title change... EPIC Chicago Post!!
For completeness, the beginning of my travels can be found here
Not sure how wordy I'll get or how many pics I'll post so everything will be hiding behind cuts.
For the most part Friday was meet people day! YAY!!!! I got to meet so many Curse the Yagudo people. /dance
Snuggly Group Photo!!
BACK: Geoff (Nimbex), Linmayu, Leigh (Mirrsie), Kireila (Mari)
FRONT: Me (Treasa) and Eric (Chaylinn)
Not too long after this group picture was taken, Lin, Leigh and I headed out to Target to get some groceries and other assorted things. We meandered about the mall on our way to target stopping at the usual places of shiny and cool things (Hot Topic and the Disney Store) much to my dismay I had left my camera at home and thus couldn't get fun silly pics while we were out. The snake is attacking me! AAAAAAHHHHH!!!!11!!!1!!
Eventually we made it to Target. It was so cool in there. First two floor Target I've ever seen and it had this really awesome cart escalator! *SQUEEEE* *ahem* Not too long after seeing the cart escalator we stopped dead in our tracks due to the unbelievable cuteness of the easter signs hanging from the ceiling. We quickly hopped over to the seasonal area and began to go nuts over all the adorable little duck things. *SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE* While I wanted to pick up the big spherical duck, there was no way I could get it home, so I just had to wait. Leigh picked up a three pack of baby ducks, and we also got some marshmallow things shaped like those ducks. We eventually left the cute to continue our shopping. Picked up everything we needed as well as some assorted treats like some Choxie chocolate truffle things.
!!! Oh I forgot. So I was wearing my Dear Friends shirt. While at Target, a girl, excitedly complemented me on my shirt then asked "Are you going to the show tomorrow?" Hehehe that was much fun. <3 Random encounters like that.
Not too long after returning another CTYer appeared at the house, Kevin (Zoofster)!! Now that everyone was assembled it was time to order some food! Local chain deep dish chicago style pizza where the sauce is on top and the cheese is plentiful. I barely made it through one piece, yet I managed to stuff in another half. YUM!
After the real food it was time for some slaughter erm I mean dessert! While I'm no fan of marshmallows I was very happy that someone was at least willing to try the ducks. Kevin and Mari volunteered. Turns out those little suckers are CRAZY sweet, so beware if you dare to ever have one. After the silliness with the ducks I finally opened up the box of Choxie. I'm getting all hungry for chocolate as I struggle to open the box. Then I see them. Chocolate turds? *insert major BWAAHAHAHAHA laughter from me here* *really lots of it, i was crying* After the initial shock of their appearance I ventured to taste a chocolate turd and it was quite nummy. And to celebrate Leigh's birthday we had some EAFD cake.
There was gaming abound after sustenance. DS multiplayer. Wii sports. Campaign battle in FFXI. BANG! And a showing of The Gamers was in there somewhere. Of course this gaming went way into the weeeeeeeee hours of the morning. So wee the sun was almost up. ^^;
Saturday morning didn't start off too well. RL tax stuff and a slightly restless sleep made me all sad. Though after finding some stuff to read on LJ and random pictures I felt much better.
I had made a post in ffxiljcommunity before I left town to see if anyone else would be there. I was so excited to see that Whren was attending the concert! Whren was a player on Midgardsormr. I always found her to be very nice and I love it when she posts in the ffxi community because she has a way of talking about the game that is a pleasure to read. So I was even more excited when she was willing to meet up at the show! *squeeee*
After such a late night it was great to have a very lazy day around the house. The most fun bit was the fresh pasta! Per request, I wanted to try some of Lin's home made pasta. After the dough was made the pasta making process required a team of us. Someone to feed the machine and change the dial. Someone to crank and guide the dough. Someone to work with the flour. And Someone to deal with cutting pieces that were too long and arranging them on waxed paper. It was quite an operation, with a very worthy outcome. Super tasty pasta!!! NOM!
After food we played a few rounds of Raving Rabbids 2. It is a much better game than it's predecessor because everyone plays at the same time in multiplayer. I almost spent too much time enjoying the game because departure time was fast approaching. Though we all managed to get cleaned up and shiny in time.
Once at the Rosemont we immediately got in the merch line. I was a little annoyed that our tickets were scanned at the door, meaning we couldn't leave to put the merch in the car. /sigh Anyway, picked up the usual shirt, and a real signed poster for Eric since getting more than one thing signed at the meet and greet would probably not be possible. And as timing would have it Whren found us while in line. *SQUEEEEEEE* So we shuffled off into a corner for socializing.
This lovely photo was taken by Whren's brother.
