iamshack

QUOTE (dasox24 @ Mar 12, 2014 -> 10:03 PM) I'm thinking about going back to school and making a career change. Has anybody else gone through that? I'm very good at what I do, but I don't necessarily love it. It scares me to become a poor college student again after making good money, but at the same time, I think I'll always wonder "what if" if I don't do it. Am I crazy? Most of my friends I've talked to about it have told me it's a dumb idea. A few have been supportive. I'm about to turn 26 and I'm feeling the pressure. I pretty much need to make some life-altering decisions in the next 6-9 months. If I don't do it by then, I think I'm stuck where I'm at. Which isn't bad. But I feel I could do more. I'm thinking about going to med school, btw. I'm short about 3 semesters of credit, so I'd have to do that first before applying. The fact of the matter is that I've wanted to be a Doctor for as long as I can remember, and I've always regretted giving up on that. As a 20 year old kid, I felt way overburdened and didn't want to put in the time/effort. I wanted to be social and have fun. With all the extracurriculars I was part of, plus having a job, I felt I couldn't continue the pre-med path. For a while I was happy, but my last semester of college I started regretting it. And it's been that way since. Now the feeling has grown pretty strong the last 2-3 months and I think I want to go for it. But damn, it's a big life change. What do you do for a living now? Are you married? Do you have kids? Do you own a home? Do you have a lot of debt? What do you believe your maximum earning capacity is with your current job? How much would you like to make? How much would medical school cost? Do you have the funds to pay for it? Would you have to take out a loan? How much would that be? Those are the questions you need to be asking yourself and answering. At 26, my guess is you can still do it, but let's just say you go take the 3 classes you need in the fall. You then apply in the spring. By the time you start med school you'll be 27. Med school is what, 3 or 4 years? Then a few years of residency? So then you are how old when you're finally ready to start practicing and working on the enormous mountain of debt you have piled up over the previous 7 years, 34? I wasn't in the exact same boat as you, but a similar one. I graduated from law school when I was 30. Then took a job at 31 which I basically knew nothing about, and had a lot of law school debt. A bit concerning, to be honest, but I didn't really want to jump into trying to practice law, because I had grown to despise law firms while working for them in law school. So I jumped into the energy/utility industry, as a trader, a position without any significant connection to my legal training. I also moved all the way across the country to do it. So definitely a bit scary, and frightening...and exciting. Fast forward 6 years...I am 37 now. I certainly didn't take the traditional path of my peers. But I AM doing something I love. And I AM making the money I hoped to be making at this age when I enrolled in law school 10 years ago. I still have that mountain of law school debt, but I am whittling it down, and if I continue on this career arc I am on, I am guessing I will have it paid off within 5 years or so. Despite the law degree not having a significant effect on my career when I initially started here, it has had a huge effect on it in the past 3 years. I won't tell you to do it or not do it, but ask yourself those questions. Ask whether you are willing to be patient. But do know that it is possible and it can be worth it.

QUOTE (zenryan @ Mar 12, 2014 -> 05:17 PM) The only reason I like the signing of McCown is because now I wont have to see Glennon starting in 2014. I'd rather see the Bucs draft a QB at #7 if Manziel or Bortles is available and throw them into the fire from the start or draft Aaron Murray or the LSU kid in the 2nd/3rd round and let those two sit for a year and learn. Glennon wasnt good. I watched every game of the Bucs and there is nothing that screams about Glennon being franchise type QB. Great, he had a 2-1 TD/INT ratio. He was also called Captain Checkdown for a reason. Glennon ranked 37th out of 37 QBs in yards per pass attempt. He is a statue back there with zero mobility to get outside of the pocket. An average arm with no accuracy throwing the ball down field. He still led the Bucs to the 32nd ranked offense last year. As a Bucs fan, I have no problem with keeping Glennon around as a backup to fill in for a week or three if need be because of injury. But from the moment the new GM and Lovie was brought in, they have been basically telling the media Glennon wasnt going to be the future. Yeah, hard to argue. I don't know that McCown is going to be the savior or anything but at that price, I think it's a reasonable move. Have him bridge the gap like you said and build towards the future. Glennon may be capable of more but I don't think he's capable of significantly more.

