Life as a Free Man
Two sections of the CPA exam have been taken, two more to go. But before I start studying again for the 3rd section (which I'm doing differently to avoid the prison-like takover of my life, but we'll get into that later), I'm taking a little break to relax, recuperate, and catch up with all of the other things going on in my life. It feels great having free time again.
Alex and I had a jam-packed Saturday last weekend. It started with a rapid cleanup of the apartment, followed by haircuts for both of us (I introduced Alex to my stylist and he hasn't looked back). After a quick brunch, we hopped in the car and drove out to Naperville. While I'm no fan of the Chicago suburbs (because they're boring and cookie-cutter), we were there for two reasons. One, to get an oil change/small checkup/fluid refresh on the car at the dealership where we bought it (they had a special going on for $30), and two, to pick up Mark, one of Alex's friends who had just moved from New York to Chicago and has yet to find an apartment in the city. After we accomplished both of those tasks, we returned to the city with haste and stopped at Trader Joe's to pick up some ingredients for our stuffed mushroom appetizer. We then returned to our apartment to make said appetizer and relax over some drinks. Mark's boyfriend Jerry, who was working downtown that day, came up to join us at some point. Eventually it became time to walk down to Dana's for her dinner party (in case you were wondering why we randomly decided to spend a Saturday afternoon making stuffed mushrooms).
Dana, who also moved into a new apartment earlier this year, has been excited about hosting a dinner party at this place since she laid eyes on it, and for good reason. Her apartment has its own formal dining room, complete with a table. The table can fit 8, but we had about 12 people, so a little help from the breakfast nook was needed. But we all comfortably fit in the room for dinner, which is an accomplishment for anyone living in an apartment that's not uber expensive. Dinner was grand, but dessert (apple crisp) was perfect. And, as usual, there was a plethora of wine bottles that led one to question whether we could finish all of them. But, as usual, it was all consumed. This never fails.
Following dinner, we all went out for some bar action. Our first stop was Guthrie's, but, being that it was a Saturday night somewhere around midnight, Guthrie's did not have a table open (shocker). So we walked down Southport and ended up at Southport Lanes, which was surprisingly open in the room with the bowling lanes, adjacent to the main room with the bar. There was also a pool table, which was open, and Jerry took full advantage, showing off his impressive billiard skills with multiple games, all of which he won. Usually I'm awful at pool, but I actually did pretty well for some reason. Maybe it was the wine. We eventually left Southport Lanes at probably 2:00-ish, and since it was such a nice night outside, we just walked home.
The next day, I drove Mark and Jerry to Union Station so they could catch a train back to Naperville, then I returned home to help Alex nurse his hangover. Although I had a roster of things to do that day, I felt like doing none of them, and so I basically stayed home all day and kept Alex company while his hangover eventually receded. Then there was "Dexter".
Being that I was entirely unproductive on Sunday, I had to make up for it by doing multiple errands during the week, which I prefer not to do. After an 8 hour work day followed by a 1 hour workout, I'd rather just come home, cook up a good meal, and relax for the rest of the evening. I like to do my errands during the day on the weekends, when I'm rested, refreshed, energized, and feel like leaving the apartment just for the sake of getting out and doing something. But Sunday was an exception to that, and I paid for it dearly during the week this past week. On Monday, the second I got home, before we could even begin dinner, we got in the car and did grocery shopping. We were empty. On Tuesday, I went to Target to get a number of household items. And I missed my opportunity for early voting on Sunday, so now I have to wake up even earlier than I already do to go vote on actual Election Day this Tuesday before work.
Wednesday I didn't do errands, nor did I just sit at home and relax. Oh no, I did something way more fun than either of those two things. I went to another rock show. This one was at Lincoln Hall, which is perhaps one of the newest concert venues in the city, but still conveniently tucked into Lincoln Park not far from the Fullerton stop, so quite easy to get to from my apartment. It's a great space. There's a bar in the front, a pit that's just the right size for a rock show, and a 2nd level with a U-shaped balcony with ample seating, and another bar. Definitely a choice venue to catch a live show. The band was Two Door Cinema Club, whose album I had bought the week prior and could not stop playing. It was simply a wonderful coincidence that they happen to be coming to Chicago at the same time I was getting into their album, and that the show wasn't sold out (it eventually did, but I had already bought my ticket by then). Their album, Tourist History, is amazing. It is quite possibly the best album I've purchased this year. And they played all of it in their show. Each and every song. I was in heaven; I probably danced harder at that show than I have at any other. They were excellent performers to boot. They didn't do anything with the songs that differed greatly from how they're presented on the album, but that didn't bother me in the least. I love the songs on the album just the way they are. Nevertheless, their performance was tight. The vocals, the instrumentals, the sound, all of it was just in sync. It was pretty much the epitome of why I enjoy what is labeled as "alternative" music, both in live and recorded form.
