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Mob rules.  Get a group together and get bulk discount rates for cool stuff.  But what if you don’t have your own gang or posse? No worries Groupon takes care of all that for you.

Groupon is a website with daily deals too good not to pounce on.  From teeth whitening to spa days to dinner deals at your favorite restaurant, Groupon offers discounts from about 50-70% off normal prices.

And Groupon is growing – they are now in almost 20 cities across the US and hope to be in 30 by year’s end.

The Chicago-based company has sold nearly 500,000 groupons, saving consumers about $23 million according to Andrew Mason, the company’s founder.

That is beginning to translate into big money for Groupon. It makes money by taking a percentage of each groupon it sells, and Mason says the cut hovers around 50 percent.

“It’s really exploded in a way that, if I stop and think about it, kind of freaks me out a little bit,” Mason says.

Why am I writing about it? Simply because I signed up, thinks it’s a very cool idea, and am easily entertained by neat, new stuff…plus it really works and you can save a wad of cash!

Check them out, if not for their good deals, at least for their sharp and witty prose. Each day’s write up can be pretty entertaining.

This is it. We are just days from the decision on which city will host the 2016 Olympic Games. I know it seems a tad early to be talking about something seven years from now, but you know the host city has years of work ahead of it so the time is now.  After a two-year global campaign featuring four world-class cities, one of the closest bid races in Olympic history will be decided Friday in a vote of the International Olympic Committee in Copenhagen.

The bidding process goes back to May 2007 when cities around the world dropped their hat in the ring for a chance to win the Olympic rings.  Four cities were chosen as the final candidates in June 2008: Tokyo, Rio De Janeiro, Madrid, and Chicago. I have visited three out of four of these cities and can say without hesitation that they are all fabulous. But for some reason I am hoping for Chicago.

At stake is international prestige and exposure, billions of dollars in potential investment and economic spinoffs, and the honor of staging the world’s biggest sports extravaganza.

The decision may come down to two key issues: How much will President Barack Obama’s visit to Copenhagen to pitch Chicago’s case in person affect the outcome?  Is the IOC ready to take a bit of a gamble on Rio and send the Olympics to South America for the very first time?

IOC president Jacques Rogge expects the race for the 2016 Olympics to be decided by “a couple of votes” and says Chicago’s chances shouldn’t hinge on President Obama’s personal visit to push his home city’s bid.  Initially Obama announced he would not be able to attend the vote and that First lady Michelle Obama would go in his place. Now it is reported that he will be there.

“I see really no favorite,” Rogge said last week in a telephone interview with The Associated Press. “I think it’s going to be a very close vote. I think the final vote will be decided by a couple of votes only.”

Tokyo

This amazing city of lights and energy was once considered a possible shoe-in for the games. The country has deep pockets to back the huge financial undertaking of hosting an Olympic Games. Tokyo boasts an amazing infrastructure of public transport and a plan to keep most game facilities within an eight kilometer radius.  But the city’s populous seem to think otherwise. Only 55% of the population supports the games returning to Tokyo (they also hosted in 1964). This is the lowest in that category in which Madrid has the highest percentage with 86% of its citizens supporting the games.

Madrid

This is Madrid’s second straight bid. The city finished third behind winner London and Paris in the 2005 vote for the 2012 Olympics. Madrid also was a candidate for the 1972 Games that went to Munich.  The capital city of Spain has about 70 percent of venues completed, a superb transportation system, full financial backing and the overwhelming support of its people – even the King of Spain. Some reports say that Madrid is not the favorite to be chosen for several reasons: partly because Barcelona held the games in 1992, just 20 years ago, while London is to host the 2012 Games and the IOC is unlikely to return to Europe for 2016.

Rio de Janeiro

In this race, Rio – besides its iconic beaches and stunning backdrop – has the strongest emotional pull of the four candidates.  The Olympics have never been held in South America and the time has come to try something new.

