Danny’s Bar

A few Fridays ago, a friend had sent out a facebook invite to her birthday weekend bonanza.  She listed all the things she would be doing from Friday-Sunday.  She noted, if anyone wanted to join in the festivities to contact her.  I wasn’t 100 percent sure what my plans were yet, and as the day went on, I called up one of our friends to see if she was going.  She told me her and her boyfriend would be heading out soon to the party, and asked if I needed a ride there.  I told her I would uber it since I was not ready yet.  In the end, I got there before my friends, but I did not see the birthday girl.  She chose to celebrate at Danny’s Bar in Wicker Park.  It was my first time there, and the place was packed.  I saw my friends walk in and we found a spot towards the back.  Her boyfriend went to the bar, and me and my friend took pictures to kill some time.  After about 20 minutes, we texted the birthday girl to see what time was she coming.  We waited and enjoyed our cocktails.  5 minutes later, she texted us back that she had fallen asleep on her couch.  She was trying to get rid of a cold and was not coming out.  Me and my friend decided to go back home.   We were both tired from work earlier and were not up to hang out at the bar.  It was funny if you think about it…

A Disco Birthday Party

I had a dentist appointment on a Friday so I took the day off from work since I had to travel to the suburbs.  I finished my workouts earlier in the week and had nothing to do when I got back.  My friend who works at Disco in River North invited me to her birthday party.  I haven’t seen her in a while and wondered how she’s been doing.  I made up my mind that I was going to meet her downtown.

Luckily the weather was in the high 50s.  I opted to wear my fleece bomber with my new graphic t-shirt since I could get away from not wearing a coat.  I made my way to see her but she warned me to get there a bit later since it was still empty inside.  I have not been out in a while and it was interesting to watch people walk around in the area.  Once inside I made my way upstairs and found her table.  She looked beautiful in her sequined two piece.  Her other friends arrived and I recognized one of them from our trip to Las Vegas years ago.  We were goofing around and had a blast that night.  I miss dancing…

Friday Night at The Aviary

Because of my upcoming trip, I was not sleeping very well.  Regardless of me being exhausted from going out Wednesday night, I met up with the same friends again that Friday.  I skipped out on dinner because I had to run more errands.  I took an uber to Ronero where they were finishing up.  My friend was hosting some guests from out of town and ran into some other friends who were also visiting from out of state.  Small world.  Now that our group got bigger, she made reservations at The Aviary which is part of The Alinea Group.  I have never been but I’m glad I went in the end.  This was truly an experience.  They had some out-of-this-world cocktails that were delish!  Everything was so over the top that we couldn’t help but snap away on our phones.  We ended our night there, but despite me being tired, I’m grateful I didn’t miss out on this opportunity. 

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…

Chicago 90s Block Party

I jumped into work once I got back from my trip.  Despite seeing my Dad and his family on Saturday, my mom wanted me to come by on Sunday.  I got a chance to give her the souvenirs I picked up for her.  She loved my gifts.

Work came and went but I was already pooped out from not resting much.  I wanted to do laundry but my friend reminded me that she got tickets for us for Chicago 90s block party at Wintrust.  I’ve never been to that venue.

I woke up with a sore throat, but I knew I didn’t want to blow off my friend.  I quickly came home and changed into my Aaliyah t-shirt.  This was the perfect place to wear it!  Lol

I took the blue line down to Jackson and jumped in a cab right away.  Both of us were running late.  I felt bad because I didn’t want to miss any of the show.  Luckily I got there before the line to get inside was long.  It seemed that my friend was running super behind so I went to get a glass of wine at the bar.

My friend bought tickets right smack in the middle on ground level.  I made it to my seat and waited for her to come.  Faith Evans was off the hook!  She looked beautiful.

Up next was SWV.  It was amazing seeing them after so many years.  They were huge when I was in school!  My friend finally showed up and we danced the night away.  112 and Jagged Edge blew us away, and Teddy Riley sang all of his hits afterwards.

They finished the concert with Guy.  The crowd would not stay in their seats.  It was a night of non-stop dancing.  I decided to hang out with my friend at her place and told her the details of my trip.  I needed this girl time.

Floating

Do you ever feel like you’re “floating” through time?  Right now, my concept of time is off balance due to recent events.  I had someone ask me if I’m excited next week is Thanksgiving.  I answered that Halloween passed by too quickly.  Regardless, I’m emotionally pooped.

