Westside Thanksgiving-- Wed., Nov 19

Every year my old office has its own Thanksgiving celebration. I went this year for the first time in a few years. And I'm glad I did.
My job at Legal Assistance Foundation wasn't fun. I was a generalist so I had to represent people in a variety of areas-- family law, evictions, bankruptcy, consumer law, unemployment. The list seems endless. I didn't know most of the areas of law and I had very little supervision. There were very few resources. We regularly took emergency cases. Which all made for a very stressful work life. But the people? The people rocked. I don't get to see them all that often and I miss them. So it was a nice evening. And it made me very thankful.

Leo & Catherine. I remember when she was pregnant with him. She would stand sideways just showing her belly in my office doorway. It made me giggle every time. And now that belly is Leo!

William and Emily. He loved the spoon. I didn't get a picture of John, Emily's husband. But you're basically looking at a mini-version of him.
And he smelled so good!

Miriam, Lisa & Emily.

Emiliano, Brett's little boy and William, Emily's oldest, playing in the waiting room. I always remember how old Emiliano is by remembering that Celia was very pregnant when the White Sox won the World Series. He's a lucky charm.

Brett and Emiliano having a very rational, reasonable conversation about sharing.

And then the upside down tummy torture technique.

Lisa and Miss Eva King. Both canvassed for Obama in swing states that went blue. That's right-- they're personally responsible for his win.

Awesome November Weekend-- Fri. Nov. 14 and Sat. Nov. 15

Friday night was a concert I've been looking forward to for months-- Drive-By Truckers and The Hold Steady. It was a concert I was SO excited about, I thought it couldn't possibly live up to expectations. But it did. I'm getting old, so when I go out on a Friday night, I have to go straight out. If I'm still on my couch by 7:30, I'm staying there all night. So Fri night, Matt picked me and Tim up at 5:45 and we headed over to Fat Cat. Jew Dan, Zach and his lady friend Kelly met us there. I downed a few Jack and diets and was ready for the show. The show was sold out so when we got there it was already fairly packed. But my NY upbringing has taught me to bob and weave. So I landed a pretty good spot. But Matt was the only one who made it up there with me. Tim got up there for The Hold Steady. And I'm glad I did-- the show was awesome, awesome, awesome. Loud guitars. Lots of energy. I was jumping up and down. And deaf by the end of the night.

Matt ready for the Truckers

And here they are!
Matt & Tim and Tim's middle finger btwn bands

And again with the middle finger

The Hold Steady!Rock and Roll Means Well

Truckers, The Hold Steady in neoclassic rock love fest
By Joshua Klein Special to the Tribune
November 17, 2008
The Drive-By Truckers and The Hold Steady rank as two of the hardest-working bands on the planet, and their latest albums—"Brighter Than Creation's Dark" and "Stay Positive" respectively—are two of the year's best releases. Arguably, that's been true of every one of each band's records over the last decade. The difference is that in 2008 both bands decided to celebrate their collective track record (and mutual appreciation) by hitting the road together—a move that brought them to a sold-out Riviera Friday night.For all the two groups have in common, the Truckers and The Hold Steady embrace pretty different subject matter—the former specializes in tales of death, taxes and downtrodden Southern ne'er-do-wells, the latter hopeful hedonists stuck in the suburban Midwest. But Friday, the Drive-By Truckers and Hold Steady united in their conviction that heartfelt lyrics, big riffs and bigger smiles can bridge any real or perceived differences in background or belief.This night the Truckers went first—the bands have swapped the opening slot— with a reliably inspiring set of songs that included "The Righteous Path," "The Living Bubba" and "A Ghost to Most." Given the subsequent fervent reaction to The Hold Steady, the demographics on this night likely favored them slightly over their tour mates. By the end of the set, the whole audience was shouting along, fists pumping and hands clapping, as Hold Steady singer/cheerleader Craig Finn introduced one anthem after the other, from standards such as "Chips Ahoy!" to the newer "Constructive Summer" and "Slapped Actress." A few minutes later, both bands shared the stage as well as their love of classic rock. DBT singer Patterson Hood led the supergroup through Blue Oyster Cult's "Burnin' for You," Finn led AC/DC's "Ride On," and everyone came together for the dual catharsis of the Truckers' "Let There Be Rock" and The Hold Steady's "Killer Parties." By the end of the night, six guitars blared onstage, producing more grins than you could count, and requiring no further proof of the healing power of rock 'n' roll.

