Close Call

Before I leave my house, I check online to see when the next bus is due to arrive. The times are always estimations, but they are nearly fairly accurate. I find that certain stops, in certain directions, are more timely than others. I have been house sitting this past week, and went out to catch the bus. Knowing the estimated time of arrival could be a little off in this neck of the woods, I planned so I would have about a 5 minute wait at the bus stop.

As I was closing the gate behind me, I looked down the street to see if anyone else was waiting at the bus stop. I squinted my eyes as recognition hit me like a ton of bricks: the bus was there! Quickly I had to decide if I should make a run for it. As my pulse quickened, a guy five houses down from me started running for it but the bus roared off without us.

Sigh.

Okay, next plan. 1) Check phone for alternate routes to destination. 2) Go to bus stop and text Bus Tracker for the next estimated arrival time. Maybe I can wait it out. 3) Try out bakery on corner?

I make it to the bus stop, text Bus Tracker, and then start searching for alternate routes. I don't have much time to play with here. As I'm contemplating an 8 minute walk to another bus that may or may not be early, I receive a text from my good friend Bus Tracker. It said the bus was "DUE and 20 minutes". Yeah yeah, "DUE" happened 4 minutes ago. So lame. Can I really wait 20 minutes? Is it time to taxi?

I look up to see what the taxi flow looks like, and here comes a bus! A magic bus! A bus I needed at that very moment! Gasp! This is amazing!

The bus driver sees me. He slows down. As he pulls up to the curb I notice something shiny. A dime! Ohhh... a dime! I bend down to retrieve it. The bus doors open. I can't pick up the dime. It's difficult. The cement is bumpy; I don't want to ruin my manicure. I sweep the dime off the curb and into my hand. Yes! Bus doors are closing. NOOOO!!!! I stand up, and pound on the doors. They open. I climb aboard and the bus driver says, "I thought your disappeared."

Yeah, well, um, see, there was this dime...

Lurie Garden

I need to go here: (Link to article I wrote.)

Not only do I need to go there, but I want someone to go with. Anyone want to fly in for the weekend? Let me know soon, I'm contemplating going after church on Sunday.

St. Patrick's Day

There is one thing I've been dying to experience in Chicago: the dyeing of the river. (Pun unintended. If you thought it was intended, please take that intent of intention right out of your mind. Thank you.)

So apparently they sprinkle some orange powder in the river which turns yellow and then green. I suspect Tang. 

This is the stirring boat. It came along and zig zagged and swooshed and swirled to get the Tang all mixed up and looking like green jello.

Green jello. Delicious. 

Happy St. Patrick's Day! We happened along these fellows, so how could we not stop and take a pic? They were basically asking for it, however they seemed genuinely surprised that we wished to take our picture with them. Duuuh. When you go to Disneyland, you take your picture with all the characters, right? Right. Same concept.

Pulaski Day

Happy Pulaski Day!

Yeah, that's right, Pulaski Day is a real thing.

The City of Chicago commemorates it by allowing school children a free day, and also by making pastries. I tried the Chocolate and Bavarian Creme Paczki. Let me just tell you, it was delish. Paczki is pronounced "Poonch-key". The sticker on the package said, "Not just another jelly donut!" and they are so completely correct. It may look like a jelly donut, but it is soooo much better than that. Oh man, it was fabulous.

Maybe they should start making these for Sweetest Day.

My Bed the Storage Unit

I decided it was time to wash my sheets. They are currently in the washing machine, swishing around and around, but before they got in there I had to dig them out.

I had a large collection of things that had taken up residence on top of my sheets. Are you ready for what I found? I sure hope so, because I'm about to list them.

• A pair of pajamas
• Two sweaters that were both worn for under 2 hours
• A pair of jeans
• Four books
• A cookbook
• Two journals
• Two envelopes with credit card offers
• A newspaper
• One Bible
• One Book of Mormon (from a different set)
• Four magazines
• A receipt

So here I sit, waiting for my laundry and staring at my pile of stuff. I should probably find a place for it all, but they each seemed so happy nestled in my bed,  that maybe I'll just put them back from whence they came.

Current Top 16 Songs

Okay, so this is what I have been listening to, in this particular order. Or.. frequency? Anyway, now that I am really good at riding the bus, I am able to listen to a lot more. These are the songs that I keep turning to for happiness.

