I went to work, bright and early.
After work, I had an appointment with Cleopatra's Salon, in my neighborhood. When I made the appointment, a Middle Eastern man touched my hair, and said "eh, we can work with that". All day I was dreading the appointment, think that I was going to ask the stylist alot of questions before I would let him or her touch my hair today. However, when I got there, they took me straight to the shampoo bowl, and I wound up just watching ladies with all kinds of hair textures getting their "do's done". I put my faith in these middle eastern folks and their unfamiliar language and rolled the dice.
Overall, I would give the process a 76% and the final look, 87%. First a young woman washed my hair, then another young woman blow dried my hair, then a man flat ironed and curled it. The blow drying was the worst. My hair was wet, super curly, and a little knotted from my last round of twists. There were at least three knots that she seemed to be clawing it with the comb, my head is still throbbing from the trauma. At the end, my hair was super smooth and bouncy, I liked it alot. Now, I can't get it wet or sweat too much, plus I have to wrap it up at night. Beauty knows no bounds.
The Internet is working now. Lauren and I attempted to watch Mad Men on the Roku. I say attempted because she talked all through it! Grrrrr. I will be checking that out at another time. I talked to my Dad tonight, he is hilarious. Apparently, he is going to Bisbee for a Blues Festival this weekend. I told him how it is getting colder, and that I really want to go to a Bears game at Soldier Field when it is snowing. He said that I was out of my mind. I told him that thousands of people go every year and no one has ever died. He replied, you don't know if they have or not, and when your feet freeze, you are going to feel like you died. Silly papa. I told him that he was only saying that because he is on the setting side of the sun, aka old. He said that he would remember that and leave me 23 dollars in his will. Shucks, :(
Friday, 16 September 2011
Thursday, 15 September 2011
Day 59 - My coat stops at 3rd gear
I had my interview with Coleman and Rebecca this morning. I thought that it went pretty well. The most disconcerting part of an interview is having to talk so much about yourself, often without an interruption. I hate that, I always feel like I am rambling. The interviewers were kind and my experiences seem to match what they are looking for. One thing that gave me pause was when they asked about working evenings and weekends, as well as doing additional research. Rebecca gave the example, a professor might want you set up a session on clinical trials, I would need to find out what that might look like. They both assured me that they didn't have science backgrounds and they get along just fine. We talked for about 45 minutes and they said that they would let me know the next steps within a week or so. I sent them both e-cards expressing my thanks. The funny thing is shortly after the interview , I received an email inviting me to interview for a part time archives position. I'm standing here with a few options and that is a great feeling.
This morning the sun was out but it was 46 degrees! I busted out the woolen peacoat for my walk to the library and I was good. That was the warmest piece of clothing that I have, so if...when it gets colder, I will be in trouble. I need to stop procrastinating and start shopping for that real winter coat!
This morning the sun was out but it was 46 degrees! I busted out the woolen peacoat for my walk to the library and I was good. That was the warmest piece of clothing that I have, so if...when it gets colder, I will be in trouble. I need to stop procrastinating and start shopping for that real winter coat!
Day 58 - One of those Voices
Only a broken Internet could have prevented last night's post..I believe that those cable technicians were so tired of hearing Lauren complaining, that they snipped our Internet...they are only going to make it worse, :(
Work flew by today, probably because I was anticipating tomorrow's interview. Over text, Coleman invited me to his birthday party on Saturday, and wanted me to invite one of my co-workers, his friend Pat. I told him that I would if I saw her. I saw her twice and wasn't going to say anything, but I finally did just before she was about to leave. I explained the situation and she said that I should give her the address, I didn't have it on me, so I am supposed to follow up with her on Friday. She asked me how I knew Coleman, I told her and she said that she has known him for two years, since they used to ride the bus together. She kept gushing about sweet he is and I agreed by telling her about this job opportunity. She said that if I was looking for a job, Allstate was hiring, her daughter works at the one in Joliet. She said that I would be good at taking insurance policies over the phone, I have one of those voices....what does that mean?
