Monday, May 26-- Memorial Day Cubs Game

Dan got the gang together for a Cubs game on Memorial Day. The group was big so I sat w/ Mel, Steve & Carlos. It was the first really hot day we've had in Chicago. I had my 2nd brat in 2 days-- felt like I was back in Milwaukee. Except that people were happy that the Cubs won.

Steve relaxing at the Cubs game

Mel not-so-much-relaxing

Carolyn, Lynn & Tiago at Murphy's
Lynn & Jordan

Tiago, Liz, Dan & Lynn

Sunday, May 25-- BBQ in the backyard

Sunday, Sunday, Sunday. Dan was back in town from California and suggested outdoor drinking on Sunday. I instantly volunteered the backyard for grilling and drinking because, well, I love drinking in the backyard. Festivities started at 2 pm and went till about 10:30. Things started out pretty mellow and led to wiffleball in the back alley under the L tracks, baggo and interpretive dancing to Madonna in boxer shorts. Well, that was just Tim (See also the Beer Die post back in April). I'll let the pictures tell the story...

Tim scuffing the wiffleballs in preparation of the game Andy & Lizzie
Doughtie & Alex

Steve & Dan (and his stink eye)

Shannon about to enjoy her bottle of red and 1/2 chicken

Carlos & Steve: A self-portait

Carlos' butt

Doughtie & Me

Tim & Dan playing bags.

You can see that Tim's already taken his shirt off in celebration of a point.

Shannon is passed out on the lawn post-1/2 chicken and bottle of wine.

Tim & Dan doing the Ohio State "O-H-I-O" chant

A few hours pass and...

Tim dancing to Madonna

Shannon passed out on the lawn in a different location

Mandy and Tim

Tobey & Shannon.

The party always winds up in the kitchen.

Saturday, May 24-- Rilo Kiley

Saturday night of Memorial Day weekend, I met Dan W. at Fat Cat for a pre-concert drink. We were headed to see Rilo Kiley. I was pleased to see that they had one of my favorite beers available and I thought that was an auspicious start to the evening.

http://www.unibroue.com/graphs_our_beers/blanche_de_chambly.html

We headed over to the Riviera (also known as the theater where Vince Vaughn stands up Jennifer Aniston and breaks her heart in "The Break-Up") and caught the end of the mop top-y opening band that was actually pretty good. We decided to sit in the balcony and unfortunately for Dan, most of the seats were broken. You could tell they were broken bc they had masking tape on them w/ "Broken" written on it and the specific problem in parenthesis. So Dan's seat said, "Broken (spring)". That meant that the spring was popping through the seat and a nail was actually jutting out. Dan was a trooper and figured out how to navigate around it.

Now I read a review of Rilo Kiley's recent concert tour and they described them as aloof and condescending. I have no idea what that guy was talking about. They sounded great. They were totally engaged w/ the audience. They had lots of energy. Other than the jutting nail and the lights they kept flashing into the audience causing me mild seizures, it was an awesome concert. They had these balloons w/ silver confetti in them a la The Flaming Lips that got bounced around the audience. When they'd pop, they'd shower silver confetti all over the squealing audience. Quite a hit.

Post-show we went back to Fat Cat for another drink. I was pretty beat though and knew that I had a big Sun. in front of me so we called it a night relatively early. Good times, good times.

http://rilokiley.com

Rilo Kiley-- The chick was wearing an outfit VERY similar to this in concert

May 19 - 23-- Good Week

It's been a good week. Here are some of the highlights-

Monday:
Went to the NRA (National Restaurant Assoc.) show. I got there at 9 am w/ my boss and a chef and we stayed till 5 when they were turning the lights off. We were on our feet for 8 hrs straight and my dogs were barking by the end of the day. We talked to people about point of sale systems, griddles, fryers, paper products, security systems, etc. But the best part? I ate:

• Frozen yogurt;
• Gelato;
• Frozen custard;
• Cheddar;
• Blue cheese;
• Olives;
• Hummus;
• Veggie burgers;
• Pastrami;
• Bacon;
• Grassfed beef burger;
• Iced tea;
• Lemonade;
• Hot tea

My job rocks.

Wednesday:
Regular hump day but there were some very exciting spikes in the day:

• Saw that "My Boys" is starting up again. Holla!
• Discovered Cake Batter Ben & Jerry's.
• Lisa got our tickets for "Sex & The City" opening night.
• Restaurant Wars on "Top Chef"!

Thursday:
Trivia's back! Hot Fudge Thursday was back together. Matt, Magen & Alex were all there. I brought Tim who contributed ablely with the answer to "What are the 1st names of all the members of Hanson?" and an instant identification of Leslie Bibb (I had no idea who she was-- "Ironman", "Talledaga Nights". Now I realize "Popular" as well). Unfortuntately we only came in 3rd. We stayed out afterwards for many, many beers which was so fun. An awesome Thursday night. Which of course led to a rough Fri. morning.

