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I went to Omaha this past Thursday through Sunday. It was a blast. I got to go swimming, to a festival, beer tasting, Lincoln, Zio’s, La Mesa, Alvarado’s, the 9r, and got to see sooooo many lovely friendly faces. I don’t miss Omaha much, but damn I definitely miss the people. If only there were a way to combine the awesomeness of Chicago with the awesomeness of my friends, all over the country.

Compared to any person I know in Omaha, every single person in Chicago is an asshole.

I was thrilled to get back though. For the first time since living here, it actually felt like I was coming home.

Vacations

I recently came across a website with the most valuable message ever: 1000 Awesome Things. I had never seen this blog before… Therefore, I was excited to read it.

Then, I read it. And was slightly disappointed by the lameness of it.

However, it has inspired me to create my own list.

Top 10 Awesome things from 2010, SO FAR (maybe I will re-visit this idea in six months):

1. Craig taking me to Vegas.
2. The most pleasant living situation I have fallen into in years. (And cheapest, to boot!)
3. Brand new, sweet office at work (this just happened… today).
4. Our broke-ass bathroom, suddenly becoming a perfectly awesome bathroom. (& let’s not forget to mention the new stove that should be coming soon)
5. Valerie visited, Melissa visited, Angelo is coming, parents are coming, cousin is coming. And a very great pal of mine is moving here, finally!
6. The realization that I have an in for any show I might ever have any desire to go to.
7. Our balcony over-looking the park (my apartment makes up about 30% of this list).
8. My car is paid off!
9. I got a plant that I haven’t even killed yet!
10. I will have a bed to sleep on, soon. (And it’s not even an air mattress)

Vacations, Work Angelo Gonzalez, Awesome things, me, Melissa Coe, Parents, Reviews, Valerie Noelle, Vegas, Visitors

I have a million pictures that I want to post, but I am waiting on Craig to get them to me. Yes, it is all his fault.

We had an amazing time, I was really sad to leave.

Stayed at Caesar’s, but explored everywhere else. We even left the strip and went downtown, to Fremont street, which was probably my favorite part. A little more chill than the glitz and glamor of the strip.

My boss is incredibly awesome and put us on the list for the Foundation Room. That means we got to skip pass the line, for free, and had the velvet rope and elevator opened for us and closed behind us. VIP treatment, right there, kids. And I really wish I could present you with the photos right now, because this view was amazing. I have a cell phone photo….

Because I just HAD to send a photo to everyone I knew, right then. But it just doesn’t do it justice.

I had my 27th birthday last Saturday. Got to see Atoms for Peace, thanks again to my boss. Good show, amazing venue.

I have got to get a better camera.

I’m sitting out on our balcony right now, it’s 80 degrees and breezy, sun shining brightly. I just saw a little kid, run down the sidewalk, into his grandfather’s arms. So cute. Life is nice.

And I have a new favorite blog to read. So, you should read it too.

Music, Vacations, Work Atoms for Peace, Balcony, Birthdays, Caesar's Palace, Craig McCallie, Jessica McCallie, me, Redline Tickets, The Foundation Room, Vegas

Last week, a very good friend of mine took the whole week off of work. So, we decided to go on a road trip through the Appalachian mountains. It was his idea, I wanted to go on a road trip to New York, but I am glad we went where we did. Here is a rough estimate of our route…

Of course, that route is all wrong, because we didn’t drive on the interstate the whole way. We took the Blue Ridge Parkway from the Shenandoah Mountains, most of the way down to Asheville, NC. I took a few videos of the windy road while Chris was driving, this one isn’t the best quality, but it shows how curvy the road was. Chris was definitely better at handling these roads than I was. And check out the Smokeys.

