field museum vip

I enjoyed a museum! Not that I don't usually enjoy museums, but I tend to get a little...shall we say...bored sometimes? (I know I know, I'm an art history major, the shame...) But today was a special exception because I got the grand tour of the Field Museum from Anna, since she works there and knows, I'd say, about 99% (if not 100%) of what's going on. I got a thorough explanation and walk-through of the exhibits, found out the history of everything and even got to go in the special laboratory rooms where they work on the dead animals to preserve them to display. And yes, it stunk. But my newfound fascination for these things made me realize that maybe I should have saved my museum field trips until now, when I'm actually mature (or rather, more mature) and can understand the importance of what is being exhibited.

It also was pouring rain in the morning but I've gotta make the best of my short time here, so I made my way over to Michigan Avenue, had a nice walk as the rain subsided, and passed by all the big department stores and buildings. I didn't go into any, since shopping in big stores overwhelms me lately, but it was nice to feel a part of the hustle and bustle along the street for awhile. I then bussed it back up to Anna's neighborhood - Lakeview/Lincoln Park - and walked around to browse in the shops, and got a way-overdue manicure and pedicure. Which of course means I caught up on some gossip magazines, as those are standard in any nail salon. Bliss!

I checked on Stanley in the parking garage and he's doing well, thanks for asking. The great thing is I can see him from Anna's apartment since he's parked on the top level of the lot and being on the 20th floor, I can see over all the buildings into the parking lot, so I wave to him in the mornings to make sure he's still there. I think I'm really going to miss him when it's all over. Oops, off track - back to Chicago. Yes. So...I'm really loving it here. It's a city, but a mellow city. I love the neighborhoods - it kind of reminds me of the vibe in San Francisco or Berkeley. We've got big plans before I leave on Sunday so I'll be writing more soon on this windy city (it really has been so windy!).