Chicago people! Chicago is having Restaurant Week this year, which I loved in Boston. Some fancier restaurants are having a 3-course prix fixe menu for 21.95 at lunch and 31.95 at dinner from Feb 22-29. If you ever wanted to check any of these places out, now's a great time!

Participating Restaurants

I don't know why I bother looking at weather.com anymore, since they've managed to be way off several times late, but I feel like I can't properly prepare in the morning until I know what their version of the weather is. The high today is 84, except its already 84 at 10AM. I suspect it will climb a little.

We had a really intense thunderstorm yesterday, with torrential downpours that started coming in through my A/C unit and flooded the basement while I was in the middle of doing laundry. The sidewalks were ponds and the roads were small rivers. So I read about the Chicago Mob all day. Everyone needs hobbies?

( I'm dress crushing again )

what things would you say you value most in life, or want most from your life? would people be able to guess those things by looking at the way your life is structured now? do you try to structure your life, or do you just let things happen? what do you imagine your life would look like if you were your happiest?

i'm really curious!

Obama speaks to the Senate on religion and politics.

taken from mobley

Worth reading.

HowManyOfMe.com

There are: 0 people with my name in the U.S.A. How many have your name?

i ate enough for multiple people today, but an asiago roast beef (no onions!) with my momma at panera bread while MY SISTER worked and my first grilled meat of the season were entirely worth it. nothing much feels different, and sometimes i think everything is changing and i still haven't quite figured out how to reconcile the two ideas. i've dealt with stalkers, i've met some amazing people, i'm going to meet some more, i've gotten a haircut, i've gotten a loan and a new car. they're looking into changing my hours at work so maybe i won't be stuck with nearly every night and weekend anymore...i could handle it if only i could dance again.

(i wish i could write about what it does for me, and the way everything lifts and kind of makes sense then, and the way movements just flow after more than ten years of doing them, and the way it's so familiar and graceful that i just feel lighter, and then the way it's such a quirky and supportive family of people and they make my heart burst with joy from time to time.)

it's nearly memorial day weekend...next stop summer! i have a car with a sunroof if i can ever figure out how to work it. i have plans to go to NYC and to chicago. i'm already plotting daytrips to the cape and ice cream and minigolf and skeeball and cape league games and ocean. i'm determined to revel in it when i'm not actively wilting.

my head is on overdrive and i don't know if i can keep up.

( This Is The Sea )

(taken from schmeef)

List seven songs you are into right now (whether they have words or not) and then tag seven more people. Post these instructions in your journal.

[001.] Rainy Night In Soho - The Pogues
[002.] Star Witness - Neko Case
[003.] Candy's Room - Bruce Springsteen
[004.] Dance With Me, Now Darling - Hem
[005.] It's Raining - Irma Thomas
[006.] The Whole of the Moon - The Waterboys
[007.] I Think It's Gonna Rain Today - Nina Simone

(open tag. do it if you want to!)

I've been loving you a long time
Down all the years, down all the days
And I've cried for all your troubles
Smiled at your funny little ways
We watched our friends grow up together
And we saw them as they fell
Some of them fell into Heaven
Some of them fell into Hell

I took shelter from a shower
And I stepped into your arms
On a rainy night in Soho
The wind was whistling all its charms
I sang you all my sorrows
You told me all your joys
Whatever happened to that old song
To all those little girls and boys

Now the song is nearly over
We may never find out what it means
But there's a light I hold before me
And you're the measure of my dreams
The measure of my dreams

Sometimes I wake up in the morning
The gingerlady by my bed
Covered in a cloak of silence
I hear you talking in my head
I'm not singing for the future
I'm not dreaming of the past
I'm not talking of the first time
I never think about the last

Now the song is nearly over
We may never find out what it means
Still there's a light I hold before me
You're the measure of my dreams
The measure of my dreams

Date:	2006-01-06 11:08
Subject:
Security:	Public
Mood:	amused

I can't stop listening to Common People this morning!

happy new year. i was kind of hoping that someone would call at midnight, but i guess not so much this year (naturally, as soon as i typed that i got a delighful drunk phone call from jess. i feel a bit better now, heh).

i'm feeling pretty anti-festive...as it is i've been sitting in pjs with stacks of cds on my bed, trying to decide what i should have accessible in my car for the next couple of weeks. i've been driving around today blasting "otis blue" and loving it. how had i forgotten the way music with soul makes it impossible for me to not grin with feeling, with meaning, to testify? relearning that has made the day feel much warmer, despite the snow swirling outside, light as confectioners sugar, sparkling on the ground as the headlights illuminate it. God, today's been nice enough, but its the new year? are you serious?

weird.

It is really freaking cold right now...single digits and feeling like zero according to weather.com, and my room is drafty, sending me to the comfort of my covers. I'm also dreading my final on Friday, not for the content but for the weather...we're expecting a delicious mix of sleet and rain and snow with major icing and wind gusts up to 50mph. And UMB didn't close for our blizzard-thing this past Friday. *grumble grumble* Isn't it spring yet?

