Back at the Exploritorium!

I FINALLY made it to recapping July’s events!  Lol.  I am so behind it’s not even funny.  The countdown is on for my big trip.  I want to be able to unload my memory bank to make room for some new ones.  Lol.

My friend decided to host her son’s birthday party again at Skokie’s Exploritorium.  She has expressed that it made things easier if a venue hosts a birthday party than to do a big production at her house.  Since she is also pregnant with her 2^nd child, I can understand how this would be an easier choice for her and her family.  And let’s face it; kids love the place!  There is an open area for games and activities, followed by a reception room that is allowed for catering.  It was nice catching up with all of the kids and their mommies.  Again, this was a very hot day in Chicago.  I wore a shift dress for the party, but I definitely need some sleeveless dresses for summer.  Lol

Families Belong Together

Bonjour tout le monde!  I’m still working out the details on my upcoming trip.  I can’t believe I fly out next week!  And just like clockwork, my nerves have been getting the best of me.  I’ve been having vivid dreams as well.  Nothing bad, thank god.  But it shows you how much stress I’m bringing on myself with my non-stop anxiety.  Unfortunately, I have come to realize that this will always be the process with me whenever I travel.  I thought by now it would get easier, but it hasn’t.  The only positive thing I can say is that my nerves have started to bother me as the dates get closer to fly out.

Back to recapping my summer!  My friend asked me if I would be interested in the Families Belong Together March back in June.  I was very bothered with what was going on and felt the only way to let out my frustration was to be surrounded by like-minded individuals who were just as upset as I was.  By this time, not much was happening since there was denial coming from our president, so people took it out to the streets by protesting varies cities.  Me and my friends drove downtown and met at a building nearby so we could have a good group going.  It was a very hot day, and we all wore white to show our solidarity for immigrants. 

I have to say some people got very creative with their posters!  It was nice to voice my freedom of speech and march along with my friends.  Afterwards, we grew very hungry and headed to Big Star for some tacos.  Lol.  I headed home because I was exhausted, but later met up with some friends in Wrigelyville.  That’s what happens in a summer day in Chicago.  You can end up all over the place…

World Cup Fever

My friend who moved to Michigan was in town leading up to July 4^th weekend.  Because of the way it fell this year, she got a chance to extend her weekend leading up to the holiday.  I know she misses her friends and family a lot.  Regardless, she was craving her favorite restaurants while she was in town, especially Tango Sur.  This restaurant has been around for years and is located in the Southport neighborhood.  Since it’s B.Y.O.B, we decided to have some cocktails while we waited for everyone to show up.  We decided on The Music Box.  It was nice visiting classic spots of Chicago.  Once the rest of our friends arrived, we headed over to Tango Sur and opened a bottle of wine to indulge in.  I settled for some light bites while the rest ordered steaks.  It’s been a joke within our friends for years how I don’t have a huge appetite, but I’m not a thick steak eater.  I grew up with skirt steaks and usually crave those if I’m in the mood for red meat.  Afterwards we went to a neighboring bar to catch up some more before we called it a night.  

I didn’t realize how hooked I got following the World Cup this year.  Right around this time, my friends were very excited because Mexico beat Germany.  The next game for Mexico was the following Monday and some of my friends were calling off work to catch it live.  I was also communicating with my friends in Paris since France was doing so well.  Who knew back then how this was going to pan out?  Everyone was so hopeful for their teams…   

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…

My Birthday

I’m still re-capping and now I reached my birthday.  This year my birthday fell on a Tuesday; just like today.

This year I felt really old.  Not the way I use to feel old, (not being able to wear certain clothing, hating my crow’s feet, thinning of my hair, etc.).  Something else was happening.  I kept thinking about my past such as:

things I wished I had accomplished

remembering people that have passed

my ex-boyfriend 

jobs I used to loathe

trips I have taken over the years

It was as if I was lying on my death bed recapping my life’s moments one by one.  Of course certain memories stood out, but it I just couldn’t stop thinking about them.  I never before have done this for such an extended period of time.  It was lasting a few weeks and for the most part, I was the person who always was anxious about what was to come.  This time, I was looking back and it was triggering my depression.

