Coffee Round Two: Brewed Awakenings

Back in September I wrote about my experiment where I spent a week drinking coffee against my will. Why I did this, I’m not entirely sure.  Before I conducted the experiment, I always imagined that if I was convicted of crimes against humanity, then a lifetime of drinking coffee is probably the punishment they would proscribe for me. I did that experiment to broaden my horizons (I guess) and see how other parts of humanity live. They live in pain, lots and lots of pain. 

I must be a masochist because yesterday I had what alcoholics call a breakdown and plunged myself back into the dark world of coffee drinkers. I thankfully survived; here is my tale.

WARNING: If you are not a member of the coffee underworld, what you are about to read may be disturbing.

Scarier than The Ring

I decided Tuesday would be the day I returned to the world of coffee. I had everything planned out: I would arrive at the racquet center around 10am, go to the coffee shop (Brewed Awakenings) at 10:30, and be back by 11:15 for workouts. Unfortunately it was raining when I woke up which I took as a sign from God that he did not find Tuesday acceptable for me to drink coffee. I quickly modified my plans to not include any products or paraphernalia associated with coffee in my schedule.

WWJD? Not get coffee

On Wednesday the weather was nicer and I was out of excuses, so I prepared for my trip to the coffee shop or as I like to refer to it, The Descent. I left the racquet center at 11:30am bound for Brewed Awakenings. When I walked in the door I took full stock of my surroundings. There were 3 laptops and 1 fedora present by thankfully no skinny jeans – dodged a bullet there, 3 for 3 is grounds for retreat. Of the 3 laptops present only two were Macs. I almost felt inclined to inform the poor soul using a PC he was shaming his people. I mean, I play tennis but I wouldn’t be caught dead using a Volkl racket. Have a little pride in yourself. If you want to do the coffee shop thing, get a Mac and conform to the non-conformists.

I obviously didn’t speak to the PC user, or anyone else for that matter, for one very simple reason:  I’m uncomfortable with new situations and don’t want to draw attention to myself. You can call it what you want, shyness, social awkwardness, low confidence, hatred of humanity. Any way, I’m probably going to engage in as little conversation as possible in an attempt to hide the fact that I have no idea what is going on. I don’t know what happens to you when the baristas find out that you have no idea as to what constitutes an Americano, but I don’t want to find out.

These types of situations remind me of a few articles written by columnist Daniel O’Brien about socially awkward people. O’Brien lists many situations people find terrifying or are uncomfortable with like getting a massage (Yep), standing next to someone at the urinal (Oh Yes), getting a haircut (please hurry and don’t speak to me), and spending any amount of time with someone else’s baby (God please no). The last time someone asked me to hold their baby, I ran out of the kitchen screaming “No! What if I break it!?” 

One entry in O’Brien’s article, 5 Situations That are Secretly Terrifying for Awkward People, covers going to concerts and gives a glimpse of how I feel (I was at a coffee shop and not a concert but the same ideas apply). We don’t do concerts or anything new – like coffee shops – because as O’Brien explains, “Awkward people like music. They’re just, you know… bad at it.” We enjoy the same things everyone else does and would love to go see our favorite band but are afraid to go because, “you don’t know how to dance and you’re afraid of being in a big group of strangers because the family crest of the Awkward Clan is a scrawny lion that doesn’t know what to do with his hands.”

You said it brother

Longtime readers of my posts (yes, you three) will probably remember that I have been to a variety of coffee shops before in a variety of different states. So what’s the problem here Brad? I will tell you the problem. In all those instances I wasn’t alone. I had an inside man, or woman, with me to lead me through those minefields. And I never ordered coffee at any of those places. I usually stood there, pretending not to care, while praying to every god imaginable that the baristas wouldn’t make eye contact, or heaven forbid try to talk to me. The only time my silence came close to breaking was at a coffee shop in Utah where I was almost forced, out of pure principal, to inform a teenage customer that Mötley Crüe was, in fact, not one of the Top 10 greatest bands of all time.

