#19: How the other half lives
I've seen how the other half lives and I like it.
The other half being people who actually have money after they pay bills. These were Sir's sister and her friends with whom Sir and I gallivanted about Chicago a few weekends ago.
We left at about 2pm on Friday, which, of course, meant I didn't go to work. Instead I went to Sir's apartment, sat around in my pajamas and played on his computer. He is a better person than I and did go to work, but I think he was jealous of my superior decision of how to spend the morning and snuck out of work at noon. In the excitement of actually leaving Minnesota for awhile, I forgot to grab the puppy toys we had bought for Sir's sister's new puppy (so cute!). Which reminds me, I should probably send those...
The driving weather was excellent and I wished again that the Mustang was a convertible.
Did you all know that there are BUFFALO in Wisconsin? They were grazing right next to the highway! I was tempted to break out into a rendition of "Home on the Range" (complete with banjo and harmonica accompaniment) but resisted. I didn't want to get kicked out of the car that early into the trip.
When we finally made it close to Chicago, Sir called his sister to get more specific directions to the apartment at which we were staying. Sister Sir is a master multi-tasker. The first time Sir called her, she was getting into a cab and, while Sir was trying to get directions from her, struck up a conversation with the cabbie. Sir handed to phone to me after a few minutes and as soon as I pressed my ear to it, I could hear Sister Sir and the cabbie debating about the best exit for us to take off the highway. While it was nice for her to go the extra mile and ask outside sources to help us get to her boyfriend's apartment, it would have been extra special nice of her to actually include Sir or I in the conversation. After about 10 minutes, she finally narrowed it down to two exits and told us to call her when we got closer.
When we got closer Sir called her again. This time she was getting her nails done and had the nail technician holding the phone to her head. We got one more turn out of her before she was on the move again and told us to call her back.
Seven or eight phone calls and two wrong turns later, we finally arrived at Sister Sir's boyfriend's apartment. It was AMAZING. He's a chiropractor and apparently very good at it. The views from the apartment itself floored me. There was an entire wall made mostly of windows.
We didn't have much time to ogle, though. Sister Sir and The Dr. whisked us out for appetizer and drinks at a ritzy restaurant downtown. I ate fish in a cone! (Sorry I don't have a picture of that one.) It was tuna puree in a crepe that was folded like an ice cream cone. Normally, just the sight of something like that would turn me off from eating it but it was 10:00pm and we hadn't eaten dinner. I figured, what the hell, I'll try something new. So I tried. And it was good.
After we finally flagged down our horribly inattentive waitress, the four of us went upstairs to a place called "The Ghost Bar." The lighting was very dim and bluish and while popular dance-club music pumped from the speakers, photos of people dressed in clothes from the 1800s were reflected onto the walls. The most interesting thing was that the photos wafted in a slight breeze, so they almost did look like ghosts.
Sir and I were so dead-tired (get it? Ghost Bar...dead tired? Rim shot please!) that The Dr. gave us his keys and we took a cab back to the apartment to go to sleep.
I slept on a sofa bed that easily cost $8,000. I don't think my entire apartment full of furniture is worth that much.
The next day, after spending approximately 6 hours on my hair (according to Sir anyway...), we were off to wander around downtown Chicago and eventually work our way to Michigan Avenue to buy The Dr. a new shirt.
We ate Chicago-style pizza for lunch on a patio while across the street a street-musician played his saxophone. The weather was so gorgeous! It was sunny and mild and warm - perfect wandering weather.
Sister Sir and The Dr. bought the shirt they were looking for and we ate desert at Ghiridelli's (mmmmm chocolate) before heading back to the apartment to take naps. Napping is necessary for Chicago night life. The bars there don't close until around 5am and no one goes out for dinner until 10pm.
Around 9 we all started rousing ourselves and getting dressed (I'm sorry, I just have to say, how hot is my boyfriend?). I changed outfits a couple of times. How do you know what to wear if you don't know where you're going?
First we went to a huge bar with a couple of pool tables for dinner and drinks. They had a great martini that was kind of like a cosmopolitan but it had fresh strawberry juice instead of cranberry juice. It was sooo good. But very, very expensive. I only had two. (I swear!) I also tried sweet potato fries for the first time and they are delicious! I'm liking this whole "try new foods" thing. It has treated me well!
