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.

voodoo / vodun

this weekend was supposed to be fun in the snow and lots of brisk crunching around in champagne powder on a newly waxed board. however, we managed, amongst the three of us, to squeeze in:


mild food poisoning
one sprained ankle
hard drive meltdown combined with a law school paper deadline
one killer flu victim
cat locked in living room for 3 days who consequently used the couch as her toilet
dead car battery


lucky me, i escaped with only a dead car battery and the couch toilet. my sister mentioned that her friend went to see a witch doctor to change her luck (or get rid of a hex) and she had to rub an egg (uncooked) over her boyfriend's back and then sleep with the egg under her bed over night. i think i need to look one up over here. i have some sage moldering in the veggie bin, maybe i should nuke it then burn it and cleanse the area. seriously. i'm beginning to think someone has it out for us.

i did have quite a nice time on my snowboard, though. i felt slightly guilty flying down runs while my sister clutched her tummy and trevor cursed his ankle, but i figured i'm not making anyone better by not snowboarding. right?

warm weather days

ugh, sorry i left you staring at that nasty creation for so long. i was having personal problems, one aspect of which is my cat, who keeps projectile vomiting everywhere. she suddenly decided well into adult cathood to start being allergic to most foods, and, well, last week we were testing her on new food that obviously didn't go well. my sister has already dropped upwards of $400 on her for various tests and fancy foods that haven't shed any light on the situation. web searches have yielded about 15o different causes. right now she has her pet bowl elevated to chest level on a folgers coffee container draped in an old washcloth in case she has acid reflux. acid reflux? for fuck's sake. what happened to the cats of the old days who were fine off a lifetime of friskies and would spend their days outdoors doing cat stuff? i swear my cat gets her damn nails done and sips veuve in her free time, which is all the time.

the bitch about pet ownership is that you love your pet, but you sho' wish they would just eat crap you buy at the grocery store and shut the fuck up. there's a limit to your pet love, and it has a lot to do with how much they cost you. now with scarlett acting like a stomach diva, i have to haul my ass to the pet store and plunk down about $40 every two weeks just to keep her fed. it's retarded. i don't even think i spend that much on myself every two weeks.

i'm feeling cheerful after a dim few days. trev and i went on a beautiful hike on thursday near boulder, and then visited its little downtown area for beers (trevor) and burgers (me). ok, just a single burger. so gratifying to have a little fat blast after a couple of strenuous hours of scrambling up rocks. trev was swooning over the stouts on tap at this brewery, so we had a nice little swoon-filled break and drove home with a lovely splurgey cup of coffee. we relish these days where the weather has been gorgeous and we have enough time in our adult lives to go hiking on a weekday. after trev's graduation we're both pretty sure days like that are going to be rare luxuries.

weekend of hiking

i didn't have nearly as terrible a time breathing during our weekend hikes as we thought i would. on friday we drove about 50 minutes to golden gate canyon state park and did a leisurely 4 mile stroll along raccoon trail:











we missed the fall colors peak a few weeks ago, but it was still really pretty. it's nice to take advantage of the time we have as a student and an unemployed person as well as see colorado for the time we'll be here. afterwards we decided to unwind from all of that unspoiled beauty by stopping by boulder for some beers and food, taking a small, 2-lane highway called something like the boulder canyon highway. we had just passed some reservoir when a friggin mountain lion loped out onto the highway, about 5 yards in front of my hood, and continued on to the other side of the road.



not my image... but you know that. pretty, eh?

we were so shocked, i think the only noise i made was ummmmmmmmmmmm.... whooooaaaa... or something to that effect. mountain lions are relatively common in the east bay, but i've never laid eyes on one, and i've certainly never had one run in front of my car. jesus christ that was cool. we still can't stop talking about it. they are bigger in life than i pictured in the dancing cartoon world that is my head.

saturday we decided we needed to see more mountain lions, and drove about 2 hours to rocky mountain national park. as warned, this joint is fucking busy on weekends so we had to check a couple of alternatives before landing on the bierstadt lake option, and then hiking down to bear lake. no bears, sadly. or fortunately, if you're smarter than me.

that hike was pretty long, about 7-8 miles, and after the five hours were over, i was ready for a huge amount of food and a hot tub. hiking is fun because you can eat about 4-5 meals in a day, and you can include those salt and pepper kettle chips without feeling bad about them. the scenery can be nice, too.



view from the top of the 1 mile of switchbacks right after the trailhead



bierstadt lake



a lot of the trail was this idyllic, foresty shit. nice.


we didn't see any more mountain lions, but we did see little twerpy things like a chipmunk, and this little thing -




which trevor claims is a chipmunk despite the fact that we actually saw a chipmunk and it was normal and stripey looking. i maintain that this is some sort of alpine squirrel. but anyway, they're ballsy little fuckers, but i guess you have to be if you live at 10,000 ft. and are the size of a holiday cheese ball.

for these hikes, i broke out my only piece of fleece wear, in the form of pants. pants that flood, too.


hungry human species in native fleece wear

applause. yes, i know, i really need to shoot down to my nearest patagonia and rectify the lack of fleece in order to fit in here, but i'm putting it off as long as possible. to be fair, the few coloradoans that i have actually met weren't wearing fleece... just football jerseys. this town is filled with avid sports fans to the point where i definitely stick out for my sports ambivilance. but that's another post altogether.

