CHICAGO CARLESS

(Photo: “I know a new sense of belonging. The feeling of emptiness and lonliness will disappear…”)

Dear John C.,

We missed you on Tuesday night. When I got to the meeting, right on time at 7:30, no one was there. I thought I would have seen your new car in the parking lot. Last week you were proudly showing it off. A rolling paradise of air conditioning and lumbar support, you said it was evidence of the care you were finally able to give yourself. Even I congratulated you.

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(Photo: Pastry chef en croute.)

Chris showed up limping to our weekly Caribou coffee date. Every Tuesday we share caffeine before I bare my soul to my local Codependents Anonymous gang.

Usually it’s me arriving with the more interesting issue. Chris tells me his plans for transcending his future ex-roomate. I let him in on the excruciating details of my love life from when I was an egg onwards.

But even still and seated, Chris couldnt help but grimace over the top of his grande iced green tea cooler.

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(Photo: Sometimes you’re the boyfriend; sometimes you’re the giant, man-eating squid. Credit: Vulcania Submarine.)

Here’s a tidbit you’ll never hear on Oprah: a spiritual awakening can be the biggest pain in the ass. Especially for attention-hungry, emotionally grasping, codependently needy bloggers like me. Because when you get right down to it, enlightenment doesn’t equal recovery.

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(Photo: Those pesky kids, at home in Chinatown Square. Original Credit: Chris Brunn.)

No one can claim that Chicago’s Chinatown is the equal of older, larger Chinatowns in American cities like New York or San Francisco. But over the weekend, ex-Cincinnatian / new-Chicagoan Jamie helped me see the area in a whole new light.

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(Photo: Take me to your leader…and tell him to get this thing off of my head. Credit: Devyn Caldwell.)
This is just a quick weekend shout-out to a few sites that have shown my blog some linking affection in the past few days.  The Chicago Traveler is one the these.  TCT scribe, Matt B, is a Twitter [...]

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(Photo: Just keep walking. Just keep walking…)
After three years and more than 300 posts, CHICAGO CARLESS has attracted a faithful audience–and one that I much appreciate.  That readership has grown larger since I relaunched the overhauled blog a few weeks ago, so I’d like to welcome you all back to my humble Internet abode [...]

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(Photo: The good life in five-hundred square feet. Credit: Marina City Online.)

My friend, Donn, the sole man, has been downsized out of a job. Now he’s talking about downsizing his apartment. He’s a got a huge two-bedroom packed to the rafters with shiny nice things in a seedy corner of East Rogers Park. It’s never a bad idea to make bring your lifestyle into agreement with your income. But I think more than finances are at play, here.

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