Surreality

Yesterday was an amazingly surreal day, which I reckon is bound to happen to everyone once in a while. It was a great combination of fun, oddities, sports, and beer. To begin with, the much hyped Wake Forest vs. Duke basketball game was yesterday at noontime. I was, of course, very excited that it would be televised so I could watch. But then I thought to myself, why watch it all alone? So, I invited everyone I know from Wake that lives in the area to come over for an extravaganza. The game was a big deal because last year we (WFU) beat Duke for the first time in I don't know how long and this year Duke was ranked #2 and Wake was #3/4 going into the game. Quite the match-up! Much to my surprise everyone showed up! Willhoit, Jives, Kate Lambert, Julia Schmidt, and Jive's friend Caroline (whom I recognized from Wake but never really had met her until now). It was amazing! I hadn't seen Kate or Julia since graduation, so it was awesome to hang out with that particular crass duo again. Willhoit has been busy lately with work, so I haven't seen him in a while, and thus it was fun for him to come over. Jives and I have been hanging out a lot, so that was old hat, but nonetheless fun. Jive's friend (cute friend!) Caroline was a lot of fun to meet too - a wonderfully Southern, gentile genteel young lady. However, despite this entire cheering squad, Wake fell to the Devil's with a final score of 84-72. But, a great time was had by all regardless.

After the game, Hoit left and Kate and Julia had to go to work. Jives had a party scheduled for the evening at Duffy's where one of his co-workers was celebrating her last night in town before moving to London. So, he invited Caroline and I out to that event, to which we agreed. Caroline went home for a while and I went back with Jives to his apartment, which is awesome and wonderfully located! We played a little NCAA Football, watched a little TV, and got ready to go. Duffy's was, of course, crowded, but a great atmosphere. The party deal was $20 gets you food and all you can drink until 11pm. We forked it over. I got a chance to meet many of Jive's co-workers, who were all very nice and a lot of fun to be around, despite the fact they were an older crowd. Guess I'm getting used to that being at Seabury and all! The wings were hot and the beer flowed freely, so it was shaping up to be a great evening!

Caroline showed up a bit later and since she and I both didn't really know anyone else all that well, we spent a lot of time talking with one another, which allowed Jives to mingle with his friends and not feel as if we were holding him back. As I mentioned earlier, Caroline was quite attractive, so I really didn't mind at all! As it turns out, about an hour into our conversation, she starts asking me what I did at Wake. So I told her I was involved in Lambda Chi Alpha and the theater. At which point, she exclaims, "Oh my goodness! You were in Children of a Lesser God. Wow! You were awesome!" First of all, I was amazed she could remember that I was in that show and second of all was quite flattered by her remarks. Children was the best show I was ever in and was truly a remarkable performance from all aspects. So, we talked about that show for a while and I was simply tickled that I was being recognized outside of Wake for my contributions to the theater program there. I felt a bit like a star for my fifteen minutes!

We talked for a while longer but soon our conversation was broken up by a large commotion over by the entrance to the party area. I look over to see what is happening and I spy all these people gathered around a gentleman in a white, floor-length ermine coat, a purple 3-piece suit, lots of gold jewelry, dark black sunglasses, and a matching purple fidora. Jives had been telling us earlier that over the past several nights when he was hanging out with his co-workers, they kept seeing this guy on the street who was a bonafide pimp. Not just dressing the part, but a man who actually prostituted women for cash. Now, I'd never encountered such a man before and was quite stunned. We've all at one point or another made fun of pimps and their outrageous attire, but here, standing before me was a real live one! I had to shake his hand, just to be able to say that I did. He called me "brother" and was very polite before he moved on to his own table, never removing his sunglasses. Surreal...ahh...life in Chicago.

Not long after that the DJ gives the following shout-out over the PA, "This one goes out to Ryan, who just recently moved here to our city. Welcome to Chicago man!" Turns out several of Jives' friends thought it was hysterical that I was from the South and so thought to welcome me proper to the big city! The night went on and before it got too late I decided to head home as I was relying on grand ole CTA to get me there. So, I said my goodbyes, collected Caroline's phone number, and headed out before things could possibly get any stranger. So, in one day, I see old friends I haven't seen in a long time, meet a cute girl, meet a pimp (the two of which are not connected!), get a shout-out from a DJ, and get said girl's number! I'd say it was a successful day...

-R