windy city birthday brunch

birthday fun continued bright and early after a late night with ben folds...

ooo amtrak station... you're so pretty

ooo panoramic feature on my new camera... you're really pretty too

oh sweet, sweet reunions.

my chicago adventure started off by me getting lost. fresh off the amtrak platform, i grabbed a jamba juice and hailed a taxi. i gave the cabbie the intersection and made awkward conversation until i realized he was talking to his blue-tooth, and not to me. like a tourist, i tipped him way too much, and quickly jumped out and started walking. i called my long lost brian to get final directions to his wicker park abode a couple blocks away. that was followed by a presumptuous phone call 15 minutes later...

b: you're lost aren't you?

e: no, i totally got this. i'll be right there

b: you should have been here 10 minutes ago

e: ummmm... i'm standing in front of a 7/11 and a coffee shop

b: oh my god, stay where you are, i'm coming to get you

so there i stood, on the corner of wherethefuckami street and imgonnagetmugged avenue like a lost little kid whose parents drove off and forgot her at the gas station. and then the busy chicago streets parted like the red sea and there he was... i ran across the street (nearly getting hit by the cab that brought me there) into his arms, dramatically as possible. we both had a good laugh and started on our way to the most delicious local brunch spot in his neighborhood.

b: wait, you've been in kansas for the last 2 years?

e: wait, you're going be a doctor next year?

we spent the next couple hours filling each other in on the last 3 years and reminiscing about our shenanigans at marquette. it was a seamless transition, as if no time had passed. we left, promising we wouldn't let another 3 years pass till we saw each other again.

so i hailed another cab, this time like a pro knowing full well that the driver is probably not talking to me, what it means when the light on top is on and how much to tip. i arrived on the other side of town for a long overdue visit on megan & sundeep's turf. they've been to milwaukee countess times in the last couple years and i owed them a visit where they had home field advantage. they greeted me with presents, cupcakes, champagne and icelandic tunes. then they took me out of my comfort zone and into a cuban restaurant for dinner. one of my new years resolutions was to get out of my comfort zone on a weekly basis (don't ask me to list the other ones, cause i told you i wouldn't remember them all) so what better way to do that than trying out a genre of cuisine that i've never considered before, with friends that i trust (trust to take me to a cafe if i didn't like it...)

pretending to be grown-ups while pickpocketing his ipod

nothing new.

this beauty has an "always order dessert" philosophy

i like it. and her.

kitty was more interested in the camera string than the

documentary we watched on underground urban street artists

have i mentioned i love brunch?

megan took me to this marvelous place that was half cafe, half natural foods store. there was stuffed french toast, tea light candles, fresh flowers and water in old wine bottles. there was also plenty of baby gawking and dreaming of what we're going to be like in 10 years. i've spent a good amount of time trying to convince these two to move to milwaukee. going as far as sending them rankings of the top 5 private catholic high schools in the county to put their unborn children in. (not kidding) but after the weekend, i would understand if they wanted to stay there for a little longer. but still reiterated that it would be best if they lived within a 20 mile radius... of me.