Looks like greatness

It was with great trepidation that I waited in line to order. As I studied the menu I came to the realization that I have no idea what anything means. Without any of my coffee drinking friends alongside me, I was on my own to decipher the differences between latte, espresso, cappuccino, mocha, macchiato, and any other coffee words I have left out. On top of that you could order from the Tradionale, Brewed, Classico, Decadent, or Blended and Iced section of the menu. Additionally there was also Chai tea. What happened to Lipton? While standing in line my conversations with myself went something like this.

What the hell does all that mean? And why does everything end in a vowel?

Don’t stare at the menu like it’s the messiah Brad. In fact just stand here and try to be as normal and not-awkward as possible. And for God’s sake, just put your hand in your pockets before you start drawing attention to yourself.

Oh no. That bearded guy just looked at me. Make it stop.

I almost called the whole operation off in favor of a simple hot chocolate, but felt I had come too far to turn back now. I finally settled on a white chocolate mocha off the Decadent section. The reason for this selection was simple: I felt it would lead to the least number of questions from the cashier who had long curly red hair and whom I took to calling red-headed Jesus (sans beard). My cover would be blown if he asked a question in their language and I couldn’t answer.

Me: "Can I get a small white chocolate mocha?" No questions please, no questions please

Red headed Jesus: "Okay, that’ll be $4.25."

Me: "Okay." Oh God. Cash or credit? Cash or credit? Go with cash, it has more anonymity.

Red headed Jesus: "Do you want whip cream with that?"

Abort! Abort! MI6, Mission Failed! Mission Failed!

Me: "Sure?"

Red headed Jesus: "Can I get your name?"

Asking for my name meant I was most likely going to have to wait while they made my drink. The other scenario going through my head involved the workers in the back scheming ways to abduct me and sell my kidneys. I quickly gave the cashier my name and turned to survey a place to hide while the baristas worked their dark magic. My usual places to sit, in the corners and along the wall, were all occupied so I would have to wait in the middle of the coffee shop with nowhere to sit.

Well Brad, it looks like you had a choice to make and you made the wrong one. Whatever you do, leave your hands in your pockets. Goodbye kidneys, we’ve had a good run.

Generally in these situations I pull out my phone and pretend other humans don’t exist. I re-read old texts, you know, just in case in I missed anything in those 160 characters last time. Let’s see, apparently the pizza I had with Noah a few days ago was still terrible and Curtis was still “disappointed” in my forehand prowess over the weekend.

Eventually my named was called and I picked up my white chocolate mocha, still unaware of what a mocha is. My initial thoughts upon tasting my drink were positive. Of course, there was still that distinct coffee taste permeating my taste buds at the end which was unfortunate, but the overall experience with the drink was good. I noticed the drink had espresso in it which confused me even more. How can mocha have espresso in it? Is it like a square and a rectangle? Mocha’s can also be espressos but espressos aren’t necessarily mochas?

In a state of confusion I left Brewed Awakenings and headed back for the racquet center. After drinking my… whatever it was, I noticed a little more jolt in my step which was quite different compared to my previous coffee experiences.

I know the effects caffeine can have on your body (it’s a stimulant) but am not necessarily respectful of it. This is because I have seen friends down an entire cup of coffee and then promptly pass out while leaving my non-coffee, drinking self to swerve all over interstate 45 in a fit of sleep delirium while we made our way back to Dallas. In this situation I did the only acceptable thing and took pictures for posterity’s sake.

Wait, you said you were driving on the interstate. How did you take that picture? Good question

Will I go back for more coffee? Probably at some point, but I will wait until I once again have someone with the power and linguistic ability to guide me through the forest of laptops, skinny jeans, and oddly spelled words.

Even I Eat Pizza....

