NOW I know what Chris has been up to...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYDtSFeTYqs

Salary/Benefits - Yes

Hey Guys,

Well, there hasn't really been too much activity on the Blog lately, so hopefully my good news will jump start things.

Well, I found out yesterday that someone thinks I'm worth hiring. Starting November 26, I'll be the new Program Associate for Transportation at the Northwest Municipal Conference (bam). Their offices are located in Des Plaines (which is a Northwest suburb of Chicago - not far from O'Hare). Essentially, they are a council of local governments that utilize economies of scale and collective strength for a number of services. I'll be working on transportation planning for a group of suburbs on the North Shore (big money places). I'll help them spend federal money for regional projects. I'll also coordinate with other agencies and groups, and help address transportation issues for the NWMC's region.

I have to say that I'm pretty relieved and excited. So, for sure next year, when you guys come for football games, you'll be able to stay at "my place." It probably will be small, and won't fit you nearly as comfortably as my parent's house, but oh well.

Anyways, Notre Dame might be the worst football team in College Football this season. I heard Navy was upset that they let Notre Dame take them to overtime.

Peace Out,
Chris

Crazy Play

Talkin behind my back eh jerks!!!

Soooooo...it turns out that some of you fools have been conspiring with my girlfriend!
Weeeeeeell I think you guys are great! Thanks for being so nice to her and helping her out with every little detail.

For those that don't know what I'm talking about...it turns out that my girlfriend Nicole knew how much I wanted to go this weekend, but I just didn't have the means of doing it. She contacted sweet old Fat Pat and Whitey McV to see what the arrangements were and to try and set something up for me to come down there. Well it turns out this was going to be a suprise to me on the Thursday before this BC weekend. However, today, Mr. Christopher Staron called Nicole when I happened to be right beside the phone and I saw the display come up "Chris Staron". I was shocked to see that my old roommate was having an emotional affair with Nicole and was trying to get her to come be with him in Illinois forever...but those plans were foiled and now I'm coming with Nicole to Chi-town and ND for the spectacular weekend!

I can't wait to see everyone...and thanks again guys for being so cool to my special lady you've never met!
Oh, and there will be another car for driving to the game. Not sure about back to chicago though, cause we might stay at a girls place that I know. She's not in town and she's fedexing the key to us...so maybe we all might be able to stay if we wanted! We'll see about that though...I'm not sure what the place is like.

Peace

South Shore Option

How about the South Shore?

"Weekend South Shore trains depart Millennium Station (formerly Randolph St. Station) for South Bend every two hours beginning at 8:00 a.m. Central Time. The train ride takes approximately 2 hours and 20 minutes. We have trains departing South Bend for Chicago every two hours beginning at 7:40 a.m. Eastern Time, arriving in Chicago at 9:00 a.m. Central Time. The final train departs South Bend at 9:40 p.m. Eastern Time, arriving in Chicago at 11:00 p.m. Central Time."

If we caught the 8am, thatd put us in South Bend before 11:30 local (with time change). There is a $4.00 shuttle from airport to stadium on gamedays...

What say you?

Boston College

I'm gonna keep this short.

Ted - you better be coming up on Friday. We are going to need your car to get to the game. As for directions, you'll probably take 65 to 294 to 88 to 355 to Roosevelt to Wilson. I would just do mapquest for directions.

522 Wilson Ave.
Glen Ellyn, IL 60137

I believe I have everyone's flight information. I'm planning on doing the short-term parking so I don't have to circle as you all arrive. Most likely, I'll be in the baggage claim area. Molly is coming up for the weekend so she can meet you guys, so we'll just drink at my house Friday.

Because of the numbers, we'll need two cars to drive to SB from Chicago (Ted and I). Ted - are you planning on coming back to my house on Saturday night? If not, I've got to figure out how to get 6 people back. My dad has a Ford 500, which is big, but 4 people in the back seat might be uncomfortable for 2 hours (Probably doable though). We could do a rental car for Saturday ($35). Let me know what you guys are thinking.

Sundy - I'm down for dinner after the big upset by the Irish. Although, I don't know if Olive Garden should be the choice, since I don't want to wait 3 hours for our party of 20.

Peace Out,
Chris

BC Plans!

Dudes,

I have good and bad news. The bad news is, I won't be coming to Chicago on Friday because I have to meet my brother, Mike, in South Bend that night. Meryl and I are driving to South Bend on Friday and will arrive Friday night, hang out and drink with my brother and stay at Meryl's parents' house that night.
The good news is, I found a tailgate with tons of booze and food and the people hosting said I could bring as many people as I want, even when I told them it would be around 30. I have around 6 friends coming in from St. Louis, my bro Mike and a few of his friends and then all of you wonderful dudes + your ladies. The tailgate is right at the entrance to Turtle Creek (the one next to campus...I think that is Ivy, right?) It would probably be in good form to bring a little alcohol to contribute, since this gets us out of waking up really early/planning a tailgate/purchasing a parking pass, etc...anyway, it should be a large, wonderful drunkfest and I can't wait to see all of you guys. Also, has Ted confirmed yet? Please say yes.
Lastly, can we all go out to dinner together on Saturday night? Preferably Olive Garden :)

Jonathan

I'M ALIIIIIIVE!!!

Hey all. Sorry for not posting on this in like...forever! But here's a quick (maybe not) run down of what is going on with me. Enjoy.

I've finished my first year with the Yankees and it ended quite well. I was promoted to High A Tampa to finish out the year and I did quite well there. My ERA was around a 2.4 and I had more K's than IP. I'm not sure what all my exact stats were this year but if you go to this webiste it'll give you a look at all of my stats from all 4 stops I had this year. http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?n=John%20Axford&pos=P&sid=milb&t=p_pbp&pid=446099
My worst place was Charleston. After leaving Staten Island to go back to Charleston in the very beginning of August my ERA there was a 2.95. I had two crappy outings and raised it above a 4 but then was promoted to Tampa! So I guess it wasn't all bad there either...just two bad outings.

Based on my age and how well I finished up this year I will most likely start in High A Tampa and possibly even AA in Trenton, NJ. I didn't think I would ever be saying this but I'm hoping to live in the armpit of America come next April! But that requires me to kick some John Axford ass this offseason and work out all the kinks from this past year! I've heard good things about these steroids...maybe even a little HGH!!! HAHA. Ya right!

Well, outside of ball now, I'm currently trying to find a job and an apartment. So if anyone has either of those for me please tell. Apparently every place I apply to or send a resume in decides that I suck at life and never call me back. Even when they say that they will. I might have to go see if McDonalds will let me flip burgers...but even then I have a feeling that they wouldn't hire me!

I am trying desperately to make it to the BC game. My only problem right now is my lack of job, which means lack of money... And since the game is in two weeks those 14 days will certainly take a toll on my bank account along with that weekend. Plus I live with the lady friend ... and haven't relyed on the parents in quite some time! I'm desperately trying because all of you seem like you'll be there plus the 2002 baseball team is having a reunion. We're even supposed to be playing a game against each other at 9am on Saturday...along with the 1957 World Series team. So that could be cool to watch and get drunk too for a while. Hell no I ain't playin. Season ended September 2nd...meaning I haven't done a thing since September 2nd (except for a 10K run for cancer which I kicked ass in).

My offseason program starts up this Monday so maybe this week will bring new change into my life...like a job and some money. Then I can steal my girlfriends car and head down to the SB to see all you guys.

I'll try and fill you all in some more in the days/weeks to come!

Peace

Ax

Hilarity

Everybody Ready for Notre Dame Football

The records of my football rooting interests:
Glenbard East High School: 1-4
Notre Dame: 0-4
Northern Illinois: 1-3
Chicago Bears: 1-2

Combined record: 3-13 (Thank God that the Cubs are looking good)

Anyway, it seems like we've got a good group coming in for the Notre Dame vs. Boston College game. I want to start planning the weekend now so we aren't relying on the actual game to provide any happiness. Here are the people that I know are going: Sam, Pat, Rowlands, Kate (Rowland's Girlfriend), Jonathan, Meryl, Alissa, and Steve. Ted - are you coming up?

Sam, Pat, Rowlands, and Kate all get into Midway around 8:00 central time. They're crashing at my house that night. Plans for that night aren't set yet. Molly, my girlfriend might be coming into town, so if I promise Busch Light (for Pat), Guinness (for Sam), and whatever med students drink, can we party in that night? If everyone gets in on time, we probably will be back to my house a little after 9:00 pm. If Molly doesn't come up, we might want to consider seeing a cover band that a guy on my b-ball team is on. He is playing at a place Maxim magazine said you were "most likely to contract an STD." Jonathan - are you going straight to SB Friday? We probably have room for 2 more people at my house.

Saturday - Who knows of tailgates? We probably should have some type of plan since we are going to be a big group. We'll lose an hour getting to the game because South Bend is on Eastern time now. The game starts at 3:30. Leaving my house between 8:30 and 9:00 should have us tailgating by 12:00 SB time. After the game, do we want to eat in South Bend? Or head back to Illinois right away? I'm gonna be hungry because the game will end probably around 7:30.

The flights are all around 10:00 am on Sunday. My house is about a half hour away from Midway without traffic and there shouldn't be traffic on Sunday morning.

Just wanted to start getting people on the same page.

Peace Out,
Chris

Old Pat back in the Bend

Aw, boyos, can't wait til the BC game... it'll be my first trip back since graduation! I'm flying in and out of Midway the same times as Sam, so I likewise encourage anyone for whom it is any sort of a possibility to come to Chicago for Friday night. It's going to be a long day on Saturday (thanks for driving Chris!) but it's about damn time. Any brainstorms about stupid or abrasive shit that I should try to pull off now that the man (aka Paul Doyle) can't hold me down?

