Last weekend was the library conference in Chicago. I was there Friday to Monday and Mark stayed an extra night to see Amanda Gorman on Tuesday. It probably wasn’t the last library conference I will attend, but it was the last one where I could get work to pay for it. I don’t know if it’s because I’m a short timer, or because I’m not involved with committees putting on programs, but the conference seemed to go by fast and nothing felt like a really big deal the way it used to. I mean I went to programs and worked at the iSchool booth, and also went to a Chicago Symphony concert and the Art Institute, but we always do sight seeing along with the business of conference. I think it’s the latter reason – not so involved with committees any more.
Amanda Gorman at ALA closing session
We went to the Art Institure to see Van Gogh and the Modern Landcape, that really should have been called Van Gogh, Seurat, Angrand, Bernard, and Signac. They do have all the names muralized in the entry.
I’m using one of the Van Gogh’s for iPhone wallpaper now. At least I think this is Van Gogh – I did not caption very well. A big part of the show was how the different artists divided up color, dots or little stripes, and these brush strokes seem Van Gogh-y to me. Also this is his palette – they all used color differently, more charged or flatter or more dotty or stripey.
I’m still on my limited walking, biking OK program and I did try to limit walking at the conference, but McCormick Place is so huge it was tough. Saturday & Sunday I walked over 5 miles and Friday & Monday were over 4. Plus Saturday shuttles weren’t possible – the traffic was terrible, and people were like waiting an hour then not able to get on because there was no room. So I stuck to the EL, but it’s somewheres between 6 &12 mins from the stop to the McCormick West Building. You don’t really have to go all the way to Prairie and loop up to the door – although I did that the first time I went. But the doors on Cermak were almost always locked. So the best way was to turn right after FatPour, and go in at gate 40.
We were able check in Friday and drop our bags at the hotel, and proceeded to the fancy Dollop on Indiana for some food. Then Mark walked and I took the L down to MCormick and got registered at the conference. I thought about trying to go to a session, but instead just kind of hung around until it was time for booth set up at 4:00, and then booth duty for a couple of hours for the grand opening of the exhibits.
Mark came to get me at 6:30 and we made our way back up town and had bar pizza at Flo & Santos for dinner in our old South Loop ‘hood. Back at the hotel we thought we might watch The Bear, but even though we could login to our own subscriptions on the hotel TV we couldn’t get Hulu. So settled for Stars and an Outlander.
Saturday morning I had to be at McCormick at 10:00 so I went to only part of a Public Library Association program at the hotel across the street from us, the less fun part, where they were promoting their 2024 conference that will be in Columbus OH. Mark got to stay for the author presentation, Jean Kwok, who wrote Girl in Translation. I took the L down, grabbing a Stan’s donut on the way, then put in my two hours at the booth. Boothing was kinda exhausting – I collapsed in one of the few places to sit and wolfed down my donut, then briefly met my friend Kevin from LoC at the food court. He had had to walk to McCormick due to overcrowded shuttles, and was similarly trying to get some food in before his booth responsibility started.
Then it was Saturday afternoon with Core – Top Tech Trends (chatGPT) Presidents Program – author talk, Angela Saini, and it was all good until we got the typical librarian non-question, “er, umm what do you think about this theory in this book I read 20 years ago and can’t really remember” that took things down a twisty path where we shouldn’t have been. Especially if you look at the book a bit more and it’s evidently its particular author’s pet theory, that written language killed matriarchal society, and even the positive reviews say there is a lack of evidence presented. Sigh.
Followed by Core Happy Hour at Hard Rock Cafe, and dinner at Xoco, that involved a bunch of leaning against the wall and waiting to be seated that I found a little nervous-making, but it all worked out. We had guacamole, Mark got an Cubano, and I got this crazy sandwich that was fried chicken on a churro bun, with spicy sauce, and we split everything. Delicious but good thing we each only ate half of the churro sandwich. Likely would have put us in food coma otherwise. No pics.
Sunday was a less busy conference day, met John & Megan at the fancy new Dollop, booth at 1:00, CSO – Muti conducts Missa Solemnis – at 3:00. All very emotional since it was Maestro Muti’s last regular season concert, although he has been named emeritus music director for life. Plus there was a brass fanfare and lots of ovations, and you have to wait until Muti does his little wave before you go. The iSchool reception at 5:00, but I was a bit late because we ran into some of our retired librarian friends and got a quick drink with them at Russian Tea Room. And have an almost-scheduled date with them in September for lunch before or dinner after CSO Phillip Glass.
We decided after the food at the reception, we would just buy a pint of Ben & Jerry’s and eat it at the room, and watch TV. So we did.
Finally Monday –
Monday AM at conference
Booth take down around 11:00, lunch at Spoke & Bird, bus home, and there I was. The cat was definitely grumpy – her food bowl was empty because I didn’t get home until about 6:00PM and our cat minders hadn’t been over since some time on Sunday. And, she was like “where’s the other one? where’s the other one? Oh, ok you’re here – you can pet me” – because it was only me, not me and Mark. Me & kitty watched the Banshees of Inisherin and I went to bed.
Lunch at Spoke & Bird, that seems to have survived pandemic by moving ordering into a truck in the yard. Breakfast BLT with egg, and my arugula salad is topped with pickled onions, and (I think) fennel stalks. All the restaurants in Chi seem to be using baby arugula for their salads. I’m sure it keeps longer than other greens.
Tuesday was a Jasper day, then all of sudden it was bad air and cancellations.
Jasper Tuesday AM when I arrived. He was a bit grumpy, having a day, as Al said, and it was a very pacifier day. The wake window between naps 2 & 3 was his happiest.
During that later wake window
On the way home Tuesday I stopped at the co-op and got fennel and made sausage & fennel pasta with fennel frond gremolata for dinner, and for my original for this week’s CSA recipes.
Wednesday I got up and wrote the recipes and then went off to PT – my therapist did a really nice thing for me – looked over my exercises that take about 20 mins, added some new ones, but then starred a few that’re most important for me to do now if I can only fit in a 10 minute workout.
And then the cancellations started.
No Garbage, no Noel Gallagher.
Concerts on the Square postponed until Thursday and then rescheduled.
Which brings us back to Friday. My actual last day in the office but I filled up all my recycle bins and still have couple of file cabinet drawers and my bulletin board to dismantle. So will have to go back after the July 4th holiday. It is astonishing how much paper is generated by 20 years of teaching librarians about digital stuff. Although I have to say – I found my rather disorganized method of record keeping – where I shoved stuff into binders without actually inserting the rings into the holes punched into the papers, or just having kind of massive folders with more junk inside them than the title might indicate – easier to clear out than the papers stored by my predecessor/former boss that were better organized into folders.
Stuff I found:
Addendum – pin feed printer labels
Mark came to meet me after work, and we sat on the terrace a bit and then went to the Old Fashioned for dinner. Fish fry and a burger, and (of course) an old fashioned and a Moon Man. I filled out a raffle card to maybe win a Makers Mark Beach Cruiser. Ah, Wisconsin.
Old Fashioned dinner wreckage