Grandpa - 11 Years Gone

August 21, 2017

I originally planned to make this post a year ago, but then things got busy, I was too concerned about what I was writing in this post, thought it was too personal, and I just didn't post it. August, 21st 2016 marked the ten year anniversary of my grandfather's passing. It was ten (now eleven) years ago that our family was shocked and saddened by the sudden loss of a great man, my mother's father, Walter Kutz.

After Prom 1957 - 60 Years ago Grandpa with Grandma

It can often be painful to think back on moments like this in life, when you are hit with such a blow that it brings you down to the ground. As time goes on, even though the pain is still there, it is enjoyable to think back about the fun and loving memories you had with that person. I want to take you back to the day that this tragedy happened.

August 21st, 2006. I was at the Ashbury pool with my sister and girlfriend at the time, Katie. They announced our names over the intercom multiple times and when we finally heard we headed to the front desk. It was our parents on the phone and they told us to come home immediately. At the time I was unsure what could be the problem. I was a good kid and surely could not have done something wrong. When you look back on this, you kind of wish you had done something wrong, as the news awaiting us at home was much worse. When we got back to our house we were told Grandpa had fallen and it was not good. We needed to head to the hospital now.

That car ride was one of the worst of my life. I remember crying in the car the entire ride, especially after hearing that he had officially passed on. Sitting in the back next to my sister as she did the same. When we got to the hospital we rushed in to confirm the sad, terrible truth. Grandpa had left us. We went in to say our goodbyes. I remember just standing there with my dad, mom, grandma, aunts, and sister around his body. I could not hold my tears back as they flowed down my cheeks. He looked so peaceful laying there, eyes closed and mouth open, as if he was napping. I eventually said my goodbyes and touched his hand and gave him a kiss on the head telling him I missed him. Death is something in all of our lives, and often can be so very difficult to deal with. I felt really weird for so long, as if he was still with us, and I am sure he is and was in some way or another. It was frustrating and I didn't understand it and didn't want it to be that way.

I remember going home that night and playing a song I had heard on the TV show Grey's Anatomy. How To Save a Life by The Fray. That song was on repeat for the next day, week, months, year, as I recalled memories of Grandpa. If you wish, play that song now while you continue to read and check out the photos.

Here is a list of memories I had wrote down the days following my Grandpa's death:

Him giving us Orange Tic-Tacs every time we were over. We got a pack of orange tic-tacs, often for helping with yard/house work, but sometimes just for stopping by. I recall he would enjoy the mint (white/green) ones in the car for himself.
Building goals (posts) for us out of 2 boxes taped together. He would tape multiple boxes together to make the posts on a goal for my brother and I to play soccer or hockey in their basement with.
Playing catch with him, football and baseball on their “driveway patio”.
Having him tie their basketball hoop that had no base (just a pole) to the house so I could play with one of those yellow/brown squishy balls. Living in the city, their patio was also a driveway and also a spot to play games.
While he tied the basketball hoop, he would tell me about knots, especially square knots. He learned to tie these knots while serving time in the Navy.
Making a hockey puck out of a small pink tin and taping it together with electrical tape for me and my brother to play hockey with. In order to play hockey in the basement, we needed a puck and didn't have one, so he made one for us.
Making a grunting noise each time he caught or threw a ball when we would play catch with him. This is funny now that I look back on it because I do the same exact thing. Wonder where I got it from!?
Him coming to my football games in 7th grade, the first time I had played a "real" organized sport.
Coming to all my lacrosse games and then going to stand off by himself at the end of the field I was playing at. Grandpa would come to all of my games and cheer me on.
Grandpa was my biggest fan. He always thought they were giving the ball to me when they called out our formation, 30 set, 30 was my number so he figured the play was for me.
Giving me a dollar for every goal or assist I had in a lacrosse game. To my benefit, I was paid a lot of $$$ for all those goals/assists.
Him telling me to not pass and just shoot in lacrosse (“I need to shoot more”)
Him telling me that I need to lift weights and build my muscles up. He sure was correct, as I gained something like 30 lbs from senior year of highschool to end of freshman year of college.
Taking me and my family out to Steak 'N' Shake or Culvers after my lacrosse games to celebrate, win or loss.

