Chicago ~ part 2, picspam & things!
MOAR CHICAGO TALKS. I was hoping to keep a handle on this while I was out there but there was just no time, dude(s). ALSO, I was kind of sickly pretty much the entire time. Nothing outright awful, but just minor headaches and constantly tired and never getting decent sleep. It just got worse and worse. BUT, that being said, we had a great time overall and it was among the happiest I've been in this relationship, with this wonderful, intelligent boy. I understand that I don't seem to write about us the same way I've written about others - I feel like I've gone light on the poetry and heavy on the mundane detail ("we saw this movie, we ate here, we had a fight but yeah, etc") and I think it's mainly because I'm scared; it's so different and so serious and I don't know how to work with that yet. So here I'll try to give some more insight as to what we're really like as a couple and if you have a sensitive gag reflex (sometimes we even make ourselves want to throw up, js), be careful. But OMG, Chicago infos and pictures too!!1
ThursdayWe slept late, of course. Well, *I* did. He had to get up and go to work but I slept until he came back to meet me on his lunch break. We went to California Pizza Kitchen - even though we have them here in Minnesota, we've never been. It was good and I always expected to hate it but I am growing to like the way Jason looks out for me. Not super huge obvious stuff (like omg we were walking in the city and I stepped behind him to make room for people and he like, stopped and turned around every which way because I was no longer right next to him and it's like jesus, I'm fine), but tiny stuff. Like the waitress brought us our sodas and right as she set mine down, he was like, "There's... black somethings floating in her drink, would you get her a new one?" I didn't even notice the shit in my drink. Ya know, stuff like that I'm very much okay with. :)
He brought me back to the room, I showered and tried to find fun things for us to do that night. He came back after work, we tried to get out the door but really just couldn't. I know it's trite but our sex life just gets better and better. We fiiinally made our way into the city, stopping at Target on the way. We had to get a couple of necessary things we forgot and then I also found it necessary to get Frankenberry Fruit Roll-Ups. The cashier was so, SO awkwardly hitting on me - he was literally talking about All That and Good Burger and being really fucking giddy and weird/dorky. Jason and I got in a faux!fight in the car afterward, and he was like, "I will drop you off RIGHT here on the side of the road." I was like, "I would have no problem getting picked up. Hot Cashier gets off at nine."
We had decided on going to the John Hancock Observatory, to the lounge on the 96th floor for a drink. We were going to park there and find dinner somewhere on Michigan Avenue. WE PASSED A GIANT MARILYN MONROE STATUE THAT I DIDN'T KNOW EXISTED THERE AND I NEARLY DIED. If I had been driving, I probs would have crashed. We finally found the place, parked, and started walking for dinner. I got distracted by Express and the sparkly dresses in the window. The dress that drew me in, I hated it when I put it on. The worker suggested a new sparkly one that I actually liked and had planned on getting, until I walked out and saw this fucking STUNNING long black dress that ACTUALLY LOOKED LONG ENOUGH for me to wear with heels. That never fucking happens. Ever. I tried it on and oh my god it's a stunner. It's just one of those fucking pieces of clothing, where you put it on and know, just know that it was fucking made for you. I wish I could have had an EEG running on my brain. I stepped out, Jason predictably died, and "it's yours, give it to me." I said I could buy it, seriously, but he wanted to. I said he was already paying for a lot while we were there and he was like, "Hey - It's just money." It makes me so happy to know that he'll never be one of those cheap or frugal assholes who yes, have loads of money saved up, but no happiness to show for it, you know?
We found a TGI Friday's and went to eat there for nostalgia's sake since we don't have one here anymore. There was a family at the table to our left, both parents and a little girl. I died over her outfit, her cute little hat and shoes. "Your kid is going to be really fashionable, isn't she." he says, more a statement than a question. "Yes," I answer. Duh. "I can live with that," he replied. Later, I watched the mother try to contain a twisting child and eat her food at the same time as the father sat glued to his iPad. She had her hands more than full. "Can you find her shoe for me." she says, clearly frustrated. As the father got down under the table and started looking, I said to Jason, "See, I know I'd never even have to ask you to look for her shoe. And I love that."
We made our way back to the Observatory, got briefly lost, but finally found the correct elevators and rode one up to the 96th floor. Whenever elevator doors close, we attack each other, make out and slam into walls, until they open again at which point we walk out like nothing happened. We had to wait at the bar for awhile but then seats opened up along the window and oh my god the place was breathtaking. SO fucking high up and surrounded by city lights, windows all the way around. Reflections from the center bar killed me but we figured out ways to work around them. I ordered this amazing drink, it was hot chocolate spiked with marshmallow vodka and creme de banana, topped off with whipped cream and dried banana chips. It was so perfect and cozy.
