Mike Doyle is a longtime autistic, gay, Jewish, Disnerd Chicago blogger.
Getting Around
I've wondering whether the CTA had a backup plan in case disaster befell the current, summer-long weekend closure of half the Loop 'L'. The answer, judging from this weekend's seven-hour service meltdown caused by a cable fire, seems to be 'No.'
Getting Around
The CTA's current 'L' and subway renovation projects are causing travel havoc in the Loop. It would help if the CTA's own customer service attendants knew enough to help detoured travelers navigate all the changes. But not all of them do.
Getting Around
It's really hard to try and prove a point about the worth of public transit when your local public-transit agency just keeps spitting in your face. Thanks to two badly staged 'L' renovation projects, There will be no CTA train service in the entire eastern half of downtown Chicago on most nights and
Food and Drink
Unlike my NYC hometown, Chicago doesn't have any Portuguese restaurants. And, no, all those Brazilian steakhouses just don't count. So what to do when you're in the mood for Portugal's incredible Alentejan garlic-cilantro soup in the Windy City? Easy. I make it myself.
Neurodivergence
I'm willing to bet money the Mad Hatter had Attention Deficit Disorder. Anyone who's eternally 'late for a very important date' definitely has issues with time management, one of the major symptoms of ADD.
Neurodivergence
When is a neurological disorder a gift? The answer to that depends on whom you ask. If you asked me a few weeks ago, I'd have said never--and why are you asking me such a silly question, anyway?
Life
It had to happen sometime. Last weekend, after five years of my Chicago life--and for the first time ever in his, Jose visited me in Chicago. That's 'joe-ZAY,' so pronounce it right in your head when you read it. My best friend from my adult years in New York. My Portuguese connection.
Neurodivergence
Last night during the 2008 Studs Terkel Awards at the Chicago Cultural Center, one of the winners, Sylvia Rivera, the general manager of bilingual public radio station Radio Arte, shared this comment from the stage: 'You write the story of your life. You create your own legend.' In two sentences, Ri
Getting Around
Kudos to the Chicago Transit Authority on a smartly redesigned website debuting today. It's a step in the right Web 2.0 direction.
Chicago
Lately I've been wondering about my place in the world. Maybe it's the New Yorker in me that keeps bringing that question up. New York has long history of considering itself the center of the universe. Take a New Yorker out of Gotham and he's bound to feel disoriented.
Food and Drink
My boyfriend, Chris, thinks I'll go anywhere to eat a good meal, or even a bad one. Dating a chef, I usually don't have far to trek. A couple of weekends ago, however, was a different story. I knew it was supposed to be a day of travel, but neither I nor my stomach knew what we were in for.
Getting Around
Saturday morning, I was honored to be included in CTA Tattler's invitation-only meeting with CTA President Ron Huberman--and met a couple of local transit heroes, as well.