Spring!

We all know where thoughts turn when spring arrives...cleaning! Hey, they call it spring cleaning for a reason.

Well, the last few days have been really warm (Saskatchewan Style), meaning that it's been almost zero. I remember last fall when we had days where the temperature fell to zero - everyone bundled up in their scarves and walked around shivering and complaining. Today the temperature hovered somewhere between zero and +2 (yes, that's plus 2) so I was outside in a t-shirt. Funny how when you're on this side of winter zero suddenly seems practically tropical.

The problem is that the vast number of sweaters and wool socks in my drawers really aren't cutting it anymore. I need my spring clothes, which were carefully organized and boxed away in the closet, along with all the spring and summer shoes. You'd think it would be simple - put away winter clothes, and take out summer clothes. But now it looks like a tornado ripped through here, with stacks of clothes, shoes, boxes, jackets, boots, and all the wonderful treasures I found in the back of a closet piled on my floor/bed/chair/available surface.

I have a pile for drycleaning, a pile for charity, a pile for the garbage, and a pile of stuff that will be useful...you know, someday. Everyone needs notebooks made from banana and coffee paper right? And a map of San Jose, Costa Rica that was in one of the aforementioned notebooks? I am capable of throwing things out - as evidenced by the garbage pile, but a girl's gotta have a stash of "useful" stuff right?

And now I'm tired of cleaning and not motivated by my collection of 80's "spring cleaning music". Girls may wanna have fun, but I guarentee the route to said fun is not through closet reorganization.

Alas, these mitts aren't going to jump into their labelled box, so I'd better get back to them. When I have my own place, I'm getting one of those closet organizing contraptions you see at IKEA, with shelves, drawers, and the Mary Poppins ability to store large quantities clothing and shoes in a little bit of space. Happy Spring everyone!

Chicago Part 2

After the adventures of the museum, the aquarium, and the conference on day 1, I was excited about the second day in the Windy City. My morning was taken up by research and a computer mishap (aka failure and hours of fixing) but I'd set some time aside for some shopping, Chicago Style, in the afternoon. I'd heard about North Michigan Avenue from Gena (a friend and city resident), and had been looking forward to the experience for days (ok, weeks), but I wasn't wholly prepared to go from Saskatoon to Michigan Avenue.

The day had dawned bright and sunny, with a reasonable temperature for walking around, and it had the decency to stay that way all afternoon. I caught a cab from the Hilton and got dropped off at the top of the "Magnificent Mile", directly in front of Louis Vuitton, and across the street from Bloomingdale's and Stuart Weitzman. The label addict in me was drooling. I sauntered (yes, sauntered) into Louis Vuitton just because I could, admired the goods, and made my way across the street, ensuring the VISA remained firmly ensconced in the purse.

Bloomingdale's was a mall area - a treasure trove of stores on 5 levels. Armani, Ralph Lauren, Banana, Gucci, Kenneth Cole, Charles David, Cole-Haan, Burberry...they were all there. It was quite overwhelming. Thankfully I couldn't really afford most of it, so it wasn't like I had to decide on anything - just enjoy the endless parade of bags and shoes. I'm sure there were other clothing type things, but I was highly focused on bags and shoes (you gotta have a focus people!).

And then I discovered Coach. If there was ever an expensive store that screams "Me", it's Coach. The sales people were fabulous, and I did treat myself to a spring bag (with matching shoes), which I absolutely LOVE. Have I mentioned that I love Chicago?

After wandering around more stores and gaping at the prices (yes, you really can hold a $3000 bag) I got a hold of myself and became sufficiently jaded. "Oh, just $500 for this purse?" Wait a minute...did I really just think that?

Time to move away from the shopping and cruise the street checking out the architecture and sights. There were some amazing old buildings and the river was beautiful. I wandered down to the Chicago Water Tower, which was completed in 1869 and survived the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. The Joliet limestone blocks used to construct the building are apparently quite hardy. The Chicago Tribune Building and the John Hancock Centre are Chicago landmarks, and amazing fixtures on the Magnificent Mile. The John Hancock building is known for its x-bracing, which eliminates the need for inner support beams (increasing the internal space).

After crossing the river I walked back to the hotel, stopping at Bath and Body Works to fall in love with Coconut Lime Verbena cream (fabulous!). My aching feet deserved a rest, so I was happy to eat dinner in the hotel, enjoying an excellent sea bass with apricot and walnut risotto (if I remember correctly) with my vodka martini. But then, who could forget a day like that?

Looking up Michigan Avenue - on the far left, the building with the red brick and arched roof is the Chicago Place. The beige building near the middle with the ornamental lanterns on the top is 900 North Michigan (aka Bloomingdale's Building), and the dark gray building (only a bit visible) on the right side of the street (with the two antennas) is the John Hancock building.

On my last day the river was green! Happy St. Patrick's Day to everyone!

Tribune Tower - The design is modeled after the Butter Tower at Cathedrale Notre-Dame de Rouen and won an international design competition. The tower's site was chosen for its proximity to the old printing plant, which was built in 1916 and still stands on the east side of the tower.

Chicago Tribune Sign on Tribune Tower

View from the Michigan Avenue Bridge - what a beautiful city!