FridayWe asked for a late check-out because that's how we roll. I don't remember what time we left, 1pm I think. We went to a sandwich place called Jersey Mike's on the way to our new hotel. We parked, I died over an EXTREMELY ORANGE tree, and he walked over and picked me two perfect leaves as a gesture of love after the stupid fight we had in the car. I fucking died and put them in my purse forever. I don't know, we were just really happy, the sun was shining and the sub shop had fresh baked chocolate chip cookies. ♥
We dropped off the rental car, it was a fairly painless process even though it confuses me - the benefit of cramming them all together like that. Unless it doesn't ever matter what kind of car you give people. IDK. We took the shuttle to the hotel, and oh my god can I just talk about the self-entitlement of flight attendants? I get it on the plane, okay, but the second we step out of the airport, you are just like everybody else. OKAY so waiting for this shuttle to open up, one flight attendant was standing first in front of the door, which is fair. A second one was off at the back end talking to someone. The doors opened, the first one walked in and I went to follow her but the one from the back of the bus came running up and stepped in front of me, "Excuse me!" HOW ABOUT IF IT'S THAT IMPORTANT TO YOU, YOU STAND UP FRONT. Then, we get to the hotel, we wait in line and as the clerk is checking in the couple in front of us, the flight attendants walk up and demand their room keys. In the middle of checking someone else in! Oh my god, die!
We get to our room and see that our window? OVERLOOKS A WALL. No, seriously - a wall. Then, we try to get on the internet and see that it's $13 a night, PER COMPUTER. Meaning, for the weekend, internet would cost $52 dollars. After the FUCKING IDIOT FROM TRAVELOCITY TOLD US THERE WAS FREE WI-FI. Like, that is pretty much THE number one thing for us, okay, the internet. I have to put this part outside of a cut so you guys know to never use Travelocity. Please read on for the rest of the debacle. Jason called them and we spent nearly TWO HOURS ON THE PHONE WITH THESE INCOMPETENT PEOPLE, got *hung up on* THREE TIMES, only to get no resolution whatsoever. Eventually Jason was like, "Look - you can either comp the Wi-Fi since it was your mistake, or you can give us a refund so we can independently book a new hotel." AND THEN THEY'RE LIKE, "We can't give you a full refund, but we can give you a refund for one of the nights!" Jason was like, "We've been in this room for an hour, all of which was spent on the phone with you, and you want us to pay for the night? No. Absolutely not." OMG. SERIOUSLY. SERIOUSLY. And then!! They have the gall to offer us a ~$25 voucher for a future Travelocity trip~. LOL ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME. Oh my god you guys, look at their Twitter - @travelocity - frickin' almost every tweet is an apology! Awful, just awful. Do yourself a favor and NEVER USE THEM.
"If it makes you feel better, it's a huge turn-on watching you talk like this. All zero-tolerance and everything," I said in his ear while he was on hold. "But I don't LIKE talking like this! I hate it so much," was his reaction to that. And that's kind of a bummer and also made me feel bad because I was the one who whined about the internet and said that not having it cuts my fun in half. He could have probably dealt with not having it. I don't know. We went downstairs to talk to the front desk. The manager came over and was like, "I was just on the phone to the Travelocity guy who had no idea what he was doing - I wanted to give you these (drink vouchers for the hotel bar) because dealing with him must just be... *shakes head*" lol. It was really sweet. When the clerk got off the phone, he said that the hotel could move us to a better room, that we could just charge the Wi-Fi to the room and it'd be taken care of. It took less than five minutes. I can't even.
We got situated in our new ~corner room~, checked our email and then went down to the bar to get drinks. We split a club sandwich also. There was some obnoxious woman at the end of the bar, alone, screaming at the baseball game. I wanted to throw food at her. We walked to the rail station and oh my god it was so cold. He randomly asked me what I'd like to do in bed that we haven't done yet. We talked about that and how I really want the handcuffs that you can slam up in a door frame. "I'M SURE THERE'S A SEX SHOP IN CHICAGO." We kind of forgot about that plan though, I don't even know. We had asked Lindsey for bar recommendations since she went to college in Chicago, and she directed us to a place called Uncle Fatty's. We took the blue line to the red line and then it was quite a haul even still. I can't tell if it was REALLY that far or if I was just being a baby because my hip hurt. Seriously, I have no idea what's wrong with it. I'd think it was just over-exertion from all the city walking, but it was just on the one side, the same side that sometimes cracks when I'm riding fierce dick. So maybe there's a bigger issue but seriously, it hurt so bad and I'm not even that old.
We finally found the place and it was really, really cool. Little bb gave me a stellar rec but I expected nothing less. AND it was completely decked out for Halloween. Everyone was dressed up too, it was a total college bar and I was pissed I didn't have a costume. I'm not sure what I would have been anyway. I've always had Final Slut Pro in the back of my mind for all the sexy nerds/film geeks but I also contemplated the idea of Peach/Mario for me and Jason since we totally fit the build. BUT NONE OF THESE THINGS HAPPENED. Maybe next year. It was a trip seeing everyone else though. I ordered a drink in a fucking fishbowl, it was so much orange alcohol but so epic. After I put that fucker down like a boss, I wanted another and was all, "I don't care~ Surprise me~!" and he went and got me a daiquiri because earlier I was going between that and the fishbowl. Like, he listens to me, such a stunning male anomaly.
