Happy 50% off candy day!

*munches mellocreme pumpkins*

I was the only person I saw downtown that was in costume yesterday. (Though I did see one woman with spiderweb stockings but she had a coat on so I couldn't see the rest of her outfit).

It was kind of interesting - A couple of people asked me "Is that for Halloween?" and I had to answer "well, sort of". When I told my co-workers about it they laughed and said "oh no - I dress like this all the time!", and I had to remind them "umm - actually - I do!".
("Oh this old thing? I just pulled it out of the closet!"!)

It was driving me bonkers because I couldn't wear my farthingale because it wouldn't fit behind my desk. As a result my skirts just weren't hanging right! I wore heels to try to compensate but it just never quite worked.

After work I had a lovely sammich at the Red Hen Bread Shop (honey ham and maple cream cheese with arugula on a pecan sweet potato bread - mmm) and then met up with Aaron for the Halsted Street costume parade. I had managed to step on the hem of my underskirt and yanked the hook off the waistband, so while I managed by stuffing things up under the skirt waistband, it certainly wasn't up to parading, so I just watched. Took some pix which I will upload by the weekend.

For those not familiar with Chicago, Halsted Street is the center of "Boystown" so the term "over the top" was a little short for some of the outfits we saw. "What's he supposed to be, besides awfully chilly?" (for the fellow in butterfly wings, go-go boots and a thong). I saw 4 people in faire-type garb (One Pendragon, two Felix Needleworthy's, and a Museum Reps. Sigh. Yeah - I need a life.)

Lots of cute doggie costumes - one little poodle in a cloud of glitter garland. I'm not sure what he was supposed to be, but he was clearly havng the time of his life! My favorites were a waggy little chihuahua dressed as a pumpkin, a greyhound in a lobster costume accompanied by two large german-shepherd-looking dogs wearing plastic lobster bibs, a pit-bull looking thing with realistic looking goat horns (with it's ears held back it even LOOKED like a goat!) and a small mutt dressed as Max with a stuffed reindeer horn on his head, towing a cardboard sleigh with a stuffed Grinch in it!

Headed back home pretty much as soon as the parade was over - "I've been wearing corset since 7AM and my skirt is falling off". Today I am eating candy and appreciating being bendy again.

I-Go Promo

People often ask me about I-Go Car Sharing. I've been a member for almost a year and am so pleased with it that I've done a decent number of promos for them.

Usually it's $75 for the first year and $25 per year after that for membership, and then there are a variety of usage plans depending on how you want to use the cars. There are a couple of new pricing options (including the one I switched to $15 per month includes 3 free hours) and there is a sign-up promo running through 11/22 where you can get yout first year for only $35.

In the interest of full disclosure, I do get a $20 driving credit if you give my member number when you sign up. But for people who live in the city and only occasionally need to use a car, it's a pretty damned good concept, and it's cheap to sign up now.

Let me know if you want to know more, have questions, or want the code for the promo rate.

Damned good read

Continuing my interest in "History they didn't teach you in school...I recently bought and finished Sin in the Second City: Madams, Ministers, Playboys, and the Battle for America's Soul.. A rousing good read about some of the larger than life personalities that populated South Dearborn Street in the early years of the 20th century.

( The Everleigh club was arguably the classiest, most luxurious, and most expensive brothel in the world. )

Oh Man - Janet would have LOVED this!

- A Canadian artist will be painting with Zamboni and blow torch this winter as he brings a 95-foot long "Popsicle" to Millennium Park.

As part of the Chicago winter festival, Gordon Halloran has been commissioned to paint and sculpt a 95-foot long colored ice wall to reflect in the bean, as well as a flat painting of the Loop on the Millennium Park Ice Rink along Michigan Avenue.
Halloran's art exhibit is set to stand even if February is warm, the artist says. A "Lego system" of aluminum plates back-up the ice and when the system is turned it can create a su-zero temperature in minutes, thus preserving the exhibit if warm temperatures arrive.

And should frost dull the color -- Halloran will apply a blowtorch to gloss up the surface he's preemptively calling the Popsicle which opens February 1st in Millennium Park.