Life update:

I've talked about this before, and will likely talk about it again. I suppose if I went back and looked at my posts from last August it would say something similar.

C-U is a transitory town. August was a particularly tough month for me, as 5 good friends moved on. So I'm going to mention them all briefly here, if you'll indulge me, in the order they left town.

1) Cassie Arner. Cassie was the sports information (media relations) director for football at the U of I. She and Craig Tiley are the two people I credit with getting me involved with Illinois athletics in the way that I am now. She was a constant advocate for me within the department, and also was amazingly accomodating for me in that I always had weird questions that she allowed me to ask of her players. She was also a close, close friend, and we shared some long talks as I was struggling to find my way and a direction with my career. She always told me I could announce at this level. I am greatly appreciative of that. Cassie is now a big wig at the University of Houston, overseeing their media relations department, and is either an Assistant or an Associate Athletic Director. I'm proud of her.

2&3) Scot Campbell and Michelle Bavester. Single t and the Bav. Scot was the first person we just blatantly stole from the Astronutz to play for the Crackmonkeys. He was, and continues to be, somewhat mysterious, and an amazing friend. I say mysterious because of crap like this: At a grilling of the meats a couple of years ago, he told us he was going to miss a portion of the festivities. We asked why, and he told us he was going to go home for a while for his sister's graduation. Glenn and I looked at each other, and both remarked, "your sister?" We had no idea that he'd had a sister, and by then, we'd known him for two or three years.
Despite the weird things like that, Scot was constantly a part of every Crackmonkey outing, a periodic tennis partner, griller, and much, much, more. He was also Glenn's nemesis when it came to drinking. When Scot was out, Glenn was automatically in trouble.
Bav- Bav came along late in the game, but I'm happy that she did. After Scot broke up with his previous girlfriend, I had multiple people who wanted me to set them up with him. But by the time we felt comfortable asking him about it, he'd already gone out with the Bav, and that was that. Pretty cool. Bav is a complete goofball, always willing to try just about anything, and laughed at my jokes more than she needed to. I'm glad she's joining Scot in boston. Oh yeah, he's at MIT because he's smart, and the rest of us aren't. No big deal.

4&5) Christian and Sarah Michner (and C-Money). I really thought that these three would have another year at Illinois before I just assumed that they'd be gone, but Christian got the call to become the head soccer coach at the College of Charleston, which is where he'd played in college. Spectacular opportunity for him, although it was at a pretty weird time, days before the season was to begin. This one kind of hit me hard, mostly because it was so immediate. Christian took the job, and was gone. I was very thankful that when he stopped back in C-U, he took some time to say goodbye to me, and that meant a lot.
Christian got me back involved with soccer, through Corner Kicks. He loved the sport so much, and loved getting kids and adults involved as well. It was infectious. As a result, I have a renewed love for the game, and have gotten to know a lot more about what the Illini program does, and have gotten to know the soccer players much better. That's been a wonderful thing for me, as I don't have that as much with the tennis program anymore. And Corner Kicks got the ball rolling for webcasts for all of the sports. So kudos.
Julia and I had some wonderful double dates with Christian and Sarah over the couple years we got to know them. Sarah is awesome. An effervescent personality, never took Christian's shit, and always involved. Despite the fact that Christian had so many obligations as a coach, she found ways to make sure Caelen saw Christian, and was involved with the program. On top of that, she coached for the Little Illini Soccer Program, and the two of them had just run their first camp in town. Really an amazing couple that I admired and enjoyed.

So much more that I could say about all of these people. But each one made a major impact on me.
So...
Cassie, thank you for believing in me and continuing to push me and push for me. I know you helped further me along in my career, and I'm so thankful. What you're doing with Cleve is amazing, and I have the utmost admiration for the way you're combining your career with your personal goals.
Scot and Bav, your friendships have meant the world to me. You two, along with most of the rest of the team, have really personified what it's meant to be a Crackmonkey...competitive, compassionate, and cameraderie. (I just made that up, but it does kind of work) Interestingly, I never think we hung out enough, but I have tons of truly special memories from the times we did. Thank goodness we have gchat, and get to talk every day now.
Christian and Sarah, I don't know how to sum up my feelings for you guys. So I'll just say this. When I feel bogged down, and think about the fact that I've got to go do this, or go do that, and just overwhelmed, I will think about the passion and zeal for life that both of you showed. Never did I hear a peep about the fact that travel and hours would keep you guys apart more than you'd probably like. You guys always made it work, and ALWAYS had smiles on your faces about it. That's what you've given me, an appreciation for making the best and enjoying every situation you're presented with.


While having close friends move away is/has been emotionally taxing, being able to talk and write like this about my friends makes me again realize I'm surrounding myself with some wonderful, wonderful people. I think about the people I continue to have as my friends, teammates, text buddies, whatever...and I know that they're all people I could write these types of paragraphs about. If you're reading this, you're likely one of them, so don't think I'm not appreciating you since I've not written about you. :)

So, again, while these friends have all moved on for wonderful opportunities, I thank them all for their special impacts on my life, and refocus to include them in new ways, and find new people, and new situations to help fill small voids within what I think remains a very full and enjoyable life. It's not a loss, it's just a shift. And a move forward.