Went to Chicago early last week for a meeting with the rest of the store directors and district managers in our region. The plan was that us Indianapolis folk would drive up on Monday night and rendezvous with some of the other managers, have a late dinner, and then crash in a hotel in preparation for the all-day meeting on Tuesday. Somewhere along the way, however, plans were changed - when we arrived at the aforementioned hotel, we discovered that no one else would be coming up that evening, and we pretty much had free reign to do whatever the hell we wanted.
Nice.
I had planned on getting together the following evening with Kristal, my friend from Phoenix who, interestingly enough, had moved back home to Illinois and was just about an hour south of where i was staying in Chicago. But with nothing to do except sit in a hotel room and watch crappy television, i opted to get in touch with her and see if she was free to hang out for a bit - which she was.
I met her at the Barnes and Noble in Joliet, which was about halfway in between her place and my hotel. We hadn't seen each other since September, and we sat there for a couple of hours, drinking coffee and getting caught up on all the adventures we had been having since Arizona. I didn't realize how much i had truly missed just sitting around and talking with her - she is, without a doubt, one of the smartest people i've ever met... which just adds to the attraction. Let's face it, kids - intelligence is sexy.
After parting ways, i headed back to the hotel room and called it an early night. I wanted to be well-rested and alert for the next day's meeting - and it's a damned good thing i was, too. As much as i love my job and the company i work for, these all-day meetings are just... i don't even know if i can find the right words, to be honest. It's as if no one in upper management believes in brevity - we spent nearly six hours on something that could've been explained thoroughly in less than two, and at the end of the day, i didn't really feel as though the information i obtained warranted the three-hour drive from Indiana.
But i got free lunch and a free hotel stay, and got to spend time with an old friend. So i guess i don't have much to complain about.
I changed clothes after the meeting, then headed south to pick up Kristal for dinner. Almost as soon as we left her place, storm clouds started rolling in, and it was pouring rain by the time we sat down at our table. As much as i dislike bad weather, i have to admit that the sky looked amazing, so i had to snap a few photos.
We hung out with some of Kristal's friends after dinner and made a short excursion to Guitar Center, and then she and i were off to 312, a quiet little martini bar a few blocks from her place. I really liked the atmosphere in the place - dim lighting, jazz music, excellent drinks - but after hanging out for about an hour we decided to seek out a little more excitement.
We wound up at a little hole-in-the-wall, honky tonk sort of place a few blocks down - cheap drinks, a jukebox, and a pool table. It reminded me a lot of the bar Dad and i have dinner at about once a week. She and i spent the rest of the evening playing pool and getting more than a little drunk. Apparently, as the night wore on, i was sending text messages to Dave and Sleeve, telling them that vodka would help them breathe better and trying to convince them that we weren't very far away and that they should come play pool with us.
I swear, someone should take my phone away from me when i'm drinking.
After the bar closed, we walked around for a bit in order to sober up, and i drove Kristal back to her place. She thanked me profusely for coming to visit, and told me she had more fun hanging out with me than she'd had on her 21st birthday, which i took as a tremendous compliment, especially since we really didn't do anything that exciting - just hanging out, drinking, chatting, and playing pool. We also took a few pics to mark the occasion.
I promised to visit again soon, on the condition that she make a trip down here to hang out and come to a Poker Night sometime in the near future. She's not much of a poker fan, but there's a pool table at both locations, and i'm pretty sure she can hold her own against just about anyone in the group, except maybe Sleeve.
Since getting back from Chi-town, i've been trying to get things in order for the forthcoming move. My mail is being transferred, my utilities are set up, and i'vegot about half of my stuff packed. I'm moving into the new place and three days, and i can barely contain my excitement. I'll be less than fifteen minutes from the job, and about a half hour from either Poker Night location - no more of this reclusive, living-out-in-the-woods-like-a-goddamn-hermit stuff. Back to civilization.
Me and the crew from my store (which i have now dubbed "Team Main Event") are continuing to perform at the top of our game - putting up big numbers, raising the bar for excellence and ass-kickery, and talking trash to anyone that dares challenge our rightful place at the top of the mountain. Sure, there are times when i get frustrated with some of the corporate initiatives that i don't particularly agree with, but at the end of the day, i know i'm very good at what i do, and i fucking love doing it. So that's pretty awesome.
Speaking of work - we've started sponsoring a Guitar Hero night at Champps Restaurant, downtown at Circle Center. You can find myself and the always wonderful Captain Sleeve down there every Thursday night, throwing back a few beers and rocking out on fake plastic guitars. They've got some great prizes, including cash and gift certificates, and it's free to sign up. Things usually get moving around 9:30 or 10:00, and we're there until the place closes down. So come hang out with us - the more, the merrier.
Again, that's EVERY THURSDAY NIGHT. Champps Restaurant, on the corner of Washington and Illinois. Guitar Hero. Dig it.
I need to finish watching "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets." So i think that's it for now. Carry on.
