Las Vegas and the big "O"

So if you're paying attention to posting dates, you might think that I have been on the biggest margarita bender known to mankind. After all, I only suggested I'd be popping out for a few quick ones. But truth be told, I have been putting off the Las Vegas re-cap. There was so much that happened, writing it all down seemed like a really daunting concept. But here I am, at my computer in the manner of Doogie Howser, all ready to lay out the high points of the holiday. And don't worry, I didn't learn anything worth sharing with you all...

The first thing I have to tell you is that the flight from Chicago to Las Vegas is about 4 hours long. And with a little bottle of cheap red wine on top of a couple of beers from earlier in the night, I arrived in Vegas absolutely shattered. Not drunk by any means, but simply exhausted. I just wanted to discover some sort of Quantum Leap style time travel and beam myself directly into bed. Fortunately I didn't have to worry because JK had been very clever and booked us some bus transfers from the airport to the Hotel.

But it's true what "they" say - Vegas doesn't sleep. Even at 1am on a Friday morning, The Strip was a living organism. There were people of all ages wandering around and through the little slits in my eyes, I could make out people drinking on the streets, lots of big-haired tourists, and best of all - tshirts! That meant that I had finally left behind the frosty streets of Chicago and entered some sort of desert oasis wonderland. Finally!

And as the opulence of Bellagio greeted me, I assumed my soon-to-become permanent facial expression of open-mouthed goldfish. I suspect that expression is rather common on first glance at Bellagio.

Not to be snobby about the whole affair, but I have been to the real Bellagio, a small hamlet off Lake Como in Italy - something that now reminds me of Rivendell from "Lord of the Rings". So even though I was initially concerned that Vegas would bastardise all the gorgeous things I love about Italy, I have to say that Bellagio the Hotel is an escape to the sort of Lake Como villa you can only dream about. It is stunning in every sense, and nothing is too much trouble for any of the staff. Like the rest of Vegas, Bellagio is open 24/7 so it is always "on", but I never noticed any of that on my first night. Once I got upstairs and took a "before" photo of my gorgeous queen sized bed, I face-planted on it and fell into the sort of blissful sleep only reserved for holidaymakers.

JK had been to Vegas before so I was more than content to rely on him to make sure I saw everything I was supposed to see. And our first port of call on this 'must see' list was the Bellagio Breakfast Buffet. I can't even remember how much it cost, but I will say that the excess of the smorgasboard was really just a food-filled metaphor for the whole town! After a filling breakfast pitstop, we commenced our day's journey.

We caught 'The Deuce' (the double-decker Las Vegas shuttle bus that put-putts tourists up and down the Strip for $5 per day, unlimited travel). JK and I realised that 'The Deuce' is a very cool mode of transportation, but naturally only when you say 'The Deuce' like some sort of Robert De Niro gangster hitman. We were so awesome.

'The Deuce' dropped us off at the Las Vegas Outlet Center first of all, and we spent just over 90 minutes wandering around the suburban strip mall. It wasn't a shopping mecca by any means, though I did score a cute dress and top for about $25 all up, which wasn't bad. Vegas had already begun to take my money it seemed!

Returning to The Strip (via 'The Deuce' of course), we wandered through a couple of the larger casinos down the opposite end from where we were staying. We walked through "Mandalay Bay" (and visited its impressive Shark Reef exhibition), then through "Luxor" which only references Ancient Egypt from the outside, and then across to "Excalibur", which is a knock off of King Arthur's times. The interior of these casinos all look fairly similar but they are all worth seeing. The sheer scale of them all nearly blew me away.

Before long, it was time for a margarita and we hailed 'The Deuce' to take us to Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville, which had come highly recommended to me. And after an Ultimate Margarita and an amazing creation called Volcano Nachos, we returned to Bellagio for a quick nana nap before heading out again.

Ahead of time, I had bought us tickets to the Cirque de Soleil show called "O", which is a spin on the French word for water, so much of the show focuses on diving, and swimming, and waterplay. It is positively breathtaking. I had never seen a Cirque show before, so I strongly suspect that I was again very much the gaping goldfish (although perhaps appropriately this time), as I marvelled at the athleticism and choreography of the artists. To call them acrobats or (worse) circus performers doesn't do them - or the show - justice. They are just amazing and while Americans seem quite at home doing standing ovations after just about every show, they're not something I'm usually comfortable with. But this time, I was on my feet almost immediately, and was just so impressed. From the murmurs of my fellow theater-goers after the show, my reaction was a fairly common one.

I have just scrolled up this post and seen how lengthy it is, and I've only recapped Day 1 of my Vegas Adventure. Perhaps I should pause here then and give it a day or so before busting out the news and fun of Day 2?

It's Vegas baby, Vegas

Close-up of the Bellagio lobby ceiling
Originally uploaded by Miss Gab.

There is a lot that I need to catch you up on, but my desire to have jugs of margaritas at my local Mexican restaurant has overriden my desire to write.

Check out my photo album from Las Vegas by clicking on the photo of the gorgeous multi-colored ceiling at Bellagio.

I promise I'll write soon.

Falling off the surrey with the fringe on top

Surrey
Originally uploaded by Miss Gab.

So it's the end of the first week of 2008 and already it's been quite an action-packed one.

I headed to "Matilda's" for a lock-in NYE party and in retrospect, it was very good value. We paid a set price and got locked in to enjoy 5 hours of open bar and yummy appetisers (including hot wings WAHOO) so I was a happy girl. Plus my hot bartender told me I looked beautiful, and even if he was just feeding me a line I don't care, because I've told everybody.

New Year's Day was an utter write-off. I watched back-to-back episodes of "Law & Order", sleeping through the ones I'd already seen, and somehow waking up in time for the new ones.

And given that the new year is a perfect time for resolutions, I made two for myself. One of them is to be more tolerant of people (and so far I'm doing okay but a bit shaky at times), and my second resolution was to abstain from alcohol until Australia Day.

So I boosted myself up onto my proverbial sobriety wagon, smugly looking down on the boozehounds below. How lofty was the view from up there, let me tell you.

And I did enjoy that view, for a grand total of 4 days.

I fell face-first off the wagon on Friday night, when I went out to the Museum of Contemporary Art (of all places) for their monthly "First Fridays' promotion. I went with Dr G - who I am not blaming for my slip-up at all, and we caught with some of her friends there. Courts & Certain Someone met us there too, but it was impossible to mingle properly, given the congestion of the crowds. I didn't even get around to looking at the artworks, which actually doesn't really bother me because modern art is not really my "thing" anyway. But all told, I had 4 glasses of red wine in a period of 6 hours which doesn't sound like a lot, but it was 4 more glasses than I had originally allowed myself.

So I woke up Saturday morning (yesterday) less hungover, and more disappointed with myself. I have drawn up a spectacularly healthy shopping list so I can visit the supermarket today. I'm hoping that the slip-up with the drinks will be countered by a detox grocery run today. A trip to the grocery store on a weekend in my area will certainly test my tolerance resolution! Let's see if I can at least keep THAT one.

Another year over, and a new one just begun

Tonight we bid farewell to 2007 and I know that it's supposed to be a time of reflection, a chance to put the year in review and see what you might have done better/the same/not at all.

I couldn't be bothered doing any of that.

Instead, I am spending my final day of 2007 at work, trying to look busy, and failing miserably. I have checked my hotmail about 5 times in the last 10 minutes, browsed all the online stores I can think of for any last-minute bargains that I have no intention of snapping up, and watching Mero read Einstein's biography and having her tell me that one look at Frau Einstein and it was no wonder Albert spent so much time in his lab - woof woof. Yes, it's been one of those days.

So tonight I'm off to one of my favourite Chicago bars to celebrate New Year's Eve, with a lock-in party where I get an open bar of top-shelf goods, plus a buffet of delicious appetisers, from 8pm to 1am. Then I strongly suspect that I will jump into the first cab and head home for a long sleep. Fortunately I have January 1 & 2 off work so I will become very good friends with my sofa and cable TV (if I wasn't already!).

Chicago enacts its city-wide smoking ban from midnight tonight, which means that all public places will finally be smoke-free. I am very pleased about this of course, though I know that since they won't be able to smoke indoors anymore, the smokers will simply congregate right outside the entrance of any club/pub I want to go into, meaning I will still get anointed in stinky smokiness wherever I go. But at least the death glares I dish out will be legitimate this time.

HAPPY NEW YEAR ALL (even the smokers)!!

And I live here why?!

I read in this morning's online US news that a winter storm has been lashing the northeast of the country. Um helloooo the Midwest took quite a battering yesterday, cheers thanksalot.

I went out with my friend Reeder to an outlet mall in Aurora (yes, home of Wayne's World), and we had a wonderful day browsing the designer warehouse shops out there. I tried to buy Christmas gifts, and I did get a few, but I also ended up with a few things for myself, just to keep myself motivated and in the Christmas spirit I guess.

