Universal Food & Liquor

July 23, 2002

Walking to the Liquor Store today, I ran into Michael, who does a lot of maintenance work for my landlord. My friend Steph also works for my landlord, and we were meeting to do a few photo shots for their business cards. I met Michael outside the office, cleaning off the sign for Universal Food & Liquor.

Michael was incredibly nice to me when I first moved here to Chicago, and though we haven’t hung out for any extended period of time… he’s someone I’d like to know. He’s friendly, nice, and thinks big. He invited me to join in some kind of "Invasion" of Hammond, Indiana. It’s some sort of spontaneous parade, slated for a few weeks from now. I don’t know all the specifics, but it seems like a DIY parade, where you make your own costumes, floats, and we’re all going to pretend to "invade" Hammond, Indiana. Apparently, Hammond is ready, and they will be waiting for us with an assload of water balloons. I’m still not sure what the deal is, but Michael is one of the primary organizers. Sounds fun, whatever it turns out to be. :D

Like I said – a fun guy. Michael invited me out to some yuppie bar tonight, as he was trying to track down a group of folks who did a "Clown Crawl." Apparently, once a year, all these folks get dressed up (I mean, totally decked out) in clown garb. They rent a school bus, and hit roughly 10-15 bars. Michael’s been in on this, and described to me the nightmare that is a schoolbus full of drunk, surly clowns. He was looking to recruit them for the parade.

I declined tonight’s invite, but made it a point to say I’d like to go drinking with him. I bet we’ll have some interesting pics when that happens!

Bought some beer, and discussed my camera with Sam, the owner:

When I first arrived, Ted (my landlord) left my key and contract with Sam. Ted’s office is right next door, and they have a good relationship with one another. That relationship extended to me, and I’ve always enjoyed stopping in and talking with Sam. I see him slightly less now, as I quit smoking almost 2 months ago.