Let's see, the beginning of last week was not very busy, though I did mentally prepare myself for all that I have to get done before I leave for the summer.
Monday evening I attended an evening of Earth Day-themed one act plays at the studio space at Steppenwolf. They were quite good, and were not as intellectual as I was expecting, but were also engaging emotionally. Neil and I went with his friend Jo who is an improv actress, and since Neil knew someone whose theatre company was presenting one of the one acts, we went to a reception prior to the performance, and sat in the second row. I ran into Meghan, the literary intern from the Goodman who had been working with us on Emmett Till, and I also saw (but didn't get a chance to say hello to) the executive director of Redmoon Theater. After the performance, Neil, Jo and I went to Joey's Brick House--Mondays are Industry Nights, and drinks are half off (Neil and I got the Starving Artist Long Islands--reg $4--for $2), and they have free food--it was a shrimp paella of sorts. All of that for the half-price of the drink!
Tuesday after I was unable to duplicate the water pressure problem I always have in my bathroom sink for the plumbers, I ran some errands and dug my bike out from the storage unit in the basement. I cleaned it off and put air in the tires and rode it to lunch with Jamie. It was the first time I'd ridden my bike since I lived in Louisville about 3 years ago! Lunch with Jamie was great--Thai Pastry has a lunch deal where you get a little fried tofu, some soup, your entree and a little sweet for $6. And since I drove Jamie up to Evanston a few weeks back to pick up a file cabinet she bought on Craigslist, she treated me to lunch which was lovely but unexpected.
Wednesday, it was super nice out and I rode my bike about 3 miles down to Johnny Sprockets where my friend Samuel works. I bought a helmet and a lock that isn't asking for the bike to be stolen. I also asked him to look at my bike to make sure it's safe to ride or if it needed a tune up. But as I told him I am a recreational rider and that it did fine on the ride down, he said it was fine. Wednesday evening I went out for sushi with Lauren, Justine, Derrick, Cecilio, and Mikey. We went to Kaze which was considerably upscale for our usual sushi endeavors. The sashimi salad, miso, nigiri, and rolls I had were great, though. But the dessert blew me away. It came out in this platter as big around as if I made a circle with my arms filled with ice surrounding a vase of bamboo sticks. Nestled in the ice were 6 glasses of port, two small bottles of sparkling sake, four mochi ice cream balls, two bowls of green tea mousse, and two dishes of black sesame flan, as well as fresh cut strawberries, kiwi, oranges, and apples. It was unbelievable!
Thursday I drove up to Milwaukee in the afternoon and went to La Perla with Justin and Eva for Chimichangas and a pitcher of Midori Melon Margaritas. That evening, I watched the production of Caucasian Chalk Circle. I read the Brecht play for script analysis about 8 years ago, but I've never seen it onstage, and I really liked it. I also recognized a lot of the cast since I worked up there in January, and have seen two shows prior to this one. After the show, a small group of us went over to the Linnwood abode and made raspberry margaritas and watched Juno.
Friday morning I was domestically uber-productive: I did laundry, baked bread and cookies, and went to the store. I had an afternoon production meeting which went longer than I'd anticipated, and then I went downtown to meet Neil for our free Water Taxi ride along the river from Monroe St. to Michigan Ave. From there we went to House of Blues for a concert. It was the "Bamboozled Tour" and the bands we saw (we missed the first one) were Metro Station, Set Your Goals, Armour for Sleep, and Saves the Day. I was exhausted and there were some stupid people standing in front of us, so I went to sit down and watch Saves the Day on the video monitors, but then we went downstairs and found better seats for the last few songs. We went to Grand Lux for dinner and it was clearly the height of prom season. Most of the dresses we saw were hideous. I can only imagine what Stacy and Clinton on What Not To Wear would have to say about those dresses! But, they did provide us with some great entertainment.
Saturday, it was 43 degrees when I left the house for O'Hare, and it was 80 when I got to Dulles. My folks picked me up and we went over to my Aunt Patti and Uncle Pablo's house to drink some beer and eat some pulled pork BBQ and visit with my cousin Ian, who is in the states from Japan for 2 weeks, and meet his girlfriend Reiko. I also hadn't seen Ian's sisters or parents or our cousin Ben in about a year and a half, so it was good to see all of them! After the open house, my folks and I drove over to Uncle Phil and Ivy's, had some wine and conversation, and then sleep. It was a pretty great day--the weather was so nice, and I got to see everyone, except I wish Persie had been able to make it. I haven't seen her in over 2 years!
Sunday was a little chillier--65 degrees in Maryland, but 55 when I got to O'Hare. My college friend Rebecca is in town for a conference, so I picked up her up at her hotel near O'Hare, and we went out for Giordano's stuffed pizza. She doesn't usually eat cheese, but she had just run her first half marathon the day before (in Nashville), so I think she was totally justified in eating the cheese. We had a good dinner and chat. I haven't seen her since about the same time I last rode my bike, so we had plenty to talk about, and I hope to see her tomorrow after her conference ends. Last night I did some prep work for the summer--sending emails out to the casts--which took longer than I was expecting.
All in all, I'd say I had a busy week, and I'm exhausted. I thought I had a meeting this afternoon, but it was postponed, so I'm giving myself a day off. Also, the chilly rainy weather makes me want to curl up with a good book or a movie and a cup of tea. So maybe I'll get some crochet done on that blanket I need to finish for Chris and Elysia!
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