Loyola's Information Commons

Here's where I study. Well, usually. I did, anyways. This is the newest building on the Lake Shore Campus of Loyola. It is four stories of study space. You won't find any books in this building, just computers. And laptops. And more computers. I took this picture after one of my last summer study days. Since then, we've moved about seven miles north to Evanston. This makes my commute a bit farther (by train instead of foot). This means I'll probably study elsewhere now, perhaps at the Northwestern Library (which looks so old school in comparison).

Harold Washington Library

This library is big. Really. At one point, it used to be the biggest library in the world, but now it's just the biggest library I've ever been to. It has four or five or six floors and about every book anyone could ever want. It's nice to have a library card in Chicago, especially when my home library doesn't have something. I just hop on the red line, get off, and walk across the street.

Chicago Bridges

I think I can see four bridges in this picture. That's four of about thirty or so bridges just near the loop. There is also a lot of history involved with the bridges as this page illustrates. When you get there, scroll down to 2004 on the timeline, and you'll find a bit of ick. Here's the lawsuit to prove that it happened. I wonder what the outcome was.

Chicago Pub

Ok, so here's a place I'll go if I want to get a seriously old world experience. The pub looks a little out of place, but it might be just what you need if you want to feel like you've gone back in time. Check out their webpage, and you'll see the atmosphere oozing out of the walls.

Mirror Image

Here's another picture taken by chance with interesting results. I was just hoping to get a good reflection of the train but also happened to snap the Chicago Sun-Times building in the process.

Sears Tower from the Train

I only frequent the Red Line El Train. Except the other day when I took the Brown Line to my meeting then got back on at the same train stop and realized the Brown Line only went one way, so I got on the Pink Line instead. Once the train started moving, I realized I was on the wrong train, so I had to get off at the next stop and walk over to the other platform to catch the Green Line back to the Red Line. Man alive. Confusing, but I figured it out. Even so, I wouldn't have been able to take this picture if it weren't for my mistake.

Downtown Chicago

Over the next few days, I'll be posting a few images from another trip downtown - this time only for a morning meeting. (I was more a local than a tourist this time.) This one was shot from the hip, but I like the (here comes a 99 cent word) juxtaposition of the buildings.

Sailing in Chicago

The other day, we were bumming around the house when, just like that, some sailboats sailed right past our window. For some reason, the sailboats seemed huge. When I went out to photograph them, my camera shrunk them to toys. Even so, this picture still shows how many boats there were out there on Lake Michigan. It's amazing how many boats the horizon can hold. I've counted over 100 on a nice day (scanning from the north in Evanston, where Northwestern has a sailing school, to downtown, where hundreds of boats magically appear at their yacht clubs in the Spring).

What's in your bag?

I'm not sure how I first ran accross these photos (probably from someone researching networked space and images or something). At any rate, there is a flikr group devoted to showing the world the contents of their bags. This group has over 10,000 members. Yes, 10,000. People from around the world spill out the contents of their bags and snap a photo. Some people are very organized in the presentation of their bric-a-brac. Others, not so much. When I got my new timbuk2 bag in the mail the other day, I thought I'd better snap a few pictures to show the world. I then searched the "What's in your bag?" group for timbuk2 bags, and wouldn't you know it? No one had a D.W. doll stuffed into an oatmeal box or fake keys in their bag. And no one had a sweet Elayna Mae in a bag either.





And one more thing...since my bag is technically a messenger bag, I couldn't help commenting on Chicago's crazy bike messengers (and bikers in general). The other day I was crossing the street downtown, when a bike messenger darted through oncoming traffic to cut a corner. I guess it must be thrilling to be on the edge like that, and this probably the reason these bike people were excited to get this law passed last year. It requires drivers to yield three feet to bikers. Three feet. And that's a victory.

Crazy Midwest Weather

So we didn't die. We really didn't even notice the weather as we slept. When I walked Spencer the next morning, I did notice evidence of serious water and wind, but all the cars were still sitting on their tires. The people in Wisconsin who own these pieces of house weren't so fortunate. (Click the picture for the story.) We're gearing up for another couple days of storms; I guess I'll pack an umbrella. (Not that it helps when the real Chicago winds kicks in...)

