Old Friend.

About two weeks ago, my good friend Dioni, arrived in the US to work for about half a year. Obviously, this got me really excited as this is the closest I will have to home. We've been friends since high school and the last I've seen him was seven years ago. After finally settling down at his apartment in WI, we decided to meet up Chicago. It was really cool!! But embarrassingly so, I was a couple of hours late. What can I say, driving to the city from the suburbs on a holiday weekend (Taste of Chicago, Fourth of July) was not the best idea. When we met up, we just walked around downtown for a bit, took pictures with his friend and my friend.. until they have to catch the 840 train back home. It was a short time to catch up on each other's lives but There's still six months of that to do. Definitely plenty of time. :D

Quick Blog

My "home" situation has not been comfortable lately, and half the time I'm wishing I can't wait to move out. Check out my rant here.

Today is Chicago's Annual Gay Pride Parade!! And pardon my ignorance and I stand corrected for any wrong info.. but didn't NY pass same sex marriage in the last two days or something? It sure will be an even bigger party today at the parade! :)

The next few weekends are going to be really exciting!!

• Springfield day trip to visit the Lincoln Museum, and Lincoln's Tomb
• Summerfest
• Taste of Chicago
• Fourth of July
• Six Flags

Not to mention, I'm getting more hours at work! :))

For now, I should start getting ready for my busy day ahead.

Chicago Notes

    Since I didn't have a pen and paper handy, I was pretty much clickety-clacking away on the Notes section of my iPod Touch. I totally forgot about my notes until minutes earlier when I was cleaning up the random notes I've saved up.

• While waiting for the Chicago-bound train to arrive, everyone inside the station were nose-deep in their smartphones. No human interaction of any kind. Not a timid smile, a nod of acknowledgement, a good morning, nada.

• Everyone was also sitting ridiculously spaced out enough that no person can sit in between. A bench that would have sat 8 people has four people (and their bags) sitting comfortably. Tsk tsk.
• No man offered a woman a seat. Even when that woman was standing next to a man who was sitting with his legs crossed.
• As the train was rolling by the scenery, I saw a plane land. The sight of it made me feel trapped. I need to be somewhere other that where I am and what I am right now. I need to finish this year the right way so that I can breathe again. So that I can feel like (at the very least) have the option of soaring again.
• We passed by a cemetery and I saw a car driving slowly inside. I'm sure he's going to visit a loved one. It made me feel really sad for him. I hope he's happy now.
• I've never had to retrieve legal documents before. I walked inside the Daley Center (which used to be the Chicago Civic Center) and everything was fast-paced and everyone was walking with a purpose. It gave me such a headrush! I wanna be part of this kind of setting! It would probably get too intense for me but I guess I work best under pressure.
• While in line, I saw a guy donning a pair of Dr. Dre Beats Headphone. What a bad-ass. I'm jealous. Those babies cost AT LEAST $300.
• To celebrate my successful Chicago Adventure, I stopped by a bookstore that had a sale going on. I got two books for a dollar each, so.. SCORE!!

•  They say never buy groceries when you're hungry, and all I can say is "True Dat!"  What was supposedly a quick lunch from the McDonald's dollar menu turned out to be a $12 tasteless lunch from the Corner Bakery. I'm sure it's not that bad, but this particular sandwich I got was horrible. -blech-
• I wish I had a real camera with me (not a digital camera, but a digital SLR camera), because there were a lot of things that warranted a decent photograph and all I had was my handy dandy iPod.

    Now that I am semi comfortable with going downtown by myself, I can't wait for summer to arrive! I can go to the museums anytime I want to, Chinatown, even just chill at the lake or Millenium Park. Chicago and I are going to have a very good relationship this summer year.

Thriving Under Pressure

    I had to run an errand in the city and since I'm not a very good city driver, and I figured I should do something I've never done before, I decided to take public transportation to the city. I parked my car at the trains station that's less than a mile from my apartment (I should've walked but it was raining and I didn't have an umbrella). En route to the city, I was pretty content with the book I brought and the music in my iPod.

     I ended up taking the long way because parts of the streets were under construction. I got to the place nonetheless only to find out that I was in the wrong establishment. Good thing the ladies at the building were kind enough to direct me to the right direction. Lesson Learned: When they say Blue Line, it doesn't mean the bus. It means the subway. Me=Idiot. But I didn't let that deter me, because I try to learn something new everyday.
    I got to the right building, did what I had to do and left the building.. only to find out that I had walked the opposite direction of the train station! I ended up on Michigan Avenue, and thinking I was lost, I phoned a friend (no, really I did). But by the time I got on the phone with her, I saw the Art Institute and found my way. I was actually tempted to go in but I need to catch the train and go to the post office to send the paperworks I got.
    I made sure I was back at the Union Station with plenty of time to grab something to eat. And before you know it, I was already 

back on the train and on my way back home in the suburbs. Side note: My leg cramped up while I was on the train and I had to make sure my face and body language didn't give that away because it might make me feel like a newbie. All that one day of walking downtown and I cramp up on the way home.. Sheesh!
    All this time that I was making my way to, around, and back to the city made me feel really good about myself. I had a specific itinerary but I was thrown off the loop. That obstacle didn't stop me from composing myself, regrouping, taking a deep breath and figuring something out. My little city adventure showed me that I can get through small or big things alike. I wasn't fazed, I didn't panic, I didn't let the hustle and bustle of downtown Chicago eat me whole. This may sound mushy, but the city made something out of me that day. I feel a little more confident in myself knowing that I get get past any hurdle thrown my way.. because little did I know that I can be a bad-ass like that.