Chicago: Totally hands-free!!!

The acoustics there are fantastic. -xpost

FUNZONE! should record the live album there.

A guy I know whose band usually plays in bars was onstage there and kind of freaked out by the detail of his own playing/singing that he could hear.

If I were her friend I'd just go around trying to make her grin all the time so I could see it.

you wouldn't have to try very hard, she laughs more than anyone i've ever met in my life. her and her husband are blood fucking diamonds.

last night was a pretty good show, hipshakes kinda lost the trail in the middle of their set and i was PSYCHED to see them but.... eh. i hadn't seen the krunchies in ages and they were fucking great. cocohomos debuted a new song last night and it was great. i'm happy they keep getting better. new album is killer, get one while you can 'cause that fuckers gonna go oop.

ok, i gotta go pound the pavement.

best,
kevinsaur jr

Interesting! It's been awhile but I remember playing jazz in a couple of super dry rooms and feeling the same way.

Kevin Jr. is more than I am capable of being. I'm kind of pissed at myself for getting sucked into that show about the 11th dimension last night and not going to the Bottle.

guys if I want to buy a bike, where should I buy it from?

OMG you guys: http://www.youtube.com/user/StSanders

Some dude expertly redubbed all of these guitar shredding videos to sound weird and bad, but with perfect timing!

used: working bikes
new: boulevard

though i'm sure there's a decent alternative to boulevard down in hyde park

okay thanks! also, I realize this a bit chip-on-my-shoulder-y, but there won't be condescending dudes there who sneer at me because I have never bought a bike before, will there? (at working bikes, I mean?)

oh, I'm not in HP. Logan Square.

Not to worry, love, no one wants to give their money to a store where people are meanies. No sneering allowed.

i just like them because they're friendly, not condescending, and commuter-oriented. the guys at rapid transit have a reputation for being not the nicest (bike mechanic syndrome), yojimbo's garage is for the hardcore only, on the route i know nothing about, most of yr other stores are for ppl buying road bikes they never actually intend to ride

xp

I abandoned my bike. :(

Just before turning in the keys to my old place I remembered the bike was still in the garage, so I locked it to a pole until I can go get it. I need to borrow someone's bike rack (it has two flat tires and a rusted out chain). 20 yr old girl's Bianchi, I miss you.

YAY SO EXCITED TO RIDE A BIKE, GUYS!!!

xposts oh good. thanks rw!

oh you're in the square! neighbor!

def go to boulevard! kevin, the guy that runs it, is very nice, as are all the mechanics.

Upgrade Cycle was very nice to me, but they're a little more high-end/road-bike-y. Which was even more impressive, really. They were nice and helpful despite the fact that I was clearly out of my league.

ISN'T IT THE GREATEST (THE SQUARE, I MEAN?) CAN'T WAIT TO RIDE MY BIKE ON THE BOULEVARD!!!

Gar. Arg. Rag. Busy. So busy.

I heard a song by this band on the radio the other night and liked it okay: www.myspace.com/vampireweekend

Also, jaymc, they have a song about serial commas.

Boulevard is the place I walk by all the time and am all, maybe I should just go in and buy one, and then I chicken out. I'm glad to hear they are nice.

This would prob. be a good time of year to go to Working Bikes, b/c everyone who wanted a bike for the summer already has one.

do it!

the metallica video is the best. It has fake drums and vocals too.

I posted on craigslist to try and find somewher ein Chicago that sells old reel-to-reels and like three people have emailed me about this place in lincoln square so I'm going to go check it out after work, yeey.

I took mine to Boulevard when I wrecked the derailleur, they were very nice and fixed it really quickly.

If I were you I'd troll Craigslist for a while, too. In fact, I have been doing so myself lately, because I want another (beefier, MTB) frame that I can frankenify.

I think I know that place, N. I took my turntable there to get fixed. If it's the same place they have very very erratic hours.

Oh oh! For what it's worth, I am another devotee of boulevard bikes. Nothing but the best to say for those guys. My absolute favorite part about those dudes is that they are always eager to show me how to fix the shit I'm unsure about, knowing full well that next time it breaks, I'll not be paying them.

I want a bike but instead of wheels it has two sets of robot legs, one in front and one in back and when you pedal it runs really fast.

Yeah, the Metallica one is amazing!

The people at Uptown Bikes said that (for them anyway) this was a bad time of year for used bikes. The have 0 used bikes right now.

I finished reading that silly book above. Ho hum.

Hm. Did Uptown say what the best time for used bikes is?

I want a bike.

Bally's sent me a notice in the mail saying that if I pay off my dues for the next 18 months I will save $200 of the regular cost, plus get 1 free personal training session (valued at $60). I will be spending my money on this instead of a bike.

Uptown Bikes said...something.... I think they said they usually get things later in the Fall??? I don't remember. They have very, very low stock on all bikes, used and new.

ugh. I ate so many brownies today, guys.

Aaargh. There's a work event thingy this evening that I TOTALLY forgot about. I hate that feeling of suddenly finding out you have to quickly psychologically prepare yourself for one thing when you were planning on quite another. Worse yet, blaming yourself for not remembering in the first frickin' place. :(

Also, until about 5 minutes ago I was not even aware of the true NATURE of the event. I thought it was supposed to be just a free food schmooze-fest. It's worse than that... there's a class. A free food class? One can dream.

Eh. Whatever. I'll learn something, probably, even if against my will.

I AM SO BORED THAT I WILL LIST WHAT I CONSUMED TODAY

coffee
scrambled eggs (2)
black bean burger
french fries
fingernails

People don't buy bikes in the winter, I think -- they get rid of them as they nest and clean out basements and things. I'd guess the best time for used bikes is late winter before the spring bug bites and people start thinking about going outdoors.

I think I will leave work very soon. Fuck this place.

coffee
brownies
cheddar cheese

That seems odd for used, but what the fuck do i know, having never worked at a shop. New makes sense, the 2008 model hype-train is full motion right now, so I could see shops just trying to clean out their inventory before they have to re-up with next year's models.

river wolf: Do you have suggestions for where I should get wheels built? I'm more than happy to get them done at boulevard unless there's some kind of wheel guru in the city that is the defacto source of round awesomeness.

frozen waffle, butter (fake), maple syrup (real)
chicken etoufee
mini Hershey's bar

water
prescription amphetamines
one small cup caffeinated coffee
forgot how many cups of decaf
more water
an orange
three cigarettes
one glass of Emergen-C
a banana and a small bag of trail mix

oh yeah two cups coffee and a Walgreen's vitamin

no one else had brownies for breakfast? weirdos.

oh yeah I had a multivitamin this morning, too

We actually have brownies at home, Sarah made some on Mon. but I did not have any for breakfast.

water
pastrami on rye w/ swiss, onion, mustard

KENAN EAT SOME FOOD

Nick otm