2nd Unofficial PF Gathering in Chicago

  • Thread starter Thread starter ZapperZ
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AI Thread Summary
The 2nd Unofficial PF Gathering in Chicago is scheduled for the week of July 4, 2007, with a preference for July 5-8. The exact date and location are still to be determined based on attendee numbers. Participants are encouraged to express their preferred dates and to book accommodations early, especially since the event coincides with the Taste of Chicago festival. The gathering aims to foster social connections among members who primarily interact online, with discussions expected to include both casual conversation and some science-related topics. A highlight of the event will be Zz's Disney pin collection and a chocolate fondue fountain. Attendees are also invited to explore local attractions, including potential tours of Argonne National Laboratory and other venues. As the date approaches, more details will be shared, and those interested in attending should confirm their participation to help with planning.
  • #51
This is another call for the 2nd Unofficial PF Gathering in Chicago.

If you have indicated an interest to attend this, you should have received a PM from me with the details. If you did not receive one but have indicated that you are interested to attend, then I have missed you. Please contact me as soon as you can.

The gathering will be on Saturday, July 7 at my place in the north side of Chicago. Expect plenty of food, drinks, merriment, mayhem, and a bit of Disney.

:)

Zz.
 
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  • #52
ZapperZ said:
at my place
Is that an apartment or a real house with a garden ?

marlon
 
  • #53
Neither. It's a cardboard box under a bridge.

Zz.
 
  • #54
ZapperZ said:
Neither. It's a cardboard box under a bridge.

Zz.

:smile: If anyone wishes to continue the merriment into the night after Zz has turned into a pumpkin, I'm all for heading out into the city nightlife afterward with anyone who wishes to join me. :biggrin:
 
  • #55
Moonbear said:
:smile: If anyone wishes to continue the merriment into the night after Zz has turned into a pumpkin, I'm all for heading out into the city nightlife afterward with anyone who wishes to join me. :biggrin:

You don't even have to head out into the city. You'll soon discover that the neighborhood has plenty of sports bars, clubs, etc. In fact, people in downtown actually make their way up to my neighborhood to party! :)

Besides, what's more hilarious than seeing a pumpkin trying to dance? :biggrin:

Zz.
 
  • #56
Moonbear said:
:smile: If anyone wishes to continue the merriment into the night after Zz has turned into a pumpkin, I'm all for heading out into the city nightlife afterward with anyone who wishes to join me. :biggrin:
You can then turn the pumpkin to a horse-drawn coach and have a fancy ride into town. Be home before midnight, though. :smile:
 
  • #57
ZapperZ said:
Neither. It's a cardboard box under a bridge.

Zz.

Ok, i don't think so. You don't seem to be THAT adventurous. So, we'll settle for the apartment then. I knew it, i just knew it...

marlon
 
  • #58
ZapperZ said:
Besides, what's more hilarious than seeing a pumpkin trying to dance? :biggrin:

Zz.

Just don't overdo it.
http://img462.imageshack.us/img462/6070/funpumpkin01ng3.jpg
 
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  • #60
I wish I could go :( Post up here how it goes! Any chance of having one in Sydney ;]
 
  • #61
Would love to go, but I'll be at the Health Physics Society meeting in Portland.
 
  • #62
So, what's up with the party?

Who's there?
 
  • #63
Theres certainly nobody in GD today so I assume everyones at the meet but me :cry:
 
  • #64
Don't worry, I'm still here!
 
  • #65
Sorry to be such a flake. I got so overwhelmed with work and school I completely forgot!
Happy 4rth to the U.S. PF'ers!
 
  • #66
Math Is Hard said:
Sorry to be such a flake. I got so overwhelmed with work and school I completely forgot!
Happy 4rth to the U.S. PF'ers!

Oh yeah all that independence nonsense :wink:

Have a great time to all those celebrating something today.
 
  • #67
Astronuc said:
So, what's up with the party?

Yeah, we need a party report! Did you all go to the Fourth of July fireworks at Taste of Chicago? Although they were actually last weekend, they were broadcast on TV tonight for the rest of the country. I thought they were more spectacular than the fireworks in Washington which were shown live on PBS.
 
  • #68
jtbell said:
Yeah, we need a party report! Did you all go to the Fourth of July fireworks at Taste of Chicago? Although they were actually last weekend, they were broadcast on TV tonight for the rest of the country. I thought they were more spectacular than the fireworks in Washington which were shown live on PBS.

I was there. It was a great time. I didn't eat at Taste of Chicago though, since we went to Giordano's(translation="delicious").

A couple of friends and I decided to go to Chicago last weekend. Too bad we didn't go a little bit later! We could have went to the gathering. I would be there if it wasn't 7 hours away from me, and I didn't have to work(I'm in Pittsburgh for the summer. It's 12 hours when I'm home). I can't do that drive that often! Either way I hope it went well. We need pictures from the people there.
 
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  • #69
Hey, G01, no excuse not to visit Chicago...you're an hour and a half closer than I am! :biggrin: Actually, next time, I'm probably going to fly. That drive got a bit long, especially when I got stuck in traffic on the way home tonight.

