Hello, my name is B(ethan)y, and I like to make lists.

I got back late Sunday night after spending a week in Chicago. I love Chicago. I love the friends I have there, I love the trains, there are so many local businesses I love supporting. Last week, I saw many friends, rode a lot of trains and buses, and bought entirely too many books. I also made a lot of lists.

Pets That I Met:

1. Lolette, Alisha and Dan's dog
2. Meep Meep, Elisa and Ben's cat
3. Bean, Haymarket House's dog
4. Socket, Haymarket House's dog
5. Jengo, Haymarket House's cat

Places I Saw that Are Supposedly, According to the Wiki, Part of Genderqueer Chicago's Trans-Friendly Bathroom Initiative, but Don't Appear to Be Displaying the Corresponding Sticker in their Window

1. Berlin
2. Spin
3. Ann Sather - Belmont location
4. Potbelly - 924 W. Belmont location
5. Kopi Cafe
6. probably some others
   

Things I Kept Repeating

1. "I love trains!"
2. "I'm wearing cowboy boots."

Public Transit Boarded
(#s = buses, colors = trains)

1. 56 - Milwaukee
2. 77 - Belmont
3. Blue Line
4. 80 - Irving Park
5. Red Line
6. 92 - Foster
7. 78 - Montrose
8. 54A - Cicero
9. 82 - Kimball
10. 155 - Devon
11. 22 - Clark
12. 81 - Lawrence
13. Brown Line
14. Orange Line
15. 11 - Lincoln/Sedgwick
16. 49 - Western

Books Purchased
(most subtitles excluded for simplicity)
(don't let me enter bookstores for the next few months, please)

1. Russian Stories / Русскые Рассказы (ed. Gleb Struve)
2. Люди идут по свету (People Walk on the Dawn) (a book of Russian folk songs)
3. Popular Lyric Writing (Andrea Stolpe)
4. The Frustrated Songwriter's Handbook (Karl Coryat & Nicholas Dobson)
5. From the Inside Out (ed. Morty Diamond)
6. Trans Liberation (Leslie Feinberg)
7. The Slow Fix (Ivan E. Coyote)
8. Drag King Dreams (Leslie Feinberg)
9. First Person Queer (ed. Richard Labonte)
   
10. The Pink Triangle: The Nazi War Against Homosexuals (Richard Plant)
    
11. Virtually Normal (Andrew Sullivan)
12. Queer 13: Gay and Lesbian Writers Recall Seventh Grade (ed. Clifford Chase)
    
13. The Drag King Book (Judith "Jack" Halberstam and Del LaGrace Volcano)
    
14. Becoming a Visible Man (Jamison Green)

My Karaoke Choices at Spyner's
("The Western bus runs all night.")

1. Roam (the B-52s)
2. Friday I'm in Love (the Cure)
3. I'll Make a Man Out of You (from Mulan)
4. Seven-Year Ache (Rosanne Cash)
   
5. Manic Monday (the Bangles)
   
6. How Will I Know (Whitney Houston)
7. I Wanna Be Sedated (the Ramones)
8. 76 Trombones (from the Music Man)
9. I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles) (the Proclaimers)
10. Eternal Flame (the Bangles)
    
11. Manic Monday (the Bangles) (again)
    

People Who Deserve Extra Thanks for Making my Trip Awesome
(in approx. chronological order)

1. Jessie
2. Alisha and Dan
3. Elisa and Ben
4. Kristin
   
5. Amoeba
6. David and Rachael & Haymarket
   
7. Caroline & her roommates
   
8. everyone at Loopy Yarns
9. Ethan
10. Grace
11. new friends! Gabe, Jen, Meghan and Marie
    
12. Erica
    

A post! With lists! The world is in shock.

I frequently get really excited about many things at once, and then time gets away from me. But chances are, you knew this about me already.

So far, my time in LVC has been spent becoming interested and/or involved in many things, and then having to make thoughtful decisions about how to spend my time. Here are some things I've become focused on during the last couple of months:
1. The local knitting/fiber communities. I attended YarnCon, and have spent many hours at Loopy Yarns. I'm learning more and more about the yarns and designers local to Chicago, too. I'm continuing to obsess over lace.

2. Music. Of course, I have no drum kit to bash around on. But I do have guitars around, and have been writing songs that sometimes don't sound like shit. I'm registered for a songwriting class in the new year that I'm really excited about. Perhaps you'll get more mp3 links someday.

3. Russian. I haven't spent a ton of time working on language skills, but I did find a Russian bookstore and a Georgian bakery. Talked a little. Bought some good music. Bought some bad music. Bought khachapuri. Psyched about almost all of it.

4. Walking instead of giving the CTA my money. It's really not that bad. I spend about 1-2 hours walking each day. I swear guys, Lincoln Square's not that far.

5. Choir. I've joined the Immanuel Church Choir. Singing in a choir feels good.

However, the list of things I'd like to spend more time with is much longer:
1. Reading. I've been reading Moscow to the End of the Line, which I was definitely supposed to read last spring in my Russian Drugs, Sex & Rock & Roll class. It's good. Getting back into the habit of reading for pleasure is hard. I tried Twilight, even. Got halfway through the first book. A self-indulgent author, poor characterization: it sucks.

2. Chess. Someday I will be able to hold my own against someone who isn't Russian. (Note: 'Someday' refers to the very distant future. Possibly decades.)

3. Playing guitar. Writing songs (focusing on the creative, ignoring the technical) is really all I've been doing.

4. Swing dancing. I've meant to go out a few times, but haven't actually done it yet. Also, contra dancing.

5. Playing mandolin. I played it at LVC orientation, and made everyone think I know what I'm doing. I'm totally a poser.

6. Crossword puzzles. The cruciverbalist in me is crying.

7. Local radio. Needs to be appreciated. There is some station that broadcasts in Russian sometimes. Have I listened to it? No.

8. Russian/Georgian cooking. Kapusta i khachapuri. Cooking in general. Granola will happen, one of these days.

9. Photography. I missed my chance to photograph fall leaves. I need to not let winter slip by undocumented.

10. Refining my thoughts on eating environmentally consciously. I'm trying to move beyond vegetarianism as a crutch. It gets back to the reading thing, mainly.

11. Everything on the first list, but more so.

And now for something completely unrelated: I've become noticeably less quiet and reserved in recent months. I used to be extraordinarily quiet and reclusive, but I'm speaking up a lot more, and enjoying the attention that comes with it. I mean, I'm wishing it could have happened about a year and half ago, but it's quite nice, all in all.

Look at that. I didn't even talk to you about knitting hardly at all. Be super impressed by my restraint.