Summer School, Sunday School

Life has been progressing as normal here in Chicago since Memorial Day Weekend, with both Cary Anne and I continuing in our theater endeavors. CA recently finished running sound board for a show at a theater only about 3 blocks from our apartment. Though I thought she was going to take more of a break after her last show, she decided to work on this one since it wasn't a huge time commitment and she even got paid a little. I also recently completed level 2 of my improv training at Improv Olympic. This class was a little more calm than my last one, probably because we met on Sunday afternoons rather than the evening, but it was still a good time. A lot of this course focused on group work and collaborating as a team, so it was fun bonding with my classmates for 8 weeks.

Also, our church, CCC Edgewater, recently changed it's worship location. For the past several months, we were renting out a small, single-room art gallery every Sunday evening, but the space was starting to get a little tight and we worried that an evening service with no child care wasn't an ideal, welcoming environment for families. (Though it was perfect for us 20-somethings who enjoyed getting to sleep in, then going to grab a drink at the bar around the corner after worship.) So for the past couple of weeks we've meeting in the mornings in the auditorium of George R. Swift Elementary School. It has lots of space, and the walls and curtains are a wonderful powder pink. (During announcements recently, I made fun of the place by calling in “Barbie's Dream Theater” and saying, “These walls are so pink they should call this Taylor Swift Elementary”.) But despite the odd color-scheme and fact that I'm still mourning my loss of lazy Sunday mornings, the move has been great, and we're already seeing some new faces.

This week Cary Anne and I went on a date night to Skokie Sports Park. I discovered the park when I drove past it on my way to somewhere else and immediately got excited because I'm a huge fan of miniature golf. In Lexington, there was a Biblical themed mini golf course (which we kindly refer to as “Jesus golf”) that, despite the cheesiness, was actually pretty good. We played there multiple times every summer. The Skokie course is supposed to be like an adventure around the world. You start off putting around the Sears Tower and Statue of Liberty, and soon you're golfing through the coral reefs of Australia and under the Great Wall of China. Overall, it was an entertaining course, and I think we had as much fun posing with the scenery as we did actually golfing.

After the golf, we walked over to the batting cages. The only park with batting cages in Lexington closed over 5 years ago and I don't think I had been in one since. CA told me she had never been in a batting cage. “Never? What have you been doing with your life?” I asked. "I'm a girl! And I'm worried I'm gonna get hit...in the boob." Luckily, that didn't happen. We basically stuck to the slow pitch softball cages while the 10-year-olds gearing up for little league laughed at us from the faster baseball cages. Overall, it was a fun evening.

Later this week we'll be flying out to Colorado to see Cary Anne's brother get married. As you can imagine, we're pretty excited. CA is a bridesmaid in the wedding and much of her time lately has gone into making her own bridesmaid dress. I'm always impressed by her ability to create stuff like that. I took the easy way out and just went to the store to buy new khakis and a tie. After the wedding CA's parents will be hanging out with us here in Chicago for a few days. I'll be sure to share details from our trip on the next post. 

"Summertime Girls are the kind I like; I'll steal your honey like I stole your bike" - LFO

It's finally starting to feel like summer in Chicago...most days. Everyone keeps talking about how great the city is during the warmer months, and Cary Anne and I are starting to see it for ourselves.

One of the best things about warm weather in the city is that the beaches of Lake Michigan are actually useable. (Walking down and sticking your bare feet in the sand isn't exactly pleasant when it's in the 40s.) Just a few weeks ago, our friend Kelly invited Cary Anne and I down to the beach for an afternoon of reading in the sun. Turns out, there wasn't actually much reading involved. We mainly just sat around and talked and threw rocks at seagulls. (We're sadistic in that way.) Sadly, I learned that just because the weather is warm, it doesn't mean the water is. Guess I'll have to wait a few more weeks to actually go swimming.

After the beach, we picked up our friend Sam and headed to a custard shop Cary Anne and I had been wanting to try called “Lickity Split.” During our year in Lexington, a self-serve frozen yogurt place called “Orange Leaf” got really popular, and expanded from one location to at least four in just a few months. With tons of flavors, lots of toppings, and reasonable prices, it wasn't uncommon for us to swing by on a nearly weekly basis. We've been looking for a suitable alternative here in Chicago, but so far nothing has blown us away. But it looks like we may be switching to custard now. Though “Lickity Split” only has 3 types of custard on tap at any given time, there are dozens of toppings assorted into different glass jars, like an old-school candy shop, making the combinations basically limitless. (I had vanilla custard with hot fudge and dark chocolate covered pretzels.) Kelly and Sam seemed equally impressed by the shop, and I would not be upset if it became a summer staple.

