Summer has finally arrived in Chicago! Although I hope it is going to stay, apparently we have a few days ahead of us with massive spring storms. But while we have the sun I am planning to enjoy it.

So two weeks ago I finally finished my assignments, including one 70 page paper which i though was going to never end. So when they finished I was happy on one hand, to have them all done, but also sad that my year at DePaul in Chicago is over. The results are also starting to come in and so far are looking good, phew!

Once they were done it was time to hit the bars, and the bar association had organised a bar crawl in one of the Chicago neighborhoods. So we all headed out and decompressed and discussed summer plans. It was a really fun, relaxed, chilled night out.

The following day I went to a Cubs game with Kate. I had bought the tickets at the PILA auction in March. They had auctioned around 200 tickets that evening and so the section we were sitting in was full of DePaul students. It was a great chance to catch up with other people, some of whom I hadn't seen in a few weeks since the end of the exams. It was a beautiful day and Kate and I enjoyed a nice lunch sitting on the outside patio in the sunshine before the game.

That weekend everyone began moving out. It was quite sad that everyone was leaving. However Aoife hadn't found a place to stay so she spent the following week on the sofa, and Jannie and Amanda were staying on next door.

The following week I had been able to get some extra hours at work and so I was really busy working 9-5. I also started my applications for Training contracts in 2010 in London. They all have to be in by July 31 so I want to get them in before I head off to Costa Rica. Each form take 2-3 hours to complete so it is a long, tortuous process! However I have now 2 interviews in London in September so fingers crossed it will work out.

Last weekend was Memorial weekend so Chicago was insanely busy! Memorial day is supposed to be the start of the summer, but although it was sunny outside it was also still cool outside. Chicago has the biggest memorial day parade in the US and I went and watched it from start to finish on Saturday afternoon. The parade lasted over 2 hours, but there was a great atmosphere there and it was great fun to watch all the hundreds of soldiers, sailors, pilots and ROTC students marching.

The fireworks started on Memorial day. They go off every Wednesday and Saturday evening between Memorial day and Labor day (September). The ones on Sunday night were done to a patriotic tune. I thought I had seen every form of honoring the American national anthem but to see fireworks co-ordinated to go off in time with the star spangled banner was really quite funny! It was fun to be part of a massive crowd watching the fireworks.

This week I was interviewing for a few more jobs, but sadly they are all looking for someone to commit next semester as well. So I am still just working away at my current job, 15 hours a week.

On Friday I got my hair cut and I think I am going to go back this week and get it highlighted. I am a little nervous as i have never had permanent color in my hair before, but it has gotten really dark while I have been here.

I also went and saw Indiana Jones on Friday night. It was insane at the theatre that night because the Sex and the City movie had just come out and there were girls lining up outside each theater, all dressed up, just to get the best seats inside. Indiana Jones was a fun movie.

Yesterday I spent eating out! I met Aoife and Kate for lunch at the Grand Lux, and with the amount of talking we did it took 2.5 hrs to eat. I suppose now we dont all live together we have more to talk about when we meet up. Then Kate went to catch her bus and Aoife and I went back to the UCC and ended up talking to Jannie for a few hours, before we decided to go out for dinner on Navy Pier and watch the fireworks. It was a beautiful evening and the fireworks were fun. So many people head to navy pier for the fireworks, and we ended up running into a few people we knew.

On Sunday after church I went over to Millenium park where they were having the Gospel festival. It was so different from any other festival I had been to. it was so over the top, but the music was fun and it was such a beautiful day I was out in shorts and t-shirt. It was a great, relaxing day.