Slumber

...is the number of "Congrats, Evy!" texts I have been receiving.

Um....????

C'mon guys I didn't win the Cup I just cheer for the team?

BUT OMG WE WON THE CUP WE WON THE CUP WE WON THE FRIGGIN' CUPPPPPPPPPPPP JAS;LKDFJA;KLSDFJA;KDSFJA;SDFJA;KSDFJA;KDSFJ;ALFD

(BOLLAND!!!!!!)

A little over a year of living at my apartment and I've only just now figured out exactly how close I live to the gorgeous lakefront (and park, and Shedd Aquarium, and Adler Planetarium, and Field Museum). People, it is walking distance! And in the summer it is absolutely gorgeous. Sobbing, how did I completely miss this??

Sometime this week I will probably take a walk (or a jog! LOL) around and take pictures, weather-permitting, or something. I need to picspam this because next summer, if things fall into place (or David Bolland onto my lap, who knows), I might end up closer to the United Center.

And then next weekend, before San Fran, we're doing a staycation-type thing-- bought a City Pass already-- and act like tourists in Chicago. (Have you seen the glass ledge on the Sears Tower? Fuck, I am all over that like white on rice!)

Summer in Chicago, I have missed you!

And here's the final part of my Chicago Blackhawks pimping-- ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce you to Mr Duncan Keith.

Well.

Actually, I want to introduce his father, King of Cliches. :|


Photo from backcheck

>> But awwww, look at him! Wee little Keith!


Photo from backcheck


>> And trust me.



Photo from backcheck

>> He.



Photo from backcheck

>> Gets.


( BETTER. )

I wish I could say this is the end of it, but I really do love the Blackhawks, and I don't think I'll be able to stop talking about them anytime soon. Plus, they are just inherently LOLtastic. :| Idk. But now you know you they are, hopefully! And why I love them. :P

And. You know.

( Maybe now it also explains why this is completely understandable, y/n? Y, plz? )

And that's it. G'night, m'dears! ♥

Guys, the Blackhawks won against the Dallas Stars 6-2 last night, but right now I'm nursing a broken heart. Do you remember how you felt when Sirius Black went through the veil? The shock, the silence, the HOLY FUCK DID THAT JUST HAPPEN? It's sort of like that, only nobody died (obviously), but it was still-- oh my god, I can't even deal right now. *flails*

If you've been ignoring the last few posts because hockey just isn't your thing, or sports isn't, or for any other reason, I understand completely, but know that if I ever wanted you to read any of these pimping posts, this is the one that I would want you to read.

( Because Patrick Sharp deserves a goddamn fucking post all his own, after last night. )


And. Yeah. Last night, not even a minute in (39 seconds after the first period started, actually), Patrick Sharp got checked by Steve Ott, and Sharpie crumpled up after and like. COULD NOT STAND BY HIMSELF ANYMORE. He lay down for the longest, most heart-breaking 30 seconds of my life, until Toews and a trainer helped him out of the ice.

( He didn't return anytime after that, and he's up for an MRI this Tuesday to check on his knee (it's a knee injury, that much is pretty clear now), and he's out for the next 3 games for sure, but it could be longer than that. (Let me cut this now because this part is getting long again. :|) )

It has come to my attention that these posts have inspired feeble attempts at countering the awesomeness of the Blackhawks. (With shoddy photos and barely any explanation, no less.) LOL.

Flist, if you've any other loves you'd care to share with the rest of us that you may not normally discuss on LJ, well. It is the weekend of love; why don't you pimp your other obsessions to the rest of us?

( Bringing out the big guns now-- haaaaaave you met Wiz? )

Flist, I tried. I swear I did. But as with illuminations' DBSK love, and bribitribbit's HSM love, and miss_charmed's David Archuleta love, I cannot hide my love for the Chicago Blackhawks any longer.

I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, a thousand times please forgive me, but I can no longer not say anything on this journal (because it's meant to be mostly for fannish HP content, but I cannot deny this love, oh no, I can't.) so please, indulge me-- humor me?-- and let me pimp the boys out for the next seven days (YES, SEVEN DAYS. you have been warned. any less would be a CRIME.)

( If you click at this link here you'll begin to understand where the madness began. )

I am not an American citizen. I am not able to vote for your presidents, or donate to your candidates' campaigns, but I am glad that at least somehow, I am able to witness a turning point in your history, because somehow, I hope, this is a turning point in all of our history.



Grant Park was amazing, and insane, and kind of murderous-- I went with a friend and we arrived at 6pm, working our way through masses of people (Did you see my hand waving on CNN, flist?) until we finally saw the metal detectors that meant we were nearly there, and when we broke into open space we found-- yes, even more people.



We watched CNN while we waited for Barack Obama to appear, and I am sure the rest of the world was tuned in as well, but the vibe in Grant Park was electric. Every time a state was called in favour of Obama everyone cheered and broke into spontaneous chanting.



They called Pennsylvania first, far too early in the race, enough to cause drama, so I've heard. McCain was winning in Texas, but surprisingly, not by much. CNN was turning Star Wars on us, and we waited with bated breath. Wolf Blitzer was excited about calling one state, but we knew it was Ohio. Then NPR called Virginia, just a few minutes before precincts were scheduled to close in the West Coast.



