Tag: Concert

Winter Break

Winter Break

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Loyola is absolutely amazing for so many reasons. Reason #27 (roughly) of why Loyola is the best: they give us one full month of winter break! I remember as a freshman I had mixed feelings about this long hiatus from my new college friends, but as a busy, busy senior, this long break was exactly what I needed.

I would have to say the highlight of my break was seeing the love of my life, Justin Timberlake (yes, I am a crazy fangirl when it comes to him). He performed his 20/20 Experience tour in Cleveland the Thursday I got back. It was the perfect start to my break! He is a great performer and absolutely hilarious. The highlight of the show was when he sang happy birthday to a six year old in the audience!

The whole week of Christmas I was surrounded by family, specifically my 20 cousins. I always have the most fun with them, so I was grateful that everyone was able to come together. My parents did Christmas a little different this year. Instead of buying my siblings and I specific gifts, they gave us money and a night to shop at the mall. My mom was getting tired of us returning everything she bought us (sorry we’re picky, mom!) so she thought this was the best solution. It was fun shopping with my parents and siblings, but the best part was enjoying a nice family dinner afterwards at Maggiano’s.

The rest of my winter break was pretty low key. As you Chicagoans know, the -30 degree wind chill that lasted a few days was killer! It was so cold in Cleveland that our schools closed for four days! It was a nice extended break for the school age kids, and my mom, who is a teacher, but I was getting a little stir crazy being cooped up in my house. It was nice to relax and catch up on some television shows, though.

My ride back to Chicago was great… I had two of my best friends from home come back with me! My friend Anne goes to Miami of Ohio and was visiting for the weekend, and my friend Tiffany goes to Columbia College Chicago! We had a great weekend together, and it was the perfect ending to my winter break!

A Weekend of Visitors

A Weekend of Visitors

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As if I wasn’t happy enough living in downtown Chicago and eating three Sprinkle’s cupcakes a day (joking… but it’s possible), my friends from home came to visit me last weekend!  We had been planning this trip all summer, and the weekend had finally come.  My one friend came from her college in Pennsylvania, and my other one came from just down the street- Columbia College of Chicago.

We picked up my friend from the Megabus at midnight Friday.  The Megabus is the best. It’s how I go home to Cleveland because it’s very cheap and very convenient.  If you book the bus as soon as the date is available for booking, its as cheap as one dollar! The maximum it can go up to is forty two dollars, so the max round trip is only eighty four! That’s my random tangent about the Megabus, but seriously, its a great deal!

Anyways, Friday night we stayed at my place, Baumhart Hall.  I was excited to show it off to my friends, and they were certainly impressed.  It was great that we stayed here because it is so close to Michigan Avenue, and we had a long day of shopping the next morning.

On Saturday, we went to a great breakfast place off of State Street called Tempo. Afterwards, we shopped on Michigan Avenue.  Both of my friends are familiar with Chicago, so we didn’t do much sightseeing.  We also went to Sprinkles and said the secret word to get a free cupcake! You have to follow Sprinkles on Twitter or friend them on Facebook, and there is a few secret words a day that you have to say to the cashier to get your free cupcake.  It’s pretty cool for a cupcake enthusiast on a budget like me!

Saturday night we took the Metra to Tinley Park to see our favorite singer, Jason Mraz.  This was my third time seeing him (I’m a superfan) and this concert was the best one yet.  We had lawn seats, but we had a pretty good view and it was the perfect night for a concert.

My friend left the next day, but even though the stay was short, it was definitely a lot of fun.  One of my favorite things is having visitors.  I love showing off Chicago and Loyola to friends and family, and I always encourage everyone to make the trip out here.  The school and city both have so much to offer, and I love that my visitors get to experience what I experience daily!

Busy Days in the Windy City

Busy Days in the Windy City

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It’s crunch time here at Loyola, time to begin the countdown to the final weeks of the semester. I’ve been super busy with school and running around trying to get things done before heading home for a quick Easter trip. I’ve been working, fundraising for my mission trip that I’m taking in May, completing assignments, taking exams in my classes and trying to plan out my class schedule for next semester.

I’ve also been working on plans with a few friends to live in an apartment off campus together for the next school year. At Loyola, students are required to live in campus residence halls for their first two years, so next year will be my first opportunity to move off campus and get my own place! I’m super stoked!

I’m going to miss living on the Water Tower Campus in Baumhart, but it will be nice to move back up north and be a part of the beautiful Lake Shore Campus again. My future roommates and I have been conversing with a potential landlord about leases and credit checks and adult stuff that I know nothing about. It’s definitely been a learning experience. I think we’re on the right track so far to move in to a place on the south side of campus near the Granville Red Line station, Metropolis Coffee and Pete’s Pizza. Can’t wait! Cross your fingers for me that everything goes as planned!

I was able to take a break from crossing things off my to-do list this weekend to see some awesome concerts with some awesome people. On Friday, I had plans to meet up with some friends from Illinois Statue University and Northwestern University to see a show by a band called Lovedrug. On Friday afternoon before the show, I knew the band was scheduled to do an interview with Fearless Radio, a really cool internet radio station in Chicago. I tuned in to the interview and actually tweeted to both the band and the radio station on Twitter— and the band gave me a shootout on the radio! I was ecstatic! The concert was later that evening at the Beat Kitchen on Belmont, a venue that I had never been to before. It was pretty small— more like a bar or a restaurant— but it was so intimate that I was able to walk right up and meet the band right after the show. Very cool!

We were able to get right up against the stage for the show at the Beat Kitchen. This is my friend Evan just before Lovedrug is about to start their set; as you can see he’s super excited to be so close!—

Saturday night I saw a little bit bigger of a show at the Riviera Theatre. One of my favorite bands, Needtobreathe, played a sold out show, and it was awesome! It was PACKED, but the energy in the place was really cool. Needtobreathe was so great live. And I always love shows at the Riviera!

My friend Erin and I at the venue after the show!—

Concert Hopping

Concert Hopping

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Tomorrow is Loyola’s last day of classes before Thanksgiving break, and thank God! Two more class periods left and I’ll be on the road headed home to that great state shaped like a mitten. This break will definitely be well-deserved. Last week was busy busy—all of my professors are loading up the assignments and papers in order to make sure they fit everything in before the end of the semester.

Last Wednesday provided a much needed break from writing and studying—one of my favorite singer-songwriters, Mat Kearney, was in town and did a little meet-and-greet at the Michigan Avenue Apple Store just blocks from my apartment in Baumhart Hall on Loyola’s Water Tower Campus. A few friends and I got there early and waited in line so we could get seats. Mat did a quick interview in front of the crowd, talked a little about his favorite songs and answered questions from audience members.

Afterward, my friends and I got in line to meet him and get a photo. We wanted to break the ice by asking him a silly question—we found out his favorite breakfast food is apple cinnamon oatmeal from Trader Joe’s!

After another long couple of days of classes, we got to see Mat in concert on Friday at the House of Blues. The show was great! Mat is so personable and such a great performer.

One of my favorite parts about living in the heart of the city is being so close to so many opportunities for fun things to do on the weekends—shows to catch, people to meet, fun times to be had with friends. The diversity of experiences available is great. There is no one genre or area of interest more favored than others. Mat played shows at the House of Blues on Thursday and Friday last week, and in the next couple weeks the venue will host shows played by my fellow Detroiter Kid Rock, American Idol David Cook, and the noisy metalcore band As I Lay Dying.

My taste is definitely much more suited to performers like Mat Kearney—if you’re interested (and I highly recommend it), you can check out his music on YouTube.

All photos were taken by me!