Henna, A Bus and A Resort Complex

So days two and three of the wedding extravaganza of a weekend just continued in the same style as the first night of celebratory festivities.

Because I'm unable to sleep in, no matter how late I go to sleep the night before, I decided to take full advantage of my early morning wake up and head off to Cincinnati for the day to visit with the 'rents. It was all so very delightful (I refuse to post pictures of my family on my blog, which is why you will not be seeing many, if any, pictures posted) and quite frankly, Cincinnati just makes me so happy.

After a fleeting few hours at home, I ventured back to Louisville... you KNOW I wasn't going to be missing a single second of the Saturday night festivities, which included a grand ol' Mehendi party. Now, typically, the Mehendi parties I've been to in other Indian weddings are for the females only, but, since there were SO MANY people who had come in from out of town, Neha and Eashwar had decided to open the Mehendi party to all their guests.

Well, the Mehendi party was actually at a family friend's house, about a twenty-minute drive from the Marriott downtown where we were all staying. Because Neha and Eashwar were super thoughtful about the convenience of their guests, they'd arranged transportation to and from the family friend's house where the Mehendi party was taking place... now, how in heaven's name is one supposed to transport like 600 of one's closest family and friends?

What else? With multiple shuttle trips, of course.

I'm not gonna lie... I really was wondering what this person's neighbors were thinking as they were seeing busload after busload of Indian aunties and uncles convening in front of their house.

Oh, well. I guess when you live in something resembling a resort, things like shuttling people to and fro is just an everyday part of life. That's right... THIS is where the Mehendi party was taking place.

I know, right? That's all I have to say. I was on my best behavior all weekend long, so I made sure to keep my jaw from approaching the floor at every turn of the way.

But... well, I mean REALLY? Really.

In any event, as with the rest of the weekend, the Mehendi party was one sweet success. I didn't actually get the henna done on my hands (I've done it once or twice before), but several of the other girls that I was with did and absolutely LOVED the experience. Needless to say, the Mehendi lady had her hands MORE than full, given the sheer VOLUME of people that wanted to get their hands done up with henna.

This night turned out to be SO much fun... as people were getting their henna done, there was just so much mingling being done and... as per usual, that open bar line was out. of. control. It was all so merry and festive... so, in spite of the 90+ degree heat and sunshine, I can safely say we all had ourselves a delightful time, with our excitement only escalating further still with the events of the next day (the ACTUAL wedding day).

Open Bar Happiness

I always forget how much I love Indian weddings. They are seriously the most festive things ever... it's literally just one huge party for two to three days at a time.

After much anticipation, Neha and Eashwar's wedding extravaganza FINALLY took place this weekend. I feel like more than a few of us have been eagerly anticipating this event to end all events for weeks, if not months, and I can safely say that their wedding did NOT disappoint.

The adventure started on Friday, with the Sangeet. The Sangeet is typically an evening of dance performances, put on by family and friends to honor the couple. Now, I've been to a Sangeet or two in my lifetime, but I can safely say that this Sangeet was the most... well, different one I've been to.

Let me back up a little though. So this wedding spectacular was taking place in Louisville, about a 5.5 to 6 hour drive from Chicago. I was planning on driving down late Friday afternoon, in order to arrive just in time (and/or a little after) the start of the Sangeet festivities, scheduled for Friday evening. So, come Friday around 3:30 PM, my other coworker/friend and I began our delightful little road trip from Chicago to Louisville, eagerly anticipating the festive weekend ahead.

Welllll... who knew how long a drive from Chicago to Louisville could feel?? Thank goodness Katusha had decided to join this little road trip... there is NO DOUBT I would've gotten lost and/or fallen asleep at the wheel otherwise! Needless to say, by the time we arrived at the Louisville Marriott (where the majority of the guests were staying and a lot of the wedding festivities were taking place), we were so ready to...

Well, celebrate.

GOD, have I shared how much I love the concept of open bar? It seriously is one of my favorite things EVER (and I don't even like drinking all that much!). It's just... well, it's just so FREE. How can one resist??

In short, we couldn't. So we went a little out of control with the open bar... I can't even tell you exactly how many drinks we were having, because we were just trying to cram as many in as possible since the bar was going to be closing sooner rather than later (darn coming in late!).

But I digress. The Sangeet itself was AMAZING. It was literally like a scene out of a Bollywood movie- a huge dance floor/stage for the multitude of performances, humongous movie screen type things to project the dances (and/or excerpts from Bollywood films when there was a break in the dance performances), yummy food and... well, about 600 of Neha and Eashwar's closest family and friends. Haha. I'm actually not exactly sure what the latest headcount of their seemingly neverending guest list was, but it certainly FELT like about 600 people, that's for darn sure.

Sadly, I actually didn't snap any pictures of the Sangeet itself... I know, I know. Who am I? I can document all things open bar but I can't document the Sangeet itself? Ridiculous, I know. In any event, after the Sangeet, some of the guests decided that the night simply couldn't be over just yet... so a few of us decided to embark on the streets of Louisville. However, I still had a beer from my open bar yet to consume and, well, if you know me and open bar, you know that I have a very hard time turning away free beverages.

