10 Reasons Why Chicago Will Always Be Home
I took advantage of the long weekend by heading to Chitown to celebrate my mom’s ?th and my grandma’s 94th birthdays.
Though I have grown to love the sprawling LA suburb where I now live, it felt damn good to be home. Here’s why:
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10. Character-building weather. While I far from miss the cold, I was greeted by white snow and warm sunshine upon my arrival O’Hare. Though it was still colder than Hell-A, it was nice to see the snow.
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9. I can blame falling on my ass on the slippery ice instead of my own clumsiness.
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8. I can blame my poor driving skills on swerving to avoid those nasty potholes. Geez, I forgot how crazy those potholes get after a harsh winter!
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7. I could leave my dad’s condo downtown, pick up a friend in Bucktown, then head to Wrigleyville for a night out with a total commute time of less than an hour, including Saturday night traffic. Sure beats my drive from the SF Valley down to Hollywood on the same night.
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6. I could walk into a restaurant or club/bar in the city and randomly run into an old friend.
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5. Outside of the funky odors that have replaced the smell of cigarette smoke since Chicago recently banned smoking indoors, NOTHING beats a night out in the birthplace of house music. Deep & Balance aren’t quite there yet…
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4. I can drink POP and jaywalking won’t get me a $75 ticket. Seriously. I’ve seen it happen to my friends in Hell-A.
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3. Chicago diners, deep-dish pizza & Garrett’s popcorn. ‘Nuff said.
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2. My sister commented this weekend: “You’ve got so many friends that come to hang out when you’re in town.” It’s true, I’ve got the best, most loyal friends who know me and love me anyways. Thanks to all of you for rockin’ the house at SmartBar for Farina, even if we didn’t have much time to catchup.
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1. My grandma voted for McCain, my mom Huckaby, and my aunt just doesn’t want a Democrat to win: they are horrified at the thought of me supporting Obama’s campaign. My cousins are in their teens & can be, well, teenagers! My siblings… well at the moment I have nothing but gratitude and love for them, but you know how that could change in an instant, lol… In all seriousness, for everything that my family is - the good, the bad, the ugly (and boy, the family drama can get pretty damn ugly) - I wouldn’t trade sitting in my aunt’s cramped living room watching a cheesy movie & being lazy while eating tons of junk food with them for anything in the world!
As I write this, I am on the way home, physically exhausted but emotionally recharged. I just finished an amazing book on the plane - Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert - which, along with my most recent Chitown adventure, has inspired me to take a weekend getaway trip to Napa with my friend Jin, coordinate a weekend yoga retreat with my gal pals, plan for my grandma’s 95th birthday bash, and take a trip to Asia with my mom.
Nothing like a great weekend trip back home and a great book to recharge the soul….
February 20th, 2008 at 9:59 am
I think it’s safe to say everybody here still considers Chicago your true home too.
ps. Geisha misses you already!
February 21st, 2008 at 1:32 pm
dude, my nose looks weird in that pic but at least it’s a cute one of all of us!
anyway, you have great friends. =)
yes, all of your sibling rivalry/issues/love can change in a minute, but hell, we’re all still family when it boils down to it! i had a blast. i still blame you for getting me sick, but i’m glad you were able to come and survive the weather.
and, i noticed that you didn’t write that when you first saw a mound of snow, you asked me, how do i do this? hello, walk through it girl. it hasn’t been THAT long!!!!!!!