After heading back to Chicago I was again greeted by Brother Angela Brandenburg. Upon my return flight, Seattle had decided to invade Chicago and there were torrential down pours everywhere. After me offering to drive and then simultaneously getting us lost several times on the way back to Naperville we finally arrived and crashed hard my first night back.
What follows is a brief narrative of a great time in Chicago that I will never forget. The days are blurred and the nights were exhilarating but very exhausting! Each day we would retire back to Naperville and literally crash out and sleep until our bodies told us we could function again!
On one occasion we spent the day driving around the outskirts of Chicago and having lunch with several of Ang's old co-workers at the Front Street Lofts in Lemont, IL! The next minute we were touring down town Naperville and hiking around her condo at The Ponds in Naperville! Each day, each moment was seemingly maximized and utilized to the Nth degree to show me all about this great part of the country and to further promote AKPSI and the brotherhood to the communities and businesses and people of Chicago and the region! What a time, I'll never forget it!
Next thing you knew, we were on a road trip up to Milwaukee, WI to speak at Ang's Alma mater, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee! After spending the day trouncing around Milwaukee and eating "LOTS OF CHEESE" amongst other local delicacies we both spoke to the local chapter at her school and made some great new connections! I was very impressed with them as a group and especially their pledge class as well as their current members! From there it was on to another great brother Vijay's where we crashed for the weekend. While there Ang took me around her old stomping grounds showing me down town Milwaukee and taking me to the top of one of the tallest buildings there to photograph and truly view the city, what a trip! We ate more cheese, made new friends across the land and really did Milwaukee right! Such amazing hospitality too with Vijay and his girlfriend Kristina, they really helped us around town and I learned a great deal in my time with both of them and will be forever grateful! We capped off Milwaukee with trips to the Mars Cheese Castle where I had my very first Cheese Curds and fell in love with them! Lastly we hit up the Milwaukee Brewers at Miller Park and watched a killer game in their great stadium! What a blast, who knew I would get my "golden" pants for the "professional" wedding directly from the Brewers themselves! Thanks again to their great organization for their help in this! We also met up with some more brothers and had mini reunions around Milwaukee the next few nights out on the town where we closed the famous "Wolski's" and got a bumper sticker to prove it, amongst lots of other debauchery! Besides that we also got the awesome opportunity to tour the Jelly Belly factory in Milwaukee and learn more then I ever thought was possible about those little beans!
After Milwaukee, we headed back to Chicago to take in the Depaul University's AKPSI Fashion Show that was an absolute hit and a great experience especially coming from the student chapter there! You guys ROCKED IT! Afterward we stepped out for a drink and some more networking before getting ready to tie the "professional" knot the next day.
The day was such a found memory of getting dressed up, exploring Chicago and taking photos around the city and spreading awareness of AKPSI and Brotherhood and the professional events coming up! We hit up many of Chicago's finest establishments and saw the city from the Hancock tower which took my breathe away! We ate at Ed Debevic's which is similar to those cafes where the waiters/resses talk down to you and put on a show! We did so much in so little time but boy was it worth it. Before you knew it, it was time to head back to grab our things and head to where the event and fundraiser was to take place, it took a little "TOO" long to hail a cab but when we finally did, and arrived it was great, we had a Kentucky Derby audience of patrons along with AKPSI brothers from across the country! You should check out the videos on Facebook and Youtube, they are hilarious and yet very tastefully and masterfully done by brother Matt McCall of Matt Thomas Productions in Chicago, IL! You Rock Matt, and I appreciate all your help with those videos!
The video's themselves will give you a better all around picture of what we did that day then any sort of writing here ever will so please check them out! All I can say is that we are now NOT-LEGALLY bound, but in a Professional manner in the effort to raise money for AKPSI charities and promote the idea that Brotherhood doesn't have to end after college and to celebrate all those AKPSI couples that did the "ACTUAL" tying of the knot after finding their significant others through the fraternity! What a great time this was followed by an evening out raising more money and celebrating amongst more good friends and brothers! I've been talking about "Professional LUV" for awhile now and this was truly the pinnacle of it! If you're still WTF and confused about things you can always watch the "wedding explanation" video on Facebook and Youtube and that will hopefully help a little bit more too!
After the wedding was over we retired back to Naperville and crashed heavily once again after such a hectic and busy week + promoting AKPSI and touring around Chicago and neighboring areas! After resting a day, we culminated the professional wedding with a quote, unquote honeymoon at Wrigley field where we took in a Cubbies game against the Giants! I had seen the two play in spring ball in 'Zona earlier in my trip so this was a fun deja-vu of sorts! The game was amazing, the stadium was fantastic, my company was great and we had a blast! Besides Fenway and the Red Sox, this was also a childhood fantasy of mine and I was tickled pink (or should I say blue) that I was able to go and experience this to its fullest! Again check out the photos, they were amazing and we made lots of new friends, promoted AKPSI and most likely got on TV too!
After a full week + in Chicago where I finally met my destiny of meeting the one brother who helped me the greatest during my trip, I was pretty much complete! We had been talking, texting and facebooking for a few months now and it all culminated in Chicago! Have you ever met someone who so mirrored your thoughts, dreams, ideals, passions, motivations and was just plain "ridiculously" similar to you, but with the other gender's body parts!? Crazy Truly Did Hit Chicago! I said from the get go that upon my arrival there, either Hell would freeze over or World Peace would be had! I think we saw a little of both during that time! We really did make a difference and an impact though briefly in each others lives and it was because of this that we decided to take that "professional luv" to the next level and shock the world in true "WTF" style!
Never before had I met a brother that truly got me on so many levels! It was as if we knew each other and had reconnected from a past life! Never before had I met some one who was just as misunderstood and at times judged falsely for the passion, dreams, and actions they have and continue express in trying to make AKPSI that much better! I will never forget Chicago, and like the movies... Instead of "We'll Always Have Paris," in this case "We'll Always Have Chicago!!!" Thanks for the most amazing of times and memories and may you continue to strive to realize your dreams and purpose in this life! If things don't go according to plan, you may want to take some time and rethink/rediscover where you want go next because who knows...as the "signs" may continue to point and lead you back to me Personally or Professionally! ;)
Regardless, thanks for everything and I wish you all the best in this next phase of your life and career where ever it may take you! Perhaps I'll see You again in the next one!?
Sincerely,
Matthew "The Mack" Allen
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