Recently, we got to travel back to Kentucky for Memorial Day. Our friends Chris and Hannah in Louisville were nice enough to put us up in their spare bedroom for the long weekend. The great thing about our friendship with C&H is that we're able to have great time with them even when we're not doing anything particularly exciting. That was evident over the weekend based on the amount of time we spent playing “Settlers of Catan,” looking up videos for old bands we used to listen to during our middle school years (think BBMac, Bwitched, and LFO), and the hours Chris and I spent shooting zombies on “Call of Duty” while our wives reevaluated their life choices. 

However, we did leave their apartment a few times. On Saturday we went for a walk down by the water front, where we stumbled upon bus loads of old English dancers. They had on puffy white shirts and bells strapped to their shins, and they marched around in a line twirling ribbons. It was very captivating and confusing. Sadly, it was over 90 degrees outside, so we quickly returned home. After cooling off, we decided to go bowling. Somehow, during the course of the second game, it was determined that Chris and Cary Anne, as a team, were trying to out score Hannah and I. Things looked bleak when Hannah stepped up for the final frame and we were down by 10 pins. She only succeeded in knocking down 9, and Chris and CA leapt into celebration. However, their cheering quickly turned to tears when we realized Hannah had gotten a spare in the previous frame, so her 9 pins were enough to put us in the lead. I started telling people to suck it. (I'm not a gracious winner.)

On Sunday, CA and I visited Chris and Hannah's church. I was distracted during the sermon because the guy sitting beside me had his iPad out. I thought he was taking notes, but when I glanced over I realized he was actually surfing Cracker Barrel's website. Later that night, my folks drove up to have dinner with us and show us photos from my cousin's wedding, which, sadly, CA and I couldn't afford to go to. On Monday, our other college friend Shelby came over for a big brunch. It was great catching up with her considering we hadn't seen her in well over 6 months. 

So far, summer has been off to a great start, and hopefully it will only get better. 

Last month, we (mostly me) also started a journaling project where we film 5 seconds of our life everyday. I'll be sure to post the videos here...

Our Weekends > Your Weekends

About a month ago, Chicago hosted a “Clean and Green” weekend. Part of what our church, CCC Edgewater, did to take part in the event was to get our community garden cleaned up and ready for the growing season. I have no real business in a garden, but Cary Anne invested in a plot with our friend Lisa so they can grow their own veggies this summer. CA took the morning shift in the clean up, and she was put to work helping to build the raised garden beds, which means she was right in her element considering she spent her entire college career as a student aide in the theater helping to build sets. I took the afternoon shift, and my work was much less sophisticated. Mainly, I moved rubble. After the morning clean up, there was a large pile of rocks in the lot, so my team lined the perimeter with chicken wire to keep nosy animals out, and we placed the rocks at the base of the fence to keep it down. Overall, it was a successful weekend, and I know we're all excited to see things blossoming when the weather gets warm.

Then, a little over a week ago, my brother, Jonathan, and sister-in-law, Andrea, came into town for a weekend visit. It was exciting because not only had we not seen them since Christmas, but also because both them hadn't been to Chicago in years. Though the weather wasn't great, we were still able to do all the touristy stuff we wanted.

First up was a trip to The Bean...

Up next was Navy Pier...

After that, we took a short bus trip to the Willis (Sears) Tower, and a shaky elevator ride up to the 103^rd floor. I was a bit worried about the view considering skies were overcast, but once we got up there I realized there was nothing to be worried about.

One of the coolest things about the tower is the Skydeck, which consists of several retractable glass decks that visitors are invited to stand on, so they can look down and make peace with their God.  

Andrea, a portrait of total confidence

The final thing we all did together that Saturday was drive out to the 'burbs for a professional soccer game. Jon is a big fan of the Kansas City team, and it just so happened they were playing the Chicago Fire during his visit. (Yes, our soccer team is named the Chicago Fire. Why name the team after a national tragedy, I don't know. You don't see the Amish naming a sport's team the Pennsylvania Schoolhouse Shooting, do you?) Anyway, what I don't know about soccer could fill a book. We sat in the section with all the other KC fans, and they seemed to keep getting excited or mad about things I didn't understand. Everyone was very energetic despite the drizzling rain. In fact, there was one KC fan there with a trombone who only seemed interested in playing music and leading the crowd in cheers. I legitimately think he only watched a few moments of the actual game.

