Days 288-290: March 15-17, 2013

This weekend began with a fun-filled St. Patrick's Day weekend trip to Chicago. We started the afternoon in Bloomington watching IU win its first round Big Ten Tournament game against Illinois, and then left to join our fellow Hoosiers in Chi-Town, were we ran into this spectacular IU banner decorating the Chicago streets. The first night was a relaxing night enjoying our favorite Giordano's deep dish pizza, then getting a few drinks at a bar after walking past some pre-prohibition era liquor store museums.

On our second day in Chicago, we celebrated St. Patrick's Day, starting off with a trip to the Chicago River which was dyed green in honor of the annual Dying of the River tradition. We then went up to Lincoln Park to watch the Hoosiers sadly lose to Wisconsin, which while unknown at the time, was actually a blessing in disguise as it ended up keeping us out of the gauntlet that would become the NCAA Midwest Regional. We then spent the afternoon and evening celebrating St. Patrick's Day at a variety of locales, and ended the night by getting driven back to our hotel by a crazy cabbie that was blasting The Final Countdown and Eye of the Tiger with crazy neon lights. It was one entertaining St. Patrick's Day.

On Sunday, we finished off our trip by stopping at the most amazing breakfast place ever, President Obama's favorite, Valois in Hyde Park. I had my usual scrambled eggs with bacon, toast, and the best hashed browns I've ever had. We then left Chicago to head back to Bloomington, where we would sadly have to put an end to the Spring Break holiday, and get ready to head back to classes on the final grind before exam season begins.

Days 78-81: August 17-20

Friday was an all-Chicago two-interview day.  I interviewed with a firm in the Sears Tower (yes, I will still be calling the Willis Tower by its original name).  That makes for a pretty cool story, but unfortunately the interview was not actually at the Tower (this is a recycled picture of the day...).  But if they like me, maybe I will have another one that is!

Saturday we all got to enjoy the longest LRW class ever.  Six hours of journal training all morning.  But at least I am on IJGLS (short for iJiggles), the best journal at Maurer and future inter-journal kickball champs.  (That is really why I was selected, due to my undefeated career in kickball).

Sunday was a day filled with OCI prep for the final day of Week 1.  In the evening, FBD held a firm reception at Kilroys, which was a fun opportunity to catch up with friends and meet some of the attorneys.  It was a little awkward for the random undergrads that occasionally tried to wander upstairs to the closed event...

Final two interviews OCI Week 1 today.  Good to have a bit of a break in between, but had to get warmed up again for today.  Now it's just time to wait, and keep trying to get more interviews.  My desk is already more cluttered than it ever was last year and classes don't even start back up until tomorrow.  It looks like it's going to be a busy 2L year...

Day 24: June 24, 2012

Started off the morning with breakfast at Valois, then over to the Willis (formerly Sears) Tower to climb the tallest building in the western hemisphere (1,729 feet, 108 floors, with the observation deck on the 103rd). The views from up here were amazing, it was awesome to see the city and the lake, and views from the clear glass windows were perfect.

The best part about the Willis Tower was the Skydeck - a glass box extending out from the structure of the building. One look down and you can see straight to the bottom - a full 103 story drop. Even my mom conquered her fear of heights this weekend to step out into the box! (Insert "think outside the box" quote here.)

1,729 feet is a long way down....

Day 23: June 23, 2012

Back to Chicago! And what trip to Chicago would be complete without the bean? (Answer: any trip to Chicago that includes Giordano's...but that's coming later.)

As promised, after our venture to Millennium Park and the bean came the usual trip to Giordano's. This pizza never fails to disappoint, and its two first-time guests were just as pleased to make the pilgrimage as I was. Only a 45 minute wait tonight, but it was well worth it.

After Giordano's we walked over to the beach to take the plunge (exaggerated phrasing) in Lake Michigan. After cleaning the sand off our feet (still worth it), we ventured over to Navy Pier to check out the water before they started the fireworks.  We finished off the night with a trip to the Hancock Observatory to view the fireworks from 100-stories up. Chicago never disappoints!

Day 17: June 17, 2012

Time to leave Chicago today. Sad. But we got to finish our trip by having breakfast at Obama's favorite place in Hyde Park. I've eaten at Obama's favorite lunch place in D.C. (Ray's Hellburgers) and now his favorite breakfast place in Chicago.

Gotta say, even if you don't like his political views, the President has some good taste. Pretty fantastic breakfast here - those hashbrowns were amazing.

Day 16: June 16, 2012

Busy day today! Started out the day with a walk through the city to see some sights: Millennium Park, Navy Pier, and everything in between. Note to self: never make jokes that might end up being true. Before we left, when asked if I had anything to blow my air mattress up with, I said we have to blow it up like a balloon. Then, that night when it was time to blow up the air mattress, turns out my air mattress doesn't have an air pump. Oops.

The bean is probably the most amazing object I've ever seen. I could spend all day looking at it and walking around it. This time we didn't get yelled at for trying to look at it because it was daytime and the park was open. I also had a homeless guy give me change on our Chicago walk. David gave him 75 cents, and he asked if I would give him a dollar for his 75 cents. So of course I did, because now I can tell this story.

Because Megan didn't come out on our Chicago walk, David and I found her a penguin friend (Meguin), and took pictures of Meguin all around the city so that Megan wouldn't miss anything when we got back.  Pictured here: Meguin playing in a mariachi band.

As I said before, I could spend all day looking at the bean. So of course, after finding Meguin, we had to go take a picture with her at the bean. Meguin also got to be in a wedding photo at the bean! (Basically, the bean is awesome.)

Taking the L to Wrigley for the game! It's amazing how nice people are in Chicago - every time someone stuck in the middle of a crowded train needs to get off at a stop, everyone starts yelling "getting off!" to help make way for the people to get out. That kind of stuff never happens on the metro, it's every man for himself in the District.

Wrigley is one of the funnest stadiums I've been at. Small, but fun and exciting with plenty of history. Great views of the skyline and Lake Michigan in the background, good seats, and a cool old fashioned scoreboard instead of a video board. Unfortunately, the Cubs lost, but I would definitely come back for a game again.

Day 15: June 15, 2012

 Back to Chicago this weekend for the Cubs game!  First stop, another trip to Giordano's for some fantastic pizza.  Pictured here is a small stuffed pie with pepperoni, green peppers, and black olives.  Not pictured: some delicious Blue Moon to go with the pizza.

After Giordano's we went to see the Second City perform.  The show was great, definitely the best comedy show I have ever seen.  Great selection of humor, including some Dre references, Barack Obama throwing out the "Peace up, A-Town down," and some good old Detroit-bashing.  Detroit WHAT?!