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eggwardsWell, it's taken a long time, but I'm finally at the end of this narrative. It was a life -changing trip and I needed to write it down for prosperity. I have more pictures posted here and here! Enjoy. I'm still at Chris' enjoying some post-birthday time off, and will be heading back home tonight. Normal life for a while.
Last Day, last chance to get a few things done. I had taken too much of John's (![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
blithwulf) time and it was finally a time where John had other things to do, so I suggested that he drop me at the El station, and i would finally ride the El into town. I took the Blue line into town and met Lloyd (grande) at the Palmer House, which is just a few steps off of the El. We even missed each other as I has gone into the hotel, and Lloyd had decided to walk from the Red line to the Blue. After sorting that out, we began to make our way towards one of my last unseen destinations in Chicago, the John Hancock Tower.
Lloyd and I looked at talking the bus since there was several blocks to cover. We kept walking and watching for the bus that would take us up Michigan Ave. Lloyd hadn't had lunch, So he suggested that we go to the Cheesecake Factory which is in the basement of the Hancock Tower. I said Cheesecake would be good. Cheesecake Factory is good at that, but I tend to find their entrees over priced and over rated. Just my opinion.
We got to the tower, and that's when I found out that it's next to Water Tower Place. I could have gone there days ago if I only knew. We went into the plaza and they had a band playing cover tunes that sounded good. The Cheesecake Factory was absolutely packed. We had a twenty minute wait just to get the beeper for the next wait. So we went shopping. Lloyd tried to introduce me to the joys of Aveda products, but you know, I'm just a simple guy who doesn't mind his grocery-store bought shampoo and gel. I'm not that well versed in premium products. I think that if I got into it, I'd spend way too much money on them.
As we had returned to the Cheesecake Factory, Lloyd noticed a couple he knew and said hi, and we were invited to get a table with them...and that's when it hit, "Oh, that's John (john3876) Chris's old boyfriend." I'll admit that I kind of took a second sizing him up. I noticed similarities and differences. Never did my smile leave my face, and I remained the perfect gentleman, of course. He was with his new guy, Michael who was very nice. In the back of my mind I felt something could go horribly wrong here. Lloyd said later that he didn't even think about the John - Chris - Me link before we were already taking a table with them.
Really, lunch went fine. John and Michael were nice and we had a good conversation. We talked about moving to Chicago, since none of them were natives. There was the one moment where John leaned over to Michael and whispered, "He's the one dating Chris now." That confirmed that he knew...word gets around, doesn't it? We talked about weather, especially about the snow and cold in this town.
We left and Lloyd and I went up to the observation deck of the John Hancock Tower. Again got a chance to look over the whole city. The skies had clouded up so you couldn't see quite as far, but I do believe that the view is better than that of the Sears Tower. Something about being just blocks away from the lake and having all of the newer hi-rises next to you makes a spectacular view. Chicago has a lot of rooftop pools, you know? I also tried to follow the blue line back to John's place. Lloyd pointed out the area up north on the red line where he lived, past Wrigley Field.
We came back down to earth and went back to the Mag Mile and window shopped for awhile looking at the tech toys at Sony and Apple, working our way to the Hard Rock Cafe. The only reason I wanted to go to the Hard Rock is to pick up a guitar pin. I've been collecting them for years, on the various trips I've been to. While we were there, Lloyd and I got drinks. I had a very good hurricane and the bartender, she was great. She made some drinks for Lloyd that were really, really good. I picked up two pins, because they had one that was looking like the Chicago Theater sign, and they had one that was a bear, how could I resist?
We left and I checked in with John. He and Shawn were going to go out to a Vampire LARP game. I had never done this so I was a bit intrigued to go. Lloyd and I went back to the El and I told him goodbye with a hug. I'll definitely have to spend some more time with him next time I'm in Chicago. I took the blue line back out, flashing my iPod at another iPod user on the train with a smile. Shawn and John met me at the station and then we went to pick up James (moved) who was also playing tonight.
The game was in the far south suburbs of Chicago. It was a bit of a drive, and I had a chance to talk with James as we went along. We got to the Unitarian Church to find that the game had started, but just recently. John, Shawn and james checked in and consulted with the storyteller. James gave me a copy of the rulebook and I began to listen and read.
It was strange. I guess I thought that all of the conversation would be about the game, but many folks spent time talking about regular things, but in character. Here's a group talking about the Cubs and White sox, Oh, but Vampires need not care about such things, OK. How about restaurants? At first I thought it was just an excuse for normally shy people to actually get out and interact with someone, albeit in the disguise of another.