Now it's Friday and we're headed into the Memorial Day weekend. Yahoo!

Weekend of May 16-18-- Portnoy wedding

Night 1: "If I had Karen Carpenter's voice, I would have eaten."

This past weekend was Michael's wedding in Hartford, Connecticut. Now, let me just say that I was not excited about going to Hartford. "Insurance Capitol" doesn't really conjure up images of sexy fun. But I was seeing some of the law school crew and that IS always sexy fun. I got there Fri. afternoon. It was grey & rainy but Kim's smiling face greated me at the Hartford airport. We hung out and had a martini before the rest of the girls got there. Me, Kim, Theo, Amy & Tamara went to a local eatery for dinner. I had a drink called an Astropop which had God only knows what hard alcohol in it but was yuuuuummy. Dinner was nice and we had some time to catch up. Oddly, we weren't the loudest group of girls at the restaurant. Not used to that. We left after eating and headed over to the bar that the rehearsal dinner was at.

Tamara, me, Kim & Theo at dinner

Rick & Julie were at the bar when we got there. Now you should know-- Julie is pregnant. With twins. I have to say, that girl is a trooper. I'm not so good being around drunk people when I'm sober (ironic, no?) and I CANNOT imagine being sober around drunk people AND being pregnant w/ twins. But Julie was in good spirits as was Tamara, the other lovely pregnant trooper. Seriously-- happy, good looking, up-for-anything pregnant ladies? How often does that happen? The rest of the crew was in the process of getting lit. Beer, wine, spirits. A shot of Jaeger. Then a bunch of obnoxious kids came in. They were, wait for it-- LAW STUDENTS. Just graduated from Trinity. One kept jabbing Kim w/ his elbow and when she asked him to stop he told her she shouldn't sit there. Like she was crazy for sitting at the bar. Class, class, class. Eventunally we decided to take the party to the hotel bar. Which would be quieter. And we could have civilized conversation. I guess here I should note that we have our 10 yr law school reunion this year. Yep. We're old.

Theo, Kim & Amy at the bar. Obnoxious law students were about to invade.

We moved on to the hotel bar. The end of the night was me, Theo, Rick & Kim. Lots of talk about music. That's when Kim declared that if she had Karen Carpenter's voice she would have eaten. There was a heated defense of the BeeGees as real musicians and led to Rick & Kim singing Andy Gibb's "I Wanna Be Your Everything" and then Barry Gibb & Barbra Streisand's "Guilty". That's when I thought to myself, "I'm SO glad I flew to Hartford to see this."

Night 2: "Open up your purse. I want to put her in there and take her home."

The wedding was Sat. night at the Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts. It was a lovely location. The ceremony was in a small chapel-type room. Now first, let me say that the ceremony was beautiful, Michael was so happy, Kimberly was goregeous and it just overall a touching, personal, sweet, lovely ceremony. But-- Michael's 1/2 Filipino so there were a lot of Filipino traditions incorporated into the ceremony. I would be remiss if I didn't mention the cord tradition. This is when the bride and groom are bound by a cord that symbolizes everlasting love, happiness, fidelity, whatever. It was a white rope w/ 2 loops-- 1 loop placed around the bride, 1 around the groom. It looked like a noose. I swear. I'm not the only one who saw the resemblence. I SWEAR. It wasn't just cynical me. I swear.

The ceremony led to a cocktail hour with SUSHI. Another bummer for the pregnant ladies but me & Rick were like pigs in $hit. There was rumor of scallops wrapped in bacon being passed around and Theonie looked like she would even take down Tamara's Michael for the last one.

Theo, Amy, Tamara, me & Kim at the cocktail hour

The reception was in the theater. I wasn't sure how that was going to work. It worked amazingly-- the whole party was on the stage. The flowers were stunning. There was a movie screen in the background w/ starry night projected on to it. Little white lights everywhere. It was beautiful. The reception started with the traditional bride-groom dance. I've never seen anything like this-- it was choreographed a la "Dancing w/ the Stars". I wish I had a video of it. And it just reminded me of one of the 1st times I got really drunk w/ Michael in law school and we were dancing and he'd just spin me around like a rag doll. I didn't even fall. He's an amazing dancer. And he showed it off that night. We also could see where he got his moves from-- the dance floor was filled w/ older Filipino men & women dressed to the nines in sequins and chiffon busting out moves I haven't seen in real life. Michael's mom was so cute that it prompted Amy to tell Theo to open up her purse so that she could put her in there and take her home. The toasts were lovely and ended with a movie that Michael had made for Kimberly. It was a spoof mainly poking fun of himself and his hair. But it was also super sweet and got me choked up. I was alone at the singles table at this point, so maybe that had a little something to do w/ it as well. But it was truly the most unique wedding I've ever been to. Personal, classy, fun and touching. All in all, good times, good times.

