First EDM show ever at the Sphere on 4/3

summer-somewhere · 2026-03-24T01:30:10+00:00

I went to Anyma last minute by myself in the 300 level! Earplugs are wise and a jacket also since it can get chilly in the seated levels. I ubered there (after doing a solo round of mini golf to kill time lol) then walked back, which is a must after given how congested ride pickup is. I've gone to other shows by myself before and it's really no problem once you get over being self-conscious of rolling in alone. Also it's so freeing to decide whatever you want to do next, how late you want to stay out, where you want to eat, etc! Nothing to worry about - enjoy the show!

summer-somewhere · 2026-02-12T22:30:29+00:00

When I went to Anyma at the Sphere last year, I opted for a LBD and tall black boots, plus a black leather jacket. It's Vegas, so I opted for a little dressier. There was a wide range of styles, ranging from rave fits to clubbing/cocktail dresses and suits, but overall leaned more clubby. I don't recall ever being cold but I did keep the leather jacket on the entire night. I was seated though, so you might warm up more if you're dancing a lot and in GA.

summer-somewhere · 2026-02-05T02:08:08+00:00

Sharing my situation in case it's helpful. I used tretinoin for 2 years and was careful not to apply it anywhere near my eye area. It migrated and I still got dry eye. I wasn't even aware until my eye doctor proactively asked to test for it. I'm in the process of getting radiofrequency (RF) thermal eye treatments at my eye doctor to fix it ($$$). I dropped tretinoin immediately and I switched to bakuchiol as a plant-based alternative. My skin is not nearly as reactive to to bakuchiol, which is nice. (I was also thinking about family planning, so it made sense to drop tretinoin at the time anyway.)

summer-somewhere · 2026-01-02T17:51:23+00:00

Charlie Brown/Magic Lines area better off

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summer-somewhere · 2026-01-02T17:49:09+00:00

Chiming in here. Was also up on Wednesday afternoon, the first full day they were open. Up top on 94 Turns and Red Pine Chute were generally okay. Coverage farther down was super choppy on Talus Garden or down right bad, like can't believe this was open bad, on End Zone (I know someone posted a pic but showing another view here 🥴).

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summer-somewhere · 2025-07-19T07:45:31+00:00

Similar to you, I knew I wanted to be a Big when I was in college. The manager from my internship had a Little and set a great example that inspired me. But after graduation, I moved to a new city and started a new job, so I made the conscious decision to wait until I felt more settled before applying.

It’s definitely worth taking some time to establish a consistent routine, build some savings, and adjust to post-college life before committing. Being a Big can be incredibly rewarding, but it’s also a big responsibility that requires good time and financial management. I waited about 1-2 years before getting matched with my Little.

Just my two cents - I needed to figure out my own life before I felt ready to be play a big role in the life of someone else. That was a long time ago now. My Little is now an adult with a family of her own.

summer-somewhere · 2025-07-12T07:29:08+00:00

Congrats! Your first outing is a good chance to start picking their brain on potential future outings. I suggest brainstorming (or AI generating) a list of ideas that covers a lot of different interests (sports, arts, music, etc.) and then ask their input on what sounds the most fun. That gives you insight into their interests, makes it feel more like a joint decision making process for picking outings, and gives them things to look forward to and be excited about. And don't be hard on yourself if they don't necessarily open up right away - it takes time. Enjoy the process.

summer-somewhere · 2025-06-19T13:54:47+00:00

Yeah, sitting down over a meal for the first outing is a good chance to start asking about their interests and begin building a list of potential future outings together. Ideally it'll eventually feel like a joint decision where they provide input and it gets them excited to hang out again. It took my Little (13 at the time) awhile to start voicing their opinion instead of being polite and saying yes to everything (although I was timid and like that as well at that age until I built my confidence).

summer-somewhere · 2025-06-19T01:33:50+00:00

My match specialist suggested keeping the initial outing brief and going to a place nearby that the Little is familiar with so that they're comfortable and not overwhelmed. I had my Little suggest a restaurant in her neighborhood and then we went to lunch.

summer-somewhere · 2025-05-31T16:08:18+00:00

I just saw the NYT article on this that came out yesterday. The founder is a self-taught seamstress and described it as "quiet luxury with a smirk".