One of the funnier things about the event is that while we were there, our friend Jesse tweeted a picture of he and his wife, Ruth, at the game. Cary Anne and I studied the picture then went on a hunt to find where they were sitting. They were right in the front row, so it wasn't too difficult to find and surprise them. Oh, the perks of social media...

In the end, Chicago defeated Kansas City, and thing started to turn ugly fast. There was a lot of shouting and cursing, and I quickly realized why there are so many soccer riots in Europe.

The next day, we had some pizza with Jon and Andrea before they got on the road back towards Kentucky. Overall, it was a great weekend and makes me hope some of our other friends will be able to visit us here in the Windy City this summer.

"I knew the years would move quickly, but never quite as fast as this." -DCFC

Somehow I convinced myself it hadn'tbeen that long since I lasted updated this blog. Apparently it's beentwo and a half weeks...which is quite a while in blog time. So whathaven't I talked about yet?

A few weeks ago, CCC Edgewatercelebrated it's first Easter service, and we did so by gathering onthe beach at the shore of Lake Michigan. It was a great time. Thoughthe weather had been pretty cold the previous week, it was quitepleasant that morning, and I was almost hot in my button-up andsweater. We all spread out on some white tarps that were nailed intothe ground, and for about an hour we sang and listened to Rich preachas sea gulls called to each other down by the water. Afterwards, weall walked back to Rich and Dori's apartment for brunch.

About a week later, “Blue Like Jazz”the movie hit theaters. BLJ the book is a set of spiritual memoirs byDonald Miller that has meant a lot to me. I was given a free copy bythe Christian Fellowship at my school during my first week of collegeat Pace University. The concept of spiritual memoirs had never evenentered my mind before, and reading the book is what made me switchmy major from Theatre to English. The next year, I became a leader atPace's Christian Fellowship, and I had a great time handing out thebook to everyone, telling them how it changed my life. We would ordermini versions in bulk and carried them around in big mesh laundrybags. People on the subway would give me weird looks, and I wouldoffer them a free copy. As you can imagine, I was excited to see thefilm. We went on a Monday night with our friend Lisa. When we firstwalked in, the theater was vacant but a handful of others filtered inbefore to movie started. Overall, I really enjoyed it. Despite thelow budget and the complexities involved in turning a set of essaysinto one continuous plot, the movie was an engaging and earnest lookat faith and, in a larger sense, becoming an adult. Go see it if youget the chance.

After the movie, we all went and ate atthe Ihop where our friend Josh recently got a job as a server. Lisahas been on a vegan kick lately, so when we were all talking aboutwhat we wanted, she said, “I can't eat anything with a face.” SoI said, “I guess you can't eat this, then,” pointing to the kidspancake in the menu that was topped with strawberries and whip creamin the shape of a face. I thought that was hilarious, but apparentlyno one else did.

The next night, Cary Anne and I wentwith a couple of friends from church to see Death Cab for Cutie playat the Chicago Theater downtown. I noticed that our concert-going ismoving in a circular pattern. When we were dating, we saw DashboardConfessional, Avett Brothers, Death Cab, City and Colour, and TheSwell Season. Now, since we've been married, we've seen Dashboard,Avett Bros, and Death Cab. Music has always been a big part of CA'sand my relationship, starting with when we used to trade mix CDs backwhen we were just friends. On this night, DCFC was playing with theMagik*Magik Orchestra, which was particularly amazing. The stringsbrought so much emotion to the music, adding a deeper sense of sorrowto songs like “What Sarah Said” and “Tiny Vessels” while, atthe same time, adding a greater sense of joy and beauty to works like“Soul Meets Body” and “Passenger Seat.” One of favorite partswas the fact that they played some of my favorites from their mucholder albums, like “No Joy in Mudville,” “Tiny Fury Bugs”(which includes a nice Chicago shout out), and “Army Corp ofArchitects.” Even the stripped-down, orchestra-less encore of“Steadier Footing” was great. All-in-all, it was easily one of myfavorite concerts I've ever been to, like discovering Death Cab forthe first time.

There's more to catch you up on, butthis post is already getting a little long, so I guess it will haveto wait until next time. Hopefully it won't be another half a month.

