it's been real, 2010

2010 was a pretty solid year year; so as a recap i'd like to give you a few of my favorite moments, things and whatnot. enjoy yourselves...

favorite new obsession: dexter. now that is a show that will suck you in. freaking vacuum effect. it doesn't hurt that michael c. hall is one sexy serial killer. i've torn through 4 seasons in the blink of an eye, losing sleep and sanity along the way... i'm not complaining, he can wrap me up in saran wrap any day of the week.

favorite new show: boardwalk empire. early america, gambling, illegal activity, sex and booze. need more explanation?

favorite album of the year: sigh no more, mumford and sons. instantly fell in love with this album in the spring of 2010 and then later it, coincidentally, helped me through a rough period of time. very solid mix of sounds on the album-- i'd describe most of it as poetic; most lines are really amazing if you just take a listen, it's really worth checking out... no more than checking out, falling in love with.

favorite song: way back home, band of horses. this quickly became my favorite song of 2010-- whether it was cruising around rural valpo, driving on the coast of lake erie on my way to upstate new york, or while approaching the chicago skyline, this song marked a lot of monumental events for me. jamming to it among good friends will help me to always remember the song accompanied by those great memories.

favorite sookhai/halbert adventure: post graduation trip to northern michigan. house on the grand traverse bay, wine tasting, general merriment, great food and beautiful northern michigan. great way to end my summer with my family and my second family.

favorite reunion: homecoming 2010. reuniting with valpo friends from across the country, getting to see my long lost friend from jersey while she took a break from gtl and participating in shotgun contests, champagne breakfasts and shenanigans of every kind with some of my favorite people.

favorite holiday: st. patrick's day in chicago. if you've never done this, do it. it was my first time and it was amazing. day full of whiskey, car bombs and whatever else we could get our hands on and running into friends all over the city. even though we passed out before we could go party with lmfao (i'm serious) it was still an amazing celebration and it was ok doing shots shots shots without them, we lived.

favorite bar night: black wednesday. enough said? i think not. wandering out to the shitty bars in our hometown with my my four best friends from home. forced to converse with people we haven't seen since high school while laughing and cheersing the night away. who better to combat awkward encounters with than your best friends? night completed by taco bell and alex's dad as our dd, now that was amazing.

favorite new internet sensation: stumbleupon. i can't imagine anyone not liking stumbleupon. you pretty much gear it to whatever you want to see, and bam, magic-- every website on the internet is sorted through and the stuff you are looking for comes to you. the music ones are the best and are always practically perfect for what i want. 

 favorite new beverage: dirty vodka martinis. yes, i'm turning into a housewife, judge me, i am. but hey, any beverage with delicious green olives, olive juice and the rest containing alcohol is a-ok with me. sh sh shaken not stirred (i'm kevin gnupoor).

favorite new afternoon activity: hanging out with my mom (aka chalbs), watching shows we recorded from the night before, since we fall asleep too early to watch them. so maybe my favorite new afternoon activity is acting like a retired person... early bird specials anyone?

favorite new crew: "the fam" spring 2010 brought a new group of people together to cause madness collectively; lots of adventures with some of the greatest people i know. the kind of friends, i wish everyone could have and people i truly consider family.

favorite event: (23rd) biiiiiiiithday. i blogged about it, you should know, it was the shit. i mean maybe i'll live my life like that every day, someday; free bottle service, vip, or in the words of "ice cream paint job" rollin' like a big shot. until then, i'll just savor the one night where i didn't have to dream of revelry. 

favorite college event: beer olympics. what's up team u.s.a. for me it was my second straight victorious year overall and as shotgun champ, boom. this year was somehow even sweeter. probably one of the most amazing events held at valpo ever, great day, right before everyone started real life. so much success. let's just say we had a great time in the backyard of 809 brown. (i mean graduation was great too, but there was no beer there)

hope you enjoy some of my favorites of 2010. i've already failed on one of my "things to be better at in 2011" by slacking on my blogging, oops, well it's not 2011 yet, i'll start being better at it, now. have a safe and happy new years eve everyone, it's 9:00am, pop some champagne and enjoy your last day of 2010.

life is a beach, i'm just playin' in the sand

my favorite time to dig into new music is when i have a long drive ahead of me. luckily for me, i recently received a variety of new jams and was on my way out of town for the weekend for a little drive through the midwest.

