Last weekend Nathan and i took a little road trip to Chicago, much like the one we took two years ago. In fact, we stayed at the same B&B in Oak Park—but this time we stayed in the suite with the whirlpool tub and fireplace! It was worth the extra cost.
We arrived at the B&B Friday evening, showered up and headed into the Lincoln Park area for dinner and a show. We parked near the Riviera Theatre and walked to Spacca Napoli for some authentic Italian pizza. (I chose this over deep-dish for two reasons: 1. there didn’t seem to be any good deep-dish places near the theater and i only wanted to deal with parking once, and 2. Spacca Napoli is supposed to be one of the best places to eat in Chicago.) As it turned out, it would’ve been much more pleasant to park twice rather than walking the mile-or-so to the pizza place, because it was much colder than we had anticipated. Note to self: even if it broke freezing during the day, always WEAR YOUR FRIGGIN’ HAT AT NIGHT during February in the Midwest. Duh!
The frigid walk was worth it for the delectable pizza & excellently paired Italian wine, and a little reconfiguring of garments and seemingly less wind made the walk back to the theater a lot more pleasant. Oh—except that we were very unpleasantly surprised to find, once we got there, that the theater was dark and closed, and the show had been postponed until February 14th. MONDAY. As in, the day we got back to work. UGH! I had been extremely excited to see Robyn, but alas, once again—just like when we traveled to see Ume in Iowa City last fall—my hopes and dreams were shattered on the cold pavement because the band had had to cancel the show that night. I vowed in that moment never to travel outside of Des Moines to see an indie band again, but i have since received a prompt reimbursement for my tickets and realized that Robyn’s concert was not our main objective for the Chicago trip. Besides, all that cold wind and disappointment made the fireplace and the whirlpool tub back at the B&B feel pretty much like heaven.
Saturday we took the El into the city and found our way to the Chicago Auto Show. There were a lot of shiny cars. Some of them were pretty. This one was my favorite:
The Audi somethingorother
And this was Nathan’s favorite:
The gull-wing Mercedes Spyder thing
As you can tell, that part was for Nathan. 
Then we went to the Field Museum of Natural History, where we saw a lot of amazing remains, including Sue the Tyrannosaurus Rex, plenty of stuffed animals including a couple of enormous elephants, and a the bones of Lucy, our oldest-known common ancestor (as humans).
These are the real fossils (minus the skull, which is upstairs)!
I could hardly believe that these were real, they were so huge.
Lucy, on the other hand, was surprisingly tiny.
As i was looking at a display that placed a human skeleton and an ape skeleton side-by-side to point out their similarities and differences, i overheard a man and his fifteen-or-so-year-old son reassuring themselves that there’s “no way” that people really evolved. Period. And i just couldn’t believe that a person could stand there and look at the actual fossils and the skeletons and read the very easy-to-understand-and-attractively-displayed explanations of how exactly evolution works and how it’s so strongly evidenced and how it’s still happening and how the scientific community really has no doubt about it, and still staunchly refuse to accept it. How do you take your child to a museum—a place of learning—and tell him that it’s all lies and not to believe any of it? But at least they were there, in the museum. A lot of people would simply stay away from the things they disbelieve. I almost said something to them but i didn’t trust myself not to get angry about it and push them even further away from understanding.
We only got through about 1/3 of the museum before we had to head back to Oak Park to get ready for dinner. We had chosen an Italian restaurant within walking distance of our B&B (and yes i wore a hat this time) called Cuccina Paradisio. The food was very enjoyable and somewhat imaginative, and we polished off a bottle of wine with it to make the walk worthwhile. The next day we stopped by IKEA on our way home again and picked up several lamps and things, and then i read to Nathan from Breaking Dawn on the not-so-terribly-long drive back home. It was a nice, relatively relaxing little trip, and now we’re ready to pack up the remainder of our things and move into our new house in less than two weeks! I’ll have plenty to say about that once the move is done, i’m sure.
