Is It Possible To Be This Tired?

And the answer to that age-old question is a simple yes. I got home around 1 a.m. last night and even Baxter was tired because we went to bed almost immediately and we both passed out. I got to the concert around 7 p.m., which was perfect because I really only wanted to see Silversun Pickups (who are amazing live) anyway and Jimmy and Montgomery were waiting in the door for me. They were drunk most of the night and both of those guys drunk are huge sources of entertainment for me. After the concert - which was so much fun and crowded - we went to a couple of bars in the neighborhood but I only had a couple of beers so Jimmy and Montgomery drank more, saying they had to make up for me. I finally left around midnight to get back to the beautiful southeast.

Lines of the night:

Montgomery (shouting in between band changes): Am I the ONLY black guy that likes to rock? (which was answered with cheers from the people around us) He also seemed to be right seeing as how there weren't that many black people at the concert.

Jimmy: Alright. It's either time to drink some beer or kick some ass and it looks like I'm all out of ass. I mean beer. Beer. Did I say ass?

Some drunk guy (to me): Hey. I couldn't help but notice what you're wearing.
Me: Yeah. I'm wearing clothes. It's a concept a lot of girls here aren't familiar with.
Jimmy: Hey! Buddy! I'm all out of beer so watch out! (to me with the guy standing right there)He totally wants to roofie you.

You got to love a drunk Jimmy getting protective of me when he could barely stand up without swaying - which sucked for him because House of Blues is an all standing venue. Montgomery and I haven't really spoken to one another in a couple of months but that changed last night when Montgomery said he was sorry and I basically said that it was cool. We all go through things and LIFE IS TOO SHORT TO BE CAUGHT UP WITH PETTY IMMATURE BULLSHIT. There. I said my piece.

The dynamic duo got home last night okay I'm figuring because when I woke up, there were three pictures in my inbox. I didn't bring my camera with me and I don't think I've ever seen Montgomery take a picture so that left Jimmy - who may I remind you was intoxicated and could barely hold the camera straight - but he insisted that he was fine. Great pictures James.

Montgomery - the only black man who likes to rock

Jimmy occupying himself in the bar bathroom

"I must have been obsessed with Kate's head last night because this is one of six pictures just like it" - Jimmy

Congratulations Ryan and Melissa

Congratulations to Ryan and Melissa who just got engaged tonight! Melissa asked me to be her maid of honor... I will try not to disappoint her too much or ruin her big day. Congrats you two! The pictures below are the two worst pictures I could find of the two so enjoy!

Ryan and Me

MLo and Me

World Spins Madly On

Man, I am loving this four-day work week. Tomorrow is Friday and then it's the weekend again. Montgomery came into town tonight to stay with me for the next couple days and we're going to Purdue Cal. tonight to check out their View Purdue night. I'm thinking about maybe taking a criminology class or perhaps another English Lit. class. Marquette totally sucked at giving their students the chance to take classes they actually wanted to take instead of classes they needed to take so maybe I could take advantage of literally living five minutes away from a college campus and sign up for a night class. We'll see though. I'm not exactly the academic type. Just check out my high school/college transcripts.

It was so good to see Bill this past Memorial Day weekend. He came in late Friday night and left Sunday afternoon and the time in between was a blast. I really do miss him though I will never admit such a thing to his face. With the two of us together, we were wishing Chrissy was there with us but she's coming for the Fourth of July so the three of us can hang out together then. I miss my family. Bill and me were talking about how different the two of us would be if I hadn't gone to Marquette. There are five years between us and I was only thirteen when he left home. If I hadn't gone to live in Milwaukee for college, we both doubted that we would be as close and have as much in common as we do.

On June 15th, Linda and I are going to a concert in Chicago to see four bands: Godsmack, Finger Eleven, Buckcherry and Taproot. It's going to be crazy - especially since there's a Cubs baseball game in the city that same night. I'm glad Linda is going to be the one driving. The next day, while my parents babysit Baxter for the weekend, I'm driving up to Milwaukee to spend the weekend with Melissa, Annie, Brandon and of course, Dan. Because what trip up to Milwaukee would be complete without seeing Dan the Man?

