Concert #3

Concert #2 was John Legend at Ravinia and was better than Rascal Flatts, but not better than #3, simply because we arrived too late (an hour before the opener started) and were forced to sit on the side on a semi-hill. With that being said, John Legend sounded great and when I caught a glimpse of the screen he was sexy, so I would definitely like to see him again. But enough of that, this is the story of #3.

I went with Becca and a group of her friends to see Cold Play at Alpine Valley, which is just over the boarder in Wisconsin. Alpine Valley is one of the few venues that still allow tailgating, so we decided to head there several hours early to participate in the festivities.

As we're getting out of our car I notice that the man in the van catty corner to us looks a lot like this guy at my work. A lot like this guy I hate at my work.

Now I know what you're probably thinking here - I hate a lot of people at my work. But, that's just not true. Since the recent layoffs the list had actually dwindled (sad but true), and ironically this guy had actually just recently made his way to the top of my list (lucky him).

Anyway, I look at him and get a sense of dread, but then quench it thinking that there is no way in hell that this one coworker happens to be at this one concert out of the hundreds of thousands of people in IL and WI. Besides, even if he was at this concert, there was no way that out of the thousands of people here that he would be right next to me.

But then his wife called out his name while he was parking the car. Yep, it was definitely him.

So, I sucked it up and went and talked to him. You may be asking why I didn't just ignore him. That simply wasn't an option - he was litterally sitting 3 feet from me. You reallly can't ignore that.

O well. It wasn't too terrible. And, Becca's boyfriends concurred that he was a tool after listening to our 3 minute conversation. Love it.

Water Skiing

After 4 or 5 attempts, I finally made it up!

You just don’t see that in New York

I figured my last post deserved an entire entry. Actually, my entire day yesterday deserves an entry…

Luda was back in town this weekend from New York. Yesterday afternoon we decided to grab dinner and drinks at the Boundary, and since it was gorgeous out we obviously sat on the patio. Just as we began eating, two men walked in with their extremely large dog. It was taller than our table and made right for out tator tots (and why wouldn't he), and the owner seemed to struggle a little to hold him back. My first thought was that it looked like a damn wolf, but this was quickly dismissed because no one has wolves in the city and they certainly wouldn't bring them to a bar full of people if they did.

After awhile some random girl bent down to pet him. What caught my attention was her saying "oh look, the little wolfy has some bacon." Wolfy? What do you mean wolfy? Does she think he looks like a wolf since he is really too large for a Sheppard or does she know something I don't? I decided to clear things up and just ask the owner.

"So that's a German Sheppard right?"

"It's 25% Sheppard."

"O, what's the other 75%?"

"Wolf." Wow, that really clears it up.

Our conversation was cut short because the "dog" jumped up to chase after some poor random man on the sidewalk. The look on my face must have been priceless though, and the friend informed me that the dog was purchased for $1,000 from a local breeder. While I've never looked into purchasing a dog or wolf, this actually seems like a fairly reasonable price.

All in all, the wolf was actually pretty well behaved, especially considering it should be a wild animal. The only real problem was that for some reason unbeknownst to me the owner refused to hold its leash, so it would try to chase people/dogs from time to time.



Shortly after the wolf discovery, I witnessed money falling from the sky. Literally. So I kept an eye out, and the second time it happened I saw three people throwing money out of their second story apartment window. Kristie's theory was that these people had a lengthy debate about what people would do if they saw money falling from the sky and so they decided to "make it rain." I believe they used singles, so no huge monetary investment was made in this little experiment. I have to admit, I was a little jealous that I hadn't come up with the idea and that I only live on the first floor so I won't be able to recreate it.



Side note: I have a new favorite summer drink thanks to our fabulous waiter – the John Daly, which is an Arnold Palmer with alcohol. Kristie's smoking buddy informed her that it is named after a drunk golfer. You should really check it out.

Better late than Never

I didn't realize how long it's been since I've written. It's been so long that blogspot has changed a little and adapted new technology.

I suppose one of the main reasons for my absence is because I've been journaling a little on my own. Every now and then I sort of feel like I'm going through some sort of transition phase - and this time I've been a little more introspective than usual. And, while I've always used my blog as sort of a journal, there are some things that the entire world doesn't need to know about.