The first book i finished this year was Stephen Hawking’s new collaborative work The Grand Design. Hawking piqued a lot of people’s interest by ending his bestseller A Brief History of Time with the poetic assertion that a unifying theory of physics would allow us to “know the mind of God.” In his new book, it is revealed that Hawking, as a scientist, actually sees no place for God in the creation of the universe.
The book was interesting by default, but it was a little bit hard to follow. For the most part i understood it, thanks to all the YouTube videos i’ve watched about quantum physics and the multiverse theory. There were just a couple of brief points in the book at which i felt that i was in totally over my head, and this is coming from someone who, admittedly, never even took high school physics. It seemed, though, that the argument against a creator wasn’t all that clearly spelled out. The book was more of a discussion of the current state of physics and how it’s trying to find a unifying theory, possibly to no avail. It’s the idea that time began when our universe—which may be one of an infinite number of universes—began, at the big bang, that shoves God out of the picture; but that point is only lightly touched upon in the book.
So i wouldn’t call this another atheist text by any means. It’s really more of an overview of quantum physics; it doesn’t seem to be meant as an argument for the nonexistence of God, and i think it was just played up by the publisher in that respect as a way of selling more copies. I’ve found that people of faith don’t base their belief in God on what scientists have discovered about the nature of the universe, anyway, no matter how famous or intelligent those scientists may be. I recommend this book to people like me who have watched those YouTube vids and would like to know a little more about the physics behind all the crazy-sounding findings in physics without getting too deep into the nitty-gritty science. And if you have faith, i doubt this book will shake it much.
About time, eh? I’m trying to get the blog ball rolling again, so let’s go ahead and talk about last year’s movies.
In 2010 Nathan and i watched something like 75 movies, and i had only seen about five of those before. So we beat last year’s count by a handful. The theme of the year ended up being Awesome Old Geeky Movies, whereas 2009 was more about Classic Old Movies. We watched about 7 Star Trek films, two Superman flicks (which i LOVED!), two Planet of the Apes movies (the originals), Legend, and many other sci-fi/fantasy movies that i had missed somehow. It was pretty great.
We also saw a few movies in the theaters, including Eclipse, Harry Potter , Tron and Inception. For some reason i thought it would be a good idea to see the latter film in an IMAX theater, which turned out to be a horrible notion. Have you ever tried watching a movie on TV with your face two inches from the screen? Yeah, that’s what it was like. I watched it through half-closed eyes, for the most part. I think i liked the movie. But i need to watch it again. The original Tron film was one of the older movies i watched at home this year, and I thought Tron: Legacy was actually quite good. It was visually exciting, had good music, and the storyline was solid enough. Not life-changing, but i’m not complaining.
My favorite flicks of the year were probably Up In The Air and Sunshine, which was released in 2007. Wow—that one keeps you on the edge of your seat. I watched it, too, with half-closed eyes sometimes, but for entirely different reasons. It’s not gruesome though, really, and it’s very very good.
And since i named a Worst Movie of the Year last year, i’ll go ahead and crown The Ugly Truth with that title for 2010. It’s supposed to poke fun at stereotypes. Except the plotline itself is really, really demeaning. I lost a lot of respect for Gerard Butler on that one.
I rarely have much of an idea about what movies are coming soon to theaters these days since i only stream TV shows off the internet and therefore don’t see a lot of trailers, but the one film that i know i’m really looking forward to seeing in 2011 is the first part of Breaking Dawn. Not even gonna lie about that.
It hasn’t been a very productive year for me in terms of blogging, but i’m pretty sure that’s one of the most obvious and overused statements in all of human existence. I have however read ten books, watched about 75 movies and listened to many new albums over the course of 2010. I’ve also gotten quite a lot done in terms of the upcoming wedding, but more about that later. Let’s take a blog moment to reflect on the year.
Last winter was actually a pretty content one for me. Having an SUV and big ol’ ear muffs and not paying too much attention to the bitchers all over Twitter kept me in really good spirits despite the crap that rained down on us for days on end. There was this day when i drove to work and everything was coated in a layer of frost and it was one of the prettiest things i think i’ve ever seen. Our downtown loft felt kinda like a warm cave—especially since we didn’t have to worry about paying for heating—and not having to shovel snow was a definite bonus. But the thin walls and high price eventually drove us to find a new place to stay.
