Music To My Ears

I had been meaning to replace my ipod earphones for sometime -- not that there were anything majorly disastrous about them, but i DO have good reasons to do so. First off, the plug at the end of the earphones is a bit loose when I drive it into the ipod, and so any little movement can cause it to pull off (bummer). The second reason, and really the major one, is that these earphones have passed from ear to ear to ear, and I mean those other than my own. The last time for instance, the 8-year-old son of a friend walks into my office, adorably cute wearing his football team uniform, and sweetly asks to borrow them (lying there on my desk) to plug into his laptop to watch some video. Hmmm….. ok, kid. [uhm.... and did you not just come back from your football game? Aren’t your ears all sweaty? I think so... your hair is dripping from all that sweat... yeah... rough game, no?]. And not that I am being a germ-freak here, but I swear that since then my ears began itching every time I used those earphones. Worse, they have this slick, oily feel to them, I bet I could sign them to membership to the OPEC. And yes, maybe it IS all in my head, but I tend to think it is in my ears as well.

So yesterday, after running my errands with the bank and FedexKinko's, I stopped by The House of the Mighty Apple on Michigan Ave to get replacements. Now see, I had once been burned at stupid Best Buy where I got one of those in-ear things that sounded TIN-ny (no bass at all!). Unbelievable those. It’s like listening to music from a tin can. Horrible. I returned them the next day. No, thank you. I am not paying $50 for substandard. Did I go off on a tangent? Back to my story. At the Apple Store, this geeky kid and I start discussing about earphones -- and I made sure to tell him that the in-ear phones sucked. We agreed that the flat/pancake ones similar to the kind that originally came in the ipod box were better. "But if you want better ones, we have Sennheisers too." DID YOU SAY SENNHEISER? Woooh, kid. Show me (hello Chicago! Any clue that I just came back from Missouri?). He pointed me to the line of Sennheiser accessories at the other side of the rack. Yes! Going through each kind, I settled on the least expensive one -- the no-frills no nonsense MX70, for $34.99. Not cheap, but less than the garbage I almost settled for from Best Buy. The downside -- they're in-your-face NEON GREEN. And they don't come in any other color, so its either love ‘em or hate ‘em. I deliberated, and convinced myself : you're buying them for your ears, not your eyes. Off to the check-out counter.

Out of the store, I started to think “do I REALLY need new earphones? Should I try wiping them old ones with alcohol? Now THAT might do the trick to the oily, ear-itch catalysts”. So I kept them in the bag until this morning, still struggling whether or not to keep them. Then I decided to break open the seal, and give them a try --

(drum roll.......)

Boy, am I glad I decided to keep you, you green thing. You are wonderful... and you really DELIVER the music to my ears. And just when I thought nothing will ever be able to be as good as the original one, here you come to prove that if you just keep searching and not give up, you can find something as good as your first love if not better. Ok, you're still Shrek-green, but ... the taste/appreciation for that might just be acquired through time. And now that I am waxing philosophical, and paying ode to a pair of earphones... I sound like I'm 8 kinds of crazy so I'd better stop now, and go to bed. Good night.

PHOTO: WINDOW at a Gold Coast building, Chicago.

One Week Around Chicago

Highlights of my one-week as Chicago-hostess-with-the-mostest (September 22 to 29) -- before I forget:

1. Getting to the church on time! The irony never hits me that the only time I get to be in church on time is when C plays whipping boy. He is good for me in that way. :) I love my church -- 4th Presbyterian on Michigan avenue. It is a historic building (beautiful architecture), has a good outreach program to the disenfranchised, and collaborative efforts with other faiths (Roman Catholic and Jewish). The pastor, Rev. John Buchanan, is brilliant. Both C and I really like him and respect his ideas. Of course, we always get to share in the donut and cookies and coffee at the Anderson hall after the service when C is around. He so reminds me of my dad (the love for cookies and stuff).

2. King Tut collection at Field Museum. This exhibit featured a fraction of what was found in the tomb of King Tutankhamon in the 1920s by some British archaeologists (and their sponsors of course). Even then, then collection was quite extensive and showed the type of opulence that accompanies a king's burial. I can only imagine, with the looting and how much more is left in Egypt, how very impressive the entire/full collection is.

3. Robie House by Frank Lloyd Wright. This is a prime example of prarie style architecture (very horizontal lines and illusions), defiantly standing among Victorian and Gothic style architecture at the wow-wow-wow campus of the U of Chicago. Although the tour-guide we had was very UNDERWHELMING, I still enjoyed discovering FLW's little "tricks" and surprises around the buildings, all of which were at the same time utilitarian and aesthetic. I liked how he played with ceiling heights, lighting, and even how he directs a person moving around the house (clockwise, then counterclockwise once you get past the stair case). We enjoyed very much the self-guided audio tour of the neighborhood, the Ida Noyes Hall, and the Rockefeller chapel for instance.

4. Oriental Museum of the U of C's Oriental Institute. -- The "Orient" here refers to Mesopotamia, Syria, Palestine, Turkey, Egypt, Nubia. The collection is AWESOME, and probably one of the biggest of its type in this part of the world. There also was a B&W exhibit of the excavation process of King Tut's tomb -- which nicely complimented our earlier tour of King Tut's tomb. I am not too familiar with the old Mesopotamian and Middle eastern old civilization so this was definitely a crash course.

5. Seminary Coop bookstore at the U of C : Awesome! This is an amazing maze of books. I bought 2 books (one on British politics, one on "how to read Shakespeare plays) and a few cards. I had fun except that it is a very cramped place... packed with people and books.

6. Shopping on Michigan Avenue. -- Chicago's most popular tourist site. C actually shopped more for himself in this trip, and I couldn't be happier. He carries himself well in his clothes (and I am saying this objectively) but is EXTREMELY loyal to his brands (I think this is part of being British -- hahahaha), so we got 4 pairs of pants from the Levi's store, got a few pieces from Banana Rep and Marshall Field's (ooops. Now "macy's"). We had lots of fun trying to take pictures of very tall structures such as the Hancock Center, and the Thompson Center and the insides of the Thompson center by angling the cameras. -- mostly C having his fun. I am not as good angling things (and visualizing in my head how it will work) as C but I learn fast. :)

7. There were lots of food trips (especially Asian, of course). That is always good. As always, C uses chopsticks like he was Chinese, and I sometimes ask for a spoon and fork; and the irony does not seem to amuse the servers, or other restaurant guests. C still loves fast-food Chinese Panda, Express and his new favorite is Wow Bao at the Water Tower Place. We still go to our favorites in Chinatown and Argyle.

8. I had the bestest birthday ever. It was a surprise thing which C and my closest friends put together for me... (with the plans being hatched even before C flew over and which they carried off like a military operation while C was here). Such fun -- I've never had a surprise birthday party since 4th grade. We had it at at India House on 59 W Grand. I thought it was going to be a quiet dinner with just me and C. Ann, Karla, and Daliah and Guy came over later -- and saved me from being TOO crabby with the maitre d' for giving us a table set for 6, despite our reservations for 2. I got a "Banoffee" cake (Banana and Toffee). DEEEEEEEEEEEELICIOUS. Ann got me a print titled "Sweet Pea" which I SUPER-LOVE, and Karla got me a really lovely blouse from Loft. C gave me a beautiful silver and gold ring from Tiffany. Wow, I really had the best, most wonderful and most memorable birthdays.

ANYONE ELSE UP FOR A CHICAGO VISIT?

(Photo: WINDOWS of Hyde Park Center of the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business by Rafael Vinoly)