We left after I finished that drink, we set out for food but not before stopping to stretch in the middle of the road. lol. I had seen a bagel place on the way in that said they were open late so I was hoping they were still open because I wanted a motherfucking Chicago bagel. NO SUCH LUCK. We did, however, find a grilled cheese restaurant that was open late, lol wtf. So ofc we got grilled cheeses and french fries. Had a super serious ~relationship~ talk, wanted to throw up, etc. We finally got to the train back home, but got off on the completely wrong stop because I am a fucking idiot. I fell half-asleep and they were like, "Next stop: Montrose," and I was like, "GET UP THIS IS OUR STOP." We got on the platform and it was zero familiar, lol. Turns out we wanted "Rosemont", in my defense, but still I should have looked at the fucking map. So we had to wait for it to come back and I was so cold. Jason was hugging me and a CTA worker was like, "Is everything okay?!" I was like, "Yes I'm just a dumbass and also cold." It finally got there and we got home safe and all but still, it was a pain in the ass.
SaturdayWe totally slept the fuck in. I suppose this is a good time to mention that sleep was my #1 problem on this trip because I never got any of quality. Jason snores SO loud I can't even deal; when we stay over we always end up in separate rooms because I don't want to resent him and he doesn't want to be the cause of my discomfort. Except in a hotel room we don't have that luxury. He did bring me earplugs, though, pink ones in a cute pink case. BUT STILL. I was exhausted. When I woke up, he was gone and I was confused/worried but also too tired to get up and look and make phone calls lol. He just walked to Dunkin Donuts and got me a bagel and a glazed donut. His poor little ears were freezing when he crawled back into bed. "She said it was just two blocks up the road... it was not just two blocks up the road."
We watched an episode of Dexter, and then I have in my notes "train - pain in the ass" but I legit do not remember what this is about, so. At one point in the trip I was mad/annoyed at something so he brought me into a Starbucks and bought me one of their cute little cake pops, balls of cake on a stick, covered in frosting and sprinkles, it so made it better. We made our way to Millennium Park, this time in the daylight and moar pics, moar!
The sun started to set and we decided we wanted to get to that Marilyn statue on Michigan Ave. Instead of walking, he hailed a cab so I'd be able to get her in the light. ♥ Little things like that.
We wandered around for awhile, including a stop at the Swarovski store because I am obsessed with rhinestones and if you don't know this by now, there is something wrong. They had an entire fucking CHAIR OF RHINESTONES. Well no it was more like a circular foot stool thing but it was ENTIRELY COVERED IN FUCKING TINY RHINESTONES YOU GUYS I COULDN'T EVEN. We stopped in a few restaurants but the food was all weird and dnw. We finally found a nice place but there was a long wait for a table. So worth it though. My back had been bugging me, it wasn't muscular it was like, esophageal or some shit. Jason told me to wait for the table while he went out to find get some medicine that his doctor step-father recommended. And he doesn't ever hesitate.
There was a little girl in the hallway of the restaurant, and she had rhinestoned, light-up shoes. Jason was like, "WHOA!" and started talking with her about how cool her shoes were, and my heart ♥. He's so good with kids and that stems from years of coaching gymnastics. Dinner was amazing, I had the best fucking caramel apple martini of my goddamn life, and the bread basket was warm and amazing to start. I got a bacon cheeseburger with SUCH good french fries and followed it up with red velvet cake. We wrote love notes in the powered sugar on the plate. LOL also, also, he has this character called Sleazy Jason, who is his version of Player Who Meets a Game-Changer, and his accent is always localized to where we are lol. It just comes out effortlessly, I think because he studied Improv in school. I wish he'd bleed over into Regular Jason a bit more because he's so ballsy and audacious and all, "Pretty girls always get cake. You can have your cake and eat it too. I'll even eat it with you. And then later, I'll just eat you." lol dying, dying and blushing. He says something totally sick that I find attractive and then Regular Jason giggles, it's so adorable.
We walked around the city more - "what do you want to do after dinner?" he asked. "TAKE LONG EXPOSURE PHOTOS OF TRAFFIC," I replied without missing a beat and he found this amusing/hilarious for some reason. So we walked and as I was wrapping my bendable tripod around a bench, we overheard some guy going on and on about the glory of God. Except in like, a really crazy way. We died. The photos didn't really work as well as I'd have liked since the streets were so incredibly bright/lit. I wanted a night shot of the Marilyn statue, so we were futzing around with that when a French/foreign couple came up to me and asked if I'd take their picture. So they posed and I clicked it and then they were trying to tell me that I was doing it wrong? Apparently I have to hold the shutter down and count to seven. Which, okay, fine. Except I did that next and the flash still didn't go off. I have no idea what the actual deal was but I didn't appreciate them acting like I was the idiot when their camera was the one that was fucked.
We walked moar and tried to make ~ghost~ pictures by leaving the shutter open for 20 seconds, standing still for awhile and then slowly traipsing off. Those didn't work as well as I'd have liked either, lmao. We got a little lost and I got frustrated because I knew there was a metro station one way and he was convinced we needed to go to a different one but it didn't even run where we needed it to and why didn't you just listen to me. He had no concept of why I was upset, either. "WHY ARE YOU BEING SO PISSY RIGHT NOW." Because I am really, really fucking sick of walking and these trains and it taking hours to fucking get places. Next time, we are staying right IN the city; the extra expense will be worth it for our well-being lol.
