Indy. Handshakes. Chicago. Priceline.

Indianapolis was loads of fun. Graham expressed his love for the Pacers and won the hearts of a fair few in the audience. A really nice guy introduced himself to me after the show and told me I had a great handshake! Ding ding ding! Jackpot! This honestly made my night! If you know me, then you know how seriously I take my handshakes… and you know how overly excited I would get if someone actually took the time to tell me that mine was of grade A caliber.

You can tell a lot about a person from their handshake. It took a couple ex boyfriends and a couple wrong handshakes to my father for me to understand its complexity. Nothing irks me more than a dead fish. It’s just the worst!! Here are a couple guidelines I use…

1. Make it firm, but not too firm… I’d like to keep my fingers please

2. Don’t linger too long (if you do… it just gets weird)

3. Eye contact!

Too much to ask for? I don’t think so.

All handshakes aside… Indy, you were fabulous! We can’t wait to come back!

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Chicago was a whirlwind! Andrew and Graham found other sleeping arrangements in the city which left room in the budget to upgrade a little on our hotel.

If you have ever used Priceline before, then you know how great it can be and also how terrifying it can be. When naming your own price, you have no idea where you will end up. You submit your offer and they just place you in any hotel they have available that matches your specifications. We ended up a bit further away from downtown then we would have liked, but our accommodations were pretty radical! The Hyatt Regency certainly had its pro’s and con’s. Pros… the unbelievable fitness room that I never wanted to leave, the pretty lobby, the lovely bar/bar tender Gabriel (who is the man!) and the complementary toothpaste. Cons…. nothing is free. In fact, they charge you for just about everything you can imagine. I don’t even know how I’m typing this blog right now because they charge for internet. I must be picking up someones wifi in another room. They charged me $5 for a chapstick downstairs. Breakfast here will run about $20. Even a banana from the little market cost me $2. Insane if you ask me. The weirdest part of all was that this is a massive hotel (feels like a compound) geared towards business people. So picture this… me, marlana, walking around this gigantic hotel in my PJ’s with my $30 coffee, no make-up and bright blue kswiss tennis shoes, surrounded by sophisticated business people in perfectly placed skirts and suits rushing to meetings and talking about stocks, plate tech tonics and god knows what else. It’s safe to say I got a few looks.

If you ask me… I think I prefer the Best Westerns of the world. I’ll take free wifi, free breakfast and a single treadmill over a fancy lobby or complex fitness room any day. It’s the simple things in life…

We did have a great view though!

(The bar in the Hyatt. Chattin it up with Gabriel)

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The Show at the Vic was so much fun! What a great crowd! Again, Graham showed his support (this time for the Bulls). He busted out his jersey, slyly hidden beneath his normal show attire, when we played ‘Chicago’. We were so excited to finally play that song in this city! You guys were wonderful! Thanks for making us feel so welcome here!

(soundcheck. view from behind the drum kit via curt)

(Graham and I on merch duty)

Last night Graham’s folks took us to a fabulous Mexican restaurant and treated us to a show at Second City! You have to love when parents are in town! Thank you so much Marty and Aimee for a wonderful time!

I apologize for the length of this blog. The intensity of the coffee here at the Hyatt has me completely wired. Think I’ll hit the gym one more time before I crash!

See you in Milwaukee tonight!

* disclaimer - please excuse my grammatical errors and run on sentences. I know they exist. Too lazy to fix.