So my best man has booked a room at Public. I've actually stayed there before. Trying to pick a general area to start now.

QUOTE (ptatc @ Mar 12, 2014 -> 02:12 PM) Typically, high strikeout guys throw alot of pitches. The ground ball type pitchers are the ones who are usually efficient. I think that was his point...

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Mar 12, 2014 -> 02:19 PM) Typically that is the case, larger cities have more of that. But I've travelled the US enough to see that towns, even smaller ones, can sometimes have a wide difference in that sort of thing. For example, I could look at a town like Taos, new Mexico, which is pretty small, but has a ton of art, music and culture, and a wide variety of people. Then I could go 20 miles down the road to another town nearby, of similar size, and it is quite the opposite. My idyllic, fantasy-land picture is a smaller community, next to or surrounded by natural areas of some kind (ideally with some mountains and water), in a warm or semi-warm climate (at least less snowy and grey than Chicago), with a diverse community, a short distance from a larger town or city with more to do. Am I asking too much? LOL Not until you include the part about it being affordable

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Mar 12, 2014 -> 01:22 PM) Yeah, I'm probably not wording this well. Forget "liberal", that was the wrong word. What I mean is, Chicago is a diverse city, with people from all walks of life, and the culture follows that. Lots of variety available in music, food, social events. Also means that people just tend to be more open-minded, and are themselves from lots of different backgrounds and beliefs. That's what I'm afraid we may lose in Texas. But again, I could be totally wrong on this. I just haven't spent much time down there. That's pretty much what I thought you meant...and yes, that is definitely one of the incredible things about living in Chicago, or most major cities, for that matter. Chicago has an incredibly rich culture in terms of those things you highlighted. I don't think you're ever going to replicate that unless you move to another major city, such as NYC, LA, etc. That being said, you do have quite a few major cities in Texas to get your "fix," and I do think cultural diversity is fanning out further and further every day, especially as more and more folks are exposed to it as a result of tv and the interwebs. Missing out on the culture of Chicago is certainly the toughest thing for me. Ultimately, there are going to be pros and cons to any decision to relocate, and you're just going to have to see what you value more. Like I said, it was a tough choice, but in the end, I don't regret leaving.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Mar 12, 2014 -> 11:21 AM) So, my wife and I have joked around about what warm place we might move to later in life when the kids are out of the house. I like the southwest and mountain west - sunny and usually dry. She likes the southeast with all its humidity. The place in between is.... Texas. I've spent time in El Paso, San Antonio and Dallas, and driven through parts of North Texas. None of those much appealed, though San Antonio was fun. I stumbled across (online) this area of south-central Texas called the Hill Country. It sits basically between Austin (which I've heard is a great town) and San Antonio (which we liked visiting). It is mostly smaller towns, rolling hills, warm but only sometimes brutally hot in summer, pleasant in winter, wonderful in spring and fall, moderate humidity. Low cost of living, good outdoor opportunities, not far from a couple cities... sounds pretty idyllic to me. But to be brutally honest, as my wife and I are native Midwesterners and liberal-leaning SOCIALLY (not talking politics here)... I have concerns about being in a place that's maybe too closed-minded and lacking in the types of people we usually hang out with. Perhaps that is just my unfair perception of Texas. Anyone been in the area? Any thoughts on it? Is my perception unfair or incorrect? Don't liberal social habits/customs generally rise from liberal politics? I'm not really sure I understand the difference all that much...but assuming liberal social activities means what I think it means, one would think having Austin nearby would be fairly ideal and provide for you and your wife a wonderful outlet for your social life. As for the weather, I am not quite sure I have ever heard of a woman enjoying humidity, but at least you guys have the "warm" part right I can't tell you how much more I enjoy life living in an enjoyable climate. I can't rule out moving back to Chicago, but after experiencing "nice" weather, I will say that many many things would have to align for me to move back to that god forsaken weather you guys have. I generally try to stay out of the business of telling people what to do with their lives, but I will say you don't know what you are missing...

