Its cold, and I'll cry if I want to

Honestly, it annoys me when people say "Everyone needs to stop complaining about the cold,  People in (insert cold place here) deal with this all the time! And they don't have heat." Blah Blah Blah, Guess what, I don't live in that god forsaken cold place.  I live in a suburb right outside of Chicago. Weather.com says the average High for January should be 31, with the average low at 16.  December should be 35 and 21 respectively.  I want to be in a place where the average temperature falls between high teens and freezing.  Not the insane weather we have gotten.


Weather.com also says the average precipitation should be 1.73 total inches in the month of January and 2.25 for December.  (By the way, 10 inches of snow = 1 inch of precipitation.)


Do you want to know what January was like??? The average HIGH temperature has been 24 degrees, but the average LOW temperature is 6 degrees.  That's a huge difference.  Its been, on average, 10 degrees colder this year. While I don't know what data they use for average, I'm sure its more than the past 30 years.  And lets be honest, the past few years have been warm.   AND, none of this includes windchill.  I don't know what the windchill averages has been, but it has been a crazy windy month.


Guess what else, we broke 2 records this year for coldest temperature and tied another, 1 record was set in 1988, another in 1977, and the record we tied??? 1955.  Do you see what I'm trying to say?  It's been CRAZY cold.  So cold that we have broken/tied records that have been set for 59 years!


Lets compare precipitation now... We have had 4.88 inches of precipitation in the month of January.  That's almost 3 times the AVERAGE.  And guess what, there's a 60% chance it'll snow tomorrow. God only knows what that's going to be like. Oh and December?? also much higher than the average...


So lets go back to comparing warm places with cold places... On January 10th (this year) got 8.5 inches of snow... that was a lot.  And yesterday, Atlanta got 3 inches of snow, which is a lot for them.  Atlanta had 1200 accidents because of that snow, and you don't see people saying it was "no big deal."  Because guess what, while 3 inches of snow may not be a big deal for Chicago (it happened 5 times this month alone), its a HUGE deal for Atlanta.


I choose to live in Chicago, so when we have a 60 degree swing in temperatures of the span of 3 days, Its not a shock... That's what Chicago is like.  But I don't live in the North Woods, or Russia, or Alaska or any other cold place, I live in Chicago.  And you know what?  I'll cry about the snow if I want to.

"Can you please move towards the center of the train"

Quite frequently when the train is crowded someone will ask everyone to scrunch together so they can fit on the train.  Personally, I hate this and I think it is very self-centered and rude.  However I don't say anything.  I continue to read my book and just think happy thoughts. 

Today, someone tapped me on the shoulder interrupting my nook.  She said "Can you please move forward."  I had a rather obnoxious gym bag with me on the El, and I absolutely hate it when people's gym bags or briefcases touch me, so I purposefully kept a few inches between me and the next person.  I figured I was being nice.  I told the lady "No, there are only a few inches, I can not move.  Perhaps the people who are trying to get on the train should take the next one."  I used to get on the train at this station.  I know how crowded the train is at this station.  I also know that whenever I used this stop I would sometimes have to wait 2 or 3 trains because they were full.  So when the lady said "Everyone is just trying to get somewhere on time, they can't wait for the next one."  I was surprised.  I told her "Perhaps the people who live at this stop should plan for a crowded train and arrive at the station earlier... or be late." She didn't really like that answer, but I didn't move. 

Honestly, it really annoys me when people push themselves on the train.  Is your world really going to end if you are 10 minutes late?  Do you really have to be so self centered to inconvenience a ton of people?  To the people who are rude and forced themselves on the train by squishing into people... I'm really sorry if your late, but wake up earlier... I HATE waking up.  I would much rather sleep in every day.  However if you have someplace to be and you must be ontime, then plan for it.  Arrive at the train early.

Chicago Protests

On Tuesday I was sitting in my office when I heard a ton of police whistles and a lot of screaming.  I looked out the window to see hundreds of people marching with signs in the middle of the street.  The police were escorting them East.

I was able to get out of work around 6 PM and I wanted to see what was up.  I walked to Monroe and Michigan and saw this.

Turns out the people were petitioning about schools.  But that's not really why I'm posting.  I was honestly surprised at how well the whole thing went.  There were dozens of cops re-directing traffic and many cops trying to make sure the riot didn't get out of control. 

I've seen petitions before, but never something on such a large scale.  To shut down Michigan Avenue is a HUGE deal.  Aside from Lake Shore Drive, Michigan Ave is probably the busiest street downtown.  Personally, I think this its pretty cool of Chicago to allow people to do something like this.

Women delivers baby after the Chicago Marathon

I'm sure everyone heard.  Somehow her stupidity made national news.  My 2 cousins ran the race on Sunday so I went to cheer them on.  They both did great by the way. :) Super proud.

But anyway, back to the stupidity.  We all saw her.  And it was an echo effect, "Is she pregnant" was heard throughout the crowd.  Supposedly her dr approved her to run half the race and walk the other half.  And all I gotta say is when I saw her, she wasn't walking, she was running. Honestly, I think she was stupid to chance her babies health like that, not to mention her own.

People die in this race and get carted off to the hospital.  It was a very warm day and she could have killed her baby. 

I don't understand why anyone would take that risk.  Especially because if you think about it: The race is in October.  The earliest you can register is February 1st.  That is 8 months between the earliest registration date and the race.  She said at the time of delivery she was 39 weeks preggo. So unless she was the first person to register, she should have already known she was pregnant.  I just don't get it.

Got freaked out walking Dub a few nights ago.

