...In which our heroine burns after reading.

So we made our first official pilgrimage to a Chicago movie theatre yesterday, in the pouring rain and through the flooded CTA. But there was no way I wasn't going to see Burn After Reading this weekend.

I really liked the film. The reviews I had only glanced at were very mixed, but I thought the film was very well put together. Kathleen asked me afterward if I thought the film would be up for any Oscars, and while I certainly don't think it will, if you like the Coen Brothers, it's definitely worth seeing. It reminded me of Raising Arizona and The Big Lebowski in that the humor is pretty absurd, but still fits in the context of the film. It also seemed as if the actors in the film were just having fun with their roles. Brad Pitt is especially hilarious, Frances McDormand is as fantastic as always, and George Clooney does a great smarmy. The ending of the film is one of the funniest I've seen in a very long time.

Otherwise, I'm just staring down a mountain of homework. Our weekends have become pretty much routine at this point--with bible study and community service Thursday nights, which makes us pretty thirsty, going out Fridays, this week to Belmont, and Saturdays more subdued with usually just a movie.

Friday we ventured to Samah, the coolest hookah bar I've ever been to. For ten bucks a person, we got nine hookahs and a drink for everyone. The bar itself was incredibly cool, with private rooms for parties of ten and up (which we were). It feels like a 19th century opium den, with the wonderfully chosen music, elaborate decor, and generally relaxed feeling. The hookahs were also high quality and the pumpkin pie flavor proved to be beyond delicious, so much so that I got an intense hookah high that lasted the whole ride home.

Belmont is quickly becoming my favorite area of the city--it's got all the same stores as Wicker Park, but minus all the hipsters. Besides Samah, there's a bunch of vintage stores, tattoo parlors, head shops, and interesting, uh, boutiques.

Here's an interesting occurence: in my moving here, my parents are back to being best friends. Don't get me wrong, they've always been close and never really fought, for which I consider myself extremely lucky. But now they're doing crazy things like going out on weeknights, and talking on the phone when they're at work. I can tell when I talk to my mom that it's been a good thing, them being forced to depend on each other. For that, I am glad I could be the catalyst.

And for the most thrilling news of the week, I bought Neil Young tickets for December 9th. Mom and Dad are coming up to see the show, which I realized after the fact was during finals week but oh well, Neil's getting old and I need to hear "Cortez the Killer" live just one time. Or "Cowgirl in the Sand." Or "Like a Hurricane."