QUOTE (Soxbadger @ Mar 11, 2014 -> 09:55 AM) It really depends on the atmosphere. Wrigleyville will be more rowdy. Wells/River North will be fancier (better food/tables etc). I personally dont mind Wells/River North areas during the day because they arent as crowded and you can get some nice food. I refuse to wait in line at night, so those areas are usually off limits. The problem of course is that youll likely have a hotel downtown, so it probably will make the most sense to go in the River North area. Or if youre feeling hipster you can go west of the highway and ironically watch the basketball games while you pay $6 for your ironically overpriced pbr. Hah...$6 for PBR! Honestly, who knows where we'll end up...I just sort of need a starting point with some decent options and then where we end up is really going to be a function of who/what we encounter along the way!

QUOTE (Soxbadger @ Mar 10, 2014 -> 09:50 PM) How pricey do you want the bars? Sports bars or dive bars are ok....don't really need anything super upscale...although that isn't meant to throw out of the equation anything "new" either...just nothing too snooty.

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Mar 10, 2014 -> 10:33 AM) If you're planning on seeing a naked lady or ten, don't do it in the city or basically anywhere near the city. Find some private girls and have them come to the hotel. Anywhere in the city or burbs will charge a cover and be rather, um, tame. In the City limits I believe they still have to use pasties. In the burbs it's not full nude. May be a deal breaker for you, I dunno. My thinking on that stuff is since it's just a gigantic cock tease anyway, it better be something memorable or it's a waste of time/money. Nah, don't really want to do strip clubs in chicago...we can do this in the Vegas edition

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ Mar 10, 2014 -> 09:55 AM) Do we need an official club? I had no idea Marty and I agreed on something. It is the only thing Marty and I agree on.

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ Mar 10, 2014 -> 05:53 AM) I challenge your title of "most in favor of trading Viciedo!" Get in line behind Marty and I.

Hey guys...so coming back to Chicago for sort of a bar crawl with my friends for the Chicago edition of my bachelor party. The date is March 22nd. The plan (if you could call it that) is to head into the City from the burbs around 10ish (am). We're going to choose a starting point, begin watching the games and drinking, and just see where the hell that takes us. Probably going to book some hotel rooms somewhere, which will obviously be our endpoint for the evening, but otherwise, there is no set plan, structure, etc. Just watching basketball and drinking with a crew of about 15 or so. So anyways, I haven't really been to the City much in the last several years. My old stomping grounds were sort of the Lincoln Park/Wrigleyville/Lakeview area, so I have some familiarity with that area, but am certainly open to some of the newer developments in the South Loop and the West side? Would love to hear some suggestions on cool places to go for sports, afternoon debauchery, pockets of highly-concentrated mischief, etc. Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Mar 7, 2014 -> 11:56 AM) She's 18 and she's moved out of their house. If she feels there was a verbal contract at some point saying that they'd pay for various things in that case, she would have the right to sue, but she would also have to prove exactly how things went down and the fact that she has moved out is a strong argument against at least college tuition. Yeah, I don't disagree. I was wondering if SS thinks she has a right to her tuition being paid by her parents, since he went out of his way to point out many of the posters were having their tuition paid for by their parents.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Mar 6, 2014 -> 11:16 AM) RT news anchor criticizes Kremlin, Kremlin sends her to Crimea. Another anchor resigned live on air RT or Russia Today is a modern Pravda, the media arm of the Russian government. I thought that was great...they say there will be no reprimands of any sort...then the next paragraph says "and we are sending her to the epicenter so she can learn about the issue"

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Mar 7, 2014 -> 08:18 AM) Maybe I'm missing something here, but it seems like at least several of the posters in this thread had some or all of their tuition, room and board covered by the parents but that they worked a part-time job for spending money. This girl is suing for her parents to pay for tuition. So do you think she has a right to do that? I guess that is what I am inferring from your post.

