Beaches, Boys and....Blackberry?

So, as we all know, Chicago is freezing 9 months out of the year - so Aly and I decided to dip out and head out to Florida to enjoy the three b's: beaches, boys, and...blackberry? So many fun activities, who could say no.

Ok Blackberry - I know - you were probably expecting me to say booze, but that's so 2008 spring break haha. Aly had a Blackberry World conference at the Marriott World Center and I couldn't turn down 90 degree sun, so I booked a flight and joined her to work pool side.

The first day we stayed at The Marriott Springhills Suites. Sarah checked us in - she is probably the peppiest person I've ever met, even at like 6 in the morning. She even drew us a map to show us how to get to our room and called the second we got there to check in on us - definitely going to be my future wedding planner. After settling in we went on a mission to find dinner. We spent the night staring at a neon lit Golden Corral (it was across the street, and I'm assuming pretty classy with a limo parked outside and all) while sitting in a tiki lounge (Bahama Breeze) being serenaded by Bob Marley's twin while sipping on drink after drink. We toasted to our first night in, as well as our recent promotions. Somehow celebrating turned into making my wedding plans (a. i'm not even close to finding the right guy b. wedding plans are definitely better done sober) which included Bob Marley serenading us with Shaggy's Angel while I have my first dance with my future hubby (yeah, poor guy). So we headed back to our rooms to get a good night sleep to wake up in the morning and lounge poolside the rest of the day. At around four we checked into Marriott World Center and took a black town car to Seaworld to ride some roller coasters, admire the flamingos and head to dinner at a luau (do not discount Hawaiian traditions in Orlando - it was quite the experience).

The next day Aly had meetings all day for the conference, so I laid poolside and worked. She had a "party" until around 10 that night so I took my laptop to the lobby bar for a solo dinner and made friends with the bartender, who btw also lived in Chicago for awhile. So I'm not here to judge on techie guys (we were at a techie conference so they were EVERYWHERE) - but one did tell me I was "very dynamic." I don't know how to take that...but that was just the start of it. I did make a few techie friends, but then I turned around and right next to me was this cute, younger (comparatively), tan guy with board shorts, this glow around him and wind blowing through his hair (ok, so that's obviously exaggerated - no wind and no glow). He said hello and we instantly hit it off - I know, me with a techie? ha. Aly came back and talked to some people and Orlando boy took my BBM messenger information (how approps). Aly and I headed up to our room and Orlando boy and I started texting each other. We decided to go for a midnight stroll under the stars. We walked around the waterfalls then made our way to the golf course. We watched the stars - there might have been a stolen kiss or two, then headed back to our respectful hotel rooms. The next day I worked poolside again and Orlando boy came and said hi between meetings. After "work" we met up at the lobby bar for a few drinks and went out for a midnight dip in the pool. These rondevouzs happened every night for the extent of our stay and made for a great Orlando fling (that will stay in Orlando - this girl doesn't do long distance).

So now that I'm done drooling over Orlando Boy, it's time to tell you about Aly and my escapade in Celebration, FL. Celebration, FL is about a 15 minute drive from Orlando. We took a town car (Marriott's version of a taxi - unmarked black cars with no meters. However, don't be fooled - we're positive they make up fare prices). So apparently Celebration is a town that Disney built. It feels like the movie set right off of Stepford Wives. Everything is beautiful and perfect and you'd think that nothing could go wrong here. It's actually kind of eerie. Aly and I had dinner at Celebration Tavern and then got some ice cream. Then we called for our town car, but unfortunately she decided not to answer her phone. We were stranded. There was not a single taxi around and the lady at the Ice Cream parlor said the only way we could call for one was from the nearby hotel. Fortunately we had our trusty Blackberrys and found our confirmation email and called Marriott World for a car. After 30 minutes of walking around, we finally got picked up and made our way home. I'm not going to lie, the whole experience was like the beginning of a scary movie where people down the street suddenly turn into zombies and the heroines are trapped and have to fight for their lives. Aly still thought it was a perfect town, but I'm convinced it has secrets covered up behind closed doors and life there is full of twenty year olds married to fifty year old men and having little babies, with enough controversy to make it on daytime television. Aly was in denial for awhile, but her dreams were shattered when we found out that as perfect as Celebration might be, there was one murder a few years ago and one homeless guy who used to live there (scary right, and we call ourselves Chicagoans ha).

