Stripper story.

I wish that I knew what triggered my memory of this story today, but my mind doesn't necessarily work like a normal persons. Two years ago I went over to my friend's house with a bottle of wine. We just wanted a low key night away from the douchebaggery bar scene. We finished the bottle before we were done catching up on life, so we thought we would take a walk to Ohio Street Beach and stop at the 7-11 for another bottle. We walked down Ohio and when we neared Lasalle we saw a pile of clothes. It looked like the scene in Wizard of Oz where the Wicked Witch of the West melts and sheds her clothes in a pile on the ground, only this scenario includes two pairs of jeans, two shirts, and shoes. It was so alarming that I took a photo and posted to Instagram before we went into 7-11. 

In retrospect, it would have been wise to purchase a bottle with a screw cap. 

Alas, we are back on Ohio on a hunt for a wine opener before we reach the beach. As we near the Clark and Ohio intersection I notice a man going through the trunk of his car while standing in blue boxer briefs. I punch my friend in the arm to get her attention and announce, "Hey, we found him!" (Him: the man who lost his clothes on Lasalle) We both die laughing as I scream "Hi Mr. do you happen to have a wine key in that trunk?  ...and are you a stripper?" Of course, I walk right up to him, I want to know everything about a guy who is confident enough to stand in his underwear under in broad-OhioStreetLights. I made him put his pants on before I would take a photo with him - he was making me uncomfortable.

1. Yes, he is a stripper. He also works in Finance, but his day job is boring.
2. No, he doesn't have a wine key but offers us a bottle of Bacardi instead.
3. After talking to me for 30 mins he shares a Subway sandwich with my friend because the bachelorette host was sweet and made him a care package for his ride back to Naperville.

Now that the bottle of Bacardi is gone I decide that I am out of stripper questions, so I suggest that we continue on to the beach. The subway sandwich is not agreeing with my friend, she needs to find a bathroom immediately! Just in the nick-of-time, we sneak into The Doubletree Hotel to use the bathroom in the lobby. The bar was already closed so no luck on the wine opener yet.

We finally make it to the beach and learn that this is where all the ricksha drivers come to take a break from their nights! They are young and all from Serbia, but they are living in Chicago for summer break. They do not have a wine key either, but inventive enough to push the wine key into our bottle with my house key! They were hilarious and they offered us a smoke and a free ride around downtown in their ricksha. We spent the rest of the evening telling our new friends about our evening's adventures with the late summer wind in our hair and the Chicago Skyline as our backdrop!

My first time brewing beer

I decided to homebrew this week for the first time! I have a friend who has only brewed once before and we decided it would be fun to do together since we are both still learning the process. We stopped in the Brew and Grow after work, which is conveniently only about two blocks from my apartment. That store was unexpectedly overwhelming! If I knew enough to be dangerous I could have some fun in there, but I am not comfortable using the mill yet. The mill is like the cereal in Whole Foods where you pour exactly what you want into a bag and you measure it on the scale. I would really need to do my homework to know what I need from this section of the store, right now I am not prepared for such an open-ended project. I do know that I want to brew a porter or stout since these fall temps are dropping, so we settled on purchasing a starter kit. It turned out to be a comfortable choice since the directions were broken down very easily for us - yes, of course, it probably won't be the most interesting beer I've ever had, but this week is for learning the basics. 

I will say that brewing wasn't as interesting of a process as I had hoped. My friend compared it to fishing - and patience has never been my strong suit! We spent most of the time prepping and cleaning all of the things, and then you boil the wort for an hour while you wait and eat homemade pierogi. After the boil was finished, we carefully poured everything into a bucket that was sitting in an ice bath. Dad, since you are my only reader - I will let you know how the beer turns out in a few weeks!

Stromae my hero

I got the opportunity to see Stromae, a Belgian electronic artist at the Riviera last week. I was only familiar with a few of his songs after a coworker was telling me of an NPR she had been listening to on her way into work. I actively pursue things that get me out of my comfort bubble, and since I don't speak a word of French I was intrigued. 