Kimberly & Michael- The happy couple on the dance floorThe amazing flowers w/ the starry night background
Julie, the super trooper, and Rick
Amy & Theo and the starry sky
A Yankee & a Red Sox fan finding a moment of harmony
Kimberly & Kimberly
Trooper Tamara not letting anything stop her from boogying
Amy, Theo & me
Kim & Sheik

Rick & Michael

Ode to Jake the Jeep

Today I picked my my '96 Jeep Grand Cherokee from the mechanic. I dumped $460 into it. Logic dictates that I get a new car. Every winter I give the Jeep a little pep talk and say, "Just make it through this winter and then I'll retire you." He made it through another Chicago winter w/ the most ungodly potholes I've ever seen. And I can't let go of him. Here's his history.

We got Jake July 1999. He was just off of a 3 year lease and was the coolest thing ever. Ok, well don't forget that I was born and raised in NYC and so didn't drive as a teenager. I got my license my sophmore year-- of college. I used it to write checks and then to get into bars. Cars were not part of my reality for a long time. So an SUV was pretty cool to me. I moved to Wisconsin in 1998. I was looking for a job and the legal aid in Madison had an opening w/ the Migrant Project. My boss-to-be said, "Do you have a car and license?" Yep. But can I drive? Not so much. Anyway, it was a great way to learn to drive-- all those open roads w/ no one on them in BRE Wisconsin. Matt & I had taken over his parents' old Jeep Cherokee (Chief, my first love) and he had decided that after a year and several repairs we needed a new car. So we traded in Chief for Jake. He got his name bc he's all black and the weekend we got him, we drove to Chicago to meet law school friends (it was our first law school friends reunion where Kim got deathly sick at the Taste of Chicago and I accidentally saw Fintan's peepee) so it made us think of the Blues Brothers. Thus, he was christened Jake a la the Belushi character. Later we got a 2nd car-- a Jetta-- that was also black and we named him Elwood. Called him Woody bc, I mean, he was a Jetta. That was a stick shift which I never learned to drive. So Jake became my car and I drove him all over the state of Wisconsin to migrant camps. And back & forth btwn Madison & Milwaukee everyday for 1 1/2 yrs. I got hooked on NPR bc of him. I heard 9/11 unfold on the radio driving in Jake. When my marriage fell apart, I called every friend I have from Jake. I escaped to Minnesota to see Allison w/ him. I headed to my new Milwaukee apt w/ a heavy heart and all the possessions I could fit in Jake. And then again down to Chicago-- this time w/ an anxious heart. He's been so patient w/ my attempts at parallel parking in this city. He was broken into and had his radio stolen (felt so violated!). He's been to most states w/ Big Ten schools. Except Ohio. I mean, I love the car-- why take him to Ohio? He's witnesses fights w/ my folks. He hears me cry all the time-- something about being in the car alone w/ my thoughts, etc. And when I'm in a good mood, the poor guy has to put up w/ my singing. Hell, I've hooked up in that car like I was still in high school. Yeah, Jake's seen a lot.

He's been beaten up pretty badly. Rear ended once (no jokes please). Scraped on the side. The AC hasn't worked for a couple of years. This winter the bumper fell off. I was just driving down the street and some guy starts pointing to the front of my car. I pull over-- the bumper's just hanging off. That should have been the end of it. But I got him fixed instead. And it's probably the same thing now-- $460 for an oil change, new tensioner & belt and new battery & cables. He needs rear brakes and has a slow radiator leak. He's old and needs a lot of work. I'm sure that there's some deep psychological reason for me not doing the rational thing and getting a new car. Or it could be that I don't want to start making car payments-- Jake's been paid off for years and as long as the repairs are cheaper than new car payments, it still makes sense to me to keep him. I got into a knock-down-drag-out fight w/ my mom a few weeks ago when she told me that I should get a new car bc it was "part of being a grown up". My response was something along the lines of, "When you start supporting yourself financially and living on your own, come talk to me about being a grown up." I know, I know. And I know that I'll eventually do the rational thing. He's at 191,000 miles. So maybe I'll keep him till 200,000. And then I'll let him retire. Maybe.

Tuesday, May 6-- Beers at Hopleaf

www.hopleaf.com

I grabbed a drink with Miriam on a Tuesday night. We talked about everything but mainly boys. I said it to her that night and I'm saying it to everyone now-- no more crying about boys. Especially over the ones that don't deserve it. I decided that on my birthday and granted, it was only 6 days into the month of May when I said it to Miriam, but so far so good. I'm sure the beers helped.