John checked on me, made sure that i was OK, since I had moved away from the group. I had gone into the hall, since the crowd had grown to over 25 people and it was hard to hear the conversation with everyone chattering. The whole thing was done by talking. People had to express what their intentions were, whether said or unsaid, and any action either took place through talk or "off stage". I wish i knew more of what the storyteller had given the characters to do.
I kept reading the book, but it was getting a little dry with it's ideas about traits and abilities. It wasn't until James came over to talk to me a while that I got a little more interested. He explained his character in detail, including the motivations, the dark secret he had, and the motivations he had to keep that secret from the others. Now that seemed like more fun. It intrigued me. If it wasn't for the fact that I heard that the game is coming to a close world-wide, I'd go try to find a group in Houston. I was surprised to find out that even my sister had played a little bit!
The game came to a close around midnight. I have no idea what was accomplished. We decided to get something to eat at the diner (I have no idea it's real name, but the fried cheese was very good), so I rode with Shawn and James back into Chicago while John went with two other people, Dave (daveqat) and Ben I believe. I spoke more with James. He seems to have his head on straight, and knows what he wants from life. That's better than I was at his age. He's a musician (vocal and composition) and hopefully he'll find himself with a great job once he graduates from school so he can concentrate on finding him a husband and stay out of West Virginia. After one last drive up Lake Shore Drive, we get to the diner, across from the Jackhammer bar. We had a wonderfully raunchy conversation as we discussed the furry community and probably scared the other customers. Then we went home.
One last night with John. I miss him a lot. He was a great host and I was really glad he was able to run around with me all of the time. Truly a great guy and I know why he has so many friends and why they rely on him. Hopefully they don't wear him out!
John gave me a last Tarot card reading before I left. He said that I had gotten my financial independence finally, and I was quickly getting myself comfortable with the gay community. How true. Now my challenge would be defining relationships and how they work for me. Certainly this is an area of confusion right now. Friends, Lovers, Boyfriends, play, serious relations, openness, it's all a blur, and much of it came up in Chicago as I cluelessly stumbled around some things. Things had happened in Chicago and Grand Rapids that will change my perceptions, that will change my definitions, and will change me as a person. Already answers have appeared, and new questions arisen. It was a long strange trip, and now in what I've written, I have it down for me to look back to.
I will return to Chicago. There's no doubt about it, but here's the point in the story where Shawn and John drop me off at O'Hare to head back for home. This tale is finished.
Last Day, last chance to get a few things done. I had taken too much of John's (
blithwulf) time and it was finally a time where John had other things to do, so I suggested that he drop me at the El station, and i would finally ride the El into town. I took the Blue line into town and met Lloyd (grande) at the Palmer House, which is just a few steps off of the El. We even missed each other as I has gone into the hotel, and Lloyd had decided to walk from the Red line to the Blue. After sorting that out, we began to make our way towards one of my last unseen destinations in Chicago, the John Hancock Tower. Lloyd and I looked at talking the bus since there was several blocks to cover. We kept walking and watching for the bus that would take us up Michigan Ave. Lloyd hadn't had lunch, So he suggested that we go to the Cheesecake Factory which is in the basement of the Hancock Tower. I said Cheesecake would be good. Cheesecake Factory is good at that, but I tend to find their entrees over priced and over rated. Just my opinion.
We got to the tower, and that's when I found out that it's next to Water Tower Place. I could have gone there days ago if I only knew. We went into the plaza and they had a band playing cover tunes that sounded good. The Cheesecake Factory was absolutely packed. We had a twenty minute wait just to get the beeper for the next wait. So we went shopping. Lloyd tried to introduce me to the joys of Aveda products, but you know, I'm just a simple guy who doesn't mind his grocery-store bought shampoo and gel. I'm not that well versed in premium products. I think that if I got into it, I'd spend way too much money on them.
As we had returned to the Cheesecake Factory, Lloyd noticed a couple he knew and said hi, and we were invited to get a table with them...and that's when it hit, "Oh, that's John (
john3876) Chris's old boyfriend." I'll admit that I kind of took a second sizing him up. I noticed similarities and differences. Never did my smile leave my face, and I remained the perfect gentleman, of course. He was with his new guy, Michael who was very nice. In the back of my mind I felt something could go horribly wrong here. Lloyd said later that he didn't even think about the John - Chris - Me link before we were already taking a table with them.Really, lunch went fine. John and Michael were nice and we had a good conversation. We talked about moving to Chicago, since none of them were natives. There was the one moment where John leaned over to Michael and whispered, "He's the one dating Chris now." That confirmed that he knew...word gets around, doesn't it? We talked about weather, especially about the snow and cold in this town.