We found the station and there was a guy playing gorgeous violin. It seemed natural to people, either that or they didn't notice and I found myself quite distressed remembering that study where they put a world-class musician on a New York sidewalk with a million dollar violin and nobody really noticed. I always notice. And that's an aspect of myself I'm quite proud of. The train came by and it was fucking PACKED because of Halloween. There was no room and certainly no open seating so that just frustrated me moar because I was so tired and just wanted to sit. Jason and I grabbed a pole and every time the train would rock, I'd feel him pull me so I wouldn't fall. I could cry just thinking about it, I don't even know. A seat opened up behind us and before I even noticed, he was pulling on the back of my coat to lower me down into it as he continued to stand. A lot of people got off at one stop so he was able to sit next to me. He put his hands on the metal of the seat in front of us, and proceeded to drive the train with an imaginary wheel. He pulled on an invisible stick shift and when we'd stop, he'd turn an invisible crank as though he were the one opening the doors. He's got such a childlike spirit, imagination and magic, it makes me glow and these are the moments I typically love him most.
We got back to our room. "Do you think room service brings alcohol?" he asked. "I don't know." He said worst-case, he'd just have to go downstairs and get us some. He called down and turns out they do bring it up for you, so he got a long island iced tea and I got a glass of white wine. At that point, I really did want him to have to go downstairs to get it so that he could come back to me having changed into a black sequined piece of lace lingerie, which I had only just gotten the idea for. Clearly I packed it with intent but hadn't really planned anything or set it up. "UGH I WISH YOU HAD TO GO DOWN FOR THE DRINKS." He was like, "Why?" I said, "IDK. BECAUSE." He was confused so I just pulled the sheets over his head and ran to the bathroom. I changed and came back out, he was still covered so I slid under the covers next to him, making sure none of my body was showing. "What happened?!" he asked. "Nothing. Nothing happened." He slid over to cuddle me and felt the lace. "... Something happened." I yanked the covers off and rolled to straddle him. He went on and on about how beautiful I was and how he just couldn't even believe. We, predictably, had amazing sex. Then we drank and watched Dexter. ♥
After we fell asleep, I got woken up by his snoring. I got up to get my iPod and he woke up, "What are you doing?" He felt bad that I had to get my iPod and couldn't sleep, I said it wasn't his fault, he can't help it. I listened to my Celine Dion playlist specifically designated for sleep and at one point I rolled over to see him sleeping with a pillow over his head. Oh my god my heart broke into like a million pieces. I slid it off of him and cuddled up to his side. He apologized again and he was like, "Can you at least rate the effectiveness of my head!tent?" omg kljdfhds. I said it wasn't very effective and he was legit upset, "Damn! I wanted to patent that!!" :( :( I really hope they can figure out what's causing it and have an easy fix. I think it bothers him more than it does me; I never mind sleeping in separate rooms - we're asleep anyway, and I've never been one to fall asleep totally entangled in another human being because I get hot and like my space too much - but it kills him that he can't sleep next to me without ruining my night. It's so sad.
SundayThe next morning, we were going to get up at 9 so we'd have time to go do something before our flight left at 6ish. When we got no sleep, we decided to push it to 10. Then we decided that neither of us really had the energy to go anyway, and that we could both use a day of just relaxing in the room. We ordered room service - I looked at the menu~ and it was ridiculous how expensive stuff was, including delivery charges and built-in gratuities, but "No. Don't worry about it, we're on vacation." ♥ ♥ ♥ I wanted waffles but they didn't have any, wtf. So I got a big-ass pile of pancakes and he got eggs, it was delicious and we just laid in bed in our white t-shirts, ate breakfast and watched moar Dexter. We're watching it from the beginning, you see.
After we ate, I decided I wanted a nap. I told him to wake me up at 12:30 since we had to be out by 1:00. I woke up a couple of times, suspecting that it was approaching 12:30 but never really looked. At one point he was out of the room but I was too tired/asleep to care. Later I heard a knocking on the door. It was Housekeeping, and it was 2:00. I was like, "Wtf, wtf" and he was like, "I wanted to let you sleep until they kicked us out." And that's like, one of the most romantic things ever. He played dumb to her like it was a total accident and then turned around and smirked at me as I started to gather our things. ♥
We stopped at a restaurant in the airport, split chicken strips and french fries as we watched slight rain on the runway out the window. We set out to find a quiet corner to watch Dexter and ended up at a Starbucks. Caramel Apple Spice. ♥ The flight back was, again, super quick. We were in seats 5A and 5B and it was really cool because they were the first seats behind first class so there was a ton of fucking leg room. And lol, this stupid little curtain about six inches tall that they hung in front of us so first class wouldn't have to look at us mere peasants. Or perhaps so us normal people wouldn't have to look at spoiled brats. JK JK, I would totally fly first class and probably will.
