Welcome to the neighborhood, Al

Welcome to the neighborhood, Al

Italian Beef Sandwich at Al’s Beef, Courtesy of Paul Howey

Originally published on the RedEye Wrigleyville:http://neighborhoods.redeyechicago.com/wrigleyville/viewpoint/2011/05/25/welcome-to-the-neighborhood-al/

Following the Bulls’ providing additional evidence that they fully lack the ability to close a game (I’m talking to you and your back-to-back missed shot attempts in the 4th, Mr. MVP D. Rose), I took a stroll through my beloved Wrigleyville. The best thing about having an iconic baseball stadium in your neighborhood is the livelihood and vibrancy of spirit that come along with the influx of the roughly 50,000 attendees and satellite spectators.

Though my stroll occurred in the twilight of the 11 o’clock hour, the presence of the game-day crowd could still be felt. The couple on the corner of Clark & Roscoe having the serious conversation about the validity of cargo shorts; the superfan in matching hat and socks using the full width of the sidewalk; and most importantly to this particular stroll, the plain fellow in the classic Cubs’ tee scarfing a piece of Ian’s mac & cheese pie. Deeply engaged in a phone call on a dying cell phone, it struck me that I had neglected to eat dinner before departing for the game-watching festivities.

Determined to satisfy my hunger pangs with either a slice of one of Ian’s unique flavors and a root beer or Bacci’s massive, coronary-inducing slices, I was surprised to find myself drawn to a yellow roof new to the point where Sheffield and Clark meet. Wrigleyville’s newest neighbor: Al’s Beef. Some may attribute my drastic and abrupt change in target to alcohol-induced ADD, others to a lack of conviction. To those detractors, I say nay. My shift in sustenance acquisition stemmed from nothing more than my Midwestern morals and desire to extend a friendly hand to the new guy in town.

Upon my approach to the counter, a friendly gentleman greeted me with the courtesy of an old friend: “How can I help you buddy?”

“This is actually my first visit to this location,” I inform the gentleman. “I’m excited to have you as a part of the neighborhood.”

“I appreciate that,” replied the friendly gentleman with a smile. “We’ve been open about a month, and we don’t plan on going anywhere soon.”

After a brief exchange about the benefits of having an additional establishment available for the late-night dining crowd, the gentleman and I reach an accord on the terms of trade: about $5 in currency for a Maxwell Street Polish, fries and a Dr. Pepper (unfortunately, root beer was nowhere to be found). On my way out, one of the patrons clearly brought in by the game drunkenly stumbled into my path, nearly knocking my delicious snack from my ninja-like death grip. Instantly transformed into a mama grizzly, prepared to protect my Polish provisions by whatever means necessary, I was pleasantly surprised by the sincere and heartfelt apology with which my attack-stance was met.

Which brings me back to my initial point: though they contribute more than their share of litter, take more than their share of cabs and most definitely increase drinks to Prohibition-era pricing (adjusted for inflation, of course), this ‘hood would not likely sustain a delicious establishment like Al’s Beef on its own. If you disagree, I assume you haven’t had their Maxwell Polish combo at the end of an evening out, and your opinion is no longer valid.

Why am I up this early on a Saturday?

Originally posted on the RedEye Wrigleyville page: http://neighborhoods.redeyechicago.com/wrigleyville/viewpoint/2011/05/24/why-am-i-up-this-early-on-saturday/

The alarm goes off to the tune of “Danger! High Voltage” by Electric Six. It’s 7:30 am on a Saturday and a number of questions race through my mind, the first and most pressing obviously, “why the hell am I up at 7:30 on a Saturday?” The three word answer floats uneasily to the top of my head like a Magic 8 Ball: “Race to Wrigley.”

A recent Saturday marked the Cubs’ 5th annual 5k to help support local charities, and thanks to a generous contribution from my employer, I laced up my Nike kicks bright and early and hit the bricks. Kicking off to a hauntingly beautiful, albeit rain-soaked, rendition of “Go Cubs Go” by Mr. Cub himself, it occurred to me that this was the first time I had run in any context not involving catching public transportation in nearly a year. It also occurred to me that drinking with friends at Goose Island until close might not be the best pre-race strategy.

