Oh But I Was So Much Older Then.........

This blog has to do with me turning 30.....yes----the big 3-0. Although, I can't say that I look 30, as just tonight I was asked for my ID in a local bar here in Atlanta. Thank God for small favors.

It would suffice to say that it began on the morning of September 27, 2007. Since my DOB is 09/27/77. I took a flight to Chicago, my favorite of the US cities, as I have never been out of the US.

I arrived around 5pm, an hour later than I was supposed to have arrived. Apparently, we were stuck on the runway for an hour. I slept through the whole trip, and I woke up just as we were landing in Chicago.

I have been to Chicago approximately 10-15 times since 2002, my first trip there. I love the city. I took the blue line L train to the hotel where Gigi had reservations. I spoke with Dad and my grandmother on the way to the hotel. I love the L train...not certain exactly why...always have for some reason or other.

So, I get to the hotel, and I wait for my friends Amy and Gigi, both of whom are well-known to the family. They arrived around 1.5 hours after I did. I just waited. Then we went to the room, and we walked to Gino's East, my favorite pizza place in the whole world. Pizzeria Uno is good, but still inferior.....someone has to be second.

After that, we drank quite a bit, and then we went out. I would have to say that the first night was one of the wildest. I was making out with some Girl named Amy (not flower pot Amy), and Gigi was dancing for a period of about 3-4 minutes in her bra. It was great fun. I think that my shirt was off for a few minutes as well. Amy has pictures somewhere. Most fun I have had since probably the flower pot incident itself (see prior blog). Gigi was rather drunk, and it took quite a bit of pushing her into the bed. Prior to pushing her into bed (or maybe during), she broke into her own special rendition of some song by Linkin Park. I can't recall where I slept. It was one of those vacations. Reminiscent of college.

So the next day, we went to Michigan Ave and had lunch. We bought a few things. We ate lunch at a place called Bandera, which was very good. We bought a few things at some of the stores along Michigan Ave. And then we waited for my brother and his friend, Katie to arrive.

I guess they arrived around 8pm on September 28. Was lots of fun. I took a liking to Katie...guess because I thought she was kind of out there....and she really didn't seem to give a fuck about much. This whole trip is kind of hazy. I think the night after my birthday, we finally settled on a Tequila bar. I don't care what people say about Tequila....I have been to jail for Tequila. Fuck. Everyone was fine except for my brother, Jesse. He seemed to be quite sick and vomited that night and the next day. Very similar to when I was in third grade and he would always puke after drinking orange juice. I have no idea....I felt fine. Anyhow....after the tequila extravaganza, we decided to ?wander into this bar that was rather crowded. I don't remember much. I remember that we had no idea what type of bar this was. I remember that the bar was huge. I remember there was a stage. I remember that there was dancing. I remember looking for Gigi...shocking. We somehow by the grace of God made it home...I don't recall the trip, and was apparently quite comatose after the trip.

I think that his was the night that Gigi got rather ornery. She got pissed off or something about her not sleeping in the bed. I was so gorked they could have pushed me onto the floor and let me sleep there, and I promise that I would not have minded. Amy really gave it to her in the hallway (just kidding), although, I was putting on my clothes and about to give it to her just like George Costanza and T-bone, after which they called him Koko, after the monkey. Thankfully, they came in about at that point.

I think at that time, we decided to go to breakfast at Ann Sather, one of my favorite places. As Miss Thompson would say, the cinnamon rolls were divine (fruit of da vine). I could not eat all of the omlet or the buiscits, but it was all really good, as I had remembered. Later that day, we kind of walked around Lincoln Park and Lakeview and found a T-shirt store called "Threadless", where Gigi wanted to go, and we bought some T-shirts. I also found one in a secondhand store.

By this time, we cabbed it back to the hotel, cleaned up, and then went back to my friend Brian's place. Great fun. Everyone seemed to have a good time. Always personally worried about worlds colliding. Didn't seem to happen. That night, I think that Jesse, Katie, Amy, and Gigi went to eat hot dogs. I am not into hot dogs. Myself, Brian, and some other friends of ours went to eat elsewhere. It was really good. I don't exactly know what the other guys did that night. I stayed with my friends from Chicago, and I ended up sleeping at Brian's. I took the L part of the way, and then used the sun for guidance back to the hotel. I feared that I would miss my flight. It was all ok, though. Gigi and I took a cab to the airport and made it right on time. I needed that vacation. I really did.

Thankfully, it will be a fond memory. Many stories can become of it. Hard to find a closing for this but.....I guess since it was in Chicago (God bless Marina City), it would be appropriate to quote a song from Wilco:

When you're back in your old neighborhood
The cigarettes taste so good
But you're so misunderstood
You're so misunderstood
There's something there that you can't find
Honest when you're tellin' a lie
You hurt her but you don't know why
You love her but you don't know why
Short on long term goals
There's a party there that we oughtta go to
Do you still love rock and roll?
Do you still love rock and roll?
It's only a quarter to three
Reflecting off your C.D.
You're looking at a picture of me
You're staring at a picture of me
Take the guitar player for a ride
He ain't never been satisfied
He thinks he owes some kind of debt
Be years before he gets over it
There's a fortune inside your head
All you touch turns to lead
You think you might just crawl back in bed
The fortune inside your head
You know you're just a mama's boy
Positively unemployed
So misunderstood
So misunderstood

"Misunderstood"
--Wilco

I love that song. Not sure why.

Over and out..........

Ian