When I was a baby, gas was so cheap that my parents would take road trips - so many, that I would cry every time that I saw the car. One of those trips was to Chicago, but of course, I don't remember anything about the city. So, I loved the opportunity to visit the Windy City for a scientific conference.
Chicago did not disappoint. Unlike Boston, Chicago is a real city, and indeed strikes me as a cleaner version of New York City. I was fortunate to have fabulous chaperones. My cousin and her four kids (same age range as that of my boys) took me to Burt's Place for pizza (where Jeanne's husband gave me the best summary of Chicago-style pizza) and an architecture river cruise. We also saw some great art (the Bean, above), and listened to wonderful music (free park concert by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra). I was shocked by the lack of people at the concert, but perhaps Chicagoans are spoiled by the frequency. Lucky dogs! I would love to go back to Chicago with my family and check out the huge museums, swim in Lake Michigan, and, of course, eat more food. Tortas Frontera at the airport was a disappointment, but I had the best conference meal (beef short ribs) at Osteria via Stato and probably put on a few pounds with Garret Popcorn's Chicago Mix.
Back at home, I started a new obsession: the movies of Shah Rukh Khan (SRK). Not only is he charismatic and good-looking, but he has a great sense of humor and can dance. I am also very impressed that the actor has a stable marriage despite being Bollywood's king of romance. I've been watching about a film a week, making my way down this list (not in order). So far, my two favorite films are Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi (A Match Made In Heaven, 2008) and Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (Something Is Happening, 1998). The latter movie can be seen on youtube; the former movie inspired a new nickname for Ivan (who watches with me) - Vaani Partner. Although Bollywood movies are a far cry from the operas Ivan used to watch, I think they're a good foil for his regular fare of Russian WWII films.
When I wasn't watching SRK, I fired up the grill to make pomegranate lamb kebobs, St. Louis spare ribs, and s'mores; I've become the boys' consultant for roasting marshmallows. I also brought the family photo albums up to date, thereby helping recreate one of my favorite childhood activities (flipping through the albums) for the boys. I cleaned up other parts of the house, too, which at one point led to puffy eyes (just what was in the boys' room?), but a trip to Savers Thrift Store to donate toys led to the purchase of two leather jackets in excellent condition.
Speaking of the boys, they have gone to fencing lessons nearly every day because the club is relatively quiet in the summer. Because the pool is on the way home, they've also made a lot of progress in swimming (an aside: see these eye-opening articles on drowning). Nikita is improving his freestyle, but primarily enjoys practicing the butterfly with his monofin. Ivan is building strength and confidence to swim across the deep pool. Finally, we saw our first movie in a theater (actually, an MIT classroom), "The Muppets (2011)," which seemed better than the Muppet movies of my childhood. The boys behaved well because they've attended classical concerts, but Ivan was confused by the movie screen because it doesn't project images. Next time, I'll try to take him into the projection room.
Despite my obsession with Shah Rukh Kahn, I'm going to end this post with another "SRK" - Sherlock. I finally watched Season 1 of the BBC production, but I also stumbled upon this wickedly edited video of Moriarty. HD and earphones highly recommended.
