2011 in Instagrams

I've decided to pull a 2009-Jordan (lovelikeapolaroid.blogspot.com) and attempt taking a Picture of the Day in 2012...  another buddy of mine did this on Facebook too in 2011, so I need to ready to start tomorrow. I have my phone on me all the time anyway, and I like using Instagram, so that's likely where they'll be. 

But I did want to do a quick photo review of the past year in snapshots, so here goes... 

(Note: I really didn't take much pics throughout year, or have pics taken with me in them, haha... So some months I struggled to find a pic in my library, or I had to pic just one in eventful months like August where Chicago easily trumps seeing Adele in concert.)

JANUARY - Completed leg 1 of the Triple Crown series of San Diego half marathons by running in the Carlsbad Half

FEBRUARY - A shot from Sunset Beach in Orange County, during a trip when I came to visit Sarah and we went to see Hair

MARCH - ...uhhhhh I bought a new computer. :P But I do love this thing!

APRIL - Completed the 2nd leg of the Triple Crown in La Jolla... and totally kicked that Torrey Pines hill's ass. (You try running it and let me know how it goes.)

MAY - Was in my first musical production and had the support of friends and coworkers coming to see me

JUNE - My parents enabled me to celebrate my birthday at work by bringing in lunch for me and my awesome coworkers

JULY - My cousin and his longtime girlfriend tie the knot in a beautiful ceremony (that I had the honor of officiating)

AUGUST - Family vacation to Chicago! My favorite snapshot of just a part of the gorgeous skyline. San Diego's got nothing on you, Bean Town. 

SEPTEMBER - Hiked the long trail at Mt. Woodson and got to the Potato Chip cliff! 

OCTOBER - New York City trip! Checking out the amazing views from the Top of the Rock observatory with my friend Suzy

NOVEMBER -  Seeing Jason Mraz in a special acoustic intimate setting was a nice way to end the Thanksgiving weekend

DECEMBER - Christmas Day at the San Diego Zoo with my cousin and the cutest little 10 month old in the history of ever who even though she was tired, whenever I'd give her a goofy grin, she'd give me this huge smile back with both her mouth and eyes, and those smiles were like a gift in itself that day...  

So there's 2011! Cheers to more pictures and memories in 2012...

Audition #2

In a little over one month, I have my next theatre audition. And now that I'm comfortable with being back on stage and the whole song/dance process again after having taken a decade-long sabbatical, I'll definitely take the process more seriously this time. :)

(Not that I wasn't serious on my audition for Joseph, but I totally just went on a whim to that one.)

What this means:
1) I'm thinking I'll be around SD a bit longer, which I'm perfectly okay with for right now.

2) Time to select and practice a good audition song! I don't know if I want to select something from the show in question (Bye Bye Birdie) or go with something that'd be fuuuuuun for me (i.e. something from The Book of Mormon)...

3) I had no idea that song "Put On A Happy Face" came from the show! As much as I enjoy theatre, I'm not as much of a theatre geek as I'd like to be.

4) Even if nothing comes of the audition -- which I'll be honest, the directors told me that they would hunt me down and make me audition, but let's say I can't for whatever reason -- I'll relish the anticipation and the process leading up to it in the meantime.

SBoR: ...things that make me go "awwww"

Getting a text message from my cousin to tell me that the toy I got for my little niece is her favorite right now brings a huuuuuge smile to my face. :D

And also makes me not wanna leave SD, lol.

SBoR: ...A Quote Before Lunch

"A recent definition of happiness is 'a sense of pleasurable satisfaction.' If this kind of happiness is our main goal, where will people place their focus each day? It will be on themselves, and the result will be a culture of self-absorbed narcissists who cannot live for something bigger than they are." -J.P Moreland, "The Lost Virtue of Happiness"

Textual Healing

So I'm a little inebriated. But I'm in the best of moods... I just took two of my cousins out to dinner tonight at BJs to celebrate their birthdays over the last two weeks (John turned 24, his sister Cheryl turned 23 one week later). And it was great to spend time together and catch up. It's still trippy to me that he's married now (and that I performed the ceremony) and that his little 9 month old is the CUTEST thing in the history of ever. EVER.

Disagree and I will cut you.