I'll give the brief version now, and the longer version when I'm more awake (I just got home about an hour ago and have a long day awaiting me at work tomorrow after a week away vacationing).

The gathering consisted of Zz and his significant other (who hosted all of us with a delicious feast and a great time), Greg and his significant other, and Zenmaster99 and I (for those who were not aware previously, Zenmaster99 and I are also dating, so it was 3 couples).

We had a fabulous and tasty feast prepared by Zz. Photos will follow when I have time to upload them. We even gave him access to the sisterhood's chocolate vault, and a fondue fountain filled with Belgian chocolate was provided for dessert. :approve:

And, of course, we had Disney! I had already had a sneak preview earlier in the week (and have previously had a glimpse of their Disney shopping addiction), but I think Greg was a bit overwhelmed by the amount of Disney crammed into that home. :biggrin:

A good time was had by all. Thanks very much to Zz for hosting this gathering!

Since jtbell specifically asked about the fireworks, I did go to see the Macy's fireworks held on the 3rd (which are the ones televised as the 4th of July fireworks). ZM and I watched them from Navy Pier instead of Grant Park (Navy Pier was not nearly as crowded and still an excellent view, plus there's a mall there open until midnight, so we hung around for Hagen Dasz until the EL was running again...though we only learned it had been down when we got to the station just as the massive crowds were clearing). We also watched the NUMEROUS July 4th fireworks from the Hancock Tower...we ate dinner at the restaurant there (95th floor) and the view was absolutely spectacular! It was like little geysers of fireworks were erupting all over the city as the sun set. The Taste of Chicago had a smaller fireworks display on the 4th than on the 3rd, but I actually liked it a bit better, but that might have also had to do with the perspective of watching from the tower with no tall people in front of me blocking my view. If anyone really wants to impress their date with a spectacularly romantic evening, I highly recommend the Hancock Tower on July 4th. :smile: :blushing:
 
  • #70
As Moonbear has mentioned, it was a terrific time. I certainly had a lot of fun. It was nice meeting Greg finally. We all resisted the temptations to bow at his feet and give him offerings. :biggrin:

The dinner went well, at least most of it. We had a slight trouble with the chocolate fondue fountain in the beginning, thanks to my stupid suggestion that we stop it from running while we add most stuff to it. Bad idea. It caused the chocolate already in the shaft to seize. Still, the chocolate was fine and we call dip all the stuff in it to our hearts' content. And just our luck, after Greg left, it started working again beautifully. So Greg, you got to come back! :smile:

I took a few pictures of our food layout. I think Moonbie took more. So here are some of them.

This is our food spread. We certainly had enough food to feed the whole block.
IMG_7749.jpg


IMG_7755.jpg


We even had some sushi rolls, courtesy of Costco.
IMG_7752.jpg


But here's the chocolate fondue fountain in its working glory. ZM was about to dip a juicy strawberry into it.
IMG_7750.jpg


All in all, a fun time was had by everyone. Hopefully, if I'm still around, we can do another PF gathering some time soon. :smile:

Zz.
 
  • #71
Glad you all had a good time. The fondue looks really good.
 
  • #72
Moonbear said:
And, of course, we had Disney! I had already had a sneak preview earlier in the week (and have previously had a glimpse of their Disney shopping addiction), but I think Greg was a bit overwhelmed by the amount of Disney crammed into that home. :biggrin:

Had a wonderful time! If ZapperZ wants to retire from physics he'll be set selling tickets to his disney museum... I mean his house :) Thanks again ZapperZ! :biggrin:
 
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  • #73
ZapperZ said:
But here's the chocolate fondue fountain in its working glory. ZM was about to dip a juicy strawberry into it.
IMG_7750.jpg

And you can just see me twisting his arm to dip another strawberry in the chocolate to pose for the photo. :biggrin:
 
  • #74
That sounds like a great time. I wish I waited a couple of days to go to Chicago!
 
  • #75
ZapperZ said:
As Moonbear has mentioned, it was a terrific time. I certainly had a lot of fun. It was nice meeting Greg finally. We all resisted the temptations to bow at his feet and give him offerings. :biggrin:

The dinner went well, at least most of it. We had a slight trouble with the chocolate fondue fountain in the beginning, thanks to my stupid suggestion that we stop it from running while we add most stuff to it. Bad idea. It caused the chocolate already in the shaft to seize. Still, the chocolate was fine and we call dip all the stuff in it to our hearts' content. And just our luck, after Greg left, it started working again beautifully. So Greg, you got to come back! :smile:

I took a few pictures of our food layout. I think Moonbie took more. So here are some of them.

This is our food spread. We certainly had enough food to feed the whole block.
IMG_7749.jpg


IMG_7755.jpg


We even had some sushi rolls, courtesy of Costco.
IMG_7752.jpg


But here's the chocolate fondue fountain in its working glory. ZM was about to dip a juicy strawberry into it.
IMG_7750.jpg


All in all, a fun time was had by everyone. Hopefully, if I'm still around, we can do another PF gathering some time soon. :smile:

Zz.
WOW! That is awesome!

