Pirate Balls

Pop Quiz:
Today I did ______ to prepare for the trip.

a. so much I could cry

b. 20 jumping jacks, 10 sit ups, and ran 2 miles

c. nothing

d. more packing and sorting

And the answer is: "c. nothing"

ugh.

However, silver lining, stuff was done for me. I received an email confirming sleeping arrangements to Seattle! yay!!!

So what then did I do with a free Sunday if I wasn't packing? excellent question.

sleeping!

Well, sadly that's more true than false. I was supposed to meet my fake sister (what you don't have a fake sister? I thought everyone had a....Mooooom...not everyone has a fake sister! why are we always the weird family? oh well, such is life.), Kelly, downtown when her train came in at 1:45pm. I woke up, eyeglass-less, seeing this: "11:5588" and yelling this: "crap, crap, crap...please say 11, please say 11!" um. no. Upon retrieving my glasses, it definitely read "1:58"! ack!

How did I sleep that late? Don't answer that. For most of you, the thought of me sleeping that late is not in the least shocking. However, absolutely honestly, I have not slept that late since moving to Chicago! or not least 2 months.

Anyway, after a quick plan change, I drove downtown, picked her up, and drove off to place in Chicago she had never been: Devon. For those of you who don't know, Devon Ave is a wonderfully ethnically diverse street in Chicago. It is mainly known though as "Little India." You step out of your car and into another country. The air smells different, the language on the signs is different, people look and dress differently...it's wonderful.

Within minutes of being there I learn that Kelly has never eaten Indian food (or Thai or Sushi or or or....!). Fast forwarding the story a bit, we end up eating at Chopal. I could not asked for a better place to introduce her to Chicken Biriyani, Dal, and Naan. Sure, the heat level was slightly above the 3 that I had warned her it would be, but the service was fantastic. I had told the server that we were just stopping in for a snack so we weren't getting much and we'd share. In true Desi fashion, they didn't listen as they loaded us up with free stuff: soup, white rice and salad, dessert, and tea. :) (I just tried to post a picture. someone please tell me how to put a picture here where I want it and not on top of the entire post! thanks)

After a couple of hours in Devon, we were ready to move on. On the way back to my house, we passed an antique shop that I've always wanted to visit. Kelly pointed that I'm running out of time to visit everything I've always wanted to see. So I took a hard turn and parked. The antique shop was everything an antique should be. It was wonderfully cramped with random objects ranging from children's books to working 1940s radios to a table made of deer legs and hooves (I "eeked" and ran away!). The absolute best thing of all was the chest filled with authentic pirate cannonballs from the Caribbean! The guys told me to pick one up. They were SO heavy! For only $125 each, they can be yours.

We left the store empty handed, dropped off my car at my house, and took the train downtown. The next destination was Buckingham Fountain. Thankfully we made it in time for the lights and music. simply beautiful. (I have pictures that I'd post if someone would tell me how...)

Then we walked through Grant Park, down Michigan Ave, past Crown Fountain, through Millennium Park, and took very dark, grainy pictures of Cloud Gate (the bean). How many more times will I be able to do that? Next I bought a homeless man a footlong at Subway and Kelly gave him the Gospel of John. We moved on to Daley Plaza and chatted there for a bit before heading to Union Station.

At Union Station, I finally did the "English Pirate" that she'd been begging for all day. haha. Who could blame her? It is "International Talk Like A Pirate Day" after all! Who knew English pirates were so pleasant? "Would you like a scone and some grog?" "'cuse me, but you mind if I take yer booty?" "Avast! I be in this queue, ye bilge rat!" well, mostly polite.

After she boarded her train, I walked to the Quincy station, stopping only to talk to a random girl about if I liked her vest or it made her look like a brick house at which I started singing "Brickhouse" to her and her friends, all strangers, and then I took the Brown Line home.

aw life. How many days like this will I have left with you, dear Chicago? Today was my last Sunday. how strange. how strange indeed.

the nomad