December 30, 2013. Upon leaving work, I found myself walking through a persistent snow shower that collected on my face and whiskers, adding to the frozen condensation from my breath which resulted in icicles I had to pull out of, or break off from, my beard and mustache. As slick and slushy as the sidewalks and streets were, I was glad to not be on my bike. This fellow, however, stuck with the two-wheeled transportation, although he looked a bit on edge.
Monday, December 30, 2013
151/365 - Holiday Pedicab
December 29, 2013. I forgot which song I heard, but I heard a rock song blaring and fairly quickly approaching as I waited to cross Michigan Avenue. Then this pedicab came into view, covered in protective plastic and festooned with holiday decor.
150/365 - Tunnel of Love
December 28, 2013. On a Red Line platform sits this statement of someone's love.
149/365 - Our Lady of the Frozen Garden
December 27, 2013. Approaching Saint Hyacinth Basilica in Avondale, I happened upon this unassuming garden, showing signs of a midwestern winter and a devotion to the Catholic faith.
Friday, December 27, 2013
148/365 - Shoveler
December 26, 2013. A white Christmas leads, of course, to shoveling snow. I shoveled some myself before heading to work. It seems I saw at least two people on each block clearing their sidewalks.
147/365 - White Christmas
December 25, 2013. We had a white Christmas this year, as we often do in Chicago. Eamon followed me out onto the deck after several test steps and a lot of looking for a snowless route. He eventually came over to me and leaned on the back of my legs. When I asked him what he thought, he meowed long and grumpily, then turned back to the house.
146/365 - Virtual Air Hockey
December 24, 2013. Christmas Eve was expected to be a slow day at work, and it certainly was. We fed a handful of customers, cleaned some things, and played some air hockey.
145/365 - Steamy River
December 23, 2013. Sometimes it's so cold that the river steams. Over the past week or so, I think this was one of the more moderate nights, though. This photo was made from Chicago Avenue looking north toward Goose Island.
144/365 - Eyes
December 22, 2013. A birdhouse with eyes sits among some trees and bushes next to a parking lot on Orleans Street on the Near North Side.
Monday, December 23, 2013
143/365 - Working
December 21, 2013. Horses pulling carriages are pretty busy these days around Chicago and Michigan Avenues. This one can't wait to get home and have a hot shower. I'm guessing.
142/365 - Forty Whacks
December 20, 2013. Another Squared Off show had me out shooting bands (and playing drums). This band, with a levitating North Pole elf, is Forty Whacks.
140/365 - Chicago River Walk
December 18, 2013. It should have occurred to me that the river and the lake would be icy, but I didn't even think about it. I certainly noticed while crossing the river on Michigan Avenue, though.
139/365 - Sock Monkey Man
December 17, 2013. Monkey see, monkey do. A man with a sock monkey hat mirrors a pose on the sign behind him.
136/365 - Christmas Shopping
December 14, 2013. Eating a late lunch of bao at Water Tower Place, I saw Christmas shoppers galore.
135/365 - Dog Breath
December 13, 2013. As snow fell, I approached Underdog and their outdoor cart in Wicker Park. Remarkably, it seemed to be staying open despite the snow and the bitter cold.
134/365 - Hall and Oates
December 12, 2013. The third Thursday of each month is the time for the Fabulous Ladies of Fitness party at Cole's Bar. The holiday theme was again Deck the Hall and Oates, this time with wigs for all (and mustaches for Oateses).
133/365 - Nutcracker
December 11, 2013. Sometimes, instead of taking the Red Line south to meet the Blue Line, I just walk from Chicago Avenue to Washington and Dearborn, and when I do I might pass the Driehaus Museum, which is fantastically decorated for Christmas.
132/365 - Morning Flurries
December 10, 2013. It was another day of snow, and I made this photo while waiting for the bus in the morning at Kosciuszko Park.
131/365 - Frozen Collards
December 9, 2013. Walking past Chicago Lights Urban Garden, I found a row of unharvested collard greens under the snow.
130/365 - Into The Wind
December 8, 2013. This was a pretty nasty day, with snow blowing horizontally westward from Lake Michigan. After walking into it for a little while, I decided to turn back and see how others fared.
Sunday, December 22, 2013
129/365 - Rent
December 7, 2013. The city is always changing. I don't remember what was here before on the northeast corner of State and Pearson.
128/365 - CHI
December 6, 2013. Chicago and State on the Red Line is another station I use on a regular basis.
127/365 - Bridge
December 5, 2013. It's become a regular occurrence for me to cross the Chicago Avenue bridge. I'll try to not keep using it for my photos.
