Time off for Turkey Day

I took a few days off from work to get back to Chicago for Thanksgiving. I hadn't traveled for Tennis Channel in more than three months and was beginning to get LA cabin fever. The traffic, the people, the costs...it was time for a break.

My vacation back to Chicago began with closure from the tribulations of the last month in LA. At times I had literally felt like I was crawling around on my hands and knees like Maximus after being stabbed by Commodus. I got soft for awhile at the hands of a cute brunette from New Orleans that was so "my style" it probably wasn't good for me. With an abrupt halt in communication, I was left totally mystified. But a text message upon my return to Chicago told me to go to myspace for answers (why would I think to go anywhere else?). Suddenly it all became clear. Crusing around together listening to a Radiohead mix I had made, I recall her saying several times how much she loved the song "High and Dry" as it played in the car. And now, weeks later, that's exactly what I was.

Hey Marc,

I know that it's really lame to talk to you over myspace, but I keep getting busy at nights and I thought you at least deserved an explanation before you go to chicago. I really did have a great time with you on our dates and that's not just lip service, I mean it. I think the best thing to do is just be honest, so I want to tell you the truth. Someone from my past unexpectedly came back into my life a few days after our last date and we recently decided to give it a go. I think I stopped talking to you because I didn't want to be confused. I like you more each time I see you and I thought it best to just make a decision and stick to it instead of hurting two people because I couldn't make up my mind. I should have just told you, I'm immature, nothing like this has happened to me before and I didn't know how to handle it. I'm sorry.

Jill

A myspace message. That is how you end a relationship in LA.

Fortunately, vacation was upon me and it was time to enjoy interactions with good friends and the familiar activities of my youth. The first priority was checking in with Iowa City.

The differences are obvious, but I cannot put into words the night and day contrast between Los Angeles and Iowa City. Going directly from one town to the other, the magnitude of variation can be felt just by entering a restaurant. As I walked into Pagalia's Pizza upon arriving in town, I was first informed by a man in line that we were in the wrong line and would be better suited in the one to the left. I was also told by a middle aged woman to make sure that I did not eat the pizza right when they delivered it to the table because their pizza is very hot and it will burn my mouth. If this warning has ever been given in LA, I would be surprised.

Iowa City is doing well. People are still doing a lot of drinking, still talking about football. The town is the same, now it's just filled with unfamiliar faces. So it goes.

The sun didn't cooperate for the early part of the week in Chicago; it did not make a single appearance. I noticed quickly that my energy level was low. Without sunlight and warmth, you tend to want to hibernate, eat warm food, grab a blanket, watch football. Sometimes this can be a refreshing change of pace, but over an extended period of time it can become depressing.



Disc golf, Local H, El B, flag football, Black Wednesday (a term that I learned is used only in Chicago, http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=black+wednesday) were all in the mix during the holiday in Chicago. It cannot be beat.