Your Little Hoodrat Friend

Burnin' for You

Saturday was Boeing night at the Field Museum. We went as Alex's guests. It was mainly parents with kids. But Tim and I usually act like children, so it worked out well. It was so fun. I kept saying I was going to bring a flask and we could throw things at Sue the way the charming Kellogg students did. But I realized too late that I had lost my flask top, so that was out. And yet we still had fun. Granted, we went straight out to a bar afterwards...

Tim practicing the Shaman's dance

Dinosaurs are cool

Tim pretending to read

Tim touching the big bone

Irish deer. I asked why it was Irish. Because it was found in Ireland. I'm an idiot.

Alex wanted me to take this pic. It's a Giant Beaver.

Sue went unaccosted that night.

What to do post-museum? Boots of beer at the Brauhaus. Class, class, class.

Mindy's first boot. Welcome...

Now Timmy's turn

Sausage, potatoes, mustard, pickle. Hell yeah.

One of the highlights of the night-- learning a new trick for getting rid of hiccups. The waitress told Alex to suck on 3 maraschino cherries. And it worked!

Mindy and Alex. So sweet.

And Tim & me. More insane than sweet.

GirlTalk-- Sat., Nov. 8

Sat. night, Tim & I wrung out our livers and went to see Girl Talk at the Congress Theater. Now, I had seen this guy before at Lolla and it was HORRIBLE. A bunch of stoned 12 yr olds pushing and shoving and being generally annoying. But I love this guy. And listneing to him a couple of times post-Lolla made me cave and get tickets. I wrote about Girl Talk before and I had a hard time describing this guy, so I posted the Rolling Stone summary:

“Big ups to the fair-use principle of United States copyright law: Pittsburgh DJ Gregg Gillis aka Girl Talk says that's what allows him to use hundreds of unlicensed samples in his music. On 2006's breakthrough, Night Ripper, Gillis proved he was a true party-starter, effortlessly combining dozens of hip-hop, pop and rock hits in every song. Feed the Animals ups the ante, implementing more than 300 samples to make an utterly virtuosic mash-up record. On "Like This," one 90-second sequence alone works in Beyoncé, Rick Astley, Nine Inch Nails and Yo La Tengo, among others.”

Well guess what? More stoned 12 yr olds. This time there was more room so it wasn't AS annoying. And don't get me wrong-- I had fun. But mainly I felt old hanging out with these guys:

Another Random Friday Night-- Friday, Nov. 7

This Friday was one of those random ones that evolved. Shannon asked if I wanted to get a drink to catch up. By the end of it, Mandy, Tim, Miriam, Gil, the Zeeb Bros., Steve and Shannon's friend Chris all wound up at the Edgewater. There were shots, dancing, lots of jukebox singing and a waitress who got a lot of attention. It was a long week and the weather has started to change. So this kind of Fri night only seemed appropriate.

Mandy, Shannon and Tim's oh-so-charming middle finger

Tim & Shan dancing
Gil & Miriam

Scott and Amberly

Miriam striking a pose

Serious Steve

Brett got a hold of the camera. And thus the nostril shot

And the crotch shot

The Zeeb Brothers

Happy Miriam and Happy Shannon

Me & Shan

Yes We Did!-- Tues., Nov. 4

I’m trying to memorialize it all. It still feels very surreal. Here’s my best shot:

I woke up nervous. I haven’t felt this personally about a candidate for president, well, ever. It was hard to focus on work. I got home around 5 and had a drink to calm down. Ethan and I traded texts for hours afterwards. I couldn’t stop watching the pundits on cable news. It all just made me more nervous.
Tim and I headed down to meet Laura and her friend Sarah before heading to Grant Park. The plan was meet for a drink, watch some returns, then head over to the park. The train had plenty of Obama supporters already on it. We met the girls at Cardozo’s Pub in the Loop. I had a beer. Still nervous. Sarah mentioned the idea of Obama losing. Still nervous. So we had a couple of shots. 3 to be exact. Then the east coast started coming in. Pennsylvania was blue. Maybe it was that. Or the conversation with friends. Or the booze. But I was feeling better.

