Chicago: The Eponymous Thread

Very good question. Am I in or out on this? (I was never clear)

I have no expectation that this is going to change --I just need to find some sort of regular, aerobic activity that doesn't make me want to hide under the covers.

Re yoga, I don't really buy into the whole energy-focusing "namaste" thing as a first principle but stretching in and of itself is kind of a meditative state even if I'm just doing routine dance warm-ups (ie not yoga poses that are specially engineered to influence chakras or something). Even more so for the concentration of balance/abdominal support/breath control of real yoga. So it's self-fulfilling, I think.

I'd like to lower my body fat percentage now. I still have leftover flab parts from being a great big fat person. I figured I can best do that through some good daily cardio. I'm not really interested in building muscle mass, just toning down and looking really skinny. I like the runners physique.

I finally got over my reservations about going, but I went to a running shoe store (http://www.momentumchicago.com/). They looked at my feet all sorts of ways and watched me run (I pronate heavily), and I got probably the most comfortable athletic shoes I've ever had on my feet.

I just found out about places like this the other day. It sounds like a wonderful dream. I always assumed that my bad ankles would doom me for life, or at least leave me helpless when it came to finding comfortable shoes.

Thirsty Thursday at da wheatgrass bar.

Then I realized that this was a dude who always used to ride the same red line train I rode every single day until I quit my job downtown.

Has anyone ever eventually had conversations with people they know from riding public transpo and do not know at all otherwise? How do these people fit into the public code of conduct? Should we always ignore each other? I should mention that when I was 22 I made a friend at the bus stop when I lived in DC and we even kept in touch for a while after I moved. Her name was Susan.

Discus.

Kels, congrats on the triathlon! You are a ROCK STAR!

xp I generally avoid making train friends (You are all falling over in surprise, I am sure, given my proclivities to make all sorts of inappropriate friends in many circumstances) because public transpo time is MY time. I usually resent seeing acquaintances that I feel compelled to chat with during my ride. I'm usually pretty excited to see real friends, though, since one of my favorite ways to spend ME time is with my amigas.

When I was at the bus stop in DC it was mostly because this girl was super chatty and I didn't really have a choice but to jib jab with her.

Chicago: Hi Dere Cuet Indian Girl @ Logan Square Stop

I don't talk to strangers much but I don't regret it when I do, except sometimes when they're schizophrenic.

Wait, I thought Leslie WAS your professor...?

This is just like the guy who cornered me when I was waiting for K@tie to get her taco before heading into the Green Mill the other night. Biiiiiig mistake making eye contact with him.

I do recognize people all the damn time too, and it weirds me out - kind of in the same way going back home and seeing random people I know (but don't KNOW) walking down the street weirds me out. I have gotten too used to the thin veneer of anonymity that Chicago provides.

Leslie is going to be asking the questions. She is a live question asker. Prof. is going to be on a team answering questions. She will probably be on a team w/ Nora, whom you all have met. This means that ILX is free to form its own team, show up, register said team, and then compete against Prof. and Nora's team for the grand prize which is like beer or something. I don't know. Leslie has nothing to do with the teams because she is asking questions.

Capiche?

\louisjagger

And yeah, if I was teaching, I'd be pissed too. I'd probably be pissed if I knew/liked the teacher, too. But since I'm completely removed, it's kind bad-ass.

Amander, you're not prudish. If I were teaching students under, say, 25 I would have a shit fit if I found out they were drinking during my class. Similarly, there was a whole cadre of ding dong frat boys who would come to class reeking like booze, sit in the back of the room, and whisper all through class my first year and they made me FURIOUS.

I'm coming to realize that's just the way I roll, opinion-wise.

do you have any recommendations of good venues my band might be able to get a gig in chicago. i've heard it's really tough to get into the "cool" venues, so any advice would be much appreciated. thx.