chicago '08

I had a very depressing bus ride the other day. it started with one of the neighborhood homeless women boarding alongside me. her skin is the darkest shade of black, she appears to be mute. she moves from person to person seeking cigarettes, pantomiming the motion of smoking. I gave her a granola bar, which seems totally inadequate. once she got her cigarette, she spent the remainder of the bus ride shooing invisible flies from her face. it would be easier to ignore if I didn't know about mental illness. same trip, I overheard two teenage girls talking about their "lost babies". it was never clear whether they miscarried, aborted, or whether the babies died after birth. they spoke of it very casually, though, in the same way they later talked about doritos. usually, my head is buried in a book and I don't notice sad things that happen on public transportation. on this day, however, I felt very white, privileged and out of touch.

you wouldn't know it from the preceding paragraph, but I am happy to be in chicago. Hugsband and I have started playing racquetball again, which is awesome, and I have been developing some new research ideas that allow me a creative outlet and make my work much more interesting. we have a number of exciting houseguests coming in the next month or so, and we're working on vacation plans. see, aren't you convinced?