Day 32 - Cold Aunt Cleo

My aunt Cleo had mentioned that she would be in Chicago this weekend, but she never shared any details with me, so I wasn't sure that she was coming at all. Yesterday around noon, she told me on Facebook that she was boarding a plane and would be here around 6:00 in the evening. I assumed that I would link up with her after the Peter Pan show. When I called her, she said that she didn't want me out driving at night, and she was in the bed anyway, how about tomorrow. I told her that I had to work from 12 until 6:30, but I could meetup with her afterwards. She was going to see The Wiz on the southside, 9 blocks from my house on Friday, so I thought it would be perfect. The play started at 7, I told her that I could pick her up after the show, we could kick it and then I could drive her back to her hotel. She says "K". Around 9:30, I tell her that she should call me when its over, and I'll be right over. One hour later she says "K". Another hour later, I ask if she is still in the play, and I get no response. I think she is leaving tomorrow, and I have plans for the day, so that's it. I thought we were pretty close, but this feels mighty cold. If my neice moved to Chicago, hundreds of miles from all of her relatives, I would make seeing her a priority. It's like my Grandpa Flanagan used to tell my mom, keep your expectations low and you won't be disappointed. Disappointment sucks.

Day 31 - Peter Pan

Today was my day off, and I decided to take Ayisha's advice and enjoy it. I have been trying to visit vintage stores, looking for my 4th Avenue (Tucson) equivalent out here. I keep hitting dead ends, today was no exception. I went to the "back of the yards" neighborhood, it's named after it's former glory as a meat packing district. If you read Upton Sinclair's "The Jungle", you could have a better idea of what that might have looked like. Of course, it doesn't look like that now, but there is an industrial area that gives of a rather pungent odor. The main street with stores looked more like Nogales than Chicago to me. The signs were in Spanish and items in all of the stores looked like something from K-Momo or the Tanque Verde Swap Meet. I looked but I couldn't even pay 5.00 for somthing that would shrivel up on the first wash. I went back to the Marshall's in my neighborhood and found a few items. I also made it to Christian Fields, which is the hair salon that was recommended to me. I had a party foul moment when I pulled really hard on the door and it didn't open. All these people are looking at me, and I mouth, are you open? They guy is like yes, just push. I felt so stupid! I spoke to Dana about different styles and prices, and I have an appointment for Saturday at 1:00.

I spent the afternoon relaxing and getting ready for the main event, I had bought a ticket to the Peter Pan show at the 360 Entertainment Theatre. When I was in London in 2009, this play debuted in Kensington Gardens but I chose to see "Avenue Q" and the "Lion King" instead. My classmates raved about the acrobatics and costumes and I was sorry that I missed it. The show is only in Chicago for one more week, so I made plans to catch it. I didn't think that I would make it in time because traffic was so bad, but I arrived 30 minutes before the show started. I was concerned about parking all afternoon, thinking that I would have to pay an arm and a leg for garage parking, but there was a lot right next to the theatre. However, they only accepted cash, and I was cashless. When I asked the attendant about another option, he was like "why don't you just park here?" I explained how I didn't want to be late and he assured me that a quick stop at CVS returning to the lot wouldn't take much time, then he directed traffic so that I could back out of the turn in. He was right, I made it to my seat with 10 minutes to spare.

I must admit that I thought "Hook" with Robin Williams was the same as the original story of Peter Pan, it's actually more of a sequel. Instead of Tiger Lily, I think we have Rufi-Oooo. At any rate, the play stuck to the original story and made use of very simplistic props but extraordinarily advanced technology. The stage was round, and theater was small enough so that there were no bad seats. The theatre seemed constructed just for this show, on a lot across for the Chicago Tribune building and alongside the Chicago River. The lobby had souvenir stands, children's activities and giant posters illustrating the history of the story from the novel to the stage and film. The whole production took place within a large tent, on the ceiling animated CGI images were projected. When Wendy and the others were flying to Neverland, images of London and the ocean sailed by all around them and above the audience. My favorite part was when Tinkerbell almost died, and the whole audience had to say, "I believe in fairies" to bring her back to life, too cute. I also liked the mermaids, they came down from the ceiling in giant turquoise "drapes" they twisted and turned in them until they were sliding around the floor.  The pirates were funny and the Lost Boys were endearing. It was a very engaging performance.

