Catch P if you can!

After my job interview, which went fantastically and they loved me, (but so sadly couldn't offer me enough money for the position), P and I met at Pastoral, a downtown wine and cheese shop, and had some delicious cheese-enhanced salads. Here's P and his friend D, who was shopping for picnic stuff.

Then P rented a bike - and we were off! It was great to catch up with him on a fabulous two-hour lakefront bike ride! But sometimes we had to yell to hear each other and that was especially funny if we were talking about things like sex when spandex-clad superbikers whizzed by.

We found that they're improving the path by the planetarium, and had to fight a little congestion with touristy types on the way back through this area... there were a bunch of folks going to see John Cougar Mellencamp who didn't seem to know what they were doing.

And as we cruised south of downtown, the path got much friendlier and MUCH less congested. Did I mention it was the most beautiful day of the summer?

We went to promontory point, a lovely peninsula into the lake at about 56th Street. If I ever get married, this would be a great place for it! (and everyone has to bike)!

P at the point

Crazy fellas playing in the super-high waves hitting the point.

Here's us with the very distant skyline in the background - it took a while and a lot of giggles to get the shot because I am slightly special needs in the camera department.

As the sun started setting when we turned back north, it was even prettier on the path. P kept hotdog-riding with no hands but I couldn't whip out the phone in time for a pic.

As we came back into the city, the views were still spectacular.

Then we made it back to check P's bike in just in time to catch the tail end of the Grant Park Symphony concert in Millennium Park

P and D again, with the stage in the background. The great lawn was packed with picnickers and music lovers.

The evening ended with a few impromptu songs by this group of Russian women - it was magical!

It's been busy. *Updated with pics!*

Chuck D and Flava Flav, a bit blurry but totally sensational and always in motion, performing It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back from end to end, plus many of their other hits at Pitchfork. A blast.
1) Last week was rough - I really wasn't sleeping at all still, so I wasn't doing my triathlon training, and it was super hot at night, so I wasn't sleeping, and then it was raining in the times when I could have done training, so I hated myself, so I wasn't sleeping...etc.

The dance tent is pure joy in one space for 2 days. I can't tell you how amazingly fun it is to see so many people dancing...
2) Last weekend was the festival. It was great, as always, though interpersonal stuff can sometimes get in the way when you've worked on something for so long with the same person. As I've done for - is it 4 years?, I ran a jam-packed dance tent, sort of the second stage of the fest, and helped out backstage and emceed. Check out the flickr group for all the amazing pictures from lots of people - I'll put mine up soon, too. It's SUCH a fun festival. I realized I've been doing it for 10 years! Wow. I was up til 1am Sunday night closing down backstage (the diehards/drinkers were there til 4) and then back up and out at 6am Monday to check the field and return things to the school. I worked til 11am.
Awesome Aztec dancers prepping for their ceremony in the dance tent.
3) Then, the afternoon bbq/party for the fest was Monday. I cycled out to the pool and decided to stay more than an hour, so I had to ditch week two (outta 6! crap) of my awesome bike class. But it was OK. I came home and changed and then went out again to a free show of three friends' bands (missed the first one) and it was really great music and for the most part great people/many friends at the venue. I'm so glad I went out again, even though by the end of the night I was really running on empty!

The pool, with no kids allowed this one day, was a peaceful respite on Monday after the fest.
4) But then I had to teach (subbing) for the next three mornings, and that was pain-full. I still wasn't sleeping well and was exhausted, with the slurred speech, slow movements and blank expression to prove it. I am amazed all the parents in the earliest classes liked me so much - inside, I was a wreck! Autopilot must have kicked in.

Jack, who's 3, made this awesome drawing on Thursday. He said "it's a tiger with a crazy tail and one REALLY long claw," which started the best conversation amongst the other 3-year olds I've ever heard. I'll post it soon.
5) I interviewed for a new job at my organization on Wednesday afternoon. It's a teensy bit of a step up in title, a bit of just a change. I had to ride my bike straight from our other location to the main location after teaching art, change into interview clothes, and get mentally prepared in about 30 minutes. It went OK. I am sure I'll find out Monday. I have no expectations.

6) That night I almost died of exhaustion, but S. came to the rescue because her friend R was coming over to give massages to S and BA, and they asked if I wanted one. HELL YES. I missed the show I was supposed to go to that night, a work thing, but it was worth it. My body was so wound up from the past few weeks and the past months of training, that the massage literally gave me new life. I fell asleep in full clothing when I got home.

Eric from Sebadoh rockin the mic. Jason and Lou rockin behind him. I was behind the camera in a state of bliss.
7) Last night was day 1 of Pitchfork, a usually awesome indie music fest that I've attended whenever I can, and I had 3-day tickets this year too, but I decided to sell them and go only for one night. It was a great decision. I saw one of my favorite bands ever from the early 90s (a theme, I know), Sebadoh, and then Public Enemy. Plus I hung with friends at their booth in the sale area. The rest of the bands this weekend weren't super exciting for me so I am glad I opted to have some me time instead.

