Originally written Thursday, February 28, 2007:
Need to make a trip to the emergency room? Don’t go to Swedish Covenant Hospital’s E.R., where Brian and I have now been for two hours, even though I told the triage nurse that I rated myself a 9ish (out of 10) on the pain scale.
While waiting in triage, located approximately 15 - 20 ft. from the entrance, we made the unfortunate discovery that the sliding glass doors wouldn’t slide shut. Brian happened to glance at a thermostat, which read 54?F — indoors. Fortunately, we waited only 15 (very cold) minutes in triage. Afterwards, the nurse was kind enough to let us wait in the emergency room itself, rather than in the waiting room, which is next to the entrance.
Kind as she was, however, I was the one who offered to give a urine sample. I’ve made enough visits to E.R.s in the past, and they always ask for one. I may be mistaken, but I believe this is standard, especially for women, to ensure she isn’t pregnant. The results dictate the procedures the staff may or may not be able to perform. When I finished, I set the cup where she instructed.
The restroom was disgusting: discarded hospital gowns littered the floor; the toilet seat was raised, displaying a large, dry urine stain towards the back of the rim; and the sink desperately needs Drano? Build-Up Remover. When I urinated again later, even more gowns were strewn around, and the stain remained.
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I know I haven’t written one of these in two years, but here’s one:
Get a flu shot every winter!
I never have, and now I regret it. So yet again, I’ll be taking a (hopefully) short blogging hiatus because my symptoms have worsened since yesterday.
do not fire your gun on New Year’s Eve.
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this marks the return of Chicago Living Tips! unlike last year, however, these will be posted as i think of them instead of every Monday.
today’s tip: while driving down an alley, as you approach a T-intersection, be sure to honk in order to avoid a collission with someone coming from another direction. it can just be a couple of little taps. you don’t have to lean on the horn or anything.
one side of our apartment overlooks an alley. because of this rule, i’ve learned that someone in the neighborhood has a car whose horn honks the first bar of "Tequila." you know: honk-honk honk-honk honk honk honk honk. what a treat.
tomorrow’s Chicago Living Tip will run late–sometime after 8am, but it will post. i started a partial hospitalization program in the past couple of weeks (long story, if you want all the dirt go here, though that has yet to be updated; and no, i’m not in rehab–been there, done that), which means i no longer have all the time in the world to play video games, read comic books, and surf the Internet. as a result, all of my blogs are suffering from sorely needed updates. this is also why i haven’t replied to anyone’s comments regarding the cat killers up north, etc., so i apologize for that. but hey–who loves you, baby?
now that Cubs season is upon us, if you own a car, then you must familiarize yourself with the season schedule. that is, if you’re a north side resident or frequent that area.
if you don’t have a garage space, park your car on the street when you get home from work on Friday, and do not move it until Monday morning. take the CTA for the rest of the weekend.
games that take place during the week will nearly triple the capacity of el passengers, so either leave work early or stay a little late. if you think the rush hour cars are packed with bodies, well, that’s nothing compared to baseball season. i’m thinking of one specific Crosstown Classic, when a man standing next to me had his arm raised to hold onto the pole. unfortunately, his sweaty, hairy armpit was right in my line of sight/vision. avoid at all costs.
and remember, the closer you live to Wrigley Field, the more likely it is for some drunken Cubs fan to puke on your lawn, porch, or whatever.
sorry for the late post. and now…
before driving in Chicago, familiarize yourself with the names of the expressways and tollways. they are referred to by name, not number. today, i bring you this handy dandy conversion chart so you, too, can make sense of traffic reports as you’re driving:
| Number |
Name |
Location |
| I-80/294 (while they’re merged) |
Kingery |
from Indiana to the 80/294 split, SW of the city. |
| I-294 |
Tri-State Tollway |
from I-80 in the S to Wisconsin in the N, this is the primary N-S route through the western suburbs. the three “Tri” states mentioned are Indiana, Illinois, and Wisconsin. |
| I-290 |
Eisenhower |
also known as the “Ike,” the Eisenhower begins in the northwest suburbs, travels S, takes a turn to the SE when it meets the North-South Tollway, and then turns E for the city at the junction of the East-West and the Tristate. this ends when it meets the Kennedy downtown. |
| I-55 |
Stevenson |
the Stevenson takes you from just S of downtown, past Midway Airport and to the southwest suburbs. |
| I-88 |
East-West Tollway |
the East-West Tollway brings you from the cornfields of central Illinois to the near western suburbs where it ends, leaving drivers a choice of taking the Tri-State to the N or S, or the Ike to the E. |
| I-355 |
North-South Tollway |
N on the North-South is just W of O?Hare; S on the North-South is just W of Midway. this interstate begins by branching off of the Stevenson and ends by merging with the Ike. |
these are relatively easy to remember because most of their names describe their routes. where it gets tricky, however, is with Interstates 90 and 94, both of which change names repeatedly in Chicagoland.
| Number |
Name |
Location |
| I-90 |
Northwest Tollway |
Tollway Interstate 90 has this name from the Illinois/Wisconsin border (just north of Rockford) to O?Hare, where the Tollway ends. once it ends, I-90 becomes? |
| I-90 |
Kennedy |
from O?Hare to the I-90/94 merge, I-90 is named after JFK. |
| I-90/94 |
Kennedy |
even after the merge with I-94, I-90 still retains the Kennedy name;
that is, until it reaches downtown, when it becomes? |
| I-90/94 |
Dan Ryan |
bonus question: who was Dan Ryan? the two interstates stay together for only a short amount of time, and then I-90 splits off, turns E towards Indiana, and becomes? |
| I-90 |
Chicago Skyway |
have your toll money ready. after this you?re in Indiana, and like everything else there, the roads are boring, so I-90 is just plain old I-90. |
and finally…
| Number |
Name
|
Location |
| I-94 |
Edens |
coming into the city from the northern suburbs, I-94 is called the Edens, and remains the Edens until it merges with the Kennedy above Chicago?s Irving Park neighborhood. it then becomes? |
| I-90/94 |
Kennedy |
see table above. this becomes? |
| I-90/94 |
Dan Ryan |
?which then becomes? |
| I-94 |
Bishop Ford |
?once it splits off from I-90 on the south side. amazingly, I-94 keeps
this name until it ends at I-80/294, S of the city. (I-80/294
being, of course, the Kingery.) |
so, did you get all that? good.
research compiled by Brian, my blogless husband
if you have to double park because you need to run into a store or your building for something real quick, fine. at least pull over as far as you can to one side of the street so other drivers don’t have to wait for you to return. you’ll save yourself from being called names and having rude gestures thrown your way.
J was kind enough to send this e-Bay link for an "Official Chicago Winter Parking Space Placeholder" mentioned in Chicago Living Tip #33. the bidding is over now, but here’s a preview of one of the many that were offered:
contrary to a widely held belief, there is no City law stating that you can reserve the street parking spot from which you toiled to dig your snowbound car by placing 2 old kitchen chairs with each end of a broom set on the seats.
