London.

Once we arrived at Heathrow, we took showers and breakfasted at the British Airways lounge, on the assumption that we would just drop off our bags at the hotel and go. A forty minute ride on the Picadilly Line and a little dot following on our phones (God bless technology -- as a person with no natural sense of direction at all, the iphone dot is amazing) and we arrived at the Cavendish. Incredibly, our room was actually ready.

We took about fifteen minutes of quiet time, laying down, until the bells of St. James rang 10:00 am. We began our death march through London from Trafalgar Square:

Yes, that is a giant ship in a bottle:

From there, we walked through the National Portrait Gallery and headed south. We saw the WWII memorial to women and 10 Downing Street. We stopped at Churchill's War Rooms. They are really interesting. They were a bunker that served as the headquarters for the British war council. People lived in the dark underground for four years there. The rooms have been mocked up. There is a museum of Churchill's life as well. I've always had a fondness for the man -- he has some really fantastic quotes -- and I found it a very interesting stop.

We kept walking, walking past Westminster Abbey, toward Big Ben:

At that point, we were near Parliament and starving. Unfortunately, it was a real struggle for us to find a lunch spot. (We had this problem frequently -- we'd be near a tourist location but for our stomachs or bladders could not find restaurants.) We were successful ultimately though. With full bellies, we went back to the Abbey and walked though. I've been before but I still find it one of the more fascinating places in London.

The death march continued, heading up toward Green Park and Buckingham Palace. We had to take a break and catch a cab to Harrod's. In some ways, Harrods reminds me of Macy's on State Street, but about a hundred times fancier. Proof alone is that their food halls are like Whole Foods and their wine bar is a Veuve bar. We took the opportunity to have a super expensive, but delicious, glass of rose. From high brow, we slightly lower to TopShop across the street. A walk through that store confirmed my excitement for it to open on Michigan Avenue this week.

By this point, it was 4:30 in the afternoon and we were EXHAUSTED. But, so so close to making it through the day. We took the tube up to Notting Hill for dinner. One of our neighbors used to live in London and recommended a bar called the Churchill Arms. Just a neighborhood bar with a lot of Churchill memorabilia but attached to a cheap and delicious Thai place. It was really weird but perfect. We spent our last paper pounds on a cab, having to walk the last mile or so back to our hotel.

We were in bed by 6:30 and probably solidly asleep by 7:00. That's what you get for not really sleeping on the plane and trying to beat jet lag.

Business Class.

In a raffle, I won two business class tickets to London on British Airways. The raffle ticket was $100. The tickets were worth somewhere between $3,000 - 4,000 pounds, according to one of our flight attendants. Winner winner, chicken dinner. (Literally, actually -- chicken was a dinner option on the flight over.)

It took a little effort to schedule the trip but man, was it worth it. We planned to go from London, train to Paris, fly to Palma, Mallorca, fly back to London and then back to Chicago. Flying business class on the front and back was awesome.

First, check the seat:

Lie flat bed. A zillion new release movie options. Unending flow of champagne. The attendants really pushed the alcohol -- I'm sure they wanted people to drink and pass out, making their jobs easy for the majority of the flight.

Second, the lounges. I like airline lounges generally but the BA lounge is wonderful. When you arrive at Heathrow, you can shower, sign up for free massages and facials (we didn't simply because we didn't have the time to waste), have a full breakfast and open bar (again, passed, since we arrived at 6:30 am in London).

Business class is really such a HUGE step up compared to the coach cattle car that I almost can't imagine first class. We walked through it and it seemed that there were pajamas involved along with bigger televisions. I guess that's what an extra $5,000 buys you. Our free.99 business class was more than sufficient for this girl.

Bait and Switch.

My brother called me last night to tell me a story that has been cracking me up for a solid twelve hours now.

He recently added one of our aunts on my dad's side of the family as a friend on Facebook. We don't see that side of the family very often but he wanted to try to increase communication and whatnot. Well intentioned. What he didn't realize is that my dad had not communicated some pertinent details about my brother's life to his sisters. (My broseph did not realize it because he is very open about these details.)

So picture it:

My aunt, and her husband, live in the middle of Wisconsin. They have two sons. I'm not sure that it is fair to call them rednecks -- although it very well might be -- but I do think its fair to say that they are not particularly worldly and have a pretty limited exposure to things that are not the Republican dream. My aunt accepts the friend request and begins to peruse my brother's page. She sees that he is in a relationship with "Angelina." She takes the next natural step and clicks on Angelina's page to find that Angelina is actually J.:

Apparently, my dad didn't tell his sisters that my brother is gay, much less that his partner is a drag queen.

Ah, to be a fly on that wall.

