June 27-29-- Kim Visits!

Kim came to visit this weekend! She's one of my great friends from law school and as a result, it was a great weekend. We started with dinner at Hopleaf and getting Kim drunk on wine. Then over to the Brauhaus for boots of beer. Kim did a little polka and then back home to rest up for Stevie!

Satuday Kim & I went for mani-pedis at the sexy Havana Nights. It took everything we had to get there by 11 am. But it was well worth it. Nothing better than a foot massage. Then over to lunch. Kim was happy to be in the Midwest where cheese fries come with real cheddar cheese and lots of bacon. Afterwards, me, Kim, Alex & Tim got our cooler together headed down to see Stevie Wonder in Grant Park. By this time Tim had had a 5th of tequila. His story is that morning he had met his friend whose uncle just died. He was drinking with him in mourning. I think he was just trying to cope with an entire weekend with Alex. But that's just a theory. But Tequila Tim made the L ride a little more entertaining.

I had sworn that I would NEVER go to the Taste of Chicago again after working it a few years ago. But for Stevie I made an exception. It was so worth it too! He came out and started by saying he was disappointed in the Supreme Court's gun decision. We were like, "Huh?" Yep-- started to talk about politics, started to do a "Go Barak Obama Go" cheer. Crowd loved it. Then he introduced his daughter-- the subejct of "Isn't She Lovely?"-- and she's a grown-up. Like in her early 20s. And one of his back-up singers. And hot. Anyway, he played for about 2 hrs. Jesse Jackson came on stage for a while and yammered on about God only knows what. He stayed and also became one of the back-up singers. I was super excited that Stevie played "Don't You Worry 'Bout a Thing" (which got me through my divorce) and "As" (which Kim introduced me too). Kim really wanted to hear "Master Blaster" and that's what he started with. She was recognizing all sorts of songs that I didn't. We were all singing and dancing and drinking. Well, Tim had to take a little rest bc of the tequila. Anyway, the crowd was great. There was a group behind us doing the electric slide at one point and Lisa joined in. There was a guy in a Celtics jersey that was singing every lyric to every song that Kim took a shine to. It was a great day.

Post-concert we headed in search of karaoke because Kim's voice kicks ass. So we went to Four Treys in Roscoe Village. We got there at about 9 pm and it was empty. I really like this place-- I mean, the tamale guy comes by (we went through 10 tamales that night). People were skeptical that there was going to be karaoke. But sure enough, it started at 10 pm. The place was PACKED by 10:15-- bachelorette parties, birthdays, etc. Tim did a lovely rendition of "Born to Run" and Kim tore-it-up w her version of "Killing Me Softly". See the video below. By the time the guys did the horrible, horrible version of the humpty dance we were starting to fade. Well, I was. Kim had energy so we went back to my place and listened to tunes, sang more and drank in my backyard. It started to rain so we headed inside to order food-- I believe Tim ordered every item in the Chicago Pizza menu. I passed out on the couch but woke up for the delivery-- I had 2 jalapeno poppers and then to bed.

Sunday was rough going. We had a tough time getting up and our plans to go to the Pride Parade went out the window. No WAY were we going to be up, showered, dressed and down to Boystown by noon. Alex brought me & Kim Mc D's and as always, that seemed to get us straightened out. We wandered down to the Belmont Arts & Music Fest which was nice enough but empty since it was windy and there was sporadic rain. We ran into my friend Mary and her little boy Joshua which was a lovely surprise. We all headed to Beat Kitchen for shelter and a couple of beers. Then later we headed to Cody's for darts and singing along to the jukebox. There were some sweet, sweet dogs at the bar. So btwn petting the dogs and singing to Diana Ross, Kim was pretty happy. We headed down to Piece (owned by a BU grad) and gorged ourselves on pizza. Then it was home to crash. We ended the day with the White Sox beating the Cubs (Go Sox!) and some QT with Millie.

Kim's headed home right now. I had such a fun weekend and it makes being back at work on Monday that much tougher. But I wouldn't trade it for the world. Thanks Kim!

Kim & Alex at the Brauhaus

Brauhaus band
Kim is asked to dance at the 'haus. She declines. He insists. She relents.

We laugh and take pictures.

Tim post-5th of Tequila.

And yes, he's wearing a tie w his tshirt. He wanted to dress nicely to impress Kim.

