My Birthday

I’m still re-capping and now I reached my birthday.  This year my birthday fell on a Tuesday; just like today.

This year I felt really old.  Not the way I use to feel old, (not being able to wear certain clothing, hating my crow’s feet, thinning of my hair, etc.).  Something else was happening.  I kept thinking about my past such as:

things I wished I had accomplished

remembering people that have passed

my ex-boyfriend 

jobs I used to loathe

trips I have taken over the years

It was as if I was lying on my death bed recapping my life’s moments one by one.  Of course certain memories stood out, but it I just couldn’t stop thinking about them.  I never before have done this for such an extended period of time.  It was lasting a few weeks and for the most part, I was the person who always was anxious about what was to come.  This time, I was looking back and it was triggering my depression.

The night before my birthday I got my Facebook notifications from my friends aboard wishing me happy birthday.  I have to admit, this was nice considering they were waking up at the other side of the world and I was falling asleep.  I felt good knowing I shared wonderful travel moments with them.  I ended up working my birthday, too.  Normally I would have taken off but I didn’t want to be at home that day, let alone plan something special for myself.  I needed to turn off my mind and work, and that’s what I did.  In the evening, my friends called me up to talk and check up on me.  I again, enjoyed that a lot.  I was also honest with them.  I told them this year it was hard to celebrate.  If anything I want them to know that turning older isn’t always a fun celebration.  Sometimes you want to tune out. 

One of our friends was in town that Thursday and we made plans to catch up with the girls over dinner.  Of course, my friends surprised me with a birthday flan.  Lol.  In the end I did make a wish.  But it was nice not celebrating me this year…

Taste of Randolph Fest 2018

Well it’s official.  I booked my next trip.  Unfortunately it won’t be a new destination.  I’ll reveal it in later posts.  For now, I have to catch up on the blog!

Following Pride Fest Saturday, it was another hot day in Chicago.  My friends wanted to meet up for Taste of Randolph Fest that Sunday but we opted to go later in the afternoon.  I waited patiently at a nearby restaurant and ordered a margarita until everyone showed up.  I figured it would be more comfortable waiting in there than to wait outside in the scorching sun.  The humidity was unreal!

Once we gathered up all of the troops we headed to the fest.  It was fun catching up with everyone.  It was too hot to eat at the fest, so we mostly drank sangria and micheladas and had some light bites.  A friend of ours was celebrating his birthday at Bottled Blonde and we ended our night in there.  My birthday was right around the corner during that time, and Bottled Blonde made me feel worse about it.  Lol.  That place was too young for me, but at least I did learn that some places are not for me anymore.  Lesson learned…

Pride Fest Saturday

I didn’t realize I was pretty backed up on my blog.  I haven’t even gotten to my birthday yet!  Lol.  Well let’s get back on track so I can catch up.  My memory isn’t so great anymore.

Following up my Thirsty Thursday happy hour session at Masada, I had no plans whatsoever so I decided to give myself an at-home pedi.  My girlfriend from Providence called me up and we were chatting away when my other line kept ringing.  I saw that my other friend was calling but decided to text her instead to see what was up.  No response.  I continued my conversation with my Providence friend when again, my other friend was calling.  At this point I was worried something was wrong since she never responded to my text, so I told my friend to hold on while I switched over. 

-Are you home??

-Yes!  What’s wrong??

-Oh nothing.  Get ready!  We’re coming to pick you up.  We’ll be there in 15 minutes!

WHAT THE??  I switched over to my other friend from Providence and told her what was going on.  She got excited for me!  According to my horoscope, she said I was going to have a great weekend.  Oh my goodness.  I really wanted to stay in, but I had no choice.  My friends were downstairs in no time flat.  Off we went.

We had a little trouble trying to find where all the action was.  It was the weekend of Taste Of Randolph, but we knew we didn’t want to go around that area.  We first hopped around a bit and finally settled on Underground.  Luckily we got in right away and even found a table.  We danced so much that nice that my feet were killing me the next day.

Even though this was an unexpected thing we pulled together at the last minute, we definitely made some memories that night!

After my long night out the night before, I took some time to rest up at home.  I made plans with my friend to meet him in Lakeview so we could walk together to the Pride Fest.  This is something new that started in Chicago about 2 years ago.  They decided to make Pride month a little longer by having two events.  The first is a neighborhood festival which occurs the weekend before the parade.  The parade has always brought a large crowd regardless, and with the new addition of the fest, it helps accommodate everyone trying to join in on the fun.  Me and my friend had a blast!  I knew offhand that I wasn’t going to come to the parade so this fest was perfect.  We went out afterwards to the neighborhood clubs and called it a night.  I loved that weekend…

Happy Hour at Masada

Following up Spring Awakening, I had drinks with a friend later in the week on a Thursday at Masada.  It was nice catching up.  I rarely do things during the week since I try to catch up with my workouts as well as shopping for groceries.  I have limited access to a supermarket in my neighborhood and not having a car does not help.  Plus as I’ve gotten older I hate doing chores on the weekends.  Lol.  Regardless, Masada was a nice treat.  We sat outside in their beautiful patio and had some light bites.