Eventually it was time to take our seats for the show. Much to my surprise Card Captor Will was in the front row of my section. Yet again I totally surprised him with my presence. hehehehe
Sitting so close provided a very unique experience. I could hear Arnie Roth humming or grunting along as he conducted. Additionally, I wasn't sure if he was super nervous or has a condition, for he was shaking lots when holding a list of names or something. Then again he could have just been so excited!!!
The concert was very lovely. I was very surprised at how many FF VIII songs were on the program! For me VIII will always have a special place in my heart, because it was my first Final Fantasy. It was also very cool that the title track of the show was from FFXI. <3 Though my favorite piece of the night was the Swing de Chocobo arrangement. HOLY CRAP! Big Band Swing arrangement for the win!
After the show, I had to figure out where the meet and greet was for there were no signs or announcements about it. Fortunately I found it quickly and got a good spot in line. Spoke with a very nice guy, former XI player, about FF in general and new shinies in XI. Then it was time for my moment at the table. I presented the back art from the cd to be sign. Hajimemashite! *SMILE* *bow* Arigatou Gozaimasu *bow* "Hi Arnie, thank you for another wonderful performance." "Oh?" he replied, "Which show did you see?" Pleased I say "Dear friends in Detroit!" Then Arnie proceeded to tell me he's been working with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra for another Final Fantasy concert in the next couple years. ZOMG!!!!! And to top it all off I was allowed to get a picture with them.
Since Arnie speaks english he has convos like mine with people in line. Nobuo had to poke Arnie to look at the camera. SO MANY THANKS to the lady who took this GORGEOUS photo!!!! It's not blurry or anything!!!! *SQUEEEEEEEEEE*
That was so worth it!
Once out of line I skipped over to meet everyone who thankfully were not kicked out of the building while waiting for me. *hugs* We all still wanted to hang out some more so we headed to Denny's. Tasty foods and much talk of FFXI was had. Said talk even attracted a few random people also from the show to the table. It was most excellent. After dropping them off at their hotel, we got some Krispy Kreme. Oh what a night!
I woke up kinda early on Sunday. I had some KK and poked at the internet. For some weird reason I couldn't manage to long onto FFXI, so I turned on the Wii to unlock some more clothing in Raving Rabbids 2. I was successful and now have a great desire to own the game. Eventually all of us were up, awake and ready to venture into the big city.
I'd been to Chicago with the Pitt Marching band a few years ago. Time was a bit limited so I had a choice. Visit the Sears Tower or go to a whole bunch of different shops. I chose the shops then so the Sears Tower was priority 1 this time.
The car was parked and we began the walk to the tower. We met up with Mari on the way. Walking through the city was much fun. Looking up at the architecture or just being amused by random shops and signs.
Eventually we made it to the tower. Before we even paid for our admission they took a super cheesy green screen shot of our group.
*slight time line skip here* No, I did not actually buy the photo when we got back down. They had this really nice option to have it emailed to you for free. :3 hehehehehe
*and back to chronology* I thought visiting the top would be simple. Pay, ride elevator and tada! I was quite wrong. We were shuffled into a very dull waiting area where we had to wait 15 minutes for the next showing of a "short film". Film? What?!? /sigh While waiting, I was quite lucky to find a penny on the ground and then proceed to mash it with the Sears Tower on it. Yay cheap souvenir. The film was quite a nice piece brought to you by the History Channel. But really come on. I just wanted to get upstairs! Finally we entered the elevator. Then I couldn't believe it. Apparently, the staff at the Sears tower thinks a group of strangers can't handle a quiet 60 second elevator ride. Nope, they had a big screen just above the door that showed a super cheesy video of some pigeons talking about how tall the tower is. DUDE! We just watched a short film. /sigh
Finally the top! The view was lovely, but there were too many people there for me to even try to do the thing from Ferris Bueller. Anyway I had fun and picked up a few silly trinkets. On the way down, the pigeons had a few more things to say. LOL
Once out of the Tower we were starving. Stopped at a Jimmy John's to refuel. The walk back ended up being really hard on me for some reason. Though we still managed to stop everywhere. The Lego store. The Hello Kitty Store. The Ghirardelli Cafe where I got an awesome brownie sundae to regain some energy. The Hershey store just across the street. And finally American Girl Place. It was just as cool and this time much less crowded. Lin and I totally had a great time exploring. I even picked up a very awesome, high quality materials purse. *happy*
Speaking of happy! After all this crazy city adventure there was still more to do. Geoff, Lin and I headed out to the suburbs to meet up with happysteve and his family. Max was absolutely adorable in person and Nikki was very very nice.
