Sisters, Sisters

The Bonnie 'n' Bobbie Show flew in on Friday for a weekend of making fun of me and buying me meals. Oh the fun! Those rednecks weren't used to the chill and the wind on Saturday, but at least the sun was out. We took the el downtown, walked around, had lunch and margs. Miss Bobbie hadn't been to Chicago since the 70s, also known as Way Before I Was Born, when she probably hit every disco and Harvey Wallbanger in town. So this time it was a little different.

Sunday we did a driving tour of a few neighborhoods, because they refused to see Baby Mama, even after Roeper gave it a mild recommendation. We wove mostly through Lincoln Park, then to Wicker Park and had lunch at a bar. Miss Bobbie bought us matching necklaces, too. Next time it'll be matching sweater sets from Talbots. That night my mom made enchiladas and now my freezer is packed with dinners for the next week and a half.

It was sad to say goodbye so soon, but we'll be together again in Asheville for Memorial Day weekend. Plus, Grandma! Stay tuned for even MORE laughs.

The Segway tour that I'm dying to do if someone can spot me $70.






Wicker Park


My dad stopped by for the enchilada dance party.

Letter to America

Dear America,
Why? Why, America? Why did you not vote for Carly? Was it because she's Irish? The tattoos? The tattoo-faced husband? WHAT? Erin and I used up all of our nighttime minutes, and for WHAT? To watch our hearts get ripped off the Idol stage? Yeah, that's right, she carried our hearts. She carried them in her heart. And now we'll never hear our hearts sing again. Don't you MAKE me spend money to see that lame tour just for her, because I WILL. I'LL DO IT. I'LL LOSE MOST OF MY FRIENDS, BUT I'LL DO IT. I just need someone to hold me... Anyone? Is anyone out there? Papa can you hear me?

Love,
Erin

Louisville

Louisville was lovely this weekend. Kent said it was the perfect time to visit. All the dogwood and red bud and cherry trees were in bloom, and it smelled like spring. It felt good to be in the south and to see color. I like Louisville a lot. It's charming and even comforting. Chicago is a lot of things, but charming and comforting it's not.

I got in late on Friday, so there was only time to have a couple glasses of wine before bed. Saturday morning we went to a cute pastry shop in their neighborhood for a light treat, which for me means giant lemon tart. Then we drove into downtown Louisville and the clouds and wind picked up. We walked by the Louisville slugger museum and Kent said, "Look, it's a bat bigger than your mother." I laughed and laughed, and then I checked every tree and garbage can in the city to see if my mom had bugged it. She knows how this family talks.

We had a nice luncheon downtown, then went to the Old Louisville neighborhood for a stroll. All of the houses are interesting. There are non-street streets, too, with houses facing a pedestrian boulevard.

Saturday night uncle Bill made a delicious seafood lasagna. He's a very good cook. Everything he makes beats the pants off my dinners. Literally, my dinners have pants. I don't know how that happens. I'm not a good cook. After dinner the two of us went out for slivers of cake and ice cream from a bakery to bring back.

I wish I could've stayed longer, or that I could visit more often. I do love the south. But I don't love the drive. Although I did invent something brilliant as I was driving home. I was stuck behind an annoying bus for ten miles, which, with the way I drive, is about two minutes. I was staring at this bus and I thought, "I wish this freaking bus had a TV on it." And so my idea of the Trunk TV was born: every vehicle comes standard with a TV mounted to the back, and the person who is driving behind has control of the channels. DO NOT STEAL MY IDEA. This is going to make me rich, like that TiVo guy.

Georgie

Earthquake

There was an earthquake in southern Illinois this morning at around 4:30. I woke up and thought, "Why is my room shaking? Must be the wind." And went back to sleep. We've had some strong winds lately... Then I turned on the news at six and they were ALL OVER that earthquake. I remembered looking over at Peewee when I woke up—she knew it wasn't just the wind.

They felt it all the way up in Wisconsin, down to Tennessee—and in Louisville, which is where I'm headed today after work, to visit my uncles. I haven't been to Kentucky in a few years. It'll be nice to see everything in bloom and smell that sweet, sweet suthuhn ayah. I'm sure we'll sip mint juleps and stroll through parks.

Resident

I finally got my Illinois license yesterday. Now I know why I put it off for a year. It took two hours of sitting in a big ugly room with a bunch of weirdos. Why is everyone at the DMV so weird, me excluded? If I were a comedian, I could do a thirty-minute bit about the DMV. "What is the DEAL with the guy with no hair and tattooed eyebrows? Don't get me started, don't EVEN get me started."

But I came out with a pretty good picture:



Then today I was going through some old pictures and found this:



Still the same... Still sticking toothpicks in my ears.

Brooklyn

This past weekend I visited Other Erin in Brooklyn. My dad got me a free flight, although I CERTAINLY paid for it. In anger dollars. First, my flight out was delayed for almost two hours, then it was CANCELLED. So I got a new flight, which was also delayed. At least United has a web cam in my brain and knows I can't go two hours without watching TV, because they showed The Office and 30 Rock. I'll give them that, but ONLY THAT.

It was so good to see Erin (NOT ME) again. We just laugh and laugh and drink some more. We've known each other since junior high school. I remember in 7th grade English we had to write letters to ourselves every month or so, and in one we wrote who we'd like to get to know better, and I said Erin. Then we went on to be college roomies. True story, true story!

On Saturday we went to Manhattan to see Young Frankenstein on Broadway, because Megan Mullally is in it. She was hilarious, but the rest of the show wasn't really our type of humor. She did a song called "Please Don't Touch Me," which Erin and I both loved because it's like, finally—someone has captured how we feel about life. ("You can hug me till I scream if it's only in a dream, but please don't touch me.")

After the show we walked around a bit, then had dinner at a Mexican restaurant in the Village. And by dinner, I mean margaritas, because that's the only thing I remember. Then we went back to Brooklyn and to Erin's neighborhood bar. That part of the night is a LITTLE fuzzy wuzzy, but I do know we went back to Erin's apartment afterward and played a lot of Super Mario Kart, which she made me bring. The night may have ended with us playing Super Mario Kart in our underwear, but I don't think we should ever talk about THAT again.

Sunday morning Erin and I finally got to watch Rock of Love together and cringe at how unattractive Daisy is (I KNOW YOU KNOW WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT). Later, I got to the airport really early and of course my flight was delayed. But it was worth all the anger dollars in the world to see Erin. I couldn't believe I was in New York. I can't believe my friends live all over and now I only see them once or twice a year, if that.