Pete Nickeas

What better way to dust off this blog than to announce that Erin and I were married this weekend.

It was a beautiful ceremony at the Birdhaven Greenhouse in Joliet. It rained a good chunk of the morning, and on the ride between the wedding and the reception … but the sun was out during the ceremony.

Erin was wearing a stunning ivory dress with muted designs across the midsection. The classy and elegant dress was a reflection on her physical beauty as much as her character.

All the men were wearing gun metal gray tuxedos with white shirts. The groomsmen were wearing green vests, the ushers and our fathers were wearing black, and I was wearing ivory.

The wedding party walked into “Here Comes the Sun,” by the Beatles. Erin was walked up the aisle by her father to the theme song from Forest Gump. When our 10 minute ceremony was complete, we walked back down the aisle to Sweet Home Chicago.

We took a limo from the wedding to my grandfathers house. He fell ill a few weeks ago and is recovering but unable to attend - so the whole wedding party crammed into his apartment for photos.

We departed his house for the reception at a VFW hall in Villa Park. The wedding party walked in to Eric Clapton’s “Layla” and Erin and I walked in to Bill Withers’ “Lovely Day.”

Before dinner, we toasted to my younger brother Mike — serving in southern Afghanistan in the 1st Marine Battalion of the 2nd Marine Division of the United States Marine Corps. He is halfway through his second foreign deployment and was unable to attend the ceremony.

Erin and I scarfed food and started stopping by tables and talking with people. I only had a brief opportunity to drink in the limo on the way up — my guys were carrying flasks full of Jameson and I had a couple sips but had to keep composed while we made the rounds later that evening.

After touching base with 130 people at 16 tables (and sneaking a shot from the bar), we danced.

Our first dance was to Nina Simone’s moving “Feeling Good.” Erin danced with her father to “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.”

After that, all our Public Affairs Reporting friends and the Mack family on Erin’s side tore up the dance floor something serious. I’ve never seen so many people dancing so enthusiastically in my life. Many people danced. But the PAR people and their dates were something else.

At that point, Erin and I fell into a routine for about 3 hours — dance, run to the bar, get held by whoever was there for shots (”He’s the groom, get him a shot of Jameson” or “Come here Erin, you look beautiful, let’s do a shot”), down the hatch, back to the dance floor.

I don’t know that I can adequately describe the immense feelings of happiness both Erin and I felt that evening. We are blessed to have so many people we consider friends.

Photos in the days to come.

CHICAGO –People in Chicago drive like it’s a competition where MY destination, no matter where, is far more important than YOUR destination.

It’s the most democratic sport in the city because cars are so ubiquitous that seemingly everyone can participate.

Within the confines of a four lane highway, generally speaking, it matters not if you’re driving a hooptie on a quarter tank or a new sports car. You can be a seasoned veteran, an all-star even, but the 16 year old girl texting on her two-way may prove to be your fiercest competitor.

Everybody can play.

And everybody has a strategy. My younger brother Mike says he strives to be a defensive driver by staying ahead of the flow of traffic and using the “weaving” technique. He will see how close he can get the front passenger wheel well to the neighboring car while passing on the left and in a seamless motion jump right in front of the vehicle he was passing while continually accellerating.

I’m a fan of driving at a steady pace that exceeds the average speed but not by much. I also believe the safest technique is to be extremely deliberate and decisive while driving, ensuring that each lane change is planned out and excecuted with confidence and authority.

Others like to irritate and antagonize for the sport of it. It’s my opinion that in those situations, cooler heads prevail.

This realization came to me while driving between Erin’s house and my father’s house, which are about 50 miles apart. Forty-seven of those miles are on the highway and with Erin sleeping I had ample time to observe the driving habits.

Surprisingly, it is very similar in Wisconsin.

Until then, I’m going to start jacking fools on their way from the ATM.

Just joking.

If nothing else, not having enough money has taught us a lot. I feel like I’m ahead of the game anyway because I’ve never really had a ton of money and have been paying for some of the “necessities” since like 5th or 6th grade. I feel more responsible, more self sufficient, and more in a position to build a future based on my experiences and I’m grateful for all of that.

BUT DAMN I’D BE GRATEFUL FOR SOME MORE MONEY TOO!

