Posts for category ‘Chicago’

My fixed gear commuter bike was stolen Wednesday night from my locked back courtyard area and I’m pretty bummed out about it. The possibility of getting robbed in a city is always there but I guess you never expect it to happen to you. I’m really surprised at how personally attached I was to that bike, Thursday I alternated between bouts of anger and being on the verge of tears. It had seen me through thousands of miles commuting through Chicago city streets in all kinds of weather and, while it was no prize, it really had come to fit me like a glove. I also had no idea the value of it monetarily until I sat down and totaled up how much I spent on the various parts over the years:

Frame: 210
Wheels: 150
Crank/BB: 100
Pedals: 40
Saddle: 30
Tires: 40
Brakes: 30
Helmet (also stolen): 50
–
$650 in total

And given that I got a lot of those parts and pieces on sale or used my pocketbook isn’t looking forward to trying to replace it. I think finally getting renters insurance is on the top of the to-do list next week.

I guess the upside is I get to go through the joy of finding and building a replacement (not sarcasm by the way, it really is fun to build bicycles!) but it’s not something I have the time or heart for right now.

Bye bye baby, daddy misses you.

Read more »

It’s true I probably could but the problem is time. Specifically there just hasn’t been time to blog recently and I apologize for that to anyone who still drops in looking for something new.

A grossly understated summary of what I’ve been up to follows in the form of lists:

I’ve been in some shows

• Feydeau-Si-Deau
• Durango
• People’s History of the United States

I’ve seen some awesome concerts

• The Dresden Dolls
• Billy Branch
• One of the Girls

I’ve seen some terrific theatre

• As Told by the Vivian Girls
• Our Town
• Columbinus

I’ve read some fantastic books

• Gould’s Book of Fish
• Little Big
• Fun Home
• Eats, Shoots & Leaves
• The Neon Bible

I’m soon going to be missing some friends

• Danielle (moving to Montana)
• Glen (moving… somewhere)

I signed up for my third Chicago Marathon

• Here’s hoping the weather is better than last time
• I had to register through a charity because I was slack and didn’t get signed up in time… again

I’m turning 30 in a few weeks

• I’m trying not to feel too old
• It’s not working particularly well

As pointed out in my last post, I’ve been cast as an understudy in Durango with the Silk Road Theatre Project.  This just so happens to be the first Equity show I’m going to do in Chicago; or so I thought.  Last Friday I got a phone call from Theatre Wit asking if I’d like to be in their upcoming production of Chemin De Fer (since retitled Feydeau-si-Deau) which goes up before Durango; they had an actor drop out and needed a replacement.  This is an Equity show as well and what’s even better; Wit takes part in the EMC program so I can earn some weeks towards joining Equity.  Thanks to the generosity of the folks at Silk Road I’ve been able to schedule both shows which will make for a busy but fulfilling summer.

I realize that the 4 or 5 suckers readers of this blog may have no idea how Equity works or even what it is.  Well it’s a bit too complicated to explain fully but in a nutshell Equity (or AEA) is the stage actors union in the US and there are a lot of benefits to joining.  By working with certain eligible theatre companies for a total of fifty weeks I can earn the right to apply for membership in the AEA; this process is called the Equity Membership Candidate Program (or EMC).  Just starting the EMC program gives me a few benefits on it’s own; mainly I’ll be seen before non-Equity members at any Equity audition.

I’m certainly not ready to join up yet but starting to fulfill those fifty weeks feels like a step in the right direction–and I might add, it’s a bit scary; progress always is.

In other news there’s a Lunar eclipse tonight and it’s beautiful.  Maybe it’s a herald of new things; maybe–as most ancient cultures thought–it’s a sign of impending doom.

Only time will tell.

(photo Luc Viatour)

I realize I’ve been a bit remiss in updating lately but I’m not going to be making apologies for it– Life has been just too full of stuff to spend much time re-hashing it here. However I do realize that there are friends of mine that really don’t get to know what’s going on with me unless I write it down here so this is the short version of my summer.

Theatre work:

• I split with the Tantalus Theatre Group. I think their work is awesome and very important, but it just wasn’t where I wanted my acting career to go right now.
• I’ve been taking acting classes in the Meisner program at Act One Studios. It’s been great, it feels really awesome to get back into a classroom and be able to work without the pressures of eventually turning what you’re doing into a production.
• I’ve been doing a lot more auditions– sadly it’s a slow time of year for that but still, I’m getting out there.

Personal stuff:

• I finished my second Chicago Marathon. The weather was so hot (90+ degrees, fucking global warming) that they actually canceled the marathon 1/2 way through so I was forced to walk the last 8-10 miles. I’m not sure I’m interested in doing a third one after that experience, but we’ll see.
• I completed by new bike project which involved a lot of work but it’s finally finished. A Fukaya Japanese track bike with nearly full Suntour Superbe Pro components. It’s freaking sweet, pity it’s too nice to ride in the crappy weather we’ve been having lately, but hey that’s why I have three bikes.
• I’m single again. It always sucks when a relationship ends and I miss her a lot some days, but I think ultimately it’s for the best. *sigh*
• I opened an IRA account for retirement. Christ I feel like such an adult.
• I’ll be back in NC visiting the family Dec 19-23. This means I’ll actually be hanging out by my self on X-mas day, which will feel weird I’m sure, but it was the only way I could see my brother whom I haven’t set eyes on in two years.