Late in October, I found myself at Tomaso's Pizza with Emmie, my parents and my Grandma on a Friday evening.  Upon leaving, there in the corner, sat a former Kohawk tennis player (quite successful one at that!), staff member at Coe and member of my fitness class.....the description is of the same person, not 3 different individuals for those who struggled to follow my train of thought.  Chris Paasch was in the corner, a stylish hat pulled over his brow, legs crossed and with a newspaper opened / covering his identity.  He lowered the newspaper, said hello, and asked if I was going to blog post about the experience.....eating pizza that is (not exactly in line with my reputation on campus!).  We both laughed and I now present Paasch with the requested blog post:

Yes, even I eat pizza.*  For a number of reasons:
1.  Tomato Sauce.  Although the sauce itself is high in sugar, TOMATOES are a SuperFood.
2.  Moderation.  Everything in moderation is fine, and indulgence IS a necessity. Without, one tends to look like this when actually exposed:

3.  Tomaso's IS the best pizza in Cedar Rapids.  The original location at 3234 Center Point Road NE; the other locations don't stack up.  If/when indulge, do it right.  I would ask that you never again settle for what college kids deem, or define, as pizza.
4.  I had earned the indulgence.  As did Paasch via Friday fitness class.....and specifically, the GAUNTLET!

Having explained myself, and justified Paasch waiting for his own take-out pizza, I ask Paasch why he felt it necessary to hide in the corner.....as if embarrassed, or fearful of running into me?

With pride, I hereby solemnly swear, and present you with evidence of my weakness (one of the 12):

Emmie also gets pizza.....and root beer....and I am always on the lookout for a candy shop (for her of course)!

*  Also admit to having drank the beer on tap.  Samuel Adams Octoberfest.  Once again, I would ask that you never again settle for what college kids deem, or define, as beer.  This comment remains an asterisk as it would be Brad's (or even Coach's) realm to blogpost about beer selection.

Kroll Report 9

Sorry for the delay. I thought I would take the opportunity to share some of the pictures from home my family has been sending me. I certainly appreciate the pictures, but every one I receive makes being away a little more difficult. Most of the pictures I get are from my mom and most of them are pictures of  either my niece or my nephew. I also get a lot of pictures from our family friends from Alabama of their little girl, who has quite the little spark in her.

This is Little Man. He is quite the little helper and knows how to get what he wants. His name is Caden and is the son of my 25-year-old brother. He was born about 7 weeks early but is obviously growing without any problems. I love and miss him very much.

Natali a couple of days ago. She helped my mom and big brother,  Jason, pick her outfit for the day. Uncle Mark would usually disapprove, but since Natali chose the outfit it is the cutest outfit ever by default.

Natali is a Broncos fan. She kind of has to be.

Natali is the daughter of my oldest brother Jason who is 28. She is spoiled like a princess should be. Every time she does something wrong and is told "no", all she does is look at you and laugh, as if to say, "I'm too cute for you to do anything to me." She. like her cousin, walk all over the rest of us. 

These are my brothers. A whole lot to brag about. Haha. Beau, 25, is on the left laying on Jason, 28. Aren't they just the cutest. They just got done watching the Bronco game. Probably not far from the couch is a dirty plate that wasn't taken back to the kitchen. Gotta love the brothers. 

This is our family friend's daughter's softball team, the Pink Sox. Jenna is the one furthest to the right in the first row. She is only 6 and playing on the 8 year old team. The team got 2nd in the state and Jenna went 2-2 in the championship. In trying to teach her tennis this past summer, Jenna innocently hit the ball over the fence multiple times. 

Here's Jenna with the trophy!

I go home in less than two weeks and could not be more excited. Our family has been blessed with phenomenal news recently which will make seeing them that much better. Being away from them has been positive and being away from them has been good. I have had to rely on myself and my new friends, but being back in my home and back in Colorado will be much needed. I seriously can't wait. 

Love you, family.

Pre-Season Rankings

Both teams are #11 in the Central Region.

Men

Women

Tai is ranked #10 in Singles; Michelle #12.  As a Doubles pair, they are #4.

Noah is ranked #11 in Singles and #13 in Doubles, paired with Curtis.

