Fun with Cooking, and Independence Day Weekend

A long, long time ago, I was a more habitual chef, but today I prepared a meal in The Palacio for the first time in months. The meal of choice was a quinoa tabouleh, a very refreshing preparation that is cooling off in the fridge at the moment. I would promise myself to try to cook more often, but once the tabouleh runs out, I will be counting down the hours until I leave for Milano, and so I'll probably eat out until my flight on Saturday. Perhaps this is why a good friend of mine now calls me "Fat Alberto"?

The Last Few Days
The last few days my body was fighting a very subtle cold, mostly evincing itself via a ticklish cough. Luckily, it was not the sort of cold that kept me from work or fun. Forgetting work for a moment, the fun of the last few days included a dinner at Osys, pub trivia at Grace O'Malley's, dinner and a movie (Batman Begins), a brief sailing outing, and lots of cycling along the Lakeshore Path. Of course, I could expand on each of these moments, but I won't.

On Sunday, I was pleased to attend Thor's dedication at the church of my youth. I also broke a promise to myself and went to the Taste of Chicago. My brother and sister-in-law came to the Taste on Sunday with Kaylin, so I couldn't resist walking up to meet them. Then, in the interest of catching up with Ceebs and doing a little people-watching, I went back to Michigan and Randolph to see the Taste fireworks.

The one observation I'll make about the Taste of Chicago is that the percentage of obese people in the crowd is significantly higher than that of a typical American crowd. And, given the amount of money one would have to spend to over-eat on un-healthy food at the Taste, I now fully understand the ironic correlation of poverty to obesity in American people.

The Fourth of July
229 years after some mostly Anglo-Saxon Americans signed their names and pledged their lives and treasures to fight for American independence from King George III, I enjoyed a sunny bicycle ride, lunch and a quiet afternoon in The Palacio. I did re-read the Declaration of Independence, and I found the time to organize files and goals on the computer, but as the sun came closer to setting and the neighborhoods, municipalities and scofflaws began their fireworks shows, I realized that The Palacio's balcony was a perfect place to watch the firework shows.

So I grabbed a 312, turned on some bossa nova, and sat on my lawn chair, marveling at the show. To be honest, the highlight of the show was the sunset. Humans have spent years trying to match Creation's beauty, but the Creation will always please my eyes most. (And it doesn't leave a smoky cloud that nearly made Sears Tower invisible from my balcony!)

But back to the Fourth of July evening, as I sipped on a beer, reclining on a lawn chair, enjoying the view of fireworks and the sounds of bossa nova, I had a moment of quiet pride, pride in the good that the U.S.A. has represented, and the blessing it is to have been born here. As Astrud Gilberto serenaded me in Portuguese, the irony of the moment was not lost on me. I was watching the spectacle of fireworks in honor of American independence as I was enjoying some very Brazilian sounds. Maybe it's not so unusual; exposure to a variety of other cultures is one of the features of American life I enjoy the most.

This American life can be really interesting for those who take the time to listen and look around...