As a Chicagoan in the Northeast, SO MUCH THIS. It is snow, it is not the end of the life as we know it. And stop buying all the damn bread the day before; I'm not prepping for doomsday, but I do want a grilled cheese.

Yes! My hatred of olives is matched only by my love of bacon. Which is a deep and abiding love.

This kind of thing makes me insane. I can't tell you how often I see "ravioli's" on the menu at Italian restaurants. What in the actual fuck? Should I be more annoyed at the unnecessary "s" or the abomination that is the overused apostrophe?

Friday night pizza is no longer "a thing I like to do" or even a tradition. IT IS PART OF ME IS IT FRIDAY YET

I took public transit to and from school. Starting in 4th grade (age 9) I took the bus to and from school, alone - and this was mid 80s so if I got in trouble I had like a dime (15 cents?) in my pocket to call on whatever pay phone I could find. My mom made me learn all the bus routes that stopped where I waited,…

I too have laptop-face related problems! I feel your pain.

Are we related?

Document as much as you can - save emails and texts, take pix, make notes of name, time date and everything said on phone calls. Also, call legal aid, or whatever local agency provides legal advice to renters. I did this a few years ago - they were so nice and explained everything and even followed up with me on Xmas…

I think there's an ebb and flow to to how functional a family is, what its potential may be, for so many people. My family really hung on my aunt - the rest of the family's comprised of narcissists and alcoholics and the people they've damaged - and when she died it was like the planets realigned all wonky.

Totally fair question! I actually only had one other pair when we found the final ones, which I also still have although at this point they've seen WAY better days. She started the tradition when I was 10, I think so it felt like a grown up gift. That first pair did wear out (tomboy + Chicago winters, I think), and…

Worst: My parents have been divorced since before I was born, but randomly in my childhood my dad would want visitation (he lived, at times, between 1-8 hours away). One year the day after Christmas he brought me with him and his wife and my half-siblings to his sister's house. Everyone was given incredibly…

I'm doing the iPhone 4s + added to my plan for my mom this Christmas! When I saw her a few months ago she said the words you never want to hear: "Eggs Woodhouse, can you show me how to text?" She evidently has been trying to text on her old StarTac.

The one I saw was in a steamer basket, curled up next to my dumplings. Snug as a bug, I guess?

Fuck Macy's. As a native Chicagoan, I protested in front of the State Street store, a staple of my youth (Christmas windows! Yearly treat dessert with Grandma in the Walnut Room!), when they bought Marshall Field's and homogenized department stores for good. I loathe them. They are fucking fucks.

I'd venture to guess the same way everyone forgot how you're and your work, decided that apostrophes are the only way to denote plurals, and stopped being able to place commas correctly to save their damn lives. But I may just be a bitchy grammar jerk.

My mom's dog (also Sophie) does not know her name either. She does answer to "dammit!" though.

Your sixth birthday was my tenth! My mom planned a pool party at the apartment building pool. But it fucking SNOWED. In MAY. Yeah, it's Chicago, but still. Which meant my poor mom had six ten year olds for five hours in our tiny one-bedroom apartment with no activities that didn't involve swimming.

I have the same problem. My mom is a very difficult person; she has an untreated personality disorder and can be very challenging to be around. She's not a food thrower or one to send stuff back, but she's incredibly picky and easily condescends to anyone who doesn't follow all her persnickety details. It's tough to…

Volcano adjacent is pure genius. I hope to use it daily.

I grew up in downtown Chicago, and the building association always had a party for the kids so they wouldn't go trick-or-treating in the building (it was big - 52 floors and probably 20 apartments per floor). But my grandparents lived in a smaller building (20 floors, maybe 8 apartments per floor) and there were…