perspective

avoiding looking in the direction of the skyline's prison bars on the rooftop deck next door, i'd hardly noticed the double gothic towers of a church resting its gaze on green and red on white awning out on ashland avenue. during the high morning hours, three figures scurried down the street, embodying an all-night aesthetic -- so many people here, alive at all times. and the city of big shoulders busting with another porch dweller like myself, just across the alley. banging around, cleaning up bottles from the porch of his abode on superior street.

i feel summer creepin' in and i'm tired of this town again

weary of whistling flares and smokey air, i welcome the end of the fourth of july celebratory. WeeBeastie was worked into an absolute lather all weekend long from the constant rattle and hum of fireworks, so the p&q is much welcomed. had a couple of great daytime jaunts by the lakeside with my doggie in tow on saturday and sunday and then we were literally blown off the lake on the fourth itself. all rain and gloom driving us away from the beach and delaying our cheapie sox game for almost two hours. love having an extra day off my work week, but the beginning of july always signifies the downward slide of summer's remaining days. there's about nine remaining beach weekends available, which means i'll be able to enjoy about half of those. the warm winds fly away so quickly.

in the thick of my ambivilance about chicago, i offer a fellow blogger's thoughts that mirror many of my own:

"Living in Mayor Daley’s cesspool has it’s ups and downs. There’s that huge body of water called Lake Michigan which is a definite up. But there’s the rest of the city riddled with crime and poverty, which is a definite down. There are some stunning examples of architecture which are huge, phallic ups. But there’s the rest of the city filled with dilapidated buildings, The Projects, and loft condos bulging the Big Shoulders’ out of their jacket, which is a huge down. There are some great restaurants and very good shopping, which are big ups. But most people who live here cannot afford to eat or shop at those places, which is a huge down, especially since we’re the ones paying the elevated sales tax on everything, everywhere in the city, even our local fast food place or dollar store. You get the picture. It’s the same in any large city. Good and bad. Up and down. Gleaming facade and ugly underbelly."

i'm trying to hold on to the good that's here, and more importantly, the better that i'm living as compared to many other options of resident cities i could be contending with. i'm antsy, but not pannicked. another year here will suit me well. i have alot of work to do in that time and much preparation for a change of pace.

new orleans in 2006?

nitty gritty on the crescent city

just returned from a foray down south. felt the need to dive into our next potential residence during its most trying season. one can always love a new discovery during its prime livin', but to get down in the thick of the funk at its so-called worst is to truly live it. could we hang with that heat? most surprisingly, Mole was completely unaffected by it. and i mean, my man simply did not break a sweat the whole time we were there. he got hot, yes, but was not being wore out by it like i was. it really wasn't as bad as i'd anticipated, but i did feel it beating my ass a bit on wednesday afternoon. Scarlett later told me the heat index had been 105. and still, the Mole was not at all wearied. i will say that it certainly wasn't enough to make me think i wouldn't be able to keep it real down there. walking heavily during that steamer was still a hundred times easier to endure and better yet, recover from, than our blistering winters here in the chi. not denying the lilt in my voice when i saw the skyline come into a perfect panoramic inside our cab's windshield on the final leg home from o'hare. i do loves this city, but there is an unmistakeable lure to louisiana for me. think it's nearly time to start getting into a slower mode of living. just need a little more time to get my money making schemes up and running so i can make sure i can finance the lifestyle i'd like to be leading in that mossy den. there would be some tug of difficulty for me to leave here, i'm sure, but i know the merits of how we would be living down there. more serene, calm, peaceful and but of course, a smidge more economical. almost like i'm saving for the next upgrade in my life, ala seattle, whilst soaking up a culture completely new to me. this is a move we can make in the near future. perhaps as early as next year. Scarlett extends an invite to aleve the doldrums of this coming winter and i fully plan for us to take her up on that.

find myself starting to desire a more austere life and really enjoy seeing most friends sporadically rather than constantly. i don't care for much schedule to my life beyond work, which i fully accept as integral to my survival -- not a chore, it just is what it is and there's no changing it. thanks be that i at least have a couple of entertaining endeavors juggling in my world. it's occurring to me that another annual turn of my wheels is skidding some reassesssment into my life and i won't call it a full blown spring clean, but i do need to trim back some personal involvements and realign my focus sans some distractions that have been lingering much too long. so many of the occupants of my old life are proving themselves to be too much effort for me anymore and i just think it's time to let them go for awhile. really don't wish any ill on them, but i need to release the worry and irritation they seem to cause on a more consistant basis, because it's time for me to be a little more about me. certain this is birthday nostalgia creeping up on me, but i keep considering my very recent past and all the people who were overtly involved in my life and i can't believe i had that much drama going on. my greatest desire is keeping a low profile and enjoying the time i get to spend with Mole. how telling that he's my constant in the serial bed jumping game of lizzife with me.

think i'll go snooping through some new orleans apartment listings now that i've got a map in my mind's eye.