Hurricane Maria

Hello everyone.  I come to you with a sad heart once again.  I will explain later.  I’ve been pretty emotional all weekend.  Even discussing it now hurts.  In the meantime, I will catch up to where I left off from my trip.  I can’t believe so much has happened since then.  It makes me anxious to know what the future might hold for me; let alone my friends and family.  Let’s recap.

I left England on September the 18^th to come back home to Chicago.  I made it in work that Tuesday the 19^th.  It was nice to be back ,but there were disturbing news coming from Mexico.  An earthquake hit, and it was a big one.  Here in Chicago we have a huge Mexican community, so needless to say, a lot of my friends were worried about loved ones back home.  But that’s not all.  My friend reached out to me to warn me about Hurricane Maria.  Yes, another hurricane was coming straight for Puerto Rico, and unlike Hurricane Irma, this one was going to make contact on Wednesday.  At first I thought she was joking.  I felt bad because she was very anxious about Irma and Puerto Rico got lucky with that one.  This time it was a different story.

That Wednesday at work, we were hosting our annual Hispanic Heritage breakfast.  Our committee got together early in the morning and started to decorate the atrium.  Looking back, I remember my co-workers hugging and consoling one another about the events that took place.  Friends were asking each other about families in Mexico and Puerto Rico.  Once we were ready, people from the firm came down to have different variations of coffee from different Latin American countries as well as sweet treats such as panes dulces and churros.  It dawned on me how much we love this place and how much it meant for us to put this together so people could enjoy their morning.  It also got me wondering if people noticed too, how much we love being here, especially with what’s going on in politics.  Do people here value us as much as we value them?  Then Maria happened.

I’m very saddened by the slow response that Puerto Rico has received.  Not to mention, I’ve sent two care packages to my friend’s dad and he has yet to have them delivered.  I’ve tried using sites such as Amazon, and Walgreens to deliver goods out there but to my surprise, have had trouble using his address in Puerto Rico.  It took over a week for post offices to be opened, not to mention having flights go in and out since the airport’s tower was severely damaged.  I had a co-worker fly out to search for her mother that weekend, only to have her flight get delayed for days in Florida.  I luckily had the chance to get some supplies for her before she left.  When she did come back a week later, she had horror stories of desperation.  What she saw out there changed her.  It will never be the Puerto Rico she had remembered.  

I kept in touch with my friend daily on the whereabouts of her dad.  Other co-workers did not hear from loved ones either for days.  It was an agonizing ordeal seeing my friends try to get some form of communication.  Luckily in the end, my friend’s dad reached out to her, but that was after 2 weeks of nothing.  Everyone around me was hurting.

I got a chance to hang out with my friends over that weekend I had been back from vacation.  One of them was flying out to Tokyo for her birthday and we all came over to help her pack.  It was nice being able to be around friends and vent out our frustrations.  On Monday I went to The Violet Hour to catch up with a friend over drinks.  He wanted to hear about my trip.  I also had to apologize over an incident that had happened that Wednesday when Maria hit.  He understood that he caught me at a bad time.  It was nice making amends.  Sometimes, you need to…

Cocktails at The Violet Hour is always a good idea.

North Coast Festival

I’m recapping September events!  I’m glad I’m getting to Labor Day Weekend.  I saw the single-day pass off of Groupon.  My older brother got one as well since he wanted to see Gucci Mane.

I was looking forward to Eric Prydz and Deadmau5 performing together on stage.  I absolutely love dance music along with EDM and these two are on the top of their game.  I got there early to checkout the scene before my brother arrived.  Part of the fun is seeing all of the action around you.  I love silly costumes and good vibes!  Everyone is having a good time.  I couldn’t think of a better way to kickoff my weekend.  

Now an update in the Hurricane Maria rescue mission.  It seems that airlines are booking flights on-line only to cancel them or delay flights altogether.  Over the weekend, we’ve gotten word about loved ones through a 3^rdparty since communication is still down.  No running water or electricity throughout the island.  People are donating goods in New York as well as Chicago and Florida.  It’s a rush against time to get these items to those in need.

Takashi Murakami: The Octopus Eats Its Own Leg

I’m back!!!  Actually I’ve been back for a week now.  Landed last week on Monday from London.  My trip was AMAZING and as usual, I had my highs and lows.  I also learned so much from this experience.  As you are aware, this was my 2^nd trip back to Paris as well, and it did not disappoint.  

Once I returned, I had to catch up with work and then Hurricane Maria happened.  At first I thought it was a joke because when I left, the news was all about Hurricane Irma.  I have friends who were very nervous because they have family in Puerto Rico.  It was a tense week.  I cried so much that evening when I got home from work.  The eye of the hurricane showed up Wednesday morning.  At that point, all me and my friends could do was pray for our loved ones.  We watched it all unfold on national tv.  I never felt so helpless.

By now some of us have gotten word that our friends and family are ok.  But there are some that haven’t heard any news at all.  There is no running water or electricity throughout the island.  We are praying that people get the help they need soon.  It’s frustrating not having any communication.  

On the last week of August, me and my friend decided to go to the Takashi Murakami exhibit at the MCA during lunch.  The museum is free on Tuesdays and since I knew my trip was coming up, we figured this was our chance to see it.  It officially ended yesterday, but I highly recommend this exhibit if it shows up in your city.  His work from the 90s until now shows his many talents and how anime art can be provocative as well as being socially conscious.  His audience loves his designs and with collaborations with Kanye West and Louis Vuitton, he shows how music and fashion are intertwined in the art world. 

Eclipse Fever

I can't believe so much has happened since that infamous solar eclipse!  Hurricane Irma is finally moving its way out of Florida, but look at all of the destruction both Harvey and Irma did!  Hurricane Jose is now in the Caribbean but it shows how we can't take a break from unsettling news.  I feel for the people who have nowhere to go.
Back in August our firm held an Eclipse party.  We had sun chips, starbursts candy, and eclipse chewing gum.  We really wanted moon pies but they were sold out everywhere.
It was a pretty surreal moment that we had a chance to encounter together but now I just want the natural disasters to stop.  I will be praying for everyone affected with the west coast fires and flooding.  Until next time!