We have to go back because there was a ton of stuff we didn't have time to fit in. Namely Oz Park because of reasons, the Art Institute, Museum of Science & Industry, and coffee/drinks with emergingangelic! So much, so much. I wish I would have planned ahead better but the trip was fairly last-minute in the first place and lkjsdhfas. Worth it though!
... And I am still super tired and this took serious hours so I must run. I have a shitload of emails/comments I want to get to but I had to get this out first before I forgot things. I'm not ignoring them, I promise ♥
ThursdayWe slept late, of course. Well, *I* did. He had to get up and go to work but I slept until he came back to meet me on his lunch break. We went to California Pizza Kitchen - even though we have them here in Minnesota, we've never been. It was good and I always expected to hate it but I am growing to like the way Jason looks out for me. Not super huge obvious stuff (like omg we were walking in the city and I stepped behind him to make room for people and he like, stopped and turned around every which way because I was no longer right next to him and it's like jesus, I'm fine), but tiny stuff. Like the waitress brought us our sodas and right as she set mine down, he was like, "There's... black somethings floating in her drink, would you get her a new one?" I didn't even notice the shit in my drink. Ya know, stuff like that I'm very much okay with. :)
He brought me back to the room, I showered and tried to find fun things for us to do that night. He came back after work, we tried to get out the door but really just couldn't. I know it's trite but our sex life just gets better and better. We fiiinally made our way into the city, stopping at Target on the way. We had to get a couple of necessary things we forgot and then I also found it necessary to get Frankenberry Fruit Roll-Ups. The cashier was so, SO awkwardly hitting on me - he was literally talking about All That and Good Burger and being really fucking giddy and weird/dorky. Jason and I got in a faux!fight in the car afterward, and he was like, "I will drop you off RIGHT here on the side of the road." I was like, "I would have no problem getting picked up. Hot Cashier gets off at nine."
We had decided on going to the John Hancock Observatory, to the lounge on the 96th floor for a drink. We were going to park there and find dinner somewhere on Michigan Avenue. WE PASSED A GIANT MARILYN MONROE STATUE THAT I DIDN'T KNOW EXISTED THERE AND I NEARLY DIED. If I had been driving, I probs would have crashed. We finally found the place, parked, and started walking for dinner. I got distracted by Express and the sparkly dresses in the window. The dress that drew me in, I hated it when I put it on. The worker suggested a new sparkly one that I actually liked and had planned on getting, until I walked out and saw this fucking STUNNING long black dress that ACTUALLY LOOKED LONG ENOUGH for me to wear with heels. That never fucking happens. Ever. I tried it on and oh my god it's a stunner. It's just one of those fucking pieces of clothing, where you put it on and know, just know that it was fucking made for you. I wish I could have had an EEG running on my brain. I stepped out, Jason predictably died, and "it's yours, give it to me." I said I could buy it, seriously, but he wanted to. I said he was already paying for a lot while we were there and he was like, "Hey - It's just money." It makes me so happy to know that he'll never be one of those cheap or frugal assholes who yes, have loads of money saved up, but no happiness to show for it, you know?
We found a TGI Friday's and went to eat there for nostalgia's sake since we don't have one here anymore. There was a family at the table to our left, both parents and a little girl. I died over her outfit, her cute little hat and shoes. "Your kid is going to be really fashionable, isn't she." he says, more a statement than a question. "Yes," I answer. Duh. "I can live with that," he replied. Later, I watched the mother try to contain a twisting child and eat her food at the same time as the father sat glued to his iPad. She had her hands more than full. "Can you find her shoe for me." she says, clearly frustrated. As the father got down under the table and started looking, I said to Jason, "See, I know I'd never even have to ask you to look for her shoe. And I love that."
We made our way back to the Observatory, got briefly lost, but finally found the correct elevators and rode one up to the 96th floor. Whenever elevator doors close, we attack each other, make out and slam into walls, until they open again at which point we walk out like nothing happened. We had to wait at the bar for awhile but then seats opened up along the window and oh my god the place was breathtaking. SO fucking high up and surrounded by city lights, windows all the way around. Reflections from the center bar killed me but we figured out ways to work around them. I ordered this amazing drink, it was hot chocolate spiked with marshmallow vodka and creme de banana, topped off with whipped cream and dried banana chips. It was so perfect and cozy.
FridayWe asked for a late check-out because that's how we roll. I don't remember what time we left, 1pm I think. We went to a sandwich place called Jersey Mike's on the way to our new hotel. We parked, I died over an EXTREMELY ORANGE tree, and he walked over and picked me two perfect leaves as a gesture of love after the stupid fight we had in the car. I fucking died and put them in my purse forever. I don't know, we were just really happy, the sun was shining and the sub shop had fresh baked chocolate chip cookies. ♥
We dropped off the rental car, it was a fairly painless process even though it confuses me - the benefit of cramming them all together like that. Unless it doesn't ever matter what kind of car you give people. IDK. We took the shuttle to the hotel, and oh my god can I just talk about the self-entitlement of flight attendants? I get it on the plane, okay, but the second we step out of the airport, you are just like everybody else. OKAY so waiting for this shuttle to open up, one flight attendant was standing first in front of the door, which is fair. A second one was off at the back end talking to someone. The doors opened, the first one walked in and I went to follow her but the one from the back of the bus came running up and stepped in front of me, "Excuse me!" HOW ABOUT IF IT'S THAT IMPORTANT TO YOU, YOU STAND UP FRONT. Then, we get to the hotel, we wait in line and as the clerk is checking in the couple in front of us, the flight attendants walk up and demand their room keys. In the middle of checking someone else in! Oh my god, die!