8) This morning I rode through the POURING rain - all the way downtown - to meet my training group at a specialty "multisport" (triathlon) store. We had a workshop on bike maintenance (another theme, yes?) for the triathlon (what to do if you get a flat in the race, etc.) and then I bought $100 more worth of equipment (bike computer, fenders, CO2 flat fix thingies, a holster thing...) at our group 20% discount. We were supposed to do an open-water swim also, but the weather sucks (thunderstorms off and on) and I just don't want to today - that would mean another bike ride downtown.

9) I finally got rid of the car today. I was going to have it towed to S's garage for one month while I tried to sell it for junk and/or sue the woman who hit me, but after paying tickets, and insurance, and other b.s. this whole time, I caved when the tow truck driver offered to buy it for $100 cash, without the title. He towed it away and honestly, even though I've lost so much money in the whole thing, I am instantly happier.

I got all verklempt when I realized what I had just done and ran to get my camera for this last picture. There in the distance on the right goes the first and only car I've ever owned - north up Lincoln Ave. on the back of a red towtruck to her final resting place... Thanks for 10-1/2 years!
10) Tomorrow is the women's 5K race I signed up for. I haven't run at all recently but I am gonna try it. If nothing else, it's a gorgeous bike ride to the lakefront and it's early enough (7:30am) to be a great start to my day that doesn't take over the whole day. I'm excited! I wish Lois could run with me. The shirt for the race is cool. I am laying out the stuff for the morning now.

Hot in the City

Today was the first really hot day of the summer (and I have the sunburn to prove it). My friend S and I decided on the 4th to ride bikes out to the northwest suburb of Glenview, for my friend/coworker C's Sunday afternoon pool gathering - the first one I've been to this year. She and her husband own a lovely house with a GINORMOUS, perfect back yard and a fabulous pool. The best part is that they open it up for all of their friends to come and hang out alomst every Sunday in the summer. There is music playing, kids splashing, and people stream in from the city to swim, chat, hang out from 12-6pm. It's an amazing treat, especially for all of us who work with C. because we are all poor artsy urbanites.


We had a good, but HOT, ride out there. I met S at the train station (she took the train with her bike partway in both directions, but for me, according to Mapquest, it was about 15 miles each way - not bad!) Half of the trip is along a great paved bike path in a forest preserve called the North Branch Trail - the best place to bike in Chicago, if you ask me.


We saw a baby deer, and I got bitten/stung by an unknown insect, which made things interesting. The main thing about the ride, though, was that S. gets really overheated, and doesn't sweat, so she was a trooper - she still rode her ass off, though, and fast, and she's 10 years older than me, with a much heavier bike, so I was impressed.


Today was BBQ day at the pool, and that means everyone (who normally brings snacky food and cold beverages to eat, drink and share) stepped it up a notch and really brought out the good grub. And, it was Jimmy's 11th birthday, and his grandmother K (who I love) was in town from Wales, plus it's the weekend before our huge annual festival, which C. (the hostess) is in charge of, so it all combined to make today a truly great/positive-vibe day to be at the pool.


Since it was so hot and sunny, though, even our ride back really got to my friend S and as we got back into Chicago, we rode along looking for someplace where we could rest our sore asses, and find a cold drink and some shade. We even contemplated stopping at a Kmart just for the A/C, but then all of a sudden we saw a totally nondescript bar on Elston and I liked the name (the Sunny Day Tap), so I suggested we stop in. We got inside and it was sort of magic - this tiny dark Serbian restaurant/bar where no English was spoken, music was playing and a woman in black was cooking yummy-looking meaty Serbian things. The waitress made us the perfect drinks (pint-sized soda with a splash of cranberry and double lime twists) and there was (we think) creepy non-ironic Slobodan Milosovic paraphernalia all around.

The wetsuit post

This is my favorite neighborhood yard, decked out for the 4th. It's what I imagine a New Orleans yard to be like... there are sculptures, lamps, a fountain and furniture all hidden around.
Ok, first, in case you get confused later: My 4th of July was awesome. I slept in, took a long bike ride, bought a wetsuit, made strawberry shortcake, went to a party, watched fireworks on the roof, and then had a private show of SERIOUS illegal ought out the "Athena" large sized wetsuit, which sounded sorta funny and Wonder-Woman-y and Greek, but, somewhat thankfully, it was too big, so I settled on the non-athena large suit in sleeveless style. I bought it right then and there, on the credit card, and cancelled my Sunday haircut appointment at the salon, because now I'm $280 more in debt than I was before. But it was worth it.

The kids did what kids do in the basement.
See, at 7am today in the maybe 64° lake, I wore the suit for the first time at my Ohio Street beach group session, and swam a 1/2 mile in it, and it was totally great! I mean, lake swimming still is hard as hell, and I had to resort to breaststroke some of the time because it still seems impossible to see where I'm headed, plus there were some waves, but as far as personal comfort and feeling like I could breathe, and that I could possibly complete the swim in the event, etc., this was a hundred times better than the other suit. I know it'll just get better if I keep practicing in the open water. Plus, this suit packs neatly into a little mesh bag and is easy to bike the 14 miles with.

