20×2 Chicago and an Impromptu Date Night

Outside Schubas, and the obligatory pre-20×2 photo of the venue. We got here somewhat early, so that we could grab a bit of dinner before the show.

Surprisingly, I was able to eat. Most of the time, I’m too nervous to be hungry. And I also tend to avoid alcohol until after I’m off the stage (why put in all the practice, only to slur your words on the stage). But the fact that I was able to eat dinner feels to me like I’m getting, slowly, a bit more comfortable with things.

A view of the crowd, as I wait on deck to go on stage. Quite a full house tonight.

Tonight, I opted to just tell a story. I had some photos and slides made up, but it just ended up being all of two photos. And while they might have helped, they felt more like a distraction. So I just went all in on the words themselves.

I think tonight’s show was up there, in terms of consistently awesome, engaging, powerful speakers. It feels like an upward trend to me, but the shows feel like they’re consistently improving and just better and better each time.

Really looking forward to sharing the videos, once they become available. And will try very hard to pick just some favorites, as opposed to embedding the whole damn show on here.

Afterwards, Liz and I debated “staying out” post-event. Usually, I’m pretty tired and wiped out, and want nothing more than to just go home and decompress.

But tonight, we decided to stay out a little longer and popped into Bibliophile, a local dessert bar here in Hyde Park.

Liz got a cocktail, and I ended up getting a glass of white wine (a surprising move for me, as I tend to only drink reds). I got a semi-sweet pino grigio, and it was exactly what I was after – something cool on a summer night, that wasn’t too tart.

Along with our drinks, we got a charcuterie board (along with a few samples from the cheese board). There were a few truffle cheeses that were phenomenal.

For dessert, we split an elderberry cheesecake. Both Liz and I were in agreement that this was a fantastic slice of cheesecake.

By the time we got home, it was close to 11:30 PM (which for us, is kind of a crazy late night).

I loved that we had a very public evening (which involved speaking in public), immediately followed by a very private date. As exhausting as it is sometimes, I love participating in 20×2 Chicago because of the fact that it makes me feel connected to the creative forces running underneath the city. I feel more a part of Chicago, after each show. I’m not sure how well I’m describing this sentiment, but I feel it every single time.

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