We get to our room and see that our window? OVERLOOKS A WALL. No, seriously - a wall. Then, we try to get on the internet and see that it's $13 a night, PER COMPUTER. Meaning, for the weekend, internet would cost $52 dollars. After the FUCKING IDIOT FROM TRAVELOCITY TOLD US THERE WAS FREE WI-FI. Like, that is pretty much THE number one thing for us, okay, the internet. I have to put this part outside of a cut so you guys know to never use Travelocity. Please read on for the rest of the debacle. Jason called them and we spent nearly TWO HOURS ON THE PHONE WITH THESE INCOMPETENT PEOPLE, got *hung up on* THREE TIMES, only to get no resolution whatsoever. Eventually Jason was like, "Look - you can either comp the Wi-Fi since it was your mistake, or you can give us a refund so we can independently book a new hotel." AND THEN THEY'RE LIKE, "We can't give you a full refund, but we can give you a refund for one of the nights!" Jason was like, "We've been in this room for an hour, all of which was spent on the phone with you, and you want us to pay for the night? No. Absolutely not." OMG. SERIOUSLY. SERIOUSLY. And then!! They have the gall to offer us a ~$25 voucher for a future Travelocity trip~. LOL ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME. Oh my god you guys, look at their Twitter - @travelocity - frickin' almost every tweet is an apology! Awful, just awful. Do yourself a favor and NEVER USE THEM.
"If it makes you feel better, it's a huge turn-on watching you talk like this. All zero-tolerance and everything," I said in his ear while he was on hold. "But I don't LIKE talking like this! I hate it so much," was his reaction to that. And that's kind of a bummer and also made me feel bad because I was the one who whined about the internet and said that not having it cuts my fun in half. He could have probably dealt with not having it. I don't know. We went downstairs to talk to the front desk. The manager came over and was like, "I was just on the phone to the Travelocity guy who had no idea what he was doing - I wanted to give you these (drink vouchers for the hotel bar) because dealing with him must just be... *shakes head*" lol. It was really sweet. When the clerk got off the phone, he said that the hotel could move us to a better room, that we could just charge the Wi-Fi to the room and it'd be taken care of. It took less than five minutes. I can't even.
We got situated in our new ~corner room~, checked our email and then went down to the bar to get drinks. We split a club sandwich also. There was some obnoxious woman at the end of the bar, alone, screaming at the baseball game. I wanted to throw food at her. We walked to the rail station and oh my god it was so cold. He randomly asked me what I'd like to do in bed that we haven't done yet. We talked about that and how I really want the handcuffs that you can slam up in a door frame. "I'M SURE THERE'S A SEX SHOP IN CHICAGO." We kind of forgot about that plan though, I don't even know. We had asked Lindsey for bar recommendations since she went to college in Chicago, and she directed us to a place called Uncle Fatty's. We took the blue line to the red line and then it was quite a haul even still. I can't tell if it was REALLY that far or if I was just being a baby because my hip hurt. Seriously, I have no idea what's wrong with it. I'd think it was just over-exertion from all the city walking, but it was just on the one side, the same side that sometimes cracks when I'm riding fierce dick. So maybe there's a bigger issue but seriously, it hurt so bad and I'm not even that old.
We finally found the place and it was really, really cool. Little bb gave me a stellar rec but I expected nothing less. AND it was completely decked out for Halloween. Everyone was dressed up too, it was a total college bar and I was pissed I didn't have a costume. I'm not sure what I would have been anyway. I've always had Final Slut Pro in the back of my mind for all the sexy nerds/film geeks but I also contemplated the idea of Peach/Mario for me and Jason since we totally fit the build. BUT NONE OF THESE THINGS HAPPENED. Maybe next year. It was a trip seeing everyone else though. I ordered a drink in a fucking fishbowl, it was so much orange alcohol but so epic. After I put that fucker down like a boss, I wanted another and was all, "I don't care~ Surprise me~!" and he went and got me a daiquiri because earlier I was going between that and the fishbowl. Like, he listens to me, such a stunning male anomaly.
We left after I finished that drink, we set out for food but not before stopping to stretch in the middle of the road. lol. I had seen a bagel place on the way in that said they were open late so I was hoping they were still open because I wanted a motherfucking Chicago bagel. NO SUCH LUCK. We did, however, find a grilled cheese restaurant that was open late, lol wtf. So ofc we got grilled cheeses and french fries. Had a super serious ~relationship~ talk, wanted to throw up, etc. We finally got to the train back home, but got off on the completely wrong stop because I am a fucking idiot. I fell half-asleep and they were like, "Next stop: Montrose," and I was like, "GET UP THIS IS OUR STOP." We got on the platform and it was zero familiar, lol. Turns out we wanted "Rosemont", in my defense, but still I should have looked at the fucking map. So we had to wait for it to come back and I was so cold. Jason was hugging me and a CTA worker was like, "Is everything okay?!" I was like, "Yes I'm just a dumbass and also cold." It finally got there and we got home safe and all but still, it was a pain in the ass.