In the spring we moved to our new house and i fell into a funk that lasted a couple of months. I had to stop paying attention to any and all news because hearing about the oil gushing mercilessly into the Gulf put a grimy layer of frosting on my not-so-happy cake. Luckily all of that junk passed and i had a very happy summer & fall planning the wedding details with Nathan and going to parties & shopping with my girls. My brother came to town for a couple of months and instilled in Nathan and me a humble appreciation for a really good IPA (i.e. beer). That was a very awesome way to spend the summer, if i do say so. We also took a trip to California to visit my dad’s family, including a handful of cousins who came to the U.S. from Belgium for three weeks to see the sights. It was a real treat to see them all again.
Come fall i’d been driving my stick-shift Honda almost every day for a year, and learning to drive it well taught me perseverance. I’ve gained a certain confidence that i might some day become good at other quotidian tasks, such as doing my hair, frying an egg or maintaining eye contact while speaking to people. When i lost my job in October, i was prepared to spend a couple of months doing very little and then go back to school to become a programmer, and i contemplated using my down time to practice playing guitar again. Okay—to be honest it was the hair thing that i was most looking forward to practicing, but—luckily i got a job as a web developer for August Home Publishing in November and was relieved of having to worry about what to do with my free time. ‘Cause when you work eight-to-five, you A. cook, B. clean up or C. watch movies when you aren’t at work. And on the weekends you sleep a lot and go out shopping/eating/hanging out with your friends. That’s just how it is. Well—for me, anyway.
My new job is awesome, and a major part of that may be that it’s just awesome to have a job. I was really lucky to get another job so quickly, and honestly if it wasn’t for the connections i’ve made via Twitter it wouldn’t have happened and i probably would’ve had to buy myself a new set of textbooks for Christmas. Thankfully, i have an income instead and i’m spending too much money on holiday steals and insurance premiums instead. The people i work with are awesome. The work i do can be challenging (which is great) and frustrating (which is not so great) at times, but it’s not a bad gig at all. The websites i work on have a LOT of potential, and i say that in the most loving possible way.
I’ve started working out again, thanks to the free gym access i get through work. And no, i’m not trying to lose weight for the wedding; i’m just fearful that with osteoporosis & heart disease running rampant in my family i’ll probably end up pretty miserable down the road if i don’t start taking preventative measures now. I’m getting married; that means i need to take care of myself, right? So i jog for 20 minutes twice a week and i’m going to work on finding ways to increase that and/or supplement it with some sort of weight-bearing exercise. I’m really afraid of building muscle, though. Especially in my legs. They tend to get muscular and i really don’t want them to be any bigger. But enough whining—i can already see the comments i’m going to get in response to that tangent.
I don’t really know how to segue into this topic, but a couple of people i knew from high school died this year and it’s been a really strange experience for me. The first was Tiffany Robb who frankly gave me more of a hard time in school than anyone else i can think of. She was my cheerleading captain freshman year and she was a big reason that i only lasted two seasons with it. When i heard that she had died i was creeped out by how little sadness i felt. But then i heard that she had been shot, and i just felt so angry knowing that her life had been stolen from her at such a young age. Whatever happened between the two of us back in high school is of so little significance compared to the fact that she’s been forcibly removed from the earth. It got me thinking about whether any of us is really entitled to life and for how long, and it made me wonder who would miss me and who wouldn’t if this happened to me and whether any of that really matters. And just on December 17th, Brittany Hall, who was a good friend of mine in high school, died of complications caused by her epilepsy. I had let her slip away from my life almost completely, except for a comment here and there on facebook. She was so passionate and unique and troubled and here again i’m angry that during her short life something of great importance was just stolen from her. But that’s probably not my place to really talk about. I know it’s natural and okay for people to drift apart after school, i’m just sorry that i never sat down to catch up with her over a cup of coffee or something. I wish i had heard her stories.
