Chicago

Chicago was great--it was a glorious week.... I mostly just wandered around the city browsing, buying and pinching books(only one, from a coffeeshop--it was on the bookshelf) and I did venture out on the northside quite a bit. I found a great new restaurant downtown, Tapas--very nice spanish place. I also eventually wandered into the Cultural Center and took in the Marilyn Monroe exhibit(which I really didn't care about, but it was amusing). I did manage to take some pictures.


At one point, my cousin Quinn took me to an art gallery down on 70th and South Perry, near my old neighborhood(which has gone down horribly since I knew it). A mississippi contractor purchased a house in the neighborhood and has undertaken this house as his lebensarbeit, turning it into an art gallery. The house has had an incredible transformation under his hands--as he personally replanted and landscaped the yard and turned the former crackhouse into a beautiful place with an incredible spirit. Later in the week, my cousin Barrington's wedding was nice. The ceremony was held at Coppin, which seemed smaller than what I remembered it to be. Of course, I was a little boy when I knew the church, when my cousin Brooke and I used to run around the pulpit and play in the balcony. Oh, what memories.... The reception was held at Barrington's high school, St. Ignatious Loyola, which is a very nice campus. I met some interesting people there at the wedding and it was a very nice time. I had a great time dancing--mostly with Telkie's sister, Aunt Rita. I also bought an ipod--after using Quinn's and wanting one. I met some interesting men too....but thats another story.