Chicago: They paved a fetid swamp/and put up a parking lot

Jess and I have a running joke that everyone we dislike/has been an asshole to us eventually dies.

Well, tbf, everybody who is nice to you eventually dies, too.

It's too hot for accuracy.

The girl who bullied me on my teeball team was arrested for selling narcotics out of the pharmacy where she worked. My mom sent me the clipping. That was a quality update from mom.

An interesting question, Jesse. I could see about having it removed. On the other hand, both his name and address can be found through the business website.

It's too hot for accuracy.

OTM

i am going to be in minneapolis next week! and iowa city! (i'm going to play a couple of shows with the band i've been playing with, hence the sleeping bag query).

sarah and i went to the twin cities for a long weekend and my impression was that it was kind of a boring place to visit (we felt like we ran out of stuff to do before the trip was over but that might have been our fault for being boring) but probably a very nice place to live. i like midwestern cities a lot.

i could probably be happy living most place but i don't think i would choose to live in san francisco. it never seemed to get really warm and there were too many hills.

The hills might get old, but the weather seems ideal.

The hills are already old.

ZING.

Hills are great and I really miss them. Chicago's flatness can drain me sometimes.

Yeh, I miss the visual appeal of hills.

You guys that's what vacation is for.

I don't vacation much :(

n/a is there a day between mpls and iowa city? I don't know how much luck I'd have, but I could try to see if there's an opening in Des Moines.

Oh yeah, I was in Chicago this morning. Took the metra in, did a quick loop around the loop, and took off from midway.

nope, thanks though. we were going to try to play madison the night before minneapolis but couldn't get anything put together.

The SF hills would take some adjustment, but would make me stronger in the end.

fine, all you fuckers move to san francisco, more room on the el for me

Never fear. There's no way I'm taking the CA bar.

Never been to SF, but the hills look glorious. Probably be a bitch to walk up though, obv.

Well, let me know if you're worth traveling for, or come to DM sometime!

Is the CA bar especially hard? Or did you mean to say that you would never take the BART?

ha ha. iowa city will be our third show ever so probably not worth traveling for, unless maybe you're a huge casiotone fan.

oh and to keep things relevant we're playing at subterranean next wednesday (the 8th) if any chicagoans are interested

Wait are you playing w/ casiotone ftpa? or the other side project?

It's especially hard (that's what she said) but also I never want to take a other bar exam. I would gladly take BART again.

xp is that the show where you promise to start promptly at 8? As an old, I appreciated that.

CFTPA is no longer. this is dude's new band.

and yes i think it's going to be an early set for us on wednesday.

I really loved that band's name :(

the name still exists

Today is the first day of civil unions in our state.

hooray!
i am cleaning my office

Now to read the comments or not.... http://www.suntimes.com/5703018-417/civil-union-law-for-same-sex-couples-takes-effect-in-illinois.html

A lesbian we know is not excited about this because she feels IL is merely condescending to bestow second-class status on gays, rather than legislating full equality. I get where she's coming from.

Like, if we were getting married now, would we opt for a civil union instead?

i was just saying this to my coworker! yes, i would.

While Jeff and I would probably have eventually tied some kind of knot, we got married when we did for health insurance that I had through my (Catholic) school (and then Jeff got a job and didn't need my student insurance anymore so now we are getting divorced. Just kidding), so if that policy refused to recognize civil unions, we would have opted for marriage. Plus would a southern state recognize a Yankee civil union for the purposes of hospital visitation? Like if one of us ended up in a car accident while visiting family in NC and we had a civil union, are those rednecks going to try to limit visitation?

(I know that's a weird contingency but hospital visitation rights was actually a big draw for marriage for me. Just thinking about Jeff hurt and somebody trying to keep me from seeing him gives me an unpleasant combo of anxiety and the rage).

Anyway, I just signed up for a two hour CLE program presented by the bill's sponsor so I'll tell you more on The afternoon of June 22.

Please excuse the grammar and punctuation issues in that post. I am drinking a "kefir" smoothy and I think it's making me trip.

I'd kind of like a civil union bcz marriage has all kinds of religious connotations, but, then again, why should religious people get to bogart marriage?

Well that's just it. As an atheist who is actively hostile to organized religion, I would prefer a union without all the religious connotations. But most states set up civil unions as a legal partnership carrying fewer rights than marriage (dunno about IL, tell you on 6/22). So then you've got religion bogarting the good stuff, but the only reason it's the good stuff is because we pass laws that make a secular option less attractive. And then also restrict some people's access to the good stuff.

I think the fact that civil unions won't result in the utter collapse of civilization is going to help bring more people around to gay marriage.

cleaning maniacs: my FIL is coming over in a matter of maybe 90 min and i have to do some rush cleaning

what are the most important things to clean, like scrub clean, if i don't want him to know that i am a disgusting savage?

(already vacuumed and dusted)

dishes are done
have not scrubbed stove after cooking messy meal last night

The quickest clean with the most bang for the buck is wiping down the counters and sinks in bathroom and kitchen, if you ask me.

I always wipe off the sink and fixtures, clean the toilet, and sweep the hair off the bathroom floor. Close the shower curtain.

Get the visible pet hair off everything.

Wipe off kitchen counters/stove.

That's what I would do. Oh and light a scented candle.

Good ideas!! If he is likely to touch it or consider touching it, I should clean it. I won't bother with the candle, though, since he is anosmic as of last time we saw him. The toaster oven is just...I mean, it's gross, and there's nothing I can do about that.

Wipe off the top and keep it closed. Alternatively, throw a dish towel over it and stick a plant on it. Alternatively, hide the whole thing in your regular oven (set a reminder to take it out, though).

I can't wait to have a toaster oven again. I've lived one year without a toaster.

I keep wanting to buy crumpets, but without a toaster there is no point.

Whoa that is too much work -- we're going for a walk and then going out to dinner in the hopes that we can avoid the scrutiny entirely.