Cubs "Fan."

This is not an original observation. Not even close.

But, I am always struck by just how bad of baseball fans Cubs fans are. I'm sure there are some people who go to the games because they care about the game, know the players, actually watch the game, but those people seem to be a pretty silent minority. And, I say this as a person who is not a baseball fan. I'm a sports fan generally so I can certainly enjoy a baseball game when I'm there, but I don't care enough to follow it -- especially since I find baseball games dreadfully boring to watch on TV.

H organized a block of tickets for her various friends to attend last night's game. I hadn't been to a Cubs game yet this summer so I was in. I usually try go to at least two baseball games during the summer -- one Sox, one Cubs. I was in the Sox box on Saturday and last night satisfied my Cubs obligation.

I have never been to the Cubs box. I have always slummed it in normal seats at Wrigley. And, thanks to the bad baseball fan nature of the Cubs fans, I have a lovely time. Wrigley is a fantastic place to sit, eat a hot dog, have some drinks and chat with friends. If you happen to catch some of the game, great. If you don't, well, you probably missed a loss so no harm, no foul.

I guess after seven years, I've decided that if I were to be a baseball fan here, I'd be a Sox fan. But, I am a Wrigley fan.

Spoiled.

This weekend is one of my favorites of the summer -- Air & Water Show weekend. There are plenty of people who object to the show for various reasons: waste of fuel; blatant military recruiting; first timers think the practice runs during the week are Chicago under attack; etc. I can understand all of these objections but I have trouble understanding that even those with logical objections can hate it because it is just. so. cool. The things pilots can do are very impressive. By all rights, I should be a hater for an "etc." reason -- my neighborhood is essentially the Show's center point and therefore overrun all weekend. But, I'm not. I'm an unabashed fan.

So, when I woke up Saturday morning and saw overcast skies, I was a tad concerned. When I was getting ready to leave the gym and saw the downpour (wind, lightening and thunder included), I was sad and not just because I had to ride my bike home in it. But, by 1:30, the rain cleared out and the planes were flying.

I am so spoiled sometimes. From my own balcony, I can see some of the maneuvers. But, my friends, L & A, have a fantastic, unobstructed view from their balconies and are always generous enough to invite us over to watch. Not only that, they are fantastic hosts. One year, there was mini cotton candy. This year, it was catered by Burrito Beach. Delicious food and a fantastic view? Cannot ask for anything more.

Or can you? As it happened, I ended up with all of the tickets to my firm's White Sox Box for last night's game. So, we just moved the Air & Water party down to U.S. Cellular Field. For some people, it was their first time in a box. For the rest of us, it was just nice to be in a box with nothing but our friends. Hot dogs, drinks, snacks, dessert cart, all topped off by a Sox win and great fireworks show? Who would have thought that a day that started off so ominously, with most of us anticipating that the day's activities would be rained out would end up so lovely. Just super.

And, spoiled.

Presto-Change-o!

I was bored. So, I went, presto-change-o, from this:

to this:

with a pit stop in the middle of this:

My theme, if you can't tell, was RED!

Showereception.

This weekend was O's baby shower, or actually, a cocktail reception honoring the birth of her baby girl. It was a lovely party. Several people have commented that it is the drunkest they have ever been at a baby shower, but of course, that's because it was a cocktail reception, not a baby shower. Very important distinction. We had a photographer there to take pictures so I don't have any to post currently, not even of the adorable cupcakes.

Instead, below is a picture of the pre-party, me sitting with the hosts' gigantic, young, energetic, labradoodle. He is a big, goofy boy who has no idea just how big he is. I think he's great. This actually took a few attempts to capture since he has doggy A.D.D. and cannot sit still very long.

Fire.

A planter on a balcony a couple floors above me caught on fire this afternoon. No big deal, it was put out quickly by the owner. However, some passers-by on the street saw the flames and called 9-1-1. I only noticed -- and learned -- this when four fire trucks came screeching to a halt in front of the building. A whole lot of excitement for thankfully nothing. I did learn a few things:

1. The CFD has a fast response time to the building;

2. Either it was a slow day at the fire house, or four trucks is a standard response for a multi-story, multi-unit building; and,

3. The CFD employs attractive men.

Glam.

I just love Glamorama. It is really one of my favorite events of the year. This year the show itself was particularly fun because I liked the musical guests the most out of those I've seen -- Cee Lo Green and Far East Movement. I enjoyed the clothes -- especially the Karl Lagerfeld capsule collection! -- and the spectacle.

Then, it was on to the afterparty at Macy's. The afterparty reminds me of prom afterparties but for adults. We ran around tasting the food and drinks, getting airbrushed tattoos (I got Mona Lisa on the inside of my wrist, which when I woke up on Saturday morning was also anywhere my wrist rested on body), and dancing.