“For others it would be just another Olympics, but for Brazil it would be something to raise the self esteem of the people,” Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said this week. “No other city needs to host an Olympics. Brazil needs it. … Do only rich countries have the right to host the Olympics?”

Rio seemed to pick up the unofficial front-runner’s tag in June when the bid cities made presentations to IOC members in a specially arranged meeting in Lausanne, Switzerland. Rio officials made a splash by unveiling a big world map with dots showing where all the Olympics have been held – and a big empty space for South America.

Chicago

My city….and the adopted hometown of the United States President Barack Obama is expected to a front runner along with Rio. Chicago’s so called ‘front lawn,’ a long stretch of parks and lakefront would give the Games a glittering backdrop, like Rio, and plenty of room for playing venues that would not displace millions of people, as they did in Beijing.

Despite this week’s announcement that Obama will make a special an appearance in Copenhagen, Olympic officials say they are not worried that his presence may sway the vote.  Maybe another “O” will help. Oprah Winfrey is supposed to be there to support Chicago’s bid as well.  Chicago is bidding to bring the Summer Games back to the U.S. for the first time since Atlanta in 1996. The bid, which would bring the games back to the Olympics’ most lucrative market for sponsorships and television rights, is centered on a compact plan putting most athletes within 15 minutes of their venues along picturesque, ocean-like Lake Michigan.  Chicago overcame one of its biggest hurdles when the city council approved all financial guarantees for the games, clearing the way for Mayor Richard M. Daley to sign the host city contract if Chicago wins. That was a major step for a U.S. bid city, which – unlike rival candidates – can’t rely on federal government financial backing.

Does anyone dispute that walking is good for you? It’s good for the heart. It’s easy on the joints. It helps clear the mind. And it gets you out into a new or old neighborhood allowing you to soak in the sights, sounds, and smells around you that you would most likely miss from a car.  While traveling, we often walk more than when we are at home. It’s a great way to really ’see’ a new city. But I often like to walk as much as I can at home too. Sometimes cities are thought of as dirty, polluted population centers. But, for the most part, this is simply not the case anymore. Many urban areas across the United States have revitalized and poured lots of funds into their downtown centers – greening, beautifying, and turning old, now defunct warehouse spaces (i.e. Chicago’s West Loop Market District) and even rail lines (i.e. Manhattan’s former High Line elevated train tracks) into new work and living spaces and parks.

Here are some great reasons to get out there and hit the pavement according to walkscore.com, a nifty site started by some Seattle (walk score of 72) software developers.

Why Walking Matters:

• Better health: A study in Washington State found that the average resident of a pedestrian-friendly neighborhood weighs 7 pounds less than someone who lives in a sprawling neighborhood.  Residents of walkable neighborhoods drive less and suffer fewer car accidents, a leading cause of death between the ages of 15-45.
• Reduction in greenhouse gas: Cars are a leading cause of global warming. Your feet are zero-pollution transportation machines.
• More transportation options: Compact neighborhoods tend to have higher population density, which leads to more public transportation options and bicycle infrastructure. Not only is taking the bus cheaper than driving, but riding a bus is ten times safer than driving a car!
• Increased social capital: Walking increases social capital by promoting face-to-face interaction with your neighbors. Studies have shown that for every 10 minutes a person spends in a daily car commute, time spent in community activities falls by 10%.
• Stronger local businesses: Dense, walkable neighborhoods provide local businesses with the foot traffic they need to thrive. It’s easier for pedestrians to shop at many stores on one trip, since they don’t need to drive between destinations.

Walkscore.com ranks addresses and gives them a walk score from 0-100. This is something realtors are starting to use in the sale and marketability of homes and neighborhoods.

Pedestrian-friendly cities and towns can make huge personal economic sense. If you don’t need a car, you can save thousands a year on financing, leasing, insurance, maintenance, gas and parking fees — especially if you own more than one vehicle.

