last days in chicago

day seven - tuesday, shopping & hancock observatory
lisa and i went shopping on tuesday. actually, i really just went for her. i'd pretty much finished all my shopping. we walked and walked. for hours and hours. we planned on going to the art institute of chicago museum. in the summers, they are opened until 9p and if you go pass 5p, it's free!!
on the way, we went through the millenium park. if you look in the middle of the picture (above), you can see a tiny tiny reflection of me and lisa in the bean. the park is really lovely. there are gardens and sculptures, everywhere. it was a great summer day to be out and about.

upon arriving at the art institute, it turns out that they were closed!! the free summer nights had ended, the day before! what horrible luck. so we did some more shopping while waiting for mien to get out of work.

we had dinner at kamehachi at the streeterville location where angel is the restaurant manager. we got there before mien so i had a drink at the bar. it was a tokyo cosmo and was yummy in my empty tummy. needless to say, i inhaled the edamame. i ate tons, as usual. so so many rolls... we had the dragon rolls, the green turtle rolls, the spicy tuna rolls and the rainbow rolls. on top of these rolls, mien & i shared the steak teriyaki. mmm meat. delicious!

angel mentioned that it was going to rain on wednesday, so if we wanted to see the hancock observatory, we ought to go after dinner. and we did. it was super crowded. i think everyone had the same idea we did. the hancock lounge is on the 99th floor of the john hancock center. as we were seated, this group sitting in a prime viewing booth, got up to leave. our cocktail waitress offered us the table as some much older people tried swiping it from us. denied! ha! stupid old lady said they'd tip better. people suck, don't they? despite them, it was a happy ending to a really long day.

day eight - september 3rd, field museum & white castle
our one day of culture was here, at the field museum. the field museum is chicago's museum of natural history. it took forever to get there on the bus, and then, it took another forever to get tix. there was one cashier talking to these people f-o-r-e-v-e-r. geez. so we got the basic tix figuring we didn't have time for the special exhibits.

seeing all the animals was really interesting. it's amazing to see wild animals up close and personal like that. thank goodness they are long dead and stuffed! the bird exhibit seemed to go on and on and on. if you like birds, this is the place to go to see them. so so many birds. we spent a lot of time looking at the animals. on the other side was chicago history. we breezed through it. it wasn't as interesting as the animals. we thought we'd been there for 2 hours and it felt like they were closing so we rushed out. while riding the bus downtown for some more shopping, i realized we were an hour off. we were only at the museum for an hour or so which was fine because it gave us another hour to shop around.

i found myself back at the water tower place mall since lisa wanted to try out some wow bao buns on the first floor. we tried the coconut custard bun the day before and wanted to try out the savory buns. here i am eating the chicken curry bun which was quite tasty. it was very popular there too. we don't think it would do as well here since there are tasty buns everywhere in california!

mien, linda & lisa go to white castle:
we had quite the adventure going to white castle. none of us had ever gone. mien's been in chicago for about 8 years now. it was our last night so we decided to go. first, mien had to reserve a zipcar to take us there. we did that on my phone. then we had to get a cab to the car from where we were. we got there, saw the red mini she reserved but her card didn't work. so we called in and it turned out that rather than reserving the car at 10:30p, we reserved it on 10/30 as in october. so, she changed that reservation to 11p that night. it was 10:40 or so and we couldn't get into the car until 10 minutes before the reservation. mien decided to walk home to get a pillow. while we were back at her place, she'd left her bag there and just took along the pillow and her wallet. we get back to the car and oops, she'd left her zipcar card in her purse. so, we go back to her place and then back to the car. we get into the mini. this was my first time in a mini which is funny because i wanted to buy one before i got gigi! i pulled up white castle in my vz navigator and it gave us the nearest locations. apparently, it was slightly off. we ended up on the freeway and in an area that mien had never really been to. after countless wrong turns and mien nearly running a stop sign, we made it. we weren't sure that we'd get back in time to return the car after having to go back and forth from her place. we'd made it back just in time with 10 minutes to spare! after passing this house (with a bunch of guys hanging out front) on the corner about 10 millions times, they saw us one last time and i heard one of them say, there, those girls are!

half way through - lisa arrives!!

day five - sunday w/ lisa
lisa was arriving sunday evening which meant, i was half way through my trip. :( but was ecstatic that she was coming! on saturday night (more like, sunday morning), i didn't get to bed until 4a. and i get this call... from nisa! she wasn't surprised that i answered. we talked for a bit and she asked me what i was doing with the men i was meeting in chicago. was i loving and leaving them? or trying to get into a relationship with them? my answer was, loving and leaving them, of course!

