Casino Royale

Recapping my brother’s birthday celebration back in February!  We took him out to dinner at Las Tablas on Friday, but Saturday we made different plans.  My little brother invited us to celebrate another birthday party at Rivers Casino in Des Plaines.  It was for a friend of theirs.  We decided to claim it was my brother’s birthday bonanza since he also knew the birthday boy himself.  Nothing wrong with celebrating two birthdays at the same time! 

We made our way to Rosemont.  I’ve never been to the casino part, so I was curious to see how that was about.  I mostly head to the Fashion Outlets Mall if anything.  I was pleasantly surprised!  Not only do they have a Hugo’s Frog Bar in the casino, but they have a variety of restaurants as well.  We gathered around the main bar to get our orders in, when we noticed the dj setting up his equipment.  Next thing you know, he was spinning dance music while the crowd grew bigger and bigger.  People started dancing right there in the casino!  There is a dance club located at the venue, but it was nice to have some entertainment while people played at the tables.  I felt I was on a mini getaway!  Regardless, me and my brothers had a good time…

Her Smile

Recapping February as quickly as I can!  For once I would like my blog to be up to date.  One of the things that always gets me is not knowing what the upcoming year will bring.  Now that we’re in March, I’m finally getting comfortable with the plans I need to make.  So many changes have taken place in such a short amount of time.  I often feel I can’t keep up with my own life.  The bad part is there are things I do want to accomplish, but I get held up with other things.

For the past few years, my mother became the focal point of my life.  It took me by surprise how much I want her to be ok again.  Last week was the anniversary of her husband’s death.  It’s been 2 years since he’s been gone, but it feels much longer than that.  He was sick the last 5 years of his life.  This affected my mother deeply.  She switched jobs to take care of him, nursed him until he died, and then had to return back to the workplace to resume her responsibilities.  She tried therapy  briefly, and now she has fully retired.  I do not remember the last time I saw my mother happy.  All I see is the constant worry on her face, and it makes me feel helpless.

There have been moments when her face lights up and she braves a smile.  And it warms my heart.  For once I can feel she is ok to be living.  I worry that she will get depressed and want to “give up” on life.  I know she feels it’s been unfair to her.  I pray that she can look beyond the pain and see how wonderful things can still be, despite her husband being gone.

The 2^nd week in February we decided to take my brother out for his birthday.  Since his actual birthday fell on a Thursday we knew Friday would work well with everyone.  We reached out to my step brother and he agreed to meet up with us at dinner.  We chose Las Tablas at 6 corners because it’s been a family favorite for years, plus they have GREAT food!  My brother was surprised when we had the live band play Happy Birthday to him.  And along with my brother smiling from ear to ear, was my mom.  It’s no secret she treats my brothers differently than me, but she truly loves my big brother.  I haven’t seen her smile like that in years!  I felt overwhelmed with joy just to see my family smiling, laughing, happy, just for one night.  We needed this.

Love their food!!

Some people can't handle a puppy

The first weekend of February was pretty tame.  On Friday I met up with my friend after work at Ceres café at the Board of Trade.  That place is a popular spot in downtown, and during a heated discussion, I found it was impossible to talk in there.  Just a side note:  it’s not a café to have a conversation.  Lol.  Although I did enjoy my pre evening cocktail, it was very cold in Chicago that night.  I couldn’t wait to get home to my warm, comfy couch.

The following day my friends wanted to get together again for brunch.  I couldn’t wait to tell them what I encountered earlier in the week.  I had worked late and was almost home when I noticed a man across the street walking his little dog.  The dog was black and super fluffy, but I really couldn’t tell what kind of dog it was since it was nighttime.  I would have guessed the dog was a couple of months old.  It was definitely a puppy, and by the way he was walking with his owner, was still new to being walked and couldn’t help himself but jump up and down a lot.

Well the owner looked frustrated.  I had my headphones blasting and was minding my own business until I noticed the owner of the dog started to yank on his lease.  From my eyes, the owner started to wrapped the lease around the dog’s neck 3x and then got down and pinned the dog on the ground with his knee.  At that moment I felt he started to pull on the lease, hence choking the dog (?).  I freaked out and screamed out loud, “HEY!!!  WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING???”   I rushed over but still kept my distance from him by staying put across the street.  My adrenaline kicked in and I continued to yell out, “IS THAT YOUR DOG???  IS THAT YOUR DOG???”  The owner looked frustrated and sighed out loud and said, “Yes it is.”  He got off the puppy and I kept looking around but no one else was on the street.

