A Roof With A View

On Friday I was invited to a party on a Wrigleyville rooftop to view the inaugural game between my hometown favorite Chicago Cubs and the cross town rivals, the Chicago White Sox. Here is the kicker, I was invited as a guest of the Salt Lake City Visitors and Conventions Bureau.

As many of you know, I spent about 5 weeks of my summer in Salt Lake for work so this was a nice perk for the many Cubs games I have missed over the years. While I know this is a typical perk in the for-profit world, those of us who work in the non-profit world aren't used to such perks, so it was a welcome treat.

I grew up coming home from school and watching Cubs games on WGN-TV. They would begin at 1:20 and by the time I got home from school around 3:45 I could usually catch the last 3 innings. During these years when the Cubs played day games exclusively, the rooftops were a novelty to those who lived in the buildings across the street from Wrigley. They were not available to rent out our used for corporate parties but now they bring additional revenue to those buildings and the Cubs.

The rooftops are a great time. For a set fee you get all you can eat and drink and a good view of the ballpark. The bathrooms are cleaner and their are huge flat screen TV's if you want to get out of the sun for a little bit.

While I knew the day would involve some business I was looking forward to enjoying a beautiful day outside watching my favorite team. Our party took place on one of the new roofs in right field. Hot Dogs, Italian Sausages, Bratwursts and Italian Beef were had by all accompanied by frosty Bud Lights. The game was not going well for my team until the 7th inning when they turned it on and eventually sent their cross town neighbors home with a loss.

A beautiful day, free food and drink and a Cubs win against a dreaded rival, what more can a guy ask for?

Here are some pics from the rooftop...

Just Say Yes

It is a typical spring time here in Chicago. People are running, biking, eating outside and just generally enjoying the fact that they are not bundled up and sitting inside watching old TV shows on DVD or attending a friend's theme party.

There is nothing quite like summer in Chicago. If you have never experienced it you are missing out.

There is nothing like a friend's theme party as well. Whether it is a tailgating party or a Kentucky Derby party that some friends of mine hosted last week, there is nothing like getting into the theme of a party.

So Bif and I talked about it and we decided to combine two great things - summer and theme parties and give the summer a theme. This year, the summer of 2007 in Chicago will be: "Just Say Yes."

The time for excuses or working late is over for at the least the next 120 days. Just say yes to getting outside and enjoying the summer. Just say yes to staying up and out a little later with friends. Just say yes to (insert anything fun that you used to do before you were older here.)

Where appropriate, I will try to publish examples of us Chicagoans just saying yes!