In other news, business school is whipping my ass. I'm making mostly all A's, but the workload is way worse than law school, and law school is bad. It's quickly killing me. But on the plus side, I get to chill in Spain next semester with my only responsibility being to learn Spanish, so it'll all even out.

Female escapades of late are sleazy but altogether uninteresting.

I'm working on getting an internship for next summer, and that's getting pretty grueling... no kidding I've had about 30 internviews in the last month. Yeah my resume is getting attention, but I must have bad breath or something because the hit rate is LOW. It'll work out, and I'll let you know when I get it sorted out.

Other than that, just enjoying Columbia... living with my buddy from back home, Swilley, who just transferred into USC Law School, and Roger The Cat. Yes, I am a cat guy. Wanna fight abboudit?

Anyways, looking forward seeing you guys at the game; let's make some new stories!

- Pat

P.S. When will YOUR team stop losing?

Chris come to the game

I have a ticket for you.

Sundy, give a call if you still need tickets. And are you going to come to Chicago that Friday night? Anybody else coming to Chicago that night?

BC

Hey everyone. Im glad to hear we will have a good contingent at the games this year. Its been too long. The weekend of the BC game, I get into Chicago (Midway) on Friday night and leave Sunday morning. I have at least one, and probably 2 or 3, extra tickets, so let me know if you want one. Chris, I hope your offer still stands regarding beds and rides. Is the plan still to drive down early Saturday? man, thatll be a long, but fun, day.

Other news. I decided to take a job with BearingPoint as an analyst in the public services sector. Job starts sometime at the end of September. I will be staying in the DC area, travelling from time to time. Hopefully to your necks of the woods...

Have a great time at the Georgia Tech game to those who are going. Later fellas.

Who's Bad

So Pat, guess who I saw last night performing at a bar in Bloomington? Who's Bad- the same Michael Jackson tribute band that we saw in SC, and the show was a lot better this time too. For those of you who haven't seen them, the lead singer dances and sings just like him.. it's pretty entertaining. Unfortunately, I don't think Lez Zeppelin is planning on stopping by anytime soon. They were a group of women who played Led Zeppelin cover songs, and definitely lived up to the Lez in their name. They and the crowd they brought were also definitely interesting.

Chris and Jonathan (and anyone else going to Georgia Tech), I guess I'm just doing a day trip for the game since we don't know anyone there anymore. Jonathan, could you ask if I could just park my car at Meryl's for the day if they don't mind? Axford, congratulations on getting moved up to Tampa I see. I'll see some of you soon, and talk to you later.

Georgia Tech too!

Dudes,

Just found out I'm going to the Georgia Tech game too! That one is on Sept1 I believe. Chris, are you going to that one, big dog? Later dudes!

Jonathan

Boston College & Summer News

Well, guys, I hadn't planned on coming to a game this year, but I think it might be about time. It looks like Boston College would be a good weekend to come? I have a "fall break" four day weekend, so I wouldn't get behind in school. So Chris, Jonathan, and Sam, y'all are all going to the BC game? Here's what I was thinking: Hang out in Chicago Friday night, drive early the next morning to South Bend, then come back to Chicago after the game? I looked at Saturday night flights, but they're fairly impossible... looks like there's no getting around leaving on Sunday morning. So, to Chris especially, would that be a good plan (what I'm really asking is can I stay with you and can you drive)? Oh, and needless to say, I don't mind not having a ticket, as long as there's someone else who's not going into the game too.

Um... other news. I'm more than a month into business school... it's all really new, really exciting stuff, but it's TONS of work. In law school you only have one exam per class per semester, but here we have about two big projects, two tests, and a paper due every week... it's not letting up. And in the next few weeks I've got a slew of interviews for internships next summer. Personal life is less than interesting right now... nothing really panning out for old Pat these days... in an 11 month dry spell... getting kinda irritable, pop off kinda easy. Oh, which reminds me... got into a little scuffle a few weeks ago. I was at a b-school house party and some kid, not in the program, was speaking rather offensively about the womenfolk. So I, sitting next to him, poured a beer on his head, punched him in the face, and when he came back at me, fended him off with a chair, then beat him with it. I guess I kinda lost my cool. So needless to say, I've got a lot of b-school cred these days

Nothing else that exciting; just a fun and hot South Carolina summer... I make a point to get out on a lake or river about every other week. So anyways, look forward to hopefully seeing some of you guys this fall, and hope everyone's well

Later boyos!

- Old Pat

ND Football Games

Boston College is the only game I don't have tickets for, but I'd definitely be up for going out in Chicago Friday or Saturday depending on what you guys do. I don't plan on staying overnight for any of the games this year. I don't know anyone that still goes there, and when I stayed with track people last year, I had some bad nights. I also don't feel like spending big bucks for a hotel room. Also, I still don't have a new job (frustrating), so I don't have my own place, but anyone is more than welcome to crash at my parents. We've got plenty of spare beds and we are roughly right in between O'Hare and Midway (30 minute drive to each).

I'm going over the schedule with my Dad today to get an idea of what tickets we'll use. I'll let you all know if we have any extras. If we do it would be for Air Force or Duke. I'm definitely going to USC and probably Georgia Tech, Navy, Air Force, and Duke. Michigan State is a maybe.

Ted - let me know what games you are going to because I want to make sure that my sister isn't around. I heard some interesting tales from SC.

I'm assuming that things will start to pick up for Ted and Rowlands with med school, so I hope I get to see you guys for some games.

Pat and Axford - either you planning on coming to a game?

Jonathan - When you come up to Chicago for that concert, you should think about stopping to see my at Molly's (Bloomington/Normal) or in Springfield depending on your schedule.

Life Update-
Life is good for me. I'm still looking for a job. I recently applied for a position I would love to get, so keep your fingers crossed. Job hunting is so different than school. I'm used to letting my work speak for itself, but getting a job is so much about self-promotion. With my self-deprecating side, it can be hard some time. Molly and I just celebrated our 1 year anniversary and things are going extremely good. She heads back to school next week, so I'll have a little more free time on my hands.

BC + others

Dudes,

I'm definitely going up for the BC game. I'm sure I'll go to a few others, but that one is for sure. I don't have tickets, I'm just planning on tailgaiting a lot. What about the rest of you guys?

Jonathan

Football.

Hello everyone. Season starts a month from tomorrow. I didnt get tickets in the lottery but it sounds like I can finagle something for at least the BC game. But even if I cant, id like to make a trip to South Bend this fall to see you guys. I cannot make the Ga Tech game, but any other game will probably work. Please let me know what games you can make.

My preference: BC or USC.

Write in!

John and Pat rafting together

I finally picked up the cord for my camcorder and uploaded the video of these two in the raft.. I don't think I really need to say much more about that. I just took the clips of them capsizing and put them into slow-mo, and added a short intro. Note the girl staring on in confusion in the foreground on the last shot.


Anyway, my job ends on Aug. 4th, then I'm going to visit my sister in Jackonsville, FL for a few days, and move into my new place and start school in Bloomington on the 20th.

Anyone going to the Georgia Tech game on September 1st, let me know what your plans are.

It's called SpeedStick, it's not expensive...

Pat, this one's for you:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=rN2VqFPNS8w

Disturbing

Everyone who is on Facebook, please take note of Teddo's new photos. Creep.

http://nd.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=33246585&id=5607620&prev

By the way, I'm going up for BC and probably 2 or 3 other games this year. Who's going to what games?

Hope all is well, dudes!

Jonathan

Football and Baseball

I won tickets in the lottery to Georgia Tech, Michigan State, Boston College, and USC, so I will make it up to all of those games that I can. I know that at least Chris will be there for some, and crashing at your place in Chicago will depend on my schedule, but I'll definitely try to make it there. Pictures are up on my facebook for anyone who wants to see part of what happened in Charleston. I also have very poor unstable videotape of Pat and John in an inflatable raft in the Atlantic ocean for others' amusement when I get back to Bloomington and find where I packed the cable to connect my camcorder to my computer. Another random thing, here is a link to Axford's stats online http://yankeesprospects.com/game_log2.php?id=379&pos=110 . That's all I've got for now.. hope everyone is enjoying the summer.

I thought I'd put some pictures up from my fishing trip. If you have the opportunity to go on a fishing trip with your family or a bunch of guys, I highly recommend it. It was pretty inexpensive and we actually caught some fish. We drank a lot, but I don't think I ever felt drunk. I didn't shave all week and that is the picture on the bottom. I had decent chin hair and a really think mustache. Axford's facial hair might actually be better than mine. I looked like I just went through puberty. I got one drunk call from the guys in SC the first night. The pictures on facebook look pretty good. Did you make it down Sam? I didn't see any pictures with you. We should find out about football tickets soon. Here is my hope: Someone actually decides to hire me, I move out of the house, everybody gets to come to a game, we drive to Chicago after the game, and crash at my new place. I guess someone has to hire me first.

Hope everyone is doing well. Hope to hear some wild stories from the trip.

Chris

Miss You Guys

Hey All,

As you guys continue to write about the SC trip, I realize how much I'm gonna miss you all (and most of all Ted). Gayness aside, I wish I could have made the trip. Luckily, I should be having a good time this week also. I'm leaving tonight for our family fishing trip. None of us are master fishermen, so we were more concerned about assigning booze to people. I was supposed to bring Brandy, but my Grandpa is, so I went with a mini-keg (reminds me of Ted's Dorm room).

Update on Life:
I'm still job hunting. I spend about an hour a day looking for openings (and am mostly depressed). All I keep on hearing is how baby boomers are gonna leave a brain drain and there will be so many openings. I wish they would all retire then and start collecting social security so I can get a job. I continue to work at my internship. I've applied for a couple corporate government relations jobs, a city management job (in a f'd up city), a GAO job, and a couple research associate jobs (budget and policy analysis). I'm really hoping to have something by the end of the summer because I think my internship might let me go then.