Taking me (and brother) to the bank and then asking the teller for lollipops (safety pops) for us to have to eat. This was when we were younger I imagine.
Making ice cream cones when we slept over at their house, his favorite was pecan icecream, which I never enjoyed at the time, but now think its quite tasty.
Having him take me and my brother to a Magic Shop and my brother putting his eye on a scope with black stuff on it.
He would sleep in the basement on the couch with a space heater by him when me and my sister and brother would sleep over because my sister wanted to sleep in bed with grandma
Being stopped by a train, and counting all of the railroad cars with him, the most I ever counted on one train
Him dancing, shaking his “new” hips at a party (Christmas after he had his hip replacement surgery)
Him singing How Great Thou Art in church. I'm pretty sure whenever this song is played in church everyone in my family starts crying even today.
Going to the Lord Jesus Church and seeing my Grandpa and Uncle Henry be the head people, hand out papers, do collection, run the show.
Him sleeping at all the family parties in weird positions, usually sitting with his head back and mouth open. Sometimes even snoring!
Him telling me and my brother (sister sometimes) “life lessons” and other sorts of things. I wish I remembered more of these now.
Going to see Anchorman with him at Hollywood Blvd and both of us thinking it was funny. Quite the movie to see with your grandpa, but it has been one of my favorite movies ever since.
Him always making me popcorn when I would sleep over at their house
Trimming the bushes and sweeping up pine needles with him and him telling me that I shouldn’t walk so far with the needles/branches in the pan but move the bag closer to me because that makes it easier. Smart man!
Having to clean the gutters on the roof and one time crawl out the window (He had me do it!)
Playing in my grandparents’ basement before it was redone, with the really hard carpet that was red and had diamonds on it, Grandpa had it duct taped down in the middle of it to keep it together. He was very handy at fixing things any way he could.
Seeing the Christmas lights around the outskirts of the basement always up, grandpa set them up and would just leave them up year round for the most part.
Hearing him whistling as he walked around the house looking for something. I do the same now too!
Having him tell me about his job as a pizza boy and how he used to make pizzas when he was my age 16/17 at the time.
Him telling me to always be nice to my sister because she is a girl.
Giving my Grandpa hugs, not handshakes
Eating French toast in the morning with him and my sister and having him tell me to cut mine into pieces because I would always eat it whole (pick it up and bite off it). Even though I still don't like to cut my food into small bits, I think of this anytime I do.
Last Time I saw him: After my parents vacation, he answered the door wearing a wife beater
Last Time I talked to him: On the phone when he was in California, he asked if the cubs had won and told me to tell my sister that he didn’t hang up on her, he lost the call

My Grandpa was the biggest Cubs fan. Yes he was at the Bartman game in 2003.... Even though it took the Cubs 10 Years after his death for them to win the World Series, I know he would have been extremely happy and proud on that day. I wrote his name on Wrigley Field in chalk after the World Series Victory to commemorate him. Here are a few words my Aunt Ruth wrote after the Cubs won the World Series, "Growing up as a Cubs fan in Brighton Park was pretty crazy back in the 60s and 70s - but when your Dad is a diehard Cubs fan - we had no other choice. Dad listened to WGN radio for every game he could - with the sound off on the TV. (wish we could still do that!). I was able to score some playoff tickets back in 03 - yes - for the Bartman game. It was a memorable night - in many ways! Dad passed suddenly in August of 2006 - and is one of the many who has gone before us - only dreaming for this day! Go Cubs Go!!"

I love you and miss you Grandpa.

And now a bunch of photos of my Grandpa & I from over the years. Enjoy.

2016 also marked the 20 year anniversary of the passing of my Great Grandma. My Great Grandma was my Grandmother's Mother and was an amazing woman who lived to be 90 years old. She passed away in 1996, and even though I have very few memories of her, I know she was a special and amazing woman. One of my only memories of her is how she would watch figure skating in her room upstairs at my grandparent's house. Here are a few photos of her and I.

I hope you too can bring yourself to remember things from the past, good or bad, and share them with others, as they make us who we are today.

Love. Happiness. Tears.

-Josh

Lollapalooza 2017

August 13, 2017

Rachel and I did not plan on going to Lollapalooza 2017, the annual, 4 day fest that has taken place in Chicago's Grant Park since 2005; just as we had not planned in years past (Read more about the fascinating history of Lollapalooza here!) Because of this, I bought a bunch of after show tickets, for 4/5 nights of the week. We would be going to aftershows Wednesday through Saturday night, shows that take place at small venues across the city after the fest is over for the day, usually ending around 1 or 2 am. Then the week before Lollapalooza was set to begin, that all changed.

