Chicago: Day 5-7.1

Dear Diary,

I'm currently sitting here at CityGrounds coffee shop enjoying a hot cuppa Mocha. It was raining today, so the temperature's freezing cold. I did some laundry this morning (my first attempt at handwashing my clothes since I got here). Unfortunately, the air is damp, so I'm praying hope that they'll dry by tonight.

A wet Chicago morning....

Freshly washed laundry :)

The past few days have been good. Steph and Cheng have been back at work since Tues morning. I woke up early on most days to have breakfast with him.

On the first day that Steph went to work, I occupied myself at home and ran some errands. I called Sr Emma in the morning and headed down to the Cenacle Prayer and Retreat Centre thereafter to make payment of my deposit. It was a nice cool walk from N. Mohawk Street, down N. Cleveland Ave to W. Fullerton Parkway. Thereafter, I decided to walk back via Lincoln Ave, just to familiarise myself with my surroundings. 

Back at the apartment, I finished one of my reflection articles and got down to some household chores. My main target was the black-white tiled kitchen floor. It had been really grimy to walk on and I just could not resist giving it a good clean. It took me five wipes all in all to get it grime free and squeaky (but not so sparkling) clean. I gave the rest of the wooden floors of the apartment a good wipe about twice or thrice over. Unfortunately, what I realised was that it made no difference after awhile due to the windiness of the city. A pair of bedroom slippers might be a better investment instead.

Steph soon returned. I was pretty shocked that he was back so early! The good thing about billing by the hour is that he gets off work by 4 p.m. since he's in the office by 7.30 a.m. We had dinner - warmed-up left overs from the past few days (i.e. the pizza and black bean rice with beef). It felt good having hot food in my tummy. 

We explored W. Armitage Ave thereafter (a quaint shopping belt with lots of boutiques and surprisingly upmarket shops. Apparently, Steph had never explored this side of Armitage before:P) We also headed to the beach! :) 

On our way to the beach.
The view of the city from Lincoln Park. 

The beach was just a twenty minutes walk away from the apartment. It's wonderful heading there during summer because even though it was already 7.30 p.m., the sun was only just beginning to set!

Attempts at self-portraits. I love iPhone! :)

The feel of the sand and the sea washing against our feet was extremely therapeutic... especially after a long day at work. It felt wonderful just immersing ourselves in the sound of the lapping waves, the feel of the cold water surrounding our feet and the wind ruffling our hair. The feeling was just AWESOME.

I love the movement of the waves.

We removed our shoes and walked along the soft sand.
It was extremely therapeutic...

Steph taking a bold "plunge" into the "deep". 

That was pretty much the end of our fifth day. We popped by the Lincoln Ave Supermarket after that to grab some groceries. We got Cheetos, Milano cookies and Ocean Spray Cranberry (Yay!). We wanted to duplicate the set of housekeys too, but operating hours had already ended. So I headed down to the Supermarket again the next day to grab some groceries and duplicate the keys. Cheng had requested for some fruits, so I grabbed a bag of apples and some strawberries. I also got a box of Eggo waffles! (They're really yummy - all you need to do is pop them into the toaster and voila!) Quick, hot and easy.

Stock check of the fridge!

Groceries that we got over the past few days.

After placing the groceries at home, I headed to CityGrounds to work on my final article for my reflection. Steph soon called to say that he was on his way home. We chatted for awhile, until I had to chase him off so that I could clean my article up. That evening, we had Shin Ramyun Black for dinner. (I made a pot for myself earlier today too for lunch! Had a craving for something hot and soupy in my belly. Brrrrrr.)

A hot steaming bowl of noodles
while watching Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares ;)

YUM!

Being the only free one around, I feel obliged to help keep the house clean and prepare meals where necessary to facilitate our living experience. So I have decided to cook dinner tonight. (Not without some instigation from Mer and teasing from Steph.) 

Let's see how that goes! ;)

p.s. I need to shop for some clothes. Was sorting out my wardrobe today when I realised I don't really have a lot of clothes that I wanna wear out, especially in this chilly weather. I need to do some shopping! Plus, hand-done laundry doesn't seem like a good idea in this rainy weather.

p.p.s There's adoration today from 2pm-8pm at St Clement's Church. Am thinking of dropping by if there is time. We'll see...