SaturdayWe totally slept the fuck in. I suppose this is a good time to mention that sleep was my #1 problem on this trip because I never got any of quality. Jason snores SO loud I can't even deal; when we stay over we always end up in separate rooms because I don't want to resent him and he doesn't want to be the cause of my discomfort. Except in a hotel room we don't have that luxury. He did bring me earplugs, though, pink ones in a cute pink case. BUT STILL. I was exhausted. When I woke up, he was gone and I was confused/worried but also too tired to get up and look and make phone calls lol. He just walked to Dunkin Donuts and got me a bagel and a glazed donut. His poor little ears were freezing when he crawled back into bed. "She said it was just two blocks up the road... it was not just two blocks up the road."
We watched an episode of Dexter, and then I have in my notes "train - pain in the ass" but I legit do not remember what this is about, so. At one point in the trip I was mad/annoyed at something so he brought me into a Starbucks and bought me one of their cute little cake pops, balls of cake on a stick, covered in frosting and sprinkles, it so made it better. We made our way to Millennium Park, this time in the daylight and moar pics, moar!
The sun started to set and we decided we wanted to get to that Marilyn statue on Michigan Ave. Instead of walking, he hailed a cab so I'd be able to get her in the light. ♥ Little things like that.
We wandered around for awhile, including a stop at the Swarovski store because I am obsessed with rhinestones and if you don't know this by now, there is something wrong. They had an entire fucking CHAIR OF RHINESTONES. Well no it was more like a circular foot stool thing but it was ENTIRELY COVERED IN FUCKING TINY RHINESTONES YOU GUYS I COULDN'T EVEN. We stopped in a few restaurants but the food was all weird and dnw. We finally found a nice place but there was a long wait for a table. So worth it though. My back had been bugging me, it wasn't muscular it was like, esophageal or some shit. Jason told me to wait for the table while he went out to find get some medicine that his doctor step-father recommended. And he doesn't ever hesitate.
There was a little girl in the hallway of the restaurant, and she had rhinestoned, light-up shoes. Jason was like, "WHOA!" and started talking with her about how cool her shoes were, and my heart ♥. He's so good with kids and that stems from years of coaching gymnastics. Dinner was amazing, I had the best fucking caramel apple martini of my goddamn life, and the bread basket was warm and amazing to start. I got a bacon cheeseburger with SUCH good french fries and followed it up with red velvet cake. We wrote love notes in the powered sugar on the plate. LOL also, also, he has this character called Sleazy Jason, who is his version of Player Who Meets a Game-Changer, and his accent is always localized to where we are lol. It just comes out effortlessly, I think because he studied Improv in school. I wish he'd bleed over into Regular Jason a bit more because he's so ballsy and audacious and all, "Pretty girls always get cake. You can have your cake and eat it too. I'll even eat it with you. And then later, I'll just eat you." lol dying, dying and blushing. He says something totally sick that I find attractive and then Regular Jason giggles, it's so adorable.
We walked around the city more - "what do you want to do after dinner?" he asked. "TAKE LONG EXPOSURE PHOTOS OF TRAFFIC," I replied without missing a beat and he found this amusing/hilarious for some reason. So we walked and as I was wrapping my bendable tripod around a bench, we overheard some guy going on and on about the glory of God. Except in like, a really crazy way. We died. The photos didn't really work as well as I'd have liked since the streets were so incredibly bright/lit. I wanted a night shot of the Marilyn statue, so we were futzing around with that when a French/foreign couple came up to me and asked if I'd take their picture. So they posed and I clicked it and then they were trying to tell me that I was doing it wrong? Apparently I have to hold the shutter down and count to seven. Which, okay, fine. Except I did that next and the flash still didn't go off. I have no idea what the actual deal was but I didn't appreciate them acting like I was the idiot when their camera was the one that was fucked.
We walked moar and tried to make ~ghost~ pictures by leaving the shutter open for 20 seconds, standing still for awhile and then slowly traipsing off. Those didn't work as well as I'd have liked either, lmao. We got a little lost and I got frustrated because I knew there was a metro station one way and he was convinced we needed to go to a different one but it didn't even run where we needed it to and why didn't you just listen to me. He had no concept of why I was upset, either. "WHY ARE YOU BEING SO PISSY RIGHT NOW." Because I am really, really fucking sick of walking and these trains and it taking hours to fucking get places. Next time, we are staying right IN the city; the extra expense will be worth it for our well-being lol.
