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5.28.2008

Basil Hayden Buzz


While the picture of James and I is very cute...this was the photo that i wanted to be on the front of the "It's Basil Bitch" slideshow. Here's to taking 1st place in the c2 division of the North Star Classic in Minneapolis. Way to go guys!

5.27.2008

Usher - What's Your Name


I've always been an Usher fan. From day one. I had no idea what to expect from his new cd as I had mixed feelings about the first single and heard nothing about the cd. It was released today and I bought it on itunes. I ran a bath and turned it on. When I got to track 6 I realized I was dancing in the bathtub. I got in the bathtub to try and stretch my legs and relax so I could get to bed early. Back to track 6. What's Your Name feat. Will I Am. I'm not sure if it's the worst song ever written and I should be embarrassed to be admitting this or the BEST SONG EVER!!!! It's so boyband/80's/tecno/r&b/rap/bubblegum/reggae/everything. I am on listen #3 and I'm eating it up!!!!!! Please give it a listen and leave a comment. It's worth 99cents!

5.18.2008

My 200th Post


While I don't pride myself on posting regularly, i'm proud to be making my 200th post today. Perhaps I should be making a special post for the milestone but instead you're getting what I give you...some useless knowledge of what's going on in my life. You'll get some special posts in the future. With the title of my blog being a random collection of thoughts it only makes sense to keep things coming at you randomly.

So why is there a picture of me being a fool in San Fran posted above? Because I just had an awesome trip to San Fran. I went for work but have some very close friends there so I stayed an extra night. My work event was awesome. I was there for an event called Bourbon & Bacon. Kinda sounds scary right? Basically it was a 5 course meal served with 5 unique cocktails from our portfolio. It was DA-LISH! I spent my time going from table to table and talking to folks about our brands and about whiskey in general. As the event came to an end I told a co-worker of mine that I would meet him at a speakeasy called Bourbon & Branch. But I was going to make a 30 minute visit to my friend Lonnie's on the way. For those of you who reember Lonnie he was a good friend I met when I first moved to Chicago. He was on my softball team and he and I played tennis together as well. He had a 6am flight so I wasn't able to get him to join us out. I saw his new place...talked for a good 20 minutes and then was off to the speakeasy. My cab driver was really sweet as he expressed concern with me getting out of the cab in the lower tenderloin district. He asked where I was going and didn't know the place and there was no sign on the door as it was a buzzer on a wall and you were required to know the password to get in. The place was awesome...the bartenders were knowledgeable and they had a great drink list with a million whiskeys to choose from. I chose to stick with our brands as I was all dressed up in small batch get-up. A great time.

Later that night I took off to the Castro. I was unimpressed. Gay bars bore me...I want so badly to love them but they are the same in every city. I pretty much sat and drank alone while watching video's at the first bar and then made my way down to a hip hop club where I was able to get my groove on for awhile. I had a good time dancing until it got overcrowded with obnoxiously drink people. It was time for me to go home. As I made my way to find a cab I changed my mind and decided to go find pizza in the castro. I grabbed a slice and went out onto the street to eat it. This is where the night started for me. I'm not sure if it was the gay married thing or just the energy in san francisco but everyone was so cool and friendly and i had a really good time just watching people and hanging out with the folks around me. I stayed in the street until close to 4am just talking. Something I'd probably be arrested for here in Chicago. The police were in the streets but they were not concerned with us "loitering".

The following evening I moved from my hotel to Livo & Tommy's. My old roommate and a guy I used to date. Their place was in twin peaks and overlooked the city and bay. IT WAS BEAUTIFUL. The three of us had an amazing time. We were very relaxed and just talked and caught up. We later made our way into Noe Valley (i think that's what it was called) to grab some coffee, a drink, some wine and some groceries so we could cook and play cards.

The next morning i flew home. I have always loved San Fran but for some reason this trip really made me want to live there. I've said it for years....San Fran is one of the few cities I could see myself living in when I'm old. I'm changing that to oldER. Perhaps it'll be sooner than I thought...I've got a few years to figure it out.

5.12.2008

Making Light of a Shitty Weekend


I was looking SO FORWARD to playing softball this weekend. All week long the forcast said heavy rain on Sunday. I refused to believe it. Well sure enough it rained. Actually, it poured for hours and hours. Not a chance in hell for softball. So the weekend was a drag. But I did manage to make the most of it. I did something for the first time which is always fun. I rode my bike 25 miles. I took off from my neighborhood and biked down to Hyde Park. I was on a roll and wanted to go further but knew I had to bike the same distance back home. An awesome time. Shortly after coming back home Ms. Henin challenged me to a tennis match. Perhaps a little stupid to go play tennis for 3 hours after a ride of that length but I went. And won 64 46 62. She has dominated me since day one so it feels good to beat her.

And the best part of the entire weekend? I finally booked my trip to Brazil. AND Aaron booked his as well so it's official. We are traveling to Rio De Janeiro from December 23, 2008 until Jan 3, 2009. Which means we'll be spending both Christmas and New Years in Brazil. We are going to have the time of our lives! And I have something to look forward to all year long.

In other news for those of you with whom I haven't talked to in some time. The job is going really well. I'm feeling pretty confident and on my feet and it's keeping me very busy. I have a huge event tomorrow night at Kellogg and am anxious to get it under my belt. Traveling to San Fran next week for an event...and then get a week in Chicago. If I can schedule this surgery for early next week (i'm not talking about it as it's debbie downer) I am going to attempt to get down to Indianapolis for a little work. Stay tuned.

5.09.2008

Hillary's Downfall


It's not very often I post videos on my site other than my own but this is too fantastic not to share. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.