Dillo Day, Off to a Good Start

9-30-2009

At the end of every school year the students at Northwestern University in Evanston Chicago unfurl themselves from their armadillo armored balls and let loose. Hence the endearing term Dillo Day, 24 hours of drunken debauchery topped off by a free concert.

For the day, I was a Northwestern student. Got into Chicago around 5pm and wasted no time. After a few rounds of beirut, my friend Lee, his roommate, and I made our way to the lakeshore for the concert featuring Estelle. Brilliant show. She is a beautiful, sincere performer, constantly breaking the fourth wall to really get the audience into it. She even paused the show for a ridiculously wasted chick in the crowd who needed some medical attention. But besides that, great show.

From Estelle we headed to Lee's fraternity house on campus. Basically, it's a 20-some room dorm-like mansion, in which every room has it's own mini-bar. The drinking continued there.

Then came in the most interesting part of the night, Boystown, Chicago's flamboyantly gay district. From Hydrate to Cocktail and finally passing out at Mini-bar, the night got only more ridiculous, and much more gay.

A Few Stipulations

Before I head out, there are a few things I need to specify. Maybe not so much for you the reader, but for me. I have a few stipulations, a few rules, some goals in mind for this road trip and this summer:

1. I will not eat at a fast food restaurant. This one has a stipulation of it's own. I will eat at a fast food joint if (a) I've never been to that particular kind before (i.e. Sonic) and (b) there is no grocery store within reasonable driving distance. Only if those two parameters are met will I dive arteries first into fries and grease.
2. I will blog everyday. Much like when I was on my continental tour of Europe, I will write everyday, but will post whenever I have internet capabilities.
3. I will video blog at least once a week. Let's face it, if you check into this blog regularly, you want to see my smiling face.
4. I will stop when something looks worth stopping for. Too many times have I drove past a state park sign or a scenic overlook. This time around I will stop, even if only to snap a quick picture.
5. I will write one letter a week. I like the physical communication of letter writing. Shoot your address my way and you may be the lucky recipient of one such letter.
6. I will continue to run, but concentrate more on my marathon withered upper body. I truly came to enjoy training for that marathon. No matter how little I got done in a day, as long as I got that run in, I felt like I accomplished something. Once I settle in Rye, I will get into a routine that will give me that accomplished feeling once again.

So there you have it, my summer goals. Please, hold me to them.

East Bound and Down

Weddings are a good time. Hard to argue against that. Two loving people become one, family and friends reunite to celebrate like they never left each other, dancing like idiots without a care, and most often, free alcohol flows through everyone's veins (which aids in the dancing). It's a new beginning.

Tomorrow morning I will have a new beginning, a fresh start. I've spent the past few months here in Green Bay enjoying the time I've had here. But a lot of that time was also spent confused and frustrated with where I was in life. For some reason, at 23 I just expected more.

Tomorrow I will have more. For two weeks I'm going to take advantage of what this country has to offer. While I have a vague idea of where I'm going and what I'm doing over these next 14 days, I'll be playing a lot by ear. That smidgen of uncertainty gives me an edge of excitement. For example, this upcoming Wednesday. I have a six hour spelunking tour of Mammoth Cave in Kentucky. Will I get in those 9 inch crevasses and have a claustrophobic panic attack? Who knows! But certain things are planned out and good to go.

Tomorrow I will be starting this summer off right. My first stop is Chicago. I'll be catching up with a good friend and seeing The Decemberist, N.E.R.D., and Estelle LIVE. I'm hoping Sunday will include the Shed aquarium or perhaps the art museum. We'll see how hungover I am. But either way, I am pleased with my first stop.

I was pleased tonight as well, seeing my long time friend Brandon join forever with his soul mate Joy. I've been to a few weddings in my day and never have a seen a couple enjoy life together more than these two.

Tomorrow I will begin enjoying life like I never have before, just me and the road. I'm east bound and down, loading up, and truck'n.

Surprising Myself

Yesterday felt good, real good. Truth be told it took me by surprise. It was my first time running a consecutive 13.1 miles. I trained, prepared, slept, and ate as well as I could to ensure the morning would go as trouble free as it could. But I really wasn't expecting to finish this beast in 1:47:11.  

Now I know what to beat for next time.... and there will be a next time. 

Let's Look Ahead

It's come to my attention that a great majority of my blog posts are in the past tense, looking back. Well, everyone likes looking forward to something, so I give you today's post. 

A look into my future. 

In less than I week, I'll be running my first half marathon. I am all sorts of excited. The months of training have certainly paid off in terms of definition. My legs haven't looked like this since high school. But the training is about surviving 13.1 miles. Truthfully, I think I can do more than survive. I'm shooting for 9 minute miles. Though, when I pushed up to 10 mile runs, there were plenty of aches, pains, and mental blocks. My hope is the camaraderie and general race day adrenaline will take care of little snafu's that my mind and body may encounter. 

If you care to help make sure I cross the finish line, camp out along the route. 

If anyone feels like blasting music from their car for me, I could really go from "The Kids" by MGMT around the 11 mile mark.

Now for the exciting news (drum roll please). I'm moving to New York!! Indeed, I have landed a summer job working at theme park in Rye, NY. It's called Playland. Despite the cheesy late 80's promotional they have playing on their site, it's supposedly a fantastic park. I'll have solo acoustic gigs Tuesday thru Sunday. Every Monday I'll be making my way 20 minutes south to the city. My hope is by late summer, I'll have done enough interviews and auditions to have landed something out there. Since London I've been itching for the excitement of a city again. Hopefully, this summer will scratch the right spot. 

My journey out there begins on May 30th. I don't start work till mid-June. So, I'm taking my time on the road. I'll be stopping a few places I've always wanted and saying hi to friends I haven't seen in too long. Best of all, I intend on camping most of the way. I'll be making a stop in Chicago, Mammoth Cave in southern Indiana, then down to the Great Smokey Mountains, and up to the Monongahela National Forest. From there it's a trip up the East Coast: D.C., Baltimore, Philly, and finally, New York, New York. 

If you know of any must see stops along this general route, PLEASE COMMENT. I have the time and I really don't want to miss something spectacular. Especially if it's a little off the beaten path. 

That's life for me. Once I hit the road, I intend on daily blogs. Be sure to keep checking in.