Monday HC comments

Another Monday. Another collection of odd ramblings, mind wandering comments, and other foolishness from the HC

.....Campus Showdowns both Saturday and Sunday. For the HC(since Coach Kris did all of the work and Coach Brad played) it meant I got to watch 16 hours or so of live competitive tennis. Good preparation for the 2013 seasons. Jordan and Riley rock. Good stuff all the way around. 

....If you did not know it is officially Official: Pumpkin Muffins are the Official Food of Kohawk Tennis. 72 of them disappeared quickly over the weekend. As a matter of fact, if you didn't grab one by 11am, you were out of luck.

.....Speaking of Brad playing: you would think that Coach Bizot should have taught Brad to discern whether his opponent is using the right or left hand. Brad kept floating volleys to Ryan's FH. Not smart.

.....Was a lot of fun to hang out Saturday night with Rob, Brad, Kris, Doug, VK, Curtis, and Scott. Good stories, although I don't remember VK being quite as good in doubles as he was in his stories? Lot of Tall Tales were told! Oh, and Coach Rob has forgotten all the Fitness he learned at Coe! His back went "out" after five minutes of warmup with Scott Saturday night. 

.....As Coach Kris mentioned we "introduced" Tennis to two classes of four year olds. Wow! They have a lot of uncontrolled energy. My admiration for pre-school teachers went way, way up! Thank goodness Anya was there!

......The Dilemma:  as mentioned in a past column I took a month off from Tennis to recuperate, rejuvenate and refresh. Hit for a bit last week on Thursday. Results? Well, much easier to play when you can move without pain! Now the dilemma is that of course the knee and Achilles heel hurt after playing. Hmm...think I will try and build up some quad strength and Try Again!

......Remember it is London Week! All the best ATP Players are in London(sans Rafa). Check out Round Robin play through Friday. Tsonga, Murray, Djokovic and Berdych are all in the same group! Great opportunity to view doubles also, as the top 8 pairs for 2012 are there.


.....And finally,  Take a Hike!

......Vote!

Catch Up....

Playing catch up after an action packed few days of Kohawk Tennis!  In order....

Carved pumpkins last Tuesday with the Postnikov family!

Coach, Anya and I volunteered to teach tennis at Emmie's school on Friday morning.

Emmie quickly transitioned from the role of player to coach.

Women's Campus Showdown on Saturday.  Jordan Ferree was the victor with a close win over alum, Nikki Kuehl, in the final.  Hoff and Laura also participated.

Once again, Emmie found herself coaching.

Men's Campus Showdown on Sunday.  First year, Riley Galbraith, won the tournament for the second consecutive year.  Once again, he had a battle (tiebreaker) in the semi versus Curtis Newman ('13) to make the final.  Brochet, Decker, Hickman, Sauter, Sprinkel, Kroll and Brad also represented Coe in the tournament.  Finally, it was a pleasure to have former players, Stegemann and VK, along with COACH ROB back on campus!!  More than a few of us made our way to Tic Toc Saturday evening to catch up.....Coach, Rob, Scott, VK, Doug, Brad, Curtis and myself.

Many members of the women's team watching play on Sunday (men's tournament).  A happy fan/participant in the back row.

The pumpkin muffins were a success (again!).

Left to right:  Sushman, Coach Rob, Tai, Noah, Curtis and Scotty.

In total, a long 3 days....

Coaching can be exhausting!

Lincoln 2012

Every Summer provides a blockbuster round of big budget movies that are for the most part lacking in anything except large CGI explosions (or any other word you want to insert here). There are obviously exceptions to this but I would like to point out that the two most popular movies of this past summer were The Avengers and The Dark Knight Rises. Both are very exceptional movies and both had their share of things going boom. As a person who enjoys going to the movies I do enjoy the buffet of gluttony that is the Summer movie season, but I also want to see movies that stimulate more than the lower part of my brain that is entranced by bright moving pictures and explosions.

