gnat writes and writes. and writes. and procrastinates by blogging, and writes some more.

papers have been signed, and come june 7 our apartment will belong to somebody else.

short of maneuvering the logistics of subletting, i have done essentially nothing but thesis, thesis, thesis since my last post. i was on a productivity roll until this morning, at which point i hit a huge wall - i've done almost no work in the three hours i've been awake. what i HAVE done is start a google calendar called "last month in chicago" and plunk activities i still have somehow not managed into arbitrarily chosen dates. 

it feels like summer in chicago today (i haven't been outside yet, but my windows are all open so i can tell), and summer in chicago is an amazing feeling. 

t-26 days. 

gnat revels in fall colors (and summer temperatures)

last year i was on my toes, watching the trees for the first sign of yellow so i could document their gradual change over the course of the season. this year they snuck up on me - before i had the chance to notice, the foliage had erupted into yellows, oranges, and deep reds, with of course a stubborn few that are holding onto their green. i say keep at it, green trees. i don't really want it to get cold either.

that said, we have been fortunate enough to have absolutely perfect weather for the last week and a half or so. the sun is out, the skies are clear, and the temperature is hovering in the 75-80 degree range. it's sort of like we have the best of summer and fall at the same time.


this has, sadly, been a detriment to my productivity, as i spent most of this weekend and large portions of the first half of this week lying on the grass with a book in various locations, attempting to soak up as much sun as possible while i still can.


according to weather.com, it's all coming to an end this evening beginning with light showers, then rain, then a sharp dip in the temperature that chicago is unlikely to recover from for the remainder of the year.


the fall purists keep reminding me that what comes next are the crisp days and sweater-and-scarf temperatures, which are refreshing and satisfying in their own right. i don't disagree, but i'll be sad to see summer go for good.

more fall foliage updates to come - i anticipate that after tonight's rain, those trees with weaker constitutions will wind up mostly naked. as for now, i'm taking my book and heading to the park.

gnat hangs on to summer for dear life

today, for the first time in months, i had to throw a scarf in my bag on the way out of the house.

four days ago i was here:

i haven't talked at all about the beach, or the "beach" as i call it (complete with mocking finger-quotes, much to the chagrin of any native chicagoan in the near vicinity). i prefer instead to call it the lakeshore, though according to wikipedia's definition of a beach it qualifies. go ahead, call me a snob - i miss the sound of crashing waves and the smell of saltwater. in any case, it's a nice place to go read a book on warm days, and last thursday was no exception.

one thing i really enjoy about chicago's beaches is that they're so close to the rest of civilization. beaches in california tend to feel really far removed from city life. in chicago they're literally across the street from each other.

this picture was taken from north avenue beach, which is a little further from downtown, but at the oak street beach a few blocks north of my apartment the hancock tower and all of the buildings around it are literally looming right on top of you. it's a little bit surreal - to one side of you the expanse of lake michigan, to the other side a 96-story skyscraper. it makes for a very different beach experience than i'm used to.

anyway, on thursday i went to the beach. i didn't stay long, because it was uncomfortably hot and humid. today (monday) i took a scarf out with me and had to use it. it's labor day, which traditionally marks the end of the summer season, but i have my fingers crossed for a few more weeks of sun...

gnat enjoys free summer music

this morning i realized i hadn't yet posted about what is probably my favorite chicago summertime activity - evening concerts in millenium park.

regular attendees include cara,

myself,

eileen,

and sean,

with occasional guest appearances by aleck

and andrew

among others.

about once a week cara and i load up bags of snacks, wine, and blankets and head down to millenium park, where we all play card games and listen to free music all evening.

this summer we've heard everything from rachmaninoff to egyptian music to iron & wine, all from this patch of grass.

in other news, all of my pictures are going to be in hipstamatic for a while, both because i'm basically obsessed with it and because carmine II is in the hands of the geek squad after sustaining a fall. (yes, again. shut up.)

gnat learns the meaning of the word "humidity"

guys. seriously. guys.

it is miserable outside.

according to weather.com, it is 96 degrees out with 51% humidity. and this is an improvement over yesterday. AN IMPROVEMENT, PEOPLE. yesterday when i left the apartment it was 103 degrees with 83% humidity. how is that even possible?

in case you are, like i was before this week, not familiar with what 103 degrees and 83% humidity feels like, imagine that you are taking a shower wearing all your clothes. a very hot shower. and there's a ton of steam. and instead of being in the comfort of your own bathroom, you are outdoors and the sun is pounding on you, 103 degrees fahrenheit of pounding sun hitting you, surrounded by steam, in all your clothes, taking a very hot shower. that is what 103 degrees and 83% humidity feels like. and at the end of this hot, steamy, clothed, poundy sun shower, instead of being nice and clean you are sticky and drenched in sweat. disgusting. now imagine trying to breathe in that nonsense. it's enough to make a girl wish she had gills.

because i do NOT have gills, today i am staying holed up in my beautiful air conditioned apartment pretending to work. unfortunately i am experiencing intense writer's block, which is why i've been absent from blogging for several weeks despite having gone on many blogable chicago adventures. send me your writing vibes, internets.

gnat promises better blogging

yes, i've been absent for almost a month now. i promise - it was for a good reason.

you may recall at the end of my last post, during which i gleefully announced the beginning of summer, that i said this:

"stay tuned for more whining when the weather takes its inevitable sharp downturn and i am forced to wear a jacket again for several more weeks."

well folks, i was right. after three or four days of gorgeous weather that almost made me forget i was upset that winter ever happened in the first place, chicago chuckled and slapped me across the face with more cold. remember the beautiful tulips? most of them were beheaded by 90mph winds. (i made that number up, but it feels about right.) the ones that weren't ended up looking like this:

so, as the temperature dipped back down to 39 degrees (i didn't make this number up. on the evening of may 26 it was 39 degrees in chicago, which would make me less upset if it had not, at the same moment, been 69 degrees in anchorage, alaska...) i made a calculated decision not to update, knowing that if i opened this window all i would do was curse this whole city and swear up and down to move as soon as opportunity struck. rather than subject you all to (more) diatribes against chicago and all of its inhabitants i waited for summer to actually arrive and improve my spirits before blogging again.

you're welcome.

anyway, it has been consistently beautiful out for several days now and i have been in a consistently excellent mood. i have a long wishlist of chicago adventures which i will be executing in a calculated and methodical fashion (lies) so that i have things of substance to tell you about outside of the weather, how bad the weather is, and what a horrible mood the bad weather puts me in. get excited.