Time for some updates, people

Last time we chatted, I was about to spend a weekend in NYC with my college buddies. Needless to say, it was wonderful. Hadn't seen those guys in a year, so we did a lot of catching up, hanging out, watching tv, eating bad food, and drinking beer. Worth every penny.
After that, there was Thanksgiving. I had a marvelous time in Boston, seeing family, seeing high school friends, eating delicious food, and finally getting to hang out with this little cutie:
Last time I saw my niece was in January, when she was just a couple weeks old. But now look at her! She walks, she plays, she's got style, and she makes noises with her mouth! Too cool. It was a phenomenal trip.
Then I headed back to Chicago, and back to my wonderful little doggies. I've been hanging with my Chicago friends, listening to great music, and just living the dream. A week and a half ago my buddy Gregg and I went down to Valparaiso, Indiana for a performance of Dr. Schelle's great piece "Wright Flight." Not only did I get to hear one of my favorite works in person, but I got to hang with everybody from Butler who was there. A few of my buddies even came back to my apartment and spent the night, it was a blast.
Other than that, you know me, just reading reading reading! I read A Farewell to Arms, which was amazing. Then at Mom's suggestion, I read The Known World, which I had never heard of, but it really floored me. After that I tried another Palahniuk novel, this one called Survivor. It wasn't as amazing as Choke, but I was still pleased. And now I'm about two thirds done with American Pastoral by Philip Roth, which is written in a style that is unlike anything else I've been reading. It's intense, to say the least. I've been getting some great book recommendations from everybody, but one person in particular has taken it a step further and sent me a few books, apparently because they find the Chicago Public Library system to be lacking. The problem is, the packages don't tell me who sent them! So if someone wants to fess up and admit that it was their doing, I will thank you personally. Until then, I've received American Pastoral, The Third Man, and the Ginger Man, and can't wait to read them all. Thank you whoever you are!
Lastly, I've been working on my thesis! I know, who would've thought? It's coming along nicely.

This may shock you...

but I've been reading. A lot. It's awesome. When I first got here, commuting to the Symphony job was great because I finally finished the Brothers Karamazov while riding the Blue Line. I honestly started that book when I moved to Indiana over two years ago. Now with dog-walking, I ride the bus heading East every morning, and I just can't stop reading. I read some lectures Stravinsky gave at Harvard in 1940. Then I read The Rest is Noise, all about music and composers in the 20th century. Big surprise, it was nearly impossible for me to put down. Then I read This is Your Brain on Music, all about the reasons we love music, what it does to us, and what makes a great musician. Then I breezed through Choke by Chuck Palahniuk, which I absolutely loved. It was like if Kurt Vonnegut had written Portnoy's Complaint. I was so enthralled that I got another of Palahniuk's books out of the library, this one called Haunted. It's awesome, and I will finish it shortly. I also took out A Farewell to Arms, which I'll read next. Who would've thought?
Oh yeah, talking about the Symphony job reminded me that I saw one of my former coworkers at a bar near my house. He was the guy who had also worked there a couple years ago, and like me didn't really care about the job and wasn't very good at selling anything. Basically we were kindred spirits. I asked how it was going, and he said he got fired for not selling enough. Like me, he didn't seem to mind being laid off, which was cool.
Oh yeah, at the last minute I decided I'm flying to New York this weekend for a mini Bowdoin reunion. I haven't seen those guys in about a year, so I thought it was about time. Plus $137 for a round trip ticket was pretty sweet. Hopefully everything goes well!
Lastly, by all means, please recommend books for me to read. Consider that my favorite authors are probably Vonnegut, Camus, Palahniuk, and Hemingway, but I will also read any book about music or baseball. Go!

Life in the Fast Lane

Hey everybody, just wanted to inform you of some terrifying news...I've been walking dogs! And I love it! It's been a long time since I've had constant interaction with canines, and my life feels much fuller with them around. Granted I don't get the 24-7 companionship the owners do, but I also don't have to pay for food or worry about them pooping on/eating my furniture. These daily walks are a great opportunity to be outside (while the weather is still awesome) and explore different neighborhoods, and the best part is, I get paid to do it! Who would've thought.
Here's Otto. He's a puppy. So freakin' cute.
And here's Frida. She's a tiny Dachshund, she's fine when we're outside, but once we get back inside she hops on my lap and we just chill. It's great. Sometimes it rains, so I have to cover her up to keep her warm. I also love her coloring, which reminds me of (who else) our old dog Frida! Except our Frida was about thirty times as big as this little princess.And here's Lola. She's a brand new puppy, doesn't yet understand the rules. She'll learn.
I've got a bunch of other dogs whom I have yet to photograph, but I love them all. Even the stupid ones who try to eat everything on the street. So yeah, my bosses are super nice, and they really like me, which is awesome. Right now I'm making enough money to pay my rent with some left over for bills and life, etc. Obviously I'm still looking for other opportunities, like music lessons or tutoring, but for now, I'm fine with dogs.
Last weekend I got to visit Betsy in Ann Arbor, which was awesome. Nice campus, great weather, we baked a lot, I got to meet all of her friends, it was a blast. These next couple weekends I'll just get to relax and hang out, gearing up for my epic return to Boston over Thanksgiving break! I can't wait to be back on the East Coast for a few days, seeing everybody again, and hanging out with my niece who's HUGE! Last time I saw her she was always wrapped like a burrito, but now she's walking, wearing hoodies, it's amazing.
As for the Yankees, YOU STILL SUCK. Now I feel better.

