Chicago: Beef, Love and Understanding

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The Miseducation of Laurel! Hi!

― Eazy, Saturday, 3 March 2007 09:12 (seventeen years ago) link

Nothing even slightly interesting like that. Saw friends' band, theyb were great even thoguh they didn't cover Eno, I was going to hit one someone near the end of the night & we chatted but another girl mosied up and said "I think I love you -- what's your name again?" and I was like "ooohh boy, I'm staying out of this one" and that was wise. Home now, making tea. Your meathead club sounds like fun!

― Laurel, Saturday, 3 March 2007 09:13 (seventeen years ago) link

There were a lot of young Asian men there tonight.

An unrelated observation involving race: young African-American men favor wearing their baseball cap bills straight across* (as opposed to the other extreme, the frat boy tube-shaped bill). Tonight I saw a couple guys on the train wearing their hats like this, but with the hologram Major League Baseball stickers still on the underside, and some other sticker still on the top of the bill.

Other observation related to this: the wearing of Timberlands with the little tag, made of leather, embossed with "100% Genuine Leather" still dangling from the laces, plus guys wearing suit jackets with the little name brand tag still stitched onto the sleeve!!! This is beyond awful, and I hope it's not a trend, but I've seen it twice in Chicago.

My analysis is that these are people who grew up poor and/or still are, so they like to make the very most of having something brand new, and like to keep it in the same condition that it was when they saw it in the store.

Perhaps this is why Minnie Pearl wore the price tag on her hat? Hmmm.

*No, Jenny, I didn't make this up on my own. I learned this from my former roommate (for 1 month) who was a black guy (and likely still is) who worked at Lids (hat store), and his boss, my other former roommate. After they told me this, I noticed that this was the trend.

― Jesse, Saturday, 3 March 2007 09:15 (seventeen years ago) link

The dude is wierd about credit, and has no cards (though, neither do I, after 2005 aka the Year of Debt). He won't travel without at least $300 cash in his pocket.

Believe you me, the sober boy who was driving (who apparently was to be the bottom) tried very hard to convince him to throw caution to the wind, but he said no.

There's a small chance he'll call in the morning saying they're leaving and asking if I'm still up for it, but I'll probably be sober enough at that point to remember I have school and a job.

― en i see kay, Saturday, 3 March 2007 09:16 (seventeen years ago) link

Jesse, I think people dont' realize that they're supposed to take the tags OFF! At least as far as the sleeve tags on suits adn dress coats are concerned. Ditto the women with their coat vents still tacked closed AND the Coach purses etc with hang-tags still attached. It is just sad.

Trying not to go to bed until this pint of tea is drunk and I am slightly more sober.

― Laurel, Saturday, 3 March 2007 09:18 (seventeen years ago) link

Oooh, I also almost hit on someone, the guitarist from the opening band. She had a very, very pretty Danelectro, and I was going to drop luthier science on her. But then the dancing came, and I got a cramp. Which I danced through.

― en i see kay, Saturday, 3 March 2007 09:19 (seventeen years ago) link

TEA.

― en i see kay, Saturday, 3 March 2007 09:19 (seventeen years ago) link

Bonus of tube-shaped hat bill: you can fold it in half and stick the bill in yr back jeans pocket if necessary. When you get it good and broken in, that is.

― Laurel, Saturday, 3 March 2007 09:20 (seventeen years ago) link

Was it the 6' tall blonde you were going to hit on? Gina B. of the B.s?

The deal at the club really made the difference. I'm guessing none of us had $60 worth of fun ($20 cover + coat check + $8-$10 drinks), but no cover and well drinks made it work out fine.

Very smart marketing on the club's part: they let the line go down the street until there were enough people to fill the downstairs lounge, and then they let the downstairs lounge fill up before opening up the main dance area.

I think we were basically paid extras there tonight, so that when the bottle-buying crowd showed up at 10:30, it was clear that the party was already hoppin and that the burden would not be on them to get the party started.

― Eazy, Saturday, 3 March 2007 09:25 (seventeen years ago) link

OH! That's the other thing I was going to speculate on-- I wonder if the tube bill didn't come from the emulating boyish, masculine look of having stuffed your cap into your back pocket. That and the fact that it fits with the whole distressed (Aberzombie) aesthetic.

Laurel, have you seen people with the little brand tags still attached? It's one thing to forget to take out the stitch in the vent, but to leave that tag on....

― Jesse, Saturday, 3 March 2007 09:28 (seventeen years ago) link

Yes, Jesse, I have. And I've seen it on enough, and varied enough kinds of people, that I'm convinced it's an oversight in at least a fair number of cases. Dunno abt Chicago, tho.

― Laurel, Saturday, 3 March 2007 09:31 (seventeen years ago) link

Also, forgetting to untack your straight skirt vent? That's jsut dumb. How are you even walking??

― Laurel, Saturday, 3 March 2007 09:32 (seventeen years ago) link

I'm most surprised at the ones who wear the suit jackets with the label still on the wrist, though it makes logical sense to keep it on if you want to show off the brand.

Bent caps: nostalgia + distress makes a lot of sense.

