Bonus Sunday Post.

Pat texted me last night to complain about the picture I posted of us for his guest blogging (He was blogger #3). He thinks he looks terrible in it, and sent me this one instead:


There ya go, Pat! I posted your George Michael look-alike pic. Hope you're happy!!!!

Weekend Recap.

Friday

This was day #2 of actually moving all of the big stuff from our townhouse into our new (separate) apartments. After sleeping Thursday night in our new places for the first time (me on a futon cause I didn't get bedroom furniture until later in the weekend...depressing), we met at the old place at 7:30 to pack more stuff. Felix has so much shit. The majority of my stuff had already been moved, so Saturday morning was spent packing his stuff up, because he was totally unprepared ( guess I should've seen it coming, he was like that when we moved in together). I didn't really mind helping out though, no biggie. We had both scheduled the cable guy to come to our new places Friday morning between 8 and 12, and they called us both within ten minutes of each other, so we both went and got our cable connected, then it was back to moving. Felix's friend bartender came over to help, and Sally came to help me out, too. It was just stressful, loading up two pickup trucks...one with my stuff, another with his, and going back and forth between apartments. Friday night, Sally came over with about $40 worth of Chinese food, and we stuffed ourselves until we couldn't feel feelings. Ha! Her husband Seth came over a little later, and I was just kind of bummed..but they both encouraged me to start unpacking and we actually got the majority of everything done! Thank god they kicked my ass in gear, or everything would probably STILL be in boxes in the middle of my living room. I kicked them out around midnight because I was EXHAUSTED.

Saturday.

Around 8 am, the furniture company called and woke me up, and said they would be there in 20 minutes with my bedroom set. I frantically jumped out of bed (well, the futon!) and cleared a path to make sure they could get through. They were only here for probably 20 minutes, and I LOVE MY FURNITURE! Here's my bed:

I also got that bench you see at the foot of the bed, and a big dresser/mirror combo you can't see. After they left, I hopped in the shower to get ready for the day because BECKY WAS COMING TO VISIT!!! It was so good to see her. I REALLY needed my best friend. She came up and we went to Target and I bought some various necessities (a night stand, some lamps, an ironing board cover, iron...etc.) and then came back to my new place. She helped me lug TONS of boxes out to the dumpster..which helped ALOT. Then she put my floor lamps together. After that, she put some Christmas music on and helped me put up and decorate my Christmas tree.

She left around 6:00, and then it hit me. I was by myself. It sucked. It REALLY hit me when I went to Walgreens to buy some light bulbs for my lamps, and I didn't know what kind to get. After three years of Felix doing all that kind of stuff, I was stumped. So, I'm standing in Walgreens, trying not to cry over something as stupid as what wattage of light bulbs to get, and I felt so depressed. When did I become unable to pick out light bulbs? I just got so used to him doing that sort of thing, it's like I forgot how. Luckily, my friend Jason texted me at that moment, so I asked him, and he recommended 75 watt (they work just fine).

After I got home from Walgreens, all I wanted to do was sit on my couch and cry and feel sorry for myself, but thank God for my friends, because they talked me into going out for a few drinks. I headed out around 10:00 pm and got home around 1:30. Had 3 beers, so good laughs, and I felt better. I slept in my new bed for the first time, and slept like a rock. It's SOOO comfortable. I love it. So there's a perk.

Sunday.

Today Felix and I met at the old townhouse to get the last of the stuff out and clean before we have to turn our keys in tomorrow. We still get along great, and worked together and got everything done and cleaned. I'm not gonna lie, it felt good to be around him. I still LIKE being with him. He's a great person. It took us a few hours, then we headed our separate ways...I ran some errands, washed and swept my car, and now I'm getting some laundry done, and trying to figure out where all the rest of my crap is going to go.

Felix, being the good guy that he is, is coming over tomorrow afternoon to hang my curtains, put on my new showerhead, and hang some pictures for me. After he's done, I guess that's officially it. I don't know when or if I'll see him again. After a prolonged, almost 6-week breakup, tomorrow it's over. I don't know how I feel about it. I don't know if I'm almost relieved that we've finally come to the end of this, or if I'm scared because I have to get used to living alone again. I know I'm going to be alright, but it's definately going to be a journey getting to that point, and I'm not exactly looking forward to it. Plus, I've had off a few days, and I don't go back into work until Tuesday night...so hopefully once I get back into work routine, it'll get easier. We'll see.

