My plans to utilize my "Walking Chicago" book were pushed back due to the fact that I didn't wake up until 10:00. I was supposed to be at the starting point at 10:00. I made it there by 11:00, and it was a perfect day for a walk, just sunshine and blue skies. The South Shore neighborhood is about 3 miles south of my neighborhood, Hyde Park. I started at Rainbow Beach Park, and walked along the shore for a little bit. Then I walked up through the park and watched these old, slightly overweight men without shirts on, play handball, on the only outdoor handball courts in the city. The game looks like racquetball but you slap the rubber ball with a gloved hand instead of a racket. Looked like a good time.
I walked along South Shore drive and took pictures of the old houses and the beach. I made it down several block and stopped at the South Shore Cultural Center. The Chicago Parks District saved this building from demolition, after it fell out of use as a segregated country club. By the time I got inside, I did not have the energy to really look around, I was so hungry. It looked like a banquet in one of the rooms, I almost wanted to ask if I could have some food. Better judgement prevailed, I used my yelp app to find a soul food carry out place down the street. I would like to go back to the South Shore Cultural Center, I saw the golf course and the foyer but it was very grandiose and I would like to explore it more. When I got to "Quench" I ordered fried chicken, green beans, and candied yams, plus the meal came with a peach lemonade and some peach cobbler! The problem was it was carry out, so I had to find a place to eat. I walked for about 15 minutes, I would think I saw green patches that looked like a park, but it would just be someone's front yard. I finally found a park, sat in the grass and enjoyed my lunch.
Technically the tour had another component, but I was ready for a nap. I caught the number 6 bus to my car and headed home. I took a nap, cleaned my room, talked to Christian, watched 60 minutes, caught up on my blog and waited for the season finale of True Blood. Now that I've slept for half of the day, I'm sure that I will be up for most of the night, time for more research!
Sunday 11 September 2011
Day 54 - Tapas and Sangria
Only strong drink could be the culprit for me missing my blog entry last night.
I went to the volunteer meeting at DuSable at 10 AM. It was basically a call to sign up for more hours. I had been looking at the schedule for the past week and a half, and not really seen anything that piqued my interest. I have all these "maybe" activities in the works, I'm having hard time committing, thinking that something better will come along. The twist to this meeting is that we had a tour of the museum from one of the docents, my history committee homie, Evelyn. Evelyn's tour was fabulous, she told us all kinds of information about the artifacts that could not be gleaned from just reading the descriptions. For instance, did you know that the Yoruba people in Nigeria have the highest incidence of twin births in the whole world. This may because they believe that twins have magical powers and worship idols of twin babies. The tour ended with the docent staff imploring the volunteers to become docents and gallery guides. I know that I could do it, but one more thing on my plate does not sound like fun. I'll be thinking about it.
Next, I drove to the Carter G. Woodson regional library to check out the Vivian Harsh Collection. I explained to Beverly (the archivist here) how Mrs. Julian from DuSable wanted me to have a stronger background in Chicago history to be competitive for the BMRC paid intern position. Mrs. Julian wanted me to focus on the Black judiciary, architects and broadcasting history. Beverly knows Mrs. Julian and is familiar with the DuSable collection. She said that I should start with some books and I could look over the collection list to see if anything popped out to me. After she took my ID, set me up with a table and those books, she sat down and talked to me for a little bit. Beverly talked about the future of the profession, the help that she could use in her collection and the benefit of an archival certification from Dominican University. I'm glad that I met her, she gave me some things to think about and some leads on resources that will help me familiarize myself with the city. Two notable discoveries are unpublished manuscripts from Langston Hughes and Richard Wright that are available for viewing in the Harsh Collection.
