DANGER KEEP OFF THE TRACKS

It's time to come clean. I've never understood the appeal of pony play.


Read an article in the Red Eye about a group that sponsored a poll to find out what's cool (the act of which, the writer of the article astutely pointed out, is inherently uncool). Even the word 'cool' itself seems pretty passé.
This is the type of thing that I had to ponder in that couple of weeks between arriving in Chicago and when classes started. My brain nearly turned to mush during that period, mostly thinking about things that made the passage of time seem absurdly surreal.
Example:
The clash between forms of communication that leave so many people at a loss when they must decide how to express themselves; phone calls, email, micro-blogging, social networks, and on and on so that it's a miracle we ever hear each other at all.

But my brain didn't turn to mush.
Classes finally started on September 3. It's good to be back in a world of deadlines. Picked up my transit card and student ID.
Transit cards are awesome. They give you a feeling of power that's probably on par with what FBI agents feel when they flash their badges at someone and scream 'FBI! STAND DOWN!' into people's faces. On days when I don't have classes, I get to go on adventures.
Hyde Park is a good place to go – the University of Chicago, the Museum of Science an Industry, Promontory Point, 57th Street Books, and Frank Lloyd Wright's Robie House are all there.
Will be searching for more places to visit. Am always open to suggestions.
Also, I love riding the El because it's high over the street – up in the trees and over the rooftops. Some of the buildings are so close to the train that I think we're going to hit them for sure, even though they've stood side-by-side for decades without incident (in some cases, the buildings and the El have stood next to each other for over 100 years – the oldest section dates from the early 1890s).

Anyway, class line-up:
Grad Project Meeting on Mondays
Wednesday, Laptop Sound Technique
Thursday, Novel workshop and Short Prose Forms
Friday, Writing the City

No T.A.ing this semester, I'm afraid. There was a shortage of classes dealing with the art and culture of warfare.

Pro-tip: If your pictures don't turn out, say they're too dark, just colorize them all funky and people will think you're artistic rather than technologically incompetent.