The whole time we were driving up there, in the stores, and driving home, it snowed and snowed.

And last night was one of those rare evenings where I had multiple social commitments that I needed to honour. I first went to Bork's apartment for her Christmas party (and by some miracle scored a cab - not sure how I did that). Then I walked to nearby Guthries pub - only sliding and falling once in the soft snowdrift - to say goodbye to LS who was flying back to Australia today. And then we waited in the freezing snowstorm together for a cab, which we shared back to my place, and then he went on his way to his next farewell party with friends.

I was so frosty when I got back to my apartment, I had to take a hot shower to thaw out, it was incredible.

And the snow ploughs were out at 6.30am or so to shovel the inches and inches of snow off the footpaths and side streets to make it safe for us to venture out again today. But I tell you what, you need to step very gingerly out there.

I was just lucky that I fell yesterday while the snow was still so soft. It was like landing on a pillow. The street I was walking on was so deathly still and quiet that had the snow not melted so quickly right near my head and given me an earache, I probably would have just laid there in the darkness for a while and hung out. It was very peaceful indeed. Looks pretty, feels lovely, but is bloooooooody cold.

My brain is better when it's turned off

The weekend was a bit of a blur of blackness, as I spent much of it in the cinema.

Very early in the morning on Saturday, I saw a screening of the new Disney movie "Enchanted". I can see why it has been getting rave reviews - it is such an adorable movie. Even McDreamy Patrick Dempsey was so charming but I have to say, James Marsden (Cyclops from "X-Men") stole the show - he was so camp and cheesy and wonderful.

We wandered in the frosty Chicago air to the German Christmas Market right Downtown, and I made a beeline for the toasty glazed almonds. Well, we kinda made a beeline for the nuts but we couldn't find them, and then we got stuck in the crowd, and then I watched as a demented woman tried to run over another woman with her kid's stroller - it was the Christmas spirit at its best. NOT.

And then on Sunday, we both went to a much smaller screening of two movies, "Away From Her" with the lovely Julie Christie, and "3:10 to Yuma" with Christian & Russell. Ahh bless. The screening was actually held in a small movie theater inside of an apartment building - I guess that's the way the other half lives, or something...

I was sad that they didn't have a candy counter at the smaller screening as I was very much in the mood for buttered popcorn, but a quick stop at the 7-11 next door fixed me up with enough Diet Coke & chocolate to see me through.

The little apartment that could

I cranked the heat up on two of the radiators in my apartment last night, because the weather channel suggested that a winter storm would come through the City today, and already the ominous chill was in the air. I don't normally put my heat on; I would rather just rug up (and have accordingly become re-acquainted with immensely thick, fluffy socks). But last night was different, because I was having L&D over.

I'd invited them over for pizza & wine, but from the look of my wine rack this morning, it appears we had a dinner of wine, with a side order of pizza!

We ordered pizza, chicken wings, and cheesy garlic bread from the delivery place that knows who I am, just by the Aussie accent. Embarassing (for me, that is). Fortunately I don't call the place too often these days.

And a bunch of conversations later, the problems of the world solved, D's phone beeped and we all realised that it was 3am. Wherever did the night go? The boys left shortly after, in choruses of "aww your place is so cute/charming/pefect" and I couldn't agree more.

A literal taste of home

Hamburger with the lot from Metzis
Originally uploaded by Vanessa Pike-Russell.

Food-wise, there are lots of things I miss about Australia. With a bit of searching, I've managed to satisfy a lot of my from-home culinary desires but granted this does often involve a trip to a specialty supermarket or issuing a special order from within the US or overseas.

[Let me just add here that the Tim Tams released here under the Arnotts brand are a pretty darn good substitute - oh and another thing, I tried to lobby Haighs to export their chocolate here but they told me to bugger off. Actually, they asked me to tell the US Food & Drug Administration's stringent rules on importing of chocolate to bugger off, but I love my life too much to do that just yet.]

So imagine my joy & rapture last night when I found a fabulous inner-city pub that serves a near-perfect knockoff of the great Aussie "burger with the lot". It was like the Holy Grail, and I'm not exaggerating.

My Aussie readers will know what I'm talking about. The traditional Aussie "burger with the lot" is best provided by a good ole neighbourhood fish & chip shop, served as greasy as possible, complete with the usual burger ingredients plus a fried egg, beetroot, and a pineapple round. I am drooling just looking at this picture of course.

And it's funny because back home, the closer that the fish & chip shops are to the beach, the better the quality merchandise - at least that's what I think. There is something fundamentally Australian about picking up a burger with the lot, minimum chips, and then devouring all of it while sitting barefoot on the sand. If you can time this with a lovely sunset and a couple of cans of cold beer, then you have my ultimate dream date right there.

But enough of this Aussie wishful thinking. I have to face facts that I am living in sub-zero Chicago right now and the Bondi Burger at BB's (22 E Hubbard) really did hit the spot last night. Actually to be completely upfront about it, I didn't eat the burger myself; I just had a bite of it. What I enjoyed was the traditional Aussie chicken parmi. Oh man, that was soooooo good and there goes the drool again.

How is it possible that this pub has existed for this long, serving this sort of food, PLUS Coopers beer, and I hadn't visited it until last night? Shocking.

I vote for a holiday

I got paid today and took a look at my vacation entitlement for the rest of 2007. It is not a healthy picture. The disappointing lack of hours left owing to me suggest that the rest of my calendar year is going to be busy.

It suggests no last-minute flights to sunny destinations, or even early minutes to sashay down Michigan Avenue, in the manner in which I would surely become accustomed.

But no matter what my pay slip says, I'm still going to make time to visit the German markets in Daley Plaza because I need to buy some Christmas decorations. Actually, I need to buy a tree first. Or at least do a Clark Griswold and yank one out of the ground by its roots. Whatever.

And I gotta get me some of those cinnamon sugar almond thingies that I like so much. And a glass of warm gluwhein. In all my excitement I didn't even spell that right. And I don't even care. Just the thought of it warms me to my toes.

I do love my job, so I only complain about it because it keeps me from a Chicago christmas. I just have to hope that nobody is having any fun out there while I'm at my desk. They're not having any fun, right?!

Hello, is anybody there?

Twisselman Road, Lost Hills, California
Originally uploaded by rantfoil.

The funny thing about being an orphan over here is that on major holidays, like Thanksgiving and Christmas, a big city like Chicago is able to transform itself into a landscape resembling post-nuclear war earth.

The streets are pretty much deserted, you don't need to wait for a washing machine in the laundry room, and the elevator in my building runs express all the way to my floor. It's seriously like no one is around.

You know it's coming because on the workday before the major holiday, the buses are full of people in jeans straddling their stuffed suitcases as they all get the hell outta Dodge for the big event.

And when they finally make it to O'Hare or Midway, the city is left empty, wondering what it did wrong to clear out so quickly.

But I don't mind it at all. It's nice not to have to wait too long for a cab, or a great seat in a restaurant. The only people I seem to be waiting behind are tourists, and they don't really know what they're doing anyway so I can get around them fairly quickly too.

The thing about this apocalypse though, is that life will return to normal on Monday morning. I will have to stand on the bus ride to (and possibly from) work, wait about 3 minutes for my coffee (shock, horror!) and be more strategic when it comes time to do my laundry. Ahh the rat race, how I have missed you.

Silence is golden, or so they say

I know it's been a bit quiet from this side of the world for a little while, but by way of meagre excuse, I'm going to place the blame squarely on the Prime Minister of Australia. And for once, I am entirely justified in doing so.

My office has been handling the postal and pre-poll voting for the Australian federal election and even though I had never done it before, I found the project to be really interesting. It was an exhausting time, with long days, late nights, and a lot of concentration required to check and double-check the numbers of votes cast. Now I know how Santa feels, when he makes his list and checks it twice. It's a big job.

So on Monday we need to send the last of the votes back to Australia and then the project is over for another three years. And we all play the waiting game to see what happens at home. Maybe the fate of the nation really does rest in the hands of an Aussie voter from the US Midwest. Time will tell.

It was probably timely that the election project finished this week, because the hard work culminated in a day of decadence yesterday for Thanksgiving. It's the quintissential American holiday, and I was really pleased to be invited to Bork's house for the complete traditional experience.

Bork confessed to me that she's not much of a cook, but she was going to really try to get the meal just right. I believed her when she said this of course, so I went along without any expectations that the food would be delicious. Now I realise that she was just being modest (or outright lying) because the meal was TO DIE FOR. The turkey was tender and juicy, and the side dishes were amazing. For the first time, I tried all the authentic American Thanksgiving dishes: green bean casserole, sweet potatoes with cinnamon and marshmallows, creamy buttery mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce with citrus, stuffing with raisins and apples - ooh I am almost drooling at the memory of it all.