Here’s the thing. I was half stupid and half broke in college, so a chunk of my credit card debt is 40’s and handles of whiskey. The other chunk is rent, tires, books, moving costs, etc.

One of the things I’m most proud of personally is not having incurred any debt since living in Wyoming. Erin and I have been out like 4 times since being here (more than three months now), and our recreation consists of at-home-drinking. Which, I’m good with. In my personal life I’m very fiscally conservative.

I just gotta get rid of some of this interest bearing debt. It’s a joke. It’s amazing what percentage of my monthly expenditures are from credit cards.

Work is going well, though. This last week was a grinder but I loved it. I didn’t feel like, at the end of the week, that I worked as much as I did. It flew. I was out of the office a lot, met a ton of people, etc. Plus, what I’m working on is material of consequence. I’m not pissing in the wind.

Here’s a random string of sentences:
Erin just started working full time. I’m debating the idea of getting another job. If work stays this busy I won’t have to, so I’m hoping that it does. My two brothers aren’t gonna make it out for Thanksgiving, I don’t think. That saddens me. I’m going back to Chicago for Christmas and my brothers will be there. Big ass party on the 26th. Everybody’s invited, as always. I’m glad winter is around the corner. I’m sick of people warning me about the Wyoming winter. GET ON WITH IT MOTHAFUCKA! I’m ready.

I think that this is the last nice weekend we’re going to have this year.

They’re calling for snow in the “lower” elevations of this county (I think that’s us) sometime next week and while it’s supposed to be gorgeous tomorrow afternoon and Sunday afternoon, it’s still getting into the low-30s overnight.

I’m still really excited for Thanksgiving since my two little brothers are flying in from North Carolina, where they’re stationed (2nd Marine Division). Mike just had laser surgery on his eye, so he’s chilling for the next couple weeks I guess. It will be nice to see some familiar places.

I finished “Great Expectations” today, which was mildly disappointing (ironic?) and I began “Team of Rivals,” which, 25 pages in, is amazing. That book will probably take in the 40-50 hour range to read, and as it cools off I’ll have more and more time.

I forced myself to run today, and I didn’t want to really. But, as there’s only a handful of good weather days left, I thought it prudent to take advantage of the weather. I’m going to run tomorrow morning and probably Sunday morning and then I’ll have to start doing different stuff once winter gets here. I haven’t ran in the winter before.

Our finances are kinda tight right now. This concerns me. I want to go out and buy a few candles, maybe some type of something to make this place feel more like home but we’re strapped for cash right now. I think a second job is in the very near future, because our combined incomes just aren’t cutting it.

Stay tuned.

Well, fall came in one day. It went from like, sunny and 80 the day before, to hail and overnight snow the next night. What the hell. There’s still snow on the top 2/3rds of the mountain. About 1,000 feet of elevation separates us from the snow, which seems like a lot but isn’t. It’s like a 12 minute drive to snow.

On the up and up though, I’m looking forward to the winter. I plan on working out a lot and reading, since we won’t be drinking in Dan, Jake, and Megan’s back yard anymore. Kinda sounds like prison. There’s also going to be some Xbox in there, obviously.

I’ve always liked fall. Back when I was in high school, me and my kid brother Jack would sometimes walk the train lines through Milwaukee, taking pictures of graffiti on the bridges and on trains if we could catch them rolling by. It was good times.

We’d park the car, walk to the spot, then walk from there. I’ve still got a whole book of photos that I ended up giving my cousin D, which, I guess I don’t have the photos anymore. But those were good times.

There’s also, walking in the cold. I enjoy that. Headphones, hoodie, some good boots. A coffee mug perhaps.

But I doubt we’re gonna be able to do a lot of that. Wind gets crappy here, and the snow is supposed to be a bitch.

We’ll see how it goes I guess. I’ve got mixed feelings.

Good:
While playing Call of Duty, I had a seven kill streak going when I realize there’s three dudes in close proximity. I doubled around, crept up on each one of them and shanked them all, one by one. 10 kill streak! Peeled off another five dudes before someone finally knifed me.

