My first car was a John Deere 4020 at the age of thirteen. I loved every minute on it and there were plenty of them. So it only took me about two seconds to jump at the chance to drive one of my friends prized vintage JD’s in the Brimfield Old Settlers Days parade. I drew the A, my brother-in-law, Mark Krusa, got the G and his boy drove the B. We had a great time driving the narrow roads to town at a blistering 10 mph. Shifting out of road gear, we joined the parade route crawling in pace with the others. After, we parked the tractors and headed to the food tent for pork chop sandwiches. For me, there is nothing better than a small town festival – one of the few things that remain unchanged since I was a kid.

Now, I can’t wait to get back to run some big tractors but as fast as the corn is getting picked, I’ll have to settle for beans. My master plan for the fall is to butter up Jordan with a new John Deere hat and a thirty box to let me chisel plow in his new-to-him 4755 front wheel assist.  I can’t wait.

When I’m not making advertising magic at Wilburn Thomas, I work as an event planning assistant for a company called Nerds at Heart. We host dating parties for single smarties. So basically I’m Cupid’s geeky cousin. A few weeks ago, we celebrated our 4th anniversary with our biggest event yet:  Nerd Fest. The Holiday Club in Lakeview was packed with nerds and nerd-lovers of all shapes, sizes, and orientations.

It was a blast. There were board games, card games, Wii games, and special performances– such as crazy experiments by our friends at American Science and Surplus. The night ended all too soon, and now I’m totally geeking out over planning next month’s event!

I wait for it every year, and 2010 was no different. Chicago’s famous Lollapalooza festival happens every August and this year’s lineup was enough to have me camp-out. We’re talking Phoenix, Metric, The Black Keys, Lady Gaga, Yeasayer, Chromeo, and so many more. If the lineup wasn’t enough reason to shell out a stiff $215 for the tickets, perhaps the celebrity appearances were? Spotted throughout Grant Park all weekend were celebs ranging from Ke$ha, to Gaga, to Perez Hilton. I myself spent the weekend seeing favorites live, discovering new music, and attempting to stay hydrated regardless of scorching temps.

The weather was fantastic, the water was cheap (and environmentally friendly!), and the music was on point. As always, there were disappointments and acts that failed to deliver, but all in all it was absolutely a Lolla to remember.

For one extended weekend in August, the place to see the oddest gathering of celebrities and fan-boys of the obscure isn’t Hollywood… it’s Rosemont, Illinois. Wizard World held their annual Chicago Comic-Con at the Donald E. Stevens Convention Center and the featured guest list was as varied as the dinner choices at Old Country Buffet.

Sharing floor space with genuine thespians like Wiliam Shatner, Linda Hamilton and Adam West were even those who reached fame by acting like themselves; Survivor’s Jonny Fairplay and The Surreal Life’s Adrianne Curry. But by far, the highlight of the weekend was Blago in the Batmobile. Holy Helmet-Head, Batman!

All kidding aside, Comic-Con is probably the only place where you can geek out about the silliest obsession and feel safe in assuming that it’s not the weirdest interest in the room. Well, not the only place… there is Anime Central, the annual anime and manga convention.

Thanks to all who participated in Wilburn Thomas’ first ever networking event for creative professionals.

Held at one of Chicago’s best independent art galleries, {fill in the blank} Gallery was the perfect venue to talk shop about our creative industry. Surrounded by their current exhibit, A Walking Tour of Here by Justin Santora, and enjoying a cool beverage, courtesy of Half Acre Beer Co., proved to be a wonderful way to spend a Thursday evening. Connecting to others in the various fields of advertising, marketing, and design definitely inspired us and padded our portfolio of available resources. Newbies and seasoned professionals alike, chatted up under the loungy beats of DJ D’Bug’D all evening as well as sipping down some WT-branded vino.

Success is what you make of it. And we think making this happen again is a likely possibility. Will you be there?

This month peaches are 10 for $1.00 at my local grocery store so I stocked up and decided to try a couple different kinds of peach cobbler recipes. I’ve been in a baking mood and the weather is perfect for fresh peaches.

The first kind I tried had a biscuit-like topping that was a great compliment to the sweetness of the peaches (pictured below):

The second style ended up being more of a peach crisp. Both were a big hit among my friends and disappeared almost instantly. My only regret was that I didn’t have some vanilla ice cream for the side! Check out www.peachcobbler.org for all kinds of delicious peach cobbler recipes.

Tech gadgets are just toys for adults, but what happens when your gizmo goes from convenient to consuming? I’m the first to admit my dependency on technology, so naturally you understand my disorientation when devastation hit my beloved blackberry. Whether it’s an iPhone, (insert any form of iAnything here), Blackberry, or Android, it’s important to take care of these expensive devices. For the most part, I’ve done a good job at this (don’t ask anyone who knows me), but it was last week when fate and irresponsibility collided, resulting in colossal catastrophe. My blackberry jumped out of my back pocket and went for a swim. In the toilet. A moment of shock passed until I basically dove headfirst into the cell-phone-stealing commode. Like a lifeguard on duty, I rescued blackberry from the depths of the ocean, seconds before nearly disappearing into sewage abyss. After practically resorting to CPR, I realized my efforts were pointless. Poor blackberry was dead. Sadly, the porcelain throne killed my phone.

While I gave myself a moment to mourn, I gathered my emotions and decided to fix the situation before missing too many calls. At the local sprint store, the sales associate ordered a replacement device and kindly equipped me with a loaner phone. While I appreciated the gesture, I was slightly disturbed when she handed over the device. Manufactured in 1999, this “cell phone” had no web-browser, no texting capability, no twitter, and worst of all? No email.

I can stand here today and say I made it through an unwanted blackberry detox and am a better person for it. So a word of advice, next time you decide to take your cell to the bathroom, remember – technology and toilets don’t mix. Text responsibly.

For the past three weeks, I’ve been sprinting out of the office every Wednesday at 5pm on the dot, so as not to be late for my new favorite hump-day activity: Cinema/Chicago’s free International Summer Screenings.  Each week, a new foreign feature film is screened in the Claudia Cassidy Theatre at the Chicago Cultural Center.

Since I discovered this cinematic gem, I’ve seen films from Canada, China, Thailand.  My favorite so far was Seducing Dr. Lewis, a charming tale of village life in Quebec, and the lengths they will go to keep their community alive– such as disowning their beloved hockey to play cricket in their underwear.  It was a simple story– even wholesome– but pleasantly quirky and well-written. It definitely got a few belly laughs out of me.  View the trailer

This week I’m looking forward to seeing a French film with the English title Me and My Sister, and I recommend everyone do the same. Visit cinemachicago.org and get some culture. Did I mention it’s free?