J-Dog, Mimosas, Wrigleyville, Improv

J-Dog came from StL for a visit this weekend! While the move has gone well, and I am really enjoying my Chicago friends, there is nothing like seeing a longtime friend again. It was good to host him, good to catch up, and good to have him along as we explored the city some more.

We had a nice, laid-back time, making breakfast burritos, visting funky t-shirt shops, and enjoying the scene in and around Wrigleyville. In spite of of threatening skies, J was even able to squeeze in an afternoon at the beach while I was at improv class.

On Saturday night, my Second City connections allowed me to get a pair of free tickets to a new review, called "Second City All-Stars". The All-Stars in this instance were a rotating team of six veterans of the conservatory and various Second City companies, including the touring groups and the resident company. KKagogo, who went with me to iO earlier in the week, and JR, the roommate, were able to meet up with us. I enjoyed the show quite a lot, and think I am discovering that I tend to favor short form improv like Second City's over the long-form of iO. For the show last night, they worked through about a half dozen different types of improv exercises, including monologues and a mock debate. One of the first bits they did involved a made up musical, complete with pianist accompaniment, and I was blown away. I wanted to jump up and give it a try, too!

After the show, we were looking for a place to get some ice cream for a scratchy throat J-Dog had been nursing all weekend. There's a chain up here called Pot Belly Sandwich Works that also happens to pride themselves on serving hand-dipped milkshakes and sundaes. Although we had been looking specifically for an ice cream shop, we eventually tired of wandering and settled on a Pot Belly that we happened to come across. It turns out it was the original location for the restaurant, in Lincoln Park with a big pot-bellied stove right in the middle of the dining room.

This morning, after a good sleep-in, we met up with an old Truman acquaintence, Sasi, who has lived in Chicago since finishing undergrad. J-Dog has kept in better touch with her since then, so for me it was like meeting her all over again, and we had a really nice time.

Since we had resigned the morning over to pure leisure, we decided to indulge in one of my favorite big-city past-times, Sunday brunch. In my various exploits of the past week, I had discovered a neighborhood called Southport, a part of larger Wrigleyville, and right around the corner from Wrigley Field itself. Since Sasi lived relatively close, we decided it would be a good place to meet up. Wrigleyville overall tends to skew towards 20-something singles, which is fun in and of itself, but Southport bumps it up a little bit and adds a lot of young families to the mix. I saw one guy pushing a double stroller with twins, and a young couple in which the the wife was GINORMOUSLY pregnant and STILL out for a brunch stroll.

We enjoyed an American/Irish buffet at a pub, and I topped things off with my first Bloody Mary (with a touch of Guinness stout), which was alright. A bit like drinking cold vegetable soup, but I get it. Sasi, quite the Mary connoisseur, said that the were decent, but not the best. I'm not opposed to trying again. Southport, on the other hand, is an unqualified success in my book. Great tree-lined streets with lots of shops and restaurants, including a place with about a dozen different Italian ice flavors and a new-old-fashioned candy shoppe with a signed movie poster for the first Willy Wonka movie. At a shoe store, I bought new sunglasses in a retro-Aviator style (for $14!) so I can have a hipster edge next time I am feeling a little under-classed in Wicker.

J-Dog left this afternoon. I made him get off the El a few stops too early and walk through a music festival in Lincoln Square with me in an effort to stretch out the last little bit. Over the past few months I've been thinking about the cliche that says that the only constant in life is change, which seems to gain traction as a worldview the more I live my own life. But having things that ground you during change, like family, or faith, or, in this case, good friends, goes a long way to making that cliche seem less like a threat and more of an invitation.