girl talk | all day

 mood: ready to go out and rage? your hanging in a grungy college basement drinking cheap beer out of solo cups, lots of dancing and singing involved. do you appreciate music of the past blended with music of today? listening to girl talk makes me feel like i'm at perry's stage at lollapalooza. beautiful chaos. when i listen to it in my car, it's like a dance party and gregg gillis is my own personal dj.
gregg gillis never disappoints; in my opinion, every girl talk album gets progressively better (night ripper, feed the animals, all day) and the latest album dropping november 15th was no exception. complete musical bliss, mashing up to 6 songs at once. so for my road trip i was very excited for some of gregg’s musical genius, since girl talk is some of my favorite music to drive and jam to. 

here are some of my favorite mashup's on this album, track by track

oh no:

ice cream paint job - dorrough + strawberry letter 23 - the brothers johnson

let it out:

twerk -project pat + mr. blue sky - electric light orchestra  

mr. big stuff - jean knight + pretty girls - wale ft. gucci mane

that's right:

in your eyes - peter gabriel + break u down -slim ft. red cafe + hot spot -foxy brown + closer - nine inch nails

jump on stage:

shimmy shimmy ya - ol' dirty bastard + creep - radiohead

lovegame - lady gaga + hey ladies - beastie boys + lust for life - iggy pop

this is the remix:

gangsta luv - snoop dogg ft. the dream + the jump off - lil kim ft. mr cheeks +i want you back -the jackson 5

get low - lil jon and the eastside boys ft. ying yang twins + sunday bloody sunday - u2 + cecilia - simon and garfunkel 

on and on:

i want it all - birdman ft kevin rudolf & lil wayne + bizarre love triangle - new order

wetter - twista ft. erika shevon + with or without you - u2 + television rules the nation - daft punk

get it get it:

windowlicker - aphex twin + pretty boy swag - soulja boy

bang - rye rye ft. m.i.a. + just can't get enough - depeche mode

gossip folks - missy elliott ft. ludacris +. digital love - daft punk

down for the count:

layla -derek and the dominos + haterz everywhere - b.o.b. ft. rich boy + give it all you got - afro rican

can't get you out of my head - kylie minogue + bust a move - young mc

make me wanna:

wake up - arcade fire + money to blow - birdman ft drake & lil wayne + pony - ginuwine

steady shock:

alright - supergrass +  1st of tha month - bone thugs n harmony
black and yellow - wiz khalifa + paint it black - the rolling stones

every day:

 i just want to write this track off as my favorite. the first time i listened to it i was beyond excited to hear imagine as the closing song, i thought it was a perfect ending and all the songs mashed throughout the song were great as well.

*check out this website that shows all the mashups track by track, it's amazing and it showed me how many  songs were really in each mashup that i would have never realized.
girl talk - all day

 

arron dean | mpls

mood: mellow. a long drive into a midwestern sky or curled up in a warm sweater on a colorful fall day. the kind of music that will make you feel what he is feeling. the kind of music that will make you look back fondly on your past and better yet, look forward to the future.

i’m so happy to have stumbled upon this extremely talented artist, hailing from south africa. arron dean started following me on twitter, since a lot of my twitter rambling has to do with music. usually when random artists follow me, i don’t take much action, but for some reason, i decided to check him out and i’m so thankful i did. being a big fan or artists like sufjan stevens, bon iver and iron & wine, i instantly found a lot of similarities in arron dean’s music.

talking music with people is one of my absolute favorite things to do, so i had no problem reaching out to arron dean to find out a little more about him. he was extremely responsive and seems like a genuinely awesome guy. arron dean’s album mpls focuses on the midwest, which hits close to home for me. messaging back and forth with him (as well as doing a little reading about him), led me to find out that he traveled to the midwest as kind of a healing process and fell in love with the area. love, loss, hurt and forgiveness, with no hint of bitterness are the themes that tie this album together. i enjoyed hearing his journey, his challenges and moving forward with his life.