Guest Blogger #3: Patrick

***Oh what to say about guest blogger #3. Pat and I have a semi-volatile love/hate relationship. Now, it's mostly love, but back in college? He used to drive me CRAZY. We used to fight like cats and dogs. BUT- One thing remains the same: He's awesome guy and an awesome friend. He never hestitates to give me sound advice when I need it, he's truthful with me, but he also doesn't hesitate to put me in my place and tell me to stop whining. So, our last day Guest Blogging, here's Pat!***

Breaking up sucks. It can make you miserable....depressed...angry....and about a billion other things. We've all been through it. This is where I start out on the whole "nobody should define their own happiness through another person" rant. There's a long story that could be inserted here, but it would probably be SO long, and SO boring, that it'd be bad enough to drive all of Ashley's readers off to ESPN.com for the day. Anyways, it's not the relationship that matters anyways, it's what came after. I pretty much went into a downward spiral when it ended and partied my face off. The happiness I got from going out with my friends seemed like enough at the time to get me to the next day. I ended up as sick as I'd been in years, and missing 3 days of work due to the legitimate sickness. During my days of laying in bed, I started writing, and the following is an excerpt of what I was apparently going through at the time.

5 days afterwards...

"There is a pretty good chance that this past week has been the worst week of my life. Alright, maybe not the WORST, but we're definitely talking top 5. It was so bad, that I watched Pineapple Express in it's entirety without cracking a smile. It started last Friday when I got the call. "My feelings just aren't the same as they were..." And with that, my world came to a screeching hault. It killed me...I literally felt like I died inside. I know everyone probably says this about someone they're still crazy in love with...but she was so much freaking more. This girl loves sports, lives for college football and is best friends with all of my best friends. Will I ever find that again? Nope, not even close. That's the toughest part. That is something that is tough to wrap my mind around at this point. She was quite possibly the greatest girl I've ever met. Sure, we had some problems, and it wasn't always 100% perfect...but that wasn't because of fighting, jealousy, or mistrust (like my past relationships)..."

12 days afterwards...
"...I'm still torn up inside. Her and I have talked a few times, but not at any length, and really not about us. I have expressed how much I'm hurting, but she doesn't want to talk about it. I hope it is because her feelings are hurting too. I hate to wish any ill feelings towards her, but I just want to know she is feeling it too. It's always worse to be the last one to have feelings go, and you always want to be the first one to move on...but I don't see either happening yet. I certainly couldn't fathom moving on. She still means too much to me. Tonight was particularly hard. Although the day was graced with the Sunday joys of a Steeler playoff victory, afterwards, everyone either headed home...or pretty much went off to bed. I spent the majority of the night hanging out by myself in the living room...too much time to think. I don't know what the answer is from here on out. I have an interview for a job later this week, and my basketball season starts in 2 days, so I can only hope each of those goes well and I will be able to put my focus there. I certainly need to put more focus into getting back into the gym, and that needs to happen starting tomorrow."

Let me preface any of your thoughts with "Yes, I fully acknowledge how pathetic most of that is." But when it comes down to it, my entire day was revolving around "us" at that point. That isn't healthy, ever. While I'll always be grateful for the time that we spent together, I don't think I'll ever learn more about myself than I have in the year since it has been over. 2009 has seemed to be one of the fastest years of my life, and you know what they say about time when you're having fun. It's more than just that though. It scares me to think about what I would have missed out on if we had held on to something that apparently wasn't going to work in the long run. I had been from relationship to relationship for about 5 years at that point, and had been re-defining myself...always by the relationship I was in. This year I took time to getting back to being me. I have experienced things which I would have undoubtedly passed up on if things hadn't changed. I wouldn't have grown as I have. I wouldn't have matured as I have. Most importantly, I certainly wouldn't have put the time and effort into building and holding onto the friendships that have made me who I am today. The best part of all of this for me is being wrong. I couldn't have been more wrong about 99% of the stuff I wrote in those days following. It didn't kill me. Who knows, I might find that again...maybe even something better. 2009 couldn't have started off any worse for me...and has ended up being one of the best years of my life.

***Update about stuff I mentioned - I didn't get the job, my basketball team made it to the semi-finals, I got back into the gym, and of course...the Steelers won the Super Bowl. Oh yeah, and the girl? We still talk regularly, she's an amazing friend, and I still get "Happy (Insert Holiday Here) texts from her Mom.

