30 Years Old, But Young at Fart (err...Heart)

With me being such a numbers guy and one who likes to reflect in blog form to my dozens of readers, I'm surprised that I didn't immediately write a synopsis on what it felt like to turn 30 just a week ago.

But once my 30th birthday actually hit on midnight last week, I realized that it was just another day. Just like many of the tens of thousands of it before.

I stayed up watching highlights of the Rose Bowl and Orange Bowl (or for NIU fans, lowlights) with one of the cats next to me as I stared blankly at the boob tube. Once the hour and minute hit, I thought about it.

Cool...I'm 30. Then I went about my death stare as if it was just another birthday.

I know some people are age-obsessed and get caught up in the numbers of their life. To me, that's just the wrong way to live, unless of course you're obsessing about ages that get you certain privileges (like driving, buying alcohol, etc.).

If you are 40 years old and have the youthful spirit of a 20 year old, then I say you're 20. Don't obsess about some empty round numbers that should have no bearing on how you view yourself.

To me, being 30 does seem to add a pinch of maturity to my being. But if you are ever around me, you know my maturity level is that of a 15 year old. To prove my point, as I type this, I'm proudly wearing a t-shirt that says "Behold...Fartacus", one that I may or may not have worn two straight days.

This shirt, which I may have worn for two straight days, may be smelling like ...well....yeah.

I plan on living my 31st year on Earth the same way I did the first 30 - laughing, watching sports, enjoying time with family and friends, joking about farts. And farting. Excuse my gas, but I believe I have to maintain a certain level of immaturity to keep myself young at heart.

I hope to enjoy this year, as I always do, with the people I love doing the things I love (you know who you are). In the meantime, let's make 2013 a year for the books.

San Franchised - Jen's 30th Bday in Words & Pics

On the Golden Gate w/ my Girl of Gold

Good morning y'all.

So you're probably wondering how Jen's birthday trip to San Fran was...What's that, you caught all of our pictures and statuses on Facebook? Well...uhm....read this anyways.

Actually, there's a lot more to our trip than what was mentioned on the incessant messages, the latter of which were not replied to for the simple fact that the Niners absolutely Pwned the Bears on Monday Night Football.

(As I was waiting to get me and Jen some In-N-Out Burger, I overheard some idiot Bears fan backing out of a bet he made with a 49ers friend of his which would require him to shave his head since the Bears lost. I absolutely hate...HATE...when people back out of bets - more on In-N-Out later).

Happy 30th to Jen!

Here's some randomness from the trip:

The Full House houses (we think)

1. Planes, Trains, Automobiles...and many more forms of transportation were taken on our trip. Starting from our flight to San Francisco, here's how our daily transportation went:
   
   Saturday: Car to Airport, Plane, Shuttle Bus
   Sunday: Walk to Golden Gate (about a 3-to-4 mile walk from our place), Taxi (including a free ride down crookedest street of Lombard Street), Boat to Alcatraz
   Monday: Walk through Lombard Street, Trolley to Chinatown, Taxi to the Painted Ladies, Bus to the Full House houses and three more bus rides, including a round-trip to/from the Niners game
   Tuesday: Shuttle, plane, car back to our Chi-town palace.
   
   Needless to say, we made the most out of every type of available transportation in the past four days.
   
2. Did You Know....That Interstate 80 ends in San Francisco? It feels like I-80 runs through every major city. I wonder how long it would take to drive from one end to the other.
   
3. It feels like big upsets in sports occur whenever I'm on vacation and I can't watch them. Oregon loses to Stanford (which I heard the end to in the shuttlebus radio), Baylor destroys Kansas State, which moves Notre Dame to the #1 spot for the first time in 400 years*. I'm not sure which upset I'm more surprised with, but anyone who watches college football knows that November is a great month for these upsets of previously unbeaten teams. It's so so hard to play a great game for all 12/13 games before the Bowl season comes around. Even though Matt Barkley is out this week, I wouldn't be shocked if Notre Dame lost this week - just so hard to win week in/week out.
   
   *slight exaggeration
4. Jen had a great birthday trip here, except...for her experience at Candlestick. And no, I'm not just talking about the drubbing that her Bears took. I was not aware of the Stick's hostile treatment of visiting fans until earlier this year when reading about some Saints' fans experiencing some harassing douchebags. When she went to go get some food during the game, Jen experienced some of this as she was waiting in line and was right near some idiots who were fighting. Also, some guy was giving her a hard time for wearing her Peppers jersey and was questioning her knowledge of what the GSH initials were in reference to (she correctly said George Halas, while the idiot thought it may have been for Gale Sayers).
   