mien and i started off the morning getting crepes at la creperie. but before that, we got ambushed. well, mien did. a big friendly-looking guy came up behind her and lifted her up. then, a woman came over to me and said, you must be linda. it was sue and angel, mien's friends. sue was supposed to meet up with us the night before but we got out too late. so, they joined us for crepes.

la creperie was a cute and charming place. they served everything on these very country english (probably french) china. i had the poulet & fromage de chevre (chicken & goat cheese) savory crepe. mien had the poulet au curry (chicken curry) savory crepe which i would strongly recommend. it was so flavorful. both angel & sue were really nice and so cute together. we sat in their outside patio in the back. it was such a lovely day to be outside under shade.

we walked around and shopped a bit afterwards to walk off our brunch. while mien & i took the bus back, sue who is quite the walking machine so she and angel walked back. we got back in time to pick up a zipcar and pick up lisa, except, lisa's plane landed more than 30 minutes early. so we picked her a little late...

we still had the potluck at georges' from avec on thursday. it started after 7:30 and we didn't get there until after 9, or was it 10? as soon as we walked in, clearly looking out of place, people gave us all such a nice welcome. we went in to say hello to georges and then were introduced to everyone else. apparently, georges has this potluck (no politics, no religion) every sunday. rain or shine. even when he's in germany every 4 or so weeks. and the food, was absolutely amazing. there was steak, sausage, salmon, pasta salad, and la pièce de résistance was... georges' paella. made specially for pescetarians sans sausage and shrimp for those allergic. it was so good, i had a second helping. and, i took the paella home. heehee.

we ended up drinking and staying until 2a or so. poor lisa was so tired. and boy, georges was coming on pretty strong to me. after several attempts hinting at leaving, mien finally got it and we left. it was very flattering and fun but i was in love 'em and leave 'em mode!

day six - labor day @ navy pier
we spent most of the day at the navy pier, along with everyone else in chicago. we took a 30 minute boat ride cruising around the lake. it was amazing. 30 minutes was just the right amount of time. i couldn't imagine doing the 1 hour tour.

back! and chicago continued

am finally back! can't believe my vacation is over! :( but it's nice to be back in my bed and with my family. too bad i got back in the middle of a heat wave, yuk. anyway, on to the rest of my trip...

day three - friday night in wicker park
i got off to a late start on friday as well. i planned on going to the shedd aquarium but it's almost $30 to go! seems like a lot. i decided to wait until lisa gets here to see what she wants to do.

i started with a cappuccino from the fix cafe (again) and then off to magnificent mile (again). ha. i went to filene's basement. i always seem to find something there. i got this very pretty purple dress by max studio there. it actually fit, perfectly. i went across the street to the water tower place mall to pick up a make up brush for mien at sephora. there was an mng by mango store there. there's one in the sf shopping center but i've never purchased anything from this store. they have such cute things at great prices too. it's a little nicer than h&m but more along the lines of zara. it's based in barcelona. penélope cruz and her sister, monica, both designed for mango. the dress pictured was my first mango purchase. yay! apparently, purple is all the rage for this coming season.

i met up with mien at pretty much the same place as yesterday. we went to chicago burger for some junk food (aka bacon cheddar fries and burger nachos...mmm). i showed mien my purchases and it made her want to go shopping. so we went to nordies at north bridge. she got a pair of cute shoes. she also got quite a deal at the ann taylor loft store. i was done for the day if not for the week.

it wasn't until past 9 or so that we got back to her place. we watched some tv and putz'd around (as i do) a bit. i don't remember when we finally started getting ready but it was after 10. i did mien's make up using the new stuff i got her. she wanted the smoky eye look. thank goodness for miss pursebuzz and her make up demos. i was able to give mien a look she really liked. she is my first makeover! then, i got ready and it was already midnight.

when i was there back in 2006, we had gone to the lincoln park area, the night mien & i met so so many boys. we decided on wicker park as it is where the "artsy" types go. as opposed to the "frat boy" types we found in lincoln park. the first place we went to confused me a little. but we were hungry and heard that they might still be serving food. so we went to pint, this pub that made me feel like i was in lincoln park. not only were we the only asians there, there were all sorts of typical midwestern cut outs. all the guys looked alike. i didn't really notice the girls. when we first walked in, there were these guys too drunk to know the meaning of subtlety, not to mention charm. they stared at us like... we were the juiciest pieces of meat there. wait, we were. ha. and, do you know how hard it is to look around anywhere else than two feet in front of you to avoid eye contact at all costs?? they got the hint and moved on to their next victims. we moved upstairs to people watch in the dark. after one drink, we decided to get some polish dogs on the corner. we might have been hungry but it really really hit the spot.

