Chicago - Night 1

Ok I'm back on track. No Lost tonight so I am going to stay on topic: our first night in Chicago! Katie J, Erin, and I headed back to the Arlington House, our hostel, to find Julia now that she had finally arrived.

To say that Arlington House was a lovely institution would be a bit of an over statement. It certainly had its benefits. It was cheaper than anything else we could find by a great deal. In fact it only cost us $100 per person for 3 nights. It was in a great neighborhood. We were in the middle of Lincoln Park and easy walking distance from lots of yummy stuff to eat and pretty things to buy, but then there were the downsides. There was the no heat in the room. Well actually no heat only in Katie J's and Erin's room. Then there were the hand towels they gave us under the pretense that they were full towels for showering. Come to think of it, only Katie J and Erin got the mini towels. (They thought the idea of trying to cover themselves with said towels after showering was so funny that they put on quite the towel fashion show after we settled into our rooms.) Hmmm... So in retrospect the hostel was only uncomfortable for Katie J and Erin, but Julia and I did have to listen to them complain. So indirectly that was uncomfortable for us as well.

After the towel fashion show/booty dance, we all met up with my friend Kylene who I waitressed with when I lived in Richmond. Kylene is fabulous. She has big eyes like one of those creepy kewpie dolls (except Kylene is not creepy), and she is going to cosmetology school (which is perfect for her because she was the kind of person who had different color hair every shift). Most of all she loves loves loves to just chat with anyone. Everyone from under age stoner boys who don't wear underwear and fill their time with only jazz, Jack Kerouac, and chess to older, self-absorbed accountants nicknamed after emotions. I don't even have time to get into the story about how Kylene ended up in the hotel room of the Wu-Tang Clan last summer. I mean seriously, she'll talk to anyone! (Although meeting up with the Wu-Tang Clan might have also had something to do with her curvy bottom.) Her gift for gab went over well with Julie, Erin, and Katie J, though, and we all ended up getting along splendidly at a tapas dinner.

Plus the pitchers of flavored margaritas might have helped the conversation flow a wee bit. Maybe. Just a tad. I mean, of course, good company was the best part of the dinner, but if I had to pick a second best part of dinner? Yep, Kylene's got it right. It would be the berry flavored marg.


It was great to see Kylene and I wish we could have spent more time together, but she had school (boring). So she had leave us to go home and get in bed. We were far from done our night, though. Our next stop was Baby Wants Candy, the musical improv show that an improv buff from home had encouraged us to go see. It randomly turned out to be about a 10 minute walk from Arlington House. We got there just in time to double fist some drinks and run into the theater before the show started.


I was able to snap a video of the group. The video does them no justice in showing how funny they were. We were peeing ourselves the whole time (obviously except for this scene that i am about to show you. Although there was some giggling going.)



So, what'd you think? Amusing at all? Bad camera work you say? Yes I know. Thanks for bringing it up. Some of us are having to make do with the video function on our crappy digi's. Anyways even if you didn't crack a smile during that video, I ensure you that you would love them in person. If you are ever in Chicago, and especially if you are staying at Arlington House, do yourself a favor and go see Baby Wants Candy.

The theater was right around the corner from DePaul University. So despite our attempts to avoid a college bar, we ended up hitting up a college bar after the show. Despite DePaul being the largest Catholic University in the nation (which I just learned when I googled it to make sure I was spelling it correctly) those kids throw down like drinking excessively is the new proven way to make it into heaven.


I came back from the bathroom at point and this tall, dark, and intoxicated man had moved in on my friends. We "hit it off" immediately, and by that I mean that within 5 minutes he had asked if I had a husband a half dozen times and asked me out on a date for the following night. He never did end up calling. I would have been pretty surprised if he even remembered being at that bar, but I decided that night that I could love any town which has good margaritas, hysterical improv, and men who ask you out within 24 hours of your arrival. Chicago seems like my kind of place. Maybe I will have to convert Search for J Street into Search for Arlington Street one day. (Although there is actually an Arlington St. in Chicago so that might not be as effective of a title, but I've got time to work on something better.)