   I know all teams have their share of assholes at games, but I felt bad that Jen had to experience this, especially with me not being there at the time to help her out of the situation.
5. As always, the best parts of any trip are the ones you don't expect or plan...and this trip was no exception. It's hard for us to determine what spontaneous moment we liked the best from our trip. There was the moment where a homeless guy scared the crap out of Jen by hiding behind a tree branch full of leaves that he was holding, only to pop out and scare her. There was also our cab driver who was a delight and stopped our taxi meter about 10 minutes before we got out of the cab - during that time, he drove us down the crooked part of Lombard Street (the crookedest street in the country/world). If you have the chance to go to San Fran, you should see this street.



The cheerleaders came by to say Hi (and then left really quick after that)

6. People watching at Monday Night Football. Our great seats at the game allowed us to see a few celebrities walking the sidelines before the game. Among them were Jeremy Piven (actor), Drew Rosenhaus (NFL Super Agent - think new age version of Jerry Maguire) & the ESPN crew (Trent Dilfer and old 49er Steve Young among them). Oh yeah, and there were the cheerleaders dancing in front of us. Yeahhhhh...
   
   
7. San Fran is so damn expensive. It's not normal to want to go back to Chicago because the prices are cheaper, but that's the case when comparing the Gold Rush city to the Windy one. It felt like everything was Chicago prices multiplied by an additional 20%. I'd love to live in the city if it wasn't for the damn prices.
8. You know you're a fatass...when you're charging Diet Cokes that you are buying from a vending machine at your hotel. I can't believe my first ever use of EasyPass was to buy cold carbonated beverages for me and Jen from a Coke machine. I can hear all of you shaking your head...and I don't blame you.
9. No matter whether Cutler played or not, the Bears would not have won the game we went to. If you're not a football fan, you may not know Jay Cutler (Chicago Bears starter) missed his first game of the year due to a concussion, leaving them with backup Jason Campbell to face a San Francisco 49ers defense whose mouth was foaming at the possibility of facing the Bears' weak offensive front and slow-footed backup. Cutler would have done better (I hope), but he hasn't really done anything this year to make me think he would have been able to match Colin Kaepernick's offensive output.



Jen trying not to show her disappointed face

10. If you're a fan of historical stuff, there's no question that you should visit Alcatraz. I believe Jen's favorite site on the trip was visiting Golden Gate Bridge, which is an excellent choice and a must-do for anyone visiting the city. However, the one thing I didn't do on my trip in January was the one big thing missing from my San Francisco experience - visiting Alcatraz. Getting to hear the history of the prison, including how the US government helped form the island into an inescapable (supposedly) fortress, was an amazing story. Hearing of all the escape stories from the island made me realize just how clever criminals can be - if only they applied that same reasoning and intelligence in the real world as upright citizens. I read the book about some of these escapes on the flight home - loved it. As far as anyone knows, no one has ever successfully escaped Alcatraz (many have drowned or died from hypothermia since the San Francisco Bay are so cold - some folks were never found and are assumed dead).



Fitting location for this Alcatraz Pic

11. In-N-Out Burger was ok...but definitely not better than Five Guys. Yeah, I said it. Me and Jen both devoured our double double's, don't get me wrong. They just weren't the high quality burger that we've grown to love from Five Guys. If you disagree, you are wrong. Way way wrong.

Half in the Bag - 2011's first 6 months from my experiences

My first seconds of 2011 were spent doing what many people were doing - at a party with some friends, enjoying some adult beverages and good food. Ordinary as it may seem, it set the tone for a year for me that has seen its good and bad; its happy and sad; no Mothers Day gift to Mom nor Fathers Day gift to dad (yet); people that we now have in our lives and people that we had. The things that stand out the most, chronologically~

Saaaaaakeeeeeeee!

Jan 2nd - Another successful birthday at Stoney Point betting on the ponies and hanging out with the best friends a guy could ask for. I'll remember the sake bombs that we took that day at the Japanese restaurant and the lady mocking my last place finish (of 4) in the sake bomb drink-off- "You a loser, ha ha ha."

Mid Jan - 2nd round of NFL playoffs and meeting up with Nick and Chris, a couple of old high school friends. We've hung out a handful of times since, often sharing old Mathlete stories and debating just how awesome Brian Scalabrine is. I'm glad that the old Nerd crew reconnected. We need to hang out again soon, gents.

To the delight of Bears fans everywhere, this was the sight to be seen on the first Sunday in February

Super Bowl Sunday - Hosted at Tim and Brie's place, they organized another good party for the game between the Steelers and the Packers. Yours truly and Tim profitted from the Super Bowl, but ultimately ended up losing the money back into the sports book later on in the week. Still, it is always nice to get a group together and enjoy each other's company.

Mid-late February - I was a few months away from graduating from my school and was still wondering what I wanted to do with my degree. After starting the second session of learning TV, it was then when I realized that video editing is what I wanted to do. This led me to be lead editor in our group's music video project as well as the splicing of several clips to produce YouTube videos. While I did take the internship with the school back in November, it was around Feb when I realized the direction I wanted to go in. (Editor's note: I still haven't put my degree to use yet, but plan on going in the video editing field). We graduated in April and for the most part have lost touch, but I'll never forget the great times we had as a class, both in and out of the classroom.

