The Last Supper

The final days went by far too quickly. Wednesday Janice skipped her last class and we got to hang out :) We went to the mall! the Water Tower Place. We also checked out The North Face again... still can't believe you can cover yourself head-to-toe with that stuff (excluding underwear, we looked). It is such a fad, so 'in,' I can never decide if I really would like to own some or not. Even in Europe we always noticed it. And of course I also got another Jamba Juice! last one...

For the nightly entertainment, we went to a karaoke bar uptown. They were actually televising the first bunch to be up for some local karaoke competition, viewers choice wins kind of thing. Needless to say, I didn't enter :) It was fun though, watching the people get really into it or be really embarassed or really good.. either way its a good time. One guys sang Backstreet Boys while another Britney Spears, things like that.

Thursday I walked around Chicago for my last time as a resident. I walked downtown to the Harold Washington library to take my books back and browse one last time. I also took some pictures, nostalgia and tourism rolled into one. Once all of us were back in the apt we went up for a little treat from Betsy, one of the uptown girls. She had come over a few times before art events and eaten with us so in return she made us deer steaks, filet mignon!, and potatoes, and pasta salad, and peach tea! it was wonderfully delicious. The last chicagoan meal...

I then went back to the apt solo (loaded with bags i was taking for friends) and waited to meet my parents as they came to load up my stuff and get me back to MN. The original plan (or so I thought) was that they were coming Thurs so we could sleep here and they wouldn't have to drive roundtrip in one day... well, my dad didn't really want to hit morning traffic (and i'm sure it is about 3 hrs long) so we loaded up then and there and headed out! Somewhere around one my dad was getting tired and asked if we needed to get a hotel but I offered my skills and finished out the rest of the trip.. arriving in our driveway at about 5am. through rain and fog, we made it back. I then slept until 1:30pm and after unpacking and rearranging my closets a bit I was somehow tired again by 11!
Good thing too because I had to be to work bright and early. It was a long day, I'm not used to standing that long again yet. And I was a little bored at times but it was good to be working with family. My cousins Chad and Melonie came down to help out and their daughter (5) was around along with Tony's kids Chase (6) and Trey (4) and their little sister (1). My mom was even volunteering because they had a table for cookies and juice and a kids potting table too. So at least when I was bored I got to talk to some good people :) For the next week (which is all that is on the schedule so far) I work 9-5... can't wait!
Graduation - May 10! eek.

This is probably the last time I will update for awhile... I dont think you all want to read about my Hill's Gardens experiences, they might get a little redundant. So unless I take a fun roadtrip or something this summer I will definitely be back in August for my Mexico adventure! I'll send out a little reminder or something, but until then

TankTop : TenThirty

I love Chicago in the Springtime! (sing those altered lyrics as you read!)

Yesterday my roommates and I decided to go two doors down to the restaurant PJ Clarkes and eat al fresco! It was such a nice day that we couldn't resist. It seemed like a must since we walk by it so many times a day. I got the recommended chicken pot pie which was quite tasty. They poured the inside part over two flaky biscuits right at the table. It is a somewhat classy place though, a couple near us got wine and did the whole routine with wine taste-testing approval before agreeing to it. Unfortunately the buildings blocked all the sunlight and it was a bit chilly just sitting eating but it was still nice to dine outside!

In the afternoon, Susan had come home from work early so we took a little jaunt around the town. We stopped for Jamba at Hancock and sat on the stairs there for about an hour people watching. Fun thing to do with Susan :) Check out the view up too! (though, it looks much more impressive in person)

Today was another fantastic day outside. A few of us girls (two roomies, plus Betsy, Sarah, and Alli) decided to go to a place called Howl at the Moon. It is another popular dueling pianos bar. Tuesdays are "I'm broke" nights, $1 burgers, dogs, and beer, which was good for us college students! We got a cheap supper and a show! These two duel-ers were really funny too, I enjoyed this time more than the last. We got there a little early so we got more interaction with them at the beginning as it wasn't yet very full. At one point, after being mocked by them for being too young to know the words to one song, we sent up a song request that said they were just jealous "of our youth and hott bodies." They of course laughed, read it aloud, and said that was true. After singing our song (a Journey tune I think it was), they said that they knew that we were extra hot for having spelled it with two t's ... So we were 'in' with the band :) It was recently Sarah's birthday so when they asked if anyone was celebrating anything I went up and let them know... bad idea apparently because they asked not only her but her girlfriends as well to come on stage for the next song. They made us all get up there with them and sing/dance I'm a Little Teapot! It was funny. By the end of the night it was just Susan and I left, everyone else had to get back to work on presentations for class tomorrow. As much fun as we had at the beginning I think we came (or left) too early, it seemed to be getting better as it went. The wait-staff got up on stage and danced for us saying that no drinks would be served until everyone got up and joined in as well. It was to Walk the Dinosaur... good dance to know :) We had a lot of fun with it. Then when we finally decided we had to get home too (Susan also has obligations tomorrow), we were able to walk outside in tanktops!!! at 10:30!!! ahhh warm weather, I love you so.