And Cheryl's student teaching now and developing lesson plans and doing all those teachery-things that teachers do, and I'm so very proud of both of them. They've both got very level heads on their shoulders and they were the closest things I had to siblings when we were growing up. So even though we're all adults and doing our own things now (even when I was living with Cheryl - she was my last roommate - we were always both out and about), it means the world to spend quality time with them.

Anyways. I think I like to be textual when I've had drinks. But it's never in a really bad way where I'm texting people things that I really shouldn't be saying... and my grammar is still pretty in tact, I feel. Auto spell correct helps too though. :P

Time for bed.

Short Blogs of Randomness: ...On Dancing

Every time I happen to catch a bit of "Dancing With the Stars" on TV, a little part of me wishes there was a TV show called "Dancing with the Data Analysts".

And I would want IN.

It just looks such so much fun! The routines, the glitz, the passion of certain dances and the whimsy of others. And it'd be a great workout. Now I don't know how well I'd actually do... but I have Asian in me, so I think with some dedication and a hot partner (*cough*Cheryl Burke*cough*) I'd make it to at least the halfway point.

Maybe I should look into ballroom dancing again, like I did a few years back. Even my old roommate confessed to taking some classes to experience something different, and if he can do it, I can certainly get back in the mix!

Drunken Post... ish...

WASSUP!

So it's past 3AM, NYC time, and despite having a lot of drinks (sangria, beer, cocktails and shots) I think I'm still pretty coherent and capable of spelling and typing things out in a readable format. We've had 1.5 days in Manhattan so far, and it's been interesting in the following ways:

1. Manhattan is HUGE. And that's only ONE of the five boroughs! But you have upper Manhattan which has the Empire State building, and then lower Manhattan which had (and will have again) the complete World Trade Center... it's like one ginormous skyline. There's so much to see and do here...

2. But I'm not super impressed. Granted, it's only been a day and a half that I've been here, but I remember going into downtown Chicago for the first time and being in awe of how beautiful the skyline was, and how clean things seemed (for a downtown area) and how "cultured" and historical the downtown area felt... I didn't get the same impression here. Right now, it feels like a bigger LA to me. As in, lots to see and do and a center of American entertainment, but a nightmare to drive through and seemingly pretty dirty and seedy in areas. I mean, a hot girl walks by and you want to offer a free hug? Really?

3. (removed upon the sobriety of the next day)

4. The bartender at our hotel is very cool... this is the second night we've been there til closing, and he's been giving us free shots... which is why I'm feeling all "wooooo" like...

5. Because we were at the bar, we've met cool people, including a guy tonight who expressed dismay at the whole typical American cycle where we make money and then spend money, but how he was over that and it wasn't making him happy. Man, can I relate... he's going back to Africa next year to work on the non-profit he's part of... he gave me the info to look it up, and I will definitely do so in the AM.

Anyways. Thursday daytime awaits!

Shorts Bursts of Randomness: ...On A Concert High

Foo Fighters. 2011.10.17. Best night of live rock music in my life thus far.

Short Bursts of Randomness: ...On Merchandising

Tonight, Sarah and I went down to Humphrey's Concerts By the Bay to help sell merchandise for Andy Grammar, as he was the opening act for Colbie Caillat.

Some thoughts:

1. Selling merchandise is not as easy as it looks. You have to check everything in, check everything out, sort all the merchandise, handle the lines of customers and money being exchanged, write down all that's purchased, account for everything and then make sure the venue gets their cut of the profit. But having a great team of merch sellers helped. Besides Sarah and I, there were three other girls who volunteered and they were very cool. One was like a super Andy fan, which was awesome to have that positive energy there. Otherwise, it would've been kinda rough.

2. We got to see Jason Mraz sing his duet with Colbie, and it was pretty awesome... I'd never been super stoked on the song to begin with, but the experience is just another example of the magic that happens at a live concert.

3. I could never be a celebrity in the pop world. Dealing with lines of people wanting to get your picture taken with them, having various items signed, older men trying to give you career advice, and wannabe giving you copies of their demo CD... Andy handled it all with charm and aplomb, and he's been doing this for awhile now. Even just sitting there listening to it all, I and one of the other girls caught ourselves rolling our eyes sometimes at the hoopla. And when an 8 year old gets excited that Andy's not married and her father seems just as excited? Creepy. So yeah. I'm waaaaaay too cynical and realistic to make it as a celeb. (We'll ignore the whole needing to have the looks/talent/charisma part.)