up and at 'em

morning after super 8 motel in winnemucca, nv



salt flats approaching salt lake city, ut







mormon temple, salt lake city, ut



pretty fall colors driving through wyoming


well, we're here! setting up the place and such. tv still on the floor, but at least our bed is in place and we're getting there.

remember to bring those spare legs

amidst fantasies of flying over bamboo forests and through the misty clouds of huang shan, reality strikes when confronted with a 45-degree angle incline with only your spindly, useless legs to propel you. where the fuck is zhang ziyi when you need her? shit...

seriously, tho. huang shan is beautiful and absolutely worth it. i had no idea what it was and was actually picturing a shimmering pile of gold coins, what with the association that us chinos have with money and fortune and homonyms for the word, 'gold.' fortunately someone filled me in on the 'crouching tiger hidden dragon' portion of the program, and i was sold. how could you not want to see it after what's-her-bucket jumps off the mountain in the end and sails down over the scenery in an artistic but confusing suicide?

willie, steph, alvin, and linda and i set off via overnight train on friday night armed with KFC and more snack foods then you could swing a stick at. steph and willie had the foresight to bring beers, so we annoyed all of the other patrons of our hard sleeper car (we thought we booked first class... whoops) with hysterically loud games of 'would you rather' and stories about bodily functions. they got us back big time the next morning, tho, hella conversing and cracking seeds and stomping up and down the aisle. and peeing all over the goddamned bathroom (that'll teach 'em!).

we thought we were going to stay in a nice apartment that belongs to willie's mom's coworker's parents, but it was 1.5 hours from the mountain base and we thought it better to get as close to the mountain as possible to cram as much sight-seeing we could into our 3-day trip. so our first night was in tuxi, a small town at the base of the mountain.

we had some time to kill, so we bought some more beer and walked around tuxi, waiting for the hot water to be turned on at our hotel. we spied some interesting things in the market place:



cat meat, anyone?

the next morning, we got up at 5:30 (not at 4 am like the hotel was insisting we do to avoid the crowds) and lined up for the cable car to the summit. 3 hours later, we were actually on the cable car with about 50 of our closest chinese tourist friends. after locating our hotel and negotiating a less-mildewy room, we had a slow and greasy lunch and set off for about 5 hours of hiking.

if you have vertigo, don't take the path towards the northern gorge (aka the 'grand canyon'). i'm definitely scared of heights, and after seeing the sheer drop-offs that completely surrounded us for the rest of the day, willie discovered he was, too. the 'hiking' consists of climbing about 40,000 stairs either up or down and with varying degrees of intensity (from 'intense' to 'insane' to 'i'd-rather-jump-off-this ledge-than-climb-any-more'). however, the views are completely amazing, after you beat off the other 400 tourists that want to see them (for the claustrophobic, DO opt for the gorge trail because very few people are stupid enough to attempt it).

we had an amazing time.

couple views that render you speechless with a group of friends who crack you up constantly, and you have a damn good experience. willie has this special and until now, unbeknownst-to-me talent that i like to call The Most Random Jukebox Ever. together we sang a nice mix of sir mix-a-lot, milli vanilli, day camp ditties, peter paul & mary, and the variations on the diarrhea song, when not completely out of breath, dripping in sweat, and cursing whomever's idea it was to take the fucking path towards the gorge.








there are several hotels on the summit, and we discovered their method of shipping - a most curious mode of transportation - all the necessities to run a major hospitality business:



by foot, no less. these porters swarm the stairs all over the mountain, carrying anything from cooking oil to clean sheets to concrete mix. some even have the energy to be entrepreneurial and try to sell walking sticks or cucumbers to passers-by while staggering up the stairs towards their delivery points. and they do this in beat-up fake keds.



i'm going to assume this is the gorge, but i honestly can't remember


the porters also offer a service for the invalid, elderly, and lazy:



that's right. you can be carried up the steepest motherfather inclines i've ever seen in my life. on a litter, like fuggin royalty. and people actually offer to do this service. staggering. with the exception of linda, we were all hit with different versions of middle-class guilt when seeing tourists who actually opted for this experience and took pictures to assuage said guilt, therefore somehow evening out the cosmos by providing photographic evidence of this indulgence.

so after a night on the summit we hiked about another 3 hours to the western side of the mountain and took the other cable car down. alvin was suffering a mysterious knee injury:


alvin rockin' the dual walking sticks for support

and we were all incredibly stiff and sore. i cannot contract my calf muscles and have adapted a rather alluring old-woman-slash-penguin waddle to get to and fro. we mini-bused back to the train station several hours early to ensure soft sleeper tickets, then were propositioned outside the office by owners of this floph- i mean, motel to shower and rest up for 10 rmb each. considering the dismal shape of the place, it was a rip, but it was worth it to shower and relax a little. we then got bored and went to buy snacks, and ended up shooting baijiu and tequila. EW.


one local saw us pounding booze and stopped to congratulate us


then on the 9:44 overnight train and back to our city of hedonism.