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TODAY

Thursday, March 28

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Fuel

Andrew / February 20, 2007 10:12 AM

Question suggested by Ann.

anne / February 20, 2007 10:15 AM

I buy bright colorful new tennis shoes once the sludge is gone from the snows.

Spook / February 20, 2007 10:35 AM

Late to mid April.

I celebrate by putting the my thermal underwear away for the year

Annie / February 20, 2007 10:43 AM

In Urbana, you always knew it was spring because you could smell a winter's worth of cow sh!t defrosting. In Chicago, I know it's spring because I start getting crushes on every cute boy I see.

j / February 20, 2007 10:47 AM

I know i've MISSED spring in Chicago (because it lasts but for an hour) when it's time to turn my AC to ultra-high!

Sarah / February 20, 2007 10:48 AM

When the sun comes out and the breeze is at least a little warm, I break out my first short skirt of the season.

mike / February 20, 2007 10:54 AM

When the air starts to get thick with that wonderful springy smell.

I celebrate by running over a few DePaul students before they leave for summer break.

It gives me the momentum I need for summer.

mike / February 20, 2007 11:01 AM

When the air starts to get thick with that wonderful springy smell—a humid mixture of pollen, exhaust, strawberry ice cream, cleavage.

I celebrate by running over a few DePaul students before they leave for summer break.

leah / February 20, 2007 11:10 AM

When after it rains the air smells of worms. That's how I know it's spring.

I celebrate by picking one up with a stick and throwing it at my sister. Then we yell, "yay, spring!"

This is only 25% false, only in that we've never shouted for joy. Yet.

MAF / February 20, 2007 11:11 AM

Opening Day.

graham / February 20, 2007 11:12 AM

I let the ladies be my gauge on that one. When the honeydips start breaking out the part of their wardrobes that reveals more skin, that's when you know winter's on its way out.

Of course, this being Chicago, they may very well have to revert to donning layers and jackets a scant week later. And repeat cycle at least 2 maybe 3 times 'til June.

I start gravitating more to the liveliest music I have onhand and start cooking lighter meals.

erin / February 20, 2007 11:41 AM

There is a spring smell in the air, like plants are finally growing again after being buried under snow and ice for 4 months.

I celebrate by breaking out the lighter clothes and sometimes the flip flops, dining al fresco, and going to Sox games.

Bill V / February 20, 2007 11:52 AM

Spring is here when I can ride my bike or play a round of golf without having to worry about which clothing to wear.

carrie / February 20, 2007 11:58 AM

Sunny mornings, birds chirping=spring to me... or when my sister picks up a worm with a stick and throws it at me as I'm running, screaming down the block.

Erica / February 20, 2007 12:10 PM

The first 60-degree day of the year indicates spring to me, even if it comes with a thunderstorm or it snows the next day. This usually happens in March.

People really get spring fever when it hits 60 -- and I'm never prepared for the first ultra-pale person I see in shorts.

There is a definite spring smell people are mentioning.

The paleta man is another good benchmark.

amyc / February 20, 2007 12:16 PM

When I only have to wear one shirt at a time.

printdude / February 20, 2007 12:27 PM

I get convinced by the printing and release of baseball schedules that start showing up in liquor stores around the city.

I celebrate by getting my eyes checked. (Truly!)

paulette / February 20, 2007 12:47 PM

My early indicator of spring is all the rock shows being announced for March/April. It's the best time of the year!

Actual spring is when I can sit in the grass and not get wetpants - after the snow thaw has dried up.

PS A pet peeve is premature sandal wearers - when your toes are out AND you have a jacket on it's too early.

skafiend / February 20, 2007 12:52 PM

First sign of spring: Kids running around a schoolyard with their jackets on but unzipped all the way, while other kids wear no jackets on at all.

My first act of spring: Opening ALL the windows to my apartment and letting some f*cking air into the place and catching that breeze off the lake! Ahhhhhh!!!

fluffy / February 20, 2007 12:57 PM

the air is crisp, the sun is out, the leaves are green...people start acting a little nicer...for me, it's like someone fine-tuned the world.
it seems like all the cuties come out to play too....I love checking out the boys.

Jerry / February 20, 2007 1:47 PM

Ahhh...the rites of spring. I can open my windows and air the freaking apartment out. After an hour, its too chilly and they close again.

Better still, it coincides with that first opportunity to stand in a beer garden drinking the afternoon away. Or I can bust out my grill for the first bbq of the season. Which involves drinking outdoors.

Oh, what the hell. The first time I can drink outdoors without freezing to death!

jen / February 20, 2007 2:31 PM

when the crocuses bloom.
followed by the daffodils and tulips, of course. =D

mike / February 20, 2007 3:18 PM

Crocuses may bloom, but Krokus rocks.

Emerson Dameron / February 20, 2007 3:31 PM

I'm with the people who can't accept spring until the middle of full-on blistering summer.

Let's get some better weather in '07, people. We can do this.

