Chicago MMXII

(I mean, I know you can get tomatoes and lettuce and onions and whatnot on it, but still.)

(Also, the last time I flew out of O'Hare, I had a great salad from the Frontera outpost.)

Airports are probably fine but I associate them so firmly with stress/frustration/physical discomfort/flying somewhere I don't want to go, that I hate them by proxy.

otm

if i wasn't actually going anywhere it would probably be fun to sit around an airport and people-watch

I like going places and airports are a necessary part of that. I usually don't have too much trouble dealing with them. But I get no pleasure from them either.

They are non-places when a third-place atmosphere is sometimes necessary IMO. Need more napping lounges and places conducive to socializing.

I dunno, you load up enough podcasts, pack along an old magazine you're halfway through, crack open a new book, splurge on a New York Times at Hudson News, tear out a Ben Tausig crossword puzzle, get some coffee and a pastry, listen to some music, you don't have anywhere to be but right there, no responsibilities, on a leather chair in a clean environment: that's nice.

I'm mostly talking about hanging out in O'Hare en route to somewhere else. On the return trip, I tend to be tired and just want to be home already. And the wait is usually accompanied by a pleasant anticipation, since I pretty much exclusively fly for my own pleasure -- i.e., never for work or out of familial obligation.

http://www.transitchicago.com/alerts/#aRailAlerts

Red, Brown, and Purple lines are all currently suspended due to a fire or some shit. Yay.

ugh

I know right

guess i'll be taking the bus home

I'm hoping it's all cleared up by 5:30, including residual delays and accompanying nuttiness.

what if someone is currently aboard the red line?!

my mr is trapped :(

Oh that sucks.

I'm in a cab. Suck it public transit, cars forever.

^ this is why people hate the 1%

Jeff is the 1%

Jeff is short for Mitt Jeffney

Is the mr. stuck between stations, A? I hope he at least has a seat.

fire is apparently at roy's furniture on sheffield

i just texted -- he's on a bus! phew.

Yay!

Oh shit, not Roy's!

haha that sounds ridiculous but I like that store. They had decent furniture for cheap and they delivered it and set it up for you. It's where we got our bed and our dresser and one of our chairs.

I had been at work since 6:30, so I didn't want to be enraged by a train delay.

Also, why does a fire at Roy's furniture on Sheffield necessitate suspending trains? It's not near a train station.

I guess it's near the tracks. Okay. I suppose you don't want trains running through billowing furniture store smoke.

Wow, we just got an email about this at work. I can't remember ever having gotten a similar notice. I'm probably not leaving for another couple hours, so hopefully everything will be OK by then.

yes the sun-times story said roy's was "engulfed" so i guess a pretty big fire?

what a weird word

It's a lot of smoke - http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/local&id=8680800

LL, please give your K8ie my condolences about Roy's. I know she was a fan, too (she is the one who told me to shop there). I had been meaning to go there to look for a kitchen table.

Oh, weird. Ok.

Lots of smoke at Lincoln/Fullerton.

apparently the metra to ravenswood isn't running either due to a fatality?!?!

End times!!!

All the news sites are telling people to take the 35/22, which was my first alternate, but that's going to be complete chaos so I need to find a more creative solution to this problem.

Hey, do you remember very lovely mark e who came to Chicago and had drinks with us? fuck cancer I had missed this, so wanted to note it here in case anybody else had.

I never met him, but I read that thread and couldn't even manage to fomulate any kind of meaningful response. I just can't even begin to imagine that kind of pain.

I'm not saying anybody should feel obligated to post anything (at all) - just that I had missed the thread and would have posted sooner had I seen it.

Airports are probably fine but I associate them so firmly with stress/frustration/physical discomfort/flying somewhere I don't want to go, that I hate them by proxy.

I mean, they're not as fun as heavy traffic on the Kennedy, but I still love them very much. :D

Something really fucked is happening on the Halsted bus line. I think bc of the fire from what people are saying on phones. Driver letting people on thru the back door, dozens of people at each stop can't fit. Yuck.

I have a comfy window seat with cold a/c though.

JESUS. North & Clyborne has at least 50 people waiting at the bus stop.

Xp I haven't checked the cancer thread yet, but I remember Mark and hope he's ok....

Of course I remember Mark E! I'll go see what's happening.
He is a delight.

I've been on the Lincoln bus for an hour and am just at Fullerton. Got a seat though.

Well I missed my shrinkpoinent bc of this mess. The mayhem! It's like Independence Day on this bus route :-/

It seems improbable but it looks like i can see smoke all the way down at Fullerton.

Almost sure of it.

My plan B (36/22) was a bust. Plan C (13-something, 15-something) was fucked. Like, you couldn't walk by on the sidewalk for all of the people waiting. So I decide to walk north on Clark until the cab competition thinned out. Made it to Clark St Ale House. Having a beer.

…to be continued

i just realized that i have a condo meeting tonight
5 hour fac mtg + condo meeting in one day is a spelunking expedition into the pits of hell

I made it home before 5 PM, ran 6 miles in less than stellar air quality, and then ate a peach pop.

Get an I Go and come pick me up? :D

Also stop gloating. Your wife is trapped in River North or wherever the hell I am.