Living where there’s ubiquitous and reliable public transportation and services within a mile or less also means fewer worries about traffic jams, accidents, wasted money and time. And walking is good for you, so you could improve your health and lose weight.

The nation’s top 5 most walkable cities? San Francisco, New York, Boston, Chicago, and Philadelphia. My address in Chicago literally got a walk score of 100%. The score takes into account the restaurants, supermarkets, parks, schools, the lake, movie theaters, bookstores, and coffee shops, all of which are within comfortable walking distance.

My current address in the ‘burbs of New Jersey earned a meager walk score of 34%. It’s a lovely green town, but very spread out and you’d be hard pressed to get around without a car.

The logic seems obvious: You can lose weight each time you walk to the grocery store. You can go out with friends, have a glass of wine and not worry about driving. You spend less money on your car, car insurance, and gasoline—or you don’t own a car at all. When you shop, you support your local economy. You talk to your neighbors. You build a life and a community. Sounds nice, no?

There is no way I could just be a tourist in the world for 2 ½ years.  I knew I had to mix it up to prevent boredom and burnout. I craved variety in my everyday life, so why would my life on the road be any different? Yes, of course, the constant change of scenery, culture, and people was variety in and of itself, but I knew I couldn’t just keep showing up in a new town each week and essentially continue to ‘walk around the world for a year.’  I needed to do, ya know, stuff. I needed to immerse myself somehow in society and feel like a part of it.  To start this process, I did different things like a Spanish Immersion program in Costa Rica (Spanish lessons in the morning and yes, surfing lessons in the afternoon) or a two-week, several-hundred mile bicycle trip down the length of Vietnam. But I needed even more structure. I needed…a job (cue shrieking horror music).

Now, just the sheer fact that I decided to blog about my trip and also write travel articles to be published elsewhere means that I was already working. I was trying to make time each week to sit and just write – a very hard thing to do when you are sitting in Rome or Cairo or Hong Kong and there are so many things around you vying for your attention.

Besides my new ‘day job’ as travel writer and photographer, I landed a few other actual jobs around the world.

1. Barrista and sandwich maker at a café in Melbourne
2. TV producer and reporter in Chile
3. Private business English tutor in Istanbul
4. Media proofreader in Istanbul
5. Actress in American Feature film in Istanbul
6. Research Assistant at the University of Cologne helping conduct an International survey on Airline/Airport Relationships
7. Writer and proofreader at publishing company in Berlin
8. Publicist for English Immersion company in Madrid
9. Extra in Hollywood
10. Pet Sitter around the world (Istanbul, LA, Chicago)

But many have asked me how did I find all these jobs? Did I look before I went on my trip?  The simple answer is no.  I simply arrived in a new place with the random idea that I could maybe find work there. In Australia, I spoke the language (sort of), so it seemed like a natural place to find a job other than teaching English. In Turkey, it’s all about connections and once I met one person…the ball just started rolling.  Besides that, I used persistence, word-of-mouth, and friends’ connections and a lot of smiles.

So, on this adventure, I worked all over and found it to be another great way to “go local.”  I lived in one place for an extended amount of time. I had a place to live. I took public transport (or a bicycle in Melbourne) to work. I had a schedule. I had a paycheck (well, cash). I truly felt like part of the fabric of society. And I actually gained some new skills, but most importantly I made real friends.

To hear more about my working around the world, listen to this podcast interview I did for Chris Christensen at the Amateur Traveler.

Amateur Traveler Episode 194 – Work and Travel Around the World

If you grew up in the Eighties like I did, there is no doubt that one of your favorite films is a John Hughes flick. Sadly, Hughes died Thursday at the young age of 59 from a heart attack.