― Eazy, Saturday, 3 March 2007 09:35 (seventeen years ago) link

One of the bussers at work (a gangero type--sort of a Latino Eminem) had his Timberlands tag still attached to his boots. I asked him about it, and he said (in a friendly way) "Fuck you, check it out--fucking Tims, motherfucker!" Which I think is pretty much sums up what a lot of people are trying to convey when they leave their tags on. Fuck you, check it out--Joseph Abboud, motherfucker!

― Jesse, Saturday, 3 March 2007 09:37 (seventeen years ago) link

Yes, it's embarrassing for them. But now my tea is gone and I am for bed. Lates, Chicago.

― Laurel, Saturday, 3 March 2007 09:38 (seventeen years ago) link

It wasn't the amazon blonde, she played double bass. She was ~~cute~~intimidatingly gorgeous, but I'm the sort that almost always goes for the shorter brunette who's playing the dano.

― en i see kay, Saturday, 3 March 2007 09:38 (seventeen years ago) link

Good night folks. We'll speculate on clothing and culture in the morning.

― Jesse, Saturday, 3 March 2007 09:39 (seventeen years ago) link

G'night, Jesse. I'm actually wearing a Joseph Abbout bathrobe right now (bought at steep Filene's discount, of course).

― Eazy, Saturday, 3 March 2007 09:43 (seventeen years ago) link

I must be so used to typing 'about' that I spelled the guy's name wrong.

― Eazy, Saturday, 3 March 2007 09:43 (seventeen years ago) link

Goddamnit. I missed something, didn't I? Oh well, I got pictures. Funny how it was too nasty to go outside until I got bored around 11. I wish I was on NYC time -- I wouldn't leave the house until 11 anyway.

No, the light in the tunnel is not manipulated by me. Just the fluorescents in the tunnel vs. the mercury vapors in the park. Also, I have a very pretty black skyscraper at the end of my street!

I hate waking up in time for work on a Saturday. Forecast calls for cloudy skies and heavy napping.

― kenan, Saturday, 3 March 2007 13:36 (seventeen years ago) link

And now I am posting at 7:30 a.m. Taking over the morning shift. There was some loud thump noise that woke me up and then I couldn't go back to sleep.

I didn't really feel much attitude from the Soundbar staff, like Jesse said they just seemed really efficient at moving people around but not in a rude way. The only dicks were the other patrons. I thought it was interesting after we talked about dress codes being racist that there were a fair number of black dudes there in total violation of the dress code, wearing caps, baggy clothes and sneakers. I had fun but I had the thing where instead of drinking making me drunk, it just made me sleepy. So then when it started to get really packed and loud, I got irritable and claustrophobic instead of all YEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAHHHH WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! I hope I didn't seem like too much of a wet blanket. We went to a fancy McDonald's with Jesse.

― n/a, Saturday, 3 March 2007 13:43 (seventeen years ago) link

Hi kenan.

― n/a, Saturday, 3 March 2007 13:43 (seventeen years ago) link

Does anyone else see what I see in that picture of the tunnel? Icicles in the middle of the tunnel = Lask Shore Drive will collapse at any minute!

Still not as bad as the Argyle Street el stop. Some of you know what I mean. That thing is a damn shame. It's literally falling apart. Chunks of wall falling out every day, water dripping everywhere -- it's not an el stop, it's a cave from Goonies.

― kenan, Saturday, 3 March 2007 13:45 (seventeen years ago) link

hi nick!

― kenan, Saturday, 3 March 2007 13:46 (seventeen years ago) link

Feel better jaymc. Don't puke. Puking is like drugs: FOR LOSERS.

― kenan, Saturday, 3 March 2007 13:56 (seventeen years ago) link

There was some loud thump noise that woke me up and then I couldn't go back to sleep.

That was your neighbor. He decided that instead of jerking off this morning, he would hurl himself out the window to his death. "I can't take it anymore! This meaningless existence of no girlfriend and scheduled masturbation!"

― kenan, Saturday, 3 March 2007 14:00 (seventeen years ago) link

Ha ha. Sarah just drunkenly tried to make me come back to bed and go to sleep.

― n/a, Saturday, 3 March 2007 14:01 (seventeen years ago) link

Aw. You should go snuggle at least.

― kenan, Saturday, 3 March 2007 14:02 (seventeen years ago) link

I did for a little while but I know I'm not going to fall back asleep. I'm going to watch a movie now I think.

― n/a, Saturday, 3 March 2007 14:04 (seventeen years ago) link

That's a fine idea, actually. I have movies that I've purchased and seen before, but never actually watched my own copy of. Have you seen Millions? Cuet!

― kenan, Saturday, 3 March 2007 14:07 (seventeen years ago) link

It's the Blockbuster used movie deals that get me. Like 3 for $20. So I go, ooh, I LOOOOVE this movie, and... uh... I remember liking this one a lot... and this one will do.

― kenan, Saturday, 3 March 2007 14:09 (seventeen years ago) link

Dobbs is all up ons this morning. Can't get enough of my love. Can't get me outta her head. The first thing I do when she gets like this is check that she's not hungry or thirsty. But no. All she wants is me.