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Mar 7, 2014 -> 08:48 AM) I'd go New Orleans over Vegas every day of the week. You're not consumed by gambling 24/7. If you're into that, fine, but it's not the main attraction. The main attraction is the food (freakin' amazing. Eat po boys daily, eat seafood daily, die happy) and the bourbon street area where with a few friends you're guaranteed to have an amazing time at pretty cheap prices. Plus where else in the US can you walk from bar to strip club to bar to strip club to bar to restaurant, etc. Thing about NO is it is a lot dirtier, and can be pretty dangerous if you don't watch yourself. They are two completely different experiences, IMO.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Mar 6, 2014 -> 11:24 AM) I wonder how much you actually retain and comprehend that way. Depending on what you're reading, reading is more than just plowing through words to finish a plot. With some authors, how they're using language and the pacing is central to the novel. Authors like Faulkner would be completely ruined by this. I could imagine the best uses would be for reading through textbooks, history books, etc. But think about reading something like Game of Thrones--you're not going to have any time to pause and think about what Winterfell or The Wall actually looks like when you're flying through the story so fast. Yeah, I agree...not a huge fan of this.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Mar 6, 2014 -> 12:05 PM) Man my lower back and ass hurts today after those squats. Yeah, this one took me out of commission for a few days.

QUOTE (Rowand44 @ Mar 5, 2014 -> 01:22 PM) I assume my invite got lost in the mail? Are you coming to Vegas the last weekend of the month?

QUOTE (Buehrle>Wood @ Mar 5, 2014 -> 01:01 PM) Is the linq ferris wheel open yet? If not do you know when? The wheel isn't going to open likely for another month or so...but the rest of the shops and restaurants are opening every day for the past week or so.

QUOTE (bigruss22 @ Mar 5, 2014 -> 11:59 AM) Great recommendations in here, I'll have to check out Fremont. B>W just missing you man, I'll be there starting the 27th for the sweet 16. Russ, I might have to invite you to my Vegas bachelor party

QUOTE (Buehrle>Wood @ Mar 5, 2014 -> 10:55 AM) Any recommendations for some day pool parties to hit up? Might be a little cold come March 22nd but we will see. The best are usually at Hard Rock or Encore. As for Vegas, you guys should check out East Fremont, which is the side of Fremont on the other side of Las Vegas Blvd. This is generally where some of the younger locals hang out. Tony Hsieh, the Zappos CEO and founder, has invested hundreds of millions of his own cash into redeveloping the downtown area and the result is new bars and restaurants are popping up in that area every week. Good places to check out are Commonwealth (my favorite LV bar), the Griffin, Park on Fremont, and La Comida. There is also something new called Container Park that recently opened and has some good eat and drink options. East Fremont is generally my favorite area to go as a local. As for the Strip, there is a new thing opening soon called The Linq (between Harrah's and the old Imperial Palace, essentially) which should have some pretty cool new things...one being Brooklyn Bowl, which I am excited about.

QUOTE (farmteam @ Mar 1, 2014 -> 12:56 PM) So I'm sitting at the gate in Vegas right now, and Delta announces there's a blown tire and they have to fly a new one in. Delayed at least 3 hours, which makes me think it will be 6 hours. Solid. Back to Bally's!

QUOTE (Rowand44 @ Feb 28, 2014 -> 07:35 AM) So got that job I've been interviewing for. The pay isn't that much better but I got much better benefits, better hours, more vacation time, much more room for growth and it's just a very good company to be with. I start March 11th assuming I come back from St. Louis alive. Congrats bud!