Molly and I having been dating for nearly a year now. She's been in Italy for a study abroad program while I've been running up obscene phone bills.

What Else?
Can't think of anything.

Peace out - Have a good week
I expect 1 drunk phone call (repeat 1)

Chris

hey now

Teddo, my man. I have no wheels. Its tough to convince a fellow to hand over the keys of his car for 4 days...heck, I had trouble getting you to hand over your keys for a trip to Martins! But your enthusiasm moves me. And I absolutely cannot wait to hear what you were doing on your computer at 4am, though I think I have a solid theory.

Good news is that Tim and Sarah are probably driving down next Wednesday. I should be able to hitch a ride with them. I will need to work some things out with the job, however. My boss is out of town next week and im supposed to take over...ill need to see what procedure is.

So, if we show up Wednesday evening. I know we have to leave the beach house on Friday, but could be crash with one of you Carolinans at your apt Friday and/or Saturday night?

trouble

It looks like I might not be able to afford the trip. $712.00 is best I can find. I will be checking the "last minute deals" constantly...I really want to make it out there. Is Charleston the only airport that works?

Axford, when you make it down to Maryland, give a call.

Terrible News...

What's up everyone...How are things going?

I've got some pretty terrible news involving Charleston, SC. I'M NO LONGER PLAYING THERE!!! I was demoted a few days ago to Staten Island and just got here two days ago. They want me to become a starter here to get more innings. So I guess that's a good thing! Cause in Charleston I wasn't going to be gettin any innings because they had 3 guys that needed to get 2 garunteed innings every third day. Add those guys plus the starters and our closer, that only leaves about 4-6 innings every 4 game series for the bullpen to use up. So the Yankees sent me here cause they want me to pitch more and they want to see me more...so a good thing...but bad in the sense that I won't be around this weekend to partay!!!

And just for the record...Greg and I were basically neighbors in the same apartment complex. He lived in 103 and I lived in 106 (just upstairs in the same building...the 100 building). And we never got to see each other once!!! I"m pretty bummed about that. We had different schedules obviously cause I dropped by a few times and no one ever answered and then when I came back later from games all his lights were off and didn't want to disturb...

So basically I suck and won't see you guys now. I didn't even see Pat who only lived about an hour and a half away!!!

On another note, I was diong well in Charleston. I had a 2.95 ERA there and my overall minor league ERA now is 3.24. I'm in the New York Penn league here so you should check out the schedule and see if anything is close by. We travel to Maryland, Vermont, and Ohio also!

Take care everyone....I'm out. And I expect a drunk phone call or two this weekend!

Peace


AX

Beach

To follow on Pat's emails, I'll be in town and I should be able to leave work at 5 or so on Friday. If it's any trouble for you, Pat, I can easily pick Sam up since the Airport and the Base share runways (it's pretty convenient). Teddo, same goes for you if Pat has any trouble I'm available to help out as well. My number is 262-442-2473, so feel free to call. I should be seeing Sundy this weekend when I'm in St Louis for my brother's wedding, so I'll ridicule him for missing out on the week down here. Sam, John, Ted, Ax, and Pat you are the not lame ones in the group, so cheers to you. Chris and Jonathan, you are lame. Anfernee, we'll drink to you, brother.

See you guys soon.

Address

The address and house phone number are

408 E Arctic Ave
Charleston, SC
(843) 588-261

And my cell phone number is 864-275-2622.

The house is a 4-story house that borders the first road behind the beach AND the second road behind the beach. When you're taking the only road into folly beach, folly road, you go as far as you can towards the beach (the Holiday Inn will be right in front of you), then take a left and go about three of four blocks. Make sure when you park your tires aren't on the road. There's more parking if you go around the block to the back side of the house.

See y'all next weekend! Anybody have any ideas or requests on what kinds of debauchery and/or cultural events we want to engage in? I recommend "The Island Shag Club" and "Planet Follywood" for places we can stumble home from. I figure we'll check out the Charleston bars one or two nights (hell, Greg and Ax might have a better idea than me about what the good bars are), and maybe once or twice during the day we can go to Charleston if any of y'all want to go shopping (fag!) or see some of the historical whatnot (nerd!). Oh, the slave market is a must. If anyone can guess the most recent year a slave has been sold out of that market, I owe you a coke. We can also rent surfboards or kayaks, or if we all pitch in we could rent a boat to go out on the intracoastal. Input, anybody?

9 days until the beach!

Hey Pat, call me crazy but I actually decided to drive in. Now that I look at plane tickets, if I'd gotten them in advance it probably would have been the same price as driving, but oh well. If I leave Friday morning, I'm guessing it will take me about 10.5 hours, so I should be there around 8-10PM. Can you give me the address and your cell phone number (I got a new phone and don't have your number anymore) either here on the blog or on a private message on facebook? I'm bringing my camera AND camcorder, and I want to see pictures like the fif (guess the reference there) one down on the right on the blog page.

To everyone who can't make it, we'll have a few in your honor and then drunk dial you afterwards, and to everyone who will be there, I'll see you soon,
Ted

That is to say...

Just to clarify, we have the beach house from Friday, June 22 through Friday, June 29

Come on down!

Yeah buddy, I'm looking forward to seeing you... come on down! Friday evening, if you can. I have my last day of work that day, so I can't really duck out early... so I'll be pulling into Charleston between 7 and 8 to open up the beach house. I think the airport is about an hour round trip from the beach house, so if you're getting in anywhere around that time I'll probably just leave a little later and pick you (and whoever else can make it on Friday) up on the way in.

So yeah guys, we're on! We have the house from Friday to the next Friday, the last week of June. Greg and Axford will be in town, obviously; Sam, you'll be able to make it for the weekend, is it?; Ted, you've got tickets?; and John will meet up with us mid-week, I take it. I'll drink one Keystone Light each for Chris, Sunday, and Anthony.

So yeah, Sam, just let me know when you're getting in (ahead of time), and I'll plan accordingly to come pick you up. Ted, you too: when are you getting in?

Alright guys, look forward to it!

Love, Pat

SC

Hi,

I just got cleared for a weekend in SC. Im going to try to find a flight in on Friday or Saturday next week. Is this thing still happening?

Update on Anthony

Hey Guys,

I just got a message from Anthony asking where I'm going to be and updating me on how things are going. Needless to say it's rough over there, and he's lost a couple of his guys which is something I can't imagine. However, being Anthony he's doing good things and despite all the difficulties he's getting by. He asked me to say hi to all of you for him, since he doesn't have much time for the internet and whatnot.

As for things here, I'm looking forward to seeing whomever is coming in three weeks. The beaches are waiting, and they're packed with extremely hot young women. Ax moved here a little while back, and from what I understand he and I live in the same apartment complex, though I haven't had the chance to see him yet nor have I been able to see him play.

I'm heading to St. Louis for my brother's wedding in a little over a week, and I'll be seeing Jonathan and Katy, which should be fun. That's it for me, but hopefully I'll be seeing some of you soon.

Hey...

I miss you guys!

That is all.



Love Ax

A note on the Blog

Just a quick note on the blog. A little while back, Blogger was bought by Google (what aren't they buying). This may be part of the reason why you couldn't login John. I check to see if I have your username and password somewhere and I'll email it over to you.

Sam, happy to hear that you got into Law School. Where did you get in? Where do you think you want to go? One of my buddies from home (Brian, he visited senior year) has an internship at the Justice Department this summer. I think he said the criminal division.

I'll try to give a few of you guys I haven't talk to in forever a call soon now that I'm all graduated and don't have any more class (Although two of my professors told me I should get my Doctorate at graduation - yikes).

Peace out,

Chris

If you have any good pics that you think should be a permanent part of the blog (the new column on the right), let me know. Also, Google's added new features, so if there is anything you want to see with the Blog, there is better chance I can do it.

A few items

Congratulations:

Chris, for your impressive distinguishments in your Masters program.

Axford, for moving up the Yankee chain.

Teddo, for a full year of med school under your belt.

Rowlands, for a second year of med school under your belt, and the girlfriend.

Pat, for your business program and unmentioned exploits. Im sure there are some.

Greg, for getting your mission to Iraq.

Sundy, for breaking my spirit. And for having your girlfriend come back stateside.
____
Football tickets:

I put in for Michigan State, BC, and USC.
____
Beach house:

I am still hoping to go, but will be in Oregon June 14-18. I will need to clear everything with work before giving a definite yes or no.
_____
I got into law school but will be deferring at least another year. Will probably leave my job in July/August, with an eye towards getting into the business world.

A long time Away from the Blog

Look at how ridiculous I look-No wonder girls didn't fall all over me

Hey guys,

I've been away from the blog for quite some time and for that I apologize. I've been pretty busy the last few months with finishing up school, working, and spending time with Molly. To prevent anyone from getting sick, I won't go into how much I'm in love or stuff like that. Nonetheless, I am very pleased that school is almost over and Molly is coming back to Chicago. From what I hear, John Rowlands has also found love. Congrats. Sorry about the obnoxious phone call Jonathan and I sent you, but "Like a Prayer" was playing at the bar we went to. Because of you, I don't think of Madonna getting it on with an African-American Jesus when I hear that song. Instead, I think of you doing your charades dance.

