summer fun

Exhaustion has set in after a whirlwind weekend. Well, for homebody me it was a whirlwind anyway. The plan was:

Friday - Brookfield Zoo with my parents, then back into the city for the birthday celebration of Jillybean's BF
Saturday - BBQ on Montrose Beach with some friends, one of whose mother was in town from China, then a Bachelorette party for a friend in from NY
Sunday - possible brunch with NY friend, then Wicker Park Fest with some pals from work

That was the plan, anyway. However, Friday morning I got a text cancelling Saturday's barbecue, because the host had to get his appendix and gall bladder taken out. Yikes. After ensuring he was okay, I decided to rearrange my activities, and move the trip to Wicker Park Fest to Saturday so I could see The 1900's play. Well, after the Friday at the Zoo, and the Friday night of drinking too much whiskey at the birthday party, any activities during the daylight hours of Saturday were pretty much out of the question. I had to make a quick trip to the grocery store to purchase appetizer ingredients, and then made my way (late) to the Bachelorette. (Side Note: The Baton Club is an experience definitely worth the price of admission, in case you're ever in a position to go.) It was already 12:30 by the time the show was over, so I decided to forgo the clubbing and cut out early, relatively speaking. Brunch was a no-go on Sunday due to the timing of flights back home, so around 3:30, I left for WP Fest. A small snafu in plans led me instead to my friend's girlfriend's house, where we chilled for a while, and then eventually made it out to the Fest, running into a random assortment of work friends and colleagues. But a couple hours later, I was pooped. The yawns were flowing in direct proportion to the sangria. I got home at 9 and wanted to go straight to bed, but ended up watching a very sleepy hour of TV before finally hitting the sack.

And I wish I was still there.

NEXT weekend, I am super excited to be going to Lollapalooza! Another crazy weekend is certainly in store. 3 days of outdoor music, and a Monday vacation day for good measure (and recovery). Friday especially promises to be brutal - in a good way, of course. Lolla all day long, then the Gogol Bordello after show at the Metro, and THEN a gypsy-punk-themed after party at a friend's place ... if I make it that far, that is. ;)

Good times.

welcome class of '97

Saturday started off like any other day. I was lazy and took my time showering, and I spent the majority of the day in my bathrobe. I pampered myself a little bit, due to the nature of the upcoming evening. I shaved my legs, put on some nice-smelling lotion, and painted my fingers and toes. Bright red. Cause that was the mood I was in. And it would look nice with my outfit. I watched a little TV, had a late lunch, and made the final choice as to what I'd be wearing. Black. It somehow seemed appropriate. After putting together all the finishing touches, I was exhausted. But no rest for the weary. The night had not yet begun. I threw my camera in my purse and grabbed my overnight bag, and I was on my way to pick up J. She looked lovely in a wrap-around dress, also black, and metallic-colored flats due to the brace on her knee. After getting settled in my car, we made our way out to the burbs. One stop to pick up the other J, we'll call her J2, who was wearing black also. I either made the right decision in my choice of wardrobe, or the wrong one, depending on how much I wanted to stand out from the crowd. We finally reached our first destination of the night, Pub 222 in the home burb, where we met up with K and C, and a classmate named A who we hadn't seen in 10 years (duh). After a quick pre-party drink at the Pub, we made our way to the main event.


My Ten Year High School Reunion.


Driving up to the banquet hall, we could already tell that the location was going to leave a lot to be desired. But this was not so important, as we were there to see the people. We walked into the entry hall, were given our name tags and memory books, and it began. Walking into that room filled with familiar faces, people I hadn't seen in so long, people who I wasn't sure I even had anything to say to, it hit me like a wall. It was surreal. The turnout was not even close to half our graduating class, but still, the mass of faces floating before me brought back a rush of old memories. I was at a school dance again. And there were still cliques. Though in retrospect, perhaps the people I viewed as being in cliques were merely feeling the same anxieties as the rest of us and preferred to stick with the people they knew best. Maybe they weren't cliques so much as groups of friends. Maybe there was someone there who saw my group of friends as a clique. One of the first people to come up and talk to me was P. P was a girl who I knew in HS and was friendly to, though she was a bit of a charity case. I wouldn't say we were friends per se, but like I said, we were friendly. After we exchanged the initial pleasantries, she introduced me to her husband as "One of the few people in high school who I actually hung out with." I don't really remember any "hanging out" but in a weird way, I was flattered. However, I had to be the one to break it to her that her HS crush, who was not in attendance, was married. Not that it mattered, she being married herself, but still. Nobody likes to hear that. I spoke to several people throughout the night who I was really glad to reconnect with. R was a girl I'd known since 4th grade when we were in Girl Scouts together. She is doing well and just got married a few months ago. J3 was a very nice girl who lived nearby me in HS, and who is now married with twin boys born this past February. It was great to see that K, another old girl scout friend, hadn't changed at all since high school. E looked the same as he did in HS (and college), but he had come out of his shell quite a bit, which was good to see. And the theatre people, J4, W, M and J5, it made me really happy to see them there, though I wished more of those folks had shown up. T (and C), A2, T2, T3 (and L) - it was great to hang out with them, though I had never lost touch with them to begin with. And then there was B. B was my crush all throughout senior year. When I first saw that he was there, it was like I was in high school all over again. I wanted to go up and talk to him, but I was nervous, just like I used to get all those years ago. I didn't know how to do it. Did I walk right up to him and start talking? Or did I casually make my way over there, chat with some people surrounding him until I caught his eye? It turned out that I didn't need to do anything at all. I was walking past where he was standing, on my way to grab my camera, when he made an odd movement and brushed my arm. He turned to see who was there, and voila, instant conversation. We talked about where we lived and worked, and what we thought about the turnout at the reunion. He mentioned his concern that a lot of people would be all "domesticated" while he wasn't yet. We discussed the need to have roots, and the fact that our parents all still lived in the town we grew up in. We talked about the one date we had had in high school, which happened to be the shining moment of my senior year (though I'm not sure he knew that). It was a nice conversation. And man, that guy is just as gorgeous as I remember. :) You know, I could reflect on our conversation all day, but I'm sure that would be a deathly bore to anyone reading this, so I'll move on. Prior to that night, I was wondering what kind of music would be played, and it ended up being ... interesting. The beginning of the night was all music from the 90's, when we were in school. And yeah, it was all pretty bad. Then they switched to dance music ... and it continued to be pretty bad. But I had a good time dancing anyway, and after my three whiskey-and-cokes it became that much more fun. The night began to wind down and we tried to figure out where to go afterwards. T2 mentioned a party (which B and his friends were going to as well). Since I never got invited to those parties in high school, this sounded like a swell plan to me, so I followed T2 and E up to the neighborhood to try and find the house (nobody seemed to have an address). After a futile search, we gave up and called a friend who was at a bar, and went to meet him. Turned out the party must have been nonexistent, because all of the people who were supposedly going ended up at this bar instead. Chatting with E and T2 at the bar was a nice end to the evening. At the relatively decent hour of 1:15 a.m. I packed up and made my way to my parents house to crash in my old bedroom, in my old bed. It seemed an appropriate end to an evening filled with nostalgia.