― kenan, Saturday, 3 March 2007 14:43 (seventeen years ago) link

Ok, now i'm just music listenin. Hard drugs are for bartenders.

― kenan, Saturday, 3 March 2007 15:28 (seventeen years ago) link

I watched the special features on the Playtime DVD.

― n/a, Saturday, 3 March 2007 15:31 (seventeen years ago) link

We went to a fancy McDonald's with Jesse.

I'm cringing a little, because this is a sore point right now with Jenny, Jeff, and to a lesser extent, Courtney. I seem to have a terrible knack for hauling people out to fancy/expensive places when all we wanted was a quick drink and/or snack. This even seems to be the case with McDonalds. Fortunately, the prices were not in line with its fanciness.

― Jesse, Saturday, 3 March 2007 15:35 (seventeen years ago) link

OOOH!! You know what my very favorite thing about Soundbar is? Guess. Just guess.

Also, the McD's was the one at the Chicago Red Line stop. It was so elegant that it had a little section with wingback chairs in front of a marble topped table.

― Jesse, Saturday, 3 March 2007 15:37 (seventeen years ago) link

I watched the special features on the Playtime DVD.

Niiice. Another thing I could have loaned out.

Jesse, you are a SCOURGE.

― kenan, Saturday, 3 March 2007 15:39 (seventeen years ago) link

OOOH!! You know what my very favorite thing about Soundbar is? Guess. Just guess.

My guess is that you want to fuck the servers.

― kenan, Saturday, 3 March 2007 15:44 (seventeen years ago) link

My Favorite Thing About Soundbar

by Jesse

OK, so my favorite thing about that place was that at there were windows into both the men's and women's bathrooms. The bathrooms are on each side of one of the downstairs bars, and the wall that the bar and bathroom share has a smallish window in it, through which you can see the urinals on one side (right next to the window, from about chest level, up) and the doors to the stalls on the other side. It's bizarre, and I wonder if it's in some part a security measure.

― Jesse, Saturday, 3 March 2007 15:46 (seventeen years ago) link

Does anyone else see what I see in that picture of the tunnel? Icicles in the middle of the tunnel = Lask Shore Drive will collapse at any minute!

OMG!

Or maybe the engineers had the forethought to build expansion joints.

― Jesse, Saturday, 3 March 2007 15:48 (seventeen years ago) link

I wasn't being serious.

― kenan, Saturday, 3 March 2007 15:50 (seventeen years ago) link

But you KNOW what I'm talking about with Argyle station.

― kenan, Saturday, 3 March 2007 15:51 (seventeen years ago) link

No, the Argyle station was designed with the aesthetic concept of katachi in mind, an aesthetic that joins polar opposite like inside/outside, shelter/gross dripping in your Diet Coke, and high voltage radiant heaters/constant stream of liquid.

― Jesse, Saturday, 3 March 2007 15:58 (seventeen years ago) link

If I have my mom in from out of town, that kind of decrepitness is embarrassing enough, because she's like, "Oh wow, so THIS is what public transit is like." Because she doesn't know public transit from a hole in the ground. But it's even worse when I'm with someone who lives in NY or SF, and knows what public transit SHOULD be like. And I have to be all, like, "But it's still a cool town! Really!"

― kenan, Saturday, 3 March 2007 15:59 (seventeen years ago) link

xpost HA!

― kenan, Saturday, 3 March 2007 16:00 (seventeen years ago) link

I didn't think the Sound Bar staff was being rude or nasty, I just hate when people boss me around, and I hate feeling herded like cattle. When the one dude was like "Ahem, bathroom's over there!" I was like, "Hey, buddy, calm down. I'm just looking around." This is the kind of thing I get into arguments with security guards about. A couple years ago I was at the DMV with my mom, and I was waiting for her near the door while she went to the bathroom. Security guard said, "You can't stand there. Get in line or leave." I said, "Oh, I'm just waiting for my mom. It'll just be a minute." He said, "Then wait outside." I said, "It'll only be a minute." He said, "I don't care, rules are you have to wait outside." I said, "But why? Is there a particular reason why I can't stand here? Am I in the way of something?" This usually ends with me doing what I'm told but shaking my head and laughing like Jack on L O S T and loudly muttering as I walk away, "Okay, but there's really no point to this."

― jaymc, Saturday, 3 March 2007 16:14 (seventeen years ago) link

Also I have the worst hangover I've had in a couple years, but I can't get back to sleep. :(

― jaymc, Saturday, 3 March 2007 16:15 (seventeen years ago) link

This is the kind of thing I get into arguments with security guards about.

You get into arguments with security guards? Come on, you can't be that dumb.

― kenan, Saturday, 3 March 2007 16:19 (seventeen years ago) link

Srsly, John, these people are being told what to tell you to do, and sometimes you have to do what you're told. "There's no point in this" is not the point. You're not exactly going to shake up society by being an obstinate ass about everything.

― kenan, Saturday, 3 March 2007 16:21 (seventeen years ago) link

HOw late did you stay out? I didn't really even get a buzz, and I left around 11:30.

― Jesse, Saturday, 3 March 2007 16:22 (seventeen years ago) link

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