Still Not Dead

Still in Chicago though and will be for a couple more months. This has been a terrible winter weatherwise. Getting close to record lows, record snow falls, and lake ice coverage. It's been nasty so I've been staying inside. I've been trying to date up here and had some success, but they all end up a flop in the end. It's still been fun. As it's getting warmer, I've been venturing downtown so I'll have more pictures soon. Also took a cruise in January and got some good shots there. So more Chicago Story coming. Meanwhile I have a couple arts that will post over the next couple days. And remember Fairy Tale? Well I didn't write it for NaNoWriMo, but I am getting ready to start it for real. I have the story fully pinned down now. But I have over a half million words posted via Tumblr and Archive of Our Own, so that's a pretty cool accomplishment. Talk to you people later!

Sports

So just recently I went to a baseball game (pictures are coming). I'm new to the Chicago area and my dad is simply visiting but still we had conversations with complete strangers over a team from out of state. And neither of us have ever lived in city that hosts the other team. Yet, we have a connection with those people. We were able to share our support for something that we had varied amount of interest in. Dad talked about history and recent seasons. We shared a chair with a group needing an extra. We talked tickets and awe at the cool stadium. We even had connections with people supporting the home team through this game. We had friendly banter with easy shots and nice returns. We talked to people who sat next to us, even the girls behind us who knew nothing about the game just because my dad had his glove and would protect them from a foul ball (we didn't get to catch anything, but we were ready).

But through all of this, I was struck by the realization of why we have sport teams and why they are an important part of our society. They bring strangers together. It's a common point to rally behind. And it's a topic devoid of any politic, socioeconomic leanings. It isn't tied to social beliefs, education, personal persuasions, gender, age, race, etc. All you have to do is watch and support a bunch of people play.

It's probably a remnant of our history as we had to come together to survive. It was us against nature and we were all on the same side. And then we grew a bit and it started to become us versus them. Groups against other groups, but within the group, members banded together over a common enemy and a will to survive. As we continued those groups became larger and the need to survive decreased. But we still have a longing to bond together over conflict. We want to share a common enemy with someone just so we can share with someone. Thus we have turned war into sports and factions into teams and through these substitutions we have our camaraderie and connection to other people, to otherwise perfect strangers.

Plus an excuse to drink beer outside in the sun.

My Chicago Story 7

It shouldn't be surprising that I found elk in the elk pasture in Elk Grove, but I was excited when I did. And I immediately texted my father about it. To appease his inner child and to cross it off his bucket list, I took him on a date to the elk pasture. He was excited even if the elk were like fifty feet away and being lazy butts.

But after dinner we drove past and found the elk up by the fence! So of course I had to pull over and go let Dad say hi again. Ecstatic is an understatement for how happy and super excited he was. They got close enough that one of them snorted up his nose. He was tickled pink by that. 

 

My Chicago Story 6

Another great thing about Chicago is how I am about thirty minutes away from the beach. All I have to do is head west. I went two different times. The second time I actually dipped my toes into the water.

 

oh god its me and my face and my legs.... Hi! *sheepishly waves*

My Chicago Story 5

You guys sick of me and my terrible phone camera yet? No? Good, here have seven more city shots.

My Chicago Story 4

So after the aquarium, I got to be driven around the city in a convertible where I was practically hanging out of the car taking tourist pictures. Top 14 will be between this post and the next. (And by top, I mean, hipster quality artistic view or just shit I think looks cool.)

 Hey! Look! It's Gotham! Actually it really is where they filmed Dark Knight and it was just before some construction so some of the damage seen on screen was real.

My Chicago Story 3

Aquariums... I LOVE aquariums. Unfortunately I was spending too much time looking and hunting for the fish in the exhibits to actually take pictures of them (my bad) but when I stopped for lunch I did capture this freaking awesome skyline.

 And then we have the Shedd from the outside. It was fantastic, will visit again and with anyone who loves fish. Took about 6 hours to casually go through EVERYTHING. Worth it.

My Chicago Story 2

These are some bridge pictures that I took driving up to Chicago. That Penske truck is all of my stuff. These are for you, Mom!

And then we get to Chicago and move in. But I wanted some furniture so we went off to Ikea and we saw this travesty of an Irish pub. My ancestors are sobbing. Of course I had to document it.

And then my place! The apartment building is nothing to look at but the grounds are pretty nice and have their share of ducks so I feel right at home. (Actually I think a couple of the ducks are Runners like home.)

My Chicago Story 1

These are a couple photos of Chicago from before I moved up here. I am such a tourist.