chicago: the roundup

so, this is a mcdonalds that takes up an entire block.



the opposite of mcdonalds is delicious food, an example of this is big star tacos, seen below:



it was SO DELICIOUS!! eat there.

and the people who use the bathroom are smart and funny:



next up for delicious food:  the girl and the goat



i had the mushroom ragout, bread and oysters. incroyable. like, for real real.

look how overjoyed i was about it. haha.



the bathrooms were beautiful.

alright, next up: tailgating. people are very dedicated. there were bbqs everywhere, coolers, and MULTIPLE examples of the van you see below.



one was a full on RV that was really tricked out.

and then there's this:



okaaaayyyy.


anyway, went to skylark for a drink at some point. was underwhelmed. to be fair it was pretty early but it felt like it was in the middle of nowhere.



they have a photobooth though, so that's pretty cool.



the photos didn't really turn out but i didn't expect them to so i wasn't disappointed.

and that's the key to life, friends.

looking at old stuff

okay, not entirely old stuff, but mostly. let's start with the Art Institute of Chicago. the modern wing is amazing. this one really bummed me out. it was a scrolling text about abuse - primarily child abuse. the part i sat and watched was about how abused children and animals become ultra-compliant and eager to please, which is interpreted as weakness by their abusers, which angers them more thus creating a vicious cycle. heavy.



below is greyed rainbow, by jackson pollock. it's pretty good I GUESS. of note: you are allowed, and encouraged to take photos in the gallery. fuck, finally. didn't feel like i had to sneak them. i didn't realize this until after i'd seen woman descending staircase otherwise there would have been one of it, too (that's an oil painting btw).



they really know how to take advantage of the setting



the Monet room was definitely a favourite. the light, oh the light.



this old thing. apparently the plants behind her shoulder are supposed to symbolize domesticity (i.e. her gender role), and his dirty overalls and pitchfork symbolize his masculinity. also, she's his "unmarried" daughter. i always thought they were husband and wife.



byzantine body chain. i'll take two.



aaaaand a little something for the ladies. beefcakeville, population: that guy.



okay, moving on to the Field Museum. their main visiting exhibit was the Maharaja, which i saw in Toronto and wrote lovingly about here.



straight to the animals.



that little tiger cub with the sad face reminded me of oscar and then i missed him.



okay i know you are probably cute in real life but when you've been dead for 100 years you just look kinda creepy.





"sup? like my horn hairdo?"





this room was awesome (i say that in the "i was full of awe" way, not the surfer way).



the first photo i took of these beetles was really blurry and as i stood there to take another one i totally got the heeby-jeebies.





i got museum fatigue pretty quickly here. it's a thing i swear. didn't take any photos of their dinosaurs, or the native artifacts (they have a huge collection). i was tired and hungry and getting there had been a nightmare because it was the same day as a Bears game. more on that later.

chicago: the city

chicago, you are beautiful.

your skyline needs no adjectives.



your transit system puts ours to shame.



eight train lines. what were we doing while you were doing this?



you put heating lamps in your above ground stations. they work really well.



by the way: ABOVE GROUND STATIONS.



your nightlife is warm and sparkly.



(your levi's store has all the jeans in all my sizes. piles of the right size.)



you construct buildings that call to mind the death star, and then you let people go up to the top to see you from above.











we need more of all of the above. i love toronto, but we could definitely learn a thing or two about public space and transport (and breathtaking buildings) from our sister city. 

the lemur

if you don't follow me on instagram, you will not know that i reached my personal life goal on the weekend. i met a lemur.

i was able to achieve this thanks to a birthday party for a special little lady i know who is turning two. thank you!!

please enjoy this photo essay, entitled "i met a lemur and it climbed on my head".









there are some amazing photos of the rest of this amazing event over on Linn's blog here, including, among other things, one of me with a tiny parrot on my head, a tiny parrot on the edge of my glass after helping himself to my beverage, and me clutching a dwarf lion-headed rabbit. i was slowly making my way to the door with it but was convinced to leave it with it's owners.

:(

cause i am afraid of the light

be a little baby why don't you?



this is how i usually hold her, cradled in my arms while i whisper sweet nothings to her snout.



don't really have much going on right now. starting to hibernate i guess. so, here is a picture of me by myself in my bathroom because it's the only one i have. that's what you're here for anyway, right? (i hope not, that would be a sad life for you).



in the interest in saying anything at all, i leave you with a "THIS DAY ON LIVEJOURNAL NINE YEARS AGO"

Title: not what i was expecting

Body: but last night was amazing. I got all dressed up to go to distrikt (ED. NOTE: LOLOLOLOL), but it turned out that the guest list CLOSES at midnight (ED. NOTE: THE NERVE), so we didn't end up staying. we went to the bovine instead (ED. NOTE: LOLOLOL), and after a couple drinks, i headed up to the dance cave (ED.NOTE: OF COURSE I DID), to see everyone else. i felt a little out of place due to the fanciness of my clothes, but whatever, people were into it (ED. NOTE: I'M SURE).

i proceeded to get right shitty. there seems to be a point of no return whereby once i get trashed, boobs are flashed. this usually involves alex+a tube top+encouragement from my significant other (ED. NOTE: SADLY, THIS ACTUALLY HAPPENED).

highlights:

*seeing kim and erin at new ho
*literally stopping traffic (haha must have been the fishnets)(ED NOTE: LOLOL)
*seeing the headline "study finds chinks in all blacks" WHAT THE HELL WHO'S THE EDITOR OF THE METRO???AND WHY DON'T THEY NOTICE A RACIAL SLUR WHEN IT'S IN A FUCKING HEADLINE????? this article had nothing to do with chinese nor black people. go figure.
*getting a mouthful of beer spat down my cleavage whilst dancing to outkast (wait...this is a highlight??)(ED. NOTE: 20 YR OLD GIRLS WITH TERRIBLE SELF-ESTEEM DO NOT CARE WHAT KIND OF ATTENTION THEY ARE GETTING, SO LONG AS THEY ARE GETTING IT)
*kai boysen being the best person in the world (ED. NOTE: STILL TRUE)


all in all the night was great

.xo.

/end entry. i remember this night very well, and i am in the process of digging up a photo from it. i think it was on my friendster, which i deleted. boohoohoo. it's on my external HD i'm sure.