Working in downtown Chicago has plenty of perks

One of the top one being the ability to eat lunch at Millennium Park.


My office is about 2 blocks west of Millennium Park, so it's a quick walk to and from for lunch. Typically, I find the same shaded spot, over near the huge block fountains at Monroe and Michigan. I grab a seat, eat my lunch & then read or just people watch. It's really neat to watch how excited the kids get while playing in the fountain (picture removed)





Today I decided to head to the Pritzker Pavilion (also pictured below). As I was walking into Millennium Park I noticed there was symphony practice going on at the Pritzker, so I decided to head over there to listen. I ended up sitting right near where people coming from the north turned to see the Bean/Cloudgate. It's sort of cool to hear the reactions of people as they make the turn. Anything from, "What the heck is that?" to "Here it is Mom! I knew we were close!" was uttered from the mouths of the assumed tourists. Normally, I'd get annoyed with tourists, but for some reason, today I didn't mind. It probably has to do with the reaffirmation that I live in a pretty cool city, enhanced by the fact that it's a beautiful day.





This was sort of a boring update.

I rode my bike for the first time in about a year yesterday

Ouch.

Also, I forgot I shouldn't ride at night without a light. I realized this once I had already biked over to Jen's for 90210 night. Oops.

These are the only updates you people will get, seeing that no comments were even made about the update that took me all morning to comprise.

My last update was June 2nd?

First, I'm awful at keeping this thing up-to-date, and for that I apologize.

Second, where the heck has the summer gone?! I'll see if I can recap the summer, thus far.

Near the middle of May, my old roommate Sean came to Chicago for a visit. It was good to have him back. I took Friday afternoon off to head to the bleachers at Wrigley, I always enjoy starting a weekend off early by going to a Cubs game. I've also been to my fair share of Cubs games this season - I believe my record at Wrigley (yes, I have a say in the outcome of the games) is 10-2 so far. Come to think of it, the Friday afternoon game I went to with Sean was one of the losses.

Memorial Day weekend, Matt and I headed up to Minocqua/Lake Tomahawk to join Matt's parents and grandpa at their place up there. It was the first time really spending time with his grandpa, so it was a bit intimidating (mostly because this guy has a vet med degree, PhD, and one other post-graduate degree that's slipped my mind at the moment). He also wasn't aware that Matt and I live together, so we had to feign staying in different rooms. Luckily, he was staying in the basement, and Matt and I were upstairs so it wasn't too bad. I ended up having a really great time up there. I've usually been a bit uncomfortable being myself around his family (well, the parents/aunts/uncles/grandparents, at least), but I found myself completely comfortable, even while playing Trivial Pursuit with a bunch of smarty-pants. Turns out grandpa said some nice things about me to Matt's parents. That made me feel good.

June flew by in the blink of an eye. The end of June brought the wedding of Claudia and Keith. Claudia is also another former roommate in Chicago. The wedding took us to Sterling, IL the weekend of the first Cubs/Sox series. The day of the wedding was when the Cubs ended up winning 11-7. Jen and I paid the DJ $5 to play Go Cubs Go at the reception. (Did I mention that Keith, and many of his groomsmen, are Sox fans?) At least it's good to know that a cross-town rivalry relationship worked out! :)

The end of June brought about the Pride Parade in Chicago. Jen's friends Tyler and Judd host a pre-parade brunch every year in their awesome place on Lake Shore Drive. The parade this year was a ton of fun. I do sometimes forget how great it is that we have such an open and large GLBT community in Chicago. It's a pretty cool parade to attend, IMO.

Mid-July, Matt and I headed back up north to the lake house. His family spends roughly 10-14 days up there every summer, during usually the same time each year. This time, we were joined by cousins, aunts & uncles, babies, grandpa, parents, etc. It was fun to experience the weekend there with Matt, where he got to show me the old cabins they stayed at prior to the purchase of their current place on Lake Hasbrook. I really love it up there, and am glad we've been able to spend time up there this summer.

The summer has also been filled with a Chicago staple - outdoor festivals. In July, we went to the Folk and Roots Outdoor Music Festival, presented by the Old Town School of Folk Music, up in Lincoln Square. Matt, Jen and I enjoyed listening to ensemble bands cover the Kinks, the Beattles & Wilco. Sitting in the lawn, drinking a cold beer or soda, snacking on bread/oil & parmesan made for a wonderful afternoon. Recently, a larger group of us headed to Retro on Roscoe, held in Roscoe Village. This fest is a group of cover bands who play older songs, usually from the 80s or 90s. We started out at The Addison Inn/Packaged Goods/Roscoe Village tap for the Cubs/Pirates game, and then slowly made our way down Leavitt to the festival. Beautiful day, great friends, fun music made for an exceptional afternoon. Even though I've just mentioned two of the festivals, they are what make summers in Chicago so enjoyable. There's a different festival every weekend.

Other than that, I've continued to play softball every Sunday... our team isn't the best in the league, but we usually compete, so it's pretty enjoyable for me. I'm clearly the worst girl on the team, but will probably never get kicked off, since I started the team the summer of 2001. :)

Oh, one last thing - I applied for and was accepted to the early childhood education masters program at National Louis University. After getting my finances straightened out, I hope to begin classes in the Spring of 2009. For those who are all, "WTF?" - this is something I've been wanting to do for probably 5 or 6 years. I applied to Roosevelt a few years ago, was accepted, but wasn't at the point where I was ready to head back. I still plan on working full-time, while taking classes in the evening. RIP any of my free time.

The Olympics start tonight. I'm not really all that jazzed up for much more than seeing Deron play. Gymnastics are fun to watch too, I suppose.

My friend Chris is moving to Michigan soon. Next Friday we're having a going-away party for him at Schoolyard. I still remember when he and I weren't friends, he hated Chicago, and refused to think otherwise. Then, I helped him find a place up here, even signed the lease for him sight unseen - he ended up being our extra-key holder for the apartment, oftentimes being the caretaker of Steve while Matt and I were away. It's going to be sad to see him go.

The following week, Matt & I, and a handful of our friends are heading up north to the lakehouse. I'm eagerly anticipating the trip, as I can't wait for friends to experience life up there. It's really a nice place to be able to retreat to, and I'm very grateful Matt's family lets us use it so much.

Ok, there's my update. Hopefully the four people who actually check this place for updates are happy.