graduation! (chicago, day 2)
I have never been to a graduation with
-- teachers dancing in wearing robes and sunglasses while leading their procession of seniors to the songs like "Walk this Way" by Aerosmith
-- excellently-produced video montages of the senior arts showcase, which took over part of Chicago this weekend
-- spontaneous performance by Earth, Wind and Fire, who were receiving an honorary degree (one of them even swiped a bass from a member of the graduation orchestra)
Art school graduation is pretty cool. Many of the speakers' themes were the same as 'regular' college graduation (eg, life long learning and leadership; self-discovery as the most important lesson of college; the significance of collaboration rather than competing), but within this context, it somehow felt cooler.
So, after we collected the sister from graduation, we had a bit to eat at Clarke's on Lincoln, near the Biograph Theater. There's a Dillinger movie being set to film there, starring Johnny Depp, and everything is being converted to look like lincoln ave circa dillinger's time, which means lots of cool old signage. It's a little surreal.
Spent some time watching James (the nephew) and Dan (Kim's boyfriend) and my brother play Rock Band, then headed out to Japonais for dinner. We had an eight-person party, including my ever-more-frail grandmother, so we did an early 5pm seating. Having that sized group means getting to try one bite of tons of different foods, which was great fun. Among the most innovative was a flash-cooked hamachi sashimi topped with chives, tobiko and tempura crumbles with a yuzu vinaigrette. The smoked duck salad with peaches was light and wonderful, the eel/sweet potato roll was comfort food, and the cocktail (stolichnaya vodka,cointreau, soho lychee liqueur, lychee juice, cranberry juice) tasted like candy. By the time the entree came -- for me, smoked japanese ribs, frites, and a soybean salad -- I could barely eat anything. I nibbled at a couple of ribs, but look forward to eating the majority of them with some rice and salad tomorrow night. It's nice to head out with the grown up version of my family. We remain an eccentric, witty group who can get along well. Kim leaves for Canada tomorrow for a vacation, so it was good to get everyone together for a bit. Desserts included their famous 'coffee and doughnuts' -- green tea semifreddo with chestnut/chocolate-filled beignets, and Kim loved her yuzu-infused creme brulee. I was so full at that point that I had about a three-minute interlude of terror that I was going to faint (this happens more frequently than I would like), but I managed to get my body past it. One more bite of food or a poorly timed trip to the bathroom and I might have ended up on passed out on the floor, but happily, I persevered.
Home, more time with nephews, and now bed. I love milestone days - I get all weepy and nostalgic. I hope this one was memorable for the sister.
-- teachers dancing in wearing robes and sunglasses while leading their procession of seniors to the songs like "Walk this Way" by Aerosmith
-- excellently-produced video montages of the senior arts showcase, which took over part of Chicago this weekend
-- spontaneous performance by Earth, Wind and Fire, who were receiving an honorary degree (one of them even swiped a bass from a member of the graduation orchestra)
Art school graduation is pretty cool. Many of the speakers' themes were the same as 'regular' college graduation (eg, life long learning and leadership; self-discovery as the most important lesson of college; the significance of collaboration rather than competing), but within this context, it somehow felt cooler.
So, after we collected the sister from graduation, we had a bit to eat at Clarke's on Lincoln, near the Biograph Theater. There's a Dillinger movie being set to film there, starring Johnny Depp, and everything is being converted to look like lincoln ave circa dillinger's time, which means lots of cool old signage. It's a little surreal.
Spent some time watching James (the nephew) and Dan (Kim's boyfriend) and my brother play Rock Band, then headed out to Japonais for dinner. We had an eight-person party, including my ever-more-frail grandmother, so we did an early 5pm seating. Having that sized group means getting to try one bite of tons of different foods, which was great fun. Among the most innovative was a flash-cooked hamachi sashimi topped with chives, tobiko and tempura crumbles with a yuzu vinaigrette. The smoked duck salad with peaches was light and wonderful, the eel/sweet potato roll was comfort food, and the cocktail (stolichnaya vodka,cointreau, soho lychee liqueur, lychee juice, cranberry juice) tasted like candy. By the time the entree came -- for me, smoked japanese ribs, frites, and a soybean salad -- I could barely eat anything. I nibbled at a couple of ribs, but look forward to eating the majority of them with some rice and salad tomorrow night. It's nice to head out with the grown up version of my family. We remain an eccentric, witty group who can get along well. Kim leaves for Canada tomorrow for a vacation, so it was good to get everyone together for a bit. Desserts included their famous 'coffee and doughnuts' -- green tea semifreddo with chestnut/chocolate-filled beignets, and Kim loved her yuzu-infused creme brulee. I was so full at that point that I had about a three-minute interlude of terror that I was going to faint (this happens more frequently than I would like), but I managed to get my body past it. One more bite of food or a poorly timed trip to the bathroom and I might have ended up on passed out on the floor, but happily, I persevered.
Home, more time with nephews, and now bed. I love milestone days - I get all weepy and nostalgic. I hope this one was memorable for the sister.