it occurs to me that (in the words of frank sinatra) it was a very good year. i've been to a lot of different cities and spent so many hours with many of my favorite people. i try to keep my little digital point and shoot with me during many of these moments so i decided to just grab some of those images almost at random as a visual record of 2007. i think this starts in february of last year and ends here in december. if i've spent time with you and you're not in this, i either shot you on film or forgot my camera. :)

i'm thinking about canning this blog thing.
or maybe in its myspace format.
i think it has had a good run, but as i get sucked into the throws of facebook i realize that my days here are limited and if i continue to blog i'll do so outside of these friend sharing sites.
anyway, more on that later.

this weekend was something to be remembered.
it all started out well, with a work party followed by a surprise birthday party, followed  by another holiday party. the friday part was all really nice and fun.
saturday rolled around and i headed off to evanston to participate in a conference for improvised music.
all went swimmingly there as well, but as the day progressed i began to notice that my arm (where i had surgery) was beginning to feel quite sensitive.
i headed back to the city where mama and papa had arrived to spend the remainder of the weekend (as a result my counter top is now fastened down, my toilet works properly and i have a new light fixture in my bathroom! cheers to fathers!) upon my arrival i took a look at my arm and realized i had bizarre red swollen circles on my arm.
long story short, the following morning i consulted a friend who was a dr. and he told me i should head to the emergency room.
after three hours in the emergency room i was informed i had a staph infection and would have to stay over night to receive intravenous antibiotics.
seriously, my life is bizarre.
who gets staph infections??
i remember when rosie o'donnell had a staph infection bad when she had the rosie show and she went on this crusade to educate people on the matter.
more recently, jack from project runway had to leave the show because he had a MRSA (the super bug).
anyway, so yes.
i stayed the night.
i ate their terrible food.
i wore their funny robe and little booties.
i sweat my way through the night
and the next morning things were looking much better and by noon i was headed home. it was all just so unexpected and strange.

i'm fine now.
honestly, i never felt that bad.
i guess staph is just scary if it gets out of control, but fortunately i caught it on time.
so this week is about wrapping things up before the holiday (both literally and figuratively).

so i will do that.
cheers.

i'm wearing this vest today and two different people have said to me "oh wow. um that is festive."
which, it isn't festive.. it is just bright i think?
but i don't necessarily want to come across as a festive dresser
the truth of the matter is, i'm missing a button on the shirt i am wearing underneath and it seemed that the best way to cover it up was to pull this sweater vest out from the back of my closet?
but maybe i should have left it inside
because now i am stuck with a "festive" sweater vest and a buttonless shirt

thank god tomorrow is friday

these are the types of things that can make a guys day.
see, my lady at dunkin' donuts who sees me and says "eeesy eeesy?" everytime i walk in? well she has this way about her.. like a maternal smile, which i appreciate. i think she really likes that she knows me and that i'm a regular (for better or worse), but this morning i saw a little sign that said "munchkins 99cents"
normally i try to refrain from donuts (doughnuts) as they are really very bad for you and they always leave me hungry approximately an hour after eating them, but i thought to myself "what a deal!"
ha.
six munchkins, 99 cents.
so i asked my "eeesy eeesy" lady to supply me with six munchkins for 99 cents. so she obliged with her maternal smile.
i exited the store and headed to the bus stop as i always do, but i wanted one of those munchkins almost immediately. i reached in the bag and ate one in a single bite... then another.. then another. i thought to myself how i should put them away and save the other three for work. i looked in the bag and realized there were not just three left, but six!
nine munchkins!
for 99cents.
then i liked her even more and thought if she were a blog reading woman she would know i appreciate her generosity, but since i don't write my blogs in spanish i'll probably have to tell her to her face.

this time of year is really quite wonderful me.
in part i feel stressed out by all the things i have to accomplish, but i also feel really quite lucky to have all these things to keep me moving in good directions.
parents are coming this weekend.
i'm going to get some help fixin' stuff around the apartment and then they will attend the lessons and carols service on sunday.

i was in evanston for a rehearsal last night and i found a news stand like one would find in nyc. we don't have those in chicago... not the type that sell periodicals that are out of the ordinary. in chicago, one must go to borders to get things like that... but then it still feels largely controlled by what publishing companies are sleeping with what bookstore.
anyway, i had some time to kill so i spent a good hour leaning against the shelves and catching up on international mags.

tonight i will watch reality television with friends.
this is not because of the writer's strike.
this is because we like these reality shows.
aint no shame.

my neighbor has done it again!
so much for energy conservation!












i wish you could hear the music, too...