The main conclusion I drew from this evening was that aside from a couple of individuals, I already keep in touch with the people who I cared most about in high school. The majority of the people at the reunion, for me, it was enough just to see their faces again. I didn't even need to say anything to them. I mentioned in a previous post how I saw this reunion as an epilogue to my time in high school, and it really was. And now that it's over, the credits are rolling, and I can leave it all behind.

don't turn the engine off, don't turn the engine off ...

This past weekend was a comedy of errors. Seriously. (Maybe that's an oxymoron? I don't know and I don't care.) Jillybean and I started out innocently enough driving down to the St. Louis area for the wedding of a friend of ours. It was a long drive down there on a Friday afternoon, but not too bad since I had company. And we stopped at a few rest areas on the way, so it was broken up a bit. We arrived at our hotel in O'Fallon, and checked in. Unfortunately, I had not remembered to get directions to the restaurants we wanted to try in downtown St. Louis, so we were more or less forced to stay in our general neighborhood for dinner. This would ultimately mean that the most we'd see of St. Louis was the hazy arch from a distance of I-don't-know-how-many miles. Alas. Anyway, we had decided earlier in the day that we'd like to have some barbecue for dinner, so we asked the girl at the front desk where the best barbecue place was, and she sent us to a place called Smokey Bones, which is, apparently, a chain. But on a positive note, that was some damn good barbecue. The rest of our exciting Friday night was spent at Barnes and Noble, and then at Walmart (I needed to buy a disposable camera, seeing as how the memory card I bought for my digital camera the day before was the wrong kind and did not fit.) We are two wild and crazy girls, let me tell ya. I think that Jilly would have been up for something more exciting, but I had been driving all day and was plumb tuckered out. So after Walmart, we went back to the hotel, watched HBO for a while (Ever seen the show "Flight of the Conchords"? I am in love!!), and went to bed. Next day was the wedding. We woke up early enough to catch some breakfast at the hotel, then just chilled in the room until it was time to get ready to go (we had our leftover barbecue for lunch and somehow managed not to get barbecue sauce on either of our dresses). We drove to Belleville without incident, and the ceremony was lovely (to be discussed in further detail in a later post). The church was ginormous, too! In between the ceremony and the reception, we had about 2 1/2 hours to kill, so we putzed around the town to see what we could see. The first thing we saw was a DQ, so we stopped off for Blizzards. The second thing we saw was a psychic who was offering $5 palm readings, so we stopped, but nobody answered the door. The third thing we saw was a cutesy little antique/resale shop, so we stopped, but despite the huge OPEN sign in the window, they were closed. The fourth thing we saw was my car, in the parking lot where I'd just parked it, unable (unwilling?) to start. Damn. There is nothing more stressful than being stranded in an unfamiliar place with no idea who to call for help. We ended up walking down the street in our party clothes to a gas station to ask for help. There was a kind fellow there (a customer who was well-known to the employees) who promised to help us out and jump my car as soon as he finished buying his beer and cigarettes. So we walked back up to the parking lot, and a minute or so later, the guy and his wife arrived in their big ole pick-up truck. He helped us out very efficiently, and with a cigarette hanging stereotypically from the corner of his mouth as he growled, "It didn't even make a spark!" Since it was a Saturday, and we were in unfamiliar territory, and there didn't seem to be any sort of mechanic or otherwise who was open for business (and not a single Sears Auto to be found), we figured the only thing we could do was to drive it where we needed to go, and hope there was someone around who could give us a jump when we'd inevitably need it next time we got in the car. So that's what we did. We drove to the reception hall (even though we were early), where we ate and danced and chatted the night away - Jilly even had several admirers! And instead of going to the after party we were invited to (I was grumpy and tired ... again), we got a jump from some friends of ours, and headed back to the hotel, convinced we'd have to jump it again in the morning and keep it running all the way back to Chicago, and thankful that I had just filled up the gas tank BEFORE the battery died on me. The next morning, as expected, the car needed another jump, so the nice girl behind the front desk offered to pull her car around and help us out. Mission accomplished. Now our plan for the trip back to Chicago was pretty simple - DON'T TURN THE ENGINE OFF! I had enough gas to get us there, so all I had to do was make sure I didn't automatically and accidentally turn the engine off when we stopped for food, or for a rest stop or what have you. We had a little tag team routine where one person would get out and stretch their legs while the other stayed in the car so it didn't get stolen. We stopped for breakfast and Jilly got out to pick it up for us. We stopped at a rest area on the road and were both able to get out and rest for a while. We stopped for lunch at Culver's and once again, Jilly got out and ordered for us (cheese curds, yum). But at each stop, I had to say aloud to myself as I parked the car, "Don't turn the engine off, don't turn the engine off ..." because you don't really realize it most of the time, but reaching over and turning the key after you park is so automatic, that changing your routine can feel incredibly awkward. On the way back, I called my dad, who I figured would have a solution for what I should do with my car after I got back home. Together we decided that I'd drive out to their place in the burbs, and the following morning, he'd help me jump it and take it to the place to get a new battery. This was the best solution I could come up with, because since he had just retired the previous Friday and would no longer be going to work, he was the only person I knew who'd be available on a Monday morning to help me out. The only hitch was that by the time we got back home, my gas tank was at a point where I wasn't sure if I could make it back out to the burbs. So, I stopped at my apartment (and kept the engine running - Jilly was still with me), and we called my former roomie, who was available to meet me at the nearest gas station to jump my car after I filled up. I was informed later by my dad that technically, I could have filled up with the engine running, despite the giant signs at the gas station that said to turn the engine off. I had suspected this was true, but whatever. I didn't want to risk it. So after that long ordeal, I dropped Jillybean off at her apartment, and with much improved confidence that I'd get to my parents' safely, I drove off into the sunset. The next morning went off without a hitch - Dad jumped my car, I got a new battery that worked beautifully and didn't cost a fortune, and I breathed a heavy sigh of relief.

