The first gay person I ever met was surely not the first gay person I ever met.

The movies we love and admire are to some extent a function of who we are when we see them.

Remember compliments you receive. Forget the insults. If you succeed in doing this, tell me how.

Dance, even if you have nowhere to do it but your living room.

Getting out of the house is the secret to staying alert through the droning hours leading up to the big meal, even if you don't go farther than 7-Eleven for another six-pack.

Chicago is constantly auditioning for the world, determined that one day, on the streets of Barcelona, in Berlin's cabarets, in the coffee shops of Istanbul, people will know and love us in our multidimensional glory, dream of us the way they dream of San Francisco and New York.

For some Chicago expats, food is the medicine that blunts the pain of separation.