Rest in peace, Grandma Bolek. We will always remember you.

March thru April - The start of March was about the time where it was the beginning of the end for my Grandma Bolek, who was rushed to the hospital by my Dad and I believe my Aunt Donna. I remember getting back home from picking something up from my boss and answering a phone call from my sobbing father, who I can never recall ever seeing or hearing crying in my life. I visited her the next day when a hospice bed was placed in her home, but then never saw her alive again. She passed April 27, 2011 at the age of 90. She was, is, and will always be missed, but at the same time, always remembered.

HA HA! BUCKETS!

March Madness Opening Weekend - I always love this weekend, so much so that I've requested off of work for the opening Thursday and Friday of the tournament for the past 4 years. Unlike last year, no particular life-altering stories came out of 2011's tourney opening weekend. Bets were made (and mainly lost), beverages were consumed and laughs were shared. It lived up to its hype again as one of my favorite weekends in sports.

Jeff & Amber's engagement (Mother's Day weekend)- What do you get a mother whose son (cough, me) didn't give her a Mother's Day gift? How about a future daughter-in-law? Jeff and Amber stole the show this weekend when Amber showed off her ring towards the end of the Mother's Day brunch, which brought my Mom and others to tears. The date and location have been set for next year, and I could not be happier for my brother and future sister-in-law. Thank you for helping my mom forget that I didn't get her a Mother's Day gift (yet).

Congratulations to my happily married friends!

The Spencer Wedding - May 21 (The End of Days) - Spencer's bachelor party was on the Saturday of the tournament weekend and closed with us going to a burlesque show. That set the tone for a most untraditional wedding setting for a husband and wife (Jeremy and Kate) who have made a tradition of being untraditional. A small wedding at a park district may not be what most people want to do with their wedding, but they showed what really matters with a wedding is the people who are involved in the relationship surrounding themselves with their closest friends and family. It was only fitting that the after party was at a bowling alley, with us goofing off like we had done so many times before a decade earlier. I also had a blast writing a speech for this wedding and feel like I reflected well on the tone of the untraditional that had been set. I couldn't be happier for them.

Memorial Day weekend - While it may seem too soon to say this was the most significant weekend of the year, I highly doubt people could argue with me if I said it was. The weekend started with myself and Elias travelling to Wisconsin to meet up with a bunch of our friends. The lodge/resort was nice, but the initial night of the trip proved to be what made the trip. Many of my friends who I had never really seen drink before were looser than ever after a few drinks. Many were hung over the following day, but Mimosas were what I started the day with - it is vacation after all. The Saturday night of the trip was a lot more chill, but was necessary for the health of most of Friday night's participants.
    Elias and I left on Sunday, a day before the rest of the people left. I wanted to come home to take care of the dogs, who were at my Grandma Raynor's for a night. I didn't want her to be bothered by them for long though, so I left early and brought the dogs home to get back into their element. I had known about a Memorial Day party before I left the Wisconsin trip that some of my new friends were hosting at their rented place in Alsip, so I figured while I was taking care of the dogs, I'd also attend this party later on. It started at 4pm on the Sunday, but I came later to avoid being trapped into an early drinking demise (that later proved to be true for many of the participants of the 4pm start of the party). It was here that I briefly met Moe, who was my bags partner for the one game I played against Craig and Pete. While we didn't win, an innocent pairing of two people for a bags game eventually led to what is now a promising relationship with an awesome girl.

Bobby McGees - Before the month of June, I had been to this bar exactly once in my life. In June alone, I was there every Tuesday and an additional few days. I have met some awesome new people in the past month through the new relationship. As I've told Moe's friends, the type of people you surround yourself with is a good indicator of what kind of person you are. That is definitely the case here. I'm glad I've gotten to meet the people I've met so far and look forward to meeting others as the months

Vegas -  You already can see the blog about Vegas from mid June - feel free to consult this blog on how it went. It was a traditional Vegas trip full of ups and downs at the sports book, a trip that always leaves you wanting more of the Sin City.

The start of my Arlington success

Arlington/BBBBQ weekend - The weekend which started my parent's trip to Michigan (a trip where they never saw the sun for a week) also started a vacation of my own. Brie had her birthday at the horsetrack, and about 10-12 people came out for it over the course of the day. In addition to enjoying two pina coladas, I also basked in the riches of picking 5 of 10 winners throughout the day, including a 13/1 named Brain Teazer. The following day, I had my traditional BBBBQ, which was enjoyed by many. The weather was good enough to enjoy the pool as well. Also, it was the day many of my friends got to meet the lady for the first time. The party seemed to strike up many friendships, as the next day I saw nothing on Facebook but (A friend of mine) is now friends with (another friend of mine) and 6 (other friends of mine).

I may be missing a few things, and I apologize if I did. These events reflect the type of year that I have had so far. I look forward to seeing how the rest of the year develops. I hope all of you get to enjoy it with me in some capacity.