I'm In The Loop

My office moved and today was our first day in the new space. After about five years of working at the same desk, I'm completely changing my routine. I've worked downtown for most of my adult working life (except year-long stints in Naperville and Humboldt Park), but this is the first time I'm working in the Loop. Heck, I've never even worked south of the river, and I gotta say, it's different.

I love that the new office is closer to the train and am so looking forward to spending my lunch hour at the Farmer's Markets this summer. The 10 different options for coffee within a couple of blocks will bring me endless joy. BUT, there is just something a little more dark, drab, and dirty about it. When I walked out of the building for lunch with about nine of my co-workers we all froze, looked up and slowly craned our necks back and forth, stared at a bus, got knocked around by a couple of dudes in suits, and took on a rather deer in headlights look. Yup, we looked like tourists. That's the best way to describe it: the Loop is the real city. It's like for the first time we came to the city and we were all totally confused. Until now, I've been cooling my heels in River North where there tends to be more room on the sidewalks, less bus exhaust in your mouth, and some trees. These days I'll be clutching my purse a little tighter and wrinkling my nose at the exhaust. Maybe I should buy a city map. Kidding, sort of.