Home For Mom's Day

Good God. It has been a while. Do you remember when I used to update three, sometimes four, posts a day? Sorry for totally slacking on The Mixed Tape but as I have mentioned in earlier posts, I have been bitten by the writing bug once again and when that happens, I am completely consumed and all I can do is write story after story until I burn myself out again. And unfortunately, when the bug decides to bite me, everything else seems to take a back seat, including blog updates. I apologize to this blog's five readers though. I promise to try to keep it more up to date - especially since I graduated from college almost a year ago already, meaning that my first official year in the real world is coming to a close.

I am in Ohio for a three-day weekend and though it is only 2:45 as I write this, I have been quite busy today. I went to the dentist this morning, came to see my mom at work and bug my friend, Jeff, before heading over to get my hair cut and waved. I'm now back in my mom's office, finally updating The Mixed Tape and enjoying the rest of the day off. Tomorrow, I'll probably run some errands with my mom before hanging out with Adam and Jon tomorrow night. Adam just got an apartment downtown and he's excited to show it off so me and Jon are going to probably head there tomorrow night for some beers and a cookout. I'm so excited to see them. I miss Brittnay though. I wish she could be here too. The group seems rather incomplete without her.

Sunday is Mother's Day and though I think my driving five and a half hours to be here this weekend is present enough, I'm going to get her something else. It feels like the right thing to do considering she had a hand in creating me and all. Maxwell, once again, has aged about a hundred years since Baxter has invaded his home but I'm sorry Maxwell. I love being home. I'm already dreading having to go back on Sunday and then back to work on Monday. One year later and my thoughts are still the same. The real world, and being an adult, completely sucks ass.

Me So Tired

So last night was a bit crazy. It was me with Dominic, Jimmy and Montgomery plus a couple of our other friends. We went to a few bars, had a lot of fun, and wound up taking a taxi back to Jimmy's place around three o'clock. I was so tired and just wanted to sleep until Jimmy's mom kicked us awake for church. Of course, Baxter had other ideas. At 6:30, he decided that he wanted to be up therefore I was going to be up as well. After a night of drinking and immature behavior amongst other things, I was not in the mood to be awake but with a dog walking all over you and licking your face, options are limited.

After church and a big breakfast, we drove Dominic to the airport to bid farewell to him again. It was so good seeing him again and I didn't want him to go because none of us have any idea when we'll see him next. I hope it's soon though. Dominic and I have always been close and I miss him. I miss all of my friends from college but I definitely miss Melissa and Dominic the most. Maybe, if I plan my vacations wisely, I can fly out east to see my sister in Vermont and then Dominic in NYC. I don't have much vacation though so I should plan this trip wisely if I want to take it.

Happy Birthday

I must say HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Oliver, the son of my very good friend, Brian. His birthday is this weekend and knowing his dad, Oliver is going to be having one hell of a party.

Right Now

Today, I had a good day at work. Linda and I went out to Gary to visit one of our contractor's office and picked up some prints we needed for a couple of upcoming jobs. I got to meet some of the contractors who I have spoken on the phone with before and it was nice to have faces to go with their voices now. It was so cool to do this. I think I might be getting the hang of this job and honestly, it's pretty cool sometimes to do what me and Linda do. Honestly, I can see myself doing this for a couple years. Is this what I want to do with the rest of my life? Not really but for right now, it's a pretty good job to have.

One of my best friends from college, Dominic, is in town staying with me for the weekend. He hasn't seen any of us since May, when we all graduated, so tomorrow, we're heading up to see Jimmy and Montgomery and one of our other friends from school. It's so wonderful to see Dominic again. My parents are worried of me and Dominic in my house by myself since the two of us dated in college. It's a rather complicated history I share with him but it's between him and me and that's exactly what it is. History. Dominic is one of my best friends. I would never look at him in any other way now. I'm so happy he's here and tomorrow night, with the boys, should be very interesting indeed.

St. Patty's Day

Last night was interesting for me. I had just hung up the phone after talking with my mom when my cell phone rang and it was Jimmy. He told me to get my ass to his house, which isn't exactly right down the street from me, but nonetheless, I packed Baxter up and I headed to the northside of Chicago. Not only was Jimmy there but Montgomery and ELI were there! I was so happy to see Eli. He has been in NYC since we graduated and I couldn't believe how much I missed him. He's growing a beard as well, which was different for me to see. It scratched my cheeks when I hugged him but I like scruffy guys and he looks good.