As the group turned on to Ravenswood and started to spread out, I could feel myself settling into a nice pace behind what appeared to be an 11 year old. My inner champion refused to allow this to remain a reality for long, and I was somewhat relieved to discover it was, in fact, a 12 year old. The course was planned out to give a nice cross-section of the neighborhood: start off down Addison, move up Ravenswood to Irving Park, finally finding its way home down Clark.

Approaching the field, runners were greeted by friends, family, and my personal favorite: a group of octogenarians in Cubs gear playing tunes from their heyday in a delightful brass and woodwind ensemble. Always liking a strong finish, I kicked into a sprint for the last 100 meters through the outskirts of the ballpark and crossed the finish line like a champion. In this context, champion is short for soaking wet, tired as hell and mildly hungover.

The record breaking 8,000+ runners helped raise more than $150,000 for the Chicago Children’s Hospital ($1044.69 of which from yours truly), ran a good race and got to see some of the most beautiful parts of Chicago this side of Division. I’d say that merits waking up on a Saturday morning any week of the year.

Danny Cox is a RedEye blogger.

UPDATE: I finally found out how to access my time, for those of you who may have wondered what ‘finishing like a champion’ means in quantitative terms- 23:40.

Let’s Get Dangerous

I think there’s something to be said for the wisdom hidden just below the surface of childhood cartoons. Today’s edition of Acumen Acquired via Adolescent-Aimed Animation (A^5 for short) comes from my favorite of the Duck spinoff universes, Darkwing Duck (with Duck Tales in a close second).

For those of you too old or too young to appreciate the glory that was Darkwing Duck, picture the lovechild of Donald Duck’s cousin and Batman, with just a dash of Don Quixote.  Our words of wisdom (and the title of this post) come from the titular character’s catchphrase: “Let’s get dangerous.” To clarify, I’m not advocating taking up chainsaw juggling (though if you do, please make more videos like this), but rather that you take a moment to move outside the comfort zone.

Some (I would argue most) of life’s greatest adventures come at those times when we’re a little unsure of what the outcome will be. Seven months ago, I decided that I wanted to play in a band again. One week later, I was the new bassist for Chicago’s Best AC/DC tribute band*, Riff Raff. Was I a great bassist? Absolutely not- I had bought the bass only a few months prior. Did I want to be in a band bad enough to answer a random ad on Craigslist and learn a 5-song set in as many days, not to mention buying a second amp on the way TO the audition (which has, to this day, not seen my apartment)? The short answer, of course, is yes.

How’s that gone so far? We received the honor of having one of the year’s best cover songs; appeared in America’s finest news source, The Onion; and have a summer full of shows lined up months in advance. Most importantly, I’m getting to travel all around Illinois playing kick-ass rock and roll and having an absolute blast.

To continue this trend, I’m making a commitment to myself to do at least one thing outside my comfort zone every week for the next 13 weeks. Why 13, you ask? By selecting a traditionally unlucky number, I’ve already taken the first step in living up to the title of the post. I’m defying superstition, thumbing my nose at the Fates, knocking on wood desparately and begging Destiny to be kind, pulling myself together and standing resolute in my new Devil-May-Care lifestyle.

For posterity’s sake, recaps of exploits to come will follow. Until then, keep it risky my friends.

Some light 2011 Dusting

Well, it’s only been another quarter of a year since I last visited these friendly pages. Not to fall into the New Years’ resolution crowd, but it feels like the time is right to return to regular writing that’s NOT on behalf of a client. Let’s play a little catch-up, shall we?

Work

My work with Weber Shandwick has been focused primarily on the digital side of consumer tech giant Motorola. It was a great win for our agency, and it’s been a lot of fun being on the ground level of a new client. The first few months between an agency and a new client is a lot like a first date, where you’d REALLY like things to go well. So far, I think this date has been pretty splendid. With our work at CTIA, the viral (yes, I mean it- 1 million views in 3 days makes it real) video and most recently our contributions to the CES conference, my time spent at work is never dull.