After some socializing, we hit the road for dinner. We went to Claddagh Irish Pub. A most wonderful place for they had Cider on tap! One pint, yes please! The cider was Strongbow Cider. I quite liked it. I great middle ground between Green Apple Woodchuck and Cider Jack. Choosing dinner was challenging, though I eventually settled on the Meatloaf. TASTY!!!! Food, drink and company. You can't ask for anything better.
Funny thing, as we were finishing up another waiter noticed the FFXI logo on my front of my shirt and asked, "Were you at the concert last night?" Hahahahaha! So we talked about Final Fantasy stuff and I was randomly commenting I wish there was one of these back home. Much to my surprise he said there was one in Pittsburgh!! HE brought me a print out of all the locations and sure enough Pittsburgh as on there. Furthest east the chain goes he said. WOOOOO!!! Now I can try out the Salmon fish and chips I left behind for the meat loaf.
So we headed out to the cars for our good byes. I go to put the left overs down in the back seat and woo woo... I was a bit uneasy on my feet, in a good way. Hey! I think I just found the start of my buzz line. A pint over dinner! I must experiment a bit more later. We said our goodbyes and returned home.
Lin hung out with me while I packed up my things. It's always to have company and conversation while preparing stuff.
I don't know what it is about me and getting up before everyone, but it happened again. So I unpacked my laptop, uploaded my pictures and poked the internet until people stirred.
I lounged about and had leftover meatloaf for brunch. Mmmmm....
Sadly all things must come to an end and the time for me to depart arrived. Lin stayed home to rest, and Geoff took me to the airport. We took Cicero Ave which was a very interesting choice. The road was crazy not road like in spots and the neighborhood was up and down. Though we made it to the airport safely.
I am very pleased to say that the flight back was better than the flight there. I was much more relaxed and my ears were popping! Hooray! I've found a way to fly without being all sick and blech.
It was so nice to be back in Pittsburgh, though I really do miss my old/new yay friends! So to cheer myself up I popped Distant Worlds into my CD player and headed to Target to finally get my DUCK!
To top off my return home, I was able to attend a Shikigami Weapon window and GOT MY Yinyang Robe!!! YAY!!!!!! Couldn't have asked for a better ending to a weekend full of FFXI friends, music and adventure.
WOW finally done! If you made it here you deserve something more than a link to my full set of photos(Over there.) Sadly the pictures are all you get. ;p
Not sure how wordy I'll get or how many pics I'll post so everything will be hiding behind cuts.
For the most part Friday was meet people day! YAY!!!! I got to meet so many Curse the Yagudo people. /dance
Snuggly Group Photo!!
BACK: Geoff (Nimbex), Linmayu, Leigh (Mirrsie), Kireila (Mari)
FRONT: Me (Treasa) and Eric (Chaylinn)
Not too long after this group picture was taken, Lin, Leigh and I headed out to Target to get some groceries and other assorted things. We meandered about the mall on our way to target stopping at the usual places of shiny and cool things (Hot Topic and the Disney Store) much to my dismay I had left my camera at home and thus couldn't get fun silly pics while we were out. The snake is attacking me! AAAAAAHHHHH!!!!11!!!1!!
Eventually we made it to Target. It was so cool in there. First two floor Target I've ever seen and it had this really awesome cart escalator! *SQUEEEE* *ahem* Not too long after seeing the cart escalator we stopped dead in our tracks due to the unbelievable cuteness of the easter signs hanging from the ceiling. We quickly hopped over to the seasonal area and began to go nuts over all the adorable little duck things. *SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE* While I wanted to pick up the big spherical duck, there was no way I could get it home, so I just had to wait. Leigh picked up a three pack of baby ducks, and we also got some marshmallow things shaped like those ducks. We eventually left the cute to continue our shopping. Picked up everything we needed as well as some assorted treats like some Choxie chocolate truffle things.
!!! Oh I forgot. So I was wearing my Dear Friends shirt. While at Target, a girl, excitedly complemented me on my shirt then asked "Are you going to the show tomorrow?" Hehehe that was much fun. <3 Random encounters like that.
Not too long after returning another CTYer appeared at the house, Kevin (Zoofster)!! Now that everyone was assembled it was time to order some food! Local chain deep dish chicago style pizza where the sauce is on top and the cheese is plentiful. I barely made it through one piece, yet I managed to stuff in another half. YUM!
