Okay, I don't hate Chicago...

I get to be fabulous me, while he has to be himself for the rest of his life. Jerk.

So if London is a 17th century banker (in breeches) contemplating his wealth while clutching a copy of a map of the Empire in one hand who is outwardly friendly to foreigners while secretly loathing them; Chicago is a gruff, 1920s gangster who will protect his turf and his interests with lethal force if necessary while still being nice to his mother. So. Picture a guy in a trench coat and a fedora holding out a lollipop to a sulky me curled up in my room last night, and you'll pretty much get how I was feeling when I got home. Last night Chicago played host to an event they called "Looptopia" which was an idea floated in European Capitals to throw open the streets of their downtown areas after dark. Because of the suburbinification of cities, most downtown areas are now businesses and restaurants which close by six pm, and unless you're on your way to the theatre, there's not a lot of hanging out to be done. So last night the shops stayed open, there were free concerts, free theatre, lots of art in department store windows and movies being projected onto sides of buildings. I was feeling sulky (see above) but what is the first rule of depression? Don't lock yourself away. So I grabbed my trusty iPod and went for a walk. I really wanted to see the theatre being put on by Redmoon Theatre, a movement and improved based theatre group who had small pieces of "theatre" all over the city. One of these included a man playing a diggeridoo while a woman explained a complicated algorithm, sung to the tune of "Carmen." It was very bizarre. The other one I liked invoved girls dressed in bubbles and goggles moving slowly and responding to the crowd. I don't think Chicago is ready for theatre that doesn't involve talking, plots, etc--the dancers drew a lot of people, but most of them felt the need to make snarky comments or jokes because they couldn't just shut up and enjoy the show already. Then I did a quick spin around the Art Institute, but apparently the other Seurat painting didn't feel like coming in for the event because it wasn't on display.

Then afterward I went to a small house party hosted by the TD at his new apartment (which is a block away from mine and very nice). It was good to chill out with real people who actually treated me like a human being, and made me feel so grateful for normal people acting normally and not evil and condescending. Ah, well. As Scarlett O'Hara says, "Tomorrow is another day!"