god.. what a blast its been the last couple weekends. 3 day weekend for the win!!! but, i supposed its best to start from the beginning, like any good story does. Last weekend was my roommate Mat's 28 birthday... it was our first party in our new place. it was hectic... but all came together eventually. Keg, Fire Pit, Flip Cup and lots of tequilla shots... it was awesome, lots of people showed up and we actually finished the keg! Craziness. That sunday was spent going to the community pool with Mat, Mike and Laila and grilling out that evening... it was, quite simply, one of the best sunday's i've had in awhile.

Fast forward to this thursday...

All the roommates have friday off! Why not throw another party? :D

well... friday, the 3rd, was chicago's firework celebration. so we headed over to Laila's friend's rooftop and watched the show. Unfortunaly the skyscrapers were just a little too high, so we only saw the highest/biggest explosions, but everyone in the neighborhood seem to have their own mortars and shit we pretty much had our own firework show right there, all around us. after that we went to some michael jackson deck party. I can't tell u how many times i've heard, pyt, billie jean and wanna be startin something the last 2 weeks, but no matter, i'm not sick of them yet!!!

Anyway, friday was a blurr after that party...

Saturday was cloudy and rainy, and everyone was incredibly hung over... so we discussed the fact that we since our downstairs neighbors were already throwing a party, we might not have a one and just mooch off them and have a couple people over to chill. and though things started out quite... it quickly got crazy.

Our downstairs neighbors must have bought a couple thousand dollars worth of fireworks... it was a freaking warzone outside... literally. mortars going off street level. 1/4 sticks of dynamite, etc. NUTS! Then the next thing i know, mike comes down and starts telling everyone on the street we are having a dance party up in our place. I help spread the word and make my why up for a beer and a bathroom pit stop. Upon leaving the bathroom i notice that our place is now FULL of people DANCING!!! and mike's screaming at me, "get up on this table!"

so next thing i know, mike and i are on our table breaking it down!!! drunken blurrrrrrr.... now there's 7 other people on the table. our living room is literally a sea of bodies dancing! i blackout shortly after... i have no idea what else happened, soooo drunk. but apparently i made it out to go get tacos at 4am... and made a fool of myself, lol.

sunday, as u may have expected was awesome as well. mat, laila and i went to earwax and got some good breakfast, chilled in wicker park throwing the Frisbee around, headed to small bar later that evening for some drinks. got some food for grilling and grilled out again.

awesome awesome awesome weekend. didn't think anything could top last weekend, but this certainly did.

ENJOY!

ugh... finally got hot here. and what do yea know? our A/C is busted... so its been a very humid and hot last few days... borderline miserable.

painted my room.. and now just got the inside of my closet left. trying to get some plants nice indoor plants, man, i feel old... lol. but hey, plants are nice! they recycle air and are good for me.

got some volleyball tonight, should be nice! i'm all rev'd up to win after our 0-3 sweep last week..
then i got this friend's show at the darkroom tomorrow, then maybe to danny's after for soul night.

its also roommate mat's birthday sunday, so we plan on having our first house party this saturday. from my early estimations its looking to get pretty crazy. probably 30+ people so far... we shall see. its supposed to be a surprise, although i think mat's onto me and laila (his g/f)... but he plays coy sooo well. lol.

so that's kinda what i got going on. gonna try and take july 14-21 off for when tim comes in town.. i might also drive out Pittsburgh then too, for evan's beerfest. i haven't seen nick, cj for about a year..


here's something for all yea. it makes u feel like ur playing every old school nintendo game at once... plus the singer's a cute hipster chick. whats not to like?

-- I really like you. I do. You're so nice, and sweet, and you listen to all my problems and respond with the appropriate compliments. But, well, I don't really see a relationship in our future. It would be terrible if we let sex destroy this great friendship we have where I get everything I want and you get nothing you want. Don't you think?

I knew you would understand. You always do.

We're so perfect as friends, you know? I can tell you anything, and you know you can always come to me anytime you need to hear me bitch about work or how ugly I feel. You wouldn't want to ruin a friendship like that just so you could be my boyfriend, and have me look at you with desire and longing in my eyes, if only once—would you? Of course not. Well, if we started dating, it would only complicate this wonderful setup I've got going here.

