Living on a prayer.

When I woke up today, I looked outside my windows and saw the all too-familiar scene of rain, gray sky and wind. Downtown looked miserable, and almost instinctively, I began the even more-too-familiar process of reminding myself of all the "huge improvements" taking place around the city. The Euclid Avenue project and the renovation of the Flats are the first that come to mind. But seriously, these projects are just starting to become too little, too late. I've realized that for the optimistic group of people living in Cleveland, these impending developments help us to look past some of the major problems surrounding this place. What kind of downtown has no shopping whatsoever? And don't even mention Tower City, or as I call it, "the world's grandest bus stop." And did anyone ever notice that Cleveland has tons of waterfront land (more than Chicago believe it or not) that I can see exactly three feet of? Don't get me wrong. I love living downtown. In fact, I've never enjoyed living in any part of Ohio more. There are some great benefits to living here, but there needs to be some major overhauls, and I feel like so many people down here are living on a prayer, of better things to come. On a side note, I wish this city would shell out a few bucks for an environmental architect (I think that's what you call them?). We need to maximize the positives of this place, and our lake views have been flushed down the toilet. Also, if you ever go to Cityview Commons, a large new plaza off of 480, don't drive behind it. It will infuriate you. When you pull in to the front of the plaza, you are greeted with acres of crappy parking lots and plain storefronts. Drive behind the plaza, and LITERALLY, 10 feet behind it, is one of the most fantastic views I have ever seen in Ohio in my life. You are almost level with the horizon, and can see the entire valley, with miles of grass and trees below you, while looking directly at the enormous sky. I still can't believe someone developed the plaza facing AWAY from this beautiful sight, but this kind of decision seems to happen often around here. ...Okay. Enough complaining.