2011.

  2011 was a pretty exciting year, I must say.  A lot of big things happened in my life and the lives of people I associate with.  The biggest thing though, is the hard and fast realization that my friends and I are balls deep in adulthood.  People that read this who are in their 30's or 40's are going to roll their eyes and say shit like; "Ohhhh you're so young, you have no idea blah, blah, blah..."  Which is true, to a certain extent.  But there are occurrences in your mid to late 20's that only happen once, and will more than likely never happen again.
  First thing I would have to say that is a real eye opener, is that everyone you know (well, the majority) has a "real" job.  There's no more college style summers where you work three days a week at a golf course and call in sick one of those days because you're too hung over.  This really started happening before 2011, but I only feel like now EVERYONE is in full swing with their careers. 
  This means several things; first, everyone is more tired. After a 40+ hour work week, Friday nights have now been relegated to a night where you get dinner and a few beers, then call it by 12am.  The two or three night party weekends are few and far between.  Second, there's way less general "hanging out".  When I get home from work, there's three things that I'm likely to do, and here they are from most likely, to least:  1) absofuckingloutley nothing, 2) order food and pass out, 3) go to the gym (add fishing to number 1 in the months that weather permits).  I just don't have the energy to go out and drink on a Tuesday night anymore (unless it's summer, than I will strongly consider it).  The last thing that friend wide employment means, is that most everyone has money.  This is most definitely a positive aspect, as when we do decide we have the energy to do stuff, it's not a problem.  Going on actual vacations was once a far off dream, but now something that is discussed on a regular basis. 
  The next thing that happens, which really did all kind of happen this year, is your group of friends you see on a regular basis shrinks rapidly.  I'm still friends with all my close buddies, they just don't live down the street from me any more.  There was a brief moment in 2010 where everyone was at home, working, and it was sort of awesome.  There was someone to hang out with at any given time.  Now, there's five of us.  I have no complaints on who the regular five is, it's just different.  My mom always told me that; "when you're an adult, if you can count the number of friends you have on one hand, you're lucky".  I used to think she was crazy, but now I'm starting to think that she's right. 
  The final thing that happens, people start getting married (and having kids on purpose and shit).  It's great because that means I get to go to weddings and drink my face off at an open bar. Weddings are pretty fun in general.  But there's no two ways about it, when people are married and/or engaged, you see less of them.  Which makes total sense, as the person they are choosing to spend their life with should take priority.  But it most definitely contributes to the friend shrinkage I mentioned earlier.
  These are all things that happen throughout your life, until the day you die.  But they only happen for the first time once.  It's all exciting, and new, but sometimes it's kind of a bummer.  For the first time in your life, you're introduced to stress.  Not college exam stress, but bills and work stress.  I think about the days where I still had no real responsibility and get all nostalgic.  But I have to stop myself, there's no time to dwell on how cool shit used to be.  Things are the way they are now, and for me, that's pretty awesome.
  Taking all these things into consideration, they're shaping the way I'm making decisions.  For instance, I'm looking for a house.  Where I buy a house has been determined by where my other friends bought houses.  I don't want to have to make new friends, so I'll just stay close.  There's also the whole being close to work thing.  As far as the marriage stuff goes, that's another story for another day.

Things rolling around in my brain.

I'm sitting at work, babysitting contractors doing off hours construction.  I am borderline losing my mind, so I figure this is as good a time as any to just type some stream of consciousness bullshit. 

-Does everyone remember the abortion that was the Mike Tirico show on ESPN 1000?  That show was so fucking bad it wasn't even funny.  I just heard Mike Tirico on the radio, and no matter what he does for the rest of his career, all I will ever remember him for is his total piece of shit of a radio show.  He could seriously cure AIDS, and I would still get mad thinking of the time I wasted driving my service truck listening to him and Michelle Tafoya talking about their stupid fucking kids.  I guess I could have listened to something else, but I can only hear "Highway to Hell" on The Loop so many times in a row. 

-Speaking of Mike Tirico, I fucking hate Monday Night Football now.  I watch it, because I like the game, but I wish it was still on network TV with Al Micheals and an incoherent John Madden.  I can't handle Gruden and Jaworski just sucking off every halfway decent player.  Have a fucking critical thought you pussies. 

