tonight marks one year since andy and i arrived in chicago in our gasping, rusty moving truck, with frantic cat and frazzled nerves in tow. to be honest, the sight of a uhaul still makes me a bit nauseous. this is the longest i've lived in any single place since i left my parents' house at age 18. i've been fighting grass-is-always-greener urges lately, feeling homesick for places i've been before, idaho and california, but we're not giving in this time, not for now. in the past, every time a place starts to bite my ass, i've just picked up and moved on - new project, new people, different set of worries/benefits. but that nomadic lifestyle was taking its toll. i haven't really put in the effort to be a part of a community in a long time, not since college, and i can start to feel what i've been missing out on. there's endless amounts of chicago left for us to explore, but our neighborhood is starting to feel like ours. i'm no longer eyeing my apartment like a game of survivor, deciding which possessions will have to get voted off the island with the next move.

the following ad, for a cheap furniture store popular in chicago called Affordable Portables, appeared on the back page of section 1 of the Chicago Reader in the august 13th issue. so the question is, am i the only person in chicago with enough free time (at work) to have read the fine print on this ad? a close examination reveals the following:



the lower right-hand corner or the ad reads:



oh yeah, and that's a mushroom cloud on the televsion set.

is there something i'm missing, or is this just cynical hipsterism done in really poor taste?

you know those little workout shorts that girls wear to work out, the ones that say "sassy!" or "USC" on the butt? saw a girl with those at the gym yesterday. hers said "poop deck."

dude, i got spam from Alan Keyes today:

Good day;

We at Inspira tional Word Publishers are proud
to announce the release of:

"On Eagles Wings-The Fight for Chri stian America"

http://www.amer icasgra ce.com

"Rob Thompson will forever be a great service to his God, nationa and
party".

-Ambassador Alan Keyes

"Rob Thompson has written a book that must be read by all those who
have a love of Chr ist and American history".

-David Schippers Majority Counsel Clinton Imp eachment

For a short time only by 1 copy and get the 2nd copy FREE!!!!

Isaiah 40:31

Jennifer,
You are receiving this email because you email is part of an opt in targeted program.
We have provided a convienient remove link if you wish to stop receiving more mails
To unsubscribe from: our list, just follow this link:
Click here to delete yourself from our email list

yeah sure, clicking on that link will take me off your spam list. hey alan keyes, get out of my eudora! and my state! (i registered to vote, i can call it my state now).

oh, and ps – there's like three typos in your letter. not including the spaces i added to certain key search phrases.