July in Pictures

This is the new system of parking here in Chicago. Major Daley sold our parking meters (all of them) for $99 million dollars for some insane amount of time. Thus, we get these. You can use your credit/debit card, so that's nice, but

Buckingham Fountain. I'd actually never been to it until a few weeks ago.
Flowers. Out of focus.

My favorite
The city of Chicago as seen from Buckingham Fountain (I'm facing west)

The fountain. The fountain pictures didn't turn out as well as I would have liked. Dusk was coming, lighting was moderately mediocre and my battery was dying.

Bird.



My favorite Metra stop in Chicago. Metra are the trains that go to the suburbs.

This fountain is constantly changing faces. When they were building it, they got a bunch of pictures of Chicagoland people and put them up.


The state of Illinois in sidewalk ark. Yes, the Cardinal is the state bird.

The bean! The bean!
Me.
i love this

Tall building.

Be Quiet, My A**

I had a rather nice afternoon talking with a lesbian doing grad work in theology. She didn't press her opinions on me, instead, listened to me, commented on what I was saying about the Catholic church and taught me a thing or two.

That was nice. It's nice to consider religion in ways such as these.

I got a forward from Mom. I liked it. I like Andy Rooney. I like him a lot. What I didn't like was this: I was asked to send this on if I agree or delete if I don't. It is said that 86% of Americans believe in God..[sic] Therefore I have a very hard time understanding why there is such a problem in having 'In God We Trust' on our money and having 'God' in the Pledge of Allegiance. Why don't we just tell the 14% to BE QUIET!!!

After, it said pass it on if you agree. I deleted it.

Remember when women didn't have the right to vote? Should they have just been quiet? Just because somebody is the minority doesn't mean they shouldn't have a voice. Remember people with disabilities? The Americans with Disabilities Act speak for them. Should we have told them to just be quiet? The Civil Rights Movement? Nazi Germany? Oppression of all sorts?

Your religion is your choice, not your right. Why don't you just quietly thank your own G/god for what you've been given (including the right to freedom of religion)? It's separation of C/church and state, something I couldn't emphasize enough if I tried.

I'm sick of Christians trying to shove their beliefs down the throats of others. This isn't directed at anyone particularly that I know, but I'm still sick of hearing about it. I'm sick of the pledge of allegiance. I'm sick of "in God we trust" and the argument about it.
Let's work on trusting each other and then we can work on trusting God.

But enough of that.

Perhaps we should look at the basic tenets of the religions: peace and love. Let's practice those instead. Let's be a little nicer to everyone we meet. Even a smile is God in practice. Do that instead of sitting in Church for one hour a week.

Also, these Christians need to check their numbers. The number quoted in the email dates back to 1990 (86%). The current number is hovering around 75.5% (www.religioustolerance.org). Quoted: " 14.1% do not follow any organized religion. This is an unusually rapid increase -- almost a doubling -- from only 8% in 1990.

A USA Today/Gallup Poll in 2002-JAN showed that almost half of American adults appear to be alienated from organized religion. If current trends continue, most adults will not call themselves religious within a few years. Results include:
About 50% consider themselves religious (down from 54% in 1999-DEC)
About 33% consider themselves "spiritual but not religious" (up from 30%)
About 10% regard themselves as neither spiritual or religious.


Well. Alright. Let's all practice our own spirituality and leave the rest to everyone else.

I'm watching the Food Network talk about donuts in Colorado. I am dearly looking forward to getting back home. I'm thinking I'm going to go to a concert at Red Rocks with Katie, so that will make my summer dreams come true. (coloradans, night, music, what could get better than that?)

I took pictures the other day on a solo walk around downtown....I'll post them soon, maybe tonight.
I actually meant to blog about my week; it's been wild. Instead, I'm now emotionally and religiously exhausted.
So sorry. Expect something better soon.