-I can't wait for this weekend.  Christmas is awesome.

-It's super weird to me that the kids that are just a few years younger than us, had Facebook in high school. Remember how much of a pain in the ass it was to share pictures and shit?  You would have to post a link to your dumb photobucket account or whatever in your AIM profile.  Not that I did that, as I didn't have a digital camera.  My mom gave me disposable Kodak cameras to take to school dances.  Most of the film would be taken up with pictures of my friends giving the finger, or silverware forts we built at dinner.  Speaking of AIM, I only recently learned that AOL is still a thing.  I guess it's just search engine, but I like to pretend there's still some jagoff out there paying for dial-up and chatting in the "Lesbo's Only" chat room.  Remember chat rooms?  Remember all the stuff that was around before the stuff that is around now?  I sure do.

The weather outside is weather.

  Right now it's French Christmas eve day (I'll explain what this means for those not in the know in another blog).  In years past this has meant snow on the ground and chilly yet pleasant winter air.  But this year, it's a balmy 41 degrees without a flake of snow on the ground.  This got me to thinking (I think about the weather a lot actually), how many of my great memories are directly related to weather or the seasons in general.  And furthermore, it made me realize how much of a weather traditionalist I am.  I fucking hate this weather right now.  It's shitty.  Yeah, yeah, it's great there's no snow to cause traffic etc, but this is just not how it's supposed to be. 
  When you think back to being a kid, are your Christmas memories filled with soggy, half assed November type weather?  Of course they aren't!  They're filled with snow, and snow forts, and white washing the kid who was a pussy, that lived down the street from you.  That's what I want starting in late November, the beginning of winter.  And yes, I complain about how much winter sucks by mid January, but right now I need it.  It's a necessary evil.  Without it I don't think people in areas with all three seasons would appreciate great weather when we have it.  And, not to mention, I really do think living through winters in areas such as Chicago, or the northeastern US hardens individuals. 
  Back to my point about being a weather traditionalist.  There's a certain way the weather is supposed to go here in the Chicago area, and it as is follows:  January/February:  Horseshit.  Just awful.  March:  Still pretty shitty, but there's hope on the horizon.  April:  You did it!  You didn't kill yourself due to SAD and you've made it to nice weather.  May/June:  Holy shit this is paradise.  July:  Still super boss tits.  August:  Hot, humid, pretty miserable by the end.  September/October:  Just about perfect again, but in a different way from May/June.  November/December:  The beginning of the end.  But still pleasant, and a nice welcomed excuse to stay in and be lazy after a busy summer. 
  Most memories I have are all directly linked to one of these periods, and whenever that time rolls around, I get all misty and remember times past.  IE, smoking my first Newport in the fall of 1999.  That first bit of cold night air each year when I have that first fall smoke (I don't smoke Newport's anymore, by the way.  I was 13.)  brings me right back to Liesburg park.  When the weather doesn't cooperate, I'm all fucked up.  Like I don't know which way is up type of shit. 
  Which brings me to present day.  This limbo, not fall, but not yet winter weather is really taxin' my Christmas gig.  I need there to be snow.  There just has to be.  It's for the good of mankind!  And, the way things are going, you just know we are going to get butt fucked by some sort of snowmaggedon in like late March, pulling us deeper into the depths of winter hell.
                                                                   

My brain needs this.

Hello all.  Well, I have come to the realization that I have a lot of thoughts in my head, that I need to get out on to paper (or a screen or whatever).  So I decided, fuck it, I'm starting a blog.  Generally this will be the outpourings of an overly nostalgic 25 year old, but I might review records or movies and stuff too.  I'm probably going to be made fun of by the majority of people I know for even starting this, so feel free to tear me a new one if you want.  I have no idea what the frequency of my blogs will be, but judging by the amount of free time I have, I can imagine it will be pretty regularly.  I have to credit my friend Sam for providing the inspiration to start a blog.  After reading his (which you should also read here), I thought it seemed like a good idea.  For the record, Fred Allendale is an alias I made up once when I was drunk, and I still laugh every time I say the name.