Dirty South Saturday...

Earlier last week I saw that one of my favorite djs was going to be at The Mid.  I bought a ticket right away.  I haven't been out to hear some good dance music in months.  Lollapalooza is coming up, but I wanted to hear some familiar sounds.  I was surprised one of my friends called me up to see what I was doing.  She agreed to come with me (which was nice).  A lot of my friends have settled down with boyfriends/ husbands or  kids/families.  I am the last one of the bunch, but to clarify, I was the one who had the longest relationship out of all of them.  My ex boyfriend had two beautiful girls from a previous marriage, and for a while, we were all a happy family.  But things changed...


I was relieved to see what Jennifer Aniston wrote in the Huffington Post.  I DO feel bad for her because she has had a lot of press about her relationships in the past.  I cannot imagine being the most recognizable woman in the world and everyone knowing all of the details of your marriage/ divorce/ health/ family affairs, etc.  I know I do sometimes post personal stuff about my life, but for the most part, I'm pretty vague about what goes on behind closed doors.  The reason I started this blog was because I wanted to share my story on starting over and Life in general.  You get to a certain point when you realize it's not what you thought it would be, and that can play tricks with your head.  I appreciate her sharing her story on being fed up about the constant scrutiny and I feel that happens in my life as well.  For the record, Life has unexpected twists and turns.  I am coming to terms with my recent birthday passing that I may not end up like the rest of my friends, but that's ok.  I am constantly reminded by my faith to trust my journey.  For the most part, I can see the looks I get from peers, family members, and even strangers that I'm not freaking out about not being married with kids.  I have my good days and bad days on the issue, but I know first hand from experience how much work is involved trying to co-habit in a living situation, especially when children are involved.  It's not for everyone.  That is the reason why I believe the divorce rate is high.  People check out.


In the meantime, I know what works for me now in my life.  Sometimes it's going to an art show at the Art Institute, or checking out one of my favorite singers at a concert.  Or traveling to an unknown city and discovering it's beauty.  Last Saturday, it was dancing in a club to a good looking dj!  We had a good time catching up at the Dawson and then later on at the Mid.  We were having such a good time, guys wouldn't leave us alone!  It's nice to know I still got it....

Cocktails at The Dawson

I had the Willis Tower cocktail 

Bathroom selfie at The Mid...

 As close as I can get to Dirty South

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...