4. Humphrey's is a GREAT venue... and it made me think for freakin' stellar it would have been to see Adele there, had we scored tickets somehow the first time (and had she not cancelled the initial date)...

5. I'm not a huge Colbie fan, but she gains major props in my book for cutting through the bullshit and telling the audience that we weren't going to have to play the "encore waiting game". She just gave her encore immediately after the "final" song, and told the audience how it was gonna go down.

6. Now to bring on concert #2: the Foo Fighters with the broseph, the old roomie, and the fraternal twin (because Ash, I think we're pretty dang similar except for how you're female and Turkish).

Short Bursts of Randomness: ...On Worship

Sometimes you're there singing, then suddenly hit by the relevance and magnitude of what you're singing. Tonight was one of those nights.

And if our God is for us, then what could ever stop us?
And if our God with us, then what could stand against?

A good reminder of His providence in times of uncertainty... in a time when so many seem to be touched by the words of Steve Jobs from his Stanford commencement address, yet remain unable to put his charges into action, to take a leap of faith and trust that He will still continue to connect the dots in that perfect way that we could never draw on our own.

I think I posted this song before, but to Chris Tomlin's version. Here's the band I heard tonight (from a previous service though, not from tonight's).

Short Bursts of Randomness: ...On Smiling

Flights to NYC? Booked.

Hotel room three blocks from Central Park? Reserved.

Good friend from work going with me and just as excited? Confirmed.

I don't think my face has felt a smile this big in awhile. :) Less than two weeks to go!

Short Bursts of Randomness: ...On Needles

I dislike needles and getting stabbed by them.

Ok. So maybe "stabbed" is being overdramatic. But I don't like it. Especially as I feel like I've heard stories of nurses who can't seem to get the needle in the right spot initially.

But I needed to get blood drawn at the doctors office this AM. And as the nurse prepped me, the following exchange occurred:

Me: I apologize in advance if I swear, I get a little jumpy around needles... It's not you, it's me.

Nice Nurse: ...I've never had anyone warn me before. (laughs)

(seconds pass, I'm looking away, then...)

Me: Sonofabitch!

And then we both start to laugh as I squeeze that squeeze ball and blood is drawn from the other side of my elbow for a good minute.

[/end burst of randomness]

The Shoe

Two days ago, a few departments from work went to a nearby park for a potluck lunch and some game time... such as the egg toss (which we were out after three tosses) and musical chairs (to the tune of "Moves Like Jagger" and the ladies telling the guys to dance around the chairs). It was a good time and a nice break from the monotony of the workday.

In talking with another coworker during the lunch, she began talking about shoes, in both the literal and metaphorical sense. I'm not sure how it started exactly, but she was saying how sometimes you'll see be at a store and come across a pair of shoes that look really good, fit really well and work for you, but then you have a bit of hesitation to purchase them... and her point was "why? Life's too short. Go grab that pair of shoes and rock the shit out of 'em."

Ok, she may not have said the s-word. That's my embellishment there.

But I got the message, I think. Obviously, you can't just grab any pair of shoes you want. Maybe it's not the right time, whether that's due to financial responsibility or familial obligations. But if you don't have either of those two things stopping you, is it wrong to be a little selfish and self-indulgent? And can it even be considered selfish if getting that pair of shoes is not to the detriment of anyone?

And so I've been going around with shoes on my mind. Some that are smaller and more easily obtainable - to the point where a tool to get that shoe is on the couch next to me. And other shoes that require a little more preparation, discernment and/or training.

But for now, year 27 seems to be the year that I'm shoe shopping. To that end, TV off, laptop to soon be closed, and study guide to be opened.

Hmm. All that shoe talk sounds gay. So five things I'm looking forward to in October...

5) The Treezy Wedding (because I get to be paired up with one of my best friends, Jo)
4) Jimmy Eat World's "Bleed American" 10th Anniversary Concert!!!

