B-day gift

When I got home from work today, Eric had a surprise for me...

...a new camera! Ok, so I knew that the camera had arrived today while I was working, but it really was a surprise that it was pointed at me when I opened the door. This is one of the first pictures taken. I'm so excited to take it out on the town and show it a good time.

Here are a few pictures from the weekend that my mom sent:

yea for b-days

I've had one of the best birthdays ever! My mom was here for the weekend and we got to not only join her for an open house at the Pacific School of Oriental Medicine yesterday (she is interested in the acupuncture program there) but we also enjoyed entering the Ikea timewarp again--though we couldn't think of anything we really needed when we went in, we ended up with a new dresser, some baskets and trays to organize, and some anti-slip rug thingamajigs.

And of course, we ate lots! From Sweet Tomatoes' neverending salad bar to Megan and Barrett's fondue party (which featured both the cheese and chocolate varieties of dipping goodness) to halloweeny snacks at church ("black" punch with ice "hands" floating in it, plus creamy, Oreoy "mud"!) we did not go hungry. Today was a beautiful day--a lot like the day I was born, my mom says, though a bit cooler--and after my mom left, Eric and I took a long walk by the lake and enjoyed the swirling leaves. Then we met Lewis and Andy for dinner at this newish italian restaurant right in our neighborhood and had a fabulous time!

Oh, I almost forgot to mention that my mom practiced some of her new acupuncture skills (learned in India) on us this afternoon. We had never had needles in our ears before, but it was surprisingly relaxing.

Such a great, laid back day with some of my favorite people, though lots of favorite people are too far away to celebrate in person :( It was so nice, though, to get phone calls and messages from y'all! Thinking of and connecting with so many people that I love reminds me how thankful I am for life and the chance to share it!

The Carless Commuter

Mira here. So...in the many hours I have spent on the L, the Metra (commuter) train, buses, and walking in the past month, I have experienced some pretty interesting things and encountered more than a few interesting people. Just within the past week, I have seen:

• A middle-aged woman on a fairly crowded Red Line (L) with a half-full (of something) paper Jewel-Osco bag in front of her face. For the two stops she was on the train, she sat straight up with bag held so it was nearly touching her face, literally hiding behind the bag, though once she peeked out a little and I made contact with half an eyeball. Very curious.
• Two unkind teenagers who, just as they exited the train, pelted another young guy with raw eggs. That was really shocking--and I felt quite bad for the guy who sat there for 3 more stops with yolk smeared across the window and on the seat-back in front of him (thankfully, not much was actually on him) before he moved to another seat, and then got off the train.
• A huge metal plating warehouse that is right next to the Pink Line caught fire early this week, and as firefighters continued to hose the place down, I got to pass by on the train and look down into the building and onto the street where it seemed that the buliding's insides had spilled out. Such a unique view. Thankfully, no one was hurt in the fire.
• A middle-aged man with a booming voice who yelled at his friend through his cell phone that he had been standing outside for f-ing forever trying to wave down a f-ing cab or get on an f-ing bus and this would be the f-ing last time he takes f-ing public transportation and he could have f-ing walked there by now. He was actually yelling this. He finally decided to start walking, and once he got half a block away, a bus came into view. I peeked around the bus stop shelter and there was Loud F-man, out of breath and galloping back down the block toward us. Another guy standing there and I had a short little shared chuckle as the guy approached. It's too bad people are not more creative with their language--and aware of how they impact others. But he was so ridiculous that it was actually a little funny.

Frequent occurances:

• Getting on a full bus after a long wait, only to discover that there is another bus of the same route driving behind, completely empty. This evening, there were two #147's directly behind the one I was on...and they both passed us. Cause hey, who needs to stop when no one's on the bus and everyone has already gotten on the slow one?
• Loud cell phone talkers letting everyone in on information they would not normally be sharing in public.
  

Ok, it may sounds like I'm complaining, but I usually enjoy my commute. I cross paths with a very wide variety of people...sometimes I even talk to them! And I get to read and reflect and see the skyline and occasionally just stare off into space like a zombie. And though the flow of people can sometimes feel a bit oppressive, there are times when I get off the Metra and I feel caught up in it all. There's so much energy in that many people moving in the same direction, then different directions, going to work, meeting a friend, going home...whatever everyone is doing. It might be strange, but at times I really this crazy thing that is a city pulsing and moving...and it's strange to realize that I am part of the rhythm and not outside of it. It can feel lonely to be surrounded by so many unfamiliar people, but it can also be a powerful experience.

At times, I detest having to travel so far and I curse the bad timing and frown inwardly at the grumpy people.

