Ta dah
This is by no means a comeback entry (who was waiting, anyway?), but I figure I should update to at the very least have at least one entry in this journal for 5 straight years. Holy shit tits, am I old. I started this journal when I was 16, and now I'm 20. If I use this journal for 10 more minutes, I'd probably wander into the realm of creepy adults who have no one else to talk to but the people who may or may not read their internet-based journal.
Anyway, just for shits and giggles, I'd like to reference a post I made on April 23rd of last year. In that post, I made a rare update on my life. It's been over 9 months since then, so I think it's time for a self-evaluated report card.
Being here in college has changed me in ways that I never even thought possible. Going into college, I formed a prototype in my mind of what it would be like: having my own place, having freedom, partying on the weekends, living in what I would call an ideal lifestyle.
So when I got here, my prototype seemed pretty accurate. I do indeed have my own place (even though it's only a small room, and I share it with someone. Dorm rooms suck), I do have all the freedom in the world, and I do party on weekends. But something that I didn't get right was the fact that this was an ideal lifestyle. Don't get me wrong, I like to party and have a good time with people. But what I didn't realize is that in doing this I eliminated many things out of life that I love the most. All the little minor things, like bonfires, playing video games in Robb's basement, talking about philosophy with Chris and Sam in my family room, having random conversations about geeky things with Matt McGahan, driving around aimlessly with friends looking for something to do (which almost always ended up at Steak 'n Shake), watching TV and thinking simultaneously in my family room at 2 AM when no one else was awake, watching baseball with my dad, and playing catch with people from the neighborhood, are all absent from my life in this point. These things individually may seem minor, but my happiness comprised of all those minor things put together. Now they are just subtle reminders of the simplistic nature of home.
Well, I'd have to say that this past summer was one of the best I have ever had. And I'm not merely retroactively upgrading its value because the weather is more bleak in the summer time, it really was awesome. I did mostly every single one of those things, even while working about 40 hours a week downtown. Most of my evenings consisted of coming home from work, smoking hookah with Wasilewski, then watching the Cubs game at night. Other nights were spent with Robb and Sam playing video games. The weekends consisted of starting up bonfires, drinking to incoherent levels, and doing the same thing the next day. In fewer words, it was finger-lickin' good. So, in this area of getting back to the things I truly enjoy, which have carried over in a semester-plus of school this year, I would give myself an A.
I hate to use overbearing, bland cliches, but as far as relationships are concerned, I don't really know what I want sometimes. For one of the few times in my life, I think relationships sound like a good idea, whereas dating back to junior year up to this point in my life, I never wanted one. But sometimes I feel like I'm in a difficult predicament as far as distance is concerned. U of I isn't a terribly long distance from Aurora, but the distance between Aurora and Champaign definitely constitutes U of I as a "weekend visit" school, whereas NIU could be constituted as an "evening visit" school if need be (because the two are so close). Therefore, it's not very logical to maintain a relationship over that distance because it is very hard for the two people to see each other regularly (and I know this from personal experience). On the other hand, there are plenty of girls to start a relationship with here at U of I, but the problem is that everyone is from different cities. Yeah, there's a chance that one of these girls could be from the Aurora/Naperville area, or even from adjacent cities like Wheaton, Batavia or Plainfield. But if they live farther than that, it becomes a long distance relationship over long breaks (kind of like summer), which is what was trying to be avoided in the first place. I suppose I'm not that concerned, and I don't want to think of a relationship as a given anyway. I figure that if the situation ever comes, I will deal with it when the time comes.
Funny thing about this one. I started talking to one of my friends Heather Grames a lot more near the end of the school year. That carried over to summer, where I went to 3 Sox games with her (next to only 2 Cub games for myself!), partied over at her house when her parents were out of town, saw The Decemberists at Millenium Park, and spent a lot of time with each other. Long story short, a short summer romance developed into what is a strong relationship of 5 months today. She totally kicks your girlfriend's ass, even if your girlfriend is fighting with a machete and is wearing football pads :). No worries about being separated from her during school (which was one of my concerns) and even though where she lives (Orland Park) is about a 40-50 minute drive away from Naperville, it's a drive that I'd gladly make any day in the summer. In summary, this area has been absolutely amazing. Grade: A.
This may sound very bizarre to some, but I can't wait until I have a job again. I saved up plenty of money from my last job at Subway, so aside from the fact that every dollar spent here wasn't replenished, it wasn't a major problem for me. The bigger problem of not having a job is the fact that it perpetuates pure laziness. Most of the time, I have little to no motivation to start work, and most of the time just ended up playing video games, talking on AIM or just on Facebook for no apparent reason. I think once I get into the groove with my job this summer, as well as after I get a job at the start of next semester, everything will be just fine.
