My Final Day in Chicago

I remember quite a bit of my final day.

What I do not remember is what I had to do that morning.

What I did do was meet Desirae and my friend Chris. The previous night I was at Desi's apartment and agreed to go to Nottoli's. We did this on saturday and my friend Chris came along. I was caught in the rain on the way to her apartment on saturday afternoon.

What I learned from Saturday is that Nottoli's (Harwood Heights, IL) is probably the best Italian deli in the Chicagoland area. If you want a proper description you should ask my cousin Desirae. I could not give it justice. Afterwards, I had a deep conversation with my friend Chris. My heart goes out to that kid.

The memorable part of Saturday was going to the Taylor Street Italian Fest. Here's 10 stupid things that happened/I did.

1. Paid $3.50 for an iced coffee at Starbucks

2. Picked a statue's nose

3. Drank in public

4. Thought I was getting robbed at gunpoint (Turned out to be a guy pretending to stick-up a statue)

5. Used a portable toilet

6. Wore a sticker that said "Hello My Name Is: Southern Mac"

7. Got a T-Shirt that says "Italian Sausage" with an arrow pointing down

8. Danced through crowds

9. Took seductive pictures with statues

10. Blogged about it

It was nice because I got to say goodbyes to Becky, Lilly, Melissa, and Kristi who were all working the event. Later that night I got to see Megan and say goodbye to her. Than I went late at night for my last Dunkin Donuts coffee til' Thanksgiving Break. Time for college.

So I'm in CoMO

I have not kept up to date with my posts for awhile and I have just cause for that. I've been busy. Needless to say, I have come down from my big shoulders.

There is many stories to tell here. I'll start with my last day of babysitting.

I spent last Friday calling a prosecutor's office and a sheriff's office in Boone County. It seemed like the whole day because I was recording myself with my thumb up my ass waiting for people to pick up their phones.

NOTE: My thumb was not literally up my ass

Both offices closed at 5 PM. I managed to get the prosecutor a little before four and I spoke to a detective about the meth lab at 4:45. I got my article in a day early and it was pretty neat to see my work published. One thing I learned from the experience is that I get sidetracked pretty easily.

Speaking of sidetracked, I have to meet people at the rec center. Oh, the disadvantages of blogging a week behind real time.

The First Time

Chatting on Google with Louis Mahaffey, Kelly Sineni, Rebecca Gale, and Annalisse Fontana. Haven't done this in awhile.

This morning my Uncle Steve was over painting the living room and the bathroom. I have been babysitting all week so this gave me an opportunity to go out to Dunkin Donuts by myself. On the walk there I received an email with a pitch to a newspaper article. I accepted the pitch quickly. My first assignment for a college assignment.

Needless to say, I'm writing about a meth lab.

Welcome to current events Michael White.

Today was filled with visits from various relatives for mostly work-related reasons. In addition to that, my dad and I sorted out our arrangements for getting all of my stuff to Mizzou. Today was also my last episode of Jersey Shore before CoMO.

Since I didn't write my article today, I wouldn't consider it very blog worthy.

But I'm excited to wake up and call the Sheriff of Columbia, Missouri tomorrow.

Squishy: A Ryan Tale

At my request, one of my new college friends, Rebecca Gale, attempted to do the dirty booty. We're also planning on making s'mores. I love college people.

The last two times I have seen my little cousin Ryan was in 2006 at a birthday party and 2008 at a party for our great-grandmother who we all knew was dying.

I'm going to see him in about 3 hours.

This is exciting cause his mom Kristi tells me how he's doing from time to time and he seems like a fine young man. I have not seen the kid in so long and we were a lot closer eight years ago.

This is where I tell you to not ask why I have not seen him in so long because I do not feel comfortable discussing that with people outside of my family let alone on the internet.

Oddly enough, Ryan will be going to Hubble Middle School in Warrenville with my brother Joey next year. I wonder if they will become friends. It just goes to show that almost everyone from my life in Chicago is starting a new chapter of theirs. Ryan and Joey are starting middle school, Desirae has her IHOP, Joe's moving in with my mom and Jake, My Dad is getting his divorce finalized, Becky and Louie might be moving out to Elgin soon, Melissa (not my cousin Melissa) might be moving to Wisconsin soon, Nick's still an asshole, and of course I am starting college.

I wish everyone the best in their next chapters. Things are looking up.


UPDATE: Ryan canceled. Maybe I'll see him on Thanksgiving or Christmas.

Single Ladies: A Retrospective

So I have two friends that I'm meeting at school next week. Chelsea "Basic Black" Hensley and Rachel Boone. They have a borderline obsession with my mom, who is undeniably awesome.