My two little brothers are coming to Casper, Wyoming for Thanksgiving. This excites me greatly. I’ve got that Thursday and Friday off, so we’re going to just hang out for a few days, probably drinking and playing Monopoly and running. That means I have to train, since they can actually run. Also means we have to save some money so we can make a big ass Thanksgiving dinner. HELL YEA

There’s a three day weekend in my future. I’m not sure what I’ll do. Something fun, hopefully.

Bad:
No Bears game. I’m going to watch Denver here in a couple minutes but it’s only because it’s the “closest” team. And they’re 4.5 hours away, and in another state.

I’ve come to two or three “profound” realizations in the past couple days. And they mostly suck.

I want to build things - shelves, tables, chairs, etc. I have not the tools nor the space nor the money to do this, though. I want to have a garage but perhaps if I make more money one day I’ll rent a small storage space and have a workshop in there. That’s until we get a home with a garage. Maybe we’ll move to the apartment complex to the south of us. I think if you live there you get a storage space. That could be good.

It’s supposed to snow tonight. Not even shitting you. I’m all about the fall and stuff, but, I mean, there’s forty degree temperature swings here. So if it snows tonight it could still very well be 70 degrees outside tomorrow.

Hell yea!

I’m really excited for him. The lady that’s owned the house has been dicking around for far too long, delaying the actual transaction. But, it’s done.

Anyway, you mostly know that my dad has a pretty open-door policy.

We party at the house, and it’s always good times. Anyone that’s been there can attest to that.

Now we don’t have to worry about the landlord randomly passing by. We don’t have to worry about a spilled beer costing a security deposit. That shit is over. Plus, it’s his place. There’s something proud about being able to say you have your own place.

Like I said, call him up and congratulate him.

We went to the top of the mountain today (Casper Mountain, that is) and it was nice.

For reference, that photo shows a cross section of Wyoming’s largest metropolitan area.

Anyway, we’re going hiking next week. There will be more photos.

The mountain itself seemed fairly clean. You could tell kids went up there - red cups and Keystone Light cans here and there. But overall, it was a pretty clean and well-kept area. The roads were a little daunting but it was more because we’ve not experienced something like that before.

I’m looking forward to hiking next week. We don’t have hiking boots or shoes so that’s gonna suck but we’ll bring water, food, etc and enjoy the trek. Should be fun.

Re: Weather …
It’s starting to cool off. It’s getting up to 80 or so but I think that’s as warm as it’s going to be until next year. It gets to below 50 on a regular basis at night, which makes for great sleeping weather, and I’m looking forward to the fall. But it’s going to be a long winter. We’ll see how it goes.

The plan is to make it back to Illinois for Christmas but who knows if vacation’s going to work out. There’s actually quite a complicated policy for vacation at work and I have no idea if it’s going to work out. Plus, there’s also the money issue too (mostly, whether we have some come Christmas).

It wouldnt’ break my heart if we were here for the holidays. I don’t think my brothers will be back for the holidays and it wouldn’t be “Christmas” if the family wasn’t together. I’d like to see my dad but we wouldn’t celebrate Christmas with half the family elsewhere. Erin’s house (been there the last two Christmas eves) is always super-fun, though. And if I came to town, I would make the rounds and visit everyone while I could.

But, we could get stuck in the trip to/from Denver so that would mean taking more time off, eating into the time I have to save for the wedding and a honeymoon, and it would cost money to stay in some shack hotel next to the highway. That concerns me a bit.

We’ll see how it goes. I’m probably just planning too much.

There was a slow, dull realization yesterday that it could very well be ten years before Erin and I can purchase a home.

Reporters don’t make a lot. Of anything. Money included. Plus, Erin and I owe a lot of people a lot of money. Student loans are going to be around forever and we do have a wee bit of credit card debt, plus a wedding on the horizon.

Anyway, it hit me yesterday that the apartment we’re in is where we’re going to be for awhile, and there’s no chance that we’re going to own our own home anytime soon. At least not with our current jobs.

So, we’re going to make this place feel like home. We never really, really did that in Springfield. It felt like home because we bought bookshelves and cleaned the place and made it not look like a dorm room.
But yesterday, we spent 200 bucks at Menards on a drill, hammer, a couple levels, and some shelves.

