How To Go To A Club When You're 31.

1) Take your definition of "late" and add two hours.

You're no rookie. You know clubs don't get started early. But, your life at 31 means that you're used to going out directly from work, starting early and ending early. So when you think you're going out "late" by leaving your house at 10:00, know that the kids these days are still in their sweats. The music and dancing isn't going to get started for fun until 11:00 at the very earliest. More likely, midnight. You know you're there too early when you're actually hoping that a bachelorette party arrives to warm up the dance floor.

2) Realize that the songs of your youth are now "classics" and/or the kids have never heard of them.

I didn't know this until tonight but I know almost every word to "Pump Up the Jam." It helps that there aren't a lot of words to it but still. The kids seemed to like the beat but I'm pretty sure they hadn't really heard it before.

3) Dancing is a workout.

Especially important to remember at 31. Particularly if you have a hard workout that morning. I did the double this morning which involved a whole bunch of lunges and squats along with one of the toughest spin classes I've been in. 12 hours later, dancing was a workout. Muscles were shaky after just a few minutes.


4) Sometimes the solution is going home.

In your 20's, the answer to a bad DJ, obnoxious people on the dance floor, and overbearing drunks was to just drink more. That was usually a short term, expensive quick fix. Now that I'm 31, I can afford it and my liver is in the best shape of its life. Nonetheless, I am thirty-one. I am too old to listen to a bad DJ, be constantly bumped, or have to put up with people who can't hold their liquor. I had some drinks, I enjoyed myself dancing, but I'm equally happy to be home without trying to force the night to be something it was not.

Now that I've learned my lessons, I look forward to applying them in the near future.

Stretch.

Last night, I was out for a drink with my former trainer at Theory. Theory is a sports bar so I wasn't surprised to see that the backroom was occupied with a bunch of guys watching the NBA draft. What was interesting about the group was that it was the tallest group of people I have ever seen in person in one place (outside of attending a basketball game). Even the overdressed and bored women were taller than average. The men were ceiling-scraping tall, literally in one case. It became apparent that this group did not have a casual or fantasy-sports interest in the draft. No, it was later confirmed that these guys were watching the draft, waiting to hear their own names called.

I hope they did -- sad to let that height go to waste.

W3dnesday.

I set a personal record today: I went to the gym three separate times. (Coincidentally, I think I set a personal record in showering three times in one day too.)

I started the morning with a nice swim workout (W1): 1500, about a third of which were using paddles. By the end, my arms were nicely noodled. At lunch, I skipped not one but two free lunches to go to spin class (W2). By the end, my legs were nicely noodled.

W3 was a challenge though. Mentally, I was losing motivation by 6. But really, the biggest challenge was the walk from the office to the gym. My timing coincided with a huge downpour with strong winds. My umbrella flipped itself three times and its one of those super duper umbrellas, not some little flimsy thing. I was a touch late due to Mother Nature but I made it to my third workout, BOSU class. The class is about 20 minutes of aerobic work, 30 minutes of strength, and 10 minutes of core, all using the BOSU. Its a fun but tough class. I was happy to get a breather when the fire alarm went off. As it turns out, it wasn't a fire but a tornado warning. All was fine and it was a good workout.

And now, my whole body is nicely noodled. W3dnesday was a good day.

Summer Solsticelebration!

June 21, 2010. The longest day of the year fell on a Monday this year.

When M and I left the office a little after 7:00 pm, it was still
bright and partly cloudy out. (Yes, I know sunny reads nicer there but
blame Tom Skilling and/or Mother Nature. It was what it was.)

We decided to get dinner to celebrate. And, a solsitcelebration calls
for something new. First, we went to Epic Sky, Epic's rooftop bar, for
a drink. It Is a lovely space but hindered by a lack of food menu and
complaining staff. If they ever serve something beyond stale popcorn
up there, I can see loving it. Even without food, I like it a lot.

Then, we were torn between sushi at Sushi Samba's roof and sampling
English's new menu. We took a glance at the new menu and decided to
give English a try. Score one for the lazy, as its maybe two blocks
closer than Sushi Samba.

English's new menu -- chef'd by Rahdika Desai of Top Chef Chi fame --
is super good. Homage to English pub food with lots of tasty treats.
M had a lobster cake slider with a Greek salad. I had an amazing
chicken sandie (pepper jack, bacon, avocado and a spicy aoili). We
both had splits served with a slice of strawberry. As we sat outside,
the service left a lot to be desired but the food was incredible.
Considering that I liked the old menu, I have to say that Desai made
Desairable changes for an awesome new menu.

Dad Tasks.

My parents were in town for the past few days. My mom is always easy to make happy when she visits. All she needs is a few reservations at interesting new restaurants. And, the occasional shopping trip, pedicure or theater ticket. My mom is a city mouse who lives in what I uncharitably like to describe as a cowtown.

