JeffreyLipsey.com

At around 4 PM, Maureen and Kiyoshi wanted to go to the Lincoln Park Zoo; it was free and I was apathetic so I tagged alone as a 3rd wheel. Overall it was pretty fun, but I really didn’t have any favorite animal. If you pulled my arm though I’d say the one hippopotamus they had there was pretty interesting. They closed the place at 7 so we didn’t get to see everything and we had a show to catch.


At the Theater on the Lake, The Neo-Futurists put on a show titled Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind. In this show, the group attempted to perform 30 different acts in a time period of 60 minutes, and the audience gets to choose which act they get to perform based solely on the title. Overall, I’d say it was pretty good but my favorite was titled “Half-Naked Ninja Pudding Pie;” it featured the actors running around in their underwear while doing scissor kicks and making pudding pie. It was hilarious and you probably had to be there, as all the acts were very random and original.


After the show ended at 8:30, Kiyoshi and Maureen wanted to get some fried chicken at some place, but apparently it was closed for the holiday which we found out after we walked there. We decided to get some bar food at 1 of Chicago’s 100 Irish bars; I still refuse to pay more than $4 for a beer especially when water is free. I know, I’m spoiled from living in Champaign but I can’t bring myself to pay for it when I know I can purchase the drink for $1 at the grocery store. It doesn’t make financial sense and I’m a cheap bastard.


Anyway, I ordered the Lamb Chops and it was only $16, which for lamb is an excellent price. I just figured they didn’t give us much food because of the price and there was no mention of side dishes so I ordered a side of steamed broccoli. When the dish came it was a TON of food!! The lamb came with mashed potatoes and a grilled tomato; all of which were good but my favorite was the tomato itself as it was marinated in something real good.


In all it was a fun day, although I’m ready to head back to something familiar. I’m gonna be heading to my mom’s place when I leave on Sunday from Kiyoshi’s place but it still sucks not having a phone.

Personally, I got up at 9:30 am or so as sleeping on the couch isn’t doing me any favors. I woke up 3 times in a hot sweat and I just couldn’t fall back asleep again the final time. I opened up the computer and tried to surf the net some, as I was having internet problems before Maureen woke up.


At 10:30 or so, I decided to turn the TV on as no one was awake yet and I was getting bored (and hungry). Law and Order was on and that was followed by The Soup so my boredom was put on hold for a while. At 11:30 I turned on House Hunters on HGTV and that passed the time until Kiyoshi got up at 1 pm and then we went out for breakfast.


We went to a breakfast placed called Ann Sathers, sort of a high-end place. I ordered the V-4 Omelet, with 4 different types of veggies: portobella, artichokes, asparagus and tomatoes. It sounded really good but wen I got it the asparagus really overpowered the rest of the omelet. The hash browns weren’t hash browns at all but combination of mashed/baked potatoes; and I didn’t care for it. Truthfully, the best part of the meal was the side of Corn Beef Hash I ordered.


Afterwords we headed back to Maureen’s place and watched TV for a couple hours before heading out again.

Well, we arrive at Union Station I’m assuming around 8 (I have no concept of time, partly due to my phone being dead) and we walk directly to Rob’s place. Kiyoshi’s caring an overnight bag and I have my trusty laptop with me (I have no idea what I would do without her). I find out about an hour before we are to leave that we are spending 2 nights in Chicago not just one; it annoyed me for a bit but I wasn’t doing anything anyway.


So we get to Rob’s place and I have to admit, his condo is pretty fucking baller. It wasn’t that big, I’d say maximum 400 square feet, but the space that was inside was really nice. The entire condo had hardwood floors (except the bathroom obv), the kitchen had all stainless steel appliances, it had a balcony with nice grill, the bathroom was fairly large and the view was extraordinary. The bedroom itself was pretty small and that would be the only downside; everything else though was pretty awesome inside.


I start the night drinking Miller Lite which is fine, as its better than Bud Light, start mingling with the crowd. Kiyoshi and I are the only ‘non-runners’ present at this little get together, which consisted of 8 people or so. Rob, Kiyoshi and me were the only guys to start, then there was Maureen (Kiyo’s girlfriend) and 3 other random chicks which I barely talked to the entire night. Apparently they all know each other because they all run together or what not, either way Kiyo and I don’t run (although I do blade!).


The whole point of Rob throwing this get together (I have a hard time calling a gathering with 8 people a party) was so that we could see the fireworks from Navy Pier from his balcony. For the most part, we could see them fairly well although there is nothing like watching them up close. Either way I enjoyed it.


The rest of the night consisted of us knocking down Miller Lites and talking random BS (mainly Kiyo, Maureen and myself stayed in our little clic). Rob did offer up a glass of Scotch, which I am one to never turn down. I guess I’m a little more ‘experienced’ as he drank his Glenlivet with a bunch of ice cubes topped with water. That ruins the flavor IMO and I can just drink that shit straight up, it tastes so much better that way.


Somehow, and maybe people have had a few drinks, but I got compared to looking like Michael Moore. I didn’t really expect to see the comparison, other than overweight guy with beard, long hair and glasses (I’m definitely not THAT overweight though). I started to get tips on how I should groom my beard and frankly, it didn’t make any sense. Luckily I’m not that self-conscience because of my lovely Marlyn but I would be if I had listened to these guys any more. Its not that I’m unwilling to look for improvements to the way I look, it’s just that I don’t really think what they were suggesting had any merit.


Anyway, after the shin-dig ended we hopped in a cab and rode to Maureen’s place, where I get to sleep on the couch. The place is fairly big but the wifi is a bit fishy; that and her roommate got home and she was really, really drunk (as in stumbling in the door drunk), with her boyfriend behind her. They have yet to introduce themselves although I know they are aware of my presence; I’m in their living room typing on a laptop lmao.


Otherwise, I’ll keep up to date on how the rest of my stay in Chicago goes, as long as there is internet I should be at least somewhat entertained.

After around 6:15 pm or so we headed out and started our walk towards the train station, Kiyoshi only lives about 15 minutes to the station and I guess his normal routine is to walk everyday. The train ride into Chicago is around an hour and I’m hoping it will go by relatively quickly. Unfortunately for us the train itself was extremely late getting into the station, so we left ~ 30 minutes later than we were planning on.


While walking to the station, I called my mom but she wasn’t home; instead I talked to my brother. I don’t normally talk to my brother all too much and when I do its about random stuff. I basically told him I’ll be home in a few days and meanwhile tell Mom that my phone battery is dead so call me on Kiyoshi’s cell phone.


On the train ride to Chicago, Kiyoshi gets a call and it is indeed my Mom; it’s been quite a while since I actually sat down and talked with her and there are a few random things going on that I wasn’t expecting. 1) My brother has a girlfriend. WTF?? This is news to me. 2) My brother bought a new (but used) car and my mom is selling her old car to buy a different one.


Yeah, I went to Vegas for 2 weeks and I swear everything happened while I was gone. Oye!