Oohhhhh pretty

That being said, this fall is an exciting time for movie goers. There are quite a few movies that could be great. I already saw Argo, Ben Affleck’s latest directorial hit – it still feels weird typing the words “hit” and “Ben Affleck” in the same sentence. Argo was awesome and Affleck’s come a long way since he repeatedly tried to let Michael Bay flush his career down the toilet. I also saw the new epic that is Cloud Atlas… and I loved it. Cloud Atlas is going to be a polarizing film and is not for everyone. It’s a long movie with a lot of things going on, so if you’re someone who is easily distracted, or think Twilight is good, then you probably shouldn’t go see Cloud Atlas because within two minutes you will be completely lost and you’re brain will collapse in on itself (black hole style) due to its own useless weight . I can’t even begin to talk about how excited I am about The Hobbitt, which comes out in December. Nerds everywhere rejoice!

The movie that I’m most excited about, and this post is dedicated to, is Lincoln directed by Steven Spielberg. I’m so excited about this movie I feel it necessary to explain my absolute Christmas-morning, giddiness or else risk the danger of being sealed in a room where pillows aren’t necessary because the walls and floor are already downy soft.

4. Daniel Day-Lewis

Daniel Day-Lewis has been cast in the role of the emancipator himself. Taking on the role of any historical figure can be difficult, but it’s even more compounded when you have to play the person often regarded as the greatest president in the history of our country. Day-Lewis has the acting chops to fill this role perfectly. Many of you may not even know who Daniel Day-Lewis is because he takes on so few acting roles (this is only his fifth movie since 1997). If you do know anything about Day-Lewis then you know he gets nominated for an Oscar for just about every role he takes. Basically every few years Day-Lewis decides he wants to add to his trophy collection and stars in a masterpiece.

It's a little bit like this

So far he’s been nominated three times for Best Actor at the Oscars and won two of them.  The one time he lost was in his role for Gangs of New York where he happened to have won seventeen other awards from various organizations. This is nothing compared to his role from There Will be Blood where he won the Oscar for Best Actor along with TWENTY-EIGHT other awards including a Golden Globe and a Screen Actors Guild award.

Yeah, I think Daniel Day-Lewis will do just fine.  

3. Team of Rivals

It’s no secret I love reading like a deer loves headlights. Many of my previous blog posts are about my narcotics-like book habit. I am also inquisitive about history (i.e. a nerd) and love learning, especially about the Civil War (because if you’re going to learn about your own history, you might as well focus on the time we all tried to kill each other). Last spring I decided I could double down and get my reading and Civil War fix all in one sitting and started reading Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin. For those of you not familiar with this desire, imagine wanting fried food and a candy bar at the same time. While most people would simply go to KFC and then stop at the gas station on the way home, you intrepidly decide to go to the state fair where they will batter and deep fry a Snickers for you. Problem solved.

It comes with a side of Pepto

Team of Rivals was a great book and showcased Lincoln’s ability to handle all the strong personalities of Washington, including his own cabinet. After reading the book I came to the conclusion that Lincoln was possibly the greatest political genius in American History. This book happens to be what the new Lincoln movie is based on. The book focused on Lincoln’s entire presidency while the movie will only focus on the last few months of the war. I suppose it would be quite difficult to turn a 944 page book into a single movie

2. No Vampires

Besides Team of Rivals, I also read another Lincoln book last spring, A. Lincoln, which was a meager 816 pages long. With these two book combined I had read 1760 pages over Abraham Lincoln. Suffice to say, I had Lincoln on my mind. I then went to see an early summer movie which had a trailer that started with what looked like images of 19^th century America. My interest was growing by the second and then images of Abraham Lincoln reciting some of his most famous words began playing. By this point I was absolutely livid and probably on the verge of having security called on me. I had just read so much about Lincoln and here was a movie coming out about the man himself! You can imagine my disappointment when I found out this promising trailer was about a vampire movie

I have a dream too, and it just got crushed!

