Top 5 Nothings to Do When All You Want to Do Is Nothing

Chicago can be a funny place if one is available to simply walk the streets with eyes and ears open, willing to observe an accept all of the happening surroundings. I find humour in the fact that, while only having been a resident since August 2008, I am already tired of tourist season and complaining about a never ending winter. Yet something about walking down Milwaukee Avenue at 7:15am on a weekday morning makes me smile. Something about walking out onto Clark and Monroe at 6:30pm puts an extra bounce in my step.

There is a vibrancy and pulse to this city that while indescribable, is unmatched to that of New York and certainly to that of Miami. Perhaps it is the smiling couples of Wicker Park seeking out the best brunch to review on Yelp. Perhaps it’s all the Mercs leaving the Loop on the Brown Line to Roscoe Village. And maybe - just maybe it could be that I have fallen in love with some part of this city. Or, rather, at least have allowed the heart of this Midwest drainage line enter my soul as an acceptable place in which to always be on the go.

With these recent thoughts about my loathe/love relationship with Sinatra’s kind of town, I have compiled a top 5 list of things to do when everything inside is just telling you to do nothing.

#1.) Go to Best Buy (or any other store that thrives on one-to-one sales pitches). Say hello to the salesperson that approaches you, and tell them why you are there. Chances are, even if you’re not in the market for a top-of-the-line HD adapter for your out-of-date TV, you’ll end up engaging in conversation with a computer geek who may be just as unhappy as you in that moment. And by computer geek, I admiringly mean someone who can crack jokes about building monster machines and how a certain female might be able to fit one in a bag with three other pairs of shoes and a curling iron.

#2.) Go to Double Door. It doesn’t matter what band is playing or what night of the week it is. Throw away the cover charge, throw away the $5 for whatever vodka special they have at the bar, and release yourself into a crowd of people that really aren’t as intimidating or hipster-ish as they seem.

#3.) Walk, run, bike, skip, roll - whatever - up and down the path on Lakeshore Drive. Start at North Avenue Beach and work your way up, then when you have to turn around to go back from whence you came, the skyline that greets your cardio-weary gaze will serve as a surprising reminder that yes, you do live in a cool city. And yes, those buildings are real. Even the one from Adventures in Babysitting that resembles a certain feminine……… ________.

#4.) Experience the ridiculousness of one of the summer festivals. All they really are is an excuse to drink and walk around in public. But maybe you’ll find that special old guy who dances alone to laugh at. Or admire. Or join during the Macarena on the grass.

#5.) Find a neighborhood coffee shop and befriend the barista at work during your first visit. Then go back at a different time and say, “oh, _____ isn’t here today?” And the current barista will perk up, realizing that you may be part of the local family, and therefore safe to genuinely smile at or even strike up conversation with. It seems everyone in this city is lonely. Making someone else smile will most likely lift your own spirits and therefore serve as a reminder that there is sensitivity left in humanity. And even though it feels like December in June, we’re all in the same boat. So let’s decorate it with sparkles, offer each other coffee discounts, and take plenty of pictures.

Home is where the heart is. Just find your heart and you’re there.