With that being said, obviously there have been numerous blog worthy events over the past 3 1/2 months. Here are a few of the updates:

• I had my second experience in CA - Beverly Hills to be exact. The memories from this are some old lawyer (as in 58ish) trying to convince me to go home with him because he knows no one my own age would like me (there were more details here, but that is the gist). For my last night, Nida decided to show me a night on the town and we headed to the Peninsula where I actually met Ryan Seacrest. Yep, I'm serious, and I'm sure I looked like the typical dumb tourist with my mouth hanging open. As Nida would say, "Deb, I told you, this is LA baby."
  
  
• I didn't win my full deposit back. While I am 100% convinced that I was right and 95% confident that I would have won in court, in the end I decided to just give it up. Some things just aren't worth the fight. The upside of this is that I'm know very knowledgeable in Chicago renting laws and tenant rights. I told Trish I would serve as her advisor when they go to rent her condo.
  
  
• Leticia visited and it was awesome to see her. Thanks to Hill, I even managed to score some cubs tickets at the last minute (although I did want to kill her when she showed up extremely late b/c she took her roommate to the airport). The visit made me realize how much I miss everyone. Elena and I have discussed and we want to try to plan a Dallas trip - probably sometime around January/February.
  
  
• Dan was married. Although I bailed out early (thanks to the wine) it was nice catching up with eveyeryone, and getting to hear a tiny bit of gossip. I think the weirdest thing was watching the first of the boys get married, and I guess really the first of my very close friends. It seems like everyone is growing up and getting married. It's times like this where I stop for a moment and wonder what the hell I'm doing with my life. I mean, everyone is getting engaged and buying houses while I'm still sitting here writing about cubs games and canoe trips. But, then there are other days where I wonder why anyone wouldn't want my life and if it is right to have so much fun.
  
  
• Since the Julie's annual canoe trip had to be canceled this year, Hill and Baker organized a canoe trip on the Wisconsin River. Quick recap is that I shouldn't go out with Luda the night before and that the Wisconsin River is much easier to canoe on than MO (but not enough so that Hill didn't tip). Full details can be found on my picture page.
  
  
• We went to the Dells for Mandy's bachelorette party, and I learned that the lake just up and disappeared. It reminds me of that story where the ducks sat on this pond and it froze and they took it with them when they flew away. Also, tons of stories here.
  
  
• Over the past several months, I've had numerous job interviews. However, none really panned out. While "they all really like me and were impressed by me," no one wants to either fork over the cash or to make the committment on someone who is still so "inexperienced." I'm wondering at what age I will finally be considered experienced. Anyway, I have decided to chill for awhile and make the most of my job. I haven't given up, just taking a time out, if you will.
  
  
• I got a new do. And, if you haven't seen the pics, it's all the rage. Obviously, I will have to rock this for awhile.
  
  
• I've ran into Laurel twice at the gym and decided to pretend like I didn't see her both times.

I know there are many other stories, but it is late and I just can't remember them at the moment. I do remember Jeana specifically requested that I write about something in particular but still my mind is blank.

Coming to a close...

I can’t believe the summer is truly almost over. It sucks that you spend 9 months of the year waiting for summer and then it flies by with random trips and obligations. At least I took advantage of the nice weather last weekend by going to the beach several days. I also managed to drink a ton. In fact, I think that I drank more last week/weekend than I had in the past 2 months combined. The whole weekend was fun and I managed to visit quite a few new bars and restaurants.

My recommendations:

• Don't waste your time at Dicks Last Resort. Decent atmosphere (if you like people throwing wet napkins/food and 300 Iowa fans) but the food was pretty crappy and overpriced.


• Tonic room, believe them when they tell you they have a minimum credit card order.  I managed to get in a fight w/ 2 different workers.


• When a waiter actually warns you about some food being cooked in its own fat, don't order it. With that being said, the Mexican restaurant on Halsted & Wrightwood is too expensive and doesn't carry plain tacos - we almost left for La Bambas


• Funky Buddha - much to my surprise, not too bad. But, this was probably helped by the fact that I managed to get the bouncer to cut our cover in half and some nice boys from TN bought half our drinks.


• I highly recommend the Kit Kat Lounge - one of the funnier things I've seen in awhile. They have half priced martinis (which were damn good) and drag queens dancing, and it was still quiet enough most of the time to have an actual conversation. The dancer Sunday wore very revealing clothes and I'm still not sure how it was a guy. Only regret is that I didn't have a camera with me.

Spice up the Night

This weekend was one of the best that I've had in quite awhile. Julie and Jessica came up to visit, and it's just nice to be around people that you feel completely comfortable with (not that I don't with all of my friends, it's just not quite the same). In general it just seems that we always have a blast together whether it's in the "big city" or in a rural town - and I always love to see what brilliant scheme/story Jess will come up with. This weekends' was more tame than most, but entertaining all the same. It was also nice to see how well they fit in with my friends here, including my new roommate which I think may have inspired me to cut her a little more slack (however, she really needs to start being neater or I might flip out).

The only downside of the weekend came Friday night. Friday night Nikki and I went over to Kate's to grill for awhile and then head to a bar. I realized the quick grill plans for the night had changed when Kate began cutting jalepenos. Nevertheless, the three of us had a nice time chatting and drinking. After awhie Kate asked that I help b/c the peppers were getting to her. Note to self: if they're bothering someone else, perhaps you should think twice about helping. Well, the jalepenos were a little tingly on the fingers, but nothing too serious. Then, I accidently touched my mouth and it stung a little more, but, again, nothing to cry over. However, later that night when I took my contacts out, there was something to cry about. Apparently 5 hours and 10 handwashes later, there is still juice left on your fingers. My eyes burned and my contacts (a brand new pair - my last pair) are completely ruined. I'm still waiting on a new pair to arrive. I suppose if I ever cut jalepenos again, I'll remember to wear gloves!

Canoe Pics

Us Placers

Dear Baby Jesus… please bring us an armidilla for Jules to hit so that we may see what one looks like.

This statement pretty much sums up last weekend. For those that don’t know, a group of us decided to visit Julie at her current home in Van Buren, MO. For those that have never heard of Van Buren, don’t be alarmed; it literally consists of 10 canoe rental sites, 14 houses, and 20 trailers. Alright, I’m exaggerating slightly, but it is very southern and very outdoorsy – which inspired us to continue our annual summer adventures through a canoe trip.

Whenever we girls get together, we are basically a handful. I honesty don’t think the guys said more than two words (except when we grilled Mike about his job, house, car, future) – I guess we scared them.

Friday night was pretty mild. It primarily consisted of us trying to bounce each other off of blow-up mattresses while drinking MGD light (it’s honestly not that bad if you give it a shot). I know this all sounds bizarre, but it was highly amusing at the time – actually, the videos are still funny. While this was entertaining, I find the most interesting part of the night to be when we stopped at a gas station and realized that it was also an ice deli, a bar, a wood gift shop, and an air hockey venue. Btw, you really aren’t allowed to have open alcohol in MO; I can’t believe that collectively, everyone I know decided that was law.

Saturday we canoed 13 miles. Word to the wise, before you embark down a river in a canoe with no way out, clarify how many miles you are expected to go. Typically we do 7 or 8, not 13. But, we did 13 and we survived - just barely I think. I began the trip as Becca's partner and I have to say it was quite amusing watching her try to paddle; she couldn't quite get the hang of it. Eventually though, she figured it out and then Jess and I became the bad canoers. We became partners towards the end of the trip, which means we were fairly drunk, which means we tipped a lot. In fact, if it weren't for this random group of strangers on the river, I think we would've lost all of our stuff or died or both, somewhere around 1. They saved all of us numerous times, and it's actually kind of odd now that I think back on it. By the end of the trip, they officially knew we were the poor girls from Utah...

to be continued...

Crows & Cards

Well, my summer is almost over. It’s weird--- sometimes I feel like I haven’t done a whole lot this summer, but when I really think about it I’ve done a lot.

Last weekend was quite good. Friday night I went to the Counting Crows concert with Hillary. Concert was decent, but I really hate that they distort all of their songs live, even though I already knew that. Of course Hill didn’t notice the difference b/c she is only familiar with their live versions. I swear Hillary is secretly a hippy. Anyways, we were planning on meeting Cheryl after the concert and then crashing at her house, but we ended up getting completely drenched and decided to go home instead.

Saturday I was supposed to attempt to go to the Cards game, but I ended up getting in late from the metra and had a horrible headache (which I still kind of have). Eventually, I felt a little better so Kate and I met friends at Casey Morans to watch the end of the game. We ended up drinking the rest of the day, but I’m not entirely sure why b/c no one seemed gung-ho on being out.

Since Kate and I missed the game, we decided to go Sunday instead, which ended up being better since they won. I also got my first experience scalping tickets, which ended up being easier and cheaper than I imagined, of course that’s probably just b/c the Cubs are so bad.

From the Taste

I just uploaded everything from my camera and ran across this fabulous one of bacca. Since I don't think I posted any from her birthday, I figured why not go ahead and embarrass her now.

Even though it hasn’t been that long since my last post, I feel like a million things have happened. To begin with, it’s amazing to think that Layne & Bryan are actually married. Well, I guess they have been for awhile now, but this was the first time that I have hung out with them in probably over a year, and I’m really glad I got the chance to do so because it was nice to see how happy they truly are. I know it’s cliché, but I guess it gives me hope that one day I will find someone who makes me happy too.

The Fourth was nice, but it honestly left me tired and ready for a break from drinking. Friends from school came into town so we ended up going out both nights. (Side note: Casey Moran’s is ridiculous and I refuse to go there. For some reason they seem to think they can charge $9.50 for mixed drinks, even though they are not a club.) We attempted to watch the Chicago fireworks near us, but realized too late that you really can’t see them through the trees. This left Kate disappointed, so the two of us went into Evanston on Tuesday night to see their fireworks. Yes, I know that I said I wouldn’t be back there until the fall. Their fireworks ended up being great, and a friend told me yesterday that Evanston’s were much better than Chicago’s and that they could barely see them from Grant Park so we shouldn’t feel bad.

Becca came up yesterday so we got a chance to hang out all yesterday and today. It was really nice to see her, and I got a chance to see how much she has grown up in the past couple of years. My little Becca never would’ve managed to drive here and to the suburbs on her own or would’ve eaten sushi along with other random foods. Hopefully, she comes up here again soon (and hopefully next time the night won’t be quite so random).

Proud to Be Gay

Even though I started the weekend with a lot of plans, I didn't really end up doing a whole lot. Friday afternoon was cold and cloudy, so my beach plans had to be cancelled. I ended up also staying in that night because I felt like crap due to my allergies which have been extremely bad for the past month (I think I'm gonna go to the doctor this week for them). Saturday we woke up bright and early and headed to the beach with Hillary, where we stayed till about 4 or so. That night I had dinner with Caroline who was in town for a bachelorette party. On a side note, she is working for Miller this summer and it sounds like a constant party. Anyways, later on Kate and I went to Doug's house warming party. I ran into Josh there and he said all of three words to me, so I'm guessing we're not "talking" to each other anymore. Whatever... I've decided that all guys are asses (except of course the few who read this). I just don't understand them. But, I digress. Doug's apartment was nice and his roommates seemed cool. It seems like this will all work out nicely for him.

Today was the annual gay pride parade. And, since I essentially live in Boystown, I of course decided to witness it first hand. It was definitely an experience, although it didn't quite live up to the hype that Nikki and Trisha had given it (they have fabulous stories from last year), but this is probably due to the weather. I was also really hoping I would happen to run into my uncle there, but I guess he went home for the weekend or something. On another sidenote: this man lives in a suburb and has yet to take me to dinner or anything, and I'm sure he's in my neighborhood at least once in awhile. All in all, the parade was crazy. Lots of half-naked people doing a lot of screaming. The Gay Games are also being held here this summer, so I can't wait to see what they entail.

Quote of the Day: "eh... Last night was alright. It was honestly just too touristy. You know, all the damn people from the suburbs came in and then all the little people from places like Peoria traveled up because they felt like it was their one big chance to be gay. Kind of took all the fun -out of it for me." -Andrew (a gay friend from school)

O, and I finally got my question answered as to what Steamworks really is. Andrew was highly amused with the question, but it sounded like his other girlfriends had also recently asked the question.

Thursday night I met Jen and her coworkers for happy hour, and one of the guys offered me a ticket to the White Sox/Cardinals game that night. Now you would think anyone would jump at this chance, but after much debate, I opted not to go. While I really wanted to see the Cards and I've also been wanting to see the Sox, I just wasn't sure it would be a good time. I had only met the guy once before and the conversation was kinda boring and awkward. It would have been just the two of us, so I was afraid it would be odd. Plus, I was afraid the Cards would be slaughtered again and I would just get pissed. I guess the question is, how weird would it have been if I had went?