Fall is in the Air

Autumn has arrived in Chicago. I was fascinated by the colors of the leaves as I walked around Loyola Park in Rogers Park today with my practicum group. I found my mind wandering as Susan was describing the area and all that we needed to know. I guess I should back up and explain that practicum group is part of the Chicago Semester program. Everyone is split into small groups and have a neighborhood that they go visit a few times during the semester and then do a presentation on at the end. Today was our first official visit with our fearless leader, Susan. I really wasn’t sure what to think of going to such an unfamiliar neighborhood, but I was curious at the same time. It surprised me how relaxed I became just riding around in the van or walking out by the lake and hearing about the area. I think I’ve been under more stress than I even realized. The lake at Loyola Park was just so beautiful and so untouched that you couldn’t help but appreciate it.Better yet was the fact that I didn’t have to go back to work this afternoon because the official office move is tomorrow. Monday will come soon enough, and I will be unpacking boxes at our new office in the Merchandise Mart. :)

Nothing too out of the ordinary happened this week. Amy had a spaghetti dinner on Tuesday night for several of our friends. I had a couple girls come over for a movie night, so she expanded that to dinner and movie night. After that Marianne and I went to a bar called Joe’s for quarter beer night, which obviously caters to college students on that night! I met a few people who do promotions for the bar as well as other bars and clubs, so it was great talking to them more and learning more about the marketing/events line of work. We were slightly disappointed because we missed the LeAnn Rimes concert that had been there that night; she must have performed rather early because we weren’t there late by any means. At least we can say we were there the same night she was and that we saw the VIP area where she would have been at!

Wednesday and Thursday were very much typical days for me. Class and work on Wednesday and internship work on Thursday. Actually we did a lot of packing on Thursday and not much “normal” work. I have a nice series of tiny cuts on my hands from making boxes, packing them, and then taping them shut. We did see an interesting event on Thursday night though. We went to Redmoon Theater to see a play, and I don’t even know how to describe it. It had special effects, actors who didn’t speak, one actor who told the entire story, and puppets that mimicked the actors. Have I confused you entirely yet? Well, it confused me. It had to do with genetics and being careful what you wished for. I wasn’t a huge fan of it, but oddly enough, it still intrigued me. It probably isn’t anything I would go to on my own.

I’m so excited for a weekend to relax! I’m even more excited to be getting away next weekend to Indianapolis to see my family!! I’ll live until then and have a great time I’m sure. I’ll probably go to some of my normal weekend hangouts with the usual people up in Wrigleyville at some point. I think Amy and I are going to do some cooking at the apartment this weekend since we both have food in the tiny refrigerator. One thing that we have decided is that we are going to go get cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory tonight as our little treat. I’ve been told they have the pumpkin cheesecake is out as a seasonal thing, and I don’t want to miss it. We also might do some shopping this weekend just because we can. Oh, and when I say shopping, I mean mostly window shopping since we’re broke college students! :)