For years and years this writer/director brought Hollywood to Chicago.  “I’m going to do all my movies here in Chicago,” he told Roger Ebert years ago. “The Tribune referred to me as a ‘former Chicagoan.’ As if, to do anything, I had to leave Chicago. I never left. I worked until I was 29 at the Leo Burnett advertising agency, and then I quit to do this. This is a working city, where people go to their jobs and raise their kids and live their lives. In Hollywood, I’d be hanging around with a lot of people who don’t have to pay when they go to the movies.”

He is well known for stories of teen angst. “These are just simple truths about people and families. I happen to go for the simplest, most ordinary things. The extraordinary doesn’t interest me. I’m not interested in psychotics. I’m interested in the person you don’t expect to have a story. I like Everyman,” Hughes told the New York Times in 1991.

Hughes spent his teen years in Northbrook, a leafy suburb of Chicago that provided the backdrop for many of his best known films.

Check out this list of movies he wrote and directed in which he turned the City of Chicago or its environs into one of the characters:

Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986)

“Life moves pretty fast. You don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” Right on, Ferris, you righteous dude.  It’s a lovefest for Chicago in this fun-filled classic. Ferris, his droopy friend Cameron, and hot gal pal Sloan tear up the city during Ferris’ “sick” day outing. The Art Institute, Wrigley Field, Sears (ahem Willis) Tower, and The Board of Trade get ample screen time. And no one has forgotten the fun musical MTV-like video of Ferris’ rendition of the Beatles’ “Twist and Shout” during the parade around Daley Plaza.

The Breakfast Club (1985)

“I got you for two weeks Bender,” a great line from one of my favorite movies of all time which gave birth to the infamous brat pack. The Breakfast Club was all character driven and they were all so good. The film, which was shot entirely in sequence, partly takes place inside Glenbrook North High School in Hughes former home of Northbrook, IL. The library in which most of the movie takes place was actually constructed in the gymnasium of Maine North High School specifically for the film. The school closed down in 1982, two years before filming began.  In fact, it is said that Hughes did not allow the actors to leave the high school for their own lunch break…instead they had to have it in the school’s cafeteria. Classic.

Sixteen Candles (1984)

“What’s happenin’ hot stuff?’ says crazy Long Duk Dong in another Hughes classis, Sixteen Candles. Of course the Donger (as he’s affectionately known) is nowhere near as dreamy as teen heartthrob Jake who eventually falls for Sam. According to IMDB, a good part of the movie was filmed at Niles East High School in Skokie, Illinois. Some of the students in the big party scene are wearing Niles East Trojans jackets and shirts. This high school had been closed for more than ten years when the filming started and is now part of Oakton Community College has been completely remodeled. During the dance scene, John Cusack is wearing a WLS t-shirt. Although it currently has a talk-radio format, in 1984, WLS was a top-40 station in Chicago. And of course, I worked at their TV Station counterpart, WLS-TV – ABC7 Chicago.

Some other very famous Hughes flicks:

• Mr. Mom (1983)
• National Lampoon’s Vacation (1984)
• Pretty in Pink (1986)
• Planes, Trains, & Automobiles (1987)
• Home Alone (1990)

It’s summertime in Chicago and it’s wonderful. Everyone is out enjoying the sunshine, the lakefront, & the street festivals. In places like our fair city, it seems the residents really take advantage of their summer months. Yes, perhaps it is because the other seven or so months of the year, the weather can be a bit moody and often times downright bastardly. But right now, it’s fabulous. I had the pleasure of checking out a few of these fairly new (or new to me) swanky spots in the sky.

The Roof at The Wit Hotel

Lazily perched twenty-seven stories above State Street (and right across the street from my former workplace, ABC7) sits the new Wit Hotel’s Roof bar. It has an indoor lounge and outdoor bar. Make sure you don your shades because the combo of white fabric and sun reflecting off loop skyscrapers is enough to give you a nice tan. The views are fantastic of the hustle on State Street directly below, the Chicago River, Millennium Park and Lake Michigan in the distance.  It’s a fun scene and certainly makes me feel like I am in South Beach rather than downtown Chicago.

