This is copied from a friend of mine's blog. Its funny... if you were there or know what happened that night. So many good times, I can't write them all down!

Thursday, September 30th, 2004

10:22 am

Oh Zeta Alpha....you dirty dirty chapter! So this week has been pretty good. The highlight was definitely Tuesday night and the masses of stickiness known as Jello Bombing. Despite some bumps and bruises along the way, it turned out to be a pretty great night overall - except for one thing! Zeta Alpha (you know who you are - ahem - Chrissy and Tim) definitely stole my gavel. So now, I must retrieve at the Section 50 Conference in Nov. Patrick was giving me crap for my lack of constant watch over my gavel on Tuesday night. However, I blame inexperience and lack of knowledge (that Bradley is known for stealing gavels) for my loss. Therefore, I've devised a plan to get my gavel back, and only time will tell if and when it works. On another note, this weekend is Homecoming and I'm kind of excited. I don't know if I'm going to the dance or not, and I have no date, but I have a sexy black dress! I think I will plan on going, cuz it'll be fun and all that jazz, at least for a little while. Bessie is coming into town - woo hoo! so I think that'll be cool. The section service project is on Saturday, so that should be fun stuff as well. So Saturday night is still up in the air, and who knows what is going on tomorrow night, but eh, it's all good, I'm not too worried about stuff. This actually looks to be a somewhat relaxing weekend, despite the influx/invasion of IWU alumni. The masses will arrive tomorrow....look out IWUers! Enough for now - time for some homework. One more important thing - HAPPY BIRTHDAY MELISSA KOMOSA! MUAH! I love you! ;)

TIME TO MOVE ON: So, I'm setting up a new website. The old one will probably link to the new one. But it was taking up to much time. The new one takes less time to update. I get to have dicussions on it too. Did I say there TONS of more pictures on it and its easier to update? Check it out. Sign up for an Logon too. (Click Here for More....)

The latest pictures added..... but lots more to come:

• Bradley Senior Walk (A Bar Crawl)
• Bradley Graduation (Last night of party'n for the seniors)
• Doyle's Wedding (My cousin Dawn)
• 2004 Canoe Trip (I actually took pictures this year)
• Unite Way Bar Crawl (We did it for the kids)
• Visiting EIU (My Cousin's last semester)

WHAT A SUMMER THIS HAS BEEN

So how do I start explaining this past summer? Weddings, visiting friends, visiting family, street festivals, Wing Wednesdays at Cruisen's, Camping, and enjoying the absolutely wonderful weather are all things that have kept me busy this summer. I'm not at all complaining about anything though.
Things have just gotten busy with work at the "other activities". Soon college will start and things will hopefully settle down for me. To counter that, I actually want to start graduate school sometime soon. Hope it will be a re-focusing event for me. I made "The Plan" after
graduation; I've been adjusting it to allow for the things that keep changing "The Plan". They're not bad things, but life is so fast now. The only thing I can do is stay flexible.

So I was thinking about this past summer. I had a busy schedule this summer. I have a small (and quick) list of some of the bigger things that I did. I still need to write a small summary of each weekend... it was all good times though.

2004 SUMMER ACTIVITY LIST:
1. Allison and Jamie came to visit Peoria
2. Mother's day went to visit my parents while they were camping
3. Chamber's wedding in Chicago
4. Taste of Chicago
5. Tim's 4th of July party at his house
6. Father-Son camping trip
7. Cousin Dawn's wedding in Indianapolis
8. My Annual Canoe trip
9. Decatur Celebration
10. Theil Wedding
11. EIU move-in weekend ? but that's this weekend

I just updated from Angela and Mark's wedding.... go to June 20th for all the good details.

This is my friend Ashley. I'm sure you've heard me talk about her. I have copied
a article about her from the Peoria Journal Star.
_____________________________________



Survivor is 'a walking
miracle'

Morton woman, 25, keeps beating the odds in her 3-year fight with leukemia

June 23, 2004
By HYACYNTH FILIPPI
of the Journal Star

MORTON - Ashley Meyer's doctors joke that she has nine lives.

