2009 EIU Homecoming Weekend

As luck would have it, I came down with a rather nasty cold/sinus infection on Thursday that caused me to miss a day of work on Friday, and I feared I might have to miss this year's Homecoming. Determined to make it anyhow, I got my rest and doped myself up with cold medicines, B vitamins and plenty of fluids and made the trek to Charleston around 5 a.m. on Saturday.

I arrived at my one-time home around 8 a.m. and picked up my registration materials (including the ugliest T-shirt ever) at Old Main for the 10th Annual EIU Homecoming 2.5K race - my first race and a big reason I was so bent on making it. I ran the race with Mal and Stephen and kept pace about 3/4 of the first mile until Stephen started walking and I joined him. Mal shot ahead. She would go on to run the whole 1.5 mile stretch, but that wasn't even a goal of mine - I just wanted to do my best and cross the finish line. Not as many people were out watching as I had thought there would be, so that was nice, but I did pick up some inspiration from two kids on 7th Street giving high fives to passing runners. I ran most of 7th street, walked around the square, then ran/walked the last portion down 6th, finishing at 18:05. I could have done better had I not been sick and forgotten my inhaler, but I thought I did well for me at a 12:03 minute pace. For the rest of the day, the cold that had settled into my chest that morning made it hard for me to catch my breath in the chilly weather.

While visiting Lola and JR in the DEN newsroom, Mal (and baby Ian) and I scored two front row tickets to the afternoon football game v. Tennessee Tech (thanks to Sally), which Stephen was shooting for EIU. We stayed until it started to sleet, then took cover, and when we returned sat a row higher to watch Dallas Cowboys Quarterback Tony Romo have his number retired and receive a key to the city of Charleston.

I wondered how hard he had to try not to laugh at that, but was impressed that he came back and humored his little alma mater, backwards hat or no backwards hat. College girls screamed and a cheerleader blushed when he said "hi" to her as he passed. I heard rumors that he had rented out Stu's to party that night, and Mal and I wondered what all the displaced underage drinkers would do for kicks instead. Of course, I can't confirm that actually happened, but it's neat to think about - Tony Romo, at Stu's.

I heard Billy Panther tried to put his arm around him too, haha. Anyway, the rest of the game, Mal and I sat in the car and took walks with little Ian, who is incredibly charming, especially in his EIU gear, while we waited for Stephen.

After the game, our little group joined DEN newsies, teachers, advisors, alum and friends at Top of the Roc for Chili Bash. Erin, who came down with the flu, was not present but I did get to see my former roommate David, who unfortunately had to work for Top of the Roc that night and did not get to fraternize with us as much as we'd have liked. I visited with Marco and Colin, Colin's lady Claire, and a few others before driving back to good ole' A-town to continue my health recovery.

Halloween approaches...

... as does Homecoming and Fright Fest and a visit to Cincinnati - October is a busy month!

It's already been pretty eventful. Brian came out on Oct. 2 and we watched Final Destinations I, II and III as well as Halloween I, II, III and IV, and caught the second to last regular season Cards game on Saturday. We never made it to R Acres of Terror because of a flat tire, but it's always a good weekend when Brian comes in.

Last weekend the Cards lost their third game in the National League Division series, effectively ending their season, while I was with Amy and one of her friends at the Fox for "Phantom of the Opera." It was my first "Phantom" experience as well as my first at the Fox, and I'd love to go back. That place is incredibly beautiful. The show was good too, as was the Boathouse in Forest Park, where Amy took us to eat beforehand. Sunday, after little Brianne's 2nd birthday party, David and I got some shopping done and while he and his friends held a hardcore basketball league draft, I decorated the main floor of my house. There is still much to do...

Tonight and tomorrow night, I'm going for light runs on the treadmill in prep for this weekend. I'll go to bed early Friday, drive into Charleston around 8 a.m. Saturday and run in my very first race. It won't really be much of a race for me - just a self-motivation fun sort of thing. There are people walking the route, so hopefully I shouldn't come in last - but if I did for some reason, it wouldn't be a big deal because it's finishing the race that means I've accomplished more than everyone who isn't participating ;) Chili bash at Top of the Roc will follow a day of catching up with old friends, and that makes for a pretty nice weekend. Sunday, I can relax and maybe get some more decorating done.

The following weekend, we have plans to go to Fright Fest with Rachelowe, but our Oct. 31 party will be here before you know it. I hope we get a decent amount of people out, and I hope they have a lot of fun. The weekend after that, I think we're going to try and make it to Cincy to visit Thomas and Beth. (Regardless of that visit I hope they can make it to our party!)

In other news, David and I are now in a darts league in Jerseyville with my cousin Lisa and her boyfriend Kevin. Every other week we play at our home bar, Molloy's, and every other week we play elsewhere in Jville. We're not amazing, but after one night we are 8-5.

Additionally, I've been working on T-shirts for volleyball that are coming out nicely. I think I'll experiment with more designs when I get some more free time...

Things at work are going well, and I'm getting excited because we have a Web site planning meeting this week. It looks like my fun is about to begin ;)

And that's my life right now in a nutshell. :)

The Office Wedding: Cutest Thing Since Ross and Rachel

I just finished watching "The Office" Wedding special, but was lucky enough to catch the wedding sequence itself Thursday night before volleyball. I hear it's creating some Emmy buzz, and I'm just in love with it.

In one three-minute clip, the show manages to be funny for the same reasons it's been funny for six seasons - kooky personalities and clever references to what's going on in pop culture - and at the same time melt viewers' hearts with a romantic milestone of what's possibly the sweetest and most realistic relationships between two characters on TV.

Me, I've always been a Ross and Rachel fan (and will remain one) - but after numerous breakups and seasons of dating other people, it's easier to see those characters as individuals in addition to the big picture.