They had a "graffiti wall" where we could leave our mark. Apparently, we (royal we here, as I was not the author) were feeling pretty confident Friday night:

There was a "photo shoot" sponsored by Patron. We have all watched our fair share of ANTM, know about not losing our necks and smizing, and yet, they seemed to catch all of us mid-something else. Nonetheless, I really like the picture since we all look happy:

Finally, there is always a goody bag. In addition to all the things pictured below, Macy's included a pair of flip flops. God bless them.

Glamorama is just fun.

Motto?

Thanks, KWW. You know me well.

Unsolicited Advice.

One of my favorite events of the year, Glamorama, is on Friday. It is a mix of fashion (fall lines) and music (this year, Cee Lo and Far East Movement are performing) with a fun after-party, replete with tasty food,drinks and dancing. It tends to be girls and gay guys. Goes without saying that a fun party dress is necessary.

Earlier this year, I bought a dress because it was a crazy good deal. White, long-sleeved jersey with a sparkly black waist band. The obvious drawback to the dress for this event in August is the long-sleeves. Last month, I was shopping with K and M and found a dress on super sale that a magpie would love. Sleeveless, short, silvery-blue sparkles everywhere.

I was texting with my friend, K. He and I have been friends since high school. We were joking about Glamorama so I decided to get his opinion on which option was better given all the circumstances. After seeing pictures of both dresses, he voted for the shimmer silver. Just for fun, I sent the same two pictures to my brother to get the gay guy perspective, seeing as how that demographic will be represented while K's straight guy demographic will be sparse at best on Friday. His response:

"The white one is fierce. Joel [his partner, and a drag queen] says wear a thong."

Duh.

But seriously, I was somewhat insulted that they thought I would need such advice. Apparently, Joel's sisters need the advice but I have those basics under control!

From Russia With Love.

My friend L has been living in Moscow since last October working for the JDC. It is a not-for-profit organization with a Jewish focus, doing aid and rescue work around the world. In Moscow, she does a lot of work with the elderly and disabled kids, providing assistance and a safety net that Russia does not. She travels A LOT, some places seem awesome, some -- mostly the former Soviet Union countries -- do not.

After ten months, she is back in the U.S., doing a combination of speaking, fundraising and visiting in San Francisco and Chicago. She spent a couple days in New York a few months ago but that was more due to administrative snafus than actually getting to see many people.

Last night M and I scored a coveted weekend night date with L. She joined us at work happy hour, while we killed time until our table was ready at Frontera. We were all probably three drinks in by the time we got to dinner so not surprisingly, we had a fantastic time. Later, another friend joined us. We headed to Theory for some drinks, then moseyed up to the Hunt Club to try to dance (failure due to an awful DJ), and finally ended the night at Butch McGuire's. It was a super fun evening.

L is the happiest I have ever seen her in the eight years I've known her. She was great at the law but the law was not great for her. Despite the facts that she does not speak a lot of Russian, it has been slow going making friends in Moscow, and it is really far away from her family and friends, she loves it enough to re-up for another year. She took a huge risk by leaving the law but returning to her roots clearly suits her. It makes me wish I had roots to which to return.

Trap-easy!

What started as an impulse decision on Friday afternoon became the most anticipated event of the weekend for me. M signed herself, me, and her mom up for a two hour trapeze lesson this afternoon. For some of us, calling it anticipation connotes optimism that was not there. There were several conversations involving possible death and/or paralysis. Not me though. I just thought it would be fun.

It helped that I had watched some videos of what we would be doing but I had no fear of injury, much less death. All I had was anticipation. Honestly, that anticipation did have a tinge of fear when I saw the very tall ladder we had to climb. And, I had a very difficult time putting my second arm on the trapeze. You're leaning out at a thirty degree angle over twenty feet high and all that is holding you is a little tiny girl with her hand on your safety belt. Putting the second arm on the trapeze took a lot of effort over fear.

BUT, once I was flying, IT. WAS. AWESOME. I loved flying. I especially loved swinging upside down, hanging by my knees. I loved the dismount back flip. I loved the catch. When I told my mom about this, she was not surprised. Apparently, I've always loved hanging upside down. And, to this day, I love going to play on the swings. Plus, a lot of the movements reminded me of my long ago synchronized swimming days.

The only negative is that the trapeze is rough on your hands, and strangely, calves. I'm pretty sure all of us are going to have some random soreness tomorrow.

2/3rds.

Today was the South Shore Triathlon, or my case, the South Shore Two Thirdalon. I really hate the term Aquabike, even though that's what my 2/3rds is actually called, so I'm just going to pretend that it does not exist.

