h-o-t-t-o-g-o

SD 1635–1696: Oops, September and October were so much fun I forgot to take a second to breathe and reflect. Really thought I had done a September post, but… apparently not.

The month started strong with the requisite visits to Logan Arcade to game the monthly high score charts momentarily.

Then we made it to the Art Institute just in time to see the Georgia O’Keefe “My New York” show. Very interesting to see a different side of her career. I like when the Art Institute does the big blockbuster artist shows focusing on more obscure bodies of work.

You may be shocked to hear we also had brunch. Several times. Jumping ahead in time, but just learned the sad news that the Revolution Brewpub will be closing permanently in December. Our brunch habits are devastated.

In protest of Riot Fest’s temporary move to the suburbs, we booked a trip to Minneapolis to see St. Vincent play in St. Paul because that was literally a simpler trip than getting to SeatGeek Stadium. Got to take the new direct daily Borealis train to St. Paul which is a nice alternative to the Empire Builder.

Also finally made time to see college friends on this trip since we stayed at a hotel instead of with Brandi. Yay Fred!

And we already made time to have dinner at Thanksgiving, so making up for missing seeing each other last year.

The concert was, unsurprisingly, fantastic. The opener Dorian Electra was also a revelation after not being previously familiar with them.

I love giant puppets and business twinks.

Also had a very good lunch with my mom at Cardamom at the Walker and enjoyed some unseasonably great weather walking around the sculpture garden before checking out the galleries. Sadly just missed a big Keith Haring show. Really should have tried to make time for that.

Brandi and S also came through after lunch. Dane is adorable with kids.

Dane and Matt got to take the light rail in Minneapolis for the first time and we went to the Mall of America. I had kind of wanted to get a new iPhone, but it turns out the day after release at an Apple Store is kind of a nightmare! Who could have guessed. I ended up ordering it online later.

We also rented some bikes in Minneapolis because I have long wanted to see the Greenway and understand why Minneapolis ranks so high on national bike surveys. Unfortunately we got some beastly heavy bikes from a hotel with a bad gear situation. We rode down along the Missouri River but practically died on the hills doing 6 miles (or was it 3…?). This is after we did 25+ miles on trails in Duluth earlier this summer, so it was very much the bikes and not us. Will need to try again someday with different bikes.

One accidental bummer about this fun Minnesota getaway was I booked it at the same time as work’s first big Cubs outing since the pandemic. It turned out my devs got stuck working on a big launch and were not able to make it to the game either, so I lucked out and got to take them on a mini dev team only Cubs game trip once I was back. It also turned out to be one of the shortest games this century, so that was… fun? We went to dinner after to make up for the shortened time. Sports!!

Our friends Derek and Jeremy (not pictured just yet lol) just moved back to Chicago in August after two somewhat disappointing years in Seattle and I have been having a great time helping reintroduce Derek to the city while he celebrated funemployment between gigs.

Leaving the house so much has been… transformative for me as well. ☺️

Then I got new glasses.

And experienced some synergy.

Then mom came to visit for the first time since 2019. It was a great trip! Went to the Art Institute and saw Hokusai’s Great Wave. Had a lovely drink in the new member lounge on the top of the Modern Wing where there used to be a restaurant. Had some great brunches at Mother’s Ruin for the first time and checked out the Insect Asylum nearby.

Did I mention I’ve been spending a lot of time showing Derek around town?

I have been making great use of my Art Institute membership lately. I really do need to be spending more time in my world class city in its world class institutions.

One world class institution I did spend some time in was a Buffy the Vampire Slayer pop-up bar. The blood bags were vodka and pure red sugar water. I had several.

I really love how these photos turned out in the blue lighting. They have a weird 3d effect on the phone.

And some more going out to eat at fun new places.

Matt, Dane, Jeremy, Derek, and I all went to see The Substance. It was… an experience!

Had a nice brunch with Andy and went to Estereo after. I… do not recommend the pumpkin blended cocktail.

I do however recommend going to the Leather Archives fetish film series. The Hellraiser I & II double feature was fantastic.

Brunch!!!!

A fun Sunday with Derek taking a long walk up the lakeshore path, stumbling upon Open House Chicago for the first time and seeing the Riviera in the day, having dinner at Lady Gregory’s, and stopping at Big Chick’s for a drink.

Andy had us watch his cats Logan and Marlin for a week while he was on a job. It was nice having cats in the place again, but I don’t think we are quite ready to commit to our own again.

I took Derek to see Xiu Xiu at Sleeping Village. It was a good show, but very loud. Jamie Stewart is so dreamy. The openers Tim Kinsella & Jenny Pulse were pretty great too.

Construction work next door continues apace. The cranes right outside the window next to the power lines and the constant pounding are a bit nerve-racking.