Why I Oughta...

On my walk to the train one afternoon recently, I had enough time to stand and watch the bridges going up-and-then-down IN SEQUENCE as a handful of sailboats with tall masts moved southward along the Chicago River.  They moved quickly to raise and lower each bridge, in succession.  A neat micro-moment along the Riverwalk at Riverside Plaza this Fall. 

In a remarkable coincidence (at least to me, dear reader...), I'm posting a front porch sunrise one day shy of one year from the date that I posted a very similar photo here on the blog .  This is from November 29, 2021 .  What was the sunrise like a few days ago from our house?  See below for what is a vivid sunrise in the suburbs in November: What a way to start a day.   I have a whole archive of posts over the years that are tagged with [colorful sunrise] .  

I've done a few of these [view from my office] posts since we were all sent home at the beginning of COVID that were from my front porch and (even) an airplane .  But, it has been since mid-March when I was last in an office for work.  In that airplane post , I mentioned that we're moving offices - out of the Aon Center - and into a 'west of the river' mid-rise.  Over the past few weeks, I've visited a few times and am busy getting situated in the new setting.  The view?  Quite a downgrade.  The commute? Quite an upgrade.  From a 20-25 minute walk across the Loop to a four minute walk from where I emerged from under Union Station.   Having been in the office a few days, I'll say:  I'm surprised by how much I've enjoyed being here.  I really still do NOT know what I'm using office days for in terms of work (we're a hybrid team now, so have a mix of WFH and office days), but I'm glad I've come downtown to give it a shot.   ...

Below is a recent sunrise as viewed off of our front porch in Downers Grove, Illinois.  What we, in our house, call a 'Cotton Candy Sky'.  I used to observe the sunrise during Winter from the 64th floor of our office in the Aon Center, but I haven't been there for more than 18 months.  And, based on some news, it appears that I've taken in my last early-morning Winter sunrise from the Aon Center in my life.  Time marches on.  And, so do office locations.  I'm adding this to the [ view from my office ] collection since I haven't had an office to go to due to COVID since March 2020. I've taken a similar front-porch-sunrise shot back in 2018, but it was Springtime .  

Back in the before-times, I used to do these posts (on occasion) that I titled:  view from my office.  They were (usually) early mornings from our office on the 64th Floor of the Aon Center.  The most recent one from our office was all the way back in December of 2018 - almost three years ago.  I also used to (in the before-times) post interesting shots from my flights including this rainbow one from 2019 .  I haven't been to the office much in the past two years NOR have I been on airplanes much.  But, on a recent trip out of O'Hare one early morning, I noticed the skyline was looking particularly nice.  Here's a sunrise (no-filter) photo from my window seat looking east. Our office is moving out of the Aon Center near the end of the year and it doesn't appear that I'll be down in the office before closing things out, so it appears that the days of seeing those beautiful sunrises from the 64th floor are likely over.  It was a good run.  Ei...

I spent the day in the office and after opening the blinds, this was the view from our conference room.  That's Singapore National Stadium on the left and there was some sort of event going on inside during the workday. This is the latest in the [ View from my office ] series.

Most mornings I get into the office a little before seven am.  And when I walk over to the coffee machine, I'm drawn to the East side of our building to take this in:  the Winter sunset.  There aren't too many more mornings left in this working year, so it feels appropriate to stop and pause and reflect on the year at Edelman.  Our business is not run on the calendar year, so it isn't the annual finish line, but January feels like a good time to renew our collective efforts.  And December feels like a good time to look back and be grateful for what we've built.  I work on a great team full of smart, strong, talented professionals.  I'm grateful each time I see this sunrise that they're walking with me into battle each day. 

There I was...sitting at my desk one early morning when I started to see some suds falling from the skies.  I knew what was coming next.  And I was excited.  The window washing rig was about to roll by my spot.  And, for some strange reason, I like seeing this.  It both fascinates and terrifies me.  I've posted about this experience every few years here on the blog.  Here's my 2016 interaction at the Aon Center .  This one was when I was in an office facing due south. Here's my 2012 interaction at 20 W. Kinzie when I was at Google .  This one was facing due south, too.  The photo in this post is facing west and what is most interesting (to me at least) is that the rig that they're on is built specifically for the Aon Center.  It hugs the contours of the building and allows the guys to get close to the windows. 

One early morning recently, I was the first one into the office in New York and stopped to admire the view looking west over the Hudson to New Jersey.  The city was barely stirring and the heat had yet to really hit the day.  I'm calling this a [ View from my Office ] despite the 'just visiting' nature of said view.  Add this to the view looking south from the same floor almost a year ago  and you can start to get a composite.  Now, I need east and north and we'll be able to stitch together a sort-of 360.

