Hello August and Time with the folks!
Saturday morning, my parents called me. After not coming to my show, they decided to surprise me by heading down to Chicago anyway to spend the day with me. By the afternoon, we were headed out to Oakbrook. I had never been to Oakbrook before, and it kind of reminded me of some of the suburbs in Detroit: there were large buildings that were quite obviously the headquarters of businesses, shopping plazas, and very little grass (although the grass they have is meticulously groomed).
Once we got to the hotel, we checked in and headed to Elmhurst. Elmhurst, unlike Oakbrook, reminds me of a small town that isn't very close to a major metropolis like Chicago. It kind of reminded me of some cities in Wisconsin... just a quaint little town.
We drove around for a while, trying to figure out where we were going to eat. I saw a Chipotle, so I mentioned it, and my mom was not too into it. Like most "new" restaurants, she would just as soon eat someplace she's been before. But I eventually convinced my parents... and they really enjoyed Chipotle. I win!
Speaking of winning, we then went to see The Bourne Supremacy. I'm not sure how that segue worked, but it did... trust me. The Bourne Supremacy was good (not great), and all that stuff you've heard about the shaky hand-cam camera work is true. You want to stand up and yell for a steady shot about half-way through the movie. One thing I will say about these "Supremacy" movies that I really like is the fact that, when we as audience members know something is wrong, Jason Bourne knows something's wrong. You don't sit in the audience and think to yourself "He's a spy-type-guy... why doesn't he know that he's being followed?" or "why doesn't he know the only Russian in India is there to kill him?" Not these movies... Jason Bourne knows something's up when he sees a Russian in India.
After the movie, we went to Oakbrook Center. It's one of the highest scale shopping "malls" I've ever been to. It had only the kinds of places in which I wouldn't shop (because they're too expensive). After walking around and not buying anything, we headed to the Cheesecake Factory which was located right next to the mall. It was a beautiful building... Italian architecture... it looked like a more upscale restaurant than the Cheesecake Factory (but it wasn't). Unfortunately, the store hadn't opened yet. It actually opened Monday, August 2nd... but that was not Saturday, oddly enough.
We still had to eat, so we stopped at a Giordanos. I don't know if my parents have ever been there before... but I hadn't. I liked it more than Gino's East, but Lou Malnati's is still the best! You don't care. Speaking of stuff you don't care about...
We stayed the night at the Wyndham Drake Oak Brook. It was swanky. The hotel rooms themselves were nothing special, but they had tennis courts, an indoor and an outdoor pool, jogging trails, and probably a golf course. Whatever... it was a swanky hotel.
In the morning, my parents and I went to Breakfast @ Einstein's Bagels (which they hadn't ever been to either, but my mom was a little more open to new restaurants after the good Chipotle experience). They really enjoyed Einstein's, and even took a take-home menu so they could check the website. My parents are cute.
So cute, in fact, that we then went shopping @ Old Navy. I know... They're my parents and I shouldn't go shopping with my parents... but they were buying and they were cool about not forcing dorky clothing on me. So it was fun... and it was very good to see them.
We had a few long talks while we ate, and it appears I have to be completely self-sufficient in one year's time. That's the big news... and that's what's got me worried. Because I can't be self-sufficient right now. My bills are too large and, even though I'm salaried, I'm not making enough money. So I'm basically going to spend the next year trying to figure out how I can live and work in this city... or else I'll be leaving Chicago in a year. We'll see.