M and I were down at 63rd Street beach by 6:00 am. When we went to go pick up our packets on Friday night, the anxiety began to set in. All the triathlfreaks talking about what races they've done, times, nutrition, etc. made me nervous. I felt slightly better when I overheard other people this morning who were worried about a leg of the race or confused about what the swim course actually was. But, only slightly.

Once the swim started, nerves changed to frustration pretty quickly. The swim course was so shallow in parts that you actually could not swim. Where it was deep enough to swim, I did. But, not everyone judged depth the same way so I ended up receiving a few elbows, kicks and/or jumps from others. That said, I think the swim ended up being respectable. The bike was kind of fun. 20K is not quite 13 miles which isn't too far. I passed a few people but definitely got passed by a lot, including M. There's only so fast you can go on a hybrid rocking Chuck Taylors:

I waited for M to do the third leg of the race and then we hit the finish tents. I am pretty sure that today was the first time I've had corn on the cob and a beer before 9:00 am.

Update: I actually won my age group in the 2/3rds. Of course, if M had done the 2/3rds instead of 3/3rds, she would have won the age group. But, whatever, I will take it. I am currently undefeated in my age group -- mind you, last time, I was the only person in my age group.

Thirty-Five.

Today is my parents' thirty-fifth anniversary. On July 24, 1976, with red, white and blue as her colors -- in honor of that month's celebration of the bicentennial -- my mom married my dad in Elm Grove, Wisconsin.

Today, my parents are in Colorado. My brother lives about an hour from them, although drives by their exit on the freeway every day on his way to work.

The thirty-fifth anniversay is either the coral or jade anniversary. To celebrate, my brother and I sent my parents a jade bonsai tree. For one thing, coral is a tough thing to find an appropriate couples present. For another, jade is a symbol of luck. And, I don't think you get to thirty-five years without some luck involved. I think its fair to say that they have gone through their better and worse times. They have definitely gone through the sickness part of the vows. That seems especially true over the last year or so. Hopefully, they will get to enjoy some of the health part of the vows in the coming years.

I think thirty-five years is really impressive. Especially today, when divorce is a 50-50 bet, thirty-five years is definitely an accomplishment. Oddly, many of my friends' parents have been married at least thirty five years. And, in my opinion, not coincidentally, a lot of my friends are still single. I think its possible that we see and admire our parents' marriages and want to emulate them. It is a high bar. An admirably high bar that I hope to meet some day -- although, I better get cracking!

Cheers to my parents on their thirty-fifth anniversary!

A Dark And Stormy Night.

I slept like sh*t last night. Almost literally.

As I keep saying, no one moves here for the weather. Not quite six months ago, thanks to the Groundhog's Day blizzard, people were complaining because of the snow and cold. For the past week, people complained about the heat and humidity. It was five days straight of high 90s, heat indices hovering around 110, and high humidity. Now, we have some extreme thunderstorms. Last night, we received half a foot of rain, apparently a single-day high since they started keeping records in 1871.

As a result of all the rain, the sewage line in my building backed up. It flooded the garage, and slowly made its way up to my third floor bathrooms. Around 1:30, I woke up to this loud splashing noise and awful smell. As the storm raged outside, with each lightening strike or wind gust, the disgusting grew in cadence with the storm. I took this while it was happening:

As I type, I'm waiting on professional cleaners to arrive. (My homeowner's association fees paying a dividend.) Because, it looks like this right now:

Just be thankful I can't insert the smell.

**UPDATE: The cleaners are here and working their magic. However, it seems that I am going to have to replace the carpeting in my bedroom because the sewer water flooded on to it. As M pointed out, I've had a toilet in my bedroom and dining room at various points in this house's life so in the grand scheme, this isn't all that bad. **

Aquabike.

Isn't aquabike a stupid-sounding term?

It makes me think that it's a comic hero's mode of transport.

Or, what Spongebob rides around town under the sea.

Or, some super-low impact bike-like contraption you use in a pool.

But, it's not.

Aquabike is what they call a triathlon without the run leg. A triathlon without the swim leg is called a duathlon. That sounds respectable. And, like the triathlon, its ameniable to punny phrases. Triathlon: if at first you don't succeed, tri tri again. Duathlon: just du it. Aquabike: . . . I've got nothing.