Coming up next... Halloween weekend and the Max Invasion.
With love,
Rocked-out Bitch
Alex and I had a jam-packed Saturday last weekend. It started with a rapid cleanup of the apartment, followed by haircuts for both of us (I introduced Alex to my stylist and he hasn't looked back). After a quick brunch, we hopped in the car and drove out to Naperville. While I'm no fan of the Chicago suburbs (because they're boring and cookie-cutter), we were there for two reasons. One, to get an oil change/small checkup/fluid refresh on the car at the dealership where we bought it (they had a special going on for $30), and two, to pick up Mark, one of Alex's friends who had just moved from New York to Chicago and has yet to find an apartment in the city. After we accomplished both of those tasks, we returned to the city with haste and stopped at Trader Joe's to pick up some ingredients for our stuffed mushroom appetizer. We then returned to our apartment to make said appetizer and relax over some drinks. Mark's boyfriend Jerry, who was working downtown that day, came up to join us at some point. Eventually it became time to walk down to Dana's for her dinner party (in case you were wondering why we randomly decided to spend a Saturday afternoon making stuffed mushrooms).
Dana, who also moved into a new apartment earlier this year, has been excited about hosting a dinner party at this place since she laid eyes on it, and for good reason. Her apartment has its own formal dining room, complete with a table. The table can fit 8, but we had about 12 people, so a little help from the breakfast nook was needed. But we all comfortably fit in the room for dinner, which is an accomplishment for anyone living in an apartment that's not uber expensive. Dinner was grand, but dessert (apple crisp) was perfect. And, as usual, there was a plethora of wine bottles that led one to question whether we could finish all of them. But, as usual, it was all consumed. This never fails.
Following dinner, we all went out for some bar action. Our first stop was Guthrie's, but, being that it was a Saturday night somewhere around midnight, Guthrie's did not have a table open (shocker). So we walked down Southport and ended up at Southport Lanes, which was surprisingly open in the room with the bowling lanes, adjacent to the main room with the bar. There was also a pool table, which was open, and Jerry took full advantage, showing off his impressive billiard skills with multiple games, all of which he won. Usually I'm awful at pool, but I actually did pretty well for some reason. Maybe it was the wine. We eventually left Southport Lanes at probably 2:00-ish, and since it was such a nice night outside, we just walked home.
The next day, I drove Mark and Jerry to Union Station so they could catch a train back to Naperville, then I returned home to help Alex nurse his hangover. Although I had a roster of things to do that day, I felt like doing none of them, and so I basically stayed home all day and kept Alex company while his hangover eventually receded. Then there was "Dexter".
Being that I was entirely unproductive on Sunday, I had to make up for it by doing multiple errands during the week, which I prefer not to do. After an 8 hour work day followed by a 1 hour workout, I'd rather just come home, cook up a good meal, and relax for the rest of the evening. I like to do my errands during the day on the weekends, when I'm rested, refreshed, energized, and feel like leaving the apartment just for the sake of getting out and doing something. But Sunday was an exception to that, and I paid for it dearly during the week this past week. On Monday, the second I got home, before we could even begin dinner, we got in the car and did grocery shopping. We were empty. On Tuesday, I went to Target to get a number of household items. And I missed my opportunity for early voting on Sunday, so now I have to wake up even earlier than I already do to go vote on actual Election Day this Tuesday before work.
Wednesday I didn't do errands, nor did I just sit at home and relax. Oh no, I did something way more fun than either of those two things. I went to another rock show. This one was at Lincoln Hall, which is perhaps one of the newest concert venues in the city, but still conveniently tucked into Lincoln Park not far from the Fullerton stop, so quite easy to get to from my apartment. It's a great space. There's a bar in the front, a pit that's just the right size for a rock show, and a 2nd level with a U-shaped balcony with ample seating, and another bar. Definitely a choice venue to catch a live show. The band was Two Door Cinema Club, whose album I had bought the week prior and could not stop playing. It was simply a wonderful coincidence that they happen to be coming to Chicago at the same time I was getting into their album, and that the show wasn't sold out (it eventually did, but I had already bought my ticket by then). Their album, Tourist History, is amazing. It is quite possibly the best album I've purchased this year. And they played all of it in their show. Each and every song. I was in heaven; I probably danced harder at that show than I have at any other. They were excellent performers to boot. They didn't do anything with the songs that differed greatly from how they're presented on the album, but that didn't bother me in the least. I love the songs on the album just the way they are. Nevertheless, their performance was tight. The vocals, the instrumentals, the sound, all of it was just in sync. It was pretty much the epitome of why I enjoy what is labeled as "alternative" music, both in live and recorded form.
Coming up next... Halloween weekend and the Max Invasion.
With love,
Rocked-out Bitch