Me & Kim at Grant Park pre-Stevie

Alex & Kim and the Chicago skyline

Mandy, Lisa & Mike pre-concert

Kim's favorite in the Celtics jersey. He's dancing, not picking through the garbage.

I think.

Alex & Tim at Cody's. Nice Tim.

Kim & Alex doing Lauren & Wyclef

(Sorry it's horizontal-- I'm retarded)


The worst Humpty Dance ever

Tamara's Mike was missed.

The BU Law alums though that BU Law Welding was enticing

Joshua enjoying a Blue Moon at Beat Kitchen

Mandy & Kim at Piece

Baron Von Awesome was awesome

Kim & her new BFF Millie

Tuesday, June 24-- Liz Phair

Last night I went to the Liz Phair show at the Vic. Let me start at the beginning.

I wasn't really a Liz Phair fan. When she came out w/ her debut album in 1993, I was singing "Brown Eyed Girl" at the top of my lungs in the Tower taproom. But she's a Chicago native (tony North Shore Winnetka to be precise. She could be in a John Hughes movie.) and people here really love her. When I finally decided to see what the big deal was she had gotten pretty pop-y. "Why Can't I?" is fine enough, but not really all that compelling. So when Tim asked me if I liked Liz Phair, I was like, "Eh." This was dumbfounding to him. I'm not sure how to convey to you guys what a huge Liz Phair fan Tim is. He loves her. She's in his Top 5. He insisted that I listen to all of "Exile in Guyville" right then and there-- even though it was 2 am and I was already beat. But his excitement was contagious and I listened to it and it was pretty f-in' cool. So when they announced that they were re-releasing "Exile in Guyville" and she was singing all of it at the Vic, he got 4 tickets immediately. And that brings us to last night.

Last night we met Tim's sister and her friend at a bar where she used to work which was down the street from the theater. I have to confess that I was pretty nervous about meeting his sister. And she confirmed all my fears-- she's super cute, skinny, young, etc. And even worse-- super nice. Same with her friend. These are the girls that I irrationally hate from afar at bars in Lincoln Park, who make me feel insecure about every not quite right part of me. But whatever-- those are my issues. They were really nice and dinner was great. We were off to a good start.

We head over to the Vic and Miss Phair comes out pretty much on time which was shocking to me. And I have to say-- that lady is hot. I get why she's on Tim's top 5. She was wearing these short shorts with high high heels and this tiny vest that showed part of her bra. She was smokin'. No wonder there were so many guys and lesbians in the audience. And her performance did not disappoint. It is not an exaggeration to say that Tim sang every lyric of every song. He played air guitar/keyboard/bass/drums. He was like a kid in a candy store. The only part that broke his heart a little was when she expressed ambivalence about the Cubs & Sox. Tim is die hard Sox so that was a disappointment. But come on, she's a girl from the North Shore. I was not quite as indoctrinated as the rest of the crowd, but I still thought it was an awesome show. And the funniest part was that she finished playing the album, went offstage, the house lights came on and the crowd wouldn't relent. They turned the house lights back off (which I'm not sure I've ever seen) and she came back on. She hadn't rehearsed an encore and let us know it. She forgot the words to one of her songs at one point and the crowd just sang it for her. It was actually pretty cool. Very fun. An awesome Tues. night.

But after 2 concerts on 2 consecutive school nights, I'm ready for an evening doing laundry and tv. Plus I've got to rest up for Kim's visit this weekend and the Stevie Wonder concert!

Monday, June 24-- Mavis Staples

I am a recording artist.

Please stop laughing.

Last night, I went with a little crew of ladies to see Mavis Staples at the Hideout. The show was being recorded for a live album. Mavis ended the night with a version of "I'll Take You There" that used the audience for back-up singers. I was Mavis Staples' back-up singer!

Let me go back. I'll start by saying how lucky I felt hanging out with the ladies I went to the concert with. It was me, Lisa, Laura & Eva. These are all women I met while working at the Westside office of the Legal Assistance Foundation of Metropolitan Chicago. That job was so miserable-- depressing, overwhelming, demanding-- that it made me leave the practice of law. But I was so, so lucky to have some amazing co-workers there. All of us but Eva have left. And she's the one we see the least. So it was fun to get together, make fun of old co-workers and listen to some music.

