Pictures and More - The Real World Strikes: 2004
February of 2004 saw the 3rd Annual Seven Springs Trip. A total of 22 people made the trip from various points in Ohio, many of which were OU grads. Stacey was once again the trip organizer/moderator/intimidator. This is our story...
In March I headed out to Los Angeles for a long weekend to visit Sterling as well as a fellow Bobcat, Megan. It was one hell of a time, including a night out on Sunset Blvd. and a photo shoot for Sterling's clothing line (www.sterlingswear.com) done by his buddy Michael (www.michaelvincent.com). Sterling simply does not fail to show me a good time. AFAR, my friend!
St. Patty's Day in Cleveland with the snow falling. I spent much of the day with Suzanne and Co., later heading down to W. 6th to meet up with Nicole and her crew. As for Mindy....well, Mindy STOOD US UP!
Long-time friend Greg Bobeczko and wife threw a party ("Spring Fling") in Chicago this Saturday, so the Jetta and I made the trip up. I got to see some of his friends I haven't seen in quite some
time. In true Greg fashion, "Spring Fling" T-shirts were made for each of the guests. Karaoke was the theme of the evening, though I admit I'm too much of a pansy to do it myself. Greg...what?
Fellow Bobcat Darren Shiley married the woman of his dreams on March 27, 2003, in Niles, OH (think Youngstown). It had been a long time since I had seen him or his cronies from back home. Hell,
those guys were down at OU so much I forgot they didn't actually GO there. Darren ships off with the Navy sometime later this year....good luck, man...and congrats!
Long-time friend from the high school days tied the knot on April 18th of this year. To great fanfare, Gabe and Barb got married in Akron, OH. It was such an event that Marina made the trip from NYC to check it out. The celebration allowed for a mini-reunion of fellow high school alumni, some of which I hadn't seen for quite some time.
Some pictures from various random events, including a trip to Harrisburg to see G and a trip by G home to Cleveland. Also, a Cavs game and a couple nights downtown thrown into the mix.
In June, I headed up to Chicago to visit Liz and the Bobeczkos. After narrowly escaping a mauling by any dogs present, we ended up having a great time. On Saturday, the weather was perfect for
cooking before watching a minor league baseball game.
This particular weekend, Liz got a few days off from the Air Force and paid us a visit. Upon learning that, I just had a suspicion it was going to be a fun weekend. I was not disappointed. On Friday, a group of us went to Willoughby. On Saturday, Brad and Nicole hosted a "Wines of the World" party at Nicole's place downtown that, in my opinion, was a tremendous success. Indeed, we did conquer the world...and then some.
The much-anticipated Laurapalooza took place on the Friday of this weekend. In celebration of summer help Laura's 21st birthday, some of us went out after work. All the hype and still I wasn't disappointed. By the end of the night, she proved to be a champ. On Saturday, I headed down to Columbus to visit the OU crowd. We hit up a party downtown at Fabric that an OU alumnus put on.
This set of pictures covers a few occasions. There are a few pictures from a night out in Mayfield Heights with Mindy, Lisa, and Brad. Also, a day at the Tribe game in July before heading downtown for the night. Lastly, Shannon and Katie's August birthday party in Columbus at Ryan and Shannon's.
In August, I decided to take a trip out west (had to get it in before school started), so I drove out to visit Josh in Vail, Colorado, and then hit some national parks in Colorado and Wyoming before heading home. All in all, it was a great trip. As usual, Hubox was an excellent host and kept me busy. It felt good to spend some time in the Rockies. On the way out, I stopped by St. Louis to check out the Gateway Arch.
Well, it was August again, and we all know what that means; time for the MC to turn 21 yet one more time. Here are some pictures from the event held in Mentor, which never fails to be entertaining.
This set of pictures covers an Ohio State tailgate in September, as well as Nicole's surprise birthday party here in Cleveland. Also, a few pictures from Harrisburg during a trip out there.
The last, but not least (actually...age-wise she IS the least..hehe), Bielek kid got married on this date. JoAnna Bielek married Patrick French in Columbus in what turned out to be (as if anyone's surprised) a fantastic celebration.
On October 16, 2004, Autumn had her wedding reception at OU. She and Scott had gotten married a few months before. Well, there's no better way to ensure my presence at a reception than having it at my alma mater. The event brought together many people I hadn't seen in years. Needless to say, fun time had by all.
I made the trip down to columbus once again for the Michigan-Ohio State game, which was at home this year. Most of the usual suspects attended the tailgate, and all of the usual fun was had.
This set of pictures contains various shots from around Christmas and New Year's, including some visits from out-of-towners and scenes typical of winter and the holidays.