Some Pictures and My Birthday

The month of June breezed by with no blogs. It was a good month. I had a birthday, a visitor, and some great live events. We started out the month seeing James Taylor at the Ravinia Festival. Ravinia is one of those things that everyone in Chicago says you must go to. It's a series of concerts held at an outdoor venue all summer long. There is always a great lineup, but I learned that its really not about the music. It's about seeing who can have the most elaborate picnic. Wine, fancy cheeses, beautiful blankets and candelabras. We happened to pick a spot beside a fun group of Lesbians that were more than impressed with the story of my Leisha Haley encounter. David kind of made them believe that she and I are good friends. My new friend Lori from the group promises to invite us to her big summer house party in the suburbs. Thats nice, but since I sold my car I have no way to get to the suburbs.

Did I mention that I sold my car? This is the first time since I was 15 years old that I have not owned some sort of motor vehicle. I bought a bicycle though. A 1970 baby blue Schwinn. I like it. It gets me where I need to go. I've started biking to the train in the mornings instead of taking the bus. It feels good not to have a car.

Marty came to visit the week of my birthday. We had a lot of fun and ate lots of food.

This is a shot of the ferris wheel at Navy Pier.

Marty didn't really understand why, but I insisted that you can't visit "the bean" without taking a self-portrait.

Marty among some creepy headless sculptures.

Breakfast at Yolk, a great breakfast place in South Loop. I love breakfast restaurants. Of course nothing compares to "Mama's Pancake Breakfast" at Cracker Barrel, but I don't really like Cracker Barrel that much unless I'm there with my Granddaddy.

This may not have been in June, but one night while I was waiting at the bus stop, someone drove by and threw a water balloon at me. It's kind of funny now, but it was a little upsetting at the time. It took me a minute to even realize what happened. A loud car drove by, I heard a funny noise and then the ground in front of me was wet. I wasn't hit, but it was a close call.

This is a picture I took while waiting in line for the Death Cab for Cutie concert. I forgot to get these people to sign a photo release, but I don't think they will mind.

This is my car...driving away for the last time. I was watching out the window with a tear in my eye.

I dragged Marty To Beograd, a Serbian restaurant near my house that I have wanted to try since I moved in. I think it must be a Serbians only kind of place. The waitress' limited English combined with Marty's innate need to ask questions about menu items made for a few awkward moments. That is one of the things I like about Marty, though. He is never shy about asking questions.

Marty's "hey, that hamburger is bigger than your head" Serbian Hamburger.

The marquee outside of Broadway United Methodist Church never disappoints. Marty, David, and I went to the Pride Sunday service. That event deserves a blog of its own.

This truck was stuck under the overpass where I catch the train each morning. "The Careful Movers". How embarrassing.

On the 3rd of July, all of my Chicago dreams came true and I was invited to go out on the yacht of a friend's friend. No one on the boat really knew anyone else there, but that's a small price to pay to spend an evening on a yacht watching the fireworks show.

I live in a predominately Hispanic area. Fireworks are a bigger part of the culture. On my walk home the night of the 4th there were fireworks going off in all directions. The possession of fireworks in the city of Chicago is illegal, however families gathered around impromptu fireworks shows in several of the city parks that I passed on my 2 mile walk.

Last night I ate with Raquel at Dharma Garden, a Thai restaurant a few blocks from my house. I thought these spring rolls were beautiful. They were tasty too.

If you notice that my pictures lack a certain luster, it's because I never take my camera anywhere anymore, so all of these photos are from my cell phone.