A change of plans...
So, let's see... New Year's Eve in Columbus. The weekend after was somewhat low-key. January 12th was the first real snow-storm of Winter this year, which... Was both awesome and sucked. A few months ago, I made plans to rent a log cabin for myself and Ryan at Starved Rock State Park and was kinda bummed that we were going and there would be no snow. Well? It SNOWED! We were late getting out of my office and a 2-hour trip turned into 6-hours of white-knuckle, occasional white-out condition driving.
But the cabin? AMAZING. A beautiful view, making love in front of the fire, wandering the undisturbed trails to see nature in all her frozen glory... Next year, we're definitely making this a group outing. And we even made it back in time to attend the third-annual Fuck FC party which was as amazing as ever. Not that we don't think FC is awesome and wish it the best, but... There's a lot of people who can't go for one reason or another and it's a GREAT excuse to party! It also got to double as Kojak's welcome-back party.
And then this weekend... Friday was more snow and we had hoped to have people over, but decided to enjoy a night to ourselves. We headed downtown for dinner at Giordano's and then walked over to The Art Institute of Chicago for an after-hours gallery opening of Light Years, which is an exploration of the Conceptual Art movement from 1964 to 1977 and how it brought photography into being a mainstream form of art. It's interesting to think that there was a time when a photograph could not be considered art... But the exhibit was fantastic and I was amused to see how many people just came for the social event and ignored the actual exhibit. Socialites drinking and dancing the night away, seemingly oblivious to the masterpieces like American Gothic and Nighthawks just a few dozen feet away.... It was a beautiful evening and as always, I found myself falling even more in love with this city I call home.
Saturday was spent at Paintball, dinner, furry bowling and late-night sushi... Fun times with awesome friends as always!
And Sunday... Was the big day. Ryan was heading back to school and we, as a couple... Were officially, "on a break". I dropped him at the train station with a heavy heart and we said our goodbyes. I watched him walk down the platform and hop on his train. I walked back to my car and sat, looking out at the city, feeling very alone in a city brimming with life, but... None of which was visible at that very moment. I headed back home and Ryan called to tell me he still loves me. It's very hard to sob quietly while holding a phone and a steering wheel. I got home and stared at the television, unable to justify most of the chores I needed to do. I went to bed and just laid there staring at the ceiling.
At 1.01AM, the phone rang and it was Ryan... He was struggling as well... I finally fell asleep. And exactly 6 hours later, he called to apologize and ask if I could forgive him and take him back. My answer, was of course obvious. And whilst I was willing to give him three months to figure things out... I'm glad it took hours and not months.
But the cabin? AMAZING. A beautiful view, making love in front of the fire, wandering the undisturbed trails to see nature in all her frozen glory... Next year, we're definitely making this a group outing. And we even made it back in time to attend the third-annual Fuck FC party which was as amazing as ever. Not that we don't think FC is awesome and wish it the best, but... There's a lot of people who can't go for one reason or another and it's a GREAT excuse to party! It also got to double as Kojak's welcome-back party.
And then this weekend... Friday was more snow and we had hoped to have people over, but decided to enjoy a night to ourselves. We headed downtown for dinner at Giordano's and then walked over to The Art Institute of Chicago for an after-hours gallery opening of Light Years, which is an exploration of the Conceptual Art movement from 1964 to 1977 and how it brought photography into being a mainstream form of art. It's interesting to think that there was a time when a photograph could not be considered art... But the exhibit was fantastic and I was amused to see how many people just came for the social event and ignored the actual exhibit. Socialites drinking and dancing the night away, seemingly oblivious to the masterpieces like American Gothic and Nighthawks just a few dozen feet away.... It was a beautiful evening and as always, I found myself falling even more in love with this city I call home.
Saturday was spent at Paintball, dinner, furry bowling and late-night sushi... Fun times with awesome friends as always!
And Sunday... Was the big day. Ryan was heading back to school and we, as a couple... Were officially, "on a break". I dropped him at the train station with a heavy heart and we said our goodbyes. I watched him walk down the platform and hop on his train. I walked back to my car and sat, looking out at the city, feeling very alone in a city brimming with life, but... None of which was visible at that very moment. I headed back home and Ryan called to tell me he still loves me. It's very hard to sob quietly while holding a phone and a steering wheel. I got home and stared at the television, unable to justify most of the chores I needed to do. I went to bed and just laid there staring at the ceiling.
At 1.01AM, the phone rang and it was Ryan... He was struggling as well... I finally fell asleep. And exactly 6 hours later, he called to apologize and ask if I could forgive him and take him back. My answer, was of course obvious. And whilst I was willing to give him three months to figure things out... I'm glad it took hours and not months.