“somewhere close to 3 am, i’m in the same seat, while you’re drinking across the street. there’s nothing wrong with picking scabs, to open wounds, it’s the only way we know, what we lose” -unannounced.

jams from this album i would suggest starting with include: sleep without me, minneapolis, unannounced, i think i’ll be alright

i already find myself belting out lyrics to arron dean’s when i listen to his music. as soon as i started listening to him, i was captivated by his beautifully relatable lyrics and amazing voice. 

kid cudi | man on the moon vol II: the legend of mr. rager

mood: sitting around a dim room with your closest friends, empty bottles, thick atmosphere. laid back, calm, relaxed. let scott mescudi take you to a peaceful place, his peaceful state of mind... like you're floating on the moon with the man himself, whether or not you're taking off into the true cudi mentality.

i was itchin’ to get back in the cudi zone, awaiting the drop of his follow up album to man on the moon. i know this review is a little overdue but that’s okay, i like to make sure i’ve fully gotten into an album before i jump the gun on a review. 

my faithful college roommate of three years, ms. amanda berrios, introduced me to cudi and i’ve never looked back. i somehow knew i wouldn’t be disappointed by his second album, scott mescudi, is one of a kind. his style was something i quickly fell in love with; funky, smart, don’t-give-a-fuck attitude. i was excited to listen to this to come back to his mix of dark and mysterious with other tracks peppered with an all star lineup of artists featured throughout the album. 

favorite songs so far: revofev, marijuana, erase me (ft. kanye west), mr. rager, mojo so dope

i'd also like to note the comical discovery that the song marijuana is 4 minutes and 20 seconds long... naturally it's not a mistake, make sure to listen until the end of the track. you're a funny one, scotty. 

also, if you haven't heard kid cudi's song, the prayer, off of his mix tape, you should check it out. it's a great jam with band of horses the funeral, in the background, that's my kind of music. it's been around for a while but if you missed it-- here ya go.

kid cudi - they prayer 

in case you've been living under a rock, the beatles are now available on itunes. there is a complete box set version available for purchase or separate tracks and albums. this is the first time i think my mom had an urge to buy anything on itunes, it was a precious moment, jamming to the best of the beatles with my mom. if your music library is lacking some beatles, jump on it, now there are no excuses.

thank you, thank you, thank you, you're far too kind.

lovers & friends

thanks for supporting my comedic life by tuning in for the last few months.

i'm not sure how many of you stumbled upon my blog, but thanks for stopping by! i'm happy to say that since late october, my blog has been picking up a larger international audience. now my blog has been viewed in over 20 countries around the world, as near as canada and as far as china, australia and japan (plus many places in between). 

so i just wanted to say thanks for coming out and i hope my blog at least gives you some comedic relief from your daily grind, if not, well, at least i amuse myself.

special shout out to marty and jimmy who are viewing my blog from germany and have been giving me feedback via skype during their semester abroad :)

maybe this year will be better than the last

as i sit here, just into the second day of december, i wonder what's to come.. i have a few resolutions for my year, not necessarily things i will write down and call my "new year's resolution" but things i'd like to...well, improve on.

dying my hair less: it's going to fall out, seriously. maybe i should embrace the brunette in me, but every time i do that, i have an identity crisis and go back blonde... eh, time will tell, but i'll try to make it look less like straw, because that's just not attractive. sorry for the dye, damage, irons and aerosol shit i put all over you... please stay on my head a little longer so i can put off having a wig until a more socially acceptable time (i mean i'm no lil kim).

f

from left to right (top) winter 2009, spring 2008 +pimp cup, fall 2008
(bottom) fall 2008, spring 2009, today upon waking, sexy, i know.

being less of a scrub: really, i hate dressing up. it would be awesome to have a profession where i could wear: tights, camisoles, sweatpants, t shirts, sweatshirts, hats, beach dresses, no pants, insert other comfortable clothing. these are the clothes (or lack there of) i enjoy spending my time in. i have a lot of nice clothes, which i only use if a) going out socially b) important event c) need to impress someone (once impressed, will return to sweats and co).  unless i can find a job where i can dress like a bum 9-5, i'm going to have to figure it out and my real people clothes are going to have to come out of hiding.

leaving the past in the past: belt out a little cee lo green, take a deep breath. much better. so let's move on, shall we?

volunteer more: self explanatory? everyone could use a little more lovin'.

spend time improving lost skills: piano, those were the days, now i should work on being able to jam to some of my favorite piano rockers. brush up on the espanol again, those few semesters in college really made me hate it a) because i somehow tested into a higher level!? b) that lady's lisp (typical of some area in spain) distracted me way too much. so it's about time i buckle down with some flash cards and a margarita.

do what i want: seriously... there are so many things i want to do. ready, set, go.

