It wasn't all that windy....

This is the lady at the Costco- which is where Syd took me on the way home from the airport. I didn't realize it but EVERY day is a cocktail party there... with tiny snacks around every corner- all that is lacking are little black dresses- they wear hairnets instead.

While my trip to Chicago is now a fait accompli, I still have a little blog-worthy treasure trove of memories- a LITTLE one as I left my camera battery in a bag of stuff I dragged home from my last day at the Enormous Fabulous Paper Store and was limited to whatever charge remained on the camera. I had lost hope of finding it after I called 'Neff and e-mailed Nancy asking them to send it along (P.S. guys, the message here I FOUND it, thanks anyhow. Sorry to bug you) I also called Radio Shack and asked if THEY had a camera battery charger for a Panasonic DMC-FX50. The zombie who managed to crawl (by the sound of him half dead and over broken glass) to the phone. "We have a UNIVERSAL charger" he moaned. Now, I have been fooled by this term before- this SHOULD mean it fits every camera in the universe, right? WRONG. It reminds me of a joke my friend Naeem tells in proper British Raj clipped English- her brown eyes wide she asks "What is the difference between a bitch and a slut?" when you shrug she replies " A slut will sleep with ANYONE, a BITCH will sleep with ANYONE BUT YOU." The camera charger- and the term "universal" guarantees that this charger will fit EVERY CAMERA BATTERY in the known universe as well as several UNIDISCOVERED galaxies full- just not yours. To top it off- it will look EXACTLY like it would fit yours, if you ALSO buy the "universal adaptor" which will do everything except make grape snowcones, oh, and it will absolutely NOT charge your camera's batteries. Though it may be the exact size that your battery will become irretrievably STUCK in. When you bring it back, the exhausted adolescent managing the counter will muster up the unmitigated GALL to say a.) DID you buy this here? (yes, from you, TWO hours ago!) b.) This won't fit YOUR battery (thanks Sweetpea- that's my battery STUCK in there NOW) c.) You can't return it because you've USED it. This is where I explain to someone with the attention span of a goldfish that while it HAS been used to raise my blood pressure to dangerous levels it hasn't actually charged ANYTHING- no charge- no use- right Spanky? Eventually I would get the charger returned- but I have a revenge departure line. I look into the glazed eyes of a being who thinks this is a sweet ride because he can play video games until his eyes cross and piss off lots of people his parent's age and get PAID to do so. As I leave I say- "Sugarlump? Hang onto this job with BOTH hands- at fifty it will be the only thing between you and being unemployed living in your parent's basement in a ratty barcalounger with a vicious hobby of picking your nose and eating it." Oops- off track again. Where was I? Oh yeah-Chicago...

Henry (Syd's husband and a really nice guy for someone who slices up dead people parts for a living...the PARTS are always dead- not always so the people) Lucas and Jasper insisted we go to breakfast at their favorite breakfast place- there was much oooing and ahhhing over the bacon (which was quite good) but the BIG thing- the really, really big thing was




The apple pancake- modelled by Lucas- for a sense of scale. Lucas is in the 7th grade- so, well- it was really BIG. Lucas is the size of a seventh grader- you do the math.



Syd let me play in her Miata- "Little Red" I wanted to try driving it but as she explained the care and feeding of a manual transmission I realized I would need; aside from a driver's licence- an extra FOOT, this will need to wait. Though car-wise as we stepped out of the Pancake House I saw the car for me- sort of.



Right shape and very cool- PRETTY noticeable. I thought as a new driver I should be as VISIBLE as possible. I have written to Volkswagon to ask if the bug comes in Safety Cone Orange- I may also ask Michael to make me some oversized plastic band-aids to stick all over it- as a warning to other drivers.



This is my new best friend- Meeko the Keeshond. The price of undying loyalty and affection ( and not a MOMENT'S privacy ANYWHERE- try and get out of the shower when your bathmat has a big FURBALL lying on it)? One tiny piece of cheese. I threw it to her on a whim my first day there and now- with Labor Day and the Jerry Lewis Telethon approaching the "You'll Never Walk Alone" song seemed particularly meaningful...






Gratuitous pretty pictures...



Really cool Art Deco Architecture on Michigan Avenue



The Gehry Bandshell in Millenium Park



My FAVORITE thing- The Bean. It's not ACTUALLY a bean- I looked it up, it is "Cloud Gate is British artist Anish Kapoor's first public outdoor work installed in the United States. The 110-ton elliptical sculpture is forged of a seamless series of highly polished stainless steel plates, which reflect the city's famous skyline and the clouds above. A 12-foot-high arch provides a "gate" to the concave chamber beneath the sculpture, inviting visitors to touch its mirror-like surface and see their image reflected back from a variety of perspectives. Inspired by liquid mercury, the sculpture is among the largest of its kind in the world, measuring 66-feet long by 33-feet high.

It looked like a giant chrome kidney bean to me. I LOVED it. It must be hell to Windex it...



I am the orange speck under the bean...

And I ate one of their famous hot dogs. It was on a seeded poppy roll, had yellow mustard, lots of sweet pickle relish, "sport" peppers (these are hot- the sport is PANTING) a pickle spear and a slice of fresh tomato (also onions but I passed on that). The dog itself- a really good natural casing all beef dog is BURIED under all of this and though I kept the mustard and relish, I ditched the rest and ate the pickle spear separately. After this transgression I may not be allowed in Chicago again. But if I can make it through the airport and buy another hot dog- it's pretty much a lock Meeko will be meeting me there and she'll take me home.

"Home", to clarify, is where good friends/family like Syd, Henry, Nikki, Lucas, Jasper (and Meeko) are. Thanks for the visit you guys.

Nic- YOUR post is yet to come :) X