Night Out

Last night we left our renters' troubles behind and went out on the town. A former co-worker of Matt's has written the ultimate chick-lit novel, Singletini, and she held the book launch here in
Chicago. Although she lives in San Francisco, she is from Illinois and the book takes place in Chicago, so - lucky us! - the party was here and we arrived in this fair city just in time. So there we were at the ultra hip (yes, dorky us) Fulton Lounge, surrounded by a whole lotta chicks that looked like they were trying out for the movie version of the book (think bleached blondes with straightened hair and many hours in the tanning booth), but thankfully some friends showed up and we laughed the night away. I should note that Skyy Vodka has sponsored this book in some way and actually created a drink called the Singletini, which was available gratis to all guests; should you ever have a craving for sparkling Kool-Aid, this is your drink. Had a yummy Mexican dinner at De Cero, thanks to a knowledgeable local, where the taco selection is to die for. Not to mention the guacamole. Mmmm, mmmm.

But although we were inundated with hipsters last night, I have been wanting to make the following observation: as far as I can see, this city in general is not nearly as status-conscious as San Francisco. For example, the cars. We're all just regular people, driving our regular cars here. Sure the SUV fad is strong here, too, but you don't see all the Jags, BMWs and Mercedes sedans roaming the streets like we did in SF. I do not miss the prototypical 44-year old ass from Marin driving his BMW convertible like a bat outta hell on a rainy day with the top down and his stupid baseball cap on, like Matt and I saw on our last day in the city (when my parents had the kids and we snuck up to Mill Valley for one last Dipsea breakfast) - we simultaneously yelled out, "F*&%ing Marin!!!" It was one of those cosmic moments that can only come after 10 years of marriage.

The other cool thing is the relative shortage of iPods. Now, don't get me wrong, I do love my iPod mini. But I always found it odd that every single dingle person had one going at all times. Even at the YMCA, a place where it actually makes sense to be wearing one, I'm in the minority. And I truly feel self-conscious about the fact that I have it clipped on an armband here - yeesh. And we won't even get into how I feel when I wear my Bluetooth in the car. But at least I'm just driving my regular, beat-up old station wagon.