Play

Like I said, I’m looking forward to some writing that ISN’T client related, and there have been many exciting developments over the past few months. For many, 2011 brings hope of a new year- a better year- and in that regard I’m no different. I can’t wait to begin working with the Audience Development Committee of the Steppenwolf Theatre sometime this or next month; I’ll be working with a team of dedicated individuals who are passionate about the arts to help create a sustainable model to bring more Millenial members into the Steppenwolf family. If that weren’t enough, there are already quite a few exciting gigs lined up for the band.

What band? Oh that’s right- it’s been a while. After attending a concert at the Metro last fall, I made the rash and impulsive decision that I wanted to once again be in a band and perform music. After roughly 10 minutes of Craigslist searching, I happened across a listing for a bassist for an AC/DC tribute band. I thought to myself, “Hell, I like AC/DC. That’d be a lot of fun to play around town!”

Wait, what? When did I get a bass?  My oh my, it HAS been a while. This summer, I decided that I wanted to merge my love of rhythm and drums with my exceptionally mediocre guitar skills and pursue the bass. As fortune would have it, over the weekend of the 4th of July, my friend Ryan both needed a place to stay in Chicago while his band completed their Midwestern tour, but also happened to be selling a Fender J-Bass for a very reasonable price. Fast forward back to late September.

I received a prompt response from the listing and was set to play 5 songs with the band to see if I had what it took. The following Wednesday. Though I had purchased a small practice amp the week before, I knew that it would not have enough juice to be heard over a full band. So I returned to the place that helped me locate my job, my first apartment in Chicago (complete with two lovely roommates), my bass and my potential band: the internet! Roughly 10 minutes of Craigslisting again, I located a very reasonably priced Ampeg 105 watt solid-state 1X15 amplifier. After a few email exchanges, the seller and I agreed on a price and a pick-up date: Wednesday. After purchasing the amp on the way to my audition, I briefly thought to myself, “What the hell am I doing?”

That thought was quickly squashed when precisely one week later I was not only the new bassist of an AC/DC tribute band, but we also had acquired a weekly gig at Lilly’s Bar on Lincoln Avenue. What’s the old Allstate motto, life comes at you fast?

Fast forward three months and you’ll find yourself here. I gotta say, 600+ words later; it feels good to be back.

Since U Been Gone

I’m not only breathing for the first time, I’m screaming at the top of my lungs for joy.

First, I would like to address my loyal readers who may have wondered about my extended absence: sorry Grandma. I hope you still love me as much.

Now that that’s out of the way, it’s time to get through the daunting task of bringing this blog up to speed on the goings-on of my, at this point, wildly exciting and incredibly optimistic life. For example, I just signed up for my 401k. Not words I really thought about 5 months ago. Let me get down into the nitty gritty.

1. Pardon my French, mais mon emploi c’est foutrement génial! I couldn’t be happier anywhere else. Tomorrow marks my 3 month anniversary working with Weber Shandwick as an AAE, with my 90-day review following on Thursday.

2. I sold my car. While this may not make much sense as to why it falls under the exciting category, it translates to $350 a month in my paycheck, rather than to a car I haven’t seen in nearly 6 months that I get to spend in a city where public transit can get me any/everywhere I need to go.

3. I still live in Chicago. Yes, I know that some of you were worried that in my absence perhaps I had lost my job, sold all my belongings and hitchhiked home to Ohio, or worse… Logan County, and abandoned all hope to ever finding happiness. Though I appreciate your concerns, I assure you- I am fine.

Though it’s late and I’m tired after a long day’s rocking, this post is essentially to mark the joyous occasion of my return to blogging. Though sometimes it’s not easy to work on social media projects all day and still find excitement and joy in telling my story, it’s something that brings me joy and, one day might have a little sentimental value. If nothing else, it helps keep my writing sharp and my ideas alive.

It’s good to be back.