I can't believe that I am already going to be leaving. The girls said tonight was a sort of farewell party for me... and I heard all their weekend plans beginning to form... why can't we all be in more than one place at one time!? I want to go home if only because I don't like spending endless days without anyone to keep me company. But I also want to stay to keep hanging with these cool cats :) I think it also holds onto ...'the fake world'!? longer, the pre-'realworld' world anyway. When I get back I just have to work. And I won't get to see everyone like other summers past. I am glad that I got to enjoy Chicago though. It is cool that if I ever come back here I will know it more intimately than others, I'll already know my way around! Janice is thinking of living out here so I will have to come visit her, right :)

pictures from the girls weekend!

Fun on the beach!

Everyone has to make a visit to the bean, no?!
It's like a blackhole...for tourists.

this is Miller Park, right?!
cuz we're both Millers
and that'd be sweet

This is definitely Miller's Pub though!

And the Cubs game,
with the
homerun scoring Ramirez' jerseys on :)

And this is just a sweet pic :)

Greater Gaiety

Susan had her sisters and their husbands here this weekend as well. So we didn't see much of each other this weekend. Our guests had very similar itineraries but we didn't ever quite meet up. On Sunday morning they came to our apt to pick up most of her things so she can just fly home when she is done here. This meant that our slumber party had to relocate at 8am... we all sleep walked into the bedroom and shared the twin beds to get a little more shut eye before starting our day off right with a healthy breakfast. As our apt seems to be lacking food, we made a random smorgasbord: I made some of my 'almost-to-perfection' oatmeal and Susan fried up some sausage while Alisha offered her peanut butter chocolate chip cookies! Once we were all appropriately fed and dressed in our Cubs gear we headed to the game vs. the Pittsburgh Pirates! We may have looked like fans, but unfortunately we didn't realize that on this sunny day it would be soo cold in the bleachers at the top in the shade. Our seats definitely didn't compare to those from Wednesday night but it was still fun.. and this time I got a dog :) And we saw Bonnie Hunt?! She pitched before the game. apparently she hasn't missed a Cubs opener at Wrigley since 1977... random. The Cubs won again!! 13-6! And 4 of the 6 of us were wearing Ramirez shirts and he scored a home run! :)

We actually ducked out a bit early to get the girls back to the apt/their car through the game-traffic. I sent a couple bags back to MN with them too... it's so weird to think that my time here is so close to over! Mom and Dad are coming to pick me up on Thursday! January seems so long ago, but it doesn't seem like I've been here three months and the real world still seems so far away, but graduation is in two weeks!

When people ask me questions about Mexico it still does not feel real. I have always known that I am terrible at reflecting and projecting with things like that; I dont think I really thought much about what it would be like in Spain until we were on the plane! The problem may be that I just dont think enough; sometimes good, sometimes bad. For a lot of things I feel like I take a Pangloss philosophy and believe all is for the best or will work out for the better. I dont think I have ever said goodbye to anyone feeling like it could be the last time. Not to say that I am being optimistic in thinking they will not die before I see them again, having nothing to do with that, but simply that the chance will in fact come that I can. I think of this as graduation approaches but also since I made such great relationships with people in Spain but we were all from colleges around the country and in reality the chances are not that great to see most of them. [Thankfully there are still chances! Our big Kentucky reunion in October was amazing! and this semester I've had a few others as well!] But this even applies to family. I was just talking to my cousin Jesse the other day and though he is in MN, I haven't seen much of him and we were talking about the effects of growing into the real world. Jobs, money, time, ease: all factors that wrench us from being intentional with our relationships with people, no matter how much we may want to or even say we will. Its hard too because our high school had a pretty close group of friends, we definitely get together when we can but we have already split up quite a bit and I fear it will only get worse once we get those diplomas and are no longer tied to any one part of the country for any amount of time. We no longer have summers or Christmas breaks to pass in hometowns. Our endless possibilities are a blessing and a curse. I mean, I will be in Mexico for almost a year! It will definitely be harder to be intentional across country borders... though it shouldn't be in our age of technology....
Anyway, end of ramble session :) The countdown to being a 'real boy'.. er girl.. is here... and apparently getting to me

