More details to come…

$180 worth of clothes and accessories for $91? I think so!

(Purchases post to follow!)

… watched our intramural soccer team go 3-0, 

took my staff out for milkshakes at 11pm,

built two balloon archways for homecoming week (reliving my high school glory days with this one),

and hung out with the coach of a Big 10 football team (that’s Ron Zook, by the way).

I love my job!

Dammit to hell, Ticketmaster.

I just wanted to buy two Ryan Adams Fan Club pre-sale tickets this morning! There are almost 2500 seats in the Cadillac Palace Theater and I have a strong feeling that you didn’t sell out of all 2500 tickets in the first minute of sales, ESPECIALLY since there is ANOTHER pre-sale tomorrow morning for WXRT’s listeners.

After each time I searched for 2 tickets, I was reverted to a page that read:

Sorry, no exact matches were found, but other tickets may still be available.

What the - ?

It was just TWO tickets - not like I’m trying to get a group of 20 tickets, for goodness sake. I was on the site for the pre-sale at 10am when it started and at 10:01am when I got through, you mean to tell me that there were not two tickets left in the place? Really? Really??

AND, to fuel my fire, I searched elsewhere online for tickets, and already they are selling on other sites for upwards of about $100. $100!!

HOW DID YOU MANAGE TO SELL THAT MANY TICKETS TO INTERNET SCALPERS AND DIDN’T HAVE EVEN ONE TO SPARE FOR ME, AN ACTUAL FAN, IN THE FIRST MINUTE OF THE PRE-SALE? 

Am I the only one who sees how fishy this is? I’m not that impatient, but I feel like I’m being jerked around by Ticketmaster. 

Look, I’ve seen Ryan Adams before, and he’s a phenomenal performer who I highly respect; and frankly, I don’t think he’d tolerate the way you’re treating his fans, or the fans of any artist who are having similar issues. Maybe if you paid attention to what people are saying about you on social media and had some sense of customer service, stuff like this wouldn’t happen. 

After 10+ days without my morning cup(s) of coffee, I am glad to say that (a) I survived, and (b) it worked! I am back to drinking just one cup a day and I am completely energized throughout each morning and well into the afternoon. 

I’m making it sound like anyone can take this challenge, as though it’s some sort of walk in the park (without coffee-in-hand, of course); but let me be the first to tell you that you will hate yourself for kicking the habit around Day 3.

I came very close on Day 5 to giving-up on the challenge completely and going for that cuppa Joe that I so badly craved. I had a monster headache almost every day of the challenge, and I was cranky for its entirety - talk about a dependency issue!  Decaf was an awful substitute, and I found myself sneaking sips of Coke just so I didn’t fall over and die. Sound dramatic? It was.

The end result, however, was great I must stress. I feel like a newbie coffee drinker and I will not abuse that feeling by drinking more than my fair share of coffee a day. If you can power through 10 days without coffee, by all means: go for it. The results feel great, but the battle? - as bitter as an extra bold dark roast, no room for cream or sugar.

Goooood morning, world! I woke up feeling very refreshed without my alarm around 7am. I wish I could tell you that I got in some yoga or a run or something, but I just sort of laid there for a half hour, noticing how much better I felt than yesterday and feeling ready to take on whatever challenges I’m faced with today.

I have yet to feel the coffee crash (granted, it’s not even noon), but I’m feeling productive and I’m in a good mood. It might be too early to call, but I think the Caffeine Challenge is so far successful.