September Notes

I'm still getting settled into Chicago, amazed it has been almost two months, a good portion of a year. I have moved in to a brownstone in a hispanic neighborhood near the trendy part of Chicago, Wicker Park, just past the grip of gentrification that westers with amazing speed. Apparently we are in Humboldt, for our proximity to Humboldt park, but places around here are starting to be called Bucktown, West Wicker Park, the name like a boast spreading on the lips of real estate developers, restauranteers, renovators. I took a job with an environmental canvassing office, Environamental Action, and I thought it would be terrible. It involves knocking on peoples doors unsolicited and trying to get them to donate money to an environmental organization. It turns out to be great. Besides meeting a lot of people and taking a census of sorts, I can just go out with a good intention and ask other people politely if they would like to be involved with an effort to curb Bush's proposal to let power plants release more mercury into the atmosphere. Most people say no, some people say yes. Nobody gets annoyed though, since my intentions are good, and most people simply are sorry that they are too tight. Nice people, nuns, professors, activists and housewives invite me into their house for a conversation, a glass of wine, or just a quick talk to tell them more what I am about and they usually write me a check and thats that. Bad days are sad days, because being surrounded by apathy like that is draining no matter what you are doing, but good days make you feel like a little differnce is made. Like Guy Piccioto sez, what a difference a little difference can make.
Unfortunately the job doesn't pay well, and I am trying to make graduate school reality in a year or two, so I was looking for a part time job and found it at a trendy coffee shop/Internet cafe called Filter in Wicker Park where I'm a line cook. I work there four days and canvas with EA two. The pay is pretty good and the food isn't bad, although its a little greasy for my taste. Its encouraging me to eat better anyways, nothing is better than some granola and milk with a banana after working line. We make a lotta breakfast food and vegatarian entrees, wraps and burritos and things, veggie burgers, goat cheese sandwhiches, tofu wraps, etc. has a vegetarian lean. Thankfully we don't do burgers or fries or hot dogs or anything. The baristas are all nice folks, and the one's I have met and talked to are a wierd, facinating and attractive bunch. One of the girls is a lit head like me who wants to study comparative literature, one is an ex-musician from Seattle who played with Damian Jurado before quitting the scene and now studies bible passages with an academic church group, figuring out what he is going to do, one is a happy lesbian who calls everybody baby and cops a feel on my ass when I'm working too hard, etc, I won't describe them all, but it is a good place to settle in a make money while dreaming about something else, since everyone else is doing it too, and in a young coffee place like this, the customers are mostly doing it too. The place is so saturated with ideas that burn out and leave an invisible crust on the walls and ceiling, like a great body dreaming ceaslessly, humming and tapping while they feed it coffee and tea, and I feed it ham sandwhiches, spinach and feta omlettes, sweet potato cubes, cranberry chutney....

Feel the Illinoise!
Nick