Gala/Earl Had to Die

A couple months ago, I received an unexpected invitation. I was invited to a Gala party in which all my fellow scholarship winners would mingle. Now if you're like me, when you think Gala, you think about those professional parties that take place in Washington D.C. where they all wear tuxes and drink out of tall champagne glasses and nibble on orderves that are half the size of their pinky. While that explanation doesn't make it sound that appealing, who wouldn't want to go? I felt so sophisticated! Of course when it said I could bring a guest, Talysa and Jake were the essentials. They seemed just as excited as I was. We put on dresses (and suit so that Jake doesn't feel left out) and did up our hair, and did our very best to look professional. However, once we got there....it was somewhat of a disappointment. There were drinks in tall glasses but the glasses were plastic. There were orderves but they were crusted Macaroni and Cheese and there was mingling but only because if we filled our card with names, we could enter to win an Amazon gift card. Though Talysa and Jake said that they enjoyed it, let's be honest, they didn't want to make me feel bad.

We left after entering our name cards (obviously the Amazon gift card was a huge perk) and decided the night was too young to get back in the car and drive home. We found a cute little sushi bar down the street and went in in our heels, long coats, and curls. The next occurence will give you a good idea at how good our friendship must be. Yet again, I was laughing hysterically! Jake brought to my attention the song by the Dixie Chicks called "Earl had to Die." One of my personal favorites. He asked me how long it was after Wanda got married that she started getting abused? I thought it was a random question but started singing the song in my head..."well it wasn't two weeks after she got married that Wanda started getting abused..." I blurted out with cofidence, "Two weeks." He very proudly answered that I was incorrect. Eager to prove my point, I started singing the song to him. After I had, he just smiled and said "Taylee it WASN'T two weeks after she got married. It could be anything BUT two weeks. Four weeks, a day and two minutes, three years, we may never know." Once again, Jake had me. I didn't stop laughing the rest of the night and my sushi ended up having to take the back seat! It turned out to be a great night after all!

Without Wax,

Taylee

View From The Top!

In the far distance was the dark landscape of muddled lights trying to break through the mist of air but all blending in together. Building after building fought for the spotlight trying to prove their worth in the eyes of the beholder. The lake looked like a never-ending sheet of glass. The cars below still in the their place, as small as match heads, seemed insignificant. The buses slightly larger looked as though they were the hounds defending their turf. A pool on a rooftop had a glimmer from the moon's reflection of it. The tallest building seemed just equal with the eyeliner yet profound as it reached further toward heaven. Several church spires created a stark contrast from the plethora of high-rise, steel trees that poked through the clouds. There wasn't even a faint glimmer of a single star in the sky due to the city lights and the engrossing fog that only seemed to hide the very top of the tallest steel tree. All these lights together created a jewelry box filled with glimmering necklaces, shining gold bands, and pearls galore.

This is an image taken of the view of Chicago from the 95th floor of the John Hancock Tower in the month of September, 2010 while eating a good meal and talking with a good friend, Talysa. This is the view of what life really is. The buildings represent the working life and the accomplishments of man. The lake is our survival, our fun, our beauty. The cars and buses and trains symbolize the need to always be moving and to always have a purpose. The fog is the ongoing confusion that comes with being real and being human and making mistakes. The lights, however, are the reason we go through all of it. The lights are the beauty, the music, the speech, the glory, the emotion. Some people may look at this scene and see a busy city, chaotic maybe, sometimes impossible to deal with. I look at that scene and I feel a sense of joy and pride. This is my town. So many amazing things have happened here. I have felt so many powerful emotions while here that I associate with this beautiful city. Chicago creates its own beat, its own culture, its own story. Chicago has a history, a past, a future. Chicago is the house of my present.

Scattegories!

The game Scattegories has a magical property that releases all the possible endorphins in your brain causing you to think everything is funny. At the same time, it confines your normal thinking function so that coming up with a simple, 4-letter word that starts with S is impossible.

Obviously there is a story behind this discovery. Talysa and I were at Jake's house, which seems to be the norm these days, and we were sitting around the kitchen table playing Scattegories (as you may have guessed). The challenge was finding something in the kitchen that started with N. This shouldn't have been too difficult given that we were in the kitchen and all I had to do was look around. Unfortunately, Scattegories' magical property of confining the brain took affect and I was unable to think of anything that would fit. There was a newspaper sitting in front of me but of course that didn't register. I considered knife, knee, and knuckle sandwich but of course, those didn't exactly work. I resorted to the only thing that I could think of...Nostril.

This still wouldn't have been that funny but of course Scattegories' other magical property kicked in. Jake very seriously looked at me and said "that is not possible Taylee." I was confused, of course there were nostrils in the kitchen. In fact, there were six to be exact. I told him this but he wasn't swayed. His next line was what set off the incessant laughter. "What is a nostril but the absence of nose?"

Yep I lost it. That line sent me into a whirlwind of uncontrollable giggling which of course caused Talysa and then Jake to laugh. Oh, they weren't laughing with me as they may have later claimed, they were laughing at me. Nonetheless, the entire room was in abdominal and cheek pain from the uncontrollable jolts.

We finally composed ourselves and continued the game thinking that this experience was only one of our, shall we say, unmentionable experiences, but we were surprised to find that that wasn't the case. A couple days later we called Jake's sister living in Idaho and had to tell her what happened. SHE LAUGHED, TOO! It wasn't just us, it must have been a truly, funny experience. Or so I'd like to think, if for no other reason than to make me feel better.

There are many more Scattegories experiences to be had, especially since I scored 102 and intend to break my record!

Without Wax,

Taylee