This is the third time this month that a Black person has mentioned the sound of my voice in some kind of way. First, Zach was making fun of me, but I assumed it was friendly banter. When I asked the security guard at the library if she needed to look inside my bag, she responded, no I don't need to look in your bag, in this high pitched nasal-ly voice. I said, are you making fun of me? She just laughed and asked what school I went to. Now this lady saying that I have an insurance representative voice....I'll come back to this.
Dave's all staff meeting was this evening, after the store closed. I don't know if I am too immersed in Black History right now but it looked like some slaves gathering around their overseers. Some staff members were off today but they came, two of the women are pregnant, and age ranges from late teens to middle aged Black people. Erin, Trent, Patsy, Kevin and Dave went over the updates in their departments. I tried to put myself in their positions, giving all of this information that is handed down from the corporate offices and dispensing it to these apathetic and underpaid workers. They were kind enough to give us pizza, soda, cookies and some brand new t-shirts to wear during rush. I do take pride in my work, regardless of what it is, but retail is definitely for the birds. On my walk home, I ran into Jimmy from the textbook department. All of my interactions with him up until this point were so professional and polite. While we were walking and he was telling me his thoughts on the meetings and some of the bookstore's customers, every other word was a swear and his vernacular completely changed. It was interesting. I was telling him that I was getting old and I didn't have as much tolerance for retail as I might have had before. He asked me how old I was, I said 26 and he said, DAMN (pause) but you look good. What! I told him that was not the appropriate response and we both laughed. It turned out that he is only 19, ahhh to be 19 again, your foot is destined to go into your mouth at that age.
I think that the Zumba and the extra hour at work caught up with me and I fell asleep as soon as I got home. I did wake up around 10:30 and talked to Christian about my interview. I stayed up until 2:00 just reminded myself of relevant experiences from my past and taking notes for tomorrow.
Work flew by today, probably because I was anticipating tomorrow's interview. Over text, Coleman invited me to his birthday party on Saturday, and wanted me to invite one of my co-workers, his friend Pat. I told him that I would if I saw her. I saw her twice and wasn't going to say anything, but I finally did just before she was about to leave. I explained the situation and she said that I should give her the address, I didn't have it on me, so I am supposed to follow up with her on Friday. She asked me how I knew Coleman, I told her and she said that she has known him for two years, since they used to ride the bus together. She kept gushing about sweet he is and I agreed by telling her about this job opportunity. She said that if I was looking for a job, Allstate was hiring, her daughter works at the one in Joliet. She said that I would be good at taking insurance policies over the phone, I have one of those voices....what does that mean?
This is the third time this month that a Black person has mentioned the sound of my voice in some kind of way. First, Zach was making fun of me, but I assumed it was friendly banter. When I asked the security guard at the library if she needed to look inside my bag, she responded, no I don't need to look in your bag, in this high pitched nasal-ly voice. I said, are you making fun of me? She just laughed and asked what school I went to. Now this lady saying that I have an insurance representative voice....I'll come back to this.
Dave's all staff meeting was this evening, after the store closed. I don't know if I am too immersed in Black History right now but it looked like some slaves gathering around their overseers. Some staff members were off today but they came, two of the women are pregnant, and age ranges from late teens to middle aged Black people. Erin, Trent, Patsy, Kevin and Dave went over the updates in their departments. I tried to put myself in their positions, giving all of this information that is handed down from the corporate offices and dispensing it to these apathetic and underpaid workers. They were kind enough to give us pizza, soda, cookies and some brand new t-shirts to wear during rush. I do take pride in my work, regardless of what it is, but retail is definitely for the birds. On my walk home, I ran into Jimmy from the textbook department. All of my interactions with him up until this point were so professional and polite. While we were walking and he was telling me his thoughts on the meetings and some of the bookstore's customers, every other word was a swear and his vernacular completely changed. It was interesting. I was telling him that I was getting old and I didn't have as much tolerance for retail as I might have had before. He asked me how old I was, I said 26 and he said, DAMN (pause) but you look good. What! I told him that was not the appropriate response and we both laughed. It turned out that he is only 19, ahhh to be 19 again, your foot is destined to go into your mouth at that age.
