chicaaaaaago!

i'm back from the windy city. oh, so windy. but also, oh so neat. and, at the risk of sounding like some bumpkin that rode in on a haystack, it's huge. there is space for countless parks of varying enormity, and "neighborhoods" extend far enough to encompass entire towns. we walked the lincoln park area for hours and stayed within its bounds.

i ate enough meat - red and otherwise - to feed a small nation for a month. wow. those were definitely my nutritional choices and no one force-fed me, but damn. i could use some vegetables and fish now, thank you.

the main purpose of the trip was to see trevor off to china for the summer, where he is interning, but also to meet the future in-laws and have them meet me. i must say that i really lucked out - his family is nice. really nice. it was interesting to live within the bounds of another family which isn't yours. it's like living in a reality show. i see now why trev is such a gentle person. his parents speak to each other nicely. they don't scold and boss and yell, like some families (ahem). i've heard a multitude of nightmare mother-in-law stories and i'm pretty sure i won't be part of that. i got back and spent the day doing grandma-related stuff with my parents and it was like, jesus. my mom's a screamer and has exceptional anxiety when driving or riding in a vehicle, resulting in constant loud and abrasive verbal guidance while operating a car with her in it. at one point i told her that she needed to stop jumping and grabbing onto the oh-shit handle each time a car in our vicinity changed lanes or pulled out onto our street. my dad (in the back seat), was like, "yeah!"

anyways, here are some photos:



water tower, one of three buildings that survived the 1871 fire, resulting in chicago's status as the first planned city in the u.s.



my "before" picture, lunch at manny's deli, an obama favorite



my "after." see why my body hates me? but it was too good to stop.



trev with his "girls," haley (left) and shelby. did you know there were american and british labs? british labs are thicker in the body, like our girl shelby, whom trevor refers to as "the walrus." american labs are leaner, taller, more athletic.



the new modern wing in the art institute, designed by renzo piano. beautiful space.



trev's parents took us on an architectural tour by boat. so awesome and highly recommended. we boarded right under the wrigley building.



view down the chicago river



john hancock building



navy pier. it's like pier 39 on super juice.

super eyes

36 hours after my surgery and i'm seeing really well. typing with my eyes closed, though. i shouldn't be straining my eyes with computer screen, reading, or watching tv just yet. mentally noting that there are damn few things you can do without your eyes.

what do the visually impaired do when they're feeling antsy?

what happened to the simple things

no more pure enjoyment of twitter for its random thoughts and artful observations. it's sad, but it's typical. you can't be part of something as successful as twitter without it turning into a useful marketing tool for shit like the diet-fucking-evaluation-council-dot-fucking-org who is following me because i mentioned how much water i drank today. so fucking american.

#disgusted

um, so

i've got a million-dollar observation.

when things seem bleak in your own life, when you are too tired or too sad to even think about moving forward, don't watch that show on A & E, Intervention.

i mean, jesus christ. i am watching a family that was torn apart by a daughter's abduction, rape, and murder, which resulted in, amongst other things, another child's severe drug addiction. add to that the mother's decades of grief and enabling, and it's just the most depressing shit ever.

i guess on one hand you can be grateful that you aren't the one heading down to the crack house to sell yourself for sixty bucks. driven by your fiance.

that elusive silver lining!

ugh. i feel like i need a shower just watching what people do to themselves.