Who new Chicago could be so much worse than Toronto, Canada on any given day. Same day, 435 miles (700 km) northeast, it was sunny and pleasant. So much so I didn't mind the impending flurry of meetings and discussions that were scheduled for Monday.
Toronto has a wonderful mix of people and the neighborhoods tend to be far more integrated than Chicago. Almost 49% of Toronto residents were not born in Canada. I love the diversity, and not because I'm a bleeding heart liberal filled with hatred for his own kind. I just get bored looking at white people and experiencing the same old boring waspy culture. Different kinds of people and different cultures make life a hell of a lot more interesting.
Of course, holding this as an irrefutable truth, what is the first thing I photograph in Toronto? A Presbyterian church. St. Andrews to be specific. Of course, we all know those Scots can get fff-freaky so I was hoping for the best.
One thing I don't like about Toronto is all the streetcar cables that get in the way when you are trying to photograph the architecture. Pure jive. It's not quaint. It's a failure to modernize. Just because you have an amazingly convenient but labyrinthine maze beneath your financial district full of all manner of commerce that allows everyone to cover 5 km without ever stepping outdoors during the frigid winter doesn't mean you can continue to limp along above ground with 19th century technology. Get with it Toronto! You're the 5th most populus metropolitan center in North America - you can do better than streetcars for pete's sake.
It's March so it's no surprise that we still have snow in Chicago. I just wish the weather would not be so schizophrenic, swinging from extreme to extreme. It's almost a textbook execution of torture; give'em enough of the good stuff so they have hope, then crush their spirits with oppressive snow and cold.
Here is the view from my balcony this morning prior to my run...
Still, I do enjoy running in the snow regardless of the slush and there was plenty of it this morning. Too bad for all the folks who turned out to run the Shamrock Shuffle. Many of them looked miserable. Luckily for me because the herd was running through the streets I had plenty of fresh white cushion to spoil along the lakefront.
Despite the blowing, wet snow, I enjoyed the run immensely because of the stark beauty it created. It was also wonderfully quite. Just the sound of crushing snow and the occasional splash of hidden puddles as I made my way south to the museum campus. I return home soaked from the knees down but is good spirits. Just in time for a nice breakfast and to catch my flight to Toronto.
...and brought to you by Flintstones Vitamins (but only the Bamm-Bamm ones, I stay away from the Pebbles). I ate up 115lbs dumbells for 3 sets of chest press tonight before moving on to the other courses: cable flys, incline presses and an assortment of shoulder work. All good stuff. It was the most satisfying weight routine I've had in a while. Maybe it's the weather.
To make the night complete, on Wikipedia I came across this absolutely gorgeous photo taken by the Hubble Space Telescope. It is the Cone Nebula Star forming a pillar of gas and dust.
The images from the Hubble are the best arguments to believe there is divinity in creation.
I've been wearing Sugoi compression socks for post run recovery since
last September's IM Wisconsin. They are superbly comformtable but I
can only subjectively say they aid recovery. They do make my calves
and shins feel better when I wear them but what they are actually
doing for the recovery of the muscle is hard to say.
They're not cheap (US$30) and I tend to baby them to ensure a nice
long life. Today, however, I ran in them for the first time. I'd been
wering them around for comfort prior to my run and just decided to
leave them on for extra warmth during my evening run since the
temperature dropped about 10 degrees F as the sun set.
The usual pounding my shins take as I approach 10 or more miles was
pleasantly absent. Running in the Sugoi compression socks was like
running on springs. I just ordered another two pair online so I can
rotate them and put a fresh pair on for recovery after runs.
I'm also going to experiment with the compression sleeves. Basically
the sock without a foot. I'll report back after I road test them.
It was unseasonably warm in Chicago for the actual St Patrick's Day, low 73F (22c). I spent an hour or so walking around at night since I didn't have any time free to slip outside an enjoy it.
I was greeted by the sounds of the bagpipe in the lobby of our office building. It only got more Irish from there on. Most people were wearing green. The kitchen was serving corned beef and cabbage. You were never more than ten feet from a shamrock. All the buildings were lit in shades of green as well. I even came across some leprechaun's bike.
The Saturday before St. Patrick's Day a parade is held and Chicago dyes the river green to celebrate the local Irish community. Everyone is Irish in Chicago on St. Patty's day regardless of race or national origin. More to the point, everyone pretends to be Irish, wears Kelly green and drinks too much. The festivities start early and last all day. The revelers start early and most make it until mid-day.
It was unseasonably warm this year with bright sun that made the river glow as if charged with electricity. Unfortunately, I had errands and cleaning to do so the day was spent toiling away.
As a nice surprise, my friend Dinga invited me to see Madeleine Peyroux at the Park West that evening. Madeleine Peyroux sounds like a cross between Edie Brickell and Billie Holiday. Her covers of the old standards are quite nice but her new, original work does not appeal to me. Still, it was a nice evening spent with friends.
Global insurance broker, Willis Group Holdings, announced that as part of the deal to lease multiple floors in the Sear's Tower, the name of the building will change to Willis Tower. The announcement on the Willis Group website mentions the space is being leased for $14.50 per square foot. That's about half of what condominium space in the heart of the city was going for before the economy fell apart. At these prices, I may have to see about an apartment in the building.
Regardless of the name change, I suspect the majority of people will still refer to the building as Sears Tower for some time to come.
How can you not worship Parvati, divine mother goddess. Finally, a religion I can understand.
I took this photo in the Alsdorf Gallery at the Art Institue of Chicago. I hadn't been in years. Lot's of good stuff.
So I started the day with a breakfast salad - mixed greens covered by a blanket of blueberries then topped with blackberries, raspberries, carrots, fat free cottage cheese and a grape tomato. What I'm not going to show are the two doughnuts I ate afterward in a moment of weakness.
What should have been a simple repair (leaky faucet) turned into a serious project. The parts I needed from Kohler were not available so I ended up buying a new faucet. When it came time to remove the faucet I found the retaining bolts frozen in place. In addition, the faucet the seals cracked and disintegrated because they were dry and brittle from age once I started unfastening pipes and joints. Eventually, I pulled the entire sink so I could more easily install the faucet and re-seal it to the counter top.
Once everything was back in place the garbage disposer began leaking as well. The plumbers putty under the drain flange had broken apart so I had to re-seal that as well. In the process the retainer ring that holds the disposer in place cracked.
The retainer ring is not made anymore so I tried to MacGyver it together using pipe connectors and duct tape but I couldn't keep the intermediary gasket in place that created the seal between the disposer and the flange. I either needed an assistant or a new retainer ring. Then I noticed the flange was cracked as well.
I went to the hardware store to get a new flange and browse for some type of fitting that could solve the problem. I tried using parts for different models and even considered using sheet metal screws to bind it all together but ultimately decided I had to throw in the towel.
I had wasted so much time on this project already I decided it was easier to buy an Insinkerator brand disposer which has a heavy-duty drain flange and retainer. Of course, that meant some re-wiring for power but I was already covering so many of the home repair categories I didn't want to discriminate against electrical work.