Next time I decide to take a road trip, I'm flying.

tea and strumpets

It's funny how some people in your life can cause you so much pain and sleepless nights, while others can completely make your day with the simplest of things, like a ridiculous joke quoted from a movie (see title). I feel like, the more time that goes by, the more aware I become of the effects people in my life have on me. I am slowly becoming better equipped to recognize people who are negative influences, and more importantly, people who I should be sure to keep around.

I love my friends. And chances are, if you're reading this, I count you among them. Unless of course, you just stumbled in here by accident, in which case I say "Welcome! Have a look around. Would you like some lemonade?" The thing about my friends is that they are all very different. I consider myself lucky that I never belonged to any sort of "clique," which has enabled me to make friends with (and stay friends with) all different sorts of people. And those friends who I've held onto are still in my life because they have made a difference in it. A positive difference.

However, in the course of my dealings with friends, I've occasionally come across ... well ... a rotten banana (I don't know why I chose that description - I just felt like calling someone a rotten banana.). I would consider a rotten banana to be someone who I thought was a friend, but turned out to be otherwise. Rotten bananas can come in many varieties, but I think that the worst kind is the one who seems to be, or pretends to be your friend, but in actuality has no respect for you or your feelings. I've written about these kinds of people before (see this post), and my feelings about them have not changed. There is really nothing you can do about these people other than to do what you can to remove them from your sphere of influence. Even if you try to make them aware of how they've hurt you, you're never going to be able to change how they feel about you. And if you want my opinion, you shouldn't even try. In order to maintain your sanity, just let them go. Let them be who they are, and don't let them influence who you are. But what am I preaching for? That wasn't the intent of this post.

What I was meaning to write about was how in the past few days, I have had conversations and meetings with friends that have ranged from one end of the spectrum to the other. I had a perfectly lovely afternoon with a very good friend, wherein my suspicions were confirmed that another person did not consider me a friend at all. (This did not ruin the lovely afternoon - how could it have, when the afternoon included a girl I've known forever, adorable children, gelato, and a butterfly that landed on my knee - but it did, unfortunately, keep me up that night.) I was kept awake that night thinking about someone who I later decided did not deserve any more consideration from me. She wasn't worth it. And then the next day, my worries evaporated during lunch with another good friend, who effortlessly cheered me up with the aforementioned strumpets. It's funny how you can suddenly be crystal clear about who your real friends are.

p.s. I promise the next post from me won't be nearly as serious. I guess I've just been thinking a lot about "stuff" lately, which tends to get me in trouble. :)

p.p.s. Anybody have any good banana bread recipes??

class of '97

I can't believe it's been ten years.

It's funny how things can end up being so different than you think they're going to be. Ten years ago, I was graduating from high school. I was getting ready to go to college and the world was my oyster. I felt like my life was finally starting. I was independent in a way I'd never been before. Though I still depended on my parents for tuition, guidance, and a place to live during holidays, I felt like I was finally able to make my own decisions, which is a big step in a person's life. I envisioned myself graduating from college and taking the world by storm. I was going to make movies, write books, have a family, make a lot of money and live in a big house in California. A house with a pool! Ten years sounded like such a long time - plenty of time to accomplish my goals. I figured that by the time my ten-year high school reunion came around, I'd be exactly where I wanted to be. I'd be able to walk into the room, completely satisfied with the life I was living, and the person I'd become. Not to mention, I'd be thin, stylish, and beautiful, with great hair.

This is the way an 18-year-old thinks about the future. Of course it was all about me. I was invincible. But instead of accomplishing all my goals by the age of 28, what actually happened over those ten years was ... I grew up.

I went through what I imagine every person goes through at that time in their life. Unless, of course, they're lucky enough to have a humongous trust fund, or move in the same circles as the people with power. But even Paris Hilton gets a dose of reality from time to time. :) My reality was that there were extenuating circumstances that were going to prevent me from reaching my goals, no matter how hard I tried to pretend they didn't exist. Contrary to what I believed, I was NOT, in fact, invincible. And I needed a steady paycheck. So instead of becoming the high roller I always thought I'd be, I became ... well ... myself. I have a modest job in the suburbs, with a modest paycheck, and I live in a small, one-bedroom apartment on the North side of Chicago. I'm not married, and I have no kids, but I've always got a friend when I need one.

Making the realization that I was not where I thought I'd be at this point in my life was bittersweet. I could acknowledge the fact that my goals were unrealistic, but I still felt a little sad that I hadn't met them. Everyone likes to feel that they could be the exception to the rule. I felt like an exceptional teenager, so I was completely confident that I'd be an exceptional adult. Instead, I've turned out to be closer to average. At least by all outward appearances. But let me make this point very clear - there is nothing wrong with being average if you're happy where you are. And though I still feel like I am exceptional and have some great things in store for me in this life, I am, for the most part, happy with the way things are right now.

As you may have guessed, the source of these reflections was the announcement of my upcoming high school reunion. I am actually really excited about it, despite the fact that I'm not exactly where I thought I'd be. But I am a little disappointed, too. When I was a senior in high school, my friends and I would speculate about what our reunion would be like - who would be married with kids, who would be rich and successful, who would still be living at home and working in the fast food industry. It was fun for us to try and guess how people would turn out. I assumed, in a very life-imitating-the-movies kind of way, that when the reunion finally did roll around, all my friends and I would gather together once more to see how close our predictions were, to reconnect with people we'd lost touch with, and to bring our high school experience full circle. I saw the reunion as a kind of epilogue to my teenage years. But it is slowly dawning on me that I may have been the only one who felt this way. I don't know how many conversations I have had with old classmates recently that included the phrase "Hell, no!" in reference to the class reunion. And this makes me sad. Many have previous commitments, such as weddings, etc., which is completely understandable, but I am shocked by the number of people who just plain don't want to go. Sure, those years are always awkward, they're maybe not the most fun, and I certainly wouldn't want to go back and relive any of them, but what's the harm in looking back and remembering? Plus, those years are cake compared to what comes after. The "real world" is so much more harsh than the sheltered life of a high school kid. But, as always, maybe that's just my own experience talking. I enjoyed high school - I had nothing to complain about other than "stupid boys" - and I think it would be fun to take a look back and see how much we have all grown since then. Not to sound cheesy or anything, but I like to remember the good times I had in high school, and forget about the bad.