As many of you know, my mother is super into sweepstaking and contests. Because of this we have won many things from t-shirts to basketball hoops to autographed memorabilia to concert tickets to vacations. She had been sending Rachel and I some Lollapalooza contests for a while that one of us was regularly entering... So the week before Lollapalooza is set to begin Rachel receives an email that she has won 2 single day tickets to Lollapalooza! We weren't sure what day yet, but we would be going to Lolla, how exciting. Over the weekend, we found out that she won Thursday passes, which had a promising lineup. Woo woo! Then Tuesday August 1st came and we got even more good news. At around 9am my sister texted that she had just received a text that she won two 4-day VIP passes for the fest. Holy cow! Valued at around $2500 per ticket, this was a huge prize, that I can't imagine anyone actually ever paying for! I was hoping to get my hands on these 4-day passes with her and experience Lollapalooza the whole weekend. Then literally an hour after that, Rachel texted that she had just received a text saying she won two 4-day General Admission passes for the fest! Whhhhaaaattttttt!!!?!? Is this a joke? 3 wins for the same event in a week? Wow, some serious luck right there. All of of a sudden we had a surplus of tickets and we were headed to Lollapalooza for the first time ever!

This was Beth's, Rachel's, & my first time ever going to Lollapalooza, and only my second fest. I went to Riot Fest back in 2013. Beth ended up taking her friend Emily with the VIP ticket and Rachel and I would use the 4-day GA tickets. I sold my two Thursday tickets to a couple of my players which worked out well. If you have the time, or just want to listen to some of the music I experienced, watch the 30 minute video below. Now on to my Lollapalooza experience!

My Lollapalooza festivities started a day before the actual fest was set to begin, at an aftershow, or should I say before-show, on Wednesday August 2nd, at Subterranean. This was one of the aftershow tickets I had purchased months ago and I was excited to see Atlas Genius perform that evening. I had two extra tickets and was happy that Aly and her boyfriend Ryan were pumped to join us. We met them at the show and I couldn't believe to find out who the opener was, Even Thieves. A Chicago band that I know personally. 4 of the 6 members had previously been in a band with Jmon and it was crazy to me they were opening for Atlas Genius. They put on a solid set and I ran into the two guys I knew pretty well in between sets and let them know how killer of a job they did. The Australian band, Atlas Genius took the stage in front of a sold out crowd and played some of my favorite jams. They opened up with If So, played Trojans, and even did a cover of the 80s Dead or Alive song, You Spin Me Round (Like a Record). A great start to Lollapalooza. Check out all of the photos & video I took from the Atlas Genius set below.

The next day was the official start to Lollapalooza, Thursday August 3rd, 2017. I took the L down and arrived a little before noon. I had to get our Thursday tickets and then find the kids I sold them to. After a little bit of confusion at the ticket booth, and a little bit of waiting, I got the Thursday tickets, fo free! We had already received our free 4-day tickets in the mail earlier that week so we had those ready to go. The tickets were pretty cool, a nice colorful cloth wristband that once you tighten you can't get off. After some more confusion, and searching through a mass of people, I found the boys, and got them their wristbands. One of the kids tightened his a little and we had to really pull on it to get it on his hand. The cops saw us doing this and came over to check out what was going on. Not even in to Lolla yet and the cops are on to me! I had not eaten yet this day, so I went into Potbelly to get a sandwich before heading into Lollapalooza. After eating A Big Wreck, I walked over and headed into Lollapalooza. There were 8 stages, 1 being a child's "Kidzapalooza" so basically 7 stages to choose from. I spent most of my time over the next 4 days at Grant Park, Lake Shore, Tito's, and Bud Light stages, where the rock/indie/alternative bands were playing. I saw a couple of smaller artists at Pepsi Stage, saw 10 minutes of EDM music at Perry's Stage, and didn't make it to the smallest stage, BMI. After breezing through security, with poncho, map, schedule, and water bottle in hand, I headed toward Grant Park & Lake Shore stages as I planned to spend most of my day there. To make this go a little quicker, I am going to list out each artist that I saw that day, and any important events that occurred around those sets.

August 3rd - Thursday - (Day 1 at Grant Park)