126/365 - Cherrypicker
December 4, 2013. I don't know what this guy was doing up there at the Chase Tower. My light changed and I pedaled away before he finished positioning himself.
125/365 - Panes
December 3, 2013. This assemblage of glass is a window on the gigantic former Marshall Fields and Macy's warehouse in Chicago. Last night I saw a big white owl fly up to the top of it. I felt like inviting him over to my place to see if there were still any mice there.
123/365 - Pilgrim
December 1, 2013. Eye Want in Wicker Park often has intriguing window displays for all seasons.
122/365 - Bora Bora
November 30, 2013. The Saturday after Thanksgiving, I played one of my favorite shows yet with Tijuana Jai Alai. We played with Bora Bora, the full band version of Paul Leonard's recent material, and the more aggro and riffy Fire9, both of which we'd been trying to get with on a bill.
121/365 - Life of the Party
November 29, 2013. Black Friday I was working in the kitchen instead of the camera store, and it was the opposite of retail mayhem. We even closed early, and a few of us went to Pippin's, a bar across the street from the camera shop. I made sure to not poke my head in and taunt them, though.
120/365 - Thanksgiving
November 28, 2013. I had a great Thanksgiving with Jon and Rick and several of their friends, most of whom I had met before. On the way home, I saw people shopping at Old Navy at 10:30 pm. I saw people going up to other stores on North Avenue, thinking they should be open, and I saw this guy trying to get some rest in below freezing temperatures. As much as I wish things were better personally, I was thankful to not be in any of those situations, and thankful to have had a beautiful day among friends.
119/365 - Looking Back
November 27, 2013. I got off the train at Logan Square, where I would unlock my bike and ride home, and I just felt a shot coming on. I have no story to go along with this photo. I was walking to that same set of stairs and just decided an image was likely to appear. I didn't even know what I had let into the shutter until I checked the images at home.
118/365 - Snowman
November 26, 2013. Tuesday night, and this marshmallow fellow appeared before me on Milwaukee Avenue. He was dressed in white from head to toe. He had white shoes, and his head was wrapped up. I think the snow flurries were too light to even be considered a mist if they weren't frozen, but this guy also had a white umbrella. This was, of course, almost three months after Labor Day.
117/365 - Steel, Chicago Avenue
November 25, 2013. This was the day I returned to a photo lab job. I'm also still doing a full-time kitchen job. A week later I would realize that in returning to "my field," I threw myself into a retail environment heading into Christmas season. Last year was my twentieth Christmas in a row, and at least the eighth that I said "not next Christmas!" The rough patches have been really brief, though, and I'm still there with Christmas just a couple of days away.
116/365 - Rat Rod
November 24, 2013. I rehearsed with Tijuana Jai Alai in a different town way out of the city - Volo (I think). We spent much of the day playing music in our friend Jim's auto shop. This car is a personal project of his.
115/365 - Barn
November 23, 2013. Burlington, Illinois showed me that I'm actually much more comfortable in an urban environment, even though I'm not always all that comfortable. I've lived in the country and spent plenty of recreational time in the wilderness, but rural areas don't feel right to me anymore. And suburbs? So much worse!
114/365 - Lucy
November 22, 2013. It was a Friday night and Squared Off had a gig at Junior's Bar in Pilsen. I hopped on the Pink Line from work and found myself to be the first one there. The only other people there were a bartender and Adam from The Kreutzer Sonata with a friend. Everyone showed up, and all three bands - The Kreutzer Sonata, Mystery Actions, and Squared Off - played with Pulp Fiction projected on them. Therefore, most of my photos, including this one of Lucy from Mystery Actions, were shot with flash. Martin showed up in his floppy-eared hat and took some good photos of us (Squared Off) playing. Then, one month later, I posted this terrible narrative.
113/365 - Pantry
November 21, 2013. It seems nothing much happened on this day. I resorted to a photo of my pantry. A couple of weeks later I found a mouse in here. I left him a snack of his own so that I didn't have to share my food anymore. I haven't seen him for a while. I hope it stays that way.
112/365 - Flash
November 20, 2013. I regularly see this guy heading north on Wabash on his longboard. Here he is in mid-push in a pose reminiscent of The Flash.
111/365 - Grate
November 19, 2013. Here I was in the second half of November, still wearing shorts on my bicycle commute in Chicago. That has passed, although I still occasionally go without long johns. This photo was taken while waiting at a stoplight at Dearborn and Wacker.
110/365 - Metamorph
November 18, 2013. It's been over a month since I posted these on the photo-a-day page, so I may not have much story that I can remember as I catch up. I can tell you that this is a tattoo shop on Milwaukee Avenue, and the clientele seems to consist of couples on this particular night.
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