Rogers Park

My Neighborhood, or "hood" (as a lot of people here seem to say) is called Rogers Park - NOT to be confused with Roger's Park.  It's about 750miles from downtown Chicago.

Just kidding.  It's fairly far north though which has its ups and its downs.  On the good side I can always find a spot on the train because the majority of people don't get on until further south.  On the bad side, I am always one of the last people ON the train trying to get home.  That puts me in a shitty mood come 6:30pm when all I wanna do is peel off my sweaty clothes and sit naked in front of my AC.

Did I mention it's hot here?

Rogers Park is a community-driven area that is made up mostly of gays, african-americans, and latinos... so, naturally, when looking for an apt, Missy made sure she put me right in the mix.  Ironically, this is also where she has lived for the past 5-6 years.  Go figure.

The one thing you'll notice about Rogers Park when you come into it is that it is very green.  A lot of Chicago actually is.  That's why you hear people say "well, it's a CITY but it's still the MIDWEST... you know?"  Well, I didn't know, but I'm explaining it to you now so listen up.  There is no Meijer or Kroger.  Speedway does not exist here (gasp... I know.  I'm still dealing with it).  If you want groceries you go to Morse Market.  Wanna see a movie - Go to "The New 400" on Sheridan.  There are small theaters and a brunch spot, 2 gay bars, a new restaurant, coffee shops and a bookstore etc etc. They even do a local farmers market every Sunday during the summer to help boost small business and allow everyone to stick it to the man.

You know the man...  It's Walmart.

I appreciate the quaintness of Rogers Park but there IS a downside to being the way it is.  It's less expensive than areas closer to the city.  That = more riffraff.  Now I'm ok with a little "raff" but when it turns into "riffraff" I start to get a little nervous.

There's a homeless lady that screams at me and sings along with her radio that doesn't work.  She lives on the corner, she's always drunk, and has a homeless boyfriend she nags.  Money can't buy happiness so I guess... No money can't buy happiness either?  A=B, B=C, so A=pissed off, drunk, poor lady.  It's fine, I'm sure she'll freeze to death during the winter.

I'm kidding.  If she keeps drinking like she's doing she won't even make it that far.

I'M KIDDING!

....

Anyhoo, I argued with landlord and withheld my rent until they started doing repairs so I'm in the process of winning as we speak.  I DID take some photos of my apt as it stands right now.  It's not complete but I think after my last blog I should at least do it the justice of showing what I turned the mess into so far.

I still need some small things like a storage shelf, pub table, trash can, curtains.... fuck, do I have anything?  At least I have food in the refrigerator.  And, YES, for those of you who think you know me I mean solid food.  Christ.

More to come and lots to say.  Stay tuned friends.