White Reaper at Grant Park Stage - First show at Lollapalooza! Was able to get pretty close for this Punk band. The video screens at this stage are amazing.
Hippo Campus at Lake Shore Stage - Young band from Minnesota that had a pretty big crowd. Enjoyable Indie music.
Temples at Grant Park Stage - What year were these guys formed? They look and sound straight out of the 1970s. No surprise they are out of the UK.
Paper Diamond at Perry's Stage - Was at this stage and show for maybe 10 minutes. Too many high school kids everywhere. Told too many times to get my "mother f#%king hands up by the DJ. Too few people performing and just one guy behind a computer . Too many kids laying on the ground passed out from drugs/alcohol. Did not return to this stage all weekend. No surprise but I ran into a few of my high school players around this stage. Peep the photos.
The Drums at Lake Shore Stage - Indie rock band that I only caught about half of their set since I made the mistake to check out Perry's stage.
Liam Gallagher at Grant Park Stage - Don't know the name? Lead singer of Oasis. He looked so angry when singing, and must have been because he played 3 songs, then walked off stage and didn't come back. His band awkwardly left the stage after about 2 minutes of playing instrumentals until they realized he wouldn't be returning. At least I saw him sing Morning Glory. What a chump. I was also bumped into repeatedly by some Indian guy who was clearly drunk/high and kept smiling at me trying to get me to dance or something. I kept giving him a thumbs up. At least he offered me some weed, a better guy than Liam.
George Ezra at Lake Shore Stage - Rachel gets to the fest after work for this one. He is a solid singer who despite his young looks has a very deep warming voice. Another musician from the UK.
Cage the Elephant at Grant Park Stage - By far the best show of the day. Incredible energy and stage presence. The lead singer bounced around in a purple dress, promoting equality and love for all. The lead guitarist would go into the crowd and play amongst the people. Turns out those two are brothers from Kentucky and they are bringing back Rock'n'Roll. They absolutely killed their set and I forgot how many good songs they have. Do yourself a favor and check this band out if you don't know them. Added this band to my "must-see" list when they come back to Chicago.
Spoon at Lake Shore Stage - Only knew about two of their songs, "The Underdog" and "Hot Thoughts" but they put on a solid Indie show.
Muse at Grant Park Stage - It rained the entire time Muse was on the stage. Luckily we had our ponchos! After 15 minutes of watching Muse, we decided to head over to Lorde.
Lorde at Bud Light Stage - After grabbing a beverage in the pouring rain on our walk over, we made it just in time for Lorde to say, "I'm so sorry they're making me leave the stage because of the storms, I'll be back!" Unfortunately she never came back and it started to downpour. Our ponchos were of no use anymore.
Leaving Lollapalooza - This was an absolute disaster. We almost made it to Lorde and then began our march out of the fest. As it poured and poured, we waited to get out like herded cattle heading to slaughter. Entirely soaked, I figured at this point I would skip the aftershow I was set to go to. Once we were out we headed to the "L." After waiting about 30 minutes and missing two entirely packed trains, I decided I was going to go to the aftershow I had tickets to since we weren't going anywhere. Rachel took the L back 4 stops to the Chinatown stop and she jumped on an empty red line back the other direction. I headed to Reggie's.
Cloud Nothings at Reggie's (Aftershow) - I got to the show right at 10pm, which is when I thought the opener was to come on. Unfortunately I had to wait another hour for them to come out, but I did find a seat in the balcony to rest while waiting. A metal band called Oozing Wound from opened up. It was way too metal for me, but I still watched the entire set. Finally at midnight, the Cloud Nothings took the stage that had a sewer drain in the middle of it. I had front row seats to this heavy rock set which I thoroughly enjoyed. After their set, I took the L home and was in bed by 2am. Solid first official day of Lolla! Check out the photo & video from the day below.

On the second official day of Lollapalooza, Friday August 4th 2017, I picked up McDonald's on my way to the fest. Good thing I did because when I was on the "L" we had about a 30 minute delay because some hooligan had jumped on the tracks ahead and we had to wait until they were removed. While waiting for the train to get moving again, some random guy around my age started talking to me and another guy who looked a little bit younger than I. He wanted to know who all we had seen at Lollapalooza and who we planned on seeing. Not a bad conversation to have, especially since we were killing time, but he had clearly spent too much time at Perry's stage for me. Once the train got moving again and we made it to the fest, we all walked over together together and went in the side entrance off Monroe St. No problem with security again as I made it through smoothly and quickly. I never saw those two again that day. On to the performances from the day

August 4th - Friday - (Day 2 at Grant Park)