Money is the root of all evil

There are days when I realize how much I really love my mom and how great a job she did raising me.
Ha, I realize that sounded a little funny, because I'm not some high-paid executive with a bright future. I'm just her daughter, the one that has all the weird issues, who lives in Chicago, who finally has a nice boyfriend, who believes in karma, whose car got smashed, who loves her life, who is going through so much weird trouble it's insane, who can't imagine what she's going to do after college, who's considering grad school, who loves her mother so much.

I sat on the phone with her for like an hour and a half today, just talking about life and everything in it. Talking about Hunter, our future, his future, my future, our relationship, Emily, the money issue, values, belief systems, life, school, the Dominick's/Safeway regional manager, rent, money, etc. It's hot today here, hot like I've not felt all summer.

Also, in relatively lame news, I may have been exposed to Hepatitis C when I was in the hospital in January for surgery. How fail is that? Some crazy nurse lady was stealing painkillers, injecting them into herself and then leaving the dirty syringes filled with saline for the patients. So I received a certified letter informing me of my possible exposure and then they told me they'd like to test me. Great. Love getting tested for Hep C. It's going to be awesome.
Good news though: out of the 5700 people possibly exposed, only like 7 have it. So hopefully I won't be number 8.


Ah, money, the thing we can't live without. The thing that drives us and drives us nuts.
Hunter is stressed out right now, and I don't blame him. He's hoping to get a second job at Starbucks (free coffee and health benefits!), so that should be nice.
I'm hoping to survive summer school. I've got a small part in an independent film shooting in August and I'm helping one of my professors cast a movie this next week.

Busy enough.

The Dominicks/Safeway regional manager called me today. He apologized, listened to me tell him that I was treated like a criminal, explained the policy (which is absolutely moronic, in my very valid opinion), I told him I understood the policy, but questioned its implementation. This exchange went on for quite awhile. In the end, I got a sort of apology, the promise that the store manager will be hearing from him personally, etc. etc. I told him not to get the workers in trouble, but that it was the manager and his female goon that embarrassed me and hurt my opinion of the integrity of the store. So you know, we evened out. Whatever. At least my emails got the attention of the regional manager. I feel a little bit better about that.

Well, a nice summer party tonight. Emily is out of town, so I'm heading down to South Michigan Ave to a friend's, where we will all hang out.

Good day.

Macbeth, Hamlet and the space between

Whoever answers the email for Safeway/Dominick's has got to be one of the most maddenly moronic people on the face of planet.
I replied that I would like to see the policy.
I receive an answer (some two days later) about military IDs and how all you really need is a picture, an expiration date, physical description and a birthdate. Huh. That's funny, because that's what I had.

Whatever. I'm done with these idiots. I'm satisfied that they have no idea what they're talking about.

I'm still waiting for my license. My temporary one has expired. I am doomed to drive in fear of being pulled over and also doomed to not play trivia on Sundays. Maybe my Passport needs to be over-nighted to my house so that I can at least do that.

Class today. In a funk. Put some of my clothes on hangers. Room still a disaster, but now I don't really know why.

Tired. Rainy. Ate a turkey sandwich. Drinking tea.
Class. Hamlet. I read Macbeth instead.
Life is like that.

....continues

Dear Ms. Barry:

Thank you for your recent correspondence regarding the alcohol policy at your local Dominick’s store.

Thank you for taking the time to bring this matter to our attention. We apologize that you were inconvenienced by our policy. Communication with our customers like you enables our continued improvement.

Please realize that our policy is in no way a reflection on you our valued customer. We continue to focus on partnering with our communities and local law enforcement to ensure that alcohol is not made available to underage purchasers. Our policies regarding identification are not meant to inconvenience a select group of our customers, but to make every effort to protect all of our customers, communities, and associates (who are personally liable for alcohol sales.)

You also expressed your concern regarding the quality of customer service provided by one of our associates at the checkstand in this regard as well as the checkout lanes at the store. We are sorry to hear that we are not meeting your expectations. It is not our intention to upset our valued customers, but to provide them with excellent customer service.

Your comments are important to us and have been forwarded to the Retail Operations Department as well as the Store Manager for further review and consideration. Thank you for your patience.