Anyway, I am graduating on May 12 with a Master of Public Administration (MPA). I only have one more paper to write (thank god). I haven't yet found a permanent job, but I can stay on with my internship through the summer. I'm currently applying to a couple of cities around here, some councils of governments, and the Government Accountability Office (GAO). Relax Sam, the GAO office in Chicago and not DC. I think I'd rather stay in local government, but GAO might be interesting. In other school news, I won "Intern of the Year" for my MPA program (about 50 students). My capstone paper "The Effect of the Property Tax Extension Limitation Law (PTELL) on Municipalities in the Collar Counties" won a distinguished manuscript award. Let me know if anyone wants me to send them a copy.

As some of you might have guessed, I can't come to the SC getaway. Although I could probably get the time off, I had a prior commitment that materialized. Last fall my family talked about doing a fishing trip for my Grandpa's 80th birthday for the last week in June. After an initial push, nothing materialized until recently. We now have a couple of cabins in Northern Wisconsin, right on a lake. I expect many drunk phone calls (Well, maybe just one would be fine).

Well, for those of you who are still awake (still self-deprecating), that should bring you up to speed on what I've been doing. I can't complain too much. I'm ready to find a job and move out of my roommates' (parents') house. I'm also ready for the last Harry Potter book to come out. I'm glad to hear things are well for our Canadian friend. And Ax, remember the Dominicans are new to this country. Think about how weird we thought you were when you first came here.

Peace out,

Chris

ps- Somebody needs to get engaged so we have more weddings to go to next summer. Anthony stepped up already. Now I'm looking at people who have been dating their girlfriend for over a year, don't live with their parents, and have girlfriend that isn't an undergrad.

Football Lottery

What games does everybody want to apply for in the lottery? I just got my ticket application, so we should figure this out soon. Somebody write back even if you're not going. I know at least Chris and Sundy will apply, and Sam and Rowlands made games last year, and I know Axford and Pat and maybe Greg have talked about trying to go. Just reply and I'll stop posting about it.

Word from Tampa...

Hey everyone,

it's been a while since I've posted so I'm gonna throw out a quick update.
Well, I've been down here in Tampa since Feb. 5th. The weather has been gorgeous and I have a killer farmers tan!!! I'm currently in what they call "extended spring training". They kept me here after we broke camp (which is when everyone leaves and heads off to the affiliate cities) because they wanted to work with me a tad more. I was told that I made the Charleston Riverdogs squad, which is low A...but they wanted just to refine a few things first.

Over the last 3 weeks or so I've managed to go slightly insane. I moved into a hotel and am 1 of only 10 gringos here. They had about 25 Latinos come to extended camp...and it's been hell. Some of them are cool but most arent at all. I can't even begin to describe what its like being outnumbered by dominicanos but it's not too fun. They steal from you, talk behind your back, pretend they can't speak English to get out of shit, act like 11 year olds, and act gay in the showers! It's driving all us white folk crazy (not to sound racist).

I did get some pick me ups over the last couple of weeks though. I got to pitch in High A Tampa one day because they had a 20 inning game the night before and were out of pitchers. I did pretty well. I went 3 innings, K'd 2 guys, gave up 2 hits and one just happened to be a solo shot...so only one run too. Then the next day I was sent to Toronto to get my work visa finalized. I was supposed to stay the night then come back, but, they called me up the next morning and told me that I was going to Ottawa to pitch for the AAA team, the Scranton - Wilkes Barre Yankees. Apparently they moved some guys from the AAA team to the big leagues so they were lacking some pitching too. Quite a suprise to say the least. We were gettin crushed in the first game of a weekend series so I ended up going in in the 8th to try and clean up this other pitchers mess. 5runs had already come in, there were guys on 2nd and 3rd and only 1 out. I managed to K the first guy...the next guy hit a double (he was good)...the next guy i fisted but he blooped it over the shortstops head and the run scored...i walked the next guy and the final guy flew out! So, once again, I did pretty well, but because I only threw 2/3 of an inning my ERA is slightly inflated in AAA. hahahaha

Anyways, I just found out today that I'm going to Charleston. After we got back from playing the Devil Rays extended squad in St. Petersberg I was called to the side and they told me I was moving up. I'm actually leaving tomorrow and am currently packing up all my stuff. Looking forward to getting out of here and finally gettin some down time and not having to practice everyday at 9 am - 4 pm!!! It's been burning my body out like crazy...

Well, I'll get to see most of you fools that make it up. We actually have some home games during those dates, so you'll have to come out and watch and get drunk.

Peace homies...I gotta get packed.

take care

AX

Summer Plans

I just got my schedule back for my summer job, and I got the whole week from the 22nd to the 29th off, so I'll be there at the beach house. I have to be at work at 7am on the 30th, so I'll probably have to leave on the 29th. I will just drive down, so you don't have to worry about picking me up at the airport.

This summer I'm working in the ER at Methodist Hospital in Indy, and I'll either be living with Joanna and her roommate or in a house with some random dental and med students for a few months. If anyone wants to visit, which I doubt will happen, I work 5 days and am off 3 from May 13th to August 4th, so let me know. I'm also off for the whole first half of August, so if anyone wants to hang out then I'm up for it.

So I'm in the middle of 2 weeks of finals now, but I did get out last Friday.. actually for all of last week the undergrads at IU party constantly and there were concerts for this bike race called the Little 500. It's been called the best college weekend in the country if you haven't heard if it. Anyway, I got to go out for one night of that, and it was definitely a good time. We should figure out if we're getting football tickets to certain games this season now if you guys want to do that also.

Later,
Ted

Article on Axford

Here's a newspaper article I found about Axford, from April 10. It's a good update on what he's doing, since he's a little busy I imagine, spring training and all. Hope the link works.

http://www.brantfordexpositor.ca/webapp/sitepages/content.asp?contentid=479793&catname=Local+Sports

All's well here in Columbia. Exams are coming up, girlfriend and I are still together and well, have a job for 6 weeks with a firm here in Columbia, business school starts July 2, and they're giving me mad funding.

Looks like we'll have a good group at the beach this summer, and you guys will be well missed that can't make it. But guys: let's get on it. I don't want this to fall through. We've got beers to drink here. It'll be gorgeous and scalding ass hot. Let me know what your plans are and when you're getting tickets or if you're driving or what.

Later boyos!

Pat

Hey Guys

I just got an email from Hannah, which I saw a few of you also got. I figured I post it here in case anyone had not seen it. Sounds like Anthony only had a minor injury and is back in action, but there aren't really any details.

"Ms. Deborah received a call from the Army today. Anthony was injured
while riding in his humvee when an IED exploded. His injuries were
treated on the scene and he is bak on duty. We praise the Lord that Anthony's
life was spared during the attack. We have yet to hear from Anthony
directly about the situation, but I will let you know once we do. One of
the men from Delta Company was killed in action during this attack. I
know this is going to hit Anthony hard. I'm not sure if the soldier was
a part of his platoon or not. Please continue to keep the soldiers in
your prayers.

Love,
Hannah"


Other minor notes:

Greg and Sundy: This traveling to exotic locations really isn't fair.

Axford is going to be in Charleston for Baseball this summer. I think it is the RiverDogs and low A.

I still don't know if I can come to SC for the get together, although I would love to. First, my family has been trying to plan a fishing trip with my Grandpa for his 80th birthday and I think it might be the week in question. Also, I'm hoping to find employment in the next month or so. I can stay at my current job through the end of June, but hopefully I won't have to. My Kansas City thing didn't work out, so I will be somewhere around Chicagoland.

Hope everyone has a great Easter,

Chris

New Zealand was sweet

I just got back from a week and a half in New Zealand with my brother Doug; it was frickin' sweet. We went jet boating, bungee jumping (440 feet), whale watching, skydiving (15,000 feet), climbed a glacier, and drank the beer from the Lord of the Rings, among other things. I didn't put pictures on the internet like the Sundy, but I might at some day.

As for the trip in June, whoever can come should since it will be my last hurrah before heading to Kirkuk, Iraq, for six months in August. This time it actually should be for real, and it's going to be a great opportunity to do some good work though I'll need a few beers with you guys before I leave.

As for arrivals at Charleston Airport (CHS airport code by the way) and anyone who comes in before the beach house is open or stays after... I live here. I work at the airport (the base and airport share runways) and live about 15 minutes away and my apartment is open to anyone for as long as they need. I have a good couch (not the same one from college) and camping air mattress, plus I can borrow. So whoever needs a ride and/or a place to stay just let me know (262-442-2473). Talk to you guys soon.

Oh, and while I was climbing the glacier, my brother and I went swimming in a natural pool. It was cold.

Selfish Sister

Pat,

Regrettably, I won't be able to come to the festivities. My sister is getting married the first weekend and my whole family and Meryl are coming in for the week. The second weekend we're driving to Indianapolis to see Meryl's brothers and sister. Anyway, my sister is being lame and won't even consider changing her wedding date for my needs, so it appears I won't be attending. Sorry.
I have a funny drunk story that I'll relate when I have some more time. Hope everyone is doing well. Later!

Jonathan

beach house

Instructions / Answers: Fly into Charleston (make sure they're not trying to fly you to West Virginia; that would be a no fun vacation). The house is on Folly Beach. There are bars on the island that are 3 blocks from the house, and downtown Charleston is a 15 minute drive away. We have the house from June 22 (a Friday) to June 29, the following Friday. That means if we want to stay for Friday or Saturday night we'll have to figure something else out, like a couple of rooms at the Holiday Inn. I don't know how much rates differ, but you might want to fly in either late (I mean like after 8 or 9) on Friday or early Saturday... for those of you that are getting there that early. My last day of work is that same Friday, so I can't really just duck out early. The earliest I could be at the Charleston Airport is probably 7 or 8. Don't worry about a ride from the Airport; I'll come get everybody, so long as you let me know when you're coming in (accurately).