PUP at Tito's Stage - Punk rock band out of Canada. Played some jams at my first show at Tito's. Good start to the day
Cloud Nothings at Bud Light Stage - Put on another great show, just as they had the night before. This time with no sewer in the middle of the stage.
Kaleo at Tito's Stage - Very bluesy band out of Iceland who's lead singer is quite the whistler. I was surprised at how good they sounded and how enjoyable their music was. I met a random lady who started talking to me and followed me to the next show.
Tegan and Sara at Bud Light Stage - Ditched the random lady, and met up with Rachel for her first show of the day. We only stayed for the first two songs, then decided to walk over to the other side of the fest to see Phantogram.
Phantogram at Grant Park Stage - Alternative rock band that played some great songs and promoted suicide awareness. If you need help, be sure to get help. Their song, "You Don't Get Me High Anymore" was the highlight for me. They had some cool videos going on the big screens. Grant Park has the best screens.
Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness at Lake Shore Stage - If you did not know, this guy used to be called Jack's Mannequin. He even played "Dark Blue" for us. He took a ride out on a giant duck float and played a fun indie show, ending with "Cecilia and the Satellite." We ran into Nikki, Mary, and Alex at this stage.
Foster the People at Bud Light Stage - I met up with Beth, Emily, Rachel, and Nikki again. I didn't know as many of their songs as I thought I would. "Pumped up Kicks" was a jam as anticipated.
The Killers at Grant Park Stage - Rachel, Beth, Emily, and I walked across the park and attempted to get somewhat close for my favorite band from High School. This would be my first time seeing them since 2007. They played a "killer" show including some my favorite songs, "Mr Brightside," "Somebody Told Me," "Human," "All These Things That I've Done," and "When You Were Young." Love this band!
The Walk Home - Rachel and I walked to her work after the show to pick up the stuff she left there. A mere two mile walk, but we enjoyed police dog statues on the way. Unofficially third day complete! I had tickets to a Ron Gallo & San Fermin after show this night at Empty Bottle, but decided to skip out this time. Check the photos and videos from the day below.

We had to miss day 3 of Lollapalooza because we were attending a family wedding for cousins Tony & Julia on Saturday, August 5th. I did manage to make it to an aftershow that night though! My first time at Park West and since I had an extra ticket, Rach's friend Alex went with me. While waiting outside for Alex, I saw a band pull up and head into the venue. I would later find out that it was the headliner of the evening. The venue was super open and roomy. I think they usually have comedians and other stand up acts perform here, so there were several open rows with booths and tables. There was a pit area that I started out in, but eventually moved behind the first row of booths which was elevated above the pit, giving us basically front row seats. Great view! The band 888 out of Denver, CO opened up and put on a solid show. They reminded me a little bit of Owl City. Grouplove took the stage and played a lovely evening of music. They introduced each song with some sort of "punny" saying and played some amazing songs including Shark Attack, Borderlines & Aliens, Tongue Tied, & Colours. After Grouplove finished playing just after 1am, Alex, her friend Mari, and I headed to Frank's for a couple of night caps. After continuing the show playing The Killers and Grouplove over the jukebox, I finally called it a night heading home at 3am. One more day of Lollapalooza left! Quick pics and videos from the night below.

On the final day of Lollapalooza, Sunday August 6th, I picked up McDonald's on my way to the fest for one last time. I decided to go through the main gates this time, and I'm not sure if it was because it was the main gate, or because I was wearing a backwards hat, but security was extra intense today. First the examined my water bottle, shaking it as if it was pure Vodka or something, then they inspected my rain poncho which was fine, I honestly was surprised that had not before. Then the guy had me spread my legs and gave me a swift arm swing right between the legs. I guess kids these days are hiding their alcohol under their crotch to get it in. Instead of hitting alcohol, I was blessed with a sack tap. This day was off to a great start, but the intense security didn't stop there. I went to get a wristband so I could drink. He asked for my ID which was of course fine. Then he asked me to remove my sunglasses, again, fine whatever. Finally after staring at my ID and me for about 30 seconds, comparing the two, he asks me for my zip code... Seriously? People don't get fake IDs that say they are 28. Regardless I got my wristband and headed in to the action. Summary of the bands right meow.

August 6th - Sunday (Day 4 at Grant Park)