Thanks for nothing Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter

1. It’s Lincoln and I’m a nerd

By now this point should be the most obvious out of my entire thesis for today. I’m excited about the Lincoln movie because of how deeply rooted my nerdiness really is, especially when it comes to history. Most middle school kids read books found in the teen section of books store. Actually, I lied, most middle school kids don’t read books, but the kids that do, read books in the teen section. On the other hand there’s me whose parents would buy their child books over the Civil War because of how voracious his appetite was. I even played video games over the Civil War.

As a 12 year old I was a worse strategist than Burnside but did drink less than Grant

The fact that this movie is coming out in the same year that I read two Lincoln books, one of them which the film is based on, probably means my life is now complete. There’s not a whole lot left to do. Everything has already been accomplished that can possibly be done here on Earth. I will now have to turn from history to the future of science fiction. Futuristic, sci-fi like accomplishments are probably years away, but I can always dream. Maybe one day humans will be doing space jumps like in the newest Star Trek movie. That would be really cool to see.

What? That's already been done? HE WENT HOW FAST!? Excuse me while I throw up

Email Inquiry....

Received the following email:

My children are still talking about the smoothie they had at the fitness event.  Would you be able to give me the recipe?  Thank you.

Decided I should share the recipe (from Susie VanMetre) with all:

1/2 ice

1 cup frozen strawberries

1 cup frozen blueberries

1 banana

1/2 plain greek yogurt (but you can use any kind of yogurt)

1 cup orange juice (add more if smoothie is too thick)

Honey to taste (we did not use honey at this event, but I think it adds some sweetness to the smoothie, so that is up to you).

I also made chili this evening, and it turned out great.  A recipe from the original SuperFoods book and appropriate on Halloween!!

Turkey Pumpkin Chili

2 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 Large Onion

1 Large Green Bell Pepper

2 Cloves Garlic

3 Cups Chicken or Turkey Stock (I used Vegetable)

3 Tablespoons Chili Powder

1 (28 ounce) Can Diced Tomatoes

1 1/4 LBS Ground Turkey (I used ground venison)

2 Cups Cubed Fresh Pumpkin or Butternut Squash (steamed until fork tender)

2 Tablespoons Chopped Fresh Cilantro

1 (16 ounce) Can White Beans (drained)

Heat oil in skillet.  Add onions, garlic and pepper; saute.  Add the turkey and brown.  Once turkey is cooked through, add the stock, chili powder and tomatoes.  Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer for 20 minutes.  Stir in the beans and cilantro and cook an additional 5 minutes.  

I threw in fresh tomatoes (Thank You Lisa!) in addition to the canned and used dried cilantro because didn't have fresh.  I also added garlic powder, additional chili powder and salt/pepper to taste.  

Carved pumpkins on Tuesday evening with the Postnikov family!  Had a blast, and great food!  Of course, Emmie chose an intricate design which I carved much of while she played.

New Faces of Kohawk Tennis - Zach (Butters) Decker

Zach

Name: Zack Decker

Birth date: 01/27/1994

Hometown: Born in Rochester, MN and I live in Wyoming, MN. I attended Forest Lake High School in neighboring Forest Lake, MN.

Favorite Tennis Player: My favorite tennis player is Lleyton Hewitt.  He is my favorite because he has made a career out of counterpunching and staying consistent, which is how I want my game to be.  Also, he has unrivaled intensity that I love watching.

Favorite non-tennis sport/hobby: My favorite non-tennis sport is snowboarding.  I used to more often when I was younger but haven't had much time to until recently.



Butters



General background information: My parents are Mark and Pat.  My father is a professor at the University of Minnesota and my mother is a psychologist.  I am an only child.  I played many sports as a kid, but only tennis later on when I became serious about the sport.  I was a captain in high school and 3 time all-conference.  I made individual state in doubles 3 times, my senior year taking second place.