I'm looking forward to it, boyos. Sundy, what's your status on coming or not? SWEET pictures, seriously. I wasn't sure what you meant by your choice of words, but your brother doesn't LIVE on the Azores, does he? B/c that would be awesome... and bizarre.

I liked Greg's proposal on everybody weighing in on whether they are coming and if so, what days... just to get a comprehensive if not definite list.

No particularly wild stories lately... another excellent St. Patrick's day, running around as a drunken leprechaun... not like those douchebags at the ND football games though. And getting excited about starting business school in July, and trying to get some fellowships to do it, lighten my debt load a little bit. Anways, later dudes!

Pat

trip questions

what airport should I fly to? for that matter what beach are we going to? can i get picked up?

Azores Trip!

Dudes,

I just got back from a trip to the Azores (islands off of Portugal) to visit my brother and his family. Meryl met us there and it was an amazing trip. Such a beautiful place. Here is a link to way more photos than any of you are interested in seeing:

http://flickr.com/photos/92835134@N00/sets/72157600006263210/

And yes, I realize that it is creepy how much my brother and I look alike. Also, I just got some great news: Meryl is planning on coming home from Peace Corps in August (instead of November)! She's been in Senegal for about a year and half and I'm really excited for her to finally be home. She's moving to St. Louis and applying to Wash U to do a post Bacc. program before she starts Med school.
I'm heading up to South Bend this weekend for a design thing; I'll be thinking of you all as I rub up against sweaty, double-thick townies at the Backer. Hope all is well, dudes!

- Jonathan

Pat Can't Post for Shit

Since Pat can't post for shit, here's what he would say...

I am obviously in. I emailed Alissa, and she was excited but couldn't commit. I've been meaning to email Sarah and Tim to invite them, but haven't gotten around to it. If anybody wants to pick up the ball on that one, please do. Oh, also, if you guys are going to do roll call, do mention what days you'll be there too. We have the beach house from Friday June 22 to Friday June 29. My mom will probably be down there sometime after noon on Friday, but I will probably be evening before I can get down there, since that's my last day of work. SPRING BREAAAAAAAK! I mean, MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAAAAAAAAM! Wait that doesn't quite work either

-- Pat

So lets get ourselves the beginning of a list...

So, who do we have that's in (and for how long)? Who's a "maybe"? And who's a "no"? Also, who hasn't been invited that we want to come on down? Lets get ourselves a nice little list going (I'm somewhat add and don't want to deduce who's coming from disparate posts.

The More the Merrier

I'll only be there a few days, but I say if there's room, the more the merrier! Invite the girls, invite Tim and whoever else. Why not?!

South Dining Hall

excellent Sam, glad you're coming! there's no inherent problem having the chicas along. i mean other than pure numbers: we probably have sleeping room for 10 of us max, with everybody sharing a bed. and given, it looks like at least a few of us wont make it, so that does clear up a few spaces. you don't want to rock it dillon sausage party style? how about this: if you get engaged, you can bring amy along. just kidding? i mean i suppose if you brought amy, i would bring liz if we're still together. other takers? it could be fun, having people there to make sandwiches for us. i propose an informal weigh-in by other parties to be present: john, ted, greg: sausage fest or sexy coeds? speaking of which, i haven't invited Alissa or Sarah or Tim (not that he's a coed, but i still don't disclaim the sexy part)... I suppose I should? please engage in the democratic process here; i'm not going to take all the responsibility or all the blame for various vacation-related decisions; i just happen to have access to a house

- Pat

In my mind, im probably going to Carolina.

Im a tentative yes to the June dates. I will be in Oregon the preceding weekend for my brothers graduation, so assuming i have enough leave ill make it. Is this a guys weekend or are the missesses included?

Sundy, where are you? Africa or something? Seriously.

Seems like we have a critical mass at least for the second weekend. Should be a lot of fun.

From the bottom of my heart off the coast of (South) Carolina...

Who sings that song? Anyway, that's where I'll be for a least a few days in June. As of now, I'll be there Tues-Thursday night (June 26-28). Wish it would work out for longer, but that's all I could work out with flights. Hopefully we can get a few more people down there though! Who else is coming?? Sam, Ted? Jonathan, cmon.....bring Meryl!! Chris, what's a job, really?

Anyway, haven't posted in a while. Here's a quick update on my life. 3 more exams to go this year....I cannot wait to be done. I defiantely like it and it's interesting stuff (right now we're doing Neurology and Psychiatry), but I'm sick of listening to doctors give lectures and studying in the library 24/7. Don't get me wrong, I find the time to have fun to, but I"m kind of done with school. Want to do something that feels a little more productive. And that'll all start this summer, after boards. Boards are basically the worst exam imaginable. It crams everything we should have learned in the past 2 years into one test. I'm studying 28 days straight for it...8 am -12, hour lunch, 1-5 every day. What is that? It's almost like having a job, which is ridiculous at my age. But, after that I get a few weeks off and then start actually doing rotations in the hospital. Not sure what I'm going to start with, probably internal medicine or surgery. Get the hard stuff over with. Alright, I'm starting to bore myself, so I can't imagine how you feel if you've been reading this whole thing.

On to a more interesting topic: S---E---X. Well, that was just to get your attention, but speaking of sex, I am dating someone now and it's pretty serious, especially for me. It's about time. For those of you who I've told you can skip through this, but it's kind of funny how we met. I was on winter break and flying back to Philly from Florida on New Year's Eve. I was sick as a dog but determined to go out because I had bought a ticket for a party/open bar and one of the bars downtown. My flight was delayed, which destroyed my plans of taking a long nap so I'd feel better, so I just had to pump myself with drugs and leave as soon as I got back. This bar, called Club 27, such a ridiculous name, was not exactly the nicest place I've ever been to. It was OK, I was having a good time and drinking plenty, but still I've been to nicer places. Anyway, after midnight (not sure exactly what time) me and a friend saw a group of females downstairs on the dancefloor, so we went over to them. I busted out my awesome moves, and how could they resist? Later, Kate (my girlfriend) told me they were the most ridiculous dance moves she had ever seen. Never thought they would land me a date. So, after a few hours of dancing and frivolity it was time to go. Me and my friend offered to walk them back to their car (one was sober, so they said) because they parked pretty far away and Philadelphia can be not so safe when it's late. It started to pour raining and so I carried her, piggy back style, most of the way. The whole time she kept saying she would buy be dinner since I carried her to her car, which I didn't believe. But....we ended up going out the next weekend where she did buy me dinner and went out a bunch of times in Jan before she went back to school. She's in grad school for creative writing at VCU and I've been down there twice to visit, so I guess you could say things are pretty serious. (Movie?)

So, I'm definately happy and doing well. I can't wait to see at least some of you in June. And I'll try to post more often, although I can't promise anything.

I added a updated picture of me, just since it's been a a while.

Later y'all.

-John

The Beach House

It sounds to me like Pat has set us up for a perfect vacation. I'm in, and like Pat said, even if I can't get the week off (though I'll try), my evenings and weekend days will be free. I'm probably going to be getting a 2-day pass soon also, which would let me take two more days off. Anyway, you bastards should make it happen. I'll put out another (probably false alarm) deployment notification for motivation...I should be heading to Baghdad for 365 days, leaving in early to mid-July, and I probably won't be able to take a trip anywhere else at that time because of the deployment and my brother's wedding in St Louis on 16 June. Anyway, I've got to get back to the Wisconsin v. Michigan St. game, but I'll post more if something interesting happens. Take care and hopefully I'll see all you guys in June.

I hope Chris is unemployed

Sorry, brother; Hope you do well in your interview, but you GOTS to come this summer! Well, I asked Mom, and I got the go-ahead to invite all you guys to Folly Beach, South Carolina from June 22-29. I wont be a bully about it; so if another plan will work better for everyone, I totally understand. But so far the count looks Ted, Rowlands, Sam?, probably Greg for at least weekend days, assuming everything goes as planned and he's back stationed in Charleston when he gets back. Jonathan? And who knows, maybe Ax will be playing ball there this summer! I think Anthony will have had enough of the beach to want to come, anyway. Y'all let me know so we can plan to do this or figure something else out.

Pat

Good Idea, Don't Know If I Can

Hey Guys,

I'd love to get all the guys together. My graduation is May 12th and the week before is finals. A little update on my life. I'm flying to Kansas City, MO for an interview this weekend. It's a one year fellowship where I would rotate through various city offices. If I get it, it would start at the beginning of June, so I don't think I'd really be going anywhere in the summer. If I don't get it, I'll probably be interviewing at other places to try and get a job, so I don't know exactly when I'll be available. If I'm unemployed, I'll definitely try to make it. According Mapquest, Charleston is 930 miles from Chicago, but if it works out maybe Ted, Jonathan, and myself could arrange it to road trip it together (It could be just like the movie - stealing a bus, donating sperm, jumping bridges with Jonathan's Jetta).

Anyway, I haven't done a real post in a while, so I'll give you a little update on my life. Like I said, I'm going to Kansas City this Sunday for an interview, which would be a really good opportunity for me. Molly's not thrilled about the idea, but she has been pretty supportive. We both have spring break starting on the tenth, so it'll be nice to spend a whole week with her. On the 10th I have my comprehensive exam, which is supposed to tell whether or not I learned anything in my Master's program. I'm almost done with my capstone paper (50 pages and growing). I'm so ready to be done with school. It just really is not as enjoyable when you live with your parents and are working at the same time.

News from people without regular Blog Access:

I talked to Axford last week, and he is in Florida working out and getting ready for Minor League Spring Training, which I'm pretty sure starts on Monday. He doesn't have a TV or computer, but he now has a cell phone that works, so give him a call. It sounds like things are going OK and he's anxious to get started. One amazing note- He thought Babel was a good movie (I bet Jonathan just threw something at his monitor). I thought it was a bit over-the-top and repetitive and painful, but I'm not a film major.