My friend lost her aunt unexpectedly.  In a matter of 2 weeks I’ve been to 2 funerals.  In hindsight, in the past 2 months I’ve known 4 people in total who have lost their lives.  Every single situation was truly heart breaking.  With the devastation in Puerto Rico from Hurricane Maria, and the domestic terrorism incident in Las Vegas, I never imagined in a million years some of the events I have witnessed.  My heart aches for my friends who have suffered the unimaginable. 

In the meantime, I wake up in the middle of the night and cry myself back to sleep.  I am constantly sad.  I try to fight off my thoughts and try to be optimistic but sometimes life can be unfair.  I can’t find the silver lining, or lesson learned, or any meaning except that shit happens.  I pray all the time for my friends and family’s safety.  I wish I could find a way to make things better.

At the funeral for my friend’s aunt, the rabbi mentioned to focus on what SHE would have wanted for her loved ones:  to move on.  Even if we are hurting with her gone, she would have wanted everyone to move past this and live their lives to the fullest.  I completely agreed with him.  He’s right.  That is what she would have wanted.  The least we could do is grant her that wish.

I felt anxious when I came home and napped it out since I’ve been barely sleeping.  Once I woke up I decided to go to a birthday party that I was invited to at the last minute.  I just didn’t want to be at home alone with my thoughts.  I made my way to Parlor off Randolph and met up with some friends.  It felt good not to think for a bit.  Luckily, since it was a birthday celebration, everyone was in good spirits.  We ended up at The Mid and danced around.  For this short moment, I saw happy faces, and it was worth it…

After party at The Mid!

Good times...

London/ Paris: Day 4 Part Two

I dozed off and on again during my train ride to Paris.  Unfortunately it was not vey scenic.  When the train pulled up I knew things were going to get chaotic.  I found my metro stop downstairs, but there were so many people.  Once the metro train pulled up people were shoving themselves on.  I was super nervous but I had to endure two more stops of this before I transferred over.  Paris metro system is a lot busier than London’s.  Maybe because London’s tube is much longer (?)  I got confused walking around the underground subway tunnels.  I couldn’t find my train stop to get on.  I had to find Metro 4 and I was lost.  I walked into an African man who asked if I was ok.  He spoke to me in English.  I asked for his help and we walked together.  He asked where I was from and I told him Chicago and that I just came from London.  He explained that he wanted to go to London to finish school.  Again, he applied for his visa and he got denied.  For the time being he is working in Paris, but his eyes were sad like the girl I had encountered at the mall earlier.  Once he showed me where to get on my train stop I gave him a hug.  He looked like he really needed it.

Two more stops later I got off the train.  Last time I was in Paris I got lost for over an hour once I stepped out of the metro station.  The rues in Paris run small and you are constantly looking for new street signs on the buildings.  I do not know how I managed to pull it off, but I found my hotel right away.  I lucked out big time!

Once I checked in I asked the concierge for help on directions leading me to the Apple store.  I couldn’t believe my luck again.  He told me there was a huge Apple store right down the street.  “But you need to hurry; they close an in hour!”

I literally ran out of there.  I wasn’t sure if they would be able to see me right away.  My anxiety shot back up again.  I was too excited when I spoke to the French associate.  I got some looks from the workers but I didn’t care.  I just really needed to know what was wrong with my phone.  I told the associate that I got it to charge in London but wasn’t sure what was wrong, the cord or the power adaptor connected to my cord.  It turned out to be both.  But then my luck ran out.  I realized I didn’t pack my European converter and needed to get that as well.  60 euros gone, just like that.

I decided to charge my iphone at the Apple store so I could finally calm down.  I messaged my friend and told her my status.  By this time, I was getting hungry.  Once I was fully charged I decided to venture around my hotel neighborhood.  I figured I would grab a sandwich to eat since I already spent my daily budget on the phone. 

I liked my hotel neighborhood.  I was surrounded by high end retail shops.  I knew I was in a shopping district although I felt I wasn’t around too many tourists with selfie sticks.  I felt safe.

Once I got back to the hotel I asked the concierge if I was far from the Louvre Museum.  I knew the train stop from the metro was around the corner but I wasn’t sure where I was from all of the tourist attractions.  I had to get on at another metro station down the street but he said I was two stops away.  I was curious if I could make it on time to go to their museum shop before they closed.  I really wanted to get the museum book of the Louvre.  I regretted not getting it back when I was in Paris 2 years ago.  It’s a huge book and at the time I figured I could order it online.  Unfortunately, the English version was sold out and it has haunted me ever since.  With limited time in Paris I wanted to knock this out the way.

