October... in bullet points.

Ack.  It is most definitely not October.  October came and went with frigid temperatures and rainy days.  November perked things up again with sunny mornings, 60 degree afternoons, and blackening skies by 5.  Now we're into December, which has made her appearance as ostentatious as possible through the sub-zero windchill and violent winds straining our plasticized windows.  The past 2.5 months have been eventful, which perhaps I may attribute my long absence to.  Lets recap and perhaps I won't feel guilty and inhibited to write.

• We decided to move forward with a health needs assessment at LAC.  A local hospital has completed one already but wouldn't give it to us until 2 weeks before our next hospital summit which was not adequate time for our side to analyze the local need.  We decided to perform our own.  It will likely take 6 mo-1 year but will hopefully be more accurate than the hospital's version and better represent unmeasured health discrepancies in the community.  Hannah has taken on interns from Northeastern Illinois University to do some surveying.  I think she likes the authority.  I don't blame her.
• I attended my first Environmental Justice Task Force (EJTF) meeting.  I wasn't caught up on most of the information.  This is remedied (see subsequent bullets).
• I went to a CEDA workshop to learn all about how landlords of +66% low-income buildings can get weatherization projects funded.  I got a name tag and a packet of information.  It felt professional.
• I have experienced Turtle Racing--a unique bar activity to facilitate conversation amongst the tipsy hipster patrons of Big Joe's bar.  You get raffle tickets based on the price of your drinks.  Six turtles (yes, live) are assigned to customers based on raffle drawing.  They are placed in the middle of a large table under a glass dome--think a fancy cake cover.  The table has a small green circle in the middle, a large white circle around that, and a green perimeter.  After an obnoxious recording of a horse-race start-up, the dome is lifted and the turtles are allowed to run, or slowly drag themselves towards the perimeter.  The assigned person of the turtle who makes it to the outer green first wins a T-shirt.  The loser of the slowest turtle out wins a free drink.  Everyone makes bets with their friends and screams at the turtles until the race is over.  Surprisingly, the small ones are quicker than the old big turtle.  I made friends here.  They are not animal activists.
• Simchat Torah!  We went schul-hopping.  We started at Anshe Shalom, but got bored because the liquor was out in the sukkah.  I mentioned already that it was cold.  We trotted down the block to Anshe Emet and were delighted to find a spread of liquor, shot glasses, beer, mixers, and snacks (!).  We partook, and giggled through the last 5 minutes of the service.  Then we rejoined Anshe Shalom for free ice cream.  Yum.
• My parents visited.  I enjoyed it.  We went to Frontera Grill and I saw Rick Bayless at the host stand.  I stared gape-eyed.  Then I drank a bloody mary and ate guacamole.  Yum.
• We had our healthcare community forum to promote the approval of the Healthcare Access Protection Initiative (HAPI) Ordinance.  This ensures that hospitals provide a minimum of 4.5% free care for uninsured, low-income individuals.  And they have to publicize it.  As Martha Stewart would say, it's a good thing.
• I attended the Showdown in Chicago.  We protested the American Banker's Association convention.  I got a t-shirt and a button and carried a sign and yelled a lot.  It was the largest protest I attended (~5,000 people on day 3), and the energy was incredible.  I haven't heard much on subsequent actions, so the actual effectiveness of the showdown is still in question in my mind, but perhaps more important people than me (I know, they are few and far between) are negotiating with bankers and congresspeople about more stringent regulation.
• I started a month-long cleanse with Becca.  I removed gluten, dairy, soy, sugar, caffeine, and alcohol from my diet.  I felt amazing and would highly recommend it.  The only downside was not drinking on Halloween.
• I attended critical mass for the first time.  It was the Halloween edition, complete with bikers in costumes, bikes in costumes, and spooky music.  It was so liberating riding through the middle of downtown streets without the hyper-awareness that comes with biking amongst thousands of reckless cabs, buses, and commuters.  The next night was Halloween which was celebrated with Avodahniks at the Halsted/Boystown parade (essentially gay pride parade with better costumes than usual).  Then we party hopped until we ended up at a completely random house party we happened to walk past.  I was a 50s bombshell of sorts.  Bettie Page but fully clothed.
  

This was unfortunately long.  And that was only October.