It's just…you're like my best friend, and I would hate for something you desperately want to change that. I mean, sure, we could go on some dates, maybe mess around a little and finally validate the six years you've spent languishing in this platonic nightmare, but then what? How could we ever go back to the way we were, where I take advantage of your clear attraction to me so I can have someone at my beck and call? That part of our friendship means so much to me.

No. We are just destined to be really, really good friends who only hang out when I don't have a boyfriend, but still need male attention to boost my fragile and all-consuming ego.

Anything can happen once you bring romance in. Think about how awful my last relationship was at the end, remember? The guy I'd call you crying about at 3 a.m. because he wouldn't answer my texts? The guy I met at the birthday party you threw me? I had insanely passionate sex with him for four months and now we don't even talk anymore. God, I would die if something like that happened to us.

Plus, ick, can you even imagine getting naked in front of each other? I've known you so long, you're more like a brother that I've drunkenly made out with twice and never mentioned again. It'd be way too weird. And if we did, then whenever you'd come shopping with me, or go to one of my performances or charity events, or take me for ice cream when I've had a bad day at work, you'd be looking at me like, "I've seen her breasts." God, I can't think of anything more awkward that that.

Oh, before I forget, my mom says hi.

Anyway, you would totally hate me as your girlfriend. I'd be all needy and dramatic and slowly growing to love you. If I was your girlfriend, I would never be able to tell you all about the other asshole guys I date and pretend I don't see how much it crushes you. Let's never lose that. That's what makes us us.

Don't worry. You're so funny and smart and amazing, any girl but me would be lucky to date you. You'll find someone, I know it. And when you do, I'll be right by your side to suddenly become all flirty and affectionate with you in front of her, until she grows jealous and won't believe it when you say we're just friends. But when she dumps you, that's just what we'll be.

Best friends. Friends forever. --

source: http://www.theonion.com/content/opinion/but_if_we_started_dating_it

fun weekend filled with too much drinking; saw alot of people, lots of smiles. dance party with desola. video chatted with patty! bike road around the city with my brother. learned to play "first day of my life" by bright eyes. dominated our opponents in flip cup! passed out on the couch watching indiana jones... got a sweet desk and some much needed curtains... i don't think people really enjoyed seeing my naked ass that much.

ohh and totally forgot about this meeting i had this morning... ooops. guess that's what happens when a meeting is rescheduled for a monday morning and i click accept without actually reading when it's rescheduled..

hurrayyyyy its 3pm on a friday! which means i only got 2 more hours until im out of here. i officially have 1 week in the new place under my belt! so far so good. the place is really coming together and i'm excited to see how everything will turn out in the end.

got plans to hang out with desola tonight, who knows what we'll get into. then maybe this dj battle party saturday with irina... i dunno.. i really hate making plans... what i do with my weekend is never set in stone.

i'll just have to see what pans out.

is alot of fun. being off the grid for 3 days was quite refreshing.. and this is coming from someone who's pretty much glued to the computer screen 24/7. lots of drinking, grilling, sunbathing, swimming, skiing, tubing, fishing and whatnot. there were about 15 of us there, which made things fun, albeit a little crowded.

all in all it was good seeing everyone. alot of them i hadn't seen since james and jessica's wedding.

nothing too crazy to report.. i got really really drunk saturday night playing flip cup with everyone and ended up passing out in the tent next to mine... it was DARK and they looked the same... funny thing was, i thought james was f*cking with me for passing out when he came over and tried to get me out. i think it took him nearly 10 minutes to convince me that i actually had passed out in someone else's tent.

thats about it.. back to reality and back to work.

They are always hard.. patty left chicago today and with her goes one of my best friends here, someone i could always count on to talk to, hang out with, go get a bite to eat, or go get a drink.



