What happened in Chicago, in roughly chronological order

I will stop using the bullets at some point, I’m sure, but for now, they’re getting the job done.

Things I did:

  • I had a visit with Chris Dingwall.  Sadly, just the one, on my first night in town, as he was skipping town for New York the next day.  But he was in fine fettle, and I was very glad to see him.  I now regret not taking a lock of hair.
  • I saw the first of a chain of banks called Fifth Third Bank.  The name makes me giggle.
  • I walked around Wrigley Field.  Literally, all sides.  Something that’s awesome is that it’s so residential, most of the apartment buildings across the street have set up bleachers on their roofs from which you can see the field.   Plus there’s one part where you can see onto the field from the street.  It feels like history, if only because I can’t imagine anyone ever building a stadium that would allow those things again.  Maybe I just haven’t seen enough cities…
  • I started reading American Gods by Neil Gaiman.  So far, not the type of book I normally read, but I’m enjoying.
  • Ashley and I have “discovered” our mutual love for the “Bumdiyada” Discovery ad.  At the least, we will make our cast mates love it.  But if we get ambitious, it will be everywhere.
  • I saw Lauren perform in the Second City show.  Their gain is our loss.   I won’t spoil any moments for those who might be seeing the show, but Pat O’Brien (or, as some call him, POB…that’s right, Toronto, other cities have performers with acronyms too!) had some definite wish-I-wrote-it moments for me.
  • Deep dish pizza turns out to be a bit of a disappointment.  I still love fat, though.  And the waitress was cute, and it was one of those restaurants where you write on the walls, so Nate and I got our names on a “painting” of John Belushi.  So a little bit of Chicago has been marked.
  • I went up the Hancock.  I’d done it before, but still, quite a view!
  • I saw “Messing with a Friend” at the Annoyance.  Fun little theatre.  I’m still not entirely sold on the Annoyance philosophy (though I think it’s a great tool to keep in the back pocket, and still think Mick Napier’s book is the best I’ve read on improv).  But it was great to see a show adhering to that philosophy performed by masters, and good times were had.
  • I walked down Clark from Waveland to Oak, then walked down Oak to Michigan.   That’s where the Drake Hotel is.  I used their pay phone to call the family, then I sat in an inner lobby for awhile, doing a combination of people-watching and drifting off to sleep.  The people-watching was fascinating, a lot of families doing fancy Thanksgivings, some boors, but mostly cuteness.  I then walked down Michigan as far as Roosevelt.  Very scenic.  According to Google Maps, I went about 7.2 miles.  I enjoy Chicago.
  • Americans seem to take their Thanksgiving quite seriously.  Damn near everything was closed.  In what would be ironic to someone with the racial awareness of Christopher Columbus, the only thing that was consistently open were Indian restaurants.  Thinking it might be awhile, I had some chicken tikka masala and nan bread for dinner.  Atraditional, yes, but tasty.

Well, that’s it for Chicago.  First thing in the a.m., we’re off to Miami and hopping onboard.   But before I go, I thought I’d introduce you to the cast.  Should come in handy for future posts.

Study it well: http://secondcity.com/?id=touring/ncl/jewel/cast

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