When I signed up for a conference on assessment in Higher Education

... I didn't realize that drinking beer and Appalachian line dancing with the director of institutional research from a well known University in New England in a shack-like bar in the mountains of North Carolina would be part of the weekend, but it was. I'll post some pictures of the Appalachian mountains later this week.

I'm still upset about missing the Bloc Party show, but my weekend was interesting to say the least.

However all that rain on they are having on the east coast really did a number for my weekend and for the flight back, I didn't get to bed until 3am last night due to delays as a result of the storms.

You asked ....

Venetian Night = A night where everyone gathers on the lakeshore with snacks, wine, and a radio to watch lavishly decorated ships and boats sail past. There is then a fireworks display that rivals that of the 4^th of July (actually the 3^rd of July) while WXRT (a local station) plays music in sync with it. It isn’t as crowded as the 3^rd of July fireworks (1/2 a million people versus 1 ½ million people). A word to the wise though, the Shedd Aquarium doesn’t turn off their lawn sprinklers, so clear out by 10pm unless you want to get wet (as we discovered last year).

My former grocery store

The pushcarts come to a squeaky stop.
Originally uploaded by fueledbycoffee.

Okay, so they closed my grocery store, the store I’ve been shopping at for 3 some odd years now, as I so unceremoniously discovered one night when I went to go buy something and found the doors locked and the shelves emptied. Being the internet geek that I am I went home and did some google searches on “Edmar Foods” and discovered out there that sure enough, there was some sort of “Edmar love” going around amongst a certain community of kids I call “the trust fund slummers’, you know, those kids who go around spray painting stenciled graffiti onto everything, seem to revel in dirt and grime, seek out the seedy, and deride anything that looks too sleek, these are the same kids that ride old one speed bikes, wear trucker hats and cop glasses, invariably they are all from wealthy families in Iowa, or grew up on the north shore. That they were decrying the loss of Edmar’s does not surprise me as Edmar was a crappy grocery store that sold horrible produce, sometimes grey meat, prone to bugs, was poorly stocked, and generally pretty dirty. Outside was a collection of neighborhood characters sometimes selling things such as a (probably) broken television, newspapers, or in one case, a fish tank complete with fish. I saw a couple of fights break out in the parking lot before, and a few times, I’m convinced a couple of prostitutes with teeth missing hanging around front. Which leads me to my next point … what the hell is wrong with you people?

Don’t get me wrong, I am none too pleased with the bit of corporate homogeneity that will invariably replace this store (the plans are for a sparkly new Dominick’s complete with Starbucks to come with it), but you know, just because something is independently run, does not make it automatically good, and this place was not good.

Now I have to figure out where I’m going to buy my food.

Another boring "Jessica gets political" post.

Letter to the Chicago Tribune:

As someone who has been riding the CTA for most of her adult life (and through a bit of her teenage years as well), I am becoming increasingly disheartened at the continued threats to its ability to operate as a viable public transportation system. I read this morning another threat from the state regarding CTA funding that potentially will affect the ability of the CTA to provide service to its riders (“State puts CTA on notice”, June 13, 2006). I find it unconscionable that in this day and age of rising gas prices, rising congestion and pollution, that the state of Illinois is so willing to slash and dismantle, or site idly by while it is slashed and dismantled, one of the most viable solutions to these dilemmas. While I am fully aware that there may very well be problems in the way the CTA manages its funds, I still feel that it is irresponsible of the state of Illinois to allow this problem to fester year after year. Many Chicagoans, me included, do not have the means to maintain and drive a car and pay to use the CTA everyday; as such have made the decision to use one or the other. If my only mode of transportation continues to be threatened and/or dismantled year after year, I may begin to look to for other options. Surely the state of Illinois, and the city of Chicago, would rather that people like me continue to use public transportation rather than add another vehicle to our already congested and polluted environment and thus also seriously impeding my financial ability to enjoy the city I live in and love. I’d rather not even consider my other option, to move away to another city that actually takes its public transportation seriously. Jessica

Last night was my first night kayaking, ever and I loved it. Yes it was hard work, and quite a workout, and I’m still trying to figure out how to go in a straight line, but it was a lot of fun. Granted we just paddled around Goose Island so my views were not quite as nice as the guy in the picture. However I did get to see the Morton Salt Factory from the river, and isn’t that just everyone’s dream?

Anyway, I have 3 more sessions to go and who knows what after that, I just discovered there is a kayaking even that involves paddling down the river to watch the fireworks on Venetian night, now that sounds like it could be a lot of fun.