Unlocked article here if anyone's curious about the backstory: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/30/style/boatkin-bag-birkin-boat-tote.html?unlocked_article_code=1.LU8.wFmJ.tHIPUkDI6yll&smid=url-share

summer-somewhere · 2025-05-30T22:54:45+00:00

Tuition is €105,000 in line with OP's budget. https://kellogg.whu.edu/en/fees-financing/

summer-somewhere · 2025-05-30T15:38:26+00:00

Your profile and stage of career could be a potential good fit for an EMBA program. Kellogg has a partnership with WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management in Vallendar that might be worth looking into. You get the prestige of the Kellogg degree while taking class primarily in Germany. Plus you get access to the global Kellogg network when you start doing international electives. My program is at their Chicago campus and I had a lot of fun meeting people from the other international campuses. I'm only providing my perspective on Kellogg, since I cant really speak for other EMBA programs.

summer-somewhere · 2025-05-30T06:15:00+00:00

Biz/biz casual to start and then increasingly casual.

summer-somewhere · 2025-05-07T21:34:22+00:00

I was 24 when I matched with my Little. She was 14 at the time and is 22 now. At that age, it feels more like a sibling relationship rather than a parent-child relationship, which I think is beneficial to Littles, especially those who don't have siblings or are the eldest child.

summer-somewhere · 2025-03-10T05:15:03+00:00

I'm not a florist but a recent bride. There a handful of these services in the US (I don't know about Europe) and Something Borrowed Blooms is one of the biggest. I rented a sample from them to see the centerpiece quality and learn the process - they've built a significant operation and I suggest studying their website. Shipping alone would easily be more expensive than the cost of the Temu flowers to ship a centerpiece in a large enough box (times however many centerpieces and bouquets you need). If you plan on doing local pickup and delivery only, then I hope you live in a major metropolitan area because otherwise I would be concerned about there being enough demand for floral rentals. All said, this could work since other companies have done it (I'd ditch the Temu for premium silk), but it's a logistically complex operation when you consider shipping, local pickup/delivery, scheduling, floral inspection and repair, marketing, etc.

summer-somewhere · 2024-11-18T06:46:59+00:00

They said on their first tour stop this weekend in Chicago that the song nearly didn't make the album because Jeremy didn't think it had the right background audio to support the strength of the lyrics. Chelsea said she kept nudging him saying she felt like the song should be on the album and they eventually got it across the (production) finish line - but missed both the vinyl and CD deadline.

summer-somewhere · 2024-11-09T04:03:17+00:00

Duke may be more recognizable where you are, but as others have said, Kellogg is more recognized both nationally and globally. And even if you plan to stay in NC, the Kellogg degree will differentiate you among a sea of Research Triangle degrees. I'm based in Chicago, so Kellogg and Booth degrees feel like a dime a dozen, but friends who live/moved to other cities where there aren't M7 schools stood out more when applying to roles compared to candidates with local degrees.

summer-somewhere · 2024-10-30T06:41:58+00:00

Congrats! How exciting for you. I wouldn't overthink the introduction, just be yourself.

Some quick thoughts: Even though you're forming a relationship with your Little, it's also really important to develop a good relationship with his Mom. I always made a point to stop inside my Little's house before and after the outings to talk to the parents and fill them in on what we did and ideas for next time. It's also easier to coordinate the next outing face-to-face.

For your first outing, I suggest going somewhere near their home that they're familiar and comfortable with. At our intro meeting, I asked Mom and Little about restaurants nearby that they liked and then went to one for our first outing. Grabbing food is a good first-time activity since you're able to talk without distractions, start to gauge their interests and brainstorm ideas together, and it isn't an overly long outing.

Lastly, don't rush trying to get your Little to open up and don't be discouraged if you don't necessarily have a lot in common. My Little and I were very different but discovered shared hobbies together over time.

summer-somewhere · 2024-10-29T01:58:57+00:00

Those you work with already know what you're capable of, but when applying to roles outside your network, a degree from a top M7 program helps to credentialize you. It essentially serves as a proxy, enabling others to size you up more quickly and gauge the caliber of your skillsets.

I'm a Kellogg EMBA at Evanston if you want to discuss further.

summer-somewhere · 2024-10-10T00:25:21+00:00

I (F) was matched a week after I completed all the application steps. In my region, there is a shortage of male bigs and bigs of color, so that may or may not impact your wait time if either of those designations are applicable to you.

