Q: What caused you to wear a suit on Valentine's Day (Observed), because it certainly isn't a girlfriend?
A: Trust me, it took some convincing.
If you know me well, you know I want to wear jeans and gym shoes every day. Especially that gym shoes part - comfortable shoes might rank just below food on my misguided list of priorities. But my two friends Doug and Rachel convinced me getting that dressed up this past Saturday would be worth it.
Rachel works for an event planning organization (wedding receptions, corporate parties, etc...). Every year they throw a Valentine's Day party to show off their "product" to prospective customers. Not only are the employees of the company invited, but also their friends to help boost the numbers and have the party look as popular as possible. Even though I told Doug, "I'm the farthest thing from a prospective customer for a wedding reception you can find" he still insisted I attend with their other friends.
The party was held in the Mid American Club, located on the 80th floor of the Aon Center in downtown Chicago.
I must admit, my favorite of all the views was from the bathroom window. Anybody that has seen Adventures in Babysitting would appreciate looking down on this building (note: if you haven't seen that Elizabeth Shue movie, you should)
But the other views certainly weren't lacking gasp appeal, such as seeing Navy Pier out of the East windows and Millennium Park and Grant Park out of the South facing windows.
I also like seeing the grid of streetlights that the city creates from such a high angle.
If you were hoping there would be a crazy story to come out of all this - I'm sorry to disappoint. The party had a great vibe. We all felt like we had crashed a wedding reception, but without the guilt because there wasn't a bride or groom present. Also, the CTA expenses were probably tenth of what I would've spent if I had to get a gift. Most importantly, the 'reception vibe' deflected the fact that it was the Saturday night before Valentine's Day. There were a few other singles there, and nobody really seemed to really notice the "Happy Valentine's Day" balloons. The party outweighed the theme. My only complaint: Although the live band was good, if you're going to play "Groove is in the Heart" it really helps to have a slide whistle.
I got home shortly after 3 am, thankful that I didn't do anything stupid on Valentine's Day. For the record, I did happen to have tickets to the USF/MU basketball game this night. The fact that I gave those two tickets away for free to the unquestionably hottest woman of Marquette University's campus all four years I was there does not count as one of my star-crossed Valentine's Day actions.
