I feel weird updating about my trip while I'm still here, but I'm in a holding pattern for another 15 minutes while I wait for my flight to allow check-in online (am hoping to avoid the last-minute seat switch for the flight back).
The weather is much better today than yesterday. The downpour combined with the wind was crazy, but manageable. Today it's all blue skies and sunshine.
Yesterday I woke up at 5am, unsure if it was out of excitement or because my room was so hot. Still, I felt rested and decided to hunt down food. I walked to a place up Wabash that claimed to be a fun old-school diner, but my waitress was dreadful, mixing up sausage for bacon and asking me how everything tasted before I had even cut into my breakfast. Terrible coffee that makes me never want to try to learn how to drink it. So things could only improve.
The library is a lifesaver here. It's the easiest way to get ahold of my friend, and the cheapest. I've lost $1 to the payphone on the main floor of the library, painful when payphones cost $0.50 for the first 10 minutes. It also helps me orientate myself when I get an idea into my head for the day. I took the bus to the Chicago History Museum for the Chic Chicago exhibit, which was so fantastic. Dior, Worth, Hanae Mori, Charles James, a stunning Poiret ensemble that I cannot believe they even own... Just lovely. I headed back to the Loop and the Museum of Contemporary Art because it's free on Tuesdays. Buckminster Fuller is on display and it was astonishing how interesting he was. After WWII he thought weapons factories should produce mass-produced, energy-efficient, inexpensive and quickly assembled housing for low-income people. The small Calder exhibit was pretty good, too. I wandered around in the rain for a while and headed down State to meet Jason for a movie. Knowing nothing more than that it had been compared to Michael Snow's work (among others) and that it was feminist and avant garde (and that Jason no longer has anyone to go to films with because when he takes friends to these films they fall asleep or get angry that they've lost hours of their lives), when we settled into our seats I asked how long it was and he said it was three-and-a-half hours. Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles was completely fascinating and I barely noticed the time fly by. So excellent. He walked me back to the hotel and we made plans to meet tonight after work.
Today I walked forever looking for a breakfast joint that I'd read about somewhere. Heading eastward down Jackson, people stared at me as I passed them, hoards of them leaving Union Station and walking into downtown. As I entered Lou Mitchell's the hostess, a kindly older woman, offered me a donut hole from a basket and slipped a small box of Milk Duds into my hand. What a way to start the day! I headed back towards the Red Line and took it to Sheridan. I didn't know what to expect with Graceland, but it was awesome. It's amazing to see how people treat their dead; the opposite side of the street holds a more recent cemetary that was much more rundown and unkempt than Graceland. All the men that literally built Chicago are buried there: Sullivan, Mies van der Rohe, Jenney, Nagy, Burnham... It's 100 years since Burnham's plan for Chicago and the city is crazy about him, with banners flying and commemorative books coming out constantly. Seeing pictures of him these last couple of days brought two thoughts to mind which, in conjunction with each other, are disturbing: 1) I am finding myself obssessed with Daniel Burnham and his vision for Chicago (and more generally about his partner, John Root) and 2) Daniel Burnham looks like my brother. I walked for a few hours until my stomach started grumbling and I decided to head towards Wrigleyville. Knowing I wouldn't be able to catch the game tonight, I figured seeing the place would be good enough, and it was. I picked up the most awesome T-shirt ever (which will need to be posted later), took a picture of Harry Carey, bought some more Cherry Coke (I've had a lot of Cherry Coke since I've been here. A LOT), and headed back into the city. Decided on lunch at Heaven on Seven, a Cajun restaurant on the 7th floor of the Garland Building with hundreds of bottles of hot sauce everywhere. My fried catfish po'boy sure wasn't Dadeo's version, but it was still good. I wandered through the Cultural Center, Marshall Field's, around State and Wabash, and then headed back to the hotel for a wee rest and drink of Cherry Coke before being kicked out by the chambermaid.
And now I can check-in for my flight.
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