We left and Lloyd and I went up to the observation deck of the John Hancock Tower. Again got a chance to look over the whole city. The skies had clouded up so you couldn't see quite as far, but I do believe that the view is better than that of the Sears Tower. Something about being just blocks away from the lake and having all of the newer hi-rises next to you makes a spectacular view. Chicago has a lot of rooftop pools, you know? I also tried to follow the blue line back to John's place. Lloyd pointed out the area up north on the red line where he lived, past Wrigley Field.
We came back down to earth and went back to the Mag Mile and window shopped for awhile looking at the tech toys at Sony and Apple, working our way to the Hard Rock Cafe. The only reason I wanted to go to the Hard Rock is to pick up a guitar pin. I've been collecting them for years, on the various trips I've been to. While we were there, Lloyd and I got drinks. I had a very good hurricane and the bartender, she was great. She made some drinks for Lloyd that were really, really good. I picked up two pins, because they had one that was looking like the Chicago Theater sign, and they had one that was a bear, how could I resist?
We left and I checked in with John. He and Shawn were going to go out to a Vampire LARP game. I had never done this so I was a bit intrigued to go. Lloyd and I went back to the El and I told him goodbye with a hug. I'll definitely have to spend some more time with him next time I'm in Chicago. I took the blue line back out, flashing my iPod at another iPod user on the train with a smile. Shawn and John met me at the station and then we went to pick up James (
moved) who was also playing tonight.The game was in the far south suburbs of Chicago. It was a bit of a drive, and I had a chance to talk with James as we went along. We got to the Unitarian Church to find that the game had started, but just recently. John, Shawn and james checked in and consulted with the storyteller. James gave me a copy of the rulebook and I began to listen and read.
It was strange. I guess I thought that all of the conversation would be about the game, but many folks spent time talking about regular things, but in character. Here's a group talking about the Cubs and White sox, Oh, but Vampires need not care about such things, OK. How about restaurants? At first I thought it was just an excuse for normally shy people to actually get out and interact with someone, albeit in the disguise of another.
John checked on me, made sure that i was OK, since I had moved away from the group. I had gone into the hall, since the crowd had grown to over 25 people and it was hard to hear the conversation with everyone chattering. The whole thing was done by talking. People had to express what their intentions were, whether said or unsaid, and any action either took place through talk or "off stage". I wish i knew more of what the storyteller had given the characters to do.
I kept reading the book, but it was getting a little dry with it's ideas about traits and abilities. It wasn't until James came over to talk to me a while that I got a little more interested. He explained his character in detail, including the motivations, the dark secret he had, and the motivations he had to keep that secret from the others. Now that seemed like more fun. It intrigued me. If it wasn't for the fact that I heard that the game is coming to a close world-wide, I'd go try to find a group in Houston. I was surprised to find out that even my sister had played a little bit!
The game came to a close around midnight. I have no idea what was accomplished. We decided to get something to eat at the diner (I have no idea it's real name, but the fried cheese was very good), so I rode with Shawn and James back into Chicago while John went with two other people, Dave (
daveqat) and Ben I believe. I spoke more with James. He seems to have his head on straight, and knows what he wants from life. That's better than I was at his age. He's a musician (vocal and composition) and hopefully he'll find himself with a great job once he graduates from school so he can concentrate on finding him a husband and stay out of West Virginia. After one last drive up Lake Shore Drive, we get to the diner, across from the Jackhammer bar. We had a wonderfully raunchy conversation as we discussed the furry community and probably scared the other customers. Then we went home.One last night with John. I miss him a lot. He was a great host and I was really glad he was able to run around with me all of the time. Truly a great guy and I know why he has so many friends and why they rely on him. Hopefully they don't wear him out!
John gave me a last Tarot card reading before I left. He said that I had gotten my financial independence finally, and I was quickly getting myself comfortable with the gay community. How true. Now my challenge would be defining relationships and how they work for me. Certainly this is an area of confusion right now. Friends, Lovers, Boyfriends, play, serious relations, openness, it's all a blur, and much of it came up in Chicago as I cluelessly stumbled around some things. Things had happened in Chicago and Grand Rapids that will change my perceptions, that will change my definitions, and will change me as a person. Already answers have appeared, and new questions arisen. It was a long strange trip, and now in what I've written, I have it down for me to look back to.
I will return to Chicago. There's no doubt about it, but here's the point in the story where Shawn and John drop me off at O'Hare to head back for home. This tale is finished.
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Date: 2003-08-04 04:23 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-08-06 09:41 pm (UTC)