Five Things 7/2

1. This man.


2. Quotes from my father. I haven't seen my parents in several weeks and the highlight of their days has been the fact that they bought a 12-foot ladder.

"Does it taste as good as Jimmy Johnsons" (Jimmy John's)

"Dad is very sad that he doesn't have many people in his phone."
"But Carlos might call me tomorrow!"

Brother: "Mom and Dad think Red Lobster is a very fancy restaurant."

3. The prospect of boxing.

4. Kingston Mines. It's a blues club and I loved it quite a bit. Carl Weathersby. Yes.

5. Hudson, age 6: Do you know anyone who dueled in the Civil War? Can you tell me about the whole story about when Abraham Lincoln was born starting from his baby days to his grownup days?

Five Things 6/30

I thought this might be a simple way to not forget absolutely everything about my day-to-day situations.

1. The Fourth of July. I love this holiday and am getting really excited for it. I might even attempt to make my own apple pie, as I've been eating a lot of apple strudels. The picture is of Tiny Cherry and Blueberry Star Pies in Jars.

2. Strawberries and chocolate at midnight. So bad for you and I'm not sorry.

3. Outdoor concerts at Pritzker Pavillion. It's behind Millennium Park and one of the best things about Chicago. Especially when it's Glen Hansard. I've been to two so far, but my friends Hal and James and I have been trying to go every week. (We have these weekly events like Thursday night concerts and Sunday morning movies that they make fun of me for never being consistent enough to go to. Hal refers to the concert as "our sporadically attended mutual ambition." Come on, guys, work schedule!) There's one on Monday and one on Thursday. Which actually reminds me that I should check to see what's going on there the other days of the week. There might actually be concerts every single night of the week.

4. Chuck Klosterman. I finally read this article I've been meaning to for a few weeks. I need to get my hands on his books this summer.

A quote from Killing Yourself to Live: 85% of a True Story:

"We all have the potential to fall in love a thousand times in our lifetime. It's easy. The first girl I ever loved was someone I knew in sixth grade. Her name was Missy; we talked about horses. The last girl I love will be someone I haven't even met yet, probably. They all count. But there are certain people you love who do something else; they define how you classify what love is supposed to feel like. These are the most important people in your life, and you’ll meet maybe four or five of these people over the span of 80 years. But there’s still one more tier to all this; there is always one person you love who becomes that definition. It usually happens retrospectively, but it happens eventually. This is the person who unknowingly sets the template for what you will always love about other people, even if some of these loveable qualities are self-destructive and unreasonable. The person who defines your understanding of love is not inherently different than anyone else, and they’re often just the person you happen to meet the first time you really, really, want to love someone. But that person still wins. They win, and you lose. Because for the rest of your life, they will control how you feel about everyone else."

5. "If you don't want to bring an umbrella, it's okay. We'll just run for it if it rains."