Polar Vortex: Huddle and Ponder

It's 2014 and that means time for a polar vortex!

Yey!

It would be a party but everyone's huddled inside.  Seriously, the city of Chicago is inside except for necessities such as police, hospital, Starbucks, and CTA workers.  Schools closed and even work too (for the lucky!).  With temperatures below 0 degrees F, the indoors is the place to be.

But still, the vortex feels wasted.  There can be no parties as snow, ice, parking, few cabs, and Oh yey, the extreme cold make travel less than smart.  No guests at a party is not a party.  Dead or hospitalized guest for a party is a party no-no.

Also, hosting a party would be hard as the grocery stores have been cleared of supplies.  This is hard to fathom as the city is full of delivery services and the vortex will really last a day.  The other factor that makes is hard to imagine, is everyone's well stocked pantries.  I've never been to a home were there isn't at least food for 3 days on the shelves.  Maybe the food is not exactly what a person might want at the moment, but pickles instead of olives is not hard to live with for one day.

The vortex will pass and leave a quake of snow, car issues, cabin fever, and sadly, hardship on those without homes.  The homeless make my heart pang.  Most either have an addiction or mental illness (or both) which is how they ended up on the street.  Already having to deal with the issues leading to their lack of a home, Nature beating on them seems inhumane.

But Nature isn't human and I (like others in Chicago) have at least one coat in my closet I meant to donate but was too busy with the holidays, parties, shopping, and my home to get it done. 

Oh hey, it's snow

It snowed, and boy it sure did.  The streets are filled with a white fuzz to blur the vision and unstrighten a car's path.

Me, I don't mind it at all.  The bundling up makes and exit a distinct choice.  There's not "just running out".  Every trip has a start and stop which comes with (in any order):

1. Boots
2. Socks 
3. Hat
4. Gloves
5. Coat
6. Scarf
7. Extra Scarf
8. Umbrella (optional)

Once fully incapsulated in the extra layer (or two), there is no place to go but out/in.  Why not enjoy it?

In less than a week, this snow-globe of a city will turn to mush and mud.   I expect that to be fun too. 

 

Rushing into the Turnstile

Redline Wisdom

"Wrong button. Have a nice day."

Allowing a Train to pass

He stood on the platform in the early morning.  The Sun rose across the lake but he wasn't feeling the warmth yet.  At that early hour of twilight, the air is either filled with hope or fear. 

His feet wanted to move, the direction didn't matter.  The suit had spent a day and night on the body.  For some reason, the effort to look in all directions and make a choice failed him.

Home went North and back to life.  His red tie did not wave that way.  The red tie was a Christmas present and he hated getting that present but couldn't resist the fact that it was an amazing tie. The other direction led him to...

Smiling

Checking his phone, this man with disheveled hair smiled. The long awaited text went through and he has good news in response.

Nothing on the train could bother him now.

Ending in the Morning

She stood hugging him on the platform in the morning. With disheveled hair and red eyes, she knew her last play was a mistake.

He hugged her and thought about other things.  A booty call from her was nice that night, but sleeping an octopus left him tired and he preferred the morning.

In the hug, he looked down the track to watch for the train. Hoping for it.

She clenched tighter as if holding him tighter will project her desire into him and result in love. But somewhere in the long hug, she realizes the truth and let's go.

Awkwardly, he stands on the platform, both relieved to be done and upset that she didn't wait for his train so he could leave.

Cat Fun

God's Reward for Me Going a Bit Crazy

God speaks to us in many ways.

God spoke to me in front of a candy store and said, "Have a treat."

He said all that in a darkening of the skies, clap of thunder, hard gust of wind, lightening flashes, and pouring of water like a faucet from the skies.  All of this happened at the moment I had a candy/soda store ahead of me.  Wearing my ear buds, I did not hear the exact direction but I'm rather certain that all of that drama in the weather was meant to drive me in there.

So why was I meant to be in the candy/soda store, trapped by the rain, with a desire for candy, and money in my pockets? 

The answer was many things.  I did an act of kindness for humanity that day, my co-worker was cruel and didn't want to go on an ice cream run with me (thus denying me ice cream), and later that day, I did not watch the last game in the Stanley cup and as a result, my team won.

Either way, the storm was dramatic, the shelter sweet, the treats felt deserved, and I went to bed happy. 

Biking to Work and Other Things Superior People Do

I biked to work Friday morning and felt nothing but superior the whole way.

Why?

Why not feel superior, I'm biking.

Well, it was a bit more than that.  Biking to work means a person exercises while commuting.  Exercise for a reason, and that reason being transportation.  The commute to work hits the highest note of economic and enviromental efficiency.  It even cuts out a need for diets and gas!  So when I bike to work, I am one step superior to all other commuters.

I wonder if I ate a rare bug on my way to work...