Please note, this is only music. This in no way represents the use I get out of my iPod. Maybe I'll have a podcast post later.

1. Animal Neon Trees
2. Alright With Me Kris Allen (Quite honestly, I'm not exactly sure what he's saying, but I like it anyway.)
3. Stupid Cupid Connie Francis (Connie is brilliant. I also like Vacation and Hollywood, but I haven't been listening to them lately. I think it's mostly her ballads that she is known for, but I listened to some of them, and meh.)
4. Something That I Want Grace Potter (from Tangled)
5. It Snowed Meaghan Smith (I thought I would be over this song by now. But it keeps snowing, and there is no other song I feel like singing when it snows.)
6. Baby Justin Bieber & Ludacris (So.. as far as I know, this is the only Bieber song that I like. I think it's just that Ludacris takes it up 12 notches for me. I love that Luda.)
7. Everything Michael Buble
8. Do You Believe in Love Huey Lewis & The News
9. Change of Seasons Sweet Thing
10. For Your Love Marching Band
11. Haven't Met You Yet Michael Buble
12. If You Find Yourself Caught In Love Belle & Sebastian
13. You Don't Send Me Belle & Sebastian
14. Love It When You Call The Feeling
15. Never Be Lonely The Feeling
16. New Shoes Paolo Nutini

So it turns out that most of these songs are about love and relationships.

Please don't think any less of me.

Happy Valentine's Day!

I found that little heart at this place:

Walgreens on Western and Lawrence

My 30 day transit pass happened to expire right around the time I was at the intersection of Lawrence and Western. Thankfully, there is a Walgreens on that corner. I've never been inside, but I've walked by a lot, and there are always pigeons milling about. This does not give this Walgreens an air of sophistication, so I was a bit weary as I walked in.

Immediately, I knew something was up. I didn't see any staff at the registers, so I decide I would just move deeper into the store without looking around. If you look around and find the trouble, you could risk becoming a witness, and that was the last thing I wanted to do that day. I decided I could do with a beverage, and moved toward the cold cases. That's when I noticed someone staring at the Walgreen's entrance, saying with mild panic, "There's a pigeon in here!"

In a mid-western accent, a reply comes from about ten feet in front of me, "Well, tell them to move away from the door, or all the pigeons will come in! We already have one over there!" And she points toward the check out stands.

 I follow her finger with my gaze and sure enough, I see a pigeon. All Hell breaks loose. Mid-western accents are flying! "But he'll get in my hair!" "Oh no he'll poop on me!" "What are we going to do?!"

The woman behind the photo counter takes charge. She tells Sam to capture that pigeon and take it outside.

Sam gets a ladder.

Sam gets a towel. (Really, a pink fleece type thing.)

Sam gets some courage.

Sam places the towel over the pigeon.

Someone shrieks. "Did you get him!?!? Oh no, did he go behind the sign?"

Sam reaches up to grab the towel he placed over the pigeon. Apparently these pigeons haven't been trained in combat. He slowly pulls the bundle toward him and descends the latter. "Oh, I got him."

Sam walks to the door. A woman who I determine to be the cashier follows him. I follow her. I need my CTA pass. We are near the door and the registers. She is just staring out the door. I decide to say, "So, do you carry CTA pass.."

But I'm interrupted when Sam comes back, and the cashier says, "Wow, Sam, that was amazing! Where did you learn to do that?!"

Sam just shrugs and mumbles, "Uhh, it happens a lot.."

The cashier continues, "Oh my gash, that pigeon was going to get in my hair, and you gat him, Sam!"

Sam walks away.

The cashier has hands on her hips, shaking her head in the sheer disbelief of a close call.

I speak again.

She turns to me, sees the line of people that has now formed, and goes around to her side of the register. I say hello. She says, "Did you see that pigeon?!"

I said, "So, do you carry 30 day CTA passes?"

She looks at me with wide eyes and says, "Oh, I'm gonna have to call back for that."

I put on my serious face and say, "Okay. Let's do it."

So she does. Then she looks at me. "Did you see that pigeon? I thought it was going to get in my hair! And Sam just captured it like it was nothing!"

"Oh, yeah, that was something alright."

The manager comes up with my pass, I pay, and as I'm leaving I heard the cashier say to the woman behind me, "Did you see that pigeon?"