Despite the embarrassing, and/or vaguely insulting, but definitely nobody has a damn clue to what you're referring name, I'm now signed up for two aquabike races in the next month. I'm such a follower sometimes. M asked me if I wanted to do the South Shore Tri (Aquabike). Sure, seems manageable (750M swim, 20K bike, and M gets to run a 5K) and close to home as it starts from the 63rd Street Beach. Bonus. Then, she asked if I wanted to do the She Bangs Tri (Aquabike). That one is over an hour away from home -- meaning we need to get up at 4:00 am -- and the day after a cocktail reception we're hosting, but what the hell. (As it turns out, the She Bangs Tri, is the sprint distance while we are signed up for the Olympic distance. Technically, we are doing the Bangs Lake Triathlon (Aquabike) but since I like puns, I'm sticking with calling it the She Bangs.)

Random Re-cap.

A few quick-ish thoughts from the weekend:

1. Mario van Peebles may look like a homeless man these days but he seems like a very nice guy. We had dinner at the restaurant formerly known as the Beachstro on Friday night. He stopped on his run to use the restroom. K loved him when she was in middle school so she recognized him. M and I frantically googled/wiki'd/IMDB'd him. When he was leaving, M yelled out "MARIO!" -- he turned around, came over to say hi, and let us take a picture with him.

2. We brought our friend K to the gym with us to do "the double." I love the double but I also think its hard. At the same time, sometimes I also think I'm just being a wimp. But, K is in good shape and by the time hour one was done she was vacillating between hating us, wanting to punch the instructor in the throat, and not wanting to move anymore. She pushed through to spin like a champ though. My point is that its nice to be validated that you're not just being a baby sometimes.

3. Ravinia can be a really lovely time. It is kind of like baseball to me -- if the weather is perfect, I think its a great way to spend an evening. And, last night, it was perfect. The day's weather started questionably, clouds and maybe rain potential. My knees told me that was just a grumpy Mother Nature rather than an incoming storm. By the time we arrived at Ravinia -- around 7 -- it was sunny, not a cloud in the sky, and no mosquitoes either.

4. We brought so much stuff with us to Ravinia, it looked like we were embarking on a week-long camping trip rather than three hours in the park. Table-in-a-bag, two chairs-in-a-bag, two RECLINERS-in-a-bag, three blankets, two coolers, and a grocery bag. Even with all that, we forgot something (corkscrew -- no big deal, some blanket neighbors let us borrow one).

5. Jennifer Hudson can SING. I know that's not news but the woman is really good and puts on a great show.

6. The good and the bad thing about getting older is the inability to sleep in. This morning was a touch too early for me for a Sunday (5:40) but the heat and humidity is coming this afternoon and I wanted to get in a bike ride and lake swim. It's 10:45 am and I rode 24 miles, swam 2 miles in the lake, walked to Walgreens, started my laundry, and had breakfast already.

7. I love pancakes. That is all.

Waiting.

Living away from your family can be a blessing and a curse. I like to think that I'm blessed with distance so I often have perspective on family issues that those who live near to each other do not have. On the other hand, when there are health emergencies, it is an absolute curse. ESPECIALLY when your family members who are there are not good communicators.

Over the past year, my mom had a couple surgeries, both with worrisome complications and long recoveries. I spent many hours glued to my phone, waiting for updates. Last night, I experienced the same thing with my dad. He had been feeling sick and running a substantial fever for a day. He finally went to the doctor yesterday afternoon and upon arrival, his vital signs were so alarming that the doctor called an ambulance and rushed him to the hospital. One of the worst things about this for me was that my dad is supposed to be the healthy one.

For three long hours, that's the last thing I knew. My mom does not have text-capability on her phone and was not answering calls. My brother did not go to the hospital, taking my mom's "don't come until we know something" at face value. (Side note: Idiot. She should not have to sit alone, worried, no matter what she said. That absolutely would not have been if I lived there.) Finally, I told my brother to call the hospital to see if my dad was admitted. And, by golly, he was. And, he was having surgery! Finally, finally, my brother got in the car and drove up there. At that point, communication improved some. Nonetheless, it was a very long night, sitting and waiting to hear. Not that it would have been all that different if I was there but at least you know you're getting all the information real-time when you're there.

Around 1:15 am, I got the text saying that my dad was out of surgery, his infected gall bladder removed, and he was doing okay. Today, I wait to hear an update. The latest is that he is in the ICU, still suffering from a serious infection. He arrived at the hospital in septic shock and if he had waited much longer, he may have died, so I guess a serious infection is a step up.

** UPDATE: He got moved from the ICU to a regular room. That is a baby step in the right direction, even if the earliest he will be released is Thursday. **

Related, why is reception the worst in hospitals? I know there is a lot of machinery and such but of all the places where people want to be able to contact others, a hospital has got to be VERY high on the list. Someone needs to fix that.

Observations.