"They say they just don't know how many of them I've used up," said
25-year-old Meyer, laughing on the phone from M.D. Anderson Medical Center in Houston during her daily blood transfusion.

Meyer has beat the odds more times than her doctors or family can count during her three-year battle with acute mylogenous leukemia. And Saturday, she is going to take the first step in returning to a normal life, as she plans to come home to Morton for the first time in seven months.

It's people like Meyer whom Friday's Relay for Life benefits. It gives them hope.

It's been a rocky road to healing since she was diagnosed with AML in November of 2001, said her sister, 29-year-old Cortney Vlahos.

"At first, doctors kept telling her it was the flu," she said.

After two weeks of not feeling well, Meyer went to the emergency room. While she was there, she hyperventilated, prompting doctors to do blood work. And then the news no one expected came - she had leukemia.

After two months at OSF Saint Francis Medical Center, where she received two rounds of chemotherapy, she went into remission. Then Meyer had the option of either a bone marrow or stem cell transplant. She chose the latter.

"We knew we could always do the bone marrow transplant because I was the perfect match," Vlahos said.

After the stem cell transplant, Meyer's white blood cell counts never recovered. In August 2002, she relapsed. "Then they told us our only hope was a bone marrow transplant," Vlahos said.

Within one day, Ashley Meyer and her parents, Jacqueline and Douglas

Meyer, flew to M.D. Anderson Medical Center in Houston for chemotherapy and a bone marrow transplant. In October, her sister followed.

"I'd do anything for her,"Vlahos said. "You feel so helpless when someone's sick that you love, and it was something I could actually do for her."

And it worked. Meyer went into remission for the second time and returned home.

"2003 was the best year for us," Vlahos said. "She was recovering, she was barrel racing. She got her hair back."

Meyer even returned to work part time at Caterpillar Inc.

While she wishes the story ended there, Vlahos said the worst was still to come.

On Nov. 11, 2003, exactly two years from the date she was first diagnosed, Meyer and her parents traveled to Texas for routine blood work and found the cancer was back. About a week later, doctors said she'd need another bone marrow transplant. They gave her an initial round of chemo, which sent her into remission,
Vlahos said. And as if things couldn't be any worse, Meyer got a fungal infection in her lungs, which quickly spread to her brain.

"If you think cancer's horrible … ," Vlahos trailed off. "I've never seen anything like that in my life."

Meyer's health continued in a downward spiral, as she suffered three mini strokes and one major stroke. The fungal infection left her with blurred vision, but it did not alter her attitude.

"When she lost her eyesight she just said, 'Oh well, at least I'm still here.' … She is just never down. She never complains, " Vlahos said. While the doctors wonder how Meyer pulled through, Vlahos said she has a pretty good guess.

"I honestly think it was her attitude and God," she said. "Everyday I pray that the blood work comes back clear. All I can say is she's a walking miracle."

__________________________

Support Ashley.... she's a fighter!

So I had the worst week ever that was followed-up with a great weekend.

FRIDAY: It was a tiresome week. I didn't want to go out, or at least I didn't want to. I basically was out everynight. With softball on Monday, don't know what I did on Tuesday, Wing Wednesdays at Crusin's, and Poker with the boys on Thursday.... I didn't really want to go out and drink anymore. I wanted to make sure that I was well rested for Saturday.

