I had said I wasn't going back to Chicago with Alex after the trip back in May was a complete waste of a weekend, but Alex didn't have anyone else available to go along, so I went. Plus, we were going to stay from Friday evening until midday Sunday, and we weren't going to try leaving in the middle of the night, where someone (me) ends up on a totally different sleep cycle from everyone else. And we took Alex' car this time.
I've always felt I had no knack for haggling, but maybe I drive a harder bargain than I give myself credit for.
There were the usual complications. Alex declared we would leave by 10 Friday morning. At 10, he was still sound asleep. We left at 11:30. Hit traffic near the outskirts of Chicago (what a surprise, Chicago is busy on Friday night!), finally made it around 7. A friend had a spare room and couch to use that opened up late, but we didn't know this until the night before, so by the time Alex canceled the hotel reservations I'd made a list of possible places based on proximity to the hotel. His friend was able to help us find some good record stores (for Alex), and a couple of comic stores (for me). Alex made out better than I did, but that's OK. I just like getting the chance to see if there are any bargains or things I've been after for a long time.
We opted to use Uber or the elevated trains to get around, rather than drive our own vehicles. What I learned is that heavy traffic in Chicago isn't any less stressful if you're being driven around by someone who theoretically should know where they're going. Returning to Mike's apartment from the shopping excursion was apparently harrowing enough to make me nauseous. Which meant I ended up missing Alex playing on Saturday, which was the night things were really great. He got to go deeper into his music catalog than normal, the crowd was into it, it sounded like a lot of fun. And I was stuck on Mike's couch, trying not to move my head so things wouldn't spin.
We had some good pizza Friday night and a nice brunch Saturday. Mike
felt like he picked a bad ramen spot for us Saturday night, but I was
just wanted him to pick something, because I was hoping eating would
deal with the dizziness (it didn't). There was a lot of standing around
waiting for people to either decide what to do or finish getting ready
to go. Always a pet peeve of mine. Let's decide and then let's go. I could stand around doing nothing back in my apartment.
Naturally whatever I had cleared up by Sunday morning. Which is good, don't get me wrong. The prospect of facing a 6+ hour car ride with motion sickness was not exciting. It just would have been nice to skip the dizziness altogether so I could go out and have fun.
The drive back was nice. The weather has been lovely lately and that held up through Sunday. Which is good, the drive is long enough in nice conditions; it lousy weather it would have been interminable. It took a little longer than we would have expected because Alex kept stopping at gas stations to see if they had Gardettos in the flavor his girlfriend likes, since he can't find them around town. He did find some eventually, and then we almost hit a deer. But he slowed down enough that the stupid animal made it across the road. The remainder of the drive back was uneventful. And here I am, typing this on Sunday night when I should be getting ready for work on Monday.
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2 comments:
It certainly sounds eventful. I too abhor, the pointless waffling that occurs, when everyone is waiting for someone to get ready.
At my house, it is rather classic..." What do you want to do? I don't know, what do YOU want to do?"... repeated until we give up and go to bed.
I've gone that route a few times when people were arguing over late-night movie choices, and eventually sleep was just the best option. Haven't regretted it yet.
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