We found the station and there was a guy playing gorgeous violin. It seemed natural to people, either that or they didn't notice and I found myself quite distressed remembering that study where they put a world-class musician on a New York sidewalk with a million dollar violin and nobody really noticed. I always notice. And that's an aspect of myself I'm quite proud of. The train came by and it was fucking PACKED because of Halloween. There was no room and certainly no open seating so that just frustrated me moar because I was so tired and just wanted to sit. Jason and I grabbed a pole and every time the train would rock, I'd feel him pull me so I wouldn't fall. I could cry just thinking about it, I don't even know. A seat opened up behind us and before I even noticed, he was pulling on the back of my coat to lower me down into it as he continued to stand. A lot of people got off at one stop so he was able to sit next to me. He put his hands on the metal of the seat in front of us, and proceeded to drive the train with an imaginary wheel. He pulled on an invisible stick shift and when we'd stop, he'd turn an invisible crank as though he were the one opening the doors. He's got such a childlike spirit, imagination and magic, it makes me glow and these are the moments I typically love him most.
We got back to our room. "Do you think room service brings alcohol?" he asked. "I don't know." He said worst-case, he'd just have to go downstairs and get us some. He called down and turns out they do bring it up for you, so he got a long island iced tea and I got a glass of white wine. At that point, I really did want him to have to go downstairs to get it so that he could come back to me having changed into a black sequined piece of lace lingerie, which I had only just gotten the idea for. Clearly I packed it with intent but hadn't really planned anything or set it up. "UGH I WISH YOU HAD TO GO DOWN FOR THE DRINKS." He was like, "Why?" I said, "IDK. BECAUSE." He was confused so I just pulled the sheets over his head and ran to the bathroom. I changed and came back out, he was still covered so I slid under the covers next to him, making sure none of my body was showing. "What happened?!" he asked. "Nothing. Nothing happened." He slid over to cuddle me and felt the lace. "... Something happened." I yanked the covers off and rolled to straddle him. He went on and on about how beautiful I was and how he just couldn't even believe. We, predictably, had amazing sex. Then we drank and watched Dexter. ♥
After we fell asleep, I got woken up by his snoring. I got up to get my iPod and he woke up, "What are you doing?" He felt bad that I had to get my iPod and couldn't sleep, I said it wasn't his fault, he can't help it. I listened to my Celine Dion playlist specifically designated for sleep and at one point I rolled over to see him sleeping with a pillow over his head. Oh my god my heart broke into like a million pieces. I slid it off of him and cuddled up to his side. He apologized again and he was like, "Can you at least rate the effectiveness of my head!tent?" omg kljdfhds. I said it wasn't very effective and he was legit upset, "Damn! I wanted to patent that!!" :( :( I really hope they can figure out what's causing it and have an easy fix. I think it bothers him more than it does me; I never mind sleeping in separate rooms - we're asleep anyway, and I've never been one to fall asleep totally entangled in another human being because I get hot and like my space too much - but it kills him that he can't sleep next to me without ruining my night. It's so sad.
SundayThe next morning, we were going to get up at 9 so we'd have time to go do something before our flight left at 6ish. When we got no sleep, we decided to push it to 10. Then we decided that neither of us really had the energy to go anyway, and that we could both use a day of just relaxing in the room. We ordered room service - I looked at the menu~ and it was ridiculous how expensive stuff was, including delivery charges and built-in gratuities, but "No. Don't worry about it, we're on vacation." ♥ ♥ ♥ I wanted waffles but they didn't have any, wtf. So I got a big-ass pile of pancakes and he got eggs, it was delicious and we just laid in bed in our white t-shirts, ate breakfast and watched moar Dexter. We're watching it from the beginning, you see.
After we ate, I decided I wanted a nap. I told him to wake me up at 12:30 since we had to be out by 1:00. I woke up a couple of times, suspecting that it was approaching 12:30 but never really looked. At one point he was out of the room but I was too tired/asleep to care. Later I heard a knocking on the door. It was Housekeeping, and it was 2:00. I was like, "Wtf, wtf" and he was like, "I wanted to let you sleep until they kicked us out." And that's like, one of the most romantic things ever. He played dumb to her like it was a total accident and then turned around and smirked at me as I started to gather our things. ♥
We stopped at a restaurant in the airport, split chicken strips and french fries as we watched slight rain on the runway out the window. We set out to find a quiet corner to watch Dexter and ended up at a Starbucks. Caramel Apple Spice. ♥ The flight back was, again, super quick. We were in seats 5A and 5B and it was really cool because they were the first seats behind first class so there was a ton of fucking leg room. And lol, this stupid little curtain about six inches tall that they hung in front of us so first class wouldn't have to look at us mere peasants. Or perhaps so us normal people wouldn't have to look at spoiled brats. JK JK, I would totally fly first class and probably will.
We have to go back because there was a ton of stuff we didn't have time to fit in. Namely Oz Park because of reasons, the Art Institute, Museum of Science & Industry, and coffee/drinks with emergingangelic! So much, so much. I wish I would have planned ahead better but the trip was fairly last-minute in the first place and lkjsdhfas. Worth it though!
... And I am still super tired and this took serious hours so I must run. I have a shitload of emails/comments I want to get to but I had to get this out first before I forgot things. I'm not ignoring them, I promise ♥