Raining AGAIN...

We don't seem to get a break over here.  Everywhere else it's nice and sunny and we continue to get rain.  Not to mention, my hair is super curly and I barely put anything in it.  I don't even fight the humidity anymore.  If we get lucky, we get one or two days of no rain, but then it's back to showers again.  Maybe there's truth to be said when it comes down to the weather.  It DOES affect your mood...
Since I stepped out last Thursday for Cinco de Mayo, I was hesitant about doing it again the next day.  But low and behold, that was one of our nicer days we've encountered here in Chicago.  I couldn't help but get the itch to go out again.  I made my way home after work and took a nap before I started all over again.  This time we met up at The Hidden Shamrock by the DePaul neighborhood.  We didn't do much but goof around, which was fine by me.  We laughed a lot that night.

Goofing around at The Hidden Shamrock

They flew from Charlotte, North Carolina 

The following day the gang had a Cubs game to go to.  I wanted to rest.  I've been having trouble sleeping lately, and wanted to relax.  It was nice cleaning up the apartment and watching the Kentucky Derby.  I was not in the mood to rush anywhere that day.  My friends made plans to have dinner at Sunda after the game and go out afterwards.  I told them I would meet them later on for cocktails.
The weather was very windy that day, but luckily in the evening there was no rain.  My friends were finishing up dinner when I got there.  We had some cocktails there and made our way over to Hampton Social.  There wasn't much action going on so we walked all the way to Sienna Tavern to meet up with more friends.  Luckily the music was good and we decided to stay.  I was surprised that my friends were still up for more action despite having a long day already.  We closed up Sienna and made our way to Joy district, a new spot that opened up on Hubbard Street.  We goofed around some more and then made our way across the street to Celeste.  I was fine till out of no where I grew very tired.  I was done.  I was proud of myself for staying out as late as I could, but I knew I wanted my bed again.  My insomnia is getting the best of me, and I want to sleep as much as I could.  Who knows if tonight's the night I'll be up all night?  I don't want to take any chances.  I went home.
I know my feelings about going out and having fun has changed significantly over the years.  Right now all that matters is my mom and her well being.  Sometimes it's nice to go out and not think about anything serious and goof around with friends, but the nightlife has other factors that can be unsettling.  I am constantly aware of my surroundings and who I'm with at all times.  There's too many scary stories I've seen and heard over the years that put things in perspective.  Sometimes, it's just not worth the trouble.  But when you DO enjoy yourself, it's nice to know you'll remember these times.  I hope our friends from out of town had a blast on their visit to Chicago!  We lived it up!

I passed on this dessert treat from Sunda but my friends absolutely loved it!  

I couldn't resist having a bite of fried ice cream!  

Wore a top that's over 12 years old!  I can't believe it's still fits!  

Gearing up for the New Year!

I am currently reading "A Technique for Producing Ideas" by James Webb Young.  It was based off the recommendation of the last book I read, "It's Not How Good You Are, It's How Good You Want to be."  I've been reading self-help/ motivational books to help me stimulate my mind.  Sometimes you get into the funk of a routine, and get lost in trying to achieve the goals you want for yourself.  I feel it jolts my mind to be more creative, thus awakening my potential to try new things.  Since it's an easy read and a very short book, I feel it will help me start off the New Year in the right direction.
I grew into a funk with my life when me and my ex broke up 3 years ago.  It took some time for me to reflect on what happened.  I never worked so hard in trying to something I treasured so much.  But despite my efforts, our relationship ended, and I've been trying to figure out where to begin building my life again.
Everything seemed to slowly move to a new direction of singleton.  I was finally beginning to feel myself again when my mom's husband got diagnosed with a terminal disease.  This time around, I felt the urge to take care of my mom, but as the months went on, I started to get depressed.  Seeing him suffer and watching my mom cry was wearing me down.  I felt I was sinking again.  Yet since I'm on my own now, I had my friends who tried their best to comfort me, and the rest I had to figure out on my own. 
Blogging has been a source of output for me whenever I feel things are bottling up inside.  It gives me the chance to vent, and get things off my chest.  I never imagine how rewarding it could be.  I will try my best to improve the content of my blog, but for now, it's sole purpose is to express my feelings on life.  My life.  I know I lack depth in my writing, and I promise I will try to improve on my skills to tell stories.  But know that my freedom of expression is my right to come here and spill my guts.  And to tell you that everything is going to be alright.  I promise.  There were times I felt so alone, but everyone at some point or another has felt the same way I did.  I'm here to tell you that it will pass, and you will see your worth in a whole new light.  Life is a blessing and it's important you learn to appreciate it's valuable existence.
Back to finishing up October events.  Since we're coming up New Year's eve, I'm going to mention Halloween!  I was super excited to dress up this year.  It's funny looking back on it because I bought my costume when I returned from my trip to Paris and Italy.  I wanted to get a head start.  This year I was a French Maid!  lol.  Last year I was a Roman Empress, so it's only suiting to continue my travel theme.  That Halloween weekend started pretty weak, since not many people were dressed up on Friday.  I assumed because it fell on a Saturday this year, there would have been more people dressed in costumes.  About 20% of the crowd were dressed up that night.  I started out at National 27 for some cocktails then made my way to the Wit to join up with some friends who were visiting from out of town.  We hung out there for a bit before we decided to go to Hub 51.  Although we were disappointed in the low turn out for costumes, we knew Saturday was the day to go all out.
We started out at a house party around 9:30pm.  We figured we could show off our costumes and take some pics.  After a while we grew restless and wanted to head out and get into the action.  There were so many people out!  Lines were forming and it was barely 11pm.  We decided to go to Mercer 113 since it seemed easier to get our group in.  I had so much fun inside!  We danced and joked around so much.  I was having a blast!  Some of our friends started to head home, so our group got smaller.  We made our way to Ybar and it was insane in there!  By this point it was already 1:30am.  We danced some more.  We walked over to Soundbar and that's where I said my goodbyes.  I stayed there for a bit, but since that day was daylight savings time, clocks went back an hour at 2am.  Once it was 3am, technically it just turned 2am.  My feet couldn't handle it.
I loved seeing the goofy costumes that night, and I had so much fun with my friends, too.  It was probably one of the most memorable nights this year.  I'm glad nothing bad happened, (since Halloween can be a crazy night).  I cannot wait to see what the new year has planned for me and my friends.  Let the good times roll!

