Halloweenie

I overheard one of my coworkers asking a client on a phone call today if he was going to dress up for Halloween parties this upcoming weekend.  I didn’t hear the response of the client but my coworker followed up his response announcing that he thought the guy on the phone was halloweenie.  I don’t know why it made me giggle but it did.  Actually, I know exactly why it made me snicker like a little kid, but I don’t know if my coworker really knew what he was saying. 

I was right in my post last week pertaining to the calm before the storm.  The storm that was on the horizon is Halloween.  After an exhausting weekend I climbed into bed last night at 8pm and my wife asked what my upcoming week looked like.  I had not even put a single moment of thought into this week until she asked the question.  I pulled out my calendar and scanned thru my week.

Monday: work all day and then Balloon Jam from 6-10pm.  For the record, and I can’t believe I am admitting this, I am freely skipping a Monday Night Football game to go to a balloon jam.  I hope the have the game on in the bar. 

Tuesday: work all day followed by a church meeting from 7-9pm. 

Wednesday: work all day followed by balloon twisting from 5-8pm

Thursday: work all day followed by pool league from 6:30-11pm

Friday: work all day followed by balloon twisting from 4-6pm and 7-9:30pm. 

Yep, I would say that this week is going to be rather difficult.  Something’s got to give.  Any week that I am not home any earlier than 10pm on any single night will be an exhausting one. 

This past Saturday night things got a little crazy.  One of my friends in the city hosted a gathering at his place.  Due to my wife’s upcoming work week, she chose not to go and my best friend’s wife wasn’t feeling well either so he and I were on our own for an evening of fun.  Sometimes I get sad at the fact that my best friend and I have gotten older and grown apart some.  We can’t continue to go out and party like we did as room mates throughout college.  He has a wife, I have a wife and both of us have to consider them in our plans every time we get together.  But on the rare night that we get to go out without them, we fall right back into our old ways and it’s as if we are still college roommates. 

The party Saturday night ended at roughly 6:00am Sunday morning before I finally closed my eyes wishing that I didn’t have to get up to twist balloons at a Halloween street fair in Roscoe Village in four short hours. 

Some of my favorite memories from college include Sunday mornings after long nights of drinking.  We’d wake up around noon,  order Jimmy Johns, and watch football all day while laughing about the crazy shit we did the night before.  Good times. 

While walking thru a craft fair at a festival this summer, I came across a quote that has been the theme of my life lately. I try and remember that every time I have a difficult week. 

“Lifes not about waiting for the storm to pass, but learning to dance in the rain”

This will be a week full of dancing in my life.

Filed under: Busy, balloon, memories, work

Welcome to the 21st Century

Yesterday I made a very large decision in my life.  A decision that I haven’t made in well over 10 years.  I changed wireless carriers.  In my past life the first job I accepted when I made the decision to move to Chicago from Bloomington was as an Account Executive for Nextel.  I sold communication devices (cellphones with the two way radio) to businesses and contractors.  That was advanced technology 10 years ago.  When I left nextel, I took my  phone with me only upgrading it once over the past 10 years.  The phone I carried up until yesterday was hardly able to text, or get on the internet, much less do anything that the current line of phones offer.  For having a chunk of my professional career in wireless communications, I fell behind big time regarding technology. 

On Monday my wirless agreement expired with Sprint (Who’s customer service I found to be less than acceptable).  Yesterday I took the afternoon off for a Dr’s appt and found myself in an AT&T store.  The rep was showing me the new iPhone 3gs.  I believe at one point I may have wiped drool away from my chin it was just that awesome.  I had decided on a blackberry but was easily swayed in the iPhone direction.  I finally bit the bullet and dropped mucho dinero on the 32GB iPhone 3GS. The iPhone will be a big selling tool for me when explaining to perspective clients as to what I can do with balloons that will make them want to pick me to entertain at their next function. 

My first text on my new phone was to my best friend who has had an iPhone for several years letting him know about my purchase, to which he replied “welcome to the 21st century”.  What’s funny about that is he is exactly correct.  My previous phone might as well have been a bag phone.  ( I used to sell those BTW)

This is going to be a ridiculously crazy weekend.  In a unusual turn of events, my wife is doing a girls weekend which pretty much leaves me to do whatever I want Saturday night.  Typically I would be all over that and plan some sort of nutty night out with the guys, but that is not likely.  I am a featured entertainer for several community events this weekend.  I will be appearing at Harvard Bank’s 75th anniversary  Community Celebration as well as a strolling enertainer for the Village of West Dundee’s Heritage Festival. Click here to see me (Mister D) on Heritage fest’s website.  I am listed as Strolling on Saturday from 2-4pm (the site is wrong, I am scheduled from 3-5pm).  I love that their link on the festival website sends everyone into my own website.  That’s some awesome advertising.  I also find “strolling” a funny word for a balloon twister because I doubt that I will be walking while twisting since I usually have 50 people surrounding me when I twist at festivals.  The weather is going to be in the mid 70’s tomorrow with no rain so I would say that is about as good as it gets weatherwise for festival entertaining. 

After the second festival, I get to entertain for a private party from 6-8pm and when I am finished there,  I will either be ready for several drinks or I will be ready to collapse into my bed.  When the wife is out I usually lean towards the several drinks side, but I follow up my long day on Saturday with two events on Sunday as well, so I doubt I will go too crazy. 

There is some other major things going on in my life that I can’t reveal yet.  In time I am sure.  Have an amazing weekend!

Filed under: Busy, balloon, iPhone, weekend, wife