Yeah, I am beginning this post with an ever-nerdy Monty Python reference.

Well, since the previous items have been about things like bible studies and hunting courses, something I read tonight on another blog, drew me back to reminisce on the sleazier side of life in the big city.

In this instance the subcultural topic is: Gay porn. More specifically, an antiquated Gay porn theatre in downtown Chicago that actually has rows of seats, a stage, and large screen, plus various rooms and *booths* for, uh, other sorts of post-cinematic entertainment.

When I was an underage college student, I used to go with a girl friend to some of the lesser-known (or, I should say, less trendy) gay clubs/bars for a night of dancing. The bouncers were always so sweet to us gals (never carding us or even charging a cover) and often, the fellows on the dance floor would decide we were *cute* and compliment our hair, clothes, dance moves, and offer us a drink. What was wonderful was that we could boogie on down to dusty disco hits with NO ONE ever trying to put the moves on us sweet young things. It was like we had the guardian angels of the glory holes looking down upon us, keeping us safe and our drinks roofie-free.

Needless to say, over the years, both from personal visits to these establishments and from having close gay male friends, I learned of much of the Chicago gay undercurrents at that time.

After college, I moved into the second big *Gayborhood* in Chicago: Andersonville.

I LOVED my apartment there and the cool shops, bars and restaurants within walking or biking distance. During my tenure in that charming apartment, I dated (I use that term loosely; in today*s terms it was more of a friends-with-benefits situation) a fellow who was both a native Chicagoan and a person obsessed with culture both high and low. He took me to art gallery openings, and thrift stores; foreign films and dive-y diners; poetry performances and bingo halls. Add into the mix that he and I ventured into the world of BDSM - or at least into *learning* about it and what people in that *scene* actually DID behind closed doors - by attending a clandestine discussion group.

There was no internet at the time, so the location of the meetings (which was always at the same place each month, anyway - a catering hall on the northwest side) was disclosed the day of the event via a telephone answering machine. Really there was no hanky panky going on DURING the meeting itself, which was in the format of the lecturer/presenter up on stage (sometimes with a slide show) and many rows of folding chairs for the audience. I think AFTER the formal presenations, some people would cruise each other to hook up and get together at hotels or bars for *playtime* but we never stuck around for that!!!

Truly, all of this subculture-delving was done stricly out of curiosity. I dont think either of us was much interested in S&M or gay porn...but we would visit, read, talk, and just LEARN things about our city that usually are not included in the river tours.

After all the wailing and gnashing of teeth during our brutal winter, you would think I would be jumping for joy, dancing in the fields at the onset of summer.

But, first of all, we have had a terrible start to the summer season - every day is gloomy, wet, and gray, and temps rarely have gotten into the mid-70s.

And, selfishly, I miss the usual academic schedule - for my child AND myself. Ok, well maybe a parish scripture study is not what one would call *academic* although the ones I have attended so far did run very much at the intellectual level of insight and challenge of a college course, and that was so invigorating to me.

I do not think my parish leadership has lined up someone to take the place of our departing Associate Pastor in terms of a daytime scripture study. I do know that there is a really interesting-looking lecture series on Social Justice coming up in the fall, but its in the evening and at a Catholic college that is somewhat tough to get to from my neighborhood (this has to do with traffic patterns and bad roads, not bad neighborhoods, per se.)

I am wary of joining just any old study group, because, among the people of our *big tent* there are WIDE variations in tone, intent, and personal politics that can skew  the content and nature of a study program. And no way would I do a program that did not have an authority figure (priest, nun, brother, PhD, etc.) to facilitate, especially if things get heated, er, *lively* in the discussion among participants.

I have to keep digging. I am sure I will unearth some treasure if I keep at it.

Since Jerry asked, I will explain a bit about the all-day camp my daughter will attend for the second year in a row.

Essentially, the day is spent with kids age 8-14 learning about Wisconsin wildlife, compound bow techniques and shooting practice, safety, and a mock *hunt* where the kids go through a trail with fake  animals/targets. There are lectures, games, meals, and the student-to adult ratio is something like 4 kids for every 1 trained adult. This year they are incorporating the use of .22 rifles by kids over 12 who have completed the state safety course.

That makes me a bit nervous because my daughter has NOT gone through the course,  but my husband assured me that at her age, he was exposed to other kids shooting .22s at his boy scout camp so... we are trusting that she will follow directions and stay well clear of any gun shooting practice going on.

Why would I want my daughter to learn how to hunt?

To be honest, I wish I could take a course like this, myself. I really love cooking and eating wild game, plain and simple. My uncle and dad now hunt turkey and deer in Pennsylvania, and with our own private hunting grounds in Wisconsin, I would like to at least someday put it to use.

Plus, she LOVED the camp experience last year and talked about it for days, even going through our woods with me, showing me things like antler pieces, and other *clues* she learned about.

Do you know what I hate about summer vacation?

It is so EXPENSIVE.

Yes there are all sorts of fun things to do, places to go, adventures to experience...

But it all adds up.

I am happy either relaxing in my backyard with a book and a glass of iced tea or sitting on the screened porch of our cabin watching birds at the feeders while I sip my coffee.

But that is *boring* for a 9 year old.

We went to our neighborhood pool on Sunday, and although it was lovely - great weather and not too crowded - it set us back $10.50 in entrance fees.