Oh wait. That's technically in September, as it's in two days with Chris... but screw it, I'm super excited about it!

4) Grand Canyon!!!
3) Foo Fighters!!!
2) Bring It On (The Musical)!!!
1) New York!!!

Anthem

I love Switchfoot. And in honor of their new CD coming out today, this post is dedicated to that CD, "Vice Verses". And here is the rocking song that kicks off the disc, "Afterlife". Switchfoot lyrics have a tendency to resonate with me, so when I heard this call to arms for the first time last week, I knew this CD would fast become a favorite of mine.

Every day a choice is made
Every day I choose my fate
And I wonder why would I wait 'til I die to come alive?
I'm ready now, I'm not waiting for the afterlife. 



Of course, now I really want to see them in concert in LA in two weeks. Dangit.

But other than that, I'm reminded again to start living - to not just survive, but to thrive. Okay, I'm quoting from another new song of theirs. Anyways, now to figure out plans.

Untitled.

I'd been meaning to update the old blog, seeing as how I went from Active in August to Slacker in September... it wasn't intentional, and it wasn't that I've been super crazy busy lately either. Although I think part of it is the general feeling of unexcitement that has come with being back at home again, and feeling like it's slowly sucking the life out of me.

But it's to the blog I come when I need to get some thoughts out - that's what it's here for, regardless of who ends up reading this.

My grandma died yesterday, of old age. And to be honest, I'm not really sure how I'm processing it. If you don't know, the vast majority of my family is in the Philippines, save for a few first cousins who live abroad, and I've yet to visit my parents' homeland or meet my family. But this was my last living grandparent - my maternal grandmother.

I still remember when my maternal grandfather died. I was a teenager, we were living at the condo in El Cajon, and I remember my mom getting the call at night. I remember going downstairs when my mom had just gotten off the phone and she told us that her dad had died... the impression I get is that they fell under the stereotype wherein daughters are closer with their fathers. I know for her it was hard. She hadn't been home since before I was born and also wasn't able to fly over there to attend the funeral.

As for me, I guess I feel the same way now that I felt back then. I'm sad that I never got to meet them, and I'm sad for my mom's loss. But I have no meaningful memories or interactions with them, and it would feel disingenuous to say I'm going to miss them (because how can I miss what I never experienced)... so in some ways I feel unaffected. Which then makes me feel bad about feeling unaffected.

I'm pretty sure I'm the only grandkid that they've never met. Granted, my mom is one of 14 and my dad is like one of 8, so there are plenty of grandkids around there, but still. I don't have any recollection of having spoken to my grandfather, but grandma always wanted to talk to me whenever she and mom were on the phone. Though hard of hearing at her age, she still knew enough English to speak to me. Whenever we did talk, it was basically the same thing. Asking how school was. Telling me she wished my family could come to the Philippines so she could see me. Telling me that she prays for me and that her dream for me was to become a missionary doctor. I know she meant well, but to be honest, it got kind of tiring after awhile. My mom understood though, whenever I'd balk at having to get on the phone... she knew what grandma was like. Mom loved grandma, but I'm pretty sure I remember that she called her bossy. I'm sure it was in the well-intentioned and loving way though.

Anyways - my parents have fortunately been able to go back home three times in the past 6 years or so. I think it helped to lessen the blow that they got to spend more time together after spending so long apart previously (it was at least 20 years from when they first left). Plus when mom went back last year, grandma told her to not worry about coming back if she passed away. But still, mom is preparing to leave on Friday and will be gone a week. And I'm glad she'll get to say goodbye this time, unlike when grandpa passed.

As for me, I guess writing my thoughts out helps. Without anyone to really talk to lately (at least in a way that's been meaningful for me, like with Diana or Jo), I've just been keeping everything inside - big and small, relevant or otherwise. I may feel incoherent and uncertain, but I think the process of writing this entry has helped me say to goodbye in my own way.

Rest in peace, grandma. I know I may not fulfill your dreams for me, but I hope someday I make you proud.

It's Cool, Man...

[I'm stealing this format from a friend and her "Perfectly Acceptable Ashley" series of blogs.]

It's cool...