But yeah, long story short (ok that really wasn't that short - but I never asked you to read this!) we had an AMAZING time in Orlando, and now I can't wait for summer in Chicago to remind me why I don't just move to Florida. Till next time.

Cheers to 2011

Hi world,

Can you believe Aly and I have been in Chicago for a year now? I guess it's true - time flies when you're having fun. Since it's the beginning of a new year, I figured I'd quickly rehash the events of 2010.

In 2010 I went through three jobs - two in PR, spending time on fun clients and celebrities like Lauren Conrad and her Milk Mustache campaign (right) , Kelly Ripa and her magic Electrolux touch, and of course, great food groups like Chef Boyardee, Slim Jim and Manwich. My third job, which I hope to stay at for a long time is at Groupon, which I mentioned in my previous post. It looks promising, they trusted me enough to transition me to City Planner for six cities! Aly and Gloria were also promoted to Account Executives and Sheila moved on from brainstorming for Axe to another fun client. Besides big girl jobs, 2010 brought laughter and tears, boy drama to parties and Lollapalooza to weddings. Valentines day was spent with Sheila sipping on fishbowls and meeting navy boys, while the summer was spent at North Ave beach flirting with pretty boys and tossing footballs with Chicago Rush football players. Summer weekends were also spent at neighborhood festivals with live bands and delicious food. I feel like the girls from Sex and the City, minus their fabulous clothes I can't afford (although I do dream about Jimmy Choo's and Manolo Blahniks).

Anyway - Here's to a great 2011. And here's to the ambitious first two days, some of it spent as a professional apartment hunter:

So after a full year in our lovely Lakeview apartment we decided that it might potentially be time for apartment hunting again. After considering the cultured Bucktown and homey Lincoln Park neighborhoods, our hearts stopped and jaws dropped at what we would like to call the wonderland, also known as the South Loop. Envision, if you will, high rises with doormen and soaking tubs. Aly's nickname for us would be the "South Loop snobs," which is totally ironic to our typical low key, down to earth selves. After this decision, or should I say commitment to apartment hunt, I made sure to recruit a few strong men to help us move, bribing them with booze (they have no idea how much these couches and my queen size bed weigh, ha) and enlisted the same old Scott from the previous December to be our professional Realtor/professional apartment hunting leader. Jan 2nd was spent, Starbucks in hand, looking at five different apartments. We did find a liking in two, however let me tell you about the nightmares we did look at first. One apartment was designed with the industrial look in mind, which is cool until you realize that the walls don't quite reach the ceiling leaving very little privacy - although it did say "such a big miracle for a little girl" on the wall - it almost had us sold. Another apartment had just as much privacy - one of the bedrooms didn't even have a door, and to top it off the in-unit laundry was located inside the bedroom next to the closet. My first thought was "morning Aly, don't mind me, just need to toss in my whites." Those two were nixed. The ones that we did like include one on S. Federal and one on Dearborn. The one on South Federal is quite large for Chicago standards and leaves me with a winding hall in my bedroom with two closets leading to the private bathroom. It also has a giant kitchen for Aly to listen to country in while she makes me dinner (I now associate country with food, which I can't decide if it's a good thing b/c of my strong dislike for the music genre). The Dearborn apartment has floor to wall ceilings on the 18th floor - great way to face my fear of heights and a billiards room to make anyone playing pool on ESPN jealous (ok not quite, theirs is probably nicer, but then again my drunken pool skills aren't career worthy).

So after this ambitious apartment hunting day, we decided to give Scott some time off as we headed to a bar to watch the Packers and Eagles games. Our empty stomachs were fed with delicious nachos as we were entertained by the Packers win (I just can't bring myself to be a Bears fan). I'm pretty sure we were the two most hated people at the bar cheering for the other team (well Aly more than me, b/c my team is still the Eagles). After the games we headed home where Aly decided to go back out for Sunday Funday and I relaxed the night away in front of the TV fighting my writer's block in order to document my adventures of 2010. 2011 continues tomorrow when Al and I head back to work and then draft up a pros and cons list of the two apartments we looked at, as well as our current home. At the top of the Lakeview pro list is Horizon Cafe, which is seriously going to be a tough one to replace. I do think they deliver - or maybe that's my hopes getting the best of me....we'll see. Cheers to the year 2011, may it be a good one.

Saturn Chaser and Groupon. Epic.

So, I know I haven't blogged in awhile, ok in like five months, but I just haven't had that blogging ambition.

However, today, an epic day, deserved a shout out.

