I looked at the calendar today and noticed there is exactly one week left of summer. I noticed some of the trees were starting to change colors last week, and the weather is certainly cooler – I just, for some reason, am not ready for the official declaration of it being autumn and no longer being summer – or maybe I am.
I think much of it has to do with this spring/summer being one of the best since I moved to the city – remember last year when I was almost wishing not to have a job so I could take advantage of all Chicago had to offer int he summer and then I did lose my job and it sucked? Well, this year has proved that I can in fact have my cake (job) and eat all the good Chicago-ness too! Let’s take a look at what good times were had, shall we?
In April I got to go to Florida for the first time in 4 years. I spent time with Ginny, went downtown. I spent time with Josh, went to the beach. I drove down A1A through Cape Canaveral and saw the house my mom and I rented once upon a time on the beach.
In May I met Jen Lancaster at a book signing (ok, “met” is a strong word… I got my picture taken with her (said photo will be used as a good ‘before’ photo when I lose a bunch of weight)). Andi graduated and had a birthday which meant dinner with her family and drinks with the gals from knitting group. We also met Jemaine and Bret after the Flight of the Conchords show (2 more pics also for the before book) and I won tickets to see KT Tunstall – again. Beth had a birthday at the end of the month and she and I had AWESOME seats to Avenue Q! We chugged champagne before walking in the theater to see naked puppets. Our knitting group also had the first of the BBQ’s at Beth’s place on Memorial Day.
June had some mixed feelings, but from the bad came some good. Elizabeth had a birthday bowling party which was pretty darn fun and a few days later I got my first and only spinning lesson (spinning as in spinning yarn). I was in a “mood” when I was with the girls, and 2 days later my mood worsened when my great aunt passed. The good of her passing was that she did not suffer and I’m sure she’s happy to be reunited with her husband. I also got to go see my family back east and though it was rough circumstances, it was still very good to see them. Playing cards with my aunt, uncle and cousin still sticks out in my mind as one of the more fond memories of the week. Neocon was also this month and despite ending a friendship after having the liquid courage of free martini’s, the martini’s were still a plus for the month!
In July we had our second BBQ at Beth’s for the 4th and then Chicago Summer Dance started. Adrienne and I spent quite a few weekends down in Grant Park learning how to do various dances. One of the better nights of dancing also involved us catching the fireworks from Venetian Night and ending up at the Intercontinental Hotel where we had the best Creme Brulee ever. Jody and I took a Monday off from our respective jobs and went to Hurricane Harbor at Six Flags. I still give her a little grief for not braving any of the slides with me, but we still had a great day on the Lazy River and the wave pool.
August started with Lollapalooza. I still say I’m unsure if I’ll go again next year, but I’m sure come April ‘09 I’ll be buying a ticket for it anyhow. Just before Lolla, I met Matt, which brought along some interesting dates/hanging out times throughout the month. Even though he’s lived in/around the city all his life, we’ve still managed to go to places that are new to both of us. We attempted to watch Blues Brothers during the movies in Grant Park, but we got rained out! Boo! I also fufilled a 4-year wish to be in a sailboat on Lake Michigan during August! Next year I want to see if I can get in with a crew and learn how to SAIL the boat – riding is one thing, but the whole process of throwing the sale up and steering just looks like so much fun!
And this month.. Well, I went back to Florida and instead of running around to see EVERYONE I hadn’t seen in 4 years I instead planned on seeing only Ginny and Josh. I was lucky to see Kristin too, and to go to Cassadaga to get a reading. I went to the beach again and helped Josh shop for some stuff for his new place. I treasure tete-a-tete time with Josh – it should happen more often. I gave blood for the first time in my life last week (and my arm is still sore from it). Over this past weekend Matt and I shared a 100$ wine flight that included wines from 1960-something and 1908! This week we’re going to go see Batman on the Imax screen and Wednesday we’re having our first (and perhaps only) flying trapeze lesson. I’ll be going back on the Points system for real (thanks to Jody joining it too – personal support rocks!) and I think on Friday I’m going to go to a Dar Williams concert on my own.
And then it’ll be the weekend and Monday it will be fall. And I’ll be ok with it because, well, that was one hell of a summer… but next year’s will be even better, right?