We threw her a going away party this saturday, which was a blast. amy, dani, my brother and i were running around all day getting things ready. that actually wasn't the hard part, orchestrating the party between 25+ people and keeping it a secret was... but fortunately things went off without a hitch. patty was happy and thats all that mattered. i on the other hand, got SHITFACED! ugh... i told everyone i was MC and had to be somewhat coherent for the night... alot of good that did. we had finished the gallon sized bottle of whiskey in the first hour. The keg was a hit too, and i'll chalk that up as a personal achievement since i was the one to really push the idea of getting it.

sunday, monday, and tuesday nights were all spent with my dear friend, savoring our last moments. a few tears here and there but overall lots of smiles. as sad as i am to see her go, i'm really happy for her. i've always wished i would have traveled thru Europe after i had graduated... maybe i'll take some time off and visit her in Berlin.

plus, i have this feeling in my gut... she'll be back. she'll miss all of us too much.


on another note, its finally starting to get consistently beautiful out each day. i'm back out bike riding everyday! and i switched my bike to fixed wheel instead of free, and although it took me a little to get used to, i actually like riding fixed alot more. you feel alot more in control of your bike and its a better workout for your legs... my calves and thighs look like super mutant HULK legs, lol. i have muscles sticking out i didn't even know existed.

Camping trip in missouri this weekend, then moving my shit into the new apt. after that, who knows..

WOOT!

Main room/Kitchen:


Main room/Kitchen:


Main room other side:


Main room other side:


2nd room btw bedrooms


Mike's room:

Sam's Room:

My Room:

so it was a beautiful weekend! friday was awesome. Patty had her photo's showing at the flat iron building for their last friday gallery show. lots of fun, she was so proud of herself.. and rightly so. after.. patty, andy, sara and i all went to this other art/music show on the southside in bridgeport. the venue was an awesome converted old building and was literally 4 block away from where i grew up as a kid. Cool art and some cool bands, although others were not so much. one of the cooler ones was this choir of about 15 people all singing together and keeping beat with tambourines and drums etc. sorta like a glorified hippie drum circle but with hipsters replacing the hippies. We met this cool guy Noel from L.A. pretty funny guy, hopefully he'll come hang out sometime.

After the show we drove back to wicker, got some mexican food, went to pattys and jammed out a few songs and passed out to blade runner.

Saturday my roommates and i all met at our apartment and decided on rooms, made a list of repairs needed and just sorta had a little meet and greet for the other roommates who didn't really know each other.. sam and mike mostly. That said, THANKFULLY i didn't get the shitty room. honestly a big weight off my shoulders. Sam got the nicest. and i got the 2nd nicest, imho. Mike's room is cool but doesn't have a closet and his walls aren't completely enclosed (they dont go all the way up to the ceiling). Anyway after much rubbing the fact we didn't have the shitty room in Mat's face we called it a day and went our separate ways. Side note: are landlord seems kinda craptacular.. the set of keys i have don't open our front main door, the apt is VERY dirty, and it needs alot of repairs from the last tenants (dents/holes in wall, new pantjob, etc) so we are in the process of getting the ball rolling with that. if it doesn't happen then we might try and get out of our lease as the shit the landlord is pulling is un-acceptable.

So anyway, the rest of my saturday entailed hanging out with sam, ben and his roommate, drinking, grilling on the lake, watching the bulls game and driving home to pass out around 1am.

Sunday, we were finally supposed to meet our landlord and have him go thru the house with us. He didn't show... he said he was there and left a key for the front main door, but i couldn't find it. After dealing with that bullshit for an hour i had to run downtown to meetup with my friend mike for his iphone app photoshoot. it was my first photoshoot ever and i was kinda nervous. it turned out to be pretty fun, lot's of people from highschool who were a grade or 2 older than me that i haven't seen since. All really cool interesting people in general, mike's such a smart down to earth guy and i'm glad i could help him out.. although i don't think i took good pictures.. we'll have to see, as i didnt get to look at any of them.

on another good note, i mentioned to him how my roommates and i wanna start our own web design business and mike sounded very interested. he already started his own application/web development company based outta Champaign, IL and is interested in working with us! so awesome stuff once we get the ball rolling. afterward i made my way home, changed and headed over to patty's to hang out in the park and enjoy the rest of the day's beautiful weather. all i can say is that it was probably one of the most relaxing afternoons/evenings i've had in awhile. Jack happened to be randomly walking by with his guitar so he hung out for a little, just strumming some tunes randomly. my fav was the little beatles jam session we got going... Blackbird isn't that hard to play either! Irina showed up after and we all went to sultan's for some awesome middle-eastern cusine. i <3 falafal!!!