Chicago: Day 3-4

After Steph's dance rehearsal, he came back and said that one of his dance mates, Amita, was having a gathering at her place and she invited him and I along. Amita's place was absolutely gorgeous. She directed us up to the rooftop patio, where there was BBQ grill going on (Tendoori Chicken was the highlight of the evening:) The rest of his dancemates were already there, sitting in a circle near the grill. There was Ed, Amita's partner, Mary, Susan and her sister, Grace, and one other guy. Steph and I helped ourselves to the food. He had gotten a pack of beer for them, but Amita offered a glass of Riesling and I was immediately sold. 

The view from the rooftop of her home is lovely. In fact, it was amazing. You could see the skyline of Chicago. Steph and I were keen on having a place like that of our own, one day (Daddy God - this is something only you can do!)

View from the rooftop patio :) awwww.

Amita's living room :)

While we were upstairs admiring the view, some of the girls went downstairs to dress Susan up in Amita's track suit and a wig. 

The girls dressing Susan up ;) 

Presenting sexy momma...!

After dinner, we headed home. It was a really good evening and we enjoyed ourselves at Amita's. Susan also gave us some really good ideas for our stay in San Francisco. She suggested taking a drive up to nearby Nappa Valley or Sonoma for a wine trip *wheee!* :) 

The next day was Monday, which was Memorial Day (a public holiday). We decided to have brunch at home. That meant finishing some of the food that we had left over in the fridge - such as the chicken briyani from Saturday. Steph wanted to get some polo shirts for the trip to St Louis this weekend so we headed down to Woodfield, a large mall located in the suburbs. It has quite a variety of shops, including three major departmental stores, such as Macy, JC Penny and Nordstrom. Steph and I walked into one particular shop which had a large wooden chess set. We ended up playing chess there for a good fifteen to twenty minutes! (in which I lost after an intense battle)  I wanted to get some summer clothes too, but most of the sizes were too big for me.  

A random shot from Steph :P

After walking around for a bit, we got hungry. Craving for some japanese food, we took a drive out to a nearby eatery, the Sushi Station, where Steph usually gets his sushi fix:)

I like how the sushi train moves in a covered conveyor belt :)
There's a little door for diners to open and get what they want from the belt! 

The variety of sushi here is amazing! :0

Gigantic portions of Spider Roll

They even have chinese siu mai and pot stickers ("guo tie"/ gyozas)!

After dinner, we headed back to the mall to complete our shopping. As it was a public holiday, most of the shops were closing by 7.30 pm. Thankfully, Steph managed to get two polo tees and a shirt from J.Crew. Thereafter, we headed back to the apartment, grabbed our laptops and headed over to the Starbucks at Barnes&Nobles to do our work. I wanted to do my reflections but ended up doing research on available accommodation at Sonoma County instead ;P It was a toss between Best Western Plus Sonoma Valley Inn and Camellia Inn.

That was pretty much the end of our fourth day :)

Chicago: Day 1-3

Dear Diary,

Hello! I'm now in Chicago :) Am currently at Steph's place while he's at dance class. It's a Sunday here and so far things have been ok.

I arrived here on a Friday morning. Immigration took about an hour to clear as there were many people. Ended up chatting with a Korean girl who was there to take the CPA. She looked so young that I thought she was a student! Apparently, she's been working for 2.5 years now :P

We cleared customs together. Then I went to meet Steph. He was waiting for me at the lobby. I felt reassured and happy seeing him again :) We walked to the carpark and we drove down to his place. He's currently staying at 2000 N Mohawk St in a lovely apartment which he shares with a flatmate, Cheng Xu. The apartment's cosy and it rests above a shop. 

We went to grab some hotdogs after that for lunch, before I took a nap while he worked from home. It felt good just being together. We also took a little scenic walk around the neighbourhood before driving out to grab some pizzas for dinner and groceries (I found my Special K cereal! yipee! We also got a bottle of Riesling, mozarella cheese and brie, Eggo waffles and maple syrup :)

By the time we got back, it was late and dark. We had some pizzas and settled down to watch a movie, but I was too tired and fell asleep on the couch.

The next day, Steph made us some waffles and eggs for breakfast! :) So we had a really yummy homecooked meal.

Chef Steph :)

Chocolate chip waffles with scrambled eggs.

As my body was still adjusting, I was stuffed full! We took a drive to the city after that. Steph had dance practice from about 1 - 3 pm. He accompanied me at a nearby Starbucks until it was time for him to go. I spent the next 2 hours surfing the net and writing my article. It's amazing how convenient social media is! :) We grabbed some chicken bryani after that for lunch. But I was really stuffed so I couldn't eat much. As a result, Steph ate most of it (I didn't realise how much he loved rice until now). After lunch, we decided to take a walk to the beach. We walked past Armitage, towards the boardwalk (Lincoln Zoo Park) until we reached the beach. It was chilly due to the strong wind. But the place was lovely. I really enjoyed the walk. The vastness of the place just felt so free. 