Oh, Papelbon...

Well, he sure crapped the bed. That's all there is to it. Still, probably not as bad as the Twins losing the final baseball game ever played at the Metrodome to the hated Yankees, or the heavily favored Cardinals being swept by the Dodgers. Baseball is a tough sport, and losing hurts, mostly because I just enjoyed watching our team play more baseball. This was a strange year for our team, and I still can't believe Daisuke didn't throw a single pitch in the postseason, but such is life. As I've said before, losing makes those few and far between championships that much sweeter. The Celtics and Bruins losing game 7's at home last season, the Pats not making the playoffs, it all sucked big-time. But those crushing defeats just make us hungrier for another championship, and the nice thing is we have the confidence to know in our hearts that we will taste that victorious champagne again.
The other part of this whole losing thing that I don't like is the Yankee mentality that a year without a World Championship is a failure. In that case, 29 out of 30 teams fail every year. I personally love watching baseball, and think our team played some amazing games this year. There were the Penny and Smoltz experiments, but there was also the acquisition of Victor Martinez, our catcher of the future who will certainly be more comfortable with our pitching staff come next year. We gave up walk-off homers, but also had our fair share of amazing comebacks. Our pitching staff is still nice and young and constantly improving, but our position players are just getting older and slower, so we might have to let some of our former heroes go, who knows. I like to think that the post-2004 Red Sox fans have grown a little less all-or-nothing, slowly understanding that just having an exciting team and great ballpark is a good enough reason to be happy and proud.
Ok, enough trying to make myself feel better. I hate those stupid Angels. I really just wanted to win one more game so Daisuke could get a chance. And yes, I wanted to punch Papelbon in the gut. But I still love the Red Sox, and so should you!
So my non-baseball life has been going well. Just a quick update, I got to hang out with Dad and Vicki last week, even seeing some amazing chamber music up by Northwestern. Then this weekend I had lunch with Uncle Charlie and Aunt Jeanne. The fun thing about them is that they've been to Chicago so many times they already know the best restaurants. That and they're just fun to be around.
Matt Williams, my buddy from Butler came for the weekend as well. He saw some shows, we hung out, it was awesome. Betsy also stopped by, so the three of us had a ball. We even ate some unreal deep-dish pizza at Gino's! I'm really starting to like this whole Chicago thing.
In terms of the future, I got a job! Walking dogs! I knew it! Hey, it's a start. I also have an interview Tuesday in Skokie, so you know what that means...another awesome Adam adventure into uncharted territory! Then Alan is stopping by because he has a conference here, so we'll grab some dinner Tuesday. And more Butler kids are coming to visit later this week! I feel like a concierge! Hope everyone gets a chance to visit me, I really love seeing everybody, hanging out, and showing people why Chicago is so cool.
And for a final surprise, here are some pictures of my calypso band!! Stay classy, Bostonians!

Just a little further...

