A (NEARLY) PERFECT DAY

yesterday was great.

had taken the day off and went to meet my sister downtown. walking on the way to the train station, another bug flew into the side of my face rather violently; it then bounced off and landed on my hair right above (and nearly on) my left ear. reflexively, i reached up, grabbed it, and flung it to the ground in front of me.

good thing, too...it was a HUGE bee. it looked pretty messed up, though...and not from being flung to the ground. probably why it flew into me. hrrm.

anyway, after getting lost and wandering around the Grant Park area aimlessly for an hour or so as a result, we finally found out where it was that Mariam wanted to go...she was very anxious to see the Earth From Above exhibit going on in Millennium Park, so off we went. it was REALLY cool...'cept, of course, too many people and lots of stupid comments made. but the exhibit itself was really great...we just should have had the sense not to go at noon, since it was an outdoor exhibit. needless to say, we got quite hot.

so because of this and because by the time we made it through, we were incredibly hot and tired and thirsty and hungry, we didn't end up getting nummy Indian food after all (as we'd planned). instead, we stumbled to a cash machine, looked in vain for a Bennigan's that Mariam was sure was just up the block (and which we later located as half a block up from where she'd thought it was...XD), and eventually stumbled into a Popeye's. where we soon learned that a) i should never order anything to do with chicken (even in an establishment that allegedly specialises in it), because they always take the time to go kill mine specially (evidently), and it therefore takes an age for me to get to EAT it...and also that we really both should have just gotten the fries and biscuits, as everything else was just breading. eeeh.

so after that, we started walking again. decided that we were, in fact, going to go and see that movie..."again" for me, and for the first time for her. were aiming for the 4:15 showing. so we had time to kill...she'd wanted to go to her apartment and clean her ferrets' cage, but we didn't have time to make the trip up there and then back to the theatre. so instead, we walked.

and walked.

and walked.

up Michigan avenue...after having walked most of the morning, only stopping to rest at Popeye's.

in the course of our travels, we came across a most dangerous and delightful discovery on Michigan: The Moonstruck Chocolate Cafe. O.O;;;;

it was even more dangerous than it usually would have been since Mariam's been even more stressed out and upset than usual. i was very good and only got a candy cane milkshake (which was REALLY good...kinda pricey but MORE than worth the cost of admission). we will DEFINITELY have to go back to this place.

since we just kept walking north on Michigan, we jokingly said something about walking to the theatre.

which we ended up doing. it wasn't too bad...according to mapmakers, it's about 4 miles away from where we were. it was a nice walk...we used to do stuff like that all the time. like walk home from downtown when we lived on the north side. XD

when we got up to the intersection where the theatre was, we stopped off at a Walgreens in order to get something to drink and get some more cash. checking out, we saw a self-checkout machine for the first time...you scan your item, it tells you how much...there were slots for cash, change, and even a debit or credit card, as well as a receipt printer...it was very strange. if i'm around there again, i'll probably try it, but something about it makes me nervous. XD

Mariam enjoyed the movie a lot. i was finally convinced earlier that i had to take her to see it because we ran into this gigantic flock of pigeons on the street outside of Popeye's and i started giggling uncontrollably. she and i have a long history with pigeons. and, well, of course i thought of the movie. so there you go. XD

good (if exhausting) times were had by all...i was so unbelievably dead last night that i could barely stand. sleep is a wonderful thing.

now, it's off to go to the eye doctor. it'll be nice to be able to see again, although i wish it didn't cost so much...>.<;;;