I think that the Zumba and the extra hour at work caught up with me and I fell asleep as soon as I got home. I did wake up around 10:30 and talked to Christian about my interview. I stayed up until 2:00 just reminded myself of relevant experiences from my past and taking notes for tomorrow.
Tuesday, 13 September 2011
Day 57 - Through the Urban Canyon
Today, I charged up the iPhone/GPS and headed up Lakeshore Drive, all the way to Evanston. I had signed up for a Copyright for Archivists workshop at Northwestern University. Downtown Evanston and Northwestern University are so quaint. The university is integrated with a residential neighborhood. Plus, it was welcome week, so all these freshman were walking around with purple shirts that read Class of 2015 on the back. When I was in college there was no mandatory welcome week programs and my orientation at U of A felt more like a herd of buffalo melting under the sun than the small groups of students gathering on benches and on the green lawns around Northwestern. I assume it has something to do with the relationship between cost of attendance and level of personal attention. I walked to the library, and made my way to the forum room. I listened to a professor from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign talk about copyright, deeds of gift and how the digital era has impacted our processes. The professor's name was Bill Maher (I chuckled too) and he was very engaging and gave alot of examples. The content was familiar from my ethics courses at UA, but I did take away a few resources that will help me identify what to do in certain situations. I had to leave 45 minutes early in order to make it downtown for my next "appointment".
I had planned to attend the informational session for the University of Chicago's Artifact Care Certificate, in the Gleacher Center in downtown Chicago. I was so turned around. For those who may not know, there are two levels of streets in downtown area. So, for a handful of streets, you have an upper and a lower version. For a novice like me, its like bumping Mario's head on a brick trying to find a mushroom, to find the street that will let you access the lower, and vice versa. Plus, the lower versions are dark and scary, additionally Mapquest cannot pick up a signal when you are underground. I am driving around in circles, trying not to hit shoppers and tourists that clog the crosswalks. I am navigating one way streets and itty bitty street signs, I can't even get an idea of where this place is. I am going to be late, so I think that I should just go home, it's just not worth it. Then, through the urban canyon, I see University of Chicago Gleacher Center on a building just over yonder! I make as much of a beeline as possible to the building, and the space is so calm and spread out, I can't believe that I didn't see it earlier. There is a parking garage nearby, I park and hustle over to my meeting, just under 15 minutes late. There are only 2 of us there to listen to this woman talk, so it went by pretty quick. I don't know if this would be a substitute for Dominican University, but if I got that job at U of C, it would be a smoking deal. I want to ask the archivist at DuSable and see what she thinks of the credential.
Since I was already downtown and stressed out from driving, I decided to wander for a little bit. Lo and behold, there is a movie theatre showing the new Kevin Hart film, Laugh at my Pain, in 20 minutes! I got my ticket and a snack and prepared for a laugh riot. The film met my expectation, if you like The Kings of Comedy, Chris Rock or Eddie Murphy comedy specials, you will not be disappointed. After the movie I saw a missed call from Lauren, her and Rachna were going to have dinner. I assumed that they would have ate by the time I was finished, and my phone was dying so I declined the invitation. I made it home and was about to get into my solitary groove when Lauren comes back and tells me all about the dinner, and how she is bored. She mentions Zumba on the Wii and I said that I would do it with her. There we are, two thick girls doing Latin dances and trying not to stomp on the floor at 10:30 at night. I haven't done Zumba since last year so some of it came back to me, but it definitely wore me out, I hope that I am not sore tomorrow.