(On a slightly more Ashley related note, I spent last week in Pittsburgh and although we didn't get to see each other, it reminded me of one of the greatest nights I've ever spent on the Southside. Ash came out with me and all of my best friends from high school, sporting a "Let Me Eat Dem Weiners" shirt that my buddy had made. Classic.)

Guest Blogger #2: Braband.

***Guest blogger #2 is my friend Steve. By far, one of the silliest, funniest guys I know. I met him working at the television station in college and have been friends with him just as long as I have with Guest Blogger #1. It doesn't matter how depressed you are, Steve will make you laugh. Even when you're convinced he's REALLY annoying, you still laugh. Cause he's just a silly guy..as you'll find out from his blog post!***

FOOTBALL!!!

First off let me just say it’s a great pleasure to be guest blogging for my dear friend Ashley Wynkoop.

Let’s give Ash a standing ovation for her dedication and kick ass commentary she has provided us on a daily basis. CLAP….CLAP…..CLAP….CLAP. Blogging is a serious job. I attempt to make funnies on my mediocre blog each day and it is tougher than doing the wheel barrel race with Heather Mills McCartney.

Ashley Wynkoop and I go way back to our days as drunk sloppy maniac’s really good students, at Clarion University. My first impression of Wynkoop was that she was bossy and danced like Elaine on Seinfeld with a weird involuntary tic. See below:




We’ve had many adventures and crazy mishaps as buddies while at Clarion University. None of which can be recounted on here because I know Ashley’s mom reads this blog and the content would be rated NC-89. Make sense? Hi, Mrs. W.
One final homage to Wynkoop – she can bust balls. No other girl I know would let me talk to her like a jackass and dish it right back. It’s comforting to know that we’ll be buddies for quite some time…..
I am here to write a small diatribe about the game of professional football. Before deciding on this tremendous subject, here is a list of topics I considered writing about:
1. “No, I Will Not Buy You Tampons.”
2. The History of Nacho Cheese
3. Everything Our Generation Knows About Relationships, We learned from Saved By The Bell Re-Runs.
4. Why Guys Won’t Date You If You Watch The Hills
5. Spelunking

(I’ll return one day and let you know why watching The Hills will lower your chance with men, seriously that garbage is toxic and causes loss of multiple brain cells)

While all those topics are informative and important, I think I need to reiterate the importance of America’s Game.

Football is not just a “silly game,” it is a life necessity (insert manly grunt, here). We need the entire weekend dosage of competitiveness and downright brutal violence – it helps us become better people. I am not just talking about Men. Woman need the fulfillment of watching their favorite team (or favorite guys butt) win a ball game too. The sensation that comes from watching your favorite team win a football match is greater than any feeling that can be created in or outside your normal life! Am I right?

Think about, if a guy’s favorite team wins the 1:00pm game, he’ll do anything for his lady.….for the rest of the day. A dude couldn’t be happier after his team seals up one more “W” in the win column. You could take a 5 mile run in old gym shoes, stomp around in dog poo-poo, and we’d still give you a foot rub because the Steelers beat the Vikings (hypothetically. This is not based on actual events).

More and more I see my lady friends get into football. My girlfriend gets just upset as I do when her team loses and she has been known to throw an item or too. My mom may scream “RUN” during replays but, her passion for the football is greater than what it was when I was actually playing the game. This is awesome. I encourage more and more females to learn to love the game that has engulfed all our Sunday afternoons. Just don’t buy a Pink jersey…….

(Side note: All Women who are from Pittsburgh are football/Steelers fans. It’s in their blood. Their blood may have an alcohol content of 2.7 but, it loves football!!!)

Football gives us a reason to drink beer before noon and eat bratwursts for breakfast. If “Tailgating” were a major in college, I would have graduated Super-Ultimate-Cumme-Lada….with a minor in Condiments, not Communication. However some people may take tailgating a little too far. Here’s looking at you, drunk people from Oakland, CA. I love to tailgate with the best of them but, there is no reason to puke on your jeans while missing the entire fourth quarter cause you’re face first, swimming in a sea of pee, in the nearest Men’s room urinal trough. Getting sauced up enough to yell and wave your terrible towel for four quarters and still have the human ability to…. walk, a key to thoroughly enjoying your Sunday afternoons. Don’t be a dick.