Dear Santa... Dear Santa, This year I've been busy! In July I pulled over and changed burnedbridges's flat tire (15 points). Last Wenesday fadeaway24 and I donated clothes to the needy (11 points). In August I gave hilla a Dutch Oven (-10 points). In January I saved a busload of nuns in Angola (326 points). In February I signed my organ donor card (28 points). Overall, I've been nice (370 points). For Christmas I deserve a red Radio-Flyer wagon! Sincerely, jcrewgoose

I wore my sweater and scarf, and while I didn't have a caramel apple, I did manage some chai with Leary at the 'Diva...After not seeing him for ages, I've seen him twice lately, what with Scurvy and cider+ and candy corn and doritoes and good times a couple of nights ago. I've missed having that dork around.

I'm currently doing lots of laundry in an attempt to be productive, an effort I still feel might be better spent on sleeping. I'm so over being this tired! I want to gallivant and be productive and stuff! Maybe next time.

( for madzi, my top 20 new pornos songs )

It's sunny out, for the first time after nine straight days of rain. The sky is bright, bright blue, and the leaves danced across the highway as I drove dad to the airport. This is the type of fall weather I can endorse!

There is only one boy in my past that I regret not kissing, and I haven't kissed many of them. I guess that's my random thought of the day.

This is total caramel apple weather.
And snuggle up under the covers and nap weather.
And wear scarves and sweaters and jump in a pile of leaves weather.
I might be obsessing here, but I love this.

The New Pornographers and Destroyer were amazing and awesome. One day I will actually feel well while seeing the New Pornos or Neko, and will be able to enjoy/appreciate it more fully, but I'm always glad I was able to experience it, the way they all seem to enjoy each other and the way the harmonies swirl around the stage. Jackie Dressed In Cobras was probably the performance highlight, and the only song I would have wanted them to play particularly that they didn't was "The Body Says No", which I did see them play in June. And I finally figured out who Aaron reminds me of (Jerry Seinfeld, heh.)

The entrance to my street is almost completely blanketed in pine needles. It's really quite lovely.

Scurvy is apparently playing tonight at Leary's house. I wanted to try to go after my psych quiz, but I'm feeling ten kinds of crappy today, so I'm not sure quite how or if that's going to work out. Scurvy!!

In other news, ( I know my friends list... )

Food. Quick psych paper. Study for psych quiz. Feel better for Scuuuurvy!
Yes, we have a game plan....

I went to middle school with Shayne Cabino. He was a year younger than me, but his older brother Billy was in my grade. He was a likeable kid, definitely mischievous, and I remember having friends with crushes on him, as we discussed it and giggled about it like typical middle school girls. It doesn't seem like long ago at all. It must have been. He was killed this past Thursday in Iraq.

I don't even know how to process this. I saw this on the news last night and just about jumped out of my chair. I was hoping that I'd heard the name wrong, but it was confirmed today. Unreal.



Lance Cpl. Shayne M. Cabino, Semper Fidelis.
rest in peace.

Date:	2005-10-08 18:20
Subject:
Security:	Public
Mood:	blissful

My Madzo is home! I trekked out to Williamstown and back yesterday to get her for the weekend, between five and six hours of driving all told, but its so worth it. I can't think about how much I miss her when she isn't here because that would just get overwhelming, so it sucks having her back and knowing she's going to leave again in a couple of days, but I feel pretty lucky to have her around. I seriously have the best friend/sister of all time. Ridiculous.

I've come to the conclusion that I really don't like my philosophy class, which is a shame. I'm just glad that I managed to force myself to finish my paper, crap as it was. I'm so bad about taking classes that annoy me...it's a total struggle not to completely disengage and check out...

Writing inane papers for stupid classes provided ample motivation to procrastinate though, namely through making mixes...this is the latest selection:

( hip hop and funk/songs with a good groove )

( autumn mix! )

( random stuff that fit my mood yesterday )

The ride yesterday was gorgeous -- New England is reaching prime leaf-peeping season, and bright hues were splayed every which way, mixed in with rivers, rock beds, and mountains. The roads wound through factory towns and small towns, past totem poles and teepees, past gift shops, and antique shops. It cut through town centers, wrapping around churches and Dunkin Donuts. I saw Falling Rocks signs, and Moose Crossing signs and Duck Crossing signs. I discovered Orange, Massachusetts and Florida, Massachusetts, and braved many bridges. Heck, I even completed my first hairpin turns at considerable altitude, and while able to see the valley below. It was an incredibly scenic drive, quintessentially New England with the quaint towns and striking foliage. Lovely, lovely.

I am wearing fall colors, rich browns and corals, and my hair is fiery in the light like the leaves outside. The house smells like roast chicken, and I've been hibernating under the covers, sitting with the family, watching the rain outside, feeling warm and cozy and content. It's really beautiful.

Date:	2005-10-03 22:47
Subject:
Security:	Public
Mood:	amused

Tomorrow I finish up the antibiotics, and I'm getting worse instead of better. What the heck? I'm probably making a return visit to the doctor tomorrow, and I'm feeling bad enough that I missed my classes today. Maybe one day I will be able to miss classes like a normal person again, but in the meantime, given the past couple of years, I do tweak out. It's funny...you'd think I've done enough missing classes that I could focus on the fact that I've lived to tell about it and have even managed the odd credit or two in the process, but it still just feels like the beginning of a very slippery slope. Not a slope I particularly want to take again, obviously. Blah.

( story time )

( weird dream )

( cuz Stone Cold said so! )

I had an ice cream float today for the first time in ages. That said, I'm so sick of ginger ale, tea, and water. I'm drowing in the stuff!!

PS: T-4. Wait, it's after midnight. I guess we can make it T-3 :)