The four of us went to several bars last night and the boys got completely and utterly drunk. I had three green beers therefore I was the most sober. Jimmy was about to drive us all home but we would have probably wound up becoming statistics if he drove. So through his intoxication, Montgomery managed to tackle Jimmy to the ground in the parking lot of the bar and I got the car keys from him. When I got us all back to Jimmy's home around two in the morning, we passed out on his living room floor only to be rudely awaken by Jimmy's mom wanting us all up for church. I had so much fun last night and I'm glad Jimmy called. I love my boys and of course, spending time with Eli again was great. Montgomery was able to stop thinking about law school for a night and I was able to not be mad at Jimmy for twelve hours before I hated him again. I just can't believe that I didn't drink more than I did.

Tuesday's Gone

Well, it's Tuesday night and that only means one thing. Yep. COPS marathon on CourtTV! I bet you know what I'm watching right now. This week has been pretty slow at work so far. We had a big quote due yesterday morning and then another one today. The rest of the week looks to be just as slow. Sometimes, it's nice to be able to breathe while at work but on the other hand, when things are slightly hectic, the time flies by like it did this morning. Oh well. I'm clearly never satisfied.

I had that chicken mushroom thing from the crockpot with the rice that I love to death. It's so nice to come home and have a warm cooked meal waiting for me. I also got Marie Antoinette through Netflix and watched it. The movie is very delicious looking with all of the sweets and pastel colors used but as for the plot... well, don't watch this movie for plot.

Baxter has been in love with the spring weather outside. I'm able to keep the door open more so he loves looking out. Yesterday, I let him outside when I got home for work and he spent about two to three hours outside, just running around, chasing birds, or sitting and looking up and down the street. He slept like a baby last night and since he was doing the same thing today, hopefully I'm in for another sleepful night.

I just hung up with Brittnay after a good twenty-five minute talk. I adore talking with her. No matter what we talk about, we can make each other laugh. Our conversations are mostly nonsense but that's why she's my best friend. We can talk to each other about nothing and am still be able to talk without pauses or beats. She is graduating from college in May with an education degree and all I have to do is figure out whether or not I can go to Toledo for that weekend and celebrate with her. Toledo is only about 3-3 1/2 hours away so hopefully things will work out and I'll be able to.

My Crazy Friend

So, I've decided that while I have some of the greatest friends a person can have, some of them are just plain insane.

Brian had one day off this week, Tuesday, and talking to him Monday night, I told him to be sure he took it easy because I know him and I know that he can have almost too good of a time. So, of course, when I talked to him Wednesday, I was both surprised and not really surprised at all to find out that he was arrested Tuesday night for public urination. That's right. One of my best friends was arrested for peeing outside, marking his territory on the side of a bar. He told me not to worry because it's only a $75 fine but still. Who gets arrested for pissing on a wall?

Hump Day

Work has been kind of slow the last few days with just a few quotes and request for quotes going out. But I don't mind. After the week I had last week at work, things being slow is a lot less stressful for me. Linda was on the phone yesterday afternoon and again this morning, yelling at someone and I was just glad that she's never lost her temper with me like that. We worked on a couple of projects together this afternoon though and we were laughing. Her bad moods never last all day, thankfully.

I'm really tired today. This morning, around 4:30, Baxter woke up and decided that he would be awake for good. And since Dr. Satan thinks that if he's up, everyone should be up, he began crawling all over me. I was not pleased at all. I'm not sure why he felt the need to be wide awake but all I remember in my sleepy haze was pushing him away continously until my alarm clock went off at 6:05. I'll kill him if he does that again to me tonight. I take sleep very seriously. When applying to Marquette, on the application when they asked for a list of hobbies, I actually put sleeping at either number two or three on the list before my mom edited it.