SATURDAY: I thought that I was going to wake-up early. I did, but fell back asleep. Birds chirping and all, I finally get up around 10AM... I still had to pack... still had to shower... still had to drive 3.5 hours after getting the directions to Ang's wedding which was at 2PM. I hope you see the dilemma. I quickly showered and shaved, made a CD for the road while getting directions, decided what to wear and packed.... by 11ish, I was on the road going as fast as I felt I could legally go. I was screwed! I could only think... 3.5 hours to O'Fallon... and I had 30 minutes extra to get to the south end of town.. and to top it off... I had to get more gas...... so I, easily rounded, had a 4 HOUR drive!! I tried to call the hotel to ensure that I would have my room for the night because I was going to be late to the wedding. They said it would be there, but that didn't help Sally (a friend who was going to get ready in the room! m before the reception). I really messed stuff up now! Sally wasn't going to be able to get ready, I wasn't going to make the ceremony... what a terrible day this was turning out to be!!! After passing 8000 cars and topping of what seemed like 95 Mph (in my smooth riding car)... I get to O'Fallon around 1PM. Yeah, 1PM it had to have been some sort of record (350+ miles in 2 hours?) I found the church and noticed no one was there, so I tried to check into the hotel.... the room wasn't ready, but they let me check-in anyway (and leave a key for Sally). I even had enough time to go to get another card because I left the other one in Peoria. The best thing, I was early to the wedding, by 20 minutes! It was going to be the best time ever!!!!! Wedding was really laid-back, the reception was awesome... I seriously miss the old gang of 4Andrews (Andrews Hall 4th floor). With Sally being there to surprise Angela (Sally was Ang's old RA from Andrews Hall), and being able to see all the ! old freiends.... it couldn't have been any better. Thanks for ! everythi ng everybody. Such good times... such good times. (Click here for more...)

After Party Story #1 - The Party Crowd
The wedding was over at 2:30ish. The reception didn't start until 4:00. The wedding party drove around for a little while in the limo drinking their 2 cases and bottles and bottles of Champaign. If I heard it right, the limo stopped about 3:45ish at liquor store for a Beer-Run!!

After Party Story #2 - Bryan's Night
Bryan supposedly was still hungry after we left TGIF. After ordering the pizza he fell asleep. Nikki couldn't finish the pizza by herself so she called up Eileen. After eating a marker is pulled out and Bryan had some new tatoos of "I love Eileen". Supposedly, there are some photos with a small garden Gnome, with his mustashy-beard and pointy hat. Right now, I'm laughing so hard, I can't remember the rest.

SUNDAY: Woke up at 6:00AM and couldn't sleep anymore. So Sally, Nikki, and I went and ate breakfast right as it opened. We were only down there for 15 minutes before we get a surprise from Ang and Mark (Bride and Groom)! Why are they up so early? Ang was showered and her hair was dry... they must have been up for a long time, I'm sure. We just liked giving them a hard time. After hearing about all the crazy "After Party" stories (some noted above), I had to get back on the road. I wasn't going home, I was wanting to go to my Aunt's for Father's Day. My grandparents were there and I hadn't seen them since Thanksgiving. It was a good to sit-back and relax with "The Fam". Perfect end to a most wonderful weekend.


Life is good when you get to relax and visit with family.

Another Great weekend.... What else is to come?

So I had the worst week ever that was followed-up with a great weekend.

FRIDAY: Tim's cookout for Becky. We hungout in his steamy hot house. Later that night we left to go to a house party a couple blocks away. Tim decided that he didn't need shoes. The party wasn't as much fun as anticipated.

SATURDAY: My friends, Allison and Jamie came to visit me and see my new place. It was really good to see them. My brother even came up to hangout for the night too. After getting un-lost, we ate at Old Chicago on the patio all day with McVicker and Bill. A bunch of the Bradley kids came from the previous day's cookout. I basically knew almost everyone on the patio. We stayed there until dark and then went over to the "Boy's Place" (Mark, Matt, Todd and Al's apartment). We played drinking games and watched Comedy Central. I got pictures. (Click here for more...)

SUNDAY: To work off the hangover, we went to eat at Fiesta Ranchera. Fiesta is the best Mexican food in Peoria. We ate about 30 pounds of chips and 20 liters of salsa before our food came. Kate got lost. We had to wait for her. We stayed there and talked almost all day. I was say to see Jamie and Allison leave. They promised to come back and visit. I hope its soon... cuz I'm holding it to them.

Life is good when you get to relax and visit with old friends.

