I can’t believe it’s 2009 – Happy New Year! J I hope everyone had a safe time. I was just happy to be with Colin.
I miss my little puppy Rex so much, but am extremely happy I didn’t bring him with me. On my first day here, I went for a walk around the building. Not the actual apartment complex itself, but just the building. For those of you who know me in real life, you know my notoriously bad sense of direction – I can’t find my way out of a paper bag if my life depended on it. I am not kidding about that.
Anyway, on my first day here, in an effort to stave off the jet lag that was threatening me at 2 in the afternoon, I decided to go for a walk around the building…and encountered the wild dogs. I was a bit put out, but thought nothing of it…until one of them started growling at me, alerting the other dogs that came running. At this point, I knew I was outnumbered and wondered what was going to happen to me. Before I could do anything, an apartment guard came and literally beat the dogs to keep them off me. I heard them whimpering as they ran away. Then I noticed the sign that was a few feet away – DO NOT FEED STRAY DOGS.
I came back from my walk a bit shaken and a little confused. I’m a huge dog fan. I miss my little Rex-Rex so much, but I keep thinking that if he had been with me, those dogs would’ve gone right for him and who knows what would have happened, or what I would’ve had to do after. A few hours later, I took a pic of one of the stray dog that got beaten…it had dug itself a small place in the dirt keep warm while napping, which happened to be right outside my window. It’s such a cute little dog. Who would’ve ever thought that thing could be so menacing?
I’m still in awe over the cows out here. One had wandered past the gate and made it into the apartment complex. It was standing under my window, just hangin’. We had brief eye contact because I had opened the window and squealed in delight. It was like, “Sup? Got milk?” I was going to take a picture, but the guards came by and herded it out the way it had come in, which was past the guards. Oh yea…the guards here salute Colin and myself whenever we are driving in or out of the apartment complex! Very odd to me, but yet I find it utterly charming.
Cows and cars rule the road here. Colin keeps threatening that he will make me cross the street to get to the little café. While we’ve been driving, I’ve been so grateful for the driver…really, this is like nothing I’ve ever seen in my entire life. Horns are always used, lines and lanes are arbitrary – it’s merely decoration. I just am so overwhelmed whenever we are in traffic or just going somewhere that involves getting in the car. I feel like I’m in my own little personal game of Frogger – we’re leaping across lanes of traffic and crazy people and if we make it to our destination safely, we’ve won! I wish I had my video camera because one has to see it to believe it. I will not be driving around here. I flat out refuse to. It’s downright scary.
When I first arrived in Chicago, the drivers scared me. I could, and still do, only describe their driving as aggressively polite. They’re riding your ass if you aren’t moving when the other light is changing yellow, so you can charge when it hits green for you…and they’ll take off down a 35mph zone at 50, yet will stop on a dime if someone is crossing the road, regardless of whether they are using the crosswalk or not. I think of my time back in Chicago as a bit surreal – I know I was there, I lived through it…hell, I still have the City of Chicago sticker on my windshield! lol
Colin and I are off to the markets today because I want to check out some yarn. It’s been so f***ing cold that I feel compelled to crochet a blanket to keep us warm. Central heating and AC – how I miss you…
-Carinae-
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