on to the next bar, across the street was rodan. it was very artsy here. different types of people and yes, even other asians. hipster types. nerds and geeks. i felt like i needed my glasses there. the music wasn't as hip, then again, maybe it was for chicagoans. it was all reggae, and turns out, is really fun to watch people try to dance to. we weren't there long before it closed, at 2a. we had one round of drinks.

it was 2a and most places were closing, except for one. not too far from rodan was nick's. they had an outside patio and they closed at 4a. we had two more hours, woo hoo! we ordered drinks and sat in the back. it was a little empty, outside anyway. not too long after we got there, this very midwestern guy sat down at our table. apparently, when mien went to the restroom earlier, he made her high five him. after chatting us up for a bit, his friend came by. his friend kinda looked like carlton from fresh prince of bel air. he was cute and charming and unlike his midwestern friend, closer to our age. carlton was 30 and his side kick was a mere 22. i don't remember what happened but carlton started talking to a girl in the table next to us and mien was talking to side kick baby (skb) and this random guy started gesturing to me. asking if i was with carlton and skb. i said no and excused myself to talk to the random guy. his name was tony and was a cop. he had two friends with him. a couple. she was in her mid-40s and her boy toy was in his late 20s. tony was cute and turning 32 on tuesday. said he hadn't seen anyone interesting all night until he saw me and he wanted to spend his birthday with me. i wonder if those lines actually work? i told him i couldn't because my sister was coming on sunday and i couldn't leave her. and when he found out i was from california, lost interest. oh well. went back to our table to see how mien was doing. after revealing that she had a bf, skb lost interest and started talking to me. he was tickling and hugging me all night too. weirdo. then 4a came round and we got kicked out. mien was talking to carlton quite a bit while skb was flirting with me. she told me that carlton was really into me and that the girl he was talking to wasn't cute and was just a friend. oh well. i'm not in chicago to find a man, i'm there to have fun.

day four - saturday is for recovering
nisa and i had planned a spa day on saturday. but it turned out she had to work. and mien didn't get up until past 2p. before that, nisa called at 8ish to touch base. i'd gone to sleep only 3 hours before that. i saw the sun rise over the lake. it was so breathtaking, i had to take a picture (see below). doesn't quite do it justice.
we had tac quick thai food for a late lunch. its located near the red L line. it was really good hip thai food, one of which mien frequents. i hadn't had thai in a while. there must have been a cubs game going on because many many cubs fans passed us up as we ate outside. tac quick is between lakeview and wrigleyville.

afterwards, we took a walk and stopped in at the fix cafe. unfortunately, it was closing, forever! and saturday night was the farewell party. we just had to pick up something to bring over to georges' potluck on sunday night and we could then head over to the party. i'm not sure where we walked but we walked long and far. it was a nice walk. some coffee and some shopping, for mien. we got back, had some italian sausages (mmm meat) before we headed out to the fix cafe.

one of the owners was there, eric. mien knows him through a coworker of hers. he seemed pretty interesting for someone who is 26 or 27. he'd been in the military and is finishing school for geology. we didn't stay very long until we decided to head out for some drinks. we went to the bar on buena otherwise known as the bob. they had a great selection on european beer and was very conveniently located a couple of blocks from mien's place. we chatted about boys, like always.

day two - thursday @ avec

happy birthday muffin!

today, i went to the fix cafe. it is literally across the street from park place towers. it's a very quaint, charming coffee shop. i noticed that a chalkboard by the front had "4 days left" on it. mien mentioned it might not be doing so well. i wonder if this is any indication that it will be closing. hope not. it is very cozy. except, i had no reception to watch any vcast videos on my phone. at least there was enough reception make calls. i called my dad and my niece (aka my baby). she told me she loved me very much. such a sweetie but it's not going to cut my trip short. ha.

