you know what happens when you assume...

I got bored for the first time the other day. It was around 5 so I decided to take pooch on a long walk. I guess that's a semi good way to deal with boredom, it was either a walk or ride my bike but I hate riding my bike during rush hour for fear that I might get run over.  Plus riding my bike resolves night time boredom, not day boredom. I had my first night ride the other night and it was a much needed one.  I love riding through the quiet neighborhoods and down Chicago Ave. and when I hit the bridge that goes over the highway you have the perfect view of the city.  I think seeing the city like that is one of my favorite Chicago moments. Summer nights and riding bikes go very well together.

Today I went over to Chris's to pick some stuff up and he gave me the Rainbo calendar poster that I totally forgot about.  The background of the poster is of photobooth pictures and Chris and I are in one of them.  There are a bunch of other kids on it too like Alicia and Raneta, Casey and the other Rodan bartenders, and other familiar faces that I don't know names of.  The picture of Chris and I is lovely, I think I am pretending to pick his nose, go figure. I like that they did that for their calendar, brings back tons of good photobooth memories. 

I start back at Feast tomorrow. Kind of excited to have a job again and to see old co-workers and also kind of nervous that I am going to mess something up per usual, oh well. Lately its been hot and humid making me not want to be outside but you can't waste a summer in Chicago by being inside, you'll regret it when the winter chill hits.  Other than that I've been to my storage unit a million times it seems. I guess I still haven't totally settled down since most of my belongings are in storage right now.  I did however get my bike out so me and my trusty ride are roaming the streets again.  There was lots of stuff that I was thinking I should write in this but apparently not.  I am going back to KC for 4th of July with Reas.  Should be fun to have a family hang out and to play with Murphy.  

Anyhoo, I keep either forgetting to take my cameras with me or just can't take them with me so I've been taking pictures on my cell phone.  I'll spare you all the pictures of Bradley but here are some more goings on with me and my city. 

Something I really like about Chicago are the names of stores.  I used to live on Ashland and across the street was a place called "Very Best Dry Cleaners".  "Always Open" is a good one too, I don't know I just think its funny because its so obvious. 

So this is the park that they've spent the last year or two working on.  It used to be a gravel pit filled with trash, its pretty now and there's a ledge to skate there so there's fun for everyone.  There are some things that I don't like about though, which are the people who use it as a dog park and take their dogs off their leashes and the old men that go there to tan. Two things my days could do without seeing. 

Laura and I saw this dog in Buffalo Exchange. Its wearing a Tutu. 

We hang out on Laura's porch a lot and watch the bike riders and softball games going on across the street.  Its summer and I like doing things that involve friends and porches.

summerrrr

Obviously I've totally slacked at posting, but I am back to the grind. Being in KC was relaxing and I had some good times with friends such as Amber and Ali.  After KC I finally made it back to Chicago so now I am here trying to get on some kind of schedule but that's pretty hard since its summer and the whole point of summer is not having a schedule. I've been doing a lot of walking Bradley, riding my bike, and hanging out with Laura and Suzy. Some highlights of being back have been seeing Monika and Chadwick and eating at Chicago Diner all in one night (their vegan "milk"shakes are amazing), going to see Katie A. in her new band Bromance minus the getting really lost finding the venue, seeing Crystal Castles for free at Double Door, actually the best part of that was the free part but also the actually getting in and the sweaty uber excited kids parts weren't too bad either, and group bike rides are always nice.  

The weather has been pretty amazing lately, little to no humidity and in the 70's or low 80's.  Yesterday was a perfect day, slept in, went on a good run, layed out on the roof with Reas and Diana, helped Kenton move, hit up pizza metro with Kenton and pooch, saw Curt and Josh play at Sonotheque with Laura and Suzy, went to Rodans, ran into some friends on Milwaukee and came home.  Down points of the evening were that I got a flat on my bike and lost my favorite sweater but those things are easily fixed. Anyhoo I got my job back at Feast which is good news for the pocket book.  I am actually excited to work there again, mainly because its really easy and I have a super flexible schedule. Tomorrow is free day at the Chicago History Museum so I think I am going to hit that up.  I want to go to one of the museums once a week this summer. Kelly and I have a thing called Adventure Wednesdays where we do something interesting in the city and just have a fun day, so I am adding another day to my week which is Museum Day.  I just want to get in as much fun and adventuring as I can this summer because its my last one. After this its all business and no fun. Anyhoo here are some random pictures from my daily goings on. 