Spring Awakening 2018

The following weekend in June me and my brother attended Spring Awakening.  This festival used to be held at Soldier Field but has moved to Addams/ Medill Park.  During the weeks leading up to the fest, me and my brother were having trouble trying to figure out which day to go.  I knew I could not leave much early on Friday from work and Sunday was out of the question.  I had to work by myself the following Monday and that would be a lot for me.  The only day left was Saturday, which disappointed my brother.  He wanted to see a dj on Sunday but that was going to be difficult.  In the end it didn’t matter because we both had a blast. 

My friend was also going to be there with some friends.  We ended up meeting her with her group.  That weekend in particular the weather was acting up.  Chicago started to have A LOT of rain, and it affected Friday’s show.  Luckily it was passing showers, so the field wasn’t too muddy when we arrived.  I wore my studded boots because the temperature reached in the high 70s, but with the sun hitting hard, I was working up a sweat!  Oh well, what can you do?  At least I wasn’t cold (which I hate even more).  In the end we all hung out at the same stage because we loved the djs there more than the other stages, but we all had a blast.  I was pretty pooped out the rest of the weekend.  I  had a friend in town and I ended up seeing her on Sunday.  I miss my old friends.  I wish we could all live near one another.  

Surprise Birthday Party

Lately I’ve been living for the weekend.  Summer in Chicago is pretty amazing and I’m fortunate to live in a diverse city that has so much to offer to everyone.  Following up the weekend after Memorial Day was a surprise birthday party my friend was throwing for her husband.  I should have known better that it was going to be an all-day thing.  We were told to be at their place by 3pm since she had a plan to divert him out of the house all afternoon.  In the past they’ve had parties with a build-your-own-taco-bar and it’s been a hit ever since.  Of course we had to wait until the birthday boy arrived, but we were ready for those tacos!  Lol.  Needless to say he was indeed shocked that so many people showed up for him but I think he enjoyed his party very much.  As for me, I ended up staying until 11pm!  It’s times like these that I need to make sure I get a chance to do the housework throughout the week instead of waiting on my precious Saturday mornings.  Like I said, there’s ALWAYS something happening on the weekends in the summer.

Memorial Weekend! Part Two

The Sunday during Memorial Weekend my friend was throwing a BBQ at her new house.  They had purchased their building the summer before, so it was interesting to see what new renovations have come along.  Luckily, they pulled out a tree from their yard in time for the BBQ.  They found out the tree was the culprit behind some problems in their basement, plus they felt it used up a lot of space in general. 

That day in particular happened to be very hot indeed.  The temperature reached up to the low 90s.  I wore a tissue thin tee along with my crop shorts.  As I’m getting older sometimes I feel silly wearing short shorts but when it’s that hot outside, you don’t really care what people think. 

It was nice seeing my friends.  They were also very supportive about the incident that occurred in Rome.  I hate that I have to second-guess myself but that’s what Life does to you.  You try to do your best and when situations make you question everything you end up taking a step back to reflect.  As they say, sometimes things happen for a reason, and I want to be able to learn from this.  Have you learned any life lessons along the way?  I’m always curious to see what other people have figured out in this crazy game called Life...

Memorial Weekend! Part One

So far I’ve been enjoying my summer.  For the most part I got pretty down after I came back from Italy, and my birthday creeping up on me in June did not help my mood.  But I started to feel more myself once I focused my attention on other things.  I’ve been reading “Less is More” by Goldian VandenBroeck and got into the World Cup tournament.  Now that it’s over, I’m looking forward to planning my next trip out of Chicago, and to finish catching up on the blog.  Time to recap Memorial Weekend!  Lol.

Like I mentioned earlier, I was in a funky mood once I returned from Italy.  The annual house party at Millennium Park was taking place the Saturday following up to Memorial Day.  I’ve enjoyed this festival in the past and knew I didn’t want to miss this.  Plus, dancing to good music ALWAYS puts me in a good mood.  I needed to do this!

Luckily my little brother was available to accompany me.  We made our way down there late afternoon and caught a few sets before heading home.  I was not up for clubbing whatsoever, but I did get my dancing fix in.  I love watching people enjoy themselves.  It automatically lifts my spirits and I found myself smiling at everyone.  My brother loved it as well.  This was his first time being there and he thought it was amazing.  For putting on a free festival, Chicago knows how to do it right!

My souvenir t-shirt from Rome