Xavier Omar at Pepsi Stage - Only caught the end of his show which was a cover of Nirvana. Sounded pretty good, also my first time at Pepsi stage.
Grace Mitchell at Tito's Stage - Female rocker from Portland Oregon. Enjoyable set. I left her set early and headed back over to Pepsi.
The Walters at Pepsi Stage - High energy Chicago band with a pretty big following. Highlight was when their guitarist, Walter, took off shirt and threw it into the crowd. Drove the ladies crazy.
Barns Courtney at Bud Light Stage - Very happy I left The Walters a bit early to catch this guy. He had a broken foot that had a cast on it, so he "hired" a nurse to push him around on a hospital bed for the entire show. He played an awesome set where he threw his crutches, hopped around stage, and sang his heart out while in the bed. A ton of energy and I look forward to listening more to this rocker from the UK.
Joseph at Tito's Stage - Extremely talented folk trio of sisters from Portland, Oregon. Two of them are twins and one is an older sister. I am excited to hear more of their stuff as they had beautiful voices.
Car Seat Headrest at Bud Light Stage - The kings of long indie rock ballads. I think in their hour set they maybe played 8 songs at most, but some serious jams in there.
Rag'n'Bone Man at Tito's Stage - Big tatted guy from the UK who has a deep voice. I met up with Rachel for this one and we enjoyed the view from the grass.
Milky Chance at Bud Light Stage - Might have been my favorite performance from the day. The chill vibes were strong with the man who looks like Emile Hirsch from Into The Wild. Super good show, definitely check these guys out, as I will next time they come to town.
The Shins at Grant Park Stage - Very chill indie band with some classic songs. They've been doing this since 1996 and sing "Simple Song" and "New Slang." Rachel, Emily, Zach, Nikki, and Beth joined for this one.
Grouplove at Lake Shore Stage - Second time seeing this energy & love filled group in as many days. Very similar to set to their Park West show, maybe playing one or two less songs. The Beastie Boys Sabatoge cover was awesome.
Arcade Fire at Grant Park Stage - The last show of Lollapalooza and it was a doozy. Great songs and the rain held off for their light spectacular set with songs like, "Reflektor," "No Cars Go," "Sprawl II," and "Wake Up." Really enjoyed this set and danced our butt's off.
Getting home - We snuck out of the fest pretty quickly on this day and only ran into one issue on the walk to the "L." A super drunk and bloody face guy who was stumbling toward me and I just nearly evaded. We got on the brown line and headed home. Pictures and videos below.

And that is how my 5 days of Lollapalooza went. My first full fest and first Lollapalooza. Before experiencing it, I didn't think I would enjoy it very much since you have to run from set to set and some artists play at the same time so you miss out. Out of everyone that played this year, I am obviously sad I missed a lot of people Saturday (Vance Joy, Chance the Rapper, alt-j, Head and the Heart, The XX). I am also disappointed I was not able to see Blink 182, Gramatik, Ryan Adams, and Tove Lo who showed her good as usual... Check it out on youtube. Luckily every band who played at the larger stages entire sets can be watched online for free!

So would I buy tickets? I think I would potentially buy a one day ticket in the future if there was a solid lineup. Even though tickets sell out immediately, it is clear that a lot of people resell, especially closer to the date. Going all four days was a little tiring and I think you need to almost treat it as a vacation if you go all four days. Take the day off, plan to spend a good amount of money on food/drinks (16oz buds for $9 and a bottle of wine for $27), and be able to relax a little bit. But overall it was a great experience and I recommend it especially if you have never been before and your favorite musicians are playing.

I hope you enjoyed my first blog/vlog in over 4 months, and if you haven't already, do your ears a favor and be sure to watch all 6 videos above.

More new material coming soon!

Josh

Beginnings and Endings

March 15, 2017

First blog with the new format, which means I will only be covering larger events that happened during February. Let's start it off with Thursday February 2nd when Dario came to work and we strung up a Mikey Powell Voyce, McDonald's themed stick. Hot. Off to a great start of covering only larger events.

That night I picked up Rachel, Torie, and Nikki from Alex's place in Andersonville and drove everyone home. Chauffeur status.

The next day on Friday February 3rd, our new couch arrived and the guys who delivered it were so nice they helped me take down the old one to the garbage. Later that day I heard the garbage truck out the window and was able to capture the final moments the couch had before being violently crushed. Check out the Vlog to see it! During the day I watched the movie Crimson Peak directed by Guillermo Del Toro. A solid and spooky film. I met up with Rachel for dinner that evening at Hopcat where we enjoyed some pizza and beer. That night we watched the movie Groundhogs day, in honor of groundhogs day. I can't recall if I had actually seen this Bill Murray classic, but it was pretty funny. Check it on Netflix.

On Saturday February 4th, Rachel and I enjoyed steak lettuce wraps before meeting up with John, Melissa, and Beth at Begyle Brewing in Ravenswood. After enjoying a brew at Begyle, we walked down the street to Dovetail brewing and had a drink there as well. Cool little microbreweries right in the middle of a neighborhood. We finished the night off at Fountainhead, which is a restaurant/bar near where Beth lives that has a huge list of beers and liquors. I went with a whiskey flight for the end of the night. We stopped at Beth's place for a little bit before finally heading back to our place at 1:30a. John and Melissa slept over. Funny thing about this whole event was that Torie and Tim went to the same Breweries earlier in the day and we had no idea. Great minds think alike.

