Ahhh, Chicago.

I've talked to literally ten's of people who say they would love to live in Downtown Chicago. I never have been able to get there. What with the the 3.5 million jerks (***edited for younger readers) that live here, the inconvenience of it all, and the constant feeling that you are not beautiful enough, rich enough, or good enough to be alive and breathing their air, it has been hard for me to utter the words, "I love Chicago."

But tonight it came to me. You see, I am a scent guy. I smell everything. Smells impact me in a profound, if not unusual, manner. I get it from my dad, I've been told. As I was walking home from work, amidst the regular smells of hot asphalt, exhaust fumes, and raw sewage; it hit me. The scent of a blossom. I'm not sure what it was; whether it was a tree, bush, or flower (my mother could tell you exactly... she's a genius when it comes to horticulture) but it was sweet and succulent and wonderful.

And it meant the world to me. Chicago, the miserable place that it is, has had this effect on me a number of times and I've never noticed it. Here in man's kingdom, the city, I have been absolutely raptured by some of the smallest and inconsequential things. Surrounded by filth, hatred, and fear; the smallest glimpse (or scent) of beauty sends me sailing.

For that I am grateful. For that I can say, "I Love Chicago."

Some friends, some golf, and not some of the same old buffalo

Abe and I had a phenomenal weekend. I would have blogged about it earlier, but when I installed some regular software updates and restarted, my computer froze on the start up screen. So the rest of my afternoon (Monday) was spent at the Genius Bar. We are all straight now, it was actually about a 10-minute fix; it’s just that the Genius Bar in the Apple Store on Michigan Ave. in downtown Chicago is a bit busy (understatement) on a Monday afternoon.

Anyway, our weekend.

Friday and ½ Saturday – You can read about it here. We had a blast!

½ Saturday – My brother-in-law, Joe, and I golfed Cog Hill. We golfed the #2 course, not Dubsdread (The sight of the BMW Championship PGA Tour stop), but still had a blast. Joe informed me today that he has already set up our tee-time for next weekend on the same course. I’d love to play one of the other 3 courses that are located there, but Joe made quick friends with the starter on the #2 course who promised to get us out early in the afternoon if we booked a twilight tee-time and showed up early. So I guess we will have to suffer through.

Sunday – Abe and I took off on a little day trip to Michigan. A good friend from college was married a few years ago on a beach in New Buffalo and I remembered it to be an entirely quaint and lovely town. We spent the afternoon basking on a hazy, sun-soaked beach while talking of our life and future. Lovely. It was a fantastic time of retreat and regrouping for the Mick’s.

Some pics from our trip.