Have you ever been startled because you think you see a person, but it turns out that it's just a mannequin?
Later do you ever realize, wait, no, that naked man in the corner in the cage is actually a real person?
***
So in typical Val/Emily fashion, this is how my Friday night plans came to fruition: Val: Look Em, a sex tour of chicago! Emily: I'll get the tickets!
Really, neither of us needed any convincing that this was a BRILLIANT idea. And really I could have said any event in there and we'd both be up for it...
***
After work I met up with Em, her coworkers, Parker (who DID NOT bring any hot law students with him), and Julie at Cactus where we got some beers and chatted (except not with hot law students). We left shortly after though to go grab dinner.
We grabbed a cab from an awesome cabbie and got dropped off at the Hard Rock Cafe. We got cosmos and purple hazes. The waiter made us get those instead of Irish coffees. He was cute and an actor and from Effingham and didn't like when we asked about the cross. We left him our numbers...
After dinner we went outside where our bus was waiting...
Yes, yes. Emily and I spent our Friday night on a sex tour!
Our first stop was an "Adult Book Store" where our guide, Ken Berg, showed us around, explained the differences between types of butt plugs, anal beads, vibrators, etc. etc. Then we were taken into the private booths in the back to watch porn. Apparently it is actually illegal for women to be back there. You had to put tokens into the booth to watch it and then could flip the channels. There was even animated porn on one of the channels and some guy on guy and a lot of anal. Just in case you were keeping tabs.
This creepy guy then introduced himself to Em and I. He was kind of creepy.
The next stop on the tour was the liquor store to get some booze. Em and I got two big bottles and shared. I was already drunk by this point anyways and had to pee pretty badly, but you kind of have to drink when you're in a bus looking for sex-related things.
On our way to the next stop we drove through the Viagra triangle, and heard all about the advent of brothels and playboys in the city. My only gripe really was that we didn't really see any of these places, we were just kind of told about them.
Oh well because next up...
It was time to play "Spot the Ho!" aka "Ho or CVS (Common Variety Skank)." We drove up and down Lincoln in an area where all the hooker motels apparently are. We spotted plenty of CVSs and we spotted a few women who we were pretty certain were whores (we even saw one with a guy closing the door on a motel room...) It was a fun game!
We sped down LSD and then past Comiskey to get to our next location:
Basically it was a really nice apartment that just happened to have sex toys, restrains, masks, etc. over every inch of the wall. Mistress Simone is a pro dominatrix who specializes in medical play, which includes enemas and play piercings and such like that. There were several rooms and several apparatuses and a "Cross Dressing Room."
At one point I was startled to see someone in the corner in a cage but then realized it was just probably a mannequin. But then later when I got closer I noticed he was moving. Nope, the naked, blindfolded man with a rope hung around his penis standing in a cage was most definitely real...
We also saw a "full service" massage parlor that offers full release...But alas they were closed for the night...
The last stop was Batteries Not Included, which was another sex shop. We were schooled on the different types of vibrators. We were told things named after animals were good. What I never understood? Why are vibrators and dildos always given women's names?
Yup...it was just a typical night in Valryland :-)
p.s. sorry for the lack of photos. I really didn't think it was appropriate to take pictures of strangers in sex shops and dominatrixes in their natural environment...
Sunday Em (who, by the way, is not my girlfriend) and I woke up early (in separate beds mind you) and hit up the jewel for snacks before parking ourselves on a bench until the pride parade. I point out that she's not my girlfriend because apparently everyone there thought she was. And it probably doesn't help here that many of my entries end with "then we went to bed"...but that's just because I'm a mooch who should probably start paying her couch and/or air mattress and/or arm chair rent...
So yesterday was the Pride Parade which was awesome in that way that pride parades are. We got there a couple of hours early to claim a bench and munched on vanilla cupcakes and cherry coke zero. Em used the $10 I hid in her purse to pay for groceries to buy us rainbow chains and "chained" me. Yeah... Eventually others joined us, including Julie and Heather and Layla and Plecki and Andrew and Ian.