seriously.
i want you to get all the money you deserve.
i want the internet to profitable for you, too.
i acknowledge your value and worth and talent, and i know that you always have to be behind the scenes (unless you're tina fey) where all the glory is not is given.
i know you have to succomb to the pressures of your producers and deal with underwhelming actors.
i'm sure it's all a bit much....
... but do you know how much sunday night television means to me?
i mean, i don't even watch that much tv these days. i don't really have time. i certainly used to watch a bit more, but now when i do want to watch it, because you can't seem to put your powers of negotiation into good use i have to watch the most terrible reruns and reality shows that (even though i've been known to get into) are just leaving me wanting a bit more.
can't you make it work?
really?
its for the good of all the country.
we need to know what happens next! we need to watch commercials otherwise we will stop buying things! you are the root of the success of our country and the christmas season.
so buck up dudes.
get it together.
puhlease?

oh, and dear ice outside of my house.
quit it already.
i'm tired of your slippery ways.

love,
davin

i posted a bulletin yesterday, but i just thought i'd let peoples know i created a little myspace music page. http://www.myspace.com/dyoungsmusic
you should take a listen if you like
its basically some snippets of recording projects i've done, either on my own or for other things
my main objective with the page is to receive wealth and fame.
ha.
just kidding.
i actually want to just get more singing jobs. :)

you've gotta think that when snow was being created, turning it white was a pretty good idea. given the grey color of the sky during most of the winter months it is really wonderful to have my apartment seem so bright because of the freshly fallen snow out the window. i'm all about it and it makes me nostalgic. now, i'll certainly be bitching about it come february, but for now its a real perty thing.

i haven't really felt like writing here lately.
i think its a number of things, one of which that i have a bunch of projects i am working on it seems like a waste of time to write in here... but that being said, often when i have this many things going at once i feel paralized and don't do anything.
*sits and twiddles thumbs*

i have a performance this friday and this week is full of rehearsals.
i have two more performances next week and i have two big photo projects i need to be working on.
on top of this it occurs to me that it is time for christmas shopping.

i saw this piece on nightline last night about the movie coming out called "what would jesus buy" which at the previews i was thinking "oh man, this looks like some insane televangelist shtick". well, it is. sort of. only that the televangelist is a performance artist who adopts this character to make shoppers aware of the control of consumerism.
it was pretty awesome.
he marches into malls with a choir and preaches about the dangers of buying too much stuff. it made me want to see the movie.

this being said, it is fun to buy people presents. i just look forward to the day when i can just buy presents without worrying how much they cost... assuming that day might come.
but since i am not currently able to just buy people's love i have to just come up with really thoughtful gifts.
sigh.
ha.

cheers to the first real snow.

so every morning i walk south to fullerton and then i cross the street at fullerton, go to dunkin donuts and then wait for the bus.
it used to be starbucks, but now there is a dunkin donuts and i somehow feel like that is more economical.
tell me i'm right.
but anyway, before i cross fullerton i get the privelege of crossing paths with my own personal crossing guard. she's not really mine, i mean i imagine she is there for the students that go to the school near by, but really... she blows her whistle and walks into the middle of street while i cross. now mind you, there is a crossing light there as well... and a stop light.
but regardless
she walks out
blows her whistle
and says to me "be careful!" as i cross
its really a treat of embarrassment each and every morning.. i feel like she thinks i NEED her. as though i couldn't do it on my own.
and what do i know?
maybe she's right.

a vacation.
i am actually in like really lazy-fall-food coma mode.
i wanted nothing more than to not leave my parents house and just keep eating their food and watching their tv, even though my mother insists upon asking me questions in the middle of each and every show.
"who are they making over now?"
"why are they all so skinny?"
"haven't we watched this before?"
"well, that is just disgusting. I remember how movies and tv used to be..."
it's a non-stop chat fest with mama.

it was good to get home.
wednesday was a nightmare as it was raining and cold and i had to walk from one train to the other to the other, carrying around too many bags because for some reason i think i need to take my entire apartment with me when i go away just in case i get robbed. (which incidentally does make me feel better because as i was walking home on saturday i thought about how every THING i really cared about was on my body (computer, camera, cell phone))
anyway, so rain and train and finally i get to michigan and it is snowing... which was ok because i was going to a warm house where i would stay with food and family and the likes for a few days.

so yes, turkey day was a treat and my niece and i only had to endure about 10 minutes of people joking about the fake turkey we were eating... which is significantly less than the good 20 minutes we spent on it last year.