Montgomery is going to be coming over on Friday to hang ou and he'll probably bring Jimmy with him, though I'm still pissed at that boy. If Jimmy does come, Montgomery will get the guest room and Jimmy can sleep on the cot down in the basement. I'm not sure he even deserves that though. Montgomery wanted to go to Schoop's on Friday but I kindly reminded him that since he's studying to become a Catholic, he should know that there is no eating meat on Fridays during Lent. He begrudingly agreed to change his Schoop's plans to Saturday. Montgomery, in the words of my mom, offer it up.

My Weekend

I had a really good weekend back at home though the two days seemed to go by too quickly in my opinion. I left work on Friday around 2:30 and was packed and on the road by 3:10. And since you gain an hour crossing into the eastern time zone, I got there around 9:30. I love going home. I miss my room and just being there. Baxter was absolutely insane upon seeing Maxwell and my parents and since he slept the entire way there, he did not sleep one wink Friday night and my parents had to suffer since they were the ones he bothered all night.

I got to hang out with Adam and Brittnay on Saturday night, which really was the main reason for me going home. I also got to meet Adam's new girlfriend Sarah. She seemed nice and a lot better than the girl he dated while in high school but I find it always hard to really get to know a person who's thrown in a situation like this. Adam, Brittnay and myself have been best friends and have known one another for years. When we're together, we're talking about all of these things that probably don't make much sense to anyone else. As is our tradition, we watched a bad horror movie, but only after calling Jon and asking him if it was alright to do so without him. Adam and Sarah left early but Brittnay stuck around and we watched another movie and hung out. Hopefully, she'll be able to come up and visit me during her Spring Break.

My dad is a full-blown Rome addict now. I had ordered the DVDs at a really good price on-line and the package had arrived Friday before I left, which was wonderful timing. I took it home with me and my dad could not stop watching episodes. I can't believe this. My dad doesn't understand buying DVDs and there he was, sitting on the couch all Sunday morning, except when we went to Bob Evans to eat, and afternoon, watching Rome. I'm happy he likes it so much. If he's going to be addicted to a tv show, at least it wasn't to one he found on MTv.

My parents are going to kill me reading this next part since Baxter didn't let them sleep Friday night. Driving back yesterday, Baxter slept for the entire five hour drive. Normally, in most situations, there would be no way he would sleep that night. But last night, after chasing his bones around and humping that IKEA dog, and I watched a few episodes of Cops since the first couple hours of the awards show are concering awards I really don't care about, we both went to bed. And Baxter slept the entire night through except around 3 when he had to go out. But other than that, he slept and he let me sleep. I'm sorry mom and dad. I guess sleep just doesn't interest him when he's with you.

Skating

I started to skateboard when I was in high school and while I certainly was never the best, I always had fun with it. I have the worst sense of balance. I can barely ride a bicylce without falling off so learning how to skateboard from my friend Randy was certainly a painful experience. When I got to college, I hardly skated but it remained something I was always eager to do when the opportunity presented itself. I had this crappy campus job where I worked just 8 hours a week at so I wasn't earning the big bucks but I had saved my money for a new skateboard. Of course, within about a month of owning it, Jimmy broke it. I have never been more furious at that kid than I was at him that time.

Jimmy called me at work on Friday and told me that he had finally bought me a new skateboard and invited me to come skating with him on Sunday at this indoor rec center near his house with a skate park. I wasn't about to refuse so today, I packed Baxter up and drove to Jimmy's house on the northside of the city. I got there too early though because Jimmy was still sleeping but his sister Tracey and I watched South Pacific and had an impromptu sing-along. Montgomery was also over and we began to watch Singin' in the Rain since he had never seen it.

We finally went skating around noon and I had so much fun. It was quite the workout. It took a while to get back into it after going a few years without, but I got the hang of it again. I cut my shin open and Jimmy sprained his finger so all in all, it was a good day. As long as nothing was broken, it was a good day.

Welcome to the Real World

Congratulations to my best friend, Melissa, for FINALLY joining the rat race known as the real world and getting a job! She starts March 1st and will be working for the Media Research Center: America's Media Watchdog. Yea MLo! Now we can call each other and bitch to one another on how much we hate our jobs. It will be so much fun. I'm lying to you of course. It won't be fun but welcome to being an adult. It sucks.

