Bachelor Party Weekend

I went to Traverse City, MI for my friend Rex's bachelor party. I rented a car for a one-way car rental and drove there. It was my first time in the state of Michigan and the drive was pretty normal - although I did get lost halfway there when I somehow got off the highway.

We goofed around on a baseball field and played an accuracy game: throw 10 balls from center field to home plate and see who can knock over the most beer cans set up at home plate. We had 10 beer cans set up around home plate - 9 were worth 1 point and 1 was worth 2 points. I got 5 points. Three tied for first place with 6 points. The playoff was for them to throw from 2nd base at 1 beer can left at home plate. I forget who won.

Then it was hanging out before dinner. Dinner was at Hooters of all places. There were families there with their kids. With their kids! So weird.

The rest of the night is none of your business. I had a good time hanging out with Rex, Ben, Paul, Rex's brother, and the rest of Rex's TC friends.

The next day I got a ride back to Chicago from Ben and Paul in their rental car. All in all it was a good weekend.

Buehrle's Perfect Game

This is pretty awesome.

Happy 80th Birthday Grandpa F

It's his 80th birthday today.

Happy birthday Grandpa!

Pitchfork 2009 (Saturday)

Went to Pitchfork Music Festival on Saturday. Saw a bunch of bands.

Bowerbirds - they were okay.
Ponytail - weird. Band plays fast paced music while their lead "singer" lady does chirps, beeps, and other odd sounds into the mic instead of actual word lyrics.
Lindstrøm - guy played electronic dance music off a mixer board and a laptop. Good grooves but sometimes way, way too much bass.
Matt & Kim - The band I came to the festival to see. I only got to see half their set since they went on 20 minutes late, but it was pretty great. Infectious energy and cool, fast paced songs.

The festival seemed more crowded this year, which wasn't a good thing. I was probably due to the cool temps. The two previous years the temperature was in the 90s and that must have kept people away. Between this and the Pritzker Pavilion I've sampled enough outdoor concerts this summer. Which means when I go to Lollapalooza in a few weeks, I'll try to stay relatively away from the stages so that the crowds don't get to me.

~~~

PS. Friday was another Phase 10 Friday. That's 4 in a row!

Sears Tower

The name change of the Sears Tower became official. But like most Chicagoans, I'm bitterly against the name change.

It will always be the Sears Tower to me.

CSz National Tournament in Milwaukee

Went there to see the last night of the tournament. I went up there with Chrissy, Jessica, Tamara, and Natalie - all in one car. I got to see CSz Chicago battle CSz LA and we won! It was cool being up there to see what tournament is like but it was also a little odd because everyone else there had been there for several days. They had all bonded and I felt like the odd man out; looking in from the outside. The ladies I traveled with felt the same.

I'm glad I went but I learned an important lesson as far as tournaments go: either go for the whole thing or don't go at all.

Phase 10 Fridays

3rd Phase 10 Friday in a row.

Two weeks ago Erin, Tamara, and I were done with a 10pm CSz show. Some building mates of Tamara's were having a party in the backyard of her building. So we all biked down there and played two games of Cornhole before retiring to Tamara and her roommate Alison's porch. We started playing Phase 10 around 1am and didn't get done until about 5 or 6 (I can't remember) in the morning. One thing I am sure about: the sky was light and the birds were chirping.

A week ago it was Tamara's BBQ party and after helping to clean up the backyard area of party things, Alison, Tamara, Erin, and I again started playing Phase 10 around 1am. This time I think Erin and I left around 4am.

This Friday was another round of Phase 10. It's now being called Phase 10 Fridays. And I love it. This Friday was the first time I lost the game. It was also the quickest game: Erin and I leaving around 3am I believe.

Back Pain

I have back pain. This, coupled with seeing a friend of mine who has lost a lot of weight, makes me body conscious. I need to get healthy.

Now.

3rd of July BBQ

Fun times at Nolte's BBQ.

Hipster Indifference

I got my friend Mikaela's prank letter (above) in the mail today. I first heard about this from my friend Marla back at the outdoor Dirty Projectors concert at the Pitzker Pavilion. Marla pulled out a letter she received in the mail. It was simply a picture of some weird, ugly person; the type of picture probably only found on odd Google searches. She had no idea who it was from. I asked to see the envelope's stamp - the USPS puts a stamp over these indicating which zip code the letter was mailed from. In this case it was 60606, which is the same zip code my work's building is in. I told Marla the person who sent it was probably working down in the Loop. This produced a light bulb above Marla's head: Mikaela.

Mikaela apparently has been doing this prank quite a bit lately. She's done similar things to a number of our mutual friends. About a week later I ran into her at a Chipotle near my work and told her about finding about her weird pranks. She's bored at work sometimes and likes doing it.

It was only a matter of time, I guess, before I got mine in the mail. And it made me smile and feel included.