This is fake!

Pulling another all nighter but this time…I have my fake coffee to-go cup to accompany me. Porcelain cup with rubber cap and sleeve. The porcelain makes the temperature seem a lot hotter and I was afraid to sip from the cap. But…it is just another nerdy accessory on my desk.

MFA Open Studio at The Art Institute of Chicago

You are here tonight in Studio Room 1219. We’re showing our work from this semester to fellow grad students. The inhabitants of this room are: Ryan Basile, Eric Baskauskas, Akemi Hong, Melissa Kim, Jinyoung Joung and Jiuxue Zhang.

Asian Garth says goodbye to Summer

I groggily shuffled my way to the bathroom this morning. Looked up and I saw Asian Garth from Wayne’s World in the mirror. I feel pretty craptaculous. A sore throat and congestion crept up on me yesterday on top of a hangover. It was one of those day (or my days) where I wake up and wonder if I took off my contacts. And for a minute or two, I have an absolute certainty that I did. And then I notice, yes, I am ablur.

A sneak preview before the living room is complete.

Eric and I raided the As Is section of IKEA yesterday. We got two table tops, breakfast bar counter and small finished slabs of wood for a side table construction. The new stuff we got were legs, bar stools, hinges and screws for our cheap but tasteful home. We also stopped by the Salvation Army and got lamps, a full dining set and a sheet we’ll make into curtains. I am really in love with our apartment. We start school tomorrow at The Art Institute. We have one day to relax and enjoy living at home before I have a strict schedule. No beer and cigarettes today. Maybe after 10pm. Or whatever.

UPDATE: Our bikes got stolen. My green Sears and Roebuck Free Spirit was swiped along with Eric’s bike at Noon today. Our first floor neighbor said she pulled her car out of the garage and pressed the clicker. But it sometimes bounces off the ground and has a gap. Her bike got stolen last year the same way. It seems someone’s been casing us.

Road Trip Recapped

If you want to read and see a concise summary of the cross-country road trip, go to Eric’s blog. He calls it the $5 Footlongs Across America trip. I miss being on the road.

Adventureland: First Ride on the Free Spirit

It was only yesterday that I was just a pedestrian walking and catching bus and rail rides around Chicago. My trusty iPhone guided me along the city grid and always directed me to the next stop. It all changed yesterday when we went to Kevin Thornton’s garage. Bicycles, tubes, gears, stands and numerous other parts stood on the floor and hung from the ceiling. There were Schwinns and other great manufacturers represented in this milieu. I had a budget of $50 to $100 to spend on a bike that could get me around the city. I’ve never tried so many bikes that were perfect for my height. Kevin showed me a Schwinn in the $100 range, a shaky Quinton for $50 and a heavy old vintage cruiser for $35. I asked for something between the Schwinn and the Quinton and his assistant, Karen, pulled out the Sears and Roebuck Free Spirit.

I don’t know anything about bikes but I took a look at her and knew she just might be the bike for me. She looks just like the photo on the left but she’s a small, forest green thing. She’s got Shimano Posi-Tron shifters, fenders and a rack.

Eric and I walked her to the nearest Sports Authority on Barry and Clark Street. I got a black helmet as well as a lock. He also carried her up the stairs of the Belmont Metro Station, moved back and forth from one door to the next depending on which side the rail car opened and down the stairs of the Washington stop. She’s a bit heavy and I think I might need to work out my arms and back if she’s going on the el with me again.

We broke her in that evening with a ride along Navy Pier and through Downtown back to Jennifer’s place. Our original plan was to bike through Millenium Park. But as we rode down Randolph, swarms of people were flooding out of the park, crossing the street and just making me nervous.

She’s a solid bike but I am an amateur. I felt fear, caution, and excitement throughout the ride. While we were on the bridge crossing to the Navy Pier River Walk, I wondered if there was a possibility I would crash into someone. Families, couples and bicyclists shared a cement walkway that was about five feet wide. In one instance, an older lady wasn’t aware of her surroundings and had a minor shock when Eric suddenly appeared next to her on his bike.

Balance pedaling, shifting in the center and sharing the limited space with people and cars…I can do that.

If you are interested, you can call Kevin at (773) 610-9442. He’s a really nice guy with a great mental index of the bikes he repairs.