Mr. President, will you be Valentine?

February 18, 2014

The past week was a busy one! The week of love, my dad's birthday, & the first lacrosse tournament of the year.

Let's skip ahead a little bit, after a full work week of editing & coaching, we reached Friday, February 14th, Valentines day! Rachel took the train into the Naperville station from the city and I picked her up after giving a private lesson at 1223. We headed over to Mongolian BBQ for our Valentine's day dinner. Rachel and I both enjoyed "Mongo" sized Blue Moons and a delicious stir fry style meal. We had actually never been to Mongolian BBQ but the way Rachel ordered the "Mongo" sized drinks, the waiter thought we were regulars, how convincing! We filled our bowls with the finest meats and veggies in all the land, watched a couple of guys with their cooking sticks cook it up, and then added our self made sauces to the meal. They then swept the food off of the stove top into bowls with one fluid sweep. After gobbling up our first bowls of stir fry, I decided to jump on the unlimited plan for a couple of extra dollars. Rachel and I went up to make my bowl together. She helped me pile it as high as it could go with veggies and then blended me together a delicious sauce. While we were waiting in line for our food to be cooked, or waiter brought Rachel out another Blue Moon and left one for me at our table, bonus points to you sir!

After dinner, we headed home for a night which included a bottle of wine and the much anticipated Ender's Game movie. Before the movie I was able to snap a couple of photos of the Full Snow Moon,and also gave Rachel some Valentine's Day gifts: flowers, chocolates, a CD mix, picture coasters, & Taboo. I introduced Rachel to the Ender's Game series, having only read the first book, which I love. Let's just say she has fallen in love with it and is on book 7 or 8 already? What a speed reader! The movie however, fell very short of impressive and if having not read the book, I am not sure how anyone could have followed along. The movie was actually so bad that Rachel dozed off for the final battle scene. Yikes!

Saturday was a long day for me, since I had to wake up again at 6 am for 7am practice. It was only our third practices, but last one before our tournament on Monday. The practice went well and the team seems as prepared as they can be this early in the season. After practice, I headed over to Benedictine to film a scrimmage between BenU and Judson. On a freshly shoveled field, and with the sun beating down, it was actually one of the warmer days of the year so far. I filmed the entire scrimmage and am currently in the editing process. BenU had a rocky start, but ended up beating Judson by 10 or so. Since my College assistant coach is now the head coach there, and my friend is the assistant, I am going to attempt to get to more games and film. The goal is to start filming sporting events in the area and add them to my professional film portfolio.

Saturday the 15th of February is of course, also my father's birthday. So we had a little get together for him at our house. The usual fam came over and we had delicious sandwiches followed up by Auntie Wanda's tasty chocolate cake, sugar cookies, & chocolate chip cookies. Yum. I played a little hide and seek with Emma and Anna, as well as watched some of the Olympics. After everyone left, Rachel and I went out and picked up a 20 piece nugget from McDonalds and the movie The Internship. The movie was pretty funny and better than I thought it would be, providing some quality laughs... plus we had chicken nuggets so of course we were happy. We considered heading back to the city, but decided to stay out in the burbs.

Sunday, February 16th, 2014 was a relaxing day for Rachel and I. We both read a bunch from our books and I took care of some house cleaning. This including finally getting rid of some of my childhood memories seen below. Rock crystals I had grown, a large collection of mechanical pencils, both bought and found, and a beautiful collection of butterflies John and I had caught back in the day. Luckily I snapped some photos of them (even the pencils, despite Rachel making fun of me) and then sent them on their way.

Check out this huge icicle that was hanging from my bedroom window! With the sun warming up the snow and the gutters full of ice, a lot of icicles have been forming in the front of my house.

We headed back into the city Sunday evening, and Rachel blessed me with this manly Valentine's gift of candy, sweets, custom ping pong balls, goo gone, and beef jerky.. amazing!

