Memorial Day Weekend Update

Friday Nate and I went to El Cid for Mexican food. I hadn't been there since November and forgot how good it is. Nate had never been there. It's an easy blue line ride, so hopefully we'll go more often and take advantage of the outdoor dining. Then we met up with some of his friends to see Hot Fuzz at the cheapo theater. The theater was pretty nasty, as were the people who were there (both workers and movie-goers). Hot Fuzz was undoubtedly well done and very intelligent, it just wasn't my cup of tea. Despite the gore being "humorous" it still had gore. I hate bloody movies. Especially unnecessarily yucky ones.

Saturday was supposed to be the awesome Patio Party day. We were going to go to the Patio at Cellular Field, then watch the game from the first row above the visitors' bullpen. Half that happened - we definitely did the patio, complete with all you can eat hot dogs, fried chicken, burgers, potato salad, and two beers per person per round. Too bad the weather wasn't cooperating and the game got called before a single pitch could be thrown. It was a pretty big disappointment, as I had been looking forward to this day for months. Also somewhat of a waste of money. We can go to the make-up game, but it isn't the same without the patio beforehand.

Then Nate and I headed home slightly tipsy at 7:30 pm, which sucked because nobody was going out. We both passed out early and the night was over. Sunday turned out to be much more exciting. We went to Windy City Cafe for waffles, then I went home to watch the Sox get slaughtered by the Twins.

Sunday evening we went to the Fasts' apartment for a BBQ. I was allowed to bring Audrey so she could enjoy unfettered playing in their awesome fenced-in back yard. She was there for five hours, and was active the entire time. Did lots of running in huge circles for no reason, lots of sniffing stuff, digging, lapping up the attention, pooping...she loved every minute of it. I loved it too because she's been knocked out ever since. I hope she can go over there again in the future for more activity time.

The humans played badminton (I sucked), BBQed, and sat around enjoying the summer weather. It was a great way to ring in the 'official' start of summer.

Monday Nate and I flipped between the Cubs and Sox games, got a late lunch at Cleo's, played scrabble...we were pretty bored on Monday. I was depressed because it was the end of a relaxing weekend.

Tonight I went grocery shopping and made us falafel sandwiches with strawberry shortcake for dessert (Nate has NEVER had strawberry shortcake. Unamerican? Yes). I also did laundry. Hooray for domesticity.

Tomorrow is round two of my attempt to get a driver's license in Illinois. I have the "super duper official" social security card now, along with my three other pieces of identification so I'm good to go I think. Nate's headed to Portland with his band, Sleep Out, to record with some super awesome dude for the rest of the week. I'll be kept busy by cleaning and organizing in preparation for my aunt and uncle from Menlo Park, CA to visit this Friday.

I promised photos in this post but flickr is down, and I got lazy.

Back to the Grind

Today was opening day at Cellular Field. I didn't have tickets to the game, but I took a two hour lunch break to go tailgate. I work across the street, so it is really easy to wander over and meet up with the usual jokers. I hadn't seen most of these people since October, and it was fun to catch up. Plus Miller, Torri, and Ollie came so I got to talk to them too. It was hard to go back to work after that. I'll be going to the game Thursday, and I can't wait to get in there and see the new green seats. I feel like my enjoyment of baseball last summer will/already has become a full on obsession this summer.

I went to the grocery store tonight. Big party huh? I wanted to make pesto, but the stupid place was out of basil. I'm not sure it's in season yet, so I bought spinach instead. And guess what? It worked AND spinach is healthier! It felt really good to cook, then put the dishes in the dishwasher. I was also able to spread out my foodstuffs thanks to Nate helping me move my kitchen table into a more island-style space. Now I have extreme garlic breath and I love it.

Finally, my newest time waster is GoodReads. You on it? Add me because I'd love to see book recommendations. This past weekend I bought the scrabble dictionary (4th edition) and the only Tolstoy book I haven't read, The Resurrection. I'm also working on Devil in the White City and Wild Sheep Chase by Murakami. It feels good to read again, after that two month slog through The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay.

And did I mention I'm so dorkishly happy my blog is back? Because I am.