Wrapping Things Up in Chicago

My time in Chicago is coming to a close. Tomorrow is my last day of work in the Arlington Heights office. Today is the first day I was able to wear a pair of dress shoes all day without changing into sandals on the train or bus. It was also the first time I met up with fellow AIESEC alumni Matt Meyers and Mike Bruni. They met Jeff, my friend Shawn (non-AIESECer), and I at Ditka's for dinner. It was great to meet up with some friendly faces to celebrate my last night in town. Now I can check Ditka's restaurant off my check-list of places to go. Next on my list is one of the two Mike Ditka Resorts. I am not kidding. I would not make this stuff up.


Jeff and I on our last Metra ride together.



Me standing under the marquee at Ditka's. Amazing. As was the food and the glass of Mike Ditka's Kick Ass Red Wine.

A Tribute to Boones Farm

I visited Brandi in Peoria, IL and as a tribute to our old AIESEC days, we each had a bottle of Boones Farm. We have matured though, so we classed it up by drinking it in wine glasses!

End of Week Two: Chicago

Wow! My time in Chicago is half-way done. I am still extremely confused as to what I will do with myself (work-wise) when I get back from the Ice in April/May next spring. Hopefully it'll just come to me. Until then, I am fully enjoying my time here in the Windy City. My friend Nora came to visit for the weekend, and we had a GREAT time. We had great seats for Wicked on Friday night in the Ford Center for the Performing Arts, an incredibly beautiful theater. Saturday we slept in after being woken up by the roommates throwing a dance party in the sanctuary of the church (our house) after their first live performance in a couple of months. We spent Saturday walking from the beach near North Ave all the way down to Millennium Park, stopping to watch the Air and Water Show along the way. A couple of little girls were selling cups of lemonade and bags of baked goods, so I had to help the little entrepreneurs out with their sales! And I wanted to get some Garrett's Popcorn, so we spent a good 20-30 minutes in line for that. As we crossed back over to visit the face fountains in Millennium Park, a guy was standing on the corner holding a sign that read "FREE HUGS". Of course, I had to stop and get one. I made Nora get one too. One guy was walking past and apparently stopped for his third free hug of the day. Luckily, there was no minimum! We ended the day with a quick visit to Chicago's Chinatown and then a fantastic dinner of fresh veggies at home. Today we did a little shopping at IKEA before Nora dropped me at the train station to catch a ride home and she continued on to Wisconsin. What a great weekend! But it's back to work tomorrow!!

Chicago

OK, I admit it. Facebook has a monopoly on my internet time. I am working to change that. I have a list of things I need to get done this summer before returning to Antarctica for Season Number Three and putting more pics from my southern Africa adventure on here is one of them. For now, you'll have to settle for a picture from my adventures in Chicago. Last night I met my friend Shawn at Millennium Park in downtown Chicago for a picnic dinner set to a jazz concert in the background. I met her boyfriend Craig (who took the above photo) and her best friend Devan, and we had a great night. And then the little farm girl from Wisconsin took the blue line all the way home, by herself. I was so proud of myself!

Attending Church

So I am here in Chicago. I arrived today. Or should I say, tonight. I arrived much later than I expected to, but I should know by now that everything takes longer than I think it's going to take. I found the house I'll be living in right away... the directions were simple. And within minutes, I had found a parking space and met one of my new roommates, Andrew. He should me around the house, which if I haven't mentioned before, is an old Catholic church! My room has stained glass windows and what seems to be 12 foot ceilings. There is a cute 2-year-old dog named Cassius, and the guys who hang out here but don't live here seem really cool. One of them is in the band with two of my new roommates. It should be an interesting month living here! Tomorrow is my first day of work at my internship... after I pick up Jeff at Midway Airport.

Katie and Kristi at REI

Earlier this week, I was in Madison spending some quality time with KG. I was teaching her how to be unemployed. We took a nice long two and a half hour lunch, and then we ventured off on a little shopping trip. We stopped at REI as we both needed new water bottles. I was checking out a bag made by Keen, when I thought to myself that it was a little on the heavy side. With every bag I am interested in, I check the pockets, zippers and velcro to see how it all works and how much room there really is. Well, I unzippered the back pocket on this particular bag and put my hand inside it and pulled out a giant bottle of toothpaste, a Dove deodorant, and a half-used tube of Preparation H!!!!!! I immediately waved Kristi down and thrust my handful of surprises towards here. "LOOK what I found!" Her response? "Yuck! Go wash your hands!" I'm sorry to whoever found that stuff. I just threw it down on the floor by the bags!

On My Way

Wow... I have barely had time to update the last two months of being back in Wisconsin. Life has been busy. And it is just speeding up. Here is my rough draft of a schedule for the next 2-3 months. If you are in the same place I'll be in, let's get together!

July 21-28: Seattle
July 29-31: Black River Falls, WI
Aug 1-3: My parents' place
Aug 3-29: Chicago
Aug 30-Sept 4: Wisconsin
Sept 5-7: Minneapolis/St. Paul
Sept 8-end of Sept: Denver
October-February: Antarctica