we had 15 people at our house and 11 pies.
i believe i ate two pies.
and then i ate pie all day every day for the next two days
and then my mother tried to send a pie home with me, but i refused to take it as she would soon have a fat child if i kept eating pie.
she will freeze it and i will eat it later

i watched hours and hours of terrible tv
i played in the woods
i visited some friends
i got to go in a hottub! (thanks, jen)

umm it was all good
and i always imagine myself coming back to chicago and being productive after these lazy breaks, but i'm afraid the laziness continues a bit.
we'll see.
i'll get back in the swing.

happy monday.

i had a nice time in philly.
it was tinged by fighting off sickness then actually being sick and now have a lesser sickness but still being sick. i think i have a semi weak immune system. i consistently get sick and it is not as though i'm an unhealthy person in general... i just get a cold regularly.. and on top of that i've been taking these liquid vitamins my father gave me.
that is an extra funny fact because his mother used to always buy these fad vitamins off the television and give them to him and we would make fun of her for it.
now he is doing the same thing.
but i obliged.
i take them.
i'm still sick. the kind sick where you feel bad in the morning and during the night, but ok throughout the day.
oh well!

it is interesting as i get a bit older and i have been to most major cities in the country (except in the northwest), i begin to see the similarities and the obvious differences. what strikes me most is just the general vibe you get from a city. a lot of this is dependent upon the people you are with and just the general tone of the things that are going on in the city.. and neighborhoods you visit, i suppose... but in general you can just pick up a city's vibe by wandering around.

i don't know exactly what philly's vibe was, because my head was clouded with cold medicine and the weather was kind of grey and cold given the turn to fall we've been experiencing... but i had a really nice time.
the homes are so old, and the streets are narrow.
it made chicago seem so spread out and midwestern.

i'm trying to type more, but i can't concentrate.
here are just a few photos from my little digicam











ok so we went into this used furniture store in west philly and they had the funniest little notes attached to their furniture. they were all grammatically amazing.









oh, so all the houses are right next to each other.
no alleys, like new york.
so the porches are all connected.
they look like this.


ok.
my brain is useless today.
it is a short week.
thank god.
off to michigan on wednesday.

i've already said these things in an email to some friends, but i discovered a life saver at lunch today. i was really just wanting to eat a good veggie dog.
but given my inability to transport myself to hot doug's i just went for a walk to think about where one might locate such a treat.
some cities sell them on the street *coughallofcanadacough* but here in chicago, veggie dog's are a bit weird and difficult to find, but alas... it occured to me that there is this shop called "american dog"
do you know it?
i always walk by and assume they have nothing i could eat, but i walked in today and voila! they have veggie dogs and you can get them with all the fixins of a regular dog... ya know, cheese, peppers, mustard, ketchup, relish. that sort of stuff. i feel satisfied to the max.
thanks american dog.

i'm exhausted. i went to this gallery estudiotres in andersonville last night to hang some photos as a preview for a group show i will be in during january. if you are in andersonville in the next couple of months you should stop in a check out the show that will be opening this friday. unNatural. it will have some photos of my friend debbie's in it. it looks like it will be a very cool show.
we grabbed some panasian cuisine afterwards and caught up... then bussed home where i fell asleep almost immediately.
my body is tiiiiired cause it is fiiighting.
fighting, i tell ya.
don't get sick, davin.

so tonight i have to go to my choir rehearsal until 9:30, catch a cab home, pack up my stuff then get up at 4:30am to catch another cab to o'hare to head off to philly for a few days.

vacation, i tell ya!

i'm looking forward to exploring a new city and spending time with an old friend.

off i go.

oy.
fighting off being sick.
i felt it coming last night and now i'm fighting with all my immune system.
grrraah.
this always happen. the minute i start to praise myself for not being sick in quite some time it sneaks up on me, but i'm going to practice positive thinking and beat it that way.

the weekend wrap up goes something like this.
because i have good friends who have cool jobs, friday was a somewhat random treat of seeing alasdair roberts who is a soft spoken, skinny, scottish gent with a pure voice and a simple song to sing. after alasdair we hurried over to the darkroom to see ohmega watts ohmega watts who in fact is the exact opposite. well, maybe not exact... but a rapper from portland who seemed anything but soft spoken. it was pretty amazing. very old school. like skill based rapping rather than bells and whistles. it was a really unexpected evening and very fun.
sidenote: if you don't have the new beirut album you should check it out. it is a more lush version of his previous stuff... and it seems so (to borrow a word from milan) epic. almost raucous and sometimes messy, but always beautiful. hmm.