I decided to start this blog right as I approach the crossroads of my old life and my new life. Therefore, some of this blog is going to consist of older stories and not just "OMG MY DAY WITH BLAH BLAH BLAH, MY TERM PAPER THIS, I CRAP EXCELLENCE CAUSE I'M MICKEY WHITE. I GO TO MIZZOU, TO HELL WITH ROCK CHALK."

No.

This story is about the first person I knew that had a blog on blogger. Chelsea "Blaq Attaq" Hensley. She writes a blog currently titled "The Last Single Girl". Not everyone that I have talked about it with is a fan, but this gives me a chuckle. An overtly sexual blog from an awkward teenage feminist. I guess you could consider this an advertisement for a friend. And because I want to avoid mentioning Aldo (oops) in this post, I am going to conclude this post with my ten favorite quotes from "The Last Single Girl".


1. And while it is currently unknown, in the words of Melanie, "if he's a forty-year old man in his mom's basement waiting for fish sticks", some of us are still sorting out our feelings on the matter.

2. "If you don't start shaving up there, I'm going to stop shaving down there." This is how women should do it. No more of that bull about withholding sex in general.

3. According to Paolo, as he put it, his penis is eleven American inches which is, by my calculations, 279.4 millimetri

4. I've been told more than once that I'm an Oreo (black on the outside and white on the inside) which isn't so much offensive as just the easiest way to explain what I'm like.

5. Anyway, my mind was blown by this new discovery. Especially since the words Sexy and Period just don't go together. It's an oxymoron. Like jumbo shrimp, brief speeches, controlled chaos, airplane food, etc.

6. If he doesn't have a Bromance, there's something wrong with him. I kid you not.

7. "Hey, I know you, trust you, and I apparently don't mind your mere presence. Wanna take my virginity?"

8. I've seen a few private parts belonging to my male friends and it's not that big of a deal. It goes more like "Oh, so you do have one."

9. The underwear is meant to be worn IN CONJUNCTION, as in ALONG WITH, your usual pad/tampon routine.

10. In honesty, I envy Jenna Jameson. She has way more money than I do.

Graduation Goggles.

A friend of mine that I am going to school next week sent me a picture of a girl she used to have a crush on. She looks like a 40 year old Mexican janitor. My friend then sent me another picture of said girl. She looked like a skinnier Carla Romano. For your information, that is a terrible thing. My friend, who I will mention later but not in this post, and I started talking on facebook a little over six or seven months ago. I tend to get her in trouble or damn near close to it on a rather consistent basis. She's also the first person I sent mail to. In that letter was my happy birthday wishes and a hand drawn penis.

So today is the Tuesday of my last week in Norridge. I am spending this week babysitting my little brother, Jake. My brother is 12, autistic, and has a different father. I am going to miss how he comes up to me in my room to give me a hug for no reason. I am going to miss taking walks to go get food that involve him smiling, giggling, jumping around, and making hand jestures. I am going to miss how he talks to himself when he's on his computer or randomly quoting a show he was watching. Jake is just one example of the graduation goggles I am seeing my town with.

Let me explain graduation goggles. Graduation goggles, as explained on "How I Met Your Mother", is when you start to miss something you did not like that much when you know that it is extremely close to ending. That is not to say I did not like my brother that much. My brother Jake is my pride and joy, I always knew I would miss him when I went away. I, like most people my age, are overanxious to leave the neighborhood. I have been very anxious to leave Norridge for the last five years. But when you think about the old neighborhood you start to think of things you will miss.

In my case, I will miss Italian beef, Portillo's, Jewel-Osco, Dunkin' Donuts, hot Dogs, deep dish pizza, The Loop, Norridge Park, playing football, various family members, miles of walkable sidewalks, Illinois high school football, Uptown Park Ridge, making fun of foreign kids and knowing all of the faces around town.

Good news, I can take solace in the fact that I'll have 600 dollars cash and a solid base of friends when I walk onto campus.

But then I look across the kitchen counter at Jake on his computer and realize that this will merely be a memory before I know it. We might be leaving this house if it turns out that our foundation is cracked. When college is over, Jake will almost be 16 and I'll be 22. My mom will be 44, her boyfriend Joe will most likely be an afterthought. My mom might be considering moving to New York then. I might consider moving to Texas then. My dad will be 46. My brother Joey will have just finished his first year of high school. That's a lot to think about.

I'm going to see my cousin Ryan tomorrow. For the first time since 2008. Talk about an emotional next week.

But then again, I stop and realize that the Gold of Mizzou was the light at the end of the tunnel that I was looking at throughout my senior year of high school and this summer.

Seven days from now, Julian Douglass and Paul Sponsler are moving to Mizzou. That's huge. I leave my life Sunday. I unpack my stuff Monday morning and immediately walk over to Hatch Hall to get coffee with Amanda Butler. That's exciting.

I start college on August 22nd at 9 AM. And I couldn't be happier.