In regards to Anthony, I did email Hannah for an address.

1LT Michael Anthony Roffino
DCO/1-28 IN
Unit 42532
APO AE 09361

According to Hannah, he left Kuwait for Iraq on Feb. 22, so I guess he has been there for around 10 days. I'm planning on sending him some field & stream magazines, and anything else I can think of. I don't really know what his internet access is like, but I'll try to find out from Hannah.

Well, that's it for my obese post. Hope it finds everyone in good spirits.

Peace Out,

Chris

ps- Greg, has got a great Thailand story, but it may not be blog appropriate. Give him a call to hear the details.

beach?!

awesome idea!!! i have exactly two free weeks this summer, the same week that ted mentioned (my exams end on friday may 4th or 5th), and the week before july 4th week (so like june 23-30ish). i called mom to see when we have the beach house, and she said we do have it that second week! i'm waiting on her approval though, b/c obviously its a primo week and she's going to want to be down there too. it would be a full house, but hell, we lived in DILLON. oh, by the way, i got into business school here at USC (international MBA = #1 in the country!), so I start that program July 2nd! gotta run to school (not literally); i'll post more soon!

Lets take our shirts off, and wave them around our heads like a helicopter.

Hey Guys.

I'll go ahead and start the process: lets try to meet up this spring or summer. I suggest going to a beach somewhere in the Carolinas. This would be easy for Patrick and Greg, and driveable/inexpensive flight for the rest of us. Perhaps late May or June?

Its been tough to get these things moving in the past. If you think you would want to do this, please blog it and give the dates that are good for you. Hopefully in the next few weeks we can settle on a date and place. Im all for a more involved trip (Mexico, Caribbean, etc) but am guessing we'd have the best chance of getting everyone to come if the location is cheap and close.

Did anyone ever get an address for Anthony?

Update on Anthony

I saw that only Greg, Jonathan, and myself were on Hannah's email list, so I'm posting this here for the other guys. I'll try to send Hannah your guys emails, but you might want to facebook here because I'll probably forget.

Hello all! Anthony made it safely to Kuwait last Saturday. He has been able to call home a few times. The lines to use the phones are long (30 minutes to an hour) so he doesn't call often. When I talk to him he sounds like he's doing well. They fed him lobster for his Valentine's Day
dinner...much better than my peanut butter and jelly sandwich. He watched Rudy last night and thought about you guys and all your memories at Notre Dame. He said he and his men are ready and anxious to get to Iraq and begin their mission. The FRG sent me his address, but said to wait a few weeks before we start sending letters until Anthony makes it to his station. I will try and keep you guys updated as often as possible. Hope everyone is doing well! :-)

Love,
Hannah

thanks but

Chris, thanks for the post, but this is a family blog. More than I wanted to know regarding your Vday present for the girlfriend.

Ted, that sucks to be without heat, but it sounds like you escaped unharmed. Im sure the lovebirds did not mind, you are an exceptional roommate with only infrequent bouts of terrifying sleep violence.

Pat, international business, why not.

Sundy, what did you expect, the Jetta is a dangerous vehicle. Always getting into crashes in the midst of silly conversations.

Everybody else, I hope all is well. Things in DC are unchanged except that im working like a madman these days. Also, I applied to a couple law schools, covering some bases.

As usual I am all for a spring or summer vacation. Sun and a beach, anywhere, would be great.

Happy V-Day

My browser shut down in the middle of writing my post (must have thought it was to boring).

I break it down in a couple of points-

• School - busy: Alway working on paper (required for graduation)
• Work - OK: Started looking for full-time positions
• Girlfriend - Great: Went down last weekend for Valentine's Day

Hopefully, I'll have time for a more full post later.

Peace Out,
Chris

ps- I want pics posted of Jonathan in booty shaking contest.

Cold, homeless, and failing

Now that I finally have news to tell, I can say that my power has been out since this afternoon due to an ice storm here in Bloomington. I put all of the stuff in my fridge in my freezer, and anything in the freezer outside behind my back door, and am now staying at a classmate's place.. with her boyfriend. They're actually really cool, and they gave me dinner and a place to stay for the night. I probably ruined their Valentine's Day plans, but I'd rather do that than sleep in my apartment, which is probably 40-50 degrees right now. The wireless connection here is pretty bad, so I can't really study for the test I have tomorrow, and since they won't cancel classes, my grade won't be so great on this exam tomorrow.

Other than this though, I can't complain too much. This semester I've been able to find more free time while still doing pretty well in classes. There still is an exam or two every week, but I can find 2-3 nights a week at times to do something. I could tell you about how we look at human brains kept in buckets, or how we're about to cut off the heads of our donors in anatomy lab, but you probably didn't want to hear that anyway. I'm feeling a little closer to a doctor I guess, and classes can be interesting. If you're looking for crazy stories of nights out I don't really have anything for you guys now.. going out is usually anything from poker night (I won 5 bucks last weekend) to bowling, or usually just hanging out and talking at bars. For those who went to Puerto Peñasco, I bought some Sol beer for poker night just to remind me of the two spring breaks there. As for the "beautiful med school babies" as Jonathan wants to know, there hasn't been anything serious yet, but I'll let you know if anything happens there. As I said earlier, I'm also going on another fun ship Carnival cruise to the Bahamas, Grand Cayman, and Costa Maya, Mexico if anyone has free time on the week of March 11th and wants to get in on the previous guest rate.

I apologize for the same boring post, and somebody (Rowlands) keep the blog alive and don't wait another 2 weeks to write something. Until next time..

Ted

I got a job for you... RIGHT HERE

Whatup dudes! Don’t worry Jonathan, you didn’t kill the blog… we’ve had some excellent, comprehensive posts lately… just talked ourselves out for a minute.

The recent life of Pat Scarlett:
Well, as much as I avoided it, I finally got a job. The folks said they were cutting me off over Christmas. Not b/c they were pissed off at me; it wasn’t a fight or anything; they were just like “you’re old enough, boy”. So I’m working at the South Carolina Bar. The name is misleading. Every attorney in the state is a member, that kinda bar. Maybe that doesn't clarify things. So I brief cases and edit articles for their weekly and monthly publications, among other things. And I got to sit in on a sweet case the other day where a adult entertainment entrepreneur divorced an ex-stripper (b/c she cheated on him; BIG surprise). She was hot.

Long story short, this is the busiest I’ve been, um, ever. I’m working 23 hours a week, taking 6 classes, plus reading for those classes, writing a 30-50 page paper (something I’ve NEVER done) this semester, editing for a journal 10 hours a week, and have a girlfriend – so about 70 hour work weeks. Yikes. Oh, just in case it gets back around, I'm not counting girlfriend time in "work week"

Oh, the biggest news: I’m applying to business school! There’s a joint degree program JD / IMBA (international masters in business), whereby I earn an MBA in just one extra year. Where did I get this idea?
Dad: “So, Liz (the g/f), what are you up to?”
Liz: “I’m trying to get into the IMBA program”
Dad: “Hey, Patrick, why don’t you do that”
Me: “Um, I don’t know, I…”
Liz: “You should do it too Patrick”
Dad: “Yeah Patrick, this could be a really good…”
Me: “Fine, I’ll take the GMAT next week”

So I took the test and killed it like Arnold kills henchmen in “Commando”. Hopefully they’ll give me money. And I get to live in a Europe for 8 months, and become fluent in some language.

Um, so I guess that's about it. No crazy nights recently. Things with Liz are going great, but no crazy news on that front. Valentine's day coming up, so I've got to work on not screwing that one up. Maybe I wont do like by buddy Swilley did one time, giving his girlfriend two VHS tapes as a Christmas present, "It" and "Weekend at Bernie's". That would be a bad idea.

Excellent posts everybody; sounds like everybody's doing great (except the Jetta). Hopefully I'll get to see you guys sometime this summer, or maybe I'll finally get back up to ND for a game (oh, let's be honest, I'd just come up for a football weekend, with game attendance optional). Hey, med school boys, lets hear what that's all about. You are noticeably absent. Anyways, miss all you guys and keep posting. Later!

Pat

Resuscitate the blog

Dudes,

I'm sorry my Jetta story killed the blog. Somebody please write something so I don't have to keep reading my own lame post when I come on here. Thanks.

Jonathan

Poor Jetta

Hey dudes,

Man, all these serious posts...time to lighten it up! I was in a car accident yesterday. Luckily, it wasn't so bad; a guy behind me hit some ice, spun his wheel, did a 180 and slammed into the back of my Jetta, exploding my taillight and putting a giant hole in my bumper which is now hanging off the car. Hey, safe happens.

Chris came to St. Louis a couple weekends ago. We had an awesome time, but he'll never come back. After getting drunk watching the movie 'Beerfest', we walked (ran) to a classy joint called 'America's Pub'. Picture Boat Club, but dirtier and with more whores. Naturally, I got involved in a booty-shaking competition on stage; three of the 'beauties' from the show 'Beauty and the Geek' were hosting. I didn't win but I'd like to think I won the creepy award with my post-competition drunken gyrations. We also hung out with 'Tons of Fun' one night, so you know things got out of hand. She's pure lunatic.

John, I demand a post that isn't nonsense. Teddy, how are the beautiful med school babies? Hope all is well, friends!!

Jonathan

Ants, Elephants, and King Cobras

So following the theme of Sam's recent post, I labeled mine in three part style. So I ate fried ants today, they had some lemongrass and seasoning for flavor, but yeah, it was just fried ants. I fed an elephant, which is not as normal as it would seem. Every time it puts its trunk up to it's mouth, it comes away with a ton of elephant spit which is kinda gross. Oh yeah, and after the Thai guy was done boxing the 10 foot long king cobra, he put it around my neck for a photo op. I've got a good picture of my smiling face about 12 inches from his. I'll post it if I'm able.

