For some Chicago expats, food is the medicine that blunts the pain of separation.
Accept certain inalienable truths, prices will rise, politicians will philander, you too will get old, and when you do you’ll fantasize that when you were young prices were reasonable, politicians were noble and children respected their elders.
Whatever you do, don’t congratulate yourself too much, or berate yourself either. Your choices are half chance. So are everybody else’s.
Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard. Live in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft.
Families are ecosystems. Each life grows in response to the lives around it.
Books are like blankets, the mere sight of them around the house provides warmth and comfort. They are like mirrors, too, reflecting places I’ve been, phases I’ve been through, people I’ve loved or thought I did.
The soul-sucking activity of TV-watching feels better when it is done with other souls.
Don’t waste your time on jealousy; sometimes you’re ahead, sometimes you’re behind. The race is long, and in the end, it’s only with yourself. Remember compliments you receive, forget the insults; if you succeed in doing this, tell me how.
Get to know your parents, you never know when they’ll be gone for good.
Be nice to your siblings. They are your link to the past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future.
The Hunger Games’ isn’t for everybody. But neither is ‘Anna Karenina.
Remember compliments you receive. Forget the insults. If you succeed in doing this, tell me how.
Do not read beauty magazines. They only make you feel ugly.
One thing you might want to learn before you attend the world’s largest ukulele lesson is how to say ukulele.
The first gay person I ever met was surely not the first gay person I ever met.
Worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubble gum.
TV happens. And once it’s happened, it’s gone. When it’s gone, you move on, no tears, no tantrums, no videotape.
You can figure out who you were by which movies you loved when.
Be kind to your knees, you’ll miss them when they’re gone.
Keep your old love letters. Throw away your old bank statements.
Don’t waste your time worrying about the future, it might never come.