[I'll add pics once I gather them from the other girls :) ]

More Merriment

After that excitement, I was blessed with more company! My friends Bri and Alisha (college roomies) and Jenna (from high school) came out for the weekend to see Janice and I! Here we are one of the many times we used CTA :)Their big Chicago welcome was an appointment at a massage school for an hour massage! There were only 3 openings in their schedule so I missed out this luxury but an hour later I picked them up smelling all eucalyptus and minty fresh. When Janice got off work we went down to Buca di Beppos for their Dolce Platter: 4 desserts, the huge chocolate cake, homemade raspberry cheesecake, tiramisu, and apple crostata! The waiter was skeptical in thinking we five girls could finish it all but have no fear, they were all sooo good! From there we went up to the game bar. This time we got a table and it was on the porch! That made my night, to be sitting basically outside with good friends and a good game while being served food and drink. It felt like we were at someone's house rather than a bar.. I love spring! We played a game called Loaded Questions and ordered pizza and had a ton of laughs.

Random aside: On Thursday night when I got back from the Bakers, Susan and I stayed up until about 3:30 just talking and being 'too excited to sleep.' I later got mad at ourselves for having gone to bed then! We could have waited one hour longer and been awake during the 5.2 magnitude earthquake! As it was I was apparently so dead tired that it did not phase me... Janice however had a dream that there was an earthquake (which later in the dream turned to a fire, but that is beside the point..) The Chicago Trib was talking to her when they put this on the front page:

"Nope, you weren't dreaming (that was an earthquake.)"

Saturday was forecasted to rain, but luckily we found a few hours between to do some sightseeing outside. We walked around in Millennium Park of course, the bean is a must-see/ must-take-picture-with in Chicago. Jenna and I also got our picture in front of 'our' pub. We had Ed Debevic's for lunch. This 50s style diner is known for its rude staff, so I guess you have to be in the right mood and then its funny. They threw the sailor-looking hats they give you right into our faces and threw the menus on the table. Basically every comment made was just really short and they often tried to dis us in other ways. I had the unfortunate seat in a chair at the end of a booth, each time one of the waiters walked by I got bumped or 'butt in the face' comments. They made a really good hamburger though! And they did the YMCA dance for us on tables, what else could you ask for?! A nap. We came back and lazed about for a few hours, some napping, some chatting, a lot of chillin, before going out to eat again! The only Costa Rican restaurant in Chicago, Irazu, is another must-do on my list. Janice and I had gone in January when I first got here with some other kids from the program, and it was so good I wanted to go again! I had a delicious steak, white rice and black beans, and plantains and a guanabana shake... I could eat there daily. Bri got the aveno shake, aka oatmeal, I'd recommend that one. Its a fun atmosphere too, the entry way is too small for its popularity and seating is one smaller room with the large mural wall of a small costa rican house and greenery. It is worth the wait though, and the staff of this family owned restaurant, are all very funny and friendly :)
Back at the apartment we watched one of my favorite movies, Juno, before going to the iO theater for the $5 midnight sketch, Klusterphuck. This improv group is very random and fast-paced. They came out on stage all doing their own scene on top of each others voices, and they would switch scenes so quickly you could almost overlook that they had done it. It was really funny, and my only complaint would be that it was far too short at under an hour. Around 2 we all made our way to bed in the living room, 5 girls sleeping on the floor with two open beds in the other room :)

Fantastic Fun

another week of freedom.... I never quite know what to do with myself and this free alone time during the day. You'd think being in Chicago and all, my options are endless right... true as that may be, I never seem to do anything too exciting or different.

