south of the loop

This was my <gulp> eleventh year as a Catholic school girl. I’d like to point out the frequently underappreciated subtleties of this costume. The necklace that Emmit is grabbing is a St. Jude medal (the patron saint of lost causes; I used to always wear a cross, but they are all–yes, all, there are quite a few–at my parents’ house, as is my old class ring). In the top picture, you can just make out the black bra underneath the white shirt, and although you can’t see it in these pictures, I’m wearing boxer shorts underneath the skirt, and I tried to keep the skirt rolled up just high enough that the boxers peeked out. And I’ve apparently spent enough time around knocked up women to have their mannerisms down pat. Two different people asked me if I was really pregnant, and the people who knew I wasn’t kept telling me to stop touching my “belly” because it was creeping them out.

And so, for your amusement, here I am as a knocked up Catholic school girl. (Not as a pregnant Britney Spears, as one partygoer had guessed).

Happy Halloween!

* * *

current book: I just started Paul Auster’s The Book of Illusions on Friday, and I can’t put it down.

current music: Things were pretty quiet today, actually.

current socks: green, brown, and orange stripeys.

Filed under: life in general, nephew by admin2
No Comments »

…one of the magazines offered at the gym is JAMA.

Filed under: u of c by admin2
No Comments »

Looking down 61st Street toward Cottage Grove:

University of Chicago’s Oxonion charm:

Statue of Linne, looking south over the Midway:

* * *

current book: finished ASFTINDA last night! Will probably tackle at least one more essay before moving on.

current music: I’ve been listening to various mixes I’ve made in the past. Little bit of everything.

current socks: green with black guitars crossed over the top of the foot.

Filed under: chicago by admin2
No Comments »

Have stacks of old National Geographics? Feeling crafty?

(this was taken inside the bathroom at the Kopi Cafe, and wielding a digital camera inside a public restroom, even without prurient motivations, and even though it was a one-staller, made me feel like a BIG PERV.)

Although most of my afternoon/evening was spent inside the cafe reading and writing, a quick glance down Clark Street revealed lots of old signs like these:

* * *

current book: Still finishing A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again. Perhaps it’s taking so long because I have to read lengthy passages aloud to my friends. It’s just that it’s kind of hilarious.

current music: Kopi was playing Lucinda Williams’ Essence, which I’m about to pop in the CD player to listen to again. It’s perfectly mellow, the kind of music you might listen to while driving at night in the rain.

current socks: Reddish and brownish stripeys.

Filed under: chicago by admin2
No Comments »

Read Roger linked yesterday to a list of 1001 Books To Read Before You Die. I agree with him that these lists are “specious as all get out;” it’s hard to place much stock in them. They quickly become competitions, sources of pride or embarrassment, even when we pretend otherwise. And as soon as a”Must Read” or “Best Books” kind of list is published, indignant and politically correct readers everywhere point out its Euro-male-centric flaws. Quietly we mutter about how this book could have been left off but that book is on and and what were they thinking anyway? (See next paragraph for example of such a rant). And yet who among us doesn’t feel satisfied to have read x number on the list? I keep my own list, a spreadsheet, on my computer, which is–I swear–entitled “Books To Read Before I Die.xls.” It used to number several hundred, but then that computer died, and the resurrected list (on a new computer) sits at a measly 70.

So, pretending not to care how many books I’d read, or how many books anybody else had read, of course I went through and counted. Just the process of counting (which I’ve done twice and have been as honest as possible–there are some books I feel certain I’ve read, like Frankenstein and The Color Purple, although I’m not actually 100% positive) was irritating. I mean, no Blood Meridian? C’mon. I just spent three fucking weeks on it. Give me my Cormac McCarthy! And it seems pretty heavy on certain authors: J.M. Coetzee, Ian McEwan, Haruki Murakami, Philip Roth, Don DeLillo. And yet–Shakespeare is no longer important? And please: Life of Pi? It’s by no means a terrible book, but it has no place on a list like this. Also irritating were the near misses–I read one or two Iris Murdoch books, and one by Vikram Seth, wasn’t impressed with either author, and didn’t look back–and the aborted attempts (The Brothers Karamazov, Mrs. Fucking Dalloway). Nevermind the books that are actually sitting on my bookshelf right now, taunting me.

Disclaimers divulged, annoyances aired: my number is 89. If you really really want to know which ones, click on “Keep Reading” below current socks.

