My Guster Field Trip

I wish I had some great "I flew to Europe to see them story," but while the distance is shorter I think my story is pretty cool. I spent my 25th birthday at a Chicago Guster concert. I think it may actually have been my best birthday ever.

I'm always on the look out for nearby Guster shows. Of course when I saw that they would be playing in Chicago on my birthday it was a no brainer. I would have to go on my own, but it would be so worth it. I ordered my tickets, booked my train trip, and made reservations at the Hostel in the Loop.



It was my first experience with Amtrak, and it wasn't a bad one. We had a few slow moments, but we still made it into Chicago on time. They were able to check me into the hostel early. One weird thing was the assigned your bed and I ended up on the top bunk. This comes into play later.



I walked around the neighborhood and ended up getting stuck in the rain. My one pair of shoes (remember I'm staying in a hostel) were sandals with leather straps. I didn't think much of it at the time, but this would come back to haunt me later. I got ready for the show, and walked to the Block Party where the concert was held. I was ready with bubbles and ping pong balls in my purse. No one was really up by the stage, so I easily made my way to the front. Soon other fans began to congregate, and we all quickly became friends.



The concert was awesome. They played Either Way and I was all kinds of happy. I was close enough to the stage I could basically touch Ryan and Adam...all was good in the world. Plus I made some really great friends.



I made my way back to the hostel, and of course all my roommates were asleep. Trying to get into the top bunk in the dark isn't as easy as it looks. My legs were barely long enough to maneuver the "ladder" plus it is dark AND I am trying not to wake everyone up.



I woke up the next morning to gashes and cuts on my feet from the sandals. My roommates were all up and ready, so I was able to take a nice long shower to clean them up. I tried putting my shoes back on and it just hurt. I made my way to the red line and to the Belmont stop. I stopped at the first store I found. Amazingly, I found a pair of amazing flip flops for $5. I switched them out, and went about my shopping. After a great day of shopping, I met up with my new found friends from the concert for drinks...and even met someone special.



Seriously, it wins the best birthday award by a long shot.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Bottom Line

Image
Writing Prompts: 1.)  Six Word Memoir : Write about a significant time in your life in just six words. 2.) “One need not be a chamber to be haunted, One need not be a house. The brain has corridors surpassing material place”. -Emily Dickinson What haunts you? 3.) Describe a talent or flaw that seems to be in your genes. 4.) What are you passionate about? 5.) Comfort food at its finest. Share a family favorite recipe you loved as a child. Lets go with #4  Shall We? It has been an interesting ride over the past almost 32 years: I was a cute baby: I was an adorable toddler: I was a child with a bad perm: Police Radios were just a part of Christmas morning and family dinners : I had the "coolest car" I may have vandalized a friend's car with evidence tags and rubber gloves found in aforementioned cool car: I went to college: Moved Away and Made New Friends: I traveled: I even toured with a band: Bottom Line: No matter where I have gone, what...
Read more

Challenging Your Writing

Blogging is easy for me. In an attempt to start shaking up my writing, I decided to start doing a writing workshop and trying some new writing prompts. Trying to get my blog back up in shape has been harder than I thought it would be. I am feeling like writing again, but I need variety. It has been fun trying new topics. Still, I was always picking the safe ones. This week, the list came to my inbox and the one I was instantly drawn to was of course the easy one. However, there was another prompt that was nagging at me. "What I lack" Here is the deal: I don't want to always write about negative stuff. This would be a negative blog. That wasn't the worst of it. I knew it was a topic I would have a hard time putting into words. I don't want to be misunderstood, but I am just  not sure how to put some of these feelings in words I kept trying to convince myself it wasn't a good idea. I just couldn't shake it. I wrote the blog. It is far from the best thi...
Read more

What Does One Wear??

Image
On May 21, I am attending Methodist Theological Seminary of Ohio's Commencement. My mother was a student there, and she would have graduated this May. The college has decided to award her a posthumous degree. This is very kind, and we are honored they have decided to do this. Today I was trying to  figure out my plan for that day, when it occurred to me: What does one wear to accept a degree for their mother (who died nearly a year ago)? Well black doesn't seem fitting (and there goes half my wardrobe) It cannot be too short It cannot be to low cut (there goes most of the rest of my wardrobe). So what are my options? Very obviously this is not going to work: Maybe something like this, but not in Black? This had potential...until I noticed those were skulls not polka dots This has potential Then I was distracted by this (but....it is on sale!!) Okay...more like this? I just don't know...any suggestions?
Read more