President's Day, Monday February 17th, I left Rachel's apartment and headed over to Barrington for my first Fox Valley tournament of the year. Recap of the tournament:

Game 1 vs Kennilworth - Win 7 to 6 despite some sloppy play, we pulled out the W
Game 2 vs Northshore - Loss 12 to 3 - pretty good team that made it to the championship. Our passing and catching was poor.
Game 3 vs Bartlett - Win 12 to 8. Turned it around in the second half and kept penalites to a minimum. Great to play
Game 4 - Semi Final vs Fox Valley Black - Loss 13 to 3 - The eventual winners of the tournament, again passing and catching was the issue.

Overall I was very proud of my team in their first tournament. There is still a lot to work on, but they showed a lot of heart and teamwork in our four games. Looking forward to more the rest of the year!

As I left the building at around 9pm I found my car had been covered in another 5 inches of snow! What a year of snow we have had so far in 2014! Will it stop!? It took me a little longer than normal to get home, as the roads were not fully plowed and were slippery in some spots, but wow do people drive way too slow. Or maybe it is just that their cars do not handle as well? I'm not sure, but I had to pass a ton of people that were driving well below the speed limit. Finally got home and went straight to bed after a long, tiring, fun weekend.

More work and editing to be done this week! Do Work! Got to get back on my workouts!

Josh

Wings & Lax

February 4, 2014

Wings, Wings, & more Wings

On Thursday, January 30th, 2014, Rachel & her roommates as well as their boyfriends (including me) had their first eating contest of hopefully many more to come.

The location was Buffalo Wild Wings & the contest was: Which couple can eat the most wings within an hour! We headed over to BWW, packing six into a car of five and once we were seated, began placing orders. Rachel & I ordered 50 wings, consisting of mild, asian zing, teryaki, honey bbq & sweet bbq. Jeff and Mary ordered 42 wings, all mild, as well as 2 beers. And Aly & Jay ordered 58 wings, 75% honey bbq 25% sweet bbq. Oh and it was Thursday, so the wings were boneless.

While we were waiting I began to get nervous, can Rachel & I really eat 50 wings? Seems like a lot. Aly & Jay ordered 58, will we have enough time to order & eat more if need be? We can just order before we are done with our 50 and they should be out in no time right? Are Mary & Jeff going to be able to eat their 42!? So many questions, only time will tell.

After about 25 minutes, all 150 wings came out and the feast began. This was good news if we needed to order more wings, only 25 minutes for 150 wings, they should be able to cook up another 12 or 24 if need be in less than that. To my pleasant surprise, Rachel started off very strong, polishing off at least 10 wings in the first 7 minutes, she was actually ahead of me in # of wings eaten! I needed to catch up, so I started gobbling them down. We had the most of the mild wings, which wasn't bad because I enjoy how they taste, but boy was I sweating like a dog. Literally, sweat dripping off of me as I chowed down with each bite into the mild wings. People around us must have thought I was doing the Blazin' Challenge the way the sweat was pouring off of my head. I even had to take off my sweater I was sweating so much.

As time ticked by, our 2 plates of wings began to diminish. Across the table, Aly & Jay were a few wings behind us as we all began to fill up. Mary & Jeff were enjoying their wings to the fullest, taking sips of their Tall Boys in between each bite. About 20 minutes into the competition Rachel & I were running dangerously close to being done with our first 50, so we put in another order for 12 wings, which would out-do Aly & Jay's total of 58. 40 minutes for the wings to come out, no problem right?

We finished our 50 wings in 22 minutes. Rachel put down 20, which was well above the 15 she guaranteed, & I had consumed 30, but was still craving more and did not even feel that full.

As we waited for our wings to come out, the time passed by... first 10 minutes, then 15, then 20... and we began to get nervous. After almost 30 minutes of waiting and only 10 minutes left in the competition, we saw Aly & Jay finishing off the last of their 58 wings, with their America headbands and armbands on. Each of them had 29 wings and were looking very full. I was convinced if the wings came out now, Rachel & I would be able to take on 9 wings in 10 minutes to surpass them and win the challenge. Jay put in a final order of 8 wings for team Aly & Jay just in case our wings did come out, they may be able to top us still!