We are happy to know that you are otherwise satisfied with the overall atmosphere of the store. We continuously weigh options to provide the best shopping experience for our customers. Your appreciative comments will be shared with the staff.

If you would like to discuss this further, please reply to this email or call our toll free number at 1-877-723-3929 and reference contact I.D. 15040407. One of our associates will be happy to assist you.

We appreciate your business and look forward to seeing you soon. Thank you for shopping at Dominick’s.


Sincerely,

Michelle Babel
Customer Service Center



to which I replied:


Hello,

I appreciated a response to my comments, but I wish to know a little more about this policy.
Please realize that this Dominick's is right near a local university and there is an influx of differing state IDs. Perhaps more communication would be beneficial to ensure that the client base is aware of limitations that will be placed on their purchases.

I was completely unaware of it up until my encounter this weekend, which is odd considering I am a frequenter of your store and to date have had no problem with purchasing alcohol.

I am interested to know when (date and year, if possible) that policy was implemented and why it is not being implemented at Dominick's stores on a regular basis, and in that case, what is going to be done to ensure that it is implemented completely, both to save humiliation on your customers' behalf and to save your employees from being bothered as they so obviously were.
I merely hope to save myself trouble again and to spare the emotions of some other unsuspecting customer.

I would like to see the policy if at all possible if it is available on the Web. (I looked on your website and couldn't find anything.)

Thank you again for your attention and have a wonderful day,
Katherine Barry

Feel Better Grandma Mary!

First of all, and absolutely most importantly, I am sending out a web-call for prayers for Grandma Mary who is in the hospital right now. I hope that everything is alright and that she heals quickly and painlessly.
I love you, Grandma! I finally sent you your Valentine the other day, so be so excited to get it!!

Secondly, and quite important, but not nearly as important as Grandma:




Comments or Questions : Hello,

I was in a Dominick's/Safeway this afternoon and had a problem using my ID to purchase beer. I realize that this is hardly reason for complaint, but the problem was the verification of identification.
The Dominick's store at 6009 N. Broadway, Chicago, IL 60660 is normally a wonderful store. I have not yet had a problem there other than incredibly slow checkout lines, but that is to be expected.
I have an out-of-state ID, one which expired. In Colorado, where I am from, when an ID expires, the DMV punches a hole in the card and gives you an accompanying paper until you receive your new driver's license in the mail. I have been using that without any issue throughout Chicago for the last month and a half, still awaiting my new license. The problem is this: today I was denied sale.
Flabbergasted, I asked the female employee who checked my ID if I could speak to the manager. Her response was rather curt, informing me that he'd just say no, without any explanation as to why my ID wasn't going to work.
That's fine, but the reason that the manager, Todd, gave me was that they do not accept "invalid IDs." When I challenged him, he told me that employees have been told not to accept such IDs. He told me that he wasn't the police, and that he wasn't going to accept an invalid ID.
Mine is legally valid, and that's where my problem comes in. It is accompanied by an official state document.
I'm suggesting that instead of sporadically denying sale, your company either accept VALID identification (I spend most of my grocery money at your store, but am less inclined to do so now) OR have a more consistent denial policy, one that won't catch loyal customers off guard at inopportune moments. I was greatly embarrassed by the situation and was forced to leave my items at the very busy register.
I know that the Safeway corporation takes good care of both their employees and their customers. If employees are told to deny sale to people with temporary identification, then I as a customer would appreciate a follow-through, so at least I would have been made aware of such a rule as to "valid" identification before I had attempted to legally purchase alcohol. Perhaps signs could be posed throughout the store or at the registers?
That's fine as well. It's not the buying of the alcohol that I have a problem with, it's the
manner in which this policy is implemented. Had I known, I wouldn't have tried, but I've been successfully (and legally, I might add) purchasing alcohol from your store for nearly a month and a half, never encountering this type of problem.
I'd love to know what you as a company are going to do to solve this issue, both for me and for other patrons from different states with different ID policies. We'd like to be aware of your store's policies before we attempt to do something under the impression that we are legally allowed to do so.

