Waiting 'til next year

Non sports fan may not know that "Waiting 'til next year" is a phrase said too often by a Cubs fan. Let's see... 1945 since the last World Series appearance and 1908 for the last World Series Championship title. I guess I'm lucky to have even seen them reach the playoffs.

Anyway, thanks to Tom and his Cubs season ticket holding friend Jeff, I was able to go to a couple Cubs' games this season. As an added bonus, last weekend Tom, Jim and I road tripped up to Chicago for a season ticket holders presentation. (Note: Jeff now lives in Texas and couldn't attend.) 

Jeff's simple request in exchange for his tickets was a summary of the event and any swag handed out at the event. Tom already provided him a rundown of the event and I helped fulfill the swag part.

The photo below pictures Theo Epstein, the head of Cubs player development or something like that. (Tom's gonna shoot me.) Anyway, Theo is the person most came to hear. What's the plan for getting a set of players that can form a winning ballclub? Well, sounds like Theo has a plan... let's hope it works.

After a presentation of the future of the Cubs from the player side and business perspective (Wrigley Field renovation and player facility plans), we exited the theater and were treated with a Cubs Wrigley Field 100th Anniversary Season Ticket Holder Edition Hat. My mission began. I needed to get a hat for the true season ticket holders, Jeff and his wife Nichole, and the cherry on top would be Theo's autograph.

The hat wasn't a problem, and I just barely squeaked my way in for an autograph before Theo had to bolt. Here's the back of my head as Theo signs Jeff's hat.

Were you worried that I gave my hat away to Jeff? Have no fear, Stealth Jane is here! Had it not been for the myriads of hat boxes sitting around untouched, I probably wouldn't have accomplished such a feat, but I managed to snag 3 hats!

1. Exit the theater, get hat and immediately hide 1st hat under hooded sweatshirt
2. Walk around corner and ask the nearest "hat giver outer" where the bathroom is. Hide 2nd hat with the other and then use facilities.
3. Leave facilities to meet up with Tom and Jim. Jim asks, "Didn't you get a hat?" (He was an accomplice and didn't even know it!) Add 3rd hat to the collection.

Tom and Jim didn't do so well, they only got one hat each.

Headed home, the boys assigned me the task to find a good pizza joint. I gotta say, Papa's Pizza Place was excellent. A little difficult to find their establishment in Bolingbrook when their lighted sign didn't work, but worth the search.

Road trips at night when I have to sit in the back seat usually include glow sticks. This was no exception. This time I actually got some passengers to wave back at my light show!

I suppose when you turn the lights on me, I do look kind of goofy. Oh well.

Rufus the Bobcat

I would like to introduce you all to Rufus the Bobcat. Since my little buddy Casper, the coati mundi, passed away, I chose to adopt Rufus. Rufus makes his home at The Wild Animal Sanctuary just outside of Denver in Keenesburg, CO.

R.I.P. Casper

Concert Junkie? Perhaps. This time, Dustin Lynch, Little Big Town and Keith Urban.

I'm quite happy last night's concert went off without a hitch. I'm always ready to see Little Big Town live and was excited to see Dustin Lynch for the first time, and hoping Keith Urban wouldn't blow my eardrums out.

I had to meet my party (Jim, Theresa and Mom) at the Civic Center. I was apparently part of some new-fangled entry via credit card. Since I paid for the tickets, the ticket attendant swiped my credit card, and a fanny-pack looking machine spit out 4 movie theater sized tickets that simple gave our seat locations and the name of the tour. Yep, I'm bummed I don't have a "real" ticket from this event.

We made it to our seats just before Dustin Lynch hit the stage. I tried to familiarize myself with his tuneage over the past week, and got my hopes up that he'd have an energized show. He did not disappoint! Possibly the best pre-opening act I've ever seen. If he keeps putting out good music, he'll be a Luke Bryan soon enough.


Unlike the 30+ minute set change I endured between Sheryl Crow and Gary Allan a few weeks back, Little Big Town barely gave us enough time to visit the restroom with a line wrapped nearly around the whole concourse. After 10 minutes, the lights went dark and we stumbled the last three steps down to our row. Thank goodness we bee-lined to that bathrooms after Dustin Lynch.


Thankfully, not one minute of LBT was missed and every second was absorbed for playback in my head as I would try to fall asleep after the show. I don't know if they had extra energy after winning the CMA's vocal group of the year earlier in the week, or if my LBT/Sugarland withdrawal was worse than I thought. Either way, they put on one hell of a show! I began chanting in my head... please don't play Boondocks, please don't play Boondocks. Boondocks, the last song of the night, came too soon as always.


Looking for a new vantage point, Mom and I headed for the "cheap seats" at the back of the arena, leaving Jim and Theresa to rock it out with the extra room. Settled in midway up and smack dab in the middle of the seats opposite the stage, Mom and I waited for Keith Urban to take the stage.


After another fairly speedy set change and a drum test that got Mom to jump out of her seat, Keith took the stage.


I opted to go earplugless because I didn't feel my innards thumping, compared to the first two times I caught Keith in concert and left early to save my hearing because I didn't have earplugs.


I thoroughly enjoyed his show. He played all of his hits plus quite a few off the new album, and brought LBT and Dustin Lynch out on stage to join in on a few songs.


Keith even waded through the crowd a few times, but I was most looking forward to him hitting the small stage setup just below are section. It's always nice to see the artist that close without have to be smushed in a pit or dodging people's heads on the floor.


I can't think of a better lineup of artists I've seen. As a whole, this honestly was the best evening I've spent at a concert. I gotta hand it to Keith Urban's people for putting The Fuse tour together. Well done!


