The Chi.

What a weekend! I have been sick all week and ended up staying in to recover, but on Saturday, I returned to the Windy City, my former home, and thoroughly enjoyed every bitterly cold moment. I took the train down on Saturday morning, where I proceeded to sit behind a random assortment of college students - and by random, I mean: 2 Emo guys, 1 Emo girl, 1 self-proclaimed alcoholic, and 1 large African American man. Here is what I witnessed:

Awkward Moment #1 - Conversation

Boy 1: Hey, were you the guy that asked me to sleep with you?

Boy 2: No, I am Dan.

Boy 1: Oh, you are the kid who doesn't like marijuana.

Awkward Moment #2 - A Budding Author

Turns out Boy 1 (who doesn't seem to be homosexual, despite above conversation) is a budding author. Yes, he is writing a book about gay vampires. Who help God. And save someone named Amanda.

Awkward Moment #3 - The Dealer

So, I am not entirely sure how the group of kids knows the large African American man, but he sat directly in front of me, made a phone call and set up a coke deal, made another phone call and planned a "meth" party, and then proceeded to call his former boss to see if he was rehired at Panera. And you wonder why he lost his job in the first place.

Awkward Moment #4 - Beer in a Bathroom

The budding author announced to everyone on the train that he had a drinking problem. So he took his bag, loaded it with beer from the large AA man, and hid in the bathroom to drink for the duration of the trip. Approximate time? 11:00 a.m.

Needless to say, I was happy when the train hit Chicago. I met Laura for a fabulous and unhealthy lunch here. It was great to finally catch up with Laura - thanks, girlfriend! Then I took the Brown Line (oh, how I've missed the El) down to Water Tower and picked out my wedding band! I'd post a picture or a link, but it's a surprise. It's gorgeous - diamond band in a milgrain setting. Thanks to Kevin's friend Trevor for hooking a girl up!

By this time, Mikey had made his way into the city and we decided it would be nice to catch up in a quiet environment. Plus, we just had nowhere else to go, unfortunately. So, we hit up one of our favorite places, 404 Wine Bar. After several glasses of wine, we killed some time at Crate & Barrel and Pottery Barn, where, (drumroll please), we found our everyday setting, flatware, pillows, comforter, and essentially planned out the decor of our entire non-existant house! Seriously, though, we're super jazzed to register at both places.

Here's Mikey taking a break from the creative brainstorming session at C&B-

And as if the night couldn't get anymore exciting, we met Steph and Sven for a fabulous dinner at the new establishment Duchamp (in the former Meritage space on Damen). I highly recommend it - it's incredibly funky, but the food was FANTASTIC. A few pics from the evening -

Now I am tired. Top 5 post and re-cap of "Dirty Dancing: The Musical" tomorrow. Mikey just got me ice cream.