art institute

apparently february is the month for free museums. unless friday holds some unforeseen adventure (or disaster), i'll go to the field museum, rounding out a nice three for free.

although radically different from the shedd, the art institute was no less entertaining. there were several groups of bilingual (french-english) school groups visiting, which reaffirmed how freaking adorable french-speaking kids are. i spent the majority of time on the 2nd floor in the modern wing and loved seeing the transition from that to the european art from the early 17th and 18th centuries. as the "what is art?" discussion was bubbling in my head on my way out for the day, i observed a beautiful sight. entering the main atrium of the art institute from a small side door, a museum worker, dressed in all white, walked down the hall pushing a cart full of paint cans and brushes.

what a lovely mother you'll make

working on my computer, i heard a shout coming from the street. i looked out to see a young woman in full running gear with a medium-sized, black dog.
"FINE!" she screamed, and then threw the dog's retractable leash at it's feet.
as she stormed off down the block, the dog remained at the corner, trembling.
the woman stopped several hundred feet from the dog, put her hand on her hips, and took noticeable deep breaths. she turned and went back to the dog. snatching back the leash from the sidewalk, she jerked the dog forward.
"COME. ON!"
she took off at a nice trot with the dog limping behind her. i watched her run down the sidewalk and again jerk the dog and should "LET'S GO!"

i'm glad that humans have emotions and intelligence to separate us from the base, savage existence of animals. did you know some animal mothers even eat their babies? disgusting.

hey i was just thinking i had to pee!

the apartment complex across from ours has been under construction as long as i've been living here, and it appears for several months prior to that. as on most construction sites, there is a port-a-potty, or more specific to this particular model a "JOHN SPOT" behind the building. it's seafoam plastic walls are visible from any of our apartment's street-side windows, and looking closely, you can even spy whether the lock is on red or green, signaling whether it is in use or not.

i have now spent many an unemployed day sitting on the couch working on my computer, occasionally glancing out the window. i've seen many runners, workmen, dogwalkers, and other roscoe villagites, but never have i seen anyone use that portable plastic potty.

then on this lovely saturday morning as i sat drinking my coffee, i watched a fifty-something woman with plastic grocery bags in hand approach the JOHN SPOT.

--gasp--

would the transportable toliet finally get use?
with just a moment's hesitation-- enough perhaps to process the thought, "i was just thinking i could use a restroom"-- the woman set down her plastic sacs, opened the door, and switched the lock.
the audience erupted with jubilation!
someone has finally used the school street shitter!

of fin and feather

a few days ago i cracked the reader to find an ad for the shedd aquarium, which was announcing free admission to the general aquarium all this week. having only gone to the contemporary art museum since moving to chicago, i decided this was the perfect chance for me to visit the fishes.

i rode the train to the library stop, and walked along the lake for the rest of my trip. it was beautiful to see the skyline from the other side and watch the ice grumble on lake michigan. it was also fucking freezing and probably the beginning of what i'm diagnosing as "cold lung", which has allowed me to impersonate Daniel Plainview quite accurately, according to my roommate. ("i drink your milkshake!")

anyway, i spent several hours observing the various fish, eels, lizards, frogs, birds, and snakes. it was pretty awesome, and i feel like they have a larger variety of animals than when i was last there. i'd forgotten how wonderful it is to walk through a museum by yourself with an ipod drowning out all the screaming kids and helpless parents. or helpless kids and screaming parents.

despite the free admission applying to the general aquarium only, i somehow found myself in the oceanarium. i watched the beluga whales and penguins do their thing for awhile, and then realized i was just in time for the last dolphin show of the day. i also noticed i was the only person seated in the audience not wearing a yellow wristband. whoops.

the show focused on the dolphin's training. while interesting, the best part was when the narrator pointed out that the island in the middle of the pool had another animal in training. sure enough, there was a large owl camouflaged against the island's brown rock staring or ignoring us. apparently, he was out there training to be part of the bird show. (i wasn't aware they had owls at the shedd. apparently they aren't either.) he was adapting to the dolphin's different environment, as well as the crowd's loud reaction and applause. the rest of the show, i was more focused on watching the owl than the dolphins. other than turning his head from side to side, he seemed perfectly content to not give a damn about any of what he seemed to consider "fowl play" going on around him. (i could only resist one pun in that sentence.) that is until the show's finale. in a spectacular display of strength and intelligence, all four dolphins breached the water in unison and continued to breach five times. at this point the owl was repeatedly splashed with a few drops of water, but he beat his wings and shook his body and looked totally disgusted by these idiot creatures turning tricks in front of him. it was absolutely the most hilarious real-life animal interaction i have seen in a long time. really, just the sight of a real owl and real dolphins in the same environment-- pretty funny.

the day the music died

it ended as quickly as it began.

