BUMmer

on my way home from work today I bought a polish dog for a bum. he asked for a pop.

what comes to mind for me? "beggers can't be choosers" kinda funny

ALL-AMERICAN!!!!

Congratulations to Katie Marie Zondervan for achieving All-American status!!! Well deserved!! I figured she should and would because she was pretty much #2 in assists per game the past two years. If you see her tell her congratulations on a great career and finally getting All-American. Congrats Katie, and the whole Calvin volleyball team.

Meanwhile, I still don't know if I got the new job at NCSA. Things are going well in Chicago. I am really looking forward to Thanksgiving break where I get to spend some quality time with family, and of course, Katie. It was very hard to see her all weekend (I got to see the volleyball team play regionals in Kenosha Wisconsin) and not really get to spend time with her. But also, I am very grateful that I got to watch her last volleyball game ever. They could have been placed anywhere in the Midwest and it just happened to be at a school and hour and a half away from where I live. weird weird

things

well ive got no word yet on the promo. not fun......
went home this weekend and it was great. i always have a really awesome time going home but its hard to leave. tonight i took a bike ride down the north ave beach. this is becoming one of my most favorite places to be. I took a walk out onto one of the piers and just stared at the skyline with the great lake wish-washing below. I wish i could show how unbelievable of a view it is.
thats all i got for now

Oct 22

Three years ago today Katie and I went on our very awkward first date. She had no idea who I was and I definitely knew who she was but didn't know one thing about her. I had seen her about two weeks earlier for the first time and knew that I had to at least try. I remember sitting in the bleachers before a volleyball game with Joe Westra. As we did every year, we would assess the volleyball team. I spotted #6 and was overcome with emotion (just kidding, thats just too gay for me). Simply put, I thought she was HOT. These exact words came out of Joe's mouth, "dude Tig, she is totally your type. You should ask her out." So, a few weeks later, I did. "Awkwardly," according to Katie. She claims that I persisted on saying, "its not a date, its not a date." I think that was smooth because she was only a little freshman and if I would have labeled it a date she would have been scared away. I'm good.
Anyways, after I picked her up in her dorm room, and after she almost fell on her face while attempting a set of stairs, we had a good first date. One Trick Pony was good to us and so was the haunted house (she grabbed my hand in the haunted house, I felt pretty cool). We then played bags and hung out and talked in her dorm lobby. About two and a half years later I took her out to dinner at One Trick Pony knowing she'd have a ring on her finger within hours.
Now we are engaged and both of us can't wait to be married. Weird how things progress. Happy 3 year anniversary Katie. I love you.

decatur, il.

The interview went well and I have a second interview on Tuesday.

This weekend has been pretty good so far. At work on Friday, my buddy scott and I were exchanging text messages about our plans for the weekend. We brought up the possibility of driving down to Decatur illinois to see the volleyball team play a few matches. after some discussion we decided to leave early saturday morning and make their 11 oclock match. we made it, and i completely surprised katie. we walked in while they were playing and she obviously didn't notice because she was so intensely focused on the game at hand. they called a time out and we noticed a few of the girls looking up at us and smiling. then all the sudden katie swung her head around and looked up and noticed us. she smiled and blushed. I could see if from the bleachers. turns out, a few of the girls said, "katie i didn't know mark was coming" and she said that i wasn't. they told her to look and she did only to see her wonderful, committed, awesome fiance and his totally cool friend. It was great, I was so happy to be able to see her play for the first time this year and I know she was even more happy. We watched two matches, talked to the girls a little bit in between, and got back into the car to head back to chicago.
i was so tired from the trip that i didn't do a thing on saturday night except go to bed. now im just going to make some breakfast and ride my bike to church.

Good News...

I was asked to interview for another position within the company today. Nothing is for sure, that is why I'm not making too big a deal of it at this point. I interview on Thursday for the Baseball Recruiting Coach position which has just recently opened up. There are two others in the baseball department with the same position. I am excited about this possible promotion but am not getting my hopes up too much. Better that way than being disappointed right?
Just thought I would let you all know, "because I probably wont call you to tell you about [it]."

Weekend in GR

Just got back a few hours ago from another great weekend in GR. Although I would have loved to see more friends, my time was limited, so I spent most of my time with Katie. Saturday morning I went to the good ole Calvin library to help Katie with some grad school applications. We then went over the see the parents. Mom had another back surgery on Tuesday so she was in the recovery stage still. She was able to walk around but it was very limited and with a cane. Hopefully this surgery actually works. Sunday we went to church and then met Steve and Luimes for lunch. Our waiter sucked.
Overall it was a great weekend with family and Katie. Every time I have to say goodbye to her it was as hard as the first. Right now I am looking forward to the goodbyes being over with.

Another work week begins.......

