Wow, it’s been a good week. Dinner with Daveqat and Jimcyl and kittylad at Geja’s Cafe was excellent (though maybe not worth what they charged for it – I’m thinking fondue is something best done at home. At least the wine was good). On Wednesday, I had dinner with partran and Linnaeus at The Hopleaf. Oh. My. God. Take a 11 x 17 sheet of paper. Cover it front and back with 8-point type – that was their beer list. And one side is devoted entirely to their specialty: Belgian beers. I want to live at this place. The food was pretty tasty too!
Following that, the LAFF Coffee Night was fun as well, and I got to have a good chat with unclevlad about Worldcons and Chicago SF fandom. Last night was a nice quiet night; I did some laundry and finally finished Jak And Daxter: The Precursor Legacy. That only took about six months, and by the end the game was really starting to annoy me. So I guess I need to pick up a new addiction for the few hours a week I have to play PS2 games…
And then we have today. I’m very excited right now. Things were pretty good with our original plans, where takaza was going to catch an evening flight up and arrive at O’Hare at 9 PM or so. However, things got interesting this week when one of the managers at the Mount Prospect office called one of the managers in Dan’s office in Raleigh and said, “Hey, I know you’ve got a guy looking to transfer up here, and we have this accounts receivables job that we’re going to post in a couple of days…” Phone calls and e-mails were exchanged, resumes were sent, and the upshot is that as I write this Dan is on a flight to O’Hare. He’s going to meet with the branch manager in Mount Prospect, as well as the person the position would report to. This isn’t the actual interview, but I think it’s something better – a “we want to get to know you and see if you’ll fit” kind of thing, which I’m certain Dan will excel at. I’m very excited about this!
Once he finishes meeting with folks down there, the plan is that he’s going to hang out for a while with chouette (who never posts, dangit!). I’m going to pick up datahawk on my way home, and I’m thinking that we may all meet up with Linnaeus at The Hopleaf for a tasty dinner. Tomorrow, it’s a full day of geekery as Dan, Linnaeus, and Data and I all go to NoCoasterCon for a full day of presentations by amusement parks from around the country on what new and exciting rides they are rolling out for 2005. Tomorrow night we’ll be hanging out with feren, then on Sunday it’s the first MFF Staff meeting of the year.
This is a going to be a great weekend, made even better by the fact that I get to see Takaza again, which always makes me happy. I’m keeping my fingers crossed since good news on the job front seems to be epidemic around Chicago this week.
Dang…don’t know what it’s been with you guys up there this week, with Dave and Perro getting new jobs, Jim keeping his job, and now Takaza might be able to get job up there…which of course is also good luck to you. 🙂
Can you send some of that positive vibes down here so K and I can find a good house? 🙂
Sorry, I’m gonna hang on to the positive vibes until Dan actually nails down the job – then they’re all yours 🙂
I’ve been so meaning to get to the HopLeaf. I don’t get into the city very often, though.
We should do the International Night at The Map Room, sometime. The food and beer they had on election night was excellent.
I’d definitely like to make it by The Map Room at some point! I’ve heard a lot of good things about it.
And maybe some rainy Wednesday when you can sneak away early, you can meet us for dinner at The Hopleaf. It’s three blocks south of where we have Coffee Night, so it’s a great way to start the evening.
I’d almost suggest hitting the Map Room on a night that isn’t International Night. It’s been a few years since I’ve been to one, but I’m tempted to suggest that the benefits offered by a few steam trays full of Molvanian cuisine are more than offset by the crowds that are drawn. A nice quiet weeknight, when one can more easily get a table and converse is a better time to enjoy this fine bar. I like Duncan’s idea of hitting it on a coffee night.
Also, I very definitely second Duncan’s recommendation of The Hopleaf. The front room is a nice standard bar with a remarkable beer list, but in back is a cozy, befireplaced restaurant where you can explore their collection of Belgian ales at leisure. I (heart) the Hopleaf.
Finished with Jak And Daxter: The Precursor Legacy? Is there no more? I got to the end of Ratchet and Clank: Going Commando, and they let you re-do the entire game a second time around, with all the weapons and currency you’ve already accumulated, but with exta improvements for all of your weapons, with harder enemies, and a currency multiplying factor where the longer you go without being hit, the more they multiply your incoming currency. It’s like a whole new addiction.
I’m sending positive thoughts toward Takaza getting the job.
Nope. With Jak and Daxter you can restart the game, but that’s about it. As I’ve mentioned before, the game really annoyed me with a lot of little twitchy stuff that you were required to do to get anywhere in the game, and if you failed all you could do was keep trying, over and over and over again. Not my definition of fun.
Ratchet and Clank is definitely on my to-buy list, and will probably be the next game I pick up. Since I’ve never played any of them, I figured I’d start with the first one and work my way up.
And thanks for the positive thoughts! Hopefully this will be the one that comes through.
*crosses fingers* I’ll be holding out hope for the both of you. Good luck, and stay warm! If it’s this cold here, I can’t imagine how cold it is up there.
And out of curiousity, how far is that mall which had the natural gas explosion from the hotel MFF was at? It’s not the one across the street, is it?
Very far away. South side of Chicago, I think, as opposed to a western suburb, where MFF is.
Thanks! And incidentally, the best of luck to you as well, on all fronts!
Yep, it’s mighty damned cold up here – a high of 13 F today, and lows below zero. Toasty! The mall that blew up is nowhere near the Hyatt, though – it’s a good 30 miles away, actually, just south of Midway Airport.
>So I guess I need to pick up a new addiction for the >few hours a week I have to play PS2 games…
Not having kept up with your PS2 games, all I have to say for an addiction is “Na naaaaa na na naa naa naa naa na na na na na naaaaaaa.”
And I’ll keep my fingers crossed for that job for Taki.
Hee! Been there, finished that. But I still love that game.
And now Taki’s picked up Karaoke Revolution 3. Oy.
An exceedingly cool prospect; hope they take him!
Here’s hoping Takaza has good news soon on the job opportunity!
Have a great weekend together, you two 🙂