Now I don’t have to tell you about our crime in Chicago right now.  It’s ridiculous.  There is a surge of violence taking place everyday.  I was in a awkward position.  I didn’t want to get close to the guy, since he was trying to choke his dog after all.  Not to mention I was nervous what he might do to me if I did approach him.  I couldn’t get a good look at the guy either since he, too, was wearing all black.  By the time I got to the end of my street I looked back to see where the man was going but he was gone.  It makes me think that he was indeed doing something wrong since he didn’t stick around .

I feel bad that I couldn’t do more to help the dog.  This man obviously has no patience in training his puppy.  I question the state of his mind, but not only that, people in general.  Since our crime rates have skyrocketed, people are losing it altogether and snapping.  I feel drained with the news media, our new presidency, what’s happening at work, and life in general.  I miss the old me.

Seeing my friends at brunch and talking about what happened felt like we went back in time for a bit.  I miss my friends very much.  But with their new families, our time together has suffered.  Even my new found mommy friends are having a hard time adjusting to motherhood.  They seemed a little frustrated, but I am convinced they are still trying to figure out how to balance everything. 

Later on that evening, one of my friends from brunch called me up to see if I wanted to paint the town red.  I laughed because it was still pretty cold, plus I figured I would stay in again.  She convinced me that it was going to be a girls night out and that her boyfriend was going to go out with his friends.  I don’t have a problem being the 3^rd wheel, but I think she wanted more girls for the "girls night out".  Lol.

I agreed and told her I would meet her up later on after my workout.  Once I met up for some pre-cocktails at her place, we were brainstorming on where we should go.  We threw some ideas around and settled for a club on Lake Street.  We took an uber there and waited in line to get inside.  It was freezing outside and the door guys had their hands full with a limo that pulled up in front.  They must have had 15 people crawl out of there!  Regardless, once they let that party in, we still had to wait in line since they were reaching capacity.  Once it was our turn, we didn't have the "text" to get in (since we didn't know that's how you get in for free) and decided to go somewhere else.  I convinced my friends to head to Bar Siena since we were in the neighborhood.  Plus we could warm up inside and figure out where to go to next. 

The good news was, the dj started to play some good music.  We joked around and took a ton of pictures, and the next thing you know, we were itching to go somewhere else.  We took a chance on Estate, and luckily, stayed there until the end of the night.  My friend thought we should live it up and order a bottle of champagne, (which we did), but next time I might opt out and get my drinks at the bar.  It's pricey getting bottle service!  lol

 

Marching into March

Sorry I have not been posting as much.  I did something rather crazy again and booked another flight to Europe.  I was messaging my friend in Italy how much I miss her so much and wanted to get away.  I figured this time it would be easier on my pockets if I traveled to see her in the Springtime.  The summer anywhere in the world is pretty pricey and I saw some good deals searching the web.  We decided mid March before she gets busy again with work.  I lucked out on a good deal for the flight, so let’s see how this pans out for the both of us.  I love the hot summers in Italy, but this would be different to experience Italy with spring weather.

The last weekend in January, me and my friends got together to catch up with one another.  We were still feeling Trump’s wrath, and it was nice to get our minds off other things going on in our lives.  My friends were curious about my Miami trip during New Year’s.  Yup, that’s how long we haven’t seen each other.  Too bad I didn’t give them enough juicy gossip, but it was indeed gossip in the end.  I like sharing my craziness with the girls.  I miss them a lot. 

We met up at Garcia’s in the northside.  It’s been one of our favorite restaurants to hang out in throughout the years.  We giggled over margaritas and then called it a night.

Once I got home, a friend of mine wanted to meet up downtown.  I haven’t spoken to him in a while and I wasn’t in the mood to end my Saturday night just yet.  I took an uber and headed down to Booze Box on Randolph.  The one good thing about talking to him is our love of fashion.  We talked about clothes for a bit.  I haven’t been out in weeks since everything happened at work.  It was nice to be out and people watch.

He took me to Arbella next in River North.  It was a pretty restaurant with a good crowd inside.  We had some drinks there before heading off to Estate.  There we danced up a storm and had a blast.  It was just what I needed to end January and look ahead.  Too many adjustments and not enough time to deal with the changes was beginning to affect me.

Much needed margarita with the girls...

 

Later on, admiring my friend's Yeezys...

Women's Day March

After resting on MLK it was back to work.  We are still trying to adjust to the new changes and have been busy ever since.  The news media were covering the transition of the Obama administration to the president-elect Trump nonstop.  It was getting overwhelming.  I did not watch the inauguration that Friday.  I wanted to ignore everything that was happening.  My friend asked me Thursday night if I wanted to go with her and her friends to the Women’s March downtown on Saturday.  I declined.  I really wanted to sleep in late.

But after seeing the riots break out on the news after the inauguration, I felt completely helpless.  People were frustrated and I knew there must be another way to voice our opinions.  I called up my friend and told her I would go with them.