It was sad to realize that not everyone feels the way I do about this upcoming reunion. It was even sadder when the thought occurred to me that the reunion planners were perhaps not trying very hard to find people. I was amazed by how many people hadn't heard about it until I told them. So I am once again making the discovery that the world is not as rosy as I had at one time thought it was. My reunion will not be attended by all of the people who I'd like to reconnect with, simply because I want them to be there. It may not even be attended by a single one of my friends - even the ones I still see on a regular basis. Much like my life over the past 10 years, it is just not going to be how I thought it would be. It couldn't possibly live up to my over-high expectations anyway.

However, that doesn't mean I won't go. And that doesn't mean I won't enjoy myself immensely. I've got to keep the faith that it will still be an event worth attending. I mean, it only happens once. And Hell, I wouldn't miss it for the world.

a birthin'

Just wanted to send out a big CONGRATULATIONS to Kristi on her new arrival!! Yay!!

Miami, the Third

At last, the long-awaited third part of the Miami trilogy. Here goes ...

I believe I left off on Tuesday, after our afternoon giddiness. That night, we had planned once again to meet up with the L.A. boys (aka our cruise directors) at Hotel Astor, which was purported to be the hot spot on Tuesday nights. So we got dressed to the nines, and after a delicious dinner at a local Cuban place, we headed over there. However, unbeknownst to us, Hotel Astor had recently changed hands and was no longer the happenin' place it used to be. We arrived at the bar just as it was closing up, but the bartender, noting that we were meeting the large group eating dinner in the attached restaurant, took our drink orders anyway. We caught the attention of our friends, and they immediately went to work securing us a good time that evening. Somehow they were able to convince the new owners/managers to keep the place open for us provided we fill it up to the best of our ability. I'm not sure if we necessarily accomplished that task, but they fulfilled their end of the bargain and we hung out there for a good portion of the evening. I ended up meeting many more of the interesting characters traveling with this group of "industry" folks, all of whom were very fun and friendly and happy to just whoop it up with some random ladies (us) they met along the way. Our next stop was Mansion, which apparently everyone has heard of, except me. Now, perhaps I was drunk (no doubt about it, actually), but it seemed to me like we just waltzed right into this club, skirting the line entirely, because one of the people we were with sprung for a VIP room. I'm positive about the VIP room part, but not about the walking in ahead of people part. Anyhoo, I think there may have been some kind of party going on that night too, like for VH1 or something, but again, the whiskey makes things a little cloudy. :) (p.s. I swear I'm not an alkie!) But regardless, we danced the rest of the night away at Mansion and had a rollicking good time. That is, until I LOST MY CAMERA'S MEMORY CARD!!! I was handing my camera to someone to take a picture, and I dropped it. I noticed that the batteries had popped out, so I grabbed them up and put them back in, but couldn't get the camera to work after that. I guess I just thought I put the batteries in wrong or something, because I dismissed the matter and put the camera back in my purse. But after I got home (i.e. to the hotel), I tried it again, and it gave me the message that there was no memory card! Gnaaaghhh! Having no hope, I called the club several times to see if anyone had found it, but no luck. I lost ALL my pictures from the trip, as well as everything I had taken since mid-October. I was crushed. But luckily, I have very nice friends who promised they'd share their pics with me. :) Also, at Mansion, J met some random dude who said he had extra Super Bowl tickets and wanted her to go with him!! No way could he have been for real, but it was certainly fun to dream about the possibility for a minute or two. People kept asking us why we didn't extend our stay through the weekend of the game, and we definitely considered it, but when you think about it, what would have been the point if we didn't have tickets? We'd just end up at some bar watching the game anyway, like we'd be doing if we were at home. The only fun thing would be actually being there for the partying afterwards. However, as I'm sure everyone is already aware, our Chicago boys lost anyway, so it would have been bittersweet. So no big loss.

Oh! I almost forgot! The hookers! On our way out of Mansion that night, there was this group of women who, for some unknown reason, were hugging us as we came out of the building. It seemed a little odd, but I didn't really think anything of it until ... J and I got into a cab to go back to the hotel, and one of the guys we were with, we'll call him Keith, leaned into the window to pay the cabbie for our fare home. As he did so, one of the hugging women (though I did not actually see this happen), came up behind him, reached around, and grabbed him *ahem* you-know-where. A minute later, he's yelling, "Who took my money? Where's my money?" I guess it was at this point that the cabbie drove away to take us home. But HE had seen the whole thing and knew exactly what these women were doing, which he proceeded to explain to us. Apparently, they grab a man's you-know-what, which according to the cabbie, "leaves his backside wide open," not to mention distracts him to the point that he wouldn't notice he was being robbed, and they take his wallet right out of his back pocket! Unbelievable! Telling us this got the cabbie all riled up, and had J and I rolling with laughter in the backseat. We felt incredibly bad for Keith, who had been nothing but nice the whole night, but you gotta admit, the technique is pretty genius. :)

So that was our last night in Miami. On Wednesday, we hopped a bus (FYI, we learned the hard way that you need to flag down the buses in Miami or they won't stop for you!), which happened to be the wrong bus, down to South Beach one last time for lunch at the same Cuban place we'd gone to the night before. We just had to have Cuban sandwiches, and had been told that they'd have tres leches that day. We were disappointed that they did NOT, in fact, have any tres leches, but the sandwiches were very good. I can't remember if it was Tuesday or Wednesday, but one of those days, when we were walking down the boardwalk, looking at all the Super Bowl tents and press areas and what have you, we ran into Deion Sanders taping something. That was pretty cool ... even though we had to ask someone who it was. :) The rest of the day was basically spent shopping (I got some sunglasses and a pretty silver cuff bracelet made out of an antique tablespoon) and taking one last look around Miami Beach before we headed back to cold, cold Chicago. And man, was it cold when we got back! The first couple days were absolutely depressing. I wanted to turn around and fly right back!

But anyway, the trip was a wonderful success (despite J getting a stress fracture in her foot after the marathon/crazy dancing, which she confirmed after she got home), and the three of us have all professed an interest in doing it again next year. Or maybe if J decides to run the marathon in Hawaii ...