But that would not be the case, as 10 minutes became 9 to 8 and so on all the way down to the last minute. Disappointment was definitely the mood for Rachel & I, as Aly & Jay celebrated their victory as time expired. 2 minutes after the competition had ended, and over 40 minutes after we had ordered 12 honey bbq wings, they finally came out. We were pretty upset & Rachel said to just pack them up and take em home, but I was frustrated, so I stabbed 2 wings at once, and put them in my mouth. Then continued this trend until I had consumed an additional 10 wings & Rachel finished off the last 2 of the 12. Giving us a grand total of 62 wings, too bad BWW sucked and couldn't get the wings out on time.

So the final tally's were:
Team Aly & Jay - 58 wings
Team Rachel & Josh - 50 wings (62 wings after time)
Team Mary & Jeff - 35 wings & 3 Tall Boys

It was ultimately a fun competition and despite BWW ruining our winning night, I had a good time and felt super full. Oh we also got 10 dollars off our bill because they took so long!

We then headed back to the apartment with full stomachs and everyone feeling somewhat sick. Once back everyone just laid in their beds groaning in pain as our stomachs were packed full of chicken.

Aly & Jay get the claim to fame as best couple, and will get to pick the next competition. Can't wait to see what it is!

What I've been up to this past week

The past week marks the 20th anniversary of the release of Dookie by GreenDay. Wow I am getting old. Especially with one of my favorite albums, Smash by The Offspring turning 20 as well in April. Time flies.
I finished up the book Insurgent, what a great 2 books they have been so far. Despite hearing negative things about Allegiant, the third book in the Divergent series, I am excited to start it this week.
I have been into watching old classic films of late: 12 Angry Men, Rear Window, North by Northwest. Alfred Hitchcock is a genius. These thriller's really make you think & the stories are top notch. Love it.
Fox Valley Lacrosse tryouts were on Sunday. This year I'll be coaching the 8th green (b) team. 65 kids trying out for 8th grade, wow, lacrosse has come far since when I was in 8th grade and there were probably that many kids total spread over 6 teams. It should be a good, fun year. There was a lot of talent at tryouts and a ton of good players in the area. I am getting pretty pumped for it to start next weekend.

I have been busy busy busy with lacrosse - training, playing, & video editing. I finally had time to get around to editing the GoPro footage from BenU's fallball 2013. A bit long, but with 2 cameras, it came out pretty well I'd say.

The young lacrosse team brings back a handful of players, as well as a solid group of freshman/transfers. Should be an interesting year for them in the MLC & I plan to catch a few games and hopefully shoot a few videos. Stay tuned!

Josh

Awesome Videos, Disappointment, & More to Edit

October 21, 2013

Well Well Well.

After a jam packed week & weekend where I went on two interviews, filmed a whole lot of lacrosse videos, got a parking ticket, turned down a job offer, had a 75th birthday party for my Grandma, played a great day of lacrosse, then lost the tournament the next day, edited a lot of videos, listened to a boatload of music, went to a Deer Tick concert, & watched a plentiful amount of movies and videos, I finally figured it would be a good time to put some of this down in writing.

To start with, the Naperville Apaches played in the NIU tournament, where we were the defending champs. The first day of lacrosse we played Chi-Town Lacrosse, a men's club team, where I dropped 3 goals and 3 assists in a commanding victory. We then took on an amped up Michigan State University Reserve team that came out fast and playing hard. After settling down, I finished with 5 goals and 1 assist to lead the team to a strong 2nd half victory. Of my 5 goals, 1 was behind the back and another was a lucky tip deflection. After a 12 point day on day 1, we headed into day 2, thinking the toughest competition was past us. On championship sunday we took on Wisconsin White Water and had a solid 6 to 3 lead at halftime. I had scored 1 and assisted another to Sean. However, the second half saw our crumble, as we did not score a single goal in the second half. After calling timeout with a 6-5 lead and just under 4 minutes left, discussing our possession of the ball and only taking sure, smart shots, the team took 2 careless shots that ended up leading to 2 goals for the opposition. With just 40 seconds left in the game we were losing 7 to 6 and on our way to our first tournament loss as the Naperville Apaches. We had one last chance, but were unable to control the ball and get off a shot.

