I joined the gym-sorry Chicago.

April in Chicago,and the weather is just not quite warming up-they even canceled White Sox's baseball game opener because there was snow on US.Cellular Field! It would have been nice to stroll among Bridgeport,home of the White Sox,and head on over to Pancho Pistola's, my favorite Mexican spot,among the Southside Chicago Cops and avid Sox fans.

I have been meaning to jog along the lake once the weather got warmer, and it is April already, and I have just run out of patience. So instead, I decided to join the gym. Yes I know,I probably can still run outdoors,40 degrees is not bad-but for me,it has to be super warm in order for me to tolerate any form of exercise outdoors-so for now I will just hit up the gym. Luckily,it's month-to month membership and I can cancel anytime,so I can be sure to be jogging along our beautiful Lake Michigan in no time,but just not now.

City of Chicago, please,I love you,but we sure hate your schizophrenic weather,and I just about had it hearing it from my east coast fiance...really now,New York has bad weather too I'm sure!

March is Social Work Month!

This post is rather late but better late than never...

March has been dedicated to Social Work month. This is the month where Social Workers are supposed to get recognized and thanked for the work that they do. First of what is Social Work you may ask?

Here is some background on how Social Work even got started. Jane Adams was the founder of Social Work,which believe it or not started out in Chicago in the early 1900's. Jane Adams intention of Social Work first started off as establishing community houses for immigrants that came to this country and needed social services to adjust to their new country. Soon Social Work branched out in different areas such as mental health,child welfare, medical, and so forth. The general idea behind Social Work is to help individuals adjust to their environment whether it's adjusting to a new chronic illness or going through a job loss by connecting them with resources that meets their needs and provide counseling to help them adjust to any life changes.

At one point Social Workers were not recognized as professionals and everyone was calling themselves Social Workers,taking advantage of the profession. Nowadays if you want to be a Social Worker you must have a master's with two years of internship experience and thereafter pass a state board exam to be licensed.

So if you happen to know a Social Worker,thank them in any way for their hard work and dedication to help individuals in time of need. Often times these workers are overlooked and not appreciated enough.

I am not going anywhere-really I am not...

So yesterday I finally was able to meet up with one of my girlfriends and her fiance after playing "phone tag" and what not. Since I got engaged my life has gotten pretty hectic and as we get older it just seems that we would almost have to plan way in advance in order to meet up with friends we haven't seen in a long time. Also with this economy and trying to save up for my big destination wedding this summer I had to also pass up many invites. For the most part my friends,who are also busy bees themselves, accept the fact that I can't come to every outing or event but I too, also understand that there are times where they can not make it out either. No hard feelings right?

I have(or had not sure yet) this one particular friend, "Kim" we will call her, who was really busy last year with her wedding planning and I was cool with it. She skipped out on many invites at that time and I even recall one time when we were planning out a night on the town where she never even called me to say until the next day that she stayed in to watch a tennis tournament. I forgave her no big deal.Whatever.

Friday was one of my days off from work and me and my fiance decided since it was a nice day to take a nice long walk through the city. I was on my way to Barney's New York buying a face wash from Khiel's when I get a text from Kim asking me to stop on by her place. I live on the Northside of Chicago and I was downtown and took the El train,so by the time I was going to go back to my apartment and drive to her place, I would have to turn around and come back because I had to get up really early to take care of some things in Indiana. Kim lives in a Chicago suburb a good 45 minutes to an hour from where I live. I let her know, however, that we were meeting up this past Sunday for dinner and catch up and it would be better if we see each other then.

Unfortunately, "Kim" didn't feel that way. So she text me back saying "if you don't want to be my friend, say it to my face."

Huh?

I text her back telling her that I didn't understand. If I didn't wanted to be her friend why would I invite her out? In fact,why would I even be associating with you at all? I don't know about you, if I don't want to be someone's friend,I just plain don't deal with them. Period.

She then proceeded to tell me that she has invited me several times to her place-if you don't know the Chicago winters right now,you would know that the winter here was so bad that I pretty much layed low,and I told her that,and I told her that once I am ready I can stop by, just not now.

Well this was going back and forth and then after I invited her one more time, it was then when she stopped responding all together.

At this point I am thinking "why do I even bother?"

