My friend Laura and I have been trying to get together since I’ve been home. It had been established that we were really bad at making plans to see each other, but eventually everything worked out. Laura invited me into the city to see a show called Durango at the Silk Road Theatre Project.
I was a bit apprehensive about going into the city, but I tried to think of it like Japan. I mean, I was fine with navigating a country where I barely speak the language, navigating mine own city should be cake, desu ne? I checked out the Metra information online, checking schedules and fares and the like, and I called me Da about parking since he’s gone into the city on the train quite a bit in the recent week.
I gave myself a lot of time to get to Roselle Station, if anything ‘cuz I was really uncertain about the parking. It took me two tries to find the right lot, and even then I wasn’t sure if it was the right one. I had first gone into the commuter pass lot, and even though I’d been told it’s free on weekend, I decided to play it safe. I followed the street around to another little side street and eventually found a sign indicating “Park and Ride”. In my head, this meant that it must be for the trains, so I parked in that lot. When Grant was describing the pay-by-day method, he said something about a space number that you type in to the parking machine. I didn’t see any number around the space I parked in, but I did see one on the handicapped space right in front of me. I memorized the number just in case — maybe it was meant to be a row number or some such.
I walked across the tracks to the platform and remembered why I disliked going places by myself: I hate people. I don’t know what it is about Americans, but whenever I’m around them they make me nervous. It’s crazy, this I know, but it’s just what happens.
I came up on the side of the platform with the least amount of people and I was content to stay thereabouts, but then I remembered I hadn’t paid the parking fee so I walked through the people to locate the parking machine thingy that Grant had told me about. I didn’t actually pay anything to start out with ‘cuz I didn’t have a parking space number, not officially at least. Instead, I found a seat shaded by the depot building and waited. I didn’t take out Kaylee, even though that’s what I would have done if I was Osaka, nor my book. I just sat there, feeling stupid. (You know, ‘cuz I’m insane.)
Not too long after I sat down, another commuter came about to stare at the parking-fee machine. He ran back to his car to see if there was a number, but came up with nothing. He started to take out some money, but a person on the bench told him he didn’t have to pay on weekends. That information was also helpful for me, and I didn’t even have to bother talking to anyone.
I got to the station ridiculously early, so I eventually took out my book to read. Whilst I was reading, a fellow who was sitting on the bench got my attention. “How do you spell ‘please’?”
I was a bit fuzzled by the question, but started spelling it out for him. He had a smile on his face, and he kind of reminded me of one of the regulars at Denny’s. I wondered vaguely if he was gonna talk to me a bit more, but he seemed happy enough to write in his notebook. Still kinda wonky, though.
The parking thing happened again, eventually. Two other couples came up to pay the machine, one of the women said it’s better to be safe than sorry and said that parking tickets in Roselle were something like $20. She said that where the other guy parked should be okay, if anything ‘cuz it was a holiday weekend. The other guy ended up making up a number and then paying, keeping the receipt just in case. I did the same.
It felt like the train was taking forever, when in reality, it was right on time. I guess that’s what I get for being ridiculously early.
I followed the crowd onto the train, not for the first time comparing the train systems of Japan with that of America. Another reason I hate traveling alone is finding a seat. I was content to stand, I mean I’ve stood for an hour on a train before, but it didn’t look like that’s how it works on Metra. Eventually, a nice blond girl played Tetris with a bunch of stuff, opening up three seats. I found the whole seating thing weird; in Japan, I wouldn’t have thought twice about sitting with a stranger…and here I was in mine own country completely uneasy. I think it’s ‘cuz we get conditioned to never trust people and I was incredibly spoiled by Japan and it’s “very safety”.
I read more in my book for the most part. The train ride wasn’t overly long; I was highly amused when we passed a stop called “Mars”.
Perhaps the best part about the train ride was when the conductor came through our carriage and didn’t even bother asking people for tickets or taking any money. I’d had my money ready, and I noticed that the gentleman across the aisle had his ready too, and the conductor completely passed us up.
Wahoo! Free ride!
Once I was off the train and in the station, I relaxed more. I could follow signs. I went to find the Adams Street Exit, but not without grabbing a train schedule first. (I’d checked a whole bunch of times to Chicago, but forgot about checking return times.)
I wandered my way up the stairs and eventually spotted Laura. Even though it’s been over two years (almost three!) since we last saw each other, there was no hugging involved. I couldn’t tell you if that was more my notion or hers, although I think ’twas more mine, it was still five-by-five. Instead, my greeting was some disgruntled muttering about how I hate people and how America freaks me out now.
Just like old times…well, with the exception of how America freaks me out now.
I pretty much followed Laura blindly thereafter. As I walked with Laura this way and that down and across various streets, I remarked that I would never be able to navigate Chicago. She slowed the pace slightly to point out a bit of sky. “See where the buildings just kind of end? That’s Lake Michigan. That’s east. Generally if you can find that you can get your bearings.”