Miami, Part II

When last we talked, J and A and I had just been invited up to Pearl, where there appeared to be a private party going on. We had heard rumblings throughout the night that Mr. Mike Ditka was supposed to be in attendance, but when we asked at the bar, we were informed he had left already!! But no worries, we drank our free mojitos from our new "friend" and danced on the tables anyway (seriously, ON the tables - though I think they were there just for that purpose). Shortly after escaping our rather creepy new "friend" (who stalked us outside the bathroom until he resigned himself to the fact that we weren't coming out until he left) and scoring some more free drinks from a man with teeth stained purple from red wine, who spit when he talked, we finally ran into our L.A. friends, who rescued us from the scary, yet generous, people. At one point, one of them asked us, "Hey, did you see Mike Ditka? He's right over there." Much squealing and fumbling for cameras ensued, and we made our way over to his table. J asked him very politely if he wouldn't mind taking a picture with three lovely ladies from Chicago, which he did graciously ... but not without grabbing A's butt first. Yeah, he was rather intoxicated. It was awesome. :) Maybe, if I can figure out how to put pictures on here, I'll post it. If you're nice. After more table-dancing and other shenanigans, we eventually found our boys from DC down in the Nikki Beach VIP area, and were able to chat with them again, as well. So yeah, that was a fun night. Exhausted from partying our bootys (booties?) off, we (meaning, J, A, Tom-the-L.A.-boy, and me) headed over to Jerry's Famous Deli for a late night nosh. I think they have, like, 600 things on their menu. It was pure insanity.

That was a very late night. I can't be entirely sure what time we got home, but my guess is somewhere around 5:30 a.m. Yep. It was fun. And funny 'cause A and I told just about everyone we met that J had run the marathon that morning, and everyone was so impressed! So much so that J became known as "that girl who ran the marathon," which I think she started getting a little annoyed by. Sorry, hun. :)

The next day, Monday, we vowed to take it a little easier. I can't recall exactly what we did during the day, the days kind of run together after so much time has passed by. But I can guarantee you it either included a walk down to SOBE, or a trip to the beach/pool, or both. (Actually, upon further consultation with J, this was the day we went on a quest to find a lunch spot in our hotel's neighborhood, which turned into a disgusting tour of the filthiest Jewish delis we'd ever seen, and an episode of what I can only describe as racial discrimination based on the fact that we were the only Non-Jewish people in one of the restaurants we walked into. We received stares from every person in the place when we arrived, no one spoke to us, and twice, I was unnecessarily knocked into by a waitress who did not apologize, or even seem to acknowledge my presence. Never in my life had I been so uncomfortable in a place, and felt so unwelcome. I so wanted to connect with this neighborhood - to say I'd found this great little cafe that I'd return to on every visit - but apparently, the neighborhood did not want me. We eventually found a little French place that, though the service left much to be desired, had excellent sandwiches, which we brought to the hotel pool and devoured. Yum.) That night, we decided to go for dinner at a seafood place we happened upon, which, even though I was the initiator of the seafood idea, I unfortunately regret. Apparently something I ate at dinner (or possibly something before dinner, I'm not entirely sure), did not sit well with me, and I started feeling really ill. Incidentally, I do not recommend the Scallops Marsala at Grillfish. Even if they had not made me sick, the wine in the sauce had saturated the mushrooms, and made them taste like pure alcohol. I opted to return to the hotel directly after dinner, even missing out on the fancy shots we had been given by some patrons at the bar (See what I mean about the free drinks??), and I believe J and A met our L.A. friends again at a nearby bar or club. What transpired there, I will never know, but I think they had a good time. Me, I was stuck in the hotel, feeling not-so-hot. I did get to talk to my Mom for a little while, though, and relate our adventures so far, so that was nice. Needless to say, I went to bed early.

The next morning, feeling nearly back to normal, we decided to make a trek down to South Beach again to see what we could see. We walked all along the boardwalk again, marveling at all the Super Bowl tents and stages for ESPN and whatnot that were being set up, and then cut in to where all the restaurants and shops were. Did a little window shopping, and stopped for lunch at one of the many places that shoved their menus in our faces as we walked by. :) Okay, they didn't really shove them in our faces, but practically. Unfortunately, not being in "summer mode" and not being in a bathing suit where this may have occurred to me, I neglected to put on any sunscreen, and was wearing a deep V-neck shirt, so I got myself a wee bit sunburned. Didn't really realize the extent of it until that night when I got dressed to go out, but it was pretty red ... and funny-looking. That afternoon, we were feeling a bit loopy as we bought some junk food at our neighborhood convenience store, and some delicious cafe con leche at this little deli/diner thingie, and decided that the name of the hot sauce on the table was absolutely hilarious: Chilly Willy, "Try me! I'm hot and tasty!" This was to be J's slogan for the night. Can you say slap happy? We even returned to the convenience store to see if they sold it. Sadly, they did not. Otherwise, everyone reading this might now be the proud owner of a bottle of Chilly Willy hot sauce.

Up next: The final installment, in which we say goodbye, and I experience a terrible loss. Oh, and there will also be hookers.

Miami, Part I

Well, I've put it off for long enough ... here is the long-awaited (at least in my imagination where people actually read my blog and are interested in my life) Miami trip recap post. Actually, posts, plural, because apparently I don't have enough time to do it all at once!

In case you weren't aware, the reason I was in Miami was because my good friend (and an incredible athlete) J was running the marathon, and my lovely friend A and I decided we'd go down there to cheer her on and make a little vacation out of it. It was a splendid idea and a wonderfully fun trip.

After spending about 6 hours at the airport trying unsuccessfully to get on an earlier afternoon flight, J and I arrived in Miami late on Friday, and pretty much only had time to check into our hotel and crash. The hotel (Circa 39) was pretty cute. We were in a suite, which was like a little apartment, and ended up being the perfect size for three girls. There was a little courtyard right outside our room, too. The lobby was very pretty, and there was a small bar that had a free happy hour every evening, and a small cafe with a surprisingly large breakfast selection every morning. The pool area was also very pretty, though the pool itself could have used a little TLC. Aside from the fact that every 24 hours our key cards would stop working and we had to get new ones, the stay at the hotel was very pleasant. It was farther north than the action of South Beach, which was nice because we knew we'd be able to go back to the hotel at night and actually sleep. Although the neighborhood we were in ... well, I'll get to a story about that later.

