On Summertime and the Big City

Holy shit, it's officially summer! That little bitch, "Mother Nature" has been teasing us with warm, beautiful days here and there since last month, and here we are, officially in summer, and we've yet to receive consecutive "summer weather." It's all part of living in the Mitten, right? I mean, we're shaped like winter apparel, why are we surprised by the erratic weather patterns up in here?

With that being said, allegedly we're supposed to get our asses kicked with some severe storms and possibly tornadoes later today and overnight. Doesn't that sound nice? Who doesn't want to deal with tornadic weather in the middle of the night? I'll be sweeping my family into our flooding basement in the dark at 3:00am and using myself as a human shield while twisters sweep my money pit of a house away. Aside from being homeless for a while, getting a new house out of the deal might not be a bad shake.

All kidding aside, I don't wish to be involved in a tornado, nor do I wish for my toddler to have to experience that, not to mention, Leopold and Jameson would be shitting their fur to be involved in such an event. There, there's my disclaimer.

In other news, J and I went to Chicago last weekend for a family wedding. G had his first overnight weekend at Grandma and Papa's, in which he did amazing. Mama bear over here was all nervous for nothing, but, I guess that's what we do.

I'd never been to Chicago. J had been years ago. We've been to NYC and DC on past trips, and I must say, Chicago is the tamest in regards to traffic and crowds. Don't get me wrong, it was still hectic as hell, and there were people everywhere, but somehow, it seemed calmer, I don't know why. We got a little sightseeing in, you know, the standard Navy Pier visit and Millennium Park. Of course we wanted to get to Willis Tower, but my ass is so scared of heights, I couldn't bring myself to get up there, and forget about that sky deck or whatever. I couldn't even get on the Ferris wheel at Navy Pier, okay? This is how much of a sissy I am.

I won't lie to you, I missed my kid, alright? I got choked up here and there when I saw little toddlers running around, having fun. However, this does not mean I didn't enjoy my adult time either. I got to spend an entire weekend being pre-mom me. We went out to the bar with the family and their friends for a little pre-wedding imbibing. It didn't matter what time we finished up or how lit up we were. We could just go to the hotel and fall asleep. We walked and biked around the City not having to worry about whether or not we were giving our son heat stroke or stopping for nap time. We went to the wedding without having to worry about leaving at a certain time to be home with our boy. It was, refreshing, needed. Naturally, when we saw him on Sunday afternoon, we wouldn't let go, but that's neither here nor there. Now that we know he's cool with spending a weekend away from us once in a while, it might be prudent to indulge our pre-kid selves and have a weekend. Right... we'll see.

On Day Fifteen

It's nearly the end of the week, and St. Patty's Day. Always cause for celebration. The weather is still beautiful here, I do believe it was about 75 degrees... in March, so after work I decided to take advantage and ride my motorbike. Little did I know I was tooling around the area during tornado warnings. Luckily, I got home before anything happened, and nothing has happened as of yet.

Getting back to the subject of music, today I'll be running down a list of ten of the first songs that show up on my iPod on the shuffle mode. Interesting stuff, right?

1. The Flaming Lips - Do you Realize? Umm... this song is totally depressing, but it speaks the truth.
2. Weezer - Butterfly. Old school Weezer always makes me think of high school. My circle of friends and I only ever used to listen to Weezer together. Driving around the neighborhood looking for trouble, hanging out in each other's basement... Weezer!
3. Bob Dylan - Mr. Tambourine Man. This song reminds me of what it feels like to wake up with a hangover.
4. Lady GaGa - Born This Way. Being different (left handed, or what have you) is okay, and the beat gives you a reason to party.
5. Imogen Heap - Just For Now. This is a flighty song that for whatever reason makes me feel good, and makes me think of the movie "The Holiday."
6. Sponge - Rainin'. Classic mid 90's rock. A great song if you're feeling down in the dumps. It probably won't make you feel any better, but it's great stuff. This song often played after hours at the record store I worked at as a teenager, along with the rest of the Rotting Pinata album.7. Panic At the Disco - Nine in the Afternoon. I really don't know why I have this song, there was just something about it. I guess it's got a catchy beat.


8. The Doors - People Are Strange. Yes they are. Myself included. I've had an affinity for The Doors for years now. True rock.
9. Queen - Bohemian Rhapsody. Wayne's World anyone? I'm sorry, the song is obviously older than that, but all I can think about is Dana Carvey and Mike Myers in that old Pinto head banging to this song.
10. Pixies - Where is My Mind? Another obvious one. Fight Club. All I ever envision is the closing scene. A great book, a great movie, a great song.

The range really varies. I listen to music to do all sorts of things. Exercise. Clean. Organize. Ride my bicycle. Drive. Fold laundry... well, you get the idea. Though, I'm not one of those people that can listen to music while writing. I've tried it, I really had. Music with lyrics just messed up my train of thought, so I switched to classical. I found that that relaxed me too much and I didn't want to write anymore. I find it's better to just work in silence.

What are your top five favorite songs or bands?