We began the next day, Sunday February 5th with a few breakfast sandwiches from McDonalds to enjoy our hangout session. Later that day, after prepping some food for our SuperBowl party, we headed to Mary and Jeff's for puppy bowl. It was the last time we were going to see Michele and Jordan for some time, as they will be moving to Dallas soon. After the hanging for the puppy bowl and saying our goodbyes to Michele and Jordan, we headed back to our place for the Super Bowl. Brian, Megan, Rachel's parents and Beth all came over for the game. The first half included the Falcons absolutely dominating and mostly everyone being happy. Beth made cupcakes, we had chili cheese dip, cookies, veggies, and some other snacks as well. In the second half, we witnessed what was probably the greatest comeback in Super Bowl history, as the Patriots won in overtime after tying the game in the final seconds. Very fitting for this year's sporting events, as we saw the Cavs comeback down 3 games to 1 against the Warriors in basketball. The Cubs comeback down 3 games to 1 against the Indians. And now the Patriots coming back down 28-3 with 2 minutes left in the third quarter. Sports can be amazing sometimes. Crazy.

Wednesday February 8th was a significant day, as I decided to shave my mustache. It was a great run of about 2 1/2 months with the stache. It will be back my friends. After shaving the mustache, I met up with Rach and Becca at Benchmark for a couple of drinks in Old Town. We finished the night off at Angel's Burritos. Splitting a torta and quesadilla.

The following day Thursday February 9th I hit up Buffalo Wild Wings with a couple of my boys after work. Tasty and sweaty with the hot sauces.

Back to the weekend, Friday February 10th was another work from home. Around 5p I headed to Sarah and Colin's before heading to Lucky Strike to do some bowling for Alex's birthday. Bowling was fun, although in 2 hours we only got through about a game and quarter because there were 9 people in each lane, and I also bowled pretty terribly. But hey, bowling in the city! We grabbed some dinner at Chipotle after bowling and my stomach was super upset. Since I was in so much pain, I ended up catching the bus home, while Rachel stayed out with friends. Dumb stomach.

My stomach was feeling better the next day on Saturday February 11th. That night Rachel and I took an Uber over to Becca's for her going away party. She is moving to Arizona for a new job! After playing a few games with friends at her place, we headed out to the River North club, "Untitled." But unfortunately while I was waiting in line, they pulled me aside and said I was not allowed in because I was wearing white gym shoes. We tried to plead the case that it was Becca's last night and seriously? But no luck, so screw that place and we headed to Moe's Cantina instead. The night was super fun, but it is sad to say goodbye to another friend. Becca to Arizona, while Michele and Jordan are off to Texas. Looks like we have some new places to visit in the fall!

The next night, Sunday February 12th, I drove up to Evanston to catch the Robert Ellis (and Jenny O) show at Space in Evanston. Pretty dope and tiny venue in the back of a restaurant. I met John and Melissa there, and also met a coworker of John's as he came to the show with his girlfriend too. Robert Ellis provided an awesome and comical show. He was wearing a NASA space themed suit to fit the venue and he played the guitar like a champ. After the show we met him and talked about seeing him open for Deer Tick in 2013, as well as seeing him at Ancora Coffee in Madison in summer of 2015. He was a really nice and chill guy, very humble. After the show we parted ways and called it another successful weekend. I'll hopefully have his whole show up here (link soon).

February 15th was my Dad's birthday. Happy Birthday dad! My mom won my niece and nephew $10k for their school. Here is a picture of my mom accepting a thank you card from the class. Nice work mom!

On Friday February 17th, I picked Rachel up from work and we met my parents out at Buffalo Wild Wings for dinner. I had the ultimate nacho burger and a beer. Tasty. We hung out with my parents back at their house until about 11p, calling it a night.

The next morning, Saturday February 18th, I broke out my lacrosse ball collection, which has grown quite large over the years, in preparation for the 2017 season. Then around 11a we headed down to Kankakee to visit Rachel's grandpa. After an enjoyable lunch visit with Grandpa, we drove to my Grandma's to visit for dinner. She made my favorite for dinner, roladan. Yummm. We drove back to Chicago that night and hung out with Beth at our place.

Beth slept over that night, so the next morning Sunday February 19th, I drove her home before spending the early afternoon editing The Weeks concert I attended last February.