Lions and Tigers and Bears oh my

This weekend I would like to give a shout out to my Detroit teams. Despite a loss the the White Sox on Saturday night the Tigers ended the season with a bang by putting up 13 runs against the Sox on Sunday. I attended the game on Saturday night with a bachelor party and lets just say the South Siders were not happy to have us there. We cheered louder than anyone at the stadium for the other team. Also , the Lions got their third win against the infamous Bears. I will enjoy work on Monday.
Today was fun because I got to hang out with Mark, Greg, Jeff, and Scott to watch the Lions game. It's always nice to have familiar faces around.
Tonight, I was sitting around watching football and decided I would take a bike ride to the beach. I ended up at Castaways Bar and Grill which overlooks the beach, the lake, and the skyline. I had a strawberry daiquiri and un-wound from a big week and weekend.
I hope this week goes fast because Katie, Steve, and Katy are coming to visit.

due for another blog

"...ps, write another blog because I like reading them." This coming from a text message written by little lady Katie.
So, here you go.
A lot has been happening lately since we've settled down in the Apt. I dont know if I can really remember all of it to inform you. First thing that comes to mind was Katie coming to visit me. It was the best weekend I have had since being down here. She was in the city to see the new Broadway musical "wicked." After the play, and after Michigan beat Penn State, I directed Katie towards the apartment. She called me about 15 times making sure she was going the right way. That night we went to Cafe Ba Ba Reeba. A local and very popular tapas bar/restaurant. Neither of us were too big of fans. Good, but very average in our world. We both enjoyed our greasy chili dog and phili cheese steaks the next night a little more than the small portions of weird food. nonetheless, we enjoyed our time. sunday was even better. we went to the beach after we bought katie a new suit from Marshalls for 10 bucks. She passed it over about 10 times until I pulled it out and made her try it on. She ended up loving it and it fit her perfect. We spent all day at North Ave Beach with the great lake in front and the perfect skyline behind us and volleyball players all around. After Katie started to burn (muhahahaha) we rode the bikes to Navy Pier and walked around. Great Day.
Besides that all I can think about is the girl I saw go over her handlebars on the way to work the other day. A car promptly pulled in front of her and she slammed the front brakes only to find out how terrible of a decision that was. Her back tire was about 8 feet in the air. I was amazed. It reminded me of the days we used to watch people from our dorm rooms slip and fall on the path at Calvin.

settling down

Things are starting to settle down here and Tom and I are beginning to feel like this place is our own. Just about one full week. Last night we had a nice little romantic spaghetti dinner together. Candle lit on the table and everything. After the dinner we sat down and watched the season finale of Entourage and just relaxed. I was browsing the internet and the topic of one of my favorite musicians came up. G Love and Special Sauce. (I thank Steve for introducing him to me aboutttttt.t...... 4 years ago when we attended his concert at Calvin). Tom mentioned that he thought he was coming back to chicago within the next few days. I checked, and sure enough the concert started an hour ago no more than a full city block from our new place. I decided to put on some decent clothes and run over to see if it was sold out. It was. BUT the story doesn't end there. Some guy who noticed my disappointment came up to me and asked if I wanted some tickets. I said, "yeah man, how much." He proceeded, "free bro." I said, "are you serious man? why?" He continued to explain that he was holding onto them for someone who really wanted to see the show but didn't get a chance to. I began to tell him how I ran from my place to see if I could get a ticket. He said, "cool bro, have them, call a buddy and see the show." I was so happy. G Love for free. Those of you who know me can understand how I love saving money. But I was ready to pay. The show was awesome.

The new Apt.,etc.

Well, once again the past few days have been crazy. I still feel like I have not fully adjusted. Tom and I spent the whole day sunday getting into our new place. Big kudos to Mrs. Bratt and Jenny Bratt. The two of them made the trip down here to help us move. They got here at about noon, worked there butts off, and left at about 1o pm. Tom and I would have been a mess without them.
The new place is great. I really couldn't have asked for anything more. I hadn't seen the place because Tom found it when I was back in Michigan. I trusted his judgment and it definitely paid off. I have my bedroom pretty much unpacked but not fully and it still feels pretty weird that I will be living here for the next year.
Oh yeah, I should probably blog about what happened to me yesterday. I locked my keys in my car. My keys and I are not agreeing right now. My buddy Matt Wiersma and I had planned on hanging out but we spent most of the evening with wires trying to get my car open. We failed. miserably. Eventually I shelled out 85 dollars to have some punk come and get them in about 2 minutes with a tool that costs about 40 bucks.
I have found that living in the city is absolutely nothing like living in Grand Rapids. The cost of living (more than just housing costs) is ridiculous and takes getting used to. You end up spending money on things you never could have imagined spending money on back home. Anyone want to buy a 1996 Green Ford Taurus?