The parade half rocked my socks and half soaked my socks. It started raining pretty hard a few times, which caused some delays (not to mention people apparently falling off of floats...). At one point we combined the forces of our small umbrella with a nearby groups bigger umbrella (with a super tall guy holding it) and made fast friends with some new awesome people.
Emily kept telling everyone I was bi for some reason (for the record, I like men but am fully supportive of anyone liking whatever gender they happen to like). I was told it was OK I was straight by a gay man because he "doesn't like vagina." Everyone tried to help protect my camera from the elements. One of the guys (I am so bad with remembering names...I think half of them were named Mike though) seemed not to care about getting wet himself as long as his chicken nugget stayed under the umbrella. I was told I have really pretty hair :)
After the parade we headed back to Emily's, ordered (unfree) burritos and watched the beginning of the game (GO SOX!) Ian was an ass as usual and started trouble for me by texting someone we all are pretty sure has a crush on me that I said hi when I totally didn't. What is this, third grade?
Didn't kids used to wait impatiently to see Santa Claus at the end of the Christmas parade and not some Disney Channel star?
Saturday Emily and I headed over to the Mag Mile Lights Festival. We arrived early to catch a Sister Hazel show. Of course, most of the people there didn't even know who Sister Hazel was and were all tweens lining up to see Corbin Bleu (who apparently is a star of High School Musical). The concert was pretty neat because I surprisingly know Sister Hazel songs (I never know who sings anything!) and they did play the one song I knew was by them and really like despite never actually hearing it on the radio - champagne high (and it seriously took me forever there to figure out how champagne the drink is really spelled...).
After the concert we got our picture taken with a piece of cheesecake and then headed to the Hershey store (aka the entire other end of the mag mile) to get some cupcakes and cocoa. Despite getting regular sized ones the cupcakes were huge and I got frosting in my nose and the cocoa was of course yummy until the powdery finish (and, of course, nowhere near as good as mine. Have I ever mentioned that I make the best hot chocolate in the whole wide world?)
Then we headed back to the other end of the mag mile to check out the Nutcracker window displays at Macy's (sorry, I don't care if I sound unChicagoan...but I think those people who are still protesting the change from Marshall Field's need to give it up already.)
I loved the windows...but then again I am still a ballerina at heart. :-)
After that we staked out a spot almost two hours early to watch the parade. We were surrounded by a bunch of kids who couldn't care less about anything in the parade except for Corbin Bleu. There was one twelve-year-old girl who was fanatic. She reminded me of how I was (am?) when I was that age though. She was convinced that she was going to marry Corbin in the same way I was (am?) convinced that I was going to marry Zack Morris (please note: I did not say I wanted to marry Mark Paul Gosselaar...I wanted to marry Zack Morris.)
The parade had a Disney theme because, you know, when you think Chicago, you think Disney! Right? It was kind of fun to watch all the lights light up, the hilarity of the kids, the sickly looking whale puppet, etc. etc. It's also fun that at events like these everyone (OK, everyone but the pushy parents who insist their kids have the right to go up front because they are small) is pretty friendly and talkative. Some fun conversations ensued:
Kid: Who is Sister Hazel? Emily: It's an adult band.
Woman: Who is on the float. Emily: Chip and Dale. Woman: The Chippendales?
Kid: I'm gonna faint. Me: If you faint you will miss Corbin. Kid: You're right! I can't faint!
Me: How is it that that four year old has a boyfriend and I don't? Emily: Val she's four, adult relationships are more than just sharing Twizzlers with someone. Me: I want someone to share my Twizzlers with.
After Santa flew by we met up with Joe and Alina and went to some bar which I think was just called "The Bar" for dinner. Joe and Emily got bacon beer that came with a side of bacon. Awesome. I got a yummy pulled pork and sweet potato fries and raspberry beer. Afterwards at Joe and Alina's I made them watch the KSO they Tivo'd so I could point myself out on TV...let me tell you, it is so much easier on their 50,000-inch widescreen.
Joe and Alina called it a night and Emily and I headed over to Charlie's art show on the west side. It was fun as always and there seemed to be a lot more people there. I played some bouncy ball with Jeff and talked to Mike (who I couldn't tell if he was being aloof or didn't know who I was), tortured the man who was growing out of Charlie's stomach and bought some pocket paintings from Charlie which cost $2 a pop but will someday be worth millions.