We camped two out of the five nights, it was my first time camping as an adult. Can you believe that? Even though everything went wrong the first time, it was still fun. We stayed at a cute little Bed & Breakfast place in Fayetteville, WV. We saw the tallest bridge in America. Spent the most time in Asheville, NC. Very cute town, full of very nice people. Stayed on a Cherokee Reservation, went to an Indian casino. Saw lots of gorgeous mountain views, and even a little bit of snow when we got way up there. We also caught glimpse of a black bear in nature, lots of deer, and some wild turkey.

I realize all these photos look pretty much the same. Mountains. You get it. But it really was gorgeous views.

It was definitely a great experience. And I’m pleased to have such good company to enjoy it with. I honestly did not want to come back home. I could stay lost forever. Wishlist for the retirement I’ll probably never see: an RV (that maybe turns into a boat, someone will invent that someday, right?)

Vacations Asheville, Blue Ridge Parkway, Chris Smith, Kentucky, North Carolina, Roadtrips, Shelbyville, Shenandoah Mountains, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia

I just got back home from a week long road trip. From Chicago, IL to Counce, TN to Memphis, TN to Kansas City, MO to Lincoln, NE to Omaha, NE. Here’s my route:

Noted for next time: Do not go through St. Louis. It would have saved time (while also making the route more triangle shaped).

I had lots of fun. Photos to come later, I’m having computer issues right now. I wish I could move all my Omaha friends to Chicago. In the meantime, visits will just have to do.

Vacations Chicago, Counce, Illinois, Kansas City, Lincoln, Memphis, Missouri, Nebraska, Omaha, Roadtrips, Tennessee

I am in Memphis right now. I got stories to tell and photos to show, but not right now. The adventures are not over just yet!

I just wanted to say hello and observe that I’m in the homeland of… Elvis, yes. But also, Lucero.

And.. the lyrics from my last post came from this song…

You’re welcome.

I plan to spend my tomorrow floating in the pool out back. That’s right, be jealous.

Music, Vacations Lucero, Memphis, Roadtrips

The weekend before last, Jonathan and I drove down to Indianapolis to see the Indy 500. I had never been before, I had never even been in Indiana before. It’s pretty cheap!

We showed up to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway late enough, that we got in for free and only had to sit through a half hour of the race. AND in that half hour, we even got to see one out of the seven wrecks that happened that day. Because wrecks are the only real reason to watch the race in the first place, right? Right.

We were also offered a place to stay for free, at his friend’s place. And the gracious hostess made us strawberry margaritas all night. So, all in all, a good cheap road trip. I held her four month old baby who started crying the second she walked away. I am not a baby person. But I enjoy this picture a lot, because the baby looks intoxicated:

Last Wednesday, I got a call from some friends who were on tour, and driving through Chicago on Thursday night. Unfortunately, because my phone sucks ass sometimes, I didn’t get the message until Friday morning. They told me to come see them in Sheboygan that night. I had no plans, so I went. Even though I couldn’t convince anyone to go with me. It was a super fun time, good to see those guys, and I’m glad I went alone.

I lazed around too much after work. So, I didn’t get there in time to see Justin from Midwest Dilemma play, but I did get to see Brad Hoshaw play.

Bad photo, but he made it on the cover of Sheboygan’s weekly(/monthly? I’m not sure) newsletter. And people asked for their autographs. It was pretty entertaining to me. These guys I’ve known for years, got groupies… asking for their autographs and inviting them to the bar.

I love love love mini road trips whenever possible. And there’s a million places around here that I have not been to YET. Next on my list is Gurnee, IL. I have got to go to Six Flags. I’ve been living for over a month with this huge urge to get on a some rollercoaster rides. But that will have to wait a little while because there’s too much to do in Chicago to leave town. Love it.

Oh, one more thing.. I’d like to name drop my neighbor, Paul Taufner. He works at Blue 13. The other night, he made dinner for us, steak and sides. It was sooooooooooooooo delicious. And he is right across the hall, what a treat.

Music, Vacations Brad Hoshaw, Food, Indianapolis, Jonathan Seff, Justin Lamoureux, Paul Taufner, Roadtrips, Sheboygan, Val