Two Nights in Chicagoland

Monday, 18 June:

Rode uneventfully along Interstate 80/90 to Hammond, Indiana, where I tried unsuccessfully to find an HJC half-helmet to replace the one I'd lost.  I continued up through Chicago on Lake Shore Drive, and into Evanston on Sheridan Road.  The old city was spectacularly beautiful on this glorious late spring day.  I found my way to Uncle \Joe \mcCloskey's house, and was welcomed like the prodigal son.

Tuesday, 19 June:

Visited my adviser Nick B., as well as Kyle S. and Mike M. at Merrill Lynch in Oak Brook. 
As Nick and I were exiting the buildijng at noontime, a colleague of his stopped us to ask Nick something, and Nick introduced us, saying that I had recently been in Romania.  "Did he meet our Romanian colleague?" the friend asked Nick.  We went back upstairs, where I was introduced to Ms. Alexandra Didac, formerly of Cluj, Romania, and a graduate of UBB/FSEGA, French line, along about 1998.

Went to dinner with Joe at a small but excellent restaurant called Jilly's Cafe, on Green Bay Road.  We were greeted by a man with a strong accent, who said his name was Nicolae.  I asked if he were Greek.  He said, "No, Romanian,,, actually Moldavian, but we speak Romanian there." 

(And the beat goes on... .  Da da da da... )