At 10:00:01, CNN called the election, and Grant Park went wild. They quieted to hear McCain speak, booed when he mentioned Palin, but when Obama came onstage and addressed everyone-- well, that was the high point of the night. And man, that speech will be written about, studied, remembered, in the years to come.



So yes, America, you can. Yes, in fact, you did.

And yes, I was there.

Three guesses who's going to the Election Night rally tomorrow (which, can I say again, is right across my friggin' apartment), and the first two don't count.

AND! PS. Have you voted? Are you a size medium female? I'm giving out this shirt to someone like you! I'll decide on the winners (randomly) when I get the shirt. :| :D

PPS. Stores giving out freebies on Election Day:

• Starbucks - free tall drip coffee
  
• Dunkin Donuts
  
• Ben and Jerry's

Things, things, things, in no specific order:

• Washington is a pretty city, but I'm not trading Chicago for it. Washington is all neat and proper and appropriate, while Chicago's got this edge to it that HELLO, IS IN BATMAN. :|
  
  
• While American history, as it turns out, doesn't do much for me, I believe I'm acquiring an interest in all things World-War-II-related. :| Like. Everything. The period itself is-- I kinda see what Captain Jack Harkness loves about it so much, and just. Yes. :|
  
  
• This vacation has been grrrrreat. Like, I'm under no stress to omg-see-everything-NOW and as it is also largely unplanned, it has become somewhat a natural occurrence for me to simply stumble into pleasant surprises. My first day it was the Portrait Gallery, yesterday it was the Holocaust Memorial, today it was Jim Henson's gallery at the Smithsonian Castle. I've allowed myself time to sit under the shade of a tree when I so desire to catch up with a book or fill out a crossword, though I've not had the chance to write.
  
  
• Neil Gaiman is going to be in a Chicago suburb this October. I want to seeeeeee. I hope I can. Fingers crossed!
  
  
• I have decided that I am going to try to go to Leaky Con in Boston, because I loved Terminus so much and anyway, I've always wanted to see Boston. Who's with me? :D (I even have ideas for programming, lol)

I browsed my flist and there were no Terminus updates, which makes me sad, but um. That's because the Hilton charges quite a lot for internet, which is the last thing you probably want to do in a conference for people who all got into the conference because of the internet.

I'm just saying.

So, like, I went to Wrock Chicago last Wednesday and listened to the headliners for the first time ever (except I've heard Draco and Harry before) with cmere (miss_charmed we have photos!), illuminations, jazzyjello, reallycorking, and I think longleggedit. Did not get to meet acidpop25 because of massive number-exchanging fail *facepalm* but Saturday will be better!

Wrock Highlights:

• Everyone jumping so much the floor was shaking, til we were told to stop because there's a conference downstairs and the people there are concerned.
  
• People actually following the rules, which, as reallycorking pointed out, says a lot about HP fans.
  
• The Remus Lupins saying "To hell with that, this is a rock concert, I want to see you guys ROCK!"
  
• cmere shouting "That is NOT Remus Lupin!" in response (because come on, Remus would follow the rules) JUST as the crowd quieted down, so that a couple of people (and maybe Remus Lupin) heard. ♥

Yesterday I met up with perculious and moonlitmercury, who I'm rooming with as well as Emily, Tai's cousin, aaaaaaaand we ran into slash_a_holic while checking in.

Registration Highlight:

• perculious singing and dancing "My Dad is Rich" for a 17-cassette audiobook of Order of the Phoenix.
  
• Finding out that I'm dueling.
  
  Yeah, no idea what that means either. I'm like. "What, really?" Apparently dueling means going up to your "mark" (kinda hard to do in a con of 1500) and saying their name in a conversational voice ("Hello, Rainsparkles25!") before waving your wand (Does my pen count for a wand?) and saying "Tumultosa!" (I'm sure I got that spell wrong; shit. :|)
  
• Having possibly the only two Terry Boot fangirls in the world in the same room. perculious and I are totally going to drive our roommates up the wall.
  
  Quoth Emily: "Who's Terry Boot?"
  
  Quoth moonlitmercury: We should totally have a Wizard Rock band. We can call it Terry's Boots. ♥♥♥
  
  Quoth moonlitmercury: You guys are terrible.
  perculious: Did you say we were terrible?
  slumber: Did you spell that with a y?
  
  But it is amazing. The password to our hotel-room-slash-dorm is like. Terry Boot is awesome.
  
• Finding really good programming.
  
• Finding Theodore Nott's rumored to have been cast in the movies already (LINE YOU TOTES HAVE TO SEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE HIM HE IS ALL KINDS OF PRETTY AWESOME. NGH. I'm gonna get the pic emailed to me so I can email it to you. :|)

The great big dinner was very Hogwarts-esque, which is cool except I felt like a first year, haha. Also, my roommates are all in the same house and I'm like. Not. Tragic.

Terminus staff keep telling us not to scare the Muggles away. I wonder why. :|