The day i've been waiting for

Today, ladies and gentlemen, I can finally unpack my bags. I have literally been living out of a suitcase for 4 weeks. This is a great feeling. Tom and I are sitting, enjoying some Diet Cokes and granola bars, discussing the strategy of our move. I, for one, know that I am ready to get into my own bedroom for one reason; Tom snores. Its not a violent snore such as my fathers but its repetitive, predictable, and maddening. Two nights ago I threw half of my collection of shoes at him in the middle of the night. I don't think he knows. I laughed when I woke up to him getting out of bed with shoes falling to the floor.
Anyways, more to come. Just a quick update. Here we come 3009 Apt 1f North Halsted, Chicago Illinois, 60657...................

CTA

Chicago Transit Authority.....Not as cool as I thought.
Today was the first day of the week where I was able to drive to work instead of taking a dirty, stinky, shaky, greasy, and over-packed bus to and from work. I had been taking the bus because the keys to my car were in Michigan. Don't remember? Yeah, I admitted to my idiocy in a previous post. Anyways, Wednesday after I got out of work, I made a B line directly to the bus stop. So far so good. Waited about ten minutes. Getting impatient. But, so far so good. Twenty minutes. Mark gets very impatient. No more so far so good. Thirty minutes. Mark is pacing up and down the street. FORTY THREE minutes. A bus comes. Relief, until the bus driver starts yelling that he is stopping at the Blue Line, which is a stop about half way to my destination. He stopped at this place and forces everyone to get off because he has to take the bus back to the station. So, i end up waiting another 20-25 minutes for another bus that is expecting me to pay. no no. I paid the one bus to take me where it should of but it cut me short. I explained to the bus driver why we shouldn't have to pay while other people were just paying and walking by me. She let me go free of charge. Thats right CTA bus driver. You better recanize. Meanwhile, Tom is waiting for me and wondering why it has taken so long. I walked through our door exactly 1 hour and 19 minutes after I arrived at the initial bus stop. The distance was about 2 miles.
My new acronym for CTA is Crap Transit Authority.

WIFI

I apologize for the lack of entries in the blog. It appears that the internet Tom and I had been tapping into has now been secured. So now I am in the local bakery/cafe with free internet. Very nice luxury to have.
So on the trip home from Chicago this weekend I started to feel sub-par. It may have been due to the alcohol I consumed at Steve and Katy's Buck and Doe party but I blame it on Tom's driving. Love the guy to death but he has no cruise control and can't seem to keep a steady foot on the highway. Anyways, I ended up puking at our first stop. This comes as no surprise as I have been known to throw up randomly every once in a while. I think I did come down with a little cold as well. Bad combo.
Only 5 days until Tom and I get in the final apartment. This will come with huge relief because I have been living out of a duffel bag for almost 4 weeks.
Please continue to read the blog and provide feedback as well.

Cubbies

Tonight I hit up a Cub's game with my buddy Scott Luecht. He met me after work at my place of employment and we took the red line (the "L") up to Wrigleyville. We waited in lines and finally made our way to the beer and hot dog stands. After this we struggled to find a spot to sit in the over crowded and over sold bleacher seats. Finally we sit down, eat our dogs, and begin working on our beers. As we settle in and begin to enjoy the friendly confines of Wrigley, Matt Murton, the Cub's right fielder looks up at the right field bleacher seats and begins the motion of throwing a ball. I stand up, begin yelling, and the ball was airborne with my name all over it. With no time to think, I simply react and reach above the others around me (with a full beer in my opposite hand) and snag the ball out of mid air. I am received with clapping, smiles, and high fives from the cub fans around me. Only at a baseball game. If only it were in Detroit with Tigers fans. Nonetheless, a great way to start a game........Cubs win.

The View

This is the view from our apartment. Pretty cool huh?

First official "blog"

I regret to announce that I am an official blogger. Thought this day would never come. I will do my best to update as much as possible but I cannot guarantee anything. I will try to make my grammar and punctuation perfect, but in attempt to cut time and put as much on the "blog" as possible, I may turn to stream-of-consciousness.

The above photo was the best one I could find online that would do justice to the new view at our temporary studio apartment. If you are not familiar with my ridiculous situation I will let you know. In one months time I will have lived in 3 different locations. My first two weeks; in Tom's old apartment. The next two weeks (starting today); in Brian Peters' studio apartment on the south side. The beginning of the fifth week; the final destination of 3009 N. Halsted in Lincoln Park (about a block from "boys town").

It was good being back this weekend to see family and my wonderful fiance who reminds me how much I am in love with her every time I see her. Tom and I are watching Stranger than Fiction and I am starting to feel tired. Gotta rest up for a short work week.

Goodnight.

more to come......