After the play I had a great conversation with my friend Joseph, he may visit before the year is over. Instead of paying for the overpriced theatre food, I decided to pick something up on my way home. I thought it would be a great opportunity to try out an East Coast favorite, White Castle. At 10:00 at night, I waited in line at the drive through behind four other cars. I ordered the number 1, 4 burger sliders with cheese, fries and a drink. When I got home and bit into the the first burger, I almost gagged. The burgers are gooey like baby food, I felt like I could squish it up into a ball. The ingredients are indiscriminate, it looks like someone squeezed a "cheese, onion, pickle" liquid on a 1/8 of an inch burger patty and slapped it in between two pieces of white bread. No bueno. I scraped off the "topping and got through 2 of them, but I had to throw the others away, yuck! At least now I know for myself, west coast wins the burger battle, give me In-n-Out anyday.

I saw the sign which indicated the street in front of my place is being cleaned tomorrow, so I had to park on the next block. City living can be such a burden, :)

Day 30 - Tres Reinas y un Rey

I woke up early this morning and walked to the grocery store. Among other random items including a container of rosemary and fresh baked bread, I found a ham sandwich on an onion bagel. Onion bagels are my new favorite. How come no one ever told me about these before? The work day was so-so, but I did follow up with Rachna afterwards. We, including Lauren decided to go to Edwardo's for pizza at 9:00. The conversation was boring at first but then we got into a nice rhythm. Lauren is a very analytical and straightforward person with an endless supply of ex-boyfriend stories and career advice. Rachna is very analytical and smart too, she just happens to be 100x more expressive and audacious than me or Lauren. How do I fit in? I feel like I am the white paint that makes the black turn grey and the red turn pink. I'm too much of thinker to co-sign with the strong opinions that they have on certain topics. Our server's name was Rey and he was a super cutie. We made so many offensive comments about him and asked him questions with all kinds of sexual innuendo. He kept grinning and playing along so I am assuming that he wasn't offended. I love how Lauren and Rachna are older and no longer bashful, they see men, jobs, clothes, anything that they want and they flirt, connive, save, ask until they get it. I have so much to learn.

Day 29 - Little Yellow Minions

The highlight of today was discovering that Patsy and I share an affinity for "Despicable Me". That is one of the best kid's movies that I have ever seen, and it is on everyday on HBO, I can't get enough. I spent the evening, doing laundry, watching movies and writing thank you notes to the individuals who wrote letters of recomendation for me. Rachna called to see if I wanted to get dinner, I had to shut her down. Isn't that terrible? Even if I'm in a new city, I'm still me..I like keeping my money in my pocket and relaxing on my own terms. Do you realize how much energy it takes to get to know people, more than I had tonight. I will call her tomorrow to see if we can go then. Rachna would be a nice chnge of pace, she is always talking to strangers when we go out. She may just be the wave I ride into a real social circle.

Day 28 - Bright and Early

This was my first early day at work, 7:45 to 2:15 and the morning flew by. I had terrible lunch, when the Lean Cuisine box says 9 minutes on 50% power, they are not kidding. If you can't change the power, it would be better to cook for a few minutes and then assess, then you might not end up with a burnt up mess like I did. After work I gathered all of my materials to take to Dominican University in River Forest. I made a quick stop at the post office, and then I made my way (in my car) over the 14 miles of freeway to the school. I wanted to check out the downtown Oak Park area, but there was nowhere to park and my drive down the street didn't reveal any store that I wanted to visit. The neighborhood is famous because Frank Lloyd Wright designed a few buildings and his studio is  located here. I've taken the tour before.