WELCOME BACK Zz & MOONBEAR. WE MISSED YOU!
 
  • #76
G01 said:
That sounds like a great time. I wish I waited a couple of days to go to Chicago!

We can always do it again. :biggrin:

I didn't get to Giordano's, or Due's, or (Zz, what was the one you recommended, I forgot the name?). ZM and I were planning to hit Due's for dinner Friday night, or Giordano's as backup, but both were packed (not unexpected for a Friday night at dinner hour). Normally, we'd have waited, but we had tickets to Second City comedy club, so didn't have time to wait (I highly recommend it...don't let ZM's bad retelling of their jokes deter you, it's better than he makes it sound :-p...I was under the impression it was going to be a lot of political humor, which really wasn't something I wanted to listen to for an entire show, but the parts that are political are well done and NOT the tired old jokes on the current administration, and that's only an "anchor" to hold the show together, but otherwise, the skits range across a variety of topics).
 
  • #77
Okay, a few more photos.

Here is a group photo of the PF attendees:
http://img223.imageshack.us/img223/23/peoplegh3.jpg
Identities are concealed to protect the guilty. :biggrin:

And another view of the feast provided.
http://img295.imageshack.us/img295/2836/foodan7.jpg
 
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  • #78
Evo said:
WOW! That is awesome!

WELCOME BACK Zz & MOONBEAR. WE MISSED YOU!

U didn't miss me? :frown:
 
  • #79
Okay, and a few more photos during the gathering (you'll notice the focal point was the table of food...I should have gotten a few photos of the Disney Museum Wing).

http://img19.imageshack.us/img19/8106/morepeopleop2.jpg

http://img463.imageshack.us/img463/6820/people3bi8.jpg

http://img172.imageshack.us/img172/7296/people4at7.jpg
 
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  • #80
Greg Bernhardt said:
U didn't miss me? :frown:
You were gone?

Actually, you are always here in my heart. :!)
 
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  • #81
Wow, for a second I thought this was porn, except the black spots were in the wrong place.:blushing:

Looks like a good time was had. And just look at all the yummy food!:bugeye:
I am now very sorry I could not make it.
 
  • #82
Now who on Earth would wear an "Animal Kingdom Lodge" tee? :)
 
  • #83
Yea that stumped me too:smile:
 
  • #84
hypatia said:
Wow, for a second I thought this was porn, except the black spots were in the wrong place.:blushing:

:smile: I could have put the black spots in other places too, and just left everyone wondering...darn, wish I had thought of that sooner! :biggrin:
 
  • #85
Moonbear said:
:smile: I could have put the black spots in other places too, and just left everyone wondering...darn, wish I had thought of that sooner! :biggrin:

They haven't been posted in the member's photos thread yet. :biggrin:
 
  • #86
I've had a few inquiries on when the next PF Gathering would be held. As you can already guess, there isn't a set, regular date for these things. The last one was arranged because Tom thought that he might be back in the area to do Taste of Chicago, and Moonbear thought that would be a good enough excuse to finally visit the city. So we had enough people around to turn it into a possible PF Gathering, and that's when it was announced.

So no, we don't have a set date for the next one. However, if any of you are planning to be in Chicago and would like to meet up, let me know. I'll send out feelers and see if anyone else might want to show up, and if there's an interest (we usually have a small group, but that has never stopped us from having a good time), we can plan on another unofficial PF Gathering here.

Zz.
 
  • #87
When Moonbear spent the week here in Chicago, I showed her my neighborhood (Lakeview or sometime often called "Wrigleyville" due to its proximity to Wrigley Field). The block that I'm at has well-preserved typical Chicago mainly-Victorian greystone buildings and the elevated train tracks crossing it. It is such a great representation of a "historic" Chicago-style neighborhood that many movies and TV shows have been filmed on the street. In fact Drew Barrymore filmed a scene from "Never Been Kissed" right in front of my building.

Tomorrow, starting at 5 am, another film crew will be all over the block, including the alley leading up to my garage. They're filming a scene from the Universal's upcoming picture "Wanted". Supposedly, Angelina Jolie is in it, and people are hoping that Brad Pitt isn't far off.

But that isn't the best part. This weekend on both Sat. and Sun., is North Halsted Street Market Days. It is the largest neighborhood street fair in the Midwest. And it is just down the block from where they will be filming! Now I have to tell you that Market Days is not your typical, run-of-the-mill street fair. Let's just say that there will be 3 stages where there will be music performers, a lot of bars blaring music, and very, very "festive" crowds. In other words, they will be LOUD! This, of course, in addition to all the crowds that are heading to and from the fair. The film crew will be blocking my street completely from access by both vehicles and pedestrians.

But wait, there's more! Somewhere in the middle of the block, there are a couple of no-parking signs being reserved on the street on Sunday the size of a moving trailer. When this occurs, there usually is someone planning on doing their moving that day, and have already gotten the city's approval to reserve a parking spot on the street. Since this is a one-way street, if there really is a moving trailer truck, they will have to pass through the area blocked by the filming crew!

I am planning on parking myself on a lounge chair tomorrow in front of the building and watch all hell break loose! :)

Zz.
 

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