The Chicago Review

Memorable moments

• The amazing performance at The Color Purple. I laughed, cried and had chills. Also noteworthy, Michelle Williams of Destiny's Child starred as Shug Avery.
• Laughing at the absurd service we had at dinner before the show. Dare I say, Alison raised her hand during dinner to get our waitress' attention. Then our waitress informed us that refills were not free on our $2 shot-glass-size-o-Diet Coke. She also walked away from Alison mid-sentence and was rude, rude, rude.
• Cristin getting lost at the hotel and then calling the front desk to ask which floor room 1204 is on. That would be the 12th floor.
• Getting a whiff of Cristin's Mystic Tan while on the shuttle to the airport. Smelling Cristin's Mystic Tan again while sitting next to her at The Color Purple. And, finally, asking Cristin if she was going to go through spray-tan withdrawals.
• Shopping at H&M.
• Joe's friend, Rob giving me a Kinder Surprise.
• Oversleeping for our conference as my alarm didn't go off. I woke up at 7:30 (registration was from 7:30 to 8:00 a.m.) and we were still able to throw things together, take a taxi and be there by 7:45!
• Cristin waking up, probably paranoid about the alarm incident from the day before, and calling for a wake-up call for 6:45 a.m. The desk attendant said, "Um, that would be in seven minutes." Nevermind.
• Celebrating Monica's 30th birthday a week early.
• Cezanne to Picasso exhibit at The Art Institute.
• Dinner at The Signature Room on the 95th floor of the John Hancock Building.
• Our celebrity sighting at California Pizza Kitchen. We saw Richard Bull who played Nelson "Nels" Oleson on Little House on the Prairie.

Less than memorable

• Spiderman 3. Not nearly as good as the first two installments and quite disappointing.
• Camelot. The musical was not that good and probably even harder to sit through after seeing The Color Purple earlier in the week.

The Color Purple
Alison, Cristin and I at the show.
At dinner with Monica and Cristin.
With Joe at Camelot.