Chicago Memories, part I: JTT

As I'm winding down my last days here in Chi-town, I wanted to recap some memories and things that I'm going to miss (or in some cases, not so much) about Chicago. I decided to break it up into several posts, as I'm sure I'll have a lot to say.

Where else to start, but at home.

I moved into our place on West Carmen in August of 2002 with two friends from undergrad, Justin and Tony. The moniker JTT was applied to our fine abode some time later by friends. We had all been engineers of the electrical and/or computer sort, but Justin was already one year into law school by the time we moved in. Tony followed his lead about a year later and now both of them are full-fledged lawyers. I'm the only one that's stayed true to our roots, for better or worse.

What are the odds of three single, late-20's/early-30's guys living together for nearly five years, and not once having anything even remotely approaching any sort of serious disagreement or altercation? It speaks volumes to the sort of laid back guys that we all are and the friendship we've enjoyed, I guess.

When thinking of great times and memories here with these guys, many things come to mind. One of the first is the multitude of video game console systems. At last count, we had no less than 8 (did I mention that we were all computer geeks at one point in time?) ranging from a still-functional Atari 2600 to the PS2. One might be surprised, though, how little we actually used these systems, especially the past year or so. They're there more for nostalgia than anything else (which might explain how we've fallen so far behind the times now!) , although no one here will deny the unbridled joy that can still be had out of a quick game of Frogger, Q*Bert, or Carnival.

While we've seldom made time for gaming these days (let alone arduous tasks like cooking meals), we still manage to find time now and then for a quick game of poker, or to drop in and watch some shows that I will forever link to this place and these guys, most notably The Office, and everyone's favorite hottie/detective, Veronica Mars. Thanks to our friend Lori, Ms. Mars (aka Michigan's own Kristen Bell) has not only graced our TV screen every Tuesday night for the past few years, but has been a constant presence on our refrigerator door as well!

No talk of the JTT years would be complete without a mention of the fantastic parties that we've had here. While this past year's Festivus party was a smashing success, with our own Festivus Pole and the Airing of Greivances (I still can't spell the damn word) wall, the two most memorable nights here had to have been our two Halloween parties. Who would ever forget Justin's badass Wolverine costume, compete with retractable metal claws and a stogie. Or Tony's "Yellow Trash" mullet and NJ Devils jersey.

But even that paled in comparison to last year's effort, when we decided to party like it was 1986, as Maverick, Goose and Iceman.

Any party that can carry over for a day and wind up featured on national TV is always going to be noteworthy...




There it is... the greatest moment in the history of JTT. Although Tony shunned his responsibility as Maverick, you can still spot him among our many friends in the background. Props to Jack for picking up the slack, and filling the role of Pete Mitchell that night!