it's not life that matters but the journey...

we had another crazy, busy weekend.
saw some horse racing, gambled, won some money, saw some cool bugs, bought some clothes, went to the beach, watched some surfers...



Saturday we went to the horse races (for the first time ever) at Arlington Park, a very big horse race track near where I live. Every summer, my company sponsors this event for employees - free entrance to the "Million Room" which is an enclosed room on the fourth floor above the race track, with a buffet lunch, open bar and $20 to gamble with. Masahiko went with me and we each got $20 - we started betting on the second race (after eating lunch of course), and bet altogether on six races total. After losing the first four, we almost gave up, but in an effort to use the money we had been given, we continued betting. I bet what they call a Trifecta Box - you choose three horses, and if those three horses come in first, second and third (any order), you win. I had a really strong feeling about 7 and 8, and then chose 5 as my third horse. And guess what - those three horses were the first three across the finish line! I won a whopping $20 - which was great, but to be honest, I really thought I should have won more! I also won the next race - I had chosen a horse to place (either come in first or second) and it came in second. I got $4.40 for that race! wow! After that, we quit betting and walked around the park a little - it's really a beautiful park and an interesting experience. We both decided that if we go back, we want to watch the races from down below, in the stands, with the regular people though. Even though the buffet and the open bar were nice, it was a bit too posh for our tastes. Plus if you're on even ground with the horses, the races would be much more exciting to watch than from a window four stories up.

here's a couple pics from the grounds outside the track, and some horses too:















And on our way back to the car, we saw a really fascinating thing. In the midwest, as in Japan, we have cicadas. those really noisy insects, who most people probably think are disgusting or ugly. but to me, they are fascinating. and beautiful. the sound of the cicada is the sound of summer. it's calming to me. and cicadas are so interesting: when they come up from the ground, they must shed their hard external shell, and then they wait until they can fly. We have been seeing the discarded shells on trees all summer, but on Saturday we happened upon a cicada that was just coming out of it's skin. It's a rare event to see this, and we took a picture. so if you like bugs, check these out:








I'm such a nature freak!

After we left the races, we went to the mall and I bought some new fall clothes at H&M (our new favorite store). I spent a little too much money, but hey, I actually had an extra $30 from the racetrack, so I felt okay about it!

Sunday we left home at about 8:00 and drove out to Indiana to the beach. Masahiko had heard that the waves would be good in the afternoon, but we wanted to avoid traffic, and also by getting there before 10 a.m. we didn't have to pay the $15.00 parking fee. I took a book, some music, and M's folding bike so that I could ride around while he was surfing. The weather was perfect - sunny, a bit breezy, hot in the sun but mostly comfortable. He didn't end up going into the water until about 3 p.m., and even then the waves were small. I rode the bike around, walked a bit, read my book, and talked on the phone with my mom and my friend Alex. I watched M surf for about 40 minutes, and then we left around 5 p.m. It's amazing how fast the time flew. We didn't get home until around 7 p.m. (mostly because we took a detour to avoid the traffic), and I then had to cook dinner! we were both exhausted and went to bed by 10 p.m.



We both start classes this week - I have no idea why this stupid school starts classes before Labor Day - but oh well! Tomorrow I'm meeting some girls that I used to work with at my old job - one of them just got out of basic training (she's in the Army), so it should be fun to see her!

Next weekend is the Jazz Festival downtown - for some reason we've never gone in the many years we've been in Chicago, so it's about time we check it out. Plus Kenny Burrell will be there - the man's a guitar genius!

wow - September is almost upon us - it will soon no longer be summer. and I'm already starting to feel autumn in the mornings and evenings. I'm happy for fall - but not looking forward to the cold winter that is being predicted. not at all.