Honestly if she was truly my friend,she would have understood, me and my other friends have a mutual understanding that we can get extremely busy nowadays and should not take it personal if we decline any invites or outings we may present. Don't take it personally if someone is unable to meet up with you from time to time. It's not you. Trust me. And if they can't accept that then I guess they were not your friend to begin with. I was thinking my other friends and I tend to bail out on invites and what not and we are cool with it-why is she not?

So that was my rant for the weekend. Other than that I had a great weekend, four days off- who can complain? On top of that I got some great Puma leather sneakers with rhinestones that I can't wait to sport this Spring :-) .

Hang in there, America.

For the next several days,I will be finally utilizing my paid time off hours that I have earned while working and take some time off for myself. I am extremely fortunate and thank God everyday that I still have a job. I hear my fiance on numerous calls with his friends saying how "things are slow" and that "there are no jobs out there." My girlfriend from the east coast and I chatted for about an hour and a half today and her significant other also is in the search for a new job since they have reduced his hours severely as well. It's almost everyday that I am hearing someone lost their job or is being threatened that they are going to get laid off.

I really don't know how I can be of help but for awhile I was out of work too,partly because all I had to do was complete my licensure after Graduate school. But with so many graduates also seeking for positions in my field, it was still competitive. I have acquired through research and practice skills that you can use on your next interview,or to snag that potential job. Let me know if you need any tips that I have used to help me land a job.

Save The Date: Dj Colette and Dj Heather, February 28th at Metro Smartbar

I am very excited to announce that two Chicago-based house Djs will be returning to Chicago on February 28th at Metro Smartbar. Dj Colette's hit "Feeling Hypnotized" has been featured in Motorola Commercials and has landed her on the "Devil Wears Prada" soundtrack. Dj Heather is also a local based DJ who will be joining Dj Colette for a night of great Chicago House music. I can't get enough of these two. Their soulful tracks and smooth beats will keep you dancing all night long. These women will also be participating at the Winter Music Conference to take place in March, a huge event that takes place in Miami that attracts DJ from all over the world including great Dj's such as Tiesto and Fat Boy Slim just to name a few. It's a huge honor to participate in this event.

Tickets for Dj Colette and Dj Heather are not expensive at all-$10 dollars before midnight and $15 after, for these two it is so worth it and practically a steal if you ask me. This is what I love about Metro Smartbar. Metro Smartbar is a place where local musicians return and do great live shows at an unbeatable cost. It is not pretentious at all and no specific dress code necessary.

I am going to do my best to go to this show, hopefully my calendar will be clear enough that I will be able to make it. I went to DJ Kaskade, another great local based DJ last February at MetroSmartbar and I had a great time. If you are in the area or happening to be traveling in Chicago that weekend, stop on over, should be a good time.

Visit MetroSmartbar for more details.

Happy Valentine's Day!

As you know, tomorrow is Valentine's Day. Some people gag over the holiday saying that it's a hallmark holiday pretty much. And others feel that you should make your significant other feel like it is Valentine's Day the rest of the year also and not just on February 14th.

For me,it means a lot this year more than others because it will be my first Valentine with my fiance. However,he makes me feel like it's Valentine's Day pretty much all the time. So in this case, Valentine's Day will be a day where we take a break from our busy schedule to do something for us besides running errands all the time(actually we are helping someone move that day also!). Ever since I got engaged, it has been nothing but busy,even if we go for a coffee run or a walk it usually does not last that long because there was always work to be done. This time, we will actually sit, not have to cook,and enjoy each other's company in a romantic setting(or in a fun setting,haven't decided yet,but it will definitely be something on the Northside of Chicago).

For those who are single? One idea I have in mind when I was single and in college was I got together with my roomates, all girls, and ordered in Italian and watched "The Godfather" that turned out to be really fun.Valentine's Day can be applied in many ways-remember as we were kids we would give out those cut out Valentine Day Cards to your classmates whether it was our friends,that boy that used to tease us,or our teacher? So be creative and do something special that does not require a significant other in order to do so.

52F and it's only February in Chicago-what?

For those who are living in or near Chicago,today is a great day to check out some new neighborhoods or do some Michigan Ave shopping and sip on a latte afterwards. It's been a long,long winter and today God blessed the city with some warm weather. Go out there and enjoy yourself and take a walk and check out some city scenery.