First, I should catch you up on my life. Since I have last posted, I started a job at Groupon as a Deal Vetter. I work in the Chicago office vetting deals for California and Hawaii. I spend everyday harassing my sales reps (thanks guys for putting up with me and not blocking me on chat!) and analyzing crazy deals from laser fat removal to tea parties for little girls. From surf lessons to my personal favorite: http://www.groupon.com/deals/blewt-productions. So, for the past month, I've been in work heaven, vetting my little heart out in the old abandoned warehouse called 600 West chicago, at my desk in Protocol (yes, my office area is actually named that) sitting next to our fooseball table and panini maker. Life is grand. To celebrate life, I even bought a new pair of "five inch, congratulations you're not a hobo stilletos."

Let me tell you what else happened.

So I like to write about Aly, my roomie and our adventures. Well since I've last posted about us, she has lost her baby - not a real baby - let me explain. However, first I have to tell you, I'm the one who loses everything, who searches frantically for my cell phone, which is most likely sitting in my left hand. So I'm sitting on the train two days before Thanksgiving, when I get a phone call.

"Yunna, I can never make fun of you for losing your phone again."

I never thought I would hear those words come out of Aly's mouth, I almost wanted her to repeat them again.

"What did you do Miss Dolan?"

"I lost my car"

After searching for it for hours on end, the only thing she could do was file a police report and pray to the car Gods, the poor Saturn was gone. So up until today, Aly found herself a new hobby (next to her passion for building doll houses) - being a Saturn chaser. She would hunt the streets, eyes peeled walking to and from work every day. She came close one day, she was convinced a purple Saturn she passed was her car with a new paint job. Those car robbers sure are sneaky. However, her mom calmly explained to her that she was not allowed to try to steal back every Saturn that crossed her path. We were losing hope, and it was becoming more apparent that her Saturn was gone for good, and she would have to become a Buick driver (code named the Grannymobile) - her generous mom was willing to give up her car in an excuse to purchase another one. However, the car God did not plan for a Buick in Aly's life. At 10 o'clock at night, the Chicago police rang up her new iPhone (yes, Aly finally converted- sellout) saying the Saturn was found 5 blocks north of our apartment. We rushed over in a taxi to pick up the poor, lonely Saturn and return it to our home turf. Aly can officially stop being a Saturn chaser. Until next time...

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ...

enough money within her control to move out

and rent a place of her own,

even if she never wants to or needs to...

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ....

something perfect to wear if the employer,

or date of her dreams wants to see her in an hour...

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ..

a youth she's content to leave behind....

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ...

a past juicy enough that she's looking forward to

retelling it in her old age....

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE .....

a set of screwdrivers, a cordless drill, and a black lace bra...

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ....

one friend who always makes her laugh... and one who lets her cry...

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ....

a good piece of furniture not previously owned by anyone else in her family...

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ...

eight matching plates, wine glasses with stems,

and a recipe for a meal,

that will make her guests feel honored...

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ..

a feeling of control over her destiny...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...

how to fall in love without losing herself..

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...

how to quit a job,

break up with a lover,

and confront a friend without;

ruining the friendship...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...

when to try harder... and WHEN TO WALK AWAY...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...

that she can't change the length of her calves,

the width of her hips, or the nature of her parents..

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...

that her childhood may not have been perfect...but it's over...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...

what she would and wouldn't do for love or more...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...

how to live alone... even if she doesn't like it...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW.. .

whom she can trust,

whom she can't,

and why she shouldn't take it personally...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...

where to go...

be it to her best friend's kitchen table..

or a charming Inn in the woods...

when her soul needs soothing...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...

What she can and can't accomplish in a day...

a month...and a year...

One Goal

Stanley Cup Champs, need I say more? I'm so proud to be a Chicagoan and am ecstatic to watch the parade tomorrow! Our boys did us proud!

Yesterday was just a great day for Chicago sports. The Cubs beat the Brewers 9-4 and Derrek Lee (my all-time fav) hit his 300th homer. Marlon Byrd also moved up to number three on my top player list (after Theriot).

This epic night was celebrated in Wrigleyville. Aly and I, ironically were looking forward to a low key night, just watching the game, having a beer and hoping for the best. I brought up Wrigley thinking it'd be nice to watch it close to home, completely not thinking about the potential rioting ahead of us. I met her after work and we took the el straight to Wrigleyville. The bars were already filling up with excited Blackhawks fans. We settled on Barleycorn, it just feels like home there. We were taken to one of the last empty tables and sat right next to a wall with a surprisingly clear projected image of the game.

