Mt Atlas

Stories and updates about the pooch seem pretty popular. So here's the latest:

The back door to the apartment opens up to a gated cobblestone courtyard. All of the apartment fire escapes exit onto it. Since it's secure, and I can see out pretty easily, I'll sometimes leave the door open and allow him free reign to come and go.

Atlas being who he is, however, complications soon follow.

Being endlessly curious, any open stairway is an invitation to climb. So, if I don't watch him carefully, he'll make his way as high as he can go.

Being somewhat, um...dim, and stubborn, he gets confused and can't find his way down. The more I call to him, the more he looks around, sees another stairway, thinks it might be the one to lead him home, and up he goes, even higher.

If it weren't so maddening, it might be cute. Or vice versa.

Here he is on the second floor fire escape. I think it must remind him of the old apartment in St Louis.

At the top you can see him on the third floor (for some reason, the posts published out of order).

Around My Head in 90 Minutes

An old acquaintance from my Truman theater days offered me a ticket tonight to a production of Around the World in 80 Days produced by the Lookingglass Theatre Company. David Schwimmer, who played Ross on Friends, is one of the founding members of Lookingglass, although he had nothing to do with the show tonight.

Lookingglass performs in a beautiful space in Watertower Place, right on Michigan Avenue in downtown. I feel lucky to have seen two professional shows my first week. The show was good, maybe a little inconsistent in some areas, and there was definitely a lack of hot air balloons. But there was this beautiful moment in Act 2, when the actors where singing together on a swinging sledge, with snow effects and beautiful lighting, that managed to capture all that can be great about live theater.

The other nice thing about taking the El is the chance to see more of the city. Waiting for my train to come, I looked up to see this great view of the Sears Tower. Wish the picture had turned out better.

A street level stop on the Brown line.

Trainblogging

In Chicago, the subway rides above the ground, in most places, on elevated tracks, hence its nickname "the El".

My nearest connection is a few blocks walk from home and is at the end of its line, the Brown Line. This section of the El is actually at street level, meaning cars have to stop when we cross their street.

One of the nice things about being at the end of the line is that the trains are always nearly empty, with a lot of seats to choose from.

The El is one of my favorite places to update this blog. As I head to my destination, I can relax, collect my thoughts, and tap away on the tiny keypad on my phone.

When I have been able to travel, I have always enjoyed using subways and such. St. Louis has a great light rail train system in the Metrolink, but it unfortunately covers a fairly limited area. Between the El and the city's bus system (which I hope to learn this summer). I can get most anywhere in the city.

Home SWEET Home

I had heard the familiar sounds of an ice cream truck in the streets of my neighborhood the first few evenings and hadn't really thought much about it. Then yesterday, while on my walk with Atlas, I saw a mother and daughter walking down the Street with their hands full of delicious waffle cones filled with ice cream. Knowing we were several blocks from the nearest commercial area, I was a little confused.

Turning the corner, I made an awesome discovery: parked in front of my own building was the above ice cream truck. Notice that, instaed of the standard ice cream novelties, this bad boy comes equipped with its own soft serve machine! It's like a Dairy Queen on wheels! Coming to my house five nights a week!

Street vendor carts like these are everywhere, about two or three per block, and the sell everything from ice cream novelties to fresh fruit and pork rinds.

The Other Shoe

No beating around the bush. The first day at the new office was overwhelming. Their workflows are not nearly so defined as that to which I am accustomed, and so it seemed like they (and soon I) do the work of what in St. Louis was divided among (no kidding) four different people. Craziness!

Plus, the drive home was just plain poopy. Smooth sailing for the first 10+ miles, then an inexplicable and entirely unmoveable parking lot.

But let's focus on positives: everyone was very friendly. No one was unnecessarily noisy or annoying. The creature comforts were more bountiful than i thought (fountain Cokes! Espresso bar! Water cup!) And, on reflection, I recall feeling similarly overwhelmed when starting at the old office, and I adjusted well there.

Getting on the tollway this morning. A veritable speedway compared to the drive home. Harumph.

That bit of blue and yellow in the back left is IKEA. This picture was taken from my nearest office window. I asked a coworker if he thought employees in our building owned more Swedish furniture on average than most people. He didn't get the joke.

Meet My Hidden Roommate

Day Two was comparatively low key. It was cold, rainy, and blustery, and most of my energy was spent putting things away, filling the fridge, etc.

The only real excitement came later in the evening, when a combination of flour tortilla, new-to-me toaster oven, and distractingly confusing digital cable guide resulted in plumes of smoke swirling through the air. The good news is that the smoke detector works, and, more importantly, SHE TALKS! That's right, after the standard beeps, a lovely-but-urgent lady voice began proclaiming "there is a fire!"

Things were quickly brought under control (hooray for ceiling fans and cross circulation), but it was worth it to discover my hidden friend. She may not pay rent, but she's already earned her keep. I'm taking recommendations for naming her.

First Night: indulge/inspire

I splurged for my first night in town, and bought the last ticket available for tonight's performance of "Dead Man's Cell Phone" by Sarah Ruhl at the Steppenwolf Theater.

More than just a playhouse, the Steppenwolf also has its own company of (Pulitzer-, Tony-, and Oscar-award winning) actors, platwrights, and directors, among whom John Malkovitch, Gary Sinese, and Joan Allen are founding and current members. None of them were in tonight's show, but I WAS audience to a smart, funny, whimsical, and gingerly philosophical show, with a bit of stage magic, great performers, and a version of the afterlife where shoes are verboten.

It was good solid contemporary theater, everything I'm hoping to engage here. Good stuff.

P.S. The theater in which I saw this good show also happened to house the premiere of "Picasso at the Lapin Agile". Awesome.

A shot of the stage, taken at intermission.

The neighborhood

My local grocer, two blocks away.

The El stop.

One block over, good for homesick days.

The north branch of the Chicago River, literally right around the corner, and considerably different than downtown.