I messaged my friend and off I ran.  Sure enough, there was a metro stop that landed you underneath at the Place du Carrousel at the Louvre.  I ran inside and tried to find the museum shop.  I was getting confused because there are other shops underneath, but none were the official museum shop.  It was nearly 8:40pm and I was worried they were about to kick people out since it closed at 9pm.

I got inside and ran to a shop.  I was in the middle of buying the book when I noticed another book in the background that looked similar.  I asked the sales rep if I could see the other book.  “Is that the official Louvre book?” and she quickly snapped back at me, “No!  THIS is the official book.  Can’t you see that THIS is the official book?  That is what is here!”  She motioned to my book on display.  I was fed up by now.  “I was ONLY ASKING!” I snapped back.  I was done with sales associates today.    I don’t think this lady knows what I went through.  Geeze!

Since the museum was now officially closed, apparently so was the metro station I tried to get back on to go to the hotel.  Great.  I had to walk outside to find another metro station.  Looking back at it now, I’m glad I got a chance to see the museum at night.  It is truly breathtaking.

I finally made my way back to the hotel and messaged my friend.  I was exhausted.  She joked if I was going to go out.  I forgot it was Friday night.  I told her I wanted to, but I needed to rest first.  I knocked out for an hour.  Once I woke up I messaged my friend again that I was still exhausted.  I wasn’t up for it, but I knew I would regret staying in on a Friday night, especially being in a beautiful city.  My friend asked again, what was I going to do?  I didn’t reply back because I FELL BACK ASLEEP.  Hahahaha!  Once I woke up again, it was now 11pm!  It kept getting later and later by the minute.  My friend thought it was hilarious, but I was perplexed.  I told her if I did go out somewhere, I would have to go to a club so I could stay awake.  I needed some good music to keep me up.  

I jumped out of bed and quickly got ready.  I looked for an uber but the rates were ridiculous!  70 euros for a 10 minute ride???  What a rip off!!  I told my friend I was stuck.  Now what?

I made up my mind.  I messaged her that I was going to go back to where the apple store was.  Out there were a bunch of bistros and bars surrounding the store.  I’ll go and walk down there and have a glass of champagne.  I just had to.

She told me to be careful and off I went.  There were people on the streets so I wasn’t worried about my safety.  Plus my hotel had a 24 hour concierge which I liked.  I looked for a busy bar and quickly found Le Germain.  From the outside window I could see people dancing and enjoying themselves.  My kind of place!

I went inside and made my way to the bar.  I waited and waited.  The bartender did glance at me but he continued to talk to a group in front of him.  Another woman walked up beside me and was waiting as well.  He looked over and again continued to talk to the group.  I felt shunned but wasn’t going to walk out of there.  The music was too good.  Lol.  Finally he walked over and asked if I needed something.  I ordered my drink but waived to him to take care of the lady next to me before he got back to his group.  I joked to that lady about the bartender but she replied back in French.  I told her I didn’t understand and she spoke to me in broken English.  We were getting along well.  She told me she got into a fight with her boyfriend and that’s why she was alone.  

After our drink she asked if I wanted to go somewhere else.  I said sure.  “It’s around the corner”, she said.  We walked around onto a busy side street.  There were a bunch of pubs and people were all over the street.  We walked into a pub and headed downstairs.  I’ve never seen so many happy-go-lucky French people singing along.  I was surprised but I loved it!  I like seeing people having a blast.  I bought a drink for my new friend and we walked in the other rooms.  At one point we headed to another area downstairs where they had dance music.  I really liked it in there!  One thing about Parisians is their love of dance music!  I ended up meeting more people and we were all dancing and having fun.  My new friend went upstairs to talk to some friends she knew.  My new group wanted to go to another club.  They asked if I wanted to go and I said yes.  We went to look for my new friend and we exchanged Facebook information to keep in touch.  I was excited to see where the night would take me.

We took a cab to the other club.  It was at the riverwalk by the Seine river.  We walked into Faust nightclub and I was blown away!  Disco led lights filled the ceiling.  People were going crazy for the music.  I felt I was at a rave but filled with beautiful people.  Lol.  I got what I came for; good dance music and a night out in Paris!  I’m so glad I met such wonderful people.  They made my night!

