Laconia

Just another update on the crazy warm day we had yesterday, here in Chicago:

After posting my last entry, I got all excited about the weather and definitely was not up for staying in on such a great day/night. So I texted a couple of neighbourhood friends saying that I wanted to go out and play on such a great day to see if any one was up for a little afterwork fun. While waiting for people to get back to me, my friend, Patricia, called to say she was on her way over with Manny, her dog, so that we could head out to the park and let the doggies play together. While waiting for them to get to my place, I run into Nick (or as some of you may know him, Tony's Doppelganger) and he mentioned alredy having plans but that he was on his way to the park to go climb a tree (yeah, ok, the warm weather does bring out the crazy - just maybe). So, he waited with me for Patricia to show, we all headed to the park, walked and talked, and picked trees for Nick to climb. Which he is surprisingly good at and I have some photos of Tarzan Boy (oh oh oh oh oho oh oh) in some trees, but they're on my cel phone so not sure how to get them up here.

After a while, Nick headed back to go grab dinner with friends and Patricia and I decided to head out, grab a drink, and grab some dinner as well with her husband, Todd. Headed to the local Mexican restaurant which had a tuesday night special of 45oz. margaritas for about ten dollars. So we proceeded to drink, sit at a table, talk nonsense, and just have a good time. It was a great night, and the conversation ranged from the difference between racism and bigotry to the joy of being the third person being out with a couple (wonder who brought that top to the table? Smile). The best part was everytime Patricia referred to Nick she called him Tony, which was hilarious to me, and kinda confusing for Todd.

The amazing part of the night is that I actually finished said 45oz margarita (just imagine a fish bowl on a glass stem and you'll know how much margarita I had!) but combined with the weather, it made me super happy and incredibly friendly. Which was fun for me when I got home and Matt (friend in the building) was hanging outside, smoking his pipe (I think it is cool that someone my age smokes a pipe - kinda rebellious in an old-fashioned way) or when I ran into some hottie with a cute puppy as I came back from the last walk with Cam. Tonight (March 14th), I am off to bowl, drink, and scarf appetizers for free at a frou-frou bowling lounge with other pruppies (think preppy-yuppies). Can't wait......and I will post more updates along the way!!!!!!

Scotland Yard

Hey all, just wanted to post a little entry about two very hot topics for me - completely unrelated but all within a matter of days....

First off, it is just a beautiful - no scratch that GORGEOUS - day in Chicago. It is slated to jump to a record breaking temperature of 73 degrees and I am loving it. It is a bit hard to believe that a week ago there was snow and ice still on the ground and flurries were expected to fall but now, here we are in a late spring/summer kind of mood. It is so nice to leave my house in flip-flops and a t-shirt (with the requisite jeans - sorry, no skirt as this is the windy city! - falling in between those two) and not worry about layers or undergarments (i.e. long johns; very dowdy but oh so necessary to survive).

The other great thing about a warm up in Chicago is the exponential rise in friendliness that goes along with the temperature increase. Chicago is known for its Midwestern hospitality, which means any increase is friendliness borders on flirtations (possibly another reason to get all hot under the collar). I love this weather - people are happy, they smile as you pass them by, and at any moment, you could make a new friend or two. It feels so full of possibility. It's days like these that make me sad to be leaving Chicago but while I am here, I am working it to the fullest. On tap for the weekend (which is not supposed to be as pleasant or mild, but who cares? I'll be sloshed!) is watching the river get dyed green (because after all, is not there a little bit of Irish in us all?).....

My next heated conversation has to do with me being a rat, a stool pigeon, a mole, a leak, a tipster. You see, I was watching the news on Saturday night and I happened to see the lead story about a fire that had taken place, killing four. The police were looking for a "person of interest", asked anyone having seen said person to call nine-one-one, and then posted a description. Needless to say, I got flushed with dread/indecision. You see, I had seen the person. Granted, it was hours ago but I was not sure what to do. So I got some legal counsel, called three-one-one, and got transfered from department to department to department until I ended up repeating my story for the umpteenth time to someone from Bomb and Arson. Who also took my name and number, just in case (had it been any hotter, it may have qualified for flirting! Smile)....

Well, they have the person of interest (who was the person I had identified/seen which reassures me since I know how unreliable eyewitness identifications can be) in custody and she is charged. And my legal counsel makes me feel like I was a responsible citizen instead of just passing the buck. Plus, I get to call myself a stoolie and pretend that I am back (albeit briefly) in the roaring twenties when Chicago was full of molls and moles and bullet holes. The only sad part to the story is that I was so looking forward to being contacted by the police, maybe even some cops showing up at my door for further information. Because Chicago has some mighty fine cops. And I would not mind being protected and served by such handsome law enforcement. Oh, well, guess this girl has about four months to work on that. And if things don't fare well here, I can always try Scotland Yard once I am in the UK. Oh, wait...been there....smile.