We put down our $10.25 plastic cups of Budweiser to stand for the national anthem. As the arena goes dark, the screens fill with the American flag and stock footage of a bald eagle. Speaking strictly musically, it is a very odd song. By the time we get to “land of the free” cheering has already broken out – partly from pure relief, it feels like, of the singer’s successful scaling of the octaves.
When Katie first announced at work that she was going to a Monster Truck rally at the weekend, I laughed at her. By late evening, I was sending begging texts asking to come along. I can go to all the nice parties and restaurants here that I want, but there are nice parties and restaurants everywhere. Watching comically oversized trucks compete to spin around in circles and leap over dummy cars: this seemed like a reasonably American opportunity. (“…the 2014 Monster Jam tour schedule will unfortunately not include an event in the UK”, their website informs fans. They are, however, “working diligently to have Monster Jam return in 2015”.)
If you’re imagining something rugged and cowboy, you’re in for a disappointment. The keynote of Monster Jam is family-friendly, and most people are here with young children. Think sports entertainment, in much the same vein as wrestling. The atmosphere, diesel fumes and sticky floors aside, is really pretty sweet. Suitably cute children are picked from the crowd and rewarded with free tickets to next year’s event. (It’s OK, the promoters will make it back on the hot dogs.)
Those things which are culturally dominant are often invisible. So it is with monster trucks. The thrill of watching a failed jump – seeing the truck yield backwards to gravity and land upside-down with a thump, smashing its windows in the process – this is probably universal. We’re all secretly wondering if a bloodied driver is about to be pulled out from underneath… whether the lights will dim unexpectedly for an unexpected tragedy. Of course, it didn’t. Of course, everything was fine. But as we warm to the fake-danger on stage, half the audience has already slipped in their ear buds. We’ve become accustomed to a culture which sees nothing strange in this – like selling anoraks in the queue for a water ride. Spectacle shouldn’t just be risk-free – it ought to be discomfort-free, too. A reasonable aspiration, perhaps, but it pushes ever wider the gap between our controlled experiences and the messy complications of ‘real life’.
We walk back to the train station to get some exercise. It’s about 5 kilometres – waiting for the bus (or, of course, jumping in the car) would be as normal in Britain as in America. Less common are the half-hearted attempts at sidewalks, which – to be fair – are often buried in snow. Running across the intersections feels greatly more dangerous than anything back at Monster Jam, but it’s also quite exhilarating.
Near the station, we pass the Rosemont Public Safety building. Their insignia is a hammer crossed with a machine gun. There’s no sign of any ear buds, but I wouldn’t be surprised.
A monster truck jumps through the air
The Second Golden Age of Tech is a really big deal
Sometimes, gifts fall into your lap as if from Lord Xenu heaven. The 7-minute Scientology infomercial DVD on ‘The Golden Age of Tech II’ – accidentally delivered to our flat – falls firmly into this category. Cleverly, they’ve made it parody-proof with a cast so zoned out of their minds, delivering lines so bonkers, that it would defy any attempt at exaggeration. (I can’t find it online, but it’s similar to this example from last year. Enjoy.)
Two weekends ago, Todd convened a salon (I’m writing this in italics to encourage you to read it with a French accent) to watch a film with rather more artistic merit: Wall-E. And then discuss it. And discuss it properly, like my beloved book club days, with starter questions to kick us off and a rewardingly wide-ranging discussion. Many thanks to the winter months for forcing everyone to stay inside and do this sort of thing.
Ticket to Ride is just about building train lines, so you can imagine my joy
Indoor activities this month also included a lot of board game activity with Catherine, Jason and AJ. Board games are funny, because I tend to forget their existence, until every now and then I encounter true aficionados (hat-tip, Oliver, Abi and Kat) which reminds me that the world has moved on from Monopoly. Don’t get me wrong, I have very happy childhood memories of trying to bankrupt my family with a strategically-placed property empire, but I have decided that any future family I have will also get to experience newer, better-designed games like Settlers of Catan or Ticket to Ride.
Shadowboxing the Ghost
Together we also saw indie-pop band Jukebox the Ghost, who briefly looked like they might be heading for disaster when the keyboard failed to work. But after a few minutes, crisis was averted, and the crowd broke into the spontaneous chants of U-S-A which (it has since been argued) were ironic. I’m not so sure.
Talking of patriotism, I watched Tuesday night’s State of the Union address at Katie’s, while simultaneously inspecting the state of the union between her mac and cheese. Both were strong! Less strong were my bowling skills, as exposed on Friday night after Michele organised a get-together-and-try-to-knock-over-some-pins night. But bowling, much like board games, is (a) only taken seriously if you happen to be winning, and (b) much enhanced by alcohol. So what I lack in “super powers” and “ninja skills” of the Scientologists, I can more than make up for in the “happiness rundown” stakes. WELCOME TO THE GOLDEN AGE.
The Golden Age of Bowling
So the last bits of 2014 were great. Which is a bit of an administrative hassle, if you’re the type of person who feels compelled to write a painfully exhaustive review of the year, only to go on and do fun things in that selfsame year afterwards. But still, Pequod’s with Todd and Carolyn was a joy. As was JJ’s games night, where I got to play Cards Against Humanity for the first time, although I do maintain the potentially controversial opinion that it’s not risqué enough.
We also played Catchphrase, during which I had to describe the word ‘penny’, and after saying something like “like a pound, but the smaller British currency unit” (although probably not as clearly as this) a panicked team-mate shouted “kilopound!”. Which was (a) amazing, and (b) a bit sad, because we’re nowhere near as metric as Americans think we are.
New Year preparations. Killer punch not pictured.
Anyway, it’s 2015! And 2015 kicked off at Saujanya’s generously-hosted party, chiefly memorable for its provocatively hot punch (have you ever had your nostrils assaulted by steaming alcohol before?) and a large quantity of champagne as midnight hit Central Time. Later, I courted good luck for the year (at least so Robert alleges) by ordering Hoppin’ John – a Southern New Year tradition – at Michele’s brunch.
“Day trip, anyone?”
Yesterday, to avoid cabin fever during the off-again-on-again holiday break, Randi and I took a day trip to Kenosha, Wisconsin. The chunks of ice on the lake were beautiful, the Wisconsin cheese curds delicious and the mile-long streetcar system – while probably unnecessary from a strictly utilitarian point of view – was very cute all the same. But I don’t want to talk about any of that; I want to talk about the Metra train which we used to get there. Kenosha is the terminus station on the Pacific North line and the cost of a ticket for the two hour ride is a mere $7 (or about £4.50 in real money).
That’s the turn-up-and-go cost of a return ticket – no fiddling about with advance booking and seat reservations. Oh, and you’re allowed to return the next day if you so prefer. The penalty for buying your ticket on the train itself instead of the station? An extra $3. And at no point did we have to endure any automated announcements about taking all our personal belongings with us, either. This is all such absurdly good value from a British perspective, it makes me feel a little ashamed. Railways are in our cultural DNA: how come we get so beaten by a country which couldn’t care less about them?
Kenosha
One other thing I wanted to write about was This American Life, and in particular their programme (part one; two) from 2013 on Harper High School in Chicago’s south side, which I listened to over the break on Katie’s recommendation. Because as much as I enjoy going on my train-based Midwestern escapades, it’s sobering to reflect that I’m effectively cut off from whole swathes of my own city which are just too scary and intimidating to visit. The social problems are, of course, hardly unique to America – but the easy availability of guns adds a shocking level of cheap, fatal violence. In the year prior to this podcast, 29 current or former students had been shot, and the testimony of teenagers who walk home down the middle of the street – considering this marginally safer than the sidewalk – is hard to forget. A highly recommended listen.
“I’d say this was a life-changing year,” I was advised for this blog today. Well, yes, quite a lot happened in 2014. It was a twisty journey which took me from London to Chicago, but I’ve never been more glad for having seized an opportunity with both hands.
January
For a second year running, I celebrated New Year in the Mile End flat, at a party which – looking back at the photos – was dominated by glow sticks, rooftop views and crouching on the floor of the bus home with Anna. A week later, many of us were doing robot dances together at a Recklings gig, where we also got to see Jen (yay!) again. With the family and cousin Nancy I saw Mandela, with the flat I stayed in to watch In Bruges and went out for Jeeves and Wooster, and with Matt and Caroline I drank a lot of wine at Gordon’s. Also, after a six year wait, I finally got to meet the elusive and mysterious Diamond Geezer.
Cat, Josh, mud and London
February
As you’ll see, there was a good run for watching terrible films at Drayton Park towers. In February we endured Drag Me To Hell, before embarking on a sequel to our famous Flat Day by hugging trees together in Hampstead Heath. Josh also scored us tickets to The Commitments, and later saw fit to turn 25 and celebrate it. Michele was also in town by then, so we visited Salisbury (where 4.6% of the population are ‘some other kind of white’) and the New Forest, through which we choose the muddier but much worthier paths. Oh, and we all hit up the London Transport museum. Naturally. Red Velvet at the Tricycle was spectacular, the Scan Van fulfilled a long-desired wish to save my parents’ photos from decaying in shoe boxes, and I ended up carrying Vlad’s engagement ring across London in my pocket. Meanwhile, at work, up popped the prospect of a job in Chicago…
March
March was not my greatest ever month. But when Michele and I broke up, lots of people took great care of me: stopping me from doing ridiculous things using the power of flowcharts, and trying to cheer me up instead with LOL (it’s a romantic comedy set in Chicago!) and Disaster Zone: Volcano in New York (it… has no redeeming qualities). I did see good movies this month, too, like The Lego Movie, The Grand Budapest Hotel, Headhunters and, yes, Hackers. I also visited Katie during her first year at (beautiful) Durham. But I remember getting restless for a change of scene, which I guess made it perfect timing for my interviews.
April
Writing this has reminded me how drawn-out the transfer process felt, even though looking back it really wasn’t. But yes, in April I got my official offer, which made it pretty safe to start saying “oh, I’m moving to America” to people. People like Maryam, who met up for dinner, and Andy, who came to London for the day and agreed to go see Marx’s grave with me. Also this month, there was a great turn out to Cat’s final Recklings gig, while Biff and Christa lured us to pub to play a strange Monopoly cards game, and Abbi spoke movingly at the launch of Love Letters to the Home Office. This blog also celebrated its tenth birthday, and at the same time, I got the sad news that someone pretty key to my life ten years ago – Mr. Wrigley – had died. He is missed.
Sri Lanka
May
Before I left, there were lots of people I needed to see. Some of them were rather far away, so in May I went on my first trip outside Europe or North America (about time!) to see Sophie in Oman and Josh in Sri Lanka. Both were pretty wonderful visits, as was a quick day trip to Paris. Back in London, this was the last month in Drayton Park for all three of us, and the end of two amazing years living with Cat and Josh. There’s no better way to spend your early 20s than with your two best friends, and as a parting gift, Josh and I finally had the visit from Jehovah’s Witnesses we’d been waiting for. I also got to say goodbye to Chiara and Matthew in East London, to cousin Julie, to Melissa in the Corrib and to Caroline and Charles. And last but certainly not least, a weekend in Manchester with Robert and Tash.
June
Finally! My last drinks in The Island with family, Pizza Express with Lucy and one last News Revue, all rounded off with a Deportation Party in Islington. And then it was a very odd work week: two days in London, one day flying, and two days in Chicago. Chicago! Nolan met me outside the Blue Line station, explained which bars were too bro-y and which did great burgers, and took me to where I’d be living with him and Brett for the first two months. The summer is a great time to explore any city, and there were also a bunch of birthday celebrations: Saujanya’s – where I did the newbie initiation thing of drinking Malort – Todd’s, and my own, at Motel Bar. But one of the strangest, yet nicest, experiences of being new and open to people was striking up a conversation with two country music guys outside a bar, which led to an impromptu late night performance around a bonfire in their back garden.
Finally, the coveted track jacket
July
4th July is – of course – Independence (from us) Day, which I celebrated by eating a large number of hot dogs on Kristina’s balcony while people set off fireworks in the streets below. Also up there on the patriotism scale in July was downing Budweisers at Girl Talk’s bizarre Made in America concert. I saw Edge of Tomorrow, which was great, and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes which was less great. Other highlights included the Shedd Aquarium, discovering Twin Peaks (and creating its spiritually similar Furtive Liaison), the very first Common Room – beginning an unbroken tradition of 2014! – and, wonderfully, getting to see Billy Joel at Wrigley Field. Much less fun were the stressful hours spent hunting down places to live on Craigslist. But in the end I found somewhere great, and with the help of Nolan’s U-Haul, moved to my new home at the end of the month.
August
So I settled in with my new flatmate, Billy, and gloried in walking to work in 15 minutes. I also got to hang with cousin Sophia and Al, go sailing with Lauri, watch The Blind Side in Montgomery Ward Park with Suzanne, and enjoy an excessively long White Sox game against Todd’s beloved Blue Jays (who lost). (In general, both my knowledge and appreciation of baseball were hugely improved in 2014.) I was also invited to a really fun pub crawl organised by the League of Chicago Theatres, through which I also scored tickets to a musical adaptation of Coraline. The second half of my August was spent in Kuala Lumpur with Zee, Ellen and the Groupon Malaysia team. This was another really awesome trip, and it’s such a pleasure to be able to travel and work with great people along the way.
September
Back in Chicago, the start of the new school year came with a couple of mentoring programmes to volunteer with. This was also the zenith for going on dates with some really cool and wonderful people: including to Second City, the Improvised Shakespeare Company, the Botanic Garden and simple – but lovely – beers by the beach. I also found my way to a rooftop pool party with a bunch of Billy’s high school friends, saw Guardians of the Galaxy and was delighted that others at work were interested in a day of rollercoasters at the Six Flags theme park.
The photobooth at Jamie and Paul’s
October
One of the absolute highlights of the year was Jamie and Paul’s wedding in San Francisco. A totally wonderful day, amidst a global family gathering, was made even better by the follow-up Chicago visit of my parents and Tash. Together we did a bevy of touristy things, conjured up suspiciously glorious weather for October and jumped around on the roof a lot. This month Randi and I also struck theatre gold with Alice and Bethany, while I also tried rock climbing, Chinatown and karaoke. Emily Boyd dropped in for pizza and drinks, Brother Matthew answered our questions on the doorsteps of his church, and on Halloween I failed to don an adequate costume but was still allowed to eat sushi and critique Star Wars.
Secular Christmas begins early in Michigan
November
If I’m still here in 2016, I imagine I’ll view the Presidential elections with a mixture of excitement and dread. Until then, the 2014 Midterms will have to do for my experience of American democracy, and although the night itself was pretty grim, it did at least put paid to the constant TV ads. Thankfully, pretty much everything else in November was utterly glorious. I’m talking about Ellen’s chilli cooking competition, more theatre trips (Strandline and Watch on the Rhine) and my favourite film of the year, Interstellar. Most exciting of all, Cat and Matt came to stay with me, and we packed in a lot of fun, food and Family Feud. Afterwards, Cat stayed on for a fabulous Friendsgiving hosted by Kevin and Grace, and then Randi and I set off on our Michigan roadtrip adventure.
December
Carrying home a Christmas tree is an important tradition to maintain, and helped bathe December with a festive glow. I met AJ, Catherine and Jason, laughed at their unfamiliarity with opening Christmas crackers correctly and played a suitably competitive session of Munchkin. Agata hosted a gingerbread baking workshop, Kristina threw a party with the first, long-awaited mulled wine of the season, and Nisreen and Mike presided over a game of Apples to Apples. Matt and Ben was brilliant while The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies marked a final visit to Middle Earth, not to mention the Christkindlmarket, the Groupon Holiday Party and my first dizzying experience of the futuristic Oculus Rift! And Christmas itself, while low-key in the apartment by myself, was also a surprisingly magical combination of Muppets, chocolate, Skype and reading under a blanket like a happy old man.
Thanks to everyone who made this year great, and happy 2015!
Beth E . Dubowe-Lawrence on China, Part 3: Chongqing & Chengdu: “Again an awesome adventure to share this with you” Apr 21, 19:13
