Chicago. Part 2.
Greetings again readers from the Windy City. My time in Chi-town is wrapping up as I depart tomorrow to return to Athens. I hear the weather in Athens has been absolutely gorgeous since I've been gone so it's only natural that it's supposed to rain the remainder of the week once I get back. Love you Spring Break. Mean it.
So back to updating you (and myself for years to come) on my trip here.
Friday evening...
We went to Volare Thursday evening for dinner. It's an Italian place that came well recommended by everyone's favorite bell hop at the Marriott. We had an 8:30p reservation but arrived a few minutes early as we were starving and hoped to get seated soon. While we waited for our table in the packed, dimly lit, stuffy restaurant, I suddenly found myself getting a bit woozy. My eye sight turned a bit blurry and I turned to my friend and said, hey, I'm not feeling too hot. She said I was probably just hungry and hopefully we'd sit soon. As I continued to stand there, my the woozy-ness got worse and everything became blurry and I put my head on her shoulder and said, I think I need to go outside. As we started to walk outside, I basically fell into her unable to see ANYTHING. Once we got outside, I sat down, asked for some bread and water and within seconds, was fine. My friend said my pupils were extremely dilated. Not quite sure what happened or what to attribute it to but needless to say it was a tad bit scary and not at all pleasant.
Saturday
Having no interviews lined up, my friend and I took advantage of our free day to explore more of Chicago. After grabbing a late breakfast at a local coffee shop, we caught a bus down to Soldier Field to see the Field Museum. It's one of the more well known museums in the country and we were eager to check out the exhibits. The highlights included an exhibit on evolution, the nature of diamonds, gems, and the ancient Americas. The Africa exhibit was a bit disappointing and looks like it hasn't been updated since it's construction in oh, say, 1982? We stopped at Blackie's (famous for their burgers) afterward for a quick bite to eat before hitting up the hotel bar for drinks with another good friend in town for the conference.
Saturday evening I had an invitation to attend a candidate reception for one of the institutions I interviewed with. It was a great opportunity to meet more of the staff, learn more about the position and the institution and size up the competition. I really enjoyed meeting the staff and strongly resonated with the direction the department hopes to move in (is this a cover letter?). I also really respected the Director after only meeting him for 2 minutes and felt that was a great sign. So we'll see.
Having heard nothing but amazing things about Chicago style pizza, we trekked down to Giordano's for dinner Saturday evening. We arrived at 8:15p, ordered our pizza at 8:45p, finally were seated at 9:45p and bit down into our delicious stuffed pizza at 10p. It was a late dinner but well worth it as the pizza was DELICIOSO! And the company was pretty fantastic too.
Sunday
I spent the morning back at the conference having a second interview with one institution and a first interview with another. I thought both went well, I connected with the employers, and while both positions would be incredibly different, felt I could succeed in both and that both would be great professional moves for me. So we wait and see whether they call to invite me to campus.
I met up with an old college friend by mid afternoon and traveled to her apartment where we spent the afternoon catching up, watching a movie (it was pouring outside), cooked dinner, and enjoyed the Oscars. So great to see her!
Today
While my friend works, I'm spending the day lounging. I'm going to write some thank you notes, apply for a couple jobs, take advantage of her gym across the hall, and do some reading. I will probably venture out to see Lake Michigan but the weather is overcast and gloomy and after being on the go for so long, I'm ok with taking it easy.
If I feel crazy, I may walk down to Michigan ave and do some shopping. I don't really have the money to spend but it's been so long since I've seen good stores that I may do it anyway.
We may venture out for dinner this evening or we may stay in and cook. Either way, it'll be a great way to wrap up my time in Chi-town.
Be well. Cheers!
So back to updating you (and myself for years to come) on my trip here.
Friday evening...
We went to Volare Thursday evening for dinner. It's an Italian place that came well recommended by everyone's favorite bell hop at the Marriott. We had an 8:30p reservation but arrived a few minutes early as we were starving and hoped to get seated soon. While we waited for our table in the packed, dimly lit, stuffy restaurant, I suddenly found myself getting a bit woozy. My eye sight turned a bit blurry and I turned to my friend and said, hey, I'm not feeling too hot. She said I was probably just hungry and hopefully we'd sit soon. As I continued to stand there, my the woozy-ness got worse and everything became blurry and I put my head on her shoulder and said, I think I need to go outside. As we started to walk outside, I basically fell into her unable to see ANYTHING. Once we got outside, I sat down, asked for some bread and water and within seconds, was fine. My friend said my pupils were extremely dilated. Not quite sure what happened or what to attribute it to but needless to say it was a tad bit scary and not at all pleasant.
Saturday
Having no interviews lined up, my friend and I took advantage of our free day to explore more of Chicago. After grabbing a late breakfast at a local coffee shop, we caught a bus down to Soldier Field to see the Field Museum. It's one of the more well known museums in the country and we were eager to check out the exhibits. The highlights included an exhibit on evolution, the nature of diamonds, gems, and the ancient Americas. The Africa exhibit was a bit disappointing and looks like it hasn't been updated since it's construction in oh, say, 1982? We stopped at Blackie's (famous for their burgers) afterward for a quick bite to eat before hitting up the hotel bar for drinks with another good friend in town for the conference.
Saturday evening I had an invitation to attend a candidate reception for one of the institutions I interviewed with. It was a great opportunity to meet more of the staff, learn more about the position and the institution and size up the competition. I really enjoyed meeting the staff and strongly resonated with the direction the department hopes to move in (is this a cover letter?). I also really respected the Director after only meeting him for 2 minutes and felt that was a great sign. So we'll see.
Having heard nothing but amazing things about Chicago style pizza, we trekked down to Giordano's for dinner Saturday evening. We arrived at 8:15p, ordered our pizza at 8:45p, finally were seated at 9:45p and bit down into our delicious stuffed pizza at 10p. It was a late dinner but well worth it as the pizza was DELICIOSO! And the company was pretty fantastic too.
Sunday
I spent the morning back at the conference having a second interview with one institution and a first interview with another. I thought both went well, I connected with the employers, and while both positions would be incredibly different, felt I could succeed in both and that both would be great professional moves for me. So we wait and see whether they call to invite me to campus.
I met up with an old college friend by mid afternoon and traveled to her apartment where we spent the afternoon catching up, watching a movie (it was pouring outside), cooked dinner, and enjoyed the Oscars. So great to see her!
Today
While my friend works, I'm spending the day lounging. I'm going to write some thank you notes, apply for a couple jobs, take advantage of her gym across the hall, and do some reading. I will probably venture out to see Lake Michigan but the weather is overcast and gloomy and after being on the go for so long, I'm ok with taking it easy.
If I feel crazy, I may walk down to Michigan ave and do some shopping. I don't really have the money to spend but it's been so long since I've seen good stores that I may do it anyway.
We may venture out for dinner this evening or we may stay in and cook. Either way, it'll be a great way to wrap up my time in Chi-town.
Be well. Cheers!
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