After a long, fun weekend, a few wrap-up thoughts:

1. They grow the mosquitos big in the suburbs. I have the biggest bites and in some odd places. How does one get a mosquito bite on the knuckle of their index finger? Shouldn't I have noticed that? Mosquito ninjas. And, I'm pretty sure I got my first bite (on the inside of my foot, no less) the minute I stepped off the train in Wilmette.

2. Because I didn't go to the gym, I showered more at home this weekend than I have in the entire 14 months I've lived there combined. This was helped because I kept getting super-dirty. Lake swims, bike rides, beach time. All required showers so I was showering two or three times a day. Kind of a sad little record I set.

3. The city of Chicago did not put on its own fireworks this year. Instead, it left it to Navy Pier to put on the show. I was walking home from an impromptu BBQ last night when the Navy Pier show began. People were stopping on the street, pulling up chairs and the like. I felt vaguely unpatriotic because I didn't even really turn around to glance at them. But, the fact is, they do that exact show every Wednesday and Saturday throughout the summer. I just hope that the people who were camped out for the show were people who don't live downtown and don't see it twice a week.

4. I now have a very sad feeling that summer is over. Ever since studying for the bar, I have felt that way but this year is worse. When you study for the bar, the common wisdom is that you buckly down and get serious after the Fourth. While all of July is ahead and essentially free, I think every weekend in August through September 10 are spoken for with planned events. Blink and summer is going be gone at this rate.

Journeying.

One of the people in M's department at work was hosting a BBQ last night. Plus, he lives close to the beach for optimal fireworks viewing. Sounds great, right? The only hitch is that it was up in Wilmette.

While one person suggested that we get car service, we went the frugal route and took public transportation. First, we took the 22 bus up to the end of its route -- I swear it stopped every block. A little over an hour later, we were waiting for the purple line to take us to its very last stop. Our host's directions told us that it was just a block and a half walk from there to his house. Even discounting the fact that we missed a turn and got off on a tangent -- we saw a HUGE and beautiful Baha'i temple which was our confirmation we were going the wrong way as you know that would be a landmark on the directions -- it was more like a half mile walk.

But, the journey was totally worth it. It was a fun party, great margaritas (and I don't even really like margaritas!), good people, and fantastic fireworks on the beach.

However, we took a cab home.

Take Two.

This morning was take-two on the longer bike ride, after yesterday's unfortunate tire-pop. And, putting aside that M had to get a new tire, I actually think it was for the best. Yesterday morning was probably 80 with high humidity and no breeze. Today it was mid-70s with low humidity and strong breeze. Yesterday, the lake was pretty calm. This morning, there was a pretty strong chop. All in all, today was a better day for a ride and yesterday was a better day for a swim.

I've lived in Chicago for seven years but I've never been to the end of the lake path. That makes me feel kind of silly but I didn't have a bike until this year so I guess its understandable. We were supposed to ride for 90 minutes. That turned out to be 22 miles total, or almost to the end of the lake path on the south side. Its really pretty -- you get some surprising bits of nature, lake views, and the most lovely view of the city from the end of the path. Although, technically, our 45 minute turnaround point was a mile short of the end. Next time.

The plus side to riding south is that you get "open road" pretty quickly. The north side of the path tends to be much more cluttered with dogs, walkers, strollers, runners, rollerbladers, etc. The minus to riding south is that the turnaround means you have the wind in your face in the entire return trip.

By the time we got home, we were both starving. In fact, we pulled up to our building but decided that we had no time to waste in getting food so we rode to Elly's. I'd be lying if I said we looked good but we did put on an impressive display of eating. Pancakes, omlette, potatoes, coffee, all good, all gone. Great start to the morning.

Pop!

M is doing a training group for an Olympic triathlon. She has done a couple triathlons before but a shorter distance. For the shorter distance, she never did anything that I'd count as "training" -- more like she'd go for a longer bike ride, come to swim class, and occasionally go for a run. Her Saturdays are generally a ride with her training group but because of the 4th, she was on her own. She asked me if I wanted to join her for her scheduled ride and, since the gym canceled classes for the weekend, I was in. We agreed to ride early in the morning because it was supposed to be hot. (And, it was. At one point, it was 92, but felt like 103 per the weather channel.)

We got maybe a mile south when all of the sudden we heard a POP! I thought maybe her tire cap had just come off. As it turns out, she rode over a piece of glass at JUST the right angle that cut through both the inner and outer tube of her tire. At first, she thought lesson learned, I will carry an extra tube and tools in the future. I have not learned that lesson yet. Especially because, even if she had a tube and tools it would not fix the problem -- she had to buy a whole new tire.