I’ve graduated high school, I’ve graduated college, I’ve got my ugly mug on television in a staring role (dream of mine) BUT, none of that compared to the feeling I had when I watched……in person….the Steelers win the Super Bowl. Some may call this feeling “lame” and for me to “find a freaking hobby” (Hey, I whittle wood) but I don’t care. For those don’t know what this feeling is like (Sivillo, and the rest of the people living in Ohio) – it’s great. You feel like you have completed a major accomplishment in your life, without actually doing anything. All the credit goes to the 53 men down on the field but, somehow, you feel apart of that. And it’s the best feeling ever. Better than having sex, while playing XBOX, on a pile of money.

If you are somehow still a “hater” of the game of Football I suggest you look for an apartment in Fallujah, because you are no longer welcome in this country.

So there you have it, I have an obsession with a sport where men wear tight pants and slap each other on the ass. Come on, I’m not the only one…..
My name is Steve and I am a silly goose. Here is my blog. Read about sports and become super awesome and important, like me. – www.steve-is-alive.blogspot.com
Go Steelers!

Guest Blogger #1 : Matt

***As some of you may know, I've asked 3 friends to "guest-blog" for me while I get through this move. It gives me a chance to ease up on the blogging a little bit, but still keep my daily post, and let's face it...spice up the monotonous "woe-is-me-I-got-dumped" attitude I've had lately. My first blogger is one of the greatest guys I've ever met. We've been friends since college, and I can't even really describe how well this dude just "gets" me. I've always been able to talk to him without feeling silly, and he means the world to me. So, without further ado...Matt's guest blog!!!***

My name is Matt, and I am today’s guest blogger. I enjoy long walks on the beach, watching my beloved Cleveland teams break my heart over and over again, WWF Wrestling Buddies, and above all things, music. I write a music blog in my spare time so I thought my guest blog would tie in two awesome things in my life…music and my zebra-print snuggie…I mean, Ashley Wynkoop.

Have you ever noticed that there are certain songs that will always remind you of certain people? Well there are definitely certain stupid songs that I hear that will always remind me of Ashley. She actually recommended a few bands to me that stuck with me throughout the years. So without further interruptions (because this feels like I’m writing an essay) here are the…

TOP 5 SONGS THAT REMIND ME OF SMASHLEY WYNKOOP

5. Anything by Something Corporate
Something Corporate always reminds me of Ashley (even though they don’t exist anymore) because they are her favorite band, or were at some point. I had only heard a few of their songs before meeting her, but she introduced me to “Konstantine“, the bands 9-minute piano-laden, band-defining anthem. It’s a hell of a tune and when I hear it, it always reminds me of good times in college.



4. “Since U Been Gone” by Kelly Clarkson
As awful as this song is, I thought it would be funny to learn how to play it on the guitar so I could play it at parties. I think I learned the song in my last semester of college and I pulled it out at a party over at Eidemiller’s one night and I think we almost got a noise complaint because of it. Ashley, Leah, and Andrea always made me play it whenever I had my guitar at a party after that point. NOTE: I no longer have any recollection of how to play this song.


3. Anything by Dashboard Confessional
One reason Ashley and I get along so well is that I am a balder version of Chris Carrabba. What can I say? Apparently, I do a damn fine job of covering his music, and I never would have had the confidence to play some of the open mic nights if it wasn’t for Ashley and the other WCUB kids telling me to go for it. I never got as many complements in one night as after I sang D/C one night at the old Gemmell Rotunda. Even though I can’t listen to as much of the whining music anymore that I used to listen to in college, Ashley and I have always shared a stupid infatuation with the kings of emo.



2. “Landed” by Ben Folds
This song takes me back to the newsroom at WCUB, where everybody would fight over the CD drive while writing the news over the course of the day. Unfortunately for Steph Holt and Leah Lovelace, Ashley won most of these battles because she refused to ever sleep in like normal people and would show up at dumb times of the morning to write pointless news (I’m guessing this is why she was the first to get a job out of all of us ’05 grads…hahaha).
One day she discovered this song for the first time and I think she played it at LEAST 20 times over the course of the day. I like Ben Folds, but once you hear a song 20 times in one day, you’ll never forget it…ever.