So while Bork held up her end of the bargain, I feel like I may have let the side down a little. I was supposed to bring dessert and I'd talked up the idea of the great Aussie pavlova. I mean, why not inject a bit of my own culture into the US event (plus I really don't like pumpkin pie, and I have to draw the line somewhere). But when it came down to it, I realised that I should have taken more time out of my week to rehearse the recipe. I got myself into quite a flap at the idea of whipping so many egg whites and then sculpting them into the cake shape ready for baking. It all just seemed a bit too much like a delicate science. So I chickened out and instead, I bought a ready-made chocolate bunt cake from the bakery, whipped my own heavy cream (and did not make butter out of it), and topped it all with sliced strawberries that I mascerated with balsamic vinegar & sugar. So you see, I did actually have to prepare some of the dish myself. And the gang at dinner DID appreciate that.

And now it's the day after Turkey Day, and everyone is still sleeping off the overindulgence. I am up early because the neighbours are going at it like the screaming nymphomaniacs they are. And in the spirit of the holiday, it appears my neighbour's girlfriend is very VERY thankful....

La vie boheme....or not

Beauty Overhead
Originally uploaded by Genevieve Elise.

Last night Courts took me to the opera and it was not only the first time I'd been to the Lyric Opera House here in Chicago, but the first time I had ever seen an opera, anywhere.

We went to see "La Boheme" and it was absolutely beautiful. The Lyric Opera House is a superb example of Chicago's art deco architecture and though we were right up in the 'nose bleed' section, I actually preferred it because I got to fully appreciate the grandeur of the place. Plus, I had a birds-eye view of the whole stage and could appreciate the complete majesty of the sets and the costumes. Sometimes I don't think you get to appreciate those sorts of things from up close.

But it was a Friday night, and after a delicious raspberry cosmo, I was admittedly a bit concerned that I'd struggle through the 3-hour performance (that Courts warned me was actually short, by opera standards). But the lights dimmed and the stage came to life, and the effect was mesmerising.

The opera was set in Paris, but sung in Italian (the composer Puccini's native language of course) and yet I followed along with the sopratitles, and loved every minute. And there were more young people in the audience than I think I expected. But unlike musical theatre or the cinema, the audience was completely respectful. There was no shuffling, no audible whispering, no crunching of candy wrappers, or anything like that. It was such a different world and I really enjoyed it.

But I did say to Courts that next time, perhaps we could see something a little more happy? La Boheme is a beautiful story but it is wrist-slashing material towards the end!

And you thought it was just a drink!

Can-Can
Originally uploaded by coda.

Tonight I went along to the opening of a brand new exhibition for Chicago called, "Red Bull Art of Can". The competition is in its second year, and it asks people to design their own piece of art using cans of Red Bull.

The exhibition is open to the public in Chicago at the River East Art Center from 9 to 18 November 2007 and it is definitely worth a look.

The waiters served (what else?) vodka/Red Bull to the guests but I must admit, seeing all the Red Bull sculptures around me did make me wonder what was happening to our empty cans.

I didn't stay long enough tonight to find out who won the competition (first prize is a trip to Basel, Switzerland where Red Bull is manufactured), but if I had my guess, I would say "Vitalized Dragon" by local Illinois artist Tsuyoshi James "TJ" Ishikawa, or else (my favourite for the Peoples Choice Award), "Jump Start" by yet another Illinois artist Lisa Lofton.

I don't know why I picked the Illinois artists as my favourite - it wasn't even on purpose!

Winners are grinners. Whatever.

So yesterday was Chicago's turn to celebrate the Melbourne Cup 2007 and from what I can gather, it's the first time that the Aussie expat community here has gathered to celebrate The Race That Stops The Nation.

Whether owing to lack of interest, or a desire to maintain some degree of excitement about the occasion, I resisted temptation to peek at the Aussie media and see which horse triumphed. The Victorian State Government co-hosted the event with Advance at Just Grapes, "my" gorgeous little wine store in The Loop. The event was a sell-out in about 10 minutes, which far exceeded even our expectations!

I didn't get in the full spirit of the event by wearing a fancy hat, but it didn't really matter because we had plenty of other guests who made up for it.

To make sure all our guests got into the sweep, I missed out on picking a horse and truth be told, even though we broadcast the race, I still missed out on it and so I still have no idea who won! Oh well, everyone knows that I was in it for the booze and the mingling; it's all good.

The night wasn't a late one by any means, and I was back at home before 9.30pm so I was pretty pleased about that. The weather is starting to get chilly and while Chicago socially looks after its own even in winter, being out and about in the cold wind isn't really my cup of tea. And so I found the sweet spot on the sofa late last night and chilled out with a glass of red wine before bed. Blissful, no?

The carpenter and the chiropractor

Waking up this morning to a new daylight-savings time zone, I'm sore all over. Stupid furniture assembly and the lugging of my groceries has contributed to multiple muscle spasms and general misalignment of all of my essentials.

Dare I suggest that Target's furniture is much easier to assemble than that Swedish stuff, and now that I've assembled not one, but two console tables, you just come and find ME if ever you need to pop one together, m'kay?

And so I present to you the fruits of my carpentry labours (and though I didn't construct them per se, you are also welcome to marvel at my new dining chairs & chic black tablecloth).

Okay, I'm off to have my spine re-adjusted and my muscles gently manipulated by a health care professional (code for: multiple Bloody Mary's over brunch)!

Blogging, Betty Ford-style

I actually logged on to my own blog site the other day and realised just how long it has been since I wrote here. The last time I blogged, Mum & Jems were still here, and we had spent a great day at The Shedd.

Fast forward a couple of days, and I have finally come out from underneath a mound of laundry, Halloween costumes, and furniture assembly, and emerged looking rather bedraggled.

I am sitting here at my computer, atop the console table that I built all by myself, feeling very Carrie Bradshaw, gazing periodically over the top of my laptop, out the window of my dining room that faces north and looks out over Wrigley Field. It truly is a wonderful view. Wonderful in that it is relaxing, but also because it has given me pause to reflect on the last couple of weeks, and prepare the following short list of goings-on just to bring you up to speed:

• Target delivered me two console tables and one corner TV unit, in flat packs of course, that required some combination of acrobatics and particle physics just to assemble. Needless to say I put up one console table, chucked an almighty hissy fit at the inadequate size of the Allen Key, and flatly refused to put up the other console table until I was in a more fit mental state to do so (aka today).
• I returned to work after 2 weeks off, to face a bunch of ancient secretarial-pool dictaphone tapes that I have still not completed, even after staying at work late every night this week. You know those comic strips where the hard worker has piles of papers on her desk and you can only just see the top of her head on the other side? That has been me all week. I just can't see the light at the end of the tunnel yet. But I said 'yet'. Ever the optimist, me.
• Lex hosted a kickass Halloween party and I went as the Good Witch Of Boystown, resplendent in $2 kids witch hat from the nearby pharmacy, a designer black dress from my own closet, and a pair of fantastic woollen rainbow-striped thigh-high socks poking out from underneath it. I was appropriately dressed and delightfully warm, the later being of vital importance as it turned out to rain persistently all Halloween night.
• Was hung over like a demon the day after the Halloween party and spent most of it in the reclining position on my fabulous sofa. Awesome.
• Actually took a photograph that I liked so much, I had it framed.

So that's basically been my life since I last posted. Not that exciting, eh? Hmm I didn't think so either! But hey, at least I have emerged successfully from the Betty Ford Clinic of Blogging, and am a little more visible now. Let's see whether I can get back into the rhythm of more regular writing. Now that I have a computer set-up like Carrie Bradshaw, I'm sure I will make a little more effort in future.

Fish, food, and freebies

Happy goldfish at The Shedd
Originally uploaded by Miss Gab.

The last couple of days have been a whirlwind of last-minute tourist activity here in Chicago. Mum & Jems head home tomorrow (Thursday) and given the fact that we just vegged out during the day on Saturday, we're playing catch-up now.

The other day, we went to The Shedd Aquarium and spent nearly 4 hours wandering around the exhibits and enjoying the dolphin show in the spectacular Oceanarium. I took this photo too - can you believe it? Pretty artistic I reckon, even if it does make you a little cross-eyed.

After the Shedd, we walked along Michigan Avenue to State Street, and past the historical Harold Washington Library, to admire the gargoyles that adorn the facade. Pretty timely for the approach of Halloween really.

Later that night as the rain fell, we grabbed a cab to "Starapolska", a quaint Polish restaurant in a very dodgy part of town, way west of where I live. Bork had told us not to walk the streets late at night in that area, but my fave waiter at the Park Hyatt had recommended the restaurant as authentic, so we had to go. And indeed, "Starapolska" (and the adjoining delicatessen) is a treasure trove of authentic, and often home-cooked, Polish delights. I had a home-made Polish sausage with sauerkraut and potato and I was good not to eat it all, because I had forgotten how rich Polish food can be - and my poor belly was not feeling too hot by the end of the meal. But the dishes were great and I will definitely go back - but next time, I'm going to scoff a plateful of potato pancakes; they were delicious!