What do you get when you put two scaredy cats on top of the tallest building in the United States???
A bit over a year ago I was in Austria talking to CanadiaJason(eh) and he was asking me about Chicago and where I have and haven't been. He brought up the point that we never really do the touristy things that our cities are known for. I've been to the Sears Tower before, but not since I was probably eight or so.
Heather has never been to the Sears Tower at all, so, since she was in town, Emily, Heather, and I headed to the top. It was really fun...except for having to wait in 50 different lines and the penny pressing machine eating my fifty-one cents. But Chicago looks so different (and equally as awesome) from above. It also wasn't nearly as scary as I remember it being. :-)
Afterwards we headed over to Macys and Michigan Avenue for some shopping. At the Macys FAO Schwartz we discovered "Giant Microbes"...So everyone expect me to give you herpes or mad cow or lyme disease for Christmas. We found burgers at some little local bar because they didn't have a line. We visited Heather's coat and my ring. Then we headed back to Emily's to watch Monster Squad and chillax (and learn Heather's trying on clothes song) before grabbing sushi at Wakamono where I discovered I love sushi if it is good sushi (coughnomoretakingmetocrappyplacesjoshcough). They gave us a free appetizer of inari - we had no idea what it was but it was of the tastiest things I have ever had...turns out its a pocket of deep fried tofu stuffed with rice, it's really sweet and really tasty. I got a soft-shell crab maki and it was amazingly good. Half of the pieces were like normal sushi, and the other half had the tentacles all poking up, which made for a quite amusing experience of trying to stuff the whole thing in my mouth, because once it was in I had very little room to chew.
Then we headed over to the Schoolyard to catch the end of the Illini Game (we won!). We met up with Emily's coworker who, surprisesurprise, happened to be friends of friends with John. Small world...but I guess being in an Illini bar it's not soooo crazy to run into people you know. Once the game was over the bar cleared out a bit and we watched crazy extreme sports, sang out loud to Bon Jovi (twice), and tried to avoid having a dance off with some old guy who didn't understand what a dance off was. Emily and Heather's friend Adam joined us...hilarity ensued.
I called it a night around 2:30, but then in the cab back to my car had the most confusing moment ever when I looked at my phone and it said it was 1:30, and I swore it was later and felt lame. Then I got to my car and saw that it was 2:30 on my car. And then I finally realized that there was a damn time change. This upset me because time changes are my favorite moments of the year. There is no more surreal feeling than watching a clock go from 1:59 to 1. And I missed it. But who really cares?
Wow...so, I never thought they'd actually CALL OFF the Chicago Marathon, but I guess there is a first for everything...
So with record-breaking heat after about four and a half hours they called of the marathon. Apparently over 300 people were hospitalized and one died. It was seriously hothothot. Hell, I was sweating just watching the marathon...
I managed to get down there with about ten-minutes to spare before Josh crossed the halfway point. Unfortunately, Adam and Jen had a crappy train schedule and missed it...we then walked to the finish line (seriously, with the amount of effort it took just to find the finish line, we might as well have run the marathon). We watched there for a while figuring when he was supposed to be rolling in. After w bit though we gave up thinking he either was really fast or not fast enough.
We made our way to the "F" section to wait with his dad and sister...then some lady came on a loudspeaker and announced that the race had been called off. The heat was just way too much. So they were telling everyone to take a bus back...Luckily Josh turned out to only be a few miles from the finish and was able to forge on...I mean, can you imagine being that close and being told to go home??? So he finished the marathon! He was gunning along with the four-hour pacing team, but ended up at almost five due to heat and the ending confusion. He was kind of upset over the time, but I think it was completely awesome that he even finished when so many people couldn't (or didn't even show up)... especially when a few years ago who'd have thought he'd ever even run a marathon?
Awesome job Josh!
Congratulations!
p.s. I made him a sign. It said...well, it said a lot. About an eighth of the way through making it I was very very happy that I didn't buy the big-sized poster board.