I have thoroughly enjoyed the weather this week! Tuesday I went to the beach and literally just sat down and felt instant happiness. Warm weather is such an upper! It was soooo good to just sit in the warm sun and listen to the water (and a well selected ipod playlist) and see all the other happy people and watch the dogs fetching in the lake and seeing the blooming flowers and ... man, I was high on life! :)

Wednesday was also an extremely happy day! Both Dan and Mark (Kentucky friends from España) came up to Chicago! We had really good tickets to the Cubs game (they won!) and we ate at a restaurant with the open wall so it was almost like we were eating on the sidewalk. :) Thats another thing I love about this weather; all the bars and restaurants have large windows or faux walls that open up to let it in. So, clad in my new #16 Ramirez T, we enjoyed the weather while it lasted and tried to keep the warmth at the game as well. Wrigley is a pretty cool field. It is the second oldest major league stadium in use today (1914, two years Fenway's junior). Seeing the older style score board was fun, and not having a big screen was weird and at times comical with the commercials they tried to make work on a smaller scale. I wish the ivy wall had actually been green. They were playing the Cincinnatti Reds, we won 12-3! Funny thing during the game, something like the 8th inning, the Reds scored a homer over right field into the crowd. Fans always throw opposing teams homerun balls back onto the field right... well this time it seemed to take a bit of time for that ball to come back out [in the words of one of the Bakers: no one is stupid enough to throw back a game ball, they bring extras to throw back] so it seemed to me that someone else was taking care of the tradition by helping out a fellow fan throwing their extra ball. At the same moment someone else had the same idea so now two balls were thrown back for this one homer. Then a sudden shower of balls came flying from the stands! I think we counted up to 15, and they didn't all end up coming from the same location even which made it even better. It held up the game a bit and I dont really think the players appreciated it but I think the fans did and thats all that matters right :)

Thursday I cleaned our apartment, vacuumed and all, and did a little shopping in order to bide the time when the Bakers were done with their school activities. I met them at their hotel which is south 7 stops on the El, we were going to go out to pizza with the other Asbury kids that were also there (I think there were around 15 of us maybe?!). They didn't say exactly where we were going but we took off walking... after some time we crossed the river... some time later, we were still walking! We had almost walked all the way back to my apt in order to eat at Gino's. I did not wear the proper shoes for this trek and now have to deal with the blisters from that decision but it was worth it! :) I was told two pieces of this pizza was going to be enough and just to spite that I vowed to eat 2.5. Sadly, I wasn't able to! Mark and Dan ate three each and I ate the other 2 of the pizza we shared. It was really good though, holy filling, but really good. The walls of this place were covered in writing. I found our names all in one spot but this is the best pic we got :) It says Bre near me (which is what those guys call me, along with everyone else from Spain) and Mark is by him, and Dan is near Mark's arm but he wouldn't get in the picture. After we were done eating we worked off all those calories by walking the entire distance back once again. It was a fun walk though, we made a few pit stops and had a lot of laughs. Back at the hotel we played Apples to Apples in the largest group I've ever played with and of course had some more laughs. Another thing that was the source of much humor was a shocker pen that Dan had. It is so funny to try to convince people to push the button and watch their reactions! Even once people knew about it they still react, the pen gets thrown or they merely jolt with shock but either way, hilarious :)

It was SO good to see those boys again! They are so fun to be around, I dont think I spend much time with them not laughing! It was an excellent break in my almost getting monotonous days of too much freedom!! Unfortunately, all good things come to an end, and they had to get back to KY...

life isn't real you know

Friday night the roomies and I laid low; we watched Bee Movie and ordered pizza. Saturday definitely made up for this. I was really excited to have my friend Bethany come into the city for a visit! (we went to Spain together and she is student teaching outside the city) It was so good to see her and be able to hang out for a few hours. We went out to eat at an Italian restaurant where we were able to reminisce on times we ourselves spent in Italy together! It was great meal and the rain even let up enough so we could walk back to my apartment where the mini-reunion was made a bit bigger when Gerrid showed up as well! He was with us in Spain and had come to the city for the weekend from his school in Michigan. So we got to catch up for a bit before we all went our separate ways for the night. It was too short and seemed to only make me miss mis amigos de Espana more... we need another big reunion :)