after, we went back to patty's to chill on the porch and people-watch some more.. went and got some ice cream, and got locked out of her house, lol. luckily one of her other roommates was on her way home and was able to let us in. Kevin came over, we jammed out some more. Then jack wanted to go to gallery cabaret to sign up for open mic night. i really wanted to go, but was really tired and it was getting late, so i regretfully declined and headed home to pass out.

long story short. FUN WEEKEND! I <3 chicago in the summer!!!

i've been really tired the last couple days... i dunno what the deal is. anyway, we get the keys to our new place friday. kinda excited? YES! probably gonna start moving shit over this weekend. i also need to talk to steve about moving into my old place. once less month of double rent is a godsend. lastly, i need to sit down with some people and plan a certain someone's going away party.

awesome weather, bonfires and bbq's, bike rides and walks to the lake... ahhh i love summer!

man... last night was fun. went to a Flosstradamus show at the abbey pub with patty, amy, sara and sulty. yes sulty, she's sara's friend from australia. had a blast, great music, and lots of dancing as usual. BUT it really made me miss the fact that i don't have a default dancing partner... patty didn't wanna dance, and neither did amy. sara and sulty were dancing, but being the 3rd wheel on the dance floor is no fun either.. at least when your semi-sober. once i got a couple more beers in me i was out there making dancing butter!!!

one of the cooler things was that patty knew Flosstradamus's video guy and had done a shoot for this show with him. so during the set, on any of the 4 screens that surrounded the dj booth, was a video of a woman smoking out of some paraphernalia, and every so often patty's face would show up!!! personally i think her's was the best, but maybe i'm biased.

eventually we all left and went back to patty's and chilled. i emailed into work explaining the fact i wasn't coming in today. i tried playing guitar, but patty's roommate's guitar is really difficult to play... the strings are wayyy too high off the fretboard. anyway, some time later, it was 4am and i decided to head home.

it was cold and misty out as i unlocked my bike. simply saturated with rain. hopped on, my butt getting all damp and made my way home.

this week is really flying by! can't believe its already wednesday...

yesterday i went to get a price quote on a new wheel for my bike, so i can let the guy who hit me know how much to make the check out for. $119... for a fucking wheel. no upgrade or anything.. same kind of wheel. after i head up to my brothers and played some co-op RE5... which i must admit, is alot of fun.

this evening sam and i are looking at 2 more places... a 4500 sq foot coverted warehouse on division and paulina and a 2 floor house off chicago ave, near Continental. so wish us luck! :D

might grab a drink after or something as lindsay said she wanted to meet up in wicker.

its supposed to finally warm up tomorrow.. getting into the mid-60s. FINALLY! so hopefully i can get my wheel and fix my bike by then. Other than that, got a few parties this weekend. Tinu's going away party friday, my friend matt is throwing an apartment-wide party saturday as they are all moving out in a month or two. Tina also invited me to this bubble bath party saturday... which just sounds all sorts of awesome! there are a couple other things as well.. but honestly i can't remember what they are... and with everything else going on, i'm not too worried.

UPDATE: here's some pics of the place we are hopefully moving into

i got hit by a car... yesterday, riding up to patty's, the guy didnt look in the bike lane, and veered right.. right into my front tire, which sent me flying onto the pavement. luckily, i had learned from previous falls and shielded my face with my hands, tucking and rolling onto my shoulder. so all i have to show for it is a scuffed up jacket, a cut bruised and banged up knee, and a sore shoulder. sooooo lucky i didnt hit my head or break anything... i could be dead.

so i went on with my day, patty and i got some coffee and chilled in the park. eventually we got food and made it back to my place so she could clean for me. and my place is sparkling now! after that tina showed up and we drank some wine and chilled. tinu, called and wanted to meet up so we all went to moonshine for drinks and food. calamari, spinach and artichoke dip, and cajun shrimp pizza. mmmmm.

after that we tried to go to danny's but it was packed, so they decided to go downtown to Bin36 for wine and cheese. our friend josh works there and hooked it up!!! i can see why they go there all the time. it wasn't even 2am yet, so we headed to continental, i missed that place. got drinks, talked, etc. i went outside to smoke a cigarette and noticed how awesome the moon looked. texted someone. went back in.