Moustache Monday

My sister Chrissy is completely random just like me and for some reason, she gave a different theme to each day of the week. And today is Moustache Monday. I just happen to have a couple pictures of Chrissy and Jim sporting moustaches that they made - courtesy of Play-Doh of course. I'm not entirely sure but I think Tuesday might be Crazy Burrito Tuesday. I'm going to have to double check on that one.

Play-Doh Pictures

I have too many pictures from Friday night to post all at once so I'll probably just spread them out. In the meantime, admire Jim's tiny value meal, Chrissy's cupcake and Heidi's "I Heart Nessie" - obviously all created by the non-stop fun Play-Doh.

Saturday Night Special

Chrissy is flying into Chicago Thursday night and will be staying with me until Saturday evening when she has to go back into the city for work. I am excited to be having her visiting and since all of my family seems to be coming to stay with me, I can only wonder when Bill will get his ass down here.

And it seems that I am also the last one to know that Chrissy has invited our friends over Friday night for a small party. I had to find out from my mother who found out from my sister's MySpace page. I'm a little ticked off that Chrissy didn't even tell me that she was inviting everyone over to my house. I don't care if they come but I would have kind of liked to know about it from her before she started planning a party at my house. Sigh. Typical Chrissy. Since I get up earlier than I used to and I work later than I used to, would it be considered rude if I went to sleep in my bedroom while everyone else was still out in the living room? I'm clearly not the hostess of this party. I'm just being used for my house afterall. But then again, I will have a good time with these friends without question. I always have a good time with them.

Communication Breakdown

I spoke with Brittnay last night and for some reason, she and Jon thought that I was coming hom the first weekend of February. I'm not sure why they thought this. I always told them that I would either be coming home the last weekend of this month or the first weekend of March. Unfortunately, miscommunication was at play here. Despite Adam telling me that Jon was going to be coming home the same last weekend in February as I was, Jon was home this past weekend and they all were able to hang out. Brittnay told me that the three watched movies at Adam's house just like we always do and they even got to meet Adam's girlfriend, someone he has kept a secret from us for a while now. I really wish this had not happened. I was looking so forward to being home and hanging out with everyone. It's nearly impossible for the four of us to get together when holidays are not involved and now I see that that's really the case. When I go home though, at least I'll be able to see Brittnay and maybe Adam. I'm trying to look on the brightside but it's hard since I was counting the days down until the four of us got to be together. I don't think my friends realize just how lonely I sometimes get.

Melissa and Me

I was on Facebook tonight checking out Dan the Man's new prospective girlfriend, and began reading some of the profiles belonging to my friends. Melissa's made me laugh out loud and it made me miss her horribly. We went through four years of college together and of course there are a ton of stories, laughs, and stupid experiences we went through.

(discussing a reality show)
Melissa: Can I be on it?
Me: Melissa, you're my wing man. The show doesn't fly without you.

One morning, we were walking to class and we both were looking at some junk mail we had gotten, including a flyer asking upperclassmen to act as hosts to high school students for the weekend to show them a college experience.

(While looking over the form, not realizing a priest was walking behind us)
Me: My goals? My goals in life are to do as much herion as humanly possible without dying and for Tom Selleck to be my best friend.
(Melissa nearly fell over in the street laughing at that one.)

Melissa: You know what's so un realistic about Quantum Leap?
Me: What, everything?

God, we had some good times. I miss them. Graduating from college and entering the real world has certainly put a damper on our stupidity. Of course, living so far away from each other and without Caffrey's right around the corner doesn't exactly help our situation.

Last Weekend of February

I'm going back to Ohio for the last weekend of February and I am already so excited. Brittnay and Adam have already known about my impending visit and I had mentioned it to Jon but I never expected him to be able to drive up from school just to hang out for a weekend. My friends never cease to amaze and surprise me. Adam informed me via Facebook that the last week of February is on - especially now that Jon will be driving up to spend that weekend at home too. I'm so super excited. The four of us need to take advantage of any opportunity that presents itself to hang out. We're all spread out and can't hang out every day like we used to be able to. Brittnay is teaching at our old high school, finishing up her education degree. Adam is at college in Columbus and Jon is at college in Southern Ohio. And I'm obviously by Chicago. We basically only have holidays when we know we're all going to be back. Either holidays or now random weekends in February. I love my friends and I can't wait to see them again. I miss them like crazy.