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sleepy_bird Sep. 21st, 2009 07:16 pm)
sleepy_bird Sep. 21st, 2009 07:16 pm)I had promised to write about my Chicago trip! And then I forgot utterly and K. wrote about it in detail. So here are some impressions.
- Bars. I had forgotten how nice it was not to have to worry about limiting your drink consumption due to having to not kill people with your car later on. This makes me sound as if I naturally go on a bender when not inhibited by driving but that's not true, it's just very odd to have to think "Will this end up killing somebody? Better pass" whenever drinks are offered. It's also very nice to patronize an bar that is a bar and not a wings/chili/burger place with a sports bar inside or a restaurant with a patio full of 35-year-olds wearing what are called in fashion terms "ass pants." I did not feel weird about buying a drink for myself (which I do here, because I think I am supposed to wait for a be-khaki-ed man to buy it for me, but I don't want to wait for the sweet, sweet alcohol).
- Shoes. There was an orgy of shoe buying, which I justified to myself as being wholly necessary as I was down to my Palladium flats, a $10 pair of black flats from Target, and a pair of red shiny things purchased from Primark at some point in the past (which I really should conserve, as I am not going to be near a Primark anytime soon). because whenever I read these sorts of things I either become rantingly envious about money or I wonder what on earth possessed that poor woman to buy such ugly shoes. But it is here if you want to look at it.
- disgustingly costly but oddly-shaped in a good way knee boots, in black and not in the brown monstrosity you see here
There is also a pair of shoes that appear to have disappeared from existence, at least on the Internet. Suffice to say they are red patent leather.
- Chicago. I still really, really like Chicago. It's not too vertical, like New York (sorry, NYC, I know that you are almost all on islands) so it doesn't have that claustrophobic feel to it, and there's lots of actual neighborhoods in the city. I also like the lake--that it interacts with the city, just like the Thames does in London. The rivers in NYC act more like barriers, at least to anyone on foot, because the riverfronts are so built up. You have to go to Coney Island or eastward on Long Island to really get to the water. I need to visit Chicago in the winter again to remind myself why I am not moving there.
- The Art Institute has just opened its modern wing, which is beautiful to look at--both the art and the building, which comes complete with garden that allows you to ooh and ahh over the architecture. The collection itself has all the usual modern artists, who I will dismiss offhand in favor of talking about the really modern exhibits, like these designed faux rooms which had kitty litter bags in them and were supposed to represent the ravages of AIDS, and the best exhibit ever in any medium, "Clown Torture," which consisted of a several television sets displaying man dressed like a clown writhing on a floor screaming for help. On one side of the room was a video loop of the same clown reading a newspaper in a public toilet stall. Truly amazing.
- Opera! I have been to exactly two operas in my life ("The Coronation of Poppea" during the Proms and "La Boheme," complete with real horses on stage) and now after seeing the Lyric Opera at Millenium Park, I want to see more. The production was a sampler of the Opera's upcoming performances. Am now trying to get tickets to "Marriage of Figaro" in April.
- Random observations: I am not the world's greatest cook but I can now manage to make edible food that is not chili, the Mormon version of Pride and Prejudice makes more sense with the Mormon parts left in, and K. is a wonderful host.
- Bars. I had forgotten how nice it was not to have to worry about limiting your drink consumption due to having to not kill people with your car later on. This makes me sound as if I naturally go on a bender when not inhibited by driving but that's not true, it's just very odd to have to think "Will this end up killing somebody? Better pass" whenever drinks are offered. It's also very nice to patronize an bar that is a bar and not a wings/chili/burger place with a sports bar inside or a restaurant with a patio full of 35-year-olds wearing what are called in fashion terms "ass pants." I did not feel weird about buying a drink for myself (which I do here, because I think I am supposed to wait for a be-khaki-ed man to buy it for me, but I don't want to wait for the sweet, sweet alcohol).
- Shoes. There was an orgy of shoe buying, which I justified to myself as being wholly necessary as I was down to my Palladium flats, a $10 pair of black flats from Target, and a pair of red shiny things purchased from Primark at some point in the past (which I really should conserve, as I am not going to be near a Primark anytime soon). because whenever I read these sorts of things I either become rantingly envious about money or I wonder what on earth possessed that poor woman to buy such ugly shoes. But it is here if you want to look at it.
- disgustingly costly but oddly-shaped in a good way knee boots, in black and not in the brown monstrosity you see here
- these Anne Klein flats, which sadly were not available in silver
- a pair of these boots in brown, which are very pretty and faux-Victorian
- these suckers, which I had been looking at longingly on the Internet for forever and just happened to turn up in a store closing sale for $40 off the usual priceThere is also a pair of shoes that appear to have disappeared from existence, at least on the Internet. Suffice to say they are red patent leather.
- Chicago. I still really, really like Chicago. It's not too vertical, like New York (sorry, NYC, I know that you are almost all on islands) so it doesn't have that claustrophobic feel to it, and there's lots of actual neighborhoods in the city. I also like the lake--that it interacts with the city, just like the Thames does in London. The rivers in NYC act more like barriers, at least to anyone on foot, because the riverfronts are so built up. You have to go to Coney Island or eastward on Long Island to really get to the water. I need to visit Chicago in the winter again to remind myself why I am not moving there.
- The Art Institute has just opened its modern wing, which is beautiful to look at--both the art and the building, which comes complete with garden that allows you to ooh and ahh over the architecture. The collection itself has all the usual modern artists, who I will dismiss offhand in favor of talking about the really modern exhibits, like these designed faux rooms which had kitty litter bags in them and were supposed to represent the ravages of AIDS, and the best exhibit ever in any medium, "Clown Torture," which consisted of a several television sets displaying man dressed like a clown writhing on a floor screaming for help. On one side of the room was a video loop of the same clown reading a newspaper in a public toilet stall. Truly amazing.
- Opera! I have been to exactly two operas in my life ("The Coronation of Poppea" during the Proms and "La Boheme," complete with real horses on stage) and now after seeing the Lyric Opera at Millenium Park, I want to see more. The production was a sampler of the Opera's upcoming performances. Am now trying to get tickets to "Marriage of Figaro" in April.
- Random observations: I am not the world's greatest cook but I can now manage to make edible food that is not chili, the Mormon version of Pride and Prejudice makes more sense with the Mormon parts left in, and K. is a wonderful host.