Chicago is cleft wide open once again by the beautiful weather.
My wonderful and generous employer provided me with a lovely lightweight single-speed Raleigh just in time for the season via a trade for a CD and some handmade jewelery (I definitely got the better end of the deal). What happened to my Schwinn Varsity from last season? Well, I rode it proudly into early February. One day when I simply could not stand the cold on an early morning ride to work, I locked it up and took a cab the rest of the way. When I went back two days later in the snow to retrieve it it was gone. That’s life. I spent a month or two with public transit and then the big Bus Cuts came. They cut the frequency of my to/from work bus (Ashland #9) in half and suddenly it was nearly impossible to get to work on time.
Anyways, I’m over the Bus Cut Blues. Thanks Jimmy!
What else? The week following my second acupuncture session was blissful. I cooked all my meals at home and saved a ton of money. I savored my time in the grocery store, choosing exotic vegetables and filling jars with bulk assortments of grains, dreaming about my aspirations to learn to cook interesting meals for myself. I stayed home and worked on my personal to-do list and achieved a new hope for a modest and domestic lifestyle. I bought flowers and kept the house sparkling clean.
This must have been incredibly annoying for my roommates as they kept on with our typical way of drinking and staying up late talking about life and making art. But alas! My “inner peace” did not continue for long. I am back to my usual self. The following week I reintroduced myself to a productive irregular sleep cycle and all the exciting events and people moving around this fascinating city.
It is too nice outside most nights to stay in anymore. There are too many people whose brains I haven’t picked, too many debates I’ve yet to have, too much live music I’ve never heard to sit around and get rested so I can make coffee better during Sunday brunches.
Of course, I have well for the wear. I am still going to see the interning acupuncturists, though I plan on cutting back to monthly appointments instead of weekly. I have successfully stopped ‘flipping my lid’ all the time. My anxiety is greatly diminished altogether, but I think it may be less a result of being pricked with tiny needles and more likely a product of the kind and patient discussions that I have had with the Docs.
They expressed to me the analogy: ‘you can treat the branch or you can treat the roots,’ then warned me directly and sternly ” All that we can do here to cool you off is nothing if you don’t first stop pouring so much heat into yourself.” This struck me to the core.
I have since cut back to only one cup of coffee a day, never more (this is down from 5 or 6). I drink moderately if at all. Now what is left is to smoke less cigarettes. Of course I dream one day of quitting, but I think that now is not the time. I can only expect quitting smoking, though it may eventually bring peace, can only cause more stress.
Anyways. I feel good, feel so happy everyday. I love Chicago so very much– the big neon signs for businesses, the alleyways under the elevated tracks, the film noir feeling of streets bustlin with people wearing fancy hats and fancy footwear.
I am becoming increasingly familiar with the many neighborhoods outside my own Wicker Park (Pilsen, Logan Square, Humbolt Park, Uptown…) and all the vibrant subcultures that inhabit them. For the first time the city seems smallish and close-knit despite its trouble and diversity.
And of course, the music in Chicago can not be beat. The Weirder Park General Store is ramping up for another sunny summer of happenings. We are ten times stronger now and ready to step cautiously onward. Our next show is on April 16th (just booked today) with local friends Rabble Rabble and their touring buds John the Savage and Doomstar. This will certainly be a rock show and nothing less.
I will try to keep this updated, but you know how it goes. I do what I can. Thanks for reading