WHIT'S WEDDING PAGE IS FINISHED: I am really really behind on this. I have lots to add, a whole lot. I've been keeping rough notes though. For now, I have finished a web page (now that I have more space) from my friend [Chris] Whitaker. We all call him Whit though. I had to leave out some pictures, but you get the jest of the fun we had. I know, I know, you're jealous that you weren't there. You missed some crazy-crazy stuff: Ruben (the big Mexican) wore a peach/salmon shirt, which we gave him a lot of crap for; Holly, a random friend of Whit's that I don't know, dancing with everything that moved; and Lane dancing his hear out. All in all it was a fantastic night.

Life is good when you get to see to friends make a commitment for life and they buy drinks too! (Click here for more...)

GOING TO CHICAGO: Its another weekend... good times, good times! I'm just really excited because this one is a 3-day weekend (and the past couple weeks have really sucked bad). As the tentative plans were made and broken, the final decision was to go to Chicago for my sister's party and my friend Chrissy's 21st B-day party.
FRIDAY: My sister's party was expected to be small, but only 8 or so people showed-up. We had a great time anyway. My brother and I taught the old fogies how to play quaters, Flippy-cup, and the card game "Asshole". It was good to see my family again. (That includes you too Steve). I'll have pictures up from that night soon. Check my website for them later.
SATURDAY: After walking up with and feeling absolutely terrible, we watched Pirates of the Caribbean and 13 Ghosts. We were basically just relaxing and waiting for the State playoff game for Volleyball. Lincoln Way was playing its self to go to State. It was a fierce game and the lady behind me kept yelling,"Whoooo-Yeah! Whooo-Yeah!!" I was so embarassed to find out it was Martha (my sister)! Just kid'n, I didn't really care, I didn't know anyone else there. From there I went up to eat dinner with Katie at Mongolian Barbeque. It was delicious and just what I needed before going to Chrissy's 21st B-day. All in all, it was a good weekend. Don't forget, I'll have pictures later.. so check back, there's more to come.

Life is good when you see friends and get to relax all at the same time!

I'M A DORK, I KNOW: So can I be a geek for a minute too??? Have I told you lately... work is kill'in me... Its ok... I like being dumb sometimes :-P

So yeah, I'm really really really behind on the posting here. I'll be posting more.

I WAS OFFERED A JOB PROMOTION... it would take me to an IT Analyst III position. There are many people that have been working many years that are still waiting for that opportunity. I bet you have just one question… what was my decision?!!?!!?!!
Well, let me tell you. When I first heard it, I of course said yes, sign me up. My boss wanted me to think about it a little though. I must say, I'm glad he did. I have something for you all to think about. When does your career become just a paycheck? When does it really become work and not a growth opportunity? When does it not become fun anymore? It gets that way when you don't enjoy walking in the door… when you find it hard to wake-up and not hit the snooze, not because you're tired, but because you HATE work with passion, vengeance, and FURR-RIOUS anger. I'm glad I turned down that job, that was where I saw myself for the next couple years before they decided that I would go somewhere else. ("They" would be the Succession Planning Group, the ones to look for positions to move High Potential Employees.) I know I guess I was hoping that I was on the "List"… as one of the chosen. I just really like what I'm doing now, and didn't really want to be on-call 24-7 as the one-accountable person for the Infrastructure for the facility. Huge responsibility, visibility, growth opportunity, and pay increase…. I turned it down… I only had 24 hours to think about it. I'm not worried, their will be other opportunities. I want to get my MBA anyway.

FRIDAY:
ANOTHER APO ACTIVATION: Another semester comes to an end. Its time to induct the pledges as new actives to the Chapter. Don't get me wrong... this is important, but the real importance is the Unofficial Activation Party called Kill-a-Keg. This is always good times. This year's was no different. (Click Here for More...)

SATURDAY:
NOT YOUR ORDINARY SATURDAY NIGHT: Not as exciting as Friday to say the least. The good thing was that “Mr. O” (or Mr. Opporknockity) was playing at Roxy's. This band was one that I listened to often at college. A great group of guys that have way to much fun on stage. I had a great time… wish I could have stayed all night.