*     *     *

current book: Still reading the title essay in David Foster Wallace’s A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again, which I’m finding quite amusing, and may even persuade me to try some more essays in the book. It’s about a luxury cruise. Stay tuned.

current music: It was a high-volume day in the cube farm. A trip to Reckless Records last night left me three CDs richer and $26 poorer: The Stills’ Without Feathers (thought Logic Will Break Your Heart was pretty good and I thought their set at ACL was pretty great; the new album is solid but not spectacular), Los Super Seven (self-titled) (mostly fun with a few standouts), and Trembling Blue Stars’ Broken By Whispers (lovely in the way the Field Mice et. al. are lovely; that is to say, nothing I haven’t heard before, but still enjoyable). I also listened to a few Stars albums, Sondre Lerche, and Calexico.

current socks: Dark blue with light blue polka dots. My favorites to wear with my Keens.

(more…)

Filed under: books by admin2
No Comments »

Chalk up another casualty in the war against identity theft. My debit card number was stolen a few weeks ago.

I noticed something strange about a week ago when I got online to check the balance in my checking account. There was a charge for $40 to a place I didn’t recognize. So I went to the bank later that week and asked them if they had any other information about the charge. I thought maybe I’d bought something online and just didn’t recognize the vendor name. I still didn’t really think it was identity theft; I always check a site’s security before I make an online purchase, and although I use my debit card for most all purchases, I haven’t left it at any stores. But the teller’s eyes opened wide as he began counting the number of charges to the same place… one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve. Twelve. One dozen charges I didn’t make, all of which were over $40. Holy shit.

That night, Roommate took a phone call on our home phone for me. Neither of us give our home phone number out to anyone, so most calls are telemarketers or wrong numbers. But this was Apple, and they wanted to talk to me about a recent order. So Roommate took down the order number, and I called back at work the next day.  At least by then, I knew my debit card number had been compromised, so I (rightly) figured this was more of the same.

Apple guy: Can you confirm you name and address?

me: Well, I can, but I didn’t actually make an order.

[we confirm anyway. he has my name and address on file. which creeps me the fuck out.]

me: Can you give me the last four numbers of the credit card used to make the charge?

[he does. it's my debit card.]

Apple guy: We put a hold on the order to confirm it. So I’ll just cancel that order for you now.

me: Can I ask what the order was?

Apple guy: A couple of nanos.

me, trying not to swear out loud:  . . .

Apple refuses to give me the shipping address they have on file for the order, citing “security reasons.” I’m pursuing that with the bank and with local law enforcement, though, because if Apple actually has information that would lead to the Rotten Person Who Knows Too Much About Me, dammit if I’m going to let this slide. I have to say, my bank has been amazing to work with–everybody has made protecting me their #1 Priority, and they have worked quickly, efficiently, and under the assumption that I am the victim. And the bank has done all the work and made all the necessary phone calls for me–from my perspective, it’s been relatively hassle-free. I feel like I’ve gone through a federal witness protection program, what with all the new numbers that now define my financial life (new account numbers, new debit card number, new credit card numbers). But nobody has expressed much concern about catching Rotten Person; granted, a few hundred dollars probably isn’t much in the way of identity theft, but it chaps my hide that R.P. could conceivably just move from one credit card number to another, a few hundred here, a few hundred there, without ever being chased down.

The first fraudulent charges were on September 24, so I caught it relatively quickly. More than anything, I’m just really creeped out that somebody has my name, address, home phone number, and debit card number, especially since I can’t think of any way s/he could have gotten it. I know identity theft is hardly uncommon, but not knowing how R.P. came across all this information is making me a bit paranoid. What’s that silly bumper sticker quote? “Just because I’m paranoid doesn’t mean they’re not trying to kill me.” Or buy nanos with my money.

*    *    *

current book: I started David Foster Wallace’s book of essays, A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again. The first essay left me frustrated and unimpressed. Fortunately, John recommended the title essay and another essay about the Illinois State Fair, both of which have been funny, enjoyable, accessible, and somewhat less-littered with pretensions.

current music: Hexes & Ohs’ “Alive Until Saturday Night”

current socks: white with glittery red apples and the words “BITE ME.”

Filed under: life in general by admin2
No Comments »

Filed under: art, chicago by admin2
No Comments »

Start your week off right with pictures of my favorite nephew:

Filed under: nephew by admin2
No Comments »

I was walking down Fullerton today in Lincoln Park–which seems to be ruled by painfully fashionable blonde girls–heading to the Bourgeois Pig to meet my roommate. (The Pig is a little cafe/coffee shop that caters to the DePaul literary set with sandwich names like “Pilgrim’s Progress” and “The Secret Garden.” It is generally pretty quiet, and a nice to place to get reading/writing/overtime copy editing done.)