However, since we were at Ohio Street beach, we decided to jump in the lake. (We were planning on swimming after the ride anyway.) Mark it down -- July 2 was my first swim in the lake. The park district tells me it was 64 degrees. It really was not bad. I don't know how long it took to swim half a mile but I was not bone-chilled. Especially not after we had to carry her bike back home. Her bike is lighter than mine but it still is cumbersome and awkward on the shoulder so we ended up taking turns. By the time we got home, I was hot again.

The rest of the day was good -- farmer's market, breakfast and mimosas, garden center, ice cream cone, nap, grilled out, and dog walk. Tomorrow morning is take two on the bike ride. Hopefully, the only pop we hear will be from fireworks later in the day.

Big Money (Tree).

Over a year ago, my parents gave me a money tree to mark my entrance to the 30-year club, also known as buying my first place and getting a mortgage. I was impressed with myself for just keeping it alive for a year. Until I realized that maybe my low expectations on my money tree were keeping me down. While talking to my mom last week, I asked if maybe the lil tree needed re-potting. She told me that if I re-pot it, the money tree would grow bigger. Small pot, small tree. Big pot, big money tree. To me, which I said as I was pondering out loud, that clearly means that big pot means big LOTTERY money tree. As my mom said, "get a bigger f'in pot."

So, before:

After:

Tonight is Saturday night aka Powerball night. I fully expect to wake a multi-millionaire.

Why Not?

Post-meet, M and I went to brunch. After food and a few mimosas, we decided it was too pretty to go back home. So, we strolled down towards Michigan Ave.

As we walked by Sprinkles, we realized, it was the first time either of us have ever been by it when there was not a line out the door. So, we decided, why not? We had to share a cupcake. I guess neither of us are cupcake people because while good, there is no way either of us would stand in line to get one.

We ducked into 900 N. to comparison shop Lulu but got suckered into MaxMara by a sale sign. MaxMara is not a store I normally shop. But, on sale, its almost affordable for really nice clothing. So, why not? M and I tried on what seemed to me like the entire store, all of which was chosen by the shopper, not us, while sipping free prosecco. Definitely my idea of how to shop.

We wondered down to the new All Saints store. Have to say that I don't get it. To me, it looks like it falls into the H&M and Zara genre but their prices are definitely NOT -- dresses seem to average $300 there. But, the store still had the new-car smell and everything was merchandised well so it was fun to look around.

We decided to take the longer, but lake, route home. The sand at Oak Street was actually hot, even though it was probably only in the mid-to-high 70s. By the time we were getting up to North Ave, M decided that it was a good idea to jump in the lake. What's the point of living so close to the lake if you can't jump in it every once in a while? It would probably be a five minute walk home in soaking clothes. (Mind you, not really a good idea since it was only 62 and she is on antibiotics for a sinus infection.) I decided why not? We both climbed down a ladder, fully-clothed, and swam a bit. We definitely got some weird looks on our five minute walk home that we totally deserved. But, why not? It was invigorating.

Winner.

Well, my question has been answered. Compared to the average person on the street (or splashing around in the pool), I'm a good swimmer. Compared to people who do masters swimming, I'm weak.

The best part of doing the meet was when I walked out to my car to head to the pool, bright and early Sunday morning. M had decorated it, high-school style, with signs.

We have now decided that if we ever do some sort of race together that we have team colors -- black and turquoise, based on my nail color this week.

Once I got to the pool in the suburbs, I knew almost immediately that I was WAY out of my depth (so to speak) in this. There were people wearing their state masters team shirts, the Razr suit (or some cheaper version of the serious-swimmer-suit), talking about how they sandbagged their times to be seeded in certain heats. They were doing dive starts. I was not even sure which lane was which and have never done a dive start in my life. Honestly, I should have cannonballed in -- it would have been funnier at least.

The race was not awesome. I was not used to swimming in a pool that length (50 meters, as opposed to my usual 25). The pool was clearly not usually configured at that length so the lane stripes on the bottom were kind of hard to see. I actually got disoriented on my turns, even though I was not flip turning. My time was way slower than what I expected and I just did not feel good.

All that said, I am a winner. Again, the beauty of being the only person in your age group.

Carb Loaded.

My mom called me on Saturday afternoon to wish me good luck on my swim the next day. She half-jokingly asked me if I was going to carb-load that evening. Now, a 1500 totally does not require carb-loading. It's no marathon. So, I told her no. At least not intentionally.

But, I did end up carb-loading. On Saturday night, M, her mom, and I went to see Super 8. I was a little hesitant to see the movie because I knew it was sci-fi and that's not my favorite genre but it got good reviews so I went. And, I'm glad I did. The movie has everything a summer blockbuster should -- explosions, fear, emotion, etc. On my left was a guy who talked to the characters in the film, advising them to drop their guns or telling them they were dumb. On my right, I had the bonus entertainment of M -- its sometimes more fun to watch her watch a movie than watch the actual movie. At one point, her mom and I said that maybe we should have gone to see Bad Teacher or something because Super 8 was really an emotional rollercoaster for M.

