Thanksgiving Weekend 2018

Well it’s almost the end of the year but I made it to Thanksgiving weekend posts!  Lol.  This is where things got more awkward between me and my mom.  She ended up having flood issues in her garden apartment.  On Thanksgiving Day, go figure.  I felt bad.  She didn’t have the chance to cook the dish she wanted to bring over to my aunt’s.  In the end she made a cold pasta dish.  It was good.  She seemed very anxious as well, but was trying to keep her business low key during dinner.  For the most part me and my family were having a lovely evening, but my mom wanted to go home early.  Me and my brother dropped her off. 

The next day, the landlord was trying to see what was wrong.  Unfortunately, he ended up making things worse.  The pipe burst and they had to shut the water off.  It was very frustrating for my mom.  She would shower in her neighbor’s bathroom across the street.  The landlord informed her due to the holiday weekend, the plumber would stop by on Sunday.  We had plans with my dad for dinner on Small Business Saturday, but my younger brother decided to cancel on them.  Another dispute that I couldn’t win.  In the end, he called me up and told me if I wanted to have dinner with my mom instead.  They both came over to my place and I ordered Thai food for all of us.  It wasn’t planned, but I think my mom enjoyed being out of the house away from her drama.  In the end, she stayed with my aunt and uncle who also have a dog.  My mom’s dog and their dog had a blast.  I felt good knowing my mom was safe with them. 

On Thanksgiving Sunday, my younger brother texted me when I was finishing up at the gym.  He wanted to know if I was up for having dinner with my dad.  I was upset because it would have been better for me to do this the night before, but I couldn’t say no.  I haven’t seen my dad in months.  He picked me up and off we went.

My older brother was working and was going to show up later.  Unfortunately, there was a snow storm coming in, and we had to leave right after dinner.  I’m glad I had the chance to catch up with my dad.  It was a weird holiday for all of us but we did manage to spend time with one another.

    

Beats on the beach!

One of the most surprising things about this summer is the yo-yo weather we’ve been having.  There would be 4 consecutive days of monsoon showers, followed by temperatures in the 60s!  Very fall-like and not warm at all.  Then out of nowhere it would creep up to the 90s with the humidity nearing 100 degrees!  My mom, along with my friends developed bad colds so far.  I have been battling migraines as well.  We’re thinking it’s because of the drop (or rise) in pressure.  It would get too extreme and it affects  people differently.  

The week of my birthday it was in the high 70s.  Considering the weekend before we were sweating like crazy for Pride Fest and Taste of Randolph now the temperatures consisted of wearing a light sweater to work.  I had bought tickets to see Guy Gerber dj at Castaways on North Ave Beach for Friday after work.  It had stormed earlier but luckily they were passing showers.  My brother was going to come with me but expressed his concern about the rain.  By the time he got off in the evening, we decided it was safe enough to go to the beach.  

I wore a sweater (lol) along with my thin bomber jacket to layer up.  Even though it wasn’t THAT COLD, I knew how the winds would be at the beach, especially since this event was happening around sunset.  My brother braved the cold wearing a sweater himself but opted to leave a jacket behind.  I think he knew he had made a mistake once we got there.  People were wearing leather jackets and boots.  It looked like a day out of October, not June.  We took some Jamo shots to warm up and eventually Guy Gerber came on and performed.  I’ve been wanting to see him for years but never made it out to his residency in Ibiza.  I’m sure he missed that warm weather himself! 

This, to me, was my birthday present to myself.  I got excited to see he was coming to Chicago and bought my tickets right away.  I’m glad my brother came with me and luckily he enjoyed the show.  That was some good house music!  I always love a good set…

This year’s Valentine-Gift-to-Myself

As I mentioned earlier, I am going back to Europe soon.  This trip in particular came out of nowhere.  I have a chance to see my friend for a few days, and I have a voucher I need to use by the end of the year.  I saw a good flight and booked it.

But on Valentine’s Day, I booked another trip to Italy to see my friend again.  This trip is more exciting because others will join us in Rome.  It will be our little group of former Chicagoans (since everyone moved out of the city except me).  For the past few trips I did some solo traveling, but this time I will be in the company of good friends.  I’m very excited!!  I can’t wait to see everyone!

Since I’ve started this tradition for myself, I have learned that being selfish is not always a bad thing.  I am pretty modest for the most part, but because I choose not to fuss over myself, I forget that I DO need to take care of me from time to time.  Pure joy is what makes us feel alive, and sometimes we get caught up with our responsibilities that we neglect ourselves.  It’s important to wake up and connect with what makes us happy, or else all we would be doing is working and paying bills.    

Van Gogh's Bedrooms!

What a crazy weather week it's been!  On Valentine's Day Sunday it was snowing, and today the temperature reached up to 60 degrees!  You can't make this stuff up.  I truly believe if you live in Chicago, you can live anywhere else in the world.  We go through extreme conditions constantly. 
Last Sunday I decided to treat myself to a trip to the Art Institute.  For the 1st time ever Van Gogh's bedroom series was being showcased in the U.S!  I desperately tried to get the After Dark tickets for this exhibit, but they sold out in no time.  I figured this would be my Valentine's gift-to-myself this year, and off I went to the museum.
Valentine Sunday was the official 1st day of this reveal.  I was surprised to find the line down the street and luckily had purchased tickets online a week prior.  Since I haven't been to the Art Institute in over 15 years, I took my time to get familiar with the museum again.  I forget how beautiful it is inside.  Eventually I made my way over to the exhibit, only to find another line with a set time of 90 minutes.  YIKES!  Luckily I did not waste that much time earlier and took my place and waited. 
Leading up to that Sunday, I did brush up on my Van Gogh knowledge with an art book I had at home.  I wanted to come prepared.  It was amazing finally seeing his work right in front of my eyes!  I enjoyed the time line display leading up to the Bedroom paintings.  As troubled as he was, he did produce beautiful pieces of work.  Sometimes there's no other way to express your haunting thoughts except through canvas. 

Sunday in the Park

All of my pictures were taken from my new i phone 6s...

Considering I came right after church that morning, I loved seeing biblical art...

Here Jupitor is getting scolded by Venus while Cupid holds her back...

Monet's Water Lily Pond...

Missing Paris...

Check out that line!  Over a 90 minute wait to see Van Gogh's Bedrooms...

Van Gogh used a perspective frame which allows artists to compare the proportions of close objects to those that are far away as a means to translate three dimensional perspective onto a canvas...

Van Gogh's "A Poet's Garden"

Van Gogh's "View of the Asylum with a Pine Tree"

Gauguin's Chair- chair series

Van Gogh's chair series

Van Gogh's "Madame Roulin Rocking the Cradle"

Theo is his beloved brother who was his benefactor until his death.  Van Gogh constantly wrote to him...

1st bedroom...

2nd version

3rd version

Van Gogh's "Hospital at Saint Remy"

Had to see "Nighthawk"; a Chicago classic!

Selfie time!  I truly enjoyed Van Gogh's Bedrooms!  Need to see the Van Gogh museum in Amsterdam!