First things first: what with moving all my stuff up four flights of stairs, walking miles through Chicago in tight shoes, and just being a clumsy oaf, I messed up both of my big toes. Bad. So gross! The weird part is I'm pretty sure Ben and Dad have done the same thing, do we have a genetic inclination to stub our big toes? Are they abnormally sensitive? I don't think it's ever been this narsty though. Shield your eyes, children:Anyways, me and Nate (my roommate) have been furnishing our apartment slowly but steadily. Betsy's parents gave us an awesome futon, then last weekend we finally got a frame, some rugs, some lights, and a chair, so it's pretty sweet.
I'm still looking for jobs, and right now the best lead is working for College Admissions Assistance. It would involve traveling a lot and signing kids up for this sweet college prep program, which seems really awesome and not as "salesy" as the Chicago Symphony job. Families are invited to a presentation which basically shows how great this program is for finding the right schools, choosing the right major, getting into good schools, and reducing the cost for college. Anyways, we had to go to North Aurora to meet at the boss' house (all I could think of was Wayne's World the whole time), so I took the train downtown, rode the Metra (commuter rail) to Aurora, and biked an hour north. It was intense, but sooooo worth it. Classic Adam, I got there way too early and relaxed by an enormous field in the vast suburbs. That alone made the whole trip worth it. You can even see hints of my enormous shoes in the bottom of the picture:
You may be asking, Adam, how did you manage to bike that far and back? The answer is I brought my bike into the 21st century! Finally! Check out my new helmet, lights, and lock!
Pretty sweet. So now I'm equipped to roam the streets in search of blood...I mean jobs. Tomorrow our calypso band is performing in front of some soccer league or something, I'm really excited to just jam out with my steel-drumming old-timer buddies. I'll try to grab some recordings and/or pictures of us all in matching goofy shirts.
Other than that, Dad and Vicki are stopping by for a day or two on their Midwest trip, should be fun to see them again. And oh yeah, Go Red Sox! Let's put those Angels back where they belong: Heaven!

Well that was fast!

A momentous occasion occurred last night that I thought I should share with everyone. I got fired! I've never been fired before! It was beautiful. My main problem with working at the Chicago Symphony was when someone would tell me they couldn't afford season tickets, for some reason I believed them. My bosses, on the other hand, wanted me to prod and throw out numbers and try to grab all the money I could get my hands on. In the end, it didn't work out, but I got years of entertainment from all the mispronunciations and misinformation from the other sellers. "Oh yes, we have some great piano works by Leest," or "A night conducted by Boulay," or "Debussy's great piece La Mar," etc. Funny that I was the only musician who worked there, and yet I was the one fired after one week! Good times.
Anyways, even when I was working there I was still applying to better jobs, so I had an interview this morning, and have another one tonight, and I've got more coming. Also, Betsy is coming to visit this weekend! Should be a blast. Also I did get to catch the end of the Red Sox game last night, what a crazy finish. I'll keep everyone updated on Chicago job #2!

So far so good!

So last week I interviewed for this job selling season tickets over the phone for the Chicago Symphony, and I actually got it! Today I went in and did paperwork, and tomorrow we start training. It's only a part-time gig, but even so, it's a good start. I basically told them that I would do anything even remotely associated with the Chicago Symphony, it's such an amazing venue/organization. I'll keep updates coming as I learn more.
Also, I've been jamming with a couple old dudes who have a little calypso band. They play the steel drums, are super chill, and just really fun to play with. They've got a gig on October 3rd, I have no idea where or for what, but I'm gonna play guitar with them! It should be a blast.
Oh yeah, and since I've been with T-Mobile for 2 years, I got a new phone. Wrap your minds around this!
I got to hang out with Ross last weekend, which was super fun. He lives right next to the White Sox stadium, but his apartment literally contains an obsolete bar. It's pretty cool having a pool table and old bar in your apartment. Then we saw the Red Sox when they came to town, luckily we went to the one game we won. It was beautiful. I also got a library card, so the first items I rented? Ken Burns' documentary on baseball. Surprised?

And so it begins

Welcome...to Jurassic Park!
For starters, here's my address once again:
2812 N Whipple St, Apt 3
Chicago, IL
60618
It's in Logan Square, a sweet part of town with a lot of stuff going on. It's by the Blue Line, which runs 24 hours a day. Also there are buses running all over the place. Quite a change from Indy.
Here are some pictures of the apartment:
the enormous living room;my super neat/furnished bedroom;and our beautiful dining room;More pictures to come once we actually get settled.
I'm looking for jobs, basically anywhere. So yesterday I started at the Logan Square Library to print out some resumes, and then I just started walking south on Milwaukee Ave. Then I hit Wicker Park. Then I kept going, and going, until I made it all the way to downtown. I saw "the bean," and Millenium Park, and it was all beautiful. I walked at least 6 miles. After relaxing for a while, I took the Brown line up to Wrigleyville to see my friend Nick. I got there a bit early, so I walked around Wrigley field as the masses were congregating before the game started. It was great just feeling the energy and excitement, even though the Cubs aren't doing so well this year. I grabbed some pizza, saw Nick's awesome pad in Lakeview, and later we went to a 24-hour diner. This is the life.
Obviously, now all I need is a job to sustain my adventurous lifestyle, but for some reason I'm feeling rather optimistic. Ross and I are going to see the Red Sox this Sunday, as Lester is pitching against the White Sox. Should be a blast. I'll keep the updates coming, y'all!