Dark Storm

The 2^nd weekend in August I went to the movies!  Lol.  The last movie I saw was Beauty and The Beast with my mom but that was a while ago.  I had a nice time with my friend the week before at the Taj Mahal that we decided to check out a flick.  We made our way to the theater and had some time to kill before the movie started.  We ate Mexican food nearby and talked for a bit.  So many people were walking around Logan Square.  The neighborhood keeps changing so there’s always something new to checkout.

Once we got inside the Logan Theater I noticed the bar right away.  I absolutely LOVE this concept of lounge/ movie theaters!  It was very relaxing having a cocktail while we watched Dark Tower.  Idris Elba and Matthew McConaughey were eye candy galore! 

 

Martin Solveig at Prysm!

Well my birthday came and went.  I’m glad it did too.  I started stressing about it ever since it became Gemini season.  I felt this sudden overwhelming feeling that I was sinking and sure enough, just depressed about it pretty quickly.

Usually, I try my best to get into better spirits because I know how terrible my mind can be.  It’s all in your thoughts and how you feel about yourself.  Unfortunately, like anyone, I can get down about my current life situation and how I am not anywhere NEAR where I want to be.  But I am working on it.

It’s pretty obvious that things have shifted for me over the years.  I wanted stability more than anything, and the more I searched for it, the more things became unstable for me.  Now all I crave is peace and serenity.  I feel pretty good about that.

My search has landed me in different parts of the world I never knew existed.  Only through pictures and stories I tried to comprehend different cultures.  It’s true what they say, “there is no other way to explain it than to experience it yourself.”

I am currently choosing between two places to book my next adventure.  I’m still not sure where I’ll head to next but I can’t wait regardless!  Now, time to recap my birthday weekend…

On Friday I had plans with my brother to see a dj I’ve been wanting to see for a while, Martin Solveig.  This French dj is usually traveling all over Europe, but he was making his way to Chicago at Prysm Nightclub.  It was my first time there and me and my brother liked it a lot.  Once Martin came on the crowd was going crazy for him and he even sang a song of his on the mic.  I was pretty impressed.

Me and my brother left after his performance.  I had scheduled a full weekend of activities to forget my birthday.  Lol.  I am a lucky girl to have a birthday fall at the beginning of summer when everything comes alive in Chicago.  It definitely has its perks! 

Chus & Ceballos

I’m still not done recapping the month of February.  Looking back, I did not think I did so much, but technically, our winter was pretty tame this year.  It started to warm up mid month and Chicagoans took advantage of this opportunity!  Lol.  Earlier in January, I saw that the dj duo Chus & Ceballos was going to be in town.  They’ve been on my radar for a while and I am constantly listening to their podcast series.  They are originally from Spain and travel globally to perform, but FINALLY they were coming to Chicago!  I bought my tickets right away and was looking forward to see them live.

I found out as the weeks went by that a birthday party that was intended for that weekend Sunday was now changed to a day earlier.  UGH!  I wanted to make the most of my night out, since I knew I wanted to hear them til the very end.  But since they were performing on Friday, I had to be conscious of my time because I had to be up early in the morning the next day.  Oh well.  What can you do?

Since I had worked early that morning for work, I went home to take a disco nap before getting ready for my night out.  I had invited some friends to see them with me, but no one was around.  I have gotten use to going to these shows by myself since none of my friends really like them very much.  They feel the crowd  might be “too crazy” or they feel “too old”.  Whatever!  I love dance music and enjoy watching the crowd respond to a good dj.

Earlier that day I received a text from some friends.  They were going to attend an art show in the Gold Coast.  Coincidentally Primary Night Club is also located in the Gold Coast.  I figured I would attend the show and spend time with my friends before making my way to the club.  I knew that Chus & Ceballos probably wouldn’t be on til much later but the weather was so nice that night.  I had a feeling Chicago was going to be busy downtown.

I met up with my friends at the art show and we had a good time catching up with everyone.  They don’t usually don’t step out much so it was nice seeing them besides a family event.  Lol.  Once the show was finished they wanted to go home right away.  I wasn’t successful trying to persuade them to stay out longer.  I stopped by Public House to have a cocktail before the show started.  I have to admit, I’m getting a little old for this.  I was SUPER TIRED but finally they came on and they were awesome!!  I miss dancing to good music.  Luckily a friend was there so we hungout together.  I have gone to festivals with him and his girlfriend since we have the same taste in music.  In the end, I DO have to admit, you have to like this kind of stuff in order to truly enjoy a dj set.