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

Summer To Do List

view more detailed instructions on how this weekly meme works, check out the  Writer’s Workshop  FAQs. Writing Prompts: 1.) List 10 things you wish you could say to strangers who share unsolicited advice about your parenting skills. 2.) Write a poem inspired by a picture you took last week. Share both! 3.) Create a bucket list of 50 things you want to do this summer (with or without the kids!) 4.) A country you would like to visit. 5.) What is something you could stand to learn from your significant other? After much deliberation, we are going with prompt 3 Let's see how this goes I will get a tan...it will take all summer,  but I can do it I will spend more time with my friends I will go to Cedar Point I will have a non-craptastic birthday I will grow out my hair no matter how hot and miserable I get I will go to Chicago just to shop up at Clark and Belmont I will run every day that I can...even when it is balls hot  I will take at least one friend home with me to meet my
Read more

Best Laid Plans

I sat down and crafted a list of blog topics last night, and the plan was start working through that list tonight. It was going to be the start of a true reboot of this old thing. While I had planned on picking my stepdaughter up at the Boys and Girls Club after work I didn't plan on: 1) The amazon parrot needing me to make a food stop on the way home 2) My stepdaugher wanting me to watch her practice for color guard 3) That working on our budget would take nearly as long as it did. 4) Being this exhausted for no particular reason Now I sit here with a basset hound in my lap, and I am awkwardly trying to type on my laptop without disturbing him. This won't  be the blog I wanted to write tonight. It won't  be carefully crafted. That blog post will have to wait. Sometimes  you have to roll with the unexpected. Sometime you have to focus on what is really important. That means acknowledging that you have to make sure your priorities are in check. Sometimes you ha
Read more