i went shopping today. i took the 145 (or was it the 146?) to downtown. conveniently located by mien's office. it's only the second day (i leave in a week) and i finally got my arse to the magnificent mile. i always seem to find something at the benetton store there. two brown skirts for work. i bought what i picked out despite all the pieces the lovely sales girl from the ukraine tried to push on me. i seriously had more than 10 things she brought for me to try on. i went to h&m afterwards. i had about 6 plus items in my arm to try on. tax in chicago is over 10%. quite a lot compared to the bay area and nyc. so i didn't want to buy too much. i ended up with 4 items and put a lot back.

it worked out perfectly as i was done with h&m, mien was done at the office. so we walked toward each other to meet up. we met up on this lovely bridge and headed over to avec for dinner. one of my students recommended avec to me. mien had been there a few times but it'd been a while since she last went. it was better than i'd ever imagined.

it was packed when we got there but didn't have to wait too long for table space. i say space because you share a table of about 8. we sat at the end of this table with these three people. as soon as we sat down, one of them said, so, you finally got here. it was the start of something none of us imagined.

we started off with some wine. red and french. the guy who so nicely welcomed us offered his wine glass for some. we asked for a new glass for him. we ordered a whole bottle and had much to share. in turn, he shared some of their red snapper. very good. tender yet crispy. perfectly cooked, if you ask me. mien and i started with a cheese assortment. there was the la tur (made from goat, sheep & cow milk) from italia. then we had the la serena torta (sheep's milk) from espana. and finally, the sao jorge (cow's milk) from portugal. the la tur had the consistency of goat cheese and was our most favorite of the three. at first, when they brought the cheese out, there were 4 pieces. it didn't seem enough but turns out, was more than enough. we enjoyed it with the cheese accompaniments which is a must because, surprisingly, brings out the flavors of the cheese even more so. amazing, really.

we ordered way too many dishes. all so so good. we had the following:

norwegian salmon tartar with yellow wax beans, avocado, cilantro and pickled jalapeno - this was a brilliant combination of tastes and textures. maybe i just really like tartars. who knows.
"la quercia" prosciutto with market peaches, lemon, slivered almonds and marinated manchego - even when i was in milano, italia so many years ago. i shied away from prosciutto with mellon. but this was a special request from mien. so i tried it and it was fantastic. the peaches and prosciutto topped off with cheese. de-lish-shaws. mmm.
pan-roasted hangar steak with rapini, roasted corn, smoked paprika lima beans and beans herbed butter - all you have to know about this dish is... hangar steak with butter. gorgeous. perfectly roasted medium. really.
slow roasted crispy duck with marinated market plums, tarragon, grilled onion and savory streusel - this was unfortunately, our last dish. so we only had a bite of it. but boy do i love duck.

last but not least, we were treated to some splendid muscat by our especially kind table mates. there was john, caroline (they are married, caroline is from manchester, england. home of the best music out there. she agreed with me. john was born & raised in chicago), and georges who is john's bff from 1995. georges is from lebanon. great people to sit with. we had the best table there. they were so pleasant and fun. it was great. we were invited to georges' potluck on sunday which we plan on attending... good times, good times.

day one - lake michigan & harvey

i started the day waking up after noon. nice huh? it was really 10a for me. i stayed up chatting with my friend until really late. she had to go to work this morning too. bummer. so, i putz'd around for a few hours. i had brunch/lunch. made some phone calls, sent some text messages, replied to some work emails, etc. and headed out around 3ish or so for some coffee at dollop.

then i decided to go to the lake that park place towers overlooks. it took a while to actually get to the lake through the path filled with cyclists, rollerbladers, runners, pedestrians, dog-walkers, breeders (um, i mean, baby stroller-pushing-people) etc. then through the golf course to the lake where people sat and watched the lake as boats sailed by. it was amazingly serene, like a warm cup of green tea. i felt like i was on vacation. just sitting there and not having to worry about time or doing anything. then i met harvey, this nice elderly man who walked by me. i smiled and said hi. he came over a second time and asked me where i was from. then we chatted it up for a good 2 hours. he took me over to the dog beach to watch the dogs play in the water. he was very much a dog lover. stopped nearly every dog that walked by us. he was a very sweet old man.

before i knew it, it was nearly 7p. i'd made dinner plans at 8 and i was getting late. so he walked me over to my street and said, if i see you again, great. we'll say hello and chat. if not, take care. he also added that he thought i was a lovely young lady. aw. like i said earlier, harvey is a sweet old man.