Next, I almost crapped my pants because Wilco was there. The Hideout is a tiny, tiny venue. We were sitting outside waiting for the soundcheck to be done and I saw this guy that seemed familiar. Laura agreed. Finally I said, "I think he's in Wilco". Then I saw the bassist for the band (who is midget-like in size-- looks much bigger on stage) and I knew I was right. Finally Jeff Tweedy showed up and it sealed the deal. I expressed excitement to the crew. These ladies all have no qualms about going up to ANYONE and starting a conversation with them. Lisa has been able to keep her composure together enough to speak to both Matt Damon AND Ira Glass. But me? Nope. I get start struck and just generally stupid. When I met Anthony Hopkins, I couldn't say, "I'm a big fan." without tripping over the words. So when I walked by Jeff Tweedy who was an inch away, I just stared straight and then said, "OMG, that was Jeff Tweedy" to Laura when I got to the other side. Yep, I'm a 16 year old.

Now the show-- the show was A. Maze. Ing. I described it as the best live show I've ever seen. Eva said it was worth coming up to the northside for. It was so good because it was so emotional. This woman is 68. 68! She's been singing since childhood. She has sung these songs a thousand times. But she sang "This Little Light of Mine" like it was the first time anyone had ever heard it. She sang, "The Weight" like she originated it instead of "The Band". She was sweating and moaning (her grandmother used to say that if you moan the devil doesn't know what you're saying. Note to self: Moan more.) and stomping and clapping and dancing and smiling. She almost cried a couple of times. She told stories about her family. She told stories about the Civil Rights movement and Dr. King that made me so shamed to be an American with that history and so proud that we came from there to nominating a black man for the presidency. Laura said it all-- it's amazing how music takes your mind to all sorts of different places. Last night, Mavis took me all over the place. Including "there".

Mavis Staples at the Hideout

Saturday, June 21-- Twisted Spoke and Drive-By Truckers and Cody's

This Saturday was a perfect Chicago Saturday. Granted, the White Sox broke a few hearts that day. But it was sunny yet cool and there was drinking in the street to be done. It was Matt's 35th bday (Welcome, my friend. Welcome.) and the Drive-By Truckers were kind enough to perform at the Taste of Randolph for him. We started at the Twisted Spoke for some rooftop drinks and then headed to the fest. After the show I headed up to Cody's for drinking in the back patio with Tim and his friends (another bday party). There was public demand for Whiskey Tim and his interpretive dancing. He did not disappoint.

Magen MADE this guitar cake for Matt's bday. MADE it. At home. By herslf.

Bree & I butchered it w our lopsided candle placement. Me & Tim

Aja & Me

Matt & Bree. That's Bree's "serious" face.

Shannon offering up cigarettes in her cleavage. And no, she doesn't smoke.

Magen & Shannon boogie to the Truckers

Matt seranading Magen w a Trucker's song. Because they're SUCH a romantic band.

Tim showing Luke no love at Cody's......and now showing him some love.

Friday, June 20-- Summer Lovin'

My friend Geoff from college invited Pompei to participate in the Northwestern Hospital's Auxiliary Board's fundraiser. It was called Summer Lovin' held at the Museum of Contemporary Art. It was held in conjunction with Chicago Magazine's Sexiest Singles issue. One of the perks of us doing some of the catering was getting 2 free tickets to the event. So I invited Laura and we hit the museum.

I'm not sure if you've been to one of these "singles" fundraisers, but they're always about 75% women. This was no exception. Ladies were dressed to the 9s. And about 1/2 the guys were wearing jeans which I thought was amusing. But the setting was lovely-- it was outside in the big back terrace at the MCA. The food was great. We had this yummy tuna tartar in these crispy little sesame cones. So good. The liquor was a bit hit and miss. We walked in and they handed us Hennessy sidecars. It was a little rough and Laura couldn't finish hers. She switched over to some rum daquiri thing and I tried this drink that was supposedly a black raspberry version of Red Bull & vodka. Laura and I both agreed that the drinks were freaking us out a little bc they didn't taste like alcohol and we weren't sure if we were getting weak drinks or super strong ones we couldn't taste. We switched over to wine which was nasty. And finally we landed on beer. Lovely, lovely beer. Even bad beer is good. I'm not sure why we didn't go straight there, but I've learned my lesson.