But every now and again, like last night, I take some wild transit combination--the Western bus to the Foster bus to the Red Line to the Outer Drive Express--and I make it home quicker than I ever have and I get to see Eric. And then I think, hey, public transportation is neat.

Insights from a restaurant worker.

Hi folks, this is Eric here! It seems like roughly forever since I have written a complete post myself! I have almost forgotten how to type! As you know, I have been working at this vegetarian restaurant for the last couple months, mostly behind the counter on the self-serve side. It has been nothing if not glamourous! Oops--when I typed "glamourous" I meant to type "exhausting and at times completely frustrating." But, for the most part, the people I work with are genuine and very laid back--which makes dealing with many of the frequent customers much easier. This job has given me new insight as to how we, as people of privelege, have come to take for granted the services and products that we buy on a daily basis. Having changed to this new job from a position of considerable respect (pastor in a United Methodist Church), it is all the more pronounced. A few things I have observed from behind the counter of the Blind Faith Cafe:

(1) Unless you are only working at this place because you have bigger ambitions toward which you are striving, customers aren't very interested in treating employees as equal human beings--and even then, it is rare. Once it is established that you may some day be able to afford to eat there, then you are related to with dignity--not merely as "the help." Also, this is a generalization, and not just about Blind Faith customers, but how workers are generally treated in the service industry.

(2) Restuarant workers (except maybe servers) who work full time, are not able to afford to eat at the place where they work without the employee discount. For example, cooks get paid $12-15 per hour, regardless of their output, which can be up to 30 plates per hour. If the average dish costs $10, after taxes, that is about an hour's wage--1/40th of your week. Considering the amount of actually pretty intense labor there is in restaurant work (washing dishes, standing over a hot stove for hours at a time, heavy lfiting, prep-cooking), the amount of respect and imbursement restaurant employees receive is pretty low. Also, since there is no profit-sharing below the management level, and most of the workers do not see the tips that servers receive, there is little incentive to perform well at one's job, aside from being able to keep it.

(3) Like the grocery business, most people who go to restaurants have no concept of where their food comes from or how it is prepared--and most people assume that vegetarian restaurants are pure in their purchasing habits, which, for cost purposes, simply cannot be true. Of course, knowing this has not stopped me from eating the food at the restaurant, but it has given me a deeper awareness that food does not come pre-wrapped in neat packages. Someone has to make the seitan loaf, someone has to chop all the onions, someone has to prepare all the sauces, someone has to make all the granola, someone has to make the corn bread, someone has to wash all the soup spoons, and someone has to buy all this stuff. So when I visit a restaurant I try to remember there are 20 people with 20 things for which they are responsible all coming together to make my meal possible. Thus, when I visit a restaurant I try not to complain when when the restaurant is sold out of something that "I can't live without," or make an employee search all over the restuarant for a soup spoon becuase I refuse to eat soup with a regular spoon. Apparently this concept is lost on many of the people who frequent this establishment.

(4) A valuable lesson taught to me by an all-too-frequent-customer: As a customer, never will I ever refer to someone who forgot to put a small container of guacamole in my to go bag as an "idiot," becuase it is demeaning and wrong--and, the employees would probably say mean things about me when I am not there.

I am looking forward to the opportunity to become a server, as it will give me greater insight to the vegetarian restaurant connoisseur, and I feel like I can do a good job without taking anything personally or freaking out like some servers do (we are not negotiating the Cuban missile crisis, people--really, we're just serving food to people who pay for it)--but mostly I am looking forward to working less and getting paid more, which will allow me to take more time to pursue film studies. Wait, isn't that why I wanted to work in a restuarant in the first place...?

Neighborhood Tour

Last weekend, when the weather was incredible, Andy and I wandered around our neighborhood and took some pictures. I though that y'all might like to see what it looks like!

This is Rogers Avenue Beach, across the street and about halfway between our place and Lewis and Andy's building (when Andy first came to town, he was staying with Lewis, but then ended up renting 2 floors up!).

The view north from Rogers Avenue Beach

No diving, ok?

He did not know I was taking this picture--this is what Andy really looks like when he gazes pensively into the distance.

This park has the best sign on the street.

Lil' Blue in front of Rogers Ave. Beach. I know, it's a hot car.

This is our building.

In the courtyard:

Looking out from the courtyard:

I love this tree. This is our little beach and park--Juneway. It's the one you can barely see from our courtyard.

Just north of Juneway is the border between Chicago and Evanston. We're about to cross over in this picture. This is such a great place to run and walk and bike. The point you can make out on the right side of the picture--way over there-- is where Eric and I got engaged!

