It's the Impression That I Get

It's a hundred and six miles to Chicago, we've got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it's dark, and we're wearing sunglasses.

Sometimes I wish I could stay a kid forever. I could ride across the neighborhood in my little red tyke, hand paint with all the acrylics of my youth and climb trees and eat bananas to my hearts content; or at least until my parents put me back in the cage. But as they say, there comes a point to put away childish things and become the man you're going to be for the rest of your life.

Life can make you blue sometimes

Since after college I had come to some pretty solid conclusions on what I wanted to do, or at least what I didn't want to do. Still I felt stuck in a permanent state of arrested development for over a year, clinging to the hope that a big boy job would come my way. In the meantime it was like every night I would die then start again at the last checkpoint I saved from. Everyday blurred together. Then a few months ago I answered the call to become a tutor and mentor to the youth of Metropolitan Chicago. A job which may just be the jump-start I need.

I don't know exactly what's in-store for me but I know whatever experience and knowledge I gain it will be beneficial and help me shape my life just as the last few years have. It's the close of a chapter and the beginning of another in my heroic journey. Like Odysseus, Achilles and Luke Skywalker, I take the journey of a lifetime not knowing where I'll end up but knowing somewhere in the recesses of my mind I am headed towards greatness. Or at least towards better-ness.

Who needs walking when you have one of these?

My introduction to Chicago involved getting hopelessly lost in the pubic transit system (CTA) the first day. While I've been here before, I have always had the luxury of a car. Now I have to walk to get almost everywhere, a skill I have yet to master since putting one foot in front of the other for me usually involves a TV remote in the mix. It's surprising how easy it is to get lost around here even when the city is a very simple grid of cross-streets.

While first impressions can and do change, I have come to the conclusion that there is no better American city to live in than Chicago. From the North Shore to the Loop, the city is full of positive energy pulsating through the clangs and bangs of the El train and supported by all walks of active, friendly life. Like the city, everyone here seems so young, vibrant and full of hope. And yet while Chicago is young even in comparison to cities in the western hemisphere, the culture, music and food is laced with the heart and soul of age old traditions.

The basement from Adventures in Babysitting...

Being the film nerd I am, I walked downtown spotting the different landmarks I've seen in movies throughout the years. There was the government building from the Dark Knight (2008), the bridge from High Fidelity (2000), the sculpture from the end of Source Code (2011), the crowded streets featured prominently in the street parade in Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986); all this in addition to the major landmarks we all know Chicago has to offer.

At the meet and greet for my job I realized just how hard it is going to be to make new friends. I find that people are at their most truthful when you first meet them, and when they're drunk. We all know first impressions matter so we purposely put ourselves in the best possible light and dilute all of what we are into an easily digestible package. That's why I tend to tense up when first meeting people. I don't want them to know how stark raving mad I am. I attached myself to a group of people after the meet and greet and we went to the center of the city where I observed their dynamics carefully. This is going to be a fun year. We walked down the street singing showtunes distracting, delighting and repulsing everyone in ear shot. It was fun despite the fact that getting a small drink from McDonalds in downtown requires taking a number and waiting ten minutes. We ended the night at Millennium Park and took our respective trains home.

I'm not quite sure what impression I made. Being largely an observer last night, speaking only when I felt the need, I ran the risk of coming off as anti-social and rude. That's certainly not my intention as most people who have gotten to know me see me as a social butterfly. Oh well. While first impressions do matter, I have a whole year to make a lasting impact. Maybe next time I meet up with a group I should be a little more proactive. That or I can always get drunk.