be more normal when meeting new people: first impressions, not too bad at em, but after that i warm up to people far too quickly. i like being around people, but not everyone is like me, so i should probably ease into the process of introducing my awkward life. i'll work on it, ehhh, no promises.

blog more: i really failed in november. hi, not like i was doing anything constructive. i need to watch less tv (which will result in blogging more), because seriously, i've become  a housewife over here, i've been sucked into like 20 shows. but funny stuff still happens to me all the time and my life continues to be awkward and jobless so, more blogging, check.

so whatever your new year's resolution, aspirations for the future or just short term goals may be, make em good ones, and make one of them reading my blog more often. ta ta for now.

a very halbsy holiday

ah, the holidays.
i am one of those people that is anti christmas music until after thanksgiving, at least (except for when i forget to take off *nsync's, merry christmas, happy holidays and occasionally belt it out when it comes on my shuffle, mid june, of course). so thanksgiving marked the time for me to start doing some things excessively:
a) listening to christmas music, which absolutely includes sufjan steven's christmas album (it's heavenly, happy birthday jesus) b) wearing my uggs (go ahead, put me in the category of stereotypical ugg wearing girl, those bad boys are like walking on a cloud, go ahead, judge). c) watching home alone 2, lost in new york, repeatedly (i bought a dvd in china with all 4 of them on it, awesome (also don't argue with me, lost in new york is the best... shut up (amanda))

so this holiday, i was really excited to spend my thanksgiving weekend with close friends and family. sadly my sisters moved down south and i wont get to see them until the next holiday, (rough break, christmas time on the ocean? this is where kevin mccalister and i disagree, sorry kev, but i'm all about it)  so for our thanksgiving feast i was the lone grandchild in attendance since my cousins on the one side all have significant others and were doing that thing (please remind me more of my single life by leaving me as the only person under 55). 

let me just start off with black wednesday. hello, awesome. i think this is the first year i decided to venture out on the biggest bar night of the year, and let me just say, it did not disappoint. i knew going in, i'd get to see lots of people i hadn't in a long time (some i was excited to see, others i had no desire to see), so i knew it would be a mix of awesome, awkward and hilarious (which are three words that sum up my life pretty well). naturally, it was a little blurry at times, making sure to share some beverages among good friends before hitting the really lame bar scene that is my hometown. upon arrival, chaos. packed bars, lots of greetings, smiling until my face hurt, the whole nine yards. bumping into people that were bitches last time i saw them and didn't let me down... still bitches. people i dated that i have no idea why i dated them. people i dated who still pull the same bullshit they did years ago, ay yi yi. ever heard the song "all my exes live in texas", i really wish they did. but all in all, great night. did some embarrassing stuff, which is pretty standard. ended my night, in a bed, but not after alex's dad took us to taco bell, which was heavenly. my group of girlfriends consists of five of us who have stayed close throughout the years and who are actually doing something with our lives after high school. we all received a text from one of our good friends in the group in the morning, which may, to date, (besides texts from my friend martha) be the best text i've ever received. 

8:05am "last night = puddle. woke up with taco bell wrapper stuck to my face. my boyfriend says i demanded a quesadilla then immediately barfed it up. fail."

as the holiday weekend continued. we hosted a pretty baller feast at my home on thursday. it started out with my elderly grandmothers talking to each other about their hearing aids, which i listened to intently, dreading the day i complain about hearing aids, but chucked, because it was hilarious (sorry grams x 2). my mom and i drank wine and got everything together, we talked about travel over the feast, i got asked countless times what i'm doing with my life, "hi, still nothing". i've changed my answer to "ya know, just hanging out". i'm sure everyone loves to hear that after i spent 4 years at a private university. ooops. workin' on it.... still.

friday we host a big post thanksgiving party at my house. lots of good food, lots of beer lots of wine. awesome. this year was the 5th year. i'm very blessed to have close friends (whom i noted earlier) who's parents are also close with mine. so it's a combination of families and friends, ended up being 30+ people i would say. my friends and i have created a tradition, since the first time we had this shinding: buy lots of boones farm, chug it upstairs, return to party, chow down, return later for more boones farm. this year was no different (i'll grow up someday, maybe). when my mom found out that we have this boones farm tradition her response was

 "boones farm? really? i thought i raised you better than that."