Easter in Decatur.... its always a good time. I feel bad for Glenda though... she had to much to drink on Friday night. That's ok, we took care of her... well, I did. Justin just hide around the corner, he was scared of her Mom! I don't blame him though, she is scarey!

ANOTHER GREAT WEEKEND: Just got back from visitng my Brother (Dick) and cousin (Jeremy) at EIU (Eastern Illinois University). Great times.... I'll be posting the pictures from the weekend to my website. You must check them out... they're great!

My friend's Whitaker's wedding... great times.. I'll post more later... come back to look for more... work is killing me.

Just got back from Vegas!!!!! WOW, what a good time... the longest 3 days I've ever had. I did so much, you better block a whole night off to read about all that happened.... oh, so much much!

APO Formal details will be posted later... its a good storry... I must say, so much stuff is going on... I'm having so much fun... Life is great!!! More will come.. look back in a few days.

LIFE'S NOT FAIR: So how I get to live instead of Rachel?... Why does life suck, I just don’t know. She was a much better person then I am.

Rachel A. Laird lifelong resident of Elk Grove Village Funeral services for Rachel A. Laird, 19, will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday, at Christus Victor Lutheran Church, 1045 S. Arlington Heights Road, Elk Grove Village, where she will lie in state from 9 a.m. until the time of services. Born in Korea, she died Monday, Feb. 23, 2004. Interment will be in Arlington Cemetery. Rachel was a member of Christus Victor Lutheran Church, and a member of the Alpha Phi Omega service fraternity. She is survived by her parents, Bruce and Rosemary Laird; her brother, Todd Laird; her grandparents, Rosario and Louise Viscione and the late Richard and Annette Laird; her aunts and uncles, Richard and Barbara Laird and Michael and Marybeth Viscione; her cousins, Donna Viscione, Michelle Viscione, Richard Laird III, Andrew Laird and Robin Kirste; and by countless friends. Visitation will be from 3 to 9 p.m. Friday, at Grove Memorial Chapel, 1199 S. Arlington Heights Road, Elk Grove Memorial Chapel, 1199 S. Arlington Heights Road, Elk Grove Village. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Make A Wish Foundation, or to Children's Memorial Hospital.

Friends may visit www.dailyherald.com/obits to express condolences and sign the guest book. For funeral information, (847) 640-0566.
Published in the Chicago Suburban Daily Herald on 2/25/2004.

FOR RACHEL: Who died earlier today... someone who will be greatly missed. I will miss her. This is just a few thoughts that I wanted to capture just in case I needed to say something. Hoping that I wouldn't sound stupid.

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Dedicating this to Rachel, she passed away Monday... about mid-day.

She is one of the most dedicated people I know, but I do not just mean dedication for the events for APO, but dedication for the values of Alpha Phi Omega, and how she lived them in her everyday life. These values are: Leadership, Friendship and Service... the heart and soul of APO.
o Friendship, The Foundation For Everything - Rachel was everyone's friend. Not one person could deny that. She was always there for any of her friends. Whatever they needed. She was always willing to go that extra mile.
o Leadership, To Stand Out In The Crowd - By taking up the challenge to sponsor a "wish kid". {Pause and shake head} Rachel had the plan in motion before she even talked to the chapter. All the details were gathered and she had things lined-up ready to get it all done. Everything was planned out. Seeing this as a volunteer while she was going to school, really makes you wonder? did she actually go to class? How could she get all of this done? Because she was a leader? yeah, she was always worried about something. I could see it in her face when she talked with me wondering if we're going to pull this event off. I always tried to re-assure her, but... you know how she was.
o Service, being selfless enough to give your time, even the little amount you might have - Without a doubt, her heart was in the right place. She absolutely loved helping people. She never slacked on helping anyone. Out of the 19 years she was here, she gave a majority of it to others. If there were more people in the world like Rachel... we wouldn't have any problems.

We are all very proud of her and what she did while she was here. Being my new role model, I now realize how much she truly touched my life. I just hope I can take up where she left-off and make her proud of me like I am of her. Take care Rachel.... I hope to see you again.

