The Movie Guru Does Chicago

by Brandon Athey
Features Editor

Last Friday, I embarked on what would be my last trip to Chicago via The Courier. I, along with nearly all of my journalist colleagues, attended the Illinois College Press Association Awards Banquet for the final time. I had went to the awards ceremony all of my four years at MC, but this year’s visit was bittersweet, not only because it was my last Courier-related trip to Chi-Town, but also because it seemed to sum up all of my work for this paper during my experiences as a student and as a reporter at MC. Before I start sounding weepy and sentimental, however, I must stress that last weekend’s trip was a blast.

Our voyage to Chicago began at 2 p.m., Friday afternoon, directly following my classes for the day. Luckily, I had packed the night before, so I was able to hurry and get my things as soon as I returned from class. A chariot was awaiting the available Courier staff, emblazoned with the MC logo on both sides. Student Publications Advisor Tom Withenbury was our chauffeur, happy as ever to fight Chicago rush hour traffic. The look of dread on his face was indicative of how much he was looking forward to this trip. Actually, everyone in the van seemed tired and ready to get to Chicago. For much of the trek, almost everyone (except Tom, I hope) slept on the way there at some point or another. Others read, did homework, and listened to music. Luckily, I brought a folder full of music, so I had such greats as The Beatles and The Beastie Boys to keep me company while between stages of sleep. It also helped to block out the snoring of some of my fellow staff members. I won’t mention any names, but someone with the initials J.T. snores like a banshee.

Until we reached the outer edge of Chicago, the trip was pretty uneventful. Howver, once we reached rush hour traffic, the fun began. The van’s brakes had a tendency to pull to the right whenever they were stepped on, which interrupted my beauty sleep. There were a few times I thought we were close to death because of the van’s brakes. However, we arrived at the hotel safe and sound, starving for quality food.

Once we were checked into our respective hotel rooms, Ian and I unpacked while we waited impatiently for Marisa, Julie, and Mallory to freshen up and get ready to go. Six hours later, we all left the hotel and decided to go eat at Buca di Beppo’s, a fun Italian restaurant that was only a couple of blocks from our comfy Holiday Inn rooms. Any place that has a giant statue of the Pope in the middle of the table and lots of Sinatra/Rat Pack memorabilia is a place with character and fun ambience. Once we were able to manage getting a table, the five of us were led through the kitchen to our destination. The food is served family-style, but I ate enough food for two families. I ordered a sampler with stuffed sausage pasta shells, ravioli, cannelloni, and manicotti and a glass of Chianti. I was in culinary Shangri-la. Not only was the restaurant fun, but the staff was polite and offered great service.

I somehow managed to eat nearly all of what was my selection, plus a couple pieces of bread and a hearty helping of fettuccine alfredo. If it weren’t for a competing college newspaper’s loud and obnoxious behavior during the meal, I would have been entirely euphoric. After a crane hoisted me out of the restaurant, I waddled to the nearby Virgin Megastore with Ian to see if I could find any bargains or obscure CDs or movies, while the rest of the staff decided to do some traveling around town.

For a movie/music geek like me, a place like Virgin Megastore is the equivalent of Mecca. Poor Ian had to drag me out of the store kicking and screaming, to use a cliché. They had a 2 for $15 sale on CDs, which was an offer I couldn’t refuse. I was excited to listen to my CDs as soon as I bought them, so we went back to the hotel room, where I was able to enjoy my new music, look at some competitor’s newspapers, and watch a little TV. Before I knew it, Ian was asleep in the other side of the room, snoring, and the TV was still on. I attempted many times to fall asleep, but Ian’s ungodly snoring kept me awake. I finally entered a fit of slumber around 2:30 p.m., dreaming of awards and Dunkin Donuts.

Supposedly, there were a few prank phone calls that occurred around 3 or 4 a.m., but I was in such deep sleep that I ignored them. Next thing I knew, it was 9:30 a.m. and Ian was getting Dunkin Donuts. Good Italian food and Dunkin Donuts. That’s all I need to endure a few more months of cafeteria food, I thought to myself before drinking my first slurp of coffee. I ate my artery-clogging donuts and started to get ready.

The awards ceremony was similar to awards ceremonies seen on television: long, boring, but thankfully lacking musical numbers. I had to play tic-tac-toe on hotel stationary just so I could stay awake during the ceremony. The food was decent however, consisting of salad, lasagna, and cheesecake. On an even more optimistic note, The Courier won two awards: one for Ryne Tate’s photography, and the other for a Courier Staff article written about the Bronze Turkey. I felt joy for my fellow staff members. I was glad to share this experience with them, and relieved to escape Chicago traffic. I also wish to give an early thank you to the rest of the staff and Tom Withenbury as well. I have enjoyed my experiences as the Features Editor for the Courier and I know I will not forget my many experiences as a part of the staff. For my readers, I hope reading some of my work the past four years has been as fun for you to read as it has been for me to write. There are still three months left in the semester, so this is not farewell. I still have a few works of genius left in me, but I just want to remind everyone how much I have enjoyed doing this from week to week. The Movie Guru will be put into retirement once I graduate, but hopefully he will make an appearance somewhere else, someplace else, from time to time. Until next issue, though, have fun at the movies!