While we were walking, I also couldn’t help but think about what my brother said to me when I first got back from Japan. I’d been lamenting about how I wanted to ride a bike around the suburbs and he told me that I’d probably be more suited for an urban area than a suburban one. Id’ be able to walk more and use the public transportation and ride a bicycle…but all that has to wait until after I find out about whether or not England becomes a reality.
I told Laura about my misadventures in Japan and she filled me in on the lives of some of our mutual friends. It was a pretty short catch-up, though ‘cuz it didn’t take us all that long to get to our destination.
I was a bit surprised when we ended up at a Methodist Church (Chicago Temple Building). The vestibule had elevators in it. I don’t know that I’ve ever been to a church that had elevators like an office building before.
There was an usher by the elevators directing people where to go. It appeared that Laura knew her way around though so we just took the stairs to the basement. Once we were downstairs, it started to look more like a theatre-type place. There were a few posters on the walls and a sign for the box office. Laura pointed out some previous productions that she liked, and she said hello to one of the workers who was trying to fit chairs into an elevator.
Our tickets were comped ‘cuz of Laura’s job. She’d forgotten the something or another that she needed to claim them, but the person in the box office seemed to know who she was. It appeared that we arrived with more than enough time to spare, so we took seats in the lobby for a bit. Eventually, the person who had been trying to fit the chairs into the elevator returned and Laura introduced me to the stage manager. I was a bit discombobulated by the lack of black, but then again, when the SM actually gets to call the show from a booth (and the fact that it was a matinee) I guess it only makes sense to be comfortable.
Laura joked about how we should make sure to wait around until one minute after curtain and then wander into the house. I said it would be better if we did so at two minutes instead. The SM (whose name I completely forgot, and for some reason don’t think it’s the same one as in the program) said that was fine but we’d miss her favorite part of the show.
“I’ll be sure not to be reading my program then,” Laura declared.
The SM also informed us that “in true road trip fashion, there would be no intermission.” The run-time was gonna be something a little over an hour so like a car ride we would just have to hold it ’til we got there. “When we did the read, there didn’t seem to be an appropriate place.”
I kinda wandered off when the SM and Laura talked a bit of shop. I looked at the cast poster and some of the other things that were out on display. Eventually, it was time to go into the house.
It was a small venue, a bit bigger than the 305 black box in Centennial. Laura and I got seats in the very last row center, which appeared to be a pretty good view. The pre-set was lit softly and they had an arrangement of Johnny Cash and other “road trip” type music playing as people filtered into the house.
It didn’t seem like there was a whole lot of people to attend the matinee, but from where I was sitting it seemed like a decent house. I leafed through the program, but for whatever reason didn’t really read much of it. I took note of the sparse pre-set and the plain walls and wondered about it vaguely. I chatted with Laura a bit, she asked me if I would be hungry after the show and if I had time to stick around for dinner. I told her that I was in and ‘cuz heaven forbid any of my friends and I ever come to a decision when it comes to food, I started thinking about food even though it would be just about two hours before we would actually eat.
When the ushers started taking seats in the house, the lights started to dim. I couldn’t help but notice this one chick who suddenly decided to get up and leave the house as the house manager was starting to close the curtain separating the theatre and the hallway. The pre-show announcement was made over the sound system and I couldn’t help but smile when part of the announcement included “and please unwrap any candy you may have brought with you” instead of “no food or drink in the theatre” like the ones we had to make at the CPA.
When the lights cut out all together (and the chick still hadn’t come back yet), the sound of a flickering neon light was heard. Then a neon light of a diving woman lit up upstage left and an acoustic guitar player began strumming. The backlights came up and the back wall of the set was actually a scrim. One of the character was sitting on a stool singing about a diver. He sounded pretty good.
When the song was done, the light faded and the neon sign was turned off. (And the chick who left finally returned. I wondered if she was really just an audience member or if she was meant to do something for the show.)
You can read about the synopsis of the play on the link above, but personally, I thought the summary was a little misleading. In true family fashion, there’s the golden child and the screw-up — the description would have you believe that both sons are fantastic when that was not the case. I was a bit thrown off by that when the sons were introduced.
I really liked what they did with the tech. As mentioned earlier, the show had a road trip involved. The use of wheeled-chairs was quite effective and cleverly done. I found it particularly amusing when Jimmy, the younger son, while seated, twirled in his chair to his next mark during one of the scene shifts. I don’t know why, but I thought it was incredibly appropriate. I liked the use of the scrim and how simple yet versatile the set was.
There were some fantastic moments throughout the show, but overall, there were things that were lacking for me. I think it had to do with the story mostly; at the time I was kinda disappointed that none of the stories seemed to resolve. Then after thinking about it a little, I wondered if the show was trying to achieve that typical Asian formula that totally lacks a happy ending.
It didn’t suck, but it wasn’t fantabulous for me. I was still glad to have attended, though. I’ve missed theatre quite a bit.
