Wow, yesterday was fun.
I did realize why I'll do day trips to Detroit but not to Chicago. After a few hours in Detroit, I'm ready to leave. But in Chicago, after a few hours I'm just starting to get in the swing of things. I've unwound from the long commute and am just starting to explore all my old haunts.
I met my friend, Ted, at Earwax. When I arrived at Earwax, I initially regretted suggesting that place and vowed to never have someone meet me there again. There wasn't an available table in the place. Lately, this seems to happen to me every time I have someone meet me at Earwax. At first, I just waited outside for Ted but the crazy man who always peddles his bad poetry was bothering me, so I just sat at the little counter area. I hate that area, because my head just barely reaches above the counter. (The counters are high and the chairs low.) But luckily, the people at the table behind me left. I watched them like a vulture and swooped in on their table the moment they left. I bussed it for the waitress, so I wouldn't have to wait and risk someone else getting it. The waitress took my order and a few minutes later, Ted arrived.
We had a fun time, talking mostly about animation. Around three, Jason showed up. We all hung out for awhile until Rob got back from getting his hair done. Rob wanted to go to House of Monsters. Ted excused himself, on account of having to get home and do some work. So, the three of us went to House of Monsters. I fell in love with this set of living dead dolls, a bride and a groom. As we were looking there was a tap on my shoulder. It was Ted. Apparently, he'd decided to pop in there on the way home. So we talked for a little bit and I drooled over all the neat toys in the store. Rob got an action figure for myself and the dolls for me. As we were paying, we asked Ted if he wanted to come to Quimby's with us, but he declined. So, as we prepared to leave, I tried to find him to say goodbye but he was nowhere to be found. We went on to Quimby's, half expecting him to be there.
We just browsed at Quimby's, then went to Reckless Records. We didn't find any music we wanted but Rob did find a couple of movies.
After that, we went to Pacific Cafe for dinner. I had my hot sake and fun noodles. We of course made all sorts of jokes about fun noodles. I nearly lost it when, just as I was taking a bite, Jason said "there's a party in your mouth and everyone's invited." I couldn't get the image out of my head of partying fun noodles.
We walked over to Minor Arcana, where I got a Ganesh necklace. I was disappointed to hear that they were closing. Apparently, the night the world trade center was attacked, someone broke into the store and stole everything that had value, including the cash register and credit card machine. They're still going to have the learning center open and do the online business but the store front is closing. That was a disappointment.
We dropped off Jason, then went to Discovery for clothes. I've found better clothing stores in Chicago, but by the time we went they would have already been closed. Discovery's fall line was vastly inferior to last year's. Still, I managed to find a few things.
We were pretty exhausted by this time, so we went to Katerina's. Katerina's was a nice place to unwind and drink coffee until we felt like getting on the road. We commented how the difference between Chicago and Kalamazoo, was that when you're miserable in Chicago you just had "ennui" (if you say it in a really bad, really phony French accent it's actually pretty funny) but when you're miserable in Kalamazoo you just kind of want to blow your brains out.
This is, of course, both a joke and an exxageration but there's a grain of truth to it. In Kalamazoo, when you are feeling a bit dismal about life, you're greeted with this absolutely vile town filled with strip malls and pick up trucks and truck stops. When you're feeling down about life in Chicago, at least there's some place you can go. Your surroundings can be comfortable. Find the right cafe, the right bar...hell, just take certain train routes at an offtime and watch all the beautiful old buildings...and even if you still hate life, you do so with a cozy ambience. It sounds weird, but it really does count for something.
We made the long trek back, getting home around midnight and going to sleep promptly afterwards.
It's a nice day out. Rob is supposed to teach me to drive. Now, if I could only wake up...