What separates you from everyone else: I like to enjoy myself in whatever I do, especially in tennis.  I don't understand why you would do something so often if you didn't take enjoyment in it. So likely I will have a goofy, unexplainable smile on my face at all times.  Also, my newly assumed nickname is butters, which is pretty original as well.

Kroll Report 8

This past weekend was Family Weekend at Coe. A lot of my friends were expecting their family and friends to come visit them and were some felt it necessary to talk about it all week. My family members were unable to make it to family weekend and the idea of a trip away from Coe came up. Ryan and Shade and I started throwing ideas around about making a weekend trip Chicago. I applied to go to Chicago for Fall Break through the Academic Achievement Program but the trip was cancelled due to a lack of applicants.

We left Friday afternoon and headed to the city. We also left without any sort of plan, so there's that. We said we would find a hotel when we got there but in reaching complete euphoria while driving straight through Chicago, we lost our plan. We parked and started walking. We found the Bean. We found the Chicago theatre. We found a two story Walgreens and it was probably one of the coolest things I have ever seen.

We obviously looked like the worst kind of tourists taking pictures of everything in sight. It was slightly embarrassing. Yet, the way some people chose to present themselves in the city was probably really embarrassing for them. So it was all fine.

After seeing the heart of downtown Chicago we decided food was a good idea. Since the restaurant we planned on eating on would take about 90 minutes to walk to we decided against it. We ate at this little deli near the theatre. I had a roast beef sandwich, my favorite sandwich to get at real deli's. So there we were sitting in the deli still without a hotel. We proceeded to take the next 45 minutes calling every hotel in the area. The problem wasn't room availability, no, it was that we simply weren't old enough. Panic set in and we considered sleeping in the car...which would have cost a ton of money.

Finally we found a hotel fit for a C-List celebrity and spent a lot of money for the room. However, we were in a nice area (about 4 blocks from Wrigley Field) and we weren't scared. Plus, we all got take "Mariah Carey" showers in the amazing shower. Overhead music video rainfall shower. Basically, my entire life was complete and I ran through a couple songs while showering that the rain (shower) would compliment if I ever get to perform at the Grammy's.

We ate at the Continental breakfast provided by the Hawthorne Terrace (Best Western) Hotel while Shade informed us that she made a quick trip around the entire city. She got up a little earlier than Ryan and I, probably due to the fact that she was literally shaking with excitement the entire weekend. She definitely would have slept outside with the homeless people if she absolutely had to. We caught the Red Line (what is that?) over to Chicago/State (where?) which is near the Magnificent Mile (SHOPPING). We spent most of the day around this area, and I spent money I shouldn't have, then we ate lunch and headed over the to the Navy Pier. After taking pictures at the Pier we headed back to the hotel retrieved our car and headed home.

Here are some pictures from the weekend:

No I didn't apply an Instagram filter to this picture... (yea i did) The beauty of the city is unquestionable regardless.

This is the apartment building I live in. We decided that I am from Chicago.  A picture below demonstrates.

Another beautiful shot of the city. 

Wrigley. A 10 minute walk from out hotel and a three minute walk from various sports bar full of drunk people for Saturday's Hawkeye game. 

And finally, we see a true young urbanite, struggling to find his way in the world. I'm obviously working the streets of Chicago and loving every minute of it. The weird face I  have on is due to peasant tourist getting in my way, taking pictures of their friends in front of building's and such. What noobs. 

The weekend was a success. No, it wasn't the most responsible thing to do. Yes, we should have had a better plan. But as we drove towards the sunset back to Coe, away from Chicago, I realized that our short escape from reality was much more than an irresponsible decision. It represented what I want the next four years to be like. Full of adventure and spontaneity, living life and experiencing new things. Yes, I could have been more conservative by spending less money (I didn't spend a ridiculous amount) but what I took away from the trip was extremely valuable and for that I am glad I went. I felt alive in Chicago, like I haven't felt in a long time. I was on my own, with some of my closest friends and it was awesome. I'll never forget it, and I hope to make more memories like Chicago in my four years at Coe.