Andy and I then walked a few blocks south and west to the Howard neighborhood. This is our alley--our building is the leafy one on the left. It's a great alley, I think.

This is the intersection between Rogers, Howard, and Greenview--possibly the least-stoppingest intersection in the city. If you look closely, you can see something disturbing hanging from the gray building on the right.

I'd always wanted to go into "Lost Eras," an antique and costume shop (it's the place that has the body-like figure with a Jason mask hanging from it, if you couldn't tell from the pic).

The place was pretty huge inside and had lots of interesting, as well as disturbing, items. I should have taken a picture of the dining room table with rubber body parts on all the plates. I choose not to put anything with an unknown origin on my head, but Andy was not concerned about it.

Looking back east from in front of L.E.

This is the old Howard Theater. It's now an athletic shoe store. In the background is the Howard "el" stop--a busy transfer station and the northernmost stop in Chicago.

This is a great little vegetarian cafe on Howard, just three blocks from our place. It's the place where we had our first meal when we moved back here! Unfortunately, there aren't many other trees around that are this red. Even though we are really close to Michigan, their trees sport colors so much more brilliant than those in Chicago. I hope I get home to visit before they go away!

Here's a street shot of N. Eastlake Terrace.

Andy on a rock.

I think this guy was enjoying the amazing view by...playing with his cell phone.

When we got back from our walk, we "picked up" Lewis and headed to the Blind Faith Cafe, where Eric was working til close. Here is the bar where I like to sit when I come and bug the staff. There's a fancier side to the restaurant, but this section is "self-serve" (= don't have to leave good tips). Emerging from the kitchen is John, the baker who made the vegan cake and cupcakes for our wedding reception!

A live-action service moment. Well, Tom wasn't really getting anything out of the display, but the customer is real.

Lewis and Andy enjoyed their meals...

Though someone demanded to know where all the meat was.

I wasn't complainin'

And so ends another evening at the BFC. It was a good afternoon and a good night--and probably the last warm day we'll have for a while!

!!!

It's snowing in Chicago!!!!

Dancin the night away

Andy and Lewis invited us to go out for tapas and salsa (both the spicy kind and the dancy kind) on Saturday. Louise, an Albion friend, was in town from Cincinnati, and she loves to dance. We hung out a bit at Lewis's place for a bit--he's got a very comfy couch--while everyone gathered.

By the time we left, it was after 10pm (!!!), an hour which usually makes me say "Time for beddy-by" (yes mom, it stuck). But there would be no sleeping for many hours! We traveled downtown to Cafe Iberico in style--Lewis had borrowed a shiny mini-van from the high school where he works...sshhhh--and though we were told that the wait would be over an hour, Louise knew of a "secret" place in the downstairs bar. Sure enough, we sat down right away and enjoyed some exceptional queso de cabra (goat cheese) and sangria, among other yummy things. Here we are--Patricia (who works at the same school as Lewis and Andy), Lewis, Louise, Andy, Goose, and me.

We are beautiful.


We headed down the street to Nacional 27, an honest to goodness salsa club (it was our first real salsa club experience). Lewis and Louise cuttin a carpet:

Patricia and Big Schweaty:

We don't know what the heck we're doing--does it show?

We stayed until they turned the lights on--at 3:00am!

Ok, back in the mini-van.

"Secret" parking spot

Those of you familiar with where we live know that we are on a one-way street going south for a few blocks along the lake. Sheridan Road, a thoroughfare for those going north in our neighborhood, runs parallel to Eastlake Terrace (our street), but just north of our place, makes a reverse S-curve and intersects with our street. So last time my mom was in town, she was out late and returned to find no parking spots on our street (no big surprise there), so she parked on the one block of Sheridan that runs east-west at the north end of our block. Though there is room for a lane of parking and no signs or yellow curbs, we had always assumed that no parking was allowed because it's a very busy curve and we had never seen any cars there before. But, amazingly, my mom didn't get a ticket. So, now that we have a car that we drive now and then, we have occasionally used our "secret" spot when we can't find a space on our street, usually late in the evening. But the other day, we returned to the car to move it to a "real" spot, and there were two cars parked behind us! A few days later, we again arrived home in the evening and had to resort to the secret spot, along with 3 other cars, and as we got out of the car, we heard the folks entering their building right there muttering, "you can't park there...hummfereumpmermer" This morning, there were eight cars parked along the curb! I think the tiny block is now at capacity! I marvel at our ability to change parking patterns, and I mourn the death of our "secret" spot. Now we might have to walk up to 2 blocks! Oh the hardship. The parking situation (in addition to a dead batter/empty gas tank fiasco that turned a quick trip to the store into a 3 1/2 hour event) just serves to remind us of why we sold our car before we moved. Not only is it better for the environment, for our physical health, and for our bank accounts to walk, bike and take public transportation...having a car is a pain in the butt!