I'm a French maid!

Having fun at The Wit

I also made my way to Cuvee on Friday night, but again, not many people were in costumes.

Saturday Night for Halloween!  Our first stop at a house party. 

Ran into the Left Shark at Mercer 113...

The incredible Hulk was at y bar...

Who doesn't like a box of wine?  lol

Cup Chasing!!

As you know, the Chicago Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup again this year.  For any Chicagoan, we go CRAZY whenever one of our teams wins a championship.  One of the winning traditions the Hawks do for their fans is taking the Cup to various places in the city and show up unannounced.  With the help of social media, such as twitter, people get to follow the cup and see where it shows up next.  I love how excited the fans get by just word of mouth.
One Wednesday evening my friend texted me to say that a tweet was sent out on where Old Stanley might be.  It listed various places such as The Scout and Underground as well as Paris nightclub.  We decided to go cup chasing and head downtown.  I had to get up in the morning but decided not to drink at all.  It was the safest way to get up in time for work.  lol. 
I got by the Hubbard neighborhood and quickly texted my friend.  There was a huge line outside of Paris nightclub, along with cops blocking off the streets.  I was guessing they were in there already and quickly ran to Underground.  My initial plan was to get inside a venue before they showed up, but since they were at Paris already, Underground was the place to be.  My friend joined up soon after and we walked around and found some more friends to hangout with.  Well it turned out to be a pretty late night!  It was 1am and STILL NO CUP.  We all kept checking Instagram as well as Twitter constantly for any updates.  Looks like they ended up at Paris around midnight and were still partying it up with the fans.  I did not expect to be out so late, but at this point we were so close to seeing the players, I knew I couldn't leave.  The anticipation was growing and Underground was getting packed.  It was hard not to drink and join in the celebration.  It was finally around 2am when the players walked in.  I was so exhausted by then, but with all of the excitement the crowd was giving them, I got my second wind!  Unfortunately, they DID NOT have the cup with them because apparently the cup has a curfew (go figure).  But it was still a blast we got a chance to party with the players.  I got home by 4am.  Just in time for a nap before I got up for work at 6am.  It was a rough morning but totally worth it!  I would do it all over again... 

Not the actual Stanley Cup.  There were various imitations on the night of the Championship.

Waiting around at Underground...

Still waiting...

STILL WAITING!  lol

They're finally here!!!  The Chicago Blackhawks!!

Add caption

In September...Part 2

The rest of September was pretty hectic.  Considering I was in Italy a few weeks earlier, there was always something coming up.  I was beginning to have house music withdrawals and was in dire need to dance my butt off.  In Italy (or I'm assuming, pretty much everywhere in Europe) dance music is very popular.  With the rise of EDM hitting the American scene, the music in Italy was phenomenal.  It was in heavy rotation wherever you went.  But back here in the States, with the exception of a few dance tracks being thrown in between pop, hip hop and country, it wasn't enough for me.  Luckily, I saw that one of my favorite djs was going to be in town, so I quickly bought my ticket and off I went to Paris Nightclub on Hubbard.  I had a blast! 

 CHICAGO LOVES YOU ERICK!!  PLEASE COME BACK SOON!

Erick Morillo playing New York house music.  The crowd went crazy!!

 

Later in the month one of my dearest friends celebrated her birthday at a Bears tailgate!  We thought it was a great idea considering the Bears were playing the Packers that Sunday.  One of our friends hooked it up with a mobile bar so we definitely had all eyes on our setup!  lol.  Even though we lost the game we had a great time.  The weather was pretty warm that day too.  Best tailgate I've been to in a long time...

Moving the grill to our next stop in the parking lot.

Time to mark those red cups to avoid any confusion!

Yes we even had a hammock...

The view up top...

Make a wish!!!

PEACE OUT!