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.

Day 25 - Shoeless Joe Jackson

I went to work at noon today and stayed until the store closed at 6. I now have a locker and I met the final manger, Patsy. She says toats instead of totally. That's cool, in retrospect, I think it is something that Paul Rudd said in "I love you, man". That was a funny movie, so she can have some cool points. Trent gave me all kinds of projects and then disappeared so it was a nice day of working at my own pace. I found time to read parts of the book, Chicago's Most Wanted. This book had all kinds of stories about the city's infamy. I read how Hugh Hefner started Playboy magazine in Chicago, after he graduated from the University of Illinois. I learned how the "Shoeless" Joe Jackson was baned from professional baseball after he was suspected of helping the White Sox throw the 1919 World Series. It was a nice format because all of the vignettes were short and to the point. After work, I returned my Red Box movies and ordered a calzone from "Pockets". "Jumping the Broom" was sweet but had the same format of every movie with an all Black cast, I am praying for a break from the formula. "Source Code" was not as good as my sister said it would be. It was like Groundhog Day with higher stakes, I actually talked on the phone for part of the movie. When I got home. I watched a couple episodes of "Frasier" and then had a marathon conversation with my travel buddy, Jeanetta. We have tentative plans for Thanksgiving in Charlotte.

Day 24 - One of those faces

Today I received a new assignment so the day went by really fast. On my way out, a woman who never had more than two words to say to me, talked for 45 minutes about her relationship woes. 45 minutes! This woman has been dating a man for 4 years and 2 weeks ago, he decided that he had enough on his plate with his job and his kids, so he didn't want to be with her anymore. She talked and talked about how much she had invested and how his family loved her and there was no way that it was over just like that. What am I supposed to say to this? Good luck, guilting someone into being with you. It was insane, I kept looking at my phone, backing away, I made it to the hallway and she leaped up and talked me all the way into the stairwell. I think that I might have one of those faces where people just feel compelled to share, or maybe she was just destined to spill her beans, and I happened to be the nearest pair of ears. If I'm so addicted to school, I need to sign up for Conversation Exits 101.

I biked to the grocery store after work. I used my Epicurian app to find a recipe for kale, Kale and White Bean Soup. Two new purchases included navy beans and parmigiano reggiano cheese rind. The recipe was simple but it took 2 and a half hours by the time I cooked the beans and let the soup simmer. It was pretty good, and very healthy. I will be taking a bowl to work tomorrow. On my way home with my groceries balanced precariously in my backpack and my right hand. I thought that only a new city could make the mundane seem so exciting. Living here is like shopping with extra money in the bank, relaxed and confident. I could get anything that I want, but it is fun to just a look around and find that one item that I can't do without. Living in Phoenix was like shopping when I am broke, frustration and anxiety, all I thought about was what I may be missing out on, the dog days are over.

One observation about The University of Chicago is that it is a stark contrast from Arizona universities. Keep in mind that this university has produced more Nobel Prize winners than any other university in the country. This is where they first split the atom bomb, where Barack Obama taught constitutional law, and where the writers of Freakanomics and Super Freakanomics received their schooling. Clearly the emphasis is not on the cover, it is on the content of a person. I have never seen so many fuzzy legged, frizzy haired, frumpy looking women in my life, but they don't seem to mind. The sun tanned, short skirt, mani/pedi and make up wearing population does not dominate the way that it does in Arizona. I can't say whether it is a good thing or not, but it is definitely a difference.

Day 23 - Bookstore Apathy

On the second day she learned that this is really just a job. I clock in, do mundane work, go to lunch, do more mundane work and then go home. I could shelve 200 books or 20 books and no one would notice. Don't get me wrong, my paycheck will be welcomed, this is just no place to rest on one's laurels. When I told Zach that I wanted a new job, he was like that's cool, I'll tell Erin that you were insubordinate we can terminate you during the probation period. He laughed but that would not be funny. This little job saved me from succumbing to my education addiction. As many of you know, I was thinking about going back to school a few weeks ago, but now I am re-focused on my "working" archives ambition. As luck would have it, there is potential paid position at the DuSable Museum to help process their collections. That would be perfect. This may be another sign that a little sacrifice and patience can be rewarded.

Day 22 - Everyone is an asshole...on their worst day

I felt like a first grader getting ready for school this morning. I made a hot breakfast, my bag lunch was in my backpack, and I rode my bike across a crosswalk, manned by a crossing guard. I start later in the day this week, so maybe I won't be juvenile stereotype in the future. First day of work, here is a rundown of the players. Erin is the assistant manager, she hired me and she has a very pleasant attitude about her job. Trent is another manager, he is not a morning person and he spent the morning training us. Zach is the 18 year old kid who has the same job as me and changes his name tag before he deals with customers, so that he won't get in trouble when they complain. Then there is Caitlyn who was also hired last week, she is a recent grad of U of C, she is also working in a lab on campus to pursue her interest in evolutionary biology.

Caitlyn and I did all of the HR paperwork, then we learned the layout of the store and spent the rest of the day shelving and straightening. This is very familiar from my time at the library, but there is no age old classification system that tells you where the books go. You have to look up every single item and there are subsections that aren't really labeled. On a positive note, I have seen some scarves, rain boots and some blank cards that I will want to purchase with my 35% discount. There are a lot of employees here and some other interesting characters that I am eager to get to know better.

When Trent had to take a phone call, he left the training to Zach. Zach was clearly not comfortable in this position and just started running his mouth on the more candid aspects of the job. He told us how relaxed the job was, so much that he didn't seem fazed that he was recently chewed out for being a no call, no show last week. He told us that we would always want to look busy when the general manger was around, because he was an asshole. I said that's kind of harsh, and he was like, "everyone is an asshole on their worst days". I suppose that is true, maybe Zach gets some points for seeing the situation from more than one angle. Another side note is that my (ahem..) "company", has a no blogging policy, so I'm a real rebel now. For real, I'm going to limit my mention of what happens in the store. Could you imagine if I was sued or fired for not following company policy? I'd rather not tempt fate.