Sorry For Partying

I guess I’m well overdue for an update over here. Normally my absences from the blog are explained by a lack of anything interesting going on in my life, but the last couple of months have been quite the opposite. I’ve attempted to chronologically list out everything that’s happened over the last two months. Here we go…

(Honestly, there’s a lot of crap down there. Its probably not even that interesting but I felt I owed it to you. I won’t be offended if you don’t read it. I promise I’ll have some shorter, more frequent, and more interesting posts soon.)

(Maybe.)

Aug 16 – I left New York for Chicago hoping to find an apartment when I showed up. While Chicago is definitely an easier real estate market to deal with than New York, this was no walk in the park. Showing up two weeks before your planned move in date does not lend itself to a lot of availability, especially at the peak of college move-in season. After a few botched deals, I eventually found a place to call my own. Living in Chicago is amazing. I’m paying 50% less than I was in New York, and with an entire 1-bedroom apartment to myself, I have like 1000% more space of my own than I’ve ever had. This is my first time living alone and its been an interesting experience. The downside is that there’s no one to talk to or hang out with in the evenings. The upside is that I spend a considerably higher amount of my day in little to no clothing.

Aug 23 – After signing my lease, I went on a Random Walk to Nicaragua with 11 of my classmates and 4 second-year students. Like me Buenos Aires trip from earlier this year, this trip really deserves a series of posts to cover all that occurred, but to briefly list out the trips activities, we: hiked a volcano, almost died in a rainstorm on top of the volcano, rode wooden sleds down a volcano, went horseback riding, climbed through a rainforest up another volcano, almost died from sweat on said volcano, toured a bunch of cities, went on a bunch of boat rides, swam in a lake, an ocean, and a swimming pool (sometimes at 3am), attempted to surf, ate a bunch of food. And of course we drank a lot…

Aug 30 – From Nicaragua, I went straight to Houston for a college friend’s wedding. It was quite the affaire – rehearsal dinner at a country club, black tie ceremonies involving an 8-piece band, followed by a reception at the Omni hotel with like a million guests. Fun fact: the bride is this girl, though her name is not really Connie.

Sep 1 – With a hurricane (Ike?) potentially on its way, I hightailed it out of there for New York. I was in town for 36 hours for work, a complicated situation involving some ‘last day logistics’. After completing my exit interview, I left my office for the last time, doing a little jig of joy (no joke, I actually danced on Madison Ave) as I walked away from the building.

Sep 3 – I (finally) returned to Chicago to move into my apartment. My parents had driven my car up from Florida, and we spent the next few days furniture shopping. I went to the Schaumburg IKEA four times in four days, a fact that still traumatizes me to this day.

Sep 6 – I celebrated my first birthday in Chicago. The festivities were pretty light, considering I’d met very few school folks at this point, and my plans with Michigan friends were arranged last minute. However, I did discover Patron Coffee (Patron XO is its official name, I believe), an interesting mix of tequila and coffee flavors which is like the greatest shot ever.

Sep 9 – Orientation started.

Sep 10 – We (my entire class of ~575 people) left for a two day retreat to Lake Geneva, Wisconsin where we participated in a variety of activities centered around leadership development. Things like ropes courses, egg drops, and even improv workshops. Also, significant partying. Seriously, it was like freshman year of college.

Sep 12-24 – More orientation, and more leadership classes focused on self awareness. Among other things, I learned that I am an ENTP (my extroversion rating was off the chart, a fact which even surprised me), and that when I talk in team settings, people are interested in listening (really?).

Sept 25 – Classes begin. For anyone who cares, I’m taking Microeconomics, Applied Regression Analysis, Competitive Strategy, and Commercializing Innovation. I’ve overextended myself a little but I’m learning a lot and having fun.

Interspersed between all of the dates above – A crapload of partying. Seriously, its like college all over again. There’s even an event every Thursday called TNDC, which stands for Thursday Night Drinking Club and consists of hundreds – yes hundreds – of students flocking to a bar with one thought on their mind: “Fuck you, moderation.”

So there you have it. All of the above, along with a variety of other events including ‘frat parties’, dinner gatherings, karaoke-fests, ‘cohort’ events, and “I’ve been hanging out with school friends so much, I really should go out with my Michigan friends” days , is why I’ve been MIA for so long.

Sorry for partying.

*****

A couple of important notes about the blogosphere:

1) Jason Mulgrew linked me a couple weeks ago, which is pretty freaking incredible. If you’re not familiar with his blog, you really should be. And Jason, if ever our paths cross again, the whiskey’s on me.

2) An unnamed friend/nemesis of mine started a blog after losing his job and moving out of his apartment in the wake of the credit crisis. As you might expect from the name (The Hobo Blogs), it consists largely of the random rants and musings of someone with too much time on his hands, but its worth checking out if you’ve got the time.