Of springtime, stray cats and ugly buildings.

Is it spring time already? It feels like it might be but Chicago has that way of dumping a snowstorm in mid-April or having frost in June. Me? I don't put my winter coat away until July.

My internship is in Little Village near 26th and Pulaski and while there are several aspects that I could comment on (such as the marked difference between this neighborhood and North Lawndale on the other side of the Metra tracks) I'll mention this: I have never seen such a large number of cats wandering the streets in Chicago. Come to think of it, I don't recall ever seeing so many stray cats on the streets. They don't come near the levels of the insane Russian cat lady but they're definitely out there. Are these cats really strays or is this a cultural thing that I have somehow missed despite my Latin background and living in Mexico for most of my childhood?

On another note, I hate the Presidential Towers. One building that looks like this is fine. Two is acceptable because of symmetry and the appeal of all things "twin", three would be pushing it but FOUR identical buildings (albeit connected at the base) is insulting and ugly. I'm not really an architecture snob, but they could've done better.