dont really rememeber too much after that. yesterday was a day of extremes, the good and the bad.
mostly good thankfully. now todays easter and i gotta go pick up my brother after he gets off work and head to the burbs. my mom's making a huge easter dinner. i cant wait!

so Sam and i are going to look at
http://chicago.craigslist.org/chc/apa/1110266472.html this evening when we get off work. So.. this actually might happen!!! i could be living in a mansion come june/july.

someones excited and his name beings with an "A" and ends in a "M"

:D

holy crap, our friend mike just found this apt.. i mean flipping mansion!!! I WANT TO MOVE IN!!!

http://chicago.craigslist.org/chc/apa/1110266472.html

now this is a place i could actually call home. i'd have to give it a fancy french name, like "chateau de la soir" or something.

i'd gladly pay2 months rent in advance for this place.

Wednesday. halfway to the weekend. things are good. we just finished developing this new module for preventative maintenance tracking on all our applications and servers. Date functions and calculations are hard/frustrating.. but, it works, so everythings gravy. just doing some last minute documentation and trying to get a team of users together to pilot it before we put it into production. but enough with work.. lollapalooza tickets went on sale, dunno if they posted the lineup yet.. but i got some time i think. other than that, just been hanging out with patty, steve. kevin and sam over the last couple weekends. haven't seen mat in a bit, but we'll probably get a dance party started at evil olive or something this weekend. might be going to austin in may.. Desola comes in to visit in april, trying to move into a new place with sam and perhaps mat by july. then perhaps a trip out to vegas to see tim.. i miss my best friend... :(

another thing i haven't really been thinking about is that patty is leaving in june.... D:
its sad.. she's going to Germany for a little then is probably moving to L.A. so my plan for now is to just not think about it.

oh man, what a week its been so far. well, yesterday while im at work, i get a text from my friend Ashleigh, who i haven't seen since i left new orleans. apparently her and her bf have been in town awhile and it was their last day.. AND they wanted to see me and hang out before they left. AWESOME!!! so i ride my bike over to the art institute and who do i see but tiny little ashleigh hopping up and down in excitement. :D

so we all walked around for a bit and caught up with each other, etc. i missed her.. and i didn't even realize. anyway, we go get some food and drinks (since it was st.patty's day and all) eventually Sam meet up, followed by none other than ms. lindsey. its kinda funny, she's lived her for almost a year so far and it was the 3rd time i've seen her.. good friend right, lol. anyway, i learn that lindsey has been a horrible host/tour guide... Ash hadn't even seen wicker park! TRAVESTY!!! i shout. and convince everyone to come back and see what all the fuss was about.

turns out im a fucking awesome tour guide, lol. we all had a blast, showed them all the cool places, pointed out the fact that, you know ur in wicker park by the concentration of guys in tight pants(myself included :/ ), gave a little history of the area and took them to a cool bar with a drink special. :)

we all got drunk! sam went home (i should have followed suite, but i have no inhibition), but steve, kevin and jack met up! more drinking.. $2 pint of everything on tap is just tooo good of a deal to pass up. so last call was made, everyones hungry.. so we walk to this 24h diner.. good food, good people, and good night. UNFORTUNATELY i had to work the next day, and coming home at 4am shit faced doesn't really help me.. TODAY SUCKED!!! i was even contemplating not going to the Matt&Kim and Cut//Copy show.

I eventually sucked it up and met up with leah at Matilda's a couple blocks from the Vic. more drinking, shots etc. pretty buzzed by the time we head over.. and wow. f*cking awesome show! matt&kim make me happy whenever i listen to them, so seeing them live.. i was all smiles. KIM IS SOOOOO FLIPPING AWESOME. i'd totally marry her.. tattoos, cute, funny and she rocks the drums... ugh. anyway.. awesome show. my legs are sore/weak from dancing so much.. we were pretty sweaty by the time we got out of there. hehe.

in the 70s today!!! so i rode my bike to work today. ohhh, i missed biking. beautiful day, but unfortunately im working. MCA (museum of contemporary art) is free today, might walk over during lunch to check out their new exhibit. in other news, Cut/Copy and Matt&Kim tomorrow!!!!!!! WOOOOOOOOT!