Geek stuff:

• I moved this blog to my home computer when I left Tantalus (I had been piggy-backing with their hosting account). Some time soon I’ll go buy my own cheap-o hosting but for now I’ll have to live with it as is. The bastards at RCN block port 80 so this is being served on 81, hence the odd looking URL above– But hey at least it works.
• I’m really in love with the EEEPC from ASUS. If I had a spare 400 bucks floating around I’d be all over it. Who knows, maybe for my birthday. Maybe by then the 8g model with a 7 inch screen and the same size case will be out.
• I just ordered a new phone. My trusty old Sony Ericsson T637 is dying the rapid death of battery failure so I decided to go with a Blackberry Pearl (in red) with an unlimited data plan. I will be on teh internets AT ALL TIMES! (yes I’m a geek, deal with it)
• I’ve pretty much completely phased out Windows on my desktop computers in favor of Ubuntu. It’s still not perfect, but as linux on the desktop goes, it’s the best I’ve used so far.

Well that’s all the news that leaps to mind right away– I’ll update this post later if I realize that I forgot something.

Until the marathon.

AIEEEEEEEEEE!

I’m extremely excited and a little bit terrified.  I haven’t trained anywhere nearly as hard as I did last year, but hopefully a full summer of 20+ miles a day on my bike and generally good healthy habits will get me through.  I did my best 20 mile run so far last Saturday and came in at 2:51:12, which puts me on pace for about a 3:45-ish marathon, which is exactly what I finished at last year.  Considering I’ve probably only done about 1/4 the training I’ll be pretty pleased if I can pull off the same time or better.

I’ve been meaning to post this for a while but I never got around to it.  I made a map of Chicago vegetarian restaurants that I either enjoy or have heard good things about from people I trust.  If you have any suggestions drop them in the comments section and I’ll try to add them.

Wonder where I’ve been? Well me too sometimes, but for the last two months I’ve been rehearsing six days a week with Quest Theatre Ensemble in preparation for Sword in the Stone. It’s been a really great experience getting to work with the Quest folk and I think we’ve got a really fun show as a result. We open this Friday so come on out and see some theatre!

Well I’ve been busy but a few things have been happening that deserve a good blogging. In no particular order:

I’m now in rehearsal for Toy Chest with the Tantalus Theatre Group. I think it’s really going to be an interesting piece. It’s a bit more focused than a lot of the stuff we’ve done in the past and I hope it shows when we reach opening night. The (slightly) scary part is I have to do a little dance/sing number. I’m not scared of the singing but I’ve got a pair of left feet when it comes to choreography so I’m a bit trepedatious about the dance number. We open March 10th with a preview on March 8th so mark your calendar now!

I’m feeding my bike addiction a new bike frame that’s in process of being built in my apartment right now. She doesn’t have a name yet, but it’d better be a fast one. Feast your eyes on this little number. It’s all scandium alloy and carbon fiber and it weights about as much as a cup of coffee. There will be more pictures along with my new track bike when all of the pieces get put together.

The bears have made it to the Superbowl. I think they may burn this city to the ground if they win it (although I predicted the same thing when the White Sox won the world series and I barely even noticed the celebration).

The big holiday party that my apartment was all decorated for in the pictures from the previous post was a huge success in more ways than one. I won’t get into details, but I’m pleased with the way life works sometimes.

So life goes on and these days I seem to be on the upside of it most of the time.

Wheeeeeee.

Someone asked for some pictures of my new place in it’s new furniture/Christmas glory. Well why take pictures when you can shoot video?

Living room video
Living room picture (small)
Living room picture (huge)

Dining room video
Dining room picture (small)
Dining room picture (huge)

Kitchen video
Kitchen picture (small)
Kitchen picture (huge)

Bedroom video
Bedroom picture (small)
Bedroom picture (huge)

No footage of the bathroom– it’s bloody boring!

By the way, you’ll need quicktime to view these video clips.

Oh and yes I know my camera takes really crappy looking video but it’s what I’ve got.

Ever since I started biking regularly on city streets I’ve been waiting for the day. Every regular bike rider gets hit by a car eventually and today my number was up. Riding down Ashland in the rain I was hit from behind by a SUV who clipped my shoulder with his mirror. He didn’t even stop. My front wheel jerked hard to the left and I took a header into the pavement. Luckily I’m fine other than a bruised up shoulder and my bike escaped in good shape too, just a few extra scratches on the already scratched up handlebars.

Now that I’m home and I’ve taken a shower and a few Advil I find rather than being scared or hurt I’m just pissed off. Drivers of big things with four wheels in the city don’t keep a very good eye on what they’re doing. I see people eating, talking on phones, applying makeup, and doing all kinds of other stupid shit while driving that really yanks my cord. So as a measure of protection for myself and other cyclists I’m going to make it a goal to talk to at least ten people about watching out for cyclists on the roads. I don’t know if it will help but I feel like it might.

Ride and drive safe out there!