Camaraderie in the Commute

Riding the L feels like I'm flying through the city. Every time we go around the bend the train leans and creeks in such a way that I'm convinced we're about to topple over from the weight of a hundred suits. I marvel at the stoic expressions that we all intentionally place on our faces and wonder why it's appropriate to scream and laugh widely on a ride at an amusement park, but sit there like "it's no big deal" on the train (when in reality we're traveling faster than any ride!). I feel awkward at my taking of a seat, which is almost always (I feel on purpose) not taken by a man. I like getting to know the personalities of my usual conductors; I like the fact that they are vocal enough for me to be able to discover their characteristics. I'm enjoying the commute. It sort of makes me feel like a part of something. That even though I'm having trouble adjusting to a nine to five lifestyle, hey we are all in together!

Camaraderie in the commute. Ain't it the truth?

Weather Snobs

In my life I've noticed that the weather is often a topic of conversation upon forced chit chat with a stranger or even a newly found friend. "Oh man it's really coming down out there!" or "I can't believe how hot it is!" was all pretty standard fair for Floridians. Since moving to Chicago though, my small talk experience has turned into a bit of an inevitable routine because as I've determined, midwesterners are not only obsessed with the weather, but obsessed by how they are so steadfast in their resilience to it. "Hi I'm Leila," will some how lead to a: "so where are you from?" To which I repily, "south Florida." Then this maniacal smile spreads across their face, as if they've discovered a secret and that secret is the recipe for the best joke ever. "OH!!!!! Florida, well my! Aren't you in for a treat! Do you even have a coat?" I respond with a solemn no and that I am indeed terrified of the winter. "Oh well yah, our winter's are pretty bad, not going to lie. In fact they are pretty horrible." At which point I begin to wonder to myself then why are they still living here? "But you know, they're a bonding experience. HA. Florida. HA!"

I've determined that to the Illinois native my situation is something of a novelty. Sure it seems normal for them to move to Florida, but for me, a person whose spent more time inside hurricanes than in snow, I must be dysfunctional. Their jeers aren't so far off, I really don't have any idea what I'm in for. The consistency of which the weather comes up though makes me feel like I'm in my own personal Groundhog's Day. I'm faced with the same scenario over and over again: "you're going to freeze… you're going to freeze," only so that I can eventually come to terms with my fate and it's only by accepting it am I released from repetition.

So here it goes, in an effort to speed the process along: You midwestern have superior skin, it's tough and thicker than mine. I will be cold and I will hate it. You will be cold and you will love it because you chose to. I don't know if I'll develop that same Lake Wobbegan esque strength. I guess I'll start by buying a coat.