i met up with my friend nisa at cafe iberico for tapas. like the directionally challenged retard that i am, even with my vz navigator, i got lost. i finally made it over and had a delightful but loud dinner. this place was quite happening for a wednesday night. totally packed. we yelled at each other the entire time there. nisa and i ordered 4 tapas (claims, potatoes in special spicy sauce, baked goat cheese wrapped in eggplant and chicken skewers with rice), ½ a pitcher of sangria and we were totally full. the tapas were portioned much nicer than i'm used to. i think we could have just gone with 2 or 3 dishes. we headed over to berry chill for froyo. they are chicago's version of red mango/pinkberry. it felt very pinkberry-ish. i tried their pistachio. ugh. good thing because i ended up with the regular tart with mochi. the cups & spoons were really cute and cartoon-like. nisa walked me to the metro at around 10p. she lived a few blocks away (in river north). it was lovely seeing her. we're going to try to meet up again.

mien came home after midnight. that's right, from work! we stayed up chatting until nearly 4a! and she has to go to work in the morning... yikes!

off i go!

hello out there! i am finally going on vacation! i currently have over 360 hours of vacation time and it is really about time i leave town. will be back on the 4th but may post while i am away! kisses.

thoughts & dreams

as i hype myself up for my upcoming trip to chicago, there have been random thoughts going on in my head. as a result, have been producing some bizarro dreams.

a couple of weeks ago, i was contacted by an old friend i met through my ex from san diego. at first, it was a little strange since i didn't really like any of his female friends. but i found a kindred spirit in her. when she called for him, i found myself chatting it up with her more and more. this was nearly 10 years ago. when he and i broke up in 2001, her friendship meant a great deal to me. it was as if we'd been friends all along sans him.

she moved to chicago for medical school after 2001. chicago is an endearing city to me because i almost made it my home in 1999. my ex got into northwestern for medical school and although he never asked me to move for him, he made inferences to it. for instance, he said med students who have significant others with them do better in medical school. so i started to look for jobs in the area. we made a trip there to find housing. and ended up signing a lease with a deposit made on a quaint 2-bedroom little house by the school. but when it came closer to our move date, he got into the med school at ucsd, which was where we were. he asked me, where do you want to go? since i had a job in san diego and had a place, i told him i wanted to stay. and after his first year at ucsd, he blamed me for having such a difficult time there. i blame him for being such a stupid ass.

anyway, i moved back to the bay area in early 2001. and our friend ended up in chicago after all these years. i lost touch with her when i was diagnosed with thyroid cancer in 2003. i lost touch with a lot of people. recently, she instant messaged me out of the blue. it was perfect timing as i am planning a trip to chicago. sunday night, we found time to catch up over the phone. it was really nice hearing her voice again. she told me that she had contact with my ex about 6 months ago. that he was doing a fellowship at the children's hospital there. and they met up for coffee. weird that he ended up there after all these years. it turns out that he has not changed, at all. but this wasn't news to me.

lately though, i've had these disturbing dreams of getting back together with him. this has happened twice now within this past week. and i don't know why. well, it's from recently being contacted and told that about him being in chicago. really strange as i have nothing but repulsed feelings towards him. second thought, it might be interesting to run into him after all this time.

day five - monday, march 27th

for my last day in chicago, i decided to see the sights. i had planned to go up either the sears tower or the hancock observatory and then spend the afternoon at the museum of contemporary art. so i headed back to the magnificent mile and walked along the street. my first stop was the hancock observatory. it cost me $11 to go up 80 miles. it was pretty cool. this was straight down from the top.

next, i decided to check out the museum of contemporary art. in the back of my mind, i was thinking... hmm, maybe i should check if they would even be opened. many museums close on mondays. and as luck would have it, they were closed, of course. i decided that i was done with seeing the sights, so i went shopping. across from the john hancock center was this lovely presbyterian church.

i shopped until mien got off of work. i got two new belts at filene's basement. we met up at marshall fields. she bought me some of their signature mint chocolates. it was quite yummy. we decided to have dinner before my flight. we walked around and stumbled upon this place... she'd never been there but was curious. the bistro 110 was good. they gave us a card with my name on it and a recipe for oven roasted garlic. they served it with the bread. i'm going to have to try it sometime.

mien took the train with me to the airport. we talked the entire way. it was so nice to see her and chat in person. we've caught up over the years on the phone but there's something special about being able to see emotions and expressions. she watched me go through security and didn't leave until she could no longer see me as i headed towards the gate. i had so much fun. i can't wait to go back when the weather is warmer.