Yesterday was not great weather, but at least it wasn't raining, so we seized the moment and walked around the Lincoln Park Zoo. It doesn't cost anything to get in, so it's a great day out. The only complaint I have is that Lincoln Park (the parklands, not the suburb), seem to be a haven for squirrels - it was like a squirrel plague in the zoo yesterday! One of them launched itself out of a rubbish bin and scared the hell out of Jems, which made me happy hehe.

So today we're just going to stick around this area so Mum can come back here and do laundry before she and Jems pack in readiness for their flight home tomorrow. Tonight we might even go out for an Italian meal, which I think will be a nice last hurrah for all of us before the rush of tomorrow comes.

Shake your groove thang

Solar System
Originally uploaded by Tommy Simms.

We went to Sidetracks last night for Showtunes and had an absolute blast - but I always knew we would. Mum & Jems did not sing as loudly or dance as energetically as I did, but I think that's because they were mesmerised by the big screens and astounded by just how much the boys get into performing the show tunes for one another and dancing all the routines.

After show tunes, it was 70s night and I turned into a disco diva and boogied with some friends while Mum & Jems continued to look on.

We then had a late-ish meal at a diner nearby and called it a night. And today, my feet aren't even tired from all that booty-shakin', nor am I hoarse from all my harmonising. Awesome.

Today we're off with the fishes at the Shedd Aquarium to take in yet another cultural site for Chicago before Mum & Jems head home on Thursday and I succumb to separation depression.

It's fabulous, dahling

priscilla_27.jpg
Originally uploaded by melisdramatic.

The lovely Bork took us all out last night to a show at Chicago's famous "Baton Lounge" in River North. Why have I not known about this place before? It was AMAZING. I couldn't believe that the gorgeous 'girls' on stage (all post-op from the looks of them) could lip synch quite so well. We had impersonators for Tina Turner, a rather rotund Cher (complete with body stocking costume - yikes!) and one of the ladies did an homage to Stevie Nicks & Pat Benatar - it was awesome. They were wonderful entertainers.

There were loads of bachelorette parties in there with us last night, many of whom were already about 5 beers ahead of us so you can imagine how raucous it got! But everyone was in high spirits and in the mood for a good night, so before long we were all woo-hooing and clapping along and being thoroughly entertained.

At around 10pm, we walked to the Park Hyatt and had some delicious cocktails at NoMi, and we were well looked after by my favourite waiter, Stefan. He even gave us some recommendations of a Polish restaurant we could go to before the girls go home later this coming week. Jems was a particular fan of my favourite cocktail - The Looking Glass Martini - so I was well chuffed.

When NoMi closed (around 1.30am), we walked to a very cute piano bar (not sure what the name is unfortunately) but that place was closing as we got there. Very unfortunate. So I took Mum home in a cab while Jems & Bork went to Hang Ups to dance to 80s tunes. I grabbed a cab back to town once Mum was safely tucked up in bed and danced with the girls until the bar closed - are you seeing a pattern here?

I took Jems to my favourite dive bar downtown but that too was closing (last drinks were called just as we got there). How inconvenient, right?

Needless to say we were both ready to call it a night at that stage - well it WAS morning after all. But we got home before the sun came up, just.

Okay my vision is now blurring because I have to squint to type this - the daylight is piercing my eyeballs. I think I'm going to lie down. I can't quite hack the pace anymore I think haha. But you know what? I got to introduce the girls to another close friend of mine (who they understandably loved) and me and Bork got to show them some amazing after-hours sites in Chicago. What a great night out!

And all that jazz

green mill interior
Originally uploaded by falsefridays.

Last night we caught the bus with Wongy up to Andersonville to see some live jazz at Al Capone's old bar, The Green Mill. It's only a small venue, but it gets absolutely packed and, as it was, we had to sit at the bar (where we were served by the surliest bartender in Chicago - it was quite funny really).

I hadn't realised that The Green Mill was a jazz place; rather I had thought it was a blues bar. No matter. The live music was wonderful and there is no denying the musicians were a terribly talented bunch. But after about 90 minutes, we were pretty much done.

We caught a cab to Guthries (the board game pub) but vowed to return there on Sunday afternoon because there was just way too many people there last night. So we walked up to Southport and when the SoPo Bar seemed too packed (and way too cool) for us, we crossed the street to Coobah and shared some calamari and cocktails instead. That turned out to be the best part of the night - no crowds, and just delicious.

Speaking of delicious, I've put Mum to work today, making me heaps of her famous pea and ham soup so I can freeze it and enjoy it all through the coming winter months. I know, it's mean, but that's just tough because the soup is so good and I can't make it myself (that's my story, and I'm sticking to it).

Canada, oh Canada!

Self Portrait #1
Originally uploaded by Miss Gab.

We have returned safely from our few days in Canada and we had an amazing time. I've already added the pics to my online photo album right here.

The trip up there was very smooth, and having scheduled an early-ish departure from Chicago, we had most of the rest of the day to play with when we arrived in Toronto.

Quite by accident, I had booked us into one of the most historical and certainly one of the most celebrity-frequented hotels in Toronto, Le Royal Meridien King Edward. John Lennon and Yoko Ono had staged one of their lie-ins for peace there, and David Beckham stayed there only a few weeks before we did. Nice one. I don't think any celebrities were there while we were though. But above all things, the hotel is centrally-located in Toronto's Financial District, so we were in close proximity to just about everything.

We spent the rest of our first day walking around, first to Union Station to buy our tickets to Niagara Falls, then just wandering. We went to the huge Eaton Centre shopping precinct on Yonge Street, and ended the day with a delicious dinner at The Beer Bistro across the road from our Hotel, where beer is used as an ingredient in all the cooking, just as wine can be.

Our concierge arranged our tickets for the sightseeing bus tour and we rode around on that for most of Tuesday. One of the first places we stopped was Casa Loma (which translates to "house on a hill"), a HUGE house/castle that was built by Sir Henry Pellatt, the man who - among other things - brought electric power to Toronto.

We then picked up the bus again and went to the St Lawrence Market, which is a smaller version of Adelaide's Central Market, with some flea market-style trinkets on sale besides. We walked back to our Hotel and, like a trio of grandmothers, we enjoyed a very early night.

The next day, we made it to Union Station in plenty of time for our morning train to Niagara Falls. The trip was beautiful, as the train wound through lovely scenery and we saw the leaves on the trees changing to their beautiful autumn colours. It was a very different scene when Kate & I went through there at Easter last year, when all the trees were pretty much bare.

We caught a cab to the Falls and then bought ourselves a day-long, hop on and hop off Niagara Falls and Great Gorge Adventure Pass that is organised by the Niagara Falls Parks Commission. We didn't have time to see all the sights included with our pass, but we DID go Behind the Falls, on the Maid of the Mist, to the Butterfly Conservatory, and then we had tickets to go up on the Sky Wheel (a ferris wheel in the touristy Clifton Hill area of the Falls district). It was all amazing and the weather held out for us too - in fact it was unseasonably mild at the Falls - the only thing we really had to contend with was the mist. Oh, and the might and majesty of the Niagara River rapids of course...do you think you could boogie board down this?!

And though our time in Canada was predominantly spent on hop-on, hop-off bus and trolley tours, we really did do a lot of walking. Our legs were sore but our smiles were big; we had a great time. Even when we got delayed for 3 hours to come back to Chicago - it seems they don't call it The Windy City for nothing!

You can check out all my holiday photos, including the Canada ones, right here.

Praise the Lord and pass the biscuits

go bears
Originally uploaded by m. day.

Chicago's Greektown neighbourhood only extends for three blocks, but those few streets are chock full of restaurants, food shops, bars, and cafes with an amazing array of Greek delicacies busting out of them. I'm right into the restaurant scene of course, and any opportunity to stuff my face is seized, and so it was that we ended up at "Venus" for dinner the other night.

After a combo plate of dips and pita, Jems ordered the delicious lamb and veggies that had been cooked low & slow for six whole hours, and it literally fell off the bone when the waitress unwrapped it. Mum had the octopus flavored with balsamic vinegar, and I enjoyed some chicken medallions infused with lemon juice on a bed of rice (half of which came home with me for lunch another day). Our meals ended with ice cream and Greek coffee, which easily complemented the glass of Greek wine that we'd earlier enjoyed.