When the house lights returned, I filled out my little survey. I was incredibly thrown by the ethnicity question. Instead of Asian-Pacific Islander that I usually see, there were two choices: Asian-East and Asian-Southeast. I was unsure of which one I was supposed to check ‘cuz I’d never seen that before. I ended up picking Asian-Southeast, figuring that the Philippines is in the south and China is in the east.
Laura and I waited around by the box office for a bit; she had hopes of catching another one of her friends who was working crew. After about fifteen minutes, it was decided that her greeting would just be conveyed by the SM and we took our leave.
“So did you think about dinner?”
I was all kinds of proud of myself ‘cuz I had. “I was thinking about Friday’s or Panera.” I know, sounds like random choices, but Laura and I (and pretty much every other friend of mine from ISU) used to go to Friday’s a lot, and at Panera I recently decided that I really like their Chicken Caesar Salad sandwich.
“Okay. We can do either of those.”
Yeah. None of my friends (nor I) ever seem to make a decision about food.
I think both restaurants were a bit far from our present location or some such ‘cuz Laura pointed out some other eateries as well. She mentioned a place called Rock Bottom and the fact that they made awesome burgers. That totally had me sold and I’d never been there before so it all worked out rather well.
Somewhere between the theatre and our destination, we got sidetracked by the weather and the fact that I rarely visit Chicago. Laura asked me if I’d ever been to Millenium Park. When I told her I hadn’t, it was decided that we should totally make a trip.
Not for the first time did I miss living in a city.
When we got to the park, I was happy to notice that I recognized the area. Laura took me up to see the concert hall, and “the bean”, which is formally called the “Cloud Gate”. It was supposed to be extra shiny ‘cuz it reflected the Chicago skyline and the like. There were bunches of folk taking pictures thereabouts. I also got to see the faces on the water fountain, one of them spit water.
I decided that I wanted to come to the city more often ‘cuz I’ve lived near Chicago all my life and have no idea what’s thereabouts. Laura seemed happy by this decision and said the next time I come into the city, we could wander about more, maybe catch an indie film or something.
We set off for the restaurant after the park. It was across the river from where we were and a bit farther than Bennigan’s, which also came up as a possible eating place. I really didn’t mind the walk, though. I was gonna go to a place I’d never been to before, so it was all five-by-five to me.
The place was under construction, so finding the entrance was a bit interesting. There was this bit where we had to walk in the street with the traffic, but lucky for us, there weren’t a bajillion cars or anything.
It was gonna be something like a fifteen minute wait for a table, or we could try our luck at the bar. The bar looked kinda crowded for my liking, so I totally opted for the wait. It didn’t seem too bad. I got to persuade Laura to give A Song of Ice and Fire another chance, and she recommended two books to me that I might enjoy.
No lie, it felt a little longer than fifteen minutes, but I wasn’t especially bothered. It was kinda amusing ‘cuz the restaurant area didn’t seem overly crowded when we were shown to our booth. A mass exodus must have occurred or something.
They had Pepsi as their soft drink so I was pretty damn happy about that. I ordered a burger ‘cuz it’s dead animal and I like dead animal. Laura said the next time I come visit, we’d go for sushi so her boyfriend Adam would have a kindred spirit to enjoy raw fish with; we’d invite another friends of ours along so Laura would have someone to enjoy not-raw fish with. She knew of four cool places for decent sushi, and Adam’s favorite place was like Akemi-Ya, the sushi place we used to go to down at school. I voted to try that place.
It was a pretty nice meal; I was kind of wishing I drank beer ‘cuz they had so many different colored ones. One of the tables near ours had this beer sampler thing. It looked pretty interesting.
Since this was the first time I’ve seen Laura since I’ve been back, and I didn’t see myself as winning the argument, she paid. So far, I hadn’t spent a dime on this trip. (I don’t count the parking thing ‘cuz I had used a bunch of quarters that were already in the car.)
Unfortunately for us, it was time to go. I had a train to catch. Laura had tried to get a hold of Adam but he wasn’t answering his cell. “If I knew what time Adam was supposed to get home from work, I would drive you back to Schaumburg.”
“No worries. I’ve kinda missed taking the train.” Which is true…except I think I like the trains in Japan a little bit more.
We had to take a cab back to Union Station since Laura wasn’t sure if we would be able to walk the distance in time. The cab ride totaled about five dollars, and since I had cash, I finally got to pay for something. I also spent $4.30 for my Metra ticket. And that was really all I’d spent all day.
Laura and I parted ways not long after I got my train ticket. We made plans to try and meet up again soon. Even though there isn’t a whole lot to be done out in my neck of the woods, she said that maybe next time she’ll come out to Schaumburg. I suggested maybe getting Scott to come up as well and maybe we’d all go to Friday’s like old times.
The train ride home was uneventful. I was glad to have Kaylee since the carriage I happened to choose also had a passel of screaming children.
I got back to Roselle Station at about 9:30 and was happy to see that I did not have a parking ticket. I was a bit worried about that. Then, I was off to the Holtzman’s to meet up with everyone else.
‘Twas a day well spent in Chicago! 