Monday, May 5-- Dinner at Butterfly

Looks like my birthday celebrations have finally come to an end. On Monday, Lizzie took me to my favorite-- Butterfly. And we got the Hurricane-- Avocado, cucumber, crabstick, green onions, cream cheese wasabi, spicy mayo top with seared tuna and special sauce. Sooooo yummy. Seriously, take my word for it. The meal ended w/ happy birthday singing and cheesecake. I guess a week & a half of celebration is enough. It was fun while it lasted.

Sunday, May 4-- Lisa's birthday

It was Lisa's birthday today. She is a patient and gracious roommate. For example, yesterday I cooked, left the dirty dishes everywhere, proceeded to go out and drink too much. I slept late and spent 90% of the day on the couch. Lisa cleaned the kitchen and did the dishes. On her birthday. Yeah, she's getting the short end of the deal here.

So tonight me, Maureen and Mary took Lisa to Chalkboard. O-M-G. So yummy. And the waiter was too. The schtick w/ Chalkboard is that they have a seasonal menu and then the chalkboard specials. Mary's husband Sam gave Lisa a bottle of champagne as a birthday gift. I LOVE the birthday gifts for other people that I get to enjoy as well. Especially when it's alcohol. We started w/ the root vegetable salad. Who would think that beets would be good? Oh, anyone who thinks of them stuffed w/ goat cheese. Mmmm. I had the chimichurri hangar steak. It was allllright. And then, the coup de grace-- the chocolate chip cookie dough eggrolls. I mean seriously-- fried cookie dough? This man is a genius.

http://www.chalkboardrestaurant.com/

Me, Lisa, Maureen & Mary in front of the chalkboard at Chalkboard.

Saturday, May 3-- The Derby and The Truckers

For a girl from the Bronx, I had quite the Southern Saturday. Weis reserved a table at the Million Room at Arlington for the Derby. There were 11 of us there and even though none of us had any real luck w/ the ponies, a good time was had by all.

Christian hoping this is the lucky ticket. It wasn't. Katy and Weis

After the racetrack, Zach & I headed back to the city to see the Drive-By Truckers. They were, as usual, awesome. I was feeling really good and actually well behaved. But then I saw that the Truckers were passing around huge 1.75 ltr. bottles of Jack Daniels. And it just seemed rude to be drinking Miller Lite. A few weeks ago at the Kathleen Edwards concert Shannon befriended the bartender at Metro. I chatted w/ him again and next thing you know, I have 2 super-strong Jack & Cokes for free. Sweet. Lisa was there w/ Amanda and AJ and apparently I was doing my oh-so-charming repeating the same thing 10 times in a row-- "Did you see the bartender from the Kathleen Edwards show?" Three minutes later, "Did you see the bartender from the Kathleen Edwards show?" Like that. All night. I'm sure I was a pleasure to be around. Well, I had fun. I do like how those southerners drink.

http://www.drivebytruckers.com/

Thursday, May 1- May St. Market

I went to May Street Market with Laura for my birthday. We go to Butterfly for sushi all the time and pop into May St. for a drink (or 10) post-Butterfly. We've always said we wanted to eat at May St. sometime and Laura insisted on taking me there for my birthday. Boy am I glad she did. We had a lovely waiter who was very chatty w/ us. We were torn btwn the gnocchi & rissotto and said, "You'll have both. You'll have 2 courses. You'll start with the rissotto. This is the wine you should have." OK, done. By the time we ordered a 2nd bottle of wine I was feeling alright. The waiter was having a problem opening the bottle and said that it was bc of the wine key. I said, "Sure, blame the equipment." He said, "My fiance used to blame the equipment. Then I met my boyfriend and the equipment is working just fine."

Laura filled in some more blanks from my party. We had one of those awesome talks about work and boys and family. We polished off 2 desserts, 2 bottles of wine and complimentary dessert wine. We closed the place down. Not a shocker. Laura called it from the get go.

It was the perfect way to celebrate my 35th year. Thanks Laura.

http://www.maystreetmarket.com/index.html

Dessert #2

Red velvet cake with coconut something and beet ice cream and a beet chip

After Laura & I went at it

My birthday party-- Part III

Well...the pictures are still coming in and the night is still coming together. There are some in here that really show how messy I was. They're not attractive. But they're accurate, so it's only fair that I post them. Thanks to Magen for capturing these.

Me & Doughtie-- still coherent

As usual, where the trouble starts-- car bombsMo & Lisa chatting
Bree & Me & Dan. Apparently I DID have conversations w/ people
Don't remember a single one

Proof of another conversation-- Yaz & Mike

Me & the cake. Magen calls me Lorena Bobbitt now

That's Rafael, the creator of the cake, in the background

And, well, yeah...

Matt showing the damage I did

Matt & Megan

Magen reacting to Kelly Clarkson

Me dancing w/ Doughtie.

Looks like the tiara responds to my drinking like baseball hats do:

Slides right down the forehead

The oh, so attractive dancing. And dicey cake cutting

I never should have been let off the couch