The Terrace at Trump Tower

The terrace lounge on the sixteenth floor of the Trump Tower has views of the city that many have never seen.  From this chic oasis in the sky, you can take in an impressive eyeful of the Chicago River, Lake Michigan, and the Chicago skyline, including the Wrigley Clock Tower and Tribune Building, dramatically lit right in front of you. There are L-shaped couches for cuddling and sharing a bottle of bubbly or trump-like high priced cocktails.

The Terrace at the Conrad

Yet another oasis in an urban jungle, this hotel roof bar scene is adorned with tropical plants, sofas and day beds, transporting you very easily to a tropical paradise. You can mix and mingle with the beautiful people as you sip overpriced martinis and snack on tasty ‘global-inspired’ tapas.

Pegasus

Then there’s Pegasus – an old standby and fave of yours truly. It’s been in Greektown for two decades now.  It’s not at all flashy or chic or too filled with scenesters. But the waiters are friendly and charming (and Greek!), the Greek beer is cold, the yummy apps never disappoint, and the view? Well, it speaks for itself.

“And each time I roam, Chicago is callin’ me home.” —Frank Sinatra (My Kind of Town)

I have a crush on an old flame. I am smitten and falling in love all over again.  That’s right, I’m back in the strong arms of the ‘city with big shoulders’ and it feels gooood.

It’s truly the one place I have lived where nearly everyone seems to like it – the lakefront, the restaurants, the free outdoor concerts, the architecture, the bars, and so on, and so on…

Walking around the many neighborhoods of the north side often feels like strolling through one big college campus. There are young people or young-at-heart people, always laughing, walking hand in hand or riding their bikes somewhere. There’s a bar on every corner, along with cute cafes, restaurants, and the ubiquitous Starbucks. There definitely is a positive energy in the air that is palpable and I love it.

I’ve already waxed poetic about my favorite adopted city so I won’t bore you will my love story details, suffice it to say, I am back and it’s better than ever. Besides the obvious things I’ve bragged about before, here is just one  ’small story’ that may convey why I like it so much:

Yes, Chicago is a big city with more than three million residents scurrying about jockeying for position, but it’s certainly not as harried as New York City and I’m always amazed at the quietness of the side streets – even downtown. It’s known as a city of neighborhoods and each one has its own feel, but remains like a small town or village in a big city. One time, my ex-boyfriend and I had just come from a tasty dinner at a neighborhood joint in the Southport corridor. We went to the local movie theater to catch a post dinner flick. “Would you like me to keep that in the fridge for you guys?” said the ticket-taker as he noticed our ‘to go’ box of leftovers.

We were pleasantly surprised. “Sure! That’d be great.”

“Okay, no problem. Just don’t forget them when the movie’s over.”

And sure enough, just as he suspected, afterwards we forgot and headed straight for exit.

“Wait! Weren’t you the ones who left some food?” He’d spotted us and made sure we got our leftover quesadillas or jambalaya or whatever it was.

How nice is that? Not exactly what you’d think about big city, USA, but more like small town, America, right? But that’s Chicago.

Now, if I can just figure out how to make love to you…I’d be all set.

On a crisp fall day, you can walk around downtown Chicago and often catch a whiff of cocoa-scented air making the trek to work just a bit easier.  Unfortunately, large cities aren’t known for their sweet smells. Often pungent odors like trash, urine, and exhaust fumes come to mind when we think of the scents of a city. But oh no my friends, not Chicago. The Blommer Chocolate factory, which is not too far from the loop, has been manufacturing that rich, chocolaty goodness for 70 years. Within smelling range of the factory, it’s nearly impossible to find anyone who doesn’t enjoy the rich, brownie-like aroma as they trudge to the office.

And I’ve always been flummoxed as to why the Chicago Tourism Office does not incorporate this amazing fact into their marketing materials: ‘Chicago – it’s the city that smells like chocolate’ or ‘Chicago – a city dipped in chocolate’ or ‘Sweet Home Chicago – we mean that literally.’

