Travels in the Windy City (I wonder if anyone still reads this)

Yes. It has been over two months since I last posted. Shameful.
Worse, I have not finished Ulysses since my taunting post that proclaimed that I would maim that beast or die trying. Worst, I have actually put it down for the time being to read a few other books.
Nonetheless, it is time for an update. For those of you who did not hear of the ice storm that swept through the midwest, there was an ice storm. It swept through the midwest. In all seriousness, it was one of the worst winter storms in Fayetteville history. Mostly, our lives were just inconvenienced since we only lost power for a day, but many people lost power for over a week. Several-inch-thick coatings of ice weighed most of the branches down so that the trees looked inverted, with downward, ground-seeking limbs. It was eerie and devastating, as power lines and houses were damaged by countless upturned trees and broken-off branches. But it was beautiful. When the sun was out, it hit a whole panorama of glistening ice, as far as you could see. Check out my wife's blog entry about it. There are a few pics here as well.
That was a few weeks ago. Last week, as Fayettevillians were still cleaning out the debris (and they still are), Sara and I treked to Chicago for a writing conferencs and to visit my college friend (asian) James and his lovely wife Mandy. It was great! We spent a lot of time just roaming about and trying new restaurants and in the evenings we hung out with James and Mandy and played games. Also, we got to hear some great writers read their work, among them Marilynne Robinson (of Gilead and Housekeeping fame), Dorothy Allison (Bastard out of Carolina), Nick Flynn (Another Bullshit Night in Suckcity), Donald Hall (former Poet Laureate), ZZ Packer, Joe Meno, and Aleksander Hemon.
The most engaging reading was Friday night. It featured Dorothy Allison, ZZ Packer, and Joe Meno, and it had a performance by Mucca Pazza, a circus punk marching band (yes, that's right. This thirty person ensemble had elements of all three of those ingredients). All three readers were great, though I have to say I was surprised by Dorothy Allison's piece, which began with a raucous "Frog F-ing!" and went on from there.
The highlight of the trip was probably Saturday night. James, Mandy, Sara, and I went out for some Chicago-style pizza and then headed to the Signiture Lounge, a bar at the top of the John Hancock building. We were on the 95th floor, and the view was staggering. Seeing skyscrapers dwarfed from above is a bit dizzying, but still spectacular.
Anyways, it was a full week, but not overwhelming. A good vacation.