I put them together this morning, since the drill battery had to charge for like 9 hours. The two brackets are drilled into studs (which were a bitch to find since apparently they aren’t every 16 or 18 inches, which I thought they would be) and the shelves themselves are movable.

They’re quite nice, super sturdy, and solve our space-problem since the kitchen is a cleaner and more organized place now.

Plus, it’s a good party set up. Little stereo, alcohol and nice glasses all within reaching distance of two chairs, plus coffee and tea above. That’s the food processor and related attachments on the bottom shelf.

And that’s just the beginning … we’re going to be hanging photos and probably a few more shelves throughout the apartment. If we’re going to be in this building for awhile it makes sense for us to install high-quality, removable shelving that can be carted with us to wherever we end up.

Oh! Almost forgot the runner blog.

Runner Blog days 12 and 13:
Yesterday, Erin and I ran about 2 miles and then walked 1.4. We ran this trail by us, and it’s 1.7 miles from our house to the trail and then to the end of the trail, so we ran to the end and part of the way back. It’s definitely the farthest we’ve ran together but it was largely on flat ground, which I’m sure made it easier.

Anyway, there’s a 5k run in Casper in November (Turkey Trot?) that we’re going to do. 3.4 is more than 5K I think so if we keep running until we can do the 5k and then just try to be faster … I mean, we can get that done before November. So that’s the new goal. We’re just going to keep running until we can’t run and just turn around and walk home.

Today was day 13, and I ran alone. Erin wasn’t feeling up to it, so I did the hills and made sure to push myself for the last 3/10ths of a mile after keeping a pretty steady pace to that point. We’re getting a stop watch soon so we’ll actually be able to start timing ourselves.

Also, it wasn’t more than 60 degrees outside when I was running … and it further proved to me that running when it’s not 90 degrees is easier.

Last weekend, we got rowdy. And that’s the only way to say it.

First off … apparently, to Marines, the 4th of July is not only an extremely important holiday, but also an excuse to get ridiculously drunk.

I’m not a Marine, but my brothers are. And they both came back to Addison for the weekend. Erin and I made the trip from Wyoming, Mike came from South Carolina, and Jack from Maryland. Grandfather came, uncle too, and other family friends. Tony too.

Plus, D came from Milwaukee. Erin’s parents made the trip up from the south suburbs, and my boy Donald from the south side.

Everyone important in my life was there, except a few PAR folks who couldn’t make the trip up, and a couple family members who stay distant.

It was great. It was amazing. It was probably one of the best nights of my life. I mean, it was what a celebration of life should be. Everyone was smiling.

My father cooked like 10 pounds of Italian sausage with green peppers, 10 pounds of ribs, five pounds of burgers, there was all kinds of chips and snacks and other delicious food. I think there may have been hot dogs.

We started early … before 4. And we went til about 2 before everyone knocked out.

We got left for El Burrito and one of Jack’s buddies was laying on the sidewalk in front of the house, hurling, but he couldn’t stand. He wanted a burrito though so we picked him up one. But when we got back, him and another one of Jack’s buddies were passed out on the floor.

El Burrito was delicious, as it always is. I don’t think I’ve been there during daylight in years.

We had to bounce the next day, and it sucked. Not only did we have to drive back to Denver, then to Casper … we knew that was coming. Lucky for me, the hang over wasn’t so bad so driving to western Nebraska, where we stayed for the night, wasn’t so bad.

But I have no idea when that’s going to happen again.

We’ve all graduated … Mike and Jack from bootcamp, me from school. There’s a good chance they’ll be deployed next year when Erin and I get married.

And that, it’s saddening. For real, it’s something that weighs on me. The positive side of all this is, I was fortunate enough to realize how much my family means to me in time to have big ass parties with them. And now that everyone’s gone - my father is basically alone in Addison - the prospects of us convening again don’t look good … at least for a few years.

It’s not for nothing though. Jack’s career in the Marines is something that’s going to help him when he gets out. Mike is like … a Marine’s Marine, I guess. He lives for his job. It’s who he is. And I love my job. We’re doing well for ourselves. The price of that is, though, being distant.

I like to think that at some point, we’ll be back in the general vicinity of each other. Who knows though.

Oh well. Last weekend was great, was the point I was getting at.