I would love to take her on the train into Chicago for the day, go to the racetrack (yes, they have kids activities there!) , or just take a walk to a neighborhood spot for a nosh...but, again, it takes coin.

With this looming construction project, I am trying to watch the budget and not rely on pay-to-play activities to scare away the summertime mom-wont-let-me-watch-tv-all-day blues.

Most kids in the area are enrolled in full-day or half-day camps, and luckily she is enrolled in activities that take us through the end of next week; she has a one-day hunting camp scheduled in July, but the bulk of that month, we are on our own activity-wise.

I am trying to convince her to call up friends from school to have them over but she is hesitant to do so; at her age, its still in that awkward *playdate* mode of what I think is more elaborate than necessary planning with other parents to get kids to socialize outside of school.

I am trying to have her get the cajones to just call up a friend and say, *hey, ask yer mom if you can come over for a few hours today.* We will see if anything comes to fruition with that approach.

I had a horrible hangover-type of feeling today after a wild evening last night - that entailed a whomping TWO glasses of wine.

TWO.

Not 2 bottles. 2 cups.

I have been noticing lately that I just cannot drink much at ALL. I am not sure how or why this happened, but it seems any more than one cocktail or glass of wine and my stomach is a wreck the next morning and I feel just AWFUL.

I also noticed lastnight that maybe 3 sips into my second glass, it hit me pretty hard and I got all giddy and, as the kids say, buzzed.

I take NO prescription meds, nor any supplements, except an occasional B-multivitamin.

I made a dinner that included copious amounts of white rice for me, to help calm things down. I do finally feel better but plan on an early night and nothing more *wild* than a chocolate chip cookie for dessert.

Literally there is *after math* - the contractor promised to do more calculations on some options that could bring his price down closer to where he hoped to be, so that is cool.

Otherwise, the meeting was good; my husband really liked the guy, and appreciated his understanding and work ethic. And I was pleased with all the straight-up info we got - no excuses or up-sells.

The bottom line is we have to wait for our loans to finish processing and close so we have money in hand to spend before we sign a contract AND we have to get a building permit from our local municipality, which is a Village. A Village of 76,000 residents, but nonetheless a Village.

Tonight we are having a meeting with the proposed contractor who *might* me demolishing and re-modeling the back half of our house.

I say *might* because even though he was the low bid, he is still higher than we would like.

Furthermore, this project talk is WAY later than I had hoped; for practical living purposes, I would like the majority of the work completed by the end of August, which is when my daughter heads back to school.

But the reality is, that even if we do move forward, delays are inevitable, especially the big one, which is the ordeal in obtaining a building permit from the Village of Arlington Heights.

What my husband seems to forget in all of this is that even if we walk away from the big overhaul, we still need to make some critical changes to our back entryway due to problems with icing that we experienced last winter. My daughter also needs a decent room; hers is small, cramped, and very chilly in wintertime.

Moving is not an option due to real estate prices in my area; for certain that would be out of reach for us.

I suppose we can just meet with the contractor tonight and try to pare down the project to a price range we find manageable.

I don't mean to sound like some sort of spiritual stalker or weirdo...but I am REALLY dreading the final days of my fave priest*s presence at my parish. Don*t get me wrong; our pastor is WONDERFUL and I like him, too. But... my priest pal...he has been with me through MONUMENTAL events over the past 4 years: he buried my son and father-in-law, he administered first reconciliation and first communion for my daughter, and coached me through the ups and downs of these events, PLUS encouraged my continued learning of scripture and secular topics. Truly, he has been a mentor and friend...and worst of all, I don't think I ever actually TOLD him how much I appreciate him.



Friday there is a Mass and reception for him, although he has voiced over and again that he does not really wish to attend. I do know that he is VERY private about his personal issues, and know better than to ask too many pointed questions. Some people are quite nosy, and I bet he has to struggle with being polite and *Christian* to them while really wanting to say, *Um, f*ck off and mind yer own business!*

Speaking of f*ck off...today in a homily, he was recalling lines from a British comedy, and said, while quoting a line - from the altar - *Bugger*. I literally SNORTED aloud, and someone in front of me turned around! Other people also gasped. Is it me, or doesn't that term roughly translate to *F*cker* in American English?!?!

I bet that bugger did it on purpose, he is such a character!!!

We got...well not exactly BAD news, but not great news in terms of the estimates to remodel our house (IL house.)

My husband and I will be meeting with the likely contractor but realistically, we need to try to trim some things off of the project plan to bring the price down to a less-scary number.

Today I am going to be revising our home budget based on actual past spending - not *intended* spending amounts.

Truly, in my heart, I would be more comfortable doing a much smaller-scale remodel - mostly for better efficiency in use of space, plus fixing an existing issue with our back entryway. It would not be what we really want but it also would not give us a ton of debt.

Our meeting is Wednesday evening; I hope it goes well.

Although starting off nervously, I was able to get into a comfortable, friendly groove with my traveling companion today.

Now I feel...sad. Why? Because it was such fun...but I wont be seeing my friend around much anymore.

Why? Well, it is due to a job-related move, that although still in the general geographical area, it still is not in my actual neighborhood/town.

I hope that despite this move, we can have another fun social outing sometime.