Valentine's Day was up on us. Rachel and I started our date night by going to see the new 50 Shades Darker movie. After the movie we headed over to Geja's Cafe Fondue restaurant in Lincoln Park. The dinner was by far the best food we have had since the honeymoon! Everything at this restaurant was fondue style. The actual start was a small garden salad, but that didn't include any fondue so let's skip ahead... So we started off with a cheese fondue accompanied by bread and fruit. The warm cheese on top of the fruit and bread was sooo rich and tasty. After the appetizer, we were brought out the main course. A platter of raw meats that we would cook ourselves in our boiling pot of soybean oil. Chicken, steak, lobster, scallops, and shrimp. Each had a specific time you would cook it for on your fondue stick and it was so succulent and tasty. My favorite was the lobster, just so damn good. The main course also came out with veggies like mushrooms, peppers, broccoli, and onions. After taking our time and enjoying all of the delicious meat, we were brought out the dessert fondue. Hot melted chocolate to dip our pineapple, apples, bread, bananas, and of course, marshmallows. After the best meal we have had in six months, we walked over to the J Parker rooftop bar at the top of the Lincoln Hotel. It wasn't a typical February day, so the rooftop was open and Rachel and I headed out to sit by the fire looking out at the city. We met some people from Michigan, Wisconsin, and Texas while we enjoyed a drink on the rooftop. What a great way to close out an amazing Valentine's Day. I love my wife Rachel!

We took the next day off of work, President's Day, Monday February 20th. My mom had won us 2 tickets to the Auto Show and Rachel and I had never been before, so we decided to check it out. I had also never been to McCormick place, despite driving under it almost every day. We took the "L" there and went straight for the Honda section. The new CRV and the new HRV were looking pretty cool. It is funny, we walked around the auto show looking at all the midsize SUVs as if we were planning for a family soon. Not quite yet, but we learned a great amount about the new vehicles of 2017 including the 3rd row seating that can be folded down, as well as the entire roof being glass in the back of some of the cars. We walked around pretty much the entire auto show for about 3 hours. It was a fun experience and I think we would do it again next year! Favorite cars were the Honda Pilot and Nissan Pathfinder. Can you guess who liked which?

We took an Uber home from the Auto Show and decided to get some Lou Malnati's pizza for dinner. We were planning on starting a new diet on this day, but chose to push it back by one more day.

The new diet began on Wednesday February 22nd. Rachel and I will be doing the Whole 30 diet which is a 30 day "cleanse". The diet basically prevents us from eating unhealthy carbs and anything processed. No bread, no dairy, no pasta, no rice, no beans for some reason, no artificial sugars, no chips, no pretzels, basically no snacking at all. So what can we eat? Meats, vegetables, fruits, and nuts. Seems like it may be doable.

Saturday February 25th Alex came over for Turkey Burgers (no bun of course, new diet) before we walked over to Matt and Caitlin's place for Matt's birthday. We played a fun game that connects to your phone called Quiplash before Rachel and I headed back home around midnight. Also be sure to check out The Weeks concert I went to on this day one year ago! Finally got around to finish editing it.

Rachel and I drove over to Beth's on Sunday February 26th for the Academy Awards. Beth made a tasty chili for us, as well as Austin, Christine, and Shanna. The awards were mostly going to LaLa Land, as they had a record tying 14 nominations. Rachel and I were getting pretty tired near the end of the night, this new diet is really throwing us off as we don't have a ton of energy, so we headed back to our place. The craziest part of the night was when they announced LaLa Land as the best picture. There was quite the delay before the award was announced, as the guy presenting the award seemed a little unsure if he was reading it right. The cast and crew came on stage and began giving their acceptance speeches. About 2 minutes in to this, someone grabbed the microphone and said, "Moonlight, come up here, you won best picture." And all of sudden the best picture belonged to Moonlight. What a turn of events! The guy who announced the award then explained how he delayed presenting it because it said, "Emma Stone, LaLa Land." Which was the winner of the award directly before Best Picture. They somehow gave him the same envelope. Mad confusion, but understandable on how this greatest mishap in Oscars history came to be. Good night!

The lacrosse season has officially begun. Monday February 27th was the first day of Cats Tryouts. This years tryout was about 50 degrees warmer than it was last year. It was about 50 degrees out and actually quite nice. We will be doing most of our practices at North Central College before we can use the grass fields. The squad is very talented this year and I believe will do big things. Excited for it all to come together. The focus is for practices to be at a faster pace, since I am officially now the 2nd longest tenured Coach in Neuqua history. Pretty crazy. They have had about 13 straight years of 1 and done coaches. I had 4 coaches when I was there, the guys after me did, the guys after them did, but I am back for a second straight season, making me the first back to back head varsity coach since 2003-2004. Let's do it. Go Cats.

I hope you enjoyed this new blog/vlog. Although now that I am done I realize it is very similar to the old format. Probably unrecognizably different to most. We will see what March brings, as I may change up the format once again.

Let's do it!

Josh