In case I forgot to mention, I'm in some crazy little town in Thailand, and babysitting about 500 marines, navy, and air force. I'm basically here to make sure nobody bombs the hell out of them, or shoots them, or anything like that. This is the cool part of the job, and since the terrorism threat is pretty low in the northern part of the country (though it's very high in the south) I'm not too stressed out. Thus the playing with ants, elephants, and cobras. Oh, and yesterday on my day off I went to the temple where they fimled the movie "Mortal Combat." It's not bad.

Ax, I very honestly feel your pain with the Marines. And I have to say I'm pretty proud of you kicking his/their ass. Those guys are insane and pretty well traned (to fight at leat). You make me proud (and after working with these guys for two weeks, I don't doubt your version of events one bit). Oh, and if you wind up in Charleston, I'll still be there for at least 5 months, and if you're with the team, my girlfriend will probably be the one who hooks you up with a place to live unless she changes jobs.

Sam, glad to hear things are going well and that you have options, however difficult figuring out what the hell you're going to do may be. I'm thinking it's going to be law school for me in two or three years also. Probably heading to Chicago; good schools, so take a look.

Chris, sorry again I missed you at Christmas. My uncle in Aurora died a few days ago, and I'm heading in to see my cousins (and to be my cousin's Confirmation sponsor) on about 17 Feb, so if you're around we can see if we can catch a beer on that trip.

Pat, I looked at the pictures from out excursion. I was particularly happy with the one of the "Speed Limit 14" sign. I'll let you know when I'm back in the state.

As for the girl... we'll see how it works out, but it's pretty good for now. She's also a 5'11" blonde who used to be in beauty pageants. That doesn't hurt things any. If any of you get the chance to visit Charleston, I'm sure you'll get to meet her.

That's about it for now, from Thailand. I'll be checking in from time to time, so keep letting me know what's up. I'll see what I can do about any Axford-esque stories.

Corruption, Blackmail and Chimpanzees.

Hello everybody. I apologize for not posting as frequently as I should, but frankly, I've been feeling a little inadequate due to the posts of Axford and Pat. I have not punched a girl in the face, nor have I jumped out of a moving vehicle, fought a troop of marines, published a screenplay or signed with the Yankees. With props to Greg, I havent even been shipped to Iraq for super secret counter intelligence work. But this is why I love you guys: the wonderful vicarious living I get to do through you is plenty to carry me through the hum drum of everyday life.

So what is new with me? Not a whole lot. Im still working at the DOJ, but have gotten bored of it. In fact, I applied for a job with the newly elected congresswoman of my home district, but at the interview I found out id have to take a 20k pay cut for the privilege! Staffers on the hill dont make beans...no wonder there is so much corruption on Capitol Hill. So im not entirely sure what my next step will be: maybe another job, maybe law school, maybe the priesthood.

Which is as good a segway into my relationship with Amy as any. In short, things are going very well. She made the trip down to Tucson for Christmas, which despite some serious stress went pretty well. She got into med school in Texas, where she will start either next fall or in fall 2008. I dont really know what will become of us when I go off to school or she does, but for the time being I cannot complain.

Damn it guys, im really trying to think of an off-the-wall story for your entertainment, but I got nothing! I could steal some stories from other friends and tell them as my own. For instance, I could say that at the end of a weekend at Foxwoods Casino, where I won $35,000, I caught a man cheating at the poker table. I noticed that every so often, he would rub behind his ears in the middle of a hand. I moved positions at the table for a better look, and sure enough, I detected the faintest glimmer on the cards in his hand. The son of a bitch was marking cards, and making approximately $10k per day as a result! I had a decision to make: tell the casino, or blackmail the man and extort many more thousands of dollars. What to do, what to do. I havent yet made my decision, because while I would like to try the latter, I am concerned that I might get murdered in the process.

Or, I could tell you about the time I got dumped by my girlfriend of five years, and decided to do something completely insane to get over the pain. I quit my job as a software engineer, and on a whim sent a resume to the Kruger Wildlife Park in South Africa where a position had opened in their chimpanzee sanctuary. I figured that it would help my chances of getting the position if I knew something about chimpanzees, so I wrote in on my resume that I had completed a post-doc in zoology and had worked with chimpanzees for 2 years in undergrad. Nevermind that I was a computer sciences major and do not know the first thing about primates. Guess what: I got the job, and am headed for South Africa in a month! Consequences be damned.

But, as I said, these are not my stories but those of my friends. For the real me, things are somewhat quiet but I find myself content. Just keep writing in your stories, and thatll be enough for me!

We're not here to start no trouble, we're just here to do the Super Bowl Shuffle!!!

I thought I'd come back on and say whats up to some of you fools. My finger is healing nicely, thanks for asking. Pat, I do kind of remember that incident...I was at State that night, but I didn't get to see the fight. I just got to see surly Patrick get drunk and then brag about it after!!! I wish I would've seen! Just like I wish I would've seen you punch that guy in the face that pissed on your geeetar! Hahahaha.

I leave on the 5th of February to go to Spring Training down in Tampa. I'm going a little early. Major League camp starts on the 14th I do believe. Minor League camp starts on March the 3rd. I figured I'd get my face in there early and get to work with the trainers and pitching coaches a little more one on one before everyone is there. If anyones looking for a Spring Break trip Clearwater is always very nice and it's only 20 minutes away! I'm sure I'll be coming close to some of you people in my travels so I'll be sure to keep you updated. I'll either start in Staten Island or Charleston (watch out Fat, here I come!). They also have a team in Tampa, Trenton NJ, and Scranton/Wilkes Barre PA (yes, the same Scranton from "The Office"). So I do have a few steps to go!

Well, I must say, I'm quite suprised you haven't gloated on this thing yet Christopher! Your Bears did it...good for them! How are their chances against the Colts? I expect a full breakdown.

Well fellas, ya'll take care. I'll be in touch over the next couple of weeks, possibly after I move and get settled (still trying to find a room close by the complex!).

Take it easy...

Ax

PS - Hey Sam, remember that thing we used to do in our sophomore year that we called "giving helmet" or "dome" or "head" if you will? Well my girlfriend discovered it with me the other day and likes the feeling of it too! I know this sounds creepy probably to everyone else, but just give it a try...it's like a great head and scalp massage!

The story of a Marine, a finger, and one hell of a night!

Sorry it took me so long to get this story out to all of you but I think it'll be well worth it. I'm gonna go ahead and say that this is already a frontrunner for best story of 2007 (and it happened only an hour into the New Year!) Within this wonderful post you will see some pictures of the eventful evening to put some faces to names and to see the entire situation if you will. Just to warn you, this will be an epic post that no one will match for years to come (so this means it's longs as hell!!!!)

Enjoy!

Well, let's start from the beginning. As you all know, I went to school in Buffalo last year for one year, and for those that I talked to about it, you also know the wonderful debaucherous times I had in downtown Buffalo! It was quite the step up from the dirty South Bend to say the least. So, knowing of the fun times that I have had down there I decided to go there for New Years. I was accompanied by a few others also. My girlfriend Nicole, and her friends Sarah and Andrea. Two others met us down there, Brooke and her boyfriend Randy. Nicole and Sarah and Brooke have all been to the wonderfulness that is Buffalo on any given weekend way back in the Spring when Nicole and I just started dating.

Anyway...

We left around 1:30 in the afternoon from the house in Hamilton where I currently reside with Nicole and 5 other girls (NO, it's not anywhere close to as good as you may think...girls are gross!!! I'll just leave it at that!) We didn't make the complete trip in one drive becuase we stopped off at a Ralph Lauren store in Niagara Falls. I purchased my girlfriend Nicole a long sleeve green polo and a short sleeve dark blue one. She got those for Christmas. We dont' have those stores in Canada up where I am, so I drew them in a card for her and told her that I would get them for her when we went across for the New Year celebrations. I also got her a ART NOW book discussing modern and postmodern art of the new millenia, an Andy Warhol notebook and this kick ass Andy Warhol purse/bag that has a collage of some of his pop art ont he outside of it (but she got those on Christmas). I got a kick ass iPod Nano.

So we arrive in Buffalo and go to my old roommates new house to have a few pregame drinks before we go out. Here are a couple pics of the time at the house.

This is me, Ricky (aka: 6' 2"), and my old roommate Mike (aka: I can squat 400lbs)
This is my girlfriend Nicole in the pink and her friend Sarah in the black.

Ok...so not only do we just have 6' 2" and Mike around, there is also an old roommate of mine, Matt, who can probably squat and bench about 300lbs...he's quite ripped, a 6' 6", 220 giant with a kids face, and one of his friends. So all in all there are 4 girls and 7 guys inclduing myself. (Trust me...this is important stuff later on). *Side note* I'm not sure if you all know this, but last spring my team got into a huge bench clearing brawl with the University of Buffalo in which everyone in the game was kicked out...everyone except my old roommate Matt. However, the main incident occurred when a guy on the other team bowled over our catcher. Our benches emptied immediately because there was a shitload of animosity already with this team and I think everyone was just on edge waiting for the fianl straw. Our catcher got back up and shoved him. Mike happened to be on the mound (he fucking plugged the guy during that at bat because he was being a dick all game!). After our catcher kinda shoved him Mike charged and absolutely laid this guy out. I mean like he picked him up and fucking body slammed him. It was awesome cause it happened right in front of me when I was running in for the kill. It was even a underline on the ESPN newscasts!!!

On to more of the story...

