Goodbye Johnathan and Hillary

I got an invite a while ago from Johnathan and Hillary, who are moving to Philadelphia soon (Johnathan will be starting a new job, working for Fresh Air). Though I don’t know them all that well, we have many mutual friends in common and our paths have crossed a good deal.

I was trying to think of a good going-away gift to bring, and ended up burning a CD of photos/videos for them. I looked over the blog and found the various events where we were together, and gave them… well, another version of the events, I guess. A few recorded memories of Chicago, to take with them.


The original plan was to meet up at a place called “The Hungry Brain.” I had never been there before, and so far… I still haven’t been. Found this note on the door, right after I closed the door and the taxicab drove away. A few minutes later, I was turned around and headed to spot 2.


Inside the Ten Cat. I actually really liked the feel of this place. Cool back room (where I spent most of the evening), and a very open front area near the bar. Plus – they had some really, super-nice billiards tables for 75 cents a game. Might have to come back here.

I don’t think the photos I took do the evening justice. I was a bit wary of breaking out the camera (I didn’t know all that many people), and there was another guy with a camera who seemed to know what he was doing. I don’t know why, but I tend to get camera shy when there are others with cameras around.

The photos I took were more towards the end of the evening. To get a full sense of the night, I’d say maybe double the number of people you see here. At one point, the place was super packed.


I spent a good part of the evening hanging out with Gretchen and a friend of hers named Ann. Turns out, Ann is affiliated with (or flat-out runs) Punk Planet. We talked at length about all the writing she does, and kicked around comics to boot. I found out she’s also editing the latest “Best American” anthology for comics. How cool is that?


For some reason, this thing caught my eye.


Johnathan, talking about how the night in the Party like a Rock Star hotel room ended. Apparently, the party was a whole DIFFERENT party after I left…


Got a shot of Hillary, right before I took off (she’s on the left).

I’m really glad I came out tonight. I felt a bit apprehensive, as I didn’t (and don’t) know Johnathan and Hillary all that well. But they were nice enough to invite me, and I’ve enjoyed hanging out with them before. I had a very good time tonight, talking with strangers and talking with the two of them in particular.

I’m wishing now that I had tried to hang out with Johnathan and Hillary more, while they were still around. I’ve had the thought before, but just never acted on it. Ah well – at least I got to have a few drinks with them and send them off. I look forward to the times when they roll back into town.

Below, a few links to the days/photos I gave them on CD:

Alex and Linda’s Wedding – September 5, 2004
Hot Doug’s – February 19, 2005.
Fourth (er… Third) of July – July 3, 2005
Pierogifest – July 30, 2005
Dave’s Birthday – May 3, 2005
Party Like a Rock Star – February 2, 2006

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