Saturday morning, the two of us got up and headed down the beach to the Expo where J had to check in for the marathon, which would be the following day. As we walked out of the hotel, we discovered that we were literally across the street from the ocean, and there was a gorgeous boardwalk all down the beach, so that's what we took to get to the convention center. The entire journey down the beach, I just soaked it all in. I'd never been to the Atlantic before, and I wanted to make sure I experienced it fully. The weather was beautiful, if a little cool at times, but it was just what I needed at the end of January. :) The Expo was pretty cool, with all the different vendors selling their fitness-related wares. J bought a new pair of sunglasses for running, and I got to try a ... cube thingie. I forget what they're called, but they are these little energy cubes that runners eat while they run to replenish nutrients they may be losing. It was tasty. Oh, and we also got to see where they were setting up the press area for the Super Bowl! That was cool, and only one of the many Super Bowl themed things we saw that week. As we left the Expo, we noticed a cute little Botanical Garden across the street, so we took a stroll through there and became one with nature. Okay, maybe not, but we took some very pretty pictures of flowers. Then, after a failed attempt to find a grocery store (Don't people actually LIVE in Miami Beach??), we stopped off at a local convenience store for provisions, then headed to the beach to wait for A to arrive.

J had read about an Italian restaurant on Espanola Way, called Hosteria Romana, that she wanted to try (needing pasta the night before her race), so when A arrived, we headed down that way again for the most entertaining dining experience I had had in a very long time. I knew it would be fun when the host insisted we hold his elbow and be escorted to our seats. Everyone who worked there was Italian, or so it seemed, and they shouted back and forth to each other in Italian throughout the evening. The waiters were all adorable and flirty with the customers, and A even succeeded in getting a couple phone numbers! There was a man with an iguana on his back at the bar, and a snare drum at the entrance that the staff would occasionally beat out a tune on. And yeah, the food was awesome, too. :) After dinner, J decided to head back to the hotel to get her beauty sleep before her race, so A and I went to the bar at the Delano for a drinky. That place was absolutely gorgeous, and I'd go back there in a minute if I could. As are many of the bars/clubs in SOBE, it was outside, with a pool with beds surrounding it, little cabanas for small gatherings of people, and just a beautiful beach atmosphere. We ended up meeting some really cool people that night, who were in Miami for various reasons. We met some gentlemen from Washington DC in town for a golf tournament, and a couple of guys from L.A. in town on business (direct marketing). These were very fortuitous meetings, too, because those cool people led us to some cool clubs and fun events throughout the rest of our stay in Miami. Having satisfied ourselves with a couple drinks and a few more phone numbers, A and I called it a night.

The next morning was the marathon!! Unfortunately for J, it was raining all morning, so we were worried her run was going to be miserable. After a cab ride into the city with the most friendly, accommodating cabbie I've ever met, A and I camped out at the finish line so we could see her as she crossed. When she did, we were like proud parents!! I thought she did so well! Hell, just FINISHING one of those things is a major accomplishment. Apparently it was a very difficult run because of the rain and the humidity that followed, but she made it!! She was drenched to the skin, but she did it! Yay! I was proud. And now it was time to party. :) I think the rest of the afternoon was spent either hanging out at the pool or the beach (where the wind was blowing sand in our faces/hair/clothing/ears), but that evening, we were ready for a night on the town. We had been invited by the L.A. boys we met the night before to a club called Opium Garden for a party they were hosting with free food and drinks, so we decided to make that the first stop of the evening. Then, we planned on moving to Nikki Beach, the supposed Sunday night hot spot, where we'd meet up with the DC fellas. Opium Garden was beautiful, and the free drinks and food were pretty sweet. :) The L.A. boys were surprised and happy that we actually showed up, and they informed us that their plans were also to head over to Nikki Beach later that night, after one other stop they had to make. So after the freebies were over, we went to the "place to be" on a Sunday night in South Beach (who knew??), and what do you think happened? More freebies! Never in my life had I had such an ego trip because of all the people willing to buy us girls drinks! Nikki Beach is another outdoor venue right on the beach (sand and all), and after exploring for a bit, J and A and I settled into a couple of couches and observed the scene. It was ... interesting. I was having so much fun that night that I didn't notice it too much, but the superficiality of the place is such that I wouldn't want to spend any long spans of time there. But for a vacation to escape the everyday humdrum, it was perfect. It was not long at all before a local gentleman (relatively speaking) approached us and offered to get us upstairs to the restuarant and lounge, Pearl, that we had noticed was roped off. We accepted his offer, and his mojitos. :) And I'm sure glad we did.

Up next: Part II, in which a certain Chicago Bear makes an appearance ...

Oh, blog.

How I have neglected you. Can you find it in your heart to forgive me??

I swear I am alive. Well, I think I am anyway. My coworker is finally back from her honeymoon, so my workload is back to normal, which means I once again have plenty of slack-off time. :)

As a general note on "how things are," I think I can say that my life is currently on an upswing. The very beginning of one. A personal issue that has been been causing me some serious stress over the last few months has, I believe, finally been resolved. Some sacrifices had to be made, but I think they were in everyone's best interest, and I can finally have a little peace of mind about my role in the sequence of events. I think that everyone is happy now, and that makes me happy too.

In other happy news, I got some good test results back from my doctor, which means that he is tapering off my Prednisone dosage (again), in favor of the Methotrexate as my maintenence medication. So if all goes well, I will be Chipmunk Cheeks no longer!! Yay! I seem to be responding well to the Methotrexate (no surprise to me since I had been on it before), which was one of the doctor's main concerns. I guess people don't always react well to it, but apparently I do. This is good 'cause it gets me off the Prednisone, but bad 'cause it means this 2-drink-per-week limit will be sticking around for the long haul. Not that I've been following it all that strictly anyway. ;) And also, if I plan of getting knocked up anytime soon, this will put a damper on those plans. But the likelihood of that happening is about the same as me getting struck by lightning, winning the lottery, and getting elected president of a small Eastern European country all in the same day.

Well, I certainly hope that this holiday weekend has been more exciting for everyone else than it has been for me. I have spent almost all of it cooped up in my apartment with nothing to do!! Friday night, I went out for a late dinner and drinks with some work friends, which was the extent of my social interaction during the weekend proper. Saturday I did zilch. The roomie went out dancing with a friend that night, and they brought some random Texan home with them, who apparently peed in his bed. Don't ask. Sunday, the only thing I really accomplished was baking a batch of cookies for a barbecue I will be attending later this evening. Unfortunately for me, I have to be at work today. There are maybe 7 people total working in the room where my cube is today, which is about 1/3 of the usual number. It's nice and quiet for a change, but it sucks to be here. At least I have the BBQ to go to tonight. I guess we're going to try to catch the fireworks, but with the weather as gross as it is, those plans might be abandoned. We'll see what happens. And tomorrow, once again, no plans, except for a tentative beach outing, and an attempt to clean my apartment. God knows it needs it. And I need the beach too, so let's hope that both of those things end up happening.

