Apr. 28th, 2014 03:56 pm
A twist of fate, a shot in the dark
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muckefuckFriday was One of Those Days. I'd slept badly and awoke wanting nothing more than to go back to sleep. One of my staff had taken the day off in anticipation of the best weather for two weeks on either side and I was tempted to do the same. But my student worker was due in at 9:30 to complete a project I'd been trying to knock off for two weeks and I had a meeting at 11.
So I dragged myself in only to find that the computer was down. Not the whole system, mind you, just the functionality I need for 90% of the work I do these days. But I did a test and found that I would be able to get most of the work completed anyway--only to receive an e-mail from my student saying he couldn't come in before 4 p.m. Fuming, I decided I'd head over to the remote facility and do the damn work myself--but before I could leave, I was informed IT planned to do a total system reboot lasting several hours.
In the end, they didn't have to, but by then there wasn't enough time to finish the project and make it back to the office before my meeting. So I found my boss and told him, "After my meeting, I'm outta here." I went straight home, stripped off, and climbed into bed for an hour+ nap. Woke up more refreshed than groggy for once, had some lunch, then spiffed up and headed to Lincoln Park for a rendezvous with a chunk of the old Skiffy/Kengame gang.
No sooner was I out the door then I realised the folly of dressing to the forecast rather than just opening the damn door. It was warm as summer, and my camel-hair jacket was at least one layer too much. As I walked west from the el, sweating, I got a glimpse of how much further along spring is outside of the frigid grasp of the lake. I saw cherries and magnolias in full bloom, whereas the trees have hardly started by us. And I was singing.
It was a small celebration of![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
bunj's new job as an excuse for me to check out a whiskey bar in advance of my cousin's brother-in-law's bachelor party. I initially had Jerry's in mind, but his_regard suggested Monkey's Paw on Southport and we went with it. Nice place (maybe lhn has a few pictures?), even if our server was a little flatfooted. Half of us had the special, roast pork shoulder with polenta-like chickpea cakes, and all of us had a charcuterie board of pork pâté, rabbit rillette, foie gras mousse along with some tasty cheeses. I finished up with a scoop of crème fraîche ice cream and a flight of ryes; now I know that I don't like the Few, the Rittenhouse is okay, and the High West is smooth but perhaps too soft.
I got back home to find the Old Man asleep already; apparently his afternoon with an out-of-towner and his partner had led to his being dragged all over creation. (From the Mag Mile to Art Institute to the Ghostbusters Building and back again.) So on a whim I slipped out to Touché for a nightcap and sat myself next to the sweet little usher who hands me my programmes at the Lyric and delights in my argyles. He was not at all expecting to see someone he knew, but he handled it with aplomb. And I savoured the pleasure of living in a city that takes me hours to cross but can still offer up little coincidences like this.
So I dragged myself in only to find that the computer was down. Not the whole system, mind you, just the functionality I need for 90% of the work I do these days. But I did a test and found that I would be able to get most of the work completed anyway--only to receive an e-mail from my student saying he couldn't come in before 4 p.m. Fuming, I decided I'd head over to the remote facility and do the damn work myself--but before I could leave, I was informed IT planned to do a total system reboot lasting several hours.
In the end, they didn't have to, but by then there wasn't enough time to finish the project and make it back to the office before my meeting. So I found my boss and told him, "After my meeting, I'm outta here." I went straight home, stripped off, and climbed into bed for an hour+ nap. Woke up more refreshed than groggy for once, had some lunch, then spiffed up and headed to Lincoln Park for a rendezvous with a chunk of the old Skiffy/Kengame gang.
No sooner was I out the door then I realised the folly of dressing to the forecast rather than just opening the damn door. It was warm as summer, and my camel-hair jacket was at least one layer too much. As I walked west from the el, sweating, I got a glimpse of how much further along spring is outside of the frigid grasp of the lake. I saw cherries and magnolias in full bloom, whereas the trees have hardly started by us. And I was singing.
It was a small celebration of
bunj's new job as an excuse for me to check out a whiskey bar in advance of my cousin's brother-in-law's bachelor party. I initially had Jerry's in mind, but his_regard suggested Monkey's Paw on Southport and we went with it. Nice place (maybe lhn has a few pictures?), even if our server was a little flatfooted. Half of us had the special, roast pork shoulder with polenta-like chickpea cakes, and all of us had a charcuterie board of pork pâté, rabbit rillette, foie gras mousse along with some tasty cheeses. I finished up with a scoop of crème fraîche ice cream and a flight of ryes; now I know that I don't like the Few, the Rittenhouse is okay, and the High West is smooth but perhaps too soft.I got back home to find the Old Man asleep already; apparently his afternoon with an out-of-towner and his partner had led to his being dragged all over creation. (From the Mag Mile to Art Institute to the Ghostbusters Building and back again.) So on a whim I slipped out to Touché for a nightcap and sat myself next to the sweet little usher who hands me my programmes at the Lyric and delights in my argyles. He was not at all expecting to see someone he knew, but he handled it with aplomb. And I savoured the pleasure of living in a city that takes me hours to cross but can still offer up little coincidences like this.
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