La Costeña "Feel the Heat" Jalapeño Eating Challenge
Amazingly, Nadia had this Sunday off. Also amazingly, we have the same stupid sense of what is fun in life. So, we took off to celebrate her independence (because she is Mexican) at the "Feel the Heat" Jalapeño Eating Challenge at some park I can't pronounce in some area of the city.
We totally proved our giddy twelve-year-old fangirl status by bypassing the alcohol and food and music and staking out the eating contest way early and giggling an awful lot and following around contestants (but mostly because we figured that they would be going to the right place).
While waiting at the La Costeña booth Nad says "Just look for the mohawk!" and then not 2 seconds later we look up and, low and behold, Pat Bertoletti is heading our way...and then he stands RIGHT NEXT TO ME before seeing the people he was looking for. Did I mention he stood RIGHT NEXT TO ME? Did I also mention that I am a dork and can't believe that I got this excited about competitive eating??? And the eaters????
So once his crew takes off we follow them, because we assume they know where they are going. And then we held our position right in the front of the "crowd" (AKA, we were the only ones there besides, who we guessed were, Pat's family and friends...) And then we probably made fools of ourselves by giggling and staring and they probably totally knew that we were giggling and staring...but whatever.
Oh! And Pat was totally drinking straight from a bottle of Pepto-Bismol while hanging out. And that was kind of awesome.
Once the competition was about to begin (it started late, I heard later that some of the contestants had a hard time finding the place...it WAS hard to find) a crowd started to gather.
And then it was time to begin!
Ryan Nerz came out to do brief bio-interviews with some of the eaters...and boy did they come out!! (who knew that so many people would want to shove themselves full of jalapeños?!?!?! )
The lineup included Sonya "The Black Widow" Thomas, Rich "The Locust" LeFevre, Hall "Hoover" Hunt, and Erik The Red Denmark...just to name a few.
Pat downed chocolate milk while being introduced, which is awesome, because you know I always think the best plan of attack to being able to eat a lot is to fill up your stomach beforehand...right?
Then everyone was introduced and the countdown began (in both English and Spanish)...5, 4, 3, 2, 1!
And they were off, within seconds pepper upon pepper (and plenty of milk) were being consumed...
And after a couple of minutes a couple of them totally looked like they were going to have a reversal of fortune (or at least like they had rabies).
And then after six-and-a-half minutes of the eight minute competition...THEY RAN OUT OF PEPPERS!!!!
WHAT THE HELL???
So...they had to cut the contest short. Which kind of bites (no pun intended) because as in any competition there is strategy, and to change the rules in the middle kind of muck things up.
But anyways...
We waited and waited with anticipation as the number of peppers consumed by each contestant was tallied up.
And then...the winners were announced for the truncated six and a half minute competition (It was supposed to be eight)...
In Fourth Place: Hall "The Hoover" Hunt (110):
In Third Place: Rich "The Locust" LeFevre (120):
In Second Place: Sonya "The Black Widow" Thomas (141):
And...
In First Place...
Our Hometown Hero...
PAT BERTOLETTI!!!! (191)
Who is now, officially, the jalapeño-eating champion of the world!!!
Woohoo!!!
So, it was a totally awesome experience, and my first MLE event I watched live. I didn't get to meet any of them because I was too chicken and shy to go up beforehand, and then afterwards no one came out right away and we didn't want to wait too long.
But did I mention that it was totally, 100%, completely, amazingly awesome?
Renegade Craft Fair
After the contest (and a run...OK...slow long powerwalk to Babies-R-Us) we dropped off Bryan (I don't think I ever mentioned that Bryan came with us...eh, he's not important) and then headed off to Do-Division Festival and Renegade Craft Fair.
So, the do-division festival was kind of very lame. There was some not-completely terrible band with no one watching them on one end, and some god-awful techno crap on the other, and a couple of generic food stands and merch tents in between.
We got some food (I had some fried raviolis and a lemonade) then headed on to Renegade.
The Renegade Craft Fair was totally cool, and I don't think I've ever used the terms "kind of awesome" and "totally cute" so much as I did there.
Basically it's a more modern craft fair...you know, no doilies or anything like that, but IPod covers and two-headed sock monkeys instead.
