Chicago: Become Familiar with its Distinctive Neighborhoods

wow, i can't believe how much snow you get up there! you're properly rugged.

i am whiny today. i feel like crap (major headache) but i have two projects due wednesday so i can't just go home and go to sleep, which is what i really need to do.

maybe eating lunch will make me feel better

if you stop here on your way home i can give you some cinnamon spice cake that our landlords just brought over!

sorry to hear you have a headache, they are stinky and i'll bet cold face doesn't help either.

sarah, any photos of the new hair?

No pix yet! I've mostly received nice comments. I hate it when people just say things like, "Your hair is different." Yes. Yes, it is.

I want my money, damnit. My paycheck still hasn't shown up in my account. All I get from accounting is "supposed to be there today". Uh yeah, thanks, payday was Saturday.

get that money, son

I'm tryin' mang.

So I was really hesitant to go, but we had a half-off coupon, oh my god... was my haircut experience at Sportclips excellent. I thought it was going to be really ESPN bro gimmicky, which it was, but the scalp and shoulder massage more than made up for it.

Hello Chicago.

Anyone have any suggestions for someone with no car, a hotel room downtown, and no obligations for four days next week?

Hot Dougs is sadly closed. Dan gave me a list of bars downtown-ish, and Katie is probably carting me and the wife around on Thursday, but other than that, I'm free. I've been to Chicago quite a few times, but I never really did any touristy type stuff and I've never stayed downtown - I'm pondering the Field Museum, the aquarium, museum of Science and Industry (which I know is not downtown), Art Institute, drink at the top of the Hancock building, etc. Any of these more worth it than others?

Also, would getting to Devon street via public transport be worth it, or would I be spending half my day riding the train/bus to do so?

would getting to Devon street via public transport be worth it, or would I be spending half my day riding the train/bus to do so?
eh, it would probably take you 90 minutes to take the red line to loyola and the devon bus west. that's not really all day. it takes a good long while, but not like 3 hours each way or some shit. if you're near the red line it's no big deal.

j/v/c, i've never heard of sportclips before, their website kind of scares me!

hi joygoat, i'd also add the MCA to your list since they have a rock exhibit at the moment. and there's a huge map thing going on, if you're into that, at a ton of different museums. website is http://www.festivalofmaps.com/index.aspx

i don't think it'd take you that long on the red line, but i can't say from experience. don't try to get to the botanic gardens on public transportation, though. it may be OK in summer but it's not fun this time of year.

xp - (i live north of there and used to work downtown. i didn't have to catch a bus, but it took me 51-60 minutes usually)

I was kinda scared to go there, but my fiance talked me into giving it a shot. Scalp massage, hot towel treatment, neck and shoulder massage, and (most importantly) a good haircut for less than $20 = classic, as far as I'm concerned.

Go to the map exhibit at the Field!!!

re: the wire, i don't think it's a "transitional season" fwiw, it just seems like they're trying new things while still keeping all those characters involved. i'm glad they didn't do another one with the original unit all back together taking down a drug lord (although it seems like that's where it's heading for season 5? i guess i should wait until i finish this one to talk).

i just ate some instant oatmeal that could not have been less than 2 years old

gross or frugal?

Old oatmeal doesn't scare me.

Sure doesn't scare me either -- I ate it! I also ate some super old cup-o-soup because it's freeeeeezing in here and I was hungry.

Cup-o-soups are invincible to the ravages of time!

My lunch today:
* small portion of leftover, homemade Indian lentil soup
* cheez-its
* small pear
* a clementine
* water

AND TONS OF GODIVA CHOCOLATE

they are immortal, like jeffies.

i can't wait to make burgers again tonight.

the only thing that grosses me out about old flour or oatmeal is that i know they can be a lovely vacation spot for bugs and other creepy crawlies. but i think instant oatmeal in little packets is totally fine.

my lunch is an apple (i already ate it), a miso and noodle soup, and that's it. i don't know what i was thinking, i'm already starving. i'll have to eat the whole cinnamon spice cake! i'd sure take some godiva right now.

i always tell people to skip the field museum because it's boring but the map exhibit sounded pretty fun. it's a little $$$ for out-of-towners, though maybe it seemed that way to me because i was used to DC where all the museums are free

Mmm... spice cake... let's trade.

field museum is $12 for adult non-Chicago-residents. that's too much for 400 rooms of decaying stuffed animals, if you ask me

Fun touristy stuff:
* Drinks at the top of the Hancock building
* Art Institute
* FLWright Home/Studio tour in Oak Park
(* Also I love the Architecture Boat ride, but I bet the wind would be killer right now)

mocp
imss

The Field museums special exhibits always seem pretty stellar to me. Both the King Tut and Pompeii exhibits were very well done.

So one of my coworkers who worked on site at one of our projects was let go this past week, because the project isn't going well and we don't have anything else for him to work on. Then he asked if he could still come to our holiday party. Awkward!

do you get cheaper tickets to the field museum at the library? i know they have some "passport" thing...

maybe it seemed that way to me because i was used to DC where all the museums are free

The wife has a conference in Chicago, and the same one was in DC two years ago (when she was getting interviewed for jobs instead of conducting the interviews). So I got to roam around and hit free museums for a couple days which was fun. Paying for them is going to be different.

Katie sounds up for the Frank Lloyd Wright house so she can drive my ass out there. I got drunk in the lobby of the Field museum a couple years ago but never went further into the place. I kind of want to see the U-Boat at the Sci & Industry place though even if you have to pay extra.

IMSS and MCA are things I had never thought about so that might be cool.

As for the Hancock, you can basically ride up, drink a ten dollar can of Old Style and hang out for a while, right?

i'm not sure they have old style, but yes, that's the theory.

do you get cheaper tickets to the field museum at the library? i know they have some "passport" thing...
this is only for chicago residents/holders of chi/pub/lib cards AND it depends on what passes they have available that day. you can't always get the museum that you want on the day that you want it -- you kind of have to take what they give you. also it does not include special exhibits.

at least not as far as i know

You can take the Green Line from the Loop out to Oak Park, if you want to see the Frank Lloyd Wright homes -- takes about 20 minutes by train, and then a 10 minute walk. Decent restaurants and the like out there too.

We should make a CHILX Guide to Visiting The City, put it on a page somewhere.

I opened a Blockbuster account last night to rent a movie but ended up buying Season 4 of The Sopranos (the one with Pie O My) for $20 instead.

what's fun to do in chicago for new year's eve?

I'm up for some of us going to Madison to see Jordan's band and tap that Cajun smorgasboard.

(Oh, and speaking of Sopranos, maybe the Wrigleyville bar with HBO and $3 import/domestic taps would be up for screening The Wire in January.

yes plz ask

there is a woman here applying for a job who looks like julia, kinda

Nick, how are you feeling???

also if you ever want to see some hella outdated web sites, try finding procedure volume data by state on state health care association web sites

still headachey but not as bad as this morning. really really tired for some reason, i keep closing my eyes and almost nodding off

http://www.sokhodom.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/06/cat_in_iraq_injured.jpg

by outdated, i mean in terms of design. check out the site for the georgia hospital association

Where did my pic go?

Oh that's not it. Never mind.