This video makes me so ridiculously happy that I could space out to it all day long. I have no idea why, but I'm hoping that repeated watchings will make me a better dancer. After a very fun Saturday night at Big Chicks, all I want to do is dance.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Monday, November 10, 2008
A middle school date for adults
This past Saturday Sarah and I decided to satisfy our respective cravings for heavy, Americanized Chinese food (Sarah) and rollerskating (me).
We started the evening with a multi-course meal at Orange Garden, at the corner of Irving Park and Lincoln. I've always been curious about this place, and intensely attracted to it's original 1920s facade and promise of an interior that reminded me of the Chinese restaurants of my youth - lantern style light fixtures with plastic "jade" beads, Chinese zodiac placemats that predict your temprament and your compatibility with your mate based on the year you were born (I'm year of the rabbit, for what it's worthy) and duck sauce and hot mustard in squeezy bottles on your table. The food did not disappoint in its inate predictability. It was heavy, fatty, bland and exactly what we were in the mood for. Our leftovers even made the car smell like carryout. Perfect.
We then headed out to Palatine to the Orbit Skate Center which, for $7.50 plus the cost of skate rental, offered an evening of wholesome entertainment with a soundtrack that had changed very little since the height of my rollerskating obsession, 1985. Sarah is a natural, I am not. It took a while for me to get my skate legs back (and to stop screaming every time I even slightly lost my balance) but once I did, it was excellent. Really, there's nothing like skating in circles to "Rappers Delight" while trying not to careen into glow-stick carrying 11 year olds who chasing each other around the rink. Alas, there was not limbo contest or hokey pokey, but there was couple's skate and the smell of pizza that had been reheating for 6 hours lingering in the air. Next time, we're going to check out the 11:30pm-3am "Adult Skate" which is for 18 and over and promises old school hip hop and R&B.
We started the evening with a multi-course meal at Orange Garden, at the corner of Irving Park and Lincoln. I've always been curious about this place, and intensely attracted to it's original 1920s facade and promise of an interior that reminded me of the Chinese restaurants of my youth - lantern style light fixtures with plastic "jade" beads, Chinese zodiac placemats that predict your temprament and your compatibility with your mate based on the year you were born (I'm year of the rabbit, for what it's worthy) and duck sauce and hot mustard in squeezy bottles on your table. The food did not disappoint in its inate predictability. It was heavy, fatty, bland and exactly what we were in the mood for. Our leftovers even made the car smell like carryout. Perfect.
We then headed out to Palatine to the Orbit Skate Center which, for $7.50 plus the cost of skate rental, offered an evening of wholesome entertainment with a soundtrack that had changed very little since the height of my rollerskating obsession, 1985. Sarah is a natural, I am not. It took a while for me to get my skate legs back (and to stop screaming every time I even slightly lost my balance) but once I did, it was excellent. Really, there's nothing like skating in circles to "Rappers Delight" while trying not to careen into glow-stick carrying 11 year olds who chasing each other around the rink. Alas, there was not limbo contest or hokey pokey, but there was couple's skate and the smell of pizza that had been reheating for 6 hours lingering in the air. Next time, we're going to check out the 11:30pm-3am "Adult Skate" which is for 18 and over and promises old school hip hop and R&B.
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Significant change, but work still to be done
Attending the Obama Election Night rally in Grant Park on Tuesday night, I was most struck by the reactions of those around me. People were elated, relieved and just clearly moved by how monumental it felt that America had elected an African American man as our next president.
It made me think about those who gave their energy, time and often their lives for the cause of equal rights for all in this country - regardless of race or gender.
Several speakers that night invoked the memory of the Selma to Montgomery Voters Rights March, which happened less that 50 years ago. Realizing how far we have come as a society brings me hope for changes that are possible within my lifetime, including a nationwide effort to fight for equal rights for all those who wish to marry.
While I'm excited and optimistic for our new administration - while painfully aware of how much the high expectations Obama faces will add pressure to an already difficult job - I'm also tremendously disappointed that three states passed gay marriage bans and that Arkansas made it impossible for gay couples to adopt. I had optimistically assumed that the California marriage ban wouldn't pass, and was caught off guard when it did.
I feel galvanized to work on this issue - in Illinois or elsewhere - and am going to start investigating organizations I can support with time and money.
It made me think about those who gave their energy, time and often their lives for the cause of equal rights for all in this country - regardless of race or gender.
Several speakers that night invoked the memory of the Selma to Montgomery Voters Rights March, which happened less that 50 years ago. Realizing how far we have come as a society brings me hope for changes that are possible within my lifetime, including a nationwide effort to fight for equal rights for all those who wish to marry.
While I'm excited and optimistic for our new administration - while painfully aware of how much the high expectations Obama faces will add pressure to an already difficult job - I'm also tremendously disappointed that three states passed gay marriage bans and that Arkansas made it impossible for gay couples to adopt. I had optimistically assumed that the California marriage ban wouldn't pass, and was caught off guard when it did.
I feel galvanized to work on this issue - in Illinois or elsewhere - and am going to start investigating organizations I can support with time and money.
Monday, November 3, 2008
Magical Bean
Isn't it exciting to introduce someone to the Bean (er, Cloud Gate) in Millenium Park? Here are James and me, discovering and rediscovering it, on an unexpectedly warm and beautiful Friday in Chicago.
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