My only gripe is that we got there at around 8ish and they closed at 10, but a bunch of people were already packed up and gone, or were in the process of packing up. Lame.
10:30am - Trapeze Class
Yes, you read that correctly. Trapeze.
It wasn't flying trapeze where you are high up above a net and catch onto other trapezes...it was low(er) to the ground and more like dancing/gymnastics on a trapeze. So I was flipping around and hanging upside down and all that good stuff. Except I kind of suck because I have no flexibility/no upper-body strength/fear of high things. It was still totally cool and I am considering taking more classes in the future.
2:00 - Windy City Wine Festival
After trapeze, I headed over to pick up JoeJoe and Alina to go get some wine. The Windy City Wine Festival was going on, and it was totally awesome. Basically $25 bought you ten tastings, but most of the places weren't too good at collecting the tickets, and they gave out some free tastings at the demonstration area, so I had about double what I was allotted (could have had more if I was less honest/didn't have to work later). We also got a free wine glass, free pasta sauce, a free wine tote, and free roses (guess which color I chose...)
So I had tons of wine. Perhaps my favorites were the PINK merlot, which came in a pretty PINK bottle.
and the wine conveniently just called PINK.
:)
Later we ran into KennyK and Becca, who were also enjoying their wines and were somehow not drooling over the Ferrari like I thought they (OK he) would be.
Alas, after however many glasses of wine I had in three hours I had to leave the festival and cross the winding silver bridge and walk the to-minute walk to work...
5:30 - Stars of Lyric Opera at Millennium Park
The Millennium Park show is a huge free concert event in the Jay Pritzker Pavilion. It's a really awesome looking crazy outdoor pavilion with great acoustics. When I got there at 5:30 (2-hours early) there was already a huge line waiting to try to score seats and a pretty good showing on the lawn. And that was two hours early. I ended up helping to man the drop box table, where people could enter a sweepstakes to win free tickets to opening night.
The concert was beautiful and actually flew by considering it was just pieces, and not an opera with a story. And the place was damn-packed.
11:00 - Parts and Labor "Fixed Gear"
After the show...after waiting in line forever just to get INTO the parking lot...after searching around for where the hell section G was...after finding that I had left my window wide open the entire time I was parked...after waiting in my car until someone in line was kind enough to let me back out in front of them...I was off to Charlie's art show.
The show was in the same place that it was last time...which is actually someone's apartment. There was some new work though, and more importantly cheese and vegetables (because at this point, after going all day, working out, wining...I had still only eaten a small slice of pizza).
I hung out with Charlie and Aaron and MikeJ's girlfriend and Charlie's mom (who was totally hilariously basically telling Charlie that she hates all his art work). And then we headed off to the afterparty for a bit, but then I headed home because I needed to find actual food and rest.
1:00 - McDonald's Drivethrough (it was on the way. It was open)
pretty blue lights along the way help you right on by
1. Whose bright idea was it for me to take the train home after work and immediately turn around and drive back to the city?
2. I finally made it to the Chicago Outdoor Film Festival for the last movie of the year: Sound of Music with JoeW and Meredith (by "with" I mean I saw it with them, not that they were starring in the film).
3. Meredith makes good curry chicken salad. JoeW is a dork.
4. There is no better setting for a movie that in front of the Chicago Skyline (minus the drunk idiots).
5. I got lost ON LAKE SHORE DRIVE. How in the hell is that possible? The entrance to 55 just disappeared. I swear.
6. If you exit LSD in Hyde Park you are taken immediately into an apartment complex parking lot. I swear that too.
2. While it may have been my EIGHTH TIME at the Taste this year, today was the first time I really got to go and enjoy myself without being rushed to get back to work, catch a train, or find a fireworks spot. Nad and I met up and headed over for a fun day of food! While Nad was perusing the Taste booklet she kept pointing out things she thought sounded good...and I basically said o everything "Yeah, that was good." :)
I love the Taste becuase I think it's the only place in the world where strangers openly walk right up to you and say "What are you eating???"
We also watched a crazy demonstration by this Japanese guy who cut fruit and vegetables into flowers and bunny wabbits.