I can understand now why Steph loves it here. It's his home. It has been for the past 10 years and I don't think he wants to uproot himself and move again. He's hoping to get the citizenship here so he can visit Singapore.

After the walk, we headed home. Steph suggested having a good meal for dinner so we went to 90 Miles, this Cuban place that his dance team had recommended. He had gone there previously with the team and fell in love with the food there so he wanted to take me there to try it:)

While waiting for our seats.

90 Miles Cuban Cafe, Roscoe Village, Clybourn

The ambience there was really lively and nice. We had to wait 30 minutes though for our seats as the place was packed full of people! (It was the Memorial Weekend). 

A photo of our "first date"

The food was good :) I liked the portobello mushroom appetizer which had minced beef and cheese stuffed in it. Interestingly, the mains were served with white rice and a bowl of black beans. As I was really sleepy, I needed a caffeine injection. The Cafe Cubano - a single shot sweetened espresso -  was unregrettably an excellent choice. 

"I wanna be Cuban!"

Our mains.
Rice with black bean sauce (yum!),
beef and plantains (fried bananas) 

Dessert:
Absolutely scrumptious bread pudding with vanilla ice-cream

After dinner, we were absolutely stuffed full! We had to pack the mains as I could not finish mine. We headed home to catch the remainder of our movie (on Netflix). This time round, Steph fell asleep on the couch as he was bushed.

Today, being Sunday, I was up early before sunrise. By the time I was done brushing my teeth etc, the sun was up and the weather was lovely. I could hear the birds chirping and the sound of cars and cyclists below. It was only 6 am but it felt like 7 am. I decided to spend some quiet time by the windowsill. Cheng has a lovely nook in the living room, covered with cushions and pillows on the floor. It was the perfect spot :) Steph soon came out of the room after awhile, looking blurry eyed as he had just woken up. We decided to make it for 11.15 am mass. I called mum on google chat to let her know I was fine. Mass at St Clement's was wonderful :) Steph decided to dress up so he was looking really fine and smart in his shirt, jacket and jeans.

My man looking smart and dandy in his Sunday's best ;)

The beautiful, breathtaking interior of St Clement's Church

This was in fact the first time I was attending Sunday mass in a really long while. I had not gone since the beginning of this year, so it was significant for me that the first Sunday mass I was attending was (1) a Pentecost Sunday mass, (2) in a gorgeous, historically architectured church (3) surrounded with a choir that sounded like angels and (4) with Steph at my side. The best part was (5) they used unleavened bread for the Eucharist (and not thin wafers), which was given also in 2 species to the congregation - wine and bread.

One of the interesting things that Father mentioned in his sermon was the tradition in Rome of the fire department emptying sacks of rose petals from the top of the Pantheon in celebration of Pentecost. In his sermon, he left us thinking about two questions: Why were the gifts given in differing measures to each one? and How do we receive (or use) the gifts? According to St Catherine of Sienna in her dialogue with God, we were each given differint measures of gifts so that we can learn to depend on each other. As for how do we receive or use the gifts, Father says that we must often reflect or recall. He gave the example of how sometimes, after a meeting, it struck him that he should have said certain things which he missed out on. The Spirit speaks to us sometimes when we recollect. So we need time to recall things. We also learn through active listening.

At the end of the mass, an announcement was made for parties who were interested in attending the art and architecture tour to gather by the altar at the end of the mass. Steph and I were keen, but he was starving too, so we decided to give it a miss and attend the next one. We wanted to go for brunch together, but when we returned home, I saw a stranger in the house! It was Cheng's friend - Tao Yue. They were thinking of going to a northern chinese restaurant for lunch, called Pot Sticker House.

We had lunch with them - and I must say, the food was good! It was absolutely delicious, although oily. We had dough fritters with salty beancurd soup, mapo tofu, stir fried glass noodles, "lamb scorpion" (i.e. cumin-flavored lamb with bone), cold sliced beef tendons in hot and spicy sauce, fried smelt fish and mung bean flour roll with egg. I was definitely stuffed full! 

Given the crazily hot weather, Steph and I were both heavy with sleep. Unfortunately for him, he's got dance rehearsal (hehehe) from 3.30 pm onwards. I on the other hand am contemplating a nap.

The past two days have been good so far, and today being the third day, has definitely been a blessing for me. Just wondering what the next 91 days will be like... and what will they hold? Can't wait to find out... gradually.