As the show opened, Stromae projected an animation of a factory production line and digital replicas of himself on screen. When he came on stage and the performance began, it became obvious that my friend and I are the only two people in the room that do not speak french. I began to feel very isolated as I realized that we were the only ones that don't know the lyrics and I couldn't even pretend to sing along since I don't know the language. The excitement within me grew as I began to fall in love with his work. This is a good reminder that Chicago has amazing culture if you go looking for it. 

The love I felt from Stromae's fans is stronger than any show I've seen as of late. One of the more beautiful songs was dark and spooky and a projection of spider-like fingers grab at Stromae as he struggles to get away. This spider represents a demon-like force and by the end of the song it attacks and kills Stromae while seeming to devour his spirit. Upon researching this song I learned that it is titled Quand C'est, and Stromae was writing about his fear of cancer. 

What I loved most about this experience at the Riv is that I was able to feel based on visuals and music alone. Because I could not understand the lyrics, my other senses were heightened as I was straining to observe as much as possible. Sometimes you need a reminder, like this experience, to get you to continue to step outside of your comfort zone. It was a wonderful inspiration for me, I went to work the next day ready to conquer all design challenges. Check him out the next time he's in town, no regrets.

Thoughts on writing

Why does putting my thoughts into words make me so nervous? As I stare at the eight unfinished blog posts sitting in my drafts folder, I can’t help but wonder. I pour so much heart into my designs—yet sharing my writing feels far more daunting than the pain of launching my portfolio site.

Maybe it’s the uncertainty behind my writing skills. I haven’t taken a writing class since college, while I’ve spent thousands of hours refining my design craft. And let’s be honest: when I’m unsure of the right word to use, I have no problem making one up.

The whole point of this blog is to practice facing that fear head-on. If I can learn to write more cohesively, maybe I’ll feel more confident articulating my work aloud. Either way, this blog gives me another outlet to share and explore—plus, one more place to add sketches of line art!

What does travel mean to me?

I took my first red eye from San Francisco this morning; my head is bobbing as I write. I had the most amazing time there and because my friend Sid runs an AirBnB, I was able to spend time with really interesting people. Truth be told, I met Sid two years ago when I happened to stay at his AirBnB, we have since become friends and I am convinced that he is the most welcoming host alive.   

Last weekend, a girl named Clover from Beijing was staying with Sid too.  I found her to be inspiring. She is passionate about writing and her goal each day is, to sum up what she remembers from the day before in only three sentences. Three sentences are easily obtainable because it’s not too much that you procrastinate the task. It is a great experiment and since my mode of thought is drawing, I would like to implement something similar for my sketchbook. As it happens, she works for AirBnB and was in town for their national conference. We talked for a while about traveling and how she likes working for Airbnb. These conversations really provoked some thought. Clover had listened to a speaker describe how stressful travel can be, managing your workload the few days before, packing and securing accommodations. Once they arrive in said city, they might have many things that they want to accomplish and not everything always goes as planned. People can return home feeling that they need a vacation from their vacation! I suppose that I never thought about what traveling means to other people.

My travel goals have changed over the years. For example, I used to think that because I am an artist that I needed to stop at every art museum in the city. I might still quickly walk through on a rainy day or if the right time presents itself but my goals today revolve around socializing. I actually prefer staying in hostels or an AirBnB that has a shared living space to a hotel room. It would seem obvious that someone like myself would have realized that sooner, meeting friends has always been a priority for me! I still experience culture; like Clover explained, “…it is learning about the culture that is alive today ”! I prefer to go with the flow and take everything in ­­­– it is amazing the connections you make with people that you think are so different from yourself. It is much more enjoyable for me to hang out with someone from the city – listen to their music and eat the food they recommend.  This makes it possible to have an emotional attachment to that city, how people and the new environment make me feel. I will remember those experiences far longer than I will remember the two days I spent walking through the Louvre.  

San Francisco is young and embraces change; it is an exciting place to be! I am having trouble concentrating this week, and I know that I need to put a plan into action soon. We tend to get caught up with our day-to-day, but travel can be a glimpse into what the rest of the world is accomplishing. It is difficult to put yourself into vulnerable situations, but I’ve learned that I am a lot more aware of my surroundings when I am just a little uncomfortable. It is a good reminder to try new things, and you just never know when I might collaborate with Clover or any of the other kick-ass people I’ve met along the way.