exhausted: a weekend recap

Is it pathetic that I've used this title before? Seriously, I've barely been able to move since I got home around 6 tonight.

Friday, after work, I came home to just do nothing. Knowing neither of my roommates would be home made it even more exciting to plan out an evening of food, TV, and sleeping. I picked up some wine on my way home, made some dinner, determined that I was craving ice cream, and went back to the convenience store where I'd bought the wine 90 minutes earlier and bought a tub of Ben & Jerry's.

(This was all a direct result of the week I'd had. Not only was I busy at work, I managed to go out twice during the week and stay out past 2 am (Tuesday til 2, Thursday til 3). Whoops. Being hungover two out of five days is pretty bad. There were a few wasted hours early on Wednesday and Friday. Ouch.)

I woke up early on Saturday ready to do something more with my day so I went for a long walk in my hood and then came home ready to head to the beach. It was a beautiful day and I could think of nothing better than spending it worshipping the sun. Since the novelty of my bike has not yet worn off, my plans were to ride to the beach (since that was part of the reason I really wanted the bike). Despite the fact that I almost died multiple times on the way (why are there no bike lanes on North Avenue?), it turned out to be a nice way to get to the lakefront. After I left the beach (a little red due to poor sunscreen application), I continued to ride down the lakefront to Grant Park, where I heard the slightest strains of blues from the festival going on.

Despite all my activity during the day, I was ready to go out and actually spend an evening outside. You see, I have a thing for summer festivals and knowing that there was one going on in Old Town, I couldn't not go - right? My roommate and I went for a few hours, capping off the night with some delicious Mexican food and then almost falling asleep on the way home. Lame, maybe, but I wasn't really up for much more than that. Especially since I knew Sunday was going to be another exhausting day. I met my mom at 11 to check out the Printers Row Book Fair (told you I like festivals) where we hunted for movie posters and books in the sun. Following a reading by Joyce Carol Oates, we decided to get some food and check out the Blues Fest. How have I never been there before? It was fantastic. Food, beer, blues on multiple stages. I was slightly disappointed that I only got to experience a few hours of the festival, but I am making plans to return next year.

After all of that (almost 8 hours of walking around today) I collapsed on the couch, ordered some BBQ (the blues put me in the mood, I guess), and watched -sigh- The Sopranos finale.

Oh, and there's a boy I have to tell you about...

mixmaster sunday

I learned how to rock the turntables today.

Okay, maybe I didn't quite rock 'em, but I did some baby scratching.

So now I'm putting some Technics and a mixer on my wish list.

three days of heat, beats, and dirty feet

lollapalooza is better than christmas.

that was our motto this past weekend as we walked and rocked around grant park. i didn't make it to the concert last summer (i sold my ticket at the last minute), but i am so glad i made the decision to buy one for this year's fest. the lineup was diverse and exciting and almost too jammed with great artists. in fact, i think the biggest complaint from concertgoers was the distance between the two stage areas. with large crowds, it took awhile to get from one end to the other which was frustrating when trying to see bands playing in either area. and because there were so many acts i wanted to see, i had to sacrifice seeing a few to catch others.

complaints aside, it was an amazing weekend. there was good music all around, abundant people watching, and it couldn't have been in a better location. i can only hope that perry ferrell is in love with chicago and keeps the festival here for years to come. i take it for granted that i live just a short train ride from the park.

what i liked best about this festival was that i got to bands i would have never seen otherwise. i coughed up $145 in april for those acts that i knew. but there were plenty of others that i had barely (or never) heard of. i think that's what i liked best about friday; spending most of the day alone allowed me to just enjoy the music around me. saturday i was focused on the evening's lineup of chicago natives common & kanye west so my day was centered around getting a good spot for those two shows. sunday was probably the most relaxed day of all until the melee that was red hot chili peppers.

i regret not seeing panic! at the disco, the raconteurs, the flaming lips, thievery corporation, or of montreal. but no regrets for missing some of those acts because i was standing & waiting near the at&t stage for common and kanye. that last set made my entire weekend. i wish i had seen more of the go team as well. i caught the end of their set and they were so high energy that the entire crowd was bouncing. i haven't seen that since the kelly clarkson concert i attended a few weeks ago (don't ask). best surprise of the weekend goes to mates of state who were incredible. they drew a rather large crowd and everyone was bopping along to their poppy/synth beats. andrew bird and ben kweller are two other artists i would like to get to know better - i saw parts of both sets and really enjoyed them.

all in all i saw aqualung, ohmega watts, stars, mates of state, secret machines, my morning jacket, sleater-kinney, death cab for cutie, the go team, built to spill, calexico, gnarls barkley, common, kanye west, ben kweller, andrew bird, the shins, wilco, and the red hot chili peppers.

Fly Me to the Moon

What am I doing?

I'm sitting in my room, back hurting from some yoga pose performed early this morning, drinking wine and watching The Godfather on TV. And I'm wishing Flip Flop Guy would call.

Why did I ask him back into my life? I did this. I emailed him about a happy hour gathering last weekend. I ended up hanging out with him and his friends. I ended up sleeping at their apartment just 1.5 blocks from my own place. What is it that I want from him? A relationship? A guy to hook up with on the weekends? A friend? I'm still not sure.

My friends gave me disapproving looks when they saw him and I talking last Friday at the bar. They certainly don't want me to be with him again, at least not until I get an answer from him about what happened a few months ago. I also want answers. But I have been slowing in asking the questions. I would like to know where I stand with him (and where I stood with him before). I need to clarify this soon before I do something I regret.

Meanwhile....I've been downloading this on iTunes.