Home for the New Year

I am excited!!!! Going back to San Diego to celebrate the New Year with my family.

Christmas On My Own

Tonight's the first Christmas Eve I would be spending alone. Vince is back in San Francisco with his family. I thought that I wouldn't feel so bored and lonely since I was supposed to work today. But the hospital cancelled me because my unit had only ten patients. And with five RNs it would have been overstaffed. They, first, put me on call; and Ate Caring, the Charge Nurse at night told me that I may be called in, but I wasn't. So I spent the whole day cleaning, packing for my trip to Cali, surfing on the net, reading blogs, reading magazines, reading books, watching part of a movie. Still I was bored.

I went for a walk to Vince's apartment to check if the book he was waiting for came in the mail today. I didn't find any packages in the lobby of the apartment, so I just went back home. The walk back home was long and cold. I almost wished I didn't go out of the house. But sometimes boredom makes me venture out and brave the cold. It finally hit me that winter is indeed here. I saw the gloomy days...weeks... months... ahead of me. How can I endure another winter here in Chicago??? The thought of going back to San Diego for ten days cheered me up a bit. Six more days, four more work days.

When I got home, I ate dinner, took a shower and got myself ready for bed. I was doing fine, until I realized that tonight's Christmas Eve and I am alone. I am used to spending Christmas Eve with family and/or friends. I can't say that I am lonely or sad. It just feels different. I hope that my family and friends are spending their Christmas with their loved ones and that they are happy. I hope that they appreciate the time they spend with each other. I hope that none of them will ever be alone on Christmas. And hopefully, I will never again be spending Christmas on my own.

dinner at the Signature Room on the 95th floor of JH tower

view of Chicago from 95th floor of John Hancock Tower

fully decorated houses at Oak Park

Christmas in the City

Because Vince will be in California on Christmas, he and I celebrated our Christmas tonight. We had a very nice and expensive dinner at the Signature Room on the 95th floor of the John Hancock Tower. The reviews we read for this restaurant were not very encouraging that I had second-thoughts of going. Vince convinced me that the people who gave bad reviews may have had bad nights and not due to the food or the service. So, I put on my red sweater top, black pants and shoes, painted my lips with gloss, grabbed my coat, scarf and mittens and reluctantly drove to the restaurant with Vince.

The elevator ride to the 95th floor was quick. We had to wait a little while to get a window table. The ambiance was indeed classy. I wished I wore something more special other than my red sweater and black slacks, but it was a cold night and I wouldn't sacrifice comfort for fashion. (hahaha, Vince would laugh if he read that) We did get our window table, but Vince was disappointed that we were given a table at the very corner of the restaurant. It was almost near the kitchen. We had the view of the Sears Tower and the Navy Pier. From our table, we could see the lights of decorated downtown buildings. It made me realize once again, how beautiful Chicago is.

The menu didn't sound very inviting. They had some salmon, bass, steak and others. The food was all right. I had the Shrimp Linguini and Vince had steak and mushrooms. To be honest, I've had better. The most delicious part of the dinner was the dessert. I loved the Creme Brulee. What creme brulee did I not love, anyway?


All together, I would say it was a nice dinner. The atmosphere of the restaurant was classy, romantic and almost magical. The food and service were good. I just felt that the waiters could try to be a little warmer.

After dinner, Vince and I drove to Oak Park to look at the houses with lights and Christmas decorations. There were only a few but we took pictures of the two houses that were fully decorated from their roofs down to the lawns. They were fun to look at.

When we got home, we opened up our presents for each other. I got Vince his wish. For months, Vince had been begging me to allow him to get an X-Box. I told him he shouldn't get one until he passed his boards. I meant his specialty board. But I always felt bad when he'd tell me, "Should I get an X-Box?" "Can I go to Ernie's place to play?" "Can I get an X-Box?" Ok, ok, I am tired of him telling me that. So I got him an X-Box. He's been a good boy all year, anyway. Now, I think we both should make rules on when to play this thing.

Vince gave me a Coach purse and a CD by ABBA. I think he's tired of me listening to my Mamma Mia soundtrack which he hates so much. He said he prefers the original Abba, not that he likes Abba, but if he had to listen to the songs, he'd rather listen to them than to the Mamma Mia cast. So he went to Best Buy and got me an Abba CD. The purse was bought with the help of our dear friend and shopping buddy, Notch. I am sure glad that Notch has great taste. :)

Pictures to come.

Christmas Shopping in Michigan City

I am officially done with my Christmas shopping! Today, Lea and I headed to Michigan City, Indiana to the Premium Outlet. I was behind the wheel since Lea is a new driver and doesn't do much highway driving. I was grateful that it wasn't snowing on the road. I don't like driving in the snow. Of course, when we got to Michigan City, the place was covered with thick snow, and the road was barely plowed. I wish I brought a camera to take pictures of the houses covered in white. They were so beautiful, like out of a Christmas card or calendar. Lea and I couldn't help laughing at our silly selves for driving two hours to a snowy city to do our shopping.

After parking the car, we dashed to the visitor's area to get a map and a discount booklet. We stopped by the Wilson's Leather store first. Lea got a fanny pack for a mere 5 bucks. Way to go! We then headed to the gloves store ( I forgot the name) I got mittens, a neck pillow and ear muffs for Vince for less than 20 total. Lea and I then went to the Bombay store to look for a side table to match her new loveseat. She decided to buy it next time Ron comes with her. Then we went to the Vanity Fair store. I got sweaters for Ate Bay and Inang, and a nice outfit for my goddaughter, April. I also got some baby clothes for my friend's (Anne) new baby Hazel. Lea bought jackets for her skiing trip to Colorado. The store didn't sell ski pants, so we tried London Fog. I also needed a pair of ski pants, so I tried on a few. All the ski pants for women were long, so I suggested to try the youth size. We found some xl and l pairs to try on. And they fit. The best thing about it is that they're a lot cheaper than the adult size. I got mine for 12 bucks after discount was taken. Lea and I both couldn't believe our luck.

After we got our purchases, we drove back home, happy for the good deals we got. We were hungry, too so we stopped by Wendy's to get some chicken strips. As we were getting to the highway, a big semi-truck with thick snow on its roo,f sped past us. The thick snow blew onto my windshield. It seemed like an avalanche, I got so nervous that I didn't have the time to react. I just kept driving ever so slowly and used my windshield wiper to wipe off the snow. Lea said I should've honked at him. Oh well, it was too late by then.

We got home safely after that.

This was taken by Grace.

Taken by Bobby from ICU.

Wendy was not ready.

Adam, Wendy, Cielo, Grace, Me, Vince

Picture from my unit's Christmas Party held at Via Venetto.

Chicago Symphony Orchestra

Vince and I went to see the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. The symphony presented music by Haydn. Pinchas Zuckerman, the guest conductor also performed a violin concerto that I really enjoyed. It was interesting to know that Haydn composed the concerto for the violinist Luigi Tomasini, who used to work as a valet for Prince Esterhazy, Haydn's patron. Tomasini must have been really talented for the prince to notice him and send him off to study advanced violin and for Haydn to compose a concerto for him.