When I got home I called Rachna, she is doing better. We were supposed to get together for dinner, and when I invited Lauren, the situation became complicated and the plan fell through. The issue was Rachna wanted to get something quick in our neighborhood and go home to apply for more jobs. Lauren wanted to get dressed up and drive downtown for dinner. When given the choice between a night out in the bright lights or a night laying up in my sweat pants, it was buh-bye to Rachna. Lauren and I went to Cafe Iberica in the Gold Coast neighborhood. It took us a minute to find parking but we got lucky when we found a free spot, 2 blocks from the restaurant. We ordered a pitcher of sangria while waiting at the bar for our table. We shared patatas bravas, grilled chorizo, seafood soup, and some seafood paella. It was all pretty good. The more I drink, the better company I become, I think. Lauren and I were laughing and I refused to let her dwell on her sad man problems, I kept directing her toward any other topic of conversation. The place was very diverse and hip, I think that I fit in quite nicely in my asymmetrical top and skinny jeans. After dinner, I was ready to check out some more places in the area but Lauren wanted to drive to another club that she had been to before. When we did the drive-by she decided that she didn't want to party with "those" people, after driving around aimlessly for 30 minutes, we decided to go home. It was 2:00 AM, and I went straight to bed.
There is so much social potential here, the hunt for the down to earth people who can be comfortable and have a good time wherever we go, is still on. My Arizona friends spoiled me with their wonderful personalities....
I went to the volunteer meeting at DuSable at 10 AM. It was basically a call to sign up for more hours. I had been looking at the schedule for the past week and a half, and not really seen anything that piqued my interest. I have all these "maybe" activities in the works, I'm having hard time committing, thinking that something better will come along. The twist to this meeting is that we had a tour of the museum from one of the docents, my history committee homie, Evelyn. Evelyn's tour was fabulous, she told us all kinds of information about the artifacts that could not be gleaned from just reading the descriptions. For instance, did you know that the Yoruba people in Nigeria have the highest incidence of twin births in the whole world. This may because they believe that twins have magical powers and worship idols of twin babies. The tour ended with the docent staff imploring the volunteers to become docents and gallery guides. I know that I could do it, but one more thing on my plate does not sound like fun. I'll be thinking about it.
Next, I drove to the Carter G. Woodson regional library to check out the Vivian Harsh Collection. I explained to Beverly (the archivist here) how Mrs. Julian from DuSable wanted me to have a stronger background in Chicago history to be competitive for the BMRC paid intern position. Mrs. Julian wanted me to focus on the Black judiciary, architects and broadcasting history. Beverly knows Mrs. Julian and is familiar with the DuSable collection. She said that I should start with some books and I could look over the collection list to see if anything popped out to me. After she took my ID, set me up with a table and those books, she sat down and talked to me for a little bit. Beverly talked about the future of the profession, the help that she could use in her collection and the benefit of an archival certification from Dominican University. I'm glad that I met her, she gave me some things to think about and some leads on resources that will help me familiarize myself with the city. Two notable discoveries are unpublished manuscripts from Langston Hughes and Richard Wright that are available for viewing in the Harsh Collection.
When I got home I called Rachna, she is doing better. We were supposed to get together for dinner, and when I invited Lauren, the situation became complicated and the plan fell through. The issue was Rachna wanted to get something quick in our neighborhood and go home to apply for more jobs. Lauren wanted to get dressed up and drive downtown for dinner. When given the choice between a night out in the bright lights or a night laying up in my sweat pants, it was buh-bye to Rachna. Lauren and I went to Cafe Iberica in the Gold Coast neighborhood. It took us a minute to find parking but we got lucky when we found a free spot, 2 blocks from the restaurant. We ordered a pitcher of sangria while waiting at the bar for our table. We shared patatas bravas, grilled chorizo, seafood soup, and some seafood paella. It was all pretty good. The more I drink, the better company I become, I think. Lauren and I were laughing and I refused to let her dwell on her sad man problems, I kept directing her toward any other topic of conversation. The place was very diverse and hip, I think that I fit in quite nicely in my asymmetrical top and skinny jeans. After dinner, I was ready to check out some more places in the area but Lauren wanted to drive to another club that she had been to before. When we did the drive-by she decided that she didn't want to party with "those" people, after driving around aimlessly for 30 minutes, we decided to go home. It was 2:00 AM, and I went straight to bed.
There is so much social potential here, the hunt for the down to earth people who can be comfortable and have a good time wherever we go, is still on. My Arizona friends spoiled me with their wonderful personalities....