i (heart) chicago.

yesterday i was commissioned to take three lovely lady graduates from GWAYO downtown for the 16th Annual Chef's Tasting Party, a fund-raiser for a cerebral palsy organization. the girls i hosted had been invited to attend this event by an extremely wealthy (and generous) woman who gives large sums of money to underprivileged young men and women to attend and complete post-secondary education. i think she invited at least 50 people to the tasting party, and told them each to invite a guest. we heard it through the grapevine that tickets were $100 apiece. now, i don't think everyone invited showed up, but... you do the math. daaaaang.

this party was pretty killer. there were probably 30 different restaurants there, each with a booth... each handing out small samples of one (or two) of their famous dishes. it was sort of like taste of chicago, but fancy and infinitely more delicioso, not to mention cleaner and less (though not MUCH less) claustrophobic. we ate way too much, and barely spent any time at our designated tables.

our rides to and from aforementioned party were both adventures. on the ride there, the girls and i got on what shall henceforth be referred to as free trolley. free trolley traveled down washington, headed toward navy pier. free trolley was in turning lane to turn onto michigan avenue. CTA bus was in non-turning lane next to free trolley, but wanted to be in free trolley's lane. CTA bus tried to speed up to get in free trolley's lane, but there was just too much traffic, and CTA bus was just too big. so, CTA bus decided to turn left anyway, despite not being in a turning lane. this infuriated free trolley driver to the point of pulling up within inches of CTA bus' window, and yelling sarcastic comments at the driver:

"you are a GREAT driver!"

and, later:

"that's a REALLY NICE middle finger you got there!"

free trolley and CTA buses proceeded to have a road battle, wherein the free trolley really needed to be in the right hand lane to make a stop, but the CTA bus would speed up so that free trolley couldn't get in front of it. finally, free trolley was able to get in front of the CTA, and free trolley driver decided to pull in front of CTA bus in such a way that would prevent CTA bus from moving forward until free trolley moved. free trolley driver informed all of us passengers that he was going to stay stopped at this location for a bit to "teach the bus a lesson." after about a minute, you could see everyone on the trolley nervously fidgeting, not because they were impatient about getting to their destinations, but because it was clear that something had snapped in free trolley driver's head, and at this point no one knew what he was capable of. thankfully, this antic was the last (that we knew of).

on the way home, we had a VERY intoxicated woman sitting behind us on the train, who happened to get off at our stop. she was planning on driving home, but sort of agreed to let us drive her to her apartment. so, the girls and i played a humorous game of musical cars that took much longer than it should have, but... it was an adventure, and everyone made it home safely.

today, i went back downtown so that matt harrell and i could have our final hurrah. it is unfortunate that my dear and handsome friend is moving back to omaha. he just seems to fit here... anyway, we went to shedd's aquarium, which was quite enjoyable (mostly because i got to see real live penguins!!). we both stood outside of the aquarium for a moment and surveyed the chicago skyline, remarking how much we love this city. i didn't realize until yesterday that i sort of know downtown chicago now. i can direct people to different landmarks downtown. i can, without (much) fear, use all forms of public transportation. i don't really feel like a tourist anymore. it's a neat feeling. i love being in such a big city and being able to navigate my way around a bit, yet at the same time not really knowing enough to take the magic out of the experience.

it's kind of like God. knowing Him, yet knowing so little of Him. there is always something new, something exciting to learn about who He is and what is in His heart. oh, that i would more!