Hello again. Hello.

Hi Dad!
See? I said I'd do it and I'm doing it! Me and the old blog, together again, relaying anecdotal encapsulations of my experience in a brand new city via this public forum in a charming yet sloppy and inconsistent manner! With pictures! (Not right now. But eventually.) Can you believe it? It's just like the summer of 2010 all over again. But further west. And north. And I'm a little wiser. With longer hair. And I changed the blog background picture, you know, to represent a whole new situation. Although, I don't know what city skyline that's supposed to be. Omaha? I may have to change it again later. Maybe to an outer space picture, so it's not so location specific.

To catch you up, I am one day shy of completing my first week living in Chicago. The Windy City! The Meatropolitan Center of America! Nasal Town! Improvburg! Hotdogopolis! I want to keep going, even though there's no way anyone's enjoying those. I certainly am not.

It's really quite lovely here. Well, my apartment and Harpo Studios are. And the Lake. And Starbucks. What more is there to a town, really? I've seen what I need to see.

So far I have:
-seen 2 lightning storms
-eaten 6 pounds of cheese
-almost gotten killed in a cab
-been yelled at by an old lady in a cab
-started a new job
-gone to Starbuck's 43 times
-wondered what the hell I'm doing with my life 86 times (on the way to and from Starbucks)
-seen some fireworks
-gone without television, the internet or phone service for 5 days

What's happening with that last one is, I'm breaking myself down in order to rebuild myself entirely. Like a Jesuit. Or someone who doesn't plan well or think things through. I forgot that I'd need furniture and services. The first couple of nights in my apartment were basically indoor camping. Sleeping on the floor without a pillow, using my computer screen as a book light. Catching rain water in leaves for drinking. It was rustic as hell.

On the morning of my second day, I realized I didn't have towels yet. And that realization came as I was rinsing the conditioner from my hair. Of course I made sure I had plenty of conditioner. I'm a creative, dad. My mind doesn't work like you commoners. I'm all up in here (gesturing to brain) all the time, making art and thinking about my hair. And because of that, I was forced to dry myself with the dishtowel you gave me for Christmas with all the birds on it. Thank you for that, by the way. It's quite absorbent.

Anyway, I'm at work now, so I better go. Oprah sees all.