and back again

arriving home to boston from a month in the suburban midwest was a shock to the system for sure. i mean, it's not like i went to another planet, but things there are, 'different'. for example, the people are noticeably nicer than the northeast, and noticeably 'not bitter'. while in chicago, i went into a cafe in wickerpark (which would be the chicago equivalent of davis square, only bigger). not only was the waitstaff not hateful and mean, but when i asked the counter help how far the communter rail was from there, she asked everyone else behind the counter AND offered to go into the back and look it up online just to be sure. wierd.
being a good southern girl, i grew up around 'over the top' niceness. but the niceness in the south is different than the midwest. in the south, people are super nice to your face, and then they usually talk about you when you walk away ("good lord, did you see that child's hair, bless her heart, it just looked god awful", that sort of thing).
but, in the midwest, i really felt like they were sincere. maybe it's all the fresh air. maybe it was because i went there in the summer, and people are so happy to have survived another winter that they thank god every day that they're alive.
who knows what causes this sort of odd, humane and decent behavior...but i wish we had more of it around here.

in a twist, i've decided to stop hating boston and surrounding area so much. i know that i can't change the bitterness and meanness of the people who live here, so i'm changing my own attitude. i realize that while boston may not be the kind of city that i love, or will ever truly 'love', there are a lot of great things going on here that i hope to be more involved in, and there's always the ocean (smells better than a lake), and the mountains are very near if i ever want to lose my mind and live as a hermit.

and this has nothing to do with anything, but this is my new favorite comic. (bit of dirtiness, if you're sensitive to that sort of thing)
fuck you dane cook!

everybody loves raymond

seriously considering getting started on a giant tattoo while here in the windy city. there are some great artist here and getting a tattoo in massachusetts kind of scares me since it's only been legal there for around 9 years. (oh where oh where did my youthful inhibitions go).
in my searching for tattoo ideas, i found this. it is my favorite tattoo of all times. i love the font, i love the placement, i love the sentiment. good job crazy lady.

off topic: pixies fans

just watched the documentary 'loudQUIETloud' about the reuniting of the pixies a few years back. (a concert that i missed because i was broke and let the tickets sell out...therefore, i have never seen a band that so deeply influenced my teen years that i tear up every time i hear one of their songs...missed seeing them when i was in highschool for religious reasons..yeah, seriously.)
the movie made me sad, and happy for many different reasons. sad that they are over, and there will never be another band like them, sad that they really don't seem to be aware of how much they've influenced the state of EVERTHING we listen to today, sad that except for joey, they all seem a little depressed and little broken (but, aren't we all?)...happy that they existed and were a part of my life, happy that i knew who they were even though i lived in the middle of nowhere and could have been listening to only garth brooks and reba macintyre (for this i thank jeremy kerr for making me that amazing mix tape when i was a freshman, can't thank you enough), happy because one day i will get to play doolittle and surfer rosa for harlan and tell him if it weren't for a little known guitarist named joey santiago, we wouldn't have classic rock bands like 'nirvana'.
to the pixies, i salute you.

suburbia, illinois summer '08

cornfields and condo complexes as far as the eye can see. miles and miles of farmland out here in illinois and what do we americans do with it?? turn it into sustainable living communities to benefit the rest of the world?? no, we turn it into box chain stores and restaurants and fill it with miles and miles of perfectly manicured, exactly matching houses and condo 'communities' and give them names like 'rolling meadows', and 'torrey pines'. i didn't grow up in a suburb like this. granted, tennessee has it's fair share of mcmansions, box stores and condos, but where i grew up was much more, um, 'rural' (or 'bum fucked' to use a more descriptive metaphor).
this place just freaks me out a little. it's all so clean, so well packaged.
but, with all downsides, there are upsides (i think). and those are, that i'm five minutes from the super target, 20 minutes from ikea, and 2 minutes from a box chain called "meijer" (pronounced 'may-yer' as in john, ernie and i debated over how to pronounce the name when we got here. i said it was 'major' and he said it was a more exotic sounding 'may -har', we were both wrong...crazy cornfield town)...which is an EXACT replica of the super walmarts of my youth. it's bizarro walmart.
(me want low prices, rRRRR!!)

we are an hour outside of chicago proper, and with the traffic (good lord the traffic), at times it's a two hour trip. so, we've been downtown once, and harlan had a little bit of trouble with the city, it seemed to make him screechy, so we left early. the city looked beautiful and hopefully we'll have more times to explore.
for the forth of july weekend however, i think we're going to take in some true midwestern small town america. there are towns nearby that boast of old time trolley rides, antique soda fountains and small town fireworks displays on the river. ahh, i can almost smell the cotton candy and popcorn. maybe i'll wear some red gingham and put on my fanciest blue eyeshadow.

yum.