Thank you for your time and understanding,
Katherine Barry

P.S. I do not have the physical club card, but when I get to the checkstand, I put in my cell phone number. (303-916-0080). Feel free to see any past beer purchases made on that card for reference.
Thanks again.



ugh. I've been waiting more than a month for my driver's license to arrive and I do not have my Passport. I had no idea that this was going to be such a problem. Colorado and the mail system need to get their act together.

Have a safe and happy 4th! We're having a "dress up like your favorite terrorist" party tonight just for the patriotism of it all!!!!

Having never even set foot into my third class, I dropped it. Nine hours in six weeks just wasn't going to do.
Hunter surprised me by picking me up from class today with a present! I was excited to find out what it was; he'd picked his favorite three pictures from our Colorado trip and put them in a frame for me.
The weather here is ridiculous. It's downright cold today. All the windows are closed in the house and I'm under a blanket trying to cram more Shakespeare in before class tonight.

Update. Quick.

It's been a really long summer, actually.
Even though time is flying by, I have yet to feel really at ease.
I'm tense, always. I've got a lot on my mind.
Classes start tomorrow. I'm already exhausted.
It's emotionally draining, these relationships, both with friends and lovers.
I've been walking a lot lately, trying to get in shape. I've been eating healthier, trying to cut out as much sugar as possible (so hard when you're a fiend like I am).
Remember surgery in January? Well, it did nothing, basically. So I'm trying to somehow make my body strong enough to fight off all of this. I'm joined an internet support group that caters to the growing number of women suffering like I am, suffering worse. But it's always bad news, so I try not to read their desperate posts. I'm hoping I'll never have to post one, full of anger, or fear, or pain.
It's never far from my mind, and even though I hope for the best, the worst haunts me. I'd rather be plagued by persistent obnoxious ghosts than plagued by this. It's terrifying.
It's taking a lot of my energy, and everyday I try to let it go a little bit.
My room is still in shambles. I've lost my need to be inside. The beach has been calling.
Today was the Gay Pride Parade in Boystown. Maddie and I went to watch the parade, see the protesters (who were ridiculously cruel, by the way) and to get some lunch. After, we headed to another neighborhood to browse and then returned home. Bar trivia tonight, hopefully lots of sleep, and then a long day tomorrow.
The end, for now.
Summer is beautiful, slipping so fast.

Days without a parking ticket: As of June 18, 2009: 6

I feel as though my life would be so much easier if people would just learn to park like considerate people in unity with their fellow men.

Don't take two spots when you only need one, it's a simple concept.
It forces late-night adventurers to get parking tickets by simply being adventurous and creative in their choices.

Today was a lovely day.
Hunter and I lounged, waiting for Emily to get back from St. Louis via bus, and made pancakes and bacon and potatoes and eggs and fruit.
Delicious.
I'm tired, but friends are coming in tonight, so we'll see how that goes.
My computer has come across some sort of extremely nasty virus and won't even let me get to the home screen, so until further notice, I'm merely borrowing computers to steal quick minutes with them.
Hunter and I will be home late Wednesday, but expect not to see us until Thursday. The new plan is to leave after he's done with work on the 2nd (around 6 or 7pm) and drive through the night, hopefully arriving in Denver during daylight.

See you soon!

Picture Blog

Easter 2009-Emily's mom's wedding (May 25, 2009)

My birthday was a blast.
I got back to Chicago after braving horrendous traffic and found myself exhausted. Instead of eating dinner, Emily and I lounged around, munching on chocolate (thanks Aunt Sally!) and watching "Friends." At about 8, we started getting ready to go out and our friend Coupe joined us. (He's Hunter's roommate)
We ended up on the Red Line train south to Lawrence, where we got off and entered the Green Mill Lounge. My first legal bar experience was live jazz in a muted room. Whispers were the only conversation allowed, a drink softly ordered, vodka cranberry, and then consumed amid the music. A statue stood in one corner, dimly lit but just as ornate as the rest of the room. We spotted an empty table after the first set, and settled in.
Expensive, however, so we took our leave and went to the next bar we saw, two doors away or possibly across the street, or both.
That is where our night ended.
A bouncer named Bing, a cranky bartender, and someone else's birthday made for an interesting night.
Home.
Head in toilet.
Never go out to drink heavily on an empty stomach.
As Mom said the next day, "Novice mistake."
It was indeed.