Laura, Sarah, Me & Tim w shot Number 1.

Laura, Sarah & Me w shot Number 2.

With a buzz on, we headed to Grant Park. We stopped so that Sarah could take a pee break and man in the street sang “A Change Is Gonna Come” to us. I though he just might be right. We made our way over to Michigan Ave. And there was the mass of people. There were street vendors selling t-shirts, buttons, hats. People were already cheering, singing. There was a literal buzz (and not the alcohol induced type). I was feeling even better.

Laura & Me on our way to Grant Park.

We got to the park. We had been warned about long lines and security. There were a lot of people. But no security. They checked my ID and that was it. No metal detectors, no pat downs, no going through bags. A little bizarre. But the crowd was happy and diverse and friendly. So it didn’t really worry me. Probably should have. But we just picked a spot on the field and started watching results on the big screen. He was north of 200 electoral votes. It was the best I’d felt in a long time.

"Badgers 4 Obama" pin

They called Virginia blue and I jumped up and down. And a few minutes after that—they called the election. Jumping, cheering, crying. Poor Laura couldn’t see the big screen and so couldn’t quite believe that they called the election. It felt like seconds later that McCain made his concession speech. It was a very respectful speech and I was glad that the crowd around me was equally respectful. The only boos were actually for Sarah Palin. And then we just started waiting for Obama!

Tim & me after the election was called.

Here I should note: I’ve been a Democrat my whole life. My parents aren’t and they always wonder where they went wrong. I actually blame them and the Catholic schools they sent me to. I may no longer believe in many of the Catholic doctrines, but my schools instilled a sense of service in me that’s fairly ingrained. And I want that sense of service in my gov’t. So I would have voted for Obama regardless. But his intelligence, thoughtfulness and eloquence stirred something new in me. I’ll let the New York Times explain with more detail why I’m an Obama fan: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/24/opinion/24fri1.html But when I was waiting for Obama to come out, I was thinking about the personal, about people in my life. I knew Kim was crying somewhere too. I knew Eva was in the crowd. I knew Ethan was relieved. My only wish for last night was that all my friends who wanted to be there could have been. A celebration like that you share with as many loved ones as possible. Luckily I had Tim and Laura.
Back to the show-- A minister came out and said a beautiful prayer. The National Anthem. The Pledge of Allegiance. Then the first family came out. The crowd went nuts. The speech was beautiful. Obama has been mocked for his eloquence. For his “fancy” words. But I’m of the belief that words matter. That intelligence in a President is a good thing. I want my President to use words to make me want to be a better citizen, to bring out the best in me, to stir me, to inspire me. And that’s what he did Tueday night.

The First Family

"If there is still any doubt"

"Yes We Can"

They played Bruce Springsteen’s “The Rising” as we left the park. I danced and sang down the field. There were huge crowds leaving. The L ride was a long one home. We were tired and dreading the next workday. But man, oh, man…

Black & White. Young & Old

Leaving the park

A few random things:

• Everyone was texting and calling and then all of a sudden signals seemed to be jammed and no on could use their phones. I wanted to tell my friends about what was going on, thank Kim for getting VA to go blue, remind Weis it was bc of us that IN was blue, but I couldn’t!
• On the L ride home, there were 4 young guys talking about getting home and ordering pizza. I knew they were young but then they mentioned that the delivery should go to Monroe Hall and it was official—they were DePaul students. So cool that they spent the night w Obama and then home to a party pizza (apparently it’s a HUGE pizza).
• There was a big police presence downtown but I didn’t see any trouble. Lots of police on horseback. The weird thing—people taking pictures w the horses. Oh and the helicopters everywhere! Kind of cool.