So What Did You Do This Weekend...?

Water Cooler
Originally uploaded by Cosmic Kitty.

It's late Sunday night and I'm, just returning home. What a weekend!. It started yesterday morning at the crack of dawn. I joined a friend (who happens to be a colleague of ' Certain Someone' and recruited me for her corporate team) at Grant Part to take part in a charity initiative called Chicago Cares. Several major corporations underwrite and encouraged their employees to sign up for a day of "projects" in and around Chicago. Our teams two buses headed to the Englewood area on Chicagos South Side to Miles Davis Academy. We were greeted by the Assistant Principle who told us a little about the school and area. Despite the tragic history of the neighborhood you can still feel the cheerfulness of and hope of little tots of the academy. We were given our assignments and went to paint the modular classrooms and bathrooms Blue Bell Blue and Optimistic Yellow. It was backbreaking , but enjoyable work. By the end of the day I was had a blue ass, and was covered in blue freckles. Its a shame that the powerful and wealthy city of Chicago's public school system cant afford basic upkeep for its schools.
I met a 'Certain Someone' later all cleaned up. He had spent the day lazily watching the World Cup( Sweden 0/ Trinidad Tobago 0). He took me to his company's event in Navy Pier. I met several of his colleagues,bosses, and their families. We ate, socialized,a capped the evening off with a late nighttime Fire Works cruise along the lake. We stood on deck with his good friend and pregnant wife from Brazil shivering as we watched the Chicago skyline become highlighted with the colorful pyrotechnic. Ahhhhhh! It was magical. I joked that everyone at his company had tons of babies,because so much time is spent ' reuniting' after being sent all over the globe on special projects. After we left the party to meet some friends we ran into a gang of youths street fighting in the 'Posh' Streeterville neighborhood. We had never seen a mob like it, and quickly ran through the scene before gunfire or something erupted. I told him to never crack on my South Side again, and this was his backyard. Several minutes later three police cars, a ambulance, and a huge Paddy Wagon arrived to cart the youths away.
The next day we planned to attend both MidSommer Fest and the Blues Festival. Sometimes the best laid plans fall apart. However we did make it to the MidSommer Fest in Andersonville, in which he was looking forward to it (loving all things Swedish). We worked our ways throughout the stalls sharing dishes. We were expecting more of a Swedish Ethnic Celebration, instead it was more of a alternative event. Nevertheless the food was great, and we managed to get our fix of Swedish Pancakes with ligonberries. Yum! By the time we got back downtown, I was to tired and cold to attend another festival. So we winded down with watching a game and ordering some Thai. That's the beauty of Chicago,you can eat your way around the globe in 5 hours or less. It was one of the best and most enlightening weekends I've had in a while.