My dad, on the other hand, is a country mouse. He would never want to live in Chicago. For one thing, he would have a really hard time finding parking for his truck. (He drives a gigantic F350 diesel. He wanted a dually -- the double back wheel version of a truck -- but my mom put her foot down as she didn't see what my dad, a pharmacist by training, would need to haul to justify that kind of truck.) He just doesn't like the traffic and the amount of people so close to each other. His ideal home has double digit acres, not double digit floors.

But, this trip was easy to keep dad occupied. I just put him to work. While I can handle the basics, I just had a lot of dad-tasks related to my new place. I needed him to teach me how to install propane in my grill (I was afraid I'd mess it up and blow myself up). I needed him to put a wire on the back of a mirror and help me hang it. He made up his own tasks of basic maintanence that I didn't even know needed to be done. He taught me about the magic of WD-40. Basically, he did a lot of good dad-tasks. Thankfully, this stuff is easy for him and he likes doing it. And, my dad likes my new place much better than the old one. He found my new neighborhood and treehouse of a condo to be a nice little respite from the noise of the city.

Rest assured, my Father's Day present to him was not giving him a bunch of work to do. I did get him actual gift too.

Branching Out.

At the beginning of this month, a bunch of copies of CS (a Modern Luxury publication that I think stands for Chicago Social but I'm not positive) were delivered to the lobby of my building. At my old place, I got a lot of cleaning service post cards and the occasional RedEye. Apparently, in the Gold Coast, you get social magazines.


The June issue of CS included a review of new bars. If its not obvious, I'm a creature of habit. At most restaurants that I go to, I don't really need to look at a menu because I have a go-to and don't bother branching out. Unsurprisingly, that means I usually go to the same places and don't often deviate(except when moved by an outside force, e.g. my mom coming to town). Despite my apparent love of Newton's First Law of Motion, I do like going new places and even more so, like reading about new places.

CS recommended Hotel Palomar's Sable. Been there and it is definitely good. I still miss the nice little green space that formerly occupied the hotel's footprint, though.

CS recommends Old Town Social. OTS is on my old block. I certainly like the place but dislike standing in lines so rarely went. Nonetheless, I agree with the recommendation.

CS informed me that the people behind Bull and Bear are putting a bar into what used to be RedFish. Looking forward to that.

CS told me that Epic's roof is delightful, as expected. CS also apprised me that a new restaurant/lounge with an Italian focus will be moving in across the street from Epic. Super news.

And, CS told me that a former friend, English, has undergone some rehab. A few years ago, I really enjoyed English. I even had my birthday there (28 or 29, can't remember). Yelp billed English as the ruiner of birthdays. English itself didn't accomplish that. A jerky boy and breaking my key in my front door managed it, although technically on the day after my birthday. But I digress. Its been awhile -- maybe as much as two years -- since I've been to English but I kind of want to go back. English hired Rahdika Desai, of Top Chef fame, to redesign their menu and be the chef. I attended an event last summer (Chefs and the City) in which she participated with some delicious samples. I liked English's food before but I bet it is awesome now.

Short story long, thanks to CS, I might branch out a bit this summer.

Sunday Dinner.

I know that Sunday dinner is a traditional thing for a lot of families. It wasn't really a big deal for my family growing up because we were a family that tried to eat dinner together every night.

Now, as adults, it seems that my family has adopted a Sunday dinner of sorts. Every two weeks or so, my brother and parents get together for Sunday night dinner. My brother, his partner and their dogs come up to my parents' house after working, arriving about 4. He tends to fall asleep immediately while the dogs run around like crazy. My mom often pulls out most (not all) the stops for the meal, especially for dessert. It sounds like a good time. If I lived near them, I'd happily join them.


As I live some 1,500 or so miles away, M and I have started our own little Sunday dinner. We decided last week that tonight's dinner would be breakfast for dinner. We made a frittata, sweet potato hash, blueberry muffins and had bellinis as our drink. Super delicious and mostly healthy AND almost entirely made from scratch. I actually like cooking when I'm not doing it just for myself. That seems like such a waste of time and energy to me. But tonight, we even had friends stop by for a plate. Sunday night is a really relaxing way to end the weekend.

America's Got Talent!

Last night at Glamorama's kickoff party, Naturally7 (www.naturallyseven.com)performed. I had never heard of them before this party but they are incredible. (Side note: had I bothered to google them, I would have found their official website, a wiki entry, etc.). Incredibly talented and incredible performers.

They are seven guys who perform what they call "vocal play." That means not only do they sing a capella, they make all sounds in the song using only their vocal chords. That translates to air drums, air bass, even air flute. It cracked me a up bit at first -- it takes a real performer to have swagger while rocking with the air flute -- but they are such great performers that I forgot that it was funny pretty quickly.