Crazy Chicago Weather

We looked outside at 12:30, and the sun was shining. A couple minutes later, the skies opened up and it was raining like a pig. The rain stopped two minutes later. We then went to Ravinia for a Ralph's World concert and didn't get hit with anything. Now, we have a severe weather alert and a tornado warning. As you can see, I've been watching the radar, and it looks like the storm will be heading straight over our heads throughout the night. More to come...

Chicago Pizza

Have I said anything about Chicago pizza yet? If not, then here's my opinion: there's nothing else like it. Really. Our friends from CA said they have had "Chicago Pizza" from BJ's, but they agreed that it was only a cheap imitation of the real thing. (BJ's BBQ Chicken Pizza is worth the trip to CA, btw.) Here's what you're missing out on if you don't come to Chicago for pizza:



(I stole that picture from someone's flickr page.) And here's evidence of our trip to Giordano's last weekend. Elayna could be their new spokesperson - so cute and such a lover of cheese.

Playing Tourist

We had some friends visit from CA this last weekend, so I showed them around town. And even though I've lived here for almost two years, I still feel like a tourist. Here's the Chicago Theatre, GCDs, and a picture of the Wrigley Building (which is across from the Tribune Tower):




Here's Trump Tower and two pictures from the end of the CTA's 147 bus, which goes right by our block. (The Congress Hotel seems to be a historic place as well.)

Airport Trips

We've officially come out of hiding. Tonight we got the girls into our new double stroller and walked down the street for dinner. We're all medicated at the moment, however. The common cold knocked the Chicago Cheneys out this last week, but we're feeling a bit better. Since the last month has been new-baby hard, coupled with blah-sick ick, I'm going to try and document a few moments we might have forgotten about if it weren't for the camera.

In the first week, I went to Midway four times. A couple weeks later, I went to Ohare twice and Midway twice. Here are a few pictures from those various trips.

View from Lakeshore Drive


Midway = Southwest Airlines


Elayna Wearing Nana Cheryl's glasses


Elayna lounging in Grandpa Rick's suitcase

A New Season

As the weather finally changes here in Chicago (we've now had 4 or 5 warm days), we are entering into a new phase of life. We have two daughters (two!), and when we aren't in a daze, we can't believe we have two daughters. (Note to self: We have two daughters.) Also, we'll be moving to Evanston later this summer, moving a step away from big city life (even though we only live 5 minutes from Evanston right now).

Spring did show up for about 24 hours (a week ago). We're hoping for a few more nice days like this before May, but the wind just won't quit. Of course, with a baby due any day, we won't exactly be out running, biking, or kayaking (like the two in this picture).

Zoinks

Man, spring in Chicago is so darn beautiful.

March Moustache Madness

Adam Morrison. Does the name ring a bell? A few years ago, he was one of the two hottest players in the NCAA (the other being J.J. Reddick from Duke who now rides the bench for Orlando). Morrison plays for the Charlotte Bobcats now; well actually, he too rides the bench but only because he needs surgery. Anyhoo, this is not a sports blog, so enough about all that. Let's talk about his mustache! When we lived in Spokane we liked watching the Gonzaga Bulldogs play, and it was after about a year that we noticed that Morrison was getting really good -- and really ugly. He let his hair go shaggy...there's nothing wrong with that...unless of course, you add to it a patchy, post-pubescent, make-me-wanna-wet-the-corner-of-a-hankie-and-wipe-it-off kind of moustache. Don't believe me? I wish you would because you don't want to see these pictures.

And now for some pictures of the lake from a few weeks ago. (I remember when the weather was nicer. And, don't forget: happy first day of Spring!)

Green Water

You were probably asking yourself, just now, how one goes about changing the color of a river. I was too. The answer? Lots of food coloring. I remember filling a squirt gun up with red food coloring and water when I was little. Apparently, food coloring stains. So don't shoot someone wearing a white shirt (which is of course what I did). Anyhow, here's a video and some photos from yesterday's festivities. (And here's the official greenriver page.)

Freezing Rain

Chicago gets cold this time of year. What a surprise, right? Truth be told, there have only been a few days when it was REALLY cold so far, but we haven't gotten much above 35 degrees in a while. The most miserable weather produced some fun pictures, though. These are taken in an around Loyola Park, which is nearby our apartment.