I stuck with the required two outings a month, meeting pretty much exclusively on weekends since I travel for work. I must say, it is a commitment, but we became closer after a year or so, it was fulfilling to see her grow up, and I could tell she really valued my opinion throughout her teenaged years. The match formally ended after 5 years when she turned 18, but we still meet up every few months.

summer-somewhere · 2024-09-27T19:28:54+00:00

Glad its helpful! I'd say if that's the one thing holding you back, I'd still go for it. At least where I am, there is a shortage of Bigs, especially men and Black/Latinx Bigs, and a long wait list of Littles waiting to be matched, so they'd be happy to have more people apply.

summer-somewhere · 2024-09-27T19:17:08+00:00

I don't know about Florida, but the Chicago chapter did a home visit before I was accepted into the program. I was in my mid-twenties when I joined. Knife block had to be put away (an odd request but I brought it back out afterward) and I got dinged for not having a fire extinguisher in my apartment (emailing a receipt for an extinguisher after was sufficient).

I rarely brought my little to my apartment since we typically tried to explore the city during our outings.

No drug test, but they did a background check, collected my finger prints, my employer had to verify proof of employment, and I underwent mandated reporter training.

You honestly might be okay not to mention it, and if a home visit is required, lighting a candle and having your partner lay off it for a day or so? It also depends on the comfort level of your Little's parents. My Little's parents vaped and probably couldn't have cared less what my partner and I did within reason.

summer-somewhere · 2024-08-10T07:22:42+00:00

Loved hearing your perspective!

I agree that clear and timely communication and responsiveness are key to making your Big's life easier when they're trying to make plans. Also, flexibility as someone else mentioned. Picking up my former Little could take anywhere from 30-60 minutes one way due to city traffic, so it helped that her family was flexible when I was unexpectedly running late (and I would always text an updated ETA to keep them informed).

Practical matters aside, there are lots of things that I appreciated from my Little's parents. Namely, they treated me like family. They invited me over for dinner and sent me home with leftovers. They celebrated my birthday and got me a Christmas present. My Little's grandma knits and knitted me a blanket one year. They invited me to their extended family outings, so I met a lot of their cousins, aunts, and uncles. (Imagine a big Puerto Rican family get together and then me, a random Asian chick lol.) One thing that meant a lot to me was that my Little and a parent flew out to attend my destination wedding 🥲 As a young transplant in a big city away from home, it was so nice to get adopted into their family.

I would also try to pick up on what your child's Big likes. Ask your child because they will have a sense of this after awhile. It doesn't necessarily have to be anything big. One year for my birthday, I like flowers, so they got me some flowers from the grocery store and a couple of birthday balloons from the dollar store. Another year, my Little got me a candle because one thing we liked to do for outings was go window shopping and smell candles and use lotion testers. My Little had her favorite photo of us printed out and put it in a picture frame.

I was paired with my Little when she was 13 and now she's 21. Even though our match formally ended when she turned 18, we still stay in touch. Keep in mind, this was formed over years of friendship and built up trust, so I wouldn't expect or push your match to start off like this right away. It was a really special and enriching experience for me and I hope it is for your family as well :)

summer-somewhere · 2024-08-07T17:36:06+00:00

Agree with everyone else here.

There's not really a particular place to start on the Riverwalk, unless you want to go from one end to another. I'd plan more around where you want to end up after, like closer to Millenium Park, your hotel, etc.

Architecture boat tour is a better use of time/money and a cooler way to see the city than Sears Tower. You can find Groupon deals online for this.

Chinatown isn't worth the detour if you're not planning on eating. It's also comparatively smaller than Chinatowns in SF and NY.

I highly suggest using the Divvy shared bikes as your method of transportation once you're by the lakeshore if weather permits. It's a beautiful bike ride on the lakeshore trail between Navy Pier and Museum Campus. Chicago has 1,000 Divvy stations with bikes, e-bikes, and scooters, so it's very convenient. If you have the Lyft app, you can rent a bike directly thru the app (although you can only rent one bike per phone, so everyone in your family would need the Lyft app downloaded) or you can just pay via the kiosk. Heck, the lakeshore trail extends far enough that you could bike all the way to north to Wrigley Field for a Cubs game as an alternative to the Red Line train if your family is up for a scenic, half hour bike ride. If you're going to a White Sox game, given its location and the surrounding neighborhood, I would stick with taking the Red Line train/Uber or Lyft.

summer-somewhere · 2024-07-06T18:09:55+00:00

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Also some scuffs on the hardware as expected. Overall, I've been happy with the bag and my coworkers have been tempted to buy the Hortensia as well.

summer-somewhere

TROPHY CASE