...to loudly bump some new rap music that I'm into while leaving work and not caring what the smokers outside or other passersby think. Or shoot, I'll even be in the grocery store with my headphones in grooving down the aisles to the new Lupe Fiasco (specifically "Letting Go")... this takes me back to when Outkast's "Hey Ya" first came out and I was driving around in my truck with the windows down, trying to be all "bad ass".

...to get a laugh from a voicemail I got from a gay guy I know who seemed to have taken an interest in me for some reason, even though I clarified that I don't swing that way but still tried being a nice guy for the most part. But because I apparently offended him (not on purpose), I was dismissed with the following gem of a quote: "...the rice cooker [insert dramatic pause] is off." WTF... I didn't know I landed in some reality dating show. Hahaha...

...to provide a link to an author's blog because his experience is something I completely relate to as a former heavy kid who still has a hard time letting go of that mindset sometimes. But as he says, "It’s true we impress people with our supposed perfections, but we connect with each other in our flaws." That Donald Miller is a cool guy. http://donmilleris.com/2011/08/26/learning-to-love-your-flaws/ 

...to still be daydreaming about moving out to Chicago someday and thinking about ways to make it happen. I always thought I'd settle in San Diego, but that was before this travelphobe got a taste of life in another city and found it more vibrant and beautiful than he expected. Granted, it's only been one city, and I could just be in the "honeymoon" phase still, but my eyes have been awakened at least to the idea that SD doesn't have to be the only setting for my story. I mean, even my parents flew across an ocean and settled far away from their home. We'll see what the next chapter(s) bring.

Conquered

Ever heard of Mt. Woodson?

Because I hadn't... then again, I'm a native San Diegan who grew up in a conservative bubble whose parents are scared to let him ride a bike. (But I digress.)

It's off of Lake Poway, and is a nice strenuous hike where if you make it to the top, you are rewarded with the "potato chip". Which is a piece of rock shaped like a Pringles-chip, hanging off another rock. It's not like a cliff exactly, but it is a bit of a drop if you fall off the chip.

So here is what we set out to accomplish on Saturday morning:

Here is the before picture - suns out, guns out, hah.

A view of Lake Poway at the beginning of our journey...

The sun was out in full force, and we were hiking into it, and this being a hike up a mountain, the incline + heat made for a tiring sweaty journey. True to my long distance runs, the first part always sucks the most, and then in the middle, my mind starts going "let's do this" and wants to get it done. But the newbies I was with needed a little more time to rest and breathe, and to take pictures. Like with this rock formation:

I shall call it "Butt Rock".

Anyways, it sucked because as we climbed higher, we kept expecting to see it, only to be thwarted by another sign saying it was 1.1 miles away. But we made it! Seeing the chip in person, it was smaller than expected. But still a chore to get up on. Been wanting to go rock climbing, so I got to do a little of that so that I could take pictures like this:

I'm a wee-little man.

You can see that the chip juts off another rock, but while it may look like it from that picture, that bigger rock isn't directly underneath the chip. You look down and see a drop. Not as scary as the Skydeck from the Sears Tower, but still.

Rawk.

Anyways, we conquered it. It took us 5 hours to hike up and back, so just as long as a marathon run. My friend Suzy (center) did her first "plank" shot on that chip, so when I go back again (because I most likely will sometime in the near future), I'll have to copy. (Sidenote: when did I become somewhat outdoorsy endurance man? It's cool and strange at the same time.)

Thoughts from 30,000 Feet

(written from the plane)


Monday night, no idea what time it is exactly or over what state we're flying over, but I think we have about 2 hours left to go... which gives me time to recap the last two days, which were pretty mellow.

Day 6 - Sunday

I planned on spending the day alone and tending to my own adventures again. I even did my research and found an evening church service to check out that appealed to my Flood/Mosaic sensibilities. But per their wishes, I ended up joining the family for an AM service at a church that's (by my accounts) 50% larger than SD's The Rock (which is plenty huge as it is) - and I'm not a fan of mega-churches. Turns out they had a special service interviewing Blake Mycoskie - the founder of the shoe company TOMS.