Sunday morning was a little rough, admittedly, but it was just because we had to be up early to get to Chicago's iconic House of Blues for the gospel brunch. In typical Aussie fashion, we located the two Aussies at the HOB (one works in the souvenir shop and has been in Chicago for about 10 years, and the other was a visitor who was in Chicago solo for work). We invited the latter lady - from Melbourne - to sit with us and she happily obliged. The buffet brunch was typically over-indulgent and the complimentary mimosa was yummy. But the piece de resistance was easily the talented choir - they are just amazing and their rich voices filled the venue beautifully. We used to sing "Oh Happy Day" and "Amen" at school - but not once did we ever sound like that.

To get out of the rain afterwards, we went to Macy's and spent some holiday cash - on things we desperately NEEDED of course - and then it was home to relax and do laundry, and then pack for today's trip to Toronto.

We will be on blogging hiatus for the next few days but when we come back on Thursday, I'll do my best to upload some Canadian photos (particularly of us in blue ponchos aboard the "Maid of the Mist" at Niagara Falls....very fetching!).

A day of culture in Chicago

Sue at The Field #2
Originally uploaded by Miss Gab.

Today was quite exhausting, even though we walked around exceptionally slowly. We got to The Field Museum around 11am and there wasn't much of a line-up which was good. I had only been to the museum once before, and only then to view the King Tut exhibition, so I hadn't even stayed on to experience the rest of it. Let's just say that there is so much to see and experience inside Chicago's musuem of natural history, it blows your mind. Even with all the little kids running around and their frazzled parents chasing after them, the day was very pleasant in there.

I think one of the most impressive things about The Field is that the animals are posed rather naturally in the exhibits; they aren't just staring out, glassy-eyed at you, all in a row. I took some photos of my favourite exhibits, including Sue - the fabulous T-Rex skeleton that takes up some prime real estate in The Great Hall.

You can find the day's photos in my Chicago album here.

We left around 3pm and walked to The Shedd Aquarium to take in the beautiful view of the City skyline. Then we wandered through Grant Park and saw the new public art installation called "Agora", and wandered slowly along Michigan Avenue up to Millennium Park to see the face fountains and The Bean. It was a cool day but not cold, and while the sky was grey, there wasn't any rain at all, so we were pretty fortunate all round.

We're about to head out to dinner in Greektown and I'm hopeful that we will have some Greek musicians to entertain us, like I had the last time I went there. We'll see...

Taking Chicago by storm

On State Street, that great street
Originally uploaded by Miss Gab.

You know when you're waiting for something and it seems like it will never get here, and then all of a sudden - WHAMMO - it's right on you and you can't believe it? Well such has been the arrival of Mum & Jems, who are staying with me in Chicago until the end of this month. We are also heading out to Toronto for a couple of days to see the sights of the City and up to Niagara Falls too.

I am steadily uploading my photos of the trip, and you can view the album here.

In the few days that Mum & Jems have been here, the weather has deteriorated dramatically from what it has been. No more days of 90+ degrees and humidity. Now we're back to true Chicago autumn weather - cold winds, crisp temperatures - the perfect time of year to be busting out the coats, gloves, and scarves. And while Mum & Jems did not anticipate such weather (and therefore pack for it), fortunately I've got plenty of spare clothes to go around.

While the girls have been with me, we have done a few local things (like shopping at The Discount Shoe Warehouse (DSW), and heading to some Boystown diners for quadruple chocolate cake!) as well as some tourist things (like a trolley tour, and taking in the Art Institute of Chicago when it is free on Thursdays from 5pm to 8pm - saved ourselves $12 each woohoo!). I took the girls to see a hilarious new musical that Lex has long been recommending to me, called Altar Boyz and it is a scream. Then we scurried across the street and catapulted ourselves in to the stratosphere, more or less, for cocktails in The Signature Lounge, on the 96th floor of the John Hancock tower, which is essentially a tourist thing to do, but I reckon everyone enjoys it. How could you not love to overlook such a beautiful city with all its twinkling lights? Puh-lease.

Last night we went to Navy Pier for Friday fireworks in the lead-up to Halloween. We got a chance to see the pyrotechnics on a very clear night and then retreat inside to browse the many souvenir shops and craft stores as we wandered back to the bus stop.

Speaking of which, we've been very good at avoiding cabs here, electing instead to travel around by public transportation. We have all agreed that where we can, we should take buses and trains and make the most of them. As it was, we had a fairly white-knuckled cab trip from the Art Institute to the Hancock the other day. Not a long trip by any means, but a bumper-to-bumper, peak hour trip where we ran a few red lights, nearly caused a few car accidents, but managed to miraculously get there in one piece. It was pretty awesome.

Today we're off to the Field Museum which is Chicago's Museum of Natural History, do some shopping at Macy's and then Bloomingdales, and then for dinner in Greektown at a restaurant that I incidentally saw on The Food Network. Don't even pretend to be surprised about that.

Navel gazing and whatnot

I never actually intended to take a hiatus from blogging, it seriously just happened that way. I could give the usual excuses - being snowed under at work, living a crazy busy social life, nursing an addiction to Facebook, and all that stuff - and none of it would be a lie. But I guess no one likes a whiner, and nobody cares what my excuses are, so I'll just throw myself back in the online literary community, and reflect on the weeks that have been. And as this story unravels, you'll see that I have been quite the sportsfan in recent weeks. I know, what the?!

Anyway, I choose to tell this story retrospectively, as my memory works better that way:

• All three sports teams that I cheered for on the weekend lost. I actually bothered to get out of bed to be at the pub at 8am to watch the Wallabies get beaten (by the Brits, no less!), then observe New Zealand (aka the best looking team in the business) lost to France, and THEN the Cubs got their butts handed to them - again - by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the baseball playoffs. Fortunately I was not sober enough by that stage of the evening to logically register this as a true trifecta of defeats.
• I guess the AFL grand final set the stage for the defeats, now that I think about it. The Chicago AFL team hosted a sell-out grand final party at a neighbourhood bar and the night was great. Until the football started and Port Adelaide Power played like a bunch of primary school girls. I was so embarassed I wanted to leave at 3/4 time.
• But the news has not been all bad on the footy front. Our local Chicago AFL team won the Midwest grand final the other week and we celebrated in spectacular fashion. I missed the game of course (as IKEA summoned me and then I had to set my new furniture up - and drop it on my foot for good measure), but I was there for all the fun of the after footy party. We left the bar when it closed, and then processed down the street to the footy President's house for a roof top party. Hmm that was another weekend I got home at around 5am Sunday. Weird.

So there you have it. I have been absent for a little while, but apparently screaming myself hoarse for a bunch of football players, rugby teams, and baseballs stars, who proceeded to lose in dramatic fashion. Am I really such a bad omen for this big, weird world of sports?!

You can't be blue in this City

John Mayer and Buddy Guy at "Legends"
Originally uploaded by Contrails.

On Friday night, I had suggested to a few friends who were looking for a good live music venue that we go to "Buddy Guy's Legends Bar". I'd been a few times before and I've always had a good time there.

And as if the fates were smiling on us, Buddy Guy himself took the stage and jammed with the band, stopping a few times to take a shot brought to him by the buxom young bartenders. Whatever, it's all part of the performance.

I have decided that even though blues basically just trucks out the same 12 bars over and over, I find it more enjoyable to experience than jazz. I'm sure the style of Buddy Guy and the talented guest performers that his bar attracts have helped me reach this conclusion. They all seem to have such fun up there, and the audience has an amazing time.

My cab driver even told me that Buddy Guy takes the stage every night of the week during January so I will definitely have to keep going back for that.

If you can carry it, you can have it

satin bowerbird
Originally uploaded by omnia.

Biggsy has long since appointed himself my big brother and though I don't write about him often on this site, today he warrants a special mention. Because today, Biggsy outdid himself.

For whatever reason, there exists an Aladdin's Cave of treasures known as Biggsy's Basement and I went 'shopping' there after work. All on his own, Biggsy dug out for me a fully-functional microwave, a gorgeous dark wood coffee table, and a perfect television. So my new apartment just keeps getting better and better. Not only did Biggsy give me these delights free of charge, he carried them to his car, drove me to my place, and put them into my apartment.

And while his only response to my repeated cries of thanks was a nonchalant "too easy", I know that I am going to have to cook my most special roast chicken and potatoes just for him.

You could be a bit more subtle, you know?

Cleaning Lady
Originally uploaded by bulent_yusuf.

Ever since I did Weight Watchers a few years ago (yes, very briefly), I learned that it's possible to earn back good points by cleaning. You could eat a half tub of double-chocolate ice cream, as long as you cleaned the bathroom and mopped the floor afterwards. My kind of system!

And in any case, I fit somewhere between 'neat freak' and 'germophobe' on the whole cleanliness scale - so my immediate living space is never really in complete disarray.

But I've come home to my beautiful apartment today and the floor is crunchy.

Somebody nearby decided to do extensive road works or construction or something, and their activity has coated my apartment in a fine layer of cruncy dust. The bench tops, my dining room chairs, my sofa - it all bore the brunt of it.