So we all ultimately decide to go downtown for midnight. Apparently Buffalo has one the biggest outdoor parties in all of North America for this. They even have a ball drop! I say apparently because we never actually made it to the ball drop even though that was our intention. It was pouring outside and none of us wanted to walk so we decided to stay inside. At this point in time another one of my old teammates showed up with his girlfriend...put our count now at 5 girls and 8 guys!Here is, from left to right, the 6' 6", 220 lb large man with a baby face (Cling), 6'2" (Ricky), old teammate that showed up with girlfriend, and the large and in charge ripped ex-roommate Matt.

The couple holding hands are Randy and Brooke. My girlfriend Nicole is in the pink top. This pic is up mostly because this is the location of the rest of the story! Notice the Security right by the door!
The fireworks out the window! It's midnight and the story is just gettin started.

Me and my lady. It wasn't all smiles after this pic!


So...midnight came and went. I was quite a wonderful evening. One that I won't soon forget. And I couldn't forget it because I barely drank by the way. I'll let you know that I'm cleaning up my act and probably have probably only been buzzed twice since the end of september...not even drunk once!!!

My friends and I were roaming the bar and talking to some of the peeps that we knew. After a while I found myself standing about 15 feet from that door in the pic above with the security guy standing there. I was talking to 6'6" and 6'2" at the time...just shootin the shit. I look behind me and Andrea, Sarah and Nicole are chattin in up also...Andrea starts to leave. I just happen to see, as I'm turing my head back to the dudes, a Marine in full uniform walking near them. I glance back a couple seconds later and observe what appears to be a harmful convesation bewteen the two girls and the Marine. I turn back. Just then I feel a slight bump against my back. I turn to see what it is and notice that it's my girlfriend. And she's pulling away from the Marine! I notice his arm pulling away from her. I glance at Nicole to see if it's just playful, but Nicole grabs her arm in pain and I can tell that shes scared...like I've enver seen her before. I turn back to the Marine...Sarah is talking to him.

I lean in beside Sarah and say "Hey man. Do you mind? Why don't you just go talk to some other girls!" Let it be known that I am completely calm at this point. I dont wanna be a dick to a guy in uniform! He just stares at me and then glares back at Sarah and tries to grab her. Sarah pushes his arm off. She just tries to giggle it off, but I can tell shes scared too a little bit. So I grab her and sort of guide her to the side of me the Marine changes his eyes back to me and stares. My boys know somethings up so they come to my right side; 6'2" beside me and 6'6" on the other side of him. This Marine appears to be alone, but obviously I still don't want to do anything, and neither do my boys...they just came in just in case. So after I put Sarah beside me I lean back in to him and say "Listen, my girlfriend and her friends don't appreciate this so why don't you go bother some other girls!" He snaps back "Who's you're girlfriend?" I reply "It doens't matter who my girlfriend is...jsut go talk to someone else!" His eyes are searching Sarah and Nicole to find out which one is my girl. "Who the fuck is your girlfriend?" he says! UH OH! I can see now that he really just wants to do something to piss me off. I look back at Ricky and Cling to see their reactions to this guy. Ricky just shrugs. I look back at the Marine and lean in again. This time I touch his arm as if to tell him to go in the other direction. And when i say touch, I mean touch. I barely touched him. I said "just go..." "don't fucking touch me!" he interupts while throwing his arms up and he kind of steps up to me. I'll be honest, it freaked me out a bit, so I back up a step and said "ok ok. No big deal. No one wants any problems here..." As I was getting the words out of my mouth he kept staring...then back at Sarah, then at me, then at Sarah!

Out of nowhere, he then smashed her glass out of her hand and started throwing punches at me!! It sure as shit took me off gaurd because I was talking to the guy and then noticed he slammed her drink out of her hand. Next thing I know my words stop and I'm getting punch in the face and head. I back up and put my hands up to protect real quick. No one comes in and stops this guy...a couple randoms try to force their way in but this guy keeps trying to go after me. This Marine keeps coming and apparently clips Sarah with one of his reckless punches at me. I happen to get a glance behind him and I see Ricky and Cling. Somehow, with a second or two they are moved from beside me to behind the guy thats still trying to punch me...I'm wondering what the fuck they're doing and why they don't grab this guy. Just then I see Cling start to move...

...Now, I didn't see this at the time, but there is an entire other event happening behind me. Just as I started to get hit by this Marine, behind me, Ricky, and Cling were 3 other marines, but not in uniform. They got shoved out of the way and one of them cocked back to sucker punch me from behind (after I was already sucker punched by his buddy). His fist goes back ready to let it meet my skull when out of nowhere a tiny fist of fury comes flying in and punches this guy in the face and knocks him back to the bar...IT WAS NICOLE!!! The guy steps back up and turns to see who it was and noticed that a girl hit him, but just as he turned back Nicole socked him again. He turned once more pissed off. Sarah stepped in and yelled "What are gonna do? Fucking hit a girl?" He then realized that that would be a bad idea and lowered his defense. Just then Nicole landed antoher one right on his face! Right after that punch was landed, Cling jumped in and grabbed the two of them and held that guy in check...now back to me...

...So I see Cling take off (to apparently go save my girlfriend), no one is jumping in to help and there still isn't a bouncer around grabbing this guy. At this point I've probably taken about 6 or 7 head shots without any kind of defense. The Marine is relentless in gettin the two people to out of his way to hit me more. (Now remember, this all happened in a matter of seconds...its not quite as drawn out as this...but I see it all in slow motion now...it's kinda cool). As I see these two randoms starting to part and the Marine having his opening, I decided right then that I wasn't gonna be the one getting attacked. I reached out immediately with my left and started hitting him, trying to keep my right protected...but that could only do so much after a couple quick shots. I then realized that I had the arm reach advantage after those quick hits. This marine wasn't small, I did have a few inches on him, but he was well built, the way a Marine should be!

He was throwing lefts and rights and I kept my head low so he was hittin me on my forehead and top of the skull...a couple landed behind my ear, those hurt the next morning! I was now throwing both lefts and rights too but most of the time keeping him off me and away from a good punch. I kept feeling people around me so I lowered my head a little bit farther and buried him with a stiff left and then kept him back with that arm while hitting with my right. I pushed him until I felt nothing. I WAS IN THE CLEAR! Let's cut 'em loose!!!

I stepped back after feeling the open air and just started throwing 'em! I was landing both hands well, but the right was gettin the best of him! He kept tyring to come in close but I just kept him off with punches. I wanted my reach advantage and by God I was gonna get it. I've never felt so alive at this point. My fist were just flying through the air and he was barely gettin a graze in now! He tried to get in one more time but I kept him off, but instead of waiting a couple seconds to try and throw punches, he just came right back in to try and set me off. This time he got in...but it was a HUGE mistake on his part. My rage was in full effect and there was no fucking around anymore for me. He tried to get in...I let him in...and I kept him there!

I wrapped him up with my left and held him tight in a headlock. It was all over from there. My rage hit its peak as my right hand landed 90mph uppercuts to his face. I just kept them coming. One after antoher after another, I just kept letting them fly. He tried to pull out of the lock but my left only tightened and pulled up. He kept trying to get lower and I had to bend over now to hit his face, which I didn't like at all. So I pulled my death grip tighter and jerked his head and body back up to land some straight on. Scratch what I said before, NOW I've never felt more alive!!! I was just fucking wailing away on this guys face and head and NO ONE, not a single person was stopping it. The Marine realized he wasn't getting anywhere in this position and tried to pick me up...wasn't happening! So he kind of ran and we slipped on the ground while I was still punching. We tumbled to the ground and I begin to role him over to kick and knee the living shit out of him. I still have my left around his neck, but a quick shot of morals hits me. I realize that I shouldn't kick him and knee him until he is a bloody unconscience mess so I yell at my buddy Ricky, "get this fucking guy!" I scream. He runs in right away and grabs him off the floor and catches a shot to the eye. The marines friends grab him and hold onto him.

I stand up and glance around. Still nothing, no one is coming after me. No bouncers no security. I try and let my nerves calm themselves. Ricky comes up to me and asks me how i'm doing. I feel my face...nothing, no cuts, no bumps, no bruises. My forehead and top of the head are a different story with quite a few small bumps. I start to chew my gum again (yes it stayed in my mouth during the enitre fight) and realize its kinda crunchy. I chipped a tooth but only slightly. It must have been from me ducking my head while clenching my teeth really hard! Because my jaw was fine and had no face shots! I then just realize that my hands are fucking killing me. Mostly the right because landing about a bakers dozen directly to the Marines face and skull right in a row!!! HELLS YA! And my left is kinda sore.

Anyways...to wrap this up, at this exact moment that the fight occurred, Mike was talking to a pretty girl and missed the entire thing, even though he was int he same bar. Matt went to another bar with Clings friend. Randy and Brooke were making out and missed it. The ex-teammate and girlfriend just left so she could go change behind a car in a parking lot. The two guys left helped me worth shit. I can only imagine what it would've been like if all those guys were there...a freeforall for sho!

Later in the night this Marine tried to fight someone else in the bar as he was getting kicked out. I think it's because he got crushed in his first fight. Nicole was still in a rage outside and tried to attack him but got held back by Sarah and I and the cops grabbed him up good!!! hahaha

We went to another bar so I could ice my hands. And all that resulted for me was a broken ring finger on my left hand...no concussion...no black eyes...no bruising...just a broken finger and a still partially swollen right hand from wailing away on that fuckers face!

Sorry to Anthony and Greg, but that fucker kinda put me off the men and women in uniform that are serving your nation! I know you guys are different, but when I hear "Marine" my blood gets going again!!! ahahaha!

My eyes may look puffy here but trust me...nothing was landed below the brow!

Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed this wonderful story. Take it easy. And don't tell the Yankees!

AX