When they say, "Hey, I'm from Chi," they mean Chicago, Illinois!

So I'm back from my 3-day venture to Chicago, courtesy of C-scare. I wasn't sure what to expect, but Chicago is really a world-class city that's definitely worth visiting. It's definitely a less interesting city overall, but aesthetically speaking, it has an edge over New York. Certainly there are skyscrapers, but there are also tree-lined parks with rolling hills, fountains and flowerbeds tucked off in little nooks and crannies of the downtown area...which give the city a picturesque, 'Main Street U.S.A.'-style charm that Manhattan sorely lacks. Oddly, there's a distinct seafaring vibe in some neighborhoods -- surprising when you consider the fact that you're smack-dab in the heart of the Midwest, but fitting given the city's position at the shores of Lake Michigan, which might as well be an ocean.

I had to wake up at the asscrack of dawn to catch my 7:00 a.m. flight on Tuesday, but I decided to meet up with Katie and Bobby for dinner after my class that night regardless. As it turns out, Katie lives in right in Lakeview, a.k.a. "Boy's Town," Chicago's more promiment 'gayborhood.' I'd say it's more akin to Park Slope than Chelsea. We also walked by Wrigley Field -- I may be the only person whose initial reaction to seeing a ballpark is, "Oh wow -- they filmed scenes from 'My Best Friend's Wedding' and 'A League of their Own' there," as opposed to reciting historical baseball trivia. We ate at a really good Mexican restaurant (meal accompanied by a pitcher of margaritas, natch) before heading back into the city loop.

After dinner, I decided to take a stroll through Grant Park -- when who do I see, but Jennifer Aniston! Yes, that's right...Jennifer Aniston, whom I simply adore, in the flesh! According to US Weekly (ha), she's just wrapped a new movie, "The Break-Up," and remained in the city for some re-shoots. I got to watch her film a scene that involved entering and exiting a taxicab...which they must've shot about 50 times consecutively! For those who keep track of such things (myself included), she was wearing a sky blue dress paired with an off-white camisole.

The second day was a real treat...after my class, Katie invited me on a 3-hour long evening architecture boat cruise along the Chicago River...yes, just like the one taken by Julia and Dermot in "My Best Friend's Wedding." Katie works for the Chamber of Commerce for the Lakeview district and this was their company's summer party. Her company certainly went all out for their employees -- a catered meal was served, alongside an OPEN BAR -- followed by a fireworks display over Lake Michigan to end the evening! The skyline looked spectacular at night from the lake vantagepoint. The entire event had a Hawaiian luau theme. Fortunately, the tropical punch was not potent enough to send Katie nor I toppling overboard as was initally feared, but I did wind up donning a grass skirt by the end of the evening!

Oh, yeah, silly me...I seem to have forgotten...it was a BUSINESS trip! As far as that's concerned, I am very grateful to get back. I suppose agreeing to attend training sessions literally days before I'm supposed to move was a bad decision on my part. Granted, when I committed to it in February, I wasn't planning to move. So I had to sit through day-long sessions on the wonders of creating Macros through the use of Word documents and Excel spreadsheets...taught by a couple of Midwesterners with very little sense of humor...when, mentally, I was clearly unavailable. I couldn't concentrate on work...my mind kept thinking about being able to schedule the moving van, where and how I'm going to store all of my shit, what sorts of things (other than clothing) will I keep accessible and so on.

Even so, I've started to feel a little guilt over quitting C-scare, seeing as how we are INSANELY understaffed at the moment. If anything, however, the trip helped to re-iterate how redundant the job is and how I don't want this to wind up being a permanent career. It occured to me how little I have in common with any of my colleagues there, too. Katie kept asking me if it was OK that I kept ditching my co-workers...but my two work colleagues who attended the trip with me had little interest in sightseeing or even socializing at all. One of them didn't say a single word to me on the departing flight even though he sat next to me, and then retreated directly to his hotel room immediately after class let out BOTH days. I understand people are different and all...but we're 25, not 45. I understand taking your job seriously, but really, C-scare people -- get a sense of humor! Lighten up!

Back to packing for the time being...