Today at the Taste I ate... Top: Steak Burger with Blue Cheese and Mustard Sauce (Tutto Italiano), Beignets (Lagniappe)
Middle: Jibarito - Plantain Sandwich with Steak (Sabor Latino), Rice Pudding with Mangos and Dried Cranberries (The Grill on the Alley)
Bottom: Frozen Grapes (Home Run Inn), Southern Comfort Frozen Hurricane (Southern Comfort Frozen Hurricane Booth)
Some of the things Nadia ate include...
No one went to the Potbelly Booth...
I am a floating head!
3. Nad and I found a crazy Target close to her condo. We bought a cable so she can finally watch real TV and so we hooked it up and found weird reality shows on networks we've never heard of where contestants stand on big crosses nd pretend to be scarecrows.
4. I am going to move into Nadia's spare room and be the resident dancer. Whenever she rings the bell I will come out of my room in a tutu and entertain guests.
5. I saw the Leaning Tower of Niles!!!
6. Went to Chilis with Nad, Jen, and Adam. Mananaged to scarf down my entire plate of chicken fingers despite having had too much food earlier. Adam is going to calculate the perfect coordinates for us to meet that will be the same distance between all of our places :)
1. What I ate at the Taste today (lunch + dinner) Row 1: Toasted Ravioli (Tuscany), Crawfish Boil with with Potatoes and Illinois Corn (Lagniappe)
Row 2: Catfish Nuggets (Dock's), Fried Dough with Strawberry Topping and Whipped Cream (Volare)
Row 3: Frozen S'more (Bobtail Ice Cream Company), Grilled Chicken and Vegatable Chopped Salad with Lime Dressing (The Grill on the Alley)
Row 4: Puerto Rican Steak Sandwich on Criollo Bread (Sabor Latino) and Pepsi (Beverage Booth), BBQ Buffalo Burger (Grazie! Ristorante), Saganaki (Costa's)
2. I am a rockstar of Hungarian Folk Dance
I went to a Hungarian folk dance lesson tonight. It was insanely fun but also insanely tiring. Those Hungarians sure know how to party. :)
3. Three anticdotes from the Taste today
a.) In Paris at Notre Dame I was kind of making fun of the people who were taking their pictures while facing the monument they were in from of (so they had a random background and not the monument). Today I saw someone having their picture taken while facing Buckingham Fountain.
b.) Have you ever played catch with a dog? While doing so did you ever, after throwing the ball a couple of times, pretend to throw it and the dog kind of went after it? Did you know that same thing works using a piece of bread and a flock of seagulls? Did you also know that that's the most hilareous thing you can ever do?
c.) I saw a homeless man eating a variety platter of cheese cake.
now we all know in Chicago, the fourth is truly clebrated on the third...
1. Lunch top: Italian Breaded Steak Sandwich (Ricobene's), Irish Curry Fries (Abbey Pub), Gazpacho with Avocado and Chopped Chives (The Grill on the Alley)
Bottom: Cilantro Steak Empanada (Vermillion), Pound Cake Pop Drizzled with Fig Vodka Butter Syrup and Chocolate (Polo Café & Catering)
3. Fireworks
I met up with Jen and Rory and some other peeps and then later JoeJoe and Alina...and then later later with Nadia and Bryan because cell phones kind of stop working when you are jam-pack surrounded by a million or so people all trying to use their cell phone.
The fireworks were coolcoolcool, but shortshortshort as always. Once the fireworks started all the idiots next to us cleared out because they realized that they could not, in fact, see the fireworks through the giant tree they were sitting behind...then a bunch of bigger idiots saw the new clearing and decided to start forming a line IN FRONT OF US WHO HAD STAKED OUT GOOD SEAT HOURS AND HOURS BEFORE because they apparently thought that a million other people just didn't notice this big empty spot. People are morons sometimes. We started a mutiny by not letting them through and this chick next to us almost got in a fistfight with this guy after scooting up to sit right in his path and kicking him so he couldn't get through. :)
All in all though, it was quite fun.
And then came the trek through the city amongst the biggest cowd you'd ever see in your life. Luckily we didn't take the el anywhere since there were apparently problems that left people stranded on it for hours. eh.