After this gathering, Janice, Betsy, and I went to a free play downtown called Cleveland Raining. This theater is a smaller project that 'showcases playwrights of Asian, Middle Eastern, and Mediterranean backgrounds.' This was really just a "staged reading" I guess which means it was portrayed uniquely with lack of props and effects. It is not always like this but I think it still worked. The narrator was sitting in a chair stage left and read everything in the notes such as "act 1: jimmy sits on the floor, mick walks in...." The only props were: four chairs center stage strategically placed to appear as a car (a VW bug to be exact), some stage boxes with various purposes, and two chairs stage right to act as the porch. The four actors were never without their script binders, sometimes reading directly from them though still portraying the actions/emotions well enough for the audience to be connected. The opening is quite intriguing as the two main characters overlap their monologues, making neither fully comprehensible but also not leaving one feeling confused. The storyline is basically: Jimmy and Mari are both abandoned by theirr parents, and are now trying to make it on their own and deal with their past. Jimmy had a dream for a year about a floating in a VW after a long rain in Ohio and after spotting the very vehicle in a junk yard he bought it and hired a mechanic to help him make it seaworthy. So knowing that plotline, you can guess that it was in fact funny in its ridiculous dialogues. But again, under the comedic layer there were some more serious issues being dealt with, them as Korean Americans, dealing with loss, and how we are all connected. This blog's title is actually a quote from the play, they had a few good thought provoking lines like that. I was reminded of a Nicole Kidman film "Dogville" which also used minimalist props and actually used painted outlines with labels for most things (a bush was a circle labeled: gooseberry bush etc). So having previously appreciated that film, I found myself again attracted to the lack of stage design.

After this Janice and I realized that we hadn't really eaten supper and decided that we would order Chinese and get a movie. We felt so 'big city' when we got chinese food delivered to us like that :) especially at 11:30pm! we happily ate our chinese feast and watched a movie not getting to bed until something like 3am. It was a lovely day

Sunday we of course slept in! After eating quick lunches we went downtown shopping on State Street. Janice needed some tennis shoes so Susan and I just came along for the fun. We all went home happy a couple hours later; I found a really cute spring/fall jacket at H&M. The rest of the night we successfully did absolutely nothing :) Don't let anyone tell you different: life is tough.

No, Can I take a message?

Third day of freedom and I get a rainy day. I ventured out in the showers to get some groceries, mostly because I was now ambitious about my night of cooking supper. TexMex Mac n Cheese... it was alright :) Tonight was an Art Event with CS, we went to the Steppenwolf theater just north of here to Dead Man's Cell Phone. I really enjoyed it in all its quirky-glory!

It begins with, as suggested, a cell phone ringing in a cafe but after no motion to answer by the owner, the annoyed (alive) patron answers for him. Upon realizing he is no longer breathing, she continues to answer this formerly busy man's cell phone. After talking to a few people, including his mother, and not mentioning that he is dead, she calls 911, but keeps the phone. It brings her to many people from the life of Gordon (said dead man). She begins to create little white lies about what happened in the last moments of his life as a way to bring comfort to those he knew. She later comes to find that his life was not so grand, in fact almost morally reprehensible. Through all the humor it touches on some topics like how we are remembered in life, or death rather, and the issue of technology. At one point the protagonist says something like: " when you have your cell phone on you are supposed to be there. But when everyone has their cell phone on, no one is there. Its like we are disappearing the more we're there. " At one point she also enters the afterlife which I thought was a unique interpretation. Anyway, it was good, if you get a chance go, I also hear its coming out in book form so you could also read it :)

After the show we took a short bus ride and were walking the rest of the way back to our apartment. In the play they mentioned the street Goethe (pronounced something like gurta), so as we live a block south of Goethe, Susan decided to take that street home. Janice and I kept walking a different route but soon got an excited call from Susan. We had finally located a current set of the new Johnny Depp/Christian Bale/Channing Tatum movie, Public Enemies!!! We were kind of excited, not gonna lie. After waiting around for a bit though, a nice crew member came over to let us know that in fact none of the big name stars were going to be there tonight. Sad news for us, and that means this story isn't so good afterall, but just pretend. Apparently Johnny actually went back to France for Jack, his son's, b-day... we also heard they were 5 days behind schedule filming so maybe we still have a chance :)

"Set is upstairs guys!" says pink sign




the trucks, vans, the lights




semi from Universal Studios! :D

puppets are funny.