There’s always been a buzz about Chicago with its sparkling downtown skyscrapers, the year-round flower-scaped shoppers’ paradise of Michigan Avenue and the tourist-drawing public art filled Millennium Park. But, now more than ever, the ‘city of big shoulders’ is a thriving, sophisticated, cosmopolitan metropolis filled with young urbanites proud of their town and ready to share why.

Why is Chicago American’s hottest city now? Besides rivaling New York and San Francisco for some of the world’s best restaurants and most diverse neighborhoods, there are some new reasons. The Chicago Cubs – okay, dare I say it… they almost went all the way…again.  They have not won a world series in exactly 100 years, were number one in the national league and consistently stayed on top all season. Well, until they lost. “There’s always next year.”

The home to the world’s first skyscraper is breaking new records again. Just as Donald Trump’s new tower is being completed on the riverfront as the second tallest building in Chicago and North America, the construction of another momentous building is underway. Designed by world renowned Spanish architect, Santiago Calatrava, the new Chicago Spire, at 2000 feet and with 150 floors, will be the twelfth tallest freestanding structure in the world.  The Spire will surpass Chicago’s Sears Tower to become North America’s tallest tower.

Now that the Beijing Olympics are a thing of the past, all eyes are on Chicago as one of the final contenders for the 2016 Olympics-a campaign the city and mayor Daley are fighting hard.In the event of Chicago being selected by the IOC, the 2016 Games will be the first Summer Olympics held in the Americas since the 1996 Atlanta Games. The final selection will be made on October 2, 2009. Currently, Chicago’s rival cities for the hosting of the Games are Madrid, Rio de Janeiro, and Tokyo. It is expected that Chicago’s significant infrastructure and public transport system, world-class architecture, renowned skyline, multi-cultural, historical, and pop-cultural contributions will be positive factors as the Olympics bid is weighed.

And to top it all off, the Chicago’s home son, Barack Obama, will soon be sworn in as the 44^th president of the United States of America. No matter what your political affiliation or whom you voted for in the election, this is an exciting and momentous time in the U.S. and in Chicago in particular. Nearly 100,000 Chicagoans gathered in Grant Park on Chicago’s lakefront on election night in hopes of hearing a victory speech – and they were not disappointed. After 2 years of hard campaigning Barack Obama won the election by a wide margin gaining 364 electoral votes to John McCain’s 174.

The world was watching from Japan to Kenya and Iraq to Vancouver.  Now so many eyes are on Chicago and the Illinois Tourism Board is counting on it. In fact, the Chicago Tourism site offers visitors a glimpse of Obama’s Chicago. I was watching from an election party in France, where something like 95% of the population supported Obama. I was anxious and tired and the boring, very conservative CNN coverage (lest they fall into the premature projections like last time) was hard to keep the interest of my French friends. But then at 6am France time, we had a new president and history was made. The citizens of the United States had spoken and I felt such a pride that I have not felt in a very long time. The only thing missing was me…from Chicago.

If you’ve been following along over the past two years on this blogotastic voyage, you may have noticed I’ve mentioned the City of Chicago…oh thirty times or so. Well, maybe not that many, but it’s been a whole lot. I obviously love my adopted home and am now officially not alone in my admiration. Chicago was recently voted numero uno in a survey taken by the residents of the world’s largest cities. That’s right Chicagoans are the most satisfied with their city overall, beating out London, New York, Paris, Sydney, Los Angeles, and Tokyo.

The first-of-its-kind study measured how people actually feel about living in their city and took the views of 8,600 people living in 14 cities around the world. And it’s even more important now as fifty percent of the world’s population live in cities.

