I've been having terrible dreams about someone destroying my iPhone. I think that this is a sign of my growing dependency on it. During breakfast, Lauren invited me to the Air and Water Show with her and her "little sister", Natay. Natay is an 8 year old girl that lives in our neighborhood that Lauren mentors about twice a month. I've met her before and she was really shy. Today, she let her true self shine through. She likes Selena Gomez, painting her finger nails, and Dunkin Donuts. We made it to the North Avenue Beach and found some space to sit down and watch the last 30 minutes of the show. It was mostly airplanes flying in formations and others super dangerous maneuvers like flying backwards and upside down.
From there the little girl decided that she wanted to go home, but when we got to her house, her mother wasn't home. We decided to take her to her mother at the church. This involved a scenic tour of the South Shore community. The "church" was someone's basement, and Natay's mother wanted to introduce us to her pastor. We went down these steep steps and there was a small pulpit and about 14 chairs lined up for the congregation. Although we couldn't stay they fixed us plates of food and we went on our merry way. The food was delicious, but I wonder what was so distinct about their message that they had to set up shop in a house.
When we got home we relaxed for awhile and then we went to the movies to the see, "The Help" I cried a little bit, but overall I really enjoyed it. Since we were early to the movie theater we got some drinks and an appetizer in the V.I.P. lounge. Remember when I told you about the theater with the assigned seats and the premium tickets? That's where we were at. The lounge was over priced but it had a nice view of downtown from the windows. Lastly, we had to watch the latest episode of True Blood. It is now a quarter after one in the morning and I have to be at work at 7:45 tomorrow. Good luck with that.
Sunday, 21 August 2011
Saturday, 20 August 2011
Day 33 - Redemption of Auntie Cleo
This morning I had a volunteer meeting at the DuSable Museum. All I could do was listen because these women spent the majority of the time giving "feedback" also known as complaining about the last few events that they had volunteered for. Bless the heart of the volunteer coordinator, Arlene. She is stuck in the middle of a frustrated group of volunteers and an apathetic staff, but Arlene takes it like a champ. One highlight was my introduction to Blair, she shared her bagel with me and we will both be volunteering for the next movie in the park. I joined the historical committee, which as far as I can tell is about the chronicling the exhibits and programs so that we have something to show prospective volunteers. I think that everyone should volunteer to the causes that he or she is interested on a regular basis. It really is a reciprocal source of joy.
Afterwards I drove down the street to my hair appointment at Christian Fields. I get there 10 minutes early expecting to wait 30-40 minutes to get into the chair. Oh no, I check in and before my butt hits the chair in the waiting area, Lorenzo invites me over to the shampoo bowl. Lorenzo is good looking, at about five foot nine, muscular, tattooed and dreadlocks tied up in a headband. He's the shampoo boy! I'm looking around and 5 out of the 9 stylists in the salon are men, it looked like something out of a Zane novel. Lorenzo or as the people on the block call him, Renzo, washed my hair and talked all about playing basketball and being a role model, it was a little preachy but bearable. This salon specializes in working with "natural" also know as the coarse, untreated hair that most Black people are born with. The place was clean and the staff was professional and welcoming. Since most people are getting braids, twists and locs, the smell of hot curling irons and smoke coming from high voltage blow dryers was absent. Instead, there was a trendy little cafe in the salon, serving fresh fruit and smoothies, I could get used to this. It took Dana about 3 hours to twist my hair. The salon conversations and the classic R&B music was pretty standard. The funny thing about locs is that all kinds of people have them, the salon was full of thuggish men as well as sophisticated professionals, very diverse topics of conversation. On my way out, everyone commented on how nice my hair looked, Christian Fields himself asked if he could touch it. They were so sweet, and it could be just a hustle but I don't care, what girl doesn't want to be told that she's pretty? I will definitely be back.
The final activity was meeting up with my aunt Cleo at her hotel near the airport. She called me while I was at the museum and I told her that I was not happy about what went down last night. She said that her and her friends were at Michael Jackson's house in Gary, Indiana yesterday and she thought that my texts were in reference to today. Really?!?! She reminds me of my brother because they both operate without regard for other people, when you tell them that they hurt your feelings, they say oops (maybe you'll get a sorry, but don't hold your breath), and keep moving on. If you press them, trying to get some sort of reasoning or remorse, then in their eyes you are the obstinate one, you have to either a) swallow really hard and admit that staying mad is not going to help or b) stay mad and do without their company until you succumb to option a, because they have no problem cutting you off. The sick part is when you are on good terms with either of them they are kind, generous and funny, the type of person that you would want to be around.
