Funky Towels and Firsts from the Past

I still feel very new to the city after living here for eleven months. There is so much to explore and experience. With him starting law school at De Paul next week we know we will have a minimum of three more years to try and do it all, or at least what we can afford! I am so excited for the many firsts to come, but wanted to take a moment to reflect on firsts from the past.

Since moving to Chicago September 2009 I have experienced these firsts:

1.  A rat in my kitchen, that's right an authentic Chicago city RAT. No, my eyes and the dark were not playing tricks on me. I did not mistake a little mouse for a rat. Ratzilla was in our kitchen on multiple occasions and he finally saw it to confirm my reports. Ratzilla shook off mouse traps, evaded sticky traps and jumped in and out of our trash while we were watching t.v. Thankfully, after stomping my feet a few times, the super of our building pulled out the counter and patched the hole where Ratzilla was entering/exiting through. Every time I do laundry in the basement I am scared I will have another encounter with Ratzilla.  Beware! (more on Ratzilla may be found here)
2. Cockroaches in the kitchen. There have been 4 cockroach sightings thus far this summer. That also means there have been four blood curdling screams this summer in apartment 1. The roach spray seems to be holding them off for now, but if they have to bomb our apartment you will find me taking shelter at my sisters. This video is for Mikey!
3. Depending on public transportation. This year has been the first time in my life since I was 16 years old that I did not have my own car. I have relied on the El an the bus to get everywhere. This has posed challenges in running errands and cramped my style a bit, but it has also made me feel a sense of independence that I was not expecting. As a category of this "first" I will touch on CTA horrors. For months my city friends had been telling me horror stories of being harassed or seeing crazy stuff on the El. I would always tell them they must be unlucky because I had nothing but great experiences riding the red line. That is, until Saturday, March 13. The day I saw a grown man defecate in a full train car. It was the early morning of the St. Patty's day celebrations, I began to smell what I thought was someone with a major gas problem. Everyone was grimacing at the wafting stench. That's when I saw, near the front of the car in the little alcove, a man buckle his pants. It suddenly all made sense. Everyone began moving to the other side of the car trying not to make a scene. I was hung over and gritting my teeth trying not to vom and make the stench even worse. Thankfully, my stop was next. 

I will let this first end today's post. I think that rats, cockroaches and human feces in public places is enough to stomach for one day! 

What is the nastiest first you have in a new place?