I have trouble going to a movie without getting the delicious movie theater popcorn. Thankfully, M's mom also loves movie popcorn. We shared a giant tub, including butter. We both believe that if you're going to eat it, you should do it up right. It is not as if it ever started off healthy. And, I also feel the need to cut that popcorn salt with twizzlers. M came prepared with a two pound bag for all of us to share. Popcorn + twizzlers = carb-loaded. Dinner of champions?

Bits.

1. When I entered my upcoming swim meet, my goal was to not come in last in my age group. Depending on how you look at it, I can already predict that I will meet that goal. Call me an optimist but since I'm the only woman in my age group, I'd say I'm the winner.

2. I've noticed a trend of people taking an already well-known phrase, tweaking it just slightly, posting it as their status and calling it a their-name-ism. I would never say, for example, "LP-ism: when life gives you limes, make mojitos." I can't decide if doing that is hubris or ignorance, to think that they really came up with that basic idea and phrasing -- around for ages -- is original to them.

3. Today is the first official day of summer. It is 9:00 am, 77 degrees and ridiculously humid. Definitely summertime-Chi.

Never Say Never.

I cannot remember what motivated me to add the Justin Bieber documentary "Never Say Never" to my Netflix queue. I like documentaries. And, I think I remember hearing good things about the movie. I don't know. I forgot about it until all of the sudden it was at the top of my queue and in my mailbox.

Once you, as a 32 year old woman, have what is essentially a concert tour DVD of a 16 (17? I don't know, young) year old boy in hand, if you're not insane, you're at least a tiny bit embarrassed. I think the not-insane caveat is important because (1) there were some clearly adult women in the movie who were screaming and crying like the pre-teen fan girls; and (2) I recently read a story about NKOTBBSB fans who never grew up -- women in their 30s who have their offices plastered with pictures, t-shirts, and articles regarding their boy band of choice. Not normal.

But I digress.

After a very random and late Friday night out and full day Saturday, I was happy to lay low on Saturday night. Thankfully, M and my friend K, who was in town visiting, were of a similar mode and invited me up to hang out and have some pizza. I brought Never Say Never with me. It is MUCH better to watch that movie with a group. Here are some takeaways:

1. Unlike the heart, you cannot transplant vocal chords.
2. Boyz 2 Men, probably at their height of popularity around the time Justin Bieber was born in 1994, is now singing backup for Bieber. It was just sad.
3. We have Usher to blame for Bieber's penchant for sagging pants, vests and hoodies. My guess was that Bieber was trying emulate Usher's style. But, I learned that Usher actually sent one of his stylists to Bieber to style him.
4. Will and Jada Pinkett Smith seem like really great parents. When Jaden's first-ever performance got (surprise!) moved up, they seemed to drop everything to get a helicopter to be there to see it.
5. Taylor Swift has to be a little pissed that the fangirls have co-opted her hand-heart gesture. Of course, it is actually incredible that it took until the past few years for someone to use that regularly. Surely the Beatles or Elvis or someone should have come up with it.
6. It bears repeating that unlike the heart, you cannot transplant vocal chords. That seemed to be the vocal coach's go-to phrase. Every time she got any camera time, she reminded us.

P.S. I just heard that Bieber is the second highest paid celebrity under 30, having made $53 million last year. Kid is doing a whole lot of something right.

5K.

I have never ran a 5K. I'm pretty sure that even though I've been on 5K charity walks, I've never walked a 5K (although, to be fair, I've certainly walked more than 3 miles before, just not as an organized activity). So what made me decide that I would do a 5K swim in Lake Michigan, I really can't say. I do not think I have ever swam 5K continuously even back when I was a swimmer. I certainly haven't done it recently. Hell, my personal best of continuous swimming was 2.5K.

Until today.

After boxing this morning, I planned on doing a long swim, thinking about 2500. My arms were tired from the boxing, but for some reason, I was feeling the water. I got to 2500 and thought, well, let's swim two miles (3300). I was still feeling just fine so I figured, what's another 700, for a nice even 4000. By the time I got to 4000, I was getting tired and hungry. But, I had a Finding Nemo moment, with a little voice telling me to "just keep swiming." Plus, I checked the clock and had about ten minutes to end on an even number in the water. So, I ended up swimming 5000. I certainly did not swim it quickly but now I know that I absolutely can do it and have the next three months to work on doing it both in the lake and faster.