Home Is...

I know, I know. Still no We, The Vehicles entry. While I am now resigned to authoring the most anti-climactic blog entry in the history of the internet, I assure you I will still be writing up the album in the next week or so.

I took two days off work this week to drive home to Flossmoor, Illinois to witness the high school graduation of my youngest brother, Andrew. It marked the first time I had seen my family since Kevin and I drove to Chicago to see The Wrens in February and everyone seemed to have a wonderful time. Highlights included two seven hour drives with scant air conditioning which were fueled by my IPod and various energy drinks (Monster needs to work on their distribution in rural Wisconsin), a family dinner at a local Thai restaurant, watching mother of a graduating student being escorted into a squad car after she struck another woman in the face during the ceremony, and unlimited late night bowling featuring at least six separate Toby Keith music videos blaring from the speakers directly behind our lane at a deafening volume.

The single two experiences I enjoyed the most over the course of the weekend were Andrew's graduation party Sunday evening and apartment hunting with my mother yesterday afternoon. As usual, my mother pulled out all the stops necessary to appropriately celebrate the educational milestone that is High School Graduation while the rest of us did our best to lend a hand when possible. The party featured an expansive spread of excellent local cuisine, badminton, 52 bottles of Summit beer I hauled from Saint Paul, and most importantly an outstanding guest list. I was able to visit with all three of my grandparents who I had not seen since February, numerous close family friends from the area, and my brothers' crews. Perhaps most exciting, I had the opportunity to spend time with my Cousin Tom for the second time in six months as well as my Aunt Pam after a few long years between visits.

Monday represented one of the most invigorating days I can recall in recent memory. I encountered the Chicago for the first time since I committed to attend law school in the city and the vibrance of my future home was simply astounding. Immediately after stepping out of the Metra Station, I discovered a throng of people walking down Michigan Avenue: bustling businessmen (and women), attractive art school students, and young tourist families. The sun was shined brightly but the temperature was tolerable thanks to the breeze off Lake Michigan. Children frantically splashed in the Millennium Park fountains and a pair of strangers strolling through the park participated in a casual exchange about the fun of lugging heavy suitcases.

After a scrumptious meal at the Park Grill and a tedious CTA bus ride, we found ourselves in the heart of Lincoln Park where I had scheduled two appointments to view apartments available August 1st. Lincoln Park is widely considered the most desirable Chicago neighborhood to inhabit, and it certainly lived up to the billing. The area is more or less a classier, prettier take on the quaint residential setting of Highland Park where Kevin and I currently reside combined with a trendier, more densely populated version of Uptown and populated almost entirely by twenty and thirty something students and young professionals. The park from which the area's name is derived, Lake Michigan, and the Lincoln Park Zoo are mere blocks away from any location in the neighborhood while Fullterton and Clark, the two main streets, are littered with restaurants, record stores, and bars.

We ended up viewing three studio apartments. All three are extremely expensive to rent which is customary for the area. However, two of the three apartments are both extremely expensive and at just 325 square feet, extremely small. The third apartment, located on Arlington just half a block from Clark, is certainly pricey at $700 a month (!) but includes all utilities with the exception of phone, internet, cable, etc. and is considerably more spacious at roughly 400 square feet. The majority of the apartments that will be available August 1st have not yet been advertised but since I will not have the opportunity to view these apartments myself and left reasonably impressed, I am considering pulling the trigger on the Arlington place. My other options at this point are pretty much limited to keeping an eye on Lincoln Park listings over the next month and then sending my mother to view the spaces on my behalf or considering somewhat less happening neighborhoods with more convenient transportation to the law school. I will keep you posted.