The night before my birthday I got my Facebook notifications from my friends aboard wishing me happy birthday.  I have to admit, this was nice considering they were waking up at the other side of the world and I was falling asleep.  I felt good knowing I shared wonderful travel moments with them.  I ended up working my birthday, too.  Normally I would have taken off but I didn’t want to be at home that day, let alone plan something special for myself.  I needed to turn off my mind and work, and that’s what I did.  In the evening, my friends called me up to talk and check up on me.  I again, enjoyed that a lot.  I was also honest with them.  I told them this year it was hard to celebrate.  If anything I want them to know that turning older isn’t always a fun celebration.  Sometimes you want to tune out. 

One of our friends was in town that Thursday and we made plans to catch up with the girls over dinner.  Of course, my friends surprised me with a birthday flan.  Lol.  In the end I did make a wish.  But it was nice not celebrating me this year…

Taste of Randolph Fest 2018

Well it’s official.  I booked my next trip.  Unfortunately it won’t be a new destination.  I’ll reveal it in later posts.  For now, I have to catch up on the blog!

Following Pride Fest Saturday, it was another hot day in Chicago.  My friends wanted to meet up for Taste of Randolph Fest that Sunday but we opted to go later in the afternoon.  I waited patiently at a nearby restaurant and ordered a margarita until everyone showed up.  I figured it would be more comfortable waiting in there than to wait outside in the scorching sun.  The humidity was unreal!

Once we gathered up all of the troops we headed to the fest.  It was fun catching up with everyone.  It was too hot to eat at the fest, so we mostly drank sangria and micheladas and had some light bites.  A friend of ours was celebrating his birthday at Bottled Blonde and we ended our night in there.  My birthday was right around the corner during that time, and Bottled Blonde made me feel worse about it.  Lol.  That place was too young for me, but at least I did learn that some places are not for me anymore.  Lesson learned…

Pride Fest Saturday

I didn’t realize I was pretty backed up on my blog.  I haven’t even gotten to my birthday yet!  Lol.  Well let’s get back on track so I can catch up.  My memory isn’t so great anymore.

Following up my Thirsty Thursday happy hour session at Masada, I had no plans whatsoever so I decided to give myself an at-home pedi.  My girlfriend from Providence called me up and we were chatting away when my other line kept ringing.  I saw that my other friend was calling but decided to text her instead to see what was up.  No response.  I continued my conversation with my Providence friend when again, my other friend was calling.  At this point I was worried something was wrong since she never responded to my text, so I told my friend to hold on while I switched over. 

-Are you home??

-Yes!  What’s wrong??

-Oh nothing.  Get ready!  We’re coming to pick you up.  We’ll be there in 15 minutes!

WHAT THE??  I switched over to my other friend from Providence and told her what was going on.  She got excited for me!  According to my horoscope, she said I was going to have a great weekend.  Oh my goodness.  I really wanted to stay in, but I had no choice.  My friends were downstairs in no time flat.  Off we went.

We had a little trouble trying to find where all the action was.  It was the weekend of Taste Of Randolph, but we knew we didn’t want to go around that area.  We first hopped around a bit and finally settled on Underground.  Luckily we got in right away and even found a table.  We danced so much that nice that my feet were killing me the next day.

Even though this was an unexpected thing we pulled together at the last minute, we definitely made some memories that night!

After my long night out the night before, I took some time to rest up at home.  I made plans with my friend to meet him in Lakeview so we could walk together to the Pride Fest.  This is something new that started in Chicago about 2 years ago.  They decided to make Pride month a little longer by having two events.  The first is a neighborhood festival which occurs the weekend before the parade.  The parade has always brought a large crowd regardless, and with the new addition of the fest, it helps accommodate everyone trying to join in on the fun.  Me and my friend had a blast!  I knew offhand that I wasn’t going to come to the parade so this fest was perfect.  We went out afterwards to the neighborhood clubs and called it a night.  I loved that weekend…