day four - sunday, march 26th

sunday was the day before my last day in chicago. mien and i took the train to chinatown for dim sum. unfortunately, when we got to triple happiness, everyone else in chicago was thinking they'd have some dim sum too. so we went down the street for lunch. not dim sum but good and cheap. afterwards, we walked along the main chinatown drag. went into a few stores and i bought some ergo candles that are made out of soy and burn faster than wax candles. the scent is called trio. i've actually bought this candle in a different size. the scent makes me think of my childhood... ah, the memories.

we got boba before leaving chinatown. i had a papaya milk tea with boba. it was huge and cold. they mix papaya with milk tea and ice so it's more like a shake. i could barely hold it in the brisk cold weather. we got back on the train and were off to armitage, an area of chicago that's really quaint and cute. there were victorian buildings with bay windows and it made me think of san francisco. it was really charming. mien and i did some shopping at the lush store there. i got this lemony flutter stuff for my cuticles, elbows and feet. i love products! especially multi-functional products. i've been using it every night.

after lush, we had some hot chocolate at the ethel's chocolate store a block up the street. i think this was one of the best cups of hot chocolate i have ever had. it was rich but not too rich and sweet but not too sweet. usually, hot chocolate makes me sick and my stomach churn. but this one didn't. i wanted more. the two of us had a lovely chat while sipping our hot chocolates. it was so nice to just lounge with a cozy cup of hot chocolate. mmm...

so recently, mien and i had one big thing in common. we both had younger musician boyfriends. hers was 24 and the epitomy of a rock star, tatoos and all. mine was 25 and looked like more like a business student. anyway, they were younger, hotties, and fun. that was two years ago, since then, we've lost our rock star boyfriends. mien took me to hear her ex-rock star boyfriend sing in wicker park. this was where they met. it's a piano/jazz bar called davenport's. the bartender made us this drink called a rootbeer float, it was soooo good. i could've had 3 more. the music was good. i was impressed by her ex. who knew his voice would come out of someone like him. big voice but looks like a kid. and plays the piano like a pro.

we didn't stay too long. we went for some dinner before it was too late. so we headed up the street and found this wine place. we were still full from the chinese food earlier so we just had some appetizers. since i was in a wine café, i decided to have wine. i think there were 6 different pinot noirs in the flight i tried. they were closing so we stayed a short time.

we cabbed it home for facials, incense burning (mien purchased the same place i got my candles), and a chick flick. we put in under the tuscan sun, i'd only seen it once and it was a while back so i was up for seeing it again. it was one of those films that help pick you up from a bad relationship. sort of to give you an ounce of hope that there are good times to come. like spending time with an old friend you haven't seen in nearly five years in a city that's brand new to you.

day three - march 25th (continued)

dinner at rinconcito sudamericano was with mien's doctor friends camille, cliff, julie, tyler, and hoang. there were two others but i didn't meet them and they left early.

it's interesting to have dinner with lawyers one night and doctors the next. conversations always seem to be work-related. a little boring if you aren't in the field. we had dinner at this great peruvian restaurant. it was really good. it was a little funny because they brought their own booze. the restaurant provided glasses for us to drink our booze in.

afterwards, tyler (julie's boyfriend) had to go home because he was on call the next morning. so the rest of us were off to have some drinks. cliff and hoang were in front, while us girls (me, mien, camille & julie) squeezed in the back. we're lucky we're all small asian women. we went downtown to this bowling/billiards place called xxx strike. it was a cool concept. bowling alleys, billiards, and lounges to just sit, chat and drink. i thought, why don't we have any of these in california? i spoke too soon, there's one in hollywood.

it was a lot of fun. we just lounged, drank, and chatted about life and love. camille and julie got hit on while mien and i chatted away with cliff (camille's fiancé) and hoang (their single guy friend they seated across from me at dinner, thanks mien). it was mellow but still a lot of fun. i definitely did not want another night to end at 5a. this night ended sometime around 11p.

back to the chicago trip...

day two - friday, march 24th
mien had to work on friday, despite our late night, so i did what i always do while on vacation... i went shopping! the big shopping avenue in chicago is michigan avenue, otherwise known as the magnificent mile. i took the 145 bus ($2 for the ride) there from in front of mien's building. it was so easy and convenient. i was first dropped off at the start of michigan ave. lucky me, it was a mall...

