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Several notable things have happened since my last blog, and I have decided to touch on a few.

The Damn Cold!
This cold snap we are in the middle of has just GOT to end. Nevermind the fact that it's winter. Nevermind the fact that I have to put a coat, scarf, gloves, and 180s on every time I go out. Nevermind the fact that this is Chicago, and cold is to be expected. This is the extreme my friends. When your hands are numb from walking 4 blocks (with thermal gloves) and you are afraid to have any bare patch of skin exposed to the elements, it's too much. It's even to cold to finish 1/2 of a cigarette and forget enjoying it! In the mornings, it's all I can do to pry myself out of my warm cocoon of covers and sprint to the shower across the cold wood floor...in fact, I have had the urge to sprint a lot of places lately: to the shower (as previously mentioned), to the L, to put out the trash. No, strike that last one; I have 2 bags on the back porch that I can't bear to run out to the dumpster in the alley. If it's cold enough they won't smell, right? Not that anyone is spending any time on the back porch in this weather anyway....right??
May will be here in 3 months...that's my only consolation at the moment.

The Bears Lose the Superbowl
I consider myself a fan in that they are from Chicago, and I am all for supporting local organizations. But I'll be damned if there were some of the worst plays by the Bears; I could have gotten out on the field myself and done a better job, Rex! (If this isn't funny to you, then see my Myspace page for pictures, and then picture me out there on the field). The party I went to was a blast! But the game? Well...let's just say I'm glad football is over with for the time being.

Anna Nicole Smith dies
Boy Anna Nicole was a beauty. I can't say that I was necessarily a fan of hers, but her reality show was extremely entertaining, and so was her crazy life. I think I found her more of an interesting bit of pop-culture more than anything else. She had an extremely tragic decade- and a- half since she became a household name. I can't help but feel sorry for her and her situation between weight gain, drugs and alcohol, her son dying, her husband dying, and now her own untimely death. It seemed that everything came to a head and became too much for her to handle; as it would for any human being with such trials. I'm very anxious to hear the autopsy reports, as is the rest of the country and world.

Man gets hit by the L after slipping on ice!
I have thought it a thousand times, "Man, this platform needs more sand on it!" And I have always been lucky (knock on some wood for me) to keep my balance and not fall off and get electrocuted or hit by a train. But it happened to someone yesterday afternoon on the Red line, near the stop at Granville. Be careful! Pay attention! You don't want to get pried out from underneath an L train!

Cold Waiting for the Bus
...Well, not waiting for the bus. Rather, waiting for the bus driver to open the door! I took the Evanston express line to Howard last night and then decided to take the Clark bus home from there. There was a line of at least 10 people (including some young children) waiting to get on in the subzero temperature. The bus driver seemed not to notice until someone knocked on the door. Are they really that out of it? Had it been August, I wouldn't have minded so much...but no, it's the coldest week of the century, and I want to get on the damned bus! We've come full circle back to the cold weather, so that is where I will end for now =)