Yes, I was more on top of things once I worked over the summer. No, I did not get a job at school for the first month. No, I did not get a job at school for the second month. No I did not get a job at school for the third month. And today, I am proud to report to you that I still have not gotten a job at school. However, me working over winter break has provided me with financial stability for now. Besides, I think I'm going to apply for the job at Zorba's (a gyro place on campus). Maybe I'll do that tomorrow. Or the next day...Grade: C
Baseball season is well underway, and that makes me happy because it is the greatest sport ever. I know many people think it's boring, and for a society that's based on instant gratification, that's understandable. But there is absolutely nothing better to me than sitting in the old Wrigley Field seats, admiring the blue sky and green grass, while taking in some sun and a good old fashioned Cubs game. It is a slow paced sport, but that's probably one of the reasons I love it so much because it gives me a break from the fast-moving pace of life. Oh, and speaking of the Cubs, they will get better. My favorite Cubs of the moment - Matt Murton (as my icon suggests), Derrek Lee (one of the classiest and best athletes in the game), Ryan "The Riot" Theriot (speedy guy who hits and gets on base), and Rich Hill (southpaw pitcher with his 0.41 ERA! Amazing).
The Cubs did pretty well. Finished 85-78 and won their first division title in 4 years. However, they mysteriously forgot how to hit, pitch, field, talk, eat, digest and even react to a hot burning stove when they were on the bad side of a 3-game sweep against the Arizona Diamondbacks in the first round of the playoffs. Things are looking bright - Kosuke Fukudome should be a big hit in Chicago. I'd expect them to at least compete for first in a rather weak division, so maybe at this time next year I'll be talking to you guys again about a 3 game sweep in the first round of the playoffs. But at least they'll make the playoffs, right?
As for my favorite Cubs, I almost want to stab my 19-year, 4-month old self in the face for saying that. Derrek Lee, Matt Murton (despite trade rumors) and Rich Hill (despite his numbers going a little back down to earth) are still good on my list. But Theriot absolutely sucked last year. In fact, he sucked so much, I made a whole entire blog devoted to denouncing him and players like him. Seriously. So, even though commenting about baseball wasn't actually talking about improving my life, I'll give myself a grade anyway. B.
So, I've gotta say, not bad. A quick anecdote - Heather's a Sox fan. I know, God help her. But she's the coolest Sox fan I've ever met.
This entry was completely pointless. But oh well. I'm over trying to look for things that have some sort of predetermined meaning. Everything has a point to a certain extent. But anyways, that's all. Hope the literally zero people who still read this journal are doing just fine.
Anyway, just for shits and giggles, I'd like to reference a post I made on April 23rd of last year. In that post, I made a rare update on my life. It's been over 9 months since then, so I think it's time for a self-evaluated report card.
Being here in college has changed me in ways that I never even thought possible. Going into college, I formed a prototype in my mind of what it would be like: having my own place, having freedom, partying on the weekends, living in what I would call an ideal lifestyle.
So when I got here, my prototype seemed pretty accurate. I do indeed have my own place (even though it's only a small room, and I share it with someone. Dorm rooms suck), I do have all the freedom in the world, and I do party on weekends. But something that I didn't get right was the fact that this was an ideal lifestyle. Don't get me wrong, I like to party and have a good time with people. But what I didn't realize is that in doing this I eliminated many things out of life that I love the most. All the little minor things, like bonfires, playing video games in Robb's basement, talking about philosophy with Chris and Sam in my family room, having random conversations about geeky things with Matt McGahan, driving around aimlessly with friends looking for something to do (which almost always ended up at Steak 'n Shake), watching TV and thinking simultaneously in my family room at 2 AM when no one else was awake, watching baseball with my dad, and playing catch with people from the neighborhood, are all absent from my life in this point. These things individually may seem minor, but my happiness comprised of all those minor things put together. Now they are just subtle reminders of the simplistic nature of home.
Well, I'd have to say that this past summer was one of the best I have ever had. And I'm not merely retroactively upgrading its value because the weather is more bleak in the summer time, it really was awesome. I did mostly every single one of those things, even while working about 40 hours a week downtown. Most of my evenings consisted of coming home from work, smoking hookah with Wasilewski, then watching the Cubs game at night. Other nights were spent with Robb and Sam playing video games. The weekends consisted of starting up bonfires, drinking to incoherent levels, and doing the same thing the next day. In fewer words, it was finger-lickin' good. So, in this area of getting back to the things I truly enjoy, which have carried over in a semester-plus of school this year, I would give myself an A.