...sorry mom, apparently not.

after the boones and grub we actually made it to the bar after. met up with some good friends, ended up piling 7 people into a monte carlo for the trip home, real cozy, then we waited for our friend jazzy to struggle to get into his house in the dark while we all heckled him, sorry (i'm not sorry) to your neighbors. saturday i was way too worn out from the food and alcohol hangover that started wednesday, so i decided on some quality times with my roommates/parents, luckily  i did because my dad, the comedian, had some wise words about staying fit after the glutenous activities we participated in over the weekend...

"when there's a will, there's a way.... WHEY PROTEIN!"

it saddens me that this could be my last thanksgiving like this, but hey, at least we made it a good one ;) until next time, from me and mine to you and yours, happy holidays.

no one likes you when you're 23

i recently took a trip to visit my good friend ali, in rural illinois. on my way, i jammed to new music (music post comin' at ya soon), i reminisced, i got pumped for the weekend to come. newark, il, you don't disappoint. i hop in my faithful explorer, dennis, and i hit the road. stopping in my old stomping ground, valpo to fill up on gas and on to the land of lincoln i go. naturally, for the second time in my life, i get lost in the beautiful place that is south holland, il. (big shout out to the land of meg hoh). it wasn't my first time in south holland, a place that seems less than inviting (less inviting in the dark on a friday night while i'm lost in the ghetto), my gps decides it doesn't want to recognize that a road is completely shut down and takes me around and around for a half hour while i try desperately a) not to stop, because hi, i'm in the ghetto b) not cry because naturally i don't have cell service c) try not to throw my gps out the window. i eventually find my way only to get caught in standstill traffic for another chunk of time, only miles from my exit to paradise. rural illinois, your construction sucks just as bad as michigan, this is not a compliment.

upon my arrival, finally, i'm greeted with good friends from valpo, good grub (shout out to mamma schultz), and some beers... mmm beers, so necessary after that nearly four hour drive. we catch up, we drink, we head out to the bars. oh, the bars in rural illinois, a beautiful thing. firstly, let me note that ali's hometown reminds me a little of my side of town, but a little more hick, so naturally i knew the bar scene was going to be a real treat. first bar, i can tell we are surrounded by typical small town people, besides the people i was with, everyone was awesome, regardless. my next big pleasant surprise came in the form of busch light cans. am i at a frat party? no i'm a suzies bar, of course. ordering felt a little weird "hi, may i have a can of busch light please?" they take money for busch light cans in forms other than a case? news to me. thanks suzies, it's been real. oh, and balding dj, please respond to my sweet moves next time i try to dance on you, rude. 

valpo crew, plus mitch mc creeps a lot.

en route to the next bar, i was greeted by some nice old school jams from ali's brother, like "ridin' dirty", hello high school, it's been a while. upon arrival to the next bar, i came upon the most small town country bar ever. it was awesome. i wish there was one like it here. i don't even think i could describe it besides awesome. jimbo shots we're a must, i think they were like a dollar and quite delicious surprisingly, despite their cost. so if you're ever traveling through or hanging out, doing country things in newark, give jimbo's a shout out, i know i will. 


waking up was rough, but hp7 was waiting for us. standing, feeling rough, ali and i overhead a extremely obese woman in the next line order lots of movie snacks, then followed it up by "i need a large coke and a large sprite" ali and i look at each other, naturally thinking the same thing, i mutter "no you don't"... really though she didn't, a water would have been just fine for you, sweetheart. after a lengthy but awesome hp7, ali and i had made comment after comment about "nice work harry" "shit, is about to get real" "ron is being such a bitch" comments we made our way back to newark, struggling the entire way home, attempting to be real people again as the next evening out approached.

spending our evening in, at a house party, in our pj's was just fine with me, don't worry, just because we were in our sleepwear it was still a great night. plenty of glow stick dancing to techno music, drinking games i haven't played since i was in college (ew, i always forget i'm not in college anymore) and ali changing the words to g6 to "feelin' so fly, in my asics" since she was rocking tennis shoes and sweats. classic. though we were at a house party, hosted by someone my age, there were still some high schoolers present. that was alright, i tried to pretend i was young and hip. i got some laughs from my comparison of busch heavy to drinking a sandwich, jammed to "what's my age again" and felt old since blink182 specifically pointed out how being 23 sucks. we mooched some booze off some kids, asking if we could take a shot of "x rated" a pink liquor, and this guy responds to us "yeah, x rated is for the bitches" thanks bro, we'll be finishing this bottle now, since we're the "bitches" so it's obviously for us. 


so newark, il, save me some x rated next time i come to town, because these bitches will be thirsty.

ayo, i'm tired of usin' technology

have you ever met anyone who just repels technology? well now you have. this girl. hi, hello, i'm jenny, repeller of technology. the thing is, i'm pretty technologically savvy, but when it comes to bad luck with technology- i've, arguably, got the worst of it, and here is why....