it was interesting, there were all the same stores as there are here in the bay area. i went into the benetton store, club monaco, bloomingdale's, h&m, nordstrom, etc. there was a filene's basement there (kinda like loehman's) where i found the perfect pink bag that matches my pink shoes. it actually started to snow while i was in h & m. needless to say, i spent a lot of time there. here's a summary of my purchases on friday:
@ benetton
2 (one white, one camel) button up shirts
@ h & m
1 black sweater, 1 white tee shirt, 2 pairs of fancy panties, 1 pair of brown tights, 2 shirts for jaden, 1 top & 1 pair of overalls for chunky, a bunch of hair stuff for chunky (i think that's it)
@ filene's basement
1 pink furla bag
@ ethel's chocolate
box of assorted chocolates (for my coworkers)

i think that was it on friday... mien had hoped to get off of work early but it wasn't possible so i went home around 4p. she came home shortly after i arrived. we hung out and watched tv for a bit. mien took a little nap. we had a dinner to go to at 7p. it was her friend debbie's birthday. around 8ish, we cabbed it to uncle julio's hacienda to meet up with mien's lawyer friends.

incidently, i met someone from the bay area who knows my sister-in-law's family. and now that i've thought about it some, i think i went out with her brother once or twice. it turns out that mien met jennifer at some law convention. jennifer approached mien as they were the only asian girls there. it turned out they were both from california! and that sparked their friendship. jennifer went to hastings law school with my sister-in-law's sister. i went to the hastings law school graduation ceremony, meaning, i went to jennifer's law school graduation. to make a long story short, it's a very small world.

after dinner, we headed to the clubs and bars. i'm not sure exactly where it was but it was debbie, jennifer, this guy that's sweet on debbie, mien and me. our first stop was the lion head pub & the apartment. upstairs is the apartment complete with two bedrooms in which one bed we settled in. at first, there wasn't anyone interesting to talk to other than the people we were with. then there was this german guy i was talking to. he was nice. his name was robert. he was in chicago working temporarily making some new hip replacement technological device. it was cool, i wasn't interested but he was cute and friendly. i told him i spent some time in germany back in 1998. he told me he had a little daughter. then he had to go hang out with his friend patrick. after german robert left, there were two guys walking by. the first one started talking to me, and then the second one started talking to me too. after that, we started heading out...

as we're walking to the car, i was having a nice chat with debbie, telling her to come out to the bay area to visit me and i'd take her out and it would be so much fun!! then, we were stopped. in front of this bar, john barleycorn, with a guy waving at us to come inside with him. i looked at mien and she says, hey, he's cute! let's go have drinks with him! the rest of the gang decided to head home and let us stay out. it was already 11p, i thought we were going home...

steve was his name. i was a little surprised, this sort of thing never happens! mien was all for it so i went along with her. when we got inside, steve went to get us some drinks. then i saw this really cute guy so i smiled at him. and he approached me! who knew that smiling at someone would get them to come over. that NEVER happens here. he told me i was pretty and i said thanks. then steve came over with our drinks and took us away to meet his friends in the other room. his friends were matt and dave. steve was talking to me, i wasn't really paying attention... mien told me she thought steve was cute and i thought dave was cute so we switched places. apparently, steve didn't like it so he took me to the bar to get me another drink.

at the bar, suddenly, there's this girl freaking me from behind! i was like whoa! what just happened here?? after i had my carbomb, i went back over and met the girl who freaked me. she had 3 guy friends with her whom i also met. i think they were filipino and thought i was too. i was talking to one of her friends who incidentally is getting his mba at usc but is home visiting. it was kinda cool to meet so many people.

later, dave left and it was just me, mien, steve and matt. i don't know if john barleycorn closed and that's why we went to another club. so, the four of us hopped into a taxi and they took us to this club. it was freezing outside and there was a line so i wasn't looking forward to waiting. fortunately for my wussy californian ass, matt knew the bouncer and we bypassed the line! during the short time we were in line, mien and i managed to meet a couple of more guys... hahah. i don't remember what the club was called but it was dark and really crowded. i paid cover since steve was out of cash. so he made us wait for him at the bar while he went to the atm. surprisingly, while waiting, i met a couple of more guys! it was never ending. i don't even remember their names but they were really nice. steve showed up soon after and took us upstairs where we bypassed yet another line! mien and matt stayed on the dancefloor dancing while i went to a lounge area with steve. i was having my 3rd or 4th guinness. holding it next to my face so steve wouldn't try to kiss me. he was sweet but i just wasn't interested. he told me i was pretty and that when he saw me on the street, he wanted to meet me. he also liked my hair. of course he did.

