A recent email from James, a friend from college who lives in Chicago:

So I read your entire blog today. By entire, I mean day one up until today. All of it, read every word, examined every picture, felt every emotion (this part assumes I have feelings other the malice), and I consider myself closer to you already. Not so much in a distance sense, but in a 27 year old woman, taking poorly lit, out of focus, random pictures, and incessantly rambling on about your newly adopted town, sort of way.

Being a Cubs fan (this was my choice) allows me to cope with disappointment on a scale that most people will never understand. A consequence of this is tolerating White Sox's fans. Reading your blog reminded me of the feeling I had sitting next to Ozzie Guillen at the Bulls game a few weeks ago. Wow I'm sitting next to (the very jerry curled) Ozzie Guillen and I could care less. Thousands, possibly tens of thousands of White Sox's fans would kill to be in this seat. Then I realized, this is good, no, a great seat. Sitting next to someone like Derrick Lee, yeah being a Cubs fan, that would be awesome, but taking this seat away from a White Sox's fan…even better!

That's the feeling I get when I read your blog/life….blife, if you will. It's out there for the whole world to see (let's be real…what, 7-8 people?)! Most of these folks could care less, but it's your friends and family that are the ones who would kill to be in that seat next to you (and after reading your blog, I assume a few of these nut jobs already have). I hope those chawda-heads appreciate the seat they've got out there. Oh, and three things:

1. Stop breaking digital cameras, 3 strikes and it's back to Polaroids
2. Don't screw with my pier-bed
3. Nice Sweater

I know it seems strange but this email could not have come at a better time.