Chicago: Part I.

**Okay... As much as I don't feel like it, I know I cannot and should not avoid writing about my Chicago trip. I have so much I should say about the trip. So many lessons I learned... So many creepy tales to just vent about... So many experiences that I felt so fortunate to be apart of...
Overall, the trip was outstanding. But there were some parts of the trip that left me drained. I guess that's why I didn't have the energy to write about it when I got back to Houston. But starting right now, I will tackle it.
But I can already predict that my narrative about my trip will have to be broken up in a few posts. But that's cool. Trust me, if I fed the entire trip to you in one deep dish, you would walk away from reading the post feeling as nauseated as I felt when I was going through it.
So, here goes... One spoon at a time…**

When my friend, Miko, told me that she was going to Chicago at the end of June, I freely expressed to her that I would love to go. I’ve always wanted to go to Chicago. And I always love hanging out with Miko. So, I felt that a trip to Chicago, with the added pleasure of hanging out with Miko, was worth me spending my hard earned money to make it happen.

Always a lady, I did the polite thing, and asked Miko to ask her friend, Tiffany, if I could join them on their trip. Because it was basically Tiffany’s annual pilgrimage back to her hometown, I felt that it was only right if I got her permission to join in on the party in Chicago. I am totally against going anywhere I'm not wanted. That is why I wanted to make sure that Tiffany wouldn't have a problem adding one more chick to their weekend breakaway.

For some reason, I felt a little uncomfortable asking Tiffany can I kick it with them in Chicago that particular weekend. I wondered was my discomfort spawned by my usual anxiety about meeting new people, folks that are usually unfamiliar/not used to being around someone with a disability. But I pushed my discomfort aside and hoped that Tiffany wouldn’t have a problem with me hanging out with her and the people that she did invite. And I also hoped that she wouldn't trip too hard about me being blind.

I really needed a vacation. I really wanted to go to Chicago, a city that I had never been and always hoped to visit. And I really, really love hanging out with Miko.

So, pushing past my discomfort was one of those necessary things that I needed to do to make sure that I got a chance to do something that I really wanted and needed to do, get a vacation in a town that I always wanted to visit, with my bestest homegirl in the world, Miko.

A few days later, Miko called me and told me that Tiffany said it would be okay for me to join them in Chicago. Miko invited me to stay in the hotel room with her and to split the cost. Of course, I was down. Yeah, I was still feeling some trepidation about the trip, but I ignored it. (Mistake #1)

When it was time to purchase the ticket, I made several attempts to finalize my purchase on Southwest Airlines’ website. But no matter how much I tried to give Southwest my $320, the computer kept giving me an error message.
(Was that my second sign that I should’ve backed off the trip? Not sure…)

I finally tried to purchase my ticket one last time. I promised myself that if the purchase didn’t go through this particular time, I was going to scrap the trip and inform Miko that I would just come to LA later in the summer. Well, this time, the purchase went through, and I got a confirmation message.
(Was that my message that the trip was okay for me to actually go on? Again, I’m not sure.)

Something else happened that was quite interesting… Three weeks before I was scheduled to go to Chicago, I fell down the stairs and fractured by large toe on my right foot. I went to the emergency room, got examined, and walked away from the hospital with a new fashion accessory, an orthopedic boot to protect your girl’s achy toe.

I wondered if I should just go ahead and let the Chicago trip ride. The idea of going to Chicago with an orthopedic shoe on was not my idea of fun. Plus, I couldn’t hardly walk on my foot without feeling pain. And since I knew that this trip would likely require me to do a lot of walking, I really considered if I should just let the trip go, and stay at home and let the broken piggy wiggy rest.
(Was my foot injury a sign that I should’ve kept my behind in Houston last weekend? I’m not sure. Interesting thought though…)

Despite all of the hindrances to my trip, I still boarded the Greyhound of the sky, Southwest Airlines, and flew to the greatest city in the Midwest.

**more later… Trust me, this gets good.**