Know-It-All
As soon as I stepped my right foot off of the “L” train at Loyola’s campus, I was lost — and it’s not because the surroundings are foreign to me. I see opportunity as I look over the side of the platform and see headlights zoom below me, reappearing on the other side as brake lights; enclosed in vibrant lights and cheerful shouts from Five Guys and Insomnia Cookies and CVS Pharmacy, I begin galloping down the stairs like a horse in a race.
Waiting for my friend Abi, I find a rather uncomfortable block of concrete to sit on in the CTA plaza. The smell of car emissions and the sound of car horns honking surrounds me. I see Abi walking towards me, her face full of excitement as the concert we have been longing for two months is finally here. We enter the train once again and the ride feels never-ending. Once we reached State/Lake, we jumped for joy as we left the train behind, and conquered the stairs as we rose two steps at a time. Almost telepathically, Abi and I utter the same words: “Man, I am starving!” Indecisive on where to go, I shout, “Look for a bright yellow sign and we can eat there!” Since it’s only 5:30 P.M. and the concert doesn’t start for another two hours, we wander about on Randolph, heading east towards Michigan Ave.
Hidden behind Garrett Popcorn and Tavern at the Park, we followed our noses to the strong aroma of pizza that was like no other, and we found ourselves standing in front of Giordano’s Pizza. With a yellow sign and deep dish pizza that’s out-of-this-world, we decided to dine in. Twenty to thirty minutes of wait time? Doesn’t seem too bad. After waiting in the lobby for five minutes, we have become victims of sensory adaptation, and realize that we can no longer smell the wonderful food being cooked from the room that we are currently in. In another five minutes, we were already being called to our table. Wow!
Before we know it, we are in front of the Chicago Theatre, staring at the Chicago sign with Alessia Cara’s name on it. Loge 2L, Row AA, seats 213–215, I remind myself as search for our seating arrangements on the second floor. Once we found our seats, I look up at the ceiling and am gawking at the immaculate paintings and designs before my eyes, with a well lit yellow background.
Following three guest performances, a bathroom break, and an obnoxiously long line for overpriced merchandise, the main show is beginning. Alessia Cara appears from the fog, and the crowd goes wild! She is overjoyed when she hears our screams of happiness at her presence. As expected, she begins with one of her very first songs, “Four Pink Walls”. Pink lights had shone bright through fog for three or so minutes.
It was spectacular. She continued to perform her amazing album, with exception to one of my favorite songs, ironically called “My Song”. But I, along with the rest of the audience, refused to approve of this. Screaming out heads off, we successfully persuaded Alessia Cara to return center stage and sing one last song…an unbelievable encore that I didn’t catch on video.
Around 11 P.M., the concert had finally reached its end, and Abi and I were exhausted. What a day, I thought. Abi looked at me and said, “I was disappointed in myself for not knowing some of her songs.” I reassured her and reminded both of us that we are not and should not try to be know-it-alls.
What is mappable? What is un-mappable? For something to be mappable, it must be in place for some period of time. To be mappable is to be predictable, in a sense. Given that, for something to be mappable, it must have a routine. Buildings cannot necessarily have routines, but they don’t move very often, so they can easily be found (in comparison to people and animals, since they move around a lot). As for un-mappable, I don’t believe anything is. In other words, everything is mappable. Some are more difficult than others, but even if moving, everything can be mapped.
