Epic Fail

My friends Christine and Mike are here visiting and I really wanted to show them a good time. Unfortunately, few things have been going our way since they arrived. Despite Chicago's best attempt to ruin this trip, we have managed to have lots of fun. Here is a summary of our adventure so far:

DAY 1

Day 1 was supposed to begin with a tour of Frank Lloyd Wright's house but we didn't order tickets in advance so we couldn't go. Fortunately, the day was still productive. I showed them the 1920s ballroom that was converted into a parking garage:




Then we saw Buckingham Fountain which is featured in the opening credits of Married with Children. Although the guide book said there was a water show every hour on the hour, it didn't happen while we were there :(



Further up the road we saw "The Bean" which apparently cost the city of Chicago $23 million. As Creed from The Office would say, "That freaked my bean."



At night, we tried to go to a bar for Trivia Night. Turns out the internet lied and it was 80s night instead. By the time we made it to a bar that actually had trivia night we arrived too late to participate. By this point my shoes, which ordinarily are quite comfy, gave me a massive blister. We regrouped at my place, got new shoes, and ended up having a great night at the Goose Island Brewery with Mike's friends.

DAY 2

Today was also challenging. I tried to take Christine and Mike to my favourite brunch place, Orange. We walked all the way there and found out it was closed for renovations. Then we took a bus to another brunch place and it was also closed. Finally, we went to a Swedish restaurant and ate waaaay too much food including scrumptious Swedish pancakes. With our bellies full of Lingonberries, we schlepped home and took a nap.

Upon wakening, we went to the zoo. This monkey (bad picture, I know) was putting on a show for the kiddies. At one point he hung from a vine and pressed himself against the glass. He paused, then peed all over the window right in front of us. Just streaming down all over the glass.



After the zoo, Christine wanted to see some medieval art so I says to her, I says, "No problem, we'll go to the Art Institute, they have tons of medieval art." We get there and were informed they recently put most of their medieval art away in storage. Later on while we were wandering around the museum we found a sign that said, "Medieval art exhibit: coming soon!"

The rest of the gallery was awesome though. I have a little-known fascination with obscenely and unnecessarily ornate and decorative furniture and time pieces from days of yore. This clock from the 18th century is something my grandmother would have put in her home, flanked by her crushed velvet portraits of bullfighters:



Our night concluded with a rousing game of Klax. Exhausted, it's time for bed. To be continued...

*poof*

*poof*

27

So it was my 27th bday this past Sunday. Being 27 seems very very wrong to me and I can't say I'm pleased but...on the plus side despite life's best efforts, I didn't die! Here is a brief recap of my life this past year:

- was homeless
- became a squatter extraordinaire
- got accepted to grad school
- moved to Chicago
- almost died in car accident
- almost died in hit-and-run accident
- overtook Meg White as the worst female drummer in rock
- realized various Nintendo goals
- tried and failed at salsa dancing

It's going to be hard to top 26. Here is how I started 27:

G graciously came to visit for the weekend. We spent the 4th of July walking around the Chicago river downtown, then played some tennis [badly] then went on the roof of my building to watch fireworks. Although they were neat, Ottawa's show was WAY better. The neat thing was that as you scanned the horizon you could see fireworks going off in suburbs and other states. It's hard to describe but it was beautiful. Friends came over to drink at my place, some Nintendo was played, and then we hit the bars.

Saturday we went to the Planet-arium where we watched 2 IMAX movies, found out that Jim Lovell is from Chicago, and that children should be banned from all public places. We came home and napped, then went for drinks at the top of the Hancock Tower [champagne!].

My actual bday began with WIMBLEDON. The match of the century was played over 8 hours between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. I couldn't watch the whole thing, but my mom kept calling me on my cell to give me updates until I ran out of minutes. I couldn't watch because I was at ...church!

No, didn't convert. I went to see a hilarious comedy show called "Best Church of God" which everyone is now mandated to see when coming to visit. Our sermon was "you're free to do whatever you like, as long as it's what god tells you to do." The show is literally like a church service complete with hymns, collection plates [several] and the body and blood of christ! [beef jerky and kool-aid].

Afterwards a bunch of us went out for brunch, and then G and I went to the Field Museum to learn about dinosaurs, evolution, and natural disasters. After G caught his flight home I went out for free ice cream.

Curious story:

Someone asked me how old I was and when I said "27" they replied, "wow, you look pretty good for your age."

Is it just me, or isn't that something you would say to someone who is like...45? It made me feel like a dinosaur. I think I've hit some sort of aging milestone.

I got a few neat gifts but the jewels in my crown this year came courtesy of G:

MARBLE MADNESS [which is currently ruining my life in a good way] and Dr. Mario. Many thanks to him for making the weekend awesome.

So I think that's about it really. Back to the grind. Keeping the wrinkles at bay.

Various pictures from the weekend...

Views from my school downtown:






Chicago River:



Skyline as seen from the Planet-arium:

And I'm Back

Much to my surprise, I didn't die in a fiery plane crash and have safely arrived at my apartment. I was greeted with two surprises, one awesome, and the other...not so much:

1. My dear housematey RC has a penchant for finding obscure vinyl albums and sending them to her sister. I was lucky enough to be the recipient this time. I got The Glamorous Life by Shelia E. This is, in all likelihood, the shittiest album ever recorded. Regardless, the girl can drum.

2. I had 16 messages waiting for me on my answering machine. 'Ooh, I'm so popular!' thought I. Guess again; 13 of them were from a debt collection agency. People in stern voices were demanding money. I frantically wracked my brain trying to think of what bill I haven't paid in awhile, but came up with nothing [although who would be surprised if I did just forget to pay my bills?]. I swear in each message my last name was pronounced a different way. I eventually got to one that explained everything: "If this is Annette R. Bazentine, please call me back, we are collecting a debt." Ah.


Highlights of my visit home:

- Beating Super Mario Brothers 1 and Klax*
- Learning to play drums with Marc. I can now play Live Forever by Oasis [shittily] and Icky Thump by the White Stripes [shittily as well].
- Getting addicted to Rock Band
- Discovering the hidden world of video gamers
- Long chats with old friends
- Teaching my nephew how to ride a bike [shittily]
- Getting addicted to Boston Legal [it has James Spader in it, you knew it would happen]
- Being pantless in London

Thanks to everyone who took the time to hang out with me, I really appreciate it. I'll be back in August but only for a week so I'll try to fit in as much as possible. In the meantime, stay tuned.


* 99% due to G's help.

Victory

As a child, I had a dream to beat a Nintendo game called Maniac Mansion. I literally spent the better part of the late 80's/early 90's trying. Every time I figured out a new piece of the puzzle, I recorded it in a diary. I even bought Nintendo magazines to find tips. Eventually, my cousin took the game and we lost touch. I wasn't reunited with Maniac Mansion until this year when both G and Marc [accidentally] bought it for me.

This was the dawn of a new era. The internet age. Armed with my trusty laptop, my friend and I looked up a walk-through for game and followed the directions step by step. With a little help from Eric, I was able to...

SEND THE METEOR TO THE MOON AND BEAT THE GAME!!

A great weight has been lifted off my shoulders.