Drove back to Wauwatosa in the afternoon. Hunter had made me spaghetti and meatballs for dinner. It was sweet, cut up apples, bread, even peas.
Since then we've been enjoying ourselves. Last night we went out to experience the Tosa nightlife. Calm. Taking the dogs to the dogpark. It's wild. Forest-y, huge, trails. Today we filmed something, we're not sure what yet. I ended up dying in it, after being pushed off a HUGE log.
There's a store here that's called Half-Price Books. It's like the used bookstore next to Dairy Queen on Colorado Blvd. Romance novels abound.

Pictures to come, soon, hopefully.
Travel dates set.
June 3rd through the 9/10th?.

Twenty one today!
Got back from Wisconsin this afternoon, having spent a wonderful weekend up in Northern Wisconsin with Hunter and his cousin. We went fishing, canoeing, attempted to catch some turtles and went on walks. I got lots of sleep!
His dogs came with us, since he's dogsitting them this week while his parents are in Mexico. They took us out to dinner on Friday night, which is always lovely.
Tonight, going out with Emily and some friends.
Here's to a magical year ahead!

Looking forward to being back in Denver!
Grandma Mary's e-card was wonderful! Aunt Sally's package (including add-ins from Bailey and Avery, and Aunt Jan, Uncle Mike and Brian.

Love you all!

I'm settling into my second full day of having nothing to do.
But that's a lie: I've got tons of things to do. Mostly cleaning, lots of cleaning. So much of it to do. Car, room, apartment.
I have much to do, but have not really been able to motivate myself to do them.
I feel like that's alright.
I'm going to take a couple of days to settle in.
I've been oddly stressed lately, for some reason, I've been unable to be happy or feel confident about the future or anything really.
So I'm taking a few mental health days to breathe.

Tonight we're going to the midnight showing of the new Star Trek movie. (Lame). The boys are excited, though, and Emily and I can't help but agree to go.

PARKS

(this picture goes along with my story about my filmmaking adventure. this is the bag of unidentified white substance.
BELOW-
you may not be able to tell, but this a picture of scary crack needles)


Summer officially started for me today at 2pm.
My film final was a stretch. I took on the role of chief editor, which I liked very much, and in total we spent more than 15 hours working on the post-production of the film alone.
The parameters of the film were this:
short, Chicago-based film with less than three(ish) speakers.

And so I joined on with the group that I had worked with previously. Laura, a senior, is one of the editors of the Loyola Phoenix (newspaper), and Andre, a Polish student studying abroad for kicks.
We went to various locations throughout Chicago, including some rather interesting places. I don't spend much time west of Clark St. in Chicago, which basically means that I'm spending most of time on the very East side of the city. The northeast side, essentially, since I live in the northernmost neighborhood inside the city limits.
We went down to the far southwest side (I may have mentioned this previously) to Douglas Park. There, we saw the startling juxtaposition of raw, earthly beauty with the stark concrete inner city. The gas stations were all cluttered, crowded, dirty, small and all boasted a thick wall of bulletproof glass. There were no holes with which anyone would be able to reach a hand through to access the clerks.
On the corner, a crowd of twenty-somethings gathered. They stared us down as we walked past them, pale strangers stark against their landscape.
The park was beautiful, walkways, a lake, a small river, a bridge, signs tagged by local gangs, mostly the Bloods. I jokingly tell my companions that I can make the Blood gang sign (I can, but not easily. It's an awkward attempt, always), and they quickly shush me back into awed silence. The we're looking at says "Blood Town" although it's a bad attempt at territorial marking, and to my untrained eye, says "Blood Iowa."
We make a hasty exit, but not before we've stopped by the banks of this serene lake to see the needles scattered on the ground, little colored tops sticking out, marking their location. I step on a leaf and uncover a small (gram-sized) bag containing some unidentified white substance.
I was engrossed in my exploration of this place, so stunningly beautiful and yet so terribly realistic of the city, that they had to pull me away.
The other park, also on the South Side, but more to the east, near the lake, was beautiful. It reminded me of Denver almost. A path winding through a field, except that in Chicago, there is water everywhere. Puddles in the path reflect the trees ad the sky above. A little family of ducks swims up the river, right through my shot. Perfect.
Grant Park, in the South Loop, near where Hunter and Coupe go to school, is always beautiful. You'll recognize that name as the place where Obama celebrated his election, the place near where my beloved "Bean" sits, and where the city falls in love with art and itself all at once.