before i knew what had happened i was at the people's church on 941 w. lawrence, violin in hand. actually, that's a lie. i knew exactly what was going on, and i had willingly and gladly submitted myself. i was attending my first rehearsal for the lakeside.pride.orchestra. and yes, it does stand for THAT kind of pride. the kind of pride, as my mom so eloquently put it, "that you see in san fransico-- all the gays marching together." great, mom. i know you're 1. terrified that playing in a orchestra open to all sexual orientations will turn me into a raging lesbian and 2. that i will move to san fran, tune up, and start marching with them. well, no fear mom. i'm pretty sure i'm straight as susie high school, and i've never seen a violin in the marching band.

despite this, i have to admit the jokes about going to play in the gay orchestra never get old.

after attending my first rehearsal, i was thrilled i'd chosen to go. everyone was accepting and the level of play was right at where i'd hoped. plus, because everyone is fairly talented, the rehearsal was low-key and relaxed but still productive and satisfying.

after my first rehearsal we took two weeks of for various reasons. i returned for my 2nd rehearsal a few days ago, only to find i was being asked to turn in my music. i panicked.
have you changed your mind?
are you rejecting me because i'm straight!?
no, turns out we have no violas or cellos. it's hard to have an orchestra with no lower string section. so the gay orchestra is taking a bit of a break. hopefully only to return stronger and prouder than ever before this spring.

now THAT'S a rejection letter

Dear Katharine;

Thank you for sending us your resume in response to the Program Assistant
position at UG. After carefully reviewing your resume, our
selection committee has determined that your background and skills, while
impressive, are not a good fit at this time. Therefore, we cannot consider
your application further.

We wish you the best of luck in securing a position appropriate to your
credentials.

Sincerely,
UG


now that is how to appropriately and professionally reject someone. i might still be unemployed, but them recognizing that i have an "impressive" background and skills is going to keep me going all week. or at least until lunch.

who knew having fun was so painful?

this past weekend the whole family packed up their various vehicles (two prius, one golden goose of a mini-van, and one dodge something a-ruther) with food stuffs, board/video games, DVDs, and swimming suits, for a weekend trip to starved rock state park in utica, il. with 13 of us, it is true that we go through a lot of food, but once we were moved in i'm pretty sure the kitchen was stocked not for the wintry weekend, but for a nuclear winter. in double checking that milk, bagels, italian beef, veggies, juice boxes, etc. were all accounted for, my sister-in-law quickly realized upon arrival that she had forgotten one small item-- the kids' suitcase filled with all of their clothes and swimming suits. not the best start.
while she drove off for a shopping spree at the nearby wal-mart, the rest of the family went to the amusement park. while the cabin we were staying at (large enough to comfortably fit all 13 of us) is located in the middle of the woods, the "resort" also has a small, indoor amusement park and water park. the amusement park was more carnival-esque as it had dozens of arcade games, 6 kiddy rides, and 4 adult rides. after doing some of the kid's rides, four of the adults decided to take on what looked to be the most aggressive ride in the place.
the eclipse is one of those spinning rides and turned out to be the most intense ride i've ever been on like that. Gs like i've never felt were revolving my body in a way i never want to feel again. my brother's groans of "dear god, please let me off" were at first hilarious then echoed after my body was tired of being whipped around in the seat. all four of us, walked limply from the ride, surprised to still be alive. i was sure i had brain damage, and my brother was sure he was going to yak. although i think i avoided brain damage, i did wake up the next morning to find a nice bruise coming in on my inner thigh where i was slammed into the formed plastic seat. let me tell you, nothing is sexier than walking around in a swimming suit with large bruises on your inner thigh. it pretty much screams, "do me!"
the next day the family ventured out for a little nature hike. turns out six kids ranging from 3 - 11 years old isn't ideal when walking on hilly, icy terrain with steep edges and few guard rails. instead, however, we did manage to ignore the "stay on path" signs and search out several animal prints that were left in the snow. although i quit the girl scouts before even making it past "brownies", i did find it fairly amusing to see very tiny mouse prints followed by much larger paw prints of what seemed to be some large cat looking for lunch.
the weekend also saw some intense sledding. behind our cabin was a pond with some great hills encircling it. my brother proclaimed the pond solid enough to sled onto, so the six kids, my brothers, and i went at it. i haven't been sledding in years and it was a blast. unfortunately i literally did blast one of my nieces as i uncontrollably barreled down the hill. having just regained her balanced, i came in right at her ankles, and flipped her right back onto her back. luckily, i turned to see her laughing rather than bawling. her cousin also did a spectacular face dive as his mini-sized snowboard hit a patch of snow and stuck, leaving him flying head over heels and face first into the snow. thank god his head and neck were there to stop his body. or really, thank god his mom wasn't there.
who knew having fun was so painful?