July 4th Weekend Part 1

I’m already lagging behind on my blog and I was doing so well!  What can you do?  Regardless, summer in Chicago can be amazing.  July 4^th weekend was a little hectic for me.  I was glad we had a short work week following up.  Luckily, I got a chance to relax at home before I headed out in the evening.  I had a great weekend over all, but let me recap the holiday…

I love to see my friends and have a good time.  But like the saying goes, too much of a good thing can be bad thing too.  Because of my job, I am at the front and center of clients walking in, hence, I have to be sociable ALL THE TIME.  I don’t have a problem with that, especially since I’ve been working here so long.  Between handling high volume phone calls and addressing clients, by the time Friday rolls around, I want to be left alone (just for a short time).  Whenever I have a party to go to or an event that lasts all day, I get tired.  Tired in the sense of being sociable.  I want to be at home blasting my music and not talking to anyone!  It’s the Gemini in me.  We’re introverted/ sociable people who live inside our heads.  The funny thing about that is if we’re alone “too long” then we go a little crazy because our thoughts are still running 24/7.  We need to express our thoughts through verbal communication, and if we don’t have anyone to talk to, we get depressed.

That weekend in particular I was already feeling frustrated.  I knew I had two back to back parties out in the suburbs.  I usually spend my Saturday afternoons lounging on my balcony, followed by cleaning up the apartment, and then heading to the gym to do an afternoon workout.  It’s been my routine for a while and I love it.  Just me and my little apartment.  All alone.

Because I knew I had a party to go to in the burbs, I decided to do a little window shopping for a black dress I needed to wear for Sunday’s party.  I was told about the details earlier in the week when I saw my friends for drinks, but I wasn’t sure what I had in my closet.  Since it was the holiday weekend, there were sales everywhere.  I figured I would walk down State Street and see if they had anything, but I had no such luck.  I knew I had to make something work from my closet.  Once I got home Friday night, I cleaned up my apartment.  I stayed in knowing I had a full day the next day.

Once Saturday came around, I snuck in my lounging time on my balcony and did a load of laundry.  Sure enough, my friend picked me up earlier than expected, but luckily I was ready and off we went to Skokie.

My friend chose the Skokie Exploratorium to host her son’s 2 year old birthday party.  Since it fell on the holiday weekend, friends from all over managed to make it in for his birthday.  It’s adorable seeing his face look in wonder.  I think it hit him later on that this party was for him.  Regardless, the birthday boy was enjoying every minute of it.

The party finished around 5pm but afterwards, me and a friend had to get some stuff for the following day.  We decided at the last minute to throw a party for a friend of ours who was in town for the weekend.  It was a surprise, but we still needed to get some finishing touches.  By the time we got what we needed, it was getting near 7:30pm.

I came home and went to the gym in the evening and did a light workout.  I got a chance to do everything I needed to do.  I was pooped but knew in the back of my mind, we had to do this all over again tomorrow.  YIKES!

When doves cry...

Today is a sad day for me.  We lost another music legend.  It took me a while to comprehend what happened, mostly because I was in denial.  Once news started circulating, I felt sadness. 
I grew up in the 80s.  I was a kid.  Coming out of the 70s, I was still too young to understand music.  Pre-teens was an interesting time for me.  I was very shy and reserved.  I played with my barbies while my brothers were constantly beating each other up.
Eventually, I got into music with the help of MTV.  Beforehand, my family would watch Solid Gold and American Bandstand religiously.  That's how we grew our love for music by watching artists perform.  Yet music videos was another way to visualize lyrics, and that's what drew people in.  Hearing a song on the radio and then anxiously waiting for the video release. 
Michael Jackson, Madonna, Prince, The Police, Duran Duran all had top albums in the 80s.  Everyone loved pop music.  I can remember my aunt going out to the clubs and secretly wishing I was her.  I couldn't wait to grow up.
But why was that?  Looking back into the 70s disco era, there was some suggestive sexual music playing, but with the 80s music video era, we can actually see artist do things we couldn't imagine doing before.  Everyone oozed sexual appeal, and for me, a young girl playing with her barbies, I knew something naughty was going on.  I just didn't understand it yet.
Prince was an artist that people tried to figure out, but couldn't quite get at first.  He was petite, but held such a strong presence.  If he walked in a room, he owned it.  The music was another story.  Not many artists sang and played multiple instruments.  He was incredibly talented and ahead of his own time.  Those who followed him went under his spell immediately.  He had a huge fan base and I was one of them.
I am so saddened by his death.  I looked up to him as a fellow Gemini.  I understood his creativity.  Most Geminis have a hard time expressing all of our thoughts, but Prince managed to express it with his music.  As different as it was at the time, he made it work.  I will miss him dearly as I missed my other idols.  They were one of a kind in their own unique way. 

His lyrics carried so much emotion in a world full of "pop" music...

My brother trying to console me...

R.I.P legend