I knew the gist of TOMS - that for every pair of shoes purchased, the company provides a new pair of shoes to a child in need in a third-world country. But it was interesting to hear Blake's story about what motivated him to do this, how it felt to personally place the shoes on a child's feet, and see how passionate he was about providing this basic need and the impact it would have on a child's life. If you're not familiar with them, you can read all about the company on their site: www.toms.com 

With the shoe aspect thriving (they've given out their 1 millionth pair), they had recently branched out to sunglasses, where the same One for One concept would apply. For every piece of eyewear purchased, they would give the gift of sight to someone in need (whether via glasses or a type of surgery). As we were exiting the sanctuary, my cheap pair of sunglasses we bought for the trip broke. And since TOMS products were available in the church lobby, my mom joked that maybe this was a sign from God, haha. And (to my delight) she offered to buy me a pair. 

Later on in the afternoon, we walked around the Lincoln Park Zoo, which is a nice free zoo but does not compare to the San Diego Zoo. (Point for SD.)

After the zoo, I convinced the group to stop by this well-reviewed cupcake place nearby, Molly's Cupcakes. I love the idea of this place. You have your standard specialty cupcakes on display, but you could also design your own (cake + frosting + toppings). The Yelpers were right, they were really good, much better than Sprinkles for sure. As I exited, I noticed this sign in their window and thought it was awesome.

Day 7 - Monday: The Return 

As for today, I ventured back downtown by myself one last time. I wanted to visit Wicker Park and sitting in a coffee shop with my book and laptop in tow, but that didn't happen. I did check out the Museum of Contemporary Photography, picked up some trinkets for a few people, and then ended up buying TOMS shoes for myself. So comfortable. 

And that's about it for this trip. It was great to experience the life of another city for a week. I've been a travel-phobe, so this was a nice step out of my comfort zone. It's definitely planted the questions of "do I want to stay in San Diego?" and "where else do I wanna check out?" I've got NYC in October, and who know what the next traveling adventures may be. London? The Philippines? Greece? Peru? To be continued...

Live.

Apparently this went around the interwebs awhile back, but it's new to me.

Chicago in Instagrams - Days 4 and 5

Day 4 
We got off to a late start, which allowed me to sleep in and catch up on True Blood... it's my vacation and I can do what I want! But after lunch, I finally got my wish granted and was allowed to take off on my own.

The family made their way to the planetarium (I still took a pic), and I split off and got on my very first city bus ride. First item on my list? Find authentic Chicago-style pizza! From my research and recommendation, I made my way to Geno's East, which was featured on "Man vs. Food", and ordered a few Jamison and Coke's to go with my Chicago-style pepperoni...

And I've decided: I'm not a Chicago-style / deep-dish pizza fan. It was good (thick and buttery), but I miss the thin NY / crispy crusts.

With that decided, I just took my time walking around downtown. I checked out the Chicago Water Tower, that survived the great Chicago fire...

I came across the Chicago Tribune building with it's statue of Nathan Hale...

On my wanderings, I came across my family again at the Marilyn Monroe statue. Apparently between days 4 and 5, this statue got vandalized... a tattoo on one of her legs. I wasn't able to go back to get an "after" shot though.

Did some more walking inside the shops of the Magnificent Mile, ate dinner, and then went up to the Hancock Observatory. This is the building that is similar to the Sears/Willis Tower (tall, two antennas, has a sky deck). Their "museum"/deck isn't as cool as the Sears Tower's, but we got to take in the Chicago skyline at night this time. Here it is from the 94th floor...

Day 5
Today I got up to an early start, got dropped off at the subway station by my cousin's house, and made my way back downtown.

Since it was still early, I found myself in the Theatre District - which was beautiful! Here's a shot of the Chicago Theatre.

Makes me so excited to get to Broadway!

I spent a few hours walking inside the Art Institute of Chicago, with all it's paintings, sculptures and miscellaneous pieces that tend to go right over my head. There were beautiful paintings by the likes of Van Gogh, and then you had this:

A pile of candy where they tell you to take a piece and enjoy.

I was skittish at first, but then the audio tour guide explained it all quite well. The artist is depicting his partner by using 175 lbs of candy (his body weight). And the partner has AIDS. Just as the pile slowly gets smaller, so too does the partner's body weight decreases as the disease progresses. (The story is a lot more eloquent via the audiotape. Not so much coming from me, and at midnight.)