Laura and I had a lovely time catching up, taking pictures in a photobooth that was there (hoping to post those soon) and checking out/making fun of people. We even took a few minutes to check out the Jeff Koons exhibit. I was a little drunk by that point, but there was a piece that looked like ice cream that I loved. Laura actually read the title, "Play-Doh". Here it is:

We were at the party till it shut down at 10:30. I dragged Laura over to Logan Sq. in an attempt to meet up w Tim who was at a concert in that part of town. Of course, by the time I got there, he was in Wicker Park and we just kept crossing paths. Laura and I had a beer at the Whirlaway and chatted w the Canadian bartender. Then it was time to head home. We struggled to find a cab in that part of town. When we finally found one I fell over. Literally. Scraped my hand. Yep, I'm back to normal.

Recovery

"If I had seen you walking down the street, I wouldn't have recognized you." That's the way my surgeon started the conversation yesterday when I was there for my follow-up appointment. I'm choosing to think that it was because I was looking particularly stylin' yesterday as opposed to the idea that I looked like death when he saw me in the hospital. He also reiterated that I had a nasty gallbladder for which I found myself apologizing. Like I had willed it to become inflamed and stone-filled. Regardless, he assured me that despite the challenge that my pesky gallbladder issued his team, the surgery went well and my recovery was coming along nicely. He declared me back to "normal" whatever that means. No heavy lifting ("Unless you want a hernia" the surgeon declares. Which sounded like fun to me, but I know my mom would be pissed so I'll have to get someone else to carry the crates of tomatoes.). But other than that, I'm all clear.

Which is good since I went to a concert last Wed. (albeit for a grand total of 2 hrs door-to-door), went to a concert and drank whiskey Sat. night and went back to work on Monday. My mom YELLED at me for going back to work before my follow-up appt. Needless to say, I didn't tell her about the whiskey. But I was losing my mind staying at home and doing nothing but watching "The View". Which was nice to know. I'm generally a lazy person and it's quite common for me to spend a lovely summer Sunday alternating btwn napping and watching crap tv on the couch. So I thought I would really enjoy my convalescence. But I didn't. Wanted to get back to work. Was so happy to be back at it on Monday. So I guess I'm not the total degenerate sloth I thought I was. That was pleasant to learn about myself.

What I also learned:

- Despite the fact that I went almost 2 wks w no real food AND the fact that I'm an organ lighter these days, don't think I've lost a pound. WTF?
- Cookie bouquets actually have yummy cookies. Which may explain the above.
- Whoopi is the sane one on The View and Elizabeth Hasselbeck still gets on my last nerve.
- Except for "Army Wives" (hell yeah I watch it), "My Boys" and "Top Chef" (now over), tv sucks these days.
- Whoever came up with Netflix should be sainted.
- Same w whoever came up w dissolvable stitches.
- I have no capacity to read anything longer than a People magazine article anymore. AP English is so, so far away.
- Vicodin just makes me sleepy. Don't get the biggie about it. I've got leftovers if anyone is interested. But I must warn you-- a couple of people have already called dibs.
- I have no idea how pregnant women and alcoholics manage. I had a beer the day after I got out of the hospital and it made me so happy.
- I have a hole where the drain in my gut was. So it looks like I have a gunshot wound. It's so cool. I'm ready to hit the clubs w 50 cent.
- My friends are very nice people. Which I knew so it's not really something I "learned". But it was a reminder. I'm a lucky girl.

Anyway, I've got a bunch of stuff on tap for the next few weeks so hopefully the blog will be buzzing again soon enough. Since I'm back to "normal".

The Gall

Last Wed., May 28, I went out for Ethiopian food w/ my friend Danielle. On my way home, heartburn developed. This isn't that unusual for me. I occasionally overeat. Spicy food. And get heartburn like a 60 yr old man. But it didn't go away Thurs. Or Fri. I went to the "Sex & the City" opening night and was drinking Pepto instead of a Cosmo. Sat. I had to bail on a pub crawl. I managed to make it to a wedding w/ Tim. But no drinking. Finally, on Mon. I still felt sick and made an MD appt for Tues.