The food was awesome, as always, and there were some thematic desserts besides mine!
Then today I went to the awesome community bike shop for open shop (my first time at an open shop - I was nervous!) and fixed the horrible squeaking from the deraiileur that my bike did yesterday and fixed the seat and oiled everything, and replaced the quick-release thingies on my tires with new, permanent ones. My bike is like supercharged and perfect right now.

There was even an awesome jam session in the front room. So lovely!
I practically sailed home on my rockin' bike, but stopped in at two - yes two - different Targets to look for these awesome running socks I bought last month that I want another 2-pack of - and although neither Target had the socks anymore, I managed to make it out of BOTH STORES without buying a single thing. I am extremely proud of myself.

Then we went on the roof to watch the illegal fireworks all around R's house!
And, to top it off, all that wetsuit-tryin-on made me realize how huge I am, and that I need to crank the training up a notch and lose some of the extra weight, so I impulsively signed up for a 5K race (my first race/event ever!) that's in 2 weeks. So I'll be adding some runs in this week, that's for sure.


Now it's not even 10pm and I'm so tired from biking all over creation and swimming at dawn that I'm going to sleep. Goodnight!

Gravel...

This is a baby deer I saw just before finishing the eventful Labor Day bike trip. It was a really sweet ending to a not-terrible-but-still-sorta-foiled plan.

I did too much this weekend, and now I am sick. Maybe it's allergies; I have heard there is something treacherous in the air but I'm not sure — this is really bad. I can't talk or go for a full 10 minutes without coughing, blowing my nose, or sneezing, and I've got that pretty watery eyes, dry lips, and always about to drool thing going on, too. Looking lovely is especially easy today with my trademark chin cold sore. Nice.

On Friday, I ran, swam, and worked for a few hours (we technically had the day off, but that never works for me). Then at night, I went to see Anders Parker (used to call himself Varnaline) in an early show at Schubas (very few people attended - I felt bad) but it was a good show. I got in free but I bought his last CD, so: no guilt. And the record is lovely.


Next, I went to the late birthday celebration for E., above, who had some deal at the bar where we had gone a coupla months ago for a play and karaoke. It was fun - his friends are super nice, and the place was odd in a good way, but I quickly hit my three-drink limit (I forgot the name of the delicious drink I had - it tasted like a Jolly Rancher) and headed for home on my bike. On the way, S. called from the Abbey pub where she was hanging with a visiting friend (the one I wanted to make out with after Pitchfork) but he was really busy, and no one was talking to each other, so I watched the end of the Stereo Total show (and loved it! WHY have I never seen them live before?!) and then left. I was zonked. Lois needed a walk.

The next morning, I went to the farmer's market and then had my last, fabulous swim at the park district pool until September 24. They're closing for cleaning, and I'm hoping I survive... I'll have to figure out an interim plan.

Then it was time for the Lynda Barry "Writing the Unthinkable" workshop, which was SO. KICK. ASS.! It's my second time doing it, and this time was just as mind-blowing in different and the same ways as the first. It is amazing. I encourage every single person who might happen upon this crazy blog to TAKE THE WORKSHOP when it comes to your town. You will not be sorry. It will be held again in Chicago in January, and you can sleep on my couch for it.


That night, Hedley and Lois got together at the park for a while, and then I went to see M.'s new place and was struck by a) his excellent taste and b) the fact that I haven't seen him in a really long time and I was actually nervous and awkward around him. I was only there for 2 minutes, to drop off a little housewarming basket, but it felt just filled with weirdness. I don't know him super well in real life, I guess. And he is really handsome. It might be hard to be friends with someone so hot. Then, P. (in town from New York for a wedding! Yea!) and I had dinner and caught up. It was SO great. It's fine to talk on the phone and email, but there is nothing like the in-person hangout with an old friend.

The next day was day 2 of the workshop, so in the morning I took Lois for a LONG walk and made a blueberry pie for R.'s barbecue that night. That was fun, but mellow. I had to bathe Lois (always a pain in the ass) because she rolled in somethin' stinky, but now she is super soft.

At the barbecue, R. and L., above, and I planned our 37-mile bike ride the next day, along the North Branch Trail of the Chicago River to the Botanic Garden. The picture above is after our picnic when we got there. Don't they look great? Below, at the garden, R. talks to his girlfriend the mallard at the waterfall. I don't know what they were saying.


Well, the ride itself was great even though the dumb forest preserve decided to tear up the paved path for about 1/3 of the mileage - so we rode a lot on bad gravel (which terrifies me from a childhood trauma). One point was totally impassable, so we had to reroute on the street. But we made it. The tragedy came on the way back, after our Ice Cream truck stop (thank god), when I heard "Fssssssssst!" and L. shouted from behind me, "Poptart! You're FLAT!" and that was it. She and I walked about 3 or 4 miles (but who's counting) and R. rode ahead to get the car and we met at about 7 miles in and drove home. I guess my fear of gravel is somewhat vindicated, but jeez. Next time I gotta pack the right equipment.


Remarkably, it was still fun. R. and L. are great, and we made a good team. I love the picture of R., below, because he's known to not always be a Happy Boy. I think he was yesterday.