Second day of freedom. Already a little bored, can you believe it? I was actually fine, but I won't last much longer I dont think :) I slept in late, which I love to do. Janice came home on her break between classes (probably my biggest perk to not being in the Chicago Semester program-I don't have to go to their classes, my roomies have to take two classes on top of their internships). After Janice left I decided I needed to get out so I made a trip to the Harold Washington Library downtown. I love libraries as well! That library though, huge. 7th floor, Literature and Language, I could be there for days. The fiction section is (just a guess, I'll have to check next time) something like 40 rows long?! They have everything, it makes me happy just being there among all those wonderful books :) So, I read a bit more in Wicked (almost done...) and I grabbed a couple more as I think I will be doing a lot of reading these next couple weeks. Then, as it was a pretty decent day out, a little chilly but sun still trying to shine, I walked home instead of taking the L. I cant wait until all those tulip beds downtown start blooming, the greens are definitely out, but no color yet.
Janice and I decided to go to a much anticipated event for the both us, Felt. The iO theater that started many SNL-ers has this improv puppet show every Wednesday. It begins with a group of real life improv-ers and then the puppets come out. They are all different shapes, sizes, and colors; some look like humans, some like furry Sesame St characters, and others were fat little cats or tiny little people. :) It was pretty funny! Some of their jokes went a little too far, but thats what you get with improv. I would go again, puppets are funny.

banana suits

On Monday I got paid to go back to Daystar! It wasn't all that boring. My teacher gave me some things to do and I had to check in on the student in ISS quite often to make sure he was doing the things he was given, so the time went by pretty quickly. I only got Wicked out to read for about 20 minutes :) After the first 2 hrs he got over his 'i hate the world' attitude and started talking to me. I felt bad for him but I also didn't think it was allowed to make him enjoy his day... any way, check is in the mail :)

Today the roomies and I got up extra early (especially for me since I really had nothing to do!) and went to Jamba Juice for their free breakfast promotion. We got there even before the man in the banana suit came out on the sidewalk, so we over estimated the busy-ness factor a little. Since there was no long line to wait in, we had to find something else to spend our time before the roomies had to be at work. So our free breakfast turned into buying Starbucks drinks.... We spent the rest of the morning talking and staring out the window at Trump Tower, eating our deliciously free breakfast smoothies (i had chunky strawberry: strawberry, banana, and organic granola blended with soy milk, yogurt, and peanut butter, topped with banana slices! good stuff) and drinking our Starbucks (coffee for them, steamer for me:) ). I then came back home for a nice little nap! and when I woke up I cleaned the apartment (but only thought about getting the vacuum). Most of my night since has been spent searching for cabins to stay at in Montana for a graduation present/last hoorah with some NW friends, not completely successful yet. We'll see how that goes

cheezborger! cheezborger! cheezborger!

Another beautiful day in the neighborhood! Yesterday Janice and I decided that we needed a burger so that was today's mission. We decided to walk down to Navy Pier and eat at Billy Goat Tavern. I doubt many you will know this connection but it is the basis of the Olympia Restaurant sketch on SNL with John Belushi. They literally shout "Cheezborger" nonstop along with "No Coke. Pepsi" and "No fries. Chips" because those three items are the only things you can order successfully. As evident by my order of: triple cheezborger, chips, and pepsi :)

really cute roomie pic!

we also took senior pics :)

and this is in front of the gate to the university that we don't go to.
Northwestern College is in IA, not IL, thanks.

To end our night we went up to the top of the Hancock Building to get the view. Alli, the roomies, and I all went up to the Signature Lounge around sunset so we saw it go from light to dark which was fun. After one ear-poppingly fast elevator ride (something like 550 meters per minute) to floor 96, and a one drink minimum at around $12 a drink, we got quite a few pictures of the amazing vista. It was a good thing we went before dark I think, they say it is most busy at night but being able to really see the buildings was just as cool as seeing the lights go on forever, it produced better pics too. We were able to spot our tiny aprartment in the mess of concrete and lights too. Here's a small sampling:

Janice, Susan, Alli, and our $12 drinks :)

and the view, the sears tower,

our apartment! (our corner is the really lit up intersection)
and us! It was a good night :)

everyone is twitterpated

It's true. Something has come over the city, and as for me, 'I love Chicago in the springtime.' There was no question, we had to go outside and enjoy the near 70°, so Janice and I just started walking (capris, no jackets, and flip flops!!) without real destination. We walked our way downtown and of course found ourselves in Millennium Park because with all the skyscrapers this was the place to enjoy the sun the most efficiently :) After stopping for some delicious smoothies from Jamba Juice we ran into Susan and Alli who were doing the same thing. The four of us then walked over the BP Bridge and to the lake. We followed the water the whole way home (yeah, have I mentioned we are about 2 blocks from the beach?!). The outdoor cafe tables are starting to appear as well as the flowers! I think the general mood of the city was Happy! I loved it, now if it could stay like this the rest of my time here...

