Stranger in My Own Town

I have been having one of the most fun weekends in recent memory. And I've loved every minute of it. (Well, except for the minute where I cried in front of my boss... but we'll get to that.)

On Thursday, I officially watched Sister Terry for the first time in a performance as opposed to a rehearsal. And, I have to say, it was beyond bizarre. First off, when you're watching a character, you don't go out during the pre-show, and I was rather sad about it. It's so fun being able to interact with the audience in character. I didn't realize I'd become that attached to the opportunity, but I have.

Then I got to sit in on the ceremony, which is a part of the show that I haven't seen since I attended a performance before being hired. It was neat to see that again. I'd forgotten a lot of what happens during it.

The strangest part was the reception. I've become accustomed to performing certain tasks during every performance. I usually take certain things upon myself, like standing guard to prevent audience members from getting in the way of a chase sequence, or pre-setting certain props. But when you're in training for a character, you sit at a table at the back of the room and observe. You're not supposed to lift a finger. And the first time you watch, you're not even supposed to take notes. You just have to keep your eyes glued to the character you're watching (even at the times when they're just ad-libbing). I kept wanting to assist my fellow Black Staffers, but had to supress the urges. What a strange thing that is, the desire to work when you don't have to.

Friday night, I had arranged for two of my favorite people to come see the show: my college buddy Renee and my dotcomrade-turned-friend Jenn.

Before the show, there was a complication with reserving their tickets. This led to me having an irrational emotional breakdown in front of the stage manager, the director, and the director's mother who runs things. So basically, my three bosses (or the three people who have the ability to fire me). Yeah. Not the most professional thing. It was horribly embarrassing. Especially when the director's mother loudly asked if I was on my period (for the record, NO... I was just a little sleep-deprived).

I played my Hot Cocoa character (although I grabbed the wrong name tag, so they thought I was just a really ghetto Carmella or something). And my buddy Dan (perhaps my favorite person in the cast to play off of) was playing Vito. Usually, Vito and Hot Cocoa have a pretty volatile relationship, as we've decided that they're exes. But on Friday, they were both pretty into each other. I can't tell you how many times I got felt up on Friday night. Or how many times I turned my head and noticed that Vito was standing behind me checking out my rear. Or how many times I was being grabbed without warning. And at one point, we were talking with our faces so close to each other that I actually got lip gloss on him (on his mouth, I think... awkward. Does that count as a kiss? SUPER awkward.)

As soon as the show ended, Renee, Jenn, and I went off to the sensabulously amazical (yes, I just made up words -- want to fight about it?) huge Chicago Blogger Meet-up that we've been anticipating for what seems like years. To be honest, I'm sure I can't even remember everyone I met... Here's who I remember being there:

- Angela (um, that'd be me)
- Angie (angilio)
- Dan (Dan Mega)
- "Deutlich" (Speak On It)
- Jamie (Oh! How Lovely!)
- Jenn (You are flawed if you are not free.)
- Jessi (The Everyday Adventures of Me in the City)
- "Joy" (Big Time Fancy)
- "Kayleigh" (No Guts, No Glory)
- Maxie (i hate so much...)
- Pete (the situation has deteriorated)
- "Princess Pointful" (...and hijinks ensued)
- Rachel (I'm a mom in real life)
- Renee (A Beautiful Day in the Reneeborhood)
- Veronica (unemployed Cornellian)

Forgive me if I've forgotten anyone (and remind me!). But did you SEE that list? When was the last time you saw a roster of a blogger meet-up that had that many people on it? I'd have to go with... never. Which proves, once and for all, that the Chicago blogger community (at least within the sub-group of Twenty Something Bloggers) is the most social.

Actually, I shouldn't use this as an example. After all, it was only because we were hosting out-of-towners that the evening was so successful (Renee, Deutlich, Maxie, and Princess Pointful all had to roadtrip in).

We met at a bar, and talked up a storm. Pete and Joy discussed "Call of Duty". Dan Mega and Jenn explained their tattoos to each other. Renee, Maxie, and Deutlich discussed recent happenings on the 20sb forum. Everything flowed smoothly and without any detectable awkward moments. It felt like we all knew each other already (because, well, we did).

Afterward, nine of us continued on to Clarke's to grab some grub and be generally ridiculous. I got a baked apple pancake thing. It was massive, and served with 5 packets of butter, but no syrup. I ate about a fifth of it before giving up entirely and just singing along with Maxie to whatever songs were playing while we dined. It was delightful.

Dan Mega, talking with his hands at Clarke's

The next morning, I met up with Deutlich, Maxie, Jenn, Jessi, and Jamie to go on the Chicago Cupcake crawl that has been in the works for months. We started out at a desert shop called Sweet Mandy B's, which was cute as a button, but busy as all get-out.

Me, Jenn, Jessi, Maxie, Jamie, and Deutlich's arm. (Deutlich has been cut out to preserve her anonymity... she's like a superhero, and only a select few can know her true identity.)