I had planned to attend the informational session for the University of Chicago's Artifact Care Certificate, in the Gleacher Center in downtown Chicago. I was so turned around. For those who may not know, there are two levels of streets in downtown area. So, for a handful of streets, you have an upper and a lower version. For a novice like me, its like bumping Mario's head on a brick trying to find a mushroom, to find the street that will let you access the lower, and vice versa. Plus, the lower versions are dark and scary, additionally Mapquest cannot pick up a signal when you are underground. I am driving around in circles, trying not to hit shoppers and tourists that clog the crosswalks. I am navigating one way streets and itty bitty street signs, I can't even get an idea of where this place is. I am going to be late, so I think that I should just go home, it's just not worth it. Then, through the urban canyon, I see University of Chicago Gleacher Center on a building just over yonder! I make as much of a beeline as possible to the building, and the space is so calm and spread out, I can't believe that I didn't see it earlier. There is a parking garage nearby, I park and hustle over to my meeting, just under 15 minutes late. There are only 2 of us there to listen to this woman talk, so it went by pretty quick. I don't know if this would be a substitute for Dominican University, but if I got that job at U of C, it would be a smoking deal. I want to ask the archivist at DuSable and see what she thinks of the credential.
Since I was already downtown and stressed out from driving, I decided to wander for a little bit. Lo and behold, there is a movie theatre showing the new Kevin Hart film, Laugh at my Pain, in 20 minutes! I got my ticket and a snack and prepared for a laugh riot. The film met my expectation, if you like The Kings of Comedy, Chris Rock or Eddie Murphy comedy specials, you will not be disappointed. After the movie I saw a missed call from Lauren, her and Rachna were going to have dinner. I assumed that they would have ate by the time I was finished, and my phone was dying so I declined the invitation. I made it home and was about to get into my solitary groove when Lauren comes back and tells me all about the dinner, and how she is bored. She mentions Zumba on the Wii and I said that I would do it with her. There we are, two thick girls doing Latin dances and trying not to stomp on the floor at 10:30 at night. I haven't done Zumba since last year so some of it came back to me, but it definitely wore me out, I hope that I am not sore tomorrow.
Monday, 12 September 2011
Day 56 - Cable Guy
My lazy habits backfired on me today. I had the day off and didn't have any definitive plans, so when Lauren said that the AT&T people would be here, sometime before noon, I was on the hook. In her defense, she asked and I said ok, so I put myself on the hook. I thought he would be working outside and just come inside to flip a switch...nothing is that simple these days. A little background, Lauren is trying to upgrade from DSL to fiber optics so that her Internet streaming videos (Netflix, Amazon, etc.) will run without interruption. Apparently, they can't just upgrade the the Internet, without disconnecting the telephone, and her security system is set up through her phone, so they were at an impasse. The cable guy was so smug and presumptuous. He is explaining it to me and I am telling him that he needs to be talking to Lauren because she is the homeowner, and this is her problem to figure out. He was all, "I know she's gonna cuss me out", and I was like maybe but you can only tell the truth. He talked so much, but all he had to say was he couldn't install it today, and he would follow up with Lauren. It took him 2 hours of walking in and out of the place to come to this conclusion.
In between the cable drama, I managed to organize the refrigerator and freezer. I vacuumed the rugs. I unloaded the dishwasher. I also read 125 pages of a Chicago history book. This book is so fascinating, it is like Forest Gump, because the man is chronicling the major events of 20th century through the lives of the author and his father. I spent the evening making dinner and listening to Lauren complain about the incompetent cable company. I had pork chops, a baked potato and a green salad, it was good. Then I watched Hell's Kitchen and Basketball Wives (LA), The Office, Jay Leno and Jimmy Fallon. It sounds like a lot of television, but I wrote emails, painted my fingernails, plucked my eyebrows and labeled my music and pictures on the computer. It was definitely better than going to work.
The high and low on the job front are as follows. I followed up with the coordinator of the photo archiving project for Jet and Ebony magazine. I thought that I was in line for an interview, and I called to set one up for Thursday. The lady was like "no, there is no need for that. We still have to look at all of the applicants." I said oh, well my work schedule fluctuates and I would let her know my availabilities as soon as I knew. She told me not to worry about it, she would work around my schedule, and set something up in a few weeks. I'm so anxious! I hope it doesn't make her think I'm a crazy lady.