The project took forever and the five minute result is nice. You'll see it as soon as I can find a way to transfer the media online or until someone sends me the youtube link.


Have a wonderful evening!
Happy Cinco de Mayo.

I'm starting a new blog, a different focus. Think resume builder. Since I don't have a job right now, other than my meager earnings at babysitting (which are on the decline), I'm focusing my efforts on my writing, my as yet uncreated romance novel, and my volunteer efforts.
Think graduate school potential increase. All of this spare time will lead me to de-stress (sort of) and to let me flex my creative and volunteering muscles.
More info on that later. It'll be a place-based blog, with Chicago stories, traveling stories, etc.

Loyola has been hit with a case of swine flu. I was on the train this afternoon sitting across from a man wearing one of those surgical masks. I'm not overly concerned, but am still washing my hands.
I am done with all of my final tests and am now just going to turn in my documentary on Monday.
So that will be wonderful.
And then after that, I will have a few weeks to hang out and just breathe.
Simon is about to hit 50,000 miles, so be thinking about him. He says thank you for all of the gas cards, and so do I.


Hunter is coming to Denver with me in early June!!
Be so excited because I absolutely am!

Tired.

Summer in the City.

This photo is shamelessly stolen from the internet, so I'm crediting this picture. http://www.flickr.com/photos/samuelnbarnett/1234623892/
It's the journalism ethics classes that are getting to me.

Last night after the rain had cleared, the city became hot. Winds brought no sense of chill and the night was dark. We left the apartment, windows open, to join the city in its celebration of spring.
We slipped up the streets, green now and wet with rainwater. The beach stood ahead of us, taunting us, drawing us in.
Barefoot, shoes in hand, we crossed the barely crusted cool wet sand. It's hard to describe, that feeling, but if I told you it looked like walking on the moon, you'd have to believe me.
Darkness filled the sky, was the sky, but barely touched the sand and at some point, the roundness of the lake was the sky, unending, all around. Sand, dented in with footprints but mostly smooth was the moon, floating, suspended over earth. It was that.
I turned around and was surprised to see the city, so invested in my moonwalk I had been.
Our feet got wet in the lake, up to our ankles, cold, biting water, flowing in and up.
I felt the rocks between my toes and the water went away again. I jumped out, up, back to the beach where they were dried off by a sand blanket. It covered my feet, scratchy yet familiar.
The path was there, green grass and among all of it, between the beach and the busy street, trees. We climbed them, pulling our weight off the earth and into the branches.
There was jumping, the soft thud of feet landing on the earth again, and we set toward home.
Only in Chicago can you walk through an utterly beautiful ecological system and then step back into the dirty city. Under the bridge, the train would have been above us then, or in a few minutes, we passed a group of dark dressed people, conversing, by an abandoned parking lot.
We did not look at them and they looked at us, one of them leering in so close I thought he'd hit my shoulder.
He didn't, and we walked on.
Around the majestic building that is a high school. Around, fast food restaurants gleam neon in the night, cars thunder by, thumping music or hissing power.
Home, at last, quiet streets, dark night.
Beautiful, welcome at last to the city.
The summer.

I failed hard.
I got a Twitter.

www.twitter.com/KatieMaryBarry