saturday i spent a good chunk of the day stuffing grapes with bleu cheese for a wine tasting in the evening. this was a labour intensive task, but i was kind of into it as it felt good to have a product in mind and to keep popping grapes into my mouth.
early evening was the wine tasting followed by a "borrowed party" at my house.
left over food.
left over wine.
left over party goers.
ha.
much dancing.
it was a hit, i think?
and the best part was, when the evening was over my place was not a disaster... so, no regrets.
yesterday i sang (barely) and then tina and i went to brunch and wandered around chicago avenue. the rest of the day was dedicated to me feeling  a bit ill and taking vitamins every coupla hours. (said like VIHtamins.)

ok, quickly in other news.
i found out on friday that i was excepted into graduate school here at depaul (where i work). i will be a student in the master of arts in interdisciplinary studies program... which basically is a degree where i chose the coursework involving art history courses, business, nonprofit management, writing, and education courses. ha! i have a plan to this madness and i'm excited about it but it is going to mean a major shift in my life... doing school on top of working full time, singing, snapping pictures etc. it is going to be a challenge, but i feel ready.
or hope i'm ready.
or i'm just going to do it and see how it goes and whatever happens happens.

life keeps shifting, but somehow stays the same.

i'm off to physical therapy.

yesterday i took a much needed day of rest.
caught up on things.
watched terrible morning talk shows
even the view, where i watched damon wayans say "women don't know the fundamentals these days.. like how to cook and clean.."
it was pretty amazing as the four women about wanted all grab his neck at once.

it is fall and i feel insatiable.
honestly i can't stop eating
and even when i am full, my stomach is still telling my i am hungry.
i think that honestly it is because it is getting cold out and my body thinks it needs to store up for winter.
this is not the case dear stomach.
i will be fine for winter.

i read online today how people were waiting in line in NYC to get into h&m this morning because the cavalli line was out today. i thought this was amusing because i saw it online and it is just hideous. trashy leopard prints on cheap material... but i realized that i was headed downtown for physical therapy and i thought i'd give it a look after flexing my joints.
them clothes was gone!
ha.
i walked over only to see a big sign that said "SOLD OUT"
apparently chicagoans are into ugly cheap clothes too.

last night i talked to mama on the phone for a bit and it was right after i just had watched the news. we were talking about christmas presents for the nieces and nephews and i knew as soon as we began talking about it that she had watched the same report i had about the toy from china and has a chemical in it that when ingested acts the same as GHB or the date rape drug.
apparently kids are ending up in comas because of it.
it is funny though because my mother is still very much of the "buy american" mind frame so all she can see in the issue is that the toy was made in china.
i was all like "i know mom. i just watched the news. ghb. i know. china. mm hmm."

i'm headed to philly next week to see mary.
i've never been, so it will be a good exploration of a new city.
i have some good recommendations of things to do and i hope that it doesn't freaking snow like it did in eerie, pa yesterday.

i'm full of all things uninteresting today.

call me crazy.
please, do.
but i keep reading and hearing about oprah is handling this situation with her school in south africa and it kind of reminds me how a "good" leader handles a bad situation.
the situation comes to light.
the leader sincerely apologizes and then they act resolutely.
voila.
i will leave that at that, but in my opinion it is a good example and one that could be followed by others in position of authority.

umm, so where did monday go?
agh.
physical therapy is kind of fun because it forces a break in my day, but it also cuts a big chunk out of my day. its fun to have a regular person that you only see for an hour at a time to fill in on your life and get the scoop on theirs. maybe the therapy isn't only physical because that sounds a lot like a session with a regular therapist, minus the "get caught up on theirs" part.

weekend recap:
friday, evanston, dinner with friends, art with friends, back to city, bowling with left hand
saturday, clean up, sing at loyola, dinner with friend, accidentally out till wee hours with other friends
sunday, sing, SOFA art fair, dinner in hyde park and brothers and sisters

i'm walking a lot these days.
actually to say i'm walking a lot is a bit of an understatement. i have been walking ridiculous distances for a number of reasons.. one is that i can't ride my bike and two is that i am two cheap for cabs most of the time. the third and final reason is that i am too impatient to stand and wait for buses... so the result is me walking four miles or something ridiculous like that just walking and thinking and catching up on phone conversations.

today was my first winter coat day.
i think maybe i was pushing it a little bit, but i heard there would 30 mph gusts of wind and a high of 42 degrees, so it seemed time to hall it out.
as i waited for the bus (impatiently) i look at my coat clad reflection and thought... "oh man, this is how you're going to look for the next four months." which made me want to go buy another coat.

ha.

but how can i complain? this fall has been so oddly warm and lovely.

oh, and in daylight savings news, it was 4:30pm yesterday and PITCH BLACK.

today i begin rehearsals again for my choir
next week i go to philly!

more on this later