For our nightly entertainment we decided to go to a dueling pianos joint. We tried to get into a place called Howl at the Moon, but the line was uber long and some girls ahead of us said they hadn't moved much and had been there a half hour already. So we knew of another one up north and made our way there instead. It was a pretty good time. There were some birthdays and bachelorette parties which made it even more entertaining to watch as they were willing to drop a lot of money on song requests etc. It was fun to be able to just belt out the songs, because everyone else was as well.

Oh this past week or so my roommates and I have been trying so hard to find filming locations for this movie 'Public Enemies,' it stars Johnny Depp, Channing Tatum, Christian Bale... I mean if I saw anyone it would be great, but Johnny?! haha. :) Some girl in our apt building did see them filming about 3 miles north of here, and our door lady told us she heard they were on our street. The internet actually failed me this time because apparently the fan crowds were too big in Indiana and Wisconsin or wherever they have already filmed so they were keeping locations under wraps much more here. So I think my chance has passed but I was so close! :)

As for Daystar School... Friday was my last official day. I am done teaching, and all but have my teaching degree. My last two weeks were a lot of fun, getting to know the kids and the other teachers so much better. I got some good hugs from both on friday :) As soon as I walked into my apt Fri after school, I got a call from my cooperating teacher. She said they wanted me to come on Mon and be the proctor for a kid in ISS (in school suspension) so I will be back on Mon already! Probably the most boring job on earth, but we'll see. And then after their spring break one of the families is moving away and they had three kids there and the mom was really involved so i knew them pretty well. I will probably go back for their going-away party too. So I am not completely gone yet, but its getting there. I think my countdown is something like 20 days til departure. crazy, its all going by so fast!

laminating and copying machine

That title does not refer directly to the electronic tools themselves, but rather to me.

At school today I saw very little of the kids, except when I took my old classroom to the park as the teacher is on crutches. Which, by the way, the whole time was spent getting told I was now part of the dark side or that I was a traitor, or just screaming whenever I came near as if I also had the plague. It was more like who can yell the loudest to get Miss Miller to come over so we can scream some more. It was mostly funny though, when their shouts didn't pierce the ears too much.

Anyway, my day consisted of three main projects. A) the tearing down of a bulletin board and the succeeding act of covering it again with new colored paper. B) copying each individual page of a 155 page Reading workbook and then stapling them into packets of three. and finally, C) laminating 100 NCTM (national council of teaching math.) standard-covering story problem cards (mind you, I was also the one who previously copied each from a book and cut them out). This task includes feeding them all through the laminator and then cutting each of the four sides to a decent length. Talk about time consuming.

Its been a really relaxing past week and half, mostly because I no longer have any homework to speak of. Friday we hung out with the Dordt girls. We took the book quiz to see which is our primary love language from the 5; mine was Physical Touch.. kind of predictable, I love me some hugs :)

This past weekend we tried to get to the Game Bar but it was too full, no tables free, so Susan and I headed out for an evening of our own fun. And it was. We just walked all over mostly downtown and took random pictures. the next night Susan and I rented movies and made ourselves some quesadillas on her new (free from coke points) sandwich maker. very exciting! (no sarcasm there. really!)

we're Cubs fans, duh! (I just bought a shirt today in fact!)

(no caption necessary I think)

We were being ..artsy?!

Susan and I with the moose outside the Tribune building.
We look so good we "make boy moose go waaaaaaaaaaaaa"

This week at school has been a lot of grunt work, mostly copying and hanging things up (or taking them down). I also set up some shelving thing and of course help individual students a lot. As an early out day I got to go around downtown this afternoon again. Only this time I actually felt like shopping, sorry mom ;) It was a buy one get one at one of my favorite stores, couldn't resist. Only two days left at Daystar... crazy.

Sometimes I try to imagine life in Mexico, and I can't, so I stop.