Chicago is finally thawing out. What does this mean for suburban commuters? It means more parking spots at the train station (as the snow banks dissolve), choosing to walk instead of taking the bus, wearing layers, and an overall better atmosphere on trains and at stations. Commuters are no longer silent blocks of ice, head down, hood up, expending what little existing energy we have on sprinting across the street to catch the bus. Today, for example, I walked out of the station and the first breath I took did not feel like a swift stab to the lungs. It was refreshing, cool, and it smelled like there is some life that has survived Thunderstorm 2011. I actually made eye contact with another human. There is hope.
This optimism, admittedly, is tainted by the ungodly amount of work that will keep me indoors for the next 24 hours. My eyes will blur as they shift from the screen to the WestLaw cases in front of me. When I take a break a few hours in, I will struggle to focus on anything farther than ten feet away. I will drink an unhealthy amount of caffeine drinks, and eat quicker than trainees at bootcamp, shoveling down a Chipotle burrito bowl as I read cases about interstate commerce. I will work until the early morning hours, but I will not be able to sleep for the stress of what needs to be done. I will wake up at the crack of dawn and scramble to finish the final revisions of my trial brief, throw together a professional ensemble for my oral argument, toss an apple in my bag, and rush to catch the train just in time. Although the daily grind will not abate any time soon, thanks to the livable climate my semi-rested eyes might be able to focus as far as fellow commuter's face without stinging and freezing, long enough for me to say good morning.
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