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.