And so I swept. And I spritzed. And I mopped. And then I closed the windows. And then I opened the windows because all the spritzing had nearly gassed me.

But my apartment floor is now looking much better, and it's true what it says on the side of my mop cleaner: the floor really IS so clean, I can walk around in white socks and not get them dirty.

Memo to me: close windows before going to work tomorrow.
Memo to me #2: Buy chocolate ice-cream.

You're cash-strapped AND an idiot

I hope that after I die, people will say of me: ``That guy sure owed me a lot of money.''
Originally uploaded by kiss kiss bang bang.

I'm trying so hard to be frugal with my new apartment, which isn't as hard as it sounds - because I hardly have any money to begin with. I'm living well within my means though, so no need to run a bake sale just yet.

Still, Sunday morning heralded the delivery of the bumper edition of the newspaper, and the finger-twitching excitement of the store catalogues bursting at the seams with cash-saving coupons.

I'm not much of a coupon-clipper, I'll tell you that right now. But I am trying really hard to give it a go, and cut out the coupons for the things I really need, or could at least really use in the immediate future.

So on Sunday morning I neatly snipped coupons for soap, toothpaste, and tissues. And today I wandered around the store, smiling smugly to myself for my thriftiness. Arriving at the register and proudly handing over my coupons, the cashier looks at me sadly and informs me that I have grabbed several products that LOOK like the ones on special, but are subtly different to their discount-giving cousins.

A small line had begun to form behind me.

Feeling myself blush from the tips of my fingers to the top of my head, I shifted uncomfortably and wondered how I could have got it so wrong. 1 item out of 3 was correct. That's a terrible percentage. I suck at coupon shopping. The woman immediately behind me smiled gently and offered, "well dear, it's better than not getting any discount at all...?" Yeah, cheers.

So I was so embarassed I took my meagre discounted item, and paid full price for the other two, and scurried out before anyone could see where I went.

It's times like this that I wish I had mastered an American accent. It's one thing to be hopeless at bargain hunting, but it's quite another to be the stupid Aussie who can't get it right. DOH.

She should be seen and not heard

I had a fantastic time at the hair salon today; I always seem to when I go in there. I do not enjoy massages or facials or mani-pedis, or any of those 'typically' girly pamperings. Instead, I hit the hair salon for my rest & relaxation.

I don't know why, but I find the smell of hair bleach intoxicating, the application of post-colouring toner slapped onto my head a positive delight. And I thoroughly enjoy catching up on the trashiest of trashy journalism as I plough through the salon's magazine rack.

But today, the "Us" magazine scared the crap out of me. They had interviewed one of my ex boyfriends, Jason Priestly. I could never work out why the girls of Beverly Hills didn't immediately warm to Brandon Walsh's down-home Midwestern charms. The fact that he then befriended the equally yummy Dylan was to his eternal benefit. I would have settled for befriending Dylan's Porsche, but I am veering off point.

The magazine interviewed the real-life Jason Priestly and his new bride, and profiled their new baby. And do you want to know what made me vomit a little in my mouth? The following was the first quote ascribed to the new Mrs Priestly:

"The first time I saw Jason, my womb ached. I knew this was the father of my child."

Ahem, I'm sorry? Your womb just ached? If you want to talk involuntary bodily reactions, how about the upchuck reflex I'm struggling to supress?!

So I am vowing here and now, to never EVER say that sentence aloud to anyone, male or female. Let's keep my little literary discovery to ourselves, shall we? All I will say is that aching wombs should be symptoms of cramps, gas, or bad chilli. And no magazine journalist, however trashy, should ever presume that there might be other more misty-eyed motivations.

How sweet it is

Tokay - Tokaji 5 puttonyós
Originally uploaded by rayparnova.

For a while now I have been a member of a wine club at my friend's store, Just Grapes. The particular club that I have joined means that every month, I receive one red wine and one white wine produced from grape varietals that are not particularly well-known. I don't know much about wine anyway, but I figured this club was one way I could learn some more interesting facts that would make me devastatingly attractive at dinner parties.

To thank me for my patronage, the store owners gave me 2 tickets to a wine class that they conducted last night that introduced me to a wine region I'd never ever heard of. It's called TOKAJI which is pronounced "tow-kai" and is the wine region in the north-eastern corner of Hungary.

The wines from that part of the world are terribly sweet and I'm not usually a fan of dessert wines. But I was so intrigued by the fact I knew nothing about the region or the wines, that I had to go along. So I dragged my friend P with me (who is fortunately still talking to me after helping me move apartments). We had a wonderful time.

One of the fun facts to know about Tokaji is that its sweetness comes from dried berries called aszu that are infected by botrytis. So unlike other dessert wines, whose sweetness is determined by fermentation or the length of time that the grapes are allowed to rot, Tokaji is sweetened through the addition of berries into white wine grapes. There are no delay tactics involved. The aszu berries are put into wooden barrels called putonyos that the pickers wear on their backs as they walk through the vineyards. The sweetness of each vintage is determined by the number of putonyos of aszu berries that are put into each barrel, from 1 (less sweet) up to 6 (so sweet your teeth nearly fall out).

I found the class to be so interesting, that I really want to go to Hungary now and just sit under a tree and enjoy a couple of glasses of the caramelly, syrupy goodness. The instructor shared another interesting fact with us, namely that it is illegal to put Tokaji into bottles any bigger than 500ml. So apparently it's possible to drink a full bottle in under 20 minutes - or at least that's what the teacher said!

A fishy situation

Goldfish
Originally uploaded by chi liu.

Tonight was my first dinner party and granted, Dr G was my only guest, but there was not a spare seat in the house. I really must get more dining chairs.

But Dr G is also vegetarian, which always seems to fill me with dread. Not the fact that she doesn't eat meat, but the idea of catering for vegetarians always makes me nervous. I think it's because I never cook fish for myself. The only fish I will prepare for myself is tuna, and that's never more complicated than opening a can.

So tonight I was resolved to cook a recipe with halibut that I'd seen on The Food Network. Halibut is a terribly British fish as far as I'm concerned, having risen to prominence (in my own estimations anyway) from books and TV in Scotland. If they weren't cooking with halibut, it was salted cod. Needless to say, halibut seemed much less complicated.

So I went to my fishmonger tonight to get 2 halibut filets and I proudly brought them home, along with all the other ingredients, and took off the parchment paper and what, lo? SKIN. One side of each filet had skin on it. My recipe didn't call for skin. Oh man. First hurdle.

Yes friends, I took my handy Kitchen-Aid knife block set and dirtied every single knife until I found one suitable for removing the very very stubborn skin from my halibut filets. Granted I pulled the fish into several pieces while doing it, and counted at least 40 "F" words in the process but, in the end, it was a job well done.

Dinner was delicious and even my roast potatoes worked a treat. I made what was quite possibly the world's most boring side salad, but perhaps we could see a silver lining and call it "rustic" instead. The bowl I put it in was pretty anyway.

Dessert was lemon sorbet and vanilla gelato - straight out of their respective tubs, as well as little bars of Hershey's dark chocolate and really strong Italian coffee to wash it all down.

Dr G didn't contract mercury poisoning (at least not immediately), so I feel confident that I did a good job. I'm not sure I'll be in a screaming hurry to cook fish for myself again, or at least next time I'll make doubly sure that my fishmonger cleans the filets completely for me - I am no samurai when it comes to operating my knife set, though I am indeed typing this with all my digts in tact. Phew!

That's one successful dinner party down, and hopefully many more to follow.

Take a load off, IT super-genius

The new sofa bed
Originally uploaded by Miss Gab.

Not only did my spectacular new sofa bed get delivered today, but I also hooked up my wireless internet all by myself. IT super genius, me.

Well I think that 'wireless' is a bit of a misnomer, because I seem to have spaghetti central hanging out from behind my computer right now. I really want to be able to sit on the aforementioned sofa and surf the internet to my heart's content and I'm not yet quite sure how to do it. The how-to manual is only 4 pages long and I've read it three times already - clueless.

And so I'm all hooked into the great cyberspace environment which I am currently surfing in a optimal carefree manner, from the lotus position on my living room floor. In the dark.

That reminds me. I need to buy lamps.

The home that Gab built

LEGO HOUSE
Originally uploaded by nori238.

Little by little, I am helping this apartment take shape. Fresh flowers help, even though they are probably an expense I do not need to go to on a regular basis. But the place is getting there.

I bought a sofa bed on Friday night, ignoring my personal objections to second-hand bedding, for reasons of health and hygiene. I fairly rigorously interviewed the previous owner of MY sofa, and left her apartment fairly confident that nothing unsavoury had ever be done on, in, or near my new baby.

