Surprises

When I woke up Friday, I was finishing the grind of my week looking forward to Hoochfest.

Although I had an itch I thought it was gonna suck, this weekend did not. It was full of surprises.

I had no idea going into this weekend that I was gonna have an in at a frat. I also thought there was no way in hell I was gonna be friends with Avery at the end of the night when I woke up.

That's life.

I love school. I'm off my big shoulders and I miss them dearly. But friends, football, adventure, and a little bit of alcohol helps. I just love going out now cause it's unpredictable, but when I go out with Goldberg and Co., we're gonna have fun.

That's all I have to say about that. The college bro code is soon to come. The title is a working one.

Meetings, Meetings, Meetings.

A couple weeks ago I was offered the position of floor rep for the 1st floor of Hawthorn Hall. I took the job figuring, "fuck it, it's something to do and I'd be helping Marie (my L.A.) out." One thing I did not anticipate (which in hindsight, I should have, having laughed at enough student council kids in my day) super long meetings. Today I'm running my first meeting, which involves a few people from my dorm complex (Hawthorn, Galena, and Dogwood or "HawLeWood"). We're trying to squeeze people into all of the time slots for service projects. That's my small rant for the week.

We Shall Flash Back to My Big Move Later

Since I've been down here, I've had Portillo's shipped to me from the Big Shoulders. Aside from the fact that I'm a Chicagoan and love my Italian Beef, I realized that I can cook. Cooking, I learned, takes basic reading and direction following skills.

I have been in Columbia for approximately three week now. I have heard drunk stories that can only be topped my the exploits of my own family. My fifth night here, an acquaintance of mine was arrested for underage drinking. I will not get into too many details about that for two reasons. First of all, embarrassing people is not my style (actually, it is). Second of all, that happens all the time in college and something more noteworthy happened.

My best friend at Mizzou is pregnant. I will not refer to her by name until she start to show because embarrassing people is not my style (actually, it is).

Quite honestly, I could not be more excited for her. It seems like the parents-to-be have a plan and the proper support system. They are both excited about the baby and seem to both have good heads on their shoulders (sometimes). They both have a master plan and have wanted a future together even before this baby talk started.

In the wake of this news, I thought a lot about my feelings toward abortion. Quite frankly, I'm still not sure how to feel about it from a political standpoint. To be honest, I still feel that it is murder and if you were to ask me if I was one or the other I would tell you that I'm pro life. However, it is a call I will never have to make because I will not be a politician or a female. From a strictly religious standpoint, I feel that it is wrong. Then again, I try to separate religious Mickey from political Mickey. Either way, it breaks my heart for a female to be put in the position think about making that call.

The good news is that my friend plans on keeping it and I am excited for her to bring it home in April!

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.