Sir and The Dr. played pool for awhile as Sister Sir and I had chatted about all sorts of girly things.
After we were sufficiently filled to the brim, we went to another club. There was a line down the sidewalk to get into this one, but The Dr. walked right up to the bouncer and began chatting. Less than a minute later, the four of us were walking through the palm trees that blocked off the entrance as the long line of (jealous) people watched. Turns out The Dr. worked out at the same gym as the bouncer. I talk about "having people" but The Dr. actually has people!
The club was sort of mid-eastern style, with big palms and ferns. The tables were all low to the ground and many of the walls were covered floor to ceiling with mirrors. Sister Sir said that she had met Nicholas Cage there and had also taken shots with Kid Rock in the kitchen one time. We didn't see anyone famous there but who knows? We could have been dancing right next to a celebrity...yeah... I bet we were. That's the story I'm going to go with from now on. We danced for a good while and then around 2 or 3am headed out.
But we didn't go home. Oh no. Apparently after you've been drinking in Chicago, you head to Lincoln Park to the Wiener Circle. The Wiener Circle is a ramshackle little hut that serves hot dogs, nestled amidst 10 story apartment buildings. The people who "serve" the food yell foul and vulgar things at the patrons, who, in turn, yell those sorts of things back. The patrons that night, and I would venture to guess every night, were very very drunk. Sir and I cowered in the back of the store while The Dr. (a native New Yorker) happily screamed in an order of two gigantic chili dogs and cheesy fries.
Just the smell of the food made my arteries close and my stomach turn. I was into trying new foods this trip... but I drew the line at processed meat covered in... more processed meat. But The Dr. thoroughly enjoyed it. Until we got into the cab, that is. For that is where we encountered, (dramatic music) White Castle.
I've ridden in cabs in a whole bunch of cities, but I have never EVER encountered a cab driver as rude, insane or high as White Castle. We dubbed him White Castle because he kept comparing the cuisine of Wiener Circle to the gourmet offerings of the White Castle. But it was his driving and crazy-ass personality that made him memorable. Not only did he purposefully take every corner at 50 miles an hour, but he ran red lights, waited until the last minute to slam on his breaks and took a very round-about way back to The Dr.'s apartment.
Sister Sir laid into him right away about his driving, threatening to report him to his company. White Castle simply gave her a long lecture about how he'd lived in the city for 30 years and knew how to drive a car. When Sister Sir tried to tell him what was what, he turned the radio up so he couldn't hear her.
While she tried to regain control of the situation and at least get White Castle to drive somewhat properly, the Dr. had turned several shades of green. I'm guessing the Wiener Circle's fine offering probably weren't agreeing with the washing machine type motion of the cab.
Sir paid for the cab ride - the fare and no tip. As we staggered from the inadvertent thrill ride we'd gotten ourselves into, White Castle yelled obscenities at Sir. "What? Do you think you'd get a tip by insulting my sister?" Sir asked back and slammed the door. Yup, that's my boy. (And this is me, smiling proudly.)
Sister Sir immediately called the company to report White Castle as an idiot, but I think her call was cut off when we got in the elevator. At least she tried. I don't know that I would have followed through. But then, that's one of the reason's I admire Sister Sir.
The next morning, we all woke up and went to brunch at a little sidewalk cafe, which we drove to in The Dr.'s Porsche. (I still don't know how four people and a dog fit in there.) Then Sir and I took our leave.
We headed to Milwaukee to see some of Sir's friends who were about to start school there and had ice cream (mmmm ice cream). Ice cream we didn't have to pay for coincidentally since both Sir and I had accidentally left our wallets in our car. Really it was an accident!
Then it was back home, through Wisconsin. We didn't spot any more buffalo, but we did see plenty of bustling cities (yes, I know it's actually a farm. It's called a joke).
Ok now to the obligatory vacation gushing: It was an amazing weekend. I had so much fun. Chicago seems like it's always "on," which is great for a weekend. But I don't know if I could live every day like that. Of course a bazillion dollar apartment with gorgeous views would definitely help.
And did I mention the puppy?