After the real food it was time for some slaughter erm I mean dessert! While I'm no fan of marshmallows I was very happy that someone was at least willing to try the ducks. Kevin and Mari volunteered. Turns out those little suckers are CRAZY sweet, so beware if you dare to ever have one. After the silliness with the ducks I finally opened up the box of Choxie. I'm getting all hungry for chocolate as I struggle to open the box. Then I see them. Chocolate turds? *insert major BWAAHAHAHAHA laughter from me here* *really lots of it, i was crying* After the initial shock of their appearance I ventured to taste a chocolate turd and it was quite nummy. And to celebrate Leigh's birthday we had some EAFD cake.
There was gaming abound after sustenance. DS multiplayer. Wii sports. Campaign battle in FFXI. BANG! And a showing of The Gamers was in there somewhere. Of course this gaming went way into the weeeeeeeee hours of the morning. So wee the sun was almost up. ^^;
Saturday morning didn't start off too well. RL tax stuff and a slightly restless sleep made me all sad. Though after finding some stuff to read on LJ and random pictures I felt much better.
I had made a post in ffxiljcommunity before I left town to see if anyone else would be there. I was so excited to see that Whren was attending the concert! Whren was a player on Midgardsormr. I always found her to be very nice and I love it when she posts in the ffxi community because she has a way of talking about the game that is a pleasure to read. So I was even more excited when she was willing to meet up at the show! *squeeee*
After such a late night it was great to have a very lazy day around the house. The most fun bit was the fresh pasta! Per request, I wanted to try some of Lin's home made pasta. After the dough was made the pasta making process required a team of us. Someone to feed the machine and change the dial. Someone to crank and guide the dough. Someone to work with the flour. And Someone to deal with cutting pieces that were too long and arranging them on waxed paper. It was quite an operation, with a very worthy outcome. Super tasty pasta!!! NOM!
After food we played a few rounds of Raving Rabbids 2. It is a much better game than it's predecessor because everyone plays at the same time in multiplayer. I almost spent too much time enjoying the game because departure time was fast approaching. Though we all managed to get cleaned up and shiny in time.
Once at the Rosemont we immediately got in the merch line. I was a little annoyed that our tickets were scanned at the door, meaning we couldn't leave to put the merch in the car. /sigh Anyway, picked up the usual shirt, and a real signed poster for Eric since getting more than one thing signed at the meet and greet would probably not be possible. And as timing would have it Whren found us while in line. *SQUEEEEEEE* So we shuffled off into a corner for socializing.
This lovely photo was taken by Whren's brother.
Eventually it was time to take our seats for the show. Much to my surprise Card Captor Will was in the front row of my section. Yet again I totally surprised him with my presence. hehehehe
Sitting so close provided a very unique experience. I could hear Arnie Roth humming or grunting along as he conducted. Additionally, I wasn't sure if he was super nervous or has a condition, for he was shaking lots when holding a list of names or something. Then again he could have just been so excited!!!
The concert was very lovely. I was very surprised at how many FF VIII songs were on the program! For me VIII will always have a special place in my heart, because it was my first Final Fantasy. It was also very cool that the title track of the show was from FFXI. <3 Though my favorite piece of the night was the Swing de Chocobo arrangement. HOLY CRAP! Big Band Swing arrangement for the win!
After the show, I had to figure out where the meet and greet was for there were no signs or announcements about it. Fortunately I found it quickly and got a good spot in line. Spoke with a very nice guy, former XI player, about FF in general and new shinies in XI. Then it was time for my moment at the table. I presented the back art from the cd to be sign. Hajimemashite! *SMILE* *bow* Arigatou Gozaimasu *bow* "Hi Arnie, thank you for another wonderful performance." "Oh?" he replied, "Which show did you see?" Pleased I say "Dear friends in Detroit!" Then Arnie proceeded to tell me he's been working with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra for another Final Fantasy concert in the next couple years. ZOMG!!!!! And to top it all off I was allowed to get a picture with them.
Since Arnie speaks english he has convos like mine with people in line. Nobuo had to poke Arnie to look at the camera. SO MANY THANKS to the lady who took this GORGEOUS photo!!!! It's not blurry or anything!!!! *SQUEEEEEEEEEE*
That was so worth it!
Once out of line I skipped over to meet everyone who thankfully were not kicked out of the building while waiting for me. *hugs* We all still wanted to hang out some more so we headed to Denny's. Tasty foods and much talk of FFXI was had. Said talk even attracted a few random people also from the show to the table. It was most excellent. After dropping them off at their hotel, we got some Krispy Kreme. Oh what a night!
I woke up kinda early on Sunday. I had some KK and poked at the internet. For some weird reason I couldn't manage to long onto FFXI, so I turned on the Wii to unlock some more clothing in Raving Rabbids 2. I was successful and now have a great desire to own the game. Eventually all of us were up, awake and ready to venture into the big city.
