy. I miss Chicago and the friends I left behind. I have great love for a number of people, places, and things. I'm glad that I had the opportunity to live there and to develop relationships with all sorts of wonderful characters. I have to believe that these ties I established will never be severed. We may drift apart but will come back together. I have friends from the LA years whom I've rediscovered recently. I hope that holds true with my midwest peeps. For me, it's always about the people.

these peeps are funny.

truly. go laugh at them. points if you can guess my connection to one of the hosts.

http://bwtmpodcast.blogspot.com/

best. night. ever.

photo by joel didriksen for kingpinphoto.com

The day started off with seeing friends, eating cinnamon rolls and general fun 'n' games. Now I'm sitting here listening to Rufus Wainwright live in concert at the Gramercy Theater in NYC courtesy of NPR and the lovely peeps at WNYC. I really should spring for computer speakers; the one on the Mac Mini does not cut it.

RW is a lyricist in the old-fashioned sense - words structured in such a way that he says things quite plainly, but it hits you a second or two after you hear the line. He is heavily influenced by all that opera to which he listened between the ages of 14 and 24 [I think that's right], and that was it. No rock, no jazz, no folk. Just opera. Not only can he write circles around most, he sings with a whole lot of moxie and grace.

I can die happy right now.

omigod, omigod, OMIGOD!

In August I'm going to two cool concerts: Rufus Wainwright at Ravinia and Crowded House at the House of Blues. I've seen the latter maybe three or four times since the early '90s before they disbanded. Hot damn!

Now my project for the summer is to coerce someone(s) into going with me since I bought pairs o' tix and there's the looming chance that D-Money won't be interested in either. Campaign starting in three, two, one...now.

We're also getting a group of ex-co-workers-who-are-still-fast-friends together for Lyle Lovett and k.d. lang at Ravinia later this month. That'll be an interesting crowd, and we'll be part of it.

I am a music dork. I should wave the hipster card and go to Pitchfork like a proper indie Gen-Xer, but why be so predictable, right?

awakening

Since we moved to Chicago, I feel as though I'd been living in a period of dormancy insofar as writing and other creative pursuits go. Now that the kids are less dependent and I've found a cool, new group of friends who are invigorating and awesome in so many ways, the sleeper is awakening. For a month, I've been trying to write something, no matter how short, every day. The blog counts. I viewed my sad posting history; I'm going to surpass 2005 and 2006 with posts from 2007 alone! And it's neat to see the files piling up in their special folder on the hard drive.

I'm still working on the resolutions. Again, what is September going to bring? I need to get working on that time machine.

calling child services

We had a big Memorial Day bash at the house today that was designed to capture everyone who didn't already have plans.

Children ranged from non-walking babies to strapping preschoolers. Nearly full nudity abounded. Mud and water play was rampant. Curious sipping of alcoholic beverages by toddler was witnessed, as was sidewalk chalk chomping. Many a child was passed out as the day drew to an end. Someone had scrawled a big "Thank You" with baby-drool covered chalk on the concrete walk. The grass was littered with food that even the rogue squirrels terrorizing the 'hood won't touch.

So all in all...success!

the nicest thing anyone's ever written about me

I was poking around on Friendster - nice that I haven't looked at it since 2003 and forgot about it. So I updated my profile slightly. And saw Kennedy's comment:

Amy is smart, creative, pretty, and has a
wonderful smile. But don't let that fool you.
She will kick your ass if you get on her bad
side, and you'll be all "what the..." and she'll
be all "that's right, bee-yatch!!"

I heart ya! Mwah!