My mom was upset with me.  For some reason, she was not aware of what the march was really about.  She felt I might get into some type of trouble.  The news were covering the riots and it made her nervous.  She even hung up on me.  I was hurt, mostly because she never gave me the chance to explain myself.  Like I said, we have not always had the best relationship and this brought back memories of our difficult times together.  I had to let it go.

The next day I met up with my friend at the Blue line stop at Logan.  There were floods of people jumping on the trains.  I was moved.  It was comforting to know that people were coming together peacefully to march for women’s rights.  We got off at Jackson and walked over with the rest of our group down to Grant Park.  I felt empowered to be around so many parents with their little girls displaying their banners and waving them freely.  I WISHED my mom was with me!  Whether these little girls knew it or not, they were learning to speak up when it came to injustice.  What a wonderful lesson to learn! 

I will never forget this day.  It was a first for me, but it was something I felt I had to do to.  Feeling helpless dragged me down here, but it left me feeling hopeful.  We will be heard, whether you like it or not.  Freedom of speech at its finest!

Longest Month of the Year

I'm so happy January is over.  Not only does it feel like the longest month of the year, but the lack of sunlight makes it more depressing.  Now that we're in February, it's giving me a chance to reflect on some things I never knew was going on.
The hoopla of the holidays sometimes gets the best of us.  I was feeling drained at one point attending too many things at the same time.  Once Miami came out of nowhere, I was certain things were going to look up this year.  I felt happy and confident of the year ahead of us.
Now it's a different story. 
The first full week in January I was still recovering from my weekend getaway.  I started work that Tuesday, but by the time I reached the weekend, I just wanted to relax.  I caught up with a friend over sushi and told him about my trip.  It was nice recapping my moments with someone.
That 1st Sunday I was ready to start my week off at church.  Another friend of mine wanted to hear the details of my trip and we met up afterwards for brunch.  We talked about the transitions both our moms are facing being a widow.  My mom lost her husband almost 2 years ago, and his mom lost her husband last year.  It was interesting discussing their challenges.
Then it was back to work.  I felt confident starting the new week fully rested since I kept it low key over the weekend.  I didn't really notice anything different at work.  But then something didn't feel right.  Right before I left that day, I had an uneasy feeling.
The following day, there were major layoffs at my firm.  I had to excuse myself to go to the restroom to cry in the stalls.  I saw people who were my friends get escorted out.  Some employees have worked together for over 20 years.  It was one of the hardest days I had to deal with in a very long time.

For the rest of the week I cried every morning.  I couldn't wait until Friday.  I was going to have dinner with my family to celebrate my step brother's birthday.  I just wanted to be with my family.

By request he wanted to have dinner at Cortland’s Garage in the Bucktown neighborhood.  I was skeptical because my mother wanted to go and I think there was some confusion at first.  My older brother was under the impression we were going to a restaurant, but I knew better.  I was worried that if it was indeed a pub, it might be too noisy for my mom.  She has been recently diagnosed with having tinnitus and has a hard time hearing in loud environments.  Although she is losing her hearing, there is a constant buzzing in her eyes which amplifies when there is loud noise involved and it makes my mother very uncomfortable until the point it becomes painful for her.  I prayed I was wrong but like I said, I knew better.

We walked into the pub and they were playing rock music on their speaker system.  She insisted she was fine but I feel she was just saying that so we could continue along with the party.  Next time I warned my brothers that we have to be more considerate.  

Our step brother was glad we showed up, and then his family came once we were seated.  We had a good group going and everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves.  Then my mother started to express her feelings over the holidays.  How hard this year felt as oppose to last year.  How much she misses her husband.  I never realized how depressed she had been feeling up to this point.  She mentioned how this was the first year she didn’t put up a Christmas tree because of how difficult it’s been without him.  I felt defeated.

I knew right then and there, that there was nothing I could do to make her feel better.  All she wants is for her husband to be here and that is impossible.  The times I tried to take her out of the house and do different things did not make those feelings go away.  I sat speechless.