I hate to use overbearing, bland cliches, but as far as relationships are concerned, I don't really know what I want sometimes. For one of the few times in my life, I think relationships sound like a good idea, whereas dating back to junior year up to this point in my life, I never wanted one. But sometimes I feel like I'm in a difficult predicament as far as distance is concerned. U of I isn't a terribly long distance from Aurora, but the distance between Aurora and Champaign definitely constitutes U of I as a "weekend visit" school, whereas NIU could be constituted as an "evening visit" school if need be (because the two are so close). Therefore, it's not very logical to maintain a relationship over that distance because it is very hard for the two people to see each other regularly (and I know this from personal experience). On the other hand, there are plenty of girls to start a relationship with here at U of I, but the problem is that everyone is from different cities. Yeah, there's a chance that one of these girls could be from the Aurora/Naperville area, or even from adjacent cities like Wheaton, Batavia or Plainfield. But if they live farther than that, it becomes a long distance relationship over long breaks (kind of like summer), which is what was trying to be avoided in the first place. I suppose I'm not that concerned, and I don't want to think of a relationship as a given anyway. I figure that if the situation ever comes, I will deal with it when the time comes.
Funny thing about this one. I started talking to one of my friends Heather Grames a lot more near the end of the school year. That carried over to summer, where I went to 3 Sox games with her (next to only 2 Cub games for myself!), partied over at her house when her parents were out of town, saw The Decemberists at Millenium Park, and spent a lot of time with each other. Long story short, a short summer romance developed into what is a strong relationship of 5 months today. She totally kicks your girlfriend's ass, even if your girlfriend is fighting with a machete and is wearing football pads :). No worries about being separated from her during school (which was one of my concerns) and even though where she lives (Orland Park) is about a 40-50 minute drive away from Naperville, it's a drive that I'd gladly make any day in the summer. In summary, this area has been absolutely amazing. Grade: A.
This may sound very bizarre to some, but I can't wait until I have a job again. I saved up plenty of money from my last job at Subway, so aside from the fact that every dollar spent here wasn't replenished, it wasn't a major problem for me. The bigger problem of not having a job is the fact that it perpetuates pure laziness. Most of the time, I have little to no motivation to start work, and most of the time just ended up playing video games, talking on AIM or just on Facebook for no apparent reason. I think once I get into the groove with my job this summer, as well as after I get a job at the start of next semester, everything will be just fine.
Yes, I was more on top of things once I worked over the summer. No, I did not get a job at school for the first month. No, I did not get a job at school for the second month. No I did not get a job at school for the third month. And today, I am proud to report to you that I still have not gotten a job at school. However, me working over winter break has provided me with financial stability for now. Besides, I think I'm going to apply for the job at Zorba's (a gyro place on campus). Maybe I'll do that tomorrow. Or the next day...Grade: C
Baseball season is well underway, and that makes me happy because it is the greatest sport ever. I know many people think it's boring, and for a society that's based on instant gratification, that's understandable. But there is absolutely nothing better to me than sitting in the old Wrigley Field seats, admiring the blue sky and green grass, while taking in some sun and a good old fashioned Cubs game. It is a slow paced sport, but that's probably one of the reasons I love it so much because it gives me a break from the fast-moving pace of life. Oh, and speaking of the Cubs, they will get better. My favorite Cubs of the moment - Matt Murton (as my icon suggests), Derrek Lee (one of the classiest and best athletes in the game), Ryan "The Riot" Theriot (speedy guy who hits and gets on base), and Rich Hill (southpaw pitcher with his 0.41 ERA! Amazing).
The Cubs did pretty well. Finished 85-78 and won their first division title in 4 years. However, they mysteriously forgot how to hit, pitch, field, talk, eat, digest and even react to a hot burning stove when they were on the bad side of a 3-game sweep against the Arizona Diamondbacks in the first round of the playoffs. Things are looking bright - Kosuke Fukudome should be a big hit in Chicago. I'd expect them to at least compete for first in a rather weak division, so maybe at this time next year I'll be talking to you guys again about a 3 game sweep in the first round of the playoffs. But at least they'll make the playoffs, right?
As for my favorite Cubs, I almost want to stab my 19-year, 4-month old self in the face for saying that. Derrek Lee, Matt Murton (despite trade rumors) and Rich Hill (despite his numbers going a little back down to earth) are still good on my list. But Theriot absolutely sucked last year. In fact, he sucked so much, I made a whole entire blog devoted to denouncing him and players like him. Seriously. So, even though commenting about baseball wasn't actually talking about improving my life, I'll give myself a grade anyway. B.
So, I've gotta say, not bad. A quick anecdote - Heather's a Sox fan. I know, God help her. But she's the coolest Sox fan I've ever met.
This entry was completely pointless. But oh well. I'm over trying to look for things that have some sort of predetermined meaning. Everything has a point to a certain extent. But anyways, that's all. Hope the literally zero people who still read this journal are doing just fine.