As work has gotten crazier and crazier this week, the nights have been more and more wonderful. But now it's over. Nona is back in New York City as of last night. Let's recap.
Tuesday
1. Woke up for work at 5 AM, an hour early, and left two hours sooner than normal, at 3 PM
2. The traffic moved pretty smoothly, except for the merge past O'Hare
3. Took an hour, 15 minutes
4. Never driven in the loop before, I got a bit nervous
5. Went through State and Michigan, I was struck by the bright lights and the massive amounts of shoppers and commuters.
6. I waited outside Barnes and Noble for about ten minutes
7. I picked her up and we headed north towards Wacker Drive
8. I missed the parking lot and the valet system didn't begin for another 20 minutes.
9. We walked into Catch 35 around 6:50.
10. We realized we disagree on food preferences
11. I don't like ketchup, chocolate, candy, and Indian food
12. She doesn't like pork and nuts
13. Started with Asian seared scallops and she let me devour most of the hot sourdough bread
14. She had blackened salmon; I expected tuna steak, not sashimi
15. Not great fried rice, lacked seasoning and flavor
16. Split key lime pie for dessert
17. The conversation had that interview feel, I guess that's what happens with two journalists
18. Discussed family, travel, love, marriage
18. She loved talking with Paxson, our waiter
19. I knew this girl was anything but boring
20. We had a freezing cold nine block walk/run to the AMC theater
21. After climbing two flights of stairs, we were there. But 23 bucks for two tickets???
22. We showed each other photos, she had a ton of her nephew
23. We saw Love and Other Drugs, felt a bit pornographic
24. Nothing against sex in movies, but it felt pushed and shoved in in for no real reason. Felt lazy
25. Toured Wacker Drive, before pulling into Hilton
26. Mark, the valet guy, holds car up to midnight
27. Hung in the lounge for about an hour
28. They had bougie peanuts, plus the ones with the wasabi peanuts
29. $3.00 for a Coke bottle, $3.25 for a small water bottle
30. She asked me to come over again Thursday, and that was extraordinary because I knew that would be her last night
31. Took more photos, including a few by the fireplace
32. Small hug goodbye, but it's not a great idea to hug when you have a shopping bag in your hands
33. Took 10 minutes to figure my way out of the city, even though Congress Parkway is only three or so blocks north of the hotel
34. I felt good about the night, I was just happy I would get to see her again
Thursday
35. Left at 4 instead of 3, it only took an hour to get in
36. For the second straight time, she texted me to tell me how starrrving she was.
37. For the first time ever, I drove up the long Ohio St ramp into the Loop.
38. The view of the city from that close is amazing with a lot of red and green lights on the Merchandise Mart and Hancock Tower.
39. Parked on the street, it only cost me six bucks! Much better than the $20 I spent Tuesday
40. We chose the Cheesecake Factory, which is at the base of the Hancock Tower and next to the Water Tower Place, so it's a happening part of town.
41. I had to walk past Ditka's, and dang, I wanted da pork chop!
42. I waited for a few minutes inside and it turns out, she was at the bar and I never noticed
43. She was so giddy, I think it's just her nature. I'd like to think she was happy to see me
44. This time, Chad was our waiter and I just remember they talked for a solid two straight minutes. I couldn't get a word in, yet all I could do was smile
45. We split the crab and artichoke dip. She mentioned the calories, but as the winter approaches, it just puts me in the mood for hearty food. IMO, hearty is really a nice way of saying fattening
46. I ordered that Cajun Jambalaya, she had the blackened chicken sandwich
47. I laughed when she asked for a side of onion rings with the fries as well as two pieces of fudge cake to go. I guess she didn't know the size of their desserts!
48. Since I don't eat chocolate, that eliminated 80% of the cheesecake options for me. Plus, the desserts there are just too sweet anyway. We split a piece of banana cheesecake, which was kind of dull. It needed some caramel, or some nuts, or something.