Now I must explain this "best evening at a concert" a bit... yes, Sugarland and LBT are an outstanding combo, but that's only 2. Last night there were 3. Out of all of the triple lineups I've seen, there always seems to be one dud and if you're really unlucky, two. Last night was the trifecta of awesomeness!

Can it get better than that? Of course.

Will I ever see my ultimate lineup? Probably not.

I want a quintuplefecta! In no particular order, I would want a day of full sets from the following artists:
- Sheryl Crow
- Dixie Chicks
- Little Big Town
- Sugarland
- Pink

One can dream!

Milwaukee - The Pink Concert That Wouldn't Be

I was extremely stoked to snag a ticket for Pink's concert in Milwaukee after her show in Denver fell through. After seeing her in Louisville this year, I dreamt about the next time I might catch her on tour and was pleasantly surprised when she added a 2nd US tour. I babbled at anyone who would listen that I was going to see her in Milwaukee, and I should have known better from experience. I can look forward to the event, but stay chill because the more people you tell, the higher chance of the event not happening. Superstitious? Maybe.

I booked a sweet hotel through Hotwire, but was stuck with the room once Pink had to postpone due to vocal rest. I was going to just cut my losses, but then the stars aligned and I found a friend to head up north with me. Theresa had switched her weekend work nights to accommodate her coworkers with young kids on Halloween, which left her available to head to Wisconsin with me.

Our first stop was Discovery World. After some thought, I believe the reason they are closed on Mondays is to give their tech team the time to fix all of the broken monitors and exhibits throughout the interactive museum. Needless to say, this did not live up to my expectations. The coolest part was this replica of the ship Challenge where you could see the captain's quarters, pretend to steer the vessel, and visit the hold where the crew slept.

After Discovery World, we were in search of something to energize us, so off to Dave and Buster's we went. Little did I know, Theresa gets motion sickness with racing games (yeah, right! I bet she couldn't stomach the taste of defeat). Anyway, after trying almost all non-racing games and making THE WORST decisions possible in Deal or No Deal (Theresa picked the highest $ case and we made a deal for way less, and I picked the lowest $ case and we went all of nothing... ugh), we headed out with a new coffee mug as my parting prize. Definitely a fun time!

Next up, after a slight detour at Walgreens to purchase a hair dryer because the fancy-smancy hotel came with no amenities other than an ice bucket, we followed our stomachs to International Exports, Ltd. for dinner. During our 15 minute walk to The Safehouse, I managed to forget the password to get in. Just short of a pat-down and after striking 5 sexy Charlie's Angel poses later, Theresa and I proved we were not double agents and allowed to enter The Safehouse.

I probably should not be divulging this top secret information, but it was quite the fun experience. We were given a confidential spy mission with the delivery of our drinks, so we explored the nooks and crannies in an attempt to crack the codes instead of patiently waiting at your table for your food to come. I suppose you could say the experience left an impression on me because I had the wackiest dreams of people popping out of secret passageways in my dreams all night.

Gotta give a shout-out to Suzy. She didn't lead Theresa and I down the wrong path once, but the number of planned u-turns she requested was definitely a treat. Although I am quite thankful Theresa has a smaller car than mine. The ONE time we used a paper map to get from the hotel to the Potawatomi Casino was an EPIC FAIL. I'm thankful Suzy didn't hold a grudge. The hotel information desk gave us a highlighted map for the casino which was apparently just blocks beyond the reach of the map. "Don't worry, just look for the signs and you'll get there... It'll be on the left". LIAR! This excursion was just as comical as trying to find the exit in the hotel's parking deck. You can ask Theresa about that one. ;)

Yes, we eventually made it to the casino for our first experience with Breakfast Bingo.

NOTE:

• Your bag may be "randomly" searched at the door, even if the person you are with has a purse 10 times the size of yours
• 15 minutes late to Breakfast Bingo = 1/4 of the regular games being completed
• The price for the Breakfast Bingo session is the same whether you get there on time or with only one game left
• And most importantly, there is no breakfast to be had a Breakfast Bingo or the casino for that matter.

Our excitement for Breakfast Bingo was killed almost instantly. With pounding head and growling stomach, I looked at Theresa and she must have read my mind, "Want to just cut our losses?" After escaping our second parking deck of the day, we landed at Denny's where we had a grand slam of a breakfast and great conversation. Overcast skies, bone chilling winds, and with a headache that would not fade, I wussed out on a visit to the zoo. I'm very thankful Theresa was understanding, and a great travel buddy that is able to just roll with things. Not the perfect trip, but definitely not short of stories and still a very nice and welcomed adventure.

Drive-by Gift Giving

When you have a friend that's been quite busy, is handling more than their fair share, and you've begun to call them elusive, then you have to get creative with your gift giving. I opted for my first attempt at Drive-by Gift Giving. Just as it sounds, the plan was to drive by the house and chuck the give in the general direction of the front door. I chose a plain brown paper wrapping that could be mistaken for a bag of soon to be flaming poo, in hopes it would deter anyone else from snagging the gift.

I have quite the throwing arm in softball, but when it comes to chucking something out of the car, I'm at a disadvantage with my non-dominant lefthand. A hook shot from the street may have made it past the sidewalk if I was lucky, so I opted to toss it from the driveway. As you can see, the girly throw did not go too far.

I harassed the giftee via text to make sure the gift was not confiscated by the next door neighborhood watch president who was outside pretending to tend to her dog's business. Okay, so I was needlessly anxious about the gift falling into the right hands. Once inside, knowing the gift came from me, the giftee's dog swept over the package with his hypersensitive nose to make sure all was copacetic. 

I gotta say, this drive-by gift giving was much more fun than I anticipated. It ranks as high as chucking "fun size" bags of peanut M&M's at my coworkers. I think I had an appropriate gift to match the irregular delivery method.