My new sofa bed is actually white, which will no doubt come as a shock to anyone that knows me. However, I am happy to own a white sofa because it is from IKEA and the white cotton slip cover is entirely machine-washable and in the event of a stubborn staining, the slip cover is cheap to replace. Splendid.

Have not yet 'shopped' in Biggsy's basement to procure a television, though this will come. Am rather preoccupied with mastering the mysteries of the "wireless router" to ensure an uninterrupted stream of internet connection. Cable TV is next on the list and can, therefore, wait.

I did my bit for the US penal system today by purchasing some deliciously soft bath towels by Martha Stewart. There is something amazingly comforting about bath sheets, don't you think? Each one wraps around me twice and I just love that.

I used my oven for the first time yesterday too. I baked Hooters buffalo wings. In her own way, I'm sure that Martha Stewart is doubly delighted for me.

Taking on the utilities

Electric Company
Originally uploaded by My name is Saffanna.

Over the past 2 days in my new apartment, I've been hacking into wireless internet service provided by some kind-hearted (and hopefully oblivious) neighbour. The only problem with that is, whenever he/she logs off, my connection shuts down too - no matter what I'm in the middle of doing at the time.

But given that I'm no thief, and that I want to dictate my own internet usage in future thanksverymuch, I decided today to get my own internet service. And so drawing on everything I knew about utilities (thanks to Monopoly), I called the phone company to commence negotiations.

What followed was an exhaustive discussion about who I am, where I live, where I've come from, what ID I do and don't have, and what kind of complicated per-month plan I want to get. And despite all the technical jargon and financial mumbo-jumbo, I kept up. And I settled on a plan and made my decision.

Naturally I have to fax off everything except a dental impression over to the phone company so they can verify my information and credit history (of which I have none). Ownership was never this complicated on the Monopoly board. But with any luck, I'll be wired for light and sound within 24 hours all on my own terms. And that sounds good to me.

And naturally I will protect my wireless connection with security so that no free-loading neighbours of mine can hack in. Bwahahaha.

Oh man I just realised something. When I finally get a TV, I'll have to go through all this again with the cable company. Oh joy and rapture! Bring it.

I carried a watermelon?!

Danger of electrocution
Originally uploaded by Leo Reynolds.

For the benefit of the men in the room, the title of today's post comes from "Dirty Dancing", in a scene where our heroine, Baby (who nobody puts in a corner) literally carries a watermelon to a dance party. Yes, the movie has a girl, a boy, some fruit, some dancing...kinda makes you want to go out and rent it, eh?!

I mention this line from the movie because the last two days have seen me using muscles I never knew I had (but can now feel intimately), trying to get my new place set up as best I can.

I got all my shoes unpacked and, channelling Imelda Marcos in a way that surprised even me, the shoes take up closet space in not one, but two rooms! Genius.

And yesterday I hosted a couple of friends who came to check out the place (and they were bearing gifts too, so they can come back any old time).

But today was all about picking up the essential items that I wanted to get from Linens N Things, a store that has everything you could ever need to deck out a place. At each entrance they even have a little checklist for college students to give them an idea of what they might need to fit out a dorm room - I tell you, they have thought of everything.

But I was on a mission today and I knew exactly what I needed. So I took my shopping cart/dodgem car and bashed into everything on the ends of every aisle - it was great. But I wormed my way around and found a bunch of kitchen stuff, plus a fun shower curtain and shower caddy. Yes friends, I even had the shop assistant search the basement for exactly the shower curtain I had to have. A matching set of rings later and I was on my way.

And because it didn't involve power tools or raw wires, I set up my bathroom all by myself when I got home. And I didn't fall off the edge of the bath once. And I only swore twice.

Standing back to survey the results, I nodded proudly to myself at my small but important contribution to the apartment. The shower curtain was my watermelon. And I will tell anyone who asks that it's all my own handiwork.

The bachelorette pad

Packing In A Tutu
Originally uploaded by ambrosialove.

I did it!

I have moved into my first one-bedroom apartment, all on my own - my very first bachelorette pad and it's all mine.

Naturally the move wasn't without its dramas but fortunately I had my friend P there to take much of the heat for me (her choice, as she figured I was stressed enough).

Not to bore you with the details, but one of my other neighbours was also moving out yesterday and both of our moving vans arrived at pretty much the same time. Well one of the other neighbours didn't like that much, and got annoyed that the vans were effectively occupying the resident parking spaces. MInd you, he was not going anywhere in his car, so he didn't need access to the driveway anyway, but it didn't stop him from getting irritated - and calling the cops!

So the policeman shows up, my movers stop working (but keep charging me), and P stepped in to assess the situation. The cop didn't even get out of his car, because he realised the neighbour was a complete ass, particularly given that he had, by now, moved his own car to diagonally park across the driveway and block the movers entirely!

My old landlord was absolutely no help whatsoever, and when I asked whether he could contact one of the other tenants and ask her to move her car forward a little (so my movers could get their truck in), he read me the Bill of Rights. "They are not required to move their cars, they pay for those parking spaces," says he. Well by this stage I was severly annoyed and I reminded my landlord that I was not looking to trample on anyone's constitutional rights to parking spaces; rather I was just looking for some courtesy for the one hour or so that my movers needed access to the spot. He responded with a grossly unhelpful reminder that the residents are under no obligation to be courteous and I agreed that it was a lesson I was learning very quickly and thanked him for being no help to me whatsoever.

It was a lesson in US politics, and I say that principally because I am confident that no such situation would ever occur in Australia. In fact, I feel fairly certain that if I was moving out of the place in Australia, my neighbours would help - if not moving boxes, then at least moving cars out the way for the very short duration that my movers required access to the site. No such favours here.

So I was feeling a little disappointed in humankind by this stage, but my faith was restored with every trip that me, P, and my 2 movers made, up and down my back stairs, lugging my belongings around the obstacle course of resident cars and out to the truck.

And in 3 hours, all the boxes were in my new place, and the task of unpacking began. Me and P were going to just leave stuff for me to unpack steadily over this long weekend (US Labor Day - seems an appopriate weekend for such a task, now that I think about it). But we got our 2nd winds and just battled through. The next thing I knew, all the boxes were unpacked (save for my shoes), my kitchen was all set up, my bookcase was full, and my bedroom was pristine - clean sheets, color-coded wardrobe, the whole lot.

And let me tell you, coming home after a few beers to celebrate the move, to a nice clean house and warm bed, was the best feeling in the world. No wait, waking up this morning and surveying MY new place, now THAT was the best feeling in the world.

It can only get better from here.

Yes, this will suit me fine

LOOK OUT!
Originally uploaded by Haiku Garry.

I have never lived by myself before and never had to negotiate a lease agreement or deal with utilities or sign key release forms, or any such malarkey.

And now that I'm navigating these murky waters for the first time, I've unearthed a side of my personality that is quietly freaking me out. I am getting rattled, and I hate that. I am allowing long lines, monumental paperwork, and outrageous charges to make me a grouch. So nutty am I right now that my friend P has taken to calling me "The Crack-Smoking Aussie".

But today I took a deep breath, and little by little I got what I needed and I had the first look inside my new apartment since the day I decided to lease it. Without the previous tenant's furniture in it, the apartment looks small. But the more I thought about, the more potential I saw. And I was in the apartment at around 6.30pm, when the sunlight was coming through the windows at such a beautiful angle, and lighting up the honey-colored floorboards, that I was content for the first time in days. Happy would be pushing it, so let's just go with content.

Less crack, more valium perhaps.

But all things being well, the movers come at 9am this Saturday to shift my measly crap into the new place. And thankfully P is going to be there to boss me - and the movers - around. She's done all this stuff countless times before and I am so grateful for the push she'll give me. Wish me/us luck!

Pieces and places

Ceramic Bisque
Originally uploaded by sponger.

It seems that as the move-in date looms ever closer (September 1 is D-Day for me), I am getting more frazzled about what I do and don't have. The two most pressing must-haves that I have been missing is the dinner set and flatware (cutlery). I mean, it's one thing not to have a sofa or a TV, but if I don't have things to eat off, what am I going to do then?

And so I dragged K and M along to Macy's the other day, as the store was having a sale on some fun & funky dinnerware that I liked. It was a 2 for 1 special, and I was very keen to score the Cobalt Blue set. I figured it would be an interesting departure from ordinary white dinnerware which is classic and of course easily replaceable, but neverthless rather plain.

Here I was thinking that for $43, I would be getting an 8 person dinner set in the most fantastic of shades. And as the poor young guy is scanning my credit card and I was smugly admiring my purchases, I actually read the box it came in.

4 pieces, not 4 places.

So I was buying enough dinnerware for only 2 people. For $43. Are you kidding me?!

I almost walked away with two plates, two cups, two saucers, and two cereal bowls for the ridiculous price of $43. I must have been out of my mind.

