Vacationing at home can be just as fun!

Ever had the experience of feeling like you had the best holiday weekend "vacation" without leaving the city/town in which you reside? Such was the case for me over Labor Day weekend. I'm not sure if it's because I usually always work six days a week, or because I actually had some fun, interesting and exciting things going on. Perhaps a little bit of both.

Saturday was a very busy day, from the moment I got off work until my sleepy head hit the pillow at a time I am usually waking up for work in the morning! There was some drama that happened during the day, but nothing that wouldn't quickly become water under the bridge, so to speak. I was also able to get in a nice jog by the lake mid-afternoon before a blind date I would be meeting up with later on in the evening. In retrospect, I was glad I was able to fit exercise into my day. It definitely helped revitalize me with some much needed energy for what turned out to be a late night out. I didn't want to turn into an old lady and start yawning at 9pm on a Saturday night (especially on a date!), as is sadly usually the case these days. hahaha. We went to a few bars in the Wicker Park area I had not been to before that I really enjoyed. The atmosphere was definitely conducive for a first date kind of environment and the night ended quite pleasantly.

Early Sunday afternoon, I met up with Rajiv and Eddie for brunch and coffee at Clarke's in my neighborhood. True to form, fun restaurant with ongoing people watching potential....maybe a little too much. Eddie and I enjoyed watching a 10 year old girl walking in and outside from the restaurant patio chowing down on what appeared to be a piece of garlic bread or something. We were like, WTF? And then there was the screaming baby at the family of 12 table sitting five feet away from us. Fun times. No really, fun times (right Eddie?). We parted ways shortly thereafter. I went back to my place to relax for awhile. I called a few people back that had called me the day before, as well as made a few calls to people I had not talked to in a long time. I started to crash after that and attempted to take a nap, but no such luck. There's nothing worse than not being able to fall asleep when you're trying really hard to so....futile, in fact.

A few hours later, I headed to Rajiv and Eddie's housewarming party. It was the perfect kind of party because it wasn't too big, nor too small either. Good laughs and conversation seemed to be had by all and MUCH picture taking was involved (even though a majority of photos were later deleted to spare certain individuals, aka Rajiv, from post-party embarrassment! haha).

Though crashing on their couch was fine with me, I did have to contend with one loud crying kitty who was most likely confused that there was another "lady of the house" intruding on her and the other female cat's "territory." hahaha. After about 20 minutes of endless kitty crying, I had to think of a sneaky strategy fast: Must stash the cat (Molly) away in another room asap! So I exited the living room, walked down the hallway to where I see Molly sitting there. We are staring at each other, kitty eye to human eye. I am confident I can outwit her, or at least I hope....as I know I cannot outrun her! I decide the easiest way to go about it is to lure her into their office/computer room. I call out to her in my super sweet voice, that voice I reserve specifically for furry animals and young children. She sashays slowly into the room, as I make my way right past her to close the door. Ha! I did it. Success! Well, for the most part anyway. She then went on to bang the door with what sounded more like her body weight than just her little paws. I felt guilty, but this was quickly replaced with an overriding feeling of exhaustion. Guilt only goes so far. Katie MUST sleep.

I think I only ended up with a few hours of sleep, but better than constant kitty crying without any shut eye. Monday morning, the three of us found a cozy little French restaurant for breakfast in their neighborhood. Rajiv and I went through our photos and posted them online before I headed home.

Knowing I would be too tired to read or do anything that involved much thought, I decided to rent a movie along the way. Unfortunately (or fortunately!), its dull plot instilled an even more lethargic Katie. But hey, at least I finally got alot of sleep after a neverending weekend of fun and surprises.......