4th of July Birthweekend (continued)

Saturday we went to the Taste of Chicago. I had discovered after a couple of Tastes of Ann Arbor and Detroit, that Tastes were a waste of money. They make you think that you've got "pretend money" and that everything is cheap, but really, it's an expensive event and everything is fried. Everything. But it is fun to look at all the foods, and to be out in the sun with your friends. I have to admit, though, that my treats were pretty tasty. The funny part was that Nadder and I (we discovered this weekend that we always end up together no matter what) ended up sharing 2 sets of tickets and carefully planned out the remainder of our meal. Only we were 1 ticket short of getting a fancy cheesecake. We left the cheesecake stand with our plain cheesecake and met up with our friends, who had 1 ticket left. So Nadder went back with 1 ticket in hand to ask for a ladle-full of strawberries... aw... "Excuse me sir, I'm a poor lost little boy, please help me... can I have some strawberries please? I have 1 ticket."

This is also when the famed turkey leg made its appearance. Amateurs... couldn't even finish a turkey leg.

Later we had drinks at the house and went to Empire Liquors where... well, we'll leave it at that. :)

4th of July Birthweekend

What an amazing weekend. It reminds me of why I loved grad school so much.

Since a bunch of my grad friends were turning 30 this month (and in a few months from now), we decided to get together in the good ol' city of Chicago... where nobody lives. :) Well, maybe mj claims to live there, or at least holds an address there, but she's been in Egypt and the Middle East for most of the year. In any case, it was a good midway point for most of us. We flew in from New York, Seattle, Boston, Alberta, and Dubai, and drove in from Ann Arbor and Cincinnati. Phew! It was convergence for the weekend!

We all got in on Thursday and hung out at the house that we rented in Lincoln Park for the weekend. We had drinks at the house and played a nice wholesome game of Asshole. Guess who was caught cheating and was anointed Asshole but then objected because she didn't actually mean to cheat? Yes, that's the queen Asshole, mj. I was Vice Queen Asshole.

Friday was 4th of July, and as you might imagine, it's hell trying to get anywhere with 10 people (who are perhaps hungover, tired, and lazy). So we made it out of the house at 4 pm and went down to the lake to hang out for awhile. As we walked over to the lake, I finally nabbed that Chicago-style hot dog that I had been craving. We then headed to procure some foods for the imminent BBQ that we were hosting... well, maybe only 1 car made it to the grocery store. The others decided to leave the work up to us and stop in at a bar for "just one beer.:" Huh, thanks guys.

We had drinks at the house and prepared for the bbq. The party got going, and then when it got dark enough, we went up to the rooftop deck to view the fireworks, which were an amazing 360 degree spectacle. It was like a solid line of fireworks from one end to the other. When we got tired of the fireworks, we went back downstairs for some more drinks, hour-long beer pong games on a tremendously long kitchen counter, and of course, some dancing with Santa.

Michol-Jesse-Sheila-Santa-Sheela-Jessi-Michael Sandwich!

Ah Santa... one of the many random things found at the house in addition to Jesus cat nip and aviator sunglasses, which got some good use as props for dancing. This was the first moment when rock star Sheila emerged. There were a good 15 people hanging out with 2-3 girls trying to get some dancing going, but Sheila took the bull by its horns. With crooked aviator sunglasses on and a Santa statue to dance with, Sheila began her 5-hour long solitary dance party. Okay, so maybe around Hour 3, people began to join in. But Sheila was the real superstar of the evening.

The very next morning, or rather a mere 3 hours after we went to bed, crazy parents (who also went to bed late) took their adorable daughter to the zoo. By the time we got up, they were back from the zoo and on their second meal of the day. This was the day that I decided I needed some healthy food as I had eaten 2 hamburgers, 1 bratwurst, and 1 salad, and 2 slices of cake the night before.

(to be continued...)