I Blame Harry Potter

Ok, so this time I was called out by both Amber and Kate for not carrying out my Blogger duty of writing at least a single post per week. It's not my fault, though. It's that boy's. That Harry Potter lad. Last week, I spent all my free time, and I didn't have a lot of it, finishing the book. Then last weekend, through the beginning of this week, I was in Chicago. Since I got back, I have been insanely busy at work and have been having terrible trouble sleeping. I often have reasonable difficulties sleeping, but it was getting really bad. So bad that when I would finally be able to go home, I didn't actually have the energy to do much of anything, let alone compose a coherent thought for my blog. It was as though dementors had surrounded my house. Ok, ok. It wasn't all that bad, but it wasn't good.

The good news is that it's Friday. Friday, people! How cool is that?

As to Harry Potter, Book 7. I thought the book was good. There were parts of it that annoyed me, much like there are parts of her other books that I find a little boring or annoying, at times. However, I think I found at least one complete plot hole in this book, possibly two. I was particularly disappointed with the last couple of chapters of the book. It felt like her editors had made Rowling (or whoever the author actually is) write it. I can't go into too much detail here about it, of course, so as not to give away too many spoilers. It was pretty funny, though, to see people reading it wherever I went over the past two weeks. I kept asking my girlfriend if I should just walk up to someone I would see reading it and tell them how it ended, but she was firmly convinced that this was a entirely bad idea. Go figure.

Chicago was warm, finally. We're talking 80 and 90 degree weather. Not that cold that hits you in the face and knocks you on your ass that I have come to know and expect from the Windy City. I even got to spend some time walking along Lake Michigan, which has been preserved no better than the Atlantic Ocean, I am sorry to say. However, I hear it is improving. Maybe. I got to see two shows - one of them at Second City. It was such a great show. Not only were the performers funny, but they bring you copious amounts of alcohol, for a small fee. It was really a lot of fun. The other show ... was not exactly what I had in mind.

The concept of the second show seemed to be that the performers attempted to completely knock down the fourth wall, and allow their audience unfettered access to, and participate in, the actual performance. This approach gave rise to such exciting things as an audience member's personal details from her blog being exposed to the entire audience and a performer and an audience member getting into a brawl on stage. Again, it was not what I had in mind, but my girlfriend loved it and my mind grew as a result of it, so no harm done. Finally, I got to eat some wonderful food, again. It was sort of typical Chicago fare this time. Not really any fancy restaurants, mostly local spots that average people there would go to everyday. For example, we went to a well known local spot that serves some delicious chili, pizzas, and blue margaritas. Yum.

I am becoming a big fan of Southwest Airlines for a number of reasons. First, their flights to and from Chicago seem faster than any other airline, by at least 15 minutes - up to one half hour. Second, their people seem genuinely nice. It is often just such a pleasure to fly with them. Third, their frequent flier program is based upon number of flights, not number of miles. I think you get rewards as of your twelfth flight, that is only six trips. Plus, they now have a pretty nifty tool on their Website that lets you know all their available fares for every day of any month between two cities. Very cool.

I guess that about brings us up to date. My work here is done.