Two guys stopped me, asking, “Hey, can I ask you a fashion question?” I nearly gave them the “no” hand and kept walking, having been stopped in the Loop no less than six times by a similar question (“Can I ask you a question about your hair?”), which I found out was a marketing ploy to get me to spend money on paraffin wax manicures/hair cuts/etc. But I stopped, and one of the guys launched into what was indeed a fashion question. “So, I had this brown leather bracelet on, but my sister told me it clashed with my green t-shirt, and what do you think?” Huh? He proceeded to tell me that he’d stopped me because I looked like a fashionable girl (since when?) and because I’d clearly matched my lip gloss and sunglasses (I had?).

I was mostly confused by the entire encounter–which lasted nearly 20 minutes–and was overwhelmed by the energetic question-asker, Nathan, who proceeded to try to guess whether I was the first-born, whether my sibling was a brother or sister, whether my degree was in chemistry (um, no).

He ended up asking for my email address–”so that I can email you the next time I have a fashion question.” Um, was he hitting on me? Because I’m not sure I want to date somebody who notices that my sunglasses and lip gloss match.

*    *    *

current book:  nearly done with Blood Meridian.  Like, mere pages from completion. Next up: David Foster Wallace’s  A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again.

current music: The Bourgeois Pig was playing Bob Dylan’s new album, which kind of blew me away. They followed it up with Elliott Smith’s Figure 8.

current socks: Time to get ready for Halloween! These have orange horizontal stripes (think: Wicked Witch of the West) with spiders dangling mid-ankle.

Filed under: chicago, life in general by admin2
No Comments »

Try as I might, nothing that has happened in the last week can be fluffed or fleshed out into a proper narrative. I’m in neither a bad mood nor a good one; the weather is gray and rainy; I run, I commute, I work, I sleep. I think it’s a symptom of the changing season: the gray is pervasive, and there have been several days in which being indoors is no different from being outdoors. Office Space calls it a case of the Mondays. My friend Tim calls it terminal malaise.

Of note is the spectacular storm that rained down on Chicago on Monday night. I’m going to try to get some pictures of the carnage–Hyde Park is littered with huge tree branches, some of them split jaggedly from their trunks, leaving behind slabs of white splinters. Westbound 60th Street is badly flooded under the viaduct, and the nearby parks reek of standing water. At least it’s a sign that something exciting happened, and that our ‘hood was rocked by more than the bass from pimped out cars.

Although the gray feels like it’s been in my veins forever, Sunday was actually beautiful. A friend and I went to Kristoffer’s, a great little cafe in Pilsen, and read and wrote over breakfast, coffee, and coconut tres leches cake. Unfortunately for us, it was the final day of a Pilsen gallery walk, so Kristoffer’s was louder and more crowded than usual. But the sun shone till nearly 6pm and the sky was blue and the weather was crisp but warm. We drove by my murals–I always miscalculate the distance to the first ones, the soccer players and the glowing Virgin–and I thought for a moment they’d been whitewashed. I’ve never loved those first murals (I prefer the older ones further west), but, to my chagrin, I was upset at the thought of them being whitewashed. These murals figured prominently into my master’s thesis, so I (re)wrote about them for nearly five months, thinking I hated them. Funny how writing about something over and over changes it. It’s hard to maintain my vigorous distaste after attempting to get under their skin, under their paint.

Also funny that writing and thinking about the murals just bled a little of the gray out of me. Perhaps a happy autumn after all…

* * *

current book: I’m nearly done with Blood Meridian. Its bleakness makes the seasonal malaise feel all the more terminal, and yet it becomes more compelling the further along I get. I’d like to re-read it within a few months–now that I know I’m capable of liking it–and see if it gets any easier to keep my finger on the plot.

current music: What Made Milwaukee Famous’ Trying to Never Catch Up and Cafe Tacuba’s Unplugged. Oh, and I fucking hate the new America’s Next Top Model theme song. But did you see the “—– must go” blues song the judging panel sang? For THIRTY SECONDS?

current socks: I wore my crabby socks today (the black ones, not the turquoise ones), although they’re not completely accurate. Think they make Office Space socks for those days when I’ve got a case of the Mondays?

Filed under: art, life in general by admin2
No Comments »