Cheers!

It's a miracle

I am actually writing a blog!! Totally amazing, right? Yeah, I know.

Well, in actuality, I didn't sit down here with any particular topic in mind. I guess I just wanted to reconnect a bit, share my thoughts, you know, bloggy stuff. Yesterday I went to a wedding that I wasn't entirely sure I would enjoy, but ended up having a pretty decent time, despite some minor dramas. I have some more insight into that situation that isn't really blog-appropriate, but if I see you in the near future, perhaps you will entreat me to share.

I've been thinking a lot about relationships lately, and how outsiders view them. Unless you are one of the two people in a relationship, there is no way you can ever really know what it is all about. You may see two people who on appearance have nothing in common, but you can never really know how they get along behind closed doors. They may connect on a level that simply can't be seen from the outside. I know I have made this mistake at times myself, and I am hoping that I have learned from it. But it still never ceases to amaze me how much people judge by what they see with their eyes alone - not even knowing the people they are judging. They see a guy with piercings dating a girl who goes to church and think "What can they possibly have in common?" But the truth is, they may have exactly the same value system, but just choose to express themselves differently. Until you get to know each of the people on a personal level, you cannot begin to understand their relationship. And let me take a minute here to say that I don't even suggest trying to understand it, because it's none of your business to begin with. But now I'm running the risk of getting too much into personal crap, so I am going to attempt to change the subject. Again, if you want more, talk to me personally, but don't expect too much from me then, either.

So, my friend Jillybean just ran a marathon. A MARATHON! And I can't even run a mile. I cannot express in words how amazed and proud I am of her. This was her second marathon, first one being last Fall in Chicago. This one was in Anchorage. The girl is a running machine. That's all I have to say. :)

Today is Father's Day and I am currently out in the burbs at the 'rents place celebrating. Well, the "celebration" consisted of me coming over, Mom cooking some good food on the grill, and then the three of us going out for ice cream - sorry, frozen custard. All was very good, but now I got myself sucked into this CD burning project, (it happens when you don't have a computer of your own at home) so while the discs burn, I have free computer time, hence BLOG! Yay! I love blog!

But the truth is, my brain is not entirely in it, and therefore I am writing a very strange and disjointed entry. Sorry about that. I promise it will be better next time ... when I actually have something to write about, and not just extra time to write.

Well, maybe.

Blah.

Well!! Week in review

I definitely did not think that there would be no postings at all in between my weekly reviews, but the way this week went, I am not surprised this happened. So let's just dive right in, shall we?

Last weekend was tons of fun, and busy!! Started out Friday with the Bachelorette party I mentioned in my last post. It was a good time. I really only knew the bride and one other person well, had met a couple others once or twice, and the rest I did not know from Eve, but they all were very nice (and funny!), and a good time was had by all. I was very proud of the bride for finishing ALMOST everything on her list of embarrassing and/or stupid things she had to do, and managing to wear her bachelorette sash for the entire night (the hat with the veil was abandoned relatively early for fear of hat hair).

Aaaand, it is now Monday again and I didn't even finish writing my entry for last week. Well, let's just continue right on. Saturday I made my way over to Kristi's house for her sweet boy's second birthday. So cute!!! He was making eyes at me all day. :) Not sure how much he appreciated my gift of a chronicle of Oz stories - he was much more interested in the giant semi-truck filled with Matchbox cars - but it'll be something he can get into at a later age ... I hope anyway. Nora and I had plans to go to a Secret Machines show that night, so I took off and met her at my apartment where we had a drink or two before departing for the Metro. We were meeting a friend of mine from work and her roommate, and they were running a bit late, so we went to Full Shilling for a beer while we waited. They showed up just before showtime and we arrived at the venue just as the band was taking the stage. Perfect timing! And the show?? AWESOME!!! Love their live show so much! Their albums are amazing, but they don't even do their live show justice. The lights they use are perfect for their sound, and the atmosphere makes it so easy to just fully immerse yourself in the music. I am so excited that I'll get to see them again at Lollapalooza, though I am guessing they'll have a daytime slot and it won't have nearly the same effect as the shows I've been to in the past. But you can bet I will be in the audience at every show they have in Chicago from now until the end of time. Yeah. :) Well, after that was over, we chatted with some Metro employees who recommended we head over to Gingerman Tavern cause that's where they were also going, so we did. Had a couple drinks there, then made our way back to Smart Bar where the bartender from Gingerman said he'd be going once he closed up. Why we decided to put our fate in the hands of all the random employees we met that night I'm not sure ... well maybe it was because they were cute ... but we danced and drank the night away and I believe we all had a smashing good time. Not to mention we randomly ran into my roommate and his bro at Smart Bar. That was nice. But yeah, that was the latest night I had had in a very long time. Nora and I went back to my place to go to bed at around 5 or 5:30 (details a little foggy at this point). Next morning I got Nora up so she could make her way out to the burbs for Mother's Day brunch, and ended up just staying up myself - for some reason I have a hard time sleeping the morning after drinking a lot. Sleepiness doesn't come until much later in the day. And boy, did it! I too went out to the burbs to see my Mama. Some family was over for a barbecue and I tried to be sociable for as long as I could, but at one point, I just had to escape. Right before dinner I went upstairs to my old room for a bit of a lie-down. Didn't get any actual sleep 'cause I was called down to dinner. But AS SOON AS dinner was over (I even skipped dessert if you can believe it!!), I went right back up for a glorious little nap. Got up just in time to head back home and watch "Desperate Housewives" and "Grey's Anatomy" (Desperate Anatomy, for short). Good stuff.

AND THEN!! The week from Hell. I don't particularly feel like going into all the details of how hellish my week was - it was all work related - but if you can imagine one of those weeks when you think you have a few reasonaly achievable goals to meet, and you come in each day thinking, "Hey, today shouldn't be too bad, I have this, this and this to do and that's all," and then EVERYTHING GOES WRONG. New things are piled on your desk by the minute and the things that should have taken 5 minutes to complete end up taking 5 hours, and every single thing has to be done RIGHT NOW ... yeah, it was like that. In fact, it was exactly that. Which is why there were no blog posts last week ... and why I didn't even finish this one until today, Monday, a full week and 3 days after my last posting. Grrrr. Who knew this blogging thing would be so demanding!!? Wait, who's demanding anything of me? Hmm, no one really is, now that I think of it. It's just me. In my imagination I have this gaggle of faithful readers who start to wonder what happened to me when I don't post in a few days, and then if it gets to be a week with no posts they all start to turn against me and post angry rants on an imaginary fan forum, but there are those few who will always stick up for me saying, "Hey people, she's a busy lady and wouldn't you rather she be out and about living and doing things so that once she has some time again she can have something interesting to write about?" and all the skeptics are like, "Yeah, but man, a week? She can't even find time to post one sentence in a week?" and the good folks say, "Hey, don't be a hater."