Allan / February 20, 2007 3:31 PM

When the frozen pigeons start to thaw and rot under the viaducts. Al the ladies in their fuzzy boots and Burberry scarves are convinced and start their spring shopping. Now that I am rail thin I plan on doing the same as most of my clothes now fit me as well as a contractor grade hefty bag. I am thinking about buying enough dego t's so I can wear a different color every day of the week. That and some skin tight man capri's so the ladies can peep my spicy meatballs and measure up the sausage I am packing. I know you guys don't believe me but I really am huge in terms of man bits.

skafiend / February 20, 2007 3:40 PM

Let's get some better weather in '07, people. We can do this.

this is also one of Daley's campaign promises. When they show him in those commercials riding around the city in the back of his limo making sure everything is OK (snicker), he's also lookup up at the sky to make sure there are no unnecessary clouds or rain. He vows to make every day summer to increase tourism. He's already contracted the Duff family to construct a giant dome over the city... and will surround it with flowers and wrought iron fencing.

skafiend / February 20, 2007 3:43 PM

Let's get some better weather in '07, people. We can do this.

this is also one of Daley's campaign promises. When they show him in those commercials riding around the city in the back of his limo making sure everything is OK (snicker), he's also lookup up at the sky to make sure there are no unnecessary clouds or rain. He vows to make every day summer to increase tourism. He's already contracted the Duff family to construct a giant dome over the city... and will surround it with flowers and wrought iron fencing.

Allan / February 20, 2007 3:45 PM

When the frozen pigeons start to thaw and rot under the viaducts. Al the ladies in their fuzzy boots and Burberry scarves are convinced and start their spring shopping. Now that I am rail thin I plan on doing the same as most of my clothes now fit me as well as a contractor grade hefty bag. I am thinking about buying enough dego t's so I can wear a different color every day of the week. That and some skin tight man capri's so the ladies can peep my spicy meatballs and measure up the sausage I am packing. I know you guys don't believe me but I really am huge in terms of man bits.

ken / February 20, 2007 3:53 PM

When those trees that smell like cum bloom -

Why not celebrate with -

2 chicks at the same time!!!!

woohoo hahahaha

vise77 / February 20, 2007 3:58 PM

Thanks, Ska, for the laugh.

mick / February 20, 2007 4:13 PM

South Side Irish Parade

ahn / February 20, 2007 4:26 PM

winter is over when my skin stops being unbearably dry.

i celebrate by shaving my legs.

ahn / February 20, 2007 4:27 PM

winter is over when my skin stops being unbearably dry.

i celebrate by shaving my legs.

michele / February 20, 2007 5:52 PM

The first time we hit 55 and you see guys wearing shorts. That, my friends, is springtime in Chicago.

Lori / February 20, 2007 10:37 PM

Forsythia!

we celebrate spring by hanging up the porch swing-

jaye / February 20, 2007 11:21 PM

i throw a spring fling...food, friends, family and fun..just to celebrate pulling off the layers.

Steve / February 21, 2007 12:35 AM

When the dibs is done, I proclaim it spring.

Warmonger / February 21, 2007 10:16 AM

"For millions of Americans, however, there is no more beloved harbinger of spring than the sight of a UPS man's sturdy calves in the open air after months hidden away beneath heavy brown fabric."

lara / February 21, 2007 10:54 AM

the first day i don't crave a carbo fest for dinner...oh sweet spring greens, you are just a few nibbles away...

warmonger, kudos for your UPS-inspired verse. i might never see spring the same.

Mister C / February 21, 2007 12:32 PM

This will sound odd, but I know the spring weather change is coming when large flocks of seagulls move inland and start muscling the pigeons out of the parks.

I suppose I celebrate by hauling out all my old XTC and Talking Heads records from my youth and start dancing madly around the apartment...actually that's the biggest sign of spring right there.

skafiend / February 21, 2007 12:55 PM

This will sound odd, but I know the spring weather change is coming when large flocks of seagulls move inland

I suppose I celebrate by hauling out all my old XTC and Talking Heads ...


Flocks of seagulls, XTC, Talking Heads... are you talking about the weather or having an '80s party?

Justin / February 21, 2007 1:01 PM

I pronounce Spring effective immediately on account of the warmth of the sun on my neck and the amazing ass I witnessed precisely seven minutes ago.

Mister C / February 21, 2007 1:29 PM

Hee Hee. I knew that "flocks of seagulls" phrase would not go unnoticed.

I'm talking more of a late 70's Dance party with Talking Heads' 77 and More Songs About Buildings and Food interspersed with XTC's Drums and Wires and Go 2. You know, the Ancient Sacred Vinyl.

Although some of the 80's offerings of those bands might slip into the mix (particularly Stop Making Sense and Skylarking). I might even throw in some English Beat as a nod to your screen name, Skafiend.

BTW- Watch the parks for the seagull incursion, you'll see that it really is a harbinger of spring; but not as much as The Dance of The Old Dorky Slacker.

Blagg the Axman / February 21, 2007 2:28 PM

Before the throne of the good King Mandrake was usurped, springtime in the realm was heralded by quickened streams and the first green shoots breaking through the ice. But now, under the cruel watch of the Dark Lord Kayne, spring comes when the warming air exposes the first snow-buried corpses, and the season is marked with funeral rites and the digging of fresh graves.

skafiend / February 21, 2007 3:06 PM

I'm talking more of a late 70's Dance party with Talking Heads' 77 and More Songs About Buildings and Food interspersed with XTC's Drums and Wires and Go 2. You know, the Ancient Sacred Vinyl.

Ha! So you were baiting me!

Fine, I see your "Drums and Wires" and "More Songs..." and raise you a Bow Wow Wow "C30 C60 C90 Go", a Selector "Celebrate the Bullet" and an Elvis Costello "Get Happy".

OK, NOW it feels like spring...

Mister C / February 21, 2007 5:48 PM

Oooh, I forgot about the Selector. Red Reflections In The Mirror of The Night will definitely get played, as will This Years Model for my Elvis Costello selection.

It's still going to be a while before my X-er nostalgic sap will start to rise enough to bring on this crazy dance fever, so I've got plenty of time to search through my crates and get the play list in order.

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