Good morning Sunshine!

Well, it's Sunday morning, and I'm back in Chicago. Sunshine is pouring into our condo, and NPR is telling me all about things "on the media". I'm so so so happy. My niece Isabelle, when she was 3, would spin in a circle with her head held back and proclaim "Happy happy happy happy"--that's how I feel today. And oh my god, it just smells so good here. And everyone is really normal-looking.

I've been home since Tuesday--and it's wonderful to be back. I've gone to a midnight movie of the new Indiana Jones (a fun romp! Nothing more), had brunch, had lots of Medittarenean food, I've roasted a chicken (herbs de provence and garlic rubbed under the skin, salt and pepper to taste), I've sat out on the deck at Lis and Jarrad's (miller lites and white wine from the kosher winery in Napa--yum), I've walked through Andersonville (bought some cheese from a new fancy foods place), I pumped up my tires (in my bike) and rode to Lincoln Square to meet Amy for Potbelly's (skinny turkey on wheat with provolone and mushrooms, no hot stuff, no mayo) and I've walked down to Boystown with Dori and had drinks at an Irish Pub.

In other words, all is right in the world.

And, last night, sweet lovely Homer who is staying in my room found a different place to crash so that I could sleep in my own bed. My own, wonderful, cushy, big, roomy, sweet bed. I rubbed my face in the pillows and turned and thrashed in my big purple comforter. Sweetness!

I laid on the bed just staring at the view into the hall and out the window onto Winnemac. I love my room, and my condo. I just love being back.

Today, Andy's hosting a big gay brunch for all the leather daddies in town for IML, and then I'm going to do Yoga with Lis and then write with Amy. IML, by the way, is "International Male Leather", and I've heard quite a few stories about it this weekend. Apparently, it's not for the faint of heart---with rows and rows of booths with gay dude stuff---dildoes shaped from molds of porn stars, lots of leather accroutment, and I think, eventually, a beauty contest but for Mr. Leather instead of Miss America. I'm not planning to attend, but I hope to see Andy's pics.

So, I'm going to go put on my pleather bag and join in on the brunch for a bit and then leave the boys to be boys.


I love Chicago!

Coming to an end

I'm heading back home to Chicago after my little trip out west.  I'll be in San Francisco for 2 days, and then flying on my old favorite airline, Southwest to sweet home, Chicago.

Here are things I've LOVED about the road trip:

• I saw a Coyote in Griffith Park.
  
• Mount Constitution on Orcas Island.  The flora, the moss, the cedars and the color---I felt like I was in Lothlorian from Lord of the Rings.
• I spent 5 days in Seattle with the Buchthals and AP, introducing that end of the world to beergaritas and drinking a ton of delicious coffee.
• Portland. Everything about it. Since I left, I realized I know a lot more people there then I even knew.  Including Ramona, Beezus, Ribsy and Henry.  Plus, Stacey and Bob are going to open an amazing space with way-cool stuff going on in it. 
• Vegas.  I spent an afternoon sipping champagne and gnawing on delicious buffet food that kicked the ass of the buffet on the Star.  Plus, a really decadent few hours on the pool deck chatting with double Liz(s)es--two friends named Lis(z), who have different spellings to their names but are equally dear to me.
• Driving to Joshua Tree, and then hiking that dirty Ryan Mountain.  I cheered the wildflowers on to encourage them to keep spirits strong, even in the dry sand of the desert.  Keep GROWING little flowers!
• My favorite moment on that hike was seeing a partridge momma and her little feather as she ran from a tree, across a little rise in the trail.  She stopped me in my tracks.
• In Big Bear, I ate the best turkey burger ever invented---the meat was so yummy and subtly spicy, and the toppings were sharp cheddar, fresh fresh avocado and two strips of bacon on a wheat bread, with tomatoes and onions. Heaven.
• In LA, LA, LA land, in one short drive, I went past the Capitol Records building, Mann's, Chateau Marmot, the Scientology Celebrity Center and saw the Hollywood sign.
• Also there, I had de-lightful brunch in Hollywood with Meggers and D-town and they pointed out Patton Oswald to me.  Celebrity spotting!  I didn't know who it was, but it was exciting, nonetheless!
• That night, I had a small gathering at Cat and Fiddle, and all the dudes I used to hang out with in Chicago are now in LA. I kinda forgot, I used to have guy friends my age who I did shows with back in the 90s.  Having them there makes me want to move, at least for a few weeks out there.  Pretty coolio.
• I then drove up PCH, stopping in Santa Cruz (more of a crash pad then actual visit) and then drove the last hour or so along 1, which was beautiful, especially in the early morning, with surfers out on the waters.
• Yesterday in SF Chinatown was pretty fun with dori and then today in Napa was really lovely.

Oh! I have so much more to write....so I'm not going to write about things I didn't love (like how sometimes driving and being alone was amazing, but sometimes just kind of boring, and how much I read, and how my camera pooped out on me right after Seattle, so I don't have any pictures past Seattle) because I am loving this trip and that I got to do it.

Thanks to all my lovely hosts and friends along the way---you all have a place to say in Chicago.

Off to bed....

B

Overheard at hostel

"Dude, backpacking is like, gross. You never feel like you're, I don't know, ever really dressed cute."

I'm staying at a hostel in an UNDISCLOSED location, crashing here for the night before heading to LA and lots of people.

I like people, but this isolation and time alone has been wonderful, too. Especially the driving and the listening to NPR.