But then I remember that I have a very active imagination.

Cheers!

Week in review

I don't usually just write about the everyday things that happen to me, like what I had for breakfast, or which bars I went to last Friday, but I think I may start a weekly thing where I just sorta give highlights of what's been happening lately. Yes, I think I will do that. And this will be the first one.

So, I feel like I have been extremely busy lately and haven't had much time to just chill, but I'm probably not really any busier than any other week. Anyhoo, last weekend was pretty cool. Friday was Cinco de Mayo, so some friends and I went to a little Mexican restaurant on Ashland for some good food and tasty margaritas. Though the wait was excruciating, they sent their waiting patrons to the bar across the street, where they could get drinks if they so chose, or in our case, bowl after bowl of chips and salsa. The food at the restaurant was pretty good, but if I go there again I will be getting what Jillybean had, which was plantain enchiladas with mole sauce. Yummy! Saturday I ran a bunch of errands in the morning, including hoofing it over to the Metro to get my tickets for the Secret Machines show tomorrow (yay!!). Jillybean was having a jewelry show over at her place for a friend of ours who makes really cool jewelry, so I headed over there and hung out for a while. I ended up buying a very cool necklace made of pyrite and a pair of Russian serpentine earrings which I can't wait to wear. So pretty! Afterwards, I met up with Nora for an eating extravaganza!! After a bit of trouble getting over there (D and K beat us even though they left considerably later!), we made it to the restaurant Sweets and Savories on Fullerton. All in all, I had a good impression of this place. It was very small, but classy and comfortable. And even though some might be a little taken aback by the extremely friendly and chatty staff, I liked it a lot. Nora and D went there specifically for this one dish that I won't get into the details of (you can read all about it on Nora's livejournal), but I do believe we were all very satisfied with the food. I know I was. However, given the rather pricy nature of the place, I decided it was in my best interest to call it a night after that, and give my wallet a little rest. :) Some people, including my roommate, were planning on heading over to the Musicbox around midnight for some 3-D porn, but as intriguing as this was, I decided not to partake, and I'm sorta glad I did, because I heard the next day that 3-D porn tends to lose it's excitement factor after about a half hour. *mental note* :)

This week has felt like a whirlwind. Nothing too exciting happened on Monday, aside from watching the finale of "What About Brian" which was filled with drama! Can't wait for next season (if there is one)!! Tuesday, I went to work an hour early because I had a doctor's appointment later in the day and instead of using up sick time I wanted to try and make up as many hours as I could. Surprisingly enough, it is much easier for me to get up earlier for work than it is to stay later - traffic starts to suck coming back into the city if you leave any later than 4, and despite my best efforts, I think I am becoming a morning person!!!! Ack!! (I feel like Cathy when I say Ack.) So, I asked my Mom to come to the doctor with me (though, in retrospect I didn't need her there at all), and the appointment ended up going really well. We were there to discuss prescription options, and I had pretty much made a decision before I went in, and was happy to hear that my doctor had basically come to the same decision. Made things easy. Perhaps I will discuss in more detail in another entry. Anyhoo, the rest of the afternoon/evening was for me and my Mom. We went to lunch at the Grand Luxe Cafe (very good) and then went shopping for a while along Michigan Ave. We looked in Crate and Barrel for what seemed like hours (that place is frickin 'uge!), then went to Borders where I couldn't leave without buying 3 books, and then made a short stop at Watertower where we were very disappointed in the housewares section of Marshall Field's (soon to be Macy's - boo hoo!!). After that, we were pooped so we went to *$'s to set for a spell, then went our separate ways. I think I got home and crashed on the couch, then just went to bed. It was an exhausting day. Wednesday I went in to work early again, and then went out to the 'rent's for my usual Wednesday visit. Dad and I popped over to Pier One to get some pillows for the new wicker furniture the parents just got for the sun room (apparently my Dad didn't trust himself enough to go alone - heaven forbid he buy the WRONG PILLOWS!!!), while Mom made a delicious spaghetti dinner. Then Mom and I watched "Lost" (so exciting!! another hatch!!) and I hit the road back home. I think by this time, the early (and busy) days were finally catching up to me because I was exhausted and decided before I even got home that I was going to go in at the normal time on Thursday. I totally needed that extra hour of sleep. Then on Thursday I was hoping to have a relaxing evening at home, but that didn't really end up happening. I told a coworker that I'd help her out after work by following her and her carpooling friend to a mechanic to drop off her car and then drive the two of them home (they live near me). This was kind of a pain because the weather was nasty and traffic was nasty, and after dropping them off I realized I had to go to the drug store, and I didn't end up getting home until after 6, only to have to go back to the drug store again at 6:30. Blaarrrgh. But then I watched some "Curb Your Enthusiasm" I got from Netflix and I thought, "Well, at least I'm not Larry David."

So now we've reached today. Aren't you happy you made it this far??!! :) Today I came in at the normal time but I'm planning on staying an hour later because I am staying out in the burbs for a while tonight. A coworker is having a bachelorette party nearby work tonight at 8, and it seemed like a pain to go all the way back home after work only to come all the way back out here again at 8. So I decided to stay here until 5, then head over to the mall to get some things I need (still need a Mother's Day gift!!), grab some dinner (possibly with another coworker friend who is also going to the bachelorette party), then head over to the bar where people are meeting. Should work out I think. Tomorrow I have a bunch of errands and chores to do in the morning, then there is Kristi's baby's birthday party (Yay for 2 year old's!!), then the Secret Machines show at midnight - which I still have to coordinate the meeting-up plans for. And then, of course, is Mother's Day on Sunday. I'm going out to the burbs again (man, my car gets a lot of miles put on it!!) to see the Mama, and my grandma and great aunt will be there as well for a little barbecue. That should be nice. But once again, I don't think I'll have ANY time for myself to relax this weekend. Oh well. Maybe next weekend - wait, no that won't work. Maybe the one after - nope, not that one either ...