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The other half being people who actually have money after they pay bills. These were Sir's sister and her friends with whom Sir and I gallivanted about Chicago a few weekends ago.
We left at about 2pm on Friday, which, of course, meant I didn't go to work. Instead I went to Sir's apartment, sat around in my pajamas and played on his computer. He is a better person than I and did go to work, but I think he was jealous of my superior decision of how to spend the morning and snuck out of work at noon. In the excitement of actually leaving Minnesota for awhile, I forgot to grab the puppy toys we had bought for Sir's sister's new puppy (so cute!). Which reminds me, I should probably send those...
The driving weather was excellent and I wished again that the Mustang was a convertible.
Did you all know that there are BUFFALO in Wisconsin? They were grazing right next to the highway! I was tempted to break out into a rendition of "Home on the Range" (complete with banjo and harmonica accompaniment) but resisted. I didn't want to get kicked out of the car that early into the trip.
When we finally made it close to Chicago, Sir called his sister to get more specific directions to the apartment at which we were staying. Sister Sir is a master multi-tasker. The first time Sir called her, she was getting into a cab and, while Sir was trying to get directions from her, struck up a conversation with the cabbie. Sir handed to phone to me after a few minutes and as soon as I pressed my ear to it, I could hear Sister Sir and the cabbie debating about the best exit for us to take off the highway. While it was nice for her to go the extra mile and ask outside sources to help us get to her boyfriend's apartment, it would have been extra special nice of her to actually include Sir or I in the conversation. After about 10 minutes, she finally narrowed it down to two exits and told us to call her when we got closer.
When we got closer Sir called her again. This time she was getting her nails done and had the nail technician holding the phone to her head. We got one more turn out of her before she was on the move again and told us to call her back.
Seven or eight phone calls and two wrong turns later, we finally arrived at Sister Sir's boyfriend's apartment. It was AMAZING. He's a chiropractor and apparently very good at it. The views from the apartment itself floored me. There was an entire wall made mostly of windows.
We didn't have much time to ogle, though. Sister Sir and The Dr. whisked us out for appetizer and drinks at a ritzy restaurant downtown. I ate fish in a cone! (Sorry I don't have a picture of that one.) It was tuna puree in a crepe that was folded like an ice cream cone. Normally, just the sight of something like that would turn me off from eating it but it was 10:00pm and we hadn't eaten dinner. I figured, what the hell, I'll try something new. So I tried. And it was good.
After we finally flagged down our horribly inattentive waitress, the four of us went upstairs to a place called "The Ghost Bar." The lighting was very dim and bluish and while popular dance-club music pumped from the speakers, photos of people dressed in clothes from the 1800s were reflected onto the walls. The most interesting thing was that the photos wafted in a slight breeze, so they almost did look like ghosts.
Sir and I were so dead-tired (get it? Ghost Bar...dead tired? Rim shot please!) that The Dr. gave us his keys and we took a cab back to the apartment to go to sleep.
I slept on a sofa bed that easily cost $8,000. I don't think my entire apartment full of furniture is worth that much.
The next day, after spending approximately 6 hours on my hair (according to Sir anyway...), we were off to wander around downtown Chicago and eventually work our way to Michigan Avenue to buy The Dr. a new shirt.
We ate Chicago-style pizza for lunch on a patio while across the street a street-musician played his saxophone. The weather was so gorgeous! It was sunny and mild and warm - perfect wandering weather.
Sister Sir and The Dr. bought the shirt they were looking for and we ate desert at Ghiridelli's (mmmmm chocolate) before heading back to the apartment to take naps. Napping is necessary for Chicago night life. The bars there don't close until around 5am and no one goes out for dinner until 10pm.
Around 9 we all started rousing ourselves and getting dressed (I'm sorry, I just have to say, how hot is my boyfriend?). I changed outfits a couple of times. How do you know what to wear if you don't know where you're going?
First we went to a huge bar with a couple of pool tables for dinner and drinks. They had a great martini that was kind of like a cosmopolitan but it had fresh strawberry juice instead of cranberry juice. It was sooo good. But very, very expensive. I only had two. (I swear!) I also tried sweet potato fries for the first time and they are delicious! I'm liking this whole "try new foods" thing. It has treated me well!