Anyways, here's a piece that's a mirror with the figure of an art student, so that the viewer can become part of the piece... as so...

Afterwards I made my way to the United Center, home of the Chicago Bulls. I've never been a huge basketball fan, but I was watching back in the days of Michael Jordan, especially in the team's second three-peat. So getting a shot of his statue was high on my Chicago list.

Then I raced over to see the Blue Man Group, which was a really cool production in the vein of Stomp, but had more audience participation and was pretty funny. I had no pictures though, as I turned my phone off during this part of the day to save battery life. Though while walking around afterwards, I did walk by a pub that had this sign outside.

And to that, I say "CHEERS!"

Chicago in Instagrams - Day 3

The historic Wrigley Field, home of the Cubs! I'm not a Cubs fan (nor am I a hater), but it was cool to check out a game in an old school ballpark. Such a different feel than the modern era Petco Park.

Even the scoreboard is still old-school with people inside changing the tiles.

Then we went to the Sears Tower finally! We traveled up to the Skydeck on the 103rd floor in an elevator that shoots us up in about one minute. Now if only the Tower of Terror dropped us from such heights... anyway, here's a view of the skyline from way up, with Lake Michigan in the background. Such a HUGE lake it doesn't seem like a lake at all.

The Skydeck recently installed these glass decks that jut out four feet from the side of the building, so if you look down, you see 1000+ feet to the street below you. When I first approached the box, let's just say some... things jumped back inside of my body, as tends to happen when I even look down from a bridge because I hate heights! And then I manned up and stepped onto the glass... then sat down and smiled nervously for the picture to be taken.

Then we saw there was another deck (there were 4) where they took the picture for you, and I did what other families were doing... I jumped up! Though I jumped probably a tad too early, my feet definitely did leave the ground; I was probably just landing when this shot was taken. I tried to get my little 9 year old cousin (well, great-cousin?) to join me, but he was too scared to step on the deck, haha. 

We set out walking a bit and we came across the Art Institute of Chicago. Seriously, the museums here look AMAZING. Like what you imagine a museum should look like from the outside, complete with lions adorning both sides of the entrance. We didn't go inside, but I hope to before the trip is over. 

The famous Cloud Gate, aka "The Bean", in Millennium Park with reflections of the people and the buildings showing quite nicely.

Me and the parentals

The whole group's reflection as seen on the side of The Bean

And Buckingham Fountain at dusk... reminds me of the fountain from the Friends opening credits, but much larger and nicer. 

Chicago in Instagrams - Days 1 and 2

"She's a brick... HOUSE." First observation in Chicago? Lots of brick houses... maybe there was an angry wolf who went around huffing and puffing.

The Sears Tower... now called Willis Tower. But that's like how SD's Qualcomm Stadium is still Jack Murphy to a great deal of us locals. (Of course, there's no comparison to that dilapidated stadium to this wondrous architecture that we'll be going up on Day 3...

The Field Museum... right across from Soldier Field (football stadium)... looks so incredible from the outside and I could've spent more than an entire day inside... it is home to...

SUE! This is Sue. The most complete T-Rex anywhere in exhibit. My first time seeing a dinosaur fossil, I expected her to be bigger actually, but still amazing nonetheless.

This is one of the side entrances to the Shedd Aquarium... which blows SD's Birch Aquarium out of the water. It even has an indoor dolphin show, so it has shades of Sea World (though Sea World is better). Still a great place to check out. 

Outside of the Shedd Aquarium, we took pics with the Chicago Skyline... I needed to grab one with myself using the Instragam, but my cousin's husband with his nice Canon and accessories took a lot more. I'll post those somewhere if he can get those to us.

Love the Chicago skyline! SD's does not compare. That's the Sears Tower on the left. Seeing such a grand skyline has me excited for New York in two months! 

In the evening, we walked down Navy Pier, which was kinda Belmont Park-ish, but much nicer and with more to do. And we booked an architecture boat cruise, which took us down the Chicago River. The river goes through the city and the tour guide gave us all this cool info on the history of the city and the different buildings. 

Cool buildings!

Another cool building! Props to Chris for telling me this was a Trump creation... and MUCH better than that uninspired gold building in Vegas.