After being around people 24/7 on the old cruise, it's wonderful to just kick back and hang out alone.

Pentecostal, showtunes and WI-FI rest stops

What is it about rural coastal towns that there is a large amount of Pentecostal Churches? I saw it in Maine, and I've just seen it again in rural Washington State. The only other thing I know about these churches is that John Ashcroft was rumoured to hold a prayer service in his office in the morning before work started. Attorney General work. Oh, and that my dear old dad had once attended a Pentecostal service on a date somewhere near his college, Ohio University, and there was a snake involved in the service. So, I am biased against these churches but that creeps me out a bit. Oh well, people get creeped out by Catholics and I think that's within the range of normal religion. Except the anti-gay and anti-abortion stuff. And some other bad stuff, too. Sorry, I'm going to cut this conversation off because I can see I've lost some of you.

Anyway, also wonderful on a roadtrip---Showtunes from the wonderful Sniffen. He made me a mix of his favorite diddies from Broadway, and I was singing, at the top of my lungs, to Music Man, Avenue Q and many others.

Finally, the rest stops in Washington promote that they have free wireless. I hope to test out that theory tomorrow on the road.

I'm not going to say where i am to protect my trip--but it's awesome. Really awesome. Plus, it's clamming weekend!

I think I've said too much.

Chicago reader---please keep me honest on the following things I am interested in doing when I get back to Chicago---join the WW again, sing up for the Musical Theatre class at Old Town, see if I can get a mini-internship at WBEZ and go hiking.

Until then, happy Tuesday to all of you faithful readers.....

Bye bye ship, hello many ships

Greetings from I-5 South! For the sake of protecting my road trip identity, I will not say more then that.

A little bit of catch-up...on our last cruise, we repositioned the ship to Seattle, so we went from San Pedro all the way up to Vancouver. We had our last show/last drink in Spinnaker/last drink in crewbar/a goodbye party in the port room/dinner at Cagney's and much more to say goodbye to ship life. Half of the cast is contemplating/continuing on with ships in the near future. For now, I am planning on going back to Chicago and dipping my toes back into the advertising world (thanks Paula) and writing the third play with Amy and enjoying summer in Chicago.

Anyway, that's the plan, but first, I am going on a roadtrip throughout the west coast.

We signed off 8 days ago in Vancouver. I've been off the ship for 8 days. 8 days!

My first stop was Vancouver (or the Couv, as our magician friend Murray called it). The Couv was wonderful--Megan and I felt like as ladies without size 2 bodies, and without blonde hair with extensions, that we fit into this place a bit more then the boat.

We (Tilliski, Megan, Mark and I) went to a veggie place, and then an open mic in the area called Kits (for Kitsilano). Tilliski sang and played in the open mic...and got hit on by a local dude (they love Tilliski in the Pacific Northwest, or, as Mark called it for the Canadians, the Pacific Southwest). We drank local brews, and laughed and laughed and I kept looking at my watch thinking about all-aboard time---but no need to--I didn't have to be anywhere at any certain time.

I slept like a baby that night....stretched out on a big double bed, with no shaking, no vibration, no noise--so great.

Then, thanks to the generosity of one Mark Piebanga, and his friends on Orcas Island, we had a heaping dose of nature, mountains, ocean and good food almost immediately upon departing the NCL Star. I've wanted to go to the San Juan Islands for years, so it was THRILLING to be there. We climbed Mount Constitution to an observatory tower (I geeked out when I learned it was a CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps) project), had a peanut butter sandwich and then hiked back down.

The view was really amazing---the mountains of the Cascade, Vancouver Island, ocean, alpine lake--pines, spruce, cedar, moss, and more green stuff.

The night before, we hit a local pub, and I was telling the table about one time I was at the Printer's Row bookfair, with Amy, and I found a used copy of "My Sergei",* about the figure-skating pair/couple where the dude tragically died. I held it up to Amy to show her and she gave me a look that clearly indicated what she thought of the book, and I just started laughing and laughing and laughing and crying at the table. It was such a release---I felt like I hadn't laughed like that in months.

On the mountain, I thought about all the things I really love--reading, writing (well, having written), watching movies, walking, hiking, sleeping, eating, rehearsing, working hard on something, gymnastics and NPR. I'm going to do my best to remember these things and get back to them on this trip.

Then, we drove to Seattle, where I saw a NCL ship every day that I was downtown. The NCL Pearl twice, and the NCL Star, once, but only briefly.

There's more to update you all on...but for now, off I go to hit the road.

Here's a brief description of the book, by the way.



My Sergei: A Love Story, written by E.M. Swift and Ekaterina Gordeeva and published in 1996, recounts the history behind one of figure skating's most well recognized pair teams.

Sergei Grinkov and Ekaterina Gordeeva were paired together as young children in the Soviet Union after failing to prove themselves as strong solo skaters. Together they captured many amateur titles (including two Olympic gold medals and four World Championships) and professional titles. They eventually fell in love, married, had a child, and continued skating together as professionals until Grinkov died from a sudden heart attack during a rehearsal in Lake Placid, in November of 1995.

This book topped the New York Times Bestseller List and includes many black and white and color photos from Gordeeva and Grinkov's personal collection as well as publicity photos from their various touring groups, such as Stars On Ice. A made-for-television movie version of My Sergei was also made, which included interviews of family and friends, archival skating footage, and re-enacted scenes from the book (starring another famous Russian skating duo, Yelena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikhuralidze).