Visiting our firstborn

 Approaching Thomas's dorm building.  Those amazing gargoyles sit atop the Chicago public library, where Thomas spends a lot of his time.

 Here's his building.  I found a place to park on the next block for a not-too-exhorbitant fee, but discovered that parking spots are a lot tinier where space is at a premium.

 Having collected Thomas, we now set out for breakfast.  Tall buildings abound.

 After breakfast Thomas showed me inside the library.  Very fancy.

 Up on the sixth floor, Thomas partakes of a community project.  Apparently these puzzles (there are many) sit out for days and weeks while many different people drop by and add pieces.  This is the extent of Thomas's interest in baseball.

 After that we retrieved the things Thomas requested I bring (Wii U game system, bassoon, plus various things his mother seemed to think he'd need, like cereal and a potted plant) from the car and lugged them up to his room on the tenth floor.  (Okay, we took the elevator - which was so fancy it has a TV in it.)  This is his view.  If you squint you can see Lake Michigan.

 Talking of which, here we are, off to Shedd Aquarium, on the shores of same.  Thomas walks EVERYwhere.

 Across roads...

 Through parks...

 And into the famed aquarium.  The tilework is particularly impressive.

 As are the plaster cornices.  (Is that what they are?)

My favorite thing was tickling the fish.  I can't remember what kind they were, but they seemed to like it.  They were about the size of our cats.  The younger ones had rough skin but the older ones (who seemed particularly to enjoy having their tummies tickled) felt slimy.  Unfortunately the person who sat there watching to make sure we were nice to the fish wouldn't let me video them.  So you'll have to make do with this magnificently old moss-covered snapping turtle.

 After a LONG time in there, it's time to head back.

And here we are approaching Thomas's building from the rear.  Jami intends to plan ahead one day and book a room in that Travelodge, so we don't have to stay in godforsaken Indiana.
All-in-all a very pleasant visit.  Thomas seems to have settled in.  Says he likes his classes, and his professors (especially his Rhetoric professor who is an old hippy who, despite having tales of his acid trips, is "pretty sharp").  Seems to be eating well enough and certainly has the stamina to leave me in the dustl

Michigan City, Indiana

...is the last place before shit gets nasty around Chicago.  So it's my stop off on the way to visit young Thos to deliver his bassoon and Wii U and sundry supplies that a growing lad might need.  Jami and Thomas stopped here to eat at the International House of Pancakes, so I had to have dinner there.  Not so much fun when you're going gluten-free, but they do an edible salad.

I always get excited by the cable offerings in motel rooms but quickly remember how little worth watching is on.  And SO MANY commercials.

Leaving Thomas in Chicago

On Friday, my last day in Chicago, Thomas and I agreed that I would arrive at his dorm building (here is the revolving entrance door) at 10. I showed up a few minutes early and called him to let him know I was there. He sounded sleepy but denied that he was just woken from sleep. I didn't believe him, but he did manage to get down within a very few minutes so he can spring into action when he needs to.

Here is the outside of his building from the street.

While I was waiting in the lobby (pictured below) I noticed this fish in the salt tank, a puffer fish I believe.  When Thomas was smaller (though not much smaller), he asked if he could have a salt tank because he wanted a puffer fish.  The selling points of puffer fish seemed to be (a) they are ridiculously expensive (around $500 each) and (b) their teeth never stop growing and so owners need to file them regularly (if you don't believe me, check out the instructional videos people put up of them filing their puffer fish teeth).  I didn't get Thomas that tank, or a puffer fish, so I was pleased to see a puffer fish in the tank in the lobby of his dorm building.  If Thomas plays his cards right, he can get the job of official puffer fish tooth filer.

I'm waiting for Thomas.  I saw a lot of students moving in with the help of their parents.  The parents looked frazzled and anxious, and the students all looked peevish and burdened (by the presence of the parents).  Ambivalence in the air.

After Thomas came down, we headed off to pick up his student id card and find the music department for some much needed advising.  We then had one last meal together (Thomas insisted he wasn't hungry and then polished an impressive stack of Belgian french toasts with banana, strawberries and cream) before we headed back to my car (parked here, at that Park 1 for the modest $16 for three hours).  Thomas is in that picture, headed back to his dorm, or some place else, I don't know.

I've gotten a few brief (very brief) emails and texts from him, so I know he is alive.  We will have to assume that he is doing well.

More sights of Flint

 Frederick and I pulled up next to this van at Franklin and Robert T. Longway.

Thomas left these (arrayed thusly) for us to find. A gift of music to tide us over.

I love clouds.

The abandoned drive-in between Flint and Davison.

Apparently Zachary lays limes now she can't produce eggs any more.

Day 2: Out and About

Today we had several Things To Do: we had to get a student I.D., get the public transport pass (included in the tuition and housing costs is a pass that allows him free bus and subway usage all year), get all his required books, eat lunch...So, we set off in search of the campus bookstore, which is about 4 blocks from Thomas's dorm building.

Here it is.  We got there at 9:55 (Thomas could easily have gotten there much more quickly but he was hampered by my slow-poke walking).

More signs that Columbia has made its mark right downtown.

We got the books.  We also headed to the student services center, which takes care of the student id's and transport passes.  Apparently there was a bit of a balls up and we missed his orientation meeting.  I got an email last month that said our orientation time was Sept the 6th at 9:05 but apparently there is no such orientation meeting then.  I was hugely relieved but Thomas was worried--he said he was feeling disoriented and suspected he was in serious need of orientation. I tried to reassure him that those things don't really give anyone a sense of ease, since they overwhelm you with information that doesn't make sense given that you aren't settled in yet.  A student "orientation leader" I talked to agreed and said that, so long as he wasn't having any student loans or financial aid issues (not on my watch, I assured her!) then it was pretty much a waste of time.  I don't think Thomas felt too happy about it (a mess up and here not even 24 hours) but eating a nice lunch did us both wonders.

I'm staying in a Holiday Inn about half a mile from Thomas's dorm.  I've done the walk about 4 times now and it's not so bad (it seemed eternal yesterday, but today walking back it was pretty quick).  Every one walks a LOT here.  There is a strange mix of old buildings (late 1800s), mid-1900s retro/art deco, and post-60s glass things...as well as empty fields and abandoned buildings.  And a LOT of construction going on.

There are three very obvious rush hours: early morning, noon and dinner time.  The rest of the time, the streets are fairly empty.

I liked this building, particularly the font used; even the name of the building 'Vetro' is odd.  (Click on the pic and it will enlarge.)

Famous skyline, and all that sort of thing.

After we finished unpacking yesterday, it was clear that we had brought things we didn't need (which are now in a box in the trunk of Simon's car) and didn't bring things Thomas does need (like the ethernet cable I mentioned).  Thomas and I decided to find the Target that we knew had to be near as every damn kid was carrying in sacks and sacks of Target stuff (so forgotten items seemed to be the norm).  We headed out the door and, after about half a mile, realized we had walked the wrong way.  We decided to eat and try again later using the car.  So, we did, and headed off in the other direction...only to find that that part of downtown is strictly for pedestrians and moving cars--no parked cars allowed!  We drove back to the hotel, I checked in and we ate in the hotel restaurant (the food wasn't bad and Thomas can really pack in a lot of food when he decides to).  We walked back to Thomas's dorm and decided to brave the Target again, eventually getting there and finding MADNESS: it was so crowded, and the shelves so picked clean, we could hardly find anything we needed.  Exhausted and cranky, we walked back to his dorm where I left Thomas to his devices and I stumbled back to my hotel.

Today I was determined to do better:  after getting his pic for his I.D. card and signing up for the transport pass (both to be picked up tomorrow, if all goes well), and spending a LOT of money on books (you would not BELIEVE what a Music Theory text book costs!) we (me, Thomas felt fine) stumbled around looking for a place for lunch.  Finally, we found a sandwich place and ate heartily and both our moods improved.  Thomas didn't seem to want to tackle Target again so I left Thomas to his devices in his room (he later told me his roommate moved in today) with the idea that we would meet up after his honors Meet 'n' Greet 'n' Eat, about 7ish.  I managed to walk back to my hotel and sat about, but it was driving me nuts that we didn't get everything we needed at that damn Target.  So I went online and found that there is ANOTHER Target about a mile in the opposite direction (actually, there are about 20 Targets in Chicago but this was the second closest).  Emboldened, I drove there (moving away from downtown) and found that, indeed, there is easy free parking under the store and the store itself is PARADISE!  It makes the Flint Target look decidedly ghetto.  They even sell fresh raspberries exactly like the kind we buy at Meijer!  I got Thomas the necessary bedding and more food stuffs (specifically Siggi yogurts--yeah, try to find those at the Flint Target!--and popcorn).  I called him and told him to meet me at the curb outside his dorm room and we managed to time it pretty much perfectly:  I pulled up, he came out about a minute later, he grabbed his stuff and I peeled away.

So, now I sit with my aching feet up, we'll go out later unless he's too full of honors students finger foods.  In the meanwhile, I am going to eat a Noos yogurt (which you also can't get at Flint Target).

Thomas's room

It took a surprisingly long time to unpack Thomas's stuff, at least it seemed that way to me. Including Thomas, there are four boys in his dorm room--two share one half and two the other, with the bathroom in between. Thomas was the first to arrive and so picked the bed he wanted--right next to the window. (I would have done the same.) Here is the view he can enjoy: Same view, looking over to the left. You can easily see Lake Michigan from his room.And now out the window to the right.Here is Thomas working hard to set up his computer/desk area. Yesterday he couldn't use his laptop as we didn't think to bring an ethernet cable but, once we bought that, he had no problem hooking up his laptop and his printer. Every room is supplied with enough landline telephones so that each kid has their own. Weird--I didn't think anyone used landlines anymore. He has free calls to anyone within the building and within a 15 mile radius of his room. That's a lot of people he can call, if he so chooses. I'm now standing over next to the as of yet non-existent room mate's bed. The room is small, but perfectly bright and pleasant. I am standing in the same place, just turned to the left. You can see the door to the hallway over on the side, next to the closet--this is Thomas's closet. Picking which closet to take took Thomas longer than picking the bed.

Arrival in Chicago

The drive was uneventful, if not boring.  Thomas slept most of the way, waking only to eat a monstrous mound of strawberry waffles at the IHop in Michigan City (which is not, confusingly, in Michigan but in Indiana; similarly, East Chicago is also in Indiana and not, officially, part of Chicago) and to inform me as I navigated downtown Chicago in noon rush hour traffic when I was about to kill a bicyclist (they do have a strange desire to fling themselves under the wheels of cars and buses).

We pulled right up to his new abode, a giant building called "University Center" which has dorms for students at six major Chicago universities.   So who knows what sorts Thomas will end up spending his time with.  I dropped him off at the curb and drove around, hopelessly trying to find some place to park.  Eventually Thomas called me and told me to come back, pull up behind the building where people were eagerly awaiting the opportunity to unload cars.  I did as he instructed and it was incredibly simple:  students and staff ran to our car, dragging decapitated refrigerator boxes balanced on cart wheels.  They tossed all his things into two, and instructed me where to find a pay lot so that I could ditch the car.  This was when I really started hating not having my car: the car spots are TINY and anything larger than a micro-compact bloated into neighboring spots.  I had a hell of a time finding a spot I could fit Simon's behemoth in.  Here it is, parked under the famous (infamous!) Chicago L track.

Feeling footloose and fancy free, I headed back to find Thomas.  He had to stand in many lines to get his dorm room key and get the low down on the cafeteria system.  I went up to the 10th floor to find his room.  This was stuck to his door.

 Here is a study room just down the hall from his door.

Also down the hall from his room is a very nice trash and recycling room--very convenient for getting rid of fridge and microwave boxes and all sorts of other things.