I'd been to Chicago with the Pitt Marching band a few years ago. Time was a bit limited so I had a choice. Visit the Sears Tower or go to a whole bunch of different shops. I chose the shops then so the Sears Tower was priority 1 this time.
The car was parked and we began the walk to the tower. We met up with Mari on the way. Walking through the city was much fun. Looking up at the architecture or just being amused by random shops and signs.
Eventually we made it to the tower. Before we even paid for our admission they took a super cheesy green screen shot of our group.
*slight time line skip here* No, I did not actually buy the photo when we got back down. They had this really nice option to have it emailed to you for free. :3 hehehehehe
*and back to chronology* I thought visiting the top would be simple. Pay, ride elevator and tada! I was quite wrong. We were shuffled into a very dull waiting area where we had to wait 15 minutes for the next showing of a "short film". Film? What?!? /sigh While waiting, I was quite lucky to find a penny on the ground and then proceed to mash it with the Sears Tower on it. Yay cheap souvenir. The film was quite a nice piece brought to you by the History Channel. But really come on. I just wanted to get upstairs! Finally we entered the elevator. Then I couldn't believe it. Apparently, the staff at the Sears tower thinks a group of strangers can't handle a quiet 60 second elevator ride. Nope, they had a big screen just above the door that showed a super cheesy video of some pigeons talking about how tall the tower is. DUDE! We just watched a short film. /sigh
Finally the top! The view was lovely, but there were too many people there for me to even try to do the thing from Ferris Bueller. Anyway I had fun and picked up a few silly trinkets. On the way down, the pigeons had a few more things to say. LOL
Once out of the Tower we were starving. Stopped at a Jimmy John's to refuel. The walk back ended up being really hard on me for some reason. Though we still managed to stop everywhere. The Lego store. The Hello Kitty Store. The Ghirardelli Cafe where I got an awesome brownie sundae to regain some energy. The Hershey store just across the street. And finally American Girl Place. It was just as cool and this time much less crowded. Lin and I totally had a great time exploring. I even picked up a very awesome, high quality materials purse. *happy*
Speaking of happy! After all this crazy city adventure there was still more to do. Geoff, Lin and I headed out to the suburbs to meet up with happysteve and his family. Max was absolutely adorable in person and Nikki was very very nice.
After some socializing, we hit the road for dinner. We went to Claddagh Irish Pub. A most wonderful place for they had Cider on tap! One pint, yes please! The cider was Strongbow Cider. I quite liked it. I great middle ground between Green Apple Woodchuck and Cider Jack. Choosing dinner was challenging, though I eventually settled on the Meatloaf. TASTY!!!! Food, drink and company. You can't ask for anything better.
Funny thing, as we were finishing up another waiter noticed the FFXI logo on my front of my shirt and asked, "Were you at the concert last night?" Hahahahaha! So we talked about Final Fantasy stuff and I was randomly commenting I wish there was one of these back home. Much to my surprise he said there was one in Pittsburgh!! HE brought me a print out of all the locations and sure enough Pittsburgh as on there. Furthest east the chain goes he said. WOOOOO!!! Now I can try out the Salmon fish and chips I left behind for the meat loaf.
So we headed out to the cars for our good byes. I go to put the left overs down in the back seat and woo woo... I was a bit uneasy on my feet, in a good way. Hey! I think I just found the start of my buzz line. A pint over dinner! I must experiment a bit more later. We said our goodbyes and returned home.
Lin hung out with me while I packed up my things. It's always to have company and conversation while preparing stuff.
I don't know what it is about me and getting up before everyone, but it happened again. So I unpacked my laptop, uploaded my pictures and poked the internet until people stirred.
I lounged about and had leftover meatloaf for brunch. Mmmmm....
Sadly all things must come to an end and the time for me to depart arrived. Lin stayed home to rest, and Geoff took me to the airport. We took Cicero Ave which was a very interesting choice. The road was crazy not road like in spots and the neighborhood was up and down. Though we made it to the airport safely.
I am very pleased to say that the flight back was better than the flight there. I was much more relaxed and my ears were popping! Hooray! I've found a way to fly without being all sick and blech.
It was so nice to be back in Pittsburgh, though I really do miss my old/new yay friends! So to cheer myself up I popped Distant Worlds into my CD player and headed to Target to finally get my DUCK!
To top off my return home, I was able to attend a Shikigami Weapon window and GOT MY Yinyang Robe!!! YAY!!!!!! Couldn't have asked for a better ending to a weekend full of FFXI friends, music and adventure.
WOW finally done! If you made it here you deserve something more than a link to my full set of photos(Over there.) Sadly the pictures are all you get. ;p