So the lovely man at Macy's reversed my purchase and tried to disagree with me when I mumbled about what a numbskull I was, to not read the advertising carefully. I was so embarassed.

On the upside, from the safety of my computer, I went online that same night and found a 4-person setting (white of course), which includes all flatware, steak knives, AND drinking glasses - all for cheaper than $43.

And believe me, I read that online advertisement VERY carefully this time.

There's nothing Wong with a pick-me-up

Tiramisu
Originally uploaded by Coconutto.

It's tricky for me to work out whether my favourite dessert of all time is tiramisu or lemon meringue pie. Perhaps they really are tied for top spot in my estimations. Whatever the case, I can rarely resist a creamy, cakey tiramisu if I see it on a menu; it can often live up to its literal translation, and truly be the 'pick me up' dessert I need.

Normally Wongy travels for her job and only comes back to Chi-town on Friday evenings and stays the weekends before she's off again (usually somewhere dull) bright and early on the Monday morning. But this week she came back early, and called me because she wanted to take me out to belatedly celebrate my birthday - very sweet idea indeed.

When she called tonight I was committed to running errands at Bed, Bath, and Beyond. While I haven't announced in on here yet, I move into my new apartment on 1 September (yay) and the only thing I don't yet have - but pretty much really need - is a dinner set and some cutlery (boo). And despite this very specific list, AND a 20% off coupon for the store, I left empty-handed. Double boo to that.

So on we trrudged, through the stifling humidity, to the lovely Basil Leaf Cafe in Lincoln Park. I've passed it many times but never called in. But when I was searching for apartments in Lincoln Park way back when, my bus used to go straight past the restaurant and everyone inside looked well-fed and happy to be there. And tonight when I finally got to be the diner, I found out that the restaurant serves up very reasonably-priced and yummy Italian fare. The pastas are pretty creative with their ingredients too, and a fair amount of seafood, which I quite like.

I enjoyed a butternut squash ravioli with roasted garlic, spinach, and basil oil dinner, after which time I was compelled to order a tiramisu and an espresso to round out the experience. Both were delicious. This is not a photo of the tirarmisu I had of course - mine was terribly decorative (and clearly not made in the restaurant's more rustic kitchen). But nevertheless, the coffee was served in very cute Illy cups - I wanted to pinch it, but clearly I'd have to come back 5 more times to get the full set so it hardly seemed worth the trouble.

It was great to see Wongy again and reminisce about my 30th birthday celebrations. The memories are so fun to re-live.

Kicking off the flirty, dirty 30s

The birthday girl
Originally uploaded by Miss Gab.

So I survived my birthday weekend - just barely - but Kate was a genius and remembered to bring her camera. So we managed to record for posterity some of the goings-on at the House of Blues for the Crowded House concert, and showtunes at Sidetracks in crazy Boystown. I had an outrageously great time, trust me.

You can check out all my pics here.

There are not many of photos to be sure, but in ALL of them I am busting out some seriously cheesy grins, so you know I had a great time.

Stories to follow.

Girls, boys, and balls

Red Ball
Originally uploaded by hamishi.

It was a bloody hot day on Saturday, but the conditions were perfect for Chicago's AFL "Great Aussie BBQ" on the lakefront. I had offered to help cook but (fortunately) that wasn't required as we had a lot of volunteer chefs turn up on the day.

So I was put in charge of alphabetising the condiments. Ketchup. Mustard. Napkins. It was a genius display by the time I was done, but some kid screwed with the symmetry of it and so I gave up and sold raffle tickets instead.

The American girls were very impressed with the footy boys, though I don't think they initially realised that there were more American boys on the team that native Aussies. Whatever. One of the girls even remarked to me, "Ooooh Gab, they take their tops off after every quarter. I love this game!". Quite right. And I was issued strict instructions to widely promote the next big game so that the girls can resume their spectator positions, right up front.

Schmoozing around the field on the day, it was fun to meet members of Chicago's Aussie community, some long-time residents and others fresh off the boat. I got to catch up with some old friends too, and P even told me that my new pink bucket hat was very reminiscent of Ladies Day at the Races. He imagined me dashing across the pitch towards the porta-loos, shrieking like a big girl. Shame - I used to like that hat too.

But after a day in the blasting sun, a cold beer was in order and we got plenty of them at Messner's on Southport, that has been a long-time sponsor of the AFL team (not to mention a long-time great place to get a coldie). And at 2am, I decided it was time to call it a night and I went home to bed.

A great, big "what the?!"

Bork told me yesterday that I am her most eclectic friend, and I chose to take that as a compliment. We had been talking about our respective plans for this weekend and I was prattling on, as I'm wont to do, about theater tickets, pre-show parties, football games, post-game drinks, that sort of thing.

And so it was last night that I went along to my first ever absurdist show. It was called "Hamlet Stooged" and it was put on by an Australian theater company. I didn't know anything about absurdist theater as a genre and, admittedly, I still don't. I am sad to say that I didn't understand the play at all. Perhaps that was the point?

Now I love Shakespeare but I'm not a purist about it. I will happily watch Shakespeare as a musical, or modern spins on the plays, or even Hollywood's adaptations. And Hamlet is one of my favourite plays. We studied it in my last year of high school, so clearly all of us could relate to the indecisive Danish prince. Not from the perspective of a father-ghost, homicidal step-dad, nutjob girlfriend, and sleazy mother. Rather Hamlet was having to make brave, life-altering decisions in the face of very real adversity. What path should he take in life? And why can't you just procrastinate about these things? If anyone wanted to have a perpetual 'doona day', it was Hamlet.

But the theater company last night, while rhyming some clever verses together with modern day language, the show was just silly. It didn't make sense - it didn't follow the story, and most of the characters were just completely absent. I tried to appreciate it as a standalone work but even that was hard. I suspect that I just didn't enjoy it. Maybe if I wasn't sitting in the middle of the row, I would have walked out - who knows.

Absurdist theater is not something I will go and see again but at least I can say I've done it now, right?

I haven't got ball players, I've got girls!

Originally uploaded by Marcus M.

Baseball is easily the national pastime here in the US and I can remember that when I moved to Chicago, the White Sox triumphed in the World Series, so baseball kinda because "my" sport. I suspect that had I arrived in the middle of football season, I would be a die-hard Bears fan - such is life.

Now I've seen the Cubs play at Wrigley Field a number of times now and I love it there. And why wouldn't I? It's the largest outdoor bar in the world. Sure there are baseball fans, but it's the atmosphere, the beer, and the hotdogs that most people go for, I'm sure. It's certainly not the Cubs batting average because by and large, they suck.

By contrast, the Chicago White Sox, as winners of the 2005 World Series, seem to take the game more seriously and, as a result, the fans do too. Last night I got to see US Cellular Field for myself when I took in my very first live Sox game.

Hands down the best thing about Chicago's baseball scene is that you don't really need to understand what's going on; rather you just have to be willing to cheer loud and sing when required. And I am more than happy to play along with that. I am a great cheerleader when it counts.

My seats were in the 11th row of the stadium and I'm pretty sure that if we tried hard enough, we could smell the ball players' aftershaves - we were that close.

And the food is heaps better at Cellular Field too - bratwursts with sauerkraut or onions, pretzels, cold beer, MARGARITAS, I mean - come on, people! Why did I not discover this place before?!

Oh yeah, and the Sox won. Though admittedly I left at the start of the 8th inning, and therefore read about the end of the game in this morning's newspaper. Whatever. Told you - soak up the atmosphere, sing when you have to, and just get into it.

Defying gravity is not always fun

ground control to major tom
Originally uploaded by the cat & the exercise bike.

A friend told me a few weeks back that as a Leo, August 2007 would herald a cosmic turning point for me. From what she says, the next ten years - at least - will be an easy ride, particularly given where I've come from (again, cosmically-speaking).

I don't normally go in for that astrology stuff, but I was open to the idea that August would bring some good vibes, happy news, festivities - something that would give me cause to celebrate.

Now naturally I haven't given August much credit yet; it IS only the sixth of the month, after all. But so far I haven't scored any runs on the board that I feel I need to blog about. Instead, I'm rather apathetically going through the motions of life, trying to find enthusiasm for things.

I don't suppose it helps that this expected surge in good fortune also coincides with weather that feels like a sauna. I am not built for humid conditions, I know that now. I'm not alone in this, but such weather makes me sleepy and grouchy all at once, and that is a terrible combination, especially post-coffee. Perhaps there are some situations that coffee can't fix, after all.

So I'm supposed to be soaring this month and so far it's not the butterlies-in-the-stomach high that I expected to feel. Perhaps the next three weeks will turn things around. With Miss Kate scheduled to arrive next Thursday for a few days of R&R in Chicago (yeah right), my spirits should be cheered significantly. So really all I have to do is make it to late next week in one piece, and the planets can do what they will after that time.