when it was finally time to head out from this club, i walked by one of the guys we met at the bar, he told me to be careful. um, okay, thanks? that was kinda weird. steve was holding my coat and when i got it back, my cell phone was missing! so i made him look for it. he found it quickly. someone had left it by the dj upstairs. we cabbed it back to matt's place. not sure where it was. apparently, matt and dave are roommates. they had a pretty nice place too! there, i had another guinness. again, so steve wouldn't try to kiss me. we hung out until mien and i realized it was 5am. time to go home. so we shared a cab with steve and we were dropped off first. mien paid for the cab. steve asked if he could come up with us. our answer was a straight no, you can't. then i told him if he wanted to find me, he could look me up at my work! that was it. mien and i went upstairs and slept until 3p the next day. what a night!

i asked her if this was normal, being picked up off the street like that? she said no, it was unusual and that i shouldn't expect it the next time i came for a visit. awww man!

day three - saturday, march 25th
so we woke up at 3p on saturday and it was only because mien's friend camille called her! we had dinner plans with them... so before getting ready, while listening to music, eating chips and chatting. i finally decided to take some pictures of the view from mien's apartment on the 42nd floor.
it was the view of the lake that convinced her to buy.

day one - thursday, march 23rd

i've decided to go over my trip day by day. let's see, last thursday was sunny and in the 70's. it was hot. and about four hours later, through different states and a different time zone, it was suddenly 6p and about 30 degrees outside. yikes!

my good friend from college, mien came and picked me up in baggage claim. she was so sweet! she told me i looked younger than i did the last time she saw me in 2001. she too looked better than i remembered her. it was a lovely reunion. we were off to take the train back to her apartment in the lincoln park area. my friend caroline was going to meet up with us as well. after we dropped off my stuff at mien's apartment on the 42nd floor of her building (great view! photos to come), caroline was on her way over. ten minutes later, she was in front so we headed out to wicker park to check out this dessert place she wanted to take us to. along the way, in the car, it started to snow. flurries they called it. for native californians who have no idea what that is, it's snowflakes all a flurry in the air! it was lovely actually.

so the dessert place we were heading to is called hot chocolate. but before dessert, we had to get dinner. so we walked up damen street and saw just what we wanted... feast restaurant smelled so good, we couldn't help ourselves, we had to have us a feast! i had the marinated skirt steak with garlic mashed potatoes, chimichurri sauce and tobacco onion rings. mmm, just thinking about it.

afterwards, we headed to hot chocolate for dessert. the three of us had hot chocolate (of course!) with homemade marshmallows... yum! caroline had this coupon, spend $35, get $25 off. what a deal! so we also had the warm brioche donuts (a signature dessert) and their snickers bar inspired dessert. i can't wait to go back!

after caroline dropped mien and me off, poor thing, she got hit from behind! but she's ok and got her car fixed (along with some other dents) so it's all good now. mien and i stayed up until 3am catching up and watching the snow fall from the 42nd floor. to the left, a view of the city. and to the right, a view of the lake. it's an amazingly beautiful view. a bit breathtaking with the snow and all...

~home sweet home~

i'm baaaack... and while i had a blast in chicago, it's so good to be home. but not so good to get back to the grind. oh well. i'll post more about my trip later so come back!

getting ready for my trip but one little snag...

i'm sick!
:( ugh, i'm sluggish and achy and i don't feel like packing yet... even though i leave tomorrow!! anyway, i wanted to show off my new lulu bag.

see you next tuesday!

so much to do, so little time

i've been so busy lately with social events and plans in general. and next month, i have a trip to chicago to look forward to. i almost moved there in the summer of 1999 with an ex who got into northwestern for med school. he was on the waitlist for uc san diego and then got in, so he asked me where i wanted to go. of course, i choose to stay in san diego. he then blamed me for med school being so hard for him, that he might have been better off in chicago. but then, would he have cheated on me with that undergrad? hmmm, um yeah, i'm glad i didn't move to chicago back then.

anyway, i am finally heading back to do some sight seeing and be a tourist. chicago is always a stop over for me when travelling east (boston, dc, london, etc) so it's funny that i never actually saw the city. i am staying with a friend from ucsd who coincidentally has problems with her younger musician boyfriend too. so, we are going to paint the town red. i absolutely cannot wait!

as for the rest of february, i have birthdays to celebrate, dancing to do, bands to see and a restaurant opening to look forward to enjoying. life is wonderful.