The survey was done by Veolia Environment, the world’s largest environmental services company. And coincidentally, Veolia recently announced that Chicago will be the home of their North American Headquarters. Smart move Veolia – considering you will have cool, happy employees working for ya. Chicago’s Mayor Daley said, “…Chicago can meet the needs of any company in the world from the largest to the smallest and Veolia’s decision further strengthens our reputation as a world-class city.” Amen to that brother. Oh, and go Cubs!

For the first time in my life, I am one of ‘those people’ I always see in the middle of the day lingering over a latte and a laptop at Starbucks. I always wondered who they were and how did they manage to be doing virtually nothing in the middle of a weekday? Now I am one of them. A freelancer. A writer. A vagabond. Slightly jobless and ever so slightly homeless and it’s great.

But it did take me a few days to transition back to this life again. After all my adventures over the last year and a half and all the new relationships I’d forged, after one ‘catch-up’ drink here with old friends, would anyone really care? I had been growing anxious for my return to Chicago. I was excited to see old friends and just a bit trepidatious since it meant kind of an unofficial end to my ‘round the world’ travels. But nothing prepared me for what I really did feel once I was actually in my favorite city. Everything was the same and everything had changed. Nothing seemed different and yet I was different and the little life I had here was no longer here ready for me to just jump back in. Or was it? In some ways, it was like time stood still. While I was off having the most amazing experiences of my life and making more friends than I ever have in such a short time, everything here was pretty much status quo. It was like I never left except for one thing: the life I had assembled for ten years in Chicago had dissolved into the city air. Of course I am being a bit dramatic (I have to keep you interested dear reader); many of my friends were here doing pretty much the same thing they were doing when I left and it was great to see them. The “Ferris wheel” that was my life with my different groups of work/neighbor/activities friends on the ride in different carriages with me in the middle of all the spokes had been broken down and dismantled. Everyone had gotten off and gotten on other rides or even gone to other amusement parks and random traveling carnivals. I felt like after I said all my ‘hellos’ to friends, maybe I’d start to feel down. But I realized that I could settle back down and reassemble this ‘Lubin Ferris Wheel of Fun’ in no time and all would be fine. Although some riders really did up and run away with the circus including one of my best friends who had moved back to Germany while I was gone and the ex-boyfriend, whom I did everything with and went everywhere with, was now in another relationship. Even though I managed to wrangle him out for a beer one night, he was simply just not around. I haven’t missed being in a couple at all, but I have to admit, coming back to Chicago was like a slap of reality. I was out in the world being footloose and fancy free and not in a position to miss it.

But before I could get too sad or nostalgic for the ‘old days,’ I was falling in love with my city all over again. Not only was I catching up with old friends, but also meeting new ones. I was finally meeting some folks who’d contacted me through my website from articles written about my trip or various links on the web. They’d written me over the last two years while I was away, like new pen pals, and now we could actually meet face to face. Meeting lots of new people was one of the best things about my travels so I really enjoyed keeping this going even in my hometown.

When I first returned to Chicago, I have to admit, I was a tad let down–not sure why–but it was a combo of things–missing my trip, having a very, very delayed reaction to my break-up with my ex-boyfriend (after five years of being together in Chicago, I associate a lot of the city with him), and just general stress that comes with the place you actually call ‘home’.

But after a few days of self-wallowing, the sun came out—-literally and figuratively—-and I realized it was springtime in Chicago. There is no better time to enjoy Chicago than in the spring—the enormous lakefront is alive with cyclists and joggers, restaurants put out their alfresco sidewalk tables and chairs, and the Cubs’ season starts.

What a great time to be alive. I re-immersed myself in my city: caught a Cubs game at Wrigley Field, went to a friend’s barbecue, wandered around the phenomenal Millennium Park, caught a couple flicks at the International Latino Film Fest, joined the Chicago Couch Surfer group for a pub crawl in Bucktown, picked up the Emmy award I’d won while I was away (!), and caught up with old and new friends nearly every day and night doing various lunches, dinners, and/or drinks. Before long, I had reclaimed Chicago as my own and once again, had no regrets.