In the end, we loved our burgers and our step brother seemed happy we were celebrating with him.  For that night, that is what mattered the most.  As for the rest of the weekend, I stayed low key again.  I was pretty worn out with everything that was happening at work and with my mom.  Martin Luther King weekend was a moment for me to try to unwind.  And then Trump took office… 

I'm In MIAMI b*tch! Part 2

My friend jumped out of bed after 10am.  I was still out of it, but she told me the 3rd guy was going to come pick us up at 12pm.  I was not aware what was going on and having a few hours of sleep was not helping.  He had a friend that was staying with him at his place and was going to drive her to South Beach.  We were going to tag along.  My girl also wanted to play some volleyball while we were out in Miami, so she got her ball ready.  Our friend was pretty tired and opted not to go to the beach with us.  Oh well.  We tired.  We threw on our bikinis and threw on our swim cover ups and off we went!
Our new friend, 3rd guy was right on time.  We met his friend that was staying at his place.  She had celebrated the new year at a private party and was showing us pictures.  It was held at a mansion and looked pretty spectacular.  Since we were getting acquainted with one another I had a good feeling about our group.  So far, Miami was treating us nicely. 
The beach was wonderful considering it was January 1st.  It hit me that we escaped from the cold in Chicago and this was pretty surreal.  The temperature hit 80 degrees but again, the sun wasn't hitting hard.  Another cloudy day but no overcast.  We drove around in circles looking for parking but after 20 minutes our new friend suggested we wait for him at Pura Vida juice bar.  By this time we were getting dizzy since we left without having breakfast and I needed coffee terribly.  This place was packed already, so waiting in line there took just as long.  By the time our new friend joined us, we got a chance to place our orders.  I ordered a PB Energy acai bowl and it was delish!  It came with raw organic Brazilian acai blended with bananas and peanut butter and topped with strawberries, granola, berries and almonds.  I felt good having something so filling yet healthy.  

We had our breakfast outside and enjoyed our time there.  By now it was getting close to 2pm and we still hadn't hit the beach.  We were drained from the night before and couldn't wait to lay out on the sand.  We walked over and found a good spot, but our new friend wanted to knock out for a bit.  My friend got the itch to find a volleyball court, so we parted ways and I followed her.  We found the courts by the infamous Ocean Drive, right by where the hotel strips are at.  We found an empty net and my friend went up to a girl sitting on the beach watching the others play.  She asked if she wanted to play with her and she jumped at the chance.  It turns out she wanted to play too, but had no one to play with.  

Now with their new team they found 2 other to play against.  I laid out and watched their stuff for about an hour when I started to get fussy.  I wanted to walk around.  The last time I was in  Miami was almost 10 years ago and I wanted to see what changed.  I told my friends I would be back and I took my time looking around.  Miami definitely has a certain look to it, but now that I'm older, I had to pass up on some of the styles.  I miss being young.

South Beach has a lot of traffic too.  There are people cruising up and down Collins Avenue.  I made my way back to my friends where they were finishing up their last game.  This time, 3rd guy had met up with them, but his friend was missing in action.  She had gotten up to walk around herself.  Now it was a matter of trying to find her. 
We got back to his car, but apparently her phone had died at some point.  Now WE were cruising up and down Washington avenue, but I loved being on the strip.  Since it was now getting close to rush hour, more people were flooding the streets and the traffic was getting heavier.  We found her by Lincoln Avenue and we hopped back on the expy to head back to East Miami.  The traffic was awful.  It took us over 30 minutes to get back, and my friend knocked out on the drive there.  She had played for 2 hours straight, but since she never fully rested, couldn't help herself but fall asleep to the bumper to bumper traffic. 
We got back to East Miami and knew we had to eat something before we headed out.  There was a party going on at the The Deck starting at 8pm and we were already running behind.  We stopped by a plaza and had some grub before we got back and showered up.  Our friend was awake and we asked him if he was going to come with us.  Earlier he mentioned wanting to sleep because he wasn't feeling well from the night before.  He was interested in The Deck and got ready quickly.  We weren't ready yet and he told us to meet him at the Blue Martini down the street.  He was in the mood to get a head start. 
We walked over to the Blue Martini and knew right away we were going to have another confrontation with our friend.  He was just getting too comfortable at the bar again.  It took us a while to have him close out his tab, but we made some new friends at the process.  Now that our group got a little bigger, we were excited about starting our evening.  We took a uber and finally got to the The Deck after 10:30pm.  Later than expected, but thankfully we made it.  The place was awesome!  Everyone was feeling the live music along with a dj on stage.  People were dancing everywhere.  We found our friends from earlier, and then our new volleyball friends made it in as well.  I loved how everyone was coming together to have a fun night.  We even ran into Tyson Beckford mingling in the crowd.  It was such a Miami moment.  lol.

Around midnight the crowd started to dwindle down.  We decided to check out the Wall at the W hotel and hopped on ubers to get there.  We got there when it was going on and ended up staying the rest of the night.  I had a blast dancing the night away.  I loved our group.  Good times for sure.

Heading back we realized we still had to purchase our flights back home.  Because of our crazy night, we woke around 12pm and for the next 2 hours were searching frantically for flights.  It was such a frustrating experience but we found one leaving at 3pm and left for the airport shortly.  I felt bad not being able to say bye to everyone but I did manage to send out a text.  I wish we could have stayed longer but then, again, what if we never leave??  lol