The hawks game was so intense. The entire time we were at the edge of our seats, heart racing, no option of breathing at all. However, all that tension paid off when Kane got the winning goal during overtime. The packed bar went nuts, and the two guys with serious Napoleon complexes (forgive my judging eyes) standing near us started climbing up on the chairs to shake what their mama gave them. Within five minutes the bar had emptied out and the rioting started. We decided to join the masses, but the rioting, body surfing and fireworks got a little too intense for our sober selves (I feel so bad for anyone who parked their cars on Clark), so we headed home. I was a little sad that we did not toast a winning shot. However, Aly and I had promised ourselves that we were only going to have one drink each and Aly was being responsible for the both of us. She said I would thank her when I was older, and I definitely had to today after watching hungover people try to make it to work.

I love the enthusiam of this city - from the team honoring Lord Stanley by giving the cup its own seat on the flight home, to celebrating the win with happy hour at work, we love our sports.

Welcome

So I've been contemplating what kind of blog I want to create since I started working in the social media space. I've decided to entertain my audience with the adventures of my friends and I as we become big girls, and take on Chicago.

Our escapades began when my roommate Aly and I went apartment hunting back in December with our apartment finder, Scott, Starbucks in hand and her dad in tow. The first few apartments were a nightmare, one of them literally looked like it came from the movie "The Haunting in Connecticut," including its own funeral style fire place. However, with a huge sigh of relief, we found a lovely apartment in the Lakeview area, our lives were set.

Let me tell you a little about my friends and me. Monday through Friday we are slaves to the PR world, but weekends are dedicated to us, and boy do we embrace our weekends. From Aly's boyfriend tumbling down Halstead at 2 in the morning (yes, he really did do sumersaults), to befriending bouncers at bars, our lives are never a bore.

Last night, Aly and I decided to have a roomie date at Red Ivy to watch the Blackhawks take on the the Flyers. The bar was packed as soon as we walked in. As we were about to leave after waiting 30 minutes with no drink, the bouncer tried to keep us by bribing us with VIP. After we agreed, a cocktail waitress ushered us to a ghetto VIP room that we had to go through an alley way outside to enter. The bar only took cash and there was a door above our heads that had a bloody, plastic hand with a pair of handcuffs attached to it. We decided to take our beers back to the front of the bar to watch the game. Bouncers kept walking past us, but one stopped Aly because he was star struck by her resemblance to Amanda Peet (I'm proud to be part of Amanda Peet's entourage). We instantly took a liking to him, as well as another bouncer.They took great care of us, constantly checking on us, calling us their "VIP girls" and even made sure we had a place to eat our delicious plate of chicken tenders. He walked up to a group of guys and just stood there with a scary face, arms crossed and said "move." That simple gesture secured us the edge of the DJ booth, which turned into our makeshift table. One bouncer however, we did not take quite a liking to. He wore a black vest and tried to make us move from our comfy DJ nook. He even tried to tell us to stand as close as we could to his big black friend, then kept checking to see if we did. Overall, we had a great time, despite the sad loss of the Blackhawks (step it up boys, it's home rink now!).

We decided to toast the weekend with a last shot at Bar Louie on the way home. However, our solid night took a nasty turn when our bartender couldn't make a Washington Apple shot to save his life, and decided to yell at us for his misfortune. However, the Jaeger girls tried to mediate the situation baring gifts of hats, and the live band brought us a CD and lighters decorated with nail polish. With our new treasures in hand, and an emptiness due to no Washington Apples and an empty wallet, we headed home.

We woke up this morning ready for the beach, only to find rain tapping down our window. Sad day! So instead, we decided to be productive. We decided to explore Norridge, a suburb nearby. We started out at her friend Nicole's wedding dress fitting. Aly made me proud and did not hyperventilate (my friends do not do well with weddings). After pinning and primping, Nicole's dress was ready to be altered. Aly and I headed to Target. After pushing her around on the cart like a five year old (I'm gonna be a good mom some day) we received the newest addition to our apartment, our vaccuum. We were so excited we all but buckled it in the car when taking it for the ride home. Our new vaccuum and our crock pot is the closest thing to us being domestic. It's great. On our way home we decided to be ambitious and try antiquing. After failing on directions for two, and the third being in a house in a quiet neighborhood, we bowed our heads in failure and decided to go eat. Our rollercoaster of a night last night and ambitious day today brings us to a night of laundry and movies.