49. We talked about complimenting at one point. She said I wasn't good at it, which I disagreed with. I explained since we only had so much time, I felt uneasy doing it. I didn't want to come on too strong or anything
50. I mentioned to her that I thought she was very special and I didn't want to be some guy that quickly drifted in and out of her life. As much as she has traveled, it was a concern of mine. She kind of brushed it off, said it wasn't really a concern, I don't know if she really got what I was saying
51. She had to run into Filene's for a few, so with the time on the meter about to expire, I waited in the car for her, about a block away
52. That took about 15 minutes of waiting. I held off three people who wanted that spot on Rush and Chestnut
53. I turned on some Christmas music. We drove up the LSD and towards the northern part of Clark St. It had a very suburban feel with a lot of little shops, but it was still very busy. She oohed and aahed at so many of those stores, especially some of the Christmas displays
54. But I had a plan. 2-for-1 Thursday at ComedySportz. I had never been, but I love improv comedy, so I thought it would be good
55. What I didn't expect was to be placed in the front row, one table over from the center! I ordered her a Diet Coke
56. There were a ton of high school kids sitting in the "bleachers" so they made the most noise. there were also a dozen or so law students in the front on the left side
57. In the first game, Ref Kate came right up to me and asked what I liked to do on a day off. I said I liked the gym so the performers rapped a song about me going to the gym. It went on for a good two minutes and they mentioned things like my stylish clothes, that she was my girlfriend (which was a little awkward, but cool), etc.
58. They played an elimination game of some type and every time a performer made a mistake, we all had to clap twice and say "Outta here." Little did anyone know, I was yelling it Gary Cohen style for those rare Mets home runs!
59. She mentioned avocados and three of the performers, plus a girl from the audience made up a love song about avocados, one word at a time
60. At another point, she went back with Israel, while the audience came up with suggestions for "5 things", the hardest game at ComedySportz
61. After that game came halftime, and she mentioned how much fun she was having. that made me feel good. I was too
62. I remember jokes about beards made of chocolate milk
63. I loved the game where we came up with random lines and the performers had to randomly incorporate all of them into the scene. My contribution was the movie line "Heeeeeeeere's Johnnyyyyyyy!" She texted that to me later too
64. The show ended around 9:45 and I knew she had to be back at the Hilton relatively soon to pack. So we cruised down the LSD and the Magnificent Mile.
65. She kept mentioning how beautiful the city was. She took a ton of pictures. I just wanted that mile to last for days
66. We left the car with Mark again and walked inside the hotel
67. She showed me this huge Christmas tree in the Hilton. It almost reached the ceiling of the ballroom, I can't begin to guess how tall it was
68. We took more pictures, threw some pennies in the fountain, and headed back to the lobby
69. I hated to say goodbye, I dreaded it. But i knew our time was limited from the beginning
70. She thanked me for everything and the things I told her about discipline and God
71. I told her she was wonderful and I knew she was going to do something very special. I just want to be around when she does it
72. We embraced for a good 10 seconds, and I gently kissed her cheek
73. Then it was back to my car and a trip down Congress Parkway, 290, 88, 355, and 64 to home
74. I'll admit as I played "The Weekend" and "I'm Gonna Miss You, Girl" several times each, I had to wipe a tear away
How I Feel Now
75. She is an amazing woman. I remember her bright smile, her perkiness, her wit, her energy, her independent nature, yet she had such a youthful exuberance
76. I feel like I have been meeting a lot of the same types of girls over and over. Not bad, but you kind of get used to the same stories and experiences. She is not like that at all
77. I hope I see her again
78. I don't know what will happen, as she is leaving for Beirut in the next few weeks
79. But then again, she could be anywhere
80. I hope she took me with her
Song lyrics:
There is only one song I can think of. "The Weekend" by Steve Wariner
Just for a moment, I held you too close.
Now I'm all out of time and I don't want to let go.
How much can happen in a night or two?
I guess it's all depending on your point of view.
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