When in doubt... why not just take the beer with me? Now, I don't know WHAT the open container laws are like in Louisville, but quite frankly, I didn't care at that point. My Bud Light and I were not parting ways.

And I have to say... I LOVE LOUISVILLE BARS!! Not only did they let me bring my beer into not one, but TWO bars with me (we ended up leaving the first bar after like two minutes to head across the street), but the bartender at the second bar actually set my beer bottle up with a napkin-coaster type thingy! It was all so very delightful. I couldn't believe how well they were treating me and my dear Bud Light. They must've understood the bond that had formulated.

In any event, Friday night ended up... well, as you would expect any Friday night filled with some serious open bar-ing to end up. No need to divulge any real details, right? Right. All I have to say is... it was one simply delightful start to the rest of the wedding weekend.

Am I the Only Chicagoan Enjoying NATO Being Here?

As last week unfolded, the buzz around the NATO Summit happening in Chicago this week quickly escalated. You know me and these kinds of affairs...

I. Am in. My element.

THE PICTURE OF MY DREAMS at the Clinton Global Initiative, 2006

Seriously, I felt like I was one of the Clinton family.

OMG- meeting John Prendergast at the Clinton Global Initiative! He. Is one of my. Idols. (And honestly, not that bad looking for a middle-aged man! I mean, look at that smile! Look at those crinkly eyes! Sigh. Anyway. You know I'm right.... right? Hahah.)

Kofi Annan. Don't ask how I got this close to the stage. Just... don't ask.

Meeting Madeleine Albright!!! Well, okay, so by this point at the Clinton Global Initiative, I'd already met her... but I couldn't exactly have snapped a picture of us pee'ing in side-by-side restroom stalls earlier in the week... which is definitely how I did initially meet her. True story- I mean, you really think I'd make this sh*t up?!!?

That's right- hello, Prince Charles. I actually don't think I speak of seeing him speak at the UN General Assembly while I was in Geneva, but oh well. It was interesting enough, I guess. I think the above events kind of trumped this one, sadly.

In case you can't tell... I live for these kinds of events!!! Not only are celebs RIGHT at your fingertips, but you just get this sensation that there is so much GOOD happening right before your very eyes amongst some of the world's leading figures. As much slack as we give any and every public figure, you have to admit, some of these people are S-M-A-R-T. And have such motivation to drive the world in a better direction. Talk about inspiration, personified. It really is one of those things that makes me SO PROUD to be an American, not to mention a citizen of the world, if you will.

Sigh. A moment, if you will.

That's why, as the buzz began escalating last week, I was getting a little confused as I was speaking more and more about it with some fellow Chicagoans. I mean, all I could really hear was resentment and annoyance that this NATO Summit was taking place in Chicago. To be perfectly honest, I simply didn't understand what all this negativity was about.

Sure, there may be a little disruption with traffic and your daily activities, but well... it's just for a few days. And think of how much GOOD is being done in the world in these next few days as our world leaders are gathering together. I mean, there are so many issues in the world... I can't help but think that, if well run, these kinds of forums can only serve to move the world forward with positive, peaceful momentum.

And let's be honest here. With the Obamas at the helm of things, you can't expect things to be anything but well-planned. They are just so GOOD at this kind of thing... balancing a perfect amount of work and play. Even today, while all the world leaders were gathering together with Barack, Michelle was taking it upon herself to educate all the SPOUSES of the world leaders with a tour of one of Chicago's South Side youth centers.

Isn't she the absolute BEST? Seriously. This is exactly the kind of thing I would like to do if I were a world leader's spouse. Engage with others in the same position to actually take advantage of the power that we have as a world leader's spouse to educate ourselves and better the world in our own way. Wouldn't that be AMAZING?!

In short- yes. It would be. This is exactly why people like Eleanor Roosevelt, Nancy Reagan, Hillary Clinton and Michelle Obama are people I somewhat idolize. They just kept on raising the bar of what women in power (but not necessarily in the "official" leadership role) are capable of achieving. And I totally think I'm capable of doing this kind of thing... I mean, I already know the primary causes I would be focused on (national: the US education system; international: raising awareness and working to eliminate acts of genocide)... obviously, there are several more causes I would dabble in, but these would be my primary two.

Anyway, I clearly digress.

Back to the point- I simply think people need to just RELAX with all their animosity towards the NATO Summit being in Chicago. It'll be over before people know it and, quite frankly, the Chicago police department has their sh*t together... so all these protests going down? Honestly, no problem. The Chicago police will figure it out! I have 100% faith. No, seriously! I think they've got their system down pat!

What can I say? Everyone knows I'm a strong proponent of ACTIVELY advertising any and everything I loooooove,  and you better believe this is NO EXCEPTION. I just f'ing love Chicago SO MUCH. I think Chicago is simply the greatest city in which to live in the continental United States and deserves to be recognized at a global level.

Don't let me down, Chicago! That's all I ask.