So, I live in Chicago (which should be obvious) and a lot of neighborhoods are not the best.  Even "good" neighborhoods have substantially more crime than the suburbs.  (Hence why most parents move to the 'burbs to raise a family) 

Anyway, It was bed time for Dub and I always walk Dub right before he goes to bed.  Almost everyone in the neighborhood is afraid of Dub because they think he looks like a pit bull.  Honestly, he has some characteristics (short coat, wide set back legs, the snout is similar), but he really doesn't look that much like one.  Regardless, since I am a young female and I generally walk Dub alone, I am perfect OK with strangers thinking he looks like a pit because of the terrible rep pits have.
On a side note - I believe very strongly that it is the owner who makes the dog mean, not the breed.  My mother and their 8 year old beagle have been attacked 2 times by different Jack Russel Terriers.... so.  Um... yeah. 
But - Lets get back to the original story.  I was leaving the apartment and all of a sudden I got a real bad feeling on this walk.  I've never had this bad feeling walking Dub before.  Like I was being followed or watched.  It really gave me the creeps.  That's when I wished I had Pepper Spray.  I know Dub is very weary toward other people and other people are very weary of him, but it didn't really help the bad feeling. 

So - I ordered Pepper Spray today. I picked this one because it was cheap, and had good reviews. The funny thing is I actually read the reviews and they were quite humorous.

One was titled - Accidental "Test" Reveals Efficacy!" Wow... That must suck....

Another - "Having never been subjected to pepper spray before, I thought it would be "fun", "interesting", or "exciting" to allow a trusted friend to spray me under extremely controlled conditions. As an action medic, I've treated individuals that were maced and have gotten extremely minute second-hand effects from being around them...but I'm certain there is nothing that could prepare anyone for the amount of pain, irritation, and terror that this self-defense tool causes."

I just can't imagine ever buying this product to "test" it...  I guess its more common than I thought.

AMAZING picture - Courtesty of Chicago Trib - June 2010

This is one of my favorite pictures of all time.  This picture was taken a year ago by a member of the Chicago Tribune.  For those that don't know Chicago's skyline, the tower on the right is Trump Tower and the tower on the left is the Sears Tower.  The Sears Tower recently had its name changed to the Willis Tower but in my mind it will always be the Sears Tower.  For about 25 years the Sears Tower was the largest building in the world.  It still is the tallest building in the United States. Trump tower is the 2nd tallest building in Chicago and for a year or two was the building with the world's highest residence above ground-level. 

This picture was taken during a gigantic storm.  The Trump tower was turning their lights on for the first time.  Trump tower was recently finished being built and that night was essentially their "opening" (even though at this time people were already living there.)  The picture was accidentally taken.  I think it is amazing, and honestly a once in a lifetime experience.

Hottest Day in 5 years

Its supposed to get up to mid to high 90's today.  Yesterday reached 96.  Lets just say, I never appreciated how close I live to the EL until now.  Having that 2 minute walk was a blessing.

Anyway, so Dog normally goes to Doggy Day Care on Wednesdays.  Seeing as how yesterday was 96, and today was going to be just as hot, I was a bit concerned that it would be too hot for him.  Dog gets to sit in air conditioning during the day at home (spoiled, I know).  But walks are pretty rough for him since he has such a dark coat (he heats up very fast in the sun).  We can go on a 20 min walk, and at the end of it, he is panting like crazy just do to the heat.  I feel bad for him.

So, since I pay about $25 for day care, I didn't really want him to be so warm that he hardly moves.  The whole point of day care, for him, is to get energy out.  So yesterday I called the day care place asking if the dogs were going to be outside today.  They told me that they were going to be inside, and it generally doesn't get hotter than 80 degrees due to the 30 foot ceilings.  Then they told me that they can give doggy breaks if we are concerned with overheating.  I told him I think that would be a good idea.

So at 7:15 this morning, I dropped Dog off at day care.  The employee takes Dog's leash and says "Hi Dublin!" Looks to me and says "How many breaks would you like?"  I laugh, awkwardly and say "Wow, you remember me from the phone?"  He kinda looks at me like I've grown a third arm. I've been taking Dog to Doggy Day care for a few months, probably some time in March we started.  But the day care place has as many as 50 dogs show up (Just on Wednesday!).  So I figured I sort of blended in with the rest.  Unfortunately, I don't, and I think I now have the growing reputation of "the youngest crazy dog lady."

Trying to park in the city

Alright so I didn't post yesterday. Sorry. :( Allergies are kicking my butt.

Anyway, today I'm pissed about parking structures and how STUPID it is when they do NOT take any credit cards or take checks.

Alright, I can totally understand not taking checks.  They are completely out of date.  However credit cards? Maybe they don't want to pay for the credit card machine, but they would rather pay 1 person to sit there for 12 hours and pay them benefits? Yes I agree that it is terrible when someone's job gets taken away because of computers.  But come on, in this day and age, when the parking lot is in a city, a well populated area, they do not take credit cards.

I told the parking attendant that they should have a sign saying "Cash Only." She said on the way in there is a sign.  She was right, a small sign saying "cash only."  Come on, how many people are looking at that when they are driving!  I should have said it is dangerous to drive and read at the same time.  But whatever.

So when I told the attendant that I didn't have cash, because the miniscule sign was difficult to read while driving, she explained to me that I could go across the street to an ATM, or I could take an EL to my banks ATM. 

So for 2 hours, I had to pay $6 for parking, which is outrageous but what else can you do in the city, on top of that I had to pay $2 in their ATM fees, and another $3 in My Banks ATM fees.  So to go to the dr's I had to pay $11 in parking..... Jesus, sometimes the city sucks.