1. “Master of Puppets” by Metallica
Bet you didn’t see that one being dropped. Ashley isn’t the most hardcore person I know, but you know who is...Steve Braband. When Steve, Ash, (Pat, Kyle, and/or Leah) and myself would go to Red River Roadhouse for our Wednesday Night Tradition, Steve would always complain about the crap music that would always blast out at him from the blown-out speakers from Wynkoop’s old Ford Escort.
So one night Steve and I confiscated the stereo and inserted Metallica’s S&M album with the incredible live version of “Master of Puppets” on it. Steve and I went nuts head banging most of the way home as I recall. Ashley, despite maybe not enjoying the music, certainly laughed her ass off…probably while contemplating why she was friends with such losers.
[I can’t believe I remember that…seriously.]



So there ya go…hope you enjoyed it. Good luck on the move Ashley! Come visit your friends in Farmington!

P.S. - Ashley has a unique love of sloths. I encourage all of her current co-workers to paste cute pictures of sloths onto her computer desktop on a weekly basis to brighten up her day.

When it Rains... it Pours.

I feel like shit. S-H-I-T. I have the worst cold in the world, and I feel like my throat is going to swell closed at any moment. I took some Nyquil Tuesday morning and headed to bed around 8:00 am. I woke up at 11:00 a.m and I literally couldn't swallow, my throat was so swollen. So, in my foggy-headed oblivion, I remember going into the bathroom, grabbing 4 ibuprophen, stumbling downstairs to the fridge, and chugging them down with some lemonade Vitamin Water 10. I fell back asleep and woke up again about an hour and a half later, and my throat wasn't nearly as sore, so I think the massive amounts of pain killers helped. I've been taking Dayquil and Nyquil every 8 hours or so, but I feel like it completely dries my sinuses out..and I hate that. Add in PMS and the stress of moving, and you have one VERY unhappy Ashley.

Anyway- speaking of moving, I picked up my keys Tuesday and managed to haul two car loads of small stuff over to the new place before my cold kicked me into submission. Felix came home from work and I was curled up on the recliner, staring blankly at the TV, begging him to go get me soup from Panera. Obviously, he didn't. That, in turn, made me angry, and I avoided him the rest of the evening. We have less than two more days of living together, and we've been getting along for the last 4 weeks, so I'm not going to let my crappy mood ruin the cordial attitude we've had with each other in the last two days.

On a positive note, I called my gas company yesterda, because I was looking at my bill and realized we had a $3 credit on our account, which means I don't have to pay the $115 bill this Friday like I thought I did. That gives me money to buy lamps for my new place (turns out, the light switches are wired to wall outlets, and if you want any light in the living room or bedroom you gotta get some lamps. Felix bought the ones that are in the apartment now, so they're going with him, and that leaves me with no light). Also, Felix already gave me the $50 bucks for his half of the gas bill. I was trying to tell myself it would be ok to just keep his money, and that he'd never know I didn't have to pay this month's bill, but karma got the best of me and I confessed and gave him his money back. Sigh. Sometimes I wish I could be more malicious.

Look for Sivillo's guest-bogging post tomorrow! I haven't seen it yet, so I'm hoping it's gonna be a good one!

Making Progress.

My whole life has been taken over by packing boxes and stressing out about moving. I've decided to skip the gym this week and focus on getting as much stuff over to my new apartment as possible. We're trying to avoid getting a U-Haul on Saturday like we originally planned, because it seems silly to go rent a truck when we're both moving like, 3 minutes away from where we are now.

Last night I got most of Talia's stuff packed and boxed up (luckily she brings most of her stuff from her mom's every other weekend and doesn't keep a ton at our place..just a few games and toys and stuffed animals). I also got the majority of my clothes closet cleaned out and packed up.

Today when I wake up, I get to go pay my first month's rent and pick up my keys. I figure I'll make a few trips back and forth to try and get rid of all the stuff I've already packed, to make room for more stuff. My hopes are that I can get the majority of everything over to the new place by Thursday and all that will be left is furniture and a few odds and ends.

It's not helping that I didn't get out of bed until almost 4:30 yesterday afternoon. I'm stuffy, my throat is swollen, and I feel like I've been fighting off a horrible cold for the last two weeks. That paired with the fact that it's getting dark when I wake up now, and the whole thought of moving out...is pretty depressing. I don't blame myself for staying in bed as long as I can!

Look for my guest bloggers on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday!! I'm looking forward to what these guys have to say on my blog...with Sivillo, Pat, and Braband, nothing is ever boring, that's for sure.