On the positive tip, I received an email from Coleman and his colleague. I am scheduled for a phone interview this Thursday. This position scares the spit out of me! I re-read my cover letter and it was so simple, I just explained my past experience with under-represented populations in higher education, and my focus on diversity. I keep reading the job description, managing people, giving presentations, writing articles, community outreach, interacting with students and faculty, all for one of the most prestigious medical schools in the country. I have been under employed for so long, it would be tricky to step up to the plate. I feel like Seabiscuit, someone needs to remind me of what I'm capable of. At the same time it would nice to not be six months away from abject poverty, so I will prepare and see what happens.
The funny thing is that I ran into Coleman while I was at lunch last week, and he introduced me to his colleague who is on the hiring committee too. I always said that once people meet me, the rest is easy street. How does one show sunny disposition, eye contact and a bright smile, when you are one in a million paper applications? I have an edge, it would be a shame to let it go to waste. I'm trying not to get my hopes up, there are a lot of options. In reality, this is a departure from my career goal in archives. My brother was telling me the other day, I have to act like I am the CEO already. He encouraged me to ask potential employers tough questions and force them to recognize my value and what I can contribute. Act as if we are equals in that room, or in this case over the phone, I will be taking that advice this week, I'll be as cool as the other side of the pillow, :)
In between the cable drama, I managed to organize the refrigerator and freezer. I vacuumed the rugs. I unloaded the dishwasher. I also read 125 pages of a Chicago history book. This book is so fascinating, it is like Forest Gump, because the man is chronicling the major events of 20th century through the lives of the author and his father. I spent the evening making dinner and listening to Lauren complain about the incompetent cable company. I had pork chops, a baked potato and a green salad, it was good. Then I watched Hell's Kitchen and Basketball Wives (LA), The Office, Jay Leno and Jimmy Fallon. It sounds like a lot of television, but I wrote emails, painted my fingernails, plucked my eyebrows and labeled my music and pictures on the computer. It was definitely better than going to work.
The high and low on the job front are as follows. I followed up with the coordinator of the photo archiving project for Jet and Ebony magazine. I thought that I was in line for an interview, and I called to set one up for Thursday. The lady was like "no, there is no need for that. We still have to look at all of the applicants." I said oh, well my work schedule fluctuates and I would let her know my availabilities as soon as I knew. She told me not to worry about it, she would work around my schedule, and set something up in a few weeks. I'm so anxious! I hope it doesn't make her think I'm a crazy lady.
On the positive tip, I received an email from Coleman and his colleague. I am scheduled for a phone interview this Thursday. This position scares the spit out of me! I re-read my cover letter and it was so simple, I just explained my past experience with under-represented populations in higher education, and my focus on diversity. I keep reading the job description, managing people, giving presentations, writing articles, community outreach, interacting with students and faculty, all for one of the most prestigious medical schools in the country. I have been under employed for so long, it would be tricky to step up to the plate. I feel like Seabiscuit, someone needs to remind me of what I'm capable of. At the same time it would nice to not be six months away from abject poverty, so I will prepare and see what happens.
The funny thing is that I ran into Coleman while I was at lunch last week, and he introduced me to his colleague who is on the hiring committee too. I always said that once people meet me, the rest is easy street. How does one show sunny disposition, eye contact and a bright smile, when you are one in a million paper applications? I have an edge, it would be a shame to let it go to waste. I'm trying not to get my hopes up, there are a lot of options. In reality, this is a departure from my career goal in archives. My brother was telling me the other day, I have to act like I am the CEO already. He encouraged me to ask potential employers tough questions and force them to recognize my value and what I can contribute. Act as if we are equals in that room, or in this case over the phone, I will be taking that advice this week, I'll be as cool as the other side of the pillow, :)
Sunday, 11 September 2011
Day 55 - South Shore
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!
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!
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....