Michigan Avenue Bridge and Esplanade were constructed to improve transportation and to enhance Chicago's waterfront. This is one of a pair of monumental sculptures (1928) that provide an impressive gateway to North Michigan Avenue.

The large building in the foreground is the London Guarentee Building and it is one of four buildings that were constructed around the Michigan Avenue Bridge during the early 1920s. Directly behind the London Guarentee Building is Mather Tower, and the form of this "needle" skyscraper was encouraged in the 1923 Chicago Zoning Ordinance which called for tall, slender towers. 35 East Wacker Drive Building (to the right of Mather Tower) is lit up at night, and was one of the tallest buildings in the US when it was built in 1925.

The Chicago Water Tower was built in 1869 and survived the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. A little piece of history in the middle of a shopping extravaganza.

Water Tower Place was one of 3 indoor malls built near the Water Tower. The shopping mall is centered around an eight story terraced atrium with the most famous elevators in Chicago, housed in three bundled hexagonal glass tubes.

Ahhh, 900 North Michigan...the shopper's dream!

Chicago Part 1

I've been in Chicago for 23 hours now, and it's been a bit of a whirlwind. My plane arrived late last night, after having been delayed for a couple of hours in Toronto. Fortunately, all my luggage arrived and Gena picked me up from the airport and delivered me to the Hilton. I got the fun tour (not that she got lost) and saw some of the beautiful architecture as well as the shopping paradise that is the Magnificent Mile.

The hotel is amazing, with incredible painted ceilings and everything is very reminiscent of the Old Chicago that you see in the movies. Naturally I tried to play it cool when I saw the lobby, not wanting to do Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman as she walks into the hotel lobby. But it was hard not to gape - after all, at the last conference I stayed in a student residence. This is something of an improvement.

After I got settled, Gena and I went for a drink in the hotel lounge. I was hoping for a quality martini (which I got) at a reasonable price ($14 per drink...ouch). We shared a fantastic gorgonzola, baby arugula, and creme fraiche pizza, which was the best thing I've eaten in ages. Totally worth the money - especially since that meal was on the university.

This morning I registered and picked up the conference package (along with the classy nametag) and wandered around some sessions to see what was available. I had to get work done, so I came back to my room during lunch, and of course, my computer had a little fit. Probably doesn't like Chicago. After fiddling for an hour and a half, I ran Norton and left it to do its thing. I had a couple of hours to kill, and wasn't particularly interested in the GIS sessions, so I headed out to see the Field museum.

What an amazing museum! The Pompeii exhibit displayed stories from the eruption in 79 AD and fragments that have been recovered, including some amazing frescoes. Dinosaurs, Egyptian mummies, animals from around the world, and other exhibits were quite amazing. I've never seen such a comprehensive collection of animals from different parts of the world. Remember the Lions of Tsava from The Ghost and the Darkness? They were there.

I left the museum with just enough time to take in the Shedd Aquarium and see the seahorses, beluga whales, dolphin show, penguins, and endless tanks of sea creatures from around the world. There was even an Australian lungfish that's been there since 1933.

As I was walking along, bits of movies kept running through my head. In the Egypt section, I saw references to the Book of the Dead and thought "hey, Brendan Fraser should be here to point at that". And in the lemur exhibit, the song from Madagascar kept running through my head (Move it, Move it!). At various points I thought of just about every Pixar movie including Shark Tale, Finding Nemo, Shrek, and Ice Age as well as other assorted blockbusters. So much for an education...all I remember is Hollywood Films apparently. And I'm sure they're wildly accurate!

And now I'm back with my articles, working on the thesis and presentation for Saturday. I've covered a lot of ground today, and between the museums and the amazing food (lunch was at Corner Bakery in the Field Museum and it was fantastic), things are good!

The Shedd Aquarium in Chicago

This is as close to a Pirahana as I want to get

The dophin show at the Aquarium

The Museum is an amazing building...

with a great view!

This creature is called a "Bongo"

The Man-Eaters of Tsavo

"Sue" the 42 foot long T-Rex, of the Late Cretaceous period

The Pompeii Exhibit at the Field Museum - stories from an eruption

The field museum in Chicago

Same hair, new length

Today I got my hairs cut (yes, all of them) and I quite enjoy having it shorter and with the pretty highlights again. I used the conference next week as an excuse to motivate myself to get to the salon (finally). Too long spent in front of my computer = split ends.

Thankfully the sidewalks had been cleared of the 15 cm or so of snow, and I was able to walk (not fall as per the usual situation) to the salon. We've avoided the whole snow issue since Christmas, but then last week we got a whole bunch overnight (literally). This caused some consternation on the part of people other than myself, given that I don't have to trek through the snow to work in my apartment.

Thanks to Viper and J-girl for calling me everyday, despite a head injury (not mine). Also thanks to Shannon (aka Shopaholic), GISgirl and my favourite research partner (Jill) for dragging me out to a girls night. Oh, and of course, thanks go to Bear & Teaks and Fish & Chips for their pet antics. Where would we be without webcams?

As for everyone else - if you're wondering where you're mentioned, make the aforementioned gestures to ensure I'm still alive and you'll get a thanks too...but you gotta call! This is just a shameless effort to make people call me and distract me, but you know you want to!

with the other glasses option...

Haircut today!