Why I heart Chicago

I know these posts are supposed to be an expression of my non-edited grouchiness, but I'd like to take this opportunity to express how much I love Chicago in the summer. With siblings in town to entertain last night, I was expecting the usual hodge podge of tourisity  hell that makes them so happy, but we actually ended up having a great night. Did it involve Chinatown? Yes? Rock and Roll McDonald's, um, yes. A tour of the city? YES! But I'm telling you, I loved every second of it. Even the part where we ended up at Bed Bath and Beyond. It went like this. My brother and sister took the train into town and I picked them up at that craphole that is Union Station, but, despite the cop encroaching upon my idling car ticket packet in hand, it was pretty quick and painless. They were hungry so I took them to Letizia's for lunch and we chilled on the back patio. Next we hung out at my condo for a while before heading to Bed Bath to buy an Aero mattress for my diva-of-a-brother. He agreed to split that shit with me, so it actually ended up being a good deal as I'm sure I will put it to good use. Then we went back to my place and got ready for dinner in Chinatown. I took them to Lao Sze Chuan, a perpetually packed classic and my go-to Chinatown spot. The service sucked and we all overate, but all in all, I think they were happy. Next stop, BErry Chill, a recent obsession and a chance to show them something they definitely don't have at home. Naturally they loved it and scarfed their yogurt in about 5 min. NExt up. Chicago hauntings ghost tour. Not my idea. Ok, my idea, but I only brought it up because my brother is a ghost tour junkie, neither of them drink and I thought it woudl be a fun thing to do late night on a Sat. Although a bit on the long side, it actually wasn't quite fascinating and the tour took us all over town. It stopped at various "haunted" spots all over town and the best part was scaring my sister at the Jane Adam's Hull House where Rosemary's devil baby supposedly once lived. We were taken to the site of the EAstland disaster, the Saint Valentine's Day massacre and a the haunted oriental theatre. it was all actually pretty cool and interesting. Now my point about Chicago. The tour was fun, but what was more fun was the reaction of the throngs of people in their cars and on the sidewalk's reaction when they saw us drive buy in the black Chicago hauntings bus. Some laughed, some waved, some looked perplexed. What I loved was that here we were, a tourist in my own town and we're driving around the city while hundreds of other things were going on, plays, movies, parties, events, black tie galas, people on outdoor patios, poetry slams, concerts, the symphony, the opera, people hanging out late night in West Loop boutiques, people in line to get into clubs. Of course we didn't see all of that, but it's cool to think that it all goes on at the same time in Chicago on a warm Saturday night. We were just to spot some ghosts, but I love knowing I live in a city that's so alive in the summer.

words you should know

If my best friends and I were ever filmed for a reality show, no one would now what the hell we were saying simply because we've pretty much developed our own language through the years. While half the fun is being able to use said secret words in front of other people so they don't know we are making fun of them, I will share with you our lexicon. try to follow along...

Hater-self explanatory and not a secret word, but we love this word. there are so many uses for this words. Anyway with a negative or judgmental tude is a hater. Hate-OR can be used for extra emphasis. 

Jel-short for jealous. every body's just a little bit.

Shit show-a clusterfuck of annoyingness.

Pooya-too crass to explain, but it basically refers to a restaurant you know will send you to the bathroom for the rest of the night. like I said, crass, but you know these places when you see them and want to steer clear.

Richie bone: douchebag or generally annoying drunk dude who yells, "whooooooo!!!" 

There are more...I will keep thinking

 

I am getting crochity

Crochity? Crotchity? What I mean to say is that I've been noticing that my patience is wearing more than thin these days when it comes to, well, just about everything. Does this mean I am officially old? I used to wince when my balsy aunt would yell at waiters who gave us bad service, now it's one of my biggest pet peeves (bad service).  I also can't stand slow, street-crossing text-messaging pedestrians (although I am guilty of that) as well as anyone on a bike, motorcycle, Segueway or vespa and in my way or in my peripheral vision. I want to ram into every cab I see and every person waiting for a bus on a corner and stepping out into onto the street while I am trying to make a right turn. Maybe my new, significantly faster car has turned me into a first-rate A-hole, or maybe I really am getting old. I do find myself, on more than one occasion, stopping the radio dial on 100.3 Love FM (no joke) and skipping past my former flames..B96 and WGCI. Don't get me wrong, I still love me some Lil' Wayne and anything on the XM radio dial between 62-68 (preferring the rhyme and sometimes raw), but for the most part, I feel, well, crotchity. 

Breakfast club babies

I just saw a commercial for JC Penny back-to-school clothes and crap, and the kids were recreating scenes from the Breakfast Club. I think they even shot the damn thing in the library of that North Shore Chicago high school (New Trier?). Anyway, they had them running through the hallways, dancing on the bookshelves, and basically mocking the brat packs rebellious antics during that long Saturday in detention. While clever, I don't think the commercial will successfully speak to anyone under the age of 30, and how many of them have 10-year-old kids looking to be outfitted at JC Penny? It was clever but missed the mark. Maybe it was Sears? Eh..who knows.