In "The Office," despite Roy and Karen flukes, it's always been Jim and Pam :) and I'm glad they got their happy ending, office style.

I love Madison

I never thought I'd be one to fall in love with Wisconsin, but that very thing happened while I was there with a friend/coworker this past weekend.

From Madison, WI

We flew in Sunday to get a head start on things and stayed at the Doubletree Hotel, where we were greeted with a warm cookie and pleased to find out the beds were COMFY!

Because we didn't look at the NCMPR conference brochure carefully enough, we missed a cruise on Lake Monona, but did get to explore on our own, wandering onto University of Wisconsin's campus where we had the perfect view of Lake Mendota and down State Street where we spent lots of unnecessary but fun money. My favorite stores were one called "Sunshine Daydream" and another that had really cool retro and vintage items.

The weather was very cold and wintry, so I bought a Wisconsin hoodie (although I'm told by an Illini fan I shouldn't have), a hat and gloves with the fingers cut out.

Our shopping trip was cut short when it started pouring on us, but we hurried back to the hotel in time to dry off a bit and watch some TV before hitting the Nitty Gritty for dinner. We seriously regretted not lying about it being one of our birthdays. Apparently the place is known for that. They have great burgers too.

Monday we woke up early and caught a shuttle to the Monona Terrace Convention Center for a day of work-related learning. We learned A LOT, but only one speaker really stood out, Dr. Pam Cox-Otto from Interact, who had a really fun personality and taught us all about Gen Y (which really hit home for Korin and I, being that we are Gen Y'ers). The food wasn't fabulous but the view from the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed building was.

From Madison, WI

We skipped out on the awards dinner because Lewis and Clark hadn't put in any entries. Instead, we hit State Street again for some more shopping. It started raining again, but we got back to our hotel safely and rested before taking a ride back to some Italian place, Tutto Italian Bar e Grill, or something like that. It was recommended to us by one of our shuttle drivers, who was young and seemed fun and friendly. On the way back, we gave a bum our leftovers, bc we didn't have a fridge or microwave anyway, and called it a night.

Tuesday wasn't as eventful, but we hit State Street for yet another go, only this time we wanted to see the free local exhibit at the art museum. One of the exhibits was all about the Earth and recycling and the other about lists. I'm not sure I got the lists one right, but it spoke to me about how people are so busy these days that it can become overwhelming pretty easily.

From Madison, WI

We ate at the hotel's Badgerland Bar and Grill, and they gave us another warm cookie although Korin's nervousness about the flight home got the better of her stomach.

So good news all around - I had a lot of fun, found a place a really enjoy, got to know a coworker a lot better, got two great nights of sleep, learned a ton and the week was half over by the time I got back. And Brian's coming in this weekend so there will be fun to be had by all!

Just a few quick updates

*I'm on Week 3 of the Couch to 5K running program and I just ate 6 cookies and a piece of birthday cake at the office, so I'm not looking forward to tonight's run.

*I am flying out to a PR conference trip with a coworker this weekend. It's in Madison, Wisconsin and I'm really excited.

*Brian is visiting in two weeks, which officially starts Halloween season a little late for me this year. I still need to decide on a costume.

*The Cardinals are close to clenching their playoff spot, and the Cubs have officially sucked for their 102nd year straight.

*I need a haircut somethin' fierce.

*Beatles Rock Band is awesome and I am not a bad singer when mimicking the vocal stylings of John, George and Paul (Ringo's voice is a little low for me).

*Music Togetherness, our little tunes club/discussion and review blog, is in it's third week - Herbie Hancock. Check it out to see what we thought of NSYNC and Jamie Cullum.

Bonnarooers are right, Kanye really does suck

And last night's display of jerkitude at the MTV VMAs, which I didn't watch, proves it.

Congratulations, now a whole new group of music lovers hate you.

As reported by various online news sources, the first Moon Man last night for Best Female Music Video went to Taylor Swift for "You Belong With Me." (Which I watched just now and find absolutely adorable. Embedded below.) Apparently Kanye West thought Beyonce should have won for "Single Ladies" because he rushed on stage, took the mic and crashed Taylor's party by preaching in favor of a different outcome. Talk about unclassy.

I've watched the reruns, with Kanye on his soap box and poor Taylor standing there looking stunned... She's just a kid for Christ's sake, and she deserves to revel in her win.

And that's exactly what Beyonce said, remembering when she won for the first time with Destiny's Child. That was right before she waived her own acceptance speech for Music Video of the Year in favor of letting Taylor finish her moment.

I'm not a huge country fan but I love Taylor Swift. On the other hand, I'm always talking about how much I loathe Beyonce... but after this, I have to respect Beyonce for being the classy woman that she is.

By the same token, I could do without supporting a giant d-bag like Kanye. Boo Kanye.

Music togetherness project

So David and I saw a post on the "I Love Music" message board where a guy and his girlfriend are using music as a togetherness project.

We decided to do the same thing.

The idea is that each week, we will take turns choosing an artist and a sampling of either all their albums or up to five of their albums to listen to and discuss at the end of said week. It's like a book club, with music.

We are starting with NSYNC. That David is a lucky man.

We'll tell you how it goes...

HERE ARE THE RULES

1. Albums must be listened to in chronological order.

2. There are no excuses for not listening, and there are no albums that are off limits for this project (as long as artist has put out two or more CDs).

3. At the end of the week, each participant (David and I) must have more to say than "that was doody" and offer some insight to the other participant to be posted on this blog.

4. A new artist is picked every Friday, and discussions of the previous artist will take place over the weekend. Discussions will be posted online by Monday.

5. No repeats are allowed, with the exception of solo artists from a band that's already been covered.

Happy listening to us.
And one more thing...

Dirty Pop.