So, I chose option A this afternoon. We had dinner in Rosemont and then we drove to the south side, so that she could take a look at my place. I was so nervous, because I knew that whatever she saw would be reported to my aunts, uncles, cousins and grandma. I can attest to their, in some cases my, scathing judgments on the lives of our relatives. I got turned around on the freeway three times, had problems with the windshield wipers and parallel parked in a crumby fashion, we made jokes through it but when we were about to leave she wanted me to ask Lauren to come so that I didn't have to drive back alone. Lauren and Cleo were very cordial, the one deal breaker was Misty the cat, who has free range on the kitchen counters. My aunt would not even drink the water that I gave her, assuming that it was unsanitary. Our place is very clean and it doesn't smell like animals, but I guess that everyone is entitled to their opinion. I was concerned that my aunt would say something offensive but she held her tongue for the most part. On the car ride back to Rosemont, I told her all of Lauren's relationship woes, and she agrees that this woman is ridiculous and needs to spend more time working on herself before trying to get a man to commit to her, AMEN!
Afterwards I drove down the street to my hair appointment at Christian Fields. I get there 10 minutes early expecting to wait 30-40 minutes to get into the chair. Oh no, I check in and before my butt hits the chair in the waiting area, Lorenzo invites me over to the shampoo bowl. Lorenzo is good looking, at about five foot nine, muscular, tattooed and dreadlocks tied up in a headband. He's the shampoo boy! I'm looking around and 5 out of the 9 stylists in the salon are men, it looked like something out of a Zane novel. Lorenzo or as the people on the block call him, Renzo, washed my hair and talked all about playing basketball and being a role model, it was a little preachy but bearable. This salon specializes in working with "natural" also know as the coarse, untreated hair that most Black people are born with. The place was clean and the staff was professional and welcoming. Since most people are getting braids, twists and locs, the smell of hot curling irons and smoke coming from high voltage blow dryers was absent. Instead, there was a trendy little cafe in the salon, serving fresh fruit and smoothies, I could get used to this. It took Dana about 3 hours to twist my hair. The salon conversations and the classic R&B music was pretty standard. The funny thing about locs is that all kinds of people have them, the salon was full of thuggish men as well as sophisticated professionals, very diverse topics of conversation. On my way out, everyone commented on how nice my hair looked, Christian Fields himself asked if he could touch it. They were so sweet, and it could be just a hustle but I don't care, what girl doesn't want to be told that she's pretty? I will definitely be back.
The final activity was meeting up with my aunt Cleo at her hotel near the airport. She called me while I was at the museum and I told her that I was not happy about what went down last night. She said that her and her friends were at Michael Jackson's house in Gary, Indiana yesterday and she thought that my texts were in reference to today. Really?!?! She reminds me of my brother because they both operate without regard for other people, when you tell them that they hurt your feelings, they say oops (maybe you'll get a sorry, but don't hold your breath), and keep moving on. If you press them, trying to get some sort of reasoning or remorse, then in their eyes you are the obstinate one, you have to either a) swallow really hard and admit that staying mad is not going to help or b) stay mad and do without their company until you succumb to option a, because they have no problem cutting you off. The sick part is when you are on good terms with either of them they are kind, generous and funny, the type of person that you would want to be around.
So, I chose option A this afternoon. We had dinner in Rosemont and then we drove to the south side, so that she could take a look at my place. I was so nervous, because I knew that whatever she saw would be reported to my aunts, uncles, cousins and grandma. I can attest to their, in some cases my, scathing judgments on the lives of our relatives. I got turned around on the freeway three times, had problems with the windshield wipers and parallel parked in a crumby fashion, we made jokes through it but when we were about to leave she wanted me to ask Lauren to come so that I didn't have to drive back alone. Lauren and Cleo were very cordial, the one deal breaker was Misty the cat, who has free range on the kitchen counters. My aunt would not even drink the water that I gave her, assuming that it was unsanitary. Our place is very clean and it doesn't smell like animals, but I guess that everyone is entitled to their opinion. I was concerned that my aunt would say something offensive but she held her tongue for the most part. On the car ride back to Rosemont, I told her all of Lauren's relationship woes, and she agrees that this woman is ridiculous and needs to spend more time working on herself before trying to get a man to commit to her, AMEN!
Friday, 19 August 2011
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.
Thursday, 18 August 2011
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, :)
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, :)
Wednesday, 17 August 2011
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.
Tuesday, 16 August 2011
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.
Monday, 15 August 2011
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!
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!