Sweet Home...oh, you know

So apparently everyone else in Chicago knows but I just found out that Tom Skilling is AWESOME! For those not in Chicago and therefore those who don't know, Tom Skilling is the weatherman for the local TV news. Or the news on TV. He's the weatherman you watch on TV!

Anyway!

Point is, the dude's awesome. Here's the thing, I don't watch the news. I hate it. I tried again a couple of months back and the lead story was that a pair of legs had been found by the side of the road. Excellent. As weather forecasts universally begin about 20 minutes into the broadcast, I never get that far. Well, I happened upon him last night after Tracy assigned me to find out what was going on. We had encountered a number of emergency vehicles on the ride to her apartment and we could still hear the sirens.

Never found out what it was, but what I did find out was that the trails planes make in the sky attract or create ice crystals. And that the clouds that accumulated above them yesterday were formed of ice crystals and all these ice crystals forming indicated that a cold front was coming in. Or something like this. And that Valparaiso, IN received it's largest snowfall this early in the season since 2002.

Are you getting this? I learned during the Tom Skilling's report. He's not just some guy who looks at computer models and relays them to us. He analyzes it and probably comes up with his own models. Little ones he makes at home. Like model trains. A little tornado tearing up a little trailer park. Or scattered showers over the Chicagoland area.

Speaking of Chicagoland, let me clear something up. I was listening to an ESPN podcast. The hosts read and e-mail from a listener who said he was from Chicagoland. The hosts, having not heard of this before, thought it was something Chicago likes to call itself. Like we think we're an amusement park. Chicagoland does not refer to Chicago, specifically. Chicagoland, according to Wikipedia, is Chicago and its suburbs. I always thought it was more those suburbs (I'm talking to you, Evanston) that think they're part of Chicago. Kind of like Puerto Rico thinks it's part of the U.S.

Another thing I learned about Chicago: the Bulls and Blackhawks both have to leave their homefield, the United Center, every year because the circus comes to town. This is known as the Circus Trip. I just learned this. It began yesterday.

Storms

If you're not in the midwest, you've probably read about our string of severe storms. If you're in the midwest, you've undoubtedly experienced them. And string is right. We've got an assembly line stretching from Michigan to Northwest Texas. Apparently we're right on the edge of a bubble of hot air. And neither is moving.

It's been crazy. Severe thunderstorms every day. And night. Yesterday was the worst. Tornado warnings for all of Chicago. 310,000 people without power. My workplace lost power so we went home early. 2,400 trees damaged in some way and not a small number down. Traffic lights down. Over 2 inches of water in an hour. Viaducts flooded. The Edens (essentially I-94 after it diverges from I-90 north of the city) was closed because it was flooded. Yes, flooded. Lake Shore Drive was gathering water.

But it was the wind that was the most amazing. Gusts of 74 m.p.h. That's the windspeed at which a Tropical Storm is upgraded to a Hurricane. I've been up most nights at some point because I have two huge trees at either of my bedroom windows and I have never seen trees blowing so hard. So I get up and move to my living room in case one of those trees should decide it's tired and needs to rest in my bed. Watched an episode of the The West Wing last night. President Bartlet had to make a tough decision about the Defense Minister (I think) of Qumar. Riveting stuff at 1 a.m.

One more day. Oh yes, that's right. We could get another severe storm today. But the weekend promises nice weather.

Vent

I was going to blog about my first Cubs game but why waste your time with that when the CTA (Chicago Transit Authority for those who are ignorant of the hate) has provided me with such grand...fodder.

The CTA and I, we're good friends the way that ex-lovers are: You ride 'em 'cause it's convenient, but you'd really rather have another. Ride, that is.

We've come to terms. I catch her an hour before I have to be at work. Usually I'll arrive right on time. Sometimes early. Sometimes 5 minutes late. That's fine. She's a public transportation system. I can't expect her to pay attention to only my needs. But today? Today, she must have forgotten those terms.

Things started out well enough. I wanted to be at work a half-hour early, but I actually only left the house 15 minutes early. I resigned myself to being 15 minutes early. Fine. However, when I got to the train platform, lo and behold, a train pulled up. I'm going to be a half-hour early! Aw, shucks, CTA. You didn't have to.

Things are going smoothly: I'm listening to my friend Tyler's podcast, Battleship Pretension; I've got a Decemberists concert (the reason I'm leaving early) to look forward to; the sun is shining; the stops are flying by. Nice.

Then we hit the Jarvis stop. And stay. For a while. Longer. Longest. How long are we going to be here? Eventually we move. I check my watch. Down to 15 minutes early.

Howard stop. As we pull up, I look for a Yellow Line train to Skokie, my next transfer. None waiting. Still 15 minutes early. And I've got a little cushion.

But not enough cushion. This is when things go haywire. I'm waiting, watching train after train (red, purple) pass with nary a yellow in the mix. People are starting to complain. CTA attendants are stopped and asked what's going on. One tells us to go to the other tracks, the southbound tracks, where we see two yellows waiting. A little unusual since we (there's a number of us now) want to go north, but not unheard of on the CTA. And so we obediently go down one stairwell and come up the other to find one of the yellows leaving. Never fear; another awaits. Down there. We wait for it to come up a bit and meet us as it usually would on the northbound side. But there's nothing usual about today. It sits, and sits. We go to meet it. It moves. We wait to see where it will stop. It doesn't.

I'm a calm person. But at this point, I'm ready to talk to someone. I'm now going to be on time if a train leaves RIGHT NOW. Across the way on the northbound side, the correct side, a yellow line has snuck past us and is boarding. WHAT? People are pointing fingers, asking questions of one another; two CTA workers (one of whom was the one who told us to come to this side) are doing the same thing; and a yellow pulls up dropping people off from Skokie, that now fabled place where I once did travel with great convenience.

We're at the breaking point. I've got a pitchfork in my hand, the man beside me is trying ineffectually to light his torch with a butane lighter, when a voice from on high sounds: "This train to Skokie leaving right out from here."

I board. I check my watch. It's going to be close. Ah, well. Tyler and David are discussing spaghetti on a movie podcast and things are looking eerily normal. I arrive at Skokie and set my feet on the platform as one who has been lost at sea and waded ashore. I begin to kneel to kiss the ground but someone bumps my butt with their bag so I think better of it.

I am on the last leg of my journey. I need a bus right now to be on time. I look. No bus. OK, maybe I have a minute. 5 minutes later, one arrives. I'm going to be 5 minutes late. And just to thumb her nose at me, the CTA has provided me a driver who can't make the turn without backing up: BEEP, BEEP, BEEP.

I did arrive 5 minutes late at 9:05. I began my odyssey at 7:45. You do the math.

Hooray! It's cold!

I love that it is really cold. I am absolutely thrilled that it's snowing. Why? Because I live in Chicago and it's January and 60 degree weather freaks me out.

People look at me like I'm crazy when I tell them I'm excited about all of this. Listen, if I didn't want seasons, if I wanted to worry about my tan over the holidays, I would live in California or Florida. But I don't. And you know what? I don't want to live there. I like my seasons. I like bundling up. I like braving the cold. I love to be inside at night when it snows. And I love how sweet it makes Spring when it comes around.

So you can moan and complain all you like and wish for your crazy world. I like that we have the old one back.