Lauren had a GroupOn for our local Mediterranean restaurant, Cedar's. I met her for dinner, the food was good. I had spare ribs with a pomegranate sauce, tika chicken, rice and vegetables, all for only seven dollars. Unfortunately, conversation took a turn for the worse, as we circled back to the well worn subject of her love life. Between her, my co-worker and several of my friends, they are determined to figure out what men think. As if men were babies whose signs we have to interpret....its killing me. Excuse my language, but I couldn't give a rat's ass about a man who can't communicate what he wants, or if his actions demonstrate something that I don't want. We probably could have a cure for cancer if we put these "man hours" toward something constructive. I'm stepping down from my soap box, its just that my patience is running thin.

Thank God for my friend, Lauren Smith (from Phoenix) who I talked to today, who also feels this way and has assured me that I'm not crazy. Let's all send positive vibes to Lauren Smith because she is planning a move to New York City to pursue her dreams, it's our time, 80's babies, prepare those rocket launch pads!

Day 27 - The First Unitarian Society of Chicago

Everybody that I know who has made drastic moves like this has told me that I need to go to church to meet people. This is tricky for me because I don't subscribe to any particular religion. Lucky for me, Hyde Park has an affinity for religious pluralism. I am interested and making a visit all of the churches in my neighborhood. I started with the Unitarian one this morning. I have never been to a service like this before. I knew that it was a church without a Christian bias, but it was built like a cathedral with the spatial design of a cross. There were angels in the colorful stained glass window, all the other design elements were geometric and random colorful quilts hung on the walls. The service started with a reading of a children's book, with an invitation for everyone to sit on the carpet around the reader. There was not a choir, just one woman who sang African American spirituals, a man who played folk music with his guitar and the audience sang three different hymns from the supplied hymnal book. The minister read poetry and an excerpt from Ray Bradbury's "Fahrenheit 451". His sermon was a long essay about his experience with memory, giving anecdotes about his college roommate, his daughter and his father's bout with Alzheimer's. All of the songs and stories revolved around the theme of memory. It felt more like a professor's lecture than any religious forum that I had experienced. I'm a little torn because I like the diversity of their congregation and their emphasis on equity and compassion, but I was sooo bored in the service. It is also a nice place to be anonymous, which can be convenient at times. There is no one there greeting you at the door and asking you about your family and when you are coming back, like every other church that I've been to. I would go again, but I am anxious to explore some other places of worship.

Day 26 - Bud Billiken Parade

I woke up at 6:30 AM to get ready for the parade today. There is more information on the parade at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bud_Billiken_Parade. It's kind of a big deal. I joined the DuSable float team at the White Castle on 35th and Cottage Grove. From there we walked to our "float" also known as two vans with DuSable painted on the side. I met Q who is from Hattiesberg Mississippi, and Antoinette, who's sister is going to Johnson C. Smith college in Charlotte. I talked to a couple of high school kids about where they think they might want to college. I met a couple of museum curators, docents and a textile artist whose work is currently on display. I also have a lead on a new hair salon, very excited for that one. We waited 90 minutes before the parade started moving, and we had to walk 5 blocks before we were merged into the line. All the while, there were high school bands and drill teams, political floats, radio stations, and other community organizations.

DuSable was lucky enough to get a Capoeira group to walk with us in front of the vans. They had two of the tallest, dreadlocked, flexible and rhythmic dance fighters ever. It was like watching a man in a mirror to see those two in those action-reaction kind of movements. The Buffalo Soldiers group was there with a horse cavalry. As the floats were merging, I prayed that we would not be behind the horses....of course we were behind the horses! Fortunately, they had the the shovel and the industrial strength vacuum to pick up the horse shit. However, the smell and the pauses to settle horses and rake up the mess were a bit of a damper. We made the most of it, we sang the Capoeira songs, clapped our hands, and waved at the people along the parade route, it was fun. When we got to Washington Park, there was food waiting for us at the museum.We walked from 35th to 55th street, and then I had to walk home, it was a long day.In summary, there were some awkward moments when I didn't know what to say or where to stand, but I'm glad that I stuck it out. I don't have any big plans with these people, they probably don't remember my name, but maybe if they see me in the street, they will wave. It is a start.