On a lighter note, i’m looking forward anxiously to what 2011 has in store. This is the year i get married. It’s something i’ve always secretly wanted but rarely dared to believe could actually happen for the right reasons. But here i am, and here we are, and i am so excited i can hardly breathe when i really think about it. The wedding is about five months away now, and i’m going to savor the days from here until then carefully, because the anticipation is so sweet. I’m definitely looking forward to actually being married to Nathan, but i’m also enjoying the planning and designing and choosing and checking items off the to-do list in good time. The day itself will be wonderful no matter what happens or what color the flowers end up being. And then there will be a honeymoon in Cancun. And then a long and happy life together. And i. Am so. Pumped.
This year i finished ten books, which is actually one fewer than i read last year if you count the two Hitchhiker’s Guide books that i re-read in 2009. My goal for next year will be to finish twelve; one book per month shouldn’t be that hard to do.
I wrote about several of the books i read this year, but a few of the ones that i neglected share a common theme so i’ll write about them now. The theme is the human brain; two can be categorized as “psychology” but the third is more of a neuroanatomy sort of book. I picked up Why We Love as part of the “research” i did this year on love & marriage. Helen Fisher is the leading expert on attraction and love in terms of the human mind. I should have written down what i took away from the book when it was fresh in my mind, but i think it boils down to this: opposites similar people attract; love is a real thing with measurable effects on the brain, much like a drug; and love can last but it changes from passionate to companionate love after a time, due to the possibility that humans evolved the ability to love in order to want to raise babies together and once those babies are independent enough, the parents’ connection is no longer really needed. Why We Love is definitely worth a read. Here’s a TED talk by Helen Fisher that i highly recommend:
The second brain book that i read this year was The Pursuit of Happiness by David G. Myers. I picked the book up partly because i really enjoyed Myers’ Psychology textbook back in college, and partly because a friend had recommended it to me. Or so i thought—i think i may have actually gotten it confused with Stumbling on Happiness or some other book by a similar name. It’s an interesting look at the things that correspond to happiness in people, but any good psychologist knows that correlation does not equal causation. Myers emphasized the fact that people of faith are in general happier without exploring the possibility that there may be another factor involved. It turns out that Myers is a big advocate of faith, but personally i’m less interested in whether faith is good for me than what the truth actually is about God. It did make me think twice about trying to convince people of God’s nonexistence though, which is part of why i’ve written—and said—a lot less about atheism this year.
The last brain book that i read this year was My Stroke of Insight by Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor. Taylor is a neuroanatomist who just happened to suffer a massive stroke in the left hemisphere of her brain, and of course recognized acutely as it was happening what exactly was going in inside her head. I had been eyeing this book for quite a while but hesitated to pick it up after watching her TED talk about the experience, due to the fact that her perspective of it waned queerly nonscientific. The book reflects the TED talk pretty closely, but it was fascinating to get the play-by-play of the events of the day of the stroke and the days that followed. It’s amazing how delicate yet resilient the human brain is, and how compartmentalized it actually is. I did find it odd that Taylor knew for a fact that her euphoric post-stroke feelings were due to the incapacitation of the left hemisphere of her brain and yet she believes that she was in fact having a metaphysical experience; as though her brain had to be severely damaged in order that she might experience the true nature of the universe. Of course you’re going to have a pretty different experience of reality when half your brain is practically destroyed, right? Isn’t that a given…?
Anyway, it was a really interesting book and worth a read. I can’t say that the books i selected to read this year were very entertaining ones, but i can’t decide if that’s really a quality i want to seek out in my reading material. I tend to go for the “things that make you go ‘hmmm,’” if you know what i mean. Movies, on the other hand, i expect to thrill me, and i’m always a little disappointed when they don’t.
EDIT 12/30: Damn it, i totally forgot to include What Shamu Taught Me About Love And Marriage in this post; another book about psychology and relationships. That one was pretty delightful.