Afterwords most everyone ditched us and the rest of us headed off to Clarke's.
And I explained my new boyfriend plan...which is the most brilliant plan I've ever come up with. :)
For years this one place at the taste had goat and I tried it once and hated it. But mostly because it was smothered in extremely hot hot sauce and so all I could taste was burning.
This year a new place had goat too. It was not covered in sauce.
It was sour and rancid and icky.
In conclusion, Val should never try to eat goat again.
Here is everything I ate at the Taste today: Top: Sweet Potato Biscuit (C'est Si Bon), Prime Rib Quesadilla (Grill on the Alley)
Bottom: Grilled Wings with Pesto Aioli (Blu 47), Coconut Rice with Sauteed Goat (Bolat African Cuisine)
It takes 20 minutes to walk to Grant Park, and 20 minutes to walk back. Which leaves me with 20 minutes to chow down on: Top: Fried Ravioli (don't know where that was from, Jen had it left over), Pomegranate BBQ Chicken (Pars Cove Persian Cuisine)
Bottom: Mango Cumin-Dusted Fries with Tamarind Chutney (Vermilion), Fresh Pineapple Seafood Salad (Grazie! Ristorante)
2. SummerDance to learn Salsa, Merengue, and Bachata
3. The Taste for Dinner :) Top: Rum-battered Fried Tilapia Filet and Garlic-Mozzarella Cheese Bread (Polo Cafe & Catering)
Bottom: Mustard Fried Catfish (B.J.'s Market & Bakery), Strawberry and Mango Italian Ice (Mazzone's)
Yesterday...in not so many pictures
1. Went shopping in search of the perfect martini shaker. In the process I found for myself the perfect powder blue colander, or maybe three of them. I didn't buy them though...yet.
2. fucked it all up.
3. Called Mat back...three times. He didn't pick up.
So, remember last week when I said that everyone I know named Jen was has either gotten engaged or has/is getting married this year? Well, yeah, I forgot one...so, of course...
Congratulations Josh and Jennifer!
Now, officially, all FIVE of the Jens I know either have gotten engaged or married in the past year. Maybe I should change my name...
* * *
I am a horrible person because...
today at Cosi I ordered a $9 lobster salad sandwich and then told the counter lady it was a $6 tuna salad sandwich.
I am a crazy person because...
I am holding out on renewing my cell phone contract because I am waiting for this
Pink Krzr, currently available in the UK, to come to America. I very well might switch phone companies if another company has it and Verizon does not.
I am an awesome person because...
I went to SummerDance tonight and learned Brazillian Dance. Did you know Brazillian dance is the most boring easiest dance in the world? I'll show it to you some time. I'm still awesome though.
I am a tired person because...
It's one in the morning and I am baking lemon bars. I already had to go to Jewel an hour ago because I was out of flour. I also made some carrot soup, but I will finish that in the morning. I am so proud of myself, I sliced up a whole onion for the soup and didn't cry. Then I ruined the proud of me moment by packing a food processor so tight with flour, powdered sugar, and butter, that the blade did nothing. I think we can officially take "Baker" out of the running.
1. SummerDance
Tonight I went to SummerDance at Grant Park. It's totally awesome. An hour of dance lessons followed by 2 hours of a live swing back, all outdoors. Can't beat it. Tonight was East COast Swing and the Thomas Gunther Jazz Band. Sweetsweetsweet. Of course, I had to go all by myself because no one would go with me :(
I've determined that there are guys who have no clue what they're doing, guys who think they know what they're doing, guys who know how to dance but can't lead, and maybe one or two guys in the world who can actually dance AND lead. 'm not saying the others aren't fun, but to really be able to dance, you have to be able to lead te girl. Most guys just don't understand that.
Anyways, while doing the class I danced for a bit with a guy I shal forever refer to as adoraboy because he was quite possibly the most genuinly cutest boy I've ever seen. Unfortuantly, he was there with a girl and I never saw him after that. I did dance with a few boys and a few old men, and a few people who need to invest in some serious deodarant. Most of the people really didn't know how to dance, or couldn't keep rhythem, or made me dizzy sick by just going around in circles...but it 'twas fun none the less. The band played one salsa number, and this guy asked me to dance. I said I didn't know much salsa and he said he didn't either, then he proceeded to do some weird not-quite salsa/swing/lindy/mambo/foxtrot that involved everything and nothing. I just went with it though. Dancings supposed to be fun, not technical.