In other news, Eric has been working lots and is excited because he will start to train as a server next week! Though he has enjoyed his smoothie-making, dessert-slicing, and tie-dye shirt-wearing time behind the Blind Faith counter, he looks forward to the day when he will wear his black pants, white dress shirt, and silly black vest each and every day and get to serve a new set of picky vegetarians on the sit-down side of the restaurant. Seriously, though, once he switches over completely, he will be making significantly more money and working few hours. So that means more time and energy to pursue documentary-making experience. At this point, the next step will be enrolling in some classes at a community television station in Evanston.

This evening, we'll be going out for tapas and doing some salsa dancing with Andy and Lewis and some other friends! Please, send some rhythm this way. We both need it!

Life in the Office, the Y, the Museum, and the Gallery

Hello friends. We hope that wherever you are, you had as beautiful a fall day as we had here today. It truly was a magnificent day to be near the lake. Clear skies, a warm breeze, small waves and blue, blue water.

I (Mira) thought you might like to know a little bit more about my new job. Instituto del Progreso Latino is a very large organization, but the citizenship department is in a storefront office about a block away from the main Instituto building. The department enables legal permanent residents to apply for citizenship through large weekend workshops and individual appointments, and helps them prepare for their interview/exam through classes and tutoring. The clients' files are tracked during the process to be sure that they have fulfilled all the requirements and following all the steps correctly--it can be a very confusing and intimidating process!

The center is quite cozy, with one mid-size room containing the workspaces of five of us, including the Citizenship Director (though she is behind a high cubicle-like wall). Two of the staff in the room are administrative assistants and one is from a completely different organization, but has her workspace there. Also in the main space is the waiting area and table where students register for classes, take placement tests, and fill out any other paperwork. Connected to that room is a tiny room for the three staff who assist clients with N-400 Application for Naturalization.

There are about ten part-time citizenship teachers who teach the 8-week, 2-hour-a-day classes and I, as the Teacher Coordinator, supervise the teachers, schedule and coordinate classes at several sites, and track all of the student and teacher data. I will hopefully start visiting classes next week and meeting with teachers, through it seems that I will have to work hard to make those visits and meetings a priority because the administrative work has already proved to be very time-consuming. The teachers I've met so far are really great and I really like the folks who are in the office. There is always hard work being done, but there is also lots of laughter. I've met a few other non-Hispanic folks in the organization, and there is one non-Hispanic teacher, but all the other folks in the office are Hispanic. The communication is funny because people fly back and forth between Spanish and English--sometimes mid-sentence. I'm really excited about getting to speak lots of Spanish, though I still get nervous about answering the phone.

Because a couple of new citizenship classes are being created, I am, through some strange twist in the plot, in charge of hiring teachers! It's just really weird to suddenly be reading other people's cover letters--addressed to me. It's probably good that in my job search I experienced both good and bad hiring practices and communication...it will certainly impact how I interact with teacher candidates and the promptness of my correspondence.

So...I think it's going well so far. I'm learning a lot and getting to know people...and it's just nice to be employed again!

Eric and I have had a nice weekend. We joined the YMCA in Evanston on Friday and have worked out there a few times already. It's a nice facility--I'm way excited to try out the raquetball courts and kick Eric's butt (Eric here: I don't think so). Yesterday, Joey, Maiko and I enjoyed the newly remodeled Chicago History Museum at their grand (and free) re-opening. In the Chicago: Crossroads of America exhibit, we got to tour one of the very first "L" cars, learn about the history of several diverse Chicago neighborhoods, and see lots of products that were invented or pioneered in Chicago. You might not know that it was in Chicago that the Brunswick company revoluntionized the game of bowling when they developed the first ball made out of some resin (they used to be made of wood). Also, the first Crate and Barrel was in Chicago and the game "Mouse Trap" was developed here. Exciting, I know. I would definitely recommend the museum to those who live here or might visit.

Eric came downtown afterwork and we went to Josh and Deborah's, whose apartment/studio was part of the Chicago Art District's community open house. Deborah's amazing paintings were hung around their place and folks could come in and and munch on goat cheese and crackers and wine while they enjoyed the artwork...and then wind around the neighborhood to lots of other studios and galleries. We had a really fun evening with them and ended up staying at their place in Pilsen and going directly from there to church this morning.

Well, I guess it's a "work night." I should be making my lunch or something!