Chicago Ain’t No Sissy Town

adminChicago, Chicago Bloggers, Chicago Love, Homage, John Cusak, Second City, Uncategorized, Vince Vaugh, Windy City%s Comments

It’s not.
That’s one of the things I love most about my city.

We are a scrappy bunch.

We take our team sports very very seriously [and don’t let little things like a 103 year losing streaks get us down] We have emphatic opinions on our favorite cuts of meat [the aptly named, Chicago Cut is my personal fave] We have over 200 neighborhoods, each with their own distinct personality

& we are fine with you calling us the second city, because really….we know better.

It is cold as hell here, but Chicagoans aren’t afraid to dress for the weather….
Let’s just say, trapper hats are not a passing trend in this city.
And I have a theory:
Because of the amount of time spent in winter gear, the folks here have to have a personality.
because it is really hard to play the “i’m hot” card when buried under layers of puff coats and ski-masks.

And come summer.  All bets are off.
Judging by the influx of revelers drawn to our beaches and fashionistas dining al fresco at our cafes….you would really think we were an ocean-front community

Our politicians embody a “git ‘er done” attitude
[and how things get done may be less of a concern than actually doing them.]

We love our Blue’s
and our storefront theatres
We love our Flag
and our accent
and we totally love Rick Bayless

We see Vince Vaughn & John Cusak  at the corner pub with a degree of regularity, but it never causes much of a stir.
However, we have yet to ever see Oprah actually walking the city streets [and can’t help but wonder, does she actually live here?]

We have pretty jacked traffic.
But of course we do…
who wouldn’t want to spend their days[/nights] exploring this city?

Chicago aint no sissy town
but it is a town with a whole lotta heart.

Mad Love for Home Sweet Home Chicago.

(reblogged from Emphasis Added; FuckYeahChicago)

Couldn’t have said it better myself.  I have mad love for those who have mad love for the Windy City.

Oh and I must. Get. That. T-shirt.

Just a Chi Town Snow

adminChicago Blizzard, Chicago Blizzard 2011, commuting, Good Samaritan, Great Samaritan, hype, snow, Uncategorized, Windy City%s Comments

Well, it’s here.  The hype was apparently true- the 60 mph winds, the whiteout, the whole sha-bang.

Leaving work, it didn’t look that bad:

With no cabs in sight and the buses packed, I decided to just walk home.  And again, it didn’t seem all that blizzard-like:

But then, as I neared the river and Lake Michigan, the wind picked up, the snow flew faster horizontally and I got it: this is a blizzard.

When I got to my building, the wind coming off of Lake Michigan was so strong that there was a big, burly (and might I add awesome) man waiting at the corner to come escort people to the building.  No joke, I would not have made it if he hadn’t come to collect me from the middle of the street.  Is it possible to be a GREAT Samaritan, instead of the usual Good Samaritan?  If it is, this guy was so it!

Time to cuddle up with Luna Bell, a big blanket and a few movies and pray that my doorman was correct when he said these windows are “made for this kind of weather.”

Stay safe, Chicagoans!