blog: felix jung

Wake up, 4:30 AM. Shave, shower, pack. On the road by 5:00 AM, sipping on cheap ass gas station coffee and trying to wake up. For the first hour or so, I was pretty laid back... but as the sun rose and the coffee bubbled in my bloodstream, I opened up more and more to the day.

In high school, I had a choir teacher who taught us the fundamental rule regarding musicals. In a musical, when a character breaks into song... they do so because nothing else (speech, dance, motion) can express their emotions. Song happens because nothing else suffices.

This morning, I started singing at the top of my lungs because the day was starting, the sun was shining, and I felt happy and alive. Unable to tell anyone how I felt, or explain what I was feeling or write down these sensations... I broke out into song.

From what I recall, I was belting out "Long Tall Sally," by Little Richard. :)

Here's what the day looked like:

At the time I took this video, I was listening to Nico's "These Days," which I got from Mr. Grumpy. The onset of the sun was a strong enough counter against the rather dark lyrics, and I felt perfectly balanced between happy and sad. The lyrics are, in my opinion, really depressing... but hearing this song in full daylight offset things, and I wanted to capture what I was seeing around me at the time.

All around me, I got this warm sense of possibility. It may very well have been the coffee kicking in, but I don't care. I felt an incredible sensation rush over me. Houses that I passed were possible houses where I could live. Cars and homes contained lives that could be mine, if I decided to stop. Anything was feasible and only a matter of deciding to dig in and root down. I could do and become anything I wanted.

To my left, the moon was high up, lingering and pale. To my right, the sun was breaking into day. And in front of me, there was nothing but what felt like an endless stretch of road.

For the briefest of moments, I felt the sort of optimism that I used to have as a teenager. You know what I mean, unbridled and absolute optimism, the kind that's powerful because of its lack of cynicism. I felt like I was sixteen again, driving a car for the first time, slowly realizing that as long as I had gas in the tank I could keep moving.

That's what I felt this morning.

Today, I remembered how much, how very much I love driving in the mornings. Sometimes it feels like my chest is being slowly pried open, and sunlight is pouring into every part of me. Times like that, I wish there was someone else, someone who I could be sharing that moment with. Maybe I'm wrong to want to share this; maybe it's something I'll only ever be able to feel driving alone.

8:25 AM. Arrive home, unload car.

8:40 AM. Walk to train, head to work.

I meant to brag about this last week, but forgot to mention it on the blog. Today, there was a covert operation at work to go to Caesar's for lunch. I've been to Caesar's once before, for Phil and Charity's wedding reception. And from that time, I learned about the potency of their margaritas.

Today, a big group of us (Cathie, Nicole, Matt, me, Joe, Phil, Mike, Derryl and Anthony) made our way to Belmont and did lunch Caesar's style. If you are ever in Chicago, stop by this place and give your liver the four-start treatment it so desperately deserves. The margaritas at Caesar's ROCK!

Everyone... this is a mega sized margarita. To be more accurate, it's a frozen margarita. Specifically, it's a mega mango frozen margarita.

It's got a kick like a ninja donkey.

Stealthy. And fucking strong.

We likes the mango. Phil and Mike, about to dig into their drinks.

Aaaaaand, here we are at Round 2. Matt, me, Joe (left), Phil (right) and Derryl stuck around for another drink. At this point, I was getting a bit splotchy (which sucked), and ended up having to just stop. Seriously - this was horrible timing. I ordered a second margarita, and ended up leaving it untouched save a few healthy sips.

But.

But, several test tubes of tequila arrived at our table, unexpectedly. They were a gift from our server, and on the house. The lunchtime crowd was really sparse, and since we had a big group... I think they wanted to give us a little love back.

I have to say, they treat you RIGHT at Caesar's. Good folks, and a good businessman who runs the place. Any establishment that takes such pains to ensure the happiness of its customers has definitely earned my patronage. In my mind, you can't buy this kind of advertising... it only comes from satisfied clientele, and only helps solidify your good name.

We threw down the tequila, talked a bit more, then hopped into a cab to get back to the Merchandise Mart.

What a great lunch!

I walk back into the office and, in the hallway, I see Joe.

With a gun tucked into his pants.

With his shirt buttoned vato-style.

With THUG LIFE written across his body in pen.

Hahahahahah! Yeeeeeeah, boyyyeeeee!!

Tomorrow is Steph's birthday, and my gift is going to be this multi-part thing. One component is a book, which I found at Quimby's. As I was browsing, I stumbled across a newer collection of "The Books of Magic." I've been following this comic for a while, and it's been something like 2 years since I've purchased any part of it. Neil Gaiman had a hand in its inception, and I was (still am) a huge fan of his work with Sandman.

I'm excited as hell to have gotten my hands on this, and am looking forward to just relaxing and reading it. I don't give two shits about how geeky this is to be posting a picture of a comic book on a blog. I love the stories, I love the artwork, it's just completely enjoyable and great to me. :)