From there, we headed on to Swirlz Cupcakes, which I think we'd all agree was the winner of the outing. The people there were delightful, and the cupcakes were delicious. Deutlich and I were both having difficulty deciding between the "Banana Nutella" and the "Chocolate Peanut Butter", so we decided to get one of each and split them. And they were both just sensational. When the woman running the shop found out we were a group of bloggers, she gave us some extra cupcakes for free so that we could share our knowledge with our readers. She gave us a gluten-free red velvet cupcake that tasted no different from the regular red velvets we already had on our table (so note: if you know anyone with a gluten allergy, this is the place to take them!). We savored our cupcakes and giggled like little girls. I loved it.

Cupcakes from Swirlz

Jamie enjoying a cupcake.

Jessi & Jenn

Jenn, Me, Deutlich, Maxie, and Jamie

After that, we headed to The Taste of Chicago, which happens to be going on this week. It was a madhouse. The streets are filled with booths of food from various restaurants, and you trade tickets for various confections. I had a nutella crepe. Maxie had tempura. Jessi, Jenn, and Jamie had hotdogs. I don't remember what Deutlich ended up with... I just remember her distress at being unable to get a turkey leg because the wait was too long.



Walking through The Taste

Maxie, Jenn, and Jessi in front of Buckingham Fountain.

The best part of having tourists in town? It provides a marvelous excuse to do all the touristy things that I've never done in the two years of living in this city. And so, for the first time, I went to Millennium Park.

Deutlich in front of The Bean

There were lighted faces on brick walls that spat water at us. There was a giant Bean that reflected us like a fun house mirror. There was a garden. There was a trench of cold water to kick our feet in. It was magical.

Jenn & Maxie standing in the water between the spitting brick wall face things.

Jenn dipping her foot into the icy cold water of the foot bath trench

Jessi, Jenn, Maxie, and Jamie at the foot trench.

I left my darling ladies in order to get a special rehearsal for TnT to learn choreography in case become a bridesmaid before Frankie Avalon week (odds of that actually happening: slim to none... or just none). It was some of the cheesiest choreography you've ever seen in your life, and I LOVE it. Hilarious. And because I had gotten there so early, I also got fitted for a Sister Terry costume. I can't begin to tell you how stoked/amped/geeked/pumped I am about that.

I then watched through the show, taking notes. It's unbelievable how many things happen during the course of the production. Depending on where you're sitting in the room, you'll get a different sense of the story. I've done something like eight or nine weekends now, and while I was watching on Saturday I saw things for the first time. Like one character going through the purse of another when she wasn't paying attention. Or a male character kissing a female character, causing her to run out of the reception hall in hysterics. Or a male character lifting up his shirt and displaying his nipples proudly to a table of women in the audience (I'm fairly certain that doesn't happen every show). It's so much fun to be a part of a production like this, in which you're constantly being surprised by the other actors. It forces you to pay attention to everything, and to always react in character.

After the show, I met up with the bloggers again. But at that point, Jamie had been replaced by Dan Mega and a guy named Stan at a Giordano's. We sat around talking about anything and everything, as bloggers are prone to do. After we left, Jenn and I purchased hoodies at a Walgreens because of the unexpected chill in the night air. I got a lovely piggy-back ride, courtesy of Dan Mega, which made me and my tired feet extremely happy. And we ended up chilling at a bar in Lincoln Park for awhile longer.

It felt like no one really wanted our time together to end. Even after we'd all decided to go home and had begun to go on our separate ways, I ended up on the corner of Belmont and Clark talking to Dan Mega and Jessi for an additional 40 minutes in the rain. That's how much we enjoyed each other's company; we kept extending our goodbyes.

A glorious transvestite and her posse, as observed by Dan Mega, Jessi, and I on the corner of Belmont & Clark.

I should've gone to the Gay Pride Parade today to support the Tony 'n Tina's cast members who were walking in it, but I didn't. I stayed inside, doing very little of anything, and reflecting on how much fun I've had in the last few days.

I love summer. I love bloggers. I love Chicago. And I'm so very, very happy right now.

My heart feels full, not broken.

And for that, I'm grateful.

So thank you, to all the glorious bloggers who made me smile this weekend.


May you be a tourist in your own town.

~A~


P.S. You know my coworker who thought I looked like Lindsay Lohan? She has now changed her mind and thinks I look like Stella McCartney. Um, what? No, I don't.

P.P.S. I will be adding links to everyone else's versions of the Blogger events as I stumble across them:

- Jenn's version: Only the Best Weekend Ever
- Dan Mega's blurbs: Well and Sometimes
- Jessi's version: Olympic glory & a blog-errific weekend
- Angie's mention: how i love my lists
- Joy's version: Chicago Bloggers, Wedding & Beer Pong
- Rachel's version: How to be late meeting a Chicago blogger
- Pete's mention: high ate us
- Deutlich's version: Boystown and Booty Grease
- Maxie's version: Chicago!
- Princess Pointful's version: When bloggers collide- Parts 3, 4 and 5