Flood, Dragonflies, Yodeling

Early Thursday evening around 4:45, the sky opened up above Milwaukee and poured. It rained so hard and so fast that the clothes were dripping on our bodies after walking in the parking lot, as if we jumped in a pond on the way out of work. Less than a mile away, our drive was interrupted by flooding on the highway. We waited, we turned around, we got on different roads, we drove through high water and in the end, our 40 minute commute became a 3 1/2 hour trek home. We kept positive, cheering my car through the roads and relying on the Foreigner for silly laughs. Many cars and their passengers weren't as lucky, and several were left abandoned on the side of the street. Close to where I live, a giant sinkhole opened up and swallowed an Escalade whole! There are still construction crews working to fix the

intersection.

Friday involved takeout dinner and then drinks on North Street (very near the sinkhole). The rain started up again as we were walking home, so we stopped at a closer friend's house and watched Flight of the Conchords until it was time for bed. The same friends took the opportunity to grab some late-morning breakfast at the Jewish diner/deli, Benji's. I experienced my first corned beef hash, which was delicious! Thank god for the Jews; they know what's up. The afternoon was spent at the Brady Street Festival, where young and old alike drank themselves into stupors and celebrated being awesome. After the festival, Jessica, Shawnna and I stopped at a lookout above Lake Michigan, where there were more dragonflies than I have ever seen in my life. Thousands of dragonflies flew overhead, creating a surreal and magical feeling I've never experienced before.

Today was the last day of German Fest (it is the City of Festivals, after all), so we headed to the Summerfest grounds to drink good beer, watch yodeling contests, awe in the lederhosen and celebrate a heritage I'm pretty sure may be less than 1/8 of my European mutt heritage. Time for some much needed coffee and possibly another round.

July Housekeeping

Things to catch you up on that don't really require a long post:

* Work is still great!

* I'll be back in Columbia August 8th for a few weeks before I start up work again

* Blueberry beer is weird

* I saw both the Girl Who Played With Fire and Inception this weekend and they were both spectacular. Run and see them now.

and most importantly...

***** I FINISHED MY THESIS TODAY!!!!!!!!!! *****

And now to celebrate, here is a picture of a painting on the wall of Art Bar:

Sweat is the New Headband

I grabbed my ticket and we left for Chicago early Sunday morning. The drive was quick and easy, until we hit the north suburbs and that inexplicable bottlenecking transformed the last 18 miles into a 90 minute affair. Jess and I entertained ourselves with loud music and a new game called 'who else in traffic is going to Pitchfork?' Crowded highways turned into crowded city buses that turned into crowded circles around stages in the hot sun. Foot tapping, head nodding and light swaying amongst rapidly shifting clouds and marijuana smoke signified the interest of the festival-goers, a subset of the population mostly too hip for dancing.

Some acts solicited more of a reaction, including St. Vincent with Annie's guitar solos and Neon Indian with freshman status and approachable electronic sound. I'm not usually a fan of music festivals; sunburn, bad lineups, and the inevitable giants that stand in front of me usually mean I could have had a better listening experience at home. This was different in that I didn't so much mind the sun or the fact I had been sweating profusely for 8 hours straight. I didn't mind the people next to me and their individual quirks. I didn't mind the standing, the waiting or the lines. And when it came time to drive back to Wisconsin, I didn't feel relieved, I just felt good. The day was good and home was good and the people in my life are good. We got sodas and took the entrance ramp to the highway and drove home with bed in mind.

Sit on it

So I'm trying to finish my thesis and get things done and sleep in the process. So instead of writing about what I did this week, you get a blurry phone picture of some of us in front of the Fonz on the Milwaukee River. The four of you that read this won't mind, I'm sure.

3 1/2

When you work a 8-5 job, weekends become precious. Having two consecutive days off is a joy, and you can accomplish more than you ever thought possible. For example, sleeping until 2 pm AND getting laundry done. Try

not to be too impressed.

So if two days are so wonderful, 3 ½ days in a row of no work is like magic. This past Fourth of July weekend was simply magical, starting with Friday at the beach. Some friends came out and we played soccer, made Jessica into a mermaid, threw a Frisbee around and managed to get sand in every possible place there is to have sand.

Friday night, we joined a group at the German Beer Hall, where waitresses in beer wench outfits delivered liters of Hofbrau and dancing on the tables is encouraged. A night full of sing alongs, dance moves and giggling ended in diner food and hilariously wrong directions home, and I went to sleep with a view of the sun rising orange and mauve.

Fireworks in Milwaukee took place on Saturday night, and in the morning crowds staked out

space for tents, blankets, and grills. Imagine the land rush, but with more kites. The sun was hot as we layed around, ate bagels and watched the games settlers near us played. I didn’t see the fireworks on the lake, however, due to the fact I drove to Chicago with Jess and Jenna a few hours later.

Chicago’s Ukrainian village greeted us with Mexican food and hospitable friends, and loud blasts from fireworks set off in the daylight. We walked around the Lincoln Park Zoo Sunday after a diner breakfast and a bus ride. I never thought I’d see three monkeys pee in one v

isit, but you better believe I did. A couple of hours full of sunburns and smashed pennies later

, the females of the group shopped. We’ll just say many dollars exchanged hands, and we headed back to the apartment to get ready for the fireworks show.

Friends of Garrett and Andrea hosted a pot-luck style evening in their beautiful apartment, and from the porch you could see sparklers used to spell out names and hear ‘Merica! shouted from all directions. We rushed to a nearby corner for a professional grade/amateur execution firework display, where we passed two hours of delay with photos and open containers. The show started, and stopped, and started again, proving along the way that danger makes things more fun and people love bright lights and explosions. More pictures were snapped as a

sudden police presence inspired U-S-A chants and the national anthem from the crowd, as well as the ever-so-apt, “It’s the 4th of July, jag-off!” from one neighborhood hero. Rockets were lit in defiance and we strolled away as a paddy wagon pulled up as the show’s finale.

Jazz in the Park, reggae edition