Well, look what we have here:  a dusting of snow covering Chicago's lakefront when I arrived at the Aon Center this morning.  This is the view - looking south - from the 64th floor.  I have been planning on planting perennials and digging beds in the backyard.  But instead, we have snow and ice.  Add this to the pile of weather complaints that everyone seems to have these days. 

As the kids say:  #nofilter.  With the time change, I am seeing dusk more often from the office these days.  This is, quite the view, right?

There's a new view from my spot in the Aon Center on Randolph Street.   For the past few years, I had a south-facing view .  Now?  I'm looking due west.  The view isn't the only thing that changed, but I think I've pretty much adjusted to the new spot.  While this new view has some interest, there's nothing quite like looking south from Aon to see the lake and the museum campus.  I miss it every morning.

The last time I posted a 'view from my office' was a few months ago when we had a March snowfall in the city , but this week, Chicago's ' front yard ' is greening up nicely and the boats are starting to come into the harbor.  It is a delightful time to be around the city - things are blooming, but the heat isn't here yet, so the walk from Ogilvie to Aon isn't sweat-inducing.  Yet.

Chicago's 'front yard' is a winter wonderland this morning as a bit of snow dropped on the parks.  The last time I posted a snow picture of my view from Edelman was last year in February . We've been fortunate with very little snow this winter and normally I'm all for bad, snowy winters.  But this year, since we've been building the house during the bulk of the winter, we've been hoping and (so far.... *knock on wood*) have had a super mild winter. Now that our house is all button'd up with a roof and windows , snow like this doesn't affect us one bit.  And that's kinda nice.

Recently, I was standing in my office going through my email, listening to Stern, minding my own business when this dude dropped down on his scaffolding and proceeded to wash the windows 64 floors up at the Aon Building. Not sure why I get such a kick out of this pretty intimate face-to-face interaction, but I do!   I posted a similar photo from my time at Google when I saw the window washer back in 2012 here on the blog . This guy gave me a head nod and I then proceeded to give his equipment a once-over.  He was harnessed in but he didn't have the suction cups that connected his rig to the building like the guy back in 2012. I have a HUGE fear of heights, so I don't know how these guys do this job.   Not only are they cold and wet, but they're dangling on a piece of aluminum by a few cords 64 floors up.  I guess there's some satisfaction in cleaning windows - what with seeing the job getting done in front of your eyes - but the height.  My GOD...the he...

Compare those stands of trees to the west (to the right in this photo) of the Pritzker Pavillion in all their red glory to what they looked like just 3ish weeks ago in this post . It won't be long before they're barren and covered in ice.

The trees are starting to turn.  Look at the ones just southwest of the end of the Pritzker Pavillion lawn.  They're red!  Well, some of them are.  But, looking back in the archives, I found this post from Halloween of last year that shows that same stand of trees being all bright red .  So, the best is yet to come. There's also a bit of post-Chicago Marathon clean-up happening here with the tents and what-have-you in the parks and around Buckingham Fountain.  Fall splendor, not quite.  But a quick look at the transition point between summer and fall from the 64th floor of the Aon Center.

Welp, it looks like the festival is in town.  Over the next few days, tens of thousands of brave souls will hit these parks to take in a lot of great music and get sunburned.  We've been hearing the bass-lines warming up and testing the PA equipment all the way up on the 64th floor the past few days. and it has been fun to watch the stages unfold and the activity ramp up.  Alas...I'm no longer a festival guy and, once again, won't be in attendance. I posted a photo of the Lolla 'aftermath' here on the blog last August. But, I'm not a total went blanket.  I *do* have a history with Lollapalooza.  We went (twice, I think?) to the 'tour' version back in the Mid-1990's when it hit the World Music Theatre in Tinley Park when the Beastie Boys were involved and I was smuggling in food in the venue in my underpants.   Ah yes.  Those were the days.

Low, sporadic clouds like these make for an interesting view from my office.  Some of my favorite days are ones like this that give me the whole 'up in the clouds' feels.

That's the view from my office this week as the NFL has arrived and Chicago has rolled out the red carpet for them in the form of the second year of Draft Town.   Here's my post showing the setup from last year in 2015 .   They seem to have shifted the bulk of the activities towards the lake with the biggest tent area right along Lake Shore Drive and a few other tents and what look like broadcast booths scattered around Buckingham Fountain.  They also (if you look closely!) added a Ferris Wheel.  Which is weird, right?   Last year, all the action was confined east of Columbus with the biggest tent right on Michigan Avenue.  That's where the team representatives sat and talked on the phones.  They then 'walked' the picks across the street to the Auditorium Theatre .  Not sure if that's part of the schtick this year?   I think it is great to have this event here in town.  I'm sure that we - the taxpayers - are footing the bi...