Fast times in the CITY

Eek! It's been like...three weekends since I've blogged! In that time I visited the Hange Uppe a few times, went to a cook out (or two), hung out at the beach after dark, helped start up the dance floor, saw lots of random ND people, and the list goes on.

The most exciting part about two weekends ago was when I managed to get my air conditioner in the window. I learned how to use my crappy drill, discovered I had drilled in the wrong place, and had a bit of an emotional breakdown (during which I called my parents hysterically in tears. I am really lame like that sometimes.) Because I decided that an empty AC casing should not be left precariously perched in a window, I was determined, and somehow managed to get the whole thing in...heavy AC unit and all! And to celebrate, I even had people over! Because I was no longer embarrassed to host people in a hot apartment. Now, embarrassment for hosting in a cramped apartment is another story.

That evening, Katherine G. and I took Spidey and Carol to the Hangge Uppe for the first time, where we stood in line forEVER. It was super fun, though, as the Hangge Uppe often is. The mix of music, the people dancing, the crazy guys on the stage (not the same guys every week, but it always happens)...it's great! That night, Carol and Spiderman spent the night, and the next morning we went to a noodle place before the headed home. Then I decided to go shopping and bought a dress. I need more dresses...I seem to only have dressy dresses...I need some going out dresses...

I think this was the week where I went out for Ethiopian food with Carol, Rory, Carol's sister Janet, Stephanie and Kyle. Oh! What inappropriate conversations we had. That day was filled with weird conversations. At lunch, we talked about herpes. At dinner, we talked about threesomes and other strange sexual experiences. I'm surprised it didn't turn into a game of "never have I ever." The next day, we had a little work happy hour because a couple of my fellow designers "won" them. This resulted in me having a LOT of beer...and a well drink after Tom the intern gave me his bracelet. The night ended after Allison and I decided to start dancing, and pretty soon, the rest of our coworkers (the ones who had stayed til this point) joined in. I think my company has the potential to have some awesome dance parties. I can hope, right?

Last weekend I wandered over to the Taste of Lincoln Ave...in part to see a DMB cover band. I'm not sure if that was a low point or not...haha! They had pina coladas in pineapples, but they were $8 and I wasn't sure it was worth it. I also heard many conversations about a certain former ND player who was pitching for the Cubs that weekend. It was pretty funny to listen to people in the "real world" talking about a "classmate."

So soon after, I met Rory and Carol at the Potbelly's by my apartment. Some guy pretty much stole our money after we agreed to help him get his car un-towed. Psh. Then Carol and I made a nice little trip to the liquor store while Rory was off finding the best parking spot ever. This was a milestone in that now I have alcohol in my apartment, and on a side note, I am still bitter that my brother is drinking all of our alcohol from school. Ugh. I digress. Dolu came over, and eventually Kyle did, too, and insisted on playing cards. So Rory and I went to the Walgreens to get said cards. The game was rather long, but fairly simple to play in an inebriated state (well, except for Dolu who kept forgetting to follow suit, causing us to throw out a couple of hands.)

Kyle was tired, so he went home as the rest of us headed to the Hangge Uppe. A few points:
-I made my first trip to the upstairs dance floor, which had more modern hip hop-style music.
-Beer and the like was spilled on me at regular intervals. That was familiar...
-The clientele was a bit older than normal, and included a couple who kept pushing me into a crowd. The woman was not thin, and her guy was backing her into the crowd, and I was unfortunate to be between them,
-Also, there were these two crazy drunk girls who were standing behind me and kept falling all over the place and all over me. Dolu offered to switch places, and we did, but the girls were so intense that they were pushing him around. Then we started kind of talking with them, as I laughed hysterically watching them.
-Everyone there was insanely tall.
-First three songs...Sweet Caroline, Your Love, Don't Stop Believing. Also, I kind of freaked out when they started playing Africa because Dolu was with us.

So the next day, I woke up, went to visit Katherine who was at the bagel place down the street, reading, and ran to the store to get the last few ingredients to make...guacamole! I was a little frazzled as I made it...I had never prepared avocados, and I don't think they were entirely ripe. People seemed to like the guacamole, though, so I think it was a success. Why was I making this nutritious dip? For a cookout! Carol's landlady, who lives in the house above her apartment, was out of town, so we had a party! Woo! Even though the boys used the grill incorrectly, the food was good, the wine was good, and the scenery was good, too! We felt like grown ups, for some reason. It was nice to be in an actual backyard. Someday I'd like to own a house...we'll see if THAT ever happens...

This week....oh, let's see...I went running on Monday, but took the rest of the week off because I can't really even walk without the back of my heel hurting. I have a gross sore on it. I should probably get it checked out before it gets infected...Sorry for the gross aside. Wednesday, Mary and I went to Carol's for leftovers and ended up taking a walk to the beach. The sand was nice, and you could see the Chicago skyline, which was all lit up and glowed pink-ish. It was nice.
This week before work one day, the Jessie Spano drug addiction episode was on and I knew it was the start of a great day. I also discovered the "Executive" combo at the market, which includes soup and a sandwich for a little over $5.

Last night, Katherine and I were going to meet Dolu to go to some benefit thing at a local bar. After waiting for awhile, we went to a bar, and after a slight setback, were let in. Ok, so the deal was $25 to get a bracelet and then all you can drink until 11 (wells, wine, drafts). Katherine and I were a bit hesitant to pay this much for only an hour and a half of drinking, but we totally got our money's worth. While helping children in Africa with AIDS...or, little Dolus who have AIDS. We got to the point where we were alternating bars because we were afraid one of the bartenders would cut us off. I had fun, and we left a little after 11 and met Rory and friends outside. I led the way to a bar called John Barleycorn, which I had heard had dancing. It was a fun time, and later that night they played Miley (so obviously I had to text a few friends...) We saw some Sorin guys, which was pretty cool. At one point I left to meet (creepy) Mike who had literally JUST moved to the neighborhood, and escort him to that fine establishment. Later, on a routine trip to the restroom, I ran into the Michigan State guys who I had met at the Hangge Uppe a few weeks before, which was pretty random. We left when the bar closed (wasn't a late night one, unfortunately), but we were all tired and went home to go to bed. Dolu and I had another semi-deep conversation, and then I slept like a baby.

And here I am, today. I was going to go to the beach, but that didn't quite happen. I suppose I could still go, but maybe I'll go shopping instead. Or I'll just sit here and read. Welp, there you go. Now you know what goes on in my life, all the sordid details.