finding old friends and making new ones

so i arrived in chicago unprepared. with phone numbers of most friends long lost. apart from abbi whom i'm staying with - i've basically lost touch with most of my school friends here.
when i got here though i emailed some peeps and googled others. iris my honduran friend is in DC - a press sec for a senator. darlene my taiwanese flatmate is in LA. daschell's working for a non-profit in hyde park. and as i discovered on my first night here that dalia a classmate from cairo has left us. sad and shocking news to say the least. i remember her as very intelligent,witty and passionate about her views on politics and current affairs.

on some days - i've been wondering around chicago - in my meandering i've found myself walking into memories old and new.

i got lost the other day and was required to make a u-turn on an el ride. waiting at the chicago stop - i remembered how my eyes swelled up once while waiting for the train couple of years back.it was cold and i was suddenly homesick that very day.

i also noticed that the amercan airlines office near the wrigley building is no longer there. i shot a news package there once. i walked past the bennigans where we had a group outing once and the cosi coffee shop where i caught up with a friend visiting from oregon.

there have been new highlights in the city too. that centerpiece over at millenium park.Abbi and i call it the bean, arthur has been correcting me. "you mean you didn't know it's called the cloud gazer?" a beautiful metallic sculpture that takes in the city skyline and whoever that gazes into it. it's housed at the millenium park which was so perfect for that lunch we had.




i used to be terrified of cats, but looks like mr beans and i are now friends. although he seems a little aloof in this picture. hah