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ANOTHER CRAZY NIGHT: Inever changes. Went to Happy Hour for a friend’s promotion party. It was a very long week. I was looking forward to just hanging out. After a few beers there, I went home to eat, change, and go to a couple house parties with some of my Bradley friends. We had a good night and I stayed up way to late, but I did have a good time though. Thanks to Matt, Paul, Katie and Amy. We did have good times up until the wee hours in the morning.

HOUSE WARMING OR HAPPY HOUR:
FRIDAY: I can’t believe that I’m just now having my party. It’s the first of many to come, hopefully. I didn’t get to send the invitations out to everyone. It was too last of the minute for me to do that, but I had to wait for the couches to be delivered. They have holes in them when they were delivered anyway. I’m getting replacements for the ones they delivered. I’ll be having another House Warming/Open House on some Saturday so all my college friends have time to travel to get here. This party was mainly for in-town friends and co-workers to stop-by and see the place. It ended up being more then the Happy Hour I had planned. But I’m sure not complaining. Everyone who was there had a great time. I know because the final group of people left around 5AM (yeah, it the morning)! I don’t think that people would have stayed unless they were having a good time.

Checkout the pictures from the party!


SATURDAY: Went to see “Hair Banger’s Ball” at Sharky’s, a Big Hair 80’s cover band who was playing there. I must say, I think that Sharky’s is my new favorite bar. They always have live bands and good music. Mike and Joe will be playing there soon. I won’t miss that show.

“WINGS ON THE WOODY” THE NEWEST CRAZE: Tim was nice enough to host the next “Wings on the Woody”. What is it you ask? We figured that we would start a website to help promote the newest fad to sweep the nation. It’s a all you can eat hot wing eating contest on the deck of your friend’s house while drinking Blatz Light. The only ingredients needed for a most excellent time are: Hot Wings, a wooden Deck, Blatz Light, and Friends. It works out better if you order the hot wings too. We buy from Garner’s here locally in Peoria. It makes for a good laugh when you order 30 lbs of Hot Wings. When you ask for it to be delivered, its extra bonus! The whole group came prepared to eat a lot of greasy hot wings. Almost all the 30 pounds we ordered were gone in the first 30 minutes. You should have seen the carnage of the first two rounds. Bones were completely bare to get maximum weight to psych-out the rest of the competition. Next one will be at my place. We’re going to have 50 pounds of wings. It’s going to be crazy!

Check out the pictures from that day.

BACK TO THE GRID: Are the Holidays over yet? Seems like it, even though I could still use a few more vacation days to relax. Life is back to its normal routine. Luckily, the NFL playoffs are able to distract me a little while longer. So my life is probably going to be getting a little more boring.

FRIDAY: Mike and Joe were back to Peoria! Who’s Mike and Joe (MikeAndJoe.com)? Well, they’re not my friend’s but I see them at least once a month. They are a great cover band that plays all around the Mid-west. They mostly play cover songs, but they do have a few songs of their own. I’m not a groupie, I swear! About once a month they play at Sharky’s downtown Peoria. I never miss a show.

SATURDAY: It was a lazy day for me. I just watched a couple movies (SNATCH, and South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut). Football was on after that and then out to the bars (In-Play, Kelleher’s, and Sullivan’s). We choose those because we were in a mood to just sit and talk. It followed the mood from earlier that day.

SUNDAY: More football, life is great! I’m not going to get the stuff that I wanted to do, done. It will have to wait!

ANOTHER YEAR ENDS: After the craziness of trying to get the plans lined up, I was able to spend my new year's eve with lots of friends. The worst thing about the night is that I had to drive. To fully enjoy the night completely, I just went to a couple friends' places. Thanks Kelly and Justin! Nothing outrageous happened this year, but it was still a great time. I have some pictures from the night. Check them out.
NEXT YEAR, mark your calendars.... its at my place. It will be more of a formal gathering. I've decided to have it catered... I'm going all out. So make sure you come so its not a bust.


Check out pictures from the night on my webpage.




Life is good celebrating another new year with friends!