This was a huge disappointment and I could not believe we had lost to an unimpressive club team in my opinion. But they played with more heart and gave more effort, as our team had lost our composure and collapsed. After this loss, what upset me even more though, was the apathetic attitude that a majority of the team had. We still had a game to play for 3rd place, but the team decided to just quit and leave, not even playing in this final game. As a team, in the 2 years prior, we had always made it to the championship, and I understand some frustration on not making it, but I wanted to take out my anger in the next game. I wanted to continue to play and show my passion for the sport that I love so dearly, but instead I sat and watched as my teammates took off their gear, packed their bags, and left, not saying really anything. This has been a reoccurring issue in my lacrosse career since I started. In high school, college, & now, there are always a majority of people who just don't care, and it is utterly sad and disheartening. A handful of my teammates did stick around and wanted to play as well, so I at least give a few guys credit and am glad they have the same dedication as me. Having played competitively for so long, and now only having a chance to do this about twice a year, once in summer and once in fall, it is very painful to be forced to walk away from a game and not even get the opportunity to play. Having all this on my mind, I definitely had a damper put on the start of my Sunday.

Luckily, with the help of my lovely girlfriend Rachel, who attended all of my games and took some great pictures, and also the rest of my family, I was in good spirits for the start of my Grandma's 75th Birthday Party.

The Birthday party was awesome, taking place at my Aunt Jan's church, over 60 people came out to celebrate my Grandma with great food, live music, and family fun.

I have been very busy playing, filming, and editing lacrosse videos. My most recent accomplishment is the production of a StringKing / 1223 Lacrosse video that I made and was published on StringKing's and 1223 Lacrosse's Facebook walls. Check out my video, which I shot, edited, and am also in!

This is by far my most professional video production, and I look forward to making many more videos for 1223, as I am in the process of editing at least 3 more!

On October 12th, John, Johnny, Rachel, & I headed out to DeKalb to see Deer Tick play at Otto's! It was an awesome show, and we were front row, making it one of my favorite concerts. I made a short video with some of their songs I took on my iPhone. Great music, great show.

I would like to share some great videos and links that I have come across in the past few weeks as well.

A incredibly made timelapse of the city of Chicago. I really want to learn how to make something similar to this. Amazing.

A series following the Michigan State University club Lacrosse team. I like what I have seen in the first two episodes so far. Very well made, and I look forward to following them all year long.

I watched a 2 hour PBS Frontline special today on the NFL and concussions. Quite disturbing information and very interesting to see. Really makes you think about big business and the possible future of the league.

Leage of Denile

A 90 minute special about two brothers who have one goal; to play lacrosse for Syracuse University. Great little documentary. Native Americans today in the sport of lacrosse.

The Medicine Game

A story about a man and his daughter, who has down syndrome. A powerful message that involves change and the hope for life.

September 11th, Lacrosse, Heroes, and Love. A emotional and heart warming story about a young man who risked and gave his life for many others. The Man in the Red Bandana. Inspirational and Amazing.

A well made and inspiring UNC Lacrosse video made last year. Welcome to the grind. Even though I think waking up at 6 would mean you missed practice...

This guy does some hilarious and impressive impressions. Having multiple conversations, as different celebrities. Brilliant!

A lot off my mind. A week of lacrosse training, editing, more interviews, and then dog watching ahead. Not to mention 2 years of Rachel and I being together. Pure Love.

Josh