Let's celebrate!

Talk about having the holiday blues!  The mood in Chicago is very grim.  The Chicago Police is under investigation.  The mayor is constantly defending his actions involving the Laquan McDonald shooting.  Not to mention there's protests happening all around the city.  Everyone wants answers.  The upcoming presidential election has the topic of terrorism on their agenda.  As well as controversial remarks being made involving Muslims in our country.  It does not feel like Christmas at all.
It's a sad time for our city, and for our nation.  My mother was pretty emotional about Thanksgiving without her husband.  Tomorrow me and my brothers will be coming over to help her put up the Christmas tree.  She thought about not putting it up, but we talked her out of it.  I wish she wasn't so sad.
I wish I wasn't so sad!  What gives?  I'm beginning to feel like I'm sinking.  I have friends around me that are having some tough times too.  I don't remember the last time I've been excited about anything.  It's been a while.  I wish I could pack up and leave, just to recharge my batteries.  It's not that I'm overworked.  Hey, I'm content when I AM at work, only because I get to take my mind off myself for 8 hours or so.  But Facebook and other social media reminds us of the world we're living.  A world that is so unsettling.  A world that is unfamiliar to us all.  Not only do we know how scary things can get, it's HOW we handle things that is making me worried.  I miss my old life.
When I returned from Italy back in September, Labor Day had passed.  I remember trying to adjust to my jet lag before I headed back to work.  I walked in and my co-workers noticed right away something was wrong.  I felt lost in translation.  Flying on a Dublin flight to Paris, then walking the streets by myself, jumping on a mini plane to Bari.  Then spending two weeks all around Italy had taken it's toll on me.  Not to mention landing in Chicago and feeling the energy there among the people.  I've been in contact with Irish, French, Italians and now Chicagoans in a matter of 14 days.  It's the most drastic change I've encountered in a while.  I felt so lost.  I still don't know where I'd rather be.
I've obviously adjusted back to my life.  But now things are back to the unfamiliar.  In my own city.  In my own country.  I'm wondering if people around the world feel the same uneasy feeling I do.
Within the following week from being back in Chicago, I attended a dinner for one of my friends for her birthday.  It was at a Tapas restaurant out in Niles called Café Marbella.  The food was delicious.  I remembered tasting the food and thinking to myself how different it was from the Italian food I've been having the past two weeks.  Yet it was still delightfully good.  Maybe a trip to Spain is in my near future?
Afterwards, we didn't know where to go.  We figured let's hop on the expressway and by Rio Nightclub.  We made our way inside and mingled for a bit.  We decided to head downtown.  We passed up Underground and noticed the line wasn't so long.  Then we found parking.  A sign!  Let's see if this is possible. 
Luckily we didn't wait long.  We walked in and had a blast.  Some of the girls in our group have never been to Underground and they loved it.  A table full of men invited us over.  They were at a wedding reception earlier.  We had a great time!  I was happy the birthday girl was enjoying herself.  She deserved the best for her birthday.  It was good times.
It seems so long ago that night.  I hope things look up soon.  I miss me.

Café Marbella in Niles

The birthday girl with her friends

She was happy we made it to her dinner. 

Checking out Rio Nightclub for a bit.

I'm glad I wore my ankle boots and not heels.  It turned out to be a long night!

At Underground Nightclub.  It seemed so long ago. 

Paris is Always a Good Idea!

The bridal shower tea party lasted all day Saturday, but on Sunday I was a nervous wreck.  I had a friend come over and calm me down.  My anxiety has gotten worse over the years when it comes to flying.  I just hate having to sit there for 8 hours.  My stomach wasn't handling food well.  I was running to the bathroom sometimes 4 times a day!  It was ridiculous how nervous I was.  Not to mention, how mad I was at myself for not being able get excited about my trip.  People were noticing something was wrong with me.  Everyone was happy for me except me.  It sucked.
I figured maybe I just have a severe case of motion sickness.  On my way to the airport on Monday I took 2 Dramamine a half hour before takeoff like it recommended.  Someone also suggested taking some sleeping pills so I could sleep on the flight.  I had a bottle of Melatonin with me as well.  I figured having a natural remedy for sleeping pills was safer than something prescribed.  Nothing worked.  I couldn't sleep at all on the flight.  It was so frustrating.  There were moments I was near tears.  I even ordered some wine to relax but it didn't help.  I had a one hour layover in Dublin before heading to Paris.  I felt dizzy there but still stayed awake.  I don't think I slept at all during my flight.  People on the Dublin flight were mostly Irish and they were jolly as ever.  All I heard were people talking excitedly about Ireland.  But on my flight to Paris the tone definitely changed.  No one spoke on that flight.  It made me wonder what I was getting myself into now... 
Once I landed I was so relieved.  I followed the crowd to baggage claim to look for my luggage.  That's when it hit me:  I WAS IN PARIS AND I CAN'T SPEAK FRENCH!!!  What the hell was I thinking??  I looked around nervously to find my way out of the airport.  I did all of my research before my trip took place.  I was going to take public transportation to my hotel.  According to my research, the train station was a few blocks away from where I will be staying at.  Sounds pretty easy, right?
Well, sort of.  I found the public transportation and took the train and got off my stop.  It was a pretty interesting ride I must say!  Paris has a lot of graffiti, so don't let that scare you.  Not much different than what they have in New York.  The crowd getting on and off the train were interesting too.  One thing I observed is that people do stand awfully close to one another.  There's no private space between strangers.  Something I need to watch out for since they are notorious for pick pocketing.  I don't think people were up to no good on my train though, and luckily I wasn't on that long.  Once I got off, that's where the fun began.  I could not find my hotel.  The streets in Paris are short, and don't run long like they do here in Chicago.  I was lost for over an hour.  It was so frustrating.  I asked a waiter at a restaurant and he motioned me to go a few more blocks down, but that's where I got stuck again.  I was so nervous asking for help since I heard so many stories on how the French are rude.  I was very tired, too.  I noticed a bakery on a side street which had croissants displayed.  Well here's something to knock off my bucket list!  I walked in and ordered one huge croissant.  Then I asked the owner for directions.  Even though he didn't speak a lick of English, he saved me that day!!  I showed him the address off my print outs and he held up 3 fingers and motioned me to walk over 3 more blocks.  And low and behold, there was my hotel!!  I was so happy!  Not to mention, that croissant was delish!!  I quickly checked in and passed out in my room.  It was a tiny room but I slept hard for 4 hours.  Not exactly what I had planned to do but I couldn't fight off my jet lag.  Now that I had wifi I messaged my friend in Italy that I was ok.  She was the closest person to me and I told her I would notify her on what I was planning on doing so she could track my whereabouts.  I was traveling alone and I had to be careful since I was a tourist.