Sir and The Dr. played pool for awhile as Sister Sir and I had chatted about all sorts of girly things.
After we were sufficiently filled to the brim, we went to another club. There was a line down the sidewalk to get into this one, but The Dr. walked right up to the bouncer and began chatting. Less than a minute later, the four of us were walking through the palm trees that blocked off the entrance as the long line of (jealous) people watched. Turns out The Dr. worked out at the same gym as the bouncer. I talk about "having people" but The Dr. actually has people!
The club was sort of mid-eastern style, with big palms and ferns. The tables were all low to the ground and many of the walls were covered floor to ceiling with mirrors. Sister Sir said that she had met Nicholas Cage there and had also taken shots with Kid Rock in the kitchen one time. We didn't see anyone famous there but who knows? We could have been dancing right next to a celebrity...yeah... I bet we were. That's the story I'm going to go with from now on. We danced for a good while and then around 2 or 3am headed out.
But we didn't go home. Oh no. Apparently after you've been drinking in Chicago, you head to Lincoln Park to the Wiener Circle. The Wiener Circle is a ramshackle little hut that serves hot dogs, nestled amidst 10 story apartment buildings. The people who "serve" the food yell foul and vulgar things at the patrons, who, in turn, yell those sorts of things back. The patrons that night, and I would venture to guess every night, were very very drunk. Sir and I cowered in the back of the store while The Dr. (a native New Yorker) happily screamed in an order of two gigantic chili dogs and cheesy fries.
Just the smell of the food made my arteries close and my stomach turn. I was into trying new foods this trip... but I drew the line at processed meat covered in... more processed meat. But The Dr. thoroughly enjoyed it. Until we got into the cab, that is. For that is where we encountered, (dramatic music) White Castle.
I've ridden in cabs in a whole bunch of cities, but I have never EVER encountered a cab driver as rude, insane or high as White Castle. We dubbed him White Castle because he kept comparing the cuisine of Wiener Circle to the gourmet offerings of the White Castle. But it was his driving and crazy-ass personality that made him memorable. Not only did he purposefully take every corner at 50 miles an hour, but he ran red lights, waited until the last minute to slam on his breaks and took a very round-about way back to The Dr.'s apartment.
Sister Sir laid into him right away about his driving, threatening to report him to his company. White Castle simply gave her a long lecture about how he'd lived in the city for 30 years and knew how to drive a car. When Sister Sir tried to tell him what was what, he turned the radio up so he couldn't hear her.
While she tried to regain control of the situation and at least get White Castle to drive somewhat properly, the Dr. had turned several shades of green. I'm guessing the Wiener Circle's fine offering probably weren't agreeing with the washing machine type motion of the cab.
Sir paid for the cab ride - the fare and no tip. As we staggered from the inadvertent thrill ride we'd gotten ourselves into, White Castle yelled obscenities at Sir. "What? Do you think you'd get a tip by insulting my sister?" Sir asked back and slammed the door. Yup, that's my boy. (And this is me, smiling proudly.)
Sister Sir immediately called the company to report White Castle as an idiot, but I think her call was cut off when we got in the elevator. At least she tried. I don't know that I would have followed through. But then, that's one of the reason's I admire Sister Sir.
The next morning, we all woke up and went to brunch at a little sidewalk cafe, which we drove to in The Dr.'s Porsche. (I still don't know how four people and a dog fit in there.) Then Sir and I took our leave.
We headed to Milwaukee to see some of Sir's friends who were about to start school there and had ice cream (mmmm ice cream). Ice cream we didn't have to pay for coincidentally since both Sir and I had accidentally left our wallets in our car. Really it was an accident!
Then it was back home, through Wisconsin. We didn't spot any more buffalo, but we did see plenty of bustling cities (yes, I know it's actually a farm. It's called a joke).
Ok now to the obligatory vacation gushing: It was an amazing weekend. I had so much fun. Chicago seems like it's always "on," which is great for a weekend. But I don't know if I could live every day like that. Of course a bazillion dollar apartment with gorgeous views would definitely help.
And did I mention the puppy?
Labels: Travel by Jetta
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posted by Sun at 11:02 AM
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