After examining me, the doctor thought it was my appendix so she sent me to the ER. So I drove to the ER and I waited for about 1 1/2 hrs. While there, I was getting more and more scared that my appendix would bust in the waiting room and I'd die right there. I started to cry. And there were these 2 older Mexican ladies sitting across from me and one lept over and hugged me saying, "It's ok, you're going to be ok." Which only made me cry more. But I needed it. Funny how that works. Anyway, they bring me in and start checking me out. The doctor says that she thinks it might be my gallbladdder. I needed a CT Scan. They told me I had to drinking this stuff before going for the scan that didn't taste so good. But the faster I'd drink it, the faster I'd go in for the scan. So I chugged it like I was drinking a boot of beer. Just focused and started downing it. It was impressive enough that the doctor spread the word. Anyway, a few tests later and it was confirmed that I had a "suspiciously large" gallbladder and 2 gallstones. They'd schedule me for surgery the next day.

I still don't know much about the gallbladder. What I've been told is that it isn't necessary. It stores fat & bile. And Lord knows I don't need any more fat & bile in me. I haven't gotten a straight answer about what causes the stones but the doctor said they were so big that it was years and years of development. Awesome.

I was admitted to the hospital Tues. night. Lisa came by bringing me some things from home and taking the Jeep back from the hosp. garage. And she brought me essential reading materials like US and OK. So I'm all caught up on Lindsay Lohan's shenanigans. My roommate was an older lady who had broken her arm and hurt her leg so she couldn't go to the bathroom by herself. I spent the next 18 hrs listening to her scream into the call button "POTTY!" My favorite was when she told the poor Filipino orderly that she had to piddle. He kept asking No. 1 or No. 2. She just kept saying she had to piddle. Finally, he said, " I don't know what that is." I wanted to shout, "SHE NEEDS TO PEE!" but eventually they got their wires straight and I was able to fall back asleep.

Wed. morning I had to tell George & Nelva about what was going on. I called my dad at work and told him. He had the pleasure of breaking it to my mom. They took it relatively well. My mom threatened to cry but I told her that wouldn't help me. All in all, not nearly as bad as I thought it would be. They took me in for surgery around 1 pm. I didn't get out from recovery till about 7:00. Tim was there w the gorgeous flowers pictured above. Apparently I was entertaining in my drugged state. But I got it together and was coherent enough for Lisa & Maureen's visit that evening. My parents called. My mom asked how it went and I said I didn't know-- didn't she talk to the doctor? She said yes, she had spoken to the doctor. Is he Chinese? I was like, no, he's Indian. WHAT DID HE SAY?!?! She said the doctor confirmed that the gallbladder was really bad. But he had calmed her down and said I'd be better in a week or so. But I still didn't really know what happened-- hadn't spoken to anyone myself. Finally a doctor came in and told me that my stones were huge, my gallbladder was really bad but that the surgery went fine. I was in a fair amt of pain so they gave me morphine. I had several phone conversations in this drugged state and thought I was making perfect sense. I have since been told that it was mainly incoherent babble and I made Laura cry in the Jewel. But it was a good night's sleep.

Thurs. I was still in a fair amt of pain. Every doctor who checked on me told me that my gallbladder was big, infected, inflammed, etc. Alright already-- I get the idea. They sent it and the stones for tests. What tests? No idea. But I assume if they had flunked, the doctors would have let me know. My focus on Thurs was keeping down liquids, then food, walking and passing gas. I was able to do everything but pass gas. Sexy, huh? Anyway, btwn that and the pain, they decided to keep me one more night. They gave me vicodin during the morning. Just 1 pill at first and it didn't do anything. They gave me 2 pills and I still didn't get the whole big deal about vicodin. Still lots of pain. But over the course of the day, it got better. I had a gaggle of visitors on Thurs night-- Laura, Alex, Mandy, Shannon, Matt & Magen. It was nice to get my mind off my gut for a little bit and that crew definitely entertained. And it led to another good night's sleep.

Fri. they took the drain and the IV out and I was finally able to shower! So exciting. David, my boss-- the best boss ever, picked me up and brought me home. And that's been it. I'm home and walking more and more everyday. I've been able to eat w/o any problem. I pooped on Sun. and that was very exciting as well. I still have pain and the vicodin knocks me out. Makes me super sleepy. But it lets me walk around. I can't lift more than 10 lbs. so laundry and groceries are tough. But I'm getting back to normal little by little. Or at least normal for me. I'm working from hoome this week and next week expect to be back to my old routine.

Thanks for everyone's concern and offers of help. I appreciate it more than you know.