Celebrations (all of which involve food)

The great thing about moving to Chicago is that it has given Cary Anne and I a chance to pursue our dreams; the bad thing is that so much dream-pursuing has resulted in limited "quality time." Cary Anne has been working on shows for weeks on end, and when I'm not in improv class, I'm out trying to hit local open mics. Luckily, we have been able to squeeze a date into our busy schedules every now and then. A couple of weeks ago, I was able to see Cary Anne's show, "The Sea," and it was highly entertaining. I'm so proud of her for being a part of it. Afterwards, we walked down to a new burger joint of Belmont called Indie Burger, which combines great food and great music. The place had only been open for 3 days when we went, so everyone was extra nice and eager to please. It definitely has the potential to become a hipster hangout with all organic food and walls lined with concert posters. And since we discovered it so early on, we're like hipsters at the hipster place. Hipster Inception. However, we're not always so hip. Sometimes we just go to the Dunkin Donuts with a Baskin Robbins attached and eat with all the other fatties.

That same week end, we had a cook out at church. Three of our members were having a birthday during the following week, so after worship, we pulled out some tables and set up a feast. We probably should've started the cooking a little earlier because everyone had to wait and graze on pita chip while Zach cooked the meat (slowly) on a small grill by the parking lot, while Sam & I alternated holding the flashlight. Eventually, everyone got stuffed on burgers, brats, and chicken, and the board games came out. I passed rude, intimidating notes to the other teams during Cranium, and Cary Anne got way to into Apples to Apples. Later I created some racial tension. We started cutting and distributing the cake when Lisa came back with a slice and said, “Darius doesn't want his. He doesn't like chocolate.” Across the room I yelled, “Darius! How can you not like chocolate? You are chocolate!” He pretended to be made and flip a table. While I'm excited for our church to grow, right now I'm enjoying looking around the art gallery filled with 30 people, knowing I know everyone's name.

Then, on Monday, UK played Kansas in the NCAA Championship. I was hoping Cary Anne and I could  go to The Pony Inn for the game since it's the official UK alumni bar here in Chicago, but Cary Anne wasn't crazy about the idea since we went to the The Pony for 2 other tournament games and it was absurdly crowded. Luckily, our friend Josh called ahead. (Josh also moved to Chicago from Lexington. During the years I was working at Krispy Kreme, he was working only a few blocks away at the Movie Tavern.) The Pony informed Josh that there had been a line of UK fans waiting to get in since 4pm, and they were gonna stop allowing more people in over an hour before tip off. That successfully squashed that idea, so instead Cary Anne and I met up with Josh and his roommate, Courtney, at a surprisingly quiet bar in Wrigleyville. In the end, we all enjoyed watching Kentucky beat Kansas 67 to 59. Cary Anne kept rolling her eyes as I took to the streets yelling, "C-A-T-S! Cats, Cats, Cats!" No one joined in, and even the homeless people tried to avoid contact with me.

Minor Holidays

Life has been busy here in Chicago lately, and our diligence (aka- my diligence) in updating this blog has clearly fallen to the wayside. What have we been doing? Well, let me share...

About a week and a half ago was Pi Day. For those of you who passed Algebra 2 in high school by cheating off the nearest Asian kid, Pi is 3.14, so March 14th is reserved to celebrate all thing Pi. To be honest, I don't even like math. (You know how many math classes it takes to get an English degree? One. And not even a hard one. My midterm for the class was writing a paper about examples of math in "The Simpsons." Seriously.) Also, I really don't even know that much about pi. (It has something to do with circles, right?) I just use Pi Day as an excuse to eat lots of pie. (I'm like those jerks who think Christmas is about celebrating the birth of Santa Claus.) It all started back in 2007, when I literally went door-to-door unannounced to my friend's houses, offering them free pie. Over the past couple of years, the celebration has died down a bit, so this year I decided to invite some people to our apartment for pie. Around 8pm, our tiny studio was cramped with about 8 people, half of whom were sitting on the floor because we don't have any chairs. Though it was a little uncomfortable, people are willing to endure a little discomfort for free pie.

After that, on Friday, I went on a prayer walk with our church. One of the exciting things that will be happening soon here in Chicago is the development of our community garden. Apparently, last year CCC Edgewater joined up with some people already doing some community gardening here, but this year an additional abandoned lot is being converted to vegetable plots. So we spent some time walking around the lot and the surrounding neighborhood, asking for God's guidance and blessing. Then, like the good Chicagoans we are, we all went and ate lots of pizza.

Cary Anne has been super busy lately. The show she's been volunteering with recently opened, so her life has become consumed by her 9-to-5 job then a full evening of rehearsal/shows, which means she usually doesn't get home until after 11:30pm. The night before St. Patrick's Day, she walked in after midnight and found me on the phone. Our friend Alexandria from college had recently written me a one sentence message on Facebook that simply said, "I'm in Chicago." 