I've never watched America's Got Talent but nonetheless, I totally think these guys should go on it and win. They apparently have their fourth CD out but they are so good at what they do that you would never know, just by listening, that their vocal chords were responsible for everything you hear. You really need to see it to believe it.

Point of Clarification.

As should be obvious, I love my bubbles. Prosecco, rose, champagne, love them all.

However, bubbles are not the only thing my friends and I drink. Non-bubbly wine is also totally acceptable. I don't know a lot about wine but prefer reds to white. Malbec, pinot, merlot, cab, shiraz -- all good in my book.

There are certain occassions where a beer is really the only thing that will work. For example, a cold beer at a ballgame is really the only thing that fits. (Digression: its also the only setting where I eat a hot dog because they taste better there and by better, I mean, damn, that is delicious.)

I still like my vodky soda. Particularly, a raspberry vodka or three olives grape. Tastes just like grape soda. All with extra lime -- its only prudent, one doesn't want scurvy.

And, more than one shot is still a quick ticket to time travel.

New Leaf?

The new place may have resulted in a new leaf.

As I mentioned, moving to a new place changed my sleep habits. Now, I have both the knees and bedtime of an 80 year old woman. I like sleeping in so I will be sad if I have premanently lost that ability but I'm confident its not completely lost.

More dramatic of a change is that I actually make the occasional, simple dinner. Actually, that's an exaggeration in two ways. First, its a collaborative effort. Melissa and I have been dividing the labor. Second, our dinners have so far been a salad and some grilled proteins. I generally take the grilling responsibilities and I have to admit that I have a lot to learn and significant room for improvement. Melissa's salads have been generally awesome. The southwest salad and the strawberry and goat cheese salad have been my two favorites.

For the first time, today, I went to the grocery store with a cookbook in hand to get ingredients. Tomorrow's dinner will be a feast, at least for us. Marianade from hand, lots of veggies, angel food cake for dessert. At the grocer, I was suckered into buying a bottle of pinot noir by name alone: Fat Bastard, a "surprisingly full-bodied wine."

On another new leaf note, I went to the hardware store today to buy a paintbrush and a drop cloth. I am actually re-painting a lamp. Its super simple and WAY cheaper than paying someone, especially as I have a closet full of paint. I primed the lamp this afternoon and hope to have it painted tomorrow. Not a huge project but more domestic than I've been in maybe ever.

Martha Stewart I'm not but maybe a baby step or two is being taken towards domestic skills.

Super Seasonal Saturdays.

I love love love Saturday mornings during farmers' market season. And, luckily, farmers' market season started a few weeks ago and runs through October.

My new seasonal Saturday involves getting up and going to the farmers' market early to get some flowers. The market opens at 7:00 am. Apparently, when I moved into a building filled mostly with older people, I adopted an older person's sleeping schedule. I can't seem to sleep in anymore, including Saturday mornings. Which, as far as the market goes, is a good thing because the flowers get picked over rather quickly.

After finding flowers, its time for The Double at the gym. (It could be The Triple but I just don't think I could do three class and/or three and a half hours in a row of exercise without a snack break.) The Double is a strength and conditioning class followed by spin. Quick shower and out.

Then, its back to the farmers' market. This time, to walk the market and see if there is anything I need. So far, I've needed spinach dip. But that's just a pretense. I really go back to the farmers' market for Butch McGuire's farmers' market $5 breakfast: two eggs, some form of bread, and some meat. I like to take my english muffin with some eggs over hard and canadian bacon. The McGuire McMuffin is how I like to think of it. Super delicious. Especially followed with the jumbo mimosas. Just so refreshing. Two out of the past three weeks, the bartenders have awarded free shots. Not coincidentally, two out of the past three weeks, I've left with a strong buzz.

I just love Saturday mornings.

June, Already.

I cannot believe its already June 1. It may not be officially summer yet but we appear to have fast forwarded to August here in Chicago. I've always thought that Spring is a Tuesday in April here but this year, it's particularly true. We're already having a warmer summer than all of last year combined in my opinion. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining. At least, not yet.

June 1st marked my first mortgage payment. One down, three hundred and fifty-nine to go. And yet, my place is not complete. I have about 90% of my furniture, a figure that I consider a win. However, I still do not have two countertops, any light fixtures or window treatments. I can and do live without them but they definitely are a hinderance to really feeling like I'm home. Much less of a hinderance than the entire first week where one of my toilets resided in my dining room. My mom liked to call that an avant gard statement on the current state of dinig at home. She also pointed out that every party needs a pooper. Funny and all but I'm happy to have two fully functional bathrooms with everything back where it belongs.

I hope by the time fall rolls in, I will have a completed place that will be my new home sweet home. Good thing that there are so many fun summer-in-Chicago activities to distract me until its done.