THere was probably only one guy who knew how to dance and lead very well. And there was this other guy who I danced with last who I just totally let loose and we were fucking awesome.
Too bad most of these guys were like 50 or something.
Can't wait 'till the next one I can go to!
Anyone up for salsa on the 28th??? or Transylvanian folk on July 5? (seriously, that's on the roster!)
2. So You Think You Can Dance
I've been watching this show and it's probably one of the best of reality that's on right now. This dance was fucking amazing and makes me want to be a dancer and therefore makes me cry:
On my way to the Printer's Row Book Fair, I pondered why anyone would walk on the street when if they took about 10 steps to the east they could walk through the park. I also figured everyone thought I was a tourist because, as always, I was snapping pictures of everything. (Seriously, I was taking a photo of the bridge and this Asian dude asked if I wanted him to take my pic in front of it...I should have taken him up on the offer...and given a peace sign.)
I trudged through Millennium and doused myself in water from the fountain and went and took pics of the bean (note: this will not count as me 'going to Millennium park' because I have seen the things I saw before and didn't go see all of it). I don't care what anyone says, those are two of the damn coolest things in the world!
Anyways, I finally trudged my way to Printer's Row. I checked out the books in desperate search for an oldie that may have been a goldenbook with the phrase "ouch you naughty lion, you mustn't bite" in it. No luck. If anyone knows the title of said book, please tell me. While wondering I started to hear some really good music. It sounded all pop-punk and then I saw the band and they were all kinda hot...and then I realized that they were the "Not Ready for Naptime Players." Would it be wrong to become a groupie for a kiddie-song group???
12:30 came and it was time for the panel I came to see, which included Michele Morano (my fav professor, who wrote an awesome collection of essays about Spain and language called "Grammar Lessons" Go buy it and read it), Brian Bouldrey (who wrote a very interesting sounding book - yet to be released - called "Honorable Bandit: A Walk Across Corsica") and Tony and Maureen Wheeler (Professional travelers and founders of the Lonely Planet travel mecca). It was very interesting to hear them all speak about their books, their writing, and their lives. I felt kind of bad though because all of the audience questions were for Lonely Planet, so the others didn't really get to talk much. I brought along my copy of Grammar Lessons to get signed and picked up a copy of Unlikely Destinations for them to sign.
Then I headed over to see Dan and Steve, who own a catering company in Chicago and were, as they put it, "The Kelly Clarksons of Next Food Network Star." They made a yummy looking duck sausage cassoulet (fake duck sausage actually, they used chicken instead), but I don't like sausage. Then they made a bread pudding. Yum.
THE COOLEST PART OF THEIR TALK: They are opening a new restaurant! But not just any restaurant...it's going to have a tv studio in it. Then what they're going to do, is have little cooking demonstrations...and then have you come up and film you giving the cooking demonstration!!! It's my dream since whenever I cook I talk to the fake cameras anyways. I'm sure it will be hella expensive...but I definitely plan on having a b-day party there!
After that I headed off to another panel with Amy Hempel (who writes amazing short stories) and a couple of others who sounded interesting. I'll have to check out their stuff. What I found most interesting is when Hempel was talking about her writing process, and that sometimes after writing something big, she won't write anything at all for a year or more. It's kind of comforting because I always hear writers saying how they "need to write" and it's good to hear someone who loves it and is successful at it and passionate for it, but doesn't feel like she is compelled to write constantly .
Julie is moving to Florida to go to law school so we spent her one last hurrah at Venetian Night in the city. I'd never been and really had no idea what it is but it involves a boat parade (some of the boats reminded me of the KCSA homecoming floats because there would be big elaborate decorations on one and then the next would be kind of pathetic...um, yeah). After the boat parade there were fireworks! I really wanted to see fireworks because I missed the Fourth of July this year :( soyay!