Who are you talking to?" CA asked.

"Listen to this. Al's in Wrigleyville!"

"What the [expletive]?!" Cary Anne yelled, throwing her keys to the floor.

That's how we ended up at a tiny Mexican joint in Wrigleyville, eating overpriced nachos at 1am. At first, we had tried a bar, but the revelry of St. Paddy's day was already in full swing and we could barely hear each other over the screams of half drunk girls singing slurred renditions of the Backstreet Boys song streaming from the PA. The reunion with Al was great since we hadn't seen her since Christmas, and even then our time was fleeting. She told us all about her recent Spring Break trip to Portland, and we told her about our life in Chicago. Then we wandered the streets, took pictures, and said things like, "I'm gonna tweet this shit."

The next day, I had another reunion. My friend Hannah, whom I've known since middle school but hadn't seen in over a year and a half, was in town for St. Patrick's Day. Earlier, she had texted me to ask if we could grab lunch. Of course I said yes, and I went a step further and invited our friend Dan along. Hannah and I know Dan because we were all involved in theater in high school, but Hannah hadn't seen Dan in probably 7 years. I had dinner with Dan when I came apartment shopping for CA and I back in October, but before then I hadn't seen him in probably 6 years (and hadn't seen him since). I made the mistake of saying we should meet at a diner in Wrigleyville because it was a good mid-point, not realizing a street lined with bars on St. Paddy's is a recipe for disaster. The streets were swarming with every type of person I had ever met and hated during my college years, and to make matters worse Hannah got confused and got off at the wrong train stop. However, once we all arrived in the same place, we had a good time catching up and reminiscing. Hopefully it won't be years before I see those guys again.

And hopefully it won't be too long before I update this blog again.
Wish me luck.

"Feel the Illinoise"

Big things have been happening in Chicago lately. Last weekend, the city turned a whopping 175 years old, after officially becoming a town all the way back in 1837. Then, Monday was Chicago's annual Casimir Pulaski Day, where on the first Monday of March the school system shuts down so all the kids can stay home and listen to that depressing Sufjan Stevens song. (Actually, Pulaski was a hero of the American Revolution. Shame on you, if you were unaware.) So how did Cary Anne and I celebrate these momentous occasions? We splurged on the more expensive ice cream at the store. Seriously.

Actually, things in our life have been fairly busy. First, my level one improv class at iO came to an end. For 8 weeks, I had the opportunity to bond with about 20 of the kindest, funniest people I've ever met. My 3 hours with them every Wednesday night was easily one of the best parts of my week, and I already miss getting up on stage and playing with them regularly. (Luckily, I succeeded in getting everyone to sing Vitamin C's "Graduation Song" during our last class. It really wasn't hard after 8 weeks of of being told "Support your partner(s)" and "Look for the pattern and join in." Seriously, just go into an improv class and start singing anything. If they're any good, they'll join in.) The class was a great growing experience, and I can't wait to get some more money saved to sign up for level 2. Cary Anne also recently finished the first play she was volunteering with as a stage hand and immediately threw herself into another production, this time as an assistant Stage Manager. Though the work consumes a lot of her evenings, she says it's worth it to be back in the theatre world. However, I know she's ready to take a breather once this show comes to a close. 

With Cary Anne working a full time job while helping to put up a show and with my sporadic work schedule while trying to pursue some comedic endeavors, it's not always easy for us to spend quality time together. Luckily, last week, we both had Friday night off so we decided to plan a date night. I found a small, cheap bowling alley not far from us called Timber Lanes. I didn't realize just how cozy it would be until we walked in: 8 lanes and no computer system. Every ball in the joint was inscribed with a name. I used a shiny red one called "Rat Boy," and Cary Anne used a blue ball named "Penny." For about an hour we played, continually hoping our Wii bowling training would somehow come in handy, but it didn't really. Without a computer system, we had no idea what our score was, so we just wrote down the numbers and resolved to Google it when we got home. In the end, I think we only played slightly worse than the group of elementary schoolers who were using the lane beside us. (Though, in our defense, they were relying on the bumpers pretty heavily.) Overall, it was a lot of fun, and it was so nice to find a simple, old-fashioned alley tucked away into the glitz and noise of the big city. Cary Anne and I have already told multiple other couples about it, and they're all demanding a double date sometime in the near future. Though I'm not sure they can compete with our sweet 120 average.