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…

Like a Ninja!

I’m still recapping my birthday weekend shenanigans.  I didn’t realize I did so much.  Here goes:

Saturday I did my usual routine.  Caught up on some reading; cleaned up the apartment; and did Leg Day at the gym.  My friend invited me to join him at the Taste of Randolph Fest around 5pm which was perfect timing.  I know I need to schedule my chores during the week and not let everything slide on the weekends.  I absolutely HATE leaving my apartment a hot mess.

The weather was acting up again.  Out of nowhere a storm passed through.  I patiently waited before I headed out.  Lately our storms have lasted no more than 30 minutes, but they come in STRONG.

I made my way down there but made sure I had my umbrella with me just in case.  The weather forecast mentioned showers later on but I was secretly hopping it turned out false.  By this time the sun came out and it felt wonderful!  I met my friend and we grabbed a bite to eat and had a cocktail in between.  He was looking for a friend who was going to meet him there at the fest.  They wanted to check out a band that was going to perform around 7pm.

I had mentioned to my friend earlier that I really wanted to see Taylor Dayne at Pride Fest.  I’m an 80s kid and LOVE 80s music.  She was definitely one of my favorite artists.  She was scheduled to perform at 8:30pm so I calculated my time to stay no longer than 7:30pm at the Randolph Fest.  I figured I would give myself an hour to go across town.

Luckily we found his friend and I made my quick getaway.  I really wanted to see her and didn’t want to miss this opportunity!

The night before my brother told me he had plans with his girlfriend to go the Randolph Fest but while I was getting ready, he called me up and told me they were going to be at the Pride Fest instead.  Apparently his girlfriend is a fan as well!

I texted him to let him know I was on my way over there to meet him.  I couldn’t believe I got there in time.  I was worried I wasn’t going to find them at that crowd, but they walked up to me right before she got on!

Next thing you know, we started to feel rain drops.  NOOOOOOO!  It started to rain, but I was praying it wouldn’t be heavy.  She came out and started singing.  The crowd was going crazy for her!

It DID start to pour, but she never stopped.  What a trooper!!  She kept engaging with the audience and dancing around.  I felt like a kid again.  She still has that AMAZING voice!  I was impressed.

She got drenched up there but never stopped performing.  I am forever grateful I got a chance to see my childhood idol!!  It was soooooooooooooo worth it!!