View from the roof. I am going to be hanging out here a lot this summer.

This is where I hang out a lot in the morning. I watch people ride their bikes down the street and the cars slam on their brakes because they didn't see the speed bump. 

Puerto Rican Fest! Its officially summer in Chicago.

Crystal Castles. We waited in line for 30 minutes for this business. Good thing it was fun, and free.

Kelly is going to kill me for putting this up here, but I think she looks cute. I missed this lady lots while I was gone.

Ali is hiding and Amber is obviously having fun. Alex just wants to know what's going on. 

home again home again

So my travels have come to and end and I am back in the US, Kansas City to be exact. It actually feels pretty good to be home for a bit after all the traveling. I think my body is really confused because I am still exhausted and on top of that I have a sinus infection. Everyone I've talked to has told me just to stay up and then I'll get over the whole jet lag thing but apparently they're wrong, I've stayed up late every night I've been back and yet I still wake up at 8 or 9 and am still tired the next day. I think living in a different country for a few months effects your body differently than visiting for a week so I am guessing I have a few more days before I feel normal again.
Last time I left off I think I was in Madrid, after which I went to Barcelona and stayed with Veronica and her husband Jao. I've known Vern since I was 7 when she was my Aunt and Uncle's foreign exchange student and I haven't seen her for about 5 or 6 years so it was great to stay with her. Plus she is pregnant which was really wild because her being pregnant is like my brother or cousin having a child. I think there is still some debate over the first name but the middle name is going to be Morrissey, after the singer who was also in The Smiths, obviously they're big fans. But not only is that a cool name but I also enjoy the man whom their soon to be boy is going to be named after.
Anyhoo, it rained again in Barcelona but that didn't bother me and I had a amazing time. I would have liked to have stayed longer but the time I did spend there was relaxing. Since it was the weekend Vern and Jao were able to show me around. They showed me the Olympic stadium and the castle and lots of beautiful buildings but the best part was sleeping in and taking breakfast to the beach.
After Barcelona I returned to Dublin for a few days before I trekked back to the US. But before that I randomly ran into a fellow Chicagoin, Pat Doran in Topshop and found out that we were on the same flight to Chicago. The poor kid, I think I scared him a bit or at least left a colorful impression on him on the morning of our flight. After running into him again in the airport, at about 9 AM, I told him to meet me in the bar for a final pint. He very politely reminded me of the time and how early in the morning it was and I very politely repeated my invite to the bar. I don't know exactly why, but after passing the bar once, I felt the urge to go in and have my last pint. I think it was a mixture of needing a good drink before my flight so that I could sleep better, just kind of wanting a drink, and using it as a kind of final hoorah to my time in Ireland.
The past five or so months have been amazing. After having time to think about it, I don't think I would have done my trip any other way, nor do I wish I had traveled around Europe before this. If I was any younger I don't think I would have appreciated it as much as I have so I think I've been very lucky to experience it the way I did. If you didn't notice, that's my really awkward way of saying 'thank you' to mom and dad for letting me spend their hard earned money this past semester. Plus they were actually pretty cool the whole time I was away, rarely giving me grief for all the money I spent, which if you know Mel and Larry, is hard for them to do. (That's a joke mom!)

But now I am back in Kansas City for a week. Its really hot and humid and I keep waking up in the middle of the night wondering where I am and of course, I am still kind of living out of my bags. I go back to Chicago in a week which is pretty exciting. Until then here are a few pictures of the end of my travels. Oh and I am going to keep up with the blog. While my life may be a bit less exciting without the exotic traveling, I think my life is still interesting, or at least humorous enough to write about.

The Lourve in Paris. I tried going the day before but it was closed but my second attempt was successful and sunnier.

This was one of the exhibits of the Lourve. I want this couch.

Jardin du Luxenburg in Paris. This was the best park I've been to. Not only was it gorgeous but there were kids riding ponies, you could rent toy sailboats and sail them with a stick, and plenty of places to sit down and relax. I almost missed my train to Madrid by hanging out in this park.

Madrid hostel.



Bon Jovi was playing at the Olympic stadium the next day. There were like three fans camped outside and it was raining all day. Sucks for them.

Castle in Barcelona. It was on top of a mountain and we were in a cloud. We couldn't see the city but it was kind of cool and eerie at the same time.



View from Vern's apartment.

Vern and Jao on our beach breakfast.


Final days in Ireland..Ariella and I decided to take a day trip to Howth which is like twenty minutes outside of Dublin.

Goodbye Dublin!