April

WOW, what a month! Still trying to absorb all the experiences and catch up on sleep. I can't believe the month started with FRC Duffy's, Marcus' goodbye party, Coast and a Cubs game. It feels like those things happened ages ago. After much discussion we finally bit the bullet and went to Duffy's for their $20 all you can drink / all you can eat special. Given my low expectations for the night it was surprisingly fun - maybe a little too much fun! The following night was Coast which is always a great crowd and a sake-fueled shit show. Michael may have video of me starting a dance party in the middle of the street around midnight - good times. The next weekend was our (now annual) NYC trip with me, Jake, Michael and Marcus. It's sad to see Marcus leave Chicago but we definitely showed him a good time in his first weekend in NYC - I'm really glad we got to spend it with him. Between hanging out with the three bulls and my mom at dive bars in Brooklyn, a party in Yanni's hotel room and craziness around Nolita with Patrick it was quite the weekend. And even Greek Easter was a smashing success! I was very happy that my mom agreed to go after all the drama this year. She hasn't been on speaking terms with my sister for months so hopefully this was a step forward toward mending their relationship and helping my mom accept my sister's relationship with Yanni. A delicate process indeed.

So that was the slower half of the month.

3 days after getting back from NYC, it was time to leave for Coachella. (Jake: We went to Coachella bitches!) In retrospect I was certainly underestimating the awesomeness of this trip in the weeks leading up to it. But when I got on the blue line to head to o'hare I met a guy who was also going and my energy level went through the roof. By the time I got on the plane I was downright giddy. And that feeling still hasn't faded! Hanging out with Kyle in LA was a blast on Thursday night, the drive to Indio was beautiful on Friday morning and arriving at the festival in 106 degree heat was out of this world. All of a sudden it is the middle of summer and music festival season - life is good. The festival itself was perfect in many ways, a great mix of energy and relaxation, natural and man made beauty. And the music... if the bands I had to miss were headlining a festival I would definitely go to that festival! Didn't get the chance to see: Black Keys, Explosions in the Sky, Bon Iver, Kaskade, Feist, Florence and the Machine, Calvin Harris, AVICII and DJ Shadow. Jeez! The trip home was fun too, we stayed up all night Sunday to catch the early flight out of LAX. We were certainly the happiest/rowdiest bunch on that flight - much to the annoyance of all the business travelers I'm sure. And finally 3 days after Coachella, Abigail came to Chicago for my golden birthday weekend. Saving the best weekend for last! My golden birthday fell on a Friday - of course I had to go all out and that means a trolley ride with 20 of my closest friends. It was my first time on a trolley and it definitely exceeded my expectations - that seems to be the theme of April! As Elizabeth put it, just the challenge of drinking and dancing on a moving trolley is worth it. I really do have incredible friends and I'm very thankful for them. The rest of birthday weekend was quite spectacular as well - thanks to Abigail. Whether it was dancing together at Danny's or listening to Canon in D together on my couch it was really the perfect mix of fun and relaxation. I'm smiling a ton while I reminisce.

And now its May. A few days to catch up on life and then time for more adventures!