 (i would like to note that when i started writing this blog, i lost my ipod.. it has not been found, and this is not a joke.. i wish it was)

after i received my first cell phone at 16 (now kids get cell phones at birth, practically, cool), i upgraded after a while, and from there on, completely downhill. i do feel really bad about all my technology issues, but i've come to terms with it and finally started doing things like getting insurance on my phone/camera/computer warranty, the works.

let's start with cameras and ipods:

one of the best stories and most recent, i lost my camera on halloween (how? beats me), i awake, camera-less, super bummed about not having it, because i remember comical pictures. in april or may, someone drops the camera off at our house, it was in a pile of leaves in our neighbors yard (i had not been at the neighbors the night before...uh, i don't think). naturally, i had already replaced the camera, but somehow i either threw my camera, fell in a leaf pile or who knows what, causing the camera to be mia for most of the school year...
my cameras have had cracked screens, stuck lenses, more cracked screens, water damage and so on.
ipods, lost, water damaged stolen, stolen (one time i was convinced my ipod was lost and later it was found in a sweatshirt pocket, that was cool/not)

but let's get to the main event... jenny and cell phones....

the time when it was the worst: spring of senior year at valpo, honest mistake i had my blackberry in my sweatshirt front pocket, i go to use the rest room and somehow maneuvering when entering the stall, blooop,, blackberry in the toilet. don't worry, i had that insurance i was talking about, new phone to be shipped asap... wait. wait. wait. new phone arrives, half a week later, guess what? defective phone. must send out for new/ not defective phone. new new phone comes have it for two day, i'm wandering home after a trip to the bar and i stumble... blooooop. blackberry  goes for a swim 2.0. apidnfoaiffnaosdf.  3 blackberry's 2 weeks, new record?

other instances include: phone on couch-  conveinently falling into small cup of ice tea on the floor. random water damage, cracked screens, more water damage, lost briefly at lollapalooza

i swear i try really hard to keep track of my belongings, and i had been doing so much better, until this week. but if all that info wasn't enough for you, here's some proof of how i usually get into my phone troubles...

 

 phone sitting on the bar at a party, bad choice

 shouldn't be using phone at all during the iditarod (ask if you want to know what it is)

 by the look of this awkward pose, i should definitely not be handing a phone at this time.

 phone AND camera in hand at sigma chi formal? somehow both survived the evening..whew.

 senior bar crawl. say no more.

i came to dance dance dance dance

 photo cred: me. downtown chi town

before i get started, please note post "just snookin' for love" since it fully describes how unexcited i was to celebrate my birthday this past weekend. i went around and around with my friends, making and then going back on plans, then finally committing to a weekend in valpo/chicago. i needed to do something fun with my friends... so to save time, the first two nights in valpo were great; got to make a guest appearance on vince and andy's radio show, celebrate lil wayne's release from prison, catch up with all my favorite people, cure hangovers with taco bell, slum in valpo like the good ol' days, it was fabulous.. but then saturday morning, it was time for chicago....

part of my birthday present was to get a room downtown for the night, which ended up being a sweet spot overlooking the chicago river, right next to the house of blues. my friend and roommate of three years, amanda, told me we would get hooked up all weekend (i'm from the country, i don't know what entails being "hooked up" downtown chicago) and oh was i in for a treat. 52 dollar parking, turned out to be free, awesome. so after we settle in (lauren, amanda and myself) we head down michigan ave for some shopping,  then to a great english pub for dinner, then to drink some beers overlooking the city from our 14th floor hotel room. 

 

photo cred: laur's iphone (me and amanda 14th floor at the sax hotel)

amanda's friends arrive. one is a hotel promoter downtown, he assures us that we wont pay for a thing all weekend. (i'm from a small, boring town, i think getting hooked up means a few free pitchers of beer, maybe some shots on the house and hey i like going out in a t shirt on occasion, so this would soon prove to be a big improvement from my usual going out style) then i found out that getting "hooked up" in chicago was code for freaking awesome. we head out, cabs paid for. we get to the first club, skip the line. we head in, coat check, paid for. we walk through the club, to a roped off vip area. we order drinks (from our groups personal waitress). drink after drink after drink. fuh-ree. don't mind if i do chicago, don't mind if i do. we even were drinking a $300 bottle of vodka at the first club, for free. (delicious, probably the only time i'll ever drink that) i was overwhelmed with awesomeness. i felt like i was in a rap video or something, or more like kid cudi's pursuit of happiness video (which really is one of the happiest videos in my book). i cheersed with some great friends, i cheersed with some new friends, i got a lot of "yeaaah birthday girl" shout outs from people i didn't know and from fellow vip-ers. the song "say aah" was apparently my anthem for the night since it talked about a) drinking b) a birthday girl c) fun. that's fine. we continued this process at 4 clubs downtown chicago, same treatment everywhere. it was pretty damn awesome. 

next two photos cred to laur's iphone

 

some specifics from the evening that were pretty funny: in bigger cities, there are often bathroom attendants. the lady at our first club, cheryl, was great. when we met her, she was yelling at a girl who really must have upset her, gist of the story is, this girl gave cheryl attitude, cheryl thought this girl was a ho, for lack of better terminology, and started calling her out about her butt cheeks showing. the girl defends herself by responding how her boyfriend likes it, my girl cheryl fires back about how her boyfriend has someone more respectable on the side. get it, cheryl. another cheryl highlight is when we realized people were tipping her in drinks, since we had free booze, we figured we'd go that route. i ask cheryl what she drinks, she tells me she sticks to dark liquor, she isn't into vodka, she mentions hennessy. i immediately start quoting a little katt williams and it goes like this:

(watch it on youtube)

"we are very consistent. if a brotha drink hennessy...that what the eff that brotha drinks. You aint gotta keep asking. that's what he gon drink on monday, wednesday, friday, his birthday, jesus birthday...hennessy."

right away, my girl cheryl, gets pumped because some white girl is quoting katt williams with her (seriously, i have the most random/awesome variety of interests, no shame, that's why i love people so much, because i have a great sense of humor (please note post "yeah, bro /stop living in the past")) sadly, we couldn't get cheryl any hennessy, but we hooked her up with some $300 vodka, i hope she enjoyed.

at the last club,  we had just about had it, we were tired, had been drinking for a long period of time and i was working on a time change, but as they guys told us in the beginning of the evening, we were in for a late night, i didn't want to be a party pooper, hello, it was my birthday. lauren and i decide to go dance ridiculously (like lollapalooza /rave/ridiculous dancing ) we just get up there and wave our bodies around, jump around do whatever, it was awesome and gave us a second wind. sadly though, i then attracted a dance partner, i like to dance, so i'm like cool, dance is not code for attack my face, bro. that proved to be interesting trying to run away from him the rest of the night. then our new challenge turned into finding amanda's phone, someone stole at the last club, i continue to call/text/bombard amanda's phone until we pass out in the early am. i pretend it's amanda's birthday trying to get whoever took it to take pity on us, give sob stories, repeatedly send sad faces, but hey it ended up working. some 40 year old, wanna be bro, found amanda's phone the next day in the heart of downtown chicago and she happily retrieved it, miracles can happen, folks. we hit everything on our list, except had to decline our invitation to party at the playboy penthouse, that's an invitation i never thought i would receive. thanks chicago.

now, that's what i call, a birthday. now, back to reality. 

 "partying like a rockstar, in the chicago of my mind" -laur

this week was cool.

photo: sweet mustaches

random babbling for the day:

land lines:

as you may know, i'm back living at home (i hate even typing that), and something i forgot about was land line telephones. my take on them since coming back, is not positive. there are a few things that add to my not liking land lines: political calls, calls that are absolutely never for me, having to take messages for my parents (naturally i'm never by paper or pen), more political calls.

i don't know if anyone actually always fully answers those calls, usually i hear my mom answer, telling them she's too busy to answer their survey, i pretend i don't actually live there, or when it's an automated call i usually just hang up. i hang up for two reasons: i am already an informed citizen, i make sure to brush up on all the political news in my area, nationally and internationally so i have no need for them to try to convince me of something, or i just don't feel like talking to them (sorry political call people). the other day i changed my normal action towards political calls and had a full conversation with a few (i think i was extra bored). i consider myself an independent voter but definitely lean one way over the other, so when someone called from the party on the other side, i had a quality chat with them. when they asked me about two candidates from their party for two different positions, i let them know exactly why i wasn't voting for them; i wasn't rude, by any means, but i hope it made their day somewhat more interesting, or maybe i just pissed them off.

next up: fitness.
i used to be in really great shape, went to college on a division 1 athletics scholarship, only to be injured, quit playing, and start playing like a typical college student. so now that i'm not and i'm back at home, eating real food, regularly and being much more active, i've decided to take a little more action; ever heard of p90x? well this week, their program, insanity, showed up on my doorstep after i ordered it for my upcoming birthday. i opened the package and was immediately overwhelmed; the packaging is even scary and i haven't started the program yet. it comes in a large book-like package, separating the dvd's (why is that necessary?), it explains how the program isn't for beginners and that you should consult your physician before starting it. now i'm scared. it's been sitting on my counter for two days, i keep thinking, tomorrow, but i know as soon as it starts, things will get better and i will also be in a lot of pain.

i think back to high school, i was in great shape, naturally like most other people, i still didn't think i was. i had a conversation with my best friend this evening (via gchat), and since we played a sport together, we could relate on how much better shape we used to be in (also side note, we want to try out for the amazing race). the conversation went like this:

alex: also, i'm starting p90x, i'm gonna get in shape, slash less wheezy

me:  oh snaap.

alex:  i wish there was a workout for lungs

me:  good work. LOL. so true.

alex:  that did not involve actual movement

me: lung restorer, that would rock

alex:  i'm gonna be a blob when i'm 40, mark my words. this sucks how much i don't like moving. 
me:  dude if i do insanity and u do p90x were gonna be so buff for the amazing race. me either. i dig sitting, so much.

alex:  LET'S DO IT, i just need better stamina, maybe i should do less drinking, and more...cardio.

me:  samesiez

alex:  that is a 6-letter curse word.

me:  remember when we used to be in shape? ah the good ol days.

alex:  i feel like insanity is much scarier than p90x. i miss high school, but only for my tight thighs

me:  lol i wish i had never let myself go

alex:  oh , i can't wait to see what you do with it

me:  same, i remember having nice legs and not cottage cheese legs, failure.

alex:  buhhhhh, i'm writing a letter of complaint to bell's brewery, they ruined my waistline

me:  LOL. damn two hearted ale. i blame vodka brand vodka straight from valparaiso wal-mart

alex:  hahahahhaa, only the BEST

a week of house sitting:

so my parents went out west for a week, to do cool stuff, so i was here, slummin' on my own. i was pretty pumped at first, thinking i'd go do some cool stuff, but then i remembered a few things: i'm stuck here with my dog (buddy), i'm in one of the least exciting places known to man and i have very few friends still living here. don't worry i managed, and ended up doing a few cool things. dinner with the grandparents, check. dinner with best friend's parents + best friend + best friend's friend (delicious homemade indian food). watching lots and lots of television i've been wanting to watch (boardwalk empire free on premium channels on demand, thank you mom and dad for not skimping out on the cable package, i greatly appreciated it this week).

so now i'll get back to the main focus of house sitting, keeping our lovely estate safe and sound and hanging out with my dog. my dog is similar to the marley and me dog; refuses to grow up, obnoxious at times and always wants attention. another annoying point is that my dad always feeds him, my dad wakes up early, meaning i had to wake up early. i don't just mean early, i mean like 5:30am, woof. so i drag my sorry ass out of bed, not until after my dog had barked in my ear and jumped up on me repeatedly, thanks buddy. the entire way to his food, he barks at me and jumps on me, thank  you, i'm a zombie right now, totally not feeling this situation. he dives into his food, devours it, then i need to let him out to do his business. it's pitch dark out, i like in the wilderness, he wanders far away so i just wait. i wait. i wait. a half hour later, he wanders back, happy as can be. what? were there magazines out there for you to read while you took care of business? come on now, buddy. this didn't just happen the first day, but all week. this makes me reconsider getting a puppy, big time. so other than that, since i'm kind of glued to my house i try to get my dog to go outside and run around or something, but he's just been sitting around, sad that my parents aren't here. my dog doesn't even like me anymore, sweet. 

in other news, i took a trip to visit alex, let's just say, she lives above a townie bar and i woke up with a mustache drawn on the inside of my pointer finger and a temporary simba tattoo on my chest. i didn't feel like pdiddy, but i think i won that one.

well, til next time, folks. stay classy.