The End of An Era

It's back to norm here in Chicago.  A brand new week along with a brand new election that will be officially over today!!  Yay!  With all of the Cubs hoopla taking over the city, it was a nice break from hearing the election propaganda.  I voted in the morning but I think I'll stay off of social media and television for the rest of the day.  Tomorrow I will know who the next president will be.
This election definitely stirred up emotions for me and everyone else I know.  It's brought out the worst in some people.  I get anxious just thinking about since I have friends who support both sides.  I wish we could find a peaceful solution on how to live amongst each other in this day and age.  I am a firm believer of this country's rights of free speech.  But why the hostility?
We're at a time where people are not afraid to express their opinions.  They either have "no filter" or "no chill" when it comes to letting everyone know how they feel about things.  At first it was refreshing to know that people could be admired for not beating around the bush.  If you say what you mean, there's no miscommunication.  Yet with issues being brought to light, and no suggestions to solve them, we then turned on each other.
Spreading love within our communities, our cities, our states, our country, and then so forth, will not only strengthen our love for one another, it will bring joy to everyone we encounter, including countries from beyond.  I still believe we can have world peace!
At this point in my life, my goal is to bring joy to the people that matter to me: my family and friends.  I pray that they in turn pay it forward, so in the end we can have a domino effect.  How cool would that be?  During the 2nd week in October, I met up with some friends for happy hour at Henry's and then Public House and Spin Chicago afterwards.  It was nice catching up with one another, plus I like hearing if my friends are doing ok.  With our busy schedules, I don't want anyone to feel lost in the shuffle.  Sometimes you get so busy earning a living, you forget to live your life.

Henry's on Hubbard have happy hour until 8pm!

 

Public House motto

That same week was a significant moment for me and my family.  My mom's last day of work!!  I couldn't believe this day had finally come!  My mom has been working in the hotel industry for over 40 years!!!  I'm amazed her body endured so much especially in the hospitality department.  She was pretty nervous in general about how she will live her life afterwards.  When she got to work that day, she felt as though no one would notice her gone.  Boy was she wrong!  They held their weekly meeting with all staff members and it turned out to be a surprise retirement party!  She had no idea!  They even gave her a pearl bracelet and flowers.  I think she felt so surreal, she didn't realize someone had recorded the whole experience on their phone.  She was crying the whole time.
I came down from work to meet up with her.  She had some stuff to clear out of her locker and a bag of all of her goodies.  I wanted to take her out to dinner and with some hesitation, she finally agreed.  We went to McCormick and Schmick's restaurant down the street from her hotel.  She was in the mood for their soup, but since I ate a heavy lunch at work, I ordered the tuna tartar along with two glasses of wine so we could celebrate.  It was nice having dinner with her and talking about this next stage of her life.  I know she's nervous about what she will do with herself, but I feel hearing her out first will give me the opportunity to know where her thought process is.  I want her to slow down for a bit so she could enjoy her life a bit more before the weather gets really cold here.  As for now, I am overwhelmed with emotions knowing that she reached this milestone in her life as a healthy, strong woman!

Our celebratory toast to this milestone!!  She did it!!

Luckily her soup came with this huge salad.  I want to make sure she had a full meal.  She deserved it!

She was completely surprised on her thoughtful gifts!  I'm glad they took their time to appreciate her dedication...

Monday Mayhem

My commute to work was troubled due to a suicide jumper on the Blue Line.  At first, without knowing all the details, it cast a negative impact with all the riders.  Everyone wants to go to work and not be troubled.  Then word of mouth came from a fellow commuter that a person got hit and all service lines were stopped because of it.  Off I ran across the street to make it on the metra train.  I made it to work 2 minutes late and didn't think much about it, but because of the domino effect it had on the city, other people I worked with were late as well.  That's when I heard that a person committed suicide and jumped in front of a train. 
The responses were surprising.  "They had to do this during rush hour?", and "Why couldn't they do this on the train after mine?".  In the end, someone chose to end their life publicly and it's heart breaking.  I feel for the person who thought this was the answer to end whatever they were going through. 
I can understand how tough things can get.  I had a bad week last week.  News about family members, co-worker's and friends were pretty depressing.  As I get older, I pray that everyone finds peace within themselves.  Life can get frustrating.  Sometimes people check out.
Which is what hurt me about what happened.  Suicides are becoming more frequent on the cta.  I pray that people find the spirit to move past their hurt and trust that this too shall pass.  I wish we could find ways to incorporate more self awareness with stress and other mental issues in our daily lives.  Faith is what pulls me through!  It's not always going to be sunshine and roses.  There will be times when things won't go your way.  Just trust that everything will work itself out.
Last week on Monday a friend of ours was making his way through town.  He had an exam he had to take, and afterwards, wanted to catch up with everyone.  We decided on Happy Hour at The Scout and had a good group going.  Once we finished up in there, we were itching to do something fun with everyone.  We made our way over to Marina Towers to go to Spin Chicago.  Last time we were there, we never got a chance to play ping pong.  This time we were determined.  I was surprised how much fun I had in there.  I'm absolutely terrible when it comes down to sports of any kind.  But I will say this, I DO try anything once! 

I'm a sucker for margaritas.  Happy hour at The Scout!

Time for some ping pong action!

Let's do this!

A tub full of ping pong balls in a tub!  Perfect for a selfie!

Luckily the rules aren't so complicated...

It's good to connect with old friends...

Let's play ping pong!!

Happy Hump Day!!!  Not much happening with me.  Since that nice Sunday I ran by the lake, the weather took a turn for the worse.  We dipped back into the 30s last week.  People are getting sick.  I did my best to stay low key.  I figured Spring is right around the corner anyways. 
My friend had her baby one week ago today!!  I ended up visiting the happy family both Thursday and Friday.  I'm so happy for them!!  He is truly adorable!  I learned so much for her experience.  Most of my friends are becoming 1st time moms.  Everyone of them have had a different experiences in the delivery room.  It's good to be informed on what happens behind closed doors because I'm pretty new to this.  I really haven't been around children; let alone babies. 
I did meet up with a friend later on that Friday evening.  She was with some friends at Beef and Brandy restaurant on State Street.  Believe it or not, I would pass by the place and thought nothing of it.  It was my first time there and it was pretty busy.  Mostly business corporate crowd, but that was fine by me.  I was dressed down for casual Friday, so I felt comfortable.  lol
It was my first time out in weeks since I gave up staying out late for Lent.  I was home by 10pm, right in time before the snow fell.  I stayed in the rest of the weekend and caught up on my reading.  I'm re-reading Make Money Not Excuses by Jean Chatzky.  I read it a few years ago and figured I could go back and learn some more tips since I'm trying my hardest to save this year.  I'm hoping I can develop good saving habits so I could move past my small term goals to my long term goals.  Bottom line:  I need to get to my end zone so I can prove to myself that I can handle my responsibilities.  Not finishing a goal is conditioning you to fail, and I don't want to do that to myself anymore.  It's not healthy for my mind. 
Since I've been staying low key, last night I ended up meeting my friends for some after work cocktails.  It was 69 degrees outside!!  Unbelievable!!  I love Chicago when it gets warm.  Everyone was out walking around.  I DID miss that feeling of not wearing heavy coats and layers.  It felt great! 
I walked over to Marina Towers at the Tortoise Club where my friends were indulging in $1 oysters.  Unfortunately, I'm not a fan of oysters, but that's a pretty good deal.  They were closing out the tab and wanted to checkout Spin Chicago next door. 
We walked inside and got the details.  Yes, it's Susan Sarandon's ping pong club.  She has 5 locations and from the looks of it, this might be the next hot spot for the upcoming months.  We made our way downstairs to the bar area and enjoyed the action.  Me and my friends couldn't help but get excited about planning a gathering there.  It looks like a lot of fun!!
Regardless, I made it home by 10:30pm.  Not bad on a school night.  lol.  For it being nice outside, I really didn't miss the scene that much.  I think trying to stay in more will make me appreciate the nightlife again when this is over for me.

I LOVE checking out new spots...

They have 30 min and one hour rates...



After work cocktails...