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Saturday, August 13, 2005 On the Windy City It feels like I just spent a weekend in Chicago, but my "weekend" was sandwiched in-between two real weekends, one filled with concerts and the comfort of an old community, the other filled with concerts (I'm sensing a trend) and dancing and newer community. I'm moving toward Patrick's conclusion that Chicago is the greatest city on the earth; although I don't quite agree there--Paris still holds that title in my mind--I've developed a definite fondness for the area. Which he was happy to note, since he's been trying to convince me to move there instead of New York (one of my other favorite cities) for years. Somewhat ironically, Pat doesn't live in Chicago himself yet--he's spent a lot of time there, but the immediate future calls him to Boston and Harvard (a.k.a. "The H-Bomb" for the reactions you see when you tell someone that you're going to grad school there--most of said reactions are quite amusing and he'll avoid telling people at all when he can help it). The Chicago I'm getting to know now is different from the one I knew visiting with parents and sometimes even friends--that Chicago consists primarily of Chinatown (Singaporeans are very concerned about food and will drive hours out of the way for excellent cuisine--heck, exiles will return to Singapore for visits in large part for the food), the Magnificent Mile, and the museums; it's great, but touristy. In the last month and a half, I've been to the city three times (and will be back twice more in August since it routes my tour--music and dancing are good reasons to travel), which, while bordering on excessive, has shown me more of the other side of Chicago, the neighborhoods, the beaches, the architecture and cafes. Some of this I'd discovered last year with Patrick and dancing at the Windy City Lindy Exchange two years ago, but it's much more solid now in my mind. It's a result of staying with locals and walking around with them. And Evanston, where my friend Bryan lives, is beautiful and home to the most delightful used bookstore I've ever seen, Bookman's Alley (another find on the trip was Myopic Books in Wicker Park)--it's something like Ann Arbor with larger streets, Chicago on its border, and beaches; walking a few feet into the park that runs into Northwestern University, you can forget that there's a city next to you and pretend that you're in the country. Even to the point of watching stars hover over the darkened waters. ^ Top | 1:01 AM | | | 
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