Let the sun shine in!

I got extremely unwelcome news nearly the moment I walked into the building this morning--I hadn't even made it through the turnstile, much less to my office! So I'm trying to remember all the reasons why I was happy before I got here.

For one, there's the fantastic Sox victory last night. mollpeartree has a beautiful summary in her journal, which is especially welcome since I missed the first half of the game due to monshu's insistance on watching West Wing and L&O:CI. (And this on his own t.v. with the cable he pays for. I mean, the nerve of it!) Fortunately, that means I didn't miss the yo-yo effect of the last three innings. (Scoutmaster called for the score in the eighth and I told him "Don't worry, you can rest easy and get some sleep. They're not the Cubs, they won't blow it at the last minute." Ha!) It was worth the lost sleep for Podsednik's "OMFG DID I REALLY DO THAT?" reaction after hitting his first homer of the whole bloody season to win the game.

For another, I saw the most brilliant and complete rainbow that I have in years on the ride in. From the platform, I could see that the sky really had only a few sparse cirrus clouds. The crap between me and the sun was just some low-flying rainclouds blowing off the lake. Eventually, they parted and golden sunlight washed the changing leaves. Then I noticed to the northwest a perfect 180° rainbow stretching from Skokie to Wilmette. It faded in and out, but at its strongest was as bright and solid as any I've seen and accompanied by a faint second. Also, on the walk in, the devil was beating his wife. "What next, big sky?"

And then there's the opening of the north entrance to the plaza. Finally, I'm not stuck with a choice between circling around to the south or slipping in the back and walking through half the building to get to my damn workplace. Plus, I can completely avoid the noisy, dirty construction and bottleneck at the south entrance. Go me!

The blur that was last week, now in convenient summary form!

Monday Chinese class. Dinner at Big Chicks so I can watch playoffs. Absolutely astounding last-minute save by Pujols.

Tuesday Dinner a hastily-gobbled upscale mac-n-cheese at Eatzies followed by Lola Montès (quickie review here in French). Dessert out afterwards with his_regard and princeofcairo. (The original plan was Tarascas, but they seem to have slimmed their dessert menu down to nothing in the interim, so we headed south to Emilio's. The pecan-encrusted goat cheese was scrummy, but not enough for three, so I supplemented it with tortilla española.)

Wednesday. Dinner with Nuphy, e., and bunj at Siam Rice on Wells. (Fantastic discovery! Tasty food quickly prepared and a pleasant atmosphere free from the typical pre-opera crowding. We'll be back.) Afterwards, Cenerentola at Lyric. (Not a bad bit of Rossini, but overlong at 3+ hours--made worse by a late intermission [nobody likes to head in expected a break in an hour and having to wait almost twice that long] caused by reapportioning three acts into two. The sets were very lovely--b&w 19th-century paper-cut-out-style--but the opera is, as Nuphy puts it, a "songbird fest" and we only had one of truly superior quality--Peruvian sensation Juan Diego Flórez. He can visit again any time he likes!)

Thursday Dinner at Café Bordeaux on Broadway. (Curiously, I seemed to have arrived during the staff dinner. At least the restaurant was empty except for a long table in the corner where men I recognised as cooks and waiters were eating. This didn't impact the service, however.) Then 鬼子來了 [English title: Devils on the Doorstep], which princeofcairo aptly summed up in his capsule review as "Peckinpaw directs Bridge Over the River Kwai from a script by Aeschylus". Since my companions both had places to be, I meant to hook up with another friend, but we missed each other and I just ended up going home and getting some dang rest for a change.

Friday Quiet night at home with monshu--not before time! (I was so tired that instead of calling everyone to arrange Saturday, I just conked out.)

Saturday Lunch was pork-by-the-pound at Carnitas Uruapan in Pilsen. (Our waitress was relieved that I spoke un poquito; ordering in Spanish probably had something to do with why I was offered a choice between pura carne and sortida (i.e. "with parts") for the first time.) Then exhibits at the Mexican Fine Arts Center Museum, where I also picked up personalised calaveras de azúcar for my sister's whole family, followed by a trip to Bombon for pan de muertos FRESH FROM THE OVEN. (mollpeartree, you must be in awe at the willpower involved in princeofcairo's not bringing you home a maimed loaf.) Then I